The RGGI raid: how cap-and-trade revenues went to fix state budgets
From: feeds.stateline.org
"An innovative carbon-control regime in the Northeast states was intended to raise money for energy efficiency programs. Now, some of the cash-strapped states are using the money to plug their budget holes.
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AK: State -- Union gets backing for UA vote
From: feeds.stateline.org
"State labor officials have confirmed that enough University of Alaska employees have approved moving forward with an unionization vote at the university.
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AL: Gambling divides GOP candidates for governor
From: feeds.stateline.org
"The two candidates in the Republican runoff for governor, Bradley Byrne and Robert Bentley, are at odds over what should be done on gambling, an issue that drove the political debate through this year's legislative session.
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AL: Retail growth planned by Bayer Properties along Alabama's future Interstate 22
From: feeds.stateline.org
"Bayer Properties is developing a strategy for retail development in communities along the future Interstate 22, the western Alabama corridor linking Birmingham and Memphis that's expected to become the state's next hotspot for growth.
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AL: Mental toll takes a very solemn turn
From: feeds.stateline.org
"ORANGE BEACH, Ala. -- The marina at Zeke's Landing is now hallowed waters, a somber place shaken by the death of an experienced boat captain everyone called ``Rookie.''
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AZ: Ariz. cities still see marginal population growth
From: feeds.stateline.org
"If there was any question about the growth spurt of Arizona cities being over, some new figures from the U.S. Census Bureau should put that to rest.
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AZ: Jobless in Arizona begin to worry as U.S. aid runs out
From: feeds.stateline.org
"Tens of thousands of jobless Arizonans may have to seek food stamps and other welfare safety-net programs after the U.S. Senate failed to pass a bill that would have extended unemployment benefits, state officials say.
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AZ: Payday lenders calling it quits; Some may offer auto-title loans
From: feeds.stateline.org
"The boom era for Arizona payday lenders, which offered quick, easy cash but charged extremely high interest rates, is coming to a close.
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CO: Millions of gallons of oil spilled in Colo. over 2 1/2 year period
From: feeds.stateline.org
"Oil and gas companies have reported almost 1,000 spills to Colorado regulators over the past 2 1/2 years, totaling 5.2 million gallons of drilling liquids and oil.
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CT: State schedules hearings on lobster fisheries
From: feeds.stateline.org
"Connecticut lobstermen will have a chance to present their ideas and hear the most recent data on lobster populations in Long Island Sound at two meetings next month with marine fisheries biologists from the state Department of Environmental Protection.
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CT: Foxwoods make it easier for workers to form union
From: feeds.stateline.org
"The Native American owners of Foxwoods Resort Casino have amended the labor laws of their tribe, apparently making it easier for workers to vote for union representation.
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DE: Dover Downs gets piece of the action
From: feeds.stateline.org
"The last of Delaware's three racetrack-casinos began full-time operation of table games on Friday, marking the full rollout of gambling enhancements designed to protect the industry from growing regional competition.
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FL: New laws take effect July 1
From: feeds.stateline.org
"A raft of new rules enacted by lawmakers and signed by Gov. Charlie Crist will affect nearly everyone – college students, teachers and parents, motorists and even horse owners.
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FL: Bob Graham promises objective, thorough assessment by oil spill commission
From: feeds.stateline.org
"WASHINGTON — Bob Graham is a magnet for crisis. Florida's former governor and senator was already investigating the causes of the financial meltdown when the call came. President Barack Obama wanted him to lead the inquiry into the BP oil disaster.
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FL: Protesters join hands on Florida beaches to protest offshore drilling
From: feeds.stateline.org
"As the Atlantic's first tropical storm lurked Saturday, threatening to disrupt massive oil disaster relief efforts in the Gulf of Mexico, thousands of Floridians crowded the state's sweltering beaches to protest offshore drilling.
