The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) said in its annual report on governmentwide improper payments – defined as payments that shouldn’t have been made or were made for  incorrect amounts – jumped to 7.2 percent in Fiscal Year 2021 with the increase driven in part by soaring rates of unemployment insurance fraud during the coronavirus pandemic.

Adrian Perkins, the mayor of Shreveport, La., is turning ideas into action to fulfill his vision for a smart city.

According to a research survey from the Pew Research Center, nearly half of parents surveyed said their child faced technology-related obstacles causing them to fall behind their peers with proper broadband connectivity and technology access. Students who lacked these necessities for remote learning experienced what is often called the “homework gap,” which impact may continue to be felt in the future. 

With the holiday season upon us, we at MeriTalk wanted to spread some holiday cheer. We’ve gathered up photos of our furry friends dressed in festive attire, meeting Santa, or just enjoying some winter weather.

As we get ready to break out the champagne flutes and toast to a new year, MeriTalk SLG is taking a look back at the most popular state and local government stories from the past year.

Following the Supreme Court’s decision striking down the Biden administration’s eviction moratorium this fall, political leaders and housing advocates have scrambled to find ways to keep people in their homes.

In the past two years, state and local government (SLG) leaders have improved their means to produce meaningful data analytics, but they still find themselves struggling to accomplish this as the amount of data collected increases at an exponential rate, according to a new report from MeriTalk.

The Washington State Department of Health (DoH) has launched WA Verify, the state’s new Digital COVID-19 Vaccine Record system to help residents prove vaccination status when required.

In a move to simplify the already stressful process of applying to colleges, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and the Illinois Board of Higher Education (IBHE) have added all of the state’s public universities onto the Common App platform.

Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont and the Connecticut State Department of Education are launching a new initiative to give high school students a voice in how more than $1.5 million in American Rescue Plan Elementary and Secondary Schools Emergency Relief (ARP ESSER) funds are spent.