Social Policy |
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Silver Alert helps rescue lost seniors
By Christine Vestal, Stateline.org Staff Writer
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| A recent Silver Alert on a Texas state highway automated sign. (Stateline.org removed the license plate number to protect the owner‘s privacy.) |
(Updated 9:30 a.m EST, May 8, 2008)
When an elderly person with dementia is lost, eight states can trigger an alert to let the community know. Proposals in Congress would expand the successful missing persons program to all 50 states.
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US: Facebook safeguards will protect young users
By The Associated Press, CNN.com
HARTFORD, Conn. - Facebook, the world's second-largest social networking Web site, will add more than 40 safeguards to protect young users from sexual predators and cyberbullies, attorneys general from several states said Thursday.
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US: Behind college raid, rising drug use on campus
By Daniel B. Wood, The Christian Science Monitor
LOS ANGELES - The arrest this week of 96 suspects on drug-related charges, including 75 students, after a six-month sting operation at San Diego State University is shining a fresh spotlight on the issue of growing substance abuse at America's colleges and universities.
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VA: Tax increases would hurt poorest, group says
By Eric M. Weiss, The Washington Post (registration)
Some of the taxes and fees being considered by Virginia lawmakers to fund the state's transportation needs could hit the neediest residents the hardest, according to a report released yesterday.
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NC: Easley supports college for illegal immigrants
By Kristin Collins, The News & Observer (Raleigh) (registration)
In a statement that defied the legal advice of the state's attorney general, Gov. Mike Easley told community colleges Thursday that they can set their own admission standards, which currently welcome students regardless of their immigration status.
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MA: State agency seeks to cover 30,000 more uninsured
By Jeffrey Krasner, The Boston Globe (registration)
The authority overseeing the state's healthcare law is exploring ways to cover an additional 30,000 uninsured residents, a step that could increase the annual cost of the program by more than $250 million within a few years.
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23 states face budget gaps in '09
By Pamela M. Prah, Stateline.org Staff Writer
Like a college student fishing for stray quarters in the sofa cushions, states are tightening their belts, dipping into their rainy day funds and hoping revenues will pick up. But the faltering economy already has punched a $26 billion hole in 23 state budgets for 2009 – and it could get worse, according to a new report issued today (April 25).
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Fairness of death-penalty panels questioned
By John Gramlich, Stateline.org Staff Writer
Death-penalty supporters are raising questions about the fairness of state commissions charged with studying how capital punishment is carried out in Maryland and Tennessee, claiming the panels will issue reports that ignore their views.
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WORTH NOTING: Voters' guide promotes phone sex
By Pauline Vu, Stateline.org Staff Writer
An Oregon voters’ guide lists a very wrong number. California’s governor insults rural legislators. And Pennsylvania considers selling wine in vending machines. In case you missed those stories this week, “Worth Noting” fills you in.
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Parents turn to states for autism help
By Daniel C. Vock, Stateline.org Staff Writer
(UPDATED 4 p.m. EDT, Thursday May 1) One of the toughest problems facing autism patients, their families and policymakers is paying for treatment. Families are increasingly relying on states to help them cope with the financial, medical and educational needs.
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With justices' OK, voter ID moves ahead
By Daniel C. Vock and John Gramlich, Stateline.org Staff Writers
A decision Monday (April 28) by the U.S. Supreme Court to let Indiana demand photo identification from voters paves the way for other states to do the same during November’s presidential election, experts say.
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Gay marriage decisions ripe in Calif., Conn.
By Christine Vestal, Stateline.org Staff Writer
(Updated March 6, 2008)
More than four years after its historic court ruling legalizing same-sex marriage, Massachusetts stands alone in blessing gay marriages — more than 10,000 to date — and its example has spurred no imitators but lots of backlash. All eyes now are on the highest courts in California and Connecticut.
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Governors pitch ambitious programs
By Pamela M. Prah, Stateline.org Staff Writer
Billion-dollar deficits in California, New York and Arizona haven’t stopped governors there and elsewhere from proposing big-ticket items for 2008. Stateline.org looks at proposals from governors’ 2008 "state of the state" speeches and provides an exclusive summary of all the addresses so far.