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FL: Crist -- Fla. will try new methods to protect shores from oil
From: feeds.stateline.org
"As the Atlantic's first tropical storm weakened to a depression, posing little threat to oil spill recovery efforts in the Gulf of Mexico, Florida Gov. Charlie Crist on Sunday announced two new efforts -- funded by oil giant BP -- to keep crude from the state's shores.
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IA: State collects less in net taxes
From: feeds.stateline.org
"The 12-month gap in Iowa tax collections narrowed in May, despite a widening difference in business tax collections, according to figures from the Iowa Legislative Services Agency.
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IA: Iowa firms uncertain of financial reform bill's potential effects
From: feeds.stateline.org
"The financial regulation reform is a compromise, say Iowa companies and experts.
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IL: Rest areas on I-35 still in DOT's plans
From: feeds.stateline.org
"It's doubtful that state officials will ask motorists traveling on Interstate Highway 35 near Ankeny to simply visit fast-food restaurants and convenience stores when they need to take bathroom breaks, a state official says.
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IL: Illinois to keep sharp eye on high-risk insurance pool
From: feeds.stateline.org
"CHICAGO -- Illinois may be one of the first states to start providing health insurance in a new high-risk pool funded under national health overhaul, but enrollment will be limited, eligibility requirements tight and coverage may not begin until late summer.
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IL: Minimum wage increase hits Thursday
From: feeds.stateline.org
"The Illinois minimum wage will go up to $8.25 per hour Thursday, ending a multi-year run of increases spearheaded in part by a politician who's no longer around to take the credit -- or the criticism.
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IL: State's minimum wage too high, Brady says
From: feeds.stateline.org
"Republican governor candidate Bill Brady said Friday that he supports lowering Illinois' minimum wage if he wins in November and the state rate remains higher than the federal one.
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KS: Restraining order delays state smoking ban in Wichita
From: feeds.stateline.org
"A Sedgwick County judge on Friday issued a temporary restraining order that will prevent a statewide indoor smoking ban from going into effect next week in the city of Wichita.
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KS: Sales tax, other laws to take effect
From: feeds.stateline.org
"Inside Marlings Home Furnishings, Jon Anderson has seen the impact of the state's new sales tax increase, and it hasn't even gone into effect yet.
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KY: Ky. looks for incentives to help airport
From: feeds.stateline.org
"HEBRON, Ky. -- Kentucky officials are pledging to help the airport in northern Kentucky, which has been beset by economic problems and massive layoffs.
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LA: BP -- Hayward not resigning
From: feeds.stateline.org
"BP denied its embattled chief executive was resigning as the first tropical storm to hit the Gulf of Mexico this year threatened to disrupt cleanup work on its massive oil spill, even from a distance.
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LA: Tropical Storm Alex gaining strength over Gulf
From: feeds.stateline.org
"Tropical Storm Alex was gaining strength Monday as it swirled across the Gulf of Mexico on a path toward Mexico's northeastern coast that threatened to push oil from the massive spill farther inland.
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LA: Louisiana wants U.S. help, and its own way
From: feeds.stateline.org
"NEW ORLEANS — For weeks, Gov. Bobby Jindal of Louisiana has attacked BP and the Coast Guard for not having adequate plans and resources to battle the oil spill.
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MA: Pattern shows first casinos are rarely last
From: feeds.stateline.org
"Lawmakers poised to approve the first casinos in Massachusetts promise to control the spread of gaming, but pressure to expand has led to growth in slot machines, video gaming terminals, and new casinos in nearly every state that has legalized gambling in the last 20 years.
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MA: Group seeks full role at state hearings on Cape Wind
From: feeds.stateline.org
"The state's largest business trade group says the Patrick administration is trying to block its members from asking tough questions about how Cape Wind would affect their electric bills - and their bottom lines.
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MD: City pension fix a harbinger for other governments
From: feeds.stateline.org
"When is a promise not a promise? People who loaned money to subprime homebuyers have one view. Those who bought stock in 1st Mariner Bank at $10 a share have another. (It's now $1.) So do those who expected long careers at Black & Decker and were laid off in a brutal recession.
