Fourth of July travel

Washington Post: Fourth of July holiday travel

A discussion with AAA Mid-Atlantic's John Townsend on holiday travel. Highlights: New laws in Virginia ban texting while driving.

Also in the South:

ALABAMA: State challenges Georgia's peach dominance

ARKANSAS: Three UA students develop solar cell business

FLORIDA: State Supreme Court rejects Gov. Crist's request for minorities on list for judgeships

GEORGIA: State's peach crop celebrated

KENTUCKY: Residents to pay more for natural gas

LOUISIANA: Taxpayer "Tea Party" held in St. Tammany Parish

MISSISSIPPI: Budget crisis puts state mental health centers at risk

NORTH CAROLINA: GOP leaders criticize Gov. Perdue's budget remark

SOUTH CAROLINA: State has to pay back about $40 million to retirees

TENNESSEE: Four landfills in eastern part of state gain approval for coal ash test

VIRGINIA: Blessings -- and financial burden -- for 107-year old Virginia man

If you have a news story about public policy to suggest, send an email to info@bettersouth.org

South expected to be area for biggest job growth

CNBC: With economy recovering, biggest area for job growth will be the South

CareerBuilder CEO Matt Ferguson is predicting the South as the biggest area of job growth, and the retail sector is predicted to show growth as well. "The job losses are moderating and we're getting to a more stable environment," Ferguson said in an interview. Employers are "feeling more optimistic about the future in the job market."

Ferguson also says lawmakers need to work on strengthening small business. "If we're going to get big job creation back in the United States, we've got to fire up the engine of small businesses and entrepreneurs, because that's where most of the job creation will come," he said.

Other sectors poised for growth include for-profit education companies, healthcare and insurance.

Also in the South:

ALABAMA: Chief Justice Cobb says she won't run for governor

ARKANSAS: State ranks second in nation for percentage of obese children

FLORIDA: Prescription drug overdose deaths show increase in Florida

GEORGIA: State's transportation stimulus spending is better than other states

KENTUCKY: State's 'Creation Museum' dismays visiting paleontologists

LOUISIANA: Gov. Jindal's vetoes questioned by some

MISSISSIPPI: Cigarette tax increase on 'off brand' products upsets smokers

NORTH CAROLINA: Gov. Perdue says budget indecision is costing state $5 million a day

SOUTH CAROLINA: Call for governor's resignation now comes from GOP chairwoman

TENNESSEE: Editorial: State just made trouble for local governments
"In an attempt to make things more convenient for people to carry guns everywhere they might go, state lawmakers have managed to make life difficult for many more Tennesseans."

VIRGINIA: State GOP to continue to track Gov. Kaine's travels

If you have a news story about public policy to suggest, send an email to info@bettersouth.org

Fat South

AP: Mississippi is still fattest state, but Alabama is closing ranks

The nation's annual obesity rankings are in. Obesity rates among adults rose in 23 states over the past year and didn't decline anywhere, says a new report from the Trust for America's Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

It's clear in the report that fat, not just age, will be the biggest factor in the increase in medical attention needed by Americans. In every state, the rate of obesity is higher among 55- to 64-year-olds - the oldest boomers - than among today's 65-and-beyond.

Mississippi had the highest rate of adult obesity, 32.5 percent, for the fifth year in a row. Three states have adult obesity rates above 30 percent Alabama, 31.2 percent; West Virginia, 31.1 percent; and Tennessee, 30.2 percent.

And the South takes a hit on obese children rates as well: Mississippi had the highest rate of overweight and obese children at 44.4 percent, followed by Arkansas at 37.5 percent and Georgia at 37.3 percent

Not trends we want to continue.

Also in the South:

ALABAMA: New laws begin today and include more care for women with cancer

ARKANSAS: Legislators question state prison board's actions

FLORIDA: Gov. Crist signs water management bill, upsetting conservationists

GEORGIA: Latino voters in the state outperform national turnout in 2008

KENTUCKY: Gov. Beshear announces 38 recycling grants, 9 household hazardous waste grants

LOUISIANA: New Orleans is the nation's fastest-growing city

NORTH CAROLINA: EPA worried about 12 coal-ash storage ponds in state

SOUTH CAROLINA: Report says state may be paying too much for insurance

TENNESSEE: Gov. Bredesen kicks off statewide planting program

VIRGINIA: President Obama to hold town hall forum on health care plan in Virginia today

If you have a news story about public policy to suggest, send an email to info@bettersouth.org

Cap-and-trade vote a benchmark for both parties

Southern Political Report: Cap-and-trade vote a benchmark for both parties

Tom Baxter reports that the cap-and-trade vote was "the most significant vote since the Recovery Act, and the most closely-fought legislative engagement of the young Obama Administration."

