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The numbers don’t seem to support the need for new state laws cracking down on illegal occupancy. There are better things policymakers could do to deal with the larger issues around housing.
The California governor presented his spending plan for the 2024-2025 fiscal year. It would strip $260 million from the state’s major homelessness program. Some lawmakers want to restore that funding.
San Diego County has officially called on state and federal public health agencies to investigate the public health impact of sewage and toxic chemicals from Tijuana in local air, water and soil.
Despite a high demand for programs that help children, elderly and those with disabilities, lawmakers made wide cuts for fear that the federal government might take back millions in COVID aid.
New York state Sen. Brad Hoylman-Sigal, regarding the state’s three-year program to allow some news organizations to tap into refundable tax credits each year, with a single outlet able to receive tax credits of up to $320,000 annually. The program will offer up to $90 million in tax credits to hire and retain journalists in an effort to support the shrinking local news industry. (Associated Press — May 23, 2024)
Transit agencies are facing overlapping crises, including a shortage of maintenance workers. They’ll need new recruiting and training regimens to hire more workers and transition to zero-emission fleets, per a new report.
Florida and Alabama have made it a crime to produce or sell meat grown in a lab, and a U.S. senator has joined what he calls the “pro-bio slop caucus.” Instead, they should be celebrating good old American innovation.
Wealthier families have always had options for educating their children. States have ways to provide options to everyone.
The legislation would bar school districts from adopting parental notification policies that would require school staff to inform a student’s parents if the student shows signs of being transgender.
Staff levels at Class I railroads declined about 28 percent between 2011 and 2021. Trains have also gotten longer, often reaching 2 or 3 miles long. Many are concerned that the combination poses a safety risk.
St. Louis-based organ transplant agency Mid-America Transplant is eyeing drones as the next step in time-critical blood transit across the state for organ and tissue donations. The agency hopes to establish a route in the next 2 years.
Jerome Block, a New York attorney, regarding four new lawsuits against juvenile detention centers and similar facilities in Pennsylvania alleging physical and sexual abuse of 66 people, now adults, while under the facilities’ care. The lawsuits claim the people were victimized by guards, nurses, supervisors and others. (Associated Press — May 22, 2024)
Too many children die as the result of abuse and neglect. The hard truth is that no one is working hard to count how many of them, or what’s behind outcomes that may be largely preventable.
States are sitting on near-record surpluses. How and where exactly do they store their savings?
Many industry analysts are confident that the electric vehicle revolution will continue even if Biden is ousted in November. But some — including automakers themselves — are worried about how politics could endanger the EV future.
Michigan Ascension hospitals first detected unusual activity on select technology network systems on May 8; by May 15, they had switched to manual documentation. Some services have been temporarily delayed.
The police department pledged to honor a federal consent decree that required officers to report whenever they pointed a weapon at someone. Only 12 incidents have been reported, despite nearly 17,000 occurrences.
Vermont Gov. Phil Scott, explaining his veto of a bill that would severely restrict the use of neonicotinoids, a type of pesticide that’s toxic to bees and other pollinators. Scott, a Republican, is expected to veto a number of bills, saying there’s a lack of balance in the Democrat-controlled Legislature that causes opposing perspectives and data to not be considered. Lawmakers may attempt to override the governor’s neonicotinoids veto during a special session next month. (Associated Press — May 21, 2024)
The end of the college term means campus protests are done, at least for now. But Democrats are split over the war in ways that may hurt the party in the fall.
Hundreds of billions of state and local dollars are sitting stagnant in bank accounts earning almost nothing — balances that have tripled in recent years. It’s not clear why this is happening, but it’s far too much foregone income.
Other local governments and regions can learn from a range of strategies such as zoning changes, encouraging EVs and making freight systems more efficient.
A new report shows foot traffic in downtown Philadelphia has reached 85 percent of pre-pandemic levels. Office occupancy is still down, but local leaders say it’s time to think differently about the future of downtown.
Despite the state’s population being half women, 68 percent of the seats in the Legislature are filled by men. Pennsylvania ranks 14th for women representation in state politics since 2019.
The state’s Clean Slate Act, approved in 2022, established an automatic record-sealing process for some lower-level crimes to better allow people access to housing, jobs or other opportunities. It will go into effect this summer.
While generative AI has become increasingly popular, its frequency of use is nowhere close to its earlier counterpart, predictive artificial intelligence, which is used in FICO scores, loan applications and health care.
University of Wisconsin-Madison botanist Shelby Ellison, regarding the dozens of cannabis plants that were removed from the state Capitol grounds last week, after someone planted them intentionally in a tulip garden outside the Capitol. It was unclear if the plants were marijuana or hemp. Marijuana remains illegal in all forms in Wisconsin. (Associated Press — May 17, 2024)
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