Governance & Finance: Page 20

  • A snowplow on a large service truck pushes multiple inches of snow toward the viewer. The plow is on a suburban street while snow continues to fall.
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    Transportation jobs are hard to fill. Here’s what works for Oregon’s DOT.

    One outreach campaign doubled subscriptions to the department’s email newsletters and resulted in an uptick of job applicants, an ODOT content strategist said in a recent webinar.

    By Adina Solomon • June 20, 2023
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    Extreme heat is changing the structure of local governance

    For Los Angeles Chief Heat Officer Marta Segura, “un-siloing, coordinating and collaborating, and building plans with other departments” has been a big part of the work.

    By Ysabelle Kempe • June 16, 2023
  • Downtown Houston.
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    Q&A

    Houston made city finance data available to everyone. Here’s what happened next.

    Taxpayers have a right to know how their dollars are spent, and citizens are using the data to better participate in budget workshops, said Will Jones, Houston’s chief business officer and director of finance.

    By Michael Brady • June 14, 2023
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    Agencies need to transform recruiting to replace retirees and replenish government workforces

    Agencies need to transform recruiting to replace retirees and replenish government workforces

    By Michael Keating • June 13, 2023
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    Land-use reform efforts could bring 135K new homes to downtown Los Angeles, Hollywood

    To address its acute housing shortage, the city is allowing greater housing density, relaxing parking requirements and creating affordable housing incentives and mandates in updates to decades-old community plans.

    By Kalena Thomhave • June 12, 2023
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    Houston, DOJ reach settlement over alleged environmental justice violations in illegal dumping case

    Houston agreed to a $17.8 million cleanup plan with the Department of Justice. Some residents applauded the development, but others worry it won’t lead to long-term changes.

    By Megan Quinn • June 9, 2023
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    Column

    Survey from U.S. Conference of Mayors details mental health crisis faced by cities

    Survey from U.S. Conference of Mayors details mental health crisis faced by cities

    By Andy Castillo • June 8, 2023
  • City skyline from above over highways.
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    Dallas in the homestretch of ransomware attack recovery

    Security operations and tools are also getting a refresh as city officials rebuild impacted systems and make upgrades across multiple departments.

    By Matt Kapko • June 8, 2023
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    Affordable housing bill vetoed by Colorado governor, sparking backlash from legislators

    The bill’s co-sponsors clapped back, claiming in a statement that Gov. Jared Polis had kowtowed to special interests at the last minute.

    By Michael Brady • June 8, 2023
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    The image by Jim Bowen is licensed under CC BY 2.0
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    California autonomous vehicle bill advances as legislators worry about heavy-duty truck safety

    If the proposed law passes, a human operator could need to be onboard heavy-duty, autonomous trucks in the Golden State until at least Jan. 1, 2029.

    By David Taube • June 7, 2023
  • A sleek Amtrak rain painted in two shades of blue accented by red and white is seen along a body of water with green trees in the background and a clear blue sky above.
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    Courtesy of Amtrak
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    Intercity passenger rail expansion sought by 90-plus cities and states, Amtrak CEO tells House committee

    Some lawmakers made the case for why Amtrak should add service to their regions, while others questioned the railroad’s commitment to passenger safety and security and its need for ongoing federal funding.

    By • June 7, 2023
  • A detailed landscape design plan showing topographic contour lines, orange building illustrations, green trees, and directional arrows. The layout includes winding paths and clustered vegetation. A triangular scale ruler lies on the left, and three colored pencils, colored blue, green, and yellow, rest on the lower right corner of the page.
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    Keeping reusable stuff out of landfills: Organization redistributes office furniture and more to nonprofits, other groups

    Keeping reusable stuff out of landfills: Organization redistributes office furniture and more to nonprofits, other groups

    By Michael Keating • June 6, 2023
  • A detailed landscape design plan showing topographic contour lines, orange building illustrations, green trees, and directional arrows. The layout includes winding paths and clustered vegetation. A triangular scale ruler lies on the left, and three colored pencils, colored blue, green, and yellow, rest on the lower right corner of the page.
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    Column

    San Antonio-based study highlights effectiveness of urban farms

    Editor's note: This article was originally published in American City & County, which has merged with Smart Cities Dive to bring you expanded coverage of city innovation and local government. For the latest in smart city news, explore Smart Cities Dive or sign up for our newsletter.In recent year...

