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Kim Mitchell, senior water policy adviser at Western Resource Advocates, a Phoenix-based nonprofit dedicated to protecting water and land in the West, regarding the brief relief that this past winter’s precipitation brought to Lake Powell and Lake Mead of the Colorado River, which are still only at about 39 and 33 percents full, respectively. Federal officials are expected to ease water cuts for 2024 due to the slight improvement of the river’s health, but experts are still concerned about the impacts of a drying future. (Associated Press — Aug. 14, 2023)
Boston has a new tax incentive program to help developers convert downtown office space to housing. Conversions remain relatively rare, but more cities are looking at ways to push them forward.
It offers significant cost, efficiency and sustainability benefits, but its widespread use is hampered by a patchwork of state and local regulations. Regulatory consistency could help builders deliver the housing we need.
The Democracy Restoration Act, introduced by U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett of Dallas, Texas, would restore voting rights in federal elections for all released felons regardless of parole or probation status and regardless of state laws.
After a series of closures, the North and West sides of the city had six birthing hospitals and the South Side had three. A community-founded birthing center hopes to fill the city’s “birth deserts” and improve maternal care for Black women.
Washington state’s Lower Valley has had excess levels of nitrate in groundwater since the early 90s and in 2017, 20 percent of wells exceeded the state’s drinking water standards.
It makes anyone across the state who shares personal identifiable information about another person with the purpose of harming them to be found civilly liable in court. The ACLU has cited free speech concerns.
First Amendment attorney Lynn Oberlander, regarding a police raid of the Marion County Record, a local newspaper in Marion, Kan., under a search warrant signed by a county judge to investigate for “identity theft.” Several media law experts explained that the raid appears to be in violation of federal law which protects journalists from this type of action. (NPR — Aug. 14, 2023)
The work that public health officials do is determined by policy, but engaging with policymakers hasn’t been a strong suit for the field. A new book aims to help them do better.
The governor’s ambitious plan bets heavily on competition, through vouchers and school choice, but there’s no reliable evidence that competition can make a real difference.
The federal agency found Alabama’s program of managing its own coal ash is “significantly” less protective than what the federal rules require. For many the decision is evidence that other states, like Georgia, need to adjust their plans.
A recent study found that reused water is not only safe but it’s actually cleaner than conventionally sourced water, but proponents are still fighting an uphill battle against the “yuck” factor.
Officials tout the state’s diverse portfolio of energy sources, including wind, solar, natural gas and nuclear, as a major factor behind its resilience. On Aug. 7, peak demand was at 84,029 megawatts.
The Mendocino County board of supervisors decided to use more than $63,000 of opioid settlement funds, approximately 6.5 percent of the total the county received in the first two years of distribution, to fill a $6 million budget shortfall.
Attorney Tricia Herzfeld, regarding the federal civil rights investigation against Vanderbilt University Medical Center for turning the medical records of transgender patients over to the Tennessee attorney general. VUMC waited months to tell the patients of the disclosure. (Associated Press — Aug. 11, 2023)
The state lets workers own and register their vehicles, but they aren’t allowed to drive them, forcing many farm workers to risk fines and arrest. “It’s a Catch-22 for a lot of folks,” advocates say.
Fast-moving wildfires have torn through the historic Hawaiian city of 12,000 and have damaged or destroyed approximately 270 structures. So far, more than 11,000 people have been flown off the island since the fires began earlier this week.
The typical city’s home pays nearly $2,385 per month on household expenses like mortgage, rent, loans, utilities and insurance, ranking 331 out of 431 cities across the state with the most expensive household bills.
The state has the fifth-highest average amount of debt per undergraduate for the class of 2020 and approximately 15 percent of residents have some form of student debt. For many, their way of living will change when payments resume next month.
One-time county prosecutor, state lawmaker, state attorney general and auditor Betty Montgomery has been a vocal critic of the state’s failed proposal, known as Issue 1, to require a supermajority for constitutional amendments.
Jefferson County, Ky., Public Schools Superintendent Marty Pollio, regarding the cancellation of the second and third days of the school year due to a “transportation disaster” that left some children on buses until just before 10 p.m. after the first day of school. The disaster came after a major overhaul to school bus routes and school start times this year meant to alleviate the struggles surrounding a bus driver shortage; the district spent $199,000 to create a plan that would cut the number of bus routes and stops. JCPS is Kentucky’s largest school system and has 96,000 students. District officials will spend the next several days reviewing the routes and having bus drivers practice them before students return on Monday. (Associated Press — Aug. 10, 2023)
Hasan Ikhrata recently announced his resignation, ending five years of acrimony with local officials around transportation policy. Left unresolved is how the region will fund its highways and transit systems long term.
The local figures who used to move their communities forward are in painfully short supply.
Following labor unrest with writers, actors and hotel workers, a one-day strike by city workers in Los Angeles was aimed at getting stalled negotiations going again. It also reflected a desire for respect.
Just as the city has seen an uptick in COVID-19 cases this month, a cost-saving directive from Mayor Adams will close the public health library that many relied upon during the height of the pandemic.
The agency will address its plan to clean an industrial site that is leaking cancer-causing chemicals and contaminating approximately 80 homes in the predominantly low-income neighborhood of North Texas.
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