Finance

Why income discrimination laws hurt poor renters

COMMENTARY| Laws that ban discrimination against voucher holders can push smaller landlords out of the low-income housing market, decreasing the amount of affordable housing.

Digital Government

‘Mission Impossible’ masks, bad data and immature tech dog age verification for social media

Another state signed a law restricting minors’ use of the platforms. But the continued growth in technology as well as “low-tech fraud” could make enforcement more difficult.

Infrastructure

New federal rule will overhaul transmission planning as electric grid strains

The sprawling rule requires transmission operators to plan along a 20-year horizon and work with states to develop data-driven projections of needs.

Sponsor Content

State and local agencies evaluate their AI future

The recent surge of interest and investment in AI tools has presented fascinating new opportunities in the government landscape.

Management

This Utah county will buy your lawn to save water

Would you ditch your grass for less-thirsty plants? In a place where every drop of water counts, a little cash compels residents to say yes.

Cybersecurity

Whole-of-state program delivers security that’s ‘antivirus on steroids’

Woodbury, Minnesota, was one of the first cities to take advantage of the free managed detection and response solution.

Management

San Francisco tries tough love by tying welfare to drug rehab

Starting in January 2025, public assistance recipients who screen positive for addiction on a 10-question drug abuse test will be referred to treatment. Those who refuse or fail to show up for treatment will lose their benefits.

Management

Report: State by state, how segregation legally continues 7 decades post Brown

Researchers unveil loopholes, laws and a lack of protections allowing Black, brown, low-income students to be excluded from America’s most coveted schools.

Management

Amid a housing crisis, hospitals offer a dose of relief

The housing crisis may be too big for state and local governments to overcome. That’s why hospitals are stepping in to remedy housing and health care gaps.

Infrastructure

After Supreme Court decision left wetlands unprotected, Colorado steps in

Lawmakers crafted new rules to protect and restore wetlands and streams left vulnerable following a decision by the high court that scaled back the types of places subject to the Clean Water Act.

Infrastructure

Texas flooding brings new urgency to Houston home buyout program

The Houston area is the site of perhaps the country’s longest-running experiment in the adaptation policy known as “managed retreat.” But the past week’s flooding has demonstrated that even this nation-leading program hasn’t been able to keep pace with escalating disaster.

Management

Medical residents are increasingly avoiding states with abortion restrictions

A new analysis shows that, for the second year in a row, students graduating from U.S. medical schools were less likely to apply this year for residency positions in states with abortion bans and other significant abortion restrictions.

Sponsor Content

Transforming Experience Every Day

Citizens want more from their constituent experiences (CX), and state and local officials also want to deliver better CX.

Management

What's the poop? Wastewater data predicts overdoses

Analyzing wastewater samples can help public health workers paint a reliable picture of a community’s rapidly evolving drug use to to get ahead of overdoses.

Workforce

Celebrating Public Service—and Public Servants

COMMENTARY | Government is asked to solve our toughest and most intractable problems. That’s why we need to celebrate the people who make a difference through government service.

Workforce

A glimpse at the ‘human-machine partnership’

Lots has been said about the ways in which artificial intelligence may augment employees’ work. But first, local governments will need to successfully manage the learning curve.

Workforce

The key to filling IT talent gaps? Invest in your current workforce.

COMMENTARY | Retaining IT talent requires more than just competitive pay and defined career paths.

Workforce

Paid sick leave sticks after many pandemic protections vanish

Paid sick leave protects both the community's public health and the economic security of low-wage workers.

Infrastructure

Skateboarding’s latest trick: Reviving cities

New skate plazas are proving that making spaces skateable makes them safer and more dynamic, too.

Workforce

‘Invisible’ no more: States move to hire people with disabilities

Tapping potential employees with “non-apparent” conditions like autism, attention deficit disorder and chronic depression can bring qualified candidates to a public sector workforce in desperate need of talent.

Digital Government

Florida’s school safety dashboard helps parents and teachers address root causes of misbehavior

COMMENTARY | School leaders can use the dashboard to identify areas of concern in their own school—such as an increasing pattern of fights—and then develop evidence-based solutions and training to address the issues.