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
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
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.
St. Petersburg Times
County Child Support Amnesty Yields Results
The number of parents who began making arrangements to pay delinquent child support spiked more than 40 percent during a month-long amnesty campaign by the Marion County, Ind., Prosecutor's Office that ended Wednesday. Prosecutor Carl Brizzi said he was encouraged by the public's response, which also included a sharp increase in calls and visits by custodial parents who were seeking help collecting child support. Indianapolis Star
National Standards for Schools Gaining
Less than two months after the nation's governors and state school chiefs released their final recommendations for national education standards, 27 states have adopted them and about a dozen more are expected to do so in the next two weeks. Their support has surprised many in education circles, given states' long tradition of insisting on retaining local control over curriculum. New York Times
Court Rules for County Slots Referendum
Maryland's highest court has ruled that Anne Arundel County voters can decide whether to allow a slots parlor at Arundel Mills Mall. The Court of Appeals overturned an earlier judgment made in Anne Arundel County Circuit Court that said placing the matter on a referendum would have been unconstitutional. Baltimore Business Journal
