skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Saturday, July 27, 2024

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

Arson attacks paralyze French high-speed rail network hours before start of Olympics, the Obamas endorse Harris for President; A NY county creates facial recognition, privacy protections; Art breathes new life into pollution-ravaged MI community; 34 Years of the ADA.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Harris meets with Israeli PM Netanyahu and calls for a ceasefire. MI Rep. Rashida Tlaib faces backlash for a protest during Netanyahu's speech. And VA Sen. Mark Warner advocates for student debt relief.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

There's a gap between how rural and urban folks feel about the economy, Colorado's 'Rural is Rad' aims to connect outdoor businesses, more than a dozen of Maine's infrastructure sites face repeated flooding, and chocolate chip cookies rock August.

Gov. Hochul signs new NY congressional maps into law

play audio
Play

Thursday, February 29, 2024   

Gov. Kathy Hochul has signed new congressional maps into law.

The move comes a few days after Democrats in the legislature rejected maps drawn by the state's Independent Redistricting Commission. Lawmakers felt the commission's maps were too similar to 2022 maps, which heavily favored Republicans. Rejecting those maps sent the state back to square one after the New York Supreme Court ordered new maps to be drawn last year.

Jeffrey M. Wice, adjunct professor and senior fellow at the New York Law School's New York Census and Redistricting Institute, said the state's redistricting process was designed to fail.

"It was based on a constitutional amendment approved by the voters in 2014 that was poorly conceived," Wice asserted. "It had faulty wording and it left lots of loose ends."

He added the amendment was specifically designed to retain the then-Republican majority in the state Senate. Approval of the most recent maps ends New York's redistricting debate at least for now. But Wice thinks now is the time for lawmakers to work on making the redistricting process more transparent, with more public input and perhaps a new amendment to the state Constitution.

Voting rights advocates were equally concerned about the commission's maps. Some worried they had created districts where majority-white communities could overrule the needs of minority voters.

Rosemary Rivera, executive director of Citizen Action of New York, said it would have taken power away from those who need it most.

"People who are low-income, people of color who have a hard time accessing power to begin with, and then, you begin to dilute their voice and vote," Rivera outlined. "It becomes a problem in terms of what we truly want, which is an inclusive and representative democracy."

While some are happy the new maps unify previously disconnected communities, others feel more could have been done. Rivera added several districts across New York City are still splitting minority communities, leaving them without as much power to elect candidates they want.

Support for this reporting was provided by The Carnegie Corporation of New York.


get more stories like this via email
more stories
According to the Tax Policy Center, for higher-income earners, sales taxes consume a lower share of their income than for other households. (Vitalii Vodolazskyi/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

As Nebraska state lawmakers convene for a special session on property tax reform called by Gov. Jim Pillen, groups are weighing in on the details …


play sound

Traveling around rural Minnesota can be difficult but in more than half the state, nonprofit transit systems are helping people get where they need …

Social Issues

play sound

Student loan forgiveness took center stage on Thursday at the American Federation of Teachers conference. The Biden administration has canceled more …


The Oregon Health Authority's hepatitis plan includes four goals: prevent new infections, improve health outcomes, eliminate health disparities and inequities, and improve the use of surveillance and data. (Azeemud-Deen Jacobs/Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

World Hepatitis Day is this Sunday, and for the Oregon Health Authority, it's an opportunity to promote its plan to eliminate hepatitis across the …

Social Issues

play sound

Columbia County, New York, is implementing new facial recognition and privacy policies, following new upgrades to the county's surveillance cameras…

Although the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated existing barriers to employment for people with disabilities, it created new opportunities through remote work. (Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

New York disability-rights advocates are celebrating the 34th anniversary of the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The 1990 …

Social Issues

play sound

As summer winds down and North Carolina students prepare to return to school, the focus shifts to the urgent need for better public education funding…

Social Issues

play sound

A new design competition is looking to find better housing for Fargo's aging population. Like many other states, North Dakota has a growing number …

 

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