The US Food and Drug Administration is opening offices in China, India, Europe and Latin America in a bid to improve the safety of food and medical products for American consumers. Through the Beyond our Borders initiative, the FDA is responding to the globalization of the food supply by ensuring that it has staff on the ground to provide technical advice to foreign governments and industries, and to conduct additional inspections.

Three towns in Orange County, California, are promoting walking to school to reduce pollution and encourage healthy behaviors among students and their parents. Fewer school buses has led to heavy traffic congestion around schools, with long lines of cars waiting to pick-up and drop-off children. With programs like "Walk a Block," "Walk & Roll Wednesdays," and the "Walking School Bus," school officials are hoping children will choose to walk or ride their bicycles to school. For example, the "Walking School Bus" at Las Palmas is a chain of kids, with adult escorts in front and back, who walk about a mile to school—a healthier and usually faster alternative to driving.

Governor Napolitano of Arizona wants to hear suggestions from the public on how to address the state's budget crunch via her government's new Openness and Savings Strategies portal. The portal, accessible from the state's Website, will collect budget-saving ideas and best practices, from both state employees and regular citizens. It also features budget-management news and money-saving tips for state employees.

Illinois has announced a proposal to allow people that carpool or drive hybrids to use specially designated express lanes on Illinois' tollways. While high-occupancy vehicle lanes have been around for decades, under Green Lanes, hybrid drivers could use the lanes at no charge and solo drivers of non-hybrid cars could use the lanes for a higher toll fee. The goal of Green Lanes is to reduce traffic congestion and create "free-flow" lanes that would reduce braking and acceleration, thereby cutting emissions.

The California Department of Transportation is proposing the display of commercial advertisements on road alert signs along state and federal highways. Under the controversial plan, the state would receive millions a year in revenue by displaying the ads during times when there is no traffic alert. Critics argue that such ads would be safety hazards because drivers would take their eyes off the road to read the advertisements and they would come to view the signs more like billboards rather than traffic alerts, missing important messages.

In response to current economic pressures, states and the federal government are loosening the requirements for food stamp eligibility. Under the renamed federal program, the "Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program," the government will make it easier for households with income from combat pay, or that have retirement or education savings accounts, to qualify. California, Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Vermont and Washington are among those states that are also modifying their asset tests or raising their income limits to allow more people to receive the benefit.

A pilot program in the city of Simi Valley, California, allows low-income residents and the homeless to pay parking tickets through community service and volunteer work. For the poor, a parking citation often means an impounded car, which can lead to job loss and the inability to pay rent. People sleeping in their cars are also cited for illegal overnight camping. The effort involves the city, local businesses, social service and law enforcement agencies, as well as nonprofit and faith-based organizations.

The city of San Francisco has received federal funding to introduce variable pricing at parking meters and thus ease traffic congestion and reduce air pollution. Drivers will pay more to park during peak times, evening out demand during the day and reducing the time it takes to find a space, saving gasoline. Eventually, drivers will also be able to find a parking spot online or by calling a 511 service and to pay using a credit, debit, or transit card.

Colorado transportation officials are piloting an electronic "intrusion-detection" system along a stretch of interstate in Durango to warn motorists that deer and elk might be attempting to cross. This piece of highway cuts through a major migration path for the animals, so officials are reluctant to fence them off from the area. Drivers will see a "Wildlife Detected" message flashed on electronic warning signs along the roadway. The signs receive a signal sent by a cable that generates an electromagnetic field, allowing it to detect the presence of large animals nearby. Animal-vehicle collisions account for 70 percent of collisions in the area, and officials hope the tool will drastically reduce the number of these incidents.