• North Carolina's Noteworthy Preschool Program Experienced Huge Enrollment Drop
• Source: Raleigh News & Observer   |   North Carolina   |   April 29, 2013
• North Carolina had one of the best pre-kindergarten programs in the country in 2011-12, but it also experienced one of the nation’s biggest drops in enrollment, according to a report released Monday.

• Gun Background Checks May be up to Voters
• Source: AP/Politico   |   Washington state   |   April 29, 2013
• After struggling to sway both state and federal lawmakers, proponents of expanding background checks for gun sales are now exploring whether they will have more success by taking the issue directly to voters.
• 3 Comments

• The Cost of Utah's Medicaid Data Breach
• Source: Salt Lake Tribune   |   Utah   |   April 29, 2013
• Utah’s 2012 health data breach — a security slip that exposed the personal information of three-quarters of a million residents to hackers — has costt he state about $9 million on security audits, upgrades and credit monitoring for victims — and that’s just the beginning.

• Tennessee's Welfare Drug Testing Program Faces Hurdles
• Source: Tennessean   |   Tennessee   |   April 29, 2013
• Tennessee is plunging ahead with a plan to drug test some welfare applicants even though a Florida judge stopped a similar program over constitutional issues and Arizona authorities caught only one welfare-receiving drug abuser in three years.

• Sandy Cleanup Costs Double in NYC Compared to New Jersey
• Source: Newark Star-Ledger   |   New Jersey   |   April 29, 2013
• New York’s high cost was driven largely by how far the city had to transport its waste — and what it took to get it to a landfill in the Finger Lakes region west of Syracuse, according to Col. John Pilot, who headed the city’s cleanup efforts.

• 4 States Seek to Lift Sunday Hunting Bans
• Source: USA Today   |   Nation   |   April 29, 2013
• Lawmakers and hunting advocates in North Carolina, Connecticut, Massachusetts and West Virginia are working to change "blue laws" that ban hunting on Sunday.

• Washington Joins Race to Secure Drone Testing
• BY: McClatchy News   |   Washington state   |   April 26, 2013
• A consortium of several organizations in the state announced that it will submit a bid to the Federal Aviation Administration to be considered for one of the six federally designated test facilities for aerial drones.

• Georgia Quietly OKs Immigration Crackdown
• BY: McClatchy News   |   Georgia   |   April 26, 2013
• As Congress considers immigration reform, Gov. Nathan Deal signed sweeping legislation that bars undocumented immigrants from obtaining state driver's licenses, grants, public housing and retirement benefits.

• Washington May Shift Public Workers onto Health Exchange
• Source: AP/Oregonian   |   Washington state   |   April 26, 2013
• Washington state appears to be the first major government to seriously explore the possibility of pushing public employees into the exchange, but it probably won't be the last.

• Feds' Medicaid Announcement Could be Game-Changer in Arizona
• Source: Arizona Republic   |   Arizona   |   April 26, 2013
• Federal health officials dealt a blow to opponents of Medicaid expansion, saying they’re unlikely to fund a slimmed-down version of the state’s indigent-health-care program as the political battle over the issue intensified.

• Court Says Marijuana Use is Grounds for Firing in Colorado
• Source: AP/Denver Post   |   Colorado   |   April 26, 2013
• Medical and recreational marijuana may be legal in Colorado, but employers in the state can lawfully fire workers who test positive for the drug, even if it was used off duty, according to a court ruling.
• 1 Comments

• Gun-Control Package in New Jersey Senate May Not Get Consideration
• Source: Newark Star-Ledger   |   New Jersey   |   April 26, 2013
• Senate President Stephen Sweeney’s push to stiffen the state’s gun laws got off to a rocky start as the Assembly majority leader warned the package of measures was dead on arrival because it wasn’t tough enough, and a national group of mayors abruptly put off its endorsement.

• The 5 States Facing Gay Marriage Battles Next
• Source: USA Today   |   Nation   |   April 26, 2013
• As Rhode Island is set to become the 10th state to allow gay and lesbian couples to marry, gay marriage supporters are shifting their focus to other states.

• Prison Gang Scandal Leaves Maryland Lawmakers Asking How, Why
• Source: Baltimore Sun   |   Maryland   |   April 26, 2013
• Maryland lawmakers called for a sweeping inquiry into the state prison system, amid allegations that a gang effectively took over the Baltimore City Detention Center, orchestrating crimes from behind bars and impregnating female correctional officers who helped smuggle in contraband.

• Vote on Online Sales Tax Bill Delayed
• Source: AP/USA Today   |   Nation   |   April 26, 2013
• A final vote was delayed until May after senators return from a weeklong vacation.

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  "RE: your response to me - I understand your confusion. Our tendency to devalue historical..."
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  "well that exulated quickly......"
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  "Finally, while I do agree with you that people who cheat the system should not be given..."
• Motorcycle Deaths Rise as States Rethink Helmet Laws
  
  "How many more lives would be saved if automobile riders would wear helmets. We are talking..."
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  "There is everything in the constituation that says laws may not be written such that your..."

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