Salmonella cases draw attention to food safety issues

Food safety to be looked at more closely

Food safety as a policy issue is growing in importance. In addition to the recent -- and massive -- peanut product recall, cantaloupes, jalapeños, lettuce, spinach and tomatoes have all been subject to major recalls. And a growing list of manufacturers and trade associations have joined with consumer advocates to ask for stricter regulations — something the Bush administration largely rejected.

With the new administration, there's a good chance change will happen. “Far too often, tainted food is not recalled until too late,” Mr. Obama said last year. “When I am president, it will not be business as usual when it comes to food safety. I will provide additional resources to hire more federal food inspectors.”

The current peanut case has raised the issue to near-crisis level. Critics of our food safety system say it demonstrates just how badly the system needs fixing, starting with the patchwork surveillance system that is the first indicator that something has gone wrong. In Georgia, records show that 12 tests of peanut products from 2007 to 2008 at the Blakely plant were shown to contain salmonella; however, the current rules didn't require the plant to quarantine their product or clean their facility.

This supports our call to eat locally -- and as "unprocessed" as possible for health.

Also in the South:

ALABAMA: AP survey shows majority of state lawmakers want to ban driver texting

ARKANSAS: Senate panel approves bill on state Freedom of Information Act

FLORIDA: State funding of higher education shrinks in Florida

GEORGIA: Senate panel to strip power from state's public defender council

KENTUCKY: State struggles to rebound from storm as 607,000+ are without power

LOUISIANA: U.S. Post Office considers dropping delivery to five days a week

MISSISSIPPI: Tobacco taxes likely to go up in March

NORTH CAROLINA: Homeless census shows rising numbers of dispossessed

SOUTH CAROLINA: Charleston could house Guantanamo Bay suspects

TENNESSEE: Rep. Lincoln Davis won't be running for governor

VIRGINIA: State budget uncertain until stimulus funds known

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

Teacher study shows states doing a poor job

States graded "D-plus" on teachers

The National Council on Teacher Quality released a national study showing most states are not retaining good teachers or getting rid of bad ones. On average, states were graded "D-plus," with the highest overall mark, a "B-minus," given to South Carolina. According to the study, South Carolina does better than any other state in allowing ineffective teachers to be fired.

South Carolina requires two annual evaluations of new teachers. Teachers who get bad reviews are placed on a plan for improvement. Only those teachers on probation - not tenured teachers - can be fired if they don't improve.

The study also wades into a growing controversy over whether teachers should be held accountable for their students' progress. The National Education Association and other unions and teacher groups argue there should be multiple measures of teacher performance along with student achievement.

Also in the South:

ALABAMA: 5,800 jobs created in the state by pension fund

ARKANSAS: A look at the potential for Arkansas' biodiesel industry

FLORIDA: State's Healthy Start program wants tax on small tobacco companies' products

GEORGIA: Salmonella debacle at peanut plant could prompt new food safety rules

KENTUCKY: Massive ice storm knocks out power across the state

LOUISIANA: New FEMA head orders Katrina recovery review

MISSISSIPPI: Off-shore fish farming in federal waters approved despite opposition

NORTH CAROLINA: Gov. Bev Perdue not satisfied with submitted spending cuts

SOUTH CAROLINA: Conservationists say off-shore drilling bill a waste of time

TENNESSEE: Satellite cities without police departments want to hire metro cops

VIRGINIA: Two cigarette tax bills rejected by House Finance subcommittee

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

Proposed federal energy rules called "unfair" to South

ALABAMA: State Sen. Mitchell says energy proposals would hurt the South

Several Alabama legislators, including Sen. Wendell Mitchell (D-Luverne), say the proposed federal energy rules would harm the South, resulting in increased en­ergy rates and less eco­nomic development.

The legislation would require electric providers to generate a certain percentage of their energy from renewable sources. The Alabama legislators against the plan say this would allow other states to count already-provided alternative energy, such as wind and solar, toward this percentage. However, the legislation would not allow Alabama and other states to use hydro, nuclear, or clean coal already in use toward this percentage.

Legislators said Alabama does not have the climate or economic wherewithal to use wind, solar, or geothermal energy. Said Sen. Mitchell, "I hate to see us made to pay money for renewable require­ments that we can't meet in the first place."

Brian Kennedy, senior vice president for public affairs with the nonprofit Institute for Ener­gy Research, said passage would be a "tool of regional economic warfare."

Also in the South:

ARKANSAS: Guns in churches? Bill would allow

FLORIDA: State turns down higher rates for insurance company, so company to drop coverage

GEORGIA: State property tax cap upsets city government officials

KENTUCKY: Social service providers expect little legislation to pass in tight economy

LOUISIANA: State Department of Insurance may have been saved from total shutdown

MISSISSIPPI: Debate over how high cigarette tax should be continues today

NORTH CAROLINA: Impact of one-time stimulus money weighed

SOUTH CAROLINA: Senate seeks ban on megadumps for two years

TENNESSEE: $25 million sought for coal ash spill cleanup

VIRGINIA: Three House of Delegates Republicans push for improved health care legislation

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

Tighter auto standards on the horizon

WASHINGTON: President Obama pushes for strict auto standards

Two administration officials say that President Obama will direct federal regulators to move swiftly on an application by California and thirteen other states to set strict automobile emission and fuel-efficiency standards, signifying a sharp reversal of Bush administration policy. Giving states the right to regulate tailpipe emissions would be a significant action that President Obama could take to put his mark on a stronger environmental policy.

