The U.K. Ministry of Justice has asked environmental organizations to develop projects suitable for convicted criminals who are serving their sentences in the community under a new government scheme. Under Planet Payback, offenders can be sentenced by the courts to perform up to 300 hours of unpaid work for the benefit of the environment. Projects range from reforestation to recycling.

To further increase transparency in health care provision, the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has added survival rates of heart patients on its Hospital Compare website. In the site's initial phase, most hospitals on the list appear as average because statistics have been risk-adjusted to control for size, location, and specialty. Hospitals, on the other hand, have access to more detailed patient-level data to help them improve their care.

Homeowners in Sterling Heights, Michigan, can budget their water bill payments with more predictability thanks to a new city initiative. Three of their quarterly bills are based on their average consumption over the last two years; the fourth one is a settlement bill. Half of the annual water consumption of most households happens during the summer.

Two programs offering free cab rides in Santa Fe, New Mexico, have been set up to increase safety in the community. The city's program offers women rides home every day from evening to dawn, while the county covers the taxi fare of individuals who are too intoxicated to drive home on Friday and Saturday evenings. So far, the city has reimbursed 860 rides, the county 358--thanks to liquor exercise-tax money. The safe ride for women was created in response to several unresolved rape incidents.

The National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges and the American Association of State Colleges and Universities will vote on a proposal this fall that would lead to the creation of an easy-to-read, identical-format online database to give prospective students information on schools' costs, student bodies, academic achievement, and campus activities. Currently, prospective students have to purchase or borrow a disparate array of college guides that often include distracting or irrelevant information. With college costs rising, proponents argue that making the college search easier will be a boon to students and parents as they work towards the best fit for their family's financial situation.

While numerous municipalities recycle plastic containers, few have targeted the billions of plastic bags that carry store purchases--until now. A new state law in California requires most grocers and other large retailers to set up recycling bins for plastic bags at prominent locations. Some California cities, such as San Francisco, are preparing to ban them altogether. Cities are also encouraging consumers to use reusable bags or biodegradable ones made of corn starch or processed sugars. According to the Plastic Bag Alliance, 9 percent of waste in landfills is plastic, and half of that is plastic bags and film.

Texas is planning to redesign its system for categorizing sex offenders, helping law enforcement to focus more on violent predators over low-risk statutory offenders. Under the current system, those individuals unlikely to reoffend were vulnerable to a high-risk classification that would lead to increased stigmatization, and difficulties securing housing and employment. The state is joining the growing tide of government entities that are adjusting their prosecution, incarceration, treatment, and reintegration strategies for sex offenders.

Vienna has joined a growing number of cities that have erected pigeon lofts to control the bird population. The program follows a successful intervention in Germany, where pigeons moving into the "residences" have remained in them for up to 70% of the time, keeping their noxious droppings inside. City workers are also swapping plastic eggs in place of real ones; pigeons will roost on the fake eggs for longer periods of time and lay fewer eggs of their own. There are an estimated 130,000 pigeons in Vienna, and past projects like contraceptive pills and the introduction of falcons have proven unsuccessful in reducing their population.

In a bid to make Newark more pedestrian friendly, the city is undergoing a makeover financed by a $17.5 million public-private project. This endeavor will include color-coded signage; larger, more visible intersections; graffiti-proof trash cans; old-fashioned streetlamps; more benches; and more trees. Street corners will have granite curb cuts, allowing for smooth access to crosswalks for all pedestrians.

Pennsylvania is looking to address its surging prison population, provide alternatives to incarceration, and save money and cell space through its Intermediate Punishment Program. In 24 months, program participants follow four phases that include confinement, community-based therapeutic treatment, outpatient treatment, and supervised reintegration. Officials cite the continuum of care for low-level offenders--an approach that can reduce recidivism--as one of the programs' main benefits.

Attorneys general in several states are advocating the adoption of student loan codes of conduct to prevent revenue-sharing arrangements between schools and lenders. In Maryland, all private and public colleges have signed a code, which sets rigorous standards regarding the relations between financial aid officers and lenders and increases the transparency of schools' preferred lenders lists.

In this week's Management Insights column, H. George Frederickson, writes on whether it's possible to manage innovation.

Newsletter produced by: Brendan St. Amant and Vanessa Ruget (researchers and writers); Joellen Secondo (editor).