Issues ranging from severe paper shortages to cyber threats and disinformation are looming ahead of the 2022 elections, threatening voter confidence. Officials shared their concerns with members of the U.S. Senate May 19.
Boosted by an unprecedented infusion of federal funds, they have an opportunity to bring innovative collaborative efforts to bear on issues of economic inequality and mobility that cross jurisdictional lines.
The mayor announced that he will focus on affordable housing, violence prevention, broadband expansion, lead removal and City Hall upgrades in spending American Recovery Plan Act funds.
Installing broadband in the region is extremely difficult and expensive because of low population density and a rugged topography. But millions in federal funding has some officials hopeful that more residents will get connected.
Landlords filed 771 eviction cases in Denver County in March, the largest single-month total since the pandemic began. City officials report allotting a bit more than $49 million for emergency rental assistance.
A Pew analysis finds that a third of states lost residents in 2021. Analysts are debating whether these shifts and slowing population growth rates throughout the country really are signs of “demographic doom.”
In distributing rental assistance funds to prevent evictions, Indianapolis found a creative alternative model, working across departments to get the money out to vulnerable families.
Failing to invest in the emergency response communication workforce and infrastructure is taking a toll. One important way to bolster call center employee morale and retention is to reclassify these professionals as first responders.
The state announced it would use federal pandemic funds to give one-time bonuses to health-care workers but it omitted the largest group of health attendants, who provide services to about 130,000 low-income Texans.
The American Rescue Plan Act funds were intended to help local governments and small businesses confront the financial impact of COVID-19, but many officials view the money as an opportunity to invest in future generations.
The bipartisan infrastructure bill appears to transform how the federal government subsidizes broadband infrastructure. But evidence suggests that big companies may not allow the status quo to change without a fight.
Gov. Tate Reeves signed a bill into law this week that will oversee how broadband funding is allocated across the state and help connect more residents. It will be headed by former state Sen. Sally Doty.
As a reprieve from high inflation and gas prices, and to hopefully spur ridership back toward pre-pandemic levels, Connecticut will use $8.1 million of ARPA funds to cover public bus fares for the next three months.
Fourteen people are accused of submitting fraudulent COVID-19 business relief applications totaling more than $183 million; another two dozen cases have already been resolved and dozens more investigations are still open.
Nearly 50 percent of Gary residents are not subscribed to a broadband service. Town officials hope that $5 million of ARPA funds will eventually reduce that digital divide by 90 percent.
Civic engagement consultant Irina Fursman, who lived in Ukraine, has raised more than $20,000 from U.S. gov tech companies to help people there meet their basic needs amid the Russian invasion.
