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Archive of stories on Thursday May 08, 2008
At-risk gubernatorial seats increase
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Silver Alert helps rescue lost seniors
(Updated 9:30 a.m EST, May 8, 2008) When an elderly person with dementia is lost, eight states can trigger an alert to let the community know. Proposals in Congress would expand the successful missing persons program to all 50 states. Read More
Will states fix 2012 primary process?
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A 'green' Rx to save carbon: city density + transit
Earth Day this year was a lot different from the first observance in 1970. Back then, we faced highly visible smog in the air, towns combatting toxic waste sites, and a Read More
Chris Matthews: Ready to play hardball in PA
Now no longer the center ring for the traveling Democratic presidential nomination circus, Pennsylvania’s inventive political community has discovered a new favorite political parlor game to while away the brisk springtime evenings: will Chris Matthews, the irrepressible host of MSNBC’s Hardball, step down from his pundits perch to run for the US Senate against Arlen Specter in 2010? To a remarkable degree, speculation abounds over this possibility in the Read More
July event will celebrate the life of John Parr: counselor to civic America
A national celebration of John Parr and his life’s work to energize civic life in communities and regions across the Read More
Oh say, is that banner made in the U.S.A.?
Lawmakers in 10 states have taken steps to require that American flags bought with state funds be manufactured in this country. While not all the legislation has passed, one state’s new law even bans the sale of foreign-made American flags in that state. Read More
WORTH NOTING: Voters' guide promotes phone sex
An Oregon voters’ guide lists a very wrong number. California’s governor insults rural legislators. And Pennsylvania considers selling wine in vending machines. In case you missed those stories this week, “Worth Noting” fills you in. Read More
Fairness of death-penalty panels questioned
Death-penalty supporters are raising questions about the fairness of state commissions charged with studying how capital punishment is carried out in Maryland and Tennessee, claiming the panels will issue reports that ignore their views. Read More
Seeds of social issues dot 2008 elections
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Parents turn to states for autism help
(UPDATED 4 p.m. EDT, Thursday May 1) One of the toughest problems facing autism patients, their families and policymakers is paying for treatment. Families are increasingly relying on states to help them cope with the financial, medical and educational needs. Read More
With justices' OK, voter ID moves ahead
A decision Monday (April 28) by the U.S. Supreme Court to let Indiana demand photo identification from voters paves the way for other states to do the same during November’s presidential election, experts say. Read More
Legislators prod Congress on Medicaid, Real ID
As some states tumble into what they fear is a recession, state lawmakers from across the country are pushing Congress for relief from impending federal rules that would force states to pick up more Medicaid costs and spend billions to make drivers’ licenses more secure. Read More
WORTH NOTING: Phantom voter stalks Ala. State House
An Alabama lawmaker says someone’s been using his voting machine. Florida’s House Speaker locks the doors and turns off Internet access to make legislators pay attention. And Mayberry’s Sheriff Taylor endorses a North Carolina gubernatorial candidate. In case you missed those stories this week, "Worth Noting" fills you in. Read More
In Pennsylvania, 'tis the season
To everything there is a season, and for a couple of million now well-seasoned Read More
More states offer choice in long-term care
More states are poised to offer a successful alternative to traditional Medicaid plans that allows elders and the disabled to avoid moving to a nursing facility by hiring friends, neighbors or family members to look after them in their own homes. Read More
Congress encroaching on state priorities
Far scarier than the economic downturn for states is the growing trend on the part of Congress to restrict state revenue and spending prerogatives and to replace them with congressional priorities, writes Raymond C. Scheppach, executive director of the National Governors Association, in his latest commentary for Stateline.org. He cites provisions in two bills now making their way through Congress as important examples. Read More
The economic downturn: an opportunity for governors?
Most governors recognize that they have the best political job in America. Most also would concede that the job is more satisfying when the economy is strong and revenues are growing than during an economic downturn, when cutting budgets becomes the major task. But even a recession can present opportunities for governors to make improvements that yield lasting benefits for their states. Read More
Obama - How bad is it for him in Pennsylvania?