This policy decision to allow states to regulate auto emissions is particularly important for Southern states. As noted in Getting Greener: Progressive environmental ideas for the American South (from the Center for a Better South), Southerners drive more than the national average. With stricter tailpipe emissions standards, air toxins will be reduced and cleaner air will result. Should Southern states push to adopt the California Clean Car standards, these benefits and savings from fuel efficiency will be possible.

Also in the South:

ALABAMA: Former Rep. Bud Cramer (D-Ala.) to become chairman of Washington lobbying firm

ARKANSAS: Harsher animal cruelty bill expected to pass

FLORIDA: House Speaker Ray Sansom to be investigated by grand jury

GEORGIA: Senate to consider allowing counties to band together for road projects

KENTUCKY: Gov. Beshear asks state agencies to prepare for deeper budget cuts

LOUISIANA: New Orleans Mayor Nagin to cut some sanitation services to French Quarter in budget dispute

MISSISSIPPI: Coastal homeowners to get $60 million in grants to elevate homes

NORTH CAROLINA: Gov. Perdue names "heavyweight" education chief

SOUTH CAROLINA: House expected to fast-track payday lending bill

TENNESSEE: 45,000 new "green" jobs could be created in the state

VIRGINIA: Top fundraiser for Va. GOP quits, calls party "dysfunctional"

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

Virginia sees decrease in cigarette sales

VIRGINIA: Cigarette sales fall in state

Virginia governor Timothy Kaine is pushing a move to double the state's cigarette tax in order to funnel more money into the state's health care system, just as state statistics show that cigarette sales declined following the last two cigarette tax increases.

Other factors, including anti-smoking campaigns and changes in smoking habits, may have impacted the decline.

The proposed tax is 60-cents a pack. In 2004, when the tax was just 2.5 cents a pack, then-Gov. Mark Warner moved the tax to 20-cents a pack. In 2005, the tax went to 30-cents a pack, where it currently rests.

"Virginia's current cigarette excise tax covers less than half the $400 million in Medicaid costs that smoking creates," Kaine said Jan. 14 in his State of the Commonwealth Address. "I believe that the taxes on smoking should more closely match the budget costs that Virginia taxpayers incur because of smoking."

Del. Harry Purkey, chairman of the House Finance Committee, says the panel will likely take up the proposal this week, but passage is "iffy."

Also in the South:

ALABAMA: AP survey shows modest support for voter photo ID bill

ARKANSAS: Fight over funding statewide trauma system with tobacco taxes expected this week

FLORIDA: Carbon cap-and-trade system to be discussed by Florida Energy and Climate Commission

GEORGIA: State launches two government Web sites to track health, finances

KENTUCKY: New bridge between Kentucky and Ohio to be discussed

LOUISIANA: Orange water in Terrebonne Parish likely due to dying marshland

MISSISSIPPI: Homeland Security study programs booming at universities

NORTH CAROLINA: State's top lobbyist, Roger Bone, dies at 69

SOUTH CAROLINA: Fast train between Atlanta and Charlotte would impact South Carolina

TENNESSEE: Budget for the state doubles in two decades

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

>> Floridians oppose scholarship cuts

(This marks the first of a continuing installment of top news from across the South)

FLORIDA: Taxpayers oppose cuts to "Bright Futures" scholarships, poll says

A new poll by Quinnipiac University shows Florida voters opposed cuts to the Bright Futures Scholarship program started in 1997 to reward students with scholarships based on merit.

The poll also showed Floridians would rather smokers pay more for cigarettes and opposed an old law that bans gay adoption.

According to the Tallahassee Democrat, "voters opposed any cuts in the state's Bright Futures Scholarship program, 72 percent to 17 percent. They supported a cigarette-tax hike, 71 percent to 26 percent and opposed the gay-adoption ban 55 percent to 39 percent, the poll said.

"There may be a lot of opinion leaders talking about the need to reign in Bright Futures because of its cost in these times of tight budgets, but it is hard to imagine a less popular idea for cuts with the voting public," Quinnipiac researcher Peter Brown told the newspaper.

Also in the South:

ALABAMA: Legislators support removing sales tax on groceries, poll shows

ARKANSAS: Lawmakers readying for debate on first statewide trauma system

GEORGIA: State can't afford property tax relief grant program, governor says

KENTUCKY: Governor pushing for cigarette tax hike

LOUISIANA: Obama gives hope to Katrina activists

MISSISSIPPI: MS Center for Justice sues Waveland over cottages

NORTH CAROLINA: Competition fierce for open jobs in NC

SOUTH CAROLINA: Rex to outline long-term school funding vision

TENNESSEE: Nashville defeats English-only measure

VIRGINIA: Redistricting bill dies in VA House

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