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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: state governments

state governments stories: 27 news summaries

1 - 20 of 27 Stories | 1 2 Next >>

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 Furloughs 
 Freeze 
 State 
 Services 

Strapped states try to balance budgets
by shutting down

Sep 4, 09 1:31 AM CDT
(Newser) - States across the country are slashing their labor costs by putting workers on furloughs and cutting services, the Wall Street Journal reports. California, Maine, Maryland and Michigan close state agencies on Fridays. Others are opting to remain open every weekday, but stretch services by placing thousands of workers on rolling... More »

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layoffs • government spending • state governments • state budgets • furlough

Tax Collectors Use MySpace, Google to Find Deadbeats

Public profiles can provide valuable income information for revenue agents

Aug 27, 09 3:31 PM CDT
(Newser) - Internet-savvy state tax collectors are using a new tool in tracking down evaders: social networking websites. Tax collectors are taking advantage of the fact that an individual’s MySpace or Facebook profile often contains quite a bit of professional information, the Wall Street Journal reports. Agents in Nebraska, for example,... More »

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social networking • Google • MySpace • IRS • Facebook • tax evasion • income • Internal Revenue Service • tax fraud • state governments • state budgets • social media

OPINION

 Obama's Health 
 Plan Will Crack  
 Whip on States 

States mishandle Medicaid, get bullied by private firms: doctor

Jul 29, 09 12:25 PM CDT
(Newser) - Doctors nationwide are “outraged” by President Obama’s health care plan, but “I call it progress,” writes one Missouri physician for Salon. The reform would take oversight out of the hands of states, which seemingly specialize in “lax regulation of private insurers” and poor handling of... More »

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health care • health insurance • physician • Medicaid • health care reform • state spending • state governments • health insurers • President Obama

 Obama: Brace for  
 Swine Flu Outbreak 

Calls for 'vigilance,' not 'panic'

Jul 9, 09 11:33 AM CDT
(Newser) - President Obama called for “rigorous” planning by state and local officials in anticipation of a possible swine flu outbreak this fall, CNN reports. “We want to make sure we aren't promoting panic, but we are promoting vigilance and preparation,” Obama—on a video link from the G8... More »

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Health and Human Services • disease • public health • vaccination • vaccine • Kathleen Sebelius • disease control • state governments • President Obama • swine flu • H1N1 virus • local government

 Anti-Abortion Activists 
 Target State Battlegrounds 

In Mississippi, only one clinic remains

Jun 8, 09 10:49 AM CDT
(Newser) - With President Obama in office, abortion is unlikely to become illegal under federal law anytime soon. So activists are taking their battle to the state level, pushing for complex rules and limits that make the procedure difficult to obtain, the Washington Post reports. "The states are the battlegrounds and... More »

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abortion • abortion rights • Planned Parenthood • Mississippi • state governments • anti-abortion activists • George Tiller

(Newser) - Minnesota wants Internet providers who serve customers in the state to block access to Internet gambling sites, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports. Officials say the practice is illegal in the state, but how prevalent it is is unclear. “It's hard to know that," a gambling regulator said.... More »

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casino • Minnesota • illegal activity • Internet service providers • online gaming • Internet gambling • state governments

Stimulus Flows Into Patchwork of Road Projects

Thousands of small p

Mar 4, 09 8:13 AM CST
(Newser) - Although the stimulus package that Barack Obama signed last month contains eye-watering sums, the earliest projects out of the gate are far from monumental: widening a highway in Kansas, resurfacing some roads in Missouri. More than a dozen states have announced their plans to spend their share of the $50... More »

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construction • transportation • infrastructure • highways • economic stimulus package • state governments • financial crisis


 Obama to Mayors: 
 Use Stimulus 
 Cash Wisely 

Officials can't betray the public's trust, president says

Feb 20, 09 11:01 AM CST
(AP) - President Obama says the $787 billion economic package will help struggling cities, but both Washington and the mayors have a responsibility to spend the money wisely. "We have asked for the unprecedented trust of the American people to deal boldly with the greatest economic crisis we have seen in... More »

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Barack Obama • budget • mayor • economic stimulus package • state governments • budgets • Obama administration • President Obama • state budgets

Stimulus Widens Unemployment Coverage

Part-timers would be eligible; plan expands health-care options

Jan 7, 09 11:02 AM CST
(Newser) - The Obama stimulus plan will include a $7 billion provision intended to force states to extend unemployment insurance to part-time workers, reports the Wall Street Journal. A separate plan subsidizes COBRA payments and allows uninsured workers who get laid off to buy into Medicaid, and all three measures are riling... More »

MORE ABOUT:
health care • Barack Obama • deficit • budget deficit • economic stimulus package • state governments • Kent Conrad

States See Lottery Sales Take Rare Dip

Recession crimps
this usually safe revenue stream

Dec 26, 08 8:17 AM CST
(Newser) - In good times and bad, state governments have relied on the lottery to bring in as much as $1 billion for education programs and other beneficiaries. But last quarter, sales of tickets fell by $215 million nationwide, only the second dip in 16 years. At a moment when states are... More »

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gambling • lottery • gamblers • state governments • budget shortfall

