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Sebelius Wants Success for All Children, From Pre-K to Graduate School

Kansas – In a column published this week, Gov. Kathleen Sebelius discusses her commitment to education improvement through the creation of the Governor’s P-20 Education Council. She wrote, “The more we learn about children’s development, the more we understand that success in college begins before a child enters kindergarten. Recently, I formed the Governor’s P-20 Education Council to help create a collaborative, seamless education system in Kansas. Across the country, 30 states have formed similar groups; and for Kansas to stay competitive in today’s economy, efforts like this will play an important role.” Gov. Sebelius continued, “Over the past few years, we’ve made a remarkable investment in our public school system. As we work to keep this commitment, this council will make sure our resources are invested wisely and contain a measure of accountability. The vision of the Governor’s P-20 Education Council will help our schools see the big picture, and chart the path to success for every Kansas child.”
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CAMPAIGN NEWS

WA – Gregoire Discusses Record of Accomplishments. Gov. Chris Gregoire compared the state to when she was elected in 2004 at a stop along her weeklong state tour. Four years ago, the state had the nation’s highest unemployment, teachers were not getting their voter-mandated cost of living raises and early education efforts were floundering, she said. Today, she said, the state’s unemployment rate is the lowest it has ever been, the state has a Department of Early Learning and half of every new dollar coming into state coffers is spent on education.
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GENERAL NEWS

CO – Ritter Visits Silicon Valley on Trade Trip. Gov. Bill Ritter is in the midst of a three-day trade visit to Silicon Valley, visiting some of the biggest companies in the technology industry and promoting his home state as a place to grow their businesses.
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IA – Culver Signs Water Protection Act. A new law signed by Gov. Chet Culver creates a Water Resource Coordinating Council in the Governor’s Office tasked with coordinating the management of Iowa’s water resources. The Iowa Surface Water Protection Act is the result of more than two years of work by the Iowa Watershed Quality Planning Task Force. The Council will coordinate 12 state agencies to assess Iowa’s water resources and develop a marketing campaign to educate and engage Iowans about the need to take personal responsibility for water quality in their local watershed.
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MD – O’Malley Addresses Foreclosure Crisis on Capitol Hill. Lawmakers in Maryland just wrapped up the General Assembly Session, where much of the focus was on avoiding foreclosures. Now, Gov.Martin O’Malley is promoting his ideas on Capitol Hill. The Governor will share ideas with members of the House Financial Services Committee. Just this week, several bills were signed into law trying to slow the foreclosure crisis in Maryland. The laws include a new crime of mortgage fraud and a longer time before homeowners have their keys taken away. Banks used to be able to seize a home in just 15 days; now the grace period is 150 days in Maryland. O’Malley will promote a new state fund to assist delinquent homeowners in danger of losing their home and other measures aimed at reducing the foreclosure rate.
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MA – Patrick Loans Funds for Foreclosure Rehab. Massachusetts will loan up to $20 million to nonprofit developers to buy and rehabilitate foreclosed properties in the state’s largest cities. The funding is part of a new economic package announced by Gov. Deval Patrick.
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NC – Easley: Don’t Stop Conserving Water. As cities and towns across North Carolina begin to loosen restrictions on water use, Gov. Mike Easley asked them to rethink the move. Easley sent a letter to mayors and county managers, thanking them for conservation efforts in recent months to combat the ongoing statewide drought. He also urged them to continue conservation programs because a hot, dry summer could once again drain reservoirs. “Even though reservoir levels have risen, our groundwater resources, which help keep our streams flowing, are still extremely low. This makes North Carolina very vulnerable as summer approaches,” Easley wrote in the letter.
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OH – Strickland Promotes Jobs Plan. The man wearing the orange hard hat and yellow safety vest spread his hands apart as he walked toward the large piece of intermodal loading equipment. “Everybody clear out,” Gov. Ted Strickland said, eliciting laughter at an event where he touted the $1.57 billion bipartisan jobs stimulus package. Strickland hopes Ohio residents give the thumbs-up sign to the bipartisan-supported stimulus program, whose goal is to create 57,000 jobs.
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VA – Kaine Signs Bills to Reform Mental Health System. Gov. Tim Kaine has signed a series of bills designed to improve treatment of people with mental illness following the Virginia Tech shootings. “It has been a difficult year, but it has been a year where people haven’t shrunk from trying to learn and improve. The Tech tragedy reminded us…we have a significant need to improve mental health services. Working with members of the General Assembly, we will make significant investments in our mental health system and the bills before me today will establish standards for the system and increase accountability,” Gov. Timothy M. Kaine said.
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WV – Manchin Motivates Young Professionals. Gov. Joe Manchin met with the Young Professionals Committee, a subcommittee of the Huntington Regional Chamber of Commerce and a large group of West Virginia’s young professionals. He took the opportunity to tell them how important it was for them to take ownership of their state. He said that’s the hardest part of his job, saying that some West Virginia citizens are like renters who want to call somebody when the faucet is leaking, rather than fix it themselves. Manchin talked about some of the progress the state has made in recent years, based on some advice he got from Standard & Poor’s, Fitch and Moody’s Wall Street Analytics, who he visited in New York.
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