Stateline

Recent Articles

• 200 Candidates Kicked Off South Carolina Ballot
• Jun 12, 2012
• Two decisions by the South Carolina Supreme Court — one in May and another earlier this month — removed more than 200 challengers for state legislature and local offices from today’s contests.

• New Hampshire Lawmakers Compromise on Greenhouse Gas Initiative
• Jun 11, 2012
• The Legislature last week passed a bill that would remove New Hampshire from the New England cap-and-trade agreement (RGGI), but only if two other states leave first.

• Maryland Casino Opens to Long Lines and Controversy
• Jun 8, 2012
• Maryland’s third and largest casino, Maryland Live!, opened amid glittery showgirls, a woman dressed as a giant dessert table, a gaggle of politicians, lines of eager gamblers stretched outside the building and the cacophony of 3,200 fully engaged slot machines and electronic gaming tables — music to a battered economy.

• State Nuclear Waste Storage Issue Still Unresolved
• Jun 8, 2012
• A U.S. Congressional subcommittee addressed a question states have long hoped the federal government would answer: Where will nuclear power plants permanently store their growing stockpiles of spent fuel and other hazardous waste?

• Funeral-Regulations Ruling in Pennsylvania Could Have Nationwide Impact
• Jun 7, 2012
• A federal judge last month ordered the Pennsylvania state board of funeral directors to rewrite their “outmoded” regulations that limited the numbers of funeral homes any one director could own, restricted the naming of homes, and prohibited funeral homes from serving food. Industry experts say the ruling could have broad implications for other states.
• 2 Comments

• Local Governments in North Carolina Better Off Because of Unique State Agency
• Jun 6, 2012
• Local governments are doing better in North Carolina than in other fiscally challenged parts of the country. They have a little-known instrument of state government to thank for that.

• States Get Federal Money to Improve Aging and Disability Centers
• Jun 4, 2012
• The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has announced a $25 million grant to help states improve and develop more Aging and Disability Resource Centers, which help low-income adults remain in their communities by using local home health care services.

• Gas Companies Give to Lawmakers Amid North Carolina Fracking Debate
• Jun 1, 2012
• As North Carolina lawmakers consider opening up the state to hydraulic fracturing, the controversial method used to extract natural gas from shale deposits, a good government group says that natural gas-related industries are unduly influencing the debate.
• 3 Comments

• School Schedules Get a Makeover Across the Country
• Jun 1, 2012
• Tourism and budget cuts have dictated, and in some cases shortened, the school year in a number of states. But a growing movement thinks students need more time in school, according to Stateline.org.

• Struggling State Fairs Go Private
• May 31, 2012
• State fairs are facing a budget crunch, and one solution is to turn them over to private ownership.

• Red Tape Threatens Innovative Jobs Program
• May 29, 2012
• The federal government has made money available for a new approach to unemployment, but states have to jump through bureaucratic hoops to get it.

• Grandparents Raising Children Need More State Help
• May 24, 2012
• More than 2.7 million children in America are being raised by relatives, and states need to do more to make "kinship families" aware of the benefits and programs available to them, says a new report examined by Stateline.

• New Race to the Top Funds to Reward Personalized Instruction
• May 23, 2012
• The latest round of the Race to the Top grant competition will be open to school districts for offering more personalized instruction for students.

• Gov. LePage Battles Unions in Maine
• May 21, 2012
• Governor Paul LePage recently called some of Maine’s state workers “about as corrupt as you can be.” They’re not pleased with him, either.
• 2 Comments

• Hawaii Has First Statewide Plastic Bag Ban
• May 21, 2012
• Honolulu recently banned retailers from offering plastic bags in the checkout aisle, making Hawaii the first state with such regulations statewide, according to Stateline.org.
• 1 Comments