Police Facilities (May 31)
The latest issue of The Police Chief magazine contains a special focus section on police facilities, highlighting new and forthcoming police facility construction projects around the country. More from The Police Chief.

Eliminating Silos in Government (May 31)
Despite many state and local officials lamenting the problem of silos in their governments, many still exist. More from Management Insights.

A Change of Heart About Tall Buildings (May 31)
After three decades of fighting taller downtown towers, urban activists have had a change of heart. Now many of these same people are urging cities to go up, up, up. Almost surely they will get their wish. More from Civic Strategies.

APA Housing Policy Guide Available (May 31)
The American Planning Association's (APA) new Policy Guide on Housing (71kb) is designed to help planners create communities where diverse housing options are available to current and future residents.

Cities Amend Codes to Attract Seniors-Only Developments (May 31)
Seniors-only housing developments are being viewed as cash cows in some communities and others are increasingly rolling out the red carpet for age-restricted or "active-adult" developments. More from American City & County.

Mapping the Future (May 31)
Will geospatial Web applications change the way local governments present information to the public? More from Government Technology.

Alliance for Community Media Northwest (ACM) Conference (May 31)
On June 2nd & 3rd, in Kent, there will be a conference valuable to those involved with PEG channel broadcasting, focusing on public policy, technology and fundraising. More from ACM.

Presidential Disaster Declaration Web Site (May 31)
The Public Entity Risk Institute's Presidential Disaster Declaration Web Site provides information about Presidential Disaster Declarations since the early 1980’s to help communities better understand their exposure to various types of natural and manmade disasters.

Government Technology - Critical Decisions (May 31)
Local governments are exploring how Internet protocol (IP) telephone service can better serve residents, improve efficiency and save money. More from American City & County.

Local Government Organizations Opposed to Federal Telecom Bill (May 31)
NLC, NACO, NATOA and other organizations joined in this concise statement to Congress (146kb) expressing their opposition to the Communications, Opportunity, Promotion and Enhancement Act of 2006.

Lining up Internet Service (May 31)
Last fall, Manassas, Va., deployed the first citywide commercial application of broadband over power line (BPL) technology in the United States. More from American City & County.

New Law Authorizes Posting of Interlocal Agreements (May 24)
A new state law (Ch 32, Laws of 2006) provides, as an alternative to filing interlocal agreements with the county auditor, that public agencies may now post them on their web site or other electronically retrievable public source. More from MRSC.

New Design Manual for Context Sensitive, Walkable Streets (May 24)
The Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) has developed Context Sensitive Solutions in Designing Major Urban Thoroughfares for Walkable Communities, which provides guidance for creating walkable and bikeable communities. More from ITE.

Neil Peirce - The May 1 Demonstrations: Historic Turning Point? (May 24)
History may well record May 1, the day hundreds of thousands of legal and undocumented Hispanics and their allies turned out in the massive, unified pro-immigrant demonstrations across the continent, as a critical turning point. More from the Washington Post Writers Group.

Economic Development - Cities Compete to Host Sporting Events (May 24)
Officials in small American cities have discovered they do not have to be a Detroit, site of the 2006 Super Bowl, or a Salt Lake City, scene of the 2002 Winter Olympics, to attract sporting events. More from American City & county.

Pandemic Flu Simulation: Implications for the Public/Private Sectors (May 24)
A report from Booz Allen Hamilton (129kb) concludes that telecommunications will likely be overwhelmed early in the pandemic; therefore, government and businesses must coordinate and plan for the use of alternative communications channels--and telecommuting will not be a viable option.

Housing for All (May 24)
Participants at a recent roundtable convened by the Urban Land Institute discussed strategies for bringing affordable housing and social equity to metropolitan areas. More form Urban Land.

Limited English Proficient Populations and the Police (May 24)
Language barriers present challenges to the execution of a variety of law enforcement functions. Having a plan in place to deal with unexpected language barriers can minimize the potential for bad outcomes. More from The Police Chief.

Do Industrial Development Agencies Work? (May 24)
Only a third of the projects supported by six Industrial Development Agencies (IDAs) around New York met their job creation goals, according to a report by the state comptroller's office (350kb).

Safe Drinking Water Act Rule Wizard (May 24)
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Safe Drinking Water Act Rule Wizard Web site enables small drinking-water utilities to determine federal monitoring requirements for public drinking water systems.

