Popular Government

The rate of homicide with firearms in the United States is more than five times that of almost every other highly industrialized nation. As recently as 1989, the level of firearm ownership in this country was more than twice that of other industrialized nations. Is there a connection between the statistics?

The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 is one of the most important civil rights laws ever enacted, but it also is among the most misunderstood. The duty of employers to accommodate people with disabilities frequently raises questions. What does “reasonable accommodation,” a core requirement of the ADA mean?

When a board of county commissioners appoints one of its members to serve on the county social services board, does that member serve for a fixed term, as other members of the social services board do, or only as long as he or she remains a county commissioner?

There appears to be a fleet size at which operating an in-house garage becomes more cost-effective and more efficient for a county than contracting for vehicle services. A recent survey uncovered this and other helpful data on maintenance and repair of county vehicles.

Review by John Sanders and Terry Sanford: Politics, Progress, and Outrageous Ambitions, by Howard E. Covington, Jr., and Marion A. Ellis

This issue of At the Institute contains three articles:

• "To Provide a Service", Don Liner's Career at the Institute of Government
• A Follow-up on "How We Die in North Carolina"
• A Follow-up on "No Social Security Number? No License"