Government / Politics

After unceremoniously dispatching the state’s redevelopment agencies amidst California’s recent fiscal crisis, Governor Jerry Brown has formulated a new scheme for cities to achieve their redevelopment goals, but there's a catch.

January 13, 2014 - California Planning & Development Report

Three hundred thousand residents in nine counties in W.Va, including the state capital have gone without tap water since Thursday due to a massive chemical spill into the Elk River. All uses except flushing are off-limits. How much longer is unknown.

January 13, 2014 - The New York Times

The admission is the first from a Chinese official that puts a human cost on the country's huge air pollution problem, largely stemming from coal-burning power plants. But Shanghai had good news this week too. Rain brought blue skies and clean air.

January 11, 2014 - Marketplace

Barry Blitt makes light of the "Bridgegate" scandal that enveloped New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie's administration in his cartoon for the cover of the next New Yorker magazine. If you play politics with traffic, you risk getting run over.

January 10, 2014 - The New Yorker

Yes, and that's a good thing, say opponents of lifting the 1975 ban on crude oil exports. Brad Plumer examines this argument and explains the two other chief reasons, the environment and refinery lobbying, to maintain the ban on exporting crude oil.

January 10, 2014 - The Washington Post - Wonkblog

The Los Angeles 2020 Commission released a report that presents a scathing portrayal of Los Angeles, including a section on the city’s broken planning process.

January 9, 2014 - Los Angeles Times

Bridge-Gate just got a lot juicier. Despite Governor Christie’s denials, recently released emails suggest that his close aides helped orchestrate the closure of lanes to the George Washington Bridge as part of a politically-motivated vendetta.

January 8, 2014 - NorthJersey.com

A $3-billion street repair bond measure being drafted for the November ballot reflects L.A.'s traditional preference for automobiles over other modes of transport. Pedestrian advocates are fighting to fund sidewalk repairs. Will the pols listen?

January 8, 2014 - Los Angeles Times

Since at least the housing crash, government programs like the mortgage interest deduction that subsidize homeowners over the millions of Americans that rent their homes have come in for criticism. A proposed New York tax might address the imbalance.

January 8, 2014 - The Atlantic Cities

Crude oil may be flammable, but until recently was not thought to be explosive. However, three recent oil train explosions all involving crude oil from the Bakken formation have prodded investigators to determine why Bakken crude is more explosive.

January 8, 2014 - The Wall Street Journal - Business

With little outside oversight, Boston's powerful yet secretive Redevelopment Agency has squandered millions of dollars that were supposed to help build affordable housing by cutting deals with developers and allocating funds to other uses.

January 7, 2014 - The Boston Globe

California's embattled high speed rail, which appears to be on life support following a Nov. court ruling, will receive funds from the state's carbon cap & trade program in Gov. Brown's budget to be released Friday. But will it make a difference?

January 7, 2014 - The Sacramento Bee - Capitol Alert

Outdated frameworks for participation and cutbacks in services have soured the relationship between citizens and their governments. A new study suggests policies and legislation for reviving meaningful public engagement in governance.

January 7, 2014 - Governing

With today's inauguration, Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto is embarking on a "monumental shift in both style and substance in the mayor's office," reports Moriah Balingit. The biggest question facing the progressive mayor is where to begin.

January 6, 2014 - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

New municipal zoning laws don’t necessarily make for the most compelling reading material, but a new set of New York City regulations are worth paying attention to.

January 6, 2014 - Next City

A ballot measure being proposed by the Sierra Club’s San Francisco chapter would take certain waterfront development decisions out of the hands of the city's Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors, and give it to the voters.

January 6, 2014 - Sf Examiner

Mexico is poised to allow foreign investment in its state-owned oil company, Pemex, for the first time in 75 years. In Venezuela, home to the world's cheapest gasoline, prices are due to skyrocket if President Maduro ends subsidies as he's indicated.

January 5, 2014 - BBC News

Though it's been expedited, the cumbersome environmental review process for a plan to raise the deck of the Bayonne Bridge has New York area leaders fuming over impediments to economic development. Others contend the review is being rushed.

January 4, 2014 - The New York Times

Michael Sorkin bemoans the trickle-down planning ethos of the Bloomberg era and sees the need to increase the city's resiliency as an opportunity to "return to the task of physical planning attuned to local desires".

January 4, 2014 - Architectural Record

Over twenty years in office, Mayor Thomas Menino had a considerable impact on Boston's built environment. For Robert Campbell, the Mayor's most substantial accomplishment was in recapturing "the places in between".

January 3, 2014 - Boston Globe