Temporary pandemic-era changes helped a lot. Continuing revival requires systems calibrated to rural scale rather than to urban norms.
There’s a reason so many local governments rely on the council-manager system: It balances democratic accountability with operational expertise.
We need competent responders every hour of the day, every day of the week. But we often don’t have them.
Although thought of as an urban problem, food deserts are most likely to occur in rural states, including places where crops are grown right down the road.
Urban Democrats and state-level Republicans have long been at odds. Could what’s happening in Charlotte signal a ceasefire?
It’s a common complaint by executive branch managers: Lawmakers don’t always grasp the importance of providing resources for more efficient use of tax dollars down the road.
Its ideals, expressed by New York’s Democratic mayoral nominee, have seen plenty of success around the world. Maybe it’s time for a third party that would unapologetically stand for working- and middle-class Americans.
News about cyberattacks — including those unrelated to voting — leaves even election winners with diminished confidence in the process. Education is key: It’s vital that voters understand how elections are run, how they're protected and how failures are caught and corrected.
Children with a parent in prison face a higher risk of social, economic, educational and behavioral challenges. There’s much that could be done to reduce collateral damage to families.
Even where abundantly available, the costs of clean water are rising faster than the CPI. Where it’s scarce, there’s double trouble. Ultimately, securing enough clean and affordable water will require state laws mandating realistic long-term pricing.
Employers aren’t happy with the skills today’s college graduates bring to the workplace. A few states are addressing the problem with effective work-based learning programs.
Self-government and local control are in jeopardy as never before. Diversity initiatives are engines of equal opportunity, offering a direct return on public investment.
States should remove barriers to building, siting and competition to unleash electricity.
The notion of controlling development and limiting suburban sprawl is finding some traction in pockets of the Sun Belt and West. You might be surprised at what’s been happening in Montana.
The public sector is more obsessed than ever with using data to make decisions. But some think the quality of it may be getting worse.
One promising approach is a dedicated specialist to prevent ordinary pain management from turning into the kind of addiction that tears at the fabric of communities.
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