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Jared Walczak, vice president of state projects for the Tax Foundation, a nonpartisan tax policy group, regarding a proposed California bill that would give unemployment checks to striking workers while they picket for better pay and working conditions. The state’s unemployment benefits fund is filled by a tax that businesses must pay for each worker, but the tax only applies to the first $7,000 of employee wages and has not been changed since 1984. The state has only increased unemployment benefits twice since then, once in 1989 and once in 2001. Despite three years of record job growth, the state estimates that benefit payments will exceed tax collections by $1.1 billion. (Associated Press — Aug. 23, 2023)
It isn’t just about constitutional rights and fairness. Underfunded, undervalued public defense is also costly to taxpayers. A few states are showing the way toward meaningful reforms.
The San Juan County, Wash., Council voted unanimously to transition to a 32-hour work week for approximately 70 percent of the county’s workforce without decreasing the employees’ pay. The move raises wage rates while avoiding a possible tax increase.
Just a few months after the Starlink terminals began delivering connectivity, thousands of residents have signed up for the satellite-transferred service. While the connectivity isn’t perfect, the increased speed is life changing for many.
Despite an unusually wet winter, the state is considering making permanent a temporary ban on watering “ornamental turf” at corporate, industrial or government properties with potable water.
About 3.3 million state residents live in an area considered to be a food desert by USDA guidelines. Nationally, 17.4 percent of the population has limited access to affordable and nutritious food.
With nearly 40 percent of families with children in Hamilton County, Tenn., struggling to pay their bills, a new coalition aims to help and encourage employers to adopt flexible schedules, remote work, onsite child care and improved health-care benefits policies.
St. Louis, Mo., Mayor Tishaura Jones, regarding proposed legislation that would prohibit “military-grade weapons” on city streets and make it a crime for “insurrectionists” and those convicted of hate crimes to possess firearms. The state’s attorney general is warning that such a law would violate the state constitution. (Associated Press — Aug. 23, 2023)
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Misinformation can thwart the work of public health. Leaders from the field are bringing the mindset they use to detect and contain disease to the rapid, far-reaching spread of an information epidemic.
As funds flow from the Inflation Reduction Act for projects across the country, getting the full benefit of this landmark law will depend on governors seizing the moment.
It is on track to become ubiquitous in public services, but it will introduce unpredicted challenges. Success will require not only an understanding of coding and statistics but also the knowledge that humans apply from their lived experience.
Eight children of migrant families were turned away from attending Emmett Louis Till Math and Science Academy on Monday. Other students, who were allowed to enroll, were forced to rely on Google Translate for language support.
A new poll found that nearly one-third of Americans said the dewormer ivermectin was definitely or probably an effective treatment for COVID-19. It’s not. The limited trust for the media and government had wide partisan gaps.
Despite the former president’s claims, data shows violent crime is down more than 20 percent across the city and for the first time in four years homicides were down amid efforts to curb deadly violence.
Erik Olson, a health and food expert at the environmental group Natural Resources Defense Council, regarding some states’ refusal of federal funds to remove lead pipes that can contaminate drinking water and damage brain development in children. Washington, Oregon, Maine and Alaska have all declined most or all of their funds in the first of five years that the federal grants and loans are available; some states are hesitant to pay for lead removal projects because they are uncertain if they want to take out loans to search for lead pipes. (Associated Press — Aug. 22, 2023)
New research describes transportation engineers as part of the public health workforce, and argues they should emphasize strategies that reduce risk for greater proportions of the population.
A patchwork of confusing and sometimes contradictory policies, involving all levels of government as well as health care providers, resulted in a chaotic response. We need to figure out how to upgrade the system for future health emergencies.
An online resource now being built out has the potential to become an important intellectual hub for public-sector investment practitioners. They need to articulate what they most want to find there.
The Coachella Valley faced a particularly dire threat of flooding as it acts as a drainage basin for two 10,000-foot-plus mountain ranges and low-income farming communities, like Mecca and Thermal, sit at the valley’s low center.
A report by Morgan State University found that the law enforcement agency does not support employees to speak out against the culture or problematic events and troopers of color have said they were subjected to micro- and macroagressions.
At least 14 school resource officers will be at campuses across the city, one of the most significant changes since the shooting at East High School five months ago, overturning a three-year-old policy which had previously removed the officers.
The city’s air quality index hovered between 170 and 190 on Sunday evening and was ranked the worst in the world as smoke from ongoing wildfires in British Columbia, Eastern Washington and the Cascades enveloped the city.
Barry County, Mich., chief law enforcement officer Dar Leaf, regarding what he believes is the sacred mission of America’s sheriffs. Leaf is on the advisory board of the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association, which was founded in 2011 and teaches that elected sheriffs must protect their citizens from the overreach of an out-of-control federal government by refusing to enforce any law they deem unconstitutional or unjust. (Associated Press —Aug. 21, 2023)
Municipal strikes have been rare for decades, but union activity in California suggest they might be making a comeback. Blame it on inflation and staff shortages.
An advocacy group for nude recreation has been a presence at the annual meeting of state legislators for decades — not to advertise, but to prevent inadvertent disruption of a way of life and a multibillion-dollar industry.
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