AltWeeklies Wire
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
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
Colorado's Grim State Budget Leaves Little for Higher Ednew
Community colleges got a potential leg-up last week from Obama. But back in Colorado, a state budget hole could sink any benefit, putting state funding for higher education into serious doubt.
Colorado Springs Independent |
Anthony Lane |
07-23-2009 |
Education
Connecticut's Needle Exchange Programs Face the Chopping Blocknew
New Haven launched one of the first needle-exchange programs in the country in 1990, and it became a national model for curbing the spread of AIDS through intravenous drug use. Gov. Jodi Rell's plan to eliminate the entirety of the $455,000 the state spends yearly on needle exchange is pennywise and pound foolish, advocates say, ensuring a spike in infections.
New Haven Advocate |
Andy Bromage |
06-16-2009 |
Science
Virginian Artists and Teachers Struggle with Gov's Budget Cutsnew
As part of Gov. Tim Kaine's Oct. 9 budget cuts, state funds for the Virginia Commission for the Arts were reduced by 15 percent, and the Virginia Arts Foundation fund has been frozen.
C-Ville Weekly |
Brendan Fitzgerald |
01-07-2009 |
Economy
Summer Blazes Reveal the Real Cost of California's Money Problemsnew
As Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger explained how he's get a handle on the fires, a man-made disaster erupted, as the annual financial crisis that paralyzes the state every budget season reeled out of control.
Metro Silicon Valley |
Eric Johnson |
07-17-2008 |
Disasters
