Finance

$1.5 billion now available in federal transportation grants

A variety of road, transit, rail and trail projects are eligible for funding under the Transportation Department’s popular RAISE program.

  • By Elizabeth Daigneau

Child care programs see closures, resignations and tuition hikes after federal funding expires

In West Virginia, providers and parents are feeling the impact on the other side of the "child care cliff."

  • By Emily Tate Sullivan, The 19th

State workers fear federal grants won’t reach many disadvantaged communities

Amid historic federal investment in climate and environmental initiatives, employees tasked with distributing federal grants say they are overwhelmed and don’t have the bandwidth to ensure underresourced communities get the help they need.

  • By Kery Murakami

Why tenants struggle more in the wake of hurricanes

Eviction filings and threats of eviction tend to increase after hurricanes, which experts say could be fueling housing instability and displacement in the wake of disasters.

  • By Siri Chilukuri, Grist

After a pandemic pause, Detroit restarts water shut-offs—part of a nationwide trend as costs rise

COMMENTARY | Cities are turning to water shut-offs as more water service bills go unpaid as utility costs continue to climb.

  • By Elizabeth Mack, Edward Helderop and Tony Grubesic, The Conversation

City leaders fund child care center with tax district typically used for roads, sewer

By creating a tax increment financing district, Madison, South Dakota, looks to build a child care center to improve local economic development and access to child care services.

  • By Makenzie Huber, South Dakota Searchlight

Former coal towns get money for clean energy projects

Coal, oil and gas communities are receiving an amount of investment that is far above their share of the population.

  • By Kery Murakami

New health care grants look to reform how hospitals are paid

The program wants to increase primary care for Medicare and Medicaid recipients while reducing hospital and emergency room visits.

  • By Kery Murakami

These federal grants could help shore up your cyberdefences

A report from the Government Accountability Office identified 27 grants not “intended to primarily support cybersecurity activities” that state and local governments could tap for critical funding—if they have grant writing expertise.

  • By Kery Murakami

Despite setbacks, states are still counting on offshore wind

Canceled projects threaten more than half the offshore wind capacity under contract with states.

  • By Alex Brown, Stateline

Health insurers have been breaking state laws for years

States have passed hundreds of laws to protect people from wrongful insurance denials. Yet from emergency services to fertility preservation, insurers still say no.

  • By Maya Miller and Robin Fields, ProPublica

Senate passes stopgap measure to avert government shutdown

The chamber approved the same “laddered” spending bill as the House in a 87-11 bipartisan vote.

  • By Kery Murakami
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States expect ‘big jump’ in Medicaid spending

As pandemic-era federal funding support winds down, state Medicaid directors said in a survey that they anticipate their share of the costs to increase even as enrollment declines.

  • By Kaitlyn Levinson

Helping cities flip money pits into gold mines

An incubator is working with cities to capitalize on their under-used properties by helping them to think like real estate developers.

  • By Liz Farmer

Shutdown appears averted as House passes ‘laddered’ proposal

The continuing resolution extends SNAP through September, ensures other benefit programs are funded into early 2024 and avoids millions of workers being furloughed.

  • By Kery Murakami

Expanded health insurance for immigrants gains traction in states

By increasing access to health insurance, including for immigrants lacking permanent legal status, states can reduce the burden of health care costs for communities.

  • By Kaitlyn Levinson

With a shutdown looming, states and localities ready plans

Officials say they could see an uptick in unemployment insurance claims, have trouble feeding low-income families and experience disruptions to air travel, among other things.

  • By Kery Murakami

A dispute over Amtrak funding derailed a vote on THUD

The House GOP’s Transportation and Housing and Urban Development funding bill would cut $8 billion from the departments. But that’s not what scuttled the vote.

  • By Kery Murakami

How California and Florida are trying to stave off the home insurance crisis

Historically, the two states have had very different approaches to insuring against natural disasters. That’s changing.

  • By Liz Farmer

Feds ease capital requirement for broadband funding

The rule, which required internet companies to put down millions of dollars upfront, would have excluded all but the biggest providers.

  • By Kery Murakami

Looming ‘fiscal cliff’ shows deeper problems with transit funding, researchers say

A new report from the Urban Institute finds that too many transit agencies rely on a single source of funding, and those revenue streams are often volatile.

  • By Daniel C. Vock