Washington DC
Half a million people in 11 states have lost Medicaid coverage since April
More than 500,000 people across 11 states have lost their Medicaid coverage since the unwinding of a policy that allowed people to stay in the program throughout the pandemic. The data, reported by the states and tracked by health policy researcher KFF, shows that of the five states providing data on people who lost Medicaid […]
Converting offices to housing is hard. These changes could make it easier.
Read more Stateline coverage of how communities across the country are trying to create more affordable housing. PORTLAND, Ore. — Stroll around America’s vacant downtowns, and a seemingly obvious solution emerges to the housing shortages and homelessness problems in many states: Why not turn all those unoccupied offices into living spaces? Especially in cities such as Portland, […]
Bourbon Connoisseurs’ Spirits Run High, Then Low, as States Allot Rare Bottles
As liquor connoisseurs’ quest for certain high-end bourbons becomes a blood sport, the 17 states that control their own liquor stores have adopted more and more complex methods to stop obsessed seekers from gaming the system by stalking delivery trucks and reselling sought-after bottles on the black market. Over the past decade, bourbon, once […]
‘Ghost Buses’ Haunt Transit Agencies and Frustrate Riders
Noah Appelbaum was freezing on a bitterly cold evening as he stood waiting at a Chicago bus stop earlier this month. He was headed to work and didn’t want to be late. The bus-tracking app on his smartphone kept showing that the next bus would be there in just a few minutes. But that time […]
Migrating Professionals Grow Black Middle Class in the South and West
Jan. 5—Erika Harrison, a Houston attorney who has lived in the area since she was 5, started her blog, Black Girls Who Brunch, “to showcase the vibrant food scene beyond the franchise restaurants.” But recently, the blog has grown into much more than that. In addition to providing restaurant recommendations, Harrison has become a connector […]
Black Families Fall Further Behind on Homeownership
Some cities and states are trying to boost Black homeownership, which dropped to a 60-year low even before the economic turmoil wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic. Black homeownership fell in 2019 to 40.6%, down from the 2004 peak of 49.7%. The rate has rebounded somewhat since then, but advocates remain dismayed at how, decades after the […]
Cyclists, Pedestrians and Motorists Clash Over COVID Street Changes
During the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, cities including Boston, Chicago and Los Angeles installed dedicated bus lanes within a matter of months. To aid struggling restaurants, many cities eliminated parking spaces to allow curbside pickup zones for takeout and delivery. Communities closed off lanes or even whole streets to make space for pedestrian-only […]
Monkeypox Straining Already Overstretched Public Health System
Deep into their third year of fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, local and state public health workers are battered, depleted and, in many places, demoralized. And now, they face a rapidly spreading new virus: monkeypox. The response requires delicate political maneuvering and already has run into shortcomings in testing, vaccines and anti-viral treatments — similar to […]
Wheelchair Users Say States Should Spend New Road Money on Safety
On a Sunday afternoon in May 2021, Patsy Ellison left her Knoxville, Tennessee, apartment in her motorized wheelchair and started to cross a nearby street, as she often did. She never made it. Even though there was a stop sign, a Dodge Ram pickup truck turning into the intersection struck and killed Ellison, who was […]
State Supreme Courts Are (Slowly) Starting to Look More Like America
State supreme courts wield power over many areas of American life, from school funding to environmental protection, gun laws to voting. Even as the United States population has become more diverse, state high courts have been the domain of White judges, attorneys and staff. Many still are: Nearly half the states don’t have a single […]
Residents Left Behind as Pandemic Hurts Bus Companies
Before the COVID-19 pandemic struck in March 2020, Rochester City Lines, a family-owned commuter and charter bus company in Minnesota, was riding high. “We were set for our best year ever in 2020,” said Christian Holter, the company’s director of operations. “And then the wheels fell off.” Half of the company’s business had come from […]
Robocalls Prompt States to Join Feds in Crackdown
Nearly half the states are joining forces with the Federal Communications Commission to boost the law enforcement fight against scam robocalls. The 22 states have signed memoranda of understanding with the federal agency that will strengthen their partnerships in the battle against spoofing and robocalls that try to trick recipients into buying unneeded products or […]