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Embryonic stem cell research divides states
By Christine Vestal, Stateline.org Staff Writer
President Bush’s second veto of a bill to allow federal funding of stem cell research puts the ethical issue squarely in states’ hands. So far, seven states have moved to fund the research, six have banned it, three have affirmed its legality but do not fund it and a handful of others continue to debate the issue.
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AL: Senate blocks grocery tax bill
By Sebastian Kitchen, Montgomery Advertiser
Democrats in the Alabama Senate fell one vote short Thursday of bringing up a bill that would remove the state sales tax from groceries by no longer allowing Alabamians to deduct the federal income taxes they pay from their state income taxes.
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CT: Yale fires back at South Korean university over fake degree
By The Associated Press, The Hartford Courant (registration)
NEW HAVEN, Conn. - Details of a sex scandal involving a top South Korean official and an art history professor, who lied about having a Yale degree, will be used by the Ivy League school to defend itself against a federal lawsuit filed by the South Korean university that hired the professor.
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CT: Legislature left nursing-home reforms on table
By Lsa Chedekel, The Hartford Courant (registration)
For months, state Sen. Edith Prague rallied support for nursing-home reforms from Democratic leaders and advocates for the elderly, telling anyone who would listen that "this is the year" for improvements to minimum-staffing requirements and stronger oversight of the industry.
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CT: Democrats plan special session
By Ted Mann, The Day (New London)
Democratic lawmakers said they are committed to calling the state legislature back in for a special session this spring, citing their desire to extend a critical source of revenue for cities and towns.
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CT: Demonstration permits issued for Cheney visit
By The Associated Press, The Hartford Courant (registration)
NEW LONDON, Conn. - Supporters and opponents of the war in Iraq have been granted permits to demonstrate during Vice President Dick Cheney's visit to the U.S. Coast Guard Academy's commencement.
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FL: Democrats tout shift in Hispanic voting
By Beth Reinhard, The Miami Herald (registration)
Hispanic voters registered as Democrats have overtaken Hispanic Republicans in Florida, signaling a trend that, if it continues, could have far-reaching implications for the 2008 election and U.S. foreign policy.
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FL: Results mixed for Citizens' loan program
By Beatrice E. Garcia, The Miami Herald (registration)
The 13 insurers that took advantage of a low-cost loan program to pump up capital and write thousands of new policies are still sitting on millions of unused dollars.
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GA: Another to be put to death
By Shannon McCaffrey, The Associated Press, The Athens Banner-Herald
Two days after becoming the first state to break a seven-month pause in executions, Georgia is moving quickly to put another convicted killer to death later this month.
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GA: Warrant signed for next Georgia execution
By Bill Rankin, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (registration)
An execution warrant was signed Thursday for death-row inmate Samuel David Crowe, who is now scheduled to be put to death by lethal injection 7 p.m. on May 22.
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IA: Senator questions printing of DOT notice in Spanish
By Darwin Danielson, Radio Iowa
Senate Republican Leader Ron Wieck of Sioux City says it appears the Iowa Department of Transportation broke the law by having a public hearing notice printed in the Sioux City Journal Thursday in both English and Spanish.
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IA: Despite exemption, prisons to ban smoking
By William Petroski, The Des Moines Register
NEWTON, Iowa -- Iowa's prisons will become tobacco-free in early January even though state lawmakers exempted the institutions in a new law that bans smoking in most public places.
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IA: Tama casino offers poker to gamblers under age 21
By William Petroski, The Des Moines Register
The Meskwaki Indian tribe plans to offer poker to 18- to 21-year-old gamblers next month at its Tama casino, but state regulators said the young players will be barred from slot machines, blackjack and other games.
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IA: New law targets fans of dogfights
By Charlotte Eby, Quad-City Times
Those who attend and bet on illegal animal fights could now face tougher penalties, thanks to the work of two Davenport lawmakers who want to stop animal abuse.
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IA: DOT to continue using Spanish, other languages
By William Petroski, The Des Moines Register
The Iowa Department of Transportation plans to keep publishing official notices in Spanish and other languages, despite a recent court ruling upholding the state's English-language law, a spokeswoman said Thursday.
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IL: Will the capital city be able to gamble on racing?
