MuniLand

There was a fantastic article, “A Sneak Peek at the Streetcar Revival,” in Government Technology yesterday. Old streetcars are being refurbished for service in American cities. I imagine we will see more of this.

Good Links

NASRA: About 3 percent of state and local government spending is on public pensions

Rockford Register Star How will Illinois communities absorb their teachers’ pension obligations?

The Economist: What’s America’s real crime rate?

Reuters: Special Report: Towns go dark with post office closings

Pew Center on the States: Voter registration is a mess across the nation

WSJ: With $5.75 billion on tap, it’s the biggest week of muni bond issuance so far this year

Bond Buyer: Midwest follows the rest of the nation and scales back on bond issuance

Reuters: Muni trade groups claim the Volcker Rule will destroy municipal bond markets

State of Vermont:  2011–2015 Strategic Plan

Government Tech: Report: Town to Lease Old City Hall for $1 to Startups

@Twitter Talk

@BarnettWright Barnett Wright  Carrington quotes Theodore Roosevelt and urges residents “step into bright sunshine” and move county forward

@davidmwessel David Wessel  Pie chart o the day @ezraklein US govt is an insurer with a large army. is.gd/Mj20Sz

@Richard_Florida Richard Florida  RT @TheAtlantic: The 10 best (and 10 worst) states for high-tech business - theatln.tc/yRYpRo

@ChrisLKeller Chris Keller  Figured out how to take @openstates python library and write legi data to a csv that syncs with Fusion Tables. Why? Because it was there.

@TheHbgAuthority THA  Interested in a waste-to-energy facility. Pre-Submission Mtg for Incinerator RFQ today at 2:00 See RFQ: ow.ly/93OkU

@bobivry Bob Ivry  Cops among Florida’s worst speeders, Sun Sentinel investigation finds sun-sentinel.com/news/local/spe… Do this story in NJ if you dare

@T4America Transport. 4 America    Chairman Mica’s home state weighs in on #HouseTranspoFail: “Wrong for the nation and particularly bad for the state”  tampabay.com/opinion/editor…