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Washington state will appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court in an attempt to overturn a surprising federal-court ruling that tossed out the state’s 120-year-old prohibition against voting by incarcerated felons, Attorney General Rob McKenna said Wednesday. Read full story  Read More →

(The New York Times/January 6, 2010)  SACRAMENTO - It is one of the bleakest new years that states have seen in over a decade. On Wednesday, governors in California, Kentucky and New York kick off the season of addresses to state lawmakers as at least 36 states struggle to close budget shortfalls and... Read More →

(Washington Post/January 6, 2010)  The D.C. Council voted unanimously Tuesday to enact far-reaching proposals to curtail smoking by giving store owners a tool to prevent smoking on public sidewalks and by assessing new penalties on anyone younger than 18 who possesses tobacco products. The bill, part... Read More →

(Atlanta Journal Constitution/January 5, 2010) In his first full day on the job, Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed unveiled a reorganization of the police department’s command staff and announced other plans including one to hire an economic development czar.  Acting Police Chief George Turner promoted... Read More →

  (Boston Globe/January 5, 2010) More than 200 wind turbines could eventually spin in Massachusetts coastal waters, according to a final state ocean blueprint released yesterday that attempts to strike a balance among the growing number of competing and controversial uses of the sea.   The plan, the... Read More →

(NPR/January 4, 2010) How do you train the best teachers? Leaders at the nation’s teacher education programs still don’t really know, but it’s something educators are trying to figure out. So statistician George Noell decided to do something no one had ever done before: He compared... Read More →

(The Associated Press/January 5, 2010) COLUMBIA, S.C. - To deal with future budget shortages, the state’s top legislators want across-the-board cuts to come quicker as they propose automatic cuts when revenues fall a certain percentage. Currently, only a budget oversight board led by Gov. Mark... Read More →

(Philadelphia Inquirer-Trenton Bureau/January 5, 2010) TRENTON - A bill to allow illegal immigrants to pay in-state tuition at state colleges and universities cleared committees in both houses of the Legislature yesterday after several hours of impassioned debate. “It is a matter of simple fairness... Read More →

State offices, campuses to buy 23% of power from wind, solar facilities (Baltimore Sun/December 9, 2009)   In a major push for renewable energy in Maryland, the O’Malley administration is planning to buy nearly a quarter of the power needed by state offices and the state’s university campuses... Read More →

34 states, D.C. trimmed spending for such programs this year (Associated Press/Dec . 9, 2009) States cut funding for state tobacco prevention programs more than 15 percent this year, pushing it further than ever below federally recommended levels, according to a report that a coalition of public health... Read More →