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.
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.
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
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.
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.
Featured eBooks
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.
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.
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.
Management
Amid campus protests nationwide, DC’s response stands out
The capital city’s police department cleared an encampment at a local university following pressure from House Republicans to be more forceful. But the District’s reluctance to take action sooner underlies lessons officials learned decades ago about the perils of aggressive enforcement.
Digital Government