NewsWatch: Cities and Counties

150,000 U.S. Bridges Still Deficient
Nearly three years after the Interstate 35W bridge collapse, 25 percent of the country's bridges remain "structurally deficient" or "functionally obsolete," according to testimony at a House Transportation Subcommittee hearing Wednesday. Minneapolis Star-Tribune

State: Make Lifeguard Station Handicapped-Accessible
Clearwater Beach, Fla.'s lifeguards are in great shape. Most were competitive swimmers in college. They routinely swim, run and lift weights to maintain their edge. But government regulations are requiring that their headquarters on the beach be made handicapped-accessible, even though the only people who ever use the two-story building are the lifeguards. St. Petersburg Times

"Least Educated" Cities Named
On which end of the "educated" spectrum does your metro area -- which Brookings calls "the nation's essential economic and societal units" -- place? Huffington Post

Philadelphia Wins Trash Cleanup
Volunteers in Philadelphia picked up more than 3.7 million pounds of trash during the Great American Cleanup of Pa., officials announced today. More than 59,000 city volunteers took part in the cleanup, which ran from March 1 to May 31, said PennDOT Secretary Allen D. Biehler. Philadelphia Inquirer

City Panel Approves Utilities Sale
A proposal to sell Indianapolis' water and sewer utilities to a public charitable trust got approval Monday night from a City-County Council committee and will move forward next week to the full council for a vote. The measure, which would transfer control of the municipally owned utilities to Citizens Energy Group, passed the council's utility transfer oversight committee in a 7-4 vote. Indianapolis Star

Counties Added to Oil Spill Loan Program
The U.S. Small Business Administration announced today that Collier, Lee, and Monroe counties and the adjacent Broward, Glades, Hendry and Miami-Dade counties have been added to the disaster declaration covering Florida small businesses suffering financial losses following the April 20 Deepwater BP oil spill. "SBA is offering the loans and loan deferment options to fishing and fishing-dependent small businesses as a result of the Deepwater BP Oil Spill that shut down commercial and recreational fishing waters. These loans and loan deferments can provide critical temporary assistance needed to overcome the loss of revenue they are currently experiencing," said Frank Skaggs, director of Field Operations Center East in Atlanta. SBA

Police Chiefs Call for First Responders Protection Act
The International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) and the National Governors Assn. separately called on the U.S. Senate to quickly approve the "First Responders Protection Act."  The legislation, introduced by Senator Joseph Lieberman (I-CT) and Senator John McCain (R-AZ), would direct the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to allocate the D-Block to public safety and also authorizes funding to build and maintain a nationwide, interoperable, public safety broadband network. IACP

Citizen Group Raises $1 Million for County Transit Initiative
An organization of residents, businesses, civic groups and community leaders has raised nearly $1 million to generate support for an initiative on the November ballot to finance a more modern transportation system in Hillsborough County, Fla., according to the group.