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Stephen C. Fehr (Stateline)
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Thursday, 27 September 2012
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Provo, UT, USA. Construction projects and high-tech start-ups drive Utah's economic recovery, led by Provo, a top pick by Forbes for business and career opportunities.
The first sign that Provo got through the Great Recession better than most places shows up quickly, when a driver heading south from Salt Lake City comes upon an army of workers and machines widening the main interstate highway exit into town.
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 Jake Grovum (Stateline) Sunday, 23 September 2012 Washington, DC, USA. There is still time for Congress to avoid the fiscal cliff that would force billions of dollars in spending cuts and tax increases at the start of next year.
But whatever happens, the states run the risk of being big losers. “A self-inflicted wound” to a struggling economy. “Ham-handed cuts” nobody thought would actually happen. “The big, dumb spending cuts that no one wants.”
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 Pamela M. Prah (Stateline) Wednesday, 19 September 2012 Sacramento, CA, USA. One of the oldest urban redevelopment programs in the country went out of existence this year. Cities in California are finding it hard to recover from the blow.
Blame it on the mermaids. Only in California could the demise of a state program intended to help cities counter urban blight be linked to a dive bar in the state capital.
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 Ben Wieder (Stateline) Thursday, 13 September 2012 Sacramento, CA, USA. If approved, two November ballot initiatives would raise California taxes over the next several years to increase funding for schools cut in past budgets.
In November, voters will decide whether to approve a temporary sales tax increase and income tax hike on the state’s highest earners to restore some of those cuts.
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 Stephen C. Fehr (Stateline) Thursday, 23 August 2012 Montgomery, AL, USA. History, rural suspicians of urban areas, and a fear of raising taxes, stopped Alabama state legislators from helping its largest county avoid insolvency.
After Alabama's worst-ever tornado outbreak struck two-thirds of the state last year, killing 230 people, the governor and lawmakers immediately united to lead an effort to clean up debris, speed aid to victims and repair and rebuild roads, bridges, schools and other public buildings.
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 Jake Grovum (Stateline) Wednesday, 22 August 2012 Washington, DC, USA. Cooling assistance is running out. Budget cuts and a blistering hot spell left states short on cash this summer while tackling high energy demand.
Now many worry about having enough heat when winter comes. Faced with a July in which triple-digit temperatures and a historic drought left many of Illinois’ most vulnerable citizens struggling to keep cool, the state decided to step in.
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Daniel C. Vock (Stateline) Saturday, 18 August 2012 |
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Josh Goodman (Stateline) Friday, 03 August 2012 |
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 Teresa Wiltz (Stateline) Friday, 27 July 2012 Washington, DC, USA. Faced with a persistently rocky economy, and budgets straining at the seams, a number of states are looking at partial privatization of lottery services.
The arrangement is attractive to states looking to quickly develop new games, leverage technology — and shift the risks to the private sector. It is thought to be a way to boost lottery sales without having to expend state resources.
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 Jake Grovum (Stateline) Wednesday, 18 July 2012 Providence, RI, USA. Investing in a now-bankrupt video game company may cost Rhode Island more than $100 million, leaving questions about state economic development efforts.
After an investment many questioned from the beginning, by the morning of June 7, officials at 38 Studios, a video game company started by major league baseball legend Curt Schilling, knew their enterprise was doomed.
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 Josh Goodman (Stateline) Tuesday, 17 July 2012 Frankfort, KY, USA. Kentucky has studied how to adjust its tax system for at least a decade, but now Governor Steve Beshear hopes the state is finally ready to act.
“We stand ready,” former Kentucky Governor Paul Patton said in his State of the Commonwealth speech, “to address, on a bipartisan basis, comprehensive and revenue neutral tax reform.” That was in 2002, and he was wrong.
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 Stateline Staff Friday, 13 July 2012 Washington, DC, USA. This chart looks at S&P credit ratings for American states since 2001. States with a low grade typically have trouble aligning tax revenues with spending.
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 Stephen C. Fehr (Stateline) Thursday, 12 July 2012 Harrisburg, PA, USA. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has an ambitious program aimed at fixing the finances of troubled cities. In most cases, it doesn’t accomplish much.
Brian Jensen, an economic development specialist, calls it “the measles map.” The drawing shows an outline of Pennsylvania with 27 red splotches marking financially distressed cities in every corner of the state. Four in 10 Pennsylvanians live in one of them.
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Melissa Maynard (Stateline) Wednesday, 04 July 2012 |
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TS-Si News Service Monday, 02 July 2012 |
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Jim Malewitz (Stateline) Tuesday, 26 June 2012 |
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Josh Goodman (Stateline) Tuesday, 12 June 2012 |
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Josh Goodman (Stateline) Sunday, 10 June 2012 |
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Maggie Clark (Stateline) Friday, 01 June 2012 |
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TS-Si News Service Wednesday, 30 May 2012 |
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Jim Malewitz (Stateline) Saturday, 26 May 2012 |
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Josh Goodman (Stateline) Sunday, 20 May 2012 |
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Stephen C. Fehr (Stateline) Thursday, 17 May 2012 |
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