skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

House Bill Aims to Promote Chesapeake Bay Cleanup

play audio
Play

Friday, July 3, 2020   

ANNAPOLIS, Md. - This week, the House of Representatives passed the Moving Forward Act, which includes $3 billion for coastal restoration projects. Its backers say the House bill would give a much-needed boost to cleanup efforts for the Chesapeake Bay.

Chris Moore, senior regional ecosystem scientist with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, says projects on parts of the bay in Maryland and Virginia are building up shorelines and habitats to improve flood resiliency and minimize storm-water runoff.

He points out that funding is especially important to support oyster habitats, also a major part of the local economy.

"These underwater ecosystems are extremely important from a water quality perspective, from an economic perspective," says Moore. "And also, we're looking now, more and more, about how oysters can help protect vital infrastructure in the face of sea-level rise and climate change."

The $1.5 trillion bill also includes money for Great Lakes restoration and support for communities of color. However, it faces an uphill battle in the Republican-controlled Senate, as Leader Mitch McConnell has called it "pointless political theater."

Director of the Ocean Defense Initiative, Jean Flemma, says the pandemic has prompted a loss in seafood markets for fishermen.

In the Chesapeake Bay states, the oyster industry is in crisis because so many restaurants are closed due to the novel coronavirus. While some of those markets are starting to reopen, she says the fishing industry and coastal communities need support.

"Many coastal communities have been hit by a loss of tourism, due to the restrictions on traveling," says Flemma. "They've been hit by a loss of fishing-industry jobs."

A National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration report finds that every one million dollars spent on coastal restoration creates about 15 jobs.

Disclosure: Ocean Defense Initiative contributes to our fund for reporting on Oceans. If you would like to help support news in the public interest, click here.


get more stories like this via email
more stories
A report from the Tennessee HealthCare Campaign recommended the federal government needs to strengthen 340B drug pricing and other federal negotiation mechanisms to make needed medicines more readily available and less expensive for hospitals to purchase and administer. (Spotmatikphoto/AdobeStock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

A recent report examined how some rural Tennessee hospitals have managed to stay afloat despite financial challenges. The report includes interviews …


Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…


Nearly 13 million Americans receive health coverage through unique plans under both Medicare and Medicaid. They are known as Dual-Eligible Special Needs Plans. (Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Medicare and Medicaid are key sources of health coverage for many Americans and some people qualify for assistance under both programs. With lagging …

Social Issues

play sound

A mix of policy updates and staffing boosts has helped to put wage theft enforcement on the radar in Minnesota, and officials leading the efforts are …

More than six in 10 Americans favor keeping the abortion pill mifepristone available in the U.S. as a prescription drug, while over a third are opposed, according to a Gallup poll. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

New research shows more than six in 10 abortions in the U.S. last year were medically induced, and U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto - D-NV - is …

Social Issues

play sound

Colorado is working to boost the state's agricultural communities by getting more fresh, nutritious foods into school cafeterias - and a new online …

Social Issues

play sound

Missouri lawmakers are concerned with protecting people from the potential risks of the increasing accessibility of AI-generated images and videos…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021