Governing: State and local government news and analysis
Despite what the pundit/political class says, most Americans agree on a lot more than they disagree on. Partisanship is real, but it doesn’t define us.
The country’s third largest subway system, once a public transit gem, suffered greatly thanks to a fragmented funding structure. Now, a regional effort to save the system is working, but COVID-19 presents a new hurdle.
The pandemic sent municipal revenues into a tailspin. They still haven't fully recovered, but $65 billion from Uncle Sam is easing a lot of pain.
Responses to most diseases don't fall along partisan lines, but COVID-19 has been an exception. Anti-vaccine sentiments used to be bipartisan but now are held mostly by Republicans.
Residents of Sun Belt metros rate quality of life higher than residents of other fast-growing regions. But common concerns suggest that local leaders should pay more attention to the basics of governance.
As attacks on state and local organizations become the rule and not the exception, leaders need to reprioritize their defenses. And they may need to confront a difficult question: Should we pay up?
Methane emissions have an outsized impact on global warming. A public-private partnership uses data from flyovers and satellites to identify where the greenhouse gas can be found, including government landfills.
A new report from the federal government brings urgency to a veteran geologist’s longtime warnings about the crippling of the Colorado River.
The multibillion-dollar proposal would represent a “once in a generation” investment in broadband networks. Here’s what it would do, and what it leaves out.
Issues at every level of the supply chain—from a dearth of truck drivers and warehouse workers to droughts and heat waves—as well as staff shortages in the school lunch workforce have schools asking: How do we feed our kids?
Are stricter privacy regulations a good thing? As more state and local governments look to protect data privacy, a couple of industry experts point out some of the challenges associated with these types of policies.
Republican attorneys general have already filed more than a dozen joint lawsuits against the Biden administration. All presidents should expect to be challenged by AGs from the other party.
Its ridership is twice the size of Amtrak, yet there is little in the way of public support to help bus travel get through COVID. As the once popular mode of transit continues to decline, some states are taking notice.
As state and local debt continues to rise, governments may be forced to raise taxes or cut spending to control their budgets. New York has the most per capita government debt, largely due to school district debts.
A survey of transit riders illustrates some of their concerns around the cleanliness of vehicles, on-time performance and the technology that seeks to improve engagement and the overall experience.
Edward Glaeser got a lot of attention with his argument that cities succeed in a deregulated environment. His new book embraces a broader role for government.
With billions in grants about to start flowing from Washington, they will need comprehensive, timely information on what’s available. They shouldn’t have to wait for the feds to supply it.
Months of bipartisan talks in Congress aimed at reaching consensus over policing reforms have ended with no agreement. Two policing scholars argue that federal efforts are better placed focusing on supporting local measures.
Many contests this year feature old-guard politicians opposing younger progressives. The debates turn on public safety and how to best build post-pandemic economies.
State, local, territorial and tribal entities have used $150 billion from the Coronavirus Relief Fund — part of the CARES Act — for many things. But with the Dec. 31 deadline approaching, some still have a lot left.
The country is long on problems but short on levers that might help lift it out of a quagmire of its own making.
If you see the Tesla Bot as a joke or a harbinger of a dystopian future, you could be missing the real threat, which has more to do with Elon Musk’s power than robots run amok.
But improving healthy and affordable food access goes beyond what’s in the name.
A growing number of countries and companies have pledged to reach net-zero emissions by 2050 or earlier. But there’s a catch – they still plan to keep emitting greenhouse gases.
Five cities are leading the way with programs to nurture these homegrown entrepreneurs and fill storefronts emptied by the pandemic.
While private employers add workers, multiple factors hold back return of public noneducation jobs.
Insults, rejections and other lived experiences can fuel a desire for social change. So can meeting and befriending committed individuals.
John Lipscomb is a fierce environmental advocate for one of America’s historic rivers. He and his dog Batu continuously patrol the Hudson and its tributaries, supporting scientific studies in their 36-foot wooden boat.
Demand for homeless services is increasing. Scores of communities are finding that when providers work in teams and use better data and systems, they can solve the problem person by person.
Scholars have always placed two New Deal era federal agencies at the center of the racist policy that steered private mortgage lenders away from Black neighborhoods. However, new research paints a different picture.
