skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Monday, March 18, 2024

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

SD public defense duties shift from counties to state; SCOTUS appears skeptical of restricting government communications with social media companies; Trump lawyers say he can't make bond; new scholarships aim to connect class of 2024 to high-demand jobs.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The SCOTUS weighs government influence on social media, and who groups like the NRA can do business with. Biden signs an executive order to advance women's health research and the White House tells Israel it's responsible for the Gaza humanitarian crisis.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Midwest regenerative farmers are rethinking chicken production, Medicare Advantage is squeezing the finances of rural hospitals and California's extreme swing from floods to drought has some thinking it's time to turn rural farm parcels into floodplains.

Maine's Rural Students: Left Behind in Federal Stimulus?

play audio
Play

Friday, June 5, 2020   

RUMFORD, Maine - Rural communities in Maine are watching Congress to see if they'll fare better with getting federal economic relief than they have so far.

The Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions Act new coronavirus relief bill, passed two weeks ago in the U.S. House, but is stalled in the Senate with little chance of passing.

Students in rural parts of Maine are one group that would benefit from more federal assistance. The HEROES Act includes about three times as much money for public education as its predecessor, the CARES Act.

Carolyn Curtis, a school social worker in Oxford County, is seeing her students' needs increase during the pandemic.

"Because of all the stressors that have been going on with COVID-19 and also with unemployment," says Curtis, "I've been hearing about increased cases of physical, emotional abuse and unhealthy relationships happening."

Curtis is so concerned about her students that for the first time, she's trying to work with them over the summer. She says that depends on funding and a shrinking local tax base.

While the CARES Act provided Maine with $1.25 billion, including money for public schools, the HEROES Act would mean $5 billion for the state. The difference is partly because the CARES Act focused on municipalities with more than 500,000 people - no county in Maine has that large a population.

The HEROES Act would also increase financing for broadband infrastructure. Curtis says a lack of internet service in rural Maine is the most significant barrier to remote learning.

"A big issue that we've really experienced is our Wi-Fi is not really consistent," says Curtis. "So a lot of students - even though they're trying to do virtual meets and 'Zooms' - they can't always have the WiFi to log in."

She also worries that the recession will deepen over the summer. Sixteen percent of Maine's economy runs on tourism.

The HEROES Act would allocate more than $20 million to Oxford County. Sen. Susan Collins hasn't committed to voting for it.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
Corporate partners sign contracts to offer a graduate assistantship and pay the students. In turn, MSU pays the graduate assistant's tuition, fees and salary, so the assistantship is directly tied to the academic experience. (pressmaster/Adobe Stock)

play sound

By Victoria Lim for WorkingNation.Broadcast version by Farah Siddiqi for Missouri News Service reporting for the WorkingNation-Public News Service Col…


Social Issues

play sound

A new report brands Connecticut's tax system as "regressive" for low- to middle-income residents and uses a report from the state to make its point…

Environment

play sound

Backers of a new federal rule said it will increase fairness for livestock and poultry producers, in North Carolina and across the country. The U.S…


A study by the advocacy group Inseparable showed one in five adults said at any given time, they consider their mental health to be either 'fair' or 'poor.' (Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Mental health care advocates are encouraging federal agencies to adopt a proposed update to regulations which would expand access to psychological car…

Social Issues

play sound

With hotter summers bringing hotter working conditions, the Maryland Department of Labor is implementing a heat stress standard to protect workers …

Out-of-state money is pouring into Texas as the contentious issue of "school choice" looms large ahead of November's election. (Dzmitry/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

By Jimmy Cloutier for OpenSecrets.Broadcast version by Roz Brown for Texas News Service reporting for the OpenSecrets-Public News Service Collaboratio…

Environment

play sound

Recreational fishermen in New England say commercial trawlers are threatening the survival of smaller businesses relying on a healthy stock of Atlanti…

Social Issues

play sound

Women are treated much differently than men by the criminal justice system, according to a new report detailing how and why mass incarceration is …

 

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