3/11: Record unemployment rates in the South

New York Times: Four Southern states posted record unemployment rates in January

Unemployment rose in 30 states in January according to the Labor Department, and of the top five states, four are in the South: South Carolina, 12.6 percent; Florida, 11.9 percent; North Carolina, 11.1 percent; and Georgia, 10.4 percent.

In South Carolina, the unemployment rate is expected to pass 13% this year. "The worst is not over," said Sam McClary, a labor analyst for the South Carolina employment commission.

Also in the South:

ALABAMA: State's infant mortality rate, out-of-wedlock births are up

ARKANSAS: Gov. Beebe responds to Justice Department's action on mass institution

FLORIDA: Bill to ban texting while driving moves forward in legislature

GEORGIA: RehydrateUS.org launched by Savannah man

KENTUCKY: Political signs banned from state highways

LOUISIANA: State would benefit from cap-and-trade proposal

MISSISSIPPI: State faces federal lawsuit over children's mental health

NORTH CAROLINA: Foreclosure filings up 54% from February 2009

SOUTH CAROLINA: Payback of $2.5 billion in federal loans could take state 5-9 years

TENNESSEE: Racist e-mail from Nashville hospitality CEO could hurt state's tourism industry

VIRGINIA: State is first to ban mandatory health insurance

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2/25: Florida considered a 'growing gang capital'

FLORIDA: State is considered a 'growing gang capital'

There are an estimated 49,000 gang members living in Florida, making up 1,100 gangs.

South Florida has the most gang members at 19,685, with Palm Beach County considered a hotbed of gang activity.

Florida Department of Law Enforcement Commissioner Jerry Bailey says data sharing among different agencies and departments is helping bust more bad guys, but adds there is room for improvement.

"We're going to have to be able to talk better, to share more of the information, but the big thing is getting it all into a centralized database so that gang that's working today in Palm Beach County and tomorrow in Leon County, that we can better track their movements and their activities," says Bailey.

Also in the South:

ALABAMA: State has spent only 7% of $71.8 million stimulus package

ARKANSAS: Legislators prepare to cast final votes on spending plan today

GEORGIA: Pew Center study shows state's children need better dental care

KENTUCKY: Cockfighting supporters want the practice legalized

LOUISIANA: Gov. Jindal proposes bill to give colleges control over tuition

MISSISSIPPI: Budget battle enhanced by $14 million federal funds windfall

NORTH CAROLINA: Editorial: Governor's order might help create jobs

SOUTH CAROLINA: State House committee passes tobacco tax increase

TENNESSEE: State is ranked #2 in credit card debt

VIRGINIA: Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield customers to see double-digit rate increases

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2/2: SELC ranks South's top threatened natural places

Daily Progress: SELC ranks South's top threatened natural places

The Southern Environmental Law Center released its top ten places in the South it believes are facing immediate peril. The sites noted are in Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Alabama.

"The major environmental threats we face in this country are playing out in the Southeast," said Jeff Gleason, SELC’s deputy director. "Our region is contributing disproportionately to global warming, and, in fact, our six southeastern states, if viewed as a single country, would be the world’s seventh largest source of heat-trapping carbon dioxide emissions."

In the Carolinas, the Catawba-Wateree waterway (NC & SC), Cape Fear River (NC), and freshwater wetlands near Charleston were named. Georgia's Ogeechee River and right whale calving grounds made the list. Alabama's Black Water River, the Ocoee Region in Tennessee, the Chesapeake Bay and Roanoke River Basin in Virginia, and Southern Appalachian Mountains in Virginia and Tennessee also made the list.

Also in the South:

ALABAMA: Opinion: Alabama's gambling situation is a mess, and this must not be allowed to continue

ARKANSAS: Juvenile detention facilities overcrowded in state

FLORIDA: Lawmakers asked by environmental group to ban plastic shopping bags

GEORGIA: Legislators again push to drop annual property tax on autos

KENTUCKY: New initiative covers birth-to-graduate learning

LOUISIANA: Analysis shows that casinos are not recession-proof

MISSISSIPPI: Lawmakers vote on pseudoephedrine prescriptions law

NORTH CAROLINA: Civil Rights museum opens in Greensboro in famous Woolworth's building

SOUTH CAROLINA: Court ruling to protect state's wetlands

TENNESSEE: Gov. Bredesen delivers final state of the state address

VIRGINIA: State Senate bills say 'no' to requiring health insurance

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1/8: New smog limits could be challenging for NC, US

News & Observer: New smog limits could be challenging for NC, US

Much of North Carolina would flunk the federal pollution standards in a nationwide proposal Thursday to require tougher limits on smog. The federal Environmental Protection Agency's new limits are the strictest so far.

