News
Bringing fiber infrastructure to rural areas is expensive and time consuming. Wise County, Texas, found a way to deliver high-speed Internet access without wires.
Some states that allow service members to use the voting system are moving to ban it for everybody else. It doesn’t make sense.
They'll need a lot more federal help to stay afloat.
Gov. Brian Kemp signed legislation on May 1 that requires jailers to hold any suspect who is believed to be in the country without legal permission. The legislation gained momentum after the killing of 22-year-old nursing student Laken Riley.
A 2-1 decision by a federal court stopped the state from using its new congressional map for any election, finding the changes Louisiana made to comply with the Voting Rights Act instead violated the 14th Amendment.
First Presbyterian Church of Lansing, Mich., Pastor Stanley Jenkins, regarding the proposal by Willye Bryan to collect money from her church, with a predominantly white congregation, for a grassroots effort of reparations. The church ended up raising $100,000 over the course of 10 years and individual congregants gave $80,000. The initiative became known as the Justice League of Greater Lansing and has collected around $400,000 in less than three years. (NPR — May 1, 2024)
GOP Sens. Shawnna Bolick and T.J. Shope, both vocal opponents of the Civil War-era ban, joined Democrats and backed the repeal.
Indiana is finishing its portion of Interstate 69, a highway planned to run from Canada to Mexico. It’s been in the works for decades.
Look to local governance to build positive feelings about our democracy by nurturing social connections, autonomy and freedom. Don’t look to Washington.
New data from the New York City Economic Development Corporation shows that the city’s Black unemployment rate has dropped to 7.9 percent. Overall unemployment has dropped to 4.9 percent and Hispanic unemployment is at 6.7 percent.
The city’s finance department has grown 35 percent since 2019 and the cost of internal-facing departments have increased by 50 percent. Seattle’s total budget is currently $7.8 billion.
The bill is part of a package to punish juvenile offenders more harshly. One senator warns the measure will bring “massive repercussions” and raises complicated legal questions.
To help ensure the passage of nearly 2 billion birds from around 400 different species, the National Audubon Society is asking state residents to dim their nighttime lights as a part of the biannual “Lights Out, Texas!” campaign.
Walmart, regarding its decision to close all 51 of its health-care centers in Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Illinois and Texas, as well as to end virtual care services. The company’s 4,600 pharmacies and 3,000 vision centers will continue to offer services. (The Hill — April 30, 2024)
Updates to the financial form have led to major delays in students' completion and colleges offering aid. Some analysts worry large numbers of students won't get the help they're entitled to.
Absurd occupational licensing requirements are costly for the economy and harmful to the workforce, but we don't seem to be able to do much about them.
The Chicago-based nonprofit Center for Tech and Civic Life distributed $3.5 million in private funds to 2,500 local election offices across 49 states during the 2020 presidential election cycle. But many believe the additional funds were unnecessary.
Under an expected measure, Chicago Transit Authority, Metra and Pace would combine into a single system in hopes of resolving funding issues, as well as providing more reliable and safer services.
The Nova Power Bank in Menifee, Calif., will host roughly 2,000 batteries over 43 acres and store enough electricity to power 680,000 homes for up to four hours. The facility is expected to be completed next year.
The elementary schools have the district’s lowest enrollment, fewer than 300 students total, and will have to share a single librarian next year. No current librarians will lose their jobs.
Dave Reidmiller of the Climate Center at the Gulf of Maine Research Institute, regarding the Gulf of Maine’s annual sea surface temperature. It was nearly 2 degrees Fahrenheit above normal in 2023, making it the fifth-warmest year on record for the sea. (Associated Press — April 29, 2024)
There’s a reason why we have trouble solving crucial community problems. It’s not an easy one to deal with.
One in every four job postings seeks candidates with the data skills that companies need — and those jobs pay better. Schools should refocus their efforts.
High-capacity magazines and cheap devices that turn semi-automatic firearms into machine guns have already raised the shooting fatality rate. Targeting them legislatively could save hundreds or thousands of lives per year.
Four Los Angeles city-based Metro board members urged the transit agency to adopt an aggressive conversion plan to meet the original goal of 100 percent zero-emission buses by 2030. But the five-year delay will likely stand.
After a February special legislative session gave gun-rights groups sweeping wins, bills to expand firearm-free zones have stalled. Expansion of the zones seems unlikely this year.
The state estimates it will have between $300 and $400 million of American Rescue Plan Act funding still available for use. The problem will be figuring out how to prioritize which programs get money.
Most Read
