MuniLand

Alaska has a land mass one-fifth the size of the continental United States. Watch the video to see how the Alaska State Legislature uses technology to reach citizens in remote parts of the state.

Good Links

NYT: Under Obama, a record decline in government jobs

MSRB: Muniland overseer’s 2011 Annual Report details a lot of progress in reforming the municipal market

Bond Buyer: Municipal bond dealers likely to get new fee to fund accounting standards board

WSJ: Schools suing states for more money but are unlikely to find judicial relief

Reuters: U.S. judge strips Jefferson County receiver’s powers. Muni markets are fine despite dire predictions

Patriot News: Harrisburg incinerator debt includes $49 million in fees, council attorney says

Reuters: EPA may truck water to Pennsylvania residents near fracking site

Bloomberg: Illinois rating lowered to A2 by Moody’s affecting $32 billion of debt

@Twitter Talk

@BostonFed BostonFed  Why was this recession different? Distinctive feature: household net worth’s substantial decline, partic. from real estate value decline.

@AtlanticCities The Atlantic Cities  Can Amtrak ever make money? bit.ly/w23ycK

@cate_long Cate Long   Municipal Analysts Group of New York will be having a presentation about #fracking on Jan 20th in NYC – Yale Club  bit.ly/yXbWeZ

@AltTulsa AlternativeTulsa   Holy Frack: This Land Press takes a look at fracking and earthquakes in Oklahoma. Needless to say, it’s complicated:  shar.es/Weq9L

@PatriotNews The Patriot-News   Because the city has no Humane Society contract, Harrisburg cops are instructed to kill, dump or adopt stray dogs pennlive.com/midstate/index…

@TransportNation TransportationNation   JFK airport security workers make $8 an hour: ow.ly/8j85A

@DebGH Deb Gersh Hernandez   NY Gov. signs law requiring public meeting docs, related info be posted online before the meeting.  bit.ly/z2QHXX #opengov