|
|
Archive of Social Policy on Monday June 29, 2009
KY: Ky. schools' healthy example could shape a national policy
As Congress moves to reauthorize childhood nutrition programs this summer, it is again taking up the issue of whether sugary sodas, chips and candy should be allowed in schools. Read More
TN: Food stamp use grows in Tennessee
More Tennesseans who never considered it before are turning to the federal food stamp program to feed their families, some of them in the state's wealthiest county. Read More
AK: Palin tweets that Emmonak residents are meeting subsistence needs
According to Gov. Sarah Palin's posts on Twitter, half of the people in Emmonak have met subsistence needs and the other half believe they can do the same. Read More
AL: Davis seeks ideas: Legalizing pot No. 1, but nixed
Legalizing marijuana turned out to be the top single vote-getter when U.S Rep. Artur Davis used his gubernatorial campaign Web site to solicit ideas for moving Alabama forward. Read More
AR: State's top economist questions unemployment figures
Arkansas' unemployment rate last month was 7 percent, a significantly lower figure than the national rate of 9.4 percent and a statistic that on its face suggests the effects of the recession have been less severe in Arkansas than in much of the country. Read More
AZ: Audit -- CPS slow to probe abuse
Child Protective Services investigators are failing to investigate complaints of abuse in group homes and treatment centers in the required time frame, an audit has found, placing children at risk of further harm. Read More
CO: More than 100,000 people turn out for Denver's annual PrideFest
James Steed surveyed the crowd celebrating PrideFest and remembered the years when Denver's gay community lived in the shadows. Police would harass customers at gay bars, and few were willing to risk losing a job by revealing their sexual orientation, the retired public school teacher said. Read More
CT: Court rules for white New Haven firefighters over promotions
The U.S. Supreme Court today ruled in favor of 20 New Haven firefighters who claim in a reverse discrimination case that they were denied promotion for racial reasons. Read More
DE: Deadline looms for sex-abuse cases
The two-year window of Delaware's 2007 Child Victim's Act is about to close, putting an end to a steady stream of civil lawsuits alleging child sexual abuse that dates to the 1950s and reaches to churches, schools and private homes. Read More
FL: New state laws take effect July 1
On July 1, a yearly ritual takes place in Florida: a crop of new laws passed by legislators and signed by the governor takes effect. Read More
GA: Stimulus money to help make homes more energy efficient
Taxpayer weatherization programs that provide better home insulation and more energy-efficient appliances to the poor are about to get a massive shot in the arm from federal stimulus dollars. Read More
GA: Georgia to overhaul health and social service agencies
For years, Georgia's health and social service agencies have lurched from crisis to crisis. People wait months, if not years, for something as simple as a copy of their birth certificate. Read More
IA: Benefit cuts possible for future Iowa retirees
Iowa's largest public employee pension fund could be forced to reduce benefits for future retirees because of the global recession, which has worsened the fund's existing financial troubles, state officials said Thursday. Read More
ID: New Idaho laws, budgets take effect Wednesday
Idaho agencies used options to save as many jobs as possible as they cut personnel costs by 5 percent, but some employees still may have to take unpaid time off. Read More
ID: Idaho food stamp enrollment at 151,000 in May
REXBURG, Idaho — More than 151,000 people in Idaho qualified for food assistance in May, compared to nearly 100,000 at the same time last year, state officials say. Read More
IL: $3.5 million cut could cost $2 billion
It's hard to get attention for your planning agency's budget problems when services for the poor are in trouble. Someone in a wheelchair in need of nursing help is a more sympathetic figure than an urban planner with a blueprint. Read More
KY: Ky. horse industry warns that future is bleak
LEXINGTON, Ky. — Leaders of the state's horse industry see it clearly: If more gambling isn't allowed at Kentucky racetracks, the state will have fewer horses, fewer races and, eventually, fewer horse farms. Read More
KY: Racing industry to target slots foes
With the death of the racetrack slots bill in a Senate committee last week, proponents of expanded gambling are now turning their attention to the 2010 legislative elections as their next realistic chance to win the support they need to finally prevail. Read More
LA: Jindal signs bill to boost some pensions
Legislation to boost the pensions of certain retirees now is state law. Read More
LA: Medicaid under review
Private health-care providers who treat Louisiana's poor are facing a $180 million cut in the government health insurance program that pays them. Read More
MA: Gov. Deval Patrick sides with dental benefits, immigrant coverage
Gov. Deval Patrick will agree to the Legislature's plan to preserve $100 million worth of dental benefits for enrollees in MassHealth and Commonwealth Care, heavily subsidized programs that serve largely lower income residents, according to a person briefed on the governor's plans for dealing with the $27.4 billion state budget on this desk. Read More
