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  • Access & Insurance
  • Energy Resources
  • Emergency Management
  • Accountability
  • Energy Supply & Distribution
  • Public Health
  • Medical Education & Research
  • Alternative Schools

  • Comprehensive Community Planning: Workforce and Affordable Housing Seminar
  • National Institute of Justice Journal, No. 253
 
April 21, 2006
What's New
Expert Chat: Developing Alternative Payday Loans
Tuesday, May 2, 2 p.m. EDT


Join Knowledge-Plex and The Center for Financial Services Innovation for the third of four online chats in the series "From the Margins to the Mainstream" on reaching underbanked markets.


The series' first chat will feature several organizations offering products that can help link customers to the financial mainstream and provide access to asset-building products. Click here for more information.

Access & Insurance
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Massachusetts now requires all residents to have health insurance

04/12/2006 | Knight Ridder Washington Bureau

Many states across the U.S. are scrutinizing the ambitious Massachusetts law to expand mandatory health insurance to all of its citizens by July 2007. Under the plan, individuals will be required to purchase heath insurance or face a penalty on their tax return. The government will subsidize those near or below the poverty level. The plan aims to cover nearly all of the half-million Massachusetts residents with no insurance by using existing private insurance companies and without resorting to tax increases or a state-run single payer system.

Energy Resources
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Ethanol sweet for Brazilians; Sugar-based fuel slashes oil imports

04/16/2006 | The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Sweet energy path for Brazil

04/03/2006 | Chicago Tribune

Doyle pushes government buildings to go green; Order raises energy efficiency standards

04/12/2006 | Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (Wisconsin)

UCO leads wind energy curve; School's move to alternative power shows stewardship, official says.

04/15/2006 | The Daily Oklahoman (Oklahoma City, OK)

For an example of a country ending its addiction to oil, the U.S. can look to Brazil, whose ethanol production costs 50 cents less per gallon than gasoline. The Brazilian government has successfully incubated a viable ethanol motor fuel industry through the encouragement of sugar cane cultivation, low-interest loans, subsidies, and the financing of a national distribution network. Currently, 70 percent of all cars manufactured in Brazil run on ethanol, gasoline, or a mixture of both. Microsoft's Bill Gates and Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin are among the growing throng of interested investors.


Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle has signed an executive order mandating that all state buildings adhere to stringent environmental standards. New state buildings must be at least 30 percent more efficient than the requirements for commercial buildings, and existing structures are now subject to green building standards. The move is expected to save $30 million annually from the state's utility bill.

 


Wind will soon power the University of Central Oklahoma. School officials have found that their blustery location can make relying on wind power a cost saver, particularly with high oil prices. The reliance on wind power is only the latest step towards a more environmentally friendly campus, as the school already uses cafeteria grease to fuel campus vehicles.
Emergency Management
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An "ark" for pets in peril; Congress is close to adopting legislation requiring states to include abandoned pets in their disaster preparedness plans or risk losing federal money

04/14/2006 | Hartford Courant (Connecticut)

Congress is on the verge of passing legislation requiring local and state emergency-preparedness authorities to include pets and service animals in their evacuation plans as a prerequisite to federal relief funds. Lawmakers crafted the legislation in response to last year's hurricanes, in which an estimated 600,000 animals either died or had no shelter during and after the storm. Officials have learned that human rescue activities run more smoothly when residents are not worried about the fate of their pets.

Accountability
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Like students, city schools will be graded

04/12/2006 | The New York Sun

By 2007, New York City parents will find it as easy as A, B, C, D, and F to find out about the performance of their child's school. A new rating system will assign letter grades to the city's 1,400 public schools, helping parents and policymakers assess each school's progress. Children will be tested every six to eight weeks for their mastery of "sub-skills" in reading and math, and the Department of Education will track individual students instead of comparing entire grades from one year to the next. Chancellor Joel Klein believes that this moving picture will become a national model for school accountability, going further than the traditional snapshot provided by the federal education law, No Child Left Behind.

Energy Supply & Distribution
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Governor considers bill to allow 'real-time' electric rates

04/12/2006 | Copley News Service

Real-time pricing may soon offer Illinois residents a chance to both conserve energy and save on their electricity bills. Under the alternative billing plan, electric companies will notify participating consumers of fluctuations in energy prices over the course of the day. The bill was recently approved by the state's legislature and is now awaiting the Governor's signature.
Public Health
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Insurance program feature; Health-care coaching part of Ohio State plan

04/08/2006 | The Columbus Dispatch (Ohio)

Ohio State University excepts that by 2008, health coaches, rather than higher premiums, will motivate the 35,000 adults covered under its insurance to live healthier lifestyles. Coaches work with participants to set personal health plans that meet individualized goals, schedule appointments with specialists, and ensure participants understand and uphold their treatment regimens. The university predicts a net savings of about $3 million a year due to healthier enrollees.

Medical Education & Research
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States stepping in to underwrite stem cell science; Md. is the latest to authorize money for work limited on the federal level

04/07/2006 | USA TODAY

Maryland is the fifth state to set aside funds for human embryonic stem cell research, a promising, but controversial tool in the fight against diseases, such as Parkinson's and diabetes. To stay competitive, several other states are on the verge of passing similar legislation, which supports public and private biotechnology research on stem cells, including those derived from embryos. National policy currently restricts federal funding for research to stem cell lines that existed before 2001.
Alternative Schools
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Healey announces Massachusetts' first recovery high school

04/13/2006 | States News Service

To ensure that recovering teen addicts can reenter a learning environment free from relapse-causing peer pressure, Massachusetts will open its first recovery high school this fall. Based on successful models in Minnesota and elsewhere, recovery high schools provide a safe, sober, and supportive small-class size educational setting where students' efforts to break the cycle of addiction are understood and fostered.

Comprehensive Community Planning: Workforce and Affordable Housing Seminar

Register to view a live webcast of Comprehensive Community Planning: Workforce and Affordable Housing Seminar organized by the National League of Cities' Leadership Training Institute. Watch on April 28 and 29 or access an archive of the event.

National Institute of Justice Journal, No. 253
The cover article of the latest issue of the NIJ Journal focuses on DNA analysis for minor crimes. In this issue, you'll also find: "Automated Information Sharing: Does It Help Law Enforcement Officers Work Better?" Read these articles and more.

 


Newsletter produced by: Alexander Dworkowitz, Brendan St. Amant, and Vanessa Ruget (researchers and writers); Joellen Secondo (editor).

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