Advocates Pressured an Ohio Town To Reverse Ban on 'Aiding and Abetting' Abortions
It's one small victory for free speech and due process, but similar battles continue to play out elsewhere.
Local Government
She Had $2,300 in Unpaid Taxes. The County Bilked Her for $25,000.
Geraldine Tyler's case is not unique; home equity theft is legal in Minnesota and 11 other states.
Why Do Public Schools Suck and What Should We Do About Them? Live With Corey DeAngelis and Connor Boyack
Join Reason on YouTube and Facebook on Thursday at 1 p.m. Eastern for a live discussion with the authors of Mediocrity: 40 Ways Government Schools Are Failing Today's Students
Is Clarence Thomas Ethically Challenged?
Plus: What the editors hate most about the IRS and tax day
Debate: It's Time for a National Divorce
Are political breakups really as American as apple pie?
Texas Considers Bill To Privatize the Business of Issuing Building Permits
If a municipality fails to approve or deny a permit by state-set deadlines, developers could hire private third parties to get the job done.
The First 'Missing Middle' Reform of the Year Has Passed. Will It Get Housing Built?
Arlington's successful passage of a modest missing middle housing reform bill after an intense debate raises the question of whether YIMBY politics can practically fix the problems it sets out to address.
With the Trump Arraignment, Americans Are Seeing the Power of the Local Prosecutor
Alvin Bragg's case against Donald Trump has put the once-obscure position of district attorney into the national spotlight.
Police Traveled 500 Miles To Seize Girl's Pet Goat for Slaughter
A 9-year-old backed out of a deal to sell her pet goat for slaughter. Local officials and sheriff's deputies used the power of the state to force her to go through with it.
Ridiculous Spending on Museums May Be Here To Stay
Handouts for tourist-trap museums will be part of the federal funding battleground in the next two years.
Cops Harass Parents Who Let 6-Year-Old Daughter Take a Walk Outside, Arrest Dad
He did "what any dad would—he went to hug his crying kid," says former town councilman Keith Kaplan.
A White Employee Is Suing the City of Seattle for Alleged Racial Discrimination
"If I disagreed or offered another opinion, I was told I had cognitive dissonance," Josh Diemert says.
Zoning Crackdown Puts Animal Rescue Operation at Risk of Closing
Fairytale Farm Animal Sanctuary's work caring for abandoned and disabled animals is imperiled by a demand from the Winston-Salem city government that the nonprofit stop hosting on-site fundraisers and volunteer events.
The Fight Over the Debt Ceiling Is Just Beginning
Legislators will increasingly argue over how to spend a diminishing discretionary budget while overall spending simultaneously explodes.
An Iowa Town Charged a Man With Disorderly Conduct Because He Called a Cop a 'Domestic Abuser'
Now a judge has cleared him of wrongdoing and struck down the rule used to justify the arrest.
Police Harassed a Man Holding a 'God Bless the Homeless Vets' Sign. He's Suing.
"My intention is to ensure that all Americans from the wealthiest millionaire to the poorest homeless person can exercise these rights without fear of consequence from our government," said Jeff Gray.
Atlanta Charges Nonviolent Protesters as Domestic Terrorists
Out of 19 suspects arrested on terrorism charges, at least nine are accused of nothing more serious than trespassing.
A Wisconsin Town Targeted a Couple's Political Yard Sign. Now, They're Suing.
"Everybody should have an expectation that they can put a sign in their yard and speak on a certain topic," a lawyer for the couple said.
A Louisiana Town Repeatedly Arrested a Man for His 'FUCK JOE BIDEN' Flags. Now, He's Suing.
"The Town has routinely detained, cited, and forced Mr. Brunet to go to trial to vindicate his constitutional rights, taking the extraordinary step of adopting a boldly unconstitutional local Ordinance to silence him," the complaint reads.
They Fell Behind on Their Property Taxes. So the Government Sold Their Homes—and Kept the Profits.
The Supreme Court has agreed to hear 94-year-old Geraldine Tyler's case challenging home equity theft.
Redding, California, Uses Public Health Red Tape to Ban Sharing Food with Homeless
Is it good public health policy to deny charity to people experiencing homelessness?
Zoning Police Continue To Find New Ways To Punish the Poor
Multiple factors contribute to housing shortages, but zoning constraints are mostly to blame.
One Foot off the Grid, Where We Don't Have To Deal With the City Water Department
Living without government services isn't necessarily cheaper or easier, but it sure beats putting up with municipal bureaucracies.
Sex Offender Registry Prevents Dying, Bedridden Man From Spending Final Days at Home
"My opinion is no exceptions should be made," says the chief of the police.
Ron DeSantis Admin Says in New Lawsuit That the Free Market Won't Produce Affordable Housing
Florida's Department of Economic Opportunity is suing the city of Gainesville to block its legalization of small "missing middle" apartment buildings in single-family neighborhoods.
Is Florida Giving Up Its Fight Against 'Woke' Disney?
Lawmakers are reportedly planning to undo legislation that would have revoked Disney's special tax and governance status.
Review: Try and Fail To Build a Virtual City in Sim Nimby
Eventually the player realizes nothing is getting built and quits.
Kenosha Legalizes Backyard Chickens—With Plenty of Red Tape
Backyard chickens are slowly making headway, but not without tradeoffs.
A Michigan Mayor Tried To Stop Constituents From Criticizing Her. Now, They're Suing.
Monique Owens shouted over critical speakers at a September city council meeting, claiming it was her "First Amendment right."
Federal Court Upholds Cruel, Unconstitutional St. Louis Ban on Sharing Food with Homeless
The ordinance governing how food can be shared is designed to make it next to impossible to share food.
What Is a Family? Ask a Zoning Official.
Big cities like New York, Baltimore, and others use strict definitions of family to restrict housing.
L.A.'s Leaked City Council Tape Reminds Us Why 'Smoke-Filled Rooms' Are Bad
A lack of transparency doesn't make politicians better people.
San Francisco Police Can Now Have Live Access to Nearly Any Camera in the City
A new ordinance passed by the city's Board of Supervisors allows police to request live access to private security cameras even for misdemeanor violations.
This Tennessee Town Claims Restricting Protests Helps 'Facilitate' the First Amendment
A new ordinance in Franklin will restrict evening and weekend protests and subject violators to misdemeanor charges.
Denver Police Hurt 6 Bystanders in a Shooting. So the City Cracked Down on Food Trucks.
The police admitted wrongdoing, but Denver moved forward with a plan to reduce crowds and crimes downtown—by targeting food trucks that did nothing wrong.
Local Law Prevented an Alabama Town From Firing Two Cops. So They Dissolved the Police Department Instead.
When one police officer's racist text messages surfaced online earlier this month, local officials found that city law prevented the outright firing of the officers involved.
Renegade District Attorneys Who Defy State Mandates Are Often Freedom's Last Line of Defense
Perhaps, as we relearn the virtues of local decision-making, we'll also reacquire a taste for individualism.
A New Jersey Town Wants To Charge This Woman $5,000 To Sell Cookies
Somerville still has costly regulations on the books even though New Jersey has legalized the sale of home-baked items.
Blame Congress for Pandemic Fraud
The inconvenient truth behind all the COVID-19 relief fraud and waste is that these government programs never should have been designed as they were.
Government Employees Got $872 Million in Bonuses Out of COVID Aid Cash
The federal bailout of state and local governments padded the paychecks of many public employees.
The Death of Walt Disney's Private Dream City?
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis wants to end a wildly successful half-century experiment in municipal governance.
