Government Performance
Nevada Joins Top 10 States in Job Growth
Nevada, which still has the country’s second-highest unemployment rate, has cracked the Top 10 states for non-agricultural job growth for the first time since the recession, new research shows. Energy-rich North Dakota continues to rank first, but 12 states showed job growth of at least 2 percent in 2013, according to the W. P. Carey School of […]
NSA Controversies Spur States into Action
The RAPTR drone helicopter manufactured by Tactical Electronics in Broken Arrow, Okla., is displayed at a convention on UAVs. State lawmakers will debate privacy issues related to drones, license plate readers and cellphones this year. (Photo: Maggie Clark/Stateline) A year of revelations about the National Security Agency’s domestic spying program has sent legislators back to […]
Holder Announces Federal Drug-Sentencing Changes Already in Many States
Attorney General Eric Holder speaks to the American Bar Association’s annual meeting, calling for major changes to the nation’s criminal justice system that would cut back the use of harsh sentences for certain drug-related crimes. (AP) In a major policy change already in place in some states, Attorney General Eric Holder Monday announced that the […]
How Big Is The DNA Backlog?
Heather Johnson performs DNA extraction at the Michigan State Police Forensic Laboratory. State and local crime labs have received nearly million in grant funds to process DNA samples. (AP) State and local crime labs have received almost million in federal grants over the past five years to reduce DNA testing backlogs, but it’s not clear […]
Which States Are Most Innovative?
The idea of trying to gauge a state’s “innovativeness” strikes some as a flawed exercise. The word innovation seems to connote success, but as everyone knows, some innovation leads to failure. Critics question the validity of crediting a state for being innovative just because it’s quick to jump on a new idea, regardless of the […]
Survey: As State Budgets Improve, So Does Trust in Government
In states we trust? More than we have in recent years, at least. That’s according to Gallup’s annual governance survey, whose results were released on Wednesday (September 26). The survey, conducted in early September, estimates that 65 percent of Americans have expressed a “great deal” or “fair amount” of trust in their state governments, a […]
Wisconsin Judge Strikes Down Collective Bargaining Restrictions
A county judge in Wisconsin has thrown out most of Governor Scott Walker’s law that severely restricts collective bargaining for public employees, throwing into question changes to contracts already negotiated under the year-old law. In a ruling announced late Friday (September 14), Judge Juan Colás of Dane County Circuit Court overturned the law as it […]
Detroit and Michigan: A Fragile Bargain
Detroit resident Zeline Richard, 85, voices opposition to the state’s involvement in the city’s affairs during a recent city council meeting. DETROIT — The state of Michigan and the city of Detroit hammered out a consent agreement in April that was intended to function as a sort of grand bargain. The idea was that the […]
North Carolina Agency Is Local Government Lifeline
The North Carolina Local Government Commission helps communities deal with the fiscal impact of problems such as beach erosion. (iStockphoto) The four states with the nation’s highest unemployment rate are Nevada, Rhode Island, California and North Carolina. All except North Carolina are replete with financially stressed local governments, some near insolvency. North Carolina’s success at […]