Management

Kill the 5-Day Workweek

COMMENTARY | Reducing Hours Without Reducing Pay Would Reignite an Essential but Long-forgotten Moral Project: Making American Life Less About Work.

  • By Joe Pinsker, The Atlantic

Western States Prepare for Battle in Historic Wildfire Season

States are poised to spend hundreds of millions, even billions, in state funding while U.S. senators urged the Biden administration to provide additional relief money quickly.

  • By Kate Elizabeth Queram

In a California Town, a Recreation Boom Kindles Wildfire Anxiety

COMMENTARY | As outdoor tourism returns, residents of Mammoth Lakes, still scarred by the 2020 fire season, are justifiably on edge.

  • By Astra Lincoln, Undark

Middle-income and Frontline Workers Struggle to Find Affordable Housing

The pandemic has exacerbated the crisis for these households being able to buy and rent homes, according to a report by the Urban Land Institute.

  • By Brent Woodie

Across the US, City Buildings Begin to Reopen

Some are opening their doors fully, others are beginning with appointment hours. Multiple weddings took place at San Francisco's city hall last week.

  • By Kate Elizabeth Queram
Sponsor Content

Eliminate Manual Processes Route and Approve Invoices from Anywhere

Today’s finance teams carry a heavy burden, supporting everything from growth strategies to long-term planning – all while continuously delivering monthly and quarterly numbers and keeping cash flowing. But even as demands on finance departments grow, many still spend excessive time using paper, spreadsheets, and e-mails to process vendor invoices, approvals, and payments.

  • Presented by SAP Concur

Rocky Mountain Forests Burning More Now Than Any Time in the Past 2,000 Years

COMMENTARY | Colorado’s East Troublesome Fire jumped the Continental Divide on Oct. 22, 2020, and eventually became Colorado’s second-largest fire on record.

  • By Philip Higuera, Bryan Shuman and Kyra Wolf, The Conversation

How Governments Can Help Elevate the Local Workforce Post-Pandemic

As the pandemic subsides, county leaders are transitioning from reactive problem-solving to proactive planning to address the future of work.

  • By Brent Woodie

Gov. Greg Abbott Signs Bill Allowing College Athletes to Profit Off Their Own Name and Likeness

More than a dozen states have passed similar legislation allowing college athletes to be paid for the use of their name, image or likeness as state lawmakers have called on the federal government to set national guidelines.

  • By Kate McGee, The Texas Tribune

The False Hope of the Progressive-Prosecutor Movement

COMMENTARY | Well-intentioned reformers can't fix the criminal legal system. They have to start relinquishing the power.

  • By Darcy Covert, The Atlantic

Relaxed Rules Attract Entrepreneurs to State 'Sandboxes'

‘We’re really concerned about predatory lending to low-income families.’

  • By Sophie Quinton, Stateline

Garbage Truck Driver Shortage is Creating a Mess for Solid Waste Agencies

"As the weather warms up, the garbage is going to get more fragrant and it will be more important for governments to get on this,” says one industry official.

  • By Andrea Noble

The US Cities 'Taking Bold Steps’ to Tackle the Most Pressing Challenges

Bloomberg Philanthropies selected 50 cities worldwide, including 14 here, as Bloomberg Mayors Challenge finalists for their innovative problem-solving ideas.

  • By Brent Woodie
Featured eBooks
Public Health in State and Local Government
Management in City and County Government
Modernization of Government Systems

Winners and Losers of the Work-From-Home Revolution

COMMENTARY | High-income workers at highly profitable companies will benefit greatly. Downtown landlords won’t.

  • By Derek Thompson, The Atlantic

Gov. Greg Abbott Wants to Build a Border Wall, but Does Texas have the Ability — or Money — to do so?

Critics have denounced Abbott's proposal as "political theater" that won't pass legal muster. But the two-term Republican governor says it's time to secure the border.

  • By Heidi Perez-Moreno and James Barragán, The Texas Tribune

Supreme Court Weighs Voting Rights in a Pivotal Arizona Case

COMMENTARY | But the court’s ruling will have national consequences.

  • By Michael Ritter and Cornell William Clayton, The Conversation

Gov. Greg Abbott says Texas Will Build a Border Wall, but Doesn’t Yet Give Details on Cost or Location

The governor suggested more details would be released next week. The announcement Thursday of several initiatives is the latest in an ongoing conflict between Abbott, a Republican, and Democratic President Joe Biden's administration.

  • By Heidi Perez-Moreno, The Texas Tribune

Parking Reform Could Reenergize Downtowns – Here’s What Happened When Buffalo Changed its Zoning Rules

COMMENTARY | Despite growing support for parking reform, there is little data showing how such changes affect urban development.

  • By Daniel Baldwin Hess and Jeffrey Rehler, The Conversation

Tackling Social Inequity, Some Cities May Ditch Bus, Subway Fares

Fare revenue covers on average 30% of transit agencies’ operating costs.

  • By Jenni Bergal, Stateline

This School District Normally Gets $66,000 a Year for Library Books. This Year — $500,000.

Money from the American Rescue Plan will be used to replace items that went missing when schools closed at the start of the pandemic and enhance the district’s overall collection, St. Paul officials say.

  • By Kate Elizabeth Queram

Restoring Land Around Abandoned Oil and Gas Wells Would Free Up Millions of Acres of Forests, Farmlands and Grasslands

COMMENTARY | Abandoned US oil and gas wells and their associated land cover more than 2 million acres, a recent study estimates – an area larger than Delaware and Rhode Island.

  • By Matthew D. Moran, The Conversation

Democrats’ Elections Bill in Peril with Key Senator’s Opposition

Sen. Joe Manchin said he would not support the For the People Act, which would create national voting standards, making it difficult for supporters to propel the legislation forward.

  • By Andrea Noble