Governing: State and local government news and analysis
We’re too focused on job creation and too little on skilling. Mayors and county executives need to take on a new role in workforce development, coordinating regional efforts built around better use of data.
Only a dozen of our big cities have as many people per square mile as the average U.S. city had seven decades ago. The ones that have done best have employed effective strategies.
To appreciate the craftsmanship in historic capitols, look up.
Research from Carnegie Mellon University shows how replacing short car trips with bike and scooter trips can lead to less congestion, but local areas need more micromobility infrastructure for this positive outcome.
The Democrat stepped down from his leadership post last year. He faces 22 racketeering counts, becoming the latest in a series of speakers around the country to face corruption charges.
Navigating war in Europe, COVID and inflation amid a deep partisan divide, President Biden emphasized solidarity with Ukraine and other points of unity in his first State of the Union address.
The San Francisco recall is just one example of voters’ growing frustration with local institutions, and this angry form of local engagement isn’t limited to education. It’s all about responsiveness.
Legalized online wagering is already hauling in substantial state revenue, but additional taxation will need a uniform, multistate approach that might also take in “gamified” financial trading. And it’s time to do a better accounting of the growing social costs.
Both the public and policymakers have trouble understanding why building more roads and highways does not reduce congestion.
States that oversee liquor sales directly are getting rid of vodka, while a number of governors and local officials are looking to end investment or break off ties with Russia.
Flush with cash, states are able to offer colleges and universities more support than they have in decades. But campuses still face challenges from declining enrollments.
U.S. organizations should up their defenses for the possibility of a Russian cyber attack or misinformation campaign, CISA says. Russian cyber strategies against Ukraine and its allies could evolve.
Companies and job seekers have expanded options if workers don’t have to live where they work. But for city governments, this can mean lost tax revenue.
Concrete, steel and turbines play an outsize role in the past and future of water in western states.
As government call centers grapple with the nationwide staffing shortage and an influx in demand, some are implementing artificial intelligence tools to improve wait times and accessibility for callers.
A study of 3,000 companies found a correlation between local ‘social capital’ – which measures such variables as voter turnout and census response rates – and more women on corporate boards.
A surge in property title fraud has led several counties and cities to fund programs that notify residents if imposter paperwork gets filed against their deed. The increase in digitized records has contributed to the rise in fraud.
Construction and other industries supported by the new federal infrastructure law face labor shortages. Workforce development systems can help narrow that gap by supporting efforts to bring in women and workers of color.
In 1917 the Supreme Court knocked down a discriminatory land use practice in Louisville, Ky. While the case made overt zoning segregation illegal, state and local government continued to find alternative ways to divide communities along racial lines.
Highway construction receives bipartisan support, but Republican voters in Sun Belt cities have gained the most from the country’s car-centric transportation system, while transit is almost entirely backed by Democrats.
We give subsidies to people who don’t need them, and order the poor to find money they don’t have when they get in trouble with the law.
Professional teams that discriminate against coaches, players and others shouldn’t be getting taxpayer money that would be better spent on the real problems that need more public funding.
The president's party almost always loses seats in midterms. Here's why.
It’s too easy for a debate to degenerate to binary choices. In dealing with public safety issues, Dallas’ mayor embraced a range of solutions rather than simply picking a side.
Scores of bills have been introduced to limit or forbid classroom discussion of topics at the heart of modern civic life, including race and gender. Even if most won’t become law, they’re putting educators on edge.
Multifactor authentication is a key part of zero-trust security, and a method promoted by the likes of CISA. It aims to block out hackers who — in this age of data breaches — manage to steal users’ passwords.
People with criminal records just want to work, and they can be good employees. There’s a lot that governments could do to enable this untapped workforce.
Without Henry, there might not have been a United States. But the central role this sometimes forgotten Founding Father played in America’s Revolution and design of the young republic has been largely overlooked.
The governor’s budget and a bill by a Democratic lawmaker would stop the state from charging more than 500,000 Californians a monthly premium for their Medi-Cal health coverage.
A sea level scientist explains the two main ways climate change is threatening the coasts.
