http://www.innovations.harvard.edu This dynamic portal produced by the Ash Institute for Democratic Governance and Innovation at Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government brings you timely examples of government innovation. Here you will find news and features, and opportunities to connect with practitioners and policy makers like yourself. en-us Copyright 2009, Government Innovators Network Sat, 04 Jul 2009 21:38:00 -0400 Sat, 04 Jul 2009 21:38:00 -0400 info@innovations.harvard.edu http://www.innovations.harvard.edu/news/662404.html D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee is talking to a Los Angeles nonprofit group that has improved one of that city's most troubled high schools about running at least one low-achieving high school in the District, expanding her strategy of pursuing outside partners to manage public schools. http://www.innovations.harvard.edu/news/662600.html Seattle Chief Technology Officer Bill Schrier and others talk about their blogging experiences. http://www.innovations.harvard.edu/news/661209.html Prizes encourage creative thinkers to develop solutions to vexing problems, organizers say http://www.innovations.harvard.edu/news/660486.html Large-scale offshore wind farms would be limited to two small areas close to Martha's Vineyard under the draft version of a landmark ocean management plan designed to create a vast regulatory map for the state's coastal waters. http://www.innovations.harvard.edu/news/660856.html Congress may soon mandate that breathalyzers be installed in cars of convicted drunk drivers. Opponents worry that it's a first step toward high-tech Breathalyzers in all cars http://www.innovations.harvard.edu/news/660606.html Legislators, government officials, and community organizers called for changes in the state’s criminal records law yesterday, saying that the system places an unfair burden on former offenders. http://www.innovations.harvard.edu/news/660874.html Only a few universities in the world have facilities devoted to studying human bodies as they decompose. Texas State University's Forensic Anthropology Research Facility is the newest. Students there learn to recover and study human bones. http://www.innovations.harvard.edu/news/659817.html Jefferson County, Texas, counts down the days remaining in hurricane season and provides emergency preparedness information on electronic billboards. http://www.innovations.harvard.edu/news/659315.html By now the world is aware that the oceans are dying a silent death because of coastal development, pollution, overfishing and climate change. Scientists know how to halt or reverse the chronic threats, but in the political arena they have faced defeat after defeat in trying to implement management that actually works. We need a radical shift away from the piecemeal regulation of small areas that has resulted. We need comprehensive zoning of the world’s oceans. Across the globe, it is clear which marine areas are the most important to protect. Estuaries, coastal wetlands, reefs, submarine ... http://www.innovations.harvard.edu/news/659190.html Starting Wednesday, Florida hopes to stoke its real-estate market by becoming one of the few states to offer $8,000 in down-payment assistance to qualified homebuyers so they can benefit upfront from a new federal tax credit. http://www.innovations.harvard.edu/news/658218.html Activist Ron Osorio has been giving condoms to inmates almost weekly since 2001 to help deter the spread of HIV/AIDS. Inmates call Ron Osorio "West Hollywood" because the words are printed on the cream-colored cloth bag he carries inside Men's Central Jail each Friday. http://www.innovations.harvard.edu/news/658124.html A 'common' standard for K-12 education is in the works. http://www.innovations.harvard.edu/news/658085.html In Tulsa, Okla., the Philbrook Museum of Art is doing something different with outdoor space that it can't afford to maintain as a formal garden this year. Workers have planted vegetables that will be harvested and donated to the local community food bank. Melinda McMillan is the museum's garden director, and she talks with Renee Montagne about the program. http://www.innovations.harvard.edu/news/657495.html CUMBERLAND, Md. (AP) — "We all decided they wanted me to be sergeant," said Morgan Cook, 11, one of four team leaders at the Cumberland Police Department Summer Camp. "The sergeant is the team leader who organizes everybody." The weeklong outreach program with middle schoolers is held by the police department in cooperation with the Salvation Army. Its goal is to provide campers with the information to make smart, healthy and safe decisions and goals for a productive life. A crime-scene investigation exercise was part of the program for a group of 35 youngsters ages 10 to 12 at .. ... http://www.innovations.harvard.edu/news/657468.html It still won't be painless, but at least it will be quicker.