Author Archive

Daniel C. Vock

Senior Reporter, Route Fifty

Daniel C. Vock
Dan Vock is a senior reporter at Route Fifty, where he focuses on transportation and infrastructure. He has covered state and local government for two decades, first as an Illinois statehouse reporter and later as a national reporter based in Washington, D.C. Dan has written stories about every state in the country, and has reported on the ground from half of them (so far). He won a Jesse H. Neal award for best profile and earned a fellowship from the Columbia Journalism School’s Ira A. Lipman Center for Journalism and Civil and Human Rights.

Politics
Politics

No longer above the fray, state supreme courts pulled into overtly political conflicts

The courts have become top-tier targets for party leaders, often considered the key to unlocking control of state legislatures, gubernatorial mansions and even Congress.

  • By Daniel C. Vock

Policy
Policy

Blue state governors pressing Biden administration to help with migrant surge

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker is the latest to outline policy changes the feds could make to alleviate some of the strain on states, cities.

  • By Daniel C. Vock

Personality
Personality

Are elections enough to keep state legislators in check? No, says one expert

In a new book, political science professor Steven Rogers argues that voters don’t have the tools to keep tabs on their lawmakers. That could affect how legislators do their jobs.

  • By Daniel C. Vock

Policy
Policy

The hazards of facial recognition in schools

New York has banned the technology in its schools. Florida has long been opposed to gathering any kind of biometric data from students.

  • By Daniel C. Vock

Politics
Politics

GOP states announce new voter roll systems. Are they as secure as ERIC?

An expert in elections administration and one of the founders of ERIC says the new systems could suffer from low data quality, high costs and inadequate security.

  • By Daniel C. Vock

Policy
Policy

Crunch time in Congress could hit state and local programs

The legislative logjam on Capitol Hill is backing up everything from child care to disaster funding.

  • By Daniel C. Vock

Policy
Policy

Analysis: What the police raid of a Kansas newspaper says about government and the press

The raid raised concerns about the eroding relationship between government officials and the reporters who cover them. Gov. Ron DeSantis, for example, has made a combative relationship with the press part of his public persona.

  • By Daniel C. Vock

Policy
Policy

In national race to build EV chargers, Florida lands in list of top 10 states

State policy, the electric grid and business considerations can all determine how many public charging stations a state’s residents will see.

  • By Daniel C. Vock

Policy
Policy

As temperatures spike, state and local governments act to protect residents, workers

Governments geared up protective measures against the dangerous weather baking nearly every part of the country, including Florida.

  • By Daniel C. Vock

Policy
Policy

State AGs, including Ashley Moody, at odds over proposed federal tailpipe emissions rules

Republican attorneys general say they are impractical and illegal. Democratic AGs applaud the proposals, but say they don’t go far enough.

  • By Daniel C. Vock

Policy
Policy

New Florida law invalidates out-of-state driver's licenses for undocumented immigrants

It's not clear how the state will roll out the requirement, or which out-of-state licenses it will declare invalid.

  • By Daniel C. Vock
MagazineShow All
City & State Florida 02202023

Politics
Politics

Jacksonville mayor's race wasn't the only barn burner in this week's elections

Women make electoral history and Republicans lose ground: Here are five takeaways from Tuesday's contests, in Florida and across the country.

  • By Daniel C. Vock

Policy
Policy

Florida sees largest increase in pedestrian deaths, new report shows

The findings demonstrate that the dramatic jump in pedestrian deaths over the last decade shows no sign of stopping.

  • By Daniel C. Vock

Politics
Politics

How state lawmakers tweet

An analysis of tweeting habits found that women lawmakers tweet more often than their male counterparts. Experts have a few ideas as to why that is.

  • By Daniel C. Vock

Policy
Policy

HUD offering cities help to add housing near public transit

Meantime in Florida, lawmakers are considering a 'Live Local Act' to boost affordable housing.

  • By Daniel C. Vock

Policy
Policy

Putting federal aid into local hands works, White House says

State budget surpluses are a sign the American Rescue Plan worked, Biden adviser Gene Sperling told the National Association of Counties conference.

  • By Daniel C. Vock

Policy
Policy

Fired up: Battle over gas stoves, furnaces heads to the states

Moved by environmental and health concerns, action by state officials to ban natural gas in buildings is heating up. But not in Florida, where Gov. Ron DeSantis is defending gas stoves.

  • By Daniel C. Vock

Policy
Policy

$45M for new trails grants included in federal funding deal

Cycling and pedestrian advocates had pressed for more, but say the money included in the legislation would be a good start.

  • By Daniel C. Vock

Policy

Gulf Coast passenger rail to restart, but won't go to Florida

Amtrak and freight railroads said they struck a deal to revive the route. It’s a bright spot for passenger rail advocates who hope to see service expand as new federal infrastructure funding flows.

  • By Daniel C. Vock

Policy

After Ian: Why many fire departments aren’t ready for electric vehicles

When EV batteries go up in flames, as they did in Hurricane Ian, they present different challenges than car fires involving gasoline. What are the new risks and how can firefighters prepare?

  • By Daniel C. Vock