Seattle’s New ‘Democracy Vouchers’; Plastic Bag Wars Continue in California
Also: Wisconsin aims to drug test food stamps recipients and Texas commission sees no concrete link between fracking waste wells and earthquakes.
Jurors Order Gun Shop to Pay $6 Million in Damages; Senator Aims to Outlaw Unloading of Adopted Kids
Also: One-third of Louisiana’s uninsured fall into coverage gap and Seattle highway tunnel crews set to start enormous soggy drilling project again.
Figuring Out What Makes the Best-Managed Cities Tick
‘What Works Cities,’ an expanding Bloomberg Philanthropies program, aims to create maturity models for municipal governments, using data to ‘get a better picture of what good looks like.’
With Localscape, a County Assessor Harnesses More Than Just Property Data
King County Assessor Lloyd Hara once asked: ‘Why can’t we have a single platform for our information?’ Now, Seattle-area residents have easy access to location-specific information and a whole lot more.
Man Who Dogged Police With Video Requests Wants to Make Digital Evidence Submissions Easier
The Seattle programmer has built an online tool for sending large digital files to law enforcement agencies.
This County Government Went All-In on Purchasing Cards
King County is now Washington state’s largest user of P-cards. And it’s saving a lot of money.
Seattle’s Rubber Antennas Spark Privacy Concerns; Dark Fiber Obligations in West Virginia?
Also: A new California state worker survey and Cedar Rapid’s hazardous materials highway.
A Pacific Northwest Megaquake Will Test Government Response in Ways Katrina Never Did
When weighing the risks the entire region faces from next Cascadia megathrust earthquake, this future disaster is likely to rival anything the United States has ever faced.
Uber’s New Headache in Seattle
Councilmember’s plan could give for-hire drivers a path toward collective-bargaining power.
Controversial Guns and Ammo Taxing Plan Gets Thumbs Up in Seattle
Gun-rights activists have previously said that they’re ready for a court challenge.
Bloomberg Philanthropies Name First ‘What Works Cities’ for Data Improvement Initiatives
Eight mid-sized cities will be getting expert support and peer-to-peer learning opportunities.
When a Police Department Urges Local Residents to Stay Off Their Phones
Asking residents to curtail mobile phone use is fine, so long as you’re willing to follow suit.
Does Seattle’s Trash Monitoring Violate Privacy Rights?
The city’s ban on the disposal of food scraps and other compostables with garbage is met with a lawsuit.
Washington State Legal Showdown Awaits Tax Proposal for Guns and Ammo
“We've already sued the city of Seattle in the past,” says a gun rights activist. “They make it easy for us.”
Connected Government, Part III: A County Executive’s Tool-Kit as an Elected Official
In the third of a multi-part guest article series for Route Fifty, King County (Wash.) Executive Dow Constantine examines a complex issue many public officials around the United States are facing in their communities: infrastructure.
How Much Marijuana Will Be Detected in Municipal Sewage?
National Institutes of Health funding will aid researchers sampling two Washington state wastewater system to test local cannabis use.
Can Bicycle Cops Help Build Stronger Community-Police Ties?
Two-wheeled patrols might make officers more approachable, but reform advocates say it will take more to ease tensions in some cities.
'It's Not Garbage Anymore': Seattle Sees Uptick in Organic Waste Collections Under New Rules
Residents face mandates to divert their food waste from landfills, but enforcement isn’t easy.
Seattle Finds a More Cost-Effective Way to Keep Road Contaminants From Its Waterways
Performance data show that street-sweeping programs are more economical than some environmental infrastructure investments.
Connected Government, Part II: Investing in the Arc of a Child's Life
In the second of a multi-part guest article series for Route Fifty, King County Executive Dow Constantine examines a complex issue many public officials around the United States are facing in their communities: childhood development.
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