Now Covering States and Localities, Too!

Throughout the 45 years we’ve been reporting on the business of government at Government Executive (and for the 18 years we’ve been doing so at GovExec.com), the question we probably have been asked more than any other is, “Do you cover state and local government?” Now the answer is, “Yes.”

Our new GovExec State & Local channel focuses on news, information and analysis about innovation at the state, county and local levels. It aims to facilitate the sharing of best practices and new ideas among decision makers who are creating highly effective government programs, policies and institutions for the 21st century. Areas of coverage will include information technology, health care, citizen services, infrastructure, transportation, finance and security.

We’ve got a very talented senior editor heading up the initiative in Michael Grass. He was a founding co-editor of DCist.com, served as deputy managing editor of the New York Observer’s ambitious Politicker.com site (editing posts filed by reporters in 17 states), and managed local news coverage in D.C., Maryland and Virginia for the Huffington Post. (You can read more from him here.)

Mike is building a network of correspondents to provide coverage across the country. He’ll also be drawing on the work of talented journalists at our sister sites, including The Atlantic, CityLab and National Journal, to provide our readers with access to their insightful coverage of state and local issues.

To get an idea of the type of journalism you’ll find on GovExec State & Local, look no further than Mike’s piece about efforts to bring local legal codes into the digital, open government age. It focuses squarely on how government officials, advocacy organizations and citizens are banding together to come up with innovative solutions to knotty problems. We salute them, and put them at the center of our editorial efforts.

The channel is just the beginning of those efforts. As the summer goes on, expect to see more from us in the way of assessment tools, apps, ebooks and other digital initiatives.

Also, in connection with the launch of GovExec State & Local, you’ll notice we’ve given our other sections and the GovExec home page a facelift, highlighting key stories and adding new graphics to the top of the pages. We hope you like the new look.

(Image via Henryk Sadura/Shutterstock.com)