Issues In The News

The New York Times, March 11, 2010: The New York Times on the Web Obama's Student Loan Overhaul Endangered

"Instead, the proposed overhaul would broaden the government's existing direct-lending program, saving billions of dollars that the president had proposed using to expand Pell grant scholarships for low-income students."

The Washington Post, March 11, 2010: Ministry reaches out to veterans

"Partnering with... the founding pastor of Foundation Christian Fellowship Church..., Humphries' independent ministry heads up nine outreach programs that supply aid to active and wounded soldiers, as well as local foster children, the homeless, inmates and the elderly."

Los Angeles Times, March 11, 2010: Payday lenders may avoid U.S. oversight

"Consumer advocates said that exemption would keep payday lenders in California and 34 other states mostly under state controls, which have allowed the lenders to prey on low-income people with loan fees that translate to interest rates of as much as 460% a year."

The San Francisco Chronicle, March 11, 2010: Top groups spent $1 billion-plus to sway policy over decade

"The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America... shelled out a whopping $95 million to defeat two dueling initiatives on a 2005 ballot aimed at establishing prescription drug discount programs for low-income Californians."

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, March 11, 2010: Frugal habits really do pay off

"Alex Wan knows this as well as anyone. In June he walked away from his 20-year career as an industrial engineer to become the executive director of Jerusalem House, which assists homeless and low-income families affected by HIV and AIDS."

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, March 11, 2010: Raw crime data masks differences among cities

"Since 2002 we have produced yearly rankings of American cities according to their homicide rates, after adjusting for differences across cities in poverty, median income, unemployment and other conditions that are strongly associated with city homicide rates..."

The Philadelphia Inquirer, March 11, 2010: Report: City saved $4.2 million fighting corruption

"The OIG also worked with the state to investigate 16 state and city employees who stole more than $500,000 in funds from the state's Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program between 2003 and 2007."

The Boston Globe, March 11, 2010: Tees with a message

"Well, we try. We donate 2 percent of every tee sold to the Acumen Fund. It's a nonprofit that uses a business-like approach to solve problems of poverty."

Newsday, March 11, 2010: Facilities for sex offenders 'inadequate'

"Some conditions in a Riverhead trailer where Suffolk puts homeless sex offenders are "inadequate," the state has ruled, sending the county scrambling to install showers and hot water to comply with the decision."

Sacramento Bee, March 11, 2010: Sacramento schools added to low-performing list; others removed

"The changes allow the state to add more low-performing low-income schools that didn't make it into the bottom 5 percent and to remove some higher performers from the list of secondary schools that don't get extra money for teaching low-income students."

Belleville News-Democrat, March 11, 2010: Well-traveled Cotto has helped Madison set sights on crown

"Unemployment, gangs, drugs and poverty are rampant -- 24 percent of the nearly 4,500 people living in Madison are below the poverty line -- but basketball has always provided a diversion and sense of self."

South Florida Sun-Sentinel, March 11, 2010: Florida's unemployment rate at 35-year high

"At a health care job fair in Fort Lauderdale on Tuesday, job seekers were concerned about the job market for nurses and other health care jobs. Several regional hospitals have been forced to layoff workers to offset lower income due to fewer patients and changes in Medicare payments. "

The Macon Telegraph, March 11, 2010: 4 Bibb schools may see changes

"Title I schools are those where at least 40 percent of students come from low-income families. In order to get the funding, the Bibb County school board would have to vote to use one of four different improvement models: a turnaround model, a restart model..."

Sacramento Bee, March 11, 2010: (Editorial) Sac City is a 'Teach for America' finalist

"The premise is that young, energetic, committed teachers can make a difference in the lives of students in lower- income communities."

The New York Times, March 10, 2010: Payday Loans Get Exemption In Senate Bill

"State lawmakers and regulators in recent years have moved to rein in the practices of payday lenders, which watchdog groups say often charge exorbitant fees for low-income consumers with little financial sophistication."

The Washington Post, March 10, 2010: Va. lawmakers plan to do less with less

"The state spends more on health care each year than on anything other than education. Both the House and Senate have proposed cuts to Medicaid, the federal- and state-funded health program for low-income people."

The Washington Post, March 10, 2010: Voucher games

"The truth is that opponents know how bad it would look to vote against a program that has helped low-income, minority children get a better education."

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, March 10, 2010: Merit pay for teachers has merit

"For decades, teachers' organizations have resisted merit pay, insisting that it is impossible to devise a system that fairly assesses teachers' efforts without penalizing teachers for working in challenging environments --- including neighborhoods with high rates of poverty..."

The Miami Herald, March 10, 2010: Florida lags in U.S. aid based on Census

"`The allocation among states for many programs is based on population counts, or parts of the population like the number of kids in poverty. It's a zero-sum game, so it's in every state's interest to raise its population numbers.'"

The Kansas City Star, March 10, 2010: Band brings the show to the homeless

"The Quick and the Dead and their gigs are mainly at homeless shelters, soup kitchens, rescue missions and food pantries — anywhere the homeless gather."

St. Petersburg Times, March 10, 2010: USF students have money to give away

"After researching community needs, nine philanthropy boards decided to offer funding this semester to 501(c)(3) groups that help, among others, the homeless, abused women and at-risk children."

Contra Costa Times, March 10, 2010: Concord sets priorities for social services, affordable housing

"The city can spend only up to 15 percent of that money on social services; the rest goes to programs like neighborhood code enforcement, building disabled-accessible sidewalks in low-income areas and emergency home repairs for those who qualify."

The New York Times, March 9, 2010: (Ed-Op) Healthy Solution: Taxing Sodas

"Gov. David Paterson dropped a proposed tax on sodas last year in the face of industry opposition, and lobbyists for soda companies are already denouncing the new proposal as unfair to lower-income families struggling through a recession."

The New York Times, March 9, 2010: The State's Budget Boogeyman Stalks the City's Summer Camps

"When government pays for young people to work as counselors or child care providers, it's a bargain, a win-win-win: good for the young people like Christopher who get transformed into the 'indoor baseball guy;' good for the low-income children who learn to love indoor baseball..."

The Kansas City Star, March 9, 2010: Canada could teach the U.S. a thing or two about banking

"Canada provides public funding for low-income rental housing. In the United States, home ownership is encouraged but the Community Reinvestment Act forces banks to lend to possibly less creditworthy borrowers."

 

  1. © 2010 Spotlight on Poverty
  2. -
  3. Site by Treefort