Current Local Government Affairs: The first paper must be based on local government affairs with impacts at the city/county level in California. You may select any issue and may choose to write about Fresno City/County or another city/county within California. Articles written about city/county government outside of California will not be accepted for the purposes of this paper. Find an article that is current to this semester (August 2018-December 2018) and summarize the topic addressed in the article and then discuss how the topic relates to what you are learning in this course. Make sure to discuss the role of government, policy, law, interest groups, politics, and budgets as relevant to the selected article. Appropriate topics include, but are not limited to: budgeting/funding,

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business, crime/public safety, the economy/jobs, education, environment, health/human services, immigration, interest groups, land use/housing, and transportation. Provide your opinion about the topic that you have selected.

Minimum requirements: Each Current Government Affairs paper must be double-spaced and at least two (2) pages in length (one inch margins on all sides). A paper with fewer than two (2) full pages (1 inch margins on all sides) is not acceptable and will receive half-credit (50). A full page consists of text only; headers/footers, titles, name/date, and the like are NOT calculated in the full page requirement. You must provide the citation for the article that you selected. All in text citations and a separate reference page at the end of the paper must use APA style.