AltWeeklies Wire
Republicans Balance Arizona's Budget, but at What Cost?new
Republicans balance the state budget on the backs of the working poor, the universities and the state parks.
Tucson Weekly |
Jim Nintzel |
04-11-2011 |
Politics
North Carolina Nonprofits Mobilize to Fight Potential Budget Cutsnew
Dozens of nonprofits in Forsyth County are waiting to see what cuts to state agencies and nonprofits receiving state funds will be made by the North Carolina General Assembly as legislators wrestle with a $2.4 billion budget deficit.
YES! Weekly |
Keith T. Barber |
04-07-2011 |
Policy Issues
Budget Problems Have Florida Reconsidering Mandatory Minimumsnew
Despite the fact that some judges complain that mandatory minimums reduce their ability to use discretion in sentencing, making them drones serving the system, the state's mandatory minimums for drug crimes remained unchallenged for more than 30 years. Recently though, the state's budget has cast a light on Florida's prison spending, which has gone up along with its jail population.
Orlando Weekly |
Jeff Gore |
04-06-2011 |
Crime & Justice
Proposed Arizona Budget Would Nix Funding for Child Care for About 13,000 Kidsnew
The GOP budget plan -- worked out behind closed doors and given almost zero public scrutiny before it was passed -- completely eliminates $30 million that pays for working moms to keep their kids in day care.
Tucson Weekly |
Jim Nintzel |
04-05-2011 |
Policy Issues
Will a 'Perfect Storm' Kill Connecticut's Fledgling Public Campaign Finance System?new
A ferocious series of political, judicial, fiscal, legislative and economic pressure fronts are coming together in a way that has state and party officials nervous about whether this program will make it through the 2010 state elections.
New Haven Advocate |
Gregory B. Hladky |
11-24-2009 |
Politics
Politics are Crippling California's Services to the Disablednew
In addition to being a lifeline for needy disabled Californians, the state Department of Social Services' In-Home Supportive Services program is a cash cow for Democrats. The program's political status has made it a target for Republicans, who characterize it as a bastion of fraud and corruption, and thus ripe for $1.1 billion in cuts.
SF Weekly |
Matt Smith |
10-28-2009 |
Commentary
Lessons from California's Political and Economic Disasternew
The tax revolts that started here under Gov. Ronald Reagan and continued to sweep the country and the world under President Reagan never abated. But now that California is showing signs of being the country's first failed state, it has become a cautionary tale for that anti-government ideology.
San Francisco Bay Guardian |
Steven T. Jones and Tim Redmond |
10-21-2009 |
Politics
Lauded Prison Drug-Treatment Services are the Latest Victim of California's Budget Cutsnew
The Amity Foundation's highly regarded Right Turn program, held up as a national model for effective prisoner rehabilitation, is being closed down at Donovan State Prison, making Donovan one of eight prisons statewide that won't provide any sort of professional in-custody substance-abuse treatment.
San Diego CityBeat |
Kelly Davis |
10-14-2009 |
Crime & Justice
Can California's Community Colleges Weather the Economic Storm?new
While those in the system figure out how to weather this year's cuts, they anticipate fearsome funding cuts in next year's budget and beyond. But money for community colleges should be structured in much the same way that unemployment insurance is supposed to work, so that it is there when it is needed most -- like it is today.
East Bay Express |
Jay Youngdahl |
09-23-2009 |
Education
Colorado's Budget Shortfall Forces Prison and Parole Reformsnew
The state's $318 million budget shortfall may succeed in accomplishing something that activists have been working to achieve for a decade -- reform in the state's criminal justice system.
Boulder Weekly |
Pamela White |
08-31-2009 |
Crime & Justice
Marijuana Decriminalization Moves Forward on Several Fronts in Californianew
Reform advocates are making an intriguing argument: if state or local governments legalize and tax even a fraction of marijuana sales, the state could see billions of dollars in new annual revenue and reduced enforcement costs.
San Francisco Bay Guardian |
Sarah Phelan |
08-19-2009 |
Drugs
Wisconsin State Employee Union Says the Governor's Furlough Math is Faultynew
When Gov. Jim Doyle announced that all state employees would have to take mandatory 16-day furloughs to help balance the state budget, Diane Tieman was a little confused. The state doesn't pay her salary, so her forced vacation won't save Wisconsin taxpayers a dime
Isthmus |
Joe Tarr |
08-18-2009 |
Business & Labor
Pacific Pride Foundation is One of Many California Orgs Reeling from $52M in AIDS Funding Cutsnew
With a stroke of his pen, Governor Schwarzenegger slashed $52 million from critical AIDS services funding through the state's Office of AIDS. That shoves California back to pre-1985 levels of funding, essentially the dark ages of HIV/AIDS awareness and treatment.
Santa Barbara Independent |
Penny Patterson |
08-10-2009 |
Politics
State Budget Debacle: California Descendingnew
Some experts predict the state budget will quickly become unbalanced again, thanks to a persistently bad economy. But that didn't stop self-congratulations and posturing by Arnold Schwarzenegger, Democratic majority leaders Karen Bass and Darrell Steinberg, and Republican minority leaders Dennis Hollingsworth and Sam Blakeslee, the so-called "big five" who worked out this latest budget.
L.A. Weekly |
Jill Stewart |
07-31-2009 |
Politics
California Republicans Don't Really Care if the State Goes Bankruptnew
The Republicans largely carried the day because they had all the power: they could block any budget deal, they refused to raise any taxes, and they don't really care if the state goes bankrupt. In fact, Gov. Schwarzenegger was happy to draw the crisis out as long as necessary -- it helped his poll rating.
San Francisco Bay Guardian |
Editorial |
07-29-2009 |
Commentary
