NACo Pub Details Jail Reentry Best Practices (October 30)
A new publication from the National Association of Counties (NACo), Reentry for Safer Communities, focuses on effective county practices in jail-to-community transition planning for offenders with both mental health and substance abuse disorders.

New Law Brings 911 Services into Internet Age (October 30)
The Federal Communications Commission issued regulations this week for voice-over-IP service providers to offer Enhanced 911 emergency call services to all customers. More from Government Computer News.

Smart City - Using the Internet to Explore Your City (October 30)
This week's guest on Smart City is the creator of Everyblock.com, a website that provides hyper-local news tailored to your street address. Want to find out what's happening in your neighborhood?

Lessons Learned: Advice for New Chiefs (October 30)
The hiring of a new police chief is a significant event in the organizational life of a city. It offers a unique opportunity to evaluate the operations of a police department from a new perspective. More from The Police Chief.

Local Governments Gear Up to Deal with Economic Downturn (October 30)
Local government economic struggles mirror those of the nation, according to a quick poll conducted by the International City/County Management Association (ICMA) in September. More from ICMA.

Government in 3D (October 30)
A new report from the IBM Center for the Business of Government, Government in 3D: How Public Leaders Can Draw on Virtual Worlds, explores how cutting-edge government organizations are using 3-dimensional virtual worlds on the Internet to conduct training, recruit new employees, and educate the public.

Once A Wal-Mart: The New Lives Of Big Boxes (October 30)
Across the country, communities are turning abandoned big-box stores like Kmart and Wal-Mart into churches, schools, libraries — even museums devoted to everything from Spam to Route 66. More from National Public Radio.

Impact Fees and Housing Affordability (October 30)
A new publication prepared for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Impact Fees & Housing Affordability, examines different impact fee programs, and provides recommendations to reduce their adverse effects on housing affordability.

Now, Can I Ever Afford to Retire? (October 30)
Public-employee pensions are more insulated from the market meltdown than private-sector retirement plans. But they're not immune. More from Governing.

Fiscal First Aid (October 30)
In an environment where many local governments are feeling financial pressure, minor structural imbalances that were manageable in the past may now manifest as a financial crisis. More from Government Finance Review.

AG Opinion: State Law Preempts City Authority to Ban Guns on City Property (October 23)
Washington cities do not have the authority to adopt local laws to ban guns on city property according to an opinion (AGO 2008, No. 8) just issued by the State Attorney General's office.

States, Cities Step Up Climate Change Responses (October 23)
Before the fiscal crisis, there was the global climate crisis. After the fiscal crisis, we’ll still have the global climate crisis — for the rest of our lives. More from Nation's Cities Weekly.

Southeast Florida: A Preview of America’s Future (October 23)
Consistent with its role as an international gateway, southeast Florida is becoming more diverse, and early signs indicate that its population might be getting younger as the region changes from a destination for seniors to one for families and young professionals from all points of the globe. More from Urban Land.

When They Can't Talk, Lives are Lost (October 23)
A new publication from the National Association of Counties, When They Can't Talk, Lives are Lost, describes current challenges with first responder interoperable communications and ways to support better interoperability.

Mobile Eyes Keep Watch Over Cities (October 23)
Disasters strike, criminals move from area to area and gangs vandalize blank walls with spray paint. Now, cities have a way to keep tabs on all of it: IP-ready wireless cameras that can be set up quickly and send surveillance video to central monitoring stations via the Internet. More from American City & County.

Feds to Redefine ADA Accessibility Rules (October 23)
In May, U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey approved several proposed changes to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) that, if approved, will affect designs of new government buildings and might force local governments to alter existing buildings. More from American City & County.

Why Can't We Build an Affordable House? (October 23)
The housing market is in tatters, and house prices continue to fall precipitously in many parts of the country, so it might seem a strange time to bring up the subject of housing affordability. More from The Wilson Quarterly.

Turns out There's Good News on Main St. (October 23)
Forced into belt-tightening, Americans are likely to strengthen our family and community ties and to center our lives more closely on the places where we live. More from New Geography.

Growth Management WAC Update Project (October 23)
The Washington Department of Community, Trade and Economic Development (DCTED) is updating the Growth Management chapters of the Washington Administrative Code and needs your input. More from DCTED.

Seizing the Initiative (October 23)
Legislators can’t make unwanted ballot measures go away. But they can put them through some extra hoops. More from Governing.

Grants to Secure the Future of Farming and Salmon (October 16)
The Pioneers in Conservation grants for salmon recovery projects on and affecting private farmlands funded through the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and the Washington State Conservation Commission are now available statewide. More from the American Farmland Trust.

New GAO Report on Disaster Recovery (October 16)
A new report from the U.S Government Accountability Office (GAO) entitled Disaster Recovery: Past Experiences Offer Insights for Recovering from Hurricanes Ike and Gustav and other Recent Natural Disasters is now available.

Connecting Crime Analysis with City Officials (October 16)
Over the last 20 years, crime analysis, intelligence analysis, problem-oriented policing, and fusion centers have become core practices that have captured the attention of police chiefs, sheriffs, and other police managers across the United States. More from The Police Chief.

Down on the Farm (October 16)
As an economic development strategy, agriculture usually looks like a loser. More from Governing.

Sustainability and Survival (October 16)
Managing development to meet the needs of the present without compromising the future is no longer a luxury. More from Governing.

Reconsidering the Trailer Park (October 16)
A new study by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development finds that manufactured housing (also known as mobile homes), despite their reputation, offer important advantages for low-income. More from CityScape.