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ME: 29 nonprofits applying to distribute medical marijuana
From: feeds.stateline.org
"Nearly 30 organizations hoping to be among the first wave of medical marijuana dispensaries in Maine filed applications with state regulators by Friday's deadline.
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ME: Study -- 1 in 4 teens sexually harassed at work
From: feeds.stateline.org
"One in four Maine teens experienced sexual harassment at work in part-time jobs while still in school, a recent study found, a result that researchers and state officials find troubling.
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ME: Maine, NH, crowds protest offshore drilling
From: feeds.stateline.org
"Hundreds of people gathered in Portland and Rye, N.H., to participate in a nationwide demonstration against offshore drilling Saturday.
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MI: Proponents of film tax credits in Michigan should welcome scrutiny to validate incentives' value
From: feeds.stateline.org
"When West Michigan's film industry gathered last week for the announcement of a new film business, insiders lauded the job-creating engine movies can be.
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MI: Michigan smoking ban stifles neighborhood bars in Kalamazoo, surrounding counties
From: feeds.stateline.org
"KALAMAZOO, Mich. -- It's near the end of happy hour on a recent night at the Sugar Bowl Bar & Grill in Kalamazoo's Edison neighborhood, and Darlene Newnum is talking about how her bar is struggling since the state's smoking ban took effect.
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MI: Governor candidate Virg Bernero intrigued by North Dakota's state-owned bank
From: feeds.stateline.org
"Candidates for governor in Michigan and other states are searching far beyond their states' borders for a way to make more loans available to small businesses and other borrowers.
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MI: Conservationists -- Army Corps too slow in stopping carp from reach Great Lakes
From: feeds.stateline.org
"Criticism of a key federal agency in the fight to keep Asian carp from the Great Lakes is on the rise this week after the latest discovery of one of the invasive fish in a new area.
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MI: Group urges Congress to step up carp fight
From: feeds.stateline.org
"The Great Lakes Alliance said Friday that Congress must take a more aggressive role in stopping the voracious Asian carp from getting into Lake Michigan.
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MN: Though outnumbered, some Twin Cities nurses resist call to strike
From: feeds.stateline.org
"For months, the nurse watched as her union and her employer waged an increasingly bitter contract fight. Then the conflict came to a head: The Minnesota Nurses Association called for an open-ended strike against 14 Twin Cities hospitals, including her own. Finally, she thought, enough is enough.
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MO: No booze, no nudity at Missouri strip clubs
From: feeds.stateline.org
"Missouri's strip clubs will have more clothing, reduced hours and no alcohol after Aug. 28 under a bill signed Friday by Gov. Jay Nixon.
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MS: Statement from Gov. Haley Barbour regarding oil in the Sound
From: feeds.stateline.org
""Last night and today, for the first time since the oil spill began about 10 weeks ago, depleted oil has hit the Mississippi shoreline.
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MS: Oil reaches our beachees
From: feeds.stateline.org
"GULFPORT, Miss. -- What appeared to be oil from BP's Deepwater Horizon catastrophe washed ashore in quantity for the first time Sunday on the Mississippi Coast, while emergency managers scrambled on Day 69 of the disaster to win approval for stronger protection of inland waterways, more skimming equipment in Mississippi waters and installation of absorbent material, also to keep oil out of inland waterways.
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MS: Barbour wants more resources to fight oil
From: feeds.stateline.org
"ov. Haley Barbour said he is pressing BP and federal officials to increase resources in Mississippi, where oil has reached the shoreline and continues to flow into the waters around barrier islands.
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ND: Electric companies still waiting on federal dollars from storm
From: feeds.stateline.org
"The Good Friday storm that swept across west central North Dakota in April caused about $37 million in damage, but the electric companies and rural electric cooperatives have yet to see a dime from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
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ND: 2009 'off the chart' in ND oil patch
From: feeds.stateline.org
"Oil companies last year pumped a record-high 79.7 million barrels of crude out of North Dakota's oil patch, enough to fill more than 5,000 Olympic-size swimming pools.
