Original reporting

In the face of gains by proponents of fossil fuels, some groups in denial; others hunkering down. Only a few explore new strategies to go on the offensive.

Told to operate like a business but prevented from thriving like one, the Postal Service is the victim of politicians who either wanted it fail or had a remarkable lack of foresight.

Worker beware.

Part 3 of our series on businesses incentives examines the justifications given by state and local officials who favor granting subsidies, but resist disclosing who gets them.

Phenomenon is widespread. Case resolution time rises in 15 states; case backlog grows in 29.

Part 2 of our series on government incentive programs for businesses focuses on the lack of transparency at the local level.

According to the Census Bureau, even during presidential election years, at least a quarter of the eligible electorate has been unregistered in the period from 1980 through 2008. But current voter registration efforts don’t come close to meeting the need, especially because so much of registration under the U.S. system is highly labor-intensive.

Are taxpayers getting their money’s worth out of public subsidies to private companies?

The recent study has gotten widespread press attention for the proposition that organic food is not safer to eat than non-organic food. But one of the study’s lead authors acknowledges that a series of health and safety issues relating to non-organic foods were not examined.

A "Robin Hood" tax, a small fee on stock, bond, and derivative transactions, is likely to be enacted soon by several EU countries, including Germany and France, with the backing of high-profile, center-right political leaders. But in the U.S., support is only just developing. Those favoring a financial transaction (FTT) believe that an FTT would help generate the revenue needed to protect and expand government programs — and to deter what it considers the destabilizing and unproductive role of "high-frequency trading." Thus far, despite the introduction of several bills that would impose an FTT, a majority of national Democrats have stayed silent on the issue.

The Cuomo administration says it is “on track to the rail system of the future,” but but the speediest options — true high-speed rail service — have already been ruled out. The remaining options won’t go all that fast, abandoning the potential benefits that some say true high-speed rail would bring to New York.