cities

Drama Over Including Gays in Immigration Reform

Feb 1, 2013
Though President Obama is trying to find a place for gay binational couples in his immigration reform plan, Republicans such as Sen. Lindsey Graham just won't have it; as a tribute to the late Aaron Swartz, MIT should make academic articles free to the public; meanwhile, new studies show that urbanites have developed neural responses that keep them constantly on the lookout for danger. These discoveries and more after the jump.
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High Salaries Ring a Bell

Mar 6, 2011
A hospital executive pulling down $875,000 a year? How about a water official collecting $600,000? Those are among the salaries contained in a new round of public compensation disclosures by the California state controller in the wake of the pay scandal in Bell.

Obama and Urban Crisis

Aug 13, 2010
James Harris and Harry Edwards discuss President Obama and the myth of post-racial society, James Baldwin's "The Fire Next Time" and why now is the time to repair the black community in urban cities such as Oakland.

White-Collar Immigrants on the Rise

Apr 16, 2010
To the anti-immigrant sentiment in the country, here's a noteworthy fact: A new analysis of census data shows that in 14 of the country's 25 largest metropolitan areas, more immigrants are employed in white-collar jobs than in the low-wage blue-collar work we normally associate them with.

Mayors Impatient for Climate Action

May 17, 2007
Representatives from 30 major cities around the world are meeting in New York at the invitation of Michael Bloomberg and former President Clinton to discuss methods of combating global warming. Bloomberg said city leaders will have to fill the "void" caused by national governments' failure to act.

The Most Polluted City in America

May 1, 2007
Citizens of Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Detroit and elsewhere, take a breath. Though your air is polluted, your lungs inflamed and your children at risk, you can rest assured that your city is not the most smog-ridden in the country. That dishonor belongs to Los Angeles, which has the worst air quality in the nation, according to the American Lung Association.

San Francisco to Ban Plastic Bags

Mar 28, 2007
San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom is expected to sign off on a citywide ban on petroleum-based plastic bags. The prohibition, the first of its kind in the nation, is meant to encourage the use of less harmful alternatives, including biodegradable plastic, cloth and paper bags.

Yuppies Finally Catch a Break

Nov 27, 2006
Now that baby boomers are starting to retire, young college-educated professionals are in hot demand. So cities like Memphis, Atlanta and Portland are fighting a war of hipness with one another -- struggling to attract the fickle young talent with everything from pub crawl public transportation to afternoon basketball.