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.

PA Groups Call for Infrastructure Deal That Benefits Appalachia

play audio
Play

Tuesday, August 31, 2021   

HARRISBURG, Pa. -- Three dozen Pennsylvania advocacy groups sent a letter last week to the state's congressional delegation, calling on them to ensure the trillion-dollar infrastructure package includes investments that would benefit the Appalachia region.

The letter calls for expanding and electrifying public transportation, among many other climate-related solutions.

Vanessa Lynch, Pennsylvania field organizer for Moms Clean Air Force, said closing leaks from the state's several hundred thousand orphan wells could help decrease air and water pollution.

"When we talk about climate change and its impacts on local communities, everything from extreme-heat days to major flooding and landslide events, which are some of the most common things we see in Pennsylvania, plugging orphan wells is one of the best ways to decrease methane emissions," Lynch asserted.

Pennsylvania has a third of the nation's abandoned mine acreage. A proposed $4.7 billion in the infrastructure bill would go toward plugging and reclaiming orphan wells. This month, the Senate passed the legislation with large bipartisan support. The House has committed to vote by the end of September.

Bobby Hughes, executive director of the Eastern Pennsylvania Coalition for Abandoned Mine Reclamation, said a big issue among Appalachian communities is water contamination from abandoned mine drainage, which results in trace metals ending up in rivers and streams. The letter calls for funding for remediating abandoned mine lands, which Hughes supports.

"We consider treatment of water a public infrastructure-type project," Hughes explained. "And more of that needs to be out there for consideration so that companies or even municipalities could kind of get in on trying to create jobs and build the infrastructure that's needed to treat this water."

The letter also calls for targeted hiring programs for historically disadvantaged communities, along with bringing reliable internet access to rural areas and city neighborhoods.


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

Colorado is working to boost the state's agricultural communities by getting more fresh, nutritious foods into school cafeterias - and a new online …

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…

 

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