Bucher Municipal: Soaring high to deliver your best street sweeping solution
Bottom line, you need the best street sweeper for your street sweeping program. Whether you are a small municipality, regional airport or contractor buying your first street sweeper or if you are a large city, airport or conglomerate buying your … More from our cover sponsor →
Last Blockbuster Bend, Oregon
A well-known lateral thinking puzzle posits a wealthy book collector who purchases a rare edition for a quite princely sum. To maximize his investment, he takes the book home and immediately throws it in his fireplace. The question is, … Continue reading →
Rejuvenate your city this new year
January’s theme is officially about maintenance and operations; however, as articles poured in, a secondary theme became evident: rejuvenation. Quite fitting for the new year, right? Cities require constant rejuvenation to avoid stagnation, whether that is adapting to modern … Continue reading →
GIS puts data at cities’ fingertips
The world’s urban population is expected to increase 60% in the next 30 years, and it would behoove municipal leaders to start planning for that now. Many municipalities are currently grappling with the challenge of maintaining infrastructure and an acceptable … Continue reading →
Facility planning: Designing and building safe, efficient and long lasting salt and sand storage buildings
When snow flies and ice builds up on roads, will you be ready? Response time, safety and a sufficient supply of salt and sand is critical for winter road maintenance. “The facility where salt, sand and equipment is stored … Continue reading →
Twin Lakes Library System goes high tech to serve community
Innovation is making the rural library system in Milledgeville, Ga., even more essential to the surrounding community thanks to a recent technology known as TV White Space. TV White Space captures the unused space between digital signals coursing through … Continue reading →
Cities show pride in heritage with unique holiday traditions
While cities throughout the country typically celebrate the more traditional holidays such as Easter, Christmas and New Year’s, the residents may not celebrate these holidays in the same way. In fact, some cities and towns choose to make the holiday … Continue reading →
A sign of the times for Charleston, W.Va.
According to Smith, the waterline break was before the shutoff valve so this did not help the situation. He then started pointing and saying “basement,” hoping she could understand and lead him to the basement. “Once in the … Continue reading →
Distracted driving often ends in forever moments
Distracted driving has taken many lives and is only getting more hazardous annually, especially for first responders and construction workers who are more likely to get hit since parts of their careers are on or near the roadside. Some … Continue reading →
Cities strive to meet climate goals
Grand Rapids, Mich., and Lakewood, Colo., are two medium-sized cities that have taken on the weighty and hefty issue of climate change and related issues — and both have made strides in that regard. Alison Sutter’s position as the … Continue reading →
Collins leaves life of addiction, becomes mayor of August, Arkansas
Not that long ago, Jeff Collins of Augusta, Arkansas, was the last person one would want to run their city or town. As the one-time owner of a trucking business, he began to use methamphetamines as a means to … Continue reading →
Portsmouth moves toward becoming a gigabit community
Portsmouth, Va., has undertaken an exciting endeavor to build its very own fiber network spanning 55 miles, a project that began back in July 2018. The city is not alone. The Institute for Self-Reliance has been tracking such fiber network … Continue reading →
City seals: Laurel, Maryland
The city seal of Laurel, Md., has a lot going on. The seal, adopted by the mayor and city council on the city’s centennial in 1970, combines elements of heraldry, royalty, agriculture, industry, community and geography. “An examination of the … Continue reading →
Wanted: New residents Communities court new constituents with financial perks
Although it has been 157 years since President Abraham Lincoln signed the Homestead Act into law — and 43 years since it was officially repealed — states across the nation continue to offer financial incentives in hopes of attracting new … Continue reading →
Christmas Santa Claus, Ind.
Regardless of weather or calendar, there is only one season in Santa Claus, Ind. The town of 2,410, located in the southwest corner of the state, would likely not be welcoming more than a million visitors a year today had … Continue reading →
Dealing and healing from rising gun violence
As of October 25, the total number of gun violence deaths in the U.S. this year alone is a staggering 31,885 with 342 from mass shootings. These numbers would be unbelievable if we weren’t seeing it play out nearly daily … Continue reading →
Cities continue to cope with gun violence
After the Virginia Tech shooting occurred in 2007, I vividly recall assessing each of my college classrooms with new eyes, highlighting points of escape, nooks for hiding and objects that could be hurled in a worst-case scenario. It’s a habit … Continue reading →
Outsourcing municipal street sweeping
Outsourcing any public works function can be an economical solution for a municipal government. Utilizing a third-party contractor such as Sweeping Corporation of America for street sweeping and jet-vac service can provide a range of cost saving options for a … Continue reading →
Hampstead, N.C., residents grapple with incorporation
To incorporate or not to incorporate — that is the question. The answer? Not so simple. Hampstead, N.C. has been trying for years to incorporate, according to Suzann Rhodes, FAICP, who has been closely involved with the so-far-unsuccessful endeavor and … Continue reading →
