Swan's Picks

Here are the picks for October 20. Detroit wants to be the first big American city to tax land value (economist.com) Beyond the Myth of Rural America | The New Yorker City Backtracks on Key Commitments for New 15-Story, 1,040-Bed Boerum Hill Jail, Locals Say | Brownstoner US Cities Enter Era of Austerity Without Pandemic Aid, Report Says - Bloomberg Milton home prices: A Boston Globe Spotlight Team report on the housing crisis What Happened to San Francisco, Really? | T

Here are the picks for the week. Note the food cart licensing report, an interesting counterpoint to Laura Napoli Coordes' post here last week on taxi medallion licensing in New York City. Adams: NYC policy to shelter the homeless shouldn't cover migrant influx - POLITICO Kentucky Activists Step In to Deliver on the Promise of Voting Rights Restoration | Bolts (boltsmag.org) More than 1,000 birds killed in one night after hitting the same Chicago building (accuweather.com

Before getting to Swan's Picks for this week, here is a suggested reading from Gregory Shill, University of Iowa College of Law, on some ways that second-best interventions may pick up quick gains on transportation safety policy. Drawing from economic theory, "second best" interventions are self-consciously designed to reach for the best policy that can be achieved quickly. See more on what Shill has to say here , including suggestions for more bollards, better streetlight

Here are Swan's picks for this week. Black churches in Florida buck DeSantis: 'Our churches will teach our own history.' (msn.com) CA Legislature Approves Sen. Skinner’s SB 345, Strengthening Protections for Medication Abortion, Contraception and Gender-Affirming Care | Senator Nancy Skinner NYPD Quality-of-Life Crackdown Sends Thousands to Criminal Court, Undoing Landmark Reforms - THE CITY Judge Reverses Course on 2020 Protest Settlement Because Police Union Doesn't Like

Very handy guide to the Supreme Court of all fifty states from Bolts. Great resource. Your State-by-State Guide to Every State Supreme Court | Bolts (boltsmag.org) Can I Buy a House: Higher Rates Hit Market With Affordability at 40-Year Low - Bloomberg Anoka approves state's first social district, allowing public consumption in certain area - KSTP.com 5 Eyewitness News South Carolina Six-Week Abortion Ban Will Take Effect As State Supreme Court Reverses Itself (forbes.com)

It is not too often state constitutional rights claims make Meet the Press, but that was true this week when Chuck Todd interviewed Michael Gerrard of the Columbia Sabin Center. Five states in addition to Montana contain environmental rights in their constitutions. That is one reason why today's first Swan Pick is a must-read! Judge rules in favor of youths in landmark Montana climate trial - The Washington Post A conversation with the newspaper owner raided by cops (substa

For those who groove to Justice Brennan's visionary 1977 Harvard Law Review article, State Constitutions and the Protection of Individual Rights, Swan's lead pick this week, by James Forman and Lara Bazelon is like a greatest hits countdown on July 4th weekend. Geek out with us. Liberals Should Use State Courts to Check the Supreme Court (nymag.com) San Francisco Gives Hope to Tenants of Residential Hotels (sfstandard.com) Car insurance premiums based on job, education can d

Summer is upon us, and at least a few of us will be reading the local paper in a quiet place sometime soon. When you do, remember that these local papers are one of the few news sources available that covers what is going on at the school board, the zoning board, town hall or at the board of county commissioners meeting. That's why the story about retaliation against hometown newspapers that is one of Swan's picks this week is so important. Alabama town gets first Black mayor

Women broke representation records in statehouses after 2022 midterms (19thnews.org) Gov. Pritzker makes Illinois first state to ban book bans (wgntv.com) Wealthy homeowners penalized for blocking Calif. beach access (sfgate.com) Transit Systems Face Credit Downgrades as US Ridership Wanes - Bloomberg Public Health Needs a Political Strategy, Not Just Funding (governing.com) Thousands of California cops could be decertified under new law (sfchronicle.com) The True-Crime Frenz

Including an op-ed from the New York Times on state legislatures and democracy--must read. Opinion | States Are Silencing the Will of Millions of Voters - The New York Times (nytimes.com) What Happened When a Brooklyn Neighborhood Policed Itself for Five Days - The New York Times (nytimes.com) California ‘bounty hunters’ are earning money for voter signatures. Now, there’s a backlash (eastbaytimes.com) Colorado Bans Local Governments From Jailing Immigrants for ICE | Bolts (b