In Pennsylvania the springtime weather often changes suddenly. Humorist and satirist Mark Twain was describing New England, but he could have been talking about the Keystone State when he quipped, “If you don’t like the weather…now, just wait a few minutes.” Read More
Our aging infrastructure - voices for change mount quickly
The infrastructure issue -- the long shadow thrown across America’s future by deteriorating roadways, bridges, railroads, water systems, schools -- finally seems to be getting hot. Read More
Obama's keys to the keystone state
David Plouffe, campaign manager for Barack Obama, recently shared his views about the upcoming April 22nd Pennsylvania Primary, calling the Clinton campaign “the prohibitive favorite,” who “should win by a healthy margin given where they start….We’ll try and get as many votes and delegates as we can, but our campaign will not be defined by Pennsylvania ….” Read More
Will Democrats grow legislative edge in '08?
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New clear look at states - no 'rate and run'
WASHINGTON - We’ve all seen the stories: some publicity-hungry magazine or web site grabs a bunch of statistics and then purports to “rate” American states on measures ranging from “livability” to child care centers, tax climates to quality of schools. Read More
Pennsylvania - breaking the checkmate?
Against all odds, contrary to most plans, and confounding to many politicians, it has happened. Read More
Summary of the State of the State Address
Reviving the economy in Illinois was the central focus of Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s (D) Feb. 20 address to the Democratic-controlled General Assembly. Read More
Summary of the State of the State Address
Despite a $2 billion budget deficit, Gov. Charlie Crist (R) called on the Republican-controlled Legislature to spend $124 million to expand health care to the uninsured and pitched a $200 million economic development package for solar, wind and other renewable energy. Read More
'Purple' states turn a little more 'blue'
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Governors rip feds in annual policy speeches
If there was any doubt states are frustrated with federal policymakers, the nation's governors provided stark reminders in "state of the state" speeches delivered during the first two months of 2008. Read More
Summary of the State of the State Address
As Oklahoma celebrates its Centennial year, Gov. Brad Henry (D) laid out his proposals to boost public education by adding five days to the school year, raising teacher pay and adding graduation coaches to lower high school dropout rates. Read More
Summary of the State of the State Address
In his address to the State Assembly Jan. 23, Gov. Jim Doyle (D) unveiled proposals designed to brace Read More
Summary of the State of the State Address
Gov. Joe Manchin III (D) used his Jan. 9 speech to announce a campaign to stop student bullying, a first-in-the-nation health-screening program for kindergarten pupils and a free prescription-drug program for uninsured workers. He also asked the Democratic-controlled Legislature for better mental-health counseling for returning Iraq soldiers and a tougher anti-drug program. Read More
Summary of the State of the State Address
Gov. Christine Gregoire (D) — facing a tough re-election bid this year against Dino Rossi, the Republican she narrowly defeated four years ago — used much of her address Jan. 15 to tout her administration’s achievements, including converting a budget deficit into a “huge surplus” in three years. Read More
Summary of the State of the Commonwealth Address
Gov. Tim Kaine (D) used his Jan. 9 address to call for tighter gun laws, increased mental-health funding and repeal of the state’s much-maligned abusive driver fees. He also urged lawmakers to enact new protections against identity theft, to make it easier to use absentee ballots and to pump more money into pre-K and higher education. Read More
Summary of the State of the State Address
Gov. Jim Douglas (R) called for tax reforms and environmental measures and asked the Democratic-controlled Legislature to make affordable health care its top priority in his Jan. 9 speech. For the most part, the governor proposed tweaks to current programs, rather than new initiatives. Read More
Summary of the State of the State Address
Health insurance and education topped Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr.’s (R) priorities in the first state-of-the-state speech in Utah’s newly remodeled Capitol on Jan. 22. Read More
Summary of the State of the State Address
Gov. Phil Bredesen (D) compared running state government during a national economic slowdown to being the captain of a ship in stormy waters in his address Jan. 28. Read More
Summary of the State of the State Address
Gov. Mike Rounds (R) highlighted the state’s energy potential in his annual state-of-the-state address Jan. 8 and urged legislators to restrain spending on education and transportation. Read More
Summary of the State of the State Address
Gov. Mark Sanford (R) repeated his goals for the state during his Jan. 16 speech before the Republican-controlled Legislature: restructuring the government, installing tougher drunk-driving laws and increasing tax cuts. Read More