    By Andy Castillo • June 6, 2023
  • A security camera on the side of a home with gray siding.
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    Lawmakers urge HUD to prohibit biometric recognition tech in federally-funded housing

    Racial bias, harassment for minor rule violations were among their concerns, the lawmakers said in their letter to Housing and Urban Development.

    By Mary Salmonsen • June 5, 2023
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    State-owned roads blamed for traffic fatality uptick in Austin, Texas, in new report

    “Fatal crashes occurring on State-owned roadways increased substantially while those occurring on City-owned streets remained relatively flat,” the city says in a new report.

    By Michael Brady • June 5, 2023
  • U.S. President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy are seated in armchairs in the Oval Office.
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    Debt ceiling deal leaves DOT mostly unscathed, but transportation, housing funds may still be at risk

    “We're still assessing the best ways to accommodate the caps and restraints that are part of this deal,” said Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.

    By • June 2, 2023
  • An overhead view of the six-lane Cross Bronx Expressway filled with bumper-to-bumper cars and large trucks.
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    Spencer Platt via Getty Images
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    DOT’s Reconnecting Communities highway removal program lacks performance measures: GAO report

    The Government Accountability Office report comes as El Paso, Texas; New York City and Philadelphia are looking into decking over major highways that split communities. 

    By • May 31, 2023
  • A person holds an umbrella in front of a digital sign reading 6:37 and 122 degrees Fahrenheit.
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    Q&A

    Without chief heat officers, how can smaller cities respond to extreme heat?

    “Not every community can afford to have a full-time chief heat officer, so what is the structure that works for smaller and medium-sized communities?” a University of Arizona researcher asked.

    By Ysabelle Kempe • May 31, 2023
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    Ransomware group messes with Texas

    A trio of ransomware attacks targeting the Dallas metro area have the hallmarks of a targeted campaign. They also underscore a very real problem: society is becoming desensitized to disruption.

    By Matt Kapko • May 30, 2023
  • A creative image of an aerial view of a city intersection with many cars and GPS navigation system symbols. Autonomous driverless vehicles in city traffic.
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    How AI can advance, harm transportation equity

    “Responsible AI” is critical because “AI has the potential to either exacerbate or alleviate existing biases and discrimination in transportation,” one researcher said during a Transportation Research Board webinar.

    By Kalena Thomhave • May 29, 2023
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    Shared micromobility companies recommended model regulations. Here’s what they didn’t mention.

    Bird, Lime, Spin and Superpedestrian’s recommendations largely leave out safety, infrastructure and community engagement concerns, researchers and micromobility consultants said.

    By Michael Brady • May 26, 2023
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    Government workers see benefits of in-person work, but they don’t want mandates: survey

    Government employees said they were concerned about how more in-person work will affect their work/life balance, commute time, costs and stress.

    By Laurel Kalser • May 25, 2023
  • An image of the Minneapolis downtown skyline at sunset, with a bridge over a river reflecting tall buildings against a dark blue sky.
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    With $200M for electric vehicles, Minnesota aims to boost ownership, charging infrastructure

    To increase EV adoption in the state, the new state budget provides consumer rebates, auto dealer grants and more funds for the statewide EV charging network.

    By • May 25, 2023
  • A bicycle delivery person in a city checking an address on a mobile app.
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    Why cities are investing in government-run gig work platforms

    Long Beach, California, was the first U.S. city to launch its own gig-work platform. Now others are considering following suit.

    By Gaby Galvin • May 24, 2023
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    NYC region faces significant health inequities: report

    All decisions made in the region, from building more housing to expanding highways, affect public health outcomes, one of the report's authors said.

    By Ysabelle Kempe • May 24, 2023