MA: Gambling debate kicks off at state house
A new round of public debate about allowing casinos in Massachusetts kicks off at the State House on Monday. Read More
MD: McIntosh wants to put the 'smart' back in growth
House Environmental Matters Chairwoman Maggie L. McIntosh is ready to pick a fight on growth in Maryland. Read More
ME: Unemployed, but not out of work
It was hard at first for Larry Tinsman to imagine that business had truly dried up. As a courier driver, he had always been busy and could work Saturdays for overtime when he wanted. Read More
ME: Law improves voter access to initiative costs
When voters close the curtains behind them on Election Day, they'll have a bit more information available to them than in the past. Read More
MO: Judge strikes down Missouri affirmative action measure
A state judge on Friday struck down a proposed constitutional amendment limiting affirmative action programs in Missouri, and supporters may have to start from scratch to get it on the 2010 ballot. Read More
MO: Illegal drugs such as Ecstasy showing up as cartoon-shaped pills in KC
Drugs shaped like Snoopy, Transformers and President Barack Obama's head recently showed up on Kansas City area streets, adding to a trend that worries police and health experts. Read More
MO: Sex offenses regain a role
About 124 convicted sex offenders in Boone County who had been exempt from state registration requirements will receive letters in two weeks ordering them to register with the county. Read More
MO: Record numbers seek permits to carry concealed weapons
Jackie Poynter surveys the row of handguns on the metal table and picks out a silver .22-caliber Smith & Wesson. Read More
MS: Budget session yielding progress
State lawmakers, trying to approve a budget before the new fiscal year begins Wednesday, advanced legislation Sunday that would head off increases in Mississippians' car-tag costs, hike taxes on cheaper cigarettes and set budgets for certain state agencies. Read More
MS: Miss. lawmakers engage in last-minute budget blitz
Mississippi lawmakers are playing a frantic game of beat the clock as they try to pass a nearly $6 billion state budget before the new fiscal year begins Wednesday. Read More
MT: Fourth of July travel expected to increase in state
Travel in and around Montana has largely been a last-minute decision this year, and that trend will likely continue into the Fourth of July weekend, said Sarah Lawlor of Travel Montana, the state's tourism office. Read More
MT: Tribes keep eye on health care reform
Gordon Belcourt's grandfather used to say that when the United States slipped into the Great Depression, people living on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation didn't notice. Read More
NC: Hard times, tough luck for Perdue
Nearly six months after taking office, Gov. Beverly Perdue's political honeymoon is over. Read More
NE: Jobless can't afford to wait
After she appealed a denial of unemployment benefits, Kizzetta Holmes was told to expect notification of a hearing date within 14 days. Read More
NH: Tense times for Lynch, employees
The special friendship between Gov. John Lynch and the State Employees' Association appeared to be on life support last week. Read More
NH: NH gov says he'd furlough himself to save jobs
Gov. John Lynch said Friday he'd furlough himself to save New Hampshire money and jobs, but everyone in state government must participate for a furlough program to be fair. Read More
NJ: Few expected to immediately use paid leave
Heralded as a victory for workers' rights and criticized as a potential drain on businesses, a law making New Jersey the second state in the nation to provide paid leave to care for new children or ailing relatives takes effect Wednesday. But the measure is not expected to dramatically alter the workplace right away, its champions and opponents agree. Read More
NM: New Mexico death penalty repeal set to take effect
Although New Mexico officially abolishes the death penalty on Wednesday, that doesn't mean there won't be another execution in the state. Read More
NY: 40 yrs. after Stonewall, Gay Pride Parade calls for wed rights
A festive sea of revelers marked the 40th anniversary of the era-changing Stonewall uprising during Sunday's Gay Pride Parade even as they looked ahead toward another struggle - the fight for gay marriage. Read More
NY: Gay marriage lost in shuffle of divided Senate
When Gov. David A. Paterson accepted an invitation to be a grand marshal in New York City's gay pride parade this year, he had high expectations that he would march down Fifth Avenue as the first governor in state history to have signed a law allowing gay couples to marry. Read More
OH: Gambling issue holds up Ohio budget
Disagreement over who should approve slot machines at horse tracks - Ohio voters or state legislators - has pushed the General Assembly up against a Tuesday deadline to pass Gov. Ted Strickland's two-year budget or resort to emergency spending for the first time in 18 years. Read More
OH: Gov. Ted Strickland, Senate President Bill Harris remain at an impasse over state budget deficit, slot machines
Gov. Ted Strickland and Republican Senate President Bill Harris remained at an impasse Sunday over the Democratic governor's plan to help close a $3.2 billion budget deficit by legalizing slot machines at seven Ohio racetracks. Read More
OR: Senate agrees to suspend property crimes measure