Summary of the State of the State Address
Addressing a Democratic-controlled Legislature Jan. 22, Gov. Donald Carcieri (R) said Rhode Island was at a “tipping point” because of an uncertain economy and budget crisis. He proposed to reduce spending by $300 million by making cuts in three areas: social services, employee salaries and benefits and payments to cities and towns. Read More
Summary of the Executive Budget Address
In his Feb. 5 budget address, Gov. Ed Rendell (D) touted Pennsylvania’s finances but warned that a downturn in the national economy would affect struggling residents. Read More
Summary of the State of the State Address
Gov. Ted Strickland (D) asked lawmakers to give him more control over the state’s schools and to approve $1.7 billion in borrowing to jump-start Ohio’s flagging economy in his address Feb. 6. Read More
Summary of the State of the State Address
After a year of partisan battles with the Legislature, Gov. Eliot Spitzer, a Democrat, struck a more conciliatory tone in his Jan. 9 address, outlining an ambitious package to cut property taxes, expand health-care coverage and fund higher education by privatizing the state lottery. Read More
Summary of the State of the State Address
Gov. Bill Richardson (D) delivered his Jan. 15 state-of-the-state address fresh off the campaign trail after dropping his presidential bid. Read More
Summary of the State of the State Address
“It is up to those of us in this room to change the ‘credit card’ culture of New Jersey’s finances,” Gov. Jon S. Corzine (D) told legislators during a somber Jan. 8 speech focusing heavily on the Garden State’s more-than-$30-billion debt. Read More
Summary of the State of the State Address
Gov. John Lynch (D) Jan. 23 called for a new “wellness” program for small businesses and a tax credit to help lure new businesses to the northern part of the state. But he said a slowing economy will prevent launching expensive new programs. Read More
Summary of the State of the State Address
Gov. Dave Heineman (R) focused on several new tax cuts in his fourth state-of-the-state address on Jan. 15, including nearly doubling a property-tax credit approved last year. Read More
Summary of the State of the State Address
Gov. Matt Blunt (R) used his Jan. 15 address to recommend spending an additional $400 million on health care and education, while cutting tens of millions in taxes. Read More
Summary of the State of the State Address
With the economy entering an uncertain period and federal Hurricane Katrina money ebbing, Gov. Haley Barbour (R) called for legislators to show fiscal discipline in his Jan. 21 speech before the politically split Legislature. Lawmakers will have to make tough choices, he said, and some good programs will be unfunded. Read More
Summary of the State of the State Address
Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R) warned the Democratic-controlled Legislature during his speech Feb. 13 not to pass any tax increases — a day after Democrats unveiled a plan to hike gas taxes to pay for infrastructure improvements. Read More
Summary of the State of the State Address
In her speech Jan. 29, Gov. Jennifer Granholm (D) tweaked the battle lines in Lansing, where clashes with the Legislature last year led to a brief shutdown of state government and to sweeping changes to the state’s tax structure, including a hike in the income tax. Read More
Summary of the State of the Commonwealth Address
Gov. Deval Patrick (D) used his Jan. 24 address to push the Democratic-controlled Legislature to legalize casinos, the first-term governor’s No. 1 revenue-generating initiative. He also renewed his 2007 request for $1 billion to fund life sciences — including controversial embryonic stem-cell research — a program he said would create 250,000 new jobs. Read More
Summary of the State of the State Address
In his Jan. 9 address, Gov. John Baldacci (D) asked the Democratic-controlled Legislature to stretch Maine’s flagging revenues without raising taxes or dipping into financial reserves, and without cutting education funding or programs for the needy. Read More
Summary of the State of the Commonwealth Address
Making his first state-of-the-commonwealth address, Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear on Jan. 16 bluntly warned legislators: “The revenue outlook is grim.” Vowing not to raise taxes, Beshear said his administration would address the state’s unprecedented budget shortfall — estimated at nearly $900 million over two years — by trimming government spending and making state agencies more efficient and responsive. Read More
Summary of the State of the State Address
Gov. Kathleen Sebelius (D) focused her Jan. 14 speech on calling for more early childhood education, improving health care and developing more clean and renewable energy. Read More
Summary of the Condition of the State Address
During his “condition of the state” address Jan. 15, Gov. Chet Culver (D) emphasized the need for lawmakers to limit new spending this year, while he proposed new initiatives in health care, education and the environment. Read More
Summary of the State of the State Address
