Author Archive
Laura Maggi

Laura Maggi is the managing editor at Route Fifty. Before joining Route Fifty, Laura was the metro editor at The Advocate newspaper in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and the deputy editor at The New Orleans Advocate. Laura also worked as a reporter at The Times-Picayune newspaper in New Orleans for 13 years, covering state government, criminal justice and health care. She got her start at the now-defunct States News Service in Washington, D.C. and spent a year as a writing fellow at The American Prospect magazine.
Public Safety
Fort Worth Officer Who Shot Woman in Her Home Arrested on Murder Charge
STATE AND LOCAL ROUNDUP | Massachusetts may expand parole options for people with murder convictions … Chicago mayor proposes consolidating departments to close budget gap … Christmas parade reinstated in West Virginia after backlash.
- By Laura Maggi and Emma Coleman
Management
Rare Fall Snowstorm Blankets Montana
STATE AND LOCAL ROUNDUP | One oil company has agreed to settle a coastal restoration lawsuit in Louisiana ... LAPD looks into controversial job ad ... Baltimore delegate temporarily kicked off Twitter for excessive hashtags.
- By Laura Maggi
Management
Federal Judge Puts Michigan's New Gay Adoption Rules On Hold
STATE AND LOCAL ROUNDUP | A bedbug infestation sends state employees home to work ... New strategy with proposed Utah water pipeline ... Vape store owners predict closures with Massachusetts four-month ban.
- By Laura Maggi
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Management
Virginia AG Says Couples No Longer Need to Disclose Race on Marriage Licenses
STATE AND LOCAL ROUNDUP | Florida legal marijuana push raises more than $1.2 million ... Gun rights protests in Columbus, Ohio ... Drugstores and drug distributors ask for a new judge in opioid lawsuit.
- By Laura Maggi
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Tech & Data
A City Looks at Wastewater for Clues in the Opioid Fight
Tempe, Arizona tests the waters to glean data about the spread of dangerous drugs.
- By Laura Maggi
Infrastructure
San Francisco Offers $2.5 Billion to Buy Part of Troubled Utility
STATE AND LOCAL ROUNDUP | A plan to reduce economic segregation in a Maryland school district … Maine to use ranked-choice voting in 2020… Play revives tale of larger-than-life mayor.
- By Laura Maggi
Management
A State Makes a Big Bet on Telework
Utah expands a pilot program to 2,500 jobs.
- By Laura Maggi
Management
Georgia Can Use Current Voting System for 2019 Elections, Judge Rules
But the state will need to put a backup system in place for the 2020 presidential primaries in case new voting machines are not ready by March.
- By Laura Maggi
Public Safety
Two Mayors on the Mass Shootings in Dayton and El Paso
STATE AND LOCAL ROUNDUP | No more disposable water bottles in San Francisco airport … Challenging new voting law in Florida … A hold on Puerto Rico’s disaster money.
- By Laura Maggi
Tech & Data
Future of Televised City Council and School Board Meetings Could Be in Doubt
An FCC order allows cable companies to deduct the value of services they provide to states and localities from the fees they pay, which local government officials say could jeopardize public access channels.
- By Laura Maggi
Management
'In God We Trust' Now Mandatory Display in These Public Schools
STATE AND LOCAL ROUNDUP | Texas secretary of state job still open ... New voting machines picked in Georgia ... Pushback from Baltimore after the president's tweets.
- By Laura Maggi
Management
The Old College Try: Getting Students Into Government
A new initiative will establish regional councils to create talent pipelines from universities to state, local and federal government agencies.
- By Laura Maggi
Tech & Data
Protecting Election Systems Will Take Much More Federal Money, Report Says
The threat of foreign interference in U.S. elections remains, so the federal government must help state and local officials shore up defenses, according to a new report from the Brennan Center for Justice.
- By Laura Maggi
Management
Oklahoma Flooding Continues As More Severe Weather Expected
STATE AND LOCAL ROUNDUP | Hurricane season predicted to be "near normal" ... Disaster bill put on hold by one House member ... Colorado passes insulin price cap.
- By Laura Maggi
Management
California Housing Development Proposal Shelved in Legislature
STATE AND LOCAL ROUNDUP | Illinois governor vows changes at the state child welfare agency … Santa Monica, California, bans micro housing units … Connecticut moves to establish offshore wind turbines.
- By Laura Maggi and Emma Coleman
Finance
A State Reconsiders Its Ban on Local Minimum Wage Laws
Cities and counties would be allowed to set a wage floor higher than the one authorized by Colorado if a bill passed by state legislators becomes law.
- By Laura Maggi
Management
Feds Have More Information About Russian Hacking They Could Tell Florida, U.S. Senator Confirms
STATE AND LOCAL ROUNDUP | Reorganization at the National Governors Association ... States consider bills that limit vaccine exemptions … Fire department looks into ‘bike medics’ as new emergency response option.
- By Laura Maggi and Emma Coleman
Public Safety
Chalking Tires to Track Parking Violators Is Unconstitutional, Court Rules
A woman filed a lawsuit against Saginaw, Michigan after she racked up 15 parking tickets.
- By Laura Maggi
Management
Michigan Business Groups Give Support to Tuition-Free Programs
STATE AND LOCAL ROUNDUP | No radar can be used to catch speeders on some San Diego streets ... Could NYC transit chief leave? ... Vermont governor likely to embrace Columbus Day change.
- By Laura Maggi
Smart Cities
Scooters Did Take Over Last Year
A new report shows use of electric scooters surged past docked bike share.
- By Laura Maggi