Yesterday, Governor Schwarzenegger announced that California has reached agreements with four state employee unions which will move the state closer to comprehensive pension reform for state employees. The new agreements include significant measures such as requiring employees to contribute at least 10% to their pensions one of the highest contributions in the nation and rolling [...]
According to a study released Tuesday high-speed rail could be a major stimulant to the regional economies where hubs are planned. In addition to the nearly $20 billion in increased annual revenues, CO2 emissions could be reduced by 2.8 million tons a year, the US Conference of Mayors indicated.
Governor John E. Baldacci unveiled a new Foreign Direct Investment initiative at the 30th Maine International Trade Day event held at the Samoset Resort earlier this month. The governor hopes that by pushing green exports to Europe, the state can build off successful efforts in 2009.
Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm announced in her weekly radio address that the state is becoming a “world capital” for advanced battery production. The company LG Chem recently broke ground on the construction of a new battery manufacturing plant there, adding to the $5.8 billion capital investment that the state already has in batteries. Currently Michigan [...]
In response to federal healthcare reform legislation, Dell Services announced the launch of a new practice area meant to help states deal with the law’s regulatory requirements. The new practice will be lead by Melissa Boudreault, one of the architects of Massachusetts Commonwealth Care Health Plan.
Yesterday, Connecticut Governor M. Jodi Rell announced that the state will be awarding $9.8 million in grants to support stem cell research projects at the University of Connecticut and Yale. The money comes from the state’s Stem Cell Research Fund, created in 2005 to support research in this area. Connecticut is only the third state [...]
Yesterday, Pennsylvania Governor Rendell announced that the state’s Insurance Department will be launching an investigation into the pricing practices of Pennsylvania’s nine largest health insurers. The investigation hopes to determine the reasons behind several controversial rate increases and whether or not those increases were driven by dubious health profiling tools.
Several communities in Washington were given awards by Governor Gregoire last week for being examples of smart growth in the state. Washington has been working on fostering smart growth projects for the last 20 years. In order to be considered for the awards, the communities had to demonstrate plans that will focus on three core [...]
A new planned community in Southwest Florida says it will be a “living laboratory” for innovators and entrepreneurs to develop and implement cutting-edge technologies. And according to an announcement today, IBM will help plan and design the city’s technology systems.
Alaska passed legislation yesterday designed to make geothermal power projects in the state more economically viable and support the production of more electric power from geothermal sources. The legislation supports safe exploration of Alaska’s geothermal energy resources and moves the permit process from the Department of Natural Resources to the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation [...]