One objection – that the Southeast doesn’t have the windy open spaces necessary for windmills and solar installations – was heard frequently in the debate over the bill. But Suzanne Watson, policy director for the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy, said the Southern states do have a lot of something the bill allows them to capitalize on: wasted energy.

The bill requires large utilities to begin producing electricity with a higher percentage of renewable resources, gradually increasing to 20 percent of total production by 2020. The bill allows up to 5 percent to be achieved through increases in energy efficiency, but governors can petition for an addition 3 percent. Most of the Southern states currently rank near the bottom in energy efficiency.

Also in the South:

ALABAMA: Rep. Davis seeks ideas for gubernatorial platform, but legalizing pot won't fly

ARKANSAS: A look at possible GOP candidates for 2012...including Huckabee, Gingrich, and Barbour

FLORIDA: Residents to face new laws tomorrow, including set belt requirement

GEORGIA: State to overhaul social services, healthcare services

KENTUCKY: State has seven hazardous coal-ash storage sites

LOUISIANA: Gov. Jindal applauds $290 million for coastal restoration, hurricane protection

MISSISSIPPI: Research predicts Mississippi River Delta will drown by 2100

NORTH CAROLINA: House passes temporary spending bill

SOUTH CAROLINA: Gov. Sanford says he'll serve as best he can

TENNESSEE: Gov. Bredesen signs charter school bill

VIRGINIA: State considers regulating car title loans

If you have a news story about public policy to suggest, send an email to info@bettersouth.org

Energy bill passes in House by narrow margin

House Democrats narrowly win key test vote

The climate bill addresses global warming and cleaner energy; it would impose limits for the first time on carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas pollution from power plants, factories and refineries. It also would force a shift from coal and other fossil fuels to renewable and more efficient forms of energy.

On the 217-205 vote, the tally reflects 30 Democrats who voted against the bill, a sign of the controversy surrounding the bill. Republicans are saying the 1,200 page bill includes "the largest tax increase in American history."

The bill next goes to the Senate.

Also in the South:

ALABAMA: Three Democrats consider running for attorney general

ARKANSAS: State economist disputes jobless rate of 7%

FLORIDA: Gov. Crist considers controversial water rights bill

GEORGIA: 89 new laws to go into effect July 1

KENTUCKY: Hydroelectric power re-emerges as renewable energy source in Kentucky

LOUISIANA: LSU researchers say coastal restorations projects will fail

MISSISSIPPI: Last-minute budget scramble for legislators is today

NORTH CAROLINA: State given the OK to use stimulus funds for green jobs, energy saving projects

SOUTH CAROLINA: Chief Justice Toal says state's sentencing system is 'a scandal'

TENNESSEE: TVA's coal plants face biggest challenge with new regulations

VIRGINIA: Pilot program will have state monitoring air pollution from old power plants

If you have a news story about public policy to suggest, send an email to info@bettersouth.org

House expected to pass cap-and-trade bill

Washington Post: Cap-and-Trade bill expected to pass in the House

Democratic leaders are predicting a close victory on the cap-and-trade bill. If it passes, it would cap U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. Compromise has led to a huge (1,201 pages) and complex measure, and the resulting legislation could transform the U.S. energy industry.

The bill as written now gives some emissions credits free to rural electric cooperatives, so they can sell them and use the money to cushion consumers. And it gives the Department of Agriculture, not the Environmental Protection Agency, oversight of a key program. That would allow farmers to sell "offsets" for carbon dioxide that their crops soak up from the air or for reducing greenhouse gases from animal waste.

A few environmental groups have said the bill is now fatally flawed, but most still seem to support it, with some hoping that it might become tighter in the Senate.

Also in the South:

ALABAMA: Sen. Sessions says immigration reform not likely in 2009

ARKANSAS: Sen. Pryor introduces bill that will increase number of vehicles using alternate fuels

FLORIDA: Candidates for governor defend use of state planes

GEORGIA: State to meet deadline for federal funds

KENTUCKY: Mountain top coal mining debated at congressional hearing

LOUISIANA: Budget deal restores $210 million to higher education, health care

MISSISSIPPI: Gov. Barbour says SC Gov. Sanford shouldn't quit office over affair

NORTH CAROLINA: Legislature will miss deadline for spending bill

SOUTH CAROLINA: Gov. Sanford criticized as 'ineffective' governor

TENNESSEE: Center for Public Integrity gives state an "F" for weak conflict-of-interest disclosures

VIRGINIA: State does poorly on disclosure laws

If you have a news story about public policy to suggest, send an email to info@bettersouth.org