How are climate concerns impacting local policy in your community? The two lead picks for this week shows the impact on Phoenix and in California; send us tips from what you are seeing where you sit. Arizona won't issue new-home permits in some far fringes of Phoenix (tucson.com) State Farm no longer accepts homeowner insurance applications in California : NPR Judge accepts Jacksonville City Council redistricting settlement (jaxtrib.org) Thousands of NYC’s supportive housi

Even the most chill among our readers need to be concerned about the Texas nuclear preemption bill listed first in the picks this week. Blue cities like Austin and Houston are going to suffer. Texas passes bill stripping authority from cities | The Hill Democrat Donna Deegan flips the Jacksonville mayor's office in a major upset (nbcnews.com) Will Philadelphia’s Helen Gym Cap a Progressive Hot Streak? (nymag.com) Eric Adams Starves NYC’s Universal Pre-K Program - Bloomberg

NYC Bill Proposes Income-Based Fines for Violations Like Double Parking - The New York Times (nytimes.com) DeSantis signs bills banning Chinese citizens from buying land in Florida | Florida | The Guardian Alabama would prosecute abortion as murder under newly introduced bill - al.com It's Been a Deadly Year on US Roads. Except in This City. - Bloomberg Debate over holding back third graders roils state legislatures | News From The States Texas Republicans seek to overturn H

Do you have any picks that have gotten your attention? Do you have a forthcoming article you'd like to preview? Let us know at sloglawblog@gmail.com Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke Delivers Remarks to Announce Agreement in Civil Rights and Environmental Justice Investigation of Alabama Department of Public Health | OPA | Department of Justice As rail profits soar, blocked crossings force kids to crawl under trains to get to school – InvestigateTV Montana's YIMB

She Had $2,300 in Unpaid Taxes. Hennepin County Bilked Her for $25,000. (reason.com) State's Failure to Pass Drug Possession Bill Could Lead to Patchwork of Local Laws - PubliCola In a thriving Michigan county, a community goes to war with itself (msn.com) "It's a good day for freedoms": Walz signs bills on reproductive freedom and trans refuge, ban on conversion therapy - CBS Minnesota (cbsnews.com) Conservative lawmakers stop abortion limits in Nebraska, South Carolina - Th

If St. Patrick could drive the snakes out of Ireland, could we not banish a few serpents of our own? Here are the Swan's Picks for this week. Managing Editor particularly commends the New York Times editorial for your discussion board, if you happen to be teaching local government this semester. And, we have news of an upcoming symposium, stand by! Muni Credit Ratings at Risk Because of Missing Accountants - Bloomberg Lawyer: Wayne County prosecutors charged man as punishmen

It’s been a big week in state and local government law! Here are the headlines: Walgreens Loses Contract With California Over Stance on Abortion Pill - The New York Times (nytimes.com) ‘It’s legal, there’s just no precedent’: the first US town to demand a rent decrease | New York | The Guardian The right makes a new claim to the future - POLITICO Does CT need 169 municipalities? Some say merging makes sense (ctmirror.org) State and Local Officials Press to Increase Rail S

Managing Editor is in Florida. Let me tell you that we are having a First Amendment freak-out here right now. Thanks to Sarah Swan for flagging these important developments, along with others from around the nation. One more editorial note: Attorney George Fatheree, who represented the Bruce family in its fight for reparation of Bruce's Beach (see link ) was a recent speaker around here. His take on the topic discussed by the Times piece: the Bruce's Beach land is difficul

We're pleased to give you last week today, in addition to the week's picks. For those who want a preview of what else is to come, check out links to prefiled bills in the upcoming legislative sessions in Florida and Texas. In Florida , an effort to reverse attacks there on same-sex marriage; tightening of inspection laws to prevent another Surfside condo collapse in addition to the Reedy Creek bill noted below; and enacted already, and signed yesterday, authorization to fund

Feel like something is looking over your shoulder? Us, too. And it's not Twitter this time. Here are Swan's Picks for this week. As Hospitals Fail, Reeves Urges GOP to Hold Firm Against Medicaid Expansion (mississippifreepress.org) Opinion | Can Anything Be Done to Assuage Rural Rage? - The New York Times (nytimes.com) Can a City Thrive When Its Downtown Is Empty? (governing.com) Can Tulsa fine Native Americans for speeding? Federal appeal asks (oklahoman.com) Utah passes