Are you up to date on the choices facing America’s metropolitan regions?  Wondering how national economic and social trends affect cities and suburbs—including yours?  Interested in local and regional policy innovations?

Here’s what the MetroTrends blog had to offer last week:

• Erwin de Leon reports on a Cambridge, Massachusetts initiative giving married gay employees a stipend to help defray federal tax on health insurance

• Leah Hendey and Gene Steuerle ask whether today’s renters can take advantage of falling home prices and low interest rates to become homeowners.

• Greg Mills looks at recent growth in food stamp receipt and worries about whether too many needy families temporarily lose benefits due to red tape or paperwork errors.

• New numbers from the Brookings Institution show that government jobs play a big role in metros’ economic recovery.

• Gina Adams argues that cuts in the District of Columbia’s summer youth programs may be penny wise but pound foolish.

Please share these posts with your friends and colleagues. And come back next week!