skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Northern CA Firestorm: Report Says Get Used to It

play audio
Play

Thursday, October 19, 2017   

SANTA ROSA, Calif. -- The death toll has risen to 42 in the massive fires that raged through Santa Rosa, Napa and Sonoma over the past week - and a new report says California can expect more of these megafires in the years to come.

Researchers from the National Wildlife Federation noted that in parts of California, fire season is now 50 days longer than it was in 1979, and predicted that some areas will start to see year-round fire seasons. Howard Penn, executive director at the nonprofit Conservation and Planning League, said suburban sprawl has led millions of Californians to move into areas at high risk for fire.

"We're having more structures and more lives lost in these types of wildfires because we have more growth into the wildfire areas,” Penn said. "We need to be more strategic and more thoughtful about how we grow and how we build in those areas - or not build in those areas."

The report also blamed dry conditions linked to climate change and called for more funding for prescribed burns to clear out the excess dry brush that grew after last year's unusually wet winter.

Shannon Heyck-Williams, a climate and energy policy adviser for the National Wildlife Federation, said Congress needs to designate a special disaster fund for megafires just as we do for hurricanes - because right now the Forest Service is forced to fight them by raiding funds meant for recreation, forest restoration and wildlife management.

"Wildfires are demanding a huge amount of resources to try and keep under control,” Heyck-Williams said. "The U.S. Forest Service is spending about $1 billion a year fighting blazes, which is over half the agency's budget, and that number is growing quickly."

The report found that more than 8.5 million acres have burned in the United States so far this year, and the area burned annually in the Southwest has increased by 1,200 percent over the past 40 years.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
A report from the Tennessee HealthCare Campaign recommended the federal government needs to strengthen 340B drug pricing and other federal negotiation mechanisms to make needed medicines more readily available and less expensive for hospitals to purchase and administer. (Spotmatikphoto/AdobeStock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

A recent report examined how some rural Tennessee hospitals have managed to stay afloat despite financial challenges. The report includes interviews …


Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…


Nearly 13 million Americans receive health coverage through unique plans under both Medicare and Medicaid. They are known as Dual-Eligible Special Needs Plans. (Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Medicare and Medicaid are key sources of health coverage for many Americans and some people qualify for assistance under both programs. With lagging …

Social Issues

play sound

A mix of policy updates and staffing boosts has helped to put wage theft enforcement on the radar in Minnesota, and officials leading the efforts are …

More than six in 10 Americans favor keeping the abortion pill mifepristone available in the U.S. as a prescription drug, while over a third are opposed, according to a Gallup poll. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

New research shows more than six in 10 abortions in the U.S. last year were medically induced, and U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto - D-NV - is …

Social Issues

play sound

Colorado is working to boost the state's agricultural communities by getting more fresh, nutritious foods into school cafeterias - and a new online …

Social Issues

play sound

Missouri lawmakers are concerned with protecting people from the potential risks of the increasing accessibility of AI-generated images and videos…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021