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States Used Mortgage Settlement Money to Balance Budgets
A home mortgage consultant with Wells Fargo staffs a booth at a “Home Preservation Workshop.” Instead of helping homeowners, states used at least $1 billion of the $2.5 billion they received in a legal settlement with major mortgage lenders to plug budget holes or pay for other non-housing projects. (AP) Instead of helping homeowners, states […]
Shutdown Could Cost Millions in Lost Tourism Dollars
Tourists take photos of the Statue of Liberty while riding a tour boat in New York Harbor, but can’t visit the statue because of the government shutdown. (AP) Visitors spend about $76 million a day in communities near national parks, the National Park Service estimated before the federal government partially closed down because of failed […]
Backlogs for Veterans Could Grow Under Shutdown
Veterans like World War II Veteran George Bloss, from Gulfport, Miss., crossed barricades to visit the National World War II Memorial in Washington on the first day of the government shutdown. Some veterans benefits could be at risk if the shutdown continues for long. (AP) Veterans, who already face a lengthy backlog in getting help, […]
Govs Urge Action to Thwart Cyberattacks, Computer Hacking
A Hawaii Air National Guard member explains routing equipment he helped set up in Hawaii’s new cyber range on the University of Hawaii, an example of what states are doing to defend computer systems from attack. (AP) Prominent on the website of South Carolina Gov. Nikki R. Haley is a banner and button that says: […]
New Jersey, Nevada and Delaware Closer to Jackpot With Online Betting
A couple shares a kiss on the steps of the Taj Mahal Casino Resort in Atlantic City, N.J. All 12 casinos in Atlantic City are teaming up with Internet gaming companies in anticipation of legalized online gambling there. (AP) Nevada was the first state to legalize online poker earlier this year, but New Jersey is […]
Many States Look to Raise Minimum Wage
A crowd of fast-food workers and their supporters rally for an increase in the minimum wage outside of a McDonald’s restaurant in Memphis, Tenn. At least eight states may raise their minimum wage in 2014. (AP) California’s recent decision to raise its minimum wage to $10 an hour by 2016—a higher minimum rate than any […]
From Barbeques to Pink Running Shoes: States’ Special Sessions
Texas state Sen. Wendy Davis attracted national attention for her 13-hour filibuster of an abortion measure during a special session in June. Several states are having special sessions this year for reasons ranging from sentencing laws to abortion and disaster aid. (AP) Most state legislatures have adjourned for the year. So when Kansas lawmakers were […]
Five Years After Crash, States Still Picking Up Pieces
Celebrity chef Giada De Laurentiis at the construction site of her new restaurant in Las Vegas. Construction is one of the weak links in the economic recovery five years after the crash. (PRNewsFoto/Caesars Entertainment Las Vegas) Five years after the 2008 financial crisis sent the U.S. economy into a tailspin, only a handful of states […]
California Gains Jobs, But Sees Jobless Rate Inch Up
A construction worker sweeps up a job site in Sacramento. California’s unemployment rate increased slightly to 8.7 percent in July, the first uptick in nearly two years. (AP) California once again led the nation in job creation in July, but in a paradox, the state also saw its unemployment rate tick up slightly after nearly […]