Every Wednesday, the TFG Blog posts a series of articles published over the previous week that discusses topics of interest to local governments. Learn about emerging trends and keep up on key policy issues by browsing the TFG Wednesday News Roundup!
Standards to Compare Cities
What makes a city great? Finances? Public safety? Amenities? Often, comparing cities has been an “apples and oranges” exercise. Until now. The Geneva-based International Organization for Standardization, or ISO, a globally recognized authority in standards for every industry and area, has codified a clear set of indicators by which cities can be gauged. Read more...
Senate Democrats Consider Keystone Vote to Help Mary Landrieu
Senate Democrats are looking at taking a vote in the lame-duck session to push approval of the TransCanada Corporation Keystone XL pipeline in an effort to bolster Louisiana Democrat Mary Landrieu’s re-election chances in her December runoff. Even if Landrieu is re-elected, she will lose her position as chairwoman of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee when Republicans take control of the Senate in January. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) have said Keystone approval will be a top legislative priority in 2015. Read more...
Supreme Court Case Seeks Source of Alabama Gerrymandering
When Alabama Republicans moved thousands of black voters into new legislative districts, did they do so because of the way blacks vote or because of their race itself? That's the question the U.S. Supreme Court will have to decide. The Court on Wednesday will hear oral arguments in cases brought by Democrats and black legislators challenging districts drawn by Republicans after they took control of the legislature in the 2010 elections. Their ruling could have an impact on congressional and legislative maps across the country. Read more...
What Midterm Election Results Mean for Transportation
Changes in state and federal leadership, along with voter-approved ballot measures, in Tuesday’s elections are almost certain to affect highway funding and transit service all around the country. Several victorious governors promised to find more money for transportation, while the Republican takeover of the U.S. Senate may slow progress on a federal surface transportation bill. Read more...
The Coming Climate Onslaught
The Obama administration is set to roll out a series of climate and pollution measures that rivals any president’s environmental actions of the past quarter-century — a reality check for Republicans who think last week’s election gave them a mandate to end what they call the White House’s “War on Coal.” Tied to court-ordered deadlines, legal mandates and international climate talks, the efforts scheduled for the next two months show that President Barack Obama is prepared to spend the remainder of his term clearing sweeping executive actions to combat global warming. Read more...
Comments