The new standards will put hundreds of counties across the nation out of compliance and force local officials to find creative new ways to squeeze more pollution reductions from transportation, heavy industry and residents.

Also in the South:

ALABAMA: Opinion: How Alabama can meet justice needs

ARKANSAS: Schools in state scramble for federal money

FLORIDA: South Florida schools face mid-year budget crisis

GEORGIA: Homeowners in state could lose $13 billion in property values in next two years

KENTUCKY: New mining procedures to cut down on dumping of coal waste

LOUISIANA: Much of New Orleans area to be out of compliance with new EPA ozone standards

MISSISSIPPI: State denies Allstate's bid to raise insurance rates by 65%

SOUTH CAROLINA: State legislature says cigarette tax is likely this year

TENNESSEE: Legislative agenda's top issues: budget cuts, education

VIRGINIA: State tightens rules on car-title lending

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1/4: A look at the top ten jobs for the upcoming decade

NPR: A look at the top ten jobs for the upcoming decade

The first decade of this century ended as a disaster for employment. Since the recession began two years ago, the U.S. has lost more than 7 million jobs. So where are the jobs going to be?

In healthcare (R.N.s, home health aides, nursing aides/orderlies), customer service, food preparation, personal and home care aides, retail sales, office clerks, accountants, and post-secondary education teachers, according to Harvard economist Lawrence Katz.

The shocker -- six of the top seven fastest-growing occupations are considered low-skill, low wage jobs.

Also in the South:

ALABAMA: Gov. Riley to recruit businesses at Tide BCS football game

ARKANSAS: State's homeless programs get $4.2 million in federal funds

FLORIDA: Laid-off workers having trouble keeping COBRA health coverage

GEORGIA: Editorial: Damage to education is self-inflicted

KENTUCKY: General Assembly begins Tuesday: Budget, gambling to top talks

LOUISIANA: State is third most expensive homeowner's insurance market

MISSISSIPPI: Gov. Barbour defends budget proposal

NORTH CAROLINA: Opinion: It's time to fix the state health plan

SOUTH CAROLINA: Voters want lawmakers to look at jobs, public education

TENNESSEE: TVA: Battle brewing over natural gas drilling

VIRGINIA: State payday loans promoted by Virginia

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12/2: States consider permanent cuts following furloughs

Stateline: States consider permanent cuts following furloughs

A look at states with furloughs and layoffs, and how these may be impacted by the development of budgets next year for fiscal 2011.

In preparation of budget development, many states are taking stock of every position in state government to determine what effect job cuts and the possible elimination of whole departments will have on revenues, expenses and the quality of government services.

“I think we’re kind of in a permanent retrenchment,” says Raymond C. Scheppach, long-time director of the National Governors Association. “There are a number of areas where we’ve got to sit back and almost look at new models for delivering services.”

Also in the South:

ALABAMA: Tom Baxter: Bingo bounces back in Bama

ARKANSAS: Old liquor laws thwart sale of alcohol-infused truffles

FLORIDA: Black lawmakers want special session delayed due to national conference

GEORGIA: New group wants to stop tri-state water wars

KENTUCKY: If state budget is cut 6%, layoffs and furloughs likely

LOUISIANA: Panel rejects plan to cut 15,000 government jobs over next three years

MISSISSIPPI: Lt. Gov. Bryant pushes for 'performance budgeting'

NORTH CAROLINA: Progress Energy to shut down 11 coal-burning power plants in state

SOUTH CAROLINA: Employment Security Commission under review

TENNESSEE: State health insurance plans stop enrollment of needy

VIRGINIA: State's congressional delegates react to President Obama's speech

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9/23: House votes to extend jobless benefits to 27 states

LOUISIANA: List of 27 states on House bill to get jobless benefit doesn't include LA

The House has voted to give the jobless in 27 states with unemployment topping 8.5% another 13 weeks of unemployment insurance benefits. The Senate is set to vote on a similar matter.

One of the 17 Democrats to vote against the bill, Rep. Charlie Melancon of Louisiana, said he did so because the unemployed in his state, with its lower unemployment rate, did not qualify. The jobless in neighboring Mississippi are eligible.

GOP Rep. Geoff Davis of Kentucky, one of the 27 states qualifying for the additional benefits, has a different take on the legislation, saying the need for the legislation was "yet another sign of the failure of this administration's stimulus plan to create jobs."

