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The agency has suggested reclassifying the metropolitan area’s ozone pollution designation as moderate nonattainment, a reduction from marginal. If adopted, the city will have to adhere to new standards.
Gov. Tate Reeves signed a bill into law this week that will oversee how broadband funding is allocated across the state and help connect more residents. It will be headed by former state Sen. Sally Doty.
Linda McCarthy, a suburban mother of Buffalo, N.Y., who formerly worked as a teacher’s aide, regarding the benefits she’s experienced by switching to homeschooling. Overall, homeschooling has increased across the nation. In the year before the pandemic, only about 3.3 percent of students, or about 2 million, were homeschooled, but homeschooling increased by 63 percent in the 2020-2021 school year, then fell by only 17 percent in the 2021-2022 year, according to data from 18 states. (Associated Press — April 14, 2022)
The number of homes that the McBride Fire in Ruidoso, N.M., has burned, as of Thursday, since it started two days prior; it has burned 5,736 acres of land. More than 5,000 residents of Ruidoso have been forced to evacuate.
With miles of second-floor walkways, Minneapolis and St. Paul have struggled to make them appealing without hurting retail businesses at the street level. Then the pandemic hit.
Public stairways were originally built by the hundreds into the hills for a walking workforce that has nearly disappeared. But fans praise the role of the unique transportation system and continue to use them today.
Started by Jerry Brown nearly 50 years ago, the CCC is a rock-solid model for programs that combine workforce development, public service and pushback against climate change.
It’s a fast-growing, multibillion-dollar industry that provides lots of jobs and consists mostly of small businesses. But it’s poorly understood by economic developers.
State Republicans gave initial approval to the so-called “Parents’ Bill of Rights,” which would allow parents to see the curriculum used in their child’s classroom. Democrats have said the bill is just political strategy.
Local government agencies are working to reform building inspection requirements after a condo building collapsed in Surfside, Fla., last year, but some engineering experts say the proposed packages aren’t strong enough.
To protest Gov. Greg Abbott’s increased vehicle inspections, truckers have blockaded a key Texas border crossing that sees $35 billion in annual trade. The disruption could severely impact local and regional supply chains.
U.S. Rep. Andrew Clyde, defending his decision to oppose bipartisan legislation that would have named a federal courthouse in Tallahassee after Justice Joseph W. Hatchett, the first Black man to serve on the Florida Supreme Court. Just before the vote Clyde started circulating an Associated Press article from 1999 that described how Hatchett wrote a decision that struck down a public school policy allowing student-approved prayers at graduation ceremonies in Florida. Soon the bill, which had once held widespread bipartisan support, failed with 89 percent of Republicans opposing, including the bill’s two sponsors. (New York Times — April 12, 2022)
It includes investments that will raise health-care workers’ pay, improve their workplace infrastructure and provide incentives that will attract more people to the workforce, according to Gov. Kathy Hochul.
The $900 million project will be developed by the utility firm Cleco and is part of the state’s campaign to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Louisiana is the only state in the Gulf South region to put forth such a plan.
Employees are 15 times more likely to build retirement savings if they have automatic payroll deductions at work, according to AARP. But such plans don't exist for about 55 million American workers.
A proposed 43-mile route would connect North Carolina’s Johnston, Wake and Durham counties. Total cost could top $2 billion, with the feds paying half. The trains could carry as many as 12,000 people a day.
Researchers estimated the state has the potential to substantially boost local water supplies by recycling wastewater and capturing stormwater. California recycles about 23 percent of its municipal wastewater.
South Dakota Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg, in a pair of letters he wrote to state lawmakers, urging them to vote against his impeachment for his behavior before and after he struck and killed a pedestrian in September 2020. (Associated Press — April 12, 2022)
The rate of equity for Black people in America, as compared to white people, according to The National Urban League’s annual report on the State of Black America. The report also found that the median household income for Black people is 37 percent less than that of white households, Black people live an average of four years less than white people and Black Americans are three times more likely to be jailed if arrested.
L.A. Metro bucked digital privacy concerns when it turned to technology to monitor and enforce dedicated bus lane rules. The move is a win that places the rights of bus riders above the privacy of offenders.
Performative politics is failing our cities, crowding out the substantive policy debates we need to produce better outcomes. Where are the modern-day “Sewer Socialists”?
Government workers are going to press for wage increases that — at a minimum — catch them up to rising prices. Budgeters and labor negotiators need to be careful not to lock in terms that put them in a fiscal squeeze in the future.
The defense argued that there was never any plot to kidnap or harm Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and that the scheme was manipulated by the FBI. But the prosecution insisted the threat was real.
Approximately 92 percent of the sewage that reached an ocean-connected waterway was spilled after 2015; more than half came from two spills that occurred last year. L.A. officials say they are far below the state average.
The $185 million construction project will be substantially completed by May 31. Hurricane Hanna, the February freeze in 2021 and the COVID-19 pandemic have all impacted the timeline.
Officials reported that the county paid out $447,372 in a series of nine payments to a fraud scheme claiming to be an approved county vendor in late 2019. The county’s net loss was more than $216,000.
Peter Perkowski, an attorney representing two Air Force service members, regarding a federal judge’s ruling that U.S. service members who are HIV-positive cannot be discharged or barred from becoming an officer solely based on their HIV status. (Associated Press — April 10, 2022)
The number of cents that the average U.S. price of a gallon of regular-grade gasoline dropped over the last two weeks, down to $4.27 per gallon, which is still up $1.32 from what it was a year ago.
Pilot projects in five communities will test how best to address the health risks that are connected to homelessness. Results could help guide professionals in reducing what has been a chronic problem.