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NE: End of the road for Meadow Gold in Nebraska market
From: feeds.stateline.org
"Marv Thurber used to drive a milk truck for Meadow Gold -- in fact, he was one of the last milkmen the company employed in Lincoln.
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NH: Halt of jobless funds to cost NH $79m
From: feeds.stateline.org
"Failure of Congress to extend emergency unemployment payments could cost New Hampshire about $79 million in benefits, a state official said Friday.
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NH: Jimmie Johnson gets the victory at New Hampshire Motor Speedway
From: feeds.stateline.org
"LOUDON – Jeff Burton slid into Kyle Busch. Kurt Busch nudged Jimmie Johnson. Johnson tapped Kurt. Tony Stewart swiped Kurt. It was a race finish that featured championship drivers vying for victory lane.
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NH: NH agencies make public works pitch to gov
From: feeds.stateline.org
"New Hampshire agencies will make their pitches to the governor for public works projects in two days of hearings.
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NH: Payback pays off
From: feeds.stateline.org
"On Friday afternoon, as driver after driver streamed through the media center at New Hampshire Motor Speedway speaking of retribution and revenge after a rough race in California, Jimmie Johnson made clear his command-respect mind-set. "If someone wrongs me," said NASCAR's four-time reigning champion, "I'm going to equal things out."
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NJ: N.J. legislation would limit benefits offered from independent authorities
From: feeds.stateline.org
"Legislation that would impose limits on salaries and benefits offered by independent state and local authorities will go before the state Assembly this week.
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NY: Pension woes may keep many on job longer
From: feeds.stateline.org
"The Teamsters pension fund that controls the retirement benefits for Yuhnke and thousands of other Western New York workers is in deep financial trouble, with just a fraction of the money it needs to pay the pensions promised to its participants.
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OH: State pledges to build marina at Caesar Creek Lake
From: feeds.stateline.org
"MASSIE TWP., Warren County, Ohio -- A local push is under way to build a public marina on Caesar Creek Lake, and state officials are hoping to have a time line on the project by early fall.
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OH: More Ohioans hooked to Web
From: feeds.stateline.org
"After trailing the rest of the country for years in broadband use, Ohio has moved ahead of the national average, with two out of three residents connected to high-speed Internet service.
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OH: Governor, lottery chief want to see audit
From: feeds.stateline.org
"There was controversy over the start of the performance audit, and now there is renewed controversy near the end of the examination of the Ohio Lottery's books.
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OH: State kept unaware of environmental dangers at casino site
From: feeds.stateline.org
"Delphi spent about a year identifying toxins at the West Side manufacturing plant it closed in 2007 but never told the state about what it found. It wasn't required to.
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OK: Oklahoma law doesn't set off fireworks for retailers
From: feeds.stateline.org
"Some fireworks sellers are applauding a change in state law allowing them to remain open year-round, but they are unsure how much more business it will generate.
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OR: Any budget solution will need union support
From: feeds.stateline.org
"Those who have followed Oregon's budget crisis closely couldn't help but have a sense of deja vu on Friday listening to Gov. Ted Kulongoski make his government reset recommendations at the Portland City Club.
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PA: Pennsylvania's budget shortfall aids drive to privatize liquor stores
From: feeds.stateline.org
"While efforts to privatize Pennsylvania's 621 state liquor stores have circulated for years, some say the budgetary realities the state is facing could be the pressure that finally forces the issue.
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PA: Businesses brace for ripple effect if Pennsylvania lays off government workers
From: feeds.stateline.org
"Last year's state budget delay made for a slow summer for Deb Pierson. Her company, Pierson Computing Connection in Mechanicsburg, does a lot of server installations for the state and normally does a lot of work in the summer.
