Governing: State and local government news and analysis
BART, the region's rapid transit rail system, is investing significant time, money and staff into social services. It’s a big departure from the agency's core mission — running the trains on time.
Suicide, overdoses and intake of anxiety medications have all gone up during the pandemic. Counties are having to deal with those challenges and many others, at a time when many of them are losing population and face constrained resources.
More of them are quitting over student behavior than for any other reason. Levels of student misbehavior are rising, but time-tested practices can help teachers minimize classroom chaos.
Tuesday’s speech was in keeping with a tradition dating back to the republic’s founding, including an increasing element of ‘bread and circuses,’ a mix of political policies and entertainment, ceremony and spectacle, in service of endless campaigning by both parties.
The declines were concentrated among kindergarten students and in schools that offered only remote instruction. An expert explains where they went and why it matters.
In Massachusetts, the latest piece of technology to take the Internet by storm — ChatGPT— helped craft a bill aimed at regulating AI. But, the lawmaker behind the bill says the tech isn't ready to write laws without help.
South Carolina will hold the first primary election but it isn't yet clear when the first five states' primaries will take place. Meanwhile, no one wants to run Seattle and redistricting never ends.
Jim Kenney went all in on a $400 million plan to fix neighborhood parks, rec centers and libraries. Now entering his last year in office, what is there to show for it?
A few governors have moved to open up thousands of state jobs to people without a college degree. It's commonsense policy and an economic win for states. It’s also a political opportunity for governors eyeing the White House.
President Joe Biden urged lawmakers to “finish the job” on a range of economic and social issues in his second State of the Union address.
When it comes to addressing gun violence, local governments are on the front lines. But a successful decades-long campaign by the NRA for state laws preempting localities from regulating firearms is undercutting them.
It’s easy to run against the downtown establishment, but neighborhood revival is a difficult process. Only a few mayors have been able to achieve success as both downtown promoters and neighborhood advocates.
Republican and Democratic legislators can be counted on pulling in opposite directions on ESG investing, police reform and LGBTQ issues, where the focus will be on transgender rights and school curriculum.
Nine Democratic candidates are vying for Mayor Jim Kenney’s seat and nearly all of them have said they would declare a citywide emergency for gun violence. But what would this local government declaration actually do?
When he addresses the nation, the president will talk about top-down solutions from Washington. But the real progress on the problems we face is coming from 50 state capitols.
With Joe Biden delivering his third State of the Union address this week, our resident humanities scholar set out to make sense of the American presidency. Each president campaigned and governed to suit their respective times with a mix of shared and unique traits.
Almost three years ago, the federal government agreed to send billions of dollars in extra Medicaid funding to states on the condition that they stop dropping people from their rolls. Now the support is ending this year.
The attention highlight the millions of dollars going toward connecting every resident and business, as well as the benefits of broadband for education, the workforce and economic development.
With more than 1,000 civilians being killed by cops every year, mayors and city councils can’t be equivocal about ending the warrior approach to policing.
Online chatter and ongoing harassment suggest that security concerns will persist, if not increase, ahead of the next election cycle. Resources are being offered to help election officials cope with this new reality.
State surpluses are up. So too are appetites for more spending and tax cuts. But inflation has reared its ugly head and the possibility of a recession is very real. Governing sorts out this year's financial picture.
There’s a botany boom going on in Latin America’s most exclusive neighborhoods. It should be happening in parts of the U.S., but a difference in civic and governing culture has stymied its growth.
The office recession is real, with downtowns in major cities still missing a majority of their pre-pandemic workforce. San Francisco offers a case study in terms of the consequences.
If a congressional debt ceiling deadlock persists and capital markets seize up, states and localities will still have to pay their bills. Public financiers need to be ready to adjust their portfolios to establish a liquid cash buffer.
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu is backing a return of rent control, decades after it was banned in a state referendum. But disappointment among tenant activists raises questions about what rent control is supposed to achieve.
Restrictive codes can severely limit housing development, but a new survey of mayors finds that few take them into account in their plans to address homelessness.
What do you do when you feel trapped by family lineage? Prince Harry of Britain chose a scorched earth approach. A century ago, a sharp-tongued daughter of American royalty known as Princess Alice blazed a different path.
There's no question that a responsive, innovative government is more critical than ever. Here are some issues that are top of mind for state and local technology leaders as we take on the new year.
The urban park was designed to connect residents and improve quality of life but has increased housing costs and pushed out low-income households. Amid a national housing crisis, the U.S. must now learn from Atlanta's experience.
Food-related businesses are especially accessible for aspiring entrepreneurs, but there aren’t nearly enough shared-use food facilities. Supporting and promoting them is an opportunity for local governments.