‘Shared-Space’ Streets Cross the Atlantic (October 16)
Cities in the western and eastern US are starting to let motorists and pedestrians deal with one another more intuitively. More from New Urban News.

New Report on Transit Oriented Development (TOD) (October 16)
A new report from the Transportation Research Board, Effects of TOD on Housing, Parking, and Travel, explores the demographics of transit-oriented development residents and employers, and their motives for locating in TODs, as well as the travel characteristics of residence before and after moving to a TOD.

Information on New Pool Drain Safety Rules (October 16)
New federal requirements affecting public pool drains will go into effect on December 19, 2008. To address questions from their members, The National Recreation and Park Association recently posted an Overview, Clarification, and Frequently Asked Questions page on their Web site.

Feds, States, Cities: In One Fiscal Boat (October 16)
For many years, official Washington — its own “echo chamber,” as some say — has been ignoring the financial needs and prospects of state and local governments. That era is now coming to a crashing end. More from Nation's Cities Weekly.

Design Recommendations for Regional Market-Based Cap-and-Trade Program (October 09)
The Western Climate Initiative (WCI) today announced recommendations for the design of a regional market-based cap-and-trade program. The Final Design Recommendations can be viewed at the WCI website.

Eco-Cities: Urban Planning for the Future (October 09)
Massive developments proposed for the U.S., China and Abu Dhabi aim to reduce or even eliminate the environmental cost of city living. More from Scientific American.

Portland Sets the Pace for Sustainability (October 09)
Portland, Ore., is the most sustainable city in the nation, according to San Francisco-based SustainLane's U.S. City Rankings. More from American City & County.

Multimodal Level of Service Analysis for Urban Streets (October 09)
A new publication from the Transportation Research Board, Multimodal Level of Service Analysis for Urban Streets, explores a method for assessing how well an urban street serves the needs of all of its users.

Beyond Bailout: Reinvesting In "U.S." (October 09)
With the Wall Street mortgage meltdown so massive its costs could reach toward $1 trillion, where’s the economic plan to rebuild America’s cities and infrastructure, to retool our businesses and people for a risky century? More from Nation's Cities Weekly.

Crime Mapping and Analysis (October 09)
Crime analysis, crime mapping, and the ability to operate in an information-sharing environment are becoming critical functions for 21st-century law enforcement. More from The Police Chief.

America's Best Healthy Places to Retire (October 09)
U.S. News writers profile 10 healthy retirement spots around the country. More from U.S. News.

The Bad News About Green Architecture (October 09)
Sustainable buildings are virtuous, but they can be ugly. Only a few designs are truly great. More from Newsweek.

What's Your GPCD? (October 09)
Want to strike up a lively conversation with an urban water efficiency professional? Try this: “So, what’s your GPCD?” More from Water Efficiency.

New Report out on Costs of Land Use Regulation (October 09)
The Washington chapter of the American Planning Association has a paper out -- "Observations On the Costs of Land Use Regulations and Growth Management" (pdf). For anyone interested in housing affordability or growth management, the paper is definitely worth a look.

Court Sides with Locals on Wireless Siting (October 02)
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed itself earlier this month saying that counties and cities can regulate the placement and appearance of wireless poles and towers. More from NACo's County News.

City of Vancouver Recognized Nationally for Performance Management (October 02)
The City of Vancouver was recognized recently with the highest award possible for its use of performance information in the management of the city, a "Certificate of Distinction" from the International City/County Management Association (ICMA). More from the City of Vancouver.

Harnessing the Power of the Arts (October 02)
Cities and counties that invest in the arts reap the additional benefits of jobs, economic growth, and a quality of life that positions those areas to compete in our 21st-century creative economy. More from Public Management.

Excelling in Times of Fiscal Distress (October 02)
Well-run organizations not only survive economic downturns but also create the momentum required to excel. Six characteristics distinguish successful government organizations from the rest of the pack. More from Governing.

Washington’s Minimum Wage to Increase to $8.55 (October 02)
Washington’s minimum wage will increase 48 cents to $8.55 an hour beginning Jan. 1, 2009. More from L & I News.

New Identity Theft Red Flags Rules (October 02)
MRSC's Web page on the Federal Trade Commission's new Identity Theft Red Flags Rules provides information developed by several of the state municipal leagues on the compliance measures, as well as the FTC regulations. Affected agencies must comply with the new rules by November 1, 2008. UPDATE: The FTC granted a six-month delay of enforcement of "Red Flags" rules until May 1, 2009.

Good Question! (October 02)
Regular users of this site know that we feature an "inquiry of the week" on the MRSC home page (see right-hand column). We have now incorporated a compilation of these questions and responses into the MRSC Index. The MRSC Index is a one-stop listing of all web pages, documents and inquiries that we have on any given topic. Browse the index by topic or search it by keyword.

Local Government Budget Library (October 02)
MRSC maintains an extensive collection of local government budgets organized by city, county and special purpose districts. We also link to online budgets (along with other documents and services) within the profiles that we maintain for each city and county.

Local Government Permitting Best Practices Report (October 02)
The Washington State Governor’s Office of Regulatory Assistance (ORA) conducted a series of outreach sessions to collect best practices for local government permitting. The report is now available on ORA's Web site.

Few Mayors Rise to Top Positions in US Government (October 02)
Sarah Palin is trying to become the second mayor ever to ascend to the vice-presidency of the United States. Given that about 80 percent of Americans live in urban areas, why have so few mayors been elected to the top political posts in the United States? More from City Mayors.