Gov. Mitch Daniels (R) spent most of his Jan. 15 speech urging lawmakers to overhaul the state’s property tax system. For the General Assembly, where Democrats control the House and Republicans control the Senate, it is the “one paramount assignment, one act for which it will be remembered,” he said. Read More
Summary of the State of the State Address
Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter (R) targeted tax relief, crowded prisons and college scholarships in his Jan 7 address. Read More
Summary of the State of the State Address
In her sixth annual address, delivered to lawmakers Jan. 22, Gov. Linda Lingle (R) asked the Democratic-controlled Legislature to approve the purchase of an embattled, 850-acre resort. Turtle Bay resort on Oahu’s North Shore has met stiff opposition to expansion plans that local residents say will spoil the rural nature of their community. State ownership of the property would preserve the Hawaiian way of life, she said. Read More
Summary of the State of the State Address
Gov. Sonny Perdue (R) gave an upbeat Jan. 16 state-of-the-state speech before a Republican-controlled Legislature on the same day he released a $21.4 billion budget that would update the state’s water system and give homeowners a small tax cut. Read More
Summary of the State of the State Address
Gov. Ruth Ann Minner (D) asked lawmakers in her address Jan. 18 to create a registry of health disparities among minorities and ethnic groups, provide cervical-cancer vaccine to all uninsured girls and launch a homeland-security initiative that would fingerprint every fourth-grader in the state. Minner also asked the politically split General Assembly to ease the First State’s already business-friendly tax code. Read More
Summary of the State of the State Address
Republican Gov. M. Jodi Rell called for “fiscal caution, fiscal restraint” in her Feb. 6 address, even though Connecticut was enjoying a modest budget surplus as other states were awash in red ink. Read More
Summary of the State of the State Address
In his address Jan. 10, Gov. Bill Ritter (D) proposed what he called “the most revolutionary shift in education policy this state has seen in years” — one that treats all primary and secondary students as potentially college-bound. Read More
Summary of the State of the State Address
Facing a projected $14 billion budget deficit, Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger urged lawmakers to "face our budget demons" and approve a constitutional amendment to rein in spending. Read More
Summary of the State of the State Address
Facing an estimated $1 billion budget shortfall, Gov. Janet Napolitano (D) listed several higher-education initiatives in her Jan. 14 speech to the Republican-controlled Legislature. Read More
Summary of the State of the State Address
Wyoming’s economy is booming, and the national subprime mortgage crisis has not affected the state as it has many others, Gov. Dave Freudenthal (D) told the Republican-controlled Legislature in his Feb. 12 speech. But, he cautioned, “the abundance we enjoy requires discipline.” Read More
Summary of the State of the State Address
In her address to the Republican-controlled Legislature on Jan. 15, Gov. Sarah Palin (R) touted the revenue benefits of the multi-billion-dollar natural gas pipeline deal she helped engineer last year. She also called for significant new education spending, increased energy conservation and alternative power use and lower business license fees. Read More
Summary of the State of the State Address
Gov. Bob Riley (R) called on lawmakers to expand preschool, cut taxes and pass ethics reform in his Feb. 7 speech before a politically split Legislature. Read More
Govs propose investing in higher ed
While governors addressed many issues — from health care to a bad housing market to tax breaks — in their annual state-of-the-state speeches this year, many targeted higher education as an important state asset worth a larger investment.
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Summaries of the governors' speeches
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Obama's friends in unlikely places
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Commentary: Govs beat White House hopefuls as agents of change
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A tale of two comebacks
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The recession, the states, and economic stimulus
Red ink in state budgets could prolong the economic downturn and could necessitate a second economic-stimulus package, warns Raymond C. Scheppach, executive director of the National Governors Association, in his latest commentary for Stateline.org. Read More
Budget picture dominates govs' speeches
From quoting Shakespeare to invoking images of flying pigs, the nation’s governors offered colorful ways to describe their states’ financial situation. The weak economy and stalled housing market obviously weigh heavy on governors’ minds as reflected in Stateline.org’s exclusive look at the governors’ 2008 state of the state speeches. Read More
Governors pitch ambitious programs
Billion-dollar deficits in California, New York and Arizona haven’t stopped governors there and elsewhere from proposing big-ticket items for 2008. Stateline.org looks at proposals from governors’ 2008 "state of the state" speeches and provides an exclusive summary of all the addresses so far.
