October 1, 2007
Features
Power play
By definition, managing wastewater facilities is an environmentally sensitive job, but climate-change awareness and rising prices for electricity and natural gas are pushing plants to produce and use renewable energy. Energy accounts for 30 percent of the operating and maintenance costs of most wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), and demand for electricity at the facilities is expected to grow 20...
The buck stopped here
During legislative hearings last spring, national accounting regulators were adamant in telling Texas legislators they absolutely must comply with a new rule to report the cost of post-retirement health care benefits. But, State Senator Leticia Van de Putte was not buying it....
Fueling doubts
Ethanol and biodiesel can replace petroleum, but questions abound about their sustainability...
Issues & Trends
Future darkens for cities' Wi-Fi systems
On Sept. 4, Atlanta-based Earthlink, a provider of wireless Internet service, or Wi-Fi, for several cities, announced a major restructuring of the company. Part of the restructuring plan calls for a new approach to the company's Wi-Fi services and an end to covering most of the upfront costs of installing the networks. As a result, Chicago scrapped its plans for citywide Wi-Fi coverage, San Francisco is reconsidering its Wi-Fi project, and other cities may have to take a new approach to providing broadband access to their residents....
New York counties earn dibs on waste
In April, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Oneida and Herkimer counties, N.Y., have the right to require waste haulers to use their public landfill....
Cities change course on golf operations
In the mid-1990s, many cities joined the rush to build golf courses to meet the demands of a golf boom. But, a recent decrease in the number of rounds...
New Haven sees promise in ID cards
On July 24, 2007, New Haven, Conn., launched a Municipal Identification Program to distribute I.D. cards to all residents. The cards can be used to access...
Fighting foreclosure
Foreclosure rates are high across the nation. The Washington-based U.S. Conference of Mayors (USCM) estimates that nearly 2 million families will be affected...
Plugged in
The Tennessee Department of Human Services has purchased case management software from Bethesda, Md.-based Lagan. The Columbia County, Ga., Sheriff's...
Company news
Princeton, N.J.-based SightLogix, a video system software designer, and Chantilly, Va.-based videoNEXT, a computer software manufacturer, have partnered...
ROLL CALL
FKI Logistex Chris Roach, director of the parts group for the St. Louis-based company's North America systems, has been named vice president for customer...
Hang up and drive!
In September, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a new law that prohibits teenage drivers from using cell phones, pagers, laptops or other electronic devices...
Driver's education goes green in Florida
This fall, high school students enrolled in Leon County, Fla.'s driver education programs are buckling into hybrid vehicles to practice their skills behind...
The right tools to make recycling work
Looking for ways to boost curbside recycling participation? An online and CD-ROM toolkit designed by the Arlington, Va.-based Curbside Value Partnership,...
Columns
The secret weapon
It shouldn't be a surprise that strong local governments are key to a country's stability. But now, that concept is enjoying a surge of its own in Iraq....
Know the audience
IT managers often struggle to effectively communicate complex details about projects to elected officials and executive managers. The top city and county...
Time is always money
An increasing number of local governments are preparing financial forecasts to project revenues and expenditures five or more years into the future. When...
With bated breath
The Democratic-controlled House and Senate have approved 2008 funding bills that include modest increases for several important community initiatives,...
Ways & Means
Stemming the runoff tide
Two years ago, California asked Newport Beach to clean up the flow of urban runoff into Crystal Cove, a popular tourist destination on the coast of the...
Fueling a growth industry
In 2000, the Northern Tier Solid Waste Authority (NTSWA) installed a system at its Bradford County, Pa., landfill to convert methane gas generated by...
Saying hello to progress
Smith County, Texas, has grown quickly over the last few years, but the county's communications infrastructure has not kept pace. As a result, residents...
Buyer's Index
Grounds Maintenance Deer fence Nixalite The Deer Blocker is lightweight fencing constructed of polyethylene that is nearly invisible from normal viewing...
Across America
The center of attention
Just 20 miles north of Belle Fourche, S.D., hidden among acres of chestnut-colored prairie land, a thin, orange post stuck in a slab of concrete marks...
Steel running in NYC
By the end of 1964, the New York Transit Authority wanted to eliminate its existing fleet of low alloy subway cars, replacing them with units made of...
Postcards
Pants under fire The underwear-exposing trend of wearing baggy pants below the waist, popularized in hip-hop culture and, lest we forget, the Marky Mark...
