• Boston School Sees Success With Extended Schedule
• BY: Dylan Scott   |   April 6, 2012
• The turnaround effort hinged on adding hours to the school day.

• Rick Santorum's Delegate Plan Hits Wall in North Dakota
• BY: The Associated Press   |   April 6, 2012
• Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum's plan to use state conventions to pull support from Mitt Romney has stalled in North Dakota, where Romney has the largest group of backers among the state's delegates to the party's national convention.

• Maryland Health Insurance Exchange Approved by Legislature
• BY: Dylan Scott   |   Maryland   |   April 6, 2012
• Maryland lawmakers approved legislation Thursday establishing the Maryland Health Benefits Exchange, an online insurance marketplace outlined in the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

• Arizona Lawmakers Receive Knitted Uterus As Protest
• BY: The Associated Press   |   Arizona   |   April 6, 2012
• Critics of an Arizona proposal to limit birth control coverage have given a personalized gift to more than a dozen state lawmakers — a fuzzy, knitted uterus with googly eyes.

• Vikings Stadium Bill Presses On in Minnesota House
• BY: The Associated Press   |   Minnesota   |   April 6, 2012
• Efforts to build a new Minnesota Vikings stadium stayed alive at the Capitol on Thursday thanks to a House committee that salvaged the plan ahead of a 10-day legislative break. Still, it faces long odds.

• Nevada Working to Curb Backroom Doctors, Dentists
• BY: The Associated Press   |   Nevada   |   April 6, 2012
• Nevada state health officials are trying to cope more effectively with phony providers. A former Nevada state attorney general is heading a task force examining the issue, and the Latino Research Center at the University of Nevada, Reno, has been commissioned to document reports of unlicensed care in the state's Hispanic community.

• Mississippi Passes Abortion Bill That Could Shut Only Clinic
• BY: The Associated Press   |   Mississippi   |   April 6, 2012
• The Mississippi Senate has given final passage to a bill that could close the state's only abortion clinic.

• Iowa Counties Use Voter Data Portal With Real-Time View
• Source: Government Technology   |   April 6, 2012
• Cerro Gordo County built a precinct election management system that is now used by more than 50 Iowa counties. Constructed by internal IT staff to conform with Iowa election laws, their system provides a simple electronic process to guide precinct workers through appropriate procedures for each voter casting a ballot.

• Detroit to Hire CFO, Program Management Director
• Source: Detroit Free Press   |   April 6, 2012
• Since the Detroit City Council approved a consent agreement to restructure the city's finances, Mayor Dave Bing now has six days to create the positions of the city's chief financial officer and program management director and 30 days after that to hire the people for the positions. The candidate list and ultimate hires will have to be approved by Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder and Bing.

• Chicago State University Media Policy Called 'an Obscenity and Absurdity'
• Source: Chicago Tribune   |   Chicago   |   April 6, 2012
• The publicly-funded Chicago State University has instructed its faculty and staff that only authorized university representatives can share information with the media and that everything from opinion pieces to social media communications could require prior approval.

• Receiver Names 9 Residents To Review Central Falls' Charter
• Source: Providence Journal   |   April 6, 2012
• The state-appointed receiver in Central Falls on Thursday announced that nine city residents have been selected to serve on the Central Falls Charter Review Commission.

• Colorado PIRG Report: Americans Drive Less, Use Transit More
• Source: Denver Post   |   The Nation   |   April 6, 2012
• A report released Thursday by the Colorado Public Interest Research Group Foundation says that for the first time since World War II, Americans are driving less and have been doing so since the middle of the last decade.

• Minnesota Legislature Approves Tougher Elder-Abuse Bill
• Source: The Star Tribune   |   Minnesota   |   April 6, 2012
• Minnesota lawmakers gave final approval Thursday to a measure that would, for the first time, punish abusive caregivers with prison time and significant fines if they severely neglect elderly and vulnerable adults.

• Tennessee Senate Approves Abstinence Bill
• Source: The Tennessean   |   Tennessee   |   April 6, 2012
• The Tennessee Senate overwhelmingly voted to amend the state’s sex ed curriculum by adding warnings against “gateway sexual activity.” The bill does not explicitly define what those activities are.

• New Gas Wells Coming to Utah
• Source: Salt Lake Tribune   |   Utah   |   April 6, 2012
• The U.S. Bureau of Land Management has announced its intention to approve a major drilling expansion that includes 3,675 wells, air-quality controls to limit ozone and river canyon protections that environmentalists like.