“At the local level, candidates regularly find themselves running
against another community member,” writes Cal Cities CEO Carolyn
Coleman. “This familiarity may make it even more challenging to
put aside the campaign mindset after the election is over and
focus on uniting as a community.”
California’s new water standards become effective Jan. 1, 2025.
The new rule shifts away from a one-size-fits-all approach to
community-specific conservation management and will affect almost
every city — including the 199 classified as urban water
suppliers.
Four years ago, Corona had thousands of missing trees and a
disorderly forestry strategy. Today, the city is actively
managing and planting trees, creating environmental, aesthetic,
and social dividends in the process.
“I couldn’t find anything that inspired me here in California,
where I was rooted and wanted to stay,” writes Vanessa Luna, a
former American Connection Corps AmeriCorps Member with the city
of Santa Paula. “That all changed when ACC gave me an opportunity
to serve right here in the town where I grew up.”
Unclear career pathways, inflexible scheduling, and complicated
hiring processes can exacerbate workforce challenges. Many cities
are turning to strategies used by private sector employers, like
skills-based hiring and registered apprenticeships, to meet their
workforce needs.
The city of San Diego is leading Far South/Border North, a
regional initiative for artists and cultural practitioners. The
program provided grant funding to 78 recipients for outreach and
awareness campaigns focused on everything from public health to
civic engagement.
The U.S. Supreme Court issued an unprecedented number of
decisions in its 2023-24 term on free speech and social media.
Some of these rulings open the door to future, theoretical legal
challenges.
