Good to Know…Week of July 4, 2011

To read this article, go to: PewResearch.org

IMMIGRATION
List of State Immigration Laws Blocked in Federal Court Grows Longer
Last week, we noted that several states’ tough, new immigration laws have been challenged in court. Arizona and Utah both recently had key parts of their laws blocked by federal judges.

Now, add Georgia and Indiana to the list.

To read this article, go to: Propublica.org

EDUCATION
Most Expensive Colleges Must Defend Rates to Federal Government
Washington, DC—The “Hall of Shame” of college pricing has been released: federally compiled lists of the country’s most expensive institutions and those that have raised tuition the most in recent years. Mandated by the 2008 renewal of the Higher Education Act, the Education Department lists are intended to embarrass colleges into reining in both their internal costs and the prices they charge to students.

To read this article, go to: Insidehighered.com

HOUSING MARKET
Housing Market Turning Around in Several Rural States
The housing market is hurting nationally, but it appears to be marching toward recovery in a handful of mostly rural states, economic forecasters say.

To read this article, go to: USATODAY.com

AID FOR POOR
A New Way To Aid The Poor: Ask Them To Pay
A new campaign to install toilets in the developing world rests not on aid, but on using marketing to convince villagers that bad sanitation is a problem they need to work together to fix.

To read this article, go to: FastCompany.com

STATE GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN
Minnesota Begins Historic State Government Shutdown
Dayton renewed his call to tax the rich; GOP pointed to harm of long-term debt. The governor and legislative leaders worked into the evening in a last-ditch bid for resolution.

To read this article, go to: StarTribune.com

PUBLIC WORKFORCE
Report: Number of Teleworkers Declined in 2010
From smart phones to iPads, it seems like today’s technological advances are combining to allow even more people to telework. The federal government has gotten into the game, too, with the Telework Enhancement Act, signed last December.

To read this article, go to: FCW.com

Government Workers Say They’re More Content—Except in the Workplace
There will forever be debate between public- and private-sector employees about who’s got the better gig: Private-sector employees say government workers get too-generous benefits; government workers say their private counterparts make more money. But who’s happier?

To read this article, go to: PewResearch.com

Census Bureau to Close Six Regional Offices
The Census Bureau will close half of its 12 regional offices in a cost-cutting measure, the agency announced Tuesday.

None of approximately 7,200 field workers who collect vital statistics on individual households and the economy will lose their jobs, said Robert M. Groves, the Census Bureau director.

To read this article, go to: WashingtonPost.com

GREEN CITIES
Green Cities Span Coasts, as Eco-Efforts Intensify
North America’s greenest cities aren’t just on the West Coast, long known for environmentalism. They’re also in the South, East and Midwest as innovative eco-efforts proliferate.

To read this article, go to: USATODAY.com

HEALTH CARE
‘Mystery Shoppers’ to Help Administration Assess Primary Care Physicians
The administration is planning to conduct a secret nationwide survey of primary care doctors in order to assess the availability of those doctors to patients as well as whether they are more inclined to accept patients with private insurance, which has higher reimbursement rates, The New York Times reports.

To read this article, go to: GovExec.com

ASPA BRIEFS
“Validating Increased Performance” Webinar
Join your colleagues from around the nation for ASPA’s webinar “Validating Increased Performance” on July 20. Federal and State legislatures are continuing to demand that executive branch agencies produce better results under heightened compliance requirements and increased scrutiny.