Blog City (January 31)
The trend of engaging residents in government through technology is reshaping the way government works. And, the newest interactive online tools are helping executives communicate with and engage constituents. More from American City & County.

Delete at Your Own Risk (January 31)
Governments need a system for managing their mountains of e-mail. Very few have one. More from Governing.

Public Input, Wiki-Style (January 31)
Minneapolis is testing a fresh new approach to gathering public input. Frustrated by low attendance at public meetings, it has launched its first wiki — an online format that allows users to change the content of a document.

Guidance for New Police Chiefs (January 31)
New chiefs often step into their new role inadequately prepared for the challenges ahead. A major part of achieving success involves sidestepping the more common pitfalls into which many new chiefs stumble. More from The Police Chief.

Online Ecological Assessment Database Available (January 31)
A new online database of ecological assessment methods has been developed through a cooperative agreement between the National Park Service and George Mason University.

American Institute of Architects 50to50 (January 31)
A new publication from the American Institute of Architects, "50to50" (7.8MB), is a how-to resource intended to assist architects and the construction industry in achieving a minimum 50 percent reduction of fossil fuel consumption in buildings by 2010 and carbon neutrality by 2030.

Cities Work to Create Aging-Friendly Communities (January 31)
In recent years, America’s cities have increasingly recognized the necessity of becoming more “aging-friendly” — places where people can live their entire lives, if they so desire. More from Nation's Cities Weekly.

DHS Releases New Disaster Response Plan (January 31)
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) unveiled a significantly streamlined disaster response plan that reinstates FEMA’s authority to coordinate federal disaster operations. More from NACo's County News.

Urban Land Institute Report on Compact Development (January 24)
A new report from the Urban Land Institute, Compact Development - Changing the Rules to Make it Happen , presents a wide-ranging assessment of tools being used throughout the country to better support compact development through visioning, planning, and new regulations.

A Manager's Guide to Resolving Conflicts (January 24)
A new report from the IBM Center for the Business of Government, A Manager's Guide to Resolving Conflicts in Collaborative Networks, addresses a critical set of skills—negotiation—needed by all managers involved in collaborative networks.

Managing Wet Weather with Green Infrastructure (January 24)
A new publication from the U.S. EPA, Managing Wet Weather with Green Infrastructure, describes an action strategy promoting the benefits of green infrastructure in mitigating overflows from combined and separate sewers and reducing runoff.

The State of the Union — Crumbling (January 24)
America's infrastructure is struggling, but from where will the funding and political will come to fix it? More from Stateline.

Issues to Watch (January 24)
In 2008, state legislatures will try to fix everything that went wrong in 2007 from collapsing bridges to mortgage foreclosures. More from Governing.

Statewide Crisis Management System Already Saving Lives (January 24)
The Washington State Critical Incident Planning and Mapping System (CIPMS), encourages local first responders to work together with facility managers to develop preplans for a wide variety of emergency incidents. More from The Police Chief.

Green Community Resources (January 24)
Start big or small, but start planning a sustainable future for your community. More from The Commissioner.

Networks for Change (January 24)
This week's guests on Smart city are deeply engaged in understanding and building powerful social networks for change. More from Smart City.

Parks & Recreation - Short Courses in Success (January 24)
Successful golf courses exceed standards for customer service and atmosphere. More from Parks & Recreation.

Cities' Programs Aim to Un-Paint the Town (January 24)
Buildings and other areas defaced by graffiti vandalism can be early signs of urban blight, dwindling property values and poor quality of life for residents. More from American City & County.

Seattle Suburb Endures Growing Pains (January 17)
Once upon a time, Kirkland, Washington, was a quiet bedroom community on the east side of Seattle. Now condos, restaurants and boutiques are popping up, attracting many high-tech employees with discretionary income. More from NPR's Morning Edition

Growing Interest in Inclusionary Zoning (January 17)
Housing experts expect interest in inclusionary zoning to grow in markets with rising home prices and strong demand for workforce housing. More from ICMA's Management Perspective.

American Pastoral (January 17)
The biggest landscaped municipal park to be built in more than a century reveals much about how American attitudes to open space have changed. More from The Economist.

The Hidden Tax (January 17)
When the collection of revenue is too convenient, it can lead to consequences that may or may not be intended. More from Governing.

Web Sightings 2007 (January 17)
In case you missed them, here are all of our Web Sightings for 2007:

• Ecological Footprint
• Congestion Pricing
• Washington City/County History Links
• Citizen Boards and Commissions
• Workforce Planning
• Walkable Communities and Pedestrian Planning
• Heritage Tourism
• Energy Conservation and Efficiency
• Neighborhood Web Sites

Ghost Malls (January 17)
Malls aren't turning into haunted houses just yet, but they may be on their way, thanks to the recent wholesale shuttering of national retail chains. More from Slate.

