Governing: State and local government news and analysis
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.
A century-old system of reservoirs, aqueducts and tunnels in the Catskills provides clean water to millions in New York City, some say at the expense of local communities.
The Green Mountain State, with its natural beauty, small towns and traditional lifestyle, sometimes seems too good to be true. In some ways, it is.
In the 1930s, the U.S. became adept at building world-leading infrastructure to support its growing competitive economy and social aspirations. Today, the advantage has slipped in favor of China and other players.
Farms across the Midwest are struggling to hire domestic employees. In Illinois, the number of foreign agricultural workers has increased more than 250 percent in the past five years.
An industrial facility in Iceland will join a growing number of projects to remove CO2 from the air and put it underground. But major hurdles, including high costs, remain before this technology can be widely deployed and play a key role in tackling climate change.
The battles over masks and vaccine mandates threaten the idea, going back to the founders, that surrendering a bit of personal freedom is necessary to secure everyone’s welfare.
Mathematicians, social scientists, lawyers and programmers have led the development of a new generation of free tools to make and evaluate redistricting maps. Can they make the process more transparent?
Cities are clashing with state transportation departments on road redesign. In an era of changing preferences, tensions are rising. Maybe it’s time to restore local control.
California's Democratic governor survived a GOP challenge. That doesn't mean recalls are going away. Technology has made it easier to motivate voters and raise funds nationally.
The right kind of public-private partnerships could liberate billions of dollars for other infrastructure and to address critical urban needs. But it’s important to protect public values.
A new report outlines the economic toll brought on by the pandemic in our largest cities, showing how pre-existing inequities became worse for lower-paid workers, while leaving white-collar workers largely unscathed.
The Census Bureau was late generating the numbers, but legislators have seized the opportunity to produce maps in record time with minimal input.
A New Mexico legislative committee is believed to be the first to try the management approach in a lawmaking context. It’s an effort that bears watching, and some lessons are being learned.
Whether they are paving roads damaged by Hurricane Ida or building a next-generation railroad tunnel under the Hudson River, unions, like the Operating Engineers Local 825, expect to be part of the action.
Despite predictions that COVID-19 would crush state tax revenues, most of them didn’t need megabillions in pandemic aid to balance their budgets. But for the most part they seem to be spending the money wisely.
It’s tempting for a mayor or a governor to swing for the fences, promising to solve every intractable societal problem. But leaders who go for what's realistically achievable are more likely to succeed.
Last week marked the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks and witnessed the removal a statue of Gen. Robert E. Lee in Richmond, VA. The events reflect on the country’s changing national identity, symbols and myths - and the cost that comes with them.
A blockbuster video stars a LEGO re-creation of the city of Arlington, Texas. A city official’s hobby is helping citizens understand how it makes budget decisions.
In one town, police say products like Nextdoor and Ring are helping fight crime. But racism and vigilantism are pervasive on safety platforms.
