The Washington Times reports on the increase in the number of cities and states hiring lobbyists.

Lobbying expenditures by states and localities rose by 118 percent from 2001 to 2008, compared with a 101 percent increase among all sectors of the economy that lobbied Washington over the same period, according to the data. For the first six months of 2009, the center reports, local governments spent almost $41.6 million on such lobbying.