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.

Trump Budget Reaction: Ohio Kids Could Go Hungry

play audio
Play

Friday, March 17, 2017   

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Ohio's largest hunger-fighting network says it is deeply concerned about the potential impacts of President Trump's federal budget outline.

The lights would be shut off at 19 federal agencies, including the Corporation for National and Community Service, which runs AmeriCorps VISTA in Ohio. Maureen Allen. who oversees the program for the Ohio Association of Foodbanks, said VISTA members work on programs that fight hunger and poverty, including summer meal service for children and teens.

"The sites that request those resources have said unequivocally that they could not run these summer feeding programs without the help of the summer VISTA members," she said. "So, they would not be able to reach as many children, they would not be able to operate as many sites, especially in the rural areas. So if they had to close down some of those sites, those children would be going hungry."

Trump's proposal, released Thursday, called for $54 billion to be slashed from parts of programs and other areas of government to counterbalance a boost in military spending.

VISTA members in Ohio work on projects that foster community change, said Allen, from developing nutrition education for low-income families to mapping food deserts and social-service capacity for counties. She added that it's a win-win for the communities and VISTA members.

"They make a very modest living allowance and, at the end of their service term, they get the education award," she said. "They can use that to pay off student-loan debt or go back to school, and pursue higher education. So, it's a very low-cost program that has a three-to-one return for the community."

Trump's budget blueprint also would eliminate the Community Services Block Grant, the main source of funding for Community Action Agencies. Allen said these are among the few places where struggling rural Ohioans can get basic assistance with food, shelter and other resources.

The budget proposal is online at whitehouse.gov.


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

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

Social Issues

play sound

A 2023 study from the University of Nebraska Medical Center concluded the number of Nebraskans with a mental health or substance abuse disorder has pr…

 

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