State and Local Politics and Policy
It’s especially hard to get low-income Americans living in multifamily buildings across the digital divide. But states and nonprofits are finding ways to do it.
Gov. Gavin Newsom and lawmakers agreed to convert former hotels into permanent housing with federal coronavirus relief dollars and provide an additional $2 billion over two years to local governments.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer can’t issue a veto to keep the powers she used during the early days of the pandemic to institute sweeping health and safety restrictions. The Senate voted along party lines for the petition.
The U.S. Small Business Administration announced nearly $68 million worth of COVID relief grants to venues in the Baltimore region. Many of the theaters and museums have been closed since the pandemic started.
Wildfires aren’t caused by forests, but the default approach to fire prevention is to clear them. Climate may be the real problem, and preserving trees a big part of the solution.
Gov. Gavin Newsom requested that residents voluntarily reduce their water usage by 15 percent as the drought worsens. Some wonder if state officials should mandate water restrictions while others think it’s unnecessary.
Ongoing efforts to find election irregularities might serve the ambitions of some in politics, but they aren’t viewed favorably by many Americans. A new report documents the spread of unconventional “audits” to new states.
Forty-one percent of residents have yet to be vaccinated, while new daily COVID cases and hospitalizations are increasing. Officials say more outreach and requirements may be necessary to help curb the growing spike.
More of them could compete at every level, from community leagues to the Paralympics, but adaptive sports technology is expensive. There’s much that local governments could do to improve access.
The good conduct system California recently implemented is mistakenly adding time to inmate firefighters’ sentences. Officials have fixed the malfunction and are working to recalculate the sentences.
Gov. David Ige will maintain the current COVID regulations until the state reaches its 70 percent vaccination rate target, despite complaints that the restrictions are unnecessary. Currently, 58.6 percent of residents are fully vaccinated.
Ridership on trains and buses has plunged, yet crime is on the rise. Transit advocates say now is the time to change how to handle fare evaders and illegal behavior. But will the riding population feel safer?
Five dozen Democrats left Texas Monday, hoping to block or at least stall voting legislation. It’s a tactic that doesn’t always work but does always cause a stir.
The case of UNC and Nikole Hannah-Jones is not just about one Black journalist being treated shabbily. It illustrates the dangers of political interference and underlines the need for a more diverse workforce of educators.
Biographies play an important role in studying the full story of past Americans by exploring their successes and how they reached their goals. Here are the five elements of an excellent biography and some personal recommendations.
Housing advocates agree that California’s Project Homekey had a significant impact on the Fresno community, but there is still more that must be done to ensure all residents have safe, affordable housing options.
The earnings broke a record for oil and gas royalties, which have been recovering since the pandemic. But the state is still increasing its climate regulation enforcement of the industry.
The California governor has asked residents to voluntarily cut their water use by 15 percent as a heat wave exacerbates the state’s drought conditions. Nearly every Bay Area county has enacted an emergency drought declaration.
There’s plenty of demand for space in central cities. We just need to stop dictating what it can be used for.
State and local government innovation offices are neither ubiquitous nor standardized. GT talked to veterans of four such agencies to get insight on best practices, lessons learned and what’s ahead.
A federal judge has denied attempts to block parts of Georgia’s new voting laws that were passed in response to the 2020 presidential election. There are still eight more lawsuits pending against the state’s new election law.
In 22 states, the share of renters in debt increased.
The state has recently passed several new election laws which differ greatly from other reform efforts of other Republican states. Many laud Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin for his collaborative efforts.
Massachusetts has one of the oldest continuously operating appellate court systems in the Western hemisphere. Technology has been slow to arrive, but the pandemic has accelerated its adoption.
In a major shift, groundwater, once considered private and free, is now labeled as a shared resource, according to state law. Aquifer managers must submit sustainability plans and use meters as drought conditions worsen.
He didn't vote for Donald Trump in November or in 2016 and said efforts to undermine those presidential elections were a danger to democracy. That makes him an outlier in bedrock Trump country.
The state legislature can't find common ground for basic reforms — even ones that county election officials say are crucial to improving their operations and have backing from members of both political parties.
Limestone County Sheriff Mike Blakely, who has been serving since 1983, will stand trial on five felony charges of using his position for personal gain, five felony counts of theft and one misdemeanor theft charge.
Loretta Weinberg, the “Jewish grandmother” of the Garden State’s political arena, has battled with Chris Christie and Andrew Cuomo to get better transit for the common worker. Now, it’s time to say goodbye.
The agency faces a court order mandating it to process backlogged unemployment insurance claims by Labor Day and Gov. Ralph Northam’s executive order to fix staffing and technology issues by Oct. 1.
In Connecticut, a survey found 69 percent of respondents with children not current on rental payments reported being likely to face eviction in the next two months, compared to 10 percent of respondents without children.