Recession-Battered States Slash Medicaid

Governments lower payments, cut add-ons to health program

Dec 26, 08 7:14 AM CST
(Newser) - As states across the country struggle to cope with staggering budget shortfalls, 19 of them have cut back on Medicaid, reports the Washington Post. The states, along with DC, are lowering payments to hospitals and nursing homes, ending coverage for less common treatments, and booting some citizens out of the... More »

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health care • health care costs • Medicaid • recession • state governments • Obama administration

 NH Suspends Jury 
 Trials to Stave Off Layoffs

Savings will prevent courthouse layoffs

Dec 9, 08 9:34 AM CST
(Newser) - As the economy hammers its budget, New Hampshire’s court system is taking the drastic measure of suspending all jury trials for a month, the New York Times reports. The blackout, expected early next year, will save the state roughly $73,000 in $10-per-half-day juror stipends, enough to stave... More »

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New Hampshire • jury • jury duty • budget cuts • state governments • budget shortfall

State Film Subsidies
a Reel Pain

Officials not so keen about deals like $27M bill for Brad Pitt movie

Oct 12, 08 9:43 AM CDT
(Newser) - Talk about bad timing. State governments are having second thoughts about incredibly costly tax-incentive programs that have encouraged Hollywood filmmakers to shoot locally, the New York Times reports. While backers of the programs say they create jobs, other analysts argue that the system, which offers tax credits to producers, is... More »

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Hollywood • film • state governments • tax credit • job creation

States Fret as Road Salt Grows Scarce, Pricey

Last year's winter depleted reserves

Oct 6, 08 3:43 PM CDT
(Newser) - Road salt is stressing state and municipal budgets as shortages drive prices up well past what local governments have paid in the past, USA Today reports. A harsh winter last year left many states with no salt reserves to carry over, meaning they have to fully restock at inflated prices.... More »

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New Hampshire • Ohio • road budget • infrastructure • ice • winter • salt • state spending • state governments • budgets • city government • local politics

Credit Crunch Shuts Down State, City Projects

Projects shelved as municipal bond
market dries up

Oct 1, 08 6:56 AM CDT
(Newser) - The credit crisis is squeezing the life out of local governments, reports the New York Times. Cities and states have found themselves shut out of bond markets for the last 2 weeks, and big projects, from new hospitals to highway repairs, are being shelved or delayed. Analysts believe the days... More »

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finance • credit crisis • bond market • cities • municipal bonds • state governments • city government

ANALYSIS

 Todd Palin  
 Is Alaska's 
 (Unelected) 
 Cheney 

Role of 'First Dude' is secretive, powerful ... and outside bounds of normal government

Sep 16, 08 6:07 PM CDT
(Newser) - Todd Palin isn’t just Alaska’s “First Dude,” Mike Madden reports in Salon—Sarah Palin’s husband plays a nebulous but obviously major role in her administration. Todd is involved in both personnel and legislative decisions, getting copied in on many official e-mails, and working directly with... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Dick Cheney • Alaska • secrecy • governor • state governments • Sarah Palin • Todd Palin

Economic Blues Take Toll on State Budgets

Declining tax revenue may leave them $26B short next fiscal year

Apr 25, 08 1:21 PM CDT
(Newser) - The slumping economy will pummel state budgets in the next fiscal year, leaving them at least $26 billion short, according to a survey from the National Conference of State Legislatures. Payrolls fell drastically in March and consumer confidence is low, a double whammy for state tax revenue. "With a... More »

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recession • state spending • state governments • subprime crisis • economy • budget shortfall • economy class

States Act Aggressively
to Fight Foreclosures

Unwilling to wait for the federal wrangling, states make bold moves

Apr 4, 08 11:17 AM CDT
(Newser) - State lawmakers aren’t sitting around waiting for Washington to solve the mortgage crisis, the Wall Street Journal reports. Instead, many are taking aggressive steps to ease borrower pain, sometimes running afoul of lenders in the process. Illinois, Maryland, and Minnesota all have bills in the works to impose a... More »

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foreclosure • Minnesota • moratorium • borrowers • state governments • subprime crisis • mortgage defaults

States Weigh Lowering Drinking Age

Battlefield-bar disparity irks during wartime, argue supporters

Mar 21, 08 3:45 PM CDT
(Newser) - Several states are considering lowering the drinking age, spurred in part by concerns that teenage service members can fight overseas but can’t drink at home, USA Today reports. Kentucky, Wisconsin, and South Carolina are weighing a military-only change to alcohol laws, while other states may lower the legal age... More »

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Wisconsin • alcohol • South Carolina • Kentucky • Vermont • beer • US troops • South Dakota • Minnesota • Missouri • state governments • teenager • drinking age

State Budgets Caught in Economy's Freefall

Spending cuts, tax increases in store

Mar 17, 08 12:38 PM CDT
(Newser) - Politicians from New York to California are wringing their hands, wondering whether to cut spending or raise taxes. As the economy barrels towards recession, income and sales taxes are coming in well below expectations, and about half the states in the country are facing budget shortfalls, the New York ... More »

MORE ABOUT:
education • health care • California • Arnold Schwarzenegger • US states • recession • state spending • state governments • subprime crisis • state sales tax • economy • budget shortfall

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