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Billions in federal aid give state and local governments the opportunity to leverage evidence-based approaches to help disproportionately impacted communities and address long-term systemic challenges.
A bipartisan group of senators proposed the gas tax should be indexed to inflation to help pay for new infrastructure spending, an approach Biden calls ‘regressive.’
Some New York legislators have proposed using federal infrastructure funds to revive the city’s streetcars, providing a nostalgic alternative to the bus. But transit advocates think the money should be used elsewhere.
The state will soon have a new electric vehicle manufacturing plant, which Commerce Director Brent Kisling hopes will better position the state to compete for $15 billion in future EV investments.
The bill would make funding changes to the Hawaii Tourism Authority and would eliminate the hotel tax distribution from individual counties. Gov. Ige is concerned the bill would detract from the state’s tourism and community focus.
Lt. Robert Salter, a supervising police detective in Newport, R.I., regarding the large amounts of personal data that law enforcement departments often collect from Big Tech companies, like Apple, Microsoft and Google. Police departments’ requests for user information, including phone calls, texts, emails, photos, browser histories and more, have tripled since 2015. (Associated Press — June 22, 2021)
The estimated number of U.S. gun sales that were prevented by the background check system last year, an all-time high and nearly twice as many as the year prior. Approximately 42 percent of the denials were due to a felony conviction on the buyers’ felony record.
In the public sector, customer service can easily devolve to “our way or the highway.” The head of the Arlington, Texas, planning department is transforming its service culture into a place where your “dream comes true.”
State and local leaders should prod Washington for the funding that can close the digital divide, protect utilities from cyber criminals, build smart cities and shape incentives for high-tech manufacturing.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot pledged police reform while campaigning for mayor, but two years later and the Chicago Police Department looks much as it did before she took office. Many are upset with the lack of change.
As the country still struggles with a mass worker shortage, some Ohio companies are trying to encourage workers to apply for positions with incentives that include pay increases, signing bonuses and flexible schedules.
The state upgraded its antiquated human resources management software, and when the project failed, Maine blamed the contracted company. But an investigation reveals the state is also at fault.
Many parts of the country still do not have access to high-speed Internet, despite requirements that forced schools and workplaces to operate remotely during the pandemic. Lawmakers are trying to fix that by getting homes connected.
"A lot of cities have come to realize that climate action and climate justice are one and the same."
Matt Gray, the senior vice president of programs at the Student Conservation Association, regarding the shift in focus toward environmental justice and how communities of color are disproportionately impacted by the effects of climate change. (NPR — June 21, 2021)
The amount that 100 Ulster County, N.Y., residents are receiving each month for a year as a part of an experimental universal basic income program.
The idea has come up again and again, and now there’s a flurry of experimentation. But it never seems to take hold.
A new book makes a multi-generational examination of the origin stories of Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, and James Baldwin to understand how they were shaped and by whom – their mothers.
The pandemic made it easier to get—and keep—food assistance. In some places, those expanded benefits are drawing to a close.
When the rush for unemployment insurance crashed government websites in 2020, we learned how to navigate traffic surges in a crisis. So why weren’t sites prepared to handle vaccine appointments?
The state’s eviction moratorium is coming to an end June 30. Since the earliest days of the pandemic, housing analysts have worried about a wave of evictions whenever the state lifts protections for renters. Carolina Reid, associate professor of city and regional planning at the University of California, Berkeley, has been tracking vulnerable renters throughout the pandemic. She says the state could help renters facing eviction — if enough money gets to them in time.
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Creating meaningful citizen experiences in a post-COVID world requires embracing digital initiatives like secure and ethical data sharing, artificial intelligence and more.
North America’s largest subway system is run by a board that’s disproportionately controlled by state government. A city-run system has merits, but so far only one mayoral candidate is interested in changing the status quo.
The replacement of the Baltimore and Potomac Tunnel will eliminate a massive bottleneck and save Amtrak and MARC trains an average of 7 hours every weekday. The project will cost $4 billion and will be named after the Maryland abolitionist.
Officials across the state voiced concerns about proposed legislation that would hold the gubernatorial recall election as early as Aug. 24 and would push costs beyond the projected $215 million price tag.
With one of the region’s largest cryptocurrency mining facilities, a Bitcoin ATM operator and a bill that would allow special trusts to hold digital assets, the state could be a center of the growing fintech industry.
After a year of system glitches and jobless claim fraud, the state claims it has improved its system and is ready to verify eligibility again. So far, ESD has sent verification notices to approximately 105,000 claimants.
Rep. Tom Emmer, chair of the National Republican Congressional Committee, regarding the group’s announcement that it will begin accepting cryptocurrency donations. (The Hill — June 17, 2021)
The proportion of Americans who are “highly concerned” that ending COVID-19 restrictions will result in an increase in virus infections in their community; 34 percent think that the restrictions were lifted too quickly.
The primary to succeed Bill de Blasio will be held on Tuesday. No one from the huge field has emerged as a clear favorite, with Andrew Yang fading fast.
Dissatisfied voters targeted election administrators in 2020. Accustomed to working behind the scenes, many were cast as villains and now fear for their personal and professional safety.
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