A statewide attendance investigation shows that nine Ohio school districts manipulated their student data, perhaps in an attempt to inflate their state report-card grades, and the findings are being turned over to federal officials.
Source: Philadelphia Inquirer | Pennsylvania |
February 12, 2013
The commonwealth has often underperformed so profoundly in the timely handling of unemployment insurance forms and other matters, according to the feds, that the federal government may consider sanctions that would restrict budget money to the state.
Source: New York Times | Nation |
February 12, 2013
Companies have complained about waste or unfair competition, like building fiber networks where they already exist, in a federal grant program intended to extend high-speed Internet access to parts of the country that had little or none of it.
The executive order would establish a voluntary program in which companies operating critical infrastructure would elect to meet cybersecurity best practices and standards crafted, in part, by the government.
California, the nation's earliest and most aggressive adopter of the federal health-care overhaul, doesn't have enough doctors to treat a rush of newly insured patients. To avoid a doctor shortage, lawmakers in California -- and other states facing the same problem -- are working on altering what health professionals may do.
Source: Newark Star-Ledger | New Jersey |
February 11, 2013
If last week’s brouhaha after an appearance on the “Late Show with David Letterman” is a guide, Christie will continue to be dogged by a key political question: Can America’s voters overlook all those extra pounds if he makes a bid for the White House in 2016?
Source: Newark Star-Ledger | New Jersey |
February 11, 2013
Gov. Chris Christie today announced he signed an executive order for his administration to track billions of dollars in federal aid for Hurricane Sandy that will flow through the state.
Though she has been acting administrator for more than a year, Marilyn Tavenner, who is leading the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, was officially nominated for the post by President Barack Obama Thursday.
The Florida Wildlife Federation has sued Gov. Rick Scott and the Florida Cabinet to stop its recent decision to allow farmers to continue leasing state-owned land in the Everglades for another 30 years, alleging that the farming has the potential to exacerbate the pollution the state is attempting to clean-up.
Source: New York Times | Nation |
February 8, 2013
Americans who were born to immigrant parents are doing better than the foreign born on important measures of socioeconomic success, and in at least one area — education — have outperformed the population as a whole.
Gov. Rick Snyder said that he unconditionally supports expanding the state's Medicaid rolls, but the legislature -- which includes many skeptics of anything associated with the federal Affordable Care Act -- will have to be convinced.
Source: AP/FortWayne.com | Indiana |
February 7, 2013
Gov. Mike Pence said that he has ruled out expanding Medicaid under the federal health care law unless Indiana gets approval to use state health savings accounts for the expansion.
In its first hearing of 2013 on immigration reform, Republicans on the U.S. House Judiciary Committee sparred with San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro over the merits of comprehensive immigration reform.
"Without serious reforms, it would be financially unsustainable for Pennsylvania taxpayers, and I cannot recommend a dramatic Medicaid expansion," the governor wrote to U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.
Nationally, six straight years of revenue declines have put enormous pressure on state and local governments, nevertheless, some are thriving. Standard & Poor's, the credit-rating agency, reports that it issued more bond upgrades than downgrades in 2012.
The Medicaid expansion and the Affordable Care Act are in full swing. With the influx of people who will be applying for benefits and the ACA requirement for online enrollment, it is more important than ever to verify the identities of those accessing benefits up front.