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More Money – and Stricter Scrutiny – for Child Care
Research suggests that early childhood education primes young minds for academic and social success. And yet in much of the country, many parents struggle to find any day care at all. To get more young children into high-quality programs, an increasing number of cities and states are imposing academic standards and other rules on child […]
Seeking a Quiet Place in a Nation of Noise
A leaf-blowing landscaper clears a yard in Newton, Massachusetts, where residents have taken to the streets to confront yard maintenance companies they believe are in violation of a recently imposed noise ordinance. Cities and states across the country are taking action to curb noise. Suzanne Kreiter/The Boston Globe via Getty Images NEW YORK — One […]
Why Downtown Parking Garages May Be Headed for Extinction
Astros fans watch from a parking garage during a parade honoring the World Series champions in Houston. The rise of ride-hailing services and autonomous cars may make huge downtown garages a thing of the past. Karen Warren, Houston Chronicle via AP Editor’s note: This story was updated Dec. 14 to correct information about the bond […]
Growth of Private Tree Regulation Spurs Fear of Backlash
Jayden Malone holds up a sign during a hearing at the Texas Capitol in July on a bill that would have given private property owners complete control over the trees on their land. Texas lawmakers rejected the proposal, but it has spurred fears of a backlash against local tree ordinances. © The Associated Press AUSTIN, […]
Cops Get Help to Cope With Trauma
Nine people were killed in a 2015 shooting at Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina. Police departments across the country are connecting first responders with “peer-group cops” to help them cope with trauma. © The Associated Press CHARLESTON, S.C. — When Police Chief Gregory Mullen started getting calls about a potential “mass casualty” at […]
Despite Secession Talk, Breaking Up Is Hard To Do
Supporters of a new state along the California-Oregon border rally at the Capitol in Sacramento in 2016. Recent secession efforts have included fairly large, ongoing campaigns in Texas and California and smaller pushes in Oklahoma, Maine, Utah, West Virginia and New York’s Long Island. The Associated Press Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to correctly […]
Cities Throw Shade at Rising Heat
Trees line a quiet streetscape in the Harlem section of New York. Trees can help bring down rising temperatures in cities. © The Associated Press Rudy Lane is a two-lane road that curves through the leafy suburb of Windy Hills east of Louisville, Kentucky. Broadway is a main drag downtown where the federal and state […]
Face-to-Face Family Visits Return to Some Jails
Inmate Carlos Diaz-Hernandez visits with one of his children at the Schenectady (New York) County Jail’s visitation room. Face-to-face visitation is returning to many of the nation’s jails. © Erica Miller/The Daily Gazette via The Associated Press The jailhouse scene from 2014 remains vivid in Rebecca Shlafer’s mind. A 3-year-old girl came to the Washington […]
Delivery Robots Are Showing Up on City Sidewalks
Schoolchildren watch as a self-driving delivery robot developed by Starship Technologies drives past them in Tallinn, Estonia. The robots are arriving on sidewalks in two U.S. cities this month. © Getty Images Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to say that Starship Technologies has tested its robots in 58 cities in 16 countries. WASHINGTON […]
As Water Infrastructure Crumbles, Many Cities Seek Private Help
© The Associated Press A man carries free water distributed by a church in Flint, Michigan. The water crisis in Flint, where old pipes leached out lead into water supplies, has raised new worries that cities aren’t keeping up with maintenance and improvements. WOODBURY, N.J. — As city councilors here discussed the local water system […]
Move Is on to Make End-of-Year Pardons Less Random
© The Associated Press Barry Beach hugs a supporter as he departs Montana State Prison after Gov. Steve Bullock commuted his sentence to time served. Several governors and state legislatures have moved to make the clemency process easier and pardons more frequent. Barry Beach in Montana got one. Gabrielle Cecil in Louisville got one. And […]
Smaller Cities Vie to Be the Next Silicon Valley
© The Associated Press Ernest Andrade, the director of the Charleston Digital Corridor, stands outside one of the corridor’s business incubator buildings. Charleston and other midsize cities are trying to reinvent themselves as high-tech hubs. CHARLESTON, S.C. — A tiny light bulb hooked up to a computer lights up, and Antonio Rojas-Rodriguez smiles. “I did […]