Family and friends of Andrew Young, renowned civil rights leader, congressman, ambassador, and mayor, gathered with him in Washington, D.C. last Saturday night for the unveiling of his portrait at the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery. It was a much-deserved honor for a man whose legacy is one of extraordinary national...

The hosting of the 2014 Super Bowl offers enormous economic development potential for both New York and New Jersey, and the challenge will be to maximize its lasting benefits. The model should be New York City's hosting of the 1992 Democratic National Convention, for which three events were created that...

With the death of Francis W. Hatch, Jr., 84, on April 8 in Boston, America lost a groundbreaking and tireless environmentalist who authored landmark legislation, led precedent-setting campaigns, and funded innovative initiatives that set the pace for environmental policy across the nation. I had the pleasure of knowing him for...

Atlanta's Mayor Shirley Franklin steps down today, after serving eight years in office (the legal limit) and refusing at her final press conference to predict her legacy. She understood that her legacy would be defined by others, no matter what she said, but she was also comfortable letting her record...

With a form letter issued last week, a major health insurance provider in New York may have made the most compelling case of all for creating a "public option" for health care coverage. That letter, received by a family that I know, informed them that their premium would rise by...

As if the bonuses weren't enough, AIG has managed to bring disgraced former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer back into the political limelight. That raises a fundamental question: What should such a former elected official do to earn his way back into the public trust.

It's been just over a...

New York Governor David Paterson severely damaged his Administration with his botched process for filling the U.S. Senate seat vacated by Hillary Rodham Clinton, and he's been in a downward spiral ever since. A new Marist poll shows his approval rating - now only 26% - at the lowest point...

President-elect Barack Obama's nomination of Susan Rice to be U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations adds an intriguing dimension to his Administration's foreign policy team and its priorities. How any President fills that position says much about the Administration's approach to the world community and to foreign policy more broadly....

Martti Ahtisaari, the diplomat and former President of Finland who recently won the 2008 Nobel Peace Prize, is rare, even among Peace Prize winners, for having spent four decades working to end violent international conflicts around the world. And his unusual skills - and persistence in pursuit of peace -...

As the global economy flattens and the United States adjusts to a new role within it, American cities and states will increasingly need to associate themselves with what could be called "global identity economies." These are economies that are built around a worldwide recognition of excellence that fuels regional growth...

When New York City hosted the Democratic National Convention in 1992, the three major television networks threatened not to anchor their coverage from the convention hall. It was a negotiating tactic used privately on those of us organizing the event and was designed to reduce the cost of constructing anchor...