Alan Ehrenhalt

Arlington

Contributing Editor at GOVERNING

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Articles

Oregon Unable to Meet Demand for Mental Health Services

5 days ago | governing.com | Jabari Simama |Alan Ehrenhalt

Oregon’s high behavioral health needs outpace the state’s availability to provide services, according to an audit report from the Secretary of State’s Office. The state’s suicide rate has consistently outpaced the nation since 2000, and it ranks 46th among states for adults with substance use disorders who needed but did not receive treatment, according to the report.
Federal Court Finds Alabama's Congressional Map Discriminatory

5 days ago | governing.com | Jabari Simama |Alan Ehrenhalt

The more than 500-page ruling from a unanimous three-judge panel said it was “not a close call” to require the state to have a map with more representation for Black voters than the 2023 plan. The state is currently using a court-mandated map drawn after a preliminary ruling against the state’s 2023 version, and Thursday’s decision opened the door for the state to have yet another map going forward — its third since the 2020 census.
Orlando Creates Buddy System Pairing Vets With Homeless Comrades

1 week ago | governing.com | Jared Brey |Alan Ehrenhalt

Navy, said Walters, who served during the Gulf War. I can help you, Michael Bailey said. Jarold Walters was outside a gas station trying to figure out how he was going to eat and where he was going to sleep when a man wearing a “Go Army” lanyard approached and asked if he was a veteran. “I told him, I don’t believe you,” said Walters who had been homeless for a year, sleeping in an unairconditioned car with his girlfriend and, after losing the car, in the street.
NJ Transit Faces Strike Over Wage Dispute

1 week ago | governing.com | Jared Brey |Alan Ehrenhalt

The NJ Transit Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen could strike as early as May 15 if the two sides do not reach an accord. They’ve remained at odds over the level of wage hikes, with engineers seeking increases that would bring their average salary to $190,000, while the agency has pushed for a contract that would bring that wage up to $172,000.
Texas Lawmakers Consider Letting Scandal-Plagued Lottery Die

1 week ago | governing.com | Jared Brey |Alan Ehrenhalt

What started as concerns over whether lottery officials violated Texas law by allowing couriers to take online ticket orders has ballooned into the Texas Rangers and Attorney General Ken Paxton investigating potential crimes related to two multi-million dollar jackpots. The controversy has put the lottery in limbo. With weeks left in the legislative session, lawmakers haven’t budgeted funds for the agency that operates it.
Can Oakland Make Yet Another Comeback?

1 week ago | governing.com | Alan Ehrenhalt

But it is hard to think of a city that has done more shifting and evolving in the last generation than Oakland, Calif. In the middle of the 20th century it was recognized by almost everyone as the ugly industrial duckling of the San Francisco Bay Area, grimy cousin to its glamorous neighbor across the bay. In the 1960s it became known to the world as the home of the Black Panthers and their militant violence.
How to Direct Workforce Dollars Where They'll Pay Off Most

1 week ago | governing.com | Alan Ehrenhalt

Even in this highly polarized environment, leaders across the political spectrum agree on the need to strengthen workforce development. Congress is holding hearings onthe Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, the nation’s landmark workforce development legislation, which a strong bipartisan majority supported updating last year.
The Forces Driving Increased Medicaid Costs for States

1 week ago | governing.com | Alan Ehrenhalt

Congressional budget plans could set the stage for hundreds of billions of dollars in federal cuts to Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), the joint state-federal programs that provide health insurance to nearly 1 in 4 people in the United States. If that were to occur, states and their residents would quickly feel the impact.
Three Ways to Make the Most of 'Opportunity Zones 2.0'

3 weeks ago | governing.com | Girard Miller |Alan Ehrenhalt

"Opportunity zones" (OZ), created by the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, aim to drive private investment into economically distressed communities. Through 2023, an estimated $100 billion in private capital flowed into opportunity zone projects, but evidence of their effectiveness in improving housing, business creation and employment remains mixed.
Georgia Moves to Protect Survivors of Domestic Abuse

3 weeks ago | governing.com | Alan Ehrenhalt |Girard Miller

The first time, it was taken by a man who she said violently abused and controlled her for over a decade, starting when she was a teenager. The second time, she says, the state of Georgia took it — when they put her in prison for killing him in self-defense. Now, at age 53, she says her life is her own.