Pennsylvania
Introducing StateImpact’s New Marcellus Shale App
Use this tool to learn which operators are drilling, and where. Continue reading →
Issues That Matter.
Close To Home.
A reporting project of local public media and NPR
StateImpact is a collaboration among NPR and local public radio stations in eight pilot states to examine public policy issues in-depth. The cross-platform reporting network seeks to inform and engage communities with explanatory, data-driven stories focused on how government decisions affect people’s lives.
The Best of StateImpact
New Hampshire
The States With The Best And Worst Wage Laws For Home Health Workers
President Obama is pushing for a change to federal labor rules covering payment and overtime for home health workers. We’ve cobbled together White House data on which states do–and don’t–offer minimum wage and overtime for home health workers. Continue reading →
Florida
No Choice: Florida Charter Schools Failing to Serve Students With Disabilities
A StateImpact Florida/Miami Herald investigation shows most charter schools in Florida are failing to serve students with severe disabilities. Statewide, 86 percent of charter schools do not have any students classified as severely disabled. Continue reading →
Texas
Things We Lost in the Drought
And the hits keep coming. There will be no oysters this year in Texas, USA Today reports: “a monstrous bloom of toxic algae looming across the Texas coast has shut down oyster season.” Because of the drought, the paper reports, “the algae could cause nausea, vomiting and diarrhea in humans and is harmful to fish but … Continue reading →
Indiana
For-Profit Colleges: Game-Changers Or ‘Diploma Mills’?
For-profit colleges have a lot of accusatory fingers pointing in their direction, mostly from politicians and commentators looking for someone to blame for soaring levels of student debt. But are for-profits indeed fatally flawed ‘diploma mills’? Or convenient scapegoats? In Indiana, this debate has special significance. The state’s student default rate is one of the nation’s highest — and Congress … Continue reading →
Idaho
Jobless in Idaho: Soldiers Struggle to Translate War Experience into Work
Name: David Hampton Age: 21 Unemployed Since: September 2011 “I’m a team player. That’s all there is to it. I’m just hoping they’ll give me the chance.” The Idaho Department of Labor estimates nearly 70,000 people in the state don’t have jobs. That doesn’t include thousands more who are underemployed or have stopped looking for … Continue reading →
Ohio
Ohio Schools Urged to Better Protect Gay Teens After Bullying Video Goes Viral
The case of an openly gay Ohio student whose vicious bullying attack was caught on video is increasing calls for anti bullying policies aimed specifically at protecting gays. The video went viral on the web, prompting the school district to take action. It may even have an effect on pending legislation at the statehouse. … Continue reading →
Oklahoma
Billions in State Tax Breaks, But No Complete List
When Oklahomans fill out their state tax forms, most receive some form of break on what’s owed, whether it’s credits, deductions or exemptions on income, sales, excise, franchise or gross production taxes. So just how many tax and fee breaks does Oklahoma have on the books? StateImpact Oklahoma has been asking for a few months … Continue reading →