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RI: Developer's criminal past clouds proposal for Providence waterfront
From: feeds.stateline.org
"The criminal past of a developer looking to build a $400-million hospital and hotel complex on the waterfront is now a focus of discussion around Mayor David N. Cicilline's controversial plan to rezone the 346-acre South Providence waterfront. Nine years ago, Stanton D. Shifman completed a federal prison sentence for his role in a loansharking enterprise run by members of the Winter Hill Gang in Boston.
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SD: Europe's tumult could hurt S.D.
From: feeds.stateline.org
"Greece is half a world away from South Dakota, but some officials here are keeping an eye on the financial crisis there and in other European countries.
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US: The disgraced governors talk-show wars
From: feeds.stateline.org
"CNN's bizarre pairing of disgraced Empire State Gov. Eliot Spitzer and Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Kathleen Parker is a watershed moment in the history of television.
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US: States weigh big claims against BP
From: feeds.stateline.org
"Gulf Coast states are gearing up to follow shrimpers and hotel owners in seeking payouts from BP PLC for lost revenue and other damages stemming from the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.
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UT: New Utah immigration screening worries both sides
From: feeds.stateline.org
"Sen. Chris Buttars said his SB251 bill — which requires employers to verify the immigration status of new hires — would force illegal immigrants to leave the state.
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UT: Conservation groups seek to block drilling in Utah forests
From: feeds.stateline.org
"Conservation groups are asking a judge to block oil and gas drilling around trout streams and in roadless forests of northern Utah.
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VA: Schapiro -- From the gulf shore to Va. ore
From: feeds.stateline.org
"Landlocked and 1,000 miles away, Walter Coles needn't worry about tar balls from the BP oil disaster soiling the sylvan hills near Chatham where his people have lived since the 1700s. The real threat: a possible wave of economic repercussions.
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VA: Trani panel set to explore region's future
From: feeds.stateline.org
"Retired Virginia Commonwealth University President Eugene P. Trani said he's making a three-year commitment to start a nonprofit, privately funded think tank that will explore critical issues for the future of the Richmond region.
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VA: Rail chief hopeful for success of Norfolk-to-Richmond line
From: feeds.stateline.org
"Thelma Drake, state rail chief, is confident that the passenger train set to roll out of Norfolk in three years will rival the success of the recently launched Lynchburg service.
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VA: Cuccinelli shows business leaders a new facet of his image
From: feeds.stateline.org
"For close to an hour last week, Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli II stood before two dozen top business executives of the Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce and, without notes or prepared remarks, held forth on the legal minutiae of his court challenge to the federal health-care bill.
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WA: Union files lawsuit to stop state furloughs
From: feeds.stateline.org
"The Washington Federation of State Employees filed a lawsuit Friday seeking to block the state from furloughing workers 10 days between now and June 2011 to save money.
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WI: Kohl, Feingold ask for Obama's help in Asian carp battle
From: feeds.stateline.org
"Federal agents committed to protecting Lake Michigan from an Asian carp invasion have been saying for months they would not be 100% convinced they have an imminent problem until they actually found a carp above an electric barrier built to keep the fish out of the lake.
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WY: Industry, state have close ties
From: feeds.stateline.org
"The Gulf oil disaster has brought national attention to how the oil and gas industry is regulated, particularly in regard to the federal Minerals Management Service, where many Wyoming leaders have played prominent roles.
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WY: Wyoming gets star for federal cash
From: feeds.stateline.org
"Wyoming is among states ranked in the "gold" category by the firm Onvia, which tracks which states have done the best job of attracting federal Recovery Act money and swiftly awarding it to contractors.
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Are state lands in good hands?
From: feeds.stateline.org
"During the housing boom, some Western states turned state lands into a development bonanza. Now that development pressure has subsided, some think states should reform their land policies before growth comes back.
Part one of a two-part series.
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Visit the Stateline.org Economy & Business Page
From: feeds.stateline.org
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increase wealth accumulation and retention.
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