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Corzine Expands Voting Options for Residents Overseas.

New Jersey residents who are living overseas or on military deployment now have more options for voting in elections back home. Gov. Jon Corzine signed legislation that will allow military personnel stationed overseas and New Jersey citizens living abroad to vote by overseas absentee ballot in state and local elections as well as federal elections. The new law also makes it easier to transmit ballots. The old law allowed absentee ballots only permitted ballot transmissions by fax. The new version allows for other forms of electronic transmission, such as e-mail. Read more

CAMPAIGN NEWS

WA – Obama on the Air for Gregoire. Gov. Chris Gregoire’s campaign has just gone up with another radio ad airing throughout Western Washington. This latest one features the voice of an out of state politician, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama. “I want to ask you to join me in supporting Gov. Chris Gregoire,” the Illinois Senator says at the beginning of the ad. It then continues to push the Gregoire campaign’s big picture themes of running against the agenda of the Bush administration. “While Pres. Bush has taken out count in the wrong direction,” Obama says, “you have had a governor who is already making the kind of changes we need to bring to the rest of the country.”Read more

MO – Nixon Seeks to Expand Access to Health Care. Jay Nixon asserted that all Missourians – not just the poor and disabled – are feeling the financial pinch of the state’s 2005 cuts in Medicaid coverage. Hospitals and other health care providers who care for the poor are shifting most of their unpaid costs to people and businesses that do have health insurance, Nixon said. “Just because they cut health care, doesn’t mean people got well,’’ Nixon said, referring to the estimated 100,000 low-income and disabled Missourians who lost coverage three years ago. Since Medicaid no longer pays the medical bills, he asserted, “people with insurance are paying.” Read more

IN – Long Thompson Proposes Health plan for Small Businesses. Contending state government could do more to help employees of small businesses obtain health insurance, Jill Long Thompson proposed a plan she said will make health coverage more accessible. If elected, Long Thompson said she would ask the Legislature to create a quasi-government entity that would serve as administrator of a health insurance purchasing pool. Individuals and small businesses for whom large group plans are not an option could pay into the state plan to spread the costs and risk, and would reap some savings on the plan administration, she said. “It would be less than what they are now paying to administer their own health insurance programs, because it would be spread over so many,” she said. Read more

GENERAL NEWS

CO – Ritter to be Featured at Democratic National Convention. Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper and Governor Bill Ritter will speak during opening and closing nights, respectively, at the Democratic National Convention. Ritter will speak Thursday night at Invesco Field, the same night as Barack Obama. The theme will be “Change You Can Believe In.” Read more

IL – Blagojevich Signs Law to Protect Firefighters. “Shib’s Law,” named after former Sesser firefighter James “Shib” Miller and former Chicago firefighter William Grant, was signed by Gov. Rod Blagojevich. The law gives firefighters the authority to close traffic lanes while responding to an emergency if no law enforcement or highway officials are present. “Firefighters put their lives on the line day in and day out,” Blagojevich said. “Too often, we forget the safety of our communities depends on firefighters and others who devote their lives to protecting us.” Read more

IA – Culver Congratulates Students on Test Scores. Iowa students have ranked second in the nation in the ACT college entrance exam, according to a new report from state education officials. The average ACT score for Iowa students rose by 0.1 percentage point to an average composite of 22.4 out of a possible total of 36. “These results clearly show one thing: Iowa students are among the best in the nation,” Gov. Chet Culver said. “Iowa graduates are even more ready and well-prepared for higher education.” Read more

MI – Granholm Announces Grants for Nurse Training. Saginaw Valley State University will receive $250,000 from the state-run Michigan Nursing Corps and Covenant Medical Center in Saginaw to hire educators to respond to a growing nursing shortage statewide. Gov. Jennifer M. Granholm made the announcement after she toured nursing laboratories and met students, faculty and administrators at the Kochville Township campus. “Michigan has a critical nursing shortage,” the governor said. Read more

NC – Easley Signs Farm Worker Protection Bill. New state regulations for employers require more detailed records of pesticide use and ban retaliation against workers who complain about exposure to such chemicals. Gov. Mike Easley signed the law saying it would help protect farmers and farm laborers. Easley said $350,000 in the state budget also will help track poisoning cases and train farm workers on handling pesticides. Read more

OH – Strickland Continues to Gather Input on Education. Gov. Ted Strickland was particularly impressed by high school students who spoke at his seventh Conversation on Education. “I’m convinced the students can tell us what is really going on in education, what is working for them,” Strickland said. He listened and thanked those in attendance, saying he wants the people at the meetings to “tell me what they’ve seen, and even more, what they can imagine.” The idea behind the governor’s education forums is to gather ideas on creating a public school system that is “world class,” meaning its students first, graduate, and secondly, can compete globally through thinking critically and creatively. “Some of the highest career demands in the field today are jobs that simply did not exist 20 years ago … A person who has been challenged to think independently can adapt to a new setting,” Strickland said.Read more

TN – Bredesen Invests in Transportation Emission Reductions. The Chattanooga Area Regional Transportation Authority will share a $200,000 grant to fight high ozone levels. “These funds will give our transit providers the chance to increase ridership, help Tennesseans who are struggling to pay record-high gas prices find travel alternatives, and reduce harmful emissions in our urban areas on Ozone Action Days,” said Governor Phil Bredesen.Read more

WV – Editorial: Governors Like Manchin Taking Lead on Energy Policy. During their conference at the Greenbrier a few days ago, members of the Southern Governors Association discussed energy policy. According to reports, they seemed to be in agreement that a unified approach is essential. And the governors seem to understand that coal needs to be a foundation of energy policy. W.Va. Gov. Joe Manchin, long a proponent of increased use of coal, pointed out that it and nuclear power receive comparatively small amounts of federal research funding. That needs to change, he added. Other SGA members appear to understand that, too. During recent years, governors have established a track record of being better than Congress in terms of innovation. That puts the SGA in an excellent position in regard to energy policy leadership. We urge the SGA, possibly with the leadership of Manchin and like-minded governors, to assume that role in promoting a realistic energy policy.Read more

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