Seattle Seeks Partners for Broadband Network (May 24)
On May 22nd the City of Seattle issued a "Request for Interest" (245kb), seeking private partners for the construction of a fiber to the premises (FTTP) broadband network. The "request" provides details and solicits responses by July 7th.

Coming Soon - The Council/Commission Advisor (May 16)
MRSC has joined with Carl Neu, Director of the Center for the Future of Local Governance, P. Stephen DiJulio of the Foster Pepper & Shefelman law firm, and Paul McClintock, Professional Registered Parliamentarian, to bring you a new monthly "Council/Commission Advisor" column. MRSC's first Council/Commission Advisor column is coming soon.

White House Announces National Plan for Avian Flu (May 16)
The White House recently released its "Implementation Plan for The National Strategy for Pandemic Influenza" that details more than 300 actions for federal departments and agencies and sets clear expectations for state and local governments and other non-federal entities. More from Nation's Cities Weekly.

The Mid-Rise Approach to Density (May 16)
How does Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa plan to sell Angelinos on greater density in their own neighborhoods? By doing it one mid-rise building at a time. More from Civic Strategies.

How to Implement Shared Leadership (May 16)
Creating a cross-functional steering team can be an effective method of engaging the talents and experience of employees more directly in the decision-making process of an organization. More from The Police Chief.

Smart City - The Difficult Job of Branding (May 16)
Branding is tough. Branding universities is tougher. And branding cities may be the toughest assignment of all. This week's guests on Smart City talk about the challenges of branding and marketing universities and cities.

Healthcare Costs - Temperature's Rising (May 16)
The heat is on to find a cure for increasing healthcare costs as many local and state governments struggle to find the funds to cope. More from American City & County.

Retiring with Healthcare (May 16)
It seems inevitable that government retirees will be picking up more of their healthcare costs as soaring expenses, demographic forces and new accounting disclosures compel governments to reassess retiree healthcare benefits. More from American City & County.

OPEB: Coming to Grips with the Cost of Retiree Health Care (May 16)
The Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) recently issued new government accounting standards related to "other post-employment benefits" (OPEB). More from Public Management.

Smart City - Citizens on the Move (May 10)
Recent reports from the U.S. Census Bureau found people flooding out of cities in a search for cheaper housing. But economist Joe Cortright, this week's guest on Smart City, suggests there is another important side to the story.

Web Sightings - Waterfront Redevelopment (May 10)
Many communities are capitalizing on the potential of their waterfronts through waterfront planning and revitalization efforts. This month we've selected waterfront redevelopment materials and examples from Washington cities:

Privatization - Short on Oversight (May 10)
States and localities are outsourcing more of their services, but management of the contracts is in dire need of an upgrade. More from Governing.

The Changing Face of Police Leadership (May 10)
If our ideas about leadership in the past tended to revolve around the solitary heroic figure, the leadership of our future will be defined by inspired teamwork. More from The Police Chief.

Parks and Recreation - Designing Against Crime (May 10)
"Crime prevention through environmental design" principles provide park users a comforting, safe feeling while discouraging potential criminals, therefore reducing crime proactively and unobtrusively. More from Parks & Recreation.

After the Rescue Workers go Home (May 10)
In the aftermath of a disaster, when the news media has left and the rescue workers have gone home, the process of rebuilding begins. How does a community pick up the pieces and move forward? More from Public Management.

Information Technology - Paying the Minimum (May 10)
Managing software licenses can be a demanding task, even for small local governments, and penalties for violating licensing laws are stiff. More from American City & County.

Financial Management - Raising Revenues (May 10)
Since 2001, half of the nation's cities have raised new revenues to address gaps created by rising employee health care and pension costs, and increases in public safety and infrastructure needs. More from American City & County.

Playing the Numbers Game (May 10)
When it comes to transit oriented development, trip-generation figures can make all the difference. More from Planning Magazine.

It's the Network (May 10)
The National League of Cities' (NLC) "National Cities Network" Web site is designed to be a gateway for cities and towns countrywide to learn about city issues and share information. More from Government Technology.