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AG contests attract serious attention
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A compact for post-secondary education
The United States is falling behind its global competitors in higher education, and states, educators and the private sector need to jointly make new commitments to strengthen public colleges and universities, asserts Raymond C. Scheppach, executive director of the National Governors Association, in his latest commentary for Stateline.org. Read More
Iraq casts shadow on 2008 state races
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W.Va. projects a split personality
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Time to think global in testing U.S. students
In today's global economy, it’s less important how students in Iowa or Oregon compare to those in Alabama or Virginia on a national test. What matters most is how students in North Carolina or Texas compare to those in Denmark or Russia, and so on. In his latest column for Stateline.org, the executive director of the National Governors Association writes that the solution to the economic competitiveness challenge is not enacting federal standards or tests for U.S. students. The solution is for the states to work together to adopt internationally benchmarked education standards. Read More
List of popular govs is full of surprises
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Q & A with Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland (D)
“Out There” columnist Louis Jacobson spoke by telephone with Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland (D). Here are excerpts from that Oct. 5 conversation. Read More
Strickland leading Ohio Dems' resurgence
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Bridges, roads: Big problem demands big new talk
It's time for a Big New Tax in America. The Minnesota bridge disaster is just the latest signal — but perhaps a decisive one. The indisputable reality is that our national infrastructure, led by decaying roads and bridges, is in perilous shape. Bridges alone tell the story: We have 75,621 of them deemed structurally deficient — potential tragedies waiting to happen. Read More
Democratic mid-term gains affecting policy
So complete was the Democratic rout in the 2006 midterm elections that the party even gained legislative influence in Alaska, Idaho, North and South Dakota, Texas and Wyoming – states long dominated by the Republicans. And those gains, though small, are translating into policy achievements. Read More
Getting U.S. regions past sleepwalking
BOSTON – Far too many of America’s metro regions have been sleepwalking into the 21st century, only mistily aware of how severely global economic competition and climate change may hit them. Or if aware, so splintered politically they’re dangerously slow to respond. Read More
WORTH NOTING: Illinois gov runs up travel tab
Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s commuting costs start to add up. South Dakota Gov. Mike Rounds settles a dispute with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service over a cranky game warden. Read More
Embryonic stem cell research divides states
President Bush’s second veto of a bill to allow federal funding of stem cell research puts the ethical issue squarely in states’ hands. So far, seven states have moved to fund the research, six have banned it, three have affirmed its legality but do not fund it and a handful of others continue to debate the issue. Read More
Second Term Troubles
There’s good news and bad news these days for the Bush Administration. The bad news is that President Bush’s anemic approval rating is hovering around 30 percent. The good news is that it probably can’t go much lower. But, what may be news to the Bush administration isn’t new in American politics. In fact, Bush’s slow but inexorable erosion of political support is a depressingly old pattern in modern American politics. Read More
States outpace feds on minimum wage
When the new federal minimum wage takes effect July 24, 30 states will require employers to pay hourly workers more than federal law requires. Read More
'Green' Wal-Mart: An Oxymoron?
Wal-Mart has been harvesting kudos for its dramatic ``green'' promises. Even Environmental Defense and the Natural Resources Defense Council have gone on record praising the massive retailer's intentions to reduce electricity usage in its stores 20 percent by 2013 and to double the fuel economy of its trucks by 2015. Read More
A Detroit charter school's amazing '90-90' pledge -- and success
In 1999 Doug Ross and his colleagues made an outrageous “90-90" promise. In 2007, they would graduate at least 90 percent of ninth graders going through their brand new Read More
Politically Uncorrected: The next big one
Pennsylvania has conducted some big elections lately: big presidential races, big gubernatorial races, and big congressional races. Indeed, big, important, and eventful elections have become a regular feature of the State’s political landscape. Read More
Global warming: A state and local rescue?
