Colorado State

Route Fifty

The Biden administration announced grants of $1.8 billion to fund 148 transportation projects in every state in the country Wednesday. The projects include efforts to expand a highway in Arkansas, make streets in Tampa, Florida, safer for pedestrians, improve access to a Ute Tribe reservation in Colorado, eliminate a rail crossing in Dubuque, Iowa, and better connect residents of public housing in Philadelphia to a rail station and nearby park.

Biden administration awards $1.8B for urban, rural transportation projects

The Biden administration’s plan in early January 2022 to send 500 million at-home COVID-19 tests to Americans free through the U.S. Postal Service was a historic undertaking that, perhaps unsurprisingly, hit a few snags. Logistical obstacles kept tests out of many people’s hands at the peak of the omicron...

How the pandemic led to innovation in one state’s public health response

Coral Gables, FL

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Edmond Thorne

Tragic End for South Florida Hispanic Building Tycoon Sergio Pino. Fort Lauderdale, FL - In a shocking turn of events, prominent South Florida homebuilder Sergio Pino was found dead in his Coral Gables home on Tuesday morning. The Miami-Dade County Medical Examiner's Office confirmed that Pino died from an apparent suicide.

South Florida Tycoon Dead After FBI Raids on Homes and Office

New York City, NY

Cheryl E Preston

Yesterday was the third time this year that an ad stating Chelsea Clinton lives in a beautiful Virginia home popped up on my laptop. My computer did not warn me this was a dangerous site, so this time, I clicked on the link.

Chelsea Clinton is rumored to be living in Virginia but probably still in NYC

The conservative majority of the U.S. Supreme Court sided with a broad coalition of states and cities Friday, as it overturned a rule in the Western U.S. that prohibited them from banning homeless people from camping on public lands. The six-judge majority, in a decision written by Justice Neil Gorsuch,...

It’s OK to ban homeless people from camping in public, high court rules

North Carolina State

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Town Talks

When you're pulled over by police in North Carolina, it's important to know your rights and responsibilities, both as a driver and a passenger. Here’s a breakdown of what the law says about interactions with law enforcement during a traffic stop.

Can police question passengers when pulling over a driver in North Carolina? What you need to know

Framingham, MA

This article originally appeared in Grist. You can read the original article here. Along with earthworms, rocks, and the occasional skeleton, there’s a massive battery right under your feet. Unlike a flammable lithium ion battery, though, this one is perfectly stable, free to use, and ripe for sustainable exploitation: the Earth itself.

The secret to decarbonizing buildings might be right beneath your feet

This story is republished from Stateline original article. For decades, states have relied on gas taxes to provide much of the money to maintain roads and bridges. But as cars become more fuel efficient, and some Americans switch to electric vehicles, state leaders say the gas tax won’t pay the bills for much longer.

Gas taxes can’t pay for roads much longer, but Amazon deliveries might

A housing shortage estimated at 4 million to 7 million homes is driving up rents, prices, and homelessness nationwide, spurring cities, towns, and increasingly states to consider passing laws to allow more housing. Many of these efforts are gaining broad acceptance, but others face more resistance. Why? A survey conducted for The Pew Charitable Trusts provides some insights.

A swing constituency could help allow more homes

Alabama State

This story is republished from Stateline original article. When Hurricane Sally struck coastal Alabama in 2020, many residents saw the roofs torn from their homes or damaged by the high winds. But not Matt Fetner. “Every house around had blue tarps on it, except for mine,” said the resident of...

One state is pioneering paying for roof upgrades as storms boost insurance costs

Illinois State

Chicago, IL

Foodie in Chicago

Every year, new laws that were passed the prior year go into effect on July 1. In 2024, a number of new laws will begin this Monday. Among them include higher wages for tipped employees, a gas tax increase, and driver's licenses for undocumented immigrants.

New Laws July 1: Driver's Licenses for Undocumented Migrants, Raises for Tipped Workers, and More

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Bucks County Beacon

“[I]nvoking the favor and guidance of Almighty God,” the Constitution of the Confederate States of America composed by southern slaveholders in 1861 sought to “establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity.” The authors of Project 2025, the latest playbook for restructuring the federal government in order to accomplish the policy goals of Christian Nationalists, similarly declare their manifesto will “decide America’s future” by securing their “God-given individual rights to live freely” and exercise dominion over others.

Legislating Inequality: The Christian Confederate Roots of Project 2025

Mark Robinson is hoping that former president Donald Trump can do what few Republican presidential candidates have done recently: Lift the GOP candidate for North Carolina governor to victory. Robinson, North Carolina’s first Black lieutenant governor and now the Republican candidate for governor, not only has Trump’s explicit endorsement—the former...

Can a candidate with ties to Trump break Democrats’ hold on N.C. governorship?

Conservatives have done the United States a huge favor by explaining in detail what they’ll try to do if Donald Trump is reelected. Project 2025 , a “presidential transition project” of the Heritage Foundation, helpfully lays out how a group of former Trump officials would like to transform the country into a right-wing dystopia where the rich thrive and the rest of us die aspiring to be rich.

Project 2025’s Plan to Gut Medicare and Medicaid

Washington, DC

You're reading Route Fifty's State and Local Roundup. To get the week’s news to use from around the country, you can subscribe here to get this update in your inbox every Saturday. In the meantime, be sure to read to the end as we've rounded up headlines from the week.

States, cities consider ‘mansion taxes’ to fund affordable housing

California State

California has already seen more than 3,500 wildfires so far this year, in what state officials earlier this week called a “significantly more active [season] than the last five years.”. With an estimated 207,415 acres of land burned—or roughly the length of 150,000 football fields—and 10 wildfires still burning,...

Mapping clean air centers to protect residents against wildfire risks

Alameda, CA

Alameda Post

APD reports person of interest in custody. Four family members were killed and others injured Wednesday night, July 10, in the 400 block of Kitty Hawk Road in Alameda. The Alameda Post was at the scene Thursday morning, where Alameda Police Lieutenant Alan Kuboyama confirmed three adults and one child have died, and another child is in critical condition.

UPDATED: Four Family Members Killed in Alameda Shooting

Maryland State

You're reading Route Fifty's Public Finance Update. This article was originally published by The Pew Charitable Trusts. To get the latest on state and local budgets, taxes and other financial matters, you can subscribe here to get this update in your inbox twice each month. You can find a full archive of these newsletters here.

Is it time to dig into rainy day funds?

As chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions, Senator Bernie Sanders released a June report entitled “ By the Wealthy, for the Wealthy: The Coordinated Attacks on Public Education in the United States .” The report is a brief but thorough (16 pages of text, 4 pages of footnotes) takedown of the current wave of attempts to end public education as we know it.

Senator Bernie Sanders Warns in New Report of Right-Wing Billionaire Plot to Sabotage Public Education in Order to Privatize It

New Jersey State

Connecticut State

The Shy Green

Big news hitting the grocery scene: Stop & Shop is set to close 32 of its stores in five states. This move is a major shake-up for local communities across the Northeast. Here’s where the closures are happening:

A big-name grocery store is shutting down over 30 locations in five states

NewsBreak

Biden administration announces new rule to protect workers from heat-related illnesses

WASHINGTON – Senior Biden administration officials announced a proposed rule Tuesday to prevent heat-related illness in the workplace, as climate change brings hotter temperatures around the...

Biden administration announces new rule to protect workers from heat-related illnesses

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