skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Friday, March 29, 2024

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

The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina's congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Mayorkas.

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.

Environmental Watchdog: NY Green Stimulus Dollars “Well Spent”

play audio
Play

Wednesday, February 16, 2011   

NEW YORK - Federal stimulus dollars are paying dividends for New Yorkers, an environmental group says - for commuters, the environment, public health and the potential for thousands of new jobs.

With the state slated to receive more than $30 billion in federal stimulus money, some feared the state might end up wasting both money and open space on unneeded projects. After studying the $5 billion already slated for "green" projects, however, Allison Jenkins, fiscal policy program director for Environmental Advocates of New York, says a lot of good is coming from that federal funding. In addition to needed highway repairs, there is also money for light rail and the state's ancient public water system.

"The federal stimulus is providing almost $500 million to invest in our drinking-water infrastructure and our clean-water infrastructure, so this is really going to protect public health and the environment."

Opponents argue that stimulus dollars' benefits are outweighed by the fact that they drive the nation deeper into debt. Jenkins counters that more than $150 million in stimulus money is directed to high-speed rail, which should reduce travel time for commuters, cut traffic congestion and - according to estimates on the New York recovery website - create 2,600 jobs.

Stimulus dollars are also supporting smaller green-innovation projects across the state. Peter Ward, director of the Lindenhurst Memorial Library, says the library got $200,000 to install a green-technology parking lot which, during heavy rainstorms, will help prevent more than 150,000 gallons of stormwater runoff from reaching coastal waterways such as Great South Bay.

"Quite frankly, it's polluted stormwater, and it contaminates the bay. It kills off the fish life, it kills off the shellfish life. But this is one project that doesn't do that. It is green in that way; and it also has solar lighting, and all the materials that are used are either recycled or green and sustainable."

According to the report, stimulus money for solar panels is allowing some community centers in towns such as the Village of Montebello to save thousands of dollars on their utility bills by selling excess power back to the grid.

More information is online at eany.org.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments this week about the popular abortion pill Mifepristone and will weigh in on whether the U.S. Food and Drug Administration was correct in how it can be dosed and prescribed. (Ascannio/Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Missouri residents are worried about future access to birth control. The latest survey from The Right Time, an initiative based in Missouri…


Social Issues

play sound

Wisconsin children from low-income families are now on track to get nutritious foods over the summer. Federal officials have approved the Badger …

Social Issues

play sound

Almost 2,900 people are unsheltered on any given night in the Beehive State. Gov. Spencer Cox is celebrating signing nine bills he says are geared …


The U.S. teaching workforce remains primarily white while the percentage of Black teachers has declined. However, the percentage of Asian and Latinx teachers is rising.(WavebreakMediaMicro/Adobestock)

Social Issues

play sound

Education advocates are calling on lawmakers to increase funding for programs to combat the teacher shortage. Around 37% of schools nationwide …

Environment

play sound

New York's Legislature is considering a bill to get clean-energy projects connected to the grid faster. It's called the RAPID Act, for "Renewable …

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…

 

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