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.

WA Park Cleanup Could Be ‘Economic Stimulus’

play audio
Play

Monday, December 1, 2008   

Port Angeles, WA – Exactly one year ago, the incredible wind and rainstorms now known as the "Great Coastal Gale of 2007" hit Washington and Oregon, causing widespread floods, power outages and deaths. Seven Washington counties were declared federal disaster areas.

Even today, the cleanup continues in many areas; and at Olympic National Park, the disaster only added to the maintenance backlog of past years. Advocates for the National Park system are suggesting to Congress that the maintenance projects awaiting attention, here and across the country, could be used to put more people to work.

Craig Obey, vice-president for government affairs for the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA), says there's already a precedent for this type of effort, in the Civilian Conservation Corps.

"When you look back in history, parks have played an enormous role in helping us through economic crises. When you go back to the CCC days, the Great Depression, millions of people were put to work in parks."

The NPCA estimates there's enough work to hire up to 7,000 people nationwide. By Park Service estimates, there's about $8 billion worth of work to be done. The price tag for Mount Rainier National Park alone is $100 million, half of it for road repair.

"The parks have been suffering from a lack of investment for years. They really are a poster child for the lack of infrastructure investment over time in this country."

The U.S. Interior Department says it is making headway on the backlog, citing expenditures of almost $4 billion on improvements in the past three years. However, it is estimated that most parks get by with about two-thirds of the budgets that they need for basic upkeep, making it difficult to improve aging roads and structures.



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

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

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 …


Organizations fighting wage theft said it harms affected workers and surrounding communities because the money withheld is not being circulated through the local economy. (Adobe Stock)

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 …

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

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

Environment

play sound

A farm group is helping Iowa agriculture producers find ways to reduce the amount of nitrogen they use on their crops. Excess nitrates can wind up …

 

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