Thirty-one states representing 70 percent of the country's population announced on May 8 that they had signed on to a new Climate Registry to measure, track, verify and publicly report the greenhouse gas emissions by major industries. Read More
Bloomberg's Climate Initiative Points to a Big Capitalist Solution
Global praise has been rolling in for Mayor Michael Bloomberg's remarkably encompassing ``green'' climate agenda and goals for New York's future, which he unveiled on Earth Day. Read More
Bloomberg's Pathbreaking "PlaNYC": A Model for Urban America?
NEW YORK -- Mayor Michael Bloomberg's revolutionary proposal for "congestion pricing" -- road fees for private vehicles entering Manhattan's business district during business hours -- has dominated news coverage of the "PlaNYC" for "A Greener, Greater New York" that he unveiled in a major Earth Day address. Read More
Corporate Location Subsidies: Do they feel the sprawl too?
Are government subsidies to job-promising corporations the waste of taxpayers’ money that critics have long claimed -- a zero-sum city-to-city and state-to-state shell game? Read More
City Bikes: Clean, Healthy, Fun -- And Faster Than Cars?
Are we ready to go bicycling? Could these times of climate change, gas price inflation and bulging waistlines be prepping us for new waves of weekend biking adventures? Maybe even to leave cars parked and cycle to work daily? Read More
Can 'Gentrifying' Cities Create New Bridges To Wealth?
WASHINGTON - Love, social equity and shelter. With those ideals, the Rev. Jim Dickerson in 1982 founded Manna Inc. to provide housing for people in crime-ravaged, sometimes burned-out neighborhoods of this capital city. Read More
James Webb's Equity Challenge: What If We Got Serious?
Cheers for Sen. James Webb. His Democratic rejoinder to the State of the Union address provided a blast of fresh politics we hear all too rarely, either in Washington or the state capitals. Read More
Congress' Minimum Wage Vote: Prelude to a Better Politics?
Are we truly on a swing back to centrist and pragmatic politics? Like a first robin of spring, the House’s fast vote to raise the minimum wage to $7.25 in a phased two-year process, up from the $5.15 figure at which the Republican-controlled Congress left it frozen for the past decade, is a good omen. Read More
Could a farm bill serve us all?
No big surprise: As Congress girds to debate a 2007 farm bill, the big commodity interests -- cotton, rice, corn, wheat, soybeans -- are lining up to protect their rights to billions in future subsidies, notwithstanding recent market prices increases that should hearten them all. Read More
Farm bill - candidate for a bipartisan breakthrough?
WASHINGTON -- Could the farm bill give the new Democratic Congress a chance for dramatic reform -- and perhaps even a way to collaborate with President Bush? Read More
Untitled
Stateline.org has also compiled ongoing coverage of the statewide elections in one place, our 2006 elections page is the place to go to find every Stateline.org election story and reference guide. Read More
State data resources
Stateline.org has put together a comprehensive list of state data available online. Organized by issue, you will find useful links to essential information from government, academia, and think tanks. Read More
State-oriented blogs
Stateline.org has compiled an extensive list of state issue and state political blogs to make it convenient for you to follow different aspects of state government. These sites are not affiliated in any way with Stateline.org or the Pew Research Center, and the opinions expressed on them are theirs alone. Neither Stateline.org nor the Pew Research Center bears any responsibility for the content of these sites - they are listed solely as a public service. Read More
Issue-oriented blogs
Stateline.org has compiled an extensive list of state issue and state political blogs to make it convenient for you to follow different aspects of state government. These sites are not affiliated in any way with Stateline.org or the Pew Research Center, and the opinions expressed on them are theirs alone. Neither Stateline.org nor the Pew Research Center bears any responsibility for the content of these sites - they are listed solely as a public service. Read More
Medicaid: Biggest insurer is a budget buster
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2006 interactive elections guide
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Katrina paradox: Calamity but fresh ideas
Hurricane Katrina was the worst natural disaster in American history; it remains daily pain and misery for hundreds of thousands. But calamity has begun to unleash some inventive ideas. Read More
School choice: Besting the lobbies
Can a single state bring off a reform that sways a nation -- even in an era of extraordinarily tenacious lobbying by entrenched interests? Read More
Managing our borders: Not another 'war,' please!
