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In much of the country, downtowns remain relatively empty. The implications for property values, mortgage debt and property tax collections have not yet fully played out, says a Columbia University economist.
We know what works to prevent tragedies like the recent one at a Georgia high school. Effective gun policies could save thousands of lives.
Other states look to Texas as the state psychology board pushes against the new national licensing requirements.
The City Council approved a three-year, $336,362 contract with a gunshot detection program, which alerts police when it picks up the sound of a potential gunshot. Gunshot detection systems have long sparked questions of accuracy, expense and efficacy.
Following the Montgomery County commissioners’ unanimous decision, election officials will now have to generate manual ballots for residents outside of Texas and retrofit the more than 1,000 machines with an older version of the software.
Rebecca Wood, a single mother, regarding the $2.49 “program fee” that charged each time she loaded money into her daughter’s school lunch account. Wood noted that the nearly $2.50 fee was the same price as the school lunch. As more and more schools turn to a cashless system, processing companies will charge as much as $3.25 or 4 to 5 percent per transaction, which often disproportionately impacts lower-income families. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau reported that 87 percent of sampled districts contract with payment processors. (Associated Press — Sept. 11, 2024)
Rainfall patterns are changing. What can local leaders do to curb the growing risks?
Members of the state’s Election Board need to be referees, not cheerleaders, but Donald Trump has made clear he considers some of them on his team.
They face a unique long-term threat from global efforts to address climate change, strategies that will sharply reduce demand for fossil fuels. The best time to build a more resilient economy is before a crisis arrives.
Suburbs of the state’s small cities, like Harrisburg, are slightly moving away from the solidly red voting trends of previous years. Trump won Lower Allen, Pa., by 1,000 votes in 2016 but by only 129 in 2020.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, regarding the approximately 15,000 Haitian immigrants that have arrived in Springfield, a city of just about 59,000, since 2020. The governor will send law enforcement and $2.5 million in health-care resources to the city. (Associated Press — Sept. 10, 2024)
State revenue collections are returning to earth after several years of high budget surpluses. In many cases, they used the unexpected funds for one-time investments and to shore up reserve funds.
The idea that the lakes’ bounty will quench the thirst of the western United States is an obstacle delaying the West’s inevitable reckoning with the unsustainable status quo.
A poll found that 56 percent of California Latinos see artificial intelligence as “just a new tool,” while the remaining 44 percent said the tech was a bad idea and would cost people jobs.
The percentage growth in daily commuters from outside Birmingham, Huntsville, Montgomery and Mobile far exceed internal growth. Alabama’s average commute time of 23.5 minutes is average among U.S. states.
License plate flippers are commonly used at auto shows to allow drivers to switch between custom or decorative plates. But now drivers are using them to evade detection and cities and states across the nation are enacting laws to prohibit their use.
Rickey Cole, a farmer and former two-term chair of Mississippi’s Democratic Party, on the Democratic loss of rural voters over the last two decades. In 2001, when Cole first served as party chair, Democrats controlled 7 of 8 statewide offices and both legislative chambers; now Republicans hold all eight statewide offices and large majorities in both legislative chambers. (The Conversation — Sept. 9, 2024)
And how does that overlap with reported deaths from firearms?
Through boot camps and training sessions, a group is helping smaller cities and towns with limited resources put together competitive grant applications. More mayors should take advantage of it.
When the 2017 tax law expires next year, Congress will revisit the limits on SALT deductions on federal returns. With elections approaching, it’s time for governors and mayors to offer some viable new policy options — and ways to pay for them.
While environmentalists say the new rules don’t do enough to protect groundwater, oil and gas operators are contesting stricter requirements for waste pits near wells.
The Bayfair Center mall in San Leandro, Calif., was once a major shopping hub. But after the mall officially closed last month, developers will reimagine the 400,000-square-foot space into a research and development space for tech companies.
This fall is the first semester that the University of Texas at San Antonio began offering a digital media influencing degree, which helps students develop professional skills to become successful in the online sphere.
New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu, who performed the Heimlich maneuver on a contestant at a lobster roll eating competition, giving him several compressions before first responders took over and helped free a piece of lobster stuck in the contestant's windpipe. (WMUR — Sept. 9, 2024)
Charlotte’s City Council has approved a sales tax increase to fund transportation. It faces long odds gaining approval from the state Legislature, not to mention spiraling construction costs.
Gov. Jeff Landry signed an executive order that will require the state Office of Motor Vehicles to compile a list of people who have been issued a temporary license or ID card, which will then be used to cross-check state voter rolls.
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