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.

WV: Budget Policy & Priorities

Since 2019, the total compensation paid to exonerees has nearly doubled. It now exceeds $4 billion, according to a new report by the National Registry of Exonerations. (Adobe Stock)<br />
Report: Compensation to exonerated people nearly doubled in five years

People wrongfully convicted of crimes in the United States have received around $2.2 billion in compensation claims since 2019. A new report by the …

play audio
Across the country, most states offer 26 weeks of unemployment insurance contingent upon the laid-off worker demonstrating their continued eligibility, according to the West Virginia Center for Budget and Policy Priorities. (Adobe Stock)
Critics: Changes in WV unemployment benefits will harm families amid inflation

Critics say a bill passed by West Virginia lawmakers increases the bureaucratic red tape folks who rely on unemployment benefits have to navigate and …

play audio

The New River Gorge Bridge in West Virginia. In 2023, the U.S. Forest Service and AmeriCorps signed a five-year agreement to establish the Forest Corps, to create job opportunities that reduce wildfire risk, support reforestation and make national forests and grasslands healthier and more resilient. (Adobe Stock)
American Climate Corps: Building more climate-resilient WV communities

A Biden administration program, the American Climate Corps, aims to hire and train 20,000 people in conservation, climate and clean energy jobs…

play audio
A survey conducted by Swiftly found 60% of Americans say they're currently struggling to pay for their groceries. (Adobe Stock)<br />
Report: West Virginians’ budgets shrink while corporations rake in profits

As the nation's largest corporations see their profits surge, more West Virginians are relying on assistance to meet basic needs as their spending …

play audio

Four of the five states that enacted the largest personal income tax cuts in the last few years have had slower job growth since enacting their cuts than the nation as a whole, according to the Center for Policy Budget Policy and Priorities. (Adobe Stock)
Report: WV personal income tax cut will cripple communities

A new report singles out West Virginia for the state's costly tax cuts enacted this year, and the drastic lost in revenue expected to exacerbate …

play audio
The Congressional Budget Office projects the total cost of the 2018 Farm Act would be $428 billion over the five-year period between 2019 and 2023. (Adobe Stock)
Farm Bill extension could impact WV farmers

Despite the extension of the 2018 Farm Bill, many federal agriculture programs West Virginia farmers depend on won't be authorized to operate without …

play audio

According to the group West Virginians for Affordable Healthcare, around 30% of  West Virginia residents have medical debt in collections. (Adobe Stock)<br />
WV could lose hundreds of millions in Medicaid funding

Since West Virginia's Medicaid eligibility review began this spring, around 100,000 residents have been kicked off the rolls. Experts have said many …

play audio
Private insurance companies deny more than 248 million claims or pre-authorization requests from their policyholders annually. (Adobe Stock)<br />
Concern mounts over denied claims by health insurers, impact on West Virginians

Congressional Democrats are investigating Medicaid prior authorization practices and denied claims by private health insurers. According to a …

play audio

A decade ago, the West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation began to privatize prison food, signing a three-year, $145 million contract with Aramark with the reported goal of reducing prison operating costs. (Adobe Stock)
WV prison food: Rotten or poor quality, lawsuits, lack of oversight

West Virginia's contracts with Aramark Correctional Services have come under scrutiny after a lawsuit brought by incarcerated residents, alleging …

play audio
Universities across the country are facing declining enrollment and increasing financial challenges. (Adobe Stock)<br />
Lawmakers call for special session on WVU's budget crisis

A group of West Virginia Democratic delegates is calling for a special session to address West Virginia University's budget shortfall. Del. Evan …

play audio

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the 2020 median salary for a police officer was  $67,290, more than one-third higher than the national median for all occupations. (Adobe Stock)<br />
Ballooning Costs for Police Overtime Pay in Charleston, WV

The City of Charleston continues to funnel massive amounts of funding toward law enforcement. According to a new report, since 2020, Charleston's …

play audio
In 2021, some 53% of working adults ages 25 to 54 were parents, and more than a third of those parents had young children, according to a new report from the Annie E. Casey Foundation. (Adobe stock)<br />
Report: More West Virginia Parents Not Working due to Childcare Issues

Thirteen percent of young children in West Virginia lived in families in which someone quit their job or refused a job because of responsibilities wit…

play audio

 

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