The Intersection of Trees and Safety (January 17)
In the automobile age, a real concern with safety has resulted in street tree standards that dictate long setbacks from intersections, ostensibly to achieve unobstructed sight lines for drivers. But are street trees the safety problem they are purported to be? More from Access.

For Whom the Road Tolls (January 17)
Here's a new way to create political support for congestion pricing on urban freeways: distribute the toll revenue to cities with the tolled freeways. More from Access.

Ballistic Body Armor: A Chief’s Refresher Course (January 17)
A primary objective of law enforcement executives is to provide their officers with the proper equipment necessary to protect and defend themselves while performing their duties. More from The Police Chief.

Smart City - Sustainable Urbanism (January 17)
This week's guest on Smart City talks about how places grow, how we get from one place to another, and how we can live more sustainably.

Using Census Data for Transportation Planning (January 17)
A new guidebook from the Transportation Safety Board (TRB) explores incorporating the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey data into the transportation planning processes at national, state, metropolitan, and local levels. More from the TRB.

The Meeting Morass (January 09)
There are way too many of them, they take too long and don’t accomplish much. Can meetings be fixed? More from Governing.

Giving Notice (January 09)
From severe weather warnings to terror attack alerts, newer and more sophisticated technologies are helping local officials quickly and accurately notify residents about events in their communities. More from American City & County.

Trail-Building Toolbox (January 09)
The Rails-to-Trails Conservancy is building the most comprehensive resource for rail-trail development, the Trail-Building Toolbox, an online tool that includes an index of topics to help inform and assist trail managers, advocates, and builders.

Five Ways Public Libraries Can Help Communities (January 09)
A new report from the International City/County Management Association, Local Government Managers and Libraries: Partners for a Better Community, features ways that libraries are used to address economic, educational, and social issues that challenge their communities.

Leading a Net (January 09)
Think about our cities and counties—as you see them when you fly over them. A city or county today is actually a complex system of overlapping, interrelating jurisdictions—a net. More from Public Management.

Identity Theft Victim Recovery Starts with Local Law Enforcement Agencies (January 09)
The Federal Trade Commission offers local law enforcement agencies free tools, resources, a referral hotline, and other support that they can use to help the victims of identity theft. More from The Police Chief.

Luck Is Recognizing It (January 09)
Most executives are lucky. Many executives are lucky often. But do they possess the capability to recognize this luck and act on it? More from Bob Behn's Public Management Report.

Capital Planning for Resiliency (January 09)
Capital planning is central to enhancing a locality’s resiliency to extreme events — be they natural or an-made. More from Government Finance Review.

Exercising Their Right to Play (January 09)
Calorie-counters say playground adventures keep kids fit. More from Parks & Recreation.

Converging Frontiers of Conservation Development (January 09)
Conservation development can offer developers and builders a strategy to meet increased housing demand while employing responsible management of natural resources. More from Urban Land Green.

Birth, Death and Shopping (January 02)
While malls continue to multiply outside America, they are gradually dying in the country that pioneered them. More from The Economist.

A Cautionary Tale (January 02)
Amid our green-building boom, why neglecting the old in favor of the new just might cost us dearly. More From Preservation.

It's Way Too Easy Being Green (January 02)
Critics of LEED—many of them architects who were green before green was cool—see a system that's easy to game and has more to do with generating good PR than saving the planet. More from Slate.

How Green is Your House? (January 02)
No matter how green your house is it can't really be described as environmentally friendly if it's part of a sprawling neighborhood that just adds to car dependency. More from Time.

Beyond Wi-Fi (January 02)
It’s time for local, state and federal leaders to focus on making the U.S. more competitive when it comes to broadband. More from Governing.

Comments Invited on Draft Climate Change Recommendations (January 02)
The Washington Departments of Ecology (DOE) and Community, Trade, and Economic Development (CTED) invite you to submit your comments on draft recommendations for meeting the Washington Climate Change Challenge. More from DOE.

Database of State Incentives for Renewables and Efficiency (DSIRE) (January 02)
DSIRE is a comprehensive source of information on state, local, utility, and federal incentives that promote renewable energy and energy efficiency.

More Counties Make Majority-Minority Shift (January 02)
More than 50 percent of the population of nearly one in 10 counties across the country are minorities, including African-Americans, Asians, Hispanics and Native Americans, according to a report released in August by the U. S. Census Bureau. More from American City & County.

Smart Growth Tools (January 02)
Although smart growth makes financial and environmental sense for communities, it's not always easy to achieve. This week's guests on Smart City talk about smart growth and how to make it happen.

Adapting to Change in Law Enforcement Public Information (January 02)
The future presents unparalleled opportunities for law enforcement leaders to deliver better public information services and to develop stronger ties with their communities. More from The Police Chief.