By Doug Finke, The State Journal-Register (Springfield)
Harness racing up to nine months a year at the Illinois State Fairgrounds could help raise money for fairground improvements and the Sangamon County emergency dispatch system, according to Rep. Raymond Poe.
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IN: Booksellers agree with suit challenging new legislation
By Marti Goodland Heline, South Bend Tribune
"I just thought it was stupid." That was the reaction of Sarah Bird, co-owner of the Griffon Bookstore in downtown South Bend, when she first heard of a new law that will require retailers of sexually explicit materials to register with the state and pay a fee.
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LA: Museum system changes cleared by Senate panel
By Bill Barrow, The Times-Picayune (New Orleans)
Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu cleared the first step Thursday to gaining more control over the Louisiana museum system, but not without museum supporters renewing accusations that he is attempting a misguided power grab that would harm properties such as the Cabildo and the Presbytere.
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LA: Panel approves 'Bill of Rights'
By Bill Barrow, The Times-Picayune (New Orleans)
A Senate committee gave swift approval Thursday to a proposed "Bill of Rights" that would grant sweeping new benefits for Road Home applicants who assert that the contractors running the homeowner grant program are not following the policies set by the Louisiana Recovery Authority.
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LA: Bill would ban mentally ill from guns
By Sarah Chacko, The Advocate (Baton Rouge)
More than a year after a mentally ill student killed 32 people at Virginia Tech, Louisiana legislators are considering a bill to prohibit similarly unstable people from buying firearms.
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LA: Cravins expects Jetson bill OK
By Sandy Davis, The Advocate (Baton Rouge)
A state Senate bill that sets deadlines for closing Jetson - a state-run juvenile prison with a history of brutality - and for establishing smaller, regionalized juvenile detention facilities has a good chance of passing, said State Sen. Donald Cravins Jr.
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MD: Union won't back slots
By The Sun Staff, The Sun (Baltimore)
Breaking with the state teachers union, the Montgomery County Education Association voted Wednesday night not to endorse Maryland's slot machine gambling referendum, according to a news release from Marylanders United to Stop Slots.
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MD: Stem cell study grants awarded
By Jonathan Bor, The Sun (Baltimore)
Maryland has handed out its second round of grants for stem cell research, awarding a total of $23 million for 62 projects ranging from basic studies of the cells' properties to potential therapies for human disease.
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MD: Divided over slots
By Sean R. Sedam, The Gazette (Gaithersburg)
Large organizations are having as difficult a time with the issue of bringing slot machine gambling to Maryland as the General Assembly had in bringing the issue to the November ballot.
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MI: State smoking ban closer to reality
By Chris Christoff, Detroit Free Press
"Smoking or nonsmoking?" That question was closer to extinction Thursday as the state Senate approved a statewide ban on smoking on all workplaces including bars, restaurants and even casinos.
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MI: Some owners OK with ban, others not
By Sylvia Rector, Detroit Free Press
A smoking ban in Michigan restaurants and bars won't have the long-term negative impact on business that many owners fear it will, several restaurateurs predicted Thursday.
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MI: Tribe exemption unfair, casino officials say
By Margarita Bauza, Detroit Free Press
A smoking ban approved by the Michigan Senate that includes casinos could keep gamblers away in Detroit, and gives an unfair advantage to casinos operated by tribes, casinos officials and observers said.
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MI: Senate OKs smoking ban; reaction mixed
By Jacob Carpenter and Kristin Longley, Booth Newspapers (Lansing)
When Chris Fegley and his son, 4-year-old Gavin, venture out for a meal, their restaurant choice depends on the location's smoke level.
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MN: Legislators OK higher dropout age, minimum-wage hike
By Patricia Lopez, Minneapolis Star Tribune (registration)
Legislators dropped the hammer on Minnesota teens, and passed a bill to raise the minimum wage in two stages. But a transportation policy bill that would have made the failure to wear seat belts a primary offense was sent back to a conference committee.
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MS: Facebook agrees to make site safer for teens
By Bobby Harrison, The Daily Journal (Tupelo)
In a continuing effort to develop restrictions to protect children on the Internet, Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood said Thursday that he and 47 of his counterparts have hammered out an agreement with Facebook.
