Year: 2018
‘Pay to Move’ Attracts People — Not Employers
For decades, cities and states have tried to create jobs and boost their economies by luring out-of-state employers. Now some areas are trying to attract workers — one worker at a time. Starting in January, programs in Vermont and Tulsa, Oklahoma, will pay people to relocate to those places if they work remotely. Other resident […]
Top State Stories 12/31
CA: California ‘Real ID’ under federal scrutiny nytimes.com The California Department of Motor Vehicles is under renewed scrutiny after a federal government warning that its Real ID protocols do not comply with security standards, the latest in a series of missteps by a state agency struggling to maintain public trust. US: Twenty-nine states, D.C., have […]
‘Cannabis Equity’ Runs Into Roadblocks
OAKLAND, Calif. — During the 1980s and ’90s, Alexis Bronson’s illegal cannabis delivery business could barely keep up with demand. In the spring, Bronson made weekly trips to the redwood forests of Humboldt County to buy marijuana wholesale from renegade growers with farms hidden in the hills of Northern California. Bronson would wrap 5 or […]
Regional Rivalries Arise in Dash for Sports Gambling Cash
The Washington, D.C., councilman was in a hurry. As the city council prepared to pass a bill this month legalizing betting on sports, Jack Evans was eyeing states just across the city’s borders — Maryland and Virginia — that could prove stiff competition unless D.C. got established first. “It’s important for us to get our […]
When Elections Get a Do-Over
Read more from Stateline’s midterm election coverage. Golf has mulligans. Tennis has second serves. But can elections have do-overs? North Carolina voters might have to go back to the polls in the new year after election officials discovered potential tampering with mail-in ballots in the state’s 9th Congressional District this fall. It’s not the first […]
Oklahoma Joins New Mexico in Seeking New Uses for Fracking Waste Water
Oklahoma has joined New Mexico in seeking permits from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to explore possible treatment options and new uses for fracking waste water. Waste water from the oil industry — a mix of fracking solution and salty groundwater — is usually pumped back into earth once the industry can no longer use […]
Top State Stories 12/21
CA: Crime up in California after justice system changes latimes.com An analysis by the Marshall Project and the Los Angeles Times found that California’s crime rates remain near historic lows, but overall crime spiked in 2012 and 2015, the years that followed two major statewide measures aimed at decreasing the number of prisoners. The jumps […]
Where’s the Beef? Burgers Must Be Meat, Ranchers Say
Food labels such as “veggie burgers” and “Tofurky” prompted a new Missouri law making it illegal to stick meat-like names on products that aren’t made from meat — pitting cattlemen against vegetarians in a food fight poised to spread across the country. The battle is heating up as new foods flood the market, from vegetarian […]
New York Loses the Most People; Southwest Leads Population Gains
New York lost the most population among states last year, surpassing Illinois as the nation’s biggest people-loser in U.S. census estimates issued Wednesday. Nine states lost population, the largest number in more than 30 years, as Southwestern states led growth again: Nevada, Idaho, Utah and Arizona had the largest percentage increases in population between 2017 […]
‘Rescue Angels’ Fight Waste to Feed the Hungry
This story was a collaboration between Stateline and Politico. NEW YORK — It’s 10 minutes after closing time, and kitchen workers are busy cleaning up an empty Greenwich Village restaurant. What remains of the day’s menu has been dropped into tin trays that are stacked and waiting for pickup. Just a few years ago, the […]
Top State Stories 12/20
LA: Louisiana law may equal more felons voting apnews.com A new Louisiana law taking effect in March aimed at restoring voting rights to some former felons still under supervision may reinstate the rights to tens of thousands more people than expected. NY: Why New York is ‘voter suppression land’ nytimes.com Despite its reputation for sterling […]
Artists and Engineers: A New Relationship?
Alan Nakagawa wanted to change the way people in Los Angeles perceive streets. So last year the artist created an interactive exhibit at a city bus shelter that housed a light green, cylindrical “perfume box.” Commuters could stick a hand inside and activate a spritz of scent. Nakagawa developed the perfumes at a lab in […]