Public Safety
Covering topics such as corrections, criminal justice, emergency management, gun control and police/fire/EMS.
Enhancements and weatherization efforts mean this year’s freezing weather did not overwhelm the state’s electric system. But policymakers face tough decisions as future load projections grow.
An analysis of nearly 92,000 Road Home grants statewide found that the program to help homeowners rebuild after hurricanes Katrina and Rita gave more funding to wealthier neighborhoods than low-income ones.
Since 2000, 375 railroad workers have been killed on the job and more than 109,000 have been injured. But last year the National Transportation Safety Board investigated just 14 train incidents.
Too often, our policy responses are guided by fear rather than evidence.
A new bill would ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines and limit gun accessibility for those under 21. A sweeping federal complaint has been filed in the state court system in the wake of the Highland Park shooting.
Some are advocating bringing it back. But it doesn’t get many guns off the streets, it exacts a heavy toll on those who are stopped, and it corrodes trust in police.
Changes to Texas’ power grid have improved ERCOT’s ability to keep power flowing during major winter storms, but in an extreme scenario, the grid could still face rolling blackouts, a seasonal assessment shows.
Research shows that mass violence leads to higher rates of depression, anxiety and suicide among young people and an overall decline in a community’s sense of well-being. “People really grossly underestimate the social cost of gun violence.”
The city’s police department spent the money on surveillance technology between 2007 and 2019, but listed the expenditures as “special expenses.” Some argue the department is not meeting disclosure requirements.
After the Civil War, white Southern leaders anchored the protection of their way of life in the private ownership of firearms. Piggybacking on American mobility, those ideas migrated out of the South.
The housing tends to be older, is more often rented, making it less likely to be maintained and more vulnerable to serious damage in the wake of a disaster. But there are steps communities can take to help.
Los Angeles and Austin will elect new mayors; Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo is facing a Republican challenger; and San Francisco will get a new D.A. after recalling its last one. These are the local races to watch next week.
A decade after Hurricane Sandy, three of the city’s climate resiliency projects are nowhere near completion. The “Raised Shoreline” project has only spent 0.3 percent of its $103 million budget.
The cities were ranked based on their pedestrian fatalities, violent and property crime, number of registered sex offenders and number of law enforcement employees. Gilbert, Ariz., earned the top spot.
Gov. Kathy Hochul skips a step, another potential shocker in Oklahoma and Arizona's threats and intimidation.
They increasingly bear most of the burdens of the disasters that climate change brings. Those that combine strong building codes and zoning that keeps people out of dangerous areas will fare the best and better protect their most vulnerable residents.
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