USCM "shocked and dismayed" at Congress' failure to fund Energy Block Grant 

The Senate Appropriations Subcommittee's failure to fund a new Energy Efficiency Block Grant program has the Washington-based U.S. Conference of Mayors (USCM)...

Miami mayor aims to move cities forward 

This month, the Washington-based U.S. Conference of Mayors (USCM) will induct Miami Mayor Manuel Diaz as its new president. Since taking office in 2001,...

Roll Call  

Panasonic Jan Ruderman, senior director for the government sector for the Secaucus, N.J.-based electronics manufacturer, has been named vice president...

Postcards 

Freshman mayor The face of local government drastically changed in Muskogee, Okla., in May when the 38,000-resident city elected John Tyler Hammons, a...

Postcards 

I won't drink to that In April, the Louisiana Senate rejected a proposal to make Sazerac a whiskey, sugar, bitters and absinthe concoction the state's...

Roll Call 

Bentley Systems Harry Vitelli has joined the Exton, Pa.-based company as vice president for platform product management. Previously, he was vice president...

Los Angeles requires residents to fix pets 

By: Annie Gentile

In February, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa signed an ordinance that requires pet owners to spay or neuter their cats and dogs that are at least...

All there is to know on state constitutions 

A new reference book from the University of Missouri Press, The Constitutionalism of American States, examines each state's constitutional history and...

Sex industry sets up shop in small towns 

By: Ed Brock

The First Amendment's free speech protection makes banning sexually oriented businesses, such as adult video stores and strip bars, nearly impossible...

Green cities need more federal help 

To date, 840 mayors have vowed to make their communities by signing the Washington-based U.S. Conference of Mayors' (USCM) Climate Protection Agreement....

Report aims to reduce land-use disputes 

Land-use disputes often disrupt and delay development plans and draw local governments into lawsuits. To help local leaders minimize land-use disputes,...

Healthy choices 

By: By Bill Wolpin

Environmentalism always has been a health care issue. If we foul our nest, we're endangering our health, and if we don't stop, we'll have to find new...

Tulsa, Okla., extends help to veterans 

With 36,000 veterans representing 14 percent of Tulsa, Okla.'s population, Mayor Kathy Taylor has been marshalling community resources to better address...

Roll Call 

Ohio Department of Transportation Jolene Molitoris has been named assistant director. Previously, she was chairwoman of the Ohio Rail Development Commission....

The unexamined life 

By: By Bill Wolpin bill.wolpin@penton.com

Negative themes often surface during political campaigns, but for the first time, the leading presidential candidates have found it impossible to avoid...

Postcards 

Raising a stink To determine the intensity of odors emanating from a Northampton, Mass., landfill, officials commissioned what is being dubbed a sniff...

ROLL CALL 

American Institute of Hydrology David Williams, national technical director of water resources for Orlando, Fla.-based PBS&J, has been named chairman...

Study shows lack of ethics programs 

By: Ed Brock

A major ethics scandal may soon unfold in the public sector unless government agencies, particularly local and state governments, institute strong ethics...

postcards 

What's in a name? A West Virginia town is known by two names Berkeley Springs and Bath possibly creating confusion for visitors. But, city officials do...

postcards 

Acts of kindness When Stow, Ohio, Law Director Brian Reali discovered that he would be deployed to Kuwait with the Ohio National Guard, he volunteered...

The talk of the towns 

By: Deanna Hart

Each May, Holland, Mich., resident John Karsten dresses in 17th century-style attire and walks ahead of a Dutch parade during the town's Tulip Time Festival,...

A winter wonderland 

By: Deanna Hart

In St. Paul, Minn., the bitter cold of winter is something to celebrate. For decades, a winter carnival has brought residents from the warmth of their...

ROLL CALL 

Earth Tool Co. Brian Metcalf, vice president International Sales and Business Development for the Oconomowoc, Wis.-based company, has been named president...

postcards 

Can't buy me love. Couples eager to tie the knot in Valley View, Ohio, often turn to Mayor Randall Westfall, who presides over nuptials for free. But,...

ROLL CALL 

Contech Construction Products Jeffrey Lee has joined the West Chester, Ohio-based company as senior vice president and chief financial officer (CFO)....