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NE: AG -- Facebook agrees to make changes
By Staff Reports, Lincoln Journal Star
Attorney General Jon Bruning joined 48 other attorneys general in announcing that social-networking site Facebook agreed to changes to better protect children from predators and inappropriate content.
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NH: Cigarette tax likely to stay flat
By Norma Love, The Associated Press, Concord Monitor
House budget writers proposed delaying a potential 25-cent cigarette tax increase yesterday to see if a pending tax increase in neighboring Massachusetts will drive smokers to New Hampshire despite high gas prices.
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NJ: Panel OKs aid for low-income students
By Adrienne Lu, The Philadelphia Inquirer (registration)
A bill authorizing a pilot program of scholarships to allow low-income children to attend private or out-of-district public schools cleared its first step in the state legislature yesterday.
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NJ: Talk explores medical care at end of life
, The Star-Ledger (Newark)
New Jersey's intensive use of medical care at the end of life -- the most aggressive in the nation -- will be examined at a day-long medical conference Monday at Richard Stockton College of New Jersey.
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NJ: Activists -- COAH's dragging its feet
By Tom Hester, The Star-Ledger (Newark)
Activists who want an appeals court to appoint a special master to oversee the state's affordable housing effort yesterday charged the Council on Affordable Housing will not meet a court-ordered deadline for finalizing new housing construction guidelines and is intentionally dragging its feet.
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NM: Navajo water rights bill heads to U.S. Senate floor
By Felicia Fonseca, The Associated Press, Las Cruces Sun-News
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.?The bill that would settle the Navajo Nation's water rights claims in the San Juan River Basin has cleared its first hurdle with approval of the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.
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NV: Public Health Crisis - More infections surface
By Annette Wells and Paul Harasim, Las Vegas Review-Journal (registration)
Health authorities said Thursday that 77 more patients might have contracted hepatitis C at a local medical clinic where unsafe injection practices have been identified.
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NV: Nevada Republicans bolt party line, support housing package
By Lisa Mascaro, Las Vegas Sun
WASHINGTON - In a sign of how the mortgage crisis is rippling through Nevada and across the national political landscape, the state?s two Republican House members broke ranks with their party Thursday and defied President Bush?s veto threat to vote for the main provisions of a Democratic housing rescue package.
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NY: Gov. endorses tests for cops involved in shootings
By Keith Herbert, Newsday
Gov. David A. Paterson met Thursday with Sean Bell's family at his office in Manhattan, where he endorsed a proposal to test officers involved in shootings for alcohol or drugs. The reform has been sought by activists after Bell's 50-shot slaying in 2006.
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OH: Dann's ethics form for Washington trip missing
By Laura A. Bischoff, Dayton Daily News
As a state senator, Marc Dann railed against then-Gov. Bob Taft for failing to disclose golf outings and other freebies on his annual financial disclosure statements filed with the Ohio Ethics Commission.
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OH: Hard-hit consumers turn to Amish-run stores, expired goods
By Meghan Barr, the Associated Press, Dayton Daily News
MESOPOTAMIA, Ohio - In a quiet gas-lit farmhouse on a frosty spring morning, two girls in bonnets and long blue dresses wind tape around expired bottles of Newman's Own salad dressing, and wipe dust off dented cans of vegetables and crumpled boxes of Butterfinger candy bars.
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OH: Husted wants independent inquiry
By William Hershey, Dayton Daily News
House Speaker Jon Husted, R-Kettering, believes an independent, external investigation is needed to gather all the facts before the House considers whether to impeach Democratic Attorney General Marc Dann.
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OH: Clearing the air costly to county
By Anthony Gottschlich, Dayton Daily News
DAYTON, Ohio - Enforcing Ohio's indoor smoking ban costs big bucks, and the fines issued to violators don't come close to paying for it, local health department officials have discovered.
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OH: Former Ohio AG aide says he was fired with no investigation
By The Associated Press, Toledo Blade
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio - A former aide to embattled Attorney General Marc Dann says he was terminated last year without an investigation by the office, unlike two top aides who were fired last week after sexual harassment claims against one of them prompted an internal probe.
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OK: Lawmaker encourages disaster funding
By The Associated Press, The Oklahoman (Oklahoma City) (registration)
A state lawmaker is encouraging the Legislature to approve a plan to secure state dollars for emergency disasters in Oklahoma.
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