Also in the South:

ALABAMA: Gov. Riley offers deal in Medicaid dispute

ARKANSAS: First lottery ticket sale ceremony to be held

FLORIDA: PSC scandals and proposals on rate hikes draw scrutiny

GEORGIA: Assume floodwaters are contaminated, say health officials

KENTUCKY: Reports show most schools are making progress

MISSISSIPPI: Voter ID issue won't be on 2010 ballot, says secretary of state

NORTH CAROLINA: State gets a "D" grade on economy

SOUTH CAROLINA: 17.4% in the state lack health insurance

TENNESSEE: Opponents to guns-in-bars take issue to court

VIRGINIA: State to use federal funds to expand health care access

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8/20: The new silent majority

Southern Political Report: Opinion: Tom Baxter: The New Silent Majority

"Last month, writing about the first of two health care reform town meetings I’ve attended, I noted that while those who opposed the current version of health care reform from the right were the loudest and rowdiest, the greater number of those lining up at the microphones to complain about the plan opposed it from the left because it didn’t go far enough.

"This turns out not to have been an isolated incident, but an overriding dynamic of the larger debate over health care reform.

"All the red-faced town hall protesters combined have had nothing like the impact of the Obama Administration’s hint over the past weekend that it might be willing to drop the public option alternative to private insurers in order to get the remainder of its health care package passed this fall."

For more, click on this.

Also in the South:

ALABAMA: State employees to see increase in insurance rates

ARKANSAS: Head of RNC visits state to talk about health care

FLORIDA: Approval rating on Obama drops below 50% in state

GEORGIA: Most of the state's counties are considered 'economically distressed'

KENTUCKY: Grant will allow prescription drug task force to expand statewide

LOUISIANA: Federal study shows mercury in fish is widespread

MISSISSIPPI: State schools hit with H1N1 virus

NORTH CAROLINA: State cuts mental health care; 75 lose jobs

SOUTH CAROLINA: Fish in S.C. have high mercury content

TENNESSEE: GOP courts three possible candidates to unseat Reps. Gordon, Davis

VIRGINIA: Gov. Kaine says he may have to cut education, health care, and public safety

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

8/19: A look at 2009 legislative sessions

8/19: Stateline: A look at 2009 state legislative sessions

History was made on the political front and on the social policy front, according to a study by Stateline.org. Along with budget issues, state lawmakers also dealt with a variety of contentious social policy questions, ranging from gay marriage to abortion to the death penalty.

The study gives a state-by-state review detailing how states handled budget deficits and the federal stimulus package, as well as trends developing in key areas such as education and health care, notable new legislation, and a chart of completed sessions and political control.

Also in the South:

ALABAMA: Ag commissioner outlines benefits of gambling as way of bringing jobs to state

ARKANSAS: Rep. Snyder says public option to health care reform won't make it through Congress

FLORIDA: State Supreme Court says mediation needed for enormous number of foreclosures

GEORGIA: PSC member wants to know why solar power isn't selling in state

KENTUCKY: State faces major challenges as ACT scores are low

LOUISIANA: State-backed insurance company faces $95 million bill

MISSISSIPPI: Democratic U.S. Rep. Travis Childers says he won't vote for health reform bill in current form

NORTH CAROLINA: State's community colleges review immigrant policy

SOUTH CAROLINA: State leaders talk of offshore drilling impact today

TENNESSEE: Greenpeace releases list of dangerous chemical plants in state

VIRGINIA: Gov. Kaine expected to seek more than $1 billion in budget cuts

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8/17: Reforestation proposed for Central Appalachia

Kentucky: 125 million tree program proposed for Appalachian mine sites

A group is proposing a massive reforestation plan to plant 125 million trees on Appalachia mine sites that were cleared or leveled and is seeking $422 million in federal funds for the project.

The goal is to put back trees on hundreds of thousands of acres where they once stood, but which coal companies reclaimed as grassland after surface mining over the last three decades.

The plan could boost the economy in one of the nation's most chronically poor areas, ultimately providing an estimated 2,000 jobs for forestry technicians, tree-planters, bulldozer operators and others, backers estimate. It could also improve water quality in streams, help soak up carbon dioxide and boost the economy by expanding the wood-products economy.

Also in the South:

ALABAMA: Gov. Riley signs occupational tax into law to benefit Jefferson County

ARKANSAS: 68 hospitals to become part of state's new trauma system

FLORIDA: Healthcare debate impacted by campaign donations from insurance companies

GEORGIA: Impact of water wars to be reach across the state

KENTUCKY: GOP Senate candidate Rand Paul predicts death of grandmothers under Obama's plan

LOUISIANA: State agencies cutting jobs, reducing work hours as budgets shrink

MISSISSIPPI: GOP spends time, money to push for voter ID on ballot

NORTH CAROLINA: Property rights took a hit this year in General Assembly

SOUTH CAROLINA: A look at how the GOP is doing in aftermath of Sanford affair

TENNESSEE: State's high-cost public insurance experiment fuels health care debate

VIRGINIA: UVA-UM study shows ancient slash-and-burn farming may have altered global climate

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