Trends
Massachusetts is showing the way by going to the end users of the products and services governments buy. It’s good for suppliers as well, and produces better results for everyone.
The state brought together a remarkable coalition and waived red tape to get traffic on I-95 moving again just 12 days after a bridge collapsed. That kind of focus on results, not procedures, can help restore trust in government.
We’re already seeing the potential for what tools like ChatGPT can do to improve public services. It’s time for governments at all levels to invest in training their people in the technology.
Despite steady gains, the LGBTQ+ community is severely underrepresented in elected office.
As Waymo and Cruise seek to expand autonomous taxi services in San Francisco, some public agencies worry about the impacts on transit operations and emergency response.
Traditional approaches to the kinds of complex issues governments face stymie creative work. Houston has been making significant progress on reducing homelessness with a process of bridge building among stakeholders.
Artificial intelligence has potential, but it can’t replace simple, reliable technology solutions and the human touch. And there’s a risk that it will automate existing inequities instead of alleviating them.
The pandemic forced local governments to activate their innovation skill sets. Now city leaders must grow that spirit of inventiveness beyond the tactical, building it into the day-to-day work of government.
The state is set to become the first in the nation to prohibit the use of natural gas and other fossil fuels in most new buildings, starting on Dec. 31, 2025. Some exempt buildings are hospitals and commercial food establishments.
A lawsuit forced the EPA to close a loophole that exposes communities near coal plants and other facilities to harmful pollutants. Georgia is finally submitting a plan to fix the issue, six years after it was due.
The legislative package is the nation’s first-of-its-kind and will eventually require train companies to swap out their dirtiest locomotives for zero-emission models. It will also limit train idling to no more than 30 minutes.
Some parts of Fort Lauderdale saw 2 feet of rainfall in a single day, which is more than any city is built to withstand. It’s likely extreme weather cases will become more frequent with climate change.
The Midwest Alliance for Clean Hydrogen is one of 33 groups that submitted final applications in a bid to win up to $1.25 billion in federal funding to develop hydrogen hubs across the nation.
The nation’s first biometric smart gun will use both fingerprint and facial recognition technology to ensure that only authorized users can fire the weapon. The creator hopes it will help reduce accidental deaths and gun suicides.
The Environmental Protection Agency has awarded the state $3 million, and the Portland metro area $1 million, to develop strategies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and develop clean energy economies.
Fifteen states have considered adding measures to their constitutions to preserve the fundamental right to clean air, water, soil and other environmental priorities. Montana, Pennsylvania and New York already have established green amendments.
Sixteen cities are meeting to exchange ideas and plan urban forests to provide shade, absorb stormwater runoff and filter air pollution. Urban forestry can mitigate the health risks of a warming climate.
Water intelligence supports a shared approach to solving water challenges.
The Tulare Lake Basin has been converting sewage sludge into organic fertilizer since 2016, but an immense snowpack could overwhelm the lake bed and contaminate groundwater that landowners and farmers rely on.
Legislation in Gov. Kathy Hochul’s Executive Budget would mandate a new model for real property value appraisal of renewable energy projects that would negatively impact local municipal revenue.
There were 17.9 million drivers in the state as of February, but as of March 9, the state’s digital driver’s license app had been downloaded 154,631 times. The state contractor has been paid nearly all of the $1.8 million contract.
A complex web of factors impacts the health of these important water sources.
The renewable energy industry provided $38 billion to $106 billion in total benefits to Texas residents from 2010 to 2022 and the industry accounts for more than 42,000 jobs. Yet, the state is still defending fossil fuels.
The trucks may qualify for an exception to the state’s rule that most new heavy-duty trucks be zero-emission by 2036. The rule would be a major win for the waste industry, but a significant setback for the state’s environmental goals.
Green energy may one day depend on the state’s vast reserves of lignite and oil drilling waste, and the rare earth minerals they contain.
Local-government officials are sometimes overwhelmed by new and improved digital tools. But they need to be open to technology that can help residents and public employees deliver critical services.
Climate change and other factors put growing pressure on critical watersheds.
Record rain and snowfall are easing drought pressures, but California can’t overcome long-term water challenges if infrastructure is neglected.
Last year the city’s hotel occupancy rate reached 66.2 percent, up almost 13 percent from the year prior but still below pre-pandemic levels. Experts agree that sometimes the best mayors are simply the best cheerleaders.
The Mackinac Island Ferry Co., formerly known as Star Line, will replace two diesel engines with electric propulsion motors on its Chippewa vessel, then will transition the rest of its seven steel vessels to all-electric.
A variety of bills headed to the state Senate floor on Thursday, just days ahead of the 2023 legislative end. Bills on third grade success, gun shop sales and curbing college costs were passed 32-0 and head for concurrence.
