Governing: State and local government news and analysis
Born of opportunities created in the aftermath of the Civil War, modern day carpetbaggers are simply opportunistic — and voters no longer seem to care anymore about unrooted candidates.
Rides on public transit had been declining before COVID-19 hit. Solutions to boost ridership back to pre-pandemic levels exist, but some are expensive and will take time and political will to sustain.
Some public-sector agencies have a flair when it comes to using Twitter. From states and cities to special districts and public safety, here's a nonexhaustive look at a few of our favorites.
More voters were willing to support both Republicans and Democrats than they had been for years. But while many made different choices for governor and Senate, most voted for one party or the other pretty much down the line.
The path to delivering government services in accessible and efficient ways is through human-centered design and technology. Some programs are showing the way.
Twenty-two Republican-leaning states have urged the court to block beneficiaries from suing if a state or municipality denies them services they are eligible for or violates their rights. Many reject the contract argument.
Some are advocating bringing it back. But it doesn’t get many guns off the streets, it exacts a heavy toll on those who are stopped, and it corrodes trust in police.
Changes to Texas’ power grid have improved ERCOT’s ability to keep power flowing during major winter storms, but in an extreme scenario, the grid could still face rolling blackouts, a seasonal assessment shows.
California has the most. Louisiana has the least per capita. But a new report found Vermont, with 139.7 electric vehicle chargers per 100,000 residents, the best state for charging stations.
It’s not just about the dollars but about spending the money effectively. The focus should be on reducing costs for the private companies that provide most of the investment, rather than propping up sickly projects.
It became the biggest city in the U.S. to eliminate fares system-wide in 2020. But Kansas City’s experience has some unique local factors that don’t necessarily point the way for other cities to follow suit.
A museum and memorial in a onetime Confederate capital preserve the memories of slavery, lynching and Jim Crow. Yet too much of that past is still around us.
A maritime high school draws students from every borough and every background. The school's career-themed curriculum is as novel as its location, with an emphasis on the marine sciences.
They face many a myriad of negative outcomes, ranging from homelessness to involvement with the criminal justice system and unplanned pregnancies. But one county’s approach shows promise in helping these youth build better lives.
Former presidents have managed to talk their way out of trouble, even if by the skin of their teeth. There may be a lesson in that for us today.
Many new governors and re-elected incumbents will now consider appointments to lead information technology departments. But an expert cautions IT leadership to resist the temptation to play politics as states’ power balance shifts.
Amid account verification turmoil and warnings of potential outages at Twitter, some agencies say they have no plans to leave, but are alerting users to other social media options and tips for spotting real accounts.
It’s an updated version of the one that will be used to allocate billions in federal funds. Local governments have less than two months to ask for corrections that could affect their portion of the money to improve Internet coverage.
Lots of governors have their eyes on the Oval Office. Most of the action will be among Republicans who will be zeroing in on Democratically controlled cities to score points on issues ranging from immigration to crime to spending.
In the 19th and 20th centuries, more than a dozen states enacted legislation barring Asians from purchasing property. But immigrants and their families used the court system and legal loopholes to fight back.
Written by the Climate Mayors and C40 Cities, it will help local governments take advantage of the Inflation Reduction Act’s historic financial support for climate action.
Research shows that mass violence leads to higher rates of depression, anxiety and suicide among young people and an overall decline in a community’s sense of well-being. “People really grossly underestimate the social cost of gun violence.”
States and local governments should craft coordinated policies that promote housing construction and first-time ownership. A winning formula includes tax relief for buyers and rebated permit fees for builders.
Thirty-eight states are operating or building networks, called mesonets, that detect weather events that span one to 150 miles and can fill the gaps in federal weather data.
With more people questioning the facts used in public finance, the Government Finance Officers Association has developed a curriculum that provides education and communication skills to remedy divisive and uncivil discourse.
The way we deal with it says a lot about our national and local cultures. Reforming it may not be so much about formal government action as about humans’ willingness to change their habits.
Museums are the institutional embodiment of the historical practice that to the victor go the spoils. More recently, the return of select artifacts is intended to set things right, but it’s complicated.
With announcements of more than two dozen manufacturing plants in the so-called “Battery Belt” of the U.S., the industry is growing at a breakneck pace.
They are increasingly turning to cutting-edge technologies to meet their daily operational needs. These initiatives serve as real-world tests and economic drivers in the communities the airports serve.
Voters in San Francisco and Berkeley, Calif., approved new taxes on vacant dwellings. Meant to tame speculation and increase supply for renters, the measures have raised revenue in other cities but the impact on housing markets remains unclear.
