On Eric Garcetti's 100th day in office, the new mayor of Los Angeles showed progress on his promise to increase accountability by launching a beta website to track City Hall performance in nine categories and for each city department.
"For better or worse, facts began tumbling forth in the new "performance" section of the mayor's website Tuesday, Garcetti's 100th day in office," report Michael Finnegan and Ben Welsh.
"Modeled on systems set up by Minneapolis, Boston and other cities, the website is supposed to answer the public’s most commonly asked questions," explained Finnegan in an article filed prior to the site's launch. "How many violent crimes have occurred in my neighborhood? How long does it take to get a building permit for a house remodel? Or a pothole filled, or a street light repaired?"
Though Garcetti promised to release the raw data behind the metrics unveiled on the beta site Tuesday, critics aren't waiting to pounce.
"This is a marketing website, not an open government website," said Clay Johnson, a leading advocate of open-government data. "The difference is: open government websites don't just have the PowerPoint deck slides that make you look good."
FULL STORY: Mayor adds departments' performance data to his website
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A recent ranking of “declining” cities heavily features some of the most expensive cities in the country — including New York City and a half-dozen in the San Francisco Bay Area.
California Exodus: Population Drops Below 39 Million
Never mind the 40 million that demographers predicted the Golden State would reach by 2018. The state's population dipped below 39 million to 38.965 million last July, according to Census data released in March, the lowest since 2015.
Pennsylvania Mall Conversion Bill Passes House
If passed, the bill would promote the adaptive reuse of defunct commercial buildings.
Google Maps Introduces New Transit, EV Features
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Ohio Lawmakers Propose Incentivizing Housing Production
A proposed bill would take a carrot approach to stimulating housing production through a grant program that would reward cities that implement pro-housing policies.
Chicago Awarded $2M Reconnecting Communities Grant
Community advocates say the city’s plan may not do enough to reverse the negative impacts of a major expressway.
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