4/27: Florida is No. 1 in mortgage fraud

St. Petersburg Times: Florida is No. 1 in mortgage fraud

Florida is the No. 1 state in mortgage fraud, a position it has held for four years in a row. An annual ranking by the Mortgage Asset Research Institute showed that the state has close to three times the expected amount of reported loan fraud and misrepresentation.

The failure to stop Florida's epidemic of mortgage fraud imperils the state's already weak economy.

Georgia ranks 8th in mortgage fraud for the second year in a row.

Also in the South:

ALABAMA: Venture capital funding lags in Alabama, South

ARKANSAS: State is at the top in broadband competition

GEORGIA: State environmental groups want bill on new water rules to pass

KENTUCKY: Gov. Beshear vetoes bill giving General Assembly oversight over more gov't contracts

LOUISIANA: Fragile coastal wetlands threatened by oil spill

MISSISSIPPI: CDC says Mississippi needs stronger anti-tobacco regulations

NORTH CAROLINA: State to distribute radiation-fighting pills to 120,000 living near nuclear plant

SOUTH CAROLINA: Editorial: 50 cents is the least we can do

TENNESSEE: Voter registration dispute leads to TBI investigation, legislature battle

VIRGINIA: Moose lodges in Virginia raided for illegal video gambling

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

1/18: Haiti earthquake a foreshadowing of Mississippi Delta quake?

Christian Science Monitor: Haiti earthquake a foreshadowing of Mississippi Delta quake?

Geologists consider the New Madrid fault line a major seismic zone and predict that an earthquake roughly the magnitude of the Haiti earthquake (7.0 on the Richter scale) could occur in the area during the next 50 years. And, the poverty of this area is being compared to that of Haiti.

In many areas, people still live in shanties. Healthcare is sparse. Even clean water is scarce in some places. Often, public and private buildings are decades-old and fragile, needing retrofitting or strengthening. Hundreds of towns could see severe structural damage, and large segments of the population displaced, says Dr. Al-Shukri, director of Arkansas Earthquake Center.

The New Madrid fault zone crosses five state lines and the Mississippi River in at least three places. It extends from northeast Arkansas through southeast Missouri and into western Tennessee, western Kentucky, and southern Illinois.

Also in the South:

ALABAMA: 'Connecting Alabama' broadband initiative head to next phase

ARKANSAS: State leads the nation in battling childhood obesity

FLORIDA: State to push minority count, targeting ten groups, in U.S. Census

GEORGIA: State prisons to go smoke-free by end of the year

KENTUCKY: Bill would make it easier to build nuclear power plants in state

LOUISIANA: Editorial: Keep your eyes on the road

MISSISSIPPI: State BOE to be restructured in next few months

NORTH CAROLINA: Pig power: Business explores using pig manure as source of power

SOUTH CAROLINA: Confederate flag still visible in state, even as it's gone from top of State House dome

TENNESSEE: Sen. Alexander's nuclear push faces many obstacles

VIRGINIA: Lawmakers to consider ethics reform plans

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