Brett Peveto, Public News Service Journalist Profile

Articles

Service dogs trained behind bars in WV transform lives, inside and out

2 weeks ago | publicnewsservice.org | Brett Peveto

With demand for assistance dogs on the rise, people in two West Virginia prisons are getting involved in their training. At Saint Marys Correctional Center and Lakin Correctional Center in West Columbia, incarcerated men and women can participate in the paws4prisons® program, learning how to train assistance dogs. They begin by teaching basic and advanced commands to rescue dogs, then graduate to training assistance dogs which learn around 100 commands.
'Never Alone Act' seeks to ensure patients have in-person advocates

3 weeks ago | publicnewsservice.org | Brett Peveto

By Lauren Cohen / Broadcast version by Farah Siddiqi reporting for the Kent State NewsLab-Ohio News Connection Collaboration. When Derek Calkins woke up in the hospital in January 2021, he couldn’t see or move. He didn’t have his glasses and his legs and arms weren’t working, he recounted. With tubes coming out of his body and a ventilator in his neck, he couldn’t talk, and he couldn’t discern what was real and what wasn’t. “I was scared,” Calkins said. “I didn’t know what was going on.
'Never Alone Act' seeks to ensure patients have in-person advocates

3 weeks ago | publicnewsservice.org | Brett Peveto

By Lauren Cohen / Broadcast version by Farah Siddiqi reporting for the Kent State NewsLab-Ohio News Connection Collaboration. When Derek Calkins woke up in the hospital in January 2021, he couldn’t see or move. He didn’t have his glasses and his legs and arms weren’t working, he recounted. With tubes coming out of his body and a ventilator in his neck, he couldn’t talk, and he couldn’t discern what was real and what wasn’t. “I was scared,” Calkins said. “I didn’t know what was going on.
Wichita named' allergy capital of nation' for 3rd straight year

1 month ago | publicnewsservice.org | Brett Peveto

With temperatures warming, allergy season is underway in Kansas and experts are offering tips on how to cope. The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America ranks Wichita as the allergy capital of the nation for the third year in a row, based on pollen scores for trees, grass and weeds, above-average use of over-the-counter allergy medications and a limited availability of allergy specialists.
Report: OH RECLAIM a model for juvenile justice reform in other states

1 month ago | publicnewsservice.org | Brett Peveto

A new report examined differences in state juvenile justice system financing, looking at how local control can improve outcomes. The report, "Transforming Juvenile Justice Through Strategic Financing," compared seven states and highlighted Ohio's RECLAIM initiative as influential. RECLAIM began in 1993 and encouraged courts to implement community-based alternatives to youth incarceration, with the aim of decreasing the likelihood of repeated arrest.
Medicaid cuts could threaten schools supports in NJ

2 months ago | publicnewsservice.org | Brett Peveto

As federal government spending cuts loom, advocates for keeping Medicaid intact are calling attention to how the funding is used in public schools, in New Jersey and nationwide. Medicaid provides health insurance for more than 37 million children in the nation, but it is less well known Medicaid funding also supports a number of services in public schools.
NJ educators respond to ICE expanded reach on campus

2 months ago | publicnewsservice.org | Brett Peveto

With Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents now permitted to make arrests at colleges and universities, immigrants' advocates are raising awareness of individual rights on campuses in New Jersey and nationwide. Education leaders are being encouraged to provide training for students and employees to know their rights if they encounter immigration enforcement on campus.
Advocates: WV tourism gains threatened by federal job cuts

2 months ago | publicnewsservice.org | Brett Peveto

With West Virginia's tourism industry seeing dramatic growth in recent years, conservation groups are sounding the alarm about layoffs of federal land-management workers. Reports indicate 3,400 U.S. Forest Service employees and 1,000 National Park Service workers have been fired nationwide, representing a 10% force reduction for the Forest Service and 5% at the Park Service.
Report: Methane mitigation industry grows in LA, nationwide

2 months ago | publicnewsservice.org | Brett Peveto

A new report on growth in the methane mitigation industry shows positive developments for oil and gas companies, as well as the environment. The report commissioned by the Environmental Defense Fund showed the number of mitigation manufacturing and service firms has seen dramatic increases in recent years, creating jobs in Louisiana and nationwide. Methane is the primary component of natural gas, but as a greenhouse gas is many times more powerful than carbon dioxide.
The little known history and disappearing architecture of Rosenwald Schools

2 months ago | publicnewsservice.org | Brett Peveto

By Kim Kobersmith for The Daily Yonder. Broadcast version by Brett Peveto for South Carolina News Service for the Daily Yonder-Public News Service CollaborationPhotographer Andrew Feiler remembers the moment he first heard about Rosenwald schools. After publishing his first book, “Without Regard to Sex, Race, or Color,” containing images of an abandoned historically Black college, he was having lunch with a friend.