Hundreds of new Border Patrol and immigration agents. Gigantic, double-layer steel fences along the California and Arizona borders. Infrared and daylight cameras. Stadium lighting. A new surveillance drone. Expanded detention facilities. Read More
Post-hurricane gleams of light?
A few gleams of light are appearing in the paths of families made homeless and communities devastated by the monster hurricanes that hit the Gulf Coast. Read More
Katrina's Opportunity - A New New Federalism
WASHINGTON -- If the nation's heart in responding to the challenges of Hurricane Katrina is even half as large as President Bush now says it is, we face a set of perplexing "how?s." Read More
Post-Katrina super-manager: Great idea, time is wasting
Former House speaker Newt Gingrich's suggestion that President Bush appoint a powerful super-manager to oversee the federal government-wide efforts to recover from Hurricane Katrina's ravages is logical -- if not imperative. Read More
Purging pop from the schools: Wake-up call for the states
It's time for state governments to take tough action to cut down their young citizens' sugar and fat intake. For the kids' sake -- and the state's sake. Read More
Katrina aftermath: Tears of a civic warrior
WASHINGTON - "I got out at the last moment, driving 16 straight hours to Birmingham with Evelyn Cox, my 96-year-old neighbor, and Coco the French cat. We are very fortunate to have made it." Read More
Energy bill strikes out: What can we do?
A fervid wave of criticism has followed Congress' new omnibus energy bill -- and who's to say it's not deserved? Read More
Addictive, expensive, dangerous: "The Great American Jobs Scam"
Call it, if you will, the crack cocaine of state and local governments' economic development practices -- their endless flow of tax breaks and outright gifts to private corporations they want to land, or figure they have to pay off to stay put. Read More
Communities by smart design: Mayors' effort spreads to the Governors
"Gee, I wish my colleagues back home could see this," Mayor Joseph P. Riley Jr. of Charleston, S.C., recalls thinking as he admired the handsome old urban forms and new design initiatives of European cities on a 1984 trip organized by the German Marshall Fund of the United States. Read More
Medicaid reform -- A new race to the top
Last month, the National Governors Association released a set of policy recommendations to reform Medicaid. This latest package of reform proposals differed significantly from previous governors? recommendations since the focus was not only on making the Medicaid program more efficient, but also on slowing the growth rate of Medicaid eligible populations. Read More
Privatized neighborhoods - the future we want?
Don't let the recent Supreme Court decision on the New London, Conn., eminent domain case fool you -- the powers of local governments aren't expanding, they're actually receding. Read More
Britain's focus on its cities: Painful contrast for U.S.
Britain cares about its cities; the United States does not. It was tough for Americans, attending the Urban Land Institute's World Cities Forum here last week, to reach any other conclusion. Read More
A new local food scenario: wave of the future - or chimera?
How you feel about food is how you feel about the world. Read More
Medical marijuana decision: Bad news all around
There are three big reasons to believe the Supreme Court made a big mistake in its June 6 ruling that the laws in California and 10 other states allowing medical use of marijuana are no protection against federal raids and prosecutions. Read More
New federal transportation bill: Bloated, full of earmarks, no national strategy
WASHINGTON - It's a standard Washington story of clashing forces. The president threatens a veto if Congress passes a new multibillion-dollar transportation bill costing more than his budget allows. The House goes along with the $283.9 billion he recommends, but the Senate adds an extra $11 billion. The measure heads for conference. Will Congress dare defy the president? If it does, will the president veto -- or flinch? Read More
A small Conn. hospital leads a health care revolution
DERBY, Conn. - From Main Street merchants to U.S. senators, health care and its ballooning costs qualify as the new century's worst fiscal migraine. Now the problem is hitting not just government and employer budgets, but millions of people forced into big co-payments or unable to get coverage at all. Read More
Metro food policy: Is the time right?
Is America ready for a metropolitan agriculture policy? Read More
Gay marriage decisions ripe in Calif., Conn.
More than four years after its historic court ruling legalizing same-sex marriage, Massachusetts stands alone in blessing gay marriages — more than 10,000 to date — and its example has spurred no imitators but lots of backlash. All eyes now are on the highest courts in California and Connecticut. Read More |
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