skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Friday, September 20, 2024

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

Dozens of CA events this weekend honor Latino Conservation Week; Kamala Harris joins Oprah Winfrey in emotional campaign event; Report finds poor working conditions in Texas clean energy industry; AI puts on a lab coat, heads to technical schools.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Rising threats of political violence, a Federal Reserve rate cut, crypto industry campaign contributions and reproductive rights are shaping today's political landscape.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

A USDA report shows a widening gap in rural versus urban health, a North Carolina county remains divided over a LGBTQ library display, and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz' policies are spotlighted after his elevation to the Democratic presidential ticket.

NC Budget: Fewer Kids in Prison, A Little More Education Funding

play audio
Play

Friday, June 23, 2017   

RALEIGH, N.C. – While the state waits to see if Gov. Roy Cooper will sign the budget sent to his desk from the State Assembly, public-interest groups with generally common goals find themselves on opposite sides of some issues.

The budget includes a plan to raise the age that juvenile offenders can be tried as adults, to keep them out of the adult prison population.

At the same time, education funding to benefit all children remains stagnant or below pre-recession levels, says Logan Smith, communications director of Progress NC Action.

"We certainly do support the Raise the Age proposal, but it's only one step," Smith says. "You know, when you prevent kids from getting the education they deserve, then it, unfortunately, can land them in trouble."

In a statement, Gov. Cooper says he thinks the budget "lacks vision and unfairly picks winners and losers." Its supporters note that it does increase teacher pay, although not to 2008 levels when adjusted for inflation.

The governor could veto the budget, although Republicans hold veto-proof majorities in the State House and Senate.

North Carolina is the only state that prosecutes 16- and 17-year-olds as adults.

Ricky Watson, the co-director of the Youth Justice Project with the Southern Coalition for Social Justice, says this was the only way advocates for young people were able to get the state to change the policy.

"'Raise the Age' is one small piece to this budget," Watson states. "And essentially from that point, we would expect that there would be an override of that veto. This was probably the only way that this was going to happen, due to some inability to compromise in the Senate."

Watson says numerous bodies of research indicate young people don't have a full understanding of consequences until age 25 - and there are other concerns about youth in the prison population.

"What this does is essentially creates a vicious cycle, where youth are learning more negative behaviors and not re-enforcing positive behaviors," Watson adds. "So, they're really just kind of ending up in this cycle they're more like to recidivate and re-offend, and really not be able to function outside the jail or the prison that they're placed in."

Reporting by North Carolina News Connection in association with Media in the Public Interest and funded in part by the Park Foundation.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
Some 899 of 936 public comments on the plan for the proposed West Fork Dam, or 96%, opposed the West Fork Battle Creek Dam project, according to a tally by Wyofile. (Adobe Stock)

Environment

play sound

A federal agency is requiring Wyoming to update cost estimates for a large proposed dam in Carbon County, which has been under feasibility studies …


Social Issues

play sound

This Saturday marks the International Day of Peace and the advocacy group Nonviolent Peaceforce is kicking off a series of family-friendly events in M…

Environment

play sound

Latino Conservation Week is in full swing, with 330 events across the U.S. and 90 in California alone. The 11th annual event runs through Sunday…


Nebraska is one of 10 states to confirmed abortion-related constitutional amendment measures on the ballot in November. (Alcorn Imagery/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Some ballot initiatives this year have taken more than voter signatures to get onto the ballot in Nebraska. They've already withstood major court …

Environment

play sound

Maine officials are stepping up land conservation projects as climate change continues to alter the state's terrain. New funding from the Land for …

Social Issues

play sound

A new study showed as Texas has emerged as a national leader in wind turbine and solar energy installations, clean energy workers often face …

play sound

Students enrolled at Wisconsin's technical colleges this fall might take a course where artificial intelligence is the star of the classroom…

 

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