Washington State

Los Angeles, CA

Route Fifty

Local and state governments are grappling with a severe shortage of skilled IT workers, particularly in critical areas such as cybersecurity, data analysis, and artificial intelligence. With their higher salaries and more attractive work environments, the private sector and the federal government are poaching talent from local and state governments.

Stackable certificates could be a lifeline for governments facing an IT talent crisis

Utah State

Virginia State

For the last two years, state lawmakers have worked to curb the worst of social media’s addictive qualities in a bid to ease the ongoing youth mental health crisis. Now, elected officials are looking to take that fight a step further by banning cellphones in public schools. Virginia became...

States are enacting school cellphone bans. Here’s what that looks like.

Missouri State

This story was originally published by The Beacon, an online news outlet focused on local, in-depth journalism in the public interest. Missouri Medicaid began covering teeth cleanings, and almost no other routine dental work, for adults a few years ago. But the bill for the dentist actually peering in your...

Missouri is getting more people to the dentist—for more than a pretty smile

Philadelphia, TN

A key nonprofit that works closely with governments to connect people with essential benefits like food assistance and health care is abruptly shuttering, and the impact could be far reaching. The Philadelphia-based Benefits Data Trust, or BDT, which advocates for streamlined access to government assistance, said last month in a...

A nonprofit’s abrupt closure puts access to public benefits at risk

Community Voices represent independent, third-party users who have joined our contributor program but not yet verified their accounts. Community Voices are expected, like all users, to adhere to our Community Standards.

community_voice

Herbie J Pilato

Actor Buddy Ebsen, who died at age 95 in 2003, found fame by starring in two of the most popular classic television shows in history: The Beverly Hillbillies (CBS, 1962 to 1971) and Barnaby Jones (CBS, 1973 to 1980). On the Hillbillies, he played former Tennessee country mountain-folk-turned-wealthy Beverly Hills resident Jed Clampett. On Barnaby Jones, he was one of TV's most senior, slyest, health-conscious detectives. Ebsen, however, almost became even more famous for a certain big-screen classic film in which he ultimately did not appear.

'Beverly Hillbillies" Actor Buddy Ebsen Was "Bitter" about not playing the Tin Man in 'Wizard of Oz'

Maryland State

This story was originally published by ProPublica. Maryland Gov. Wes Moore recently signed the Gift Card Scams Prevention Act of 2024, creating the country’s first law aimed at curbing a rising form of gift card fraud called card draining. Card draining is a scheme in which thieves remove gift...

The nation’s first law protecting against gift card draining has passed. Will it work?

Eugene, OR

In a growing number of U.S. communities, 911 is changing. To free up police officers to prioritize more urgent calls for services, cities are launching alternative response units that take police out of the equation and instead send social workers, mental health care providers and peer support specialists to help in nonviolent, nonurgent crises.

How cities are rethinking who responds to 911 calls

Orange County, CA

Saint Louis County, MO

When St. Louis County, Missouri, kicked off its redistricting process after the 2010 Census, local officials used colored pencils on transparent paper to redraw their legislative boundaries and reflect population shifts. Ten years later, following the 2020 Census, officials in Missouri’s most populous county had traded in their pencils and...

How mapping tech is revolutionizing election administration

Dennis the Menace actor Jay North is now 73 years old. This is his story. On August 3, 1951, Jay North was born Jay Waverly North, Jr., in Los Angeles, and seven years later, began acting on TV on shows like Wanted: Dead or Alive, and 77 Sunset Strip.

Former Childstar Jay North (TV's 'Dennis the Menace') Turns 73

California 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.

After several years of rapid growth, state budgets are downsizing

Polk County, FL

Contributors represent independent, third-party users who have joined our contributor program and self-verified their accounts. They have also demonstrated their experience writing hard news for other outlets. Contributors are expected, like all users, to adhere to our Community Standards.

contributor

Fort Meade, FL

Uncovering Florida

The Polk County Sheriff's Office has made an arrest after conducting an investigation into a case of credit card fraud involving 28-year-old Burger King employee, Kellyn Miley. The incident was discussed in detail during this morning's briefing with Sheriff Grady Judd.

Burger King Employee Caught Using Customer's Credit Card for Food at Former Job

Louisiana State

Baton Rouge, LA

This article was originally co-published by ProPublica and Verite News. Four years before a Minneapolis police officer murdered George Floyd, prompting nationwide demonstrations, hundreds of people marched in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to protest officers’ killing of Alton Sterling in front of a convenience store. Law enforcement responded in force: Officers armed with rifles, body armor and gas masks pushed protesters back and forcibly arrested about 200 people. Some were injured.

New Louisiana law serves as a warning to bystanders who film police: Stay away or face arrest

COVID-era unemployment insurance fraud is estimated to have cost state governments up to $135 billion, the Government Accountability Office reported last year. While some states have moved to prevent future waste, fraud and abuse by modernizing their unemployment systems, often taking advantage of federal grants along the way, many state systems still lag behind and remain vulnerable. And although the pandemic and the government aid that accompanied it has ended, multiplying threats from bad actors make benefits fraud an ongoing issue for everyone.

Unemployment insurance fraud during the pandemic cost states $135B—and counting

New York City, NY

This story was originally published by THE CITY. Sign up to get the latest New York City news delivered to you each morning. Since last June, New York City’s four free public health vending machines have dispensed over 18,000 items — everything from COVID tests and safe sex products to fentanyl test strips and 2,100 naloxone kits to reverse overdoses, according to the city Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.

New York City's public health vending machine program ends up with just 4 installed out of 10 announced

Coping with future public health threats means more state and local agencies—many of which rely on aging infrastructure and still collect data by faxes and manual entry—must modernize their data systems, experts say. To do that, a new $255 million federal program will support state, local and tribal...

New $255M federal grant will help state, local public health agencies modernize data systems

Florida State

Jacksonville Today

Gov. Ron DeSantis has issued a state of emergency in Northeast Florida and across much of the state as a tropical system appears almost certain to develop. The National Hurricane Center said Friday morning that a tropical wave has a 90% chance of developing into at least a tropical depression over the next seven days. Most models show it moving into the Gulf of Mexico and then coming ashore and crossing the state, possibly moving over Northeast Florida.

Tropical system is nearly certain to develop

L.A. TACO

Last month, the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) released video footage that shows a veteran LAPD officer chasing a young man through a Pacoima housing project before fatally shooting him in the back as he ran away.

20-Year-Old Fatally Shot in The Back By LAPD Officer in Pacoima Projects

Adam Rich was born on October 12, 1968, lived a troubled life, and died on January 7, 2023, at only 54 years old. This is his story. He lived in the Granada Hills area of Los Angeles with his parents and younger brother. The Rich family resided for a time in Florida where Adam studied acting at the local gym.

A Look Back at the Tragic Life and Death of Former Child Star Adam Rich (TV's 'Eight is Enough')

The U.S. Department of Justice sued Norfolk Southern railroad this week for causing frequent delays of Amtrak trains, in the latest example of the Biden administration pressing freight carriers to better accommodate passenger service. The lawsuit is the first time since 1979 that the U.S. government has taken a freight...

Justice Department sues freight railroad to improve Amtrak service

NewsBreak

Skills-based hiring smashes through ‘paper ceiling’

Historically, state and local governments have been prescriptive in their job descriptions, requiring a pre-set level of education, professional experience and even specific skills in various...

Skills-based hiring smashes through ‘paper ceiling’

Comments / 0