Governing: State and local government news and analysis
The Democrats’ new vice presidential pick has one of the most progressive records of any current governor. He also has some history that Republicans are likely to exploit.
From buckling roads to twisted rails, it’s under a lot of stress. Engineers have some ideas for minimizing the problems.
Big money is flowing to cities and states from infrastructure laws backed by the Biden-Harris administration. This barely rates mention, even from Democrats.
As billions flow from Washington to extend fast and reliable Internet to underserved areas, policymakers should rely on the experienced, established providers that already know how to get this difficult job done.
Something positive does seem to be happening in many of the places that have been losing jobs and people for a long time. The gains may be modest, but they’re worth paying attention to.
Fire authorities wish people would stop doing stupid stuff like burning toilet paper, igniting smoke bombs or tossing cigarette butts out of cars. People, not nature, are responsible for most wildfires.
A ballot measure that would have let voters decide the fate of a massive land development project in California has been called off.
In the 1970s, Black students organized protests and a boycott that cost local white businesses money. Today, many families who could afford private school still choose Thomasville’s public schools.
In the typical state, personnel costs represent 40 percent less of the overall budget than was true 30 years ago.
Philadelphia's mayor has ordered city workers back to the office. Unfortunately for them, the state is not providing the amount of funding that local transit needs.
Federal aid helped states and localities cope with the biggest costs of the pandemic. But good things don’t last forever, and this one didn’t.
Fearing a fishbowl political environment, too many public-sector organizations are reluctant to collect and use data on how they’re doing in hiring and retaining talent. But it’s better to know than not to know.
It’s a combination of factors ranging from corruption to unbalanced taxation to unfunded liabilities to lack of an entrepreneurial tradition. But the state also has many strengths it could build on.
Attorney General Ken Paxton sued the Facebook parent company in 2022, claiming it had used personal biometric data without permission.
The Supreme Court’s ruling in the Chevron case empowers the levels of government most trusted by Americans to have more impact on issues that directly impact their economies and communities.
State and local treasurers have been playing it safe by capturing high short-term rates. Some are wary of longer maturities, but markets spell lower short-term yields. Tricky decisions are in store.
The money flowing from Washington can go a long way toward decarbonizing the buildings we live and work in. But it’s crucial to design the implementation of these projects to benefit everyone.
Jonathan Daniels, an experienced crisis manager, is getting Baltimore’s port back in business.
Lawmakers are proposing hundreds of measures to micromanage and control this emergent technology. A complicated regulatory framework could devastate America’s technology businesses and global competitiveness.
Nonprofit service providers publish plenty of metrics about their activities, but too often they don’t reflect actual success in reducing homelessness. Measuring impact would help them do more good.
Back to back earthquakes in the presidential race are likely to have spillover effects in state and local politics. Plus, New Jersey loses a senator and total recall in the Bay Area.
There are lawmakers who want to support news coverage but the market is not kind.
In 1976, Coloradans dismantled Denver’s Olympic torch before it could be lit. With the 2024 Summer Olympic Games now underway in Paris, it seems like a top-of-mind moment to revisit a hard lesson in the complex politics of growth.
They need meaningful, continuing relationships to carry them into adulthood. But the child welfare system isn’t set up to provide that.
Mark Twain famous aphorism, “History doesn't repeat itself, but it often rhymes,” reminds us that while exact circumstances may be unique, patterns do in fact repeat. That is true meteorologically this year as the U.S. navigates through another summer of extreme weather.
Tom Perez, the White House intergovernmental affairs director, looks to states and localities to carry out much of the administration’s agenda.
The swing states of Georgia, Nevada and Pennsylvania are changing — and fast.
Talk instead of fight: It’s a crucial tool for police officers confronting people in crisis. But too often when it isn’t working, a reluctance to use non-lethal force leads to a shooting. Better training and a cultural shift are needed.
Joe Biden’s letter announcing his departure from the presidential race is just the latest example of a form of discourse that’s been shaping our politics and society since before our revolution. It still can.
A year after the controversial project’s completion, the Douglas County Youth Center remains empty. Even with that, there are more kids in custody than beds in the county’s controversial detention center.