Cities and Counties in the News (May)
Here are the latest news clippings from around the state highlighting current events, trends and other news affecting Washington city and county governments:

• Judge suggests mediation for Tent City 4, Woodinville (Seattle Times, May 31, 2006)
• Lighthearted artwork installed around city (Seattle Times, May 31, 2006)
• Woodinville to challenge Brightwater construction (Seattle Times, May 31, 2006)
• Report details Wal-Mart ripples (The Olympian, May 30, 2006)
• Bellevue testing ways to coexist with Beavers (King County Journal, May 30, 2006)
• County may save by going into debt (Everett Herald, May 30, 2006)
• County not ready for bird flu, but planning under way (Seattle Times, May 24, 2006)
• All-mail voting likely next year in King County (Seattle Times, May 24, 2006)
• Tax plan for city roads (Seattle Post Intelligencer, May 23, 2006)
• Group to study county seat change (Tri-City Herald, May 23, 2006)
• Report: cops, court need new building (Bainbridge Island Review, May 20, 2006)
• Utility tax increase plan largest in city history (Yakima Herald, May 19, 2006)
• Gig Harbor will try out free in-town bus rides (Tacoma News Tribune, May 19, 2006)
• County had no duty to warn about predator (Seattle Post Intelligencer, May 19, 2006)
• County plans Sheriff's Office mini-audit (Seattle Post Intelligencer, May 19, 2006)
• Saving mobile homes requires cash, political will (The Enterprise, May 19, 2006)
• Unlikely allies fight all-mail voting (Seattle Post Intelligencer, May 18, 2006)
• Marysville jail bids far exceed budget (Everett Herald, May 18, 2006)
• City shies away from singling out certain dogs (Federal Way Mirror, May 17, 2006)
• Eastside measures lose big in election (Seattle Times, May 17, 2006)
• Critics question city on 'affordable' apartments (Seattle Post Intelligencer, May 16, 2006)
• Ombudsman hired to hear rural citizens' complaints (Seattle Post Intelligencer, May 16, 2006)
• Aquatic center plans to be unveiled (Walla Walla Union Bulletin, May 15, 2006)
• Medina ponders leaving library system: City might vote on de-annexing after residents grumble they don't get their money's worth (King County Journal, May 15, 2006)
• Richland fleet saving money with biofuel (Tri-City Herald, May 15, 2006)
• Sims wants to halt pensions to crooked cops (Seattle Post Intelligencer, May 15, 2006)
• Residents challenge storm drain fees in Fife (Tacoma News Tribune, May 14, 2006)
• Tent City 4 moving to Woodinville today with judge's OK (Seattle Times, May 13, 2006)
• City hall goes to voters (North Kitsap Herald, May 13, 2006)
• Permanent citizens panel to oversee county elections (King County Journal, May 9, 2006)
• Sultan wins statewide award for new visitor center (Everett Herald, May 8, 2006)
• Benton jail cheapest in the state (Tri-City Herald, May 8, 2006)
• Group home debate rages in Lakewood (Tacoma News Tribune, May 8, 2006)
• Keeping parks open a matter of creativity (Yakima Herald, May 8, 2006)
• New building code helps save Bellingham's architectural past (Bellingham Herald, May 7, 2006)
• Citywide wireless Internet discussed (Seattle Times, May 3, 2006)
• Mayor’s coffee perks up interest (The Peninsula Gateway, May 3, 2006)
• City to test photo radar on 410 (Tacoma News Tribune, May 1, 2006)
• Parks to give dogs room to run (Everett Herald, May 1, 2006)

An Introduction to the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (May 02)
The Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) is the private, nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that works to create and improve the rules state and local governments follow when accounting for their finances and reporting them to the public. More from Nation's Cities Weekly.

Planning Principles and Practices Report (May 02)
A recent paper from the Victoria Transport Policy Institute, Planning Principles and Practices (198kb), summarizes key principles and practices for effective planning, particularly land use and transportation planning.

Guide to Contracting ITS Projects (May 02)
The Transportation Research Board's (TRB) Guide to Contracting ITS Projects publication provides guidance on the procurement of intelligent transportation systems (ITS) to regulate and facilitate traffic flow. More from the TRB.

WiFi Free-for-All (May 02)
Strategies for building municipal wireless networks are evolving fast. But are they prudent in the long run? More from Governing.

Raining Security (May 02)
Nine Oregon counties are using a fee-based Internet-based communication system called "Connect & Protect" that securely connects government agencies, first responders, schools and other public and private organizations with real-time public safety information.

Greenhouse Gumption (May 02)
Whether you call it global warming or climate change, it’s an issue that’s being dealt with at the grassroots. More form Governing.