Governing: State and local government news and analysis
The planned $700 million island campus will foster coastal sustainability and job training for the green economy. And befitting the Big Apple, it will be unlike any other climate research facility in the country.
Primary elections are where most of those who govern us are chosen. Can making them nonpartisan — or eliminating them altogether — diminish the impact of ideological fringes? What has happened in Louisiana suggests that it can.
As Washington state rolls out its new cap-and-invest program to cut greenhouse gas emissions, it's bringing in new money to fund a range of important transportation projects.
There’s a secret order to the way traffic moves in African cities — less regulated, more spontaneous.
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.
Technical fixes can help, but there are other ways governments can make public service more attractive. Here are four promising approaches.
The Transportation Modernization Act will bring “choice lanes” to the state for the first time. Dubbed by some as "Lexus lanes," they will let drivers pay to bypass traffic, but aren’t likely to reduce congestion overall.
In attempting to regulate use of social media by young people, the state has pushed the idea the furthest, and other states may follow its lead. Will it work? And will it survive the inevitable legal challenges?
The fifth president is best known for the doctrine named for him that helped keep European powers from further meddling in the New World. And given the political environment today, you would be excused for being envious of his Era of Good Feeling.
The city of Los Angeles uses a scoring system for subsidized housing gives Black and Latino people experiencing homelessness lower priority scores.
A boom is coming in transmission line construction. But legislatures in a dozen states, under pressure from utilites, have passed “right of first refusal” laws that are raising concerns about higher energy costs for consumers.
A succession of mayors have tried and failed to eradicate the city’s rodent population. Now, Eric Adams has appointed Kathleen Corradi, a former schoolteacher and sustainability expert, to tackle the city's epic rat problem.
Orange County, sixth largest in the country by population, is home to the world’s largest wastewater recycling facility. Here's the water district’s path to a 100 percent recycling rate.
In our effort to make children’s play areas safe, we have taken some of the fun out of them. That's not the case in Europe, where the playgrounds are more adventurous and challenging.
An after-action analysis of the nation’s pandemic response would go a long way toward better preparing us for the public health challenges and other emergencies to come.
Nice public restrooms are a genuine urban amenity. Big cities can afford to build more of them. Why don’t they?
Hilly Los Angeles has hundreds of outdoor staircases connecting residential neighborhoods with main streets.
The scrubbed rail extension illustrates the financial crisis at Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority and at other transit agencies around the country. Still, some advocates say it’s an opportunity, too.
The pullback of Twitter’s blue check marks led to the quick rise of fake accounts spreading lies about public services and officials. What comes next, and how can state and local governments deal with this new reality?
We’ve long known that its roots aren’t biological or genetic. It’s time for Americans to discuss it rationally and speak out against efforts to turn us against each other.
Big-box retailers are using a controversial legal argument in their assessment appeals. As the courts sort it out and some legislatures step up, there’s a role for government associations to help strengthen the hands of local tax authorities.
As the rainy season begins for most of the country, a new report offers the first baseline assessment of the systems in place using green infrastructure to manage stormwater.
Most of the people who buy lottery tickets are the very ones who can ill afford to squander their money in such a manner. Yet lotteries are likely to continue to expand, given how effective they are in generating revenue for states.
What we can learn from the tragedy and now vindication of the father of the atomic bomb.
While more than half of states have banned TikTok on state-owned devices and networks, some governors still use the platform — and some unofficial accounts use their names and photos. Is it a cybersecurity risk?
Will the massive tranche of money be used to help the people who suffered the most and for programs shown to be effective in curbing the epidemic? Or will elected officials use the money for politically infused projects?
As the 53rd Earth Day approaches, leaders with a wide range of responsibilities describe big problems — and big possibilities — that lie ahead.
The U.S. Department of Transportation announced an award of $21 million for 64 communities to coordinate transit, mobility, and land-use plans and navigate infrastructure funding opportunities.
Republican attorney general Jeff Landry seems the likely successor to Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards. Also, Michigan Democrats utilize their full control of state government while election officials across the nation feel forced out.
Everyone likes getting something for nothing, but history shows why the math behind free public transit doesn’t add up.
