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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.

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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.

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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.

Another Budget Hole is “Déjà vu” for Struggling Ohioans

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Tuesday, November 17, 2009   

COLUMBUS, Ohio - It feels like déjà vu - human service providers in Ohio who bore the brunt of nearly $3 billion in state budget cuts could again lose funding at a time of increased need. State lawmakers are considering options as they debate a bill to fill an $815 million deficit.

The executive director of the Ohio Association of Second Harvest Foodbanks, Lisa Hamler-Fugitt, says that in this worst economy of our lifetimes, it's essential the state maintain and protect safety net programs from additional cuts.

"Enough is enough. The cuts have been disproportionately placed on the backs of a growing number of Ohioans who find themselves unemployed for the first time. They've seen a reduction in the number of working hours and they are struggling to meet their families' basic need for food."

Hamler-Fugitt says that, to make matters worse, a study from The Chronicle of Philanthropy found that the largest charitable organizations in the nation are expecting their greatest drop in donations in the 17 years the journal has been collecting data.

"It is literally the perfect storm: as the demand climbs, donations are declining. It's not good news for organizations that are already really pressed to continue to provide more food to more people as funding gets scarcer."

According to new government data, 13.3 percent of Ohioans have trouble putting food on the table, which mirrors Ohio's poverty rate of 13.4 percent.

Governor Ted Strickland is endorsing a plan to delay the 4.2 percent income-tax cut that took effect this year. Other ideas under consideration by lawmakers include cutting the pay of state workers by five percent and breaking from some federally-approved tax cuts.

The 815 million dollar budget hole was created when the Ohio Supreme Court blocked the Governor's proposal to place video lottery terminals at Ohio's seven race tracks to fund education.


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