A voter-passed measure requiring repeat property and drug offenders to serve stricter prison sentences will be suspended for 18 months, after the Senate approved the delay to avoid making cuts to other public safety programs. Read More
OR: House OKs phase-in of Measure 57
The Oregon House voted Friday on a second try to phase in a new tough-on-crime law and use the savings to offset spending cuts in public-safety agencies. Read More
OR: Session marked a close call for human services
Human-services advocates scored a big win with the expansion of state health coverage to an additional 80,000 children. Read More
OR: Crime measure delay heads to governor
Oregon lawmakers completed action Saturday on a measure to suspend most provisions of a voter-approved measure requiring longer sentences for repeat property and drug offenders. Read More
OR: Revision of rape law clears Oregon Legislature
If a woman drinks too much at a party and is raped, under current Oregon law her attacker could be charged with second-degree sex abuse. Read More
PA: Luzerne County detention centers overcharged other counties according to audit
A pair of juvenile detention centers at the crux of a bribery scandal in Luzerne County also were charging counties like Allegheny and Butler too much for their services, according to a state audit. Read More
RI: Health care still free for R.I. lawmakers
State lawmakers spared their own free health-care packages — costing up to $17,986 apiece — from last week's round of budget cuts across state government and the municipal aid landscape. Read More
RI: R.I. law-enforcement officials say Senate bill outlawing indoor prostitution is flawed
Efforts to outlaw indoor prostitution stalled as state lawmakers went home for the weekend with no agreement on how to close a nearly 30-year-old "loophole" in the state law. Read More
RI: R.I. may vote on striking 'plantations' from state's name
Voters next year may have the opportunity to do something that African-American legislators have been unable to accomplish for decades: strike the phrase "and Providence Plantations" from the state's name. Read More
RI: R.I. House adjourns with bills unresolved
With scores of bills still in limbo, the Rhode Island House of Representatives abruptly went into hiatus at 1 a.m. Saturday. Speaker William J. Murphy cited the need to cool off and return for at least a day in July, and again on a regular basis in September, to continue working through Assembly business. Read More
TN: Assembly in political cross hairs
Tennessee lawmakers found themselves in the political crosshairs this year as gun-rights advocates pushed several dozen gun bills, including controversial moves to expand places where handgun-carry permit holders can take their loaded weapons. Read More
TX: Session will hit some where it hurts
Folks who watch their pennies when choosing smokeless tobacco, callers who like prepaid wireless plans and lobbyists and others who've found Capitol-area parking fines a bargain: Texas lawmakers left a bill for you the last time they left town. Read More
TX: Many want Gov. Perry to add to special session's agenda
The special work session for legislators beginning Wednesday is likely to be short, but not necessarily sweet. Advocates for unfinished business, ranging from expansion of the Children's Health Insurance Program to lowering homeowners insurance, are disappointed the governor won't tackle what they see as pressing needs. Read More
US: Political shifts on gay rights lag behind culture
WASHINGTON -- For 15 minutes in the Oval Office the other day, one of President Obama's top campaign lieutenants, Steve Hildebrand, told the president about the "hurt, anxiety and anger" that he and other gay supporters felt over the slow pace of the White House's engagement with gay issues. Read More
VA: Countrywide deal funds to aid debt counseling
Virginia families facing home foreclosure will be eligible for debt counseling funded in part by a legal settlement with Countrywide Financial Corp. Read More
VT: Vermont drug law gains national attention
Among all the laws the Vermont Legislature passed this year, one that has attracted almost as much national attention as the state's gay marriage bill is a new drug marketing disclosure measure. Read More
WA: Medical pot a challenge for law enforcement
A thief kicked in his door, ransacked his kitchen and stole his eight-ounce marijuana stash. So the victim called police. Read More
WI: State budget deal reached
Oil companies would not face a new tax and illegal immigrants would not be issued special cards so they could drive legally on Wisconsin roads under a budget deal reached privately by Democratic lawmakers and released Thursday. Read More
WI: Immigrant groups seek driver's card, tuition break in Wisconsin budget
Advocates are making a final push to convince Wisconsin lawmakers to cut tuition rates and create a new driver's card for illegal immigrants. Read More
WI: State To Monitor Dane County Child Services Cases
An internal Dane County document obtained by WISC-TV said the Dane County Human Services Department is understaffed in Child Protective Services, the division that protects children from abuse and neglect. Read More
WY: Wildlife officials seek to relocate quarantined bison
Montana wildlife officials seek proposals from Indian tribes, private groups and land-management agencies capable of caring for 50 to 100 disease-free bison. Read More
Ga. hotline aims to cut mental health costs
Read More
New section follows stimulus spending
Read More |
Powered by