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Culver Fights for Full Environmental Funding

Iowa – Gov. Chet Culver said that he expects lawmakers to allocate $20 million to an environmental account that he has placed as a top priority. The Resource Enhancement and Protection Program is used to pay for a range of environmental and recreation programs from trails to local park projects. The account, this year, was allocated roughly $15 million but that was lower than the $20 million annual long-time goal of some lawmakers and environmental advocates. Culver, in January, proposed the $20 million allocation be paid by doubling Iowa’s bottle 5-cent bottle redemption policy. “It was in my budget and now it’s up to them to find the money,” Culver said. “I’ve presented my budget and they need to present to me, before I sign a budget, one that’s balanced and one that takes care of our priorities like REAP.
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CO – Ritter Praises Wind Turbine Facility. Vestas Blades America Inc. officials unveiled part of their new $60 million, 400,000-square-foot wind turbine blade manufacturing facility Wednesday in the Great Western Industrial Park. Gov. Bill Ritter toured the plant and then praised Vestas officials for their innovation and decision to build their first North American plant in Colorado. “We have built a symbiotic relationship with Vestas that I believe is only going to get better and better and be a great part of our new energy economy,” Ritter said. The governor suggested Vestas’ presence may be the first of many renewable energy-related businesses coming to Colorado.
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MD – O’Malley Plans Capital Improvements Across State. Tucked into the $3.4 billion capital construction budget proposed this year by Gov. Martin O’Malley are dozens of projects of local interest. Among them are parks, schools and libraries, each with passionate supporters who lobbied for their inclusion. This year’s list has more than $333.4 million in spending on school buildings, including the improvement or construction of 12 schools in Montgomery County, 10 in Anne Arundel County, seven in Howard County, six in Prince George’s and four in Charles County. The budget also includes big-ticket items. This year, for instance, O’Malley has proposed spending $200 million over the next five years to build four juvenile detention and treatment centers.
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MI – Granholm Awards Funds to Employment-Related Services. Gov. Jennifer Granholm and the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Growth awarded $3,075,064 to 16 Michigan Works! agencies to provide employment-related supportive services to help cash assistance recipients obtain good-paying jobs and become self-sufficient. The funds will be used for employment-related supportive services such as automobile purchases and repairs, clothing allowances and transportation allowances for Jobs, Education and Training Program participants. “Michigan’s rapidly transforming economy is driven by our determination to equip all job seekers with the education, skills training and ancillary support they need to become financially independent,” Granholm said. “These services play an important role in helping low-income workers overcome barriers of getting and keeping a good job and becoming self-sufficient.”
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NY – Spitzer Promotes Endowment for Higher Education. Gov. Eliot Spitzer visited the SUNY Geneseo campus to push his plan for a $4 billion endowment for public higher education in New York. He says it’s what’s needed to help transform SUNY schools into the best in the nation. The plan is aimed at helping both the colleges and their communities. The colleges would get more funds for various university programs making the colleges into a larger presence, hopefully bolstering economic growth in those communities. Spitzer said, “If we do not invest in our universities, we will not attract the jobs we want, we will not have the workforce we depend upon, and we will not have vitality in our towns that we depend upon.”
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OH – Strickland Program to Offer High School Seniors Free College Classes. In an effort to increase the number of high school graduates who go on to college, a new program in Ohio will offer high school seniors free college classes on local campuses. The program, called Seniors to Sophomores, announced by Gov. Ted Strickland, is designed for any student-not just top students. To be eligible, students must pass the Ohio Graduation Test, get an ACT or SAT score acceptable to the college, earn a “C” average in Algebra II, and take three years of English. Strickland said all Ohio high school seniors will be able to participate in the program within 10 years. But for now, $4 million is being offered statewide for a limited number of programs.
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OR – Kulongoski Works to Improve Patient Care. Starting this week, Oregon nursing homes will be looking to hire hundreds more nursing assistants. It comes after a mandate from Gov. Ted Kulongoski to lower the ratio of nurses to residents. Under the new rules, day-shift nursing assistants are required to have two fewer people under their care. It’s an effort to increase the quality of life for residents.
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WA – Poll Shows Gregoire with 9-point Lead. As the latest Rasmussen Poll shows a dead heat in Washington’s gubernatorial rematch, another survey puts incumbent Gov. Christine Gregoire 9 points ahead of Republican challenger Dino Rossi. The survey, by Portland pollster Lisa Grove, shows Gregoire up by a 49-40 margin. The Democratic incumbent enjoys strong support from 38 percent of the electorate to 32 percent for Rossi.
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WV – Manchin: Governors See Importance of Securing out Energy Future. In a column published today, Gov. Joe Manchin observed that governors across the country are working to secure America’s energy future. He wrote, “As chairman of the Natural Resources Committee for the National Governors Association, I recently had the opportunity to review a proposal to make this year’s NGA platform ‘A Clean Energy Future.’ West Virginia is one of the nation’s leading energy producers, so the topic of energy, as you can imagine, is one that is of great interest to me and our state. This week, oil prices reached record highs, closing at more than $104 a barrel. Just one year ago, when many of us thought prices were sky high, they were hovering around $60 a barrel. Oil prices will continue to see-saw out of our control if we don’t take action now.” Gov. Manchin continued, “A reliance on foreign energy sources means we’re subject to dramatic fluctuations in price due to natural disasters, terrorist attacks or other political conflicts that interrupt our supply.”
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