4/6: Four Southern states considered marijuana legislation

Stateline: Four Southern states considered marijuana legislation

States across the nation are considering legalization of marijuana as a way of generating tax funds during cash-strapped times.

Eighteen states, including North Carolina, Alabama, Virginia and Tennessee, considered legislation to legalize medical marijuana this year, an unusually high number. California is the state to watch, as this year's ballot will include a question to allow local governments to legalize and tax marijuana.

Also in the South:

ALABAMA: Legislator says cash offered by lobbyist for bingo vote

ARKANSAS: Sexual violence reports up in Arkansas

FLORIDA: State Supreme Court begins using Twitter

GEORGIA: Voter fraud can be reported online now

KENTUCKY: State Attorney General says he won't sue over health care

LOUISIANA: Opinion: Equitable funding will improve all Louisiana public schools

MISSISSIPPI: State to allow guns in parks

NORTH CAROLINA: Western NC hunger report shows 'pandemic of poverty'

SOUTH CAROLINA: Gov. Sanford to sign unemployment agency overhaul law

TENNESSEE: Opinion: Sentencing fix would make Tennessee a safer place

VIRGINIA: State AG to challenge new fuel efficiency standards in court

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2/3: Food hardship report: Poverty up in South

Examiner: Food hardship report shows increase in poverty in South

Ten of the eleven states the ThinkSouth blog covers are suffering the highest rates of hunger in America -- Mississippi, Arkansas, Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky, Louisiana, South Carolina, North Carolina, Florida and Georgia.

Mississippi, the state with the highest incidence of food hardships report, saw their numbers increase when children under the age of 18 were factored into the statistics. Mississippi households without children held a hunger rating of 22.5 percent while Mississippi households with children held a hunger rating of 33.8 percent.

Also in the South:

ALABAMA: State Senate fails to pass $1 billion road construction bill

ARKANSAS: Counselors see increase in gambling addictions in Arkansas

FLORIDA: Including illegal immigrants in census count becomes an issue in Senate race

GEORGIA: PSC wants refund for taxpayers from abandoned Yucca Mtn. nuclear waste project

KENTUCKY: State highway plan could cost $11 billion from 2010-2016

LOUISIANA: Coastal restoration funds in President Obama's proposed 2011 budget

MISSISSIPPI: Commentary: Odds stacked against state lottery

NORTH CAROLINA: State has exhausted ability to borrow money according to new report

SOUTH CAROLINA: Study links port expansion to health problems

TENNESSEE: Nursing home care in state ranks very low

VIRGINIA: Under Gov. McDonnell, death penalty likely to expand

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

11/30: Commentary on Electoral College and the South

Southern Political Report: John Tures: Electoral College is stacked against the South

"How many times have you heard that a candidate can't win the Electoral College without winning the South, only to find somebody prevails by only taking a handful of states below the Mason-Dixon Line? Well, you may be surprised to learn that the South is largely disenfranchised by the Electoral College. In layman's terms, Dixie is getting gypped out of a lot of votes in the Presidential Election.

"Most Southerners I talk to about the subject don't even realize what's happened. After all, they have some of the largest states in the Electoral College, like Texas (34), Florida (27), Georgia (15) and North Carolina (15). Take those four alone and you're about a third of the way to the White House."

(For more, click here)

Also in the South:

ALABAMA: Editorial: Who will lead Alabama recovery?

ARKANSAS: State ranks 40th in overall health as smoking and obesity still problems

FLORIDA: 2009 hurricane season mild for Florida

GEORGIA: State takes more careful approach to public-private toll road planning

KENTUCKY: 'Sin taxes' bring in new revenue for some towns

LOUISIANA: Educators in New Orleans fight hunger in schools

MISSISSIPPI: Alliance built among Southern states to win federal tanker deal

NORTH CAROLINA: State officials see big increase in fake ID labs

SOUTH CAROLINA: A look at state trends in senior tax breaks

TENNESSEE: Lawmakers questioning state program allowing radioactive waste in landfills

VIRGINIA: State's new smoking ban begins December 1

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