Governing: State and local government news and analysis
Revenues are slowing but lawmakers, at least in red states, have continued to enact major tax cuts this year.
Popularly referred to as “the eighth wonder of the world,” the bridge was, at the time of its construction, the largest suspension bridge in the world. Today, it connects New Yorkers with their past and each other.
Smart Growth America is restarting its annual reports on the best policies to promote safe and accessible streets. Howard County, Md., got a perfect 100.
It’s a trend that started before the pandemic, and it isn’t slowing down, thanks in part to hefty price increases for housing.
Traditional approaches to the kinds of complex issues governments face stymie creative work. Houston has been making significant progress on reducing homelessness with a process of bridge building among stakeholders.
Income tax and sales tax revenue projections are slipping. State and local policymakers need to avoid fiscal giveaways and gimmicks, and they need to beware of potential federal aid clawbacks.
The Mississippi city's Mayor Toby Barker recalls the highs and lows of navigating COVID-19's delta and omicron waves.
Too many election administrators and polling-place workers are the subject of harrassment, threats and even violence, and they’re quitting in droves. If we don’t protect them, who is going to be left to work our elections?
Though Black people only make up 5 percent of the state’s population, they accounted for 21 percent of new HIV diagnoses in 2021, a disparity fueled by discrimination, community distrust and lack of access.
The origins of the sixth president’s pathetic quest for greatness and his sacrifice of happiness during a lifetime of service.
One-quarter of adults in the United States have some kind of disability. Are government agencies doing enough to serve their citizens equally — and ensure their safety in emergency situations?
Turnover is increasing and gender gaps are barely budging, but accurately assessing the consequences remains a challenge.
Election administrators are still digging out from the mountains of misinformation from the 2020 election cycle. Bad actors are using AI to ramp up for the next one. Can AI help level the playing field for the good guys?
Attracting more people with four-year degrees — and more women — into policing is likely to produce better outcomes. Among other things, they are less likely to draw complaints and use force.
Two former Republican governors are already running and a handful more could still announce their candidacy. Meanwhile, artificial intelligence will make political ads even worse and does the Supreme Court even care about corruption?
New federal guidelines make it clear that new hazard mitigation plans should factor in the likelihood of extreme weather events. Here are four recommendations for preparing for the future impacts.
"Trash Walker" Anna Sacks finds treasure in her neighborhood's refuse and shares the discoveries with her 400,000 online followers. She is part of a growing trend of "zero wasters" who patrol the city's streets.
On Tuesday, Democrats held onto control of the Pennsylvania House, while robbing Republicans of two of their major local offices. However, the GOP is solidly behind its candidate in the year's key race for governor.
The city councilmember won the Democratic primary for mayor of Philadelphia on Tuesday. She’s also the heavy favorite to win the general election in November and to become Philadelphia’s first woman mayor.
It’s not easy to get a smaller city that’s been losing population growing again. Every town can’t be a high-tech hub. But an urban scholar has some ideas that might help some of them.
Misinformation thrived during the pandemic, exacerbating health inequities. To meet its core mission, the public health field needs to engage more actively, particularly in historically mistrustful communities.
They are increasing transit ridership numbers all along the stops on Taylor Swift’s Eras tour. It’ll take more work to make them into regular riders.
Artificial intelligence has potential, but it can’t replace simple, reliable technology solutions and the human touch. And there’s a risk that it will automate existing inequities instead of alleviating them.
With ranked-choice voting, voters are more likely to choose city leaders who have broad support. And it’s a big step toward dialing down the divisiveness of our politics.
They have been transformed by the COVID-19 pandemic, with new challenges around public safety, homelessness and commercial real estate. A series of reports from the Brookings Institution explores the future of downtowns.
Allowing undocumented immigrants to obtain driver's licenses is about more than highway safety. It's good for assimilation, belonging and community engagement.
The public expects better from the highest court in the land and has lost trust in the judicial branch as much as the others. Our resident humanities scholar asks, who will save us from our guardians?
The state’s decade-old dropout prediction algorithms don’t work and may be negatively influencing how educators perceive students of color.
Congress has authorized billions, but there’s a problem: New infrastructure planning frequently relies on historical flood patterns for its benchmarks rather than forecasts of changing risks as the climate warms.
Simply rehashing the problem does more harm than good. Instead, state and local leaders must help citizens see how solutions to homelessness benefit all of us.
