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.
Nearly half of California voters are very pleased with Gov. Newsom’s management of the coronavirus pandemic. However, 55 percent of those same voters think he has done a poor job handling homelessness across the state.
President Trump continues to attack the vote-by-mail system, claiming it will increase fraud, but Washington state’s mail-in program that has worked well for years might be a perfect counterexample.
Trump's nomination of Amy Coney Barrett to fill the vacancy left by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg reflects a long history of presidents' efforts to define the Supreme Court, beginning with George Washington.
In recent years, Republican-led legislatures have been adding state supreme court seats and working to change nominating rules, aiming to bolster conservative majorities.
In the last 15 years, scientific studies have overturned common knowledge about the behavior and consequences of wildfires. A leading researcher discusses how it can help guide future efforts to protect both people and forests.
Lots of people no longer feel at home with either the Democratic or Republican parties. They usually hate one of the major parties too much, however, to chance their vote on a third party.
Gov. Wolf and Secretary of Health Dr. Levine announced the launch of the contact tracing app COVID Alert PA earlier this week and hope residents will work towards a common good of stopping the spread of COVID-19.
For decades, cities relied on performing arts groups to help drive revitalization. Now nearly every company in the country has been shuttered for months, acting as a drag on local business.
It’s the biggest city in South Dakota and when COVID-19 hit a local meat packing plant, Jill Franken had her hands full with a major public health crisis and the stress that goes with it.
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Government legal professionals in U.S. states, cities and counties are facing economic and political challenges like never before as they strive to protect consumers’ rights, safeguard public resources, and mitigate crime.
Our democratic experiment in self-governing is on trial. In government at all levels, we need to get back to the place envisioned by our Constitution's fathers, however flawed they might have been.
A new article in Telecommunications Policy presents evidence that local areas generally fare better when states award broadband money to providers and allow municipalities to get into the broadband business.
State attorneys general are facing issues ranging from racism and sexual harassment to a fatal accident. Their scandals differ, but they have some underlying political dynamics in common.
By joining with the county, Houston hopes to save resources by keeping low-level offenders out of jail. Reform advocates see it as a move against police brutality, but not everyone agrees it’s progress.
Despite President Trump’s efforts to sow doubts about the election system, officials in Kansas and Missouri are clarifying the ways in which people may vote on or before Nov. 3. None of them include voting twice.
Government technology veteran Abhi Nemani, who has experience both inside government as well as with prominent civic tech organizations such as Code for America, is leading the new startup company.
It means different things to different people. In the end, it doesn't really mean much at all. And there's very little that politicians or government can do to uphold or restore it.
There is an unprecedented distrust of the federal government’s COVID-19 vaccine reviews and at least seven states plan to independently analyze the vaccine data before distributing it to the public.
Kevin Kiley, a 35-year-old Republican, left his budding law career to take on a career in the Democrat-dominant California state Legislature. He has since made his mark by becoming a fierce opponent of Gov. Newsom’s power.
The state’s energy commission has approved a plan that will construct 36 new fueling stations for hydrogen cell vehicles across the state. Four of these stations will be in San Diego County.
Recalls against governors in states including Arizona, Louisiana, Michigan, Nevada and Wisconsin appear to be going nowhere. Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan, however, is turning to the state supreme court to block an attempt.
It's not enough to be grateful to those who are helping us get through a tough time. We need policies that value the work they do and give them the opportunity to move up economically.
A collaborative of civil rights organizations is using geospatial data to help in the effort to improve response rates among the populations that are hard to count.
The National Institutes of Health is investigating a coronavirus vaccine trial patient who suffered from spinal cord damage. Although unsure if that was a result of the vaccine, the NIH is ‘very concerned.’
Michigan is producing weekly reports on coronavirus outbreaks in schools. That may not be quite as timely as it sounds, since much of the data could be more than a week old.
African Americans account for 6 percent of the state’s population, but 19 percent of confirmed COVID cases. Disparities in treatment aren’t limited to the coronavirus.
Guided by an administrative judge with an engineering degree, a Texas county has led the way in making remote court proceedings a reality, including the nation’s first virtual jury trial.
Black and Latino populations are disproportionately underrepresented in vaccine trials. Scientists and researchers are working to have them participate in the COVID trial, but a history of mistreatment doesn’t help.
A tiny agency did important work on our intergovernmental system for decades. It's unlikely that the Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations can be revived, but we still need what it did.
Secretaries of state too often have acted in partisan ways. Especially this year, we need them to show impartiality. And longer-term, we need to re-think how we choose the people who oversee voting.
