Home Foreclosures and the Local Government Tax Base (December 20)
A new report from The Center for Responsible Lending (CRL),estimates the monetary value of the losses resulting from the subprime mortgage crisis in terms of lower property value and a reduced tax base for local governments. More from CRL.

Newly Elected Officials Information (December 20)
MRSC's Newly Elected Officials Web page includes links to several helpful resources for newly elected local government officials including basic legal guidelines, selected library material and training workshops.

The Streetcar Surge (December 20)
Streetcars, popular again in a growing number of cities, have the potential to be a vital part of urban transportation systems. More from Governing.

The Five Big Errors of PerformanceStat (December 20)
Bob Behn, faculty chair of the Harvard Kennedy School of Government's Executive Education program on Driving Government Performance, comments on the five big errors that he has observed in public agency implementations of various "PerformanceStat" program efforts. More from Management Insights.

Targeted Watershed Grants 2008 Puget Sound Initiative (December 20)
U.S. EPA Region 10 is soliciting proposals to support the protection and restoration of high valued Puget Sound aquatic resources in areas threatened by growth pressure through holistic watershed protection and management approaches. More from EPA.

Justice Information Grant Opportunity - Call for Proposals (December 20)
Washington local government agencies are invited to submit proposals for grants available through the National Criminal History Improvement Program. Proposals must be submitted to Justice Information Network Program Manager, Mo West no later than 5pm Wednesday, January 9, 2008.

Smart City - The Quality of Place (December 20)
The quality of places results from many factors. This week's guests on Smart City are experts in very different fields, both of which are deeply engaged in making better places. More from Smart City.

Extreme Government Makeover (December 20)
What can we learn from the George Foreman grill, Southwest Airlines and "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition"? More from Governing.

Workers’ Comp Rates will Increase 3.2 Percent (December 20)
The Washington Department of Labor & Industries recently adopted workers’ compensation rates for 2008, increasing premiums by an average of 3.2 percent next year. More from L&I.

Fields of Dreams (December 20)
According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Washington-based Brookings Institute, 450,000 brownfield sites, comprising more than 80,000 acres, currently blight America's cities. More from American City & County.

A Few Priority Measures—Plus More (December 13)
Public managers need a few priority measures to drive performance plus a lot of other measures to check for honest cheating. More from Bob Behn's Public Management Report.

Cities Redo Streets for Pedestrians, Cyclists, Transit (December 13)
The "complete streets" movement, and the coalition that united behind it, are helping to usher in benefits for cyclists and pedestrians alike. More from New Urban News.

Fitting In on the Fringe (December 13)
Zoning issues and community opposition may be a factor in most building locations, but developers find that local governments are often more amenable to suburban infill development. More from Multifamily Trends.

Art, Culture, and Planning (December 13)
While there certainly are measurable financial benefits associated with cultural activities, arts and culture projects are also particularly well suited to strengthening the quality of community life. More from The Commissioner.

Local Warming (December 13)
It’s too late to stop climate change. What we can do is plan for it. More from Governing.

Temps Welcome (December 13)
Once considered purely a regulatory hassle, many cities are now taking a fresh look at the benefits offered by creative temporary uses. More from Planning Magazine.

A Field Survey of Walkable Urban Places (December 13)
A recent report from the Brookings Institution, Footloose and Fancy Free: A Field Survey of Walkable Urban Places in the Top 30 U.S. Metropolitan Areas, attempts to identify the number and location of "regional-serving" walkable urban places in the 30 largest metropolitan areas in the U.S. More from Brookings.

The Case against Regional Growth-Management Planning (December 13)
A recently published report from the CATO Institute, The Planning Tax: The Case against Regional Growth-Management Planning, argues that growth-management planning makes housing unaffordable and contributes to a business-unfriendly environment that slows economic growth. More from the CATO Institute.

Methamphetamine Epidemic Rages On (December 13)
According to a new survey released by the Washington-based National Association of Counties (NACo), meth abuse remains a national epidemic that is straining local law enforcement budgets. More from American City & County.

Going Green (December 13)
Local governments are pressuring the federal government by their examples and inventing and applying strategies that are creating new environmental policy, often without mandates. More from Public Management.