skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Tuesday, November 5, 2024

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

Election 2024 - close races to decide control of US Congress; Alabama felony voting ban leaves thousands disenfranchised as polls open; Glynn County under watch as key Election Day player; PA voting report: Strengthening election integrity amid potential disruptions.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

A Cambodian poultry farmer who lost his livelihood could be a hero for others, rural Montanans are anxiously awaiting a court ruling over a climate lawsuit brought by young people, and Northeast states say more housing for working families could boost jobs.

VA General Assembly considers RGGI budget amendments

play audio
Play

Wednesday, April 17, 2024   

Virginia's General Assembly will consider budget amendments to reenter the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, known as RGGI.

Gov. Glenn Youngkin pulled the state out of RGGI at the end of 2023, and now experts said the holes in the budget left by RGGI funding going away are not being filled. Money from the program was used to fund climate mitigation work.

Jay Ford, Virginia policy manager for the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, said the state saw many benefits when it was part of RGGI.

"We were reducing fossil fuel emissions that were being created here in Virginia," Ford pointed out. "There were some clear reductions as a result of our participation. So, we're improving air quality and we are helping expedite that transition to a clean economy."

Virginia residents mostly favored staying in RGGI, but Youngkin has said the reason for pulling out was in his view, it was a "hidden tax" for ratepayers. Ford estimated homeowners paid around $2 a month from their electric bills for RGGI and argued the trade-offs were worth it.

Between 2021 and 2023, RGGI revenue generated around $828 million for Virginia. Ford thinks not rejoining the initiative could slow down Virginia's ability to reach the Clean Economy Act's climate goals, and warned other effects could be costly to communities.

"On the ground in communities around the state, if we don't get back into RGGI, there's a real potential that the work to prepare the Commonwealth, and prepare our communities for climate impacts, could grind to a halt," Ford contended.

Virginia used RGGI money to help towns and cities fund their climate resilience plans. The state used 25-million RGGI dollars to establish a Climate Resilience Fund. There have been 107 "billion-dollar disasters" since 1980 in Virginia, with long-term costs totaling between $20 billion and $50 billion.


get more stories like this via email
more stories
Some organizations point to low pay, racial bias in school systems and retention challenges as the biggest obstacles to recruiting more Black men into teaching. (RDNE/Pexels)

Social Issues

play sound

In a country where Black men make up less than 2% of the teaching workforce, a program in Jacksonville is working to shift the balance by recruiting 1…


Social Issues

play sound

By Jabari Gibbs for The Current.Broadcast version by Shanteya Hudson for Georgia News Connection reporting for the Rural News Network-Public News Serv…

Social Issues

play sound

It is Election Day and Maine voters are weighing the future of the state's extensive trail system. If passed, the Maine Trails Bond would inject …


More than one of every 10 voters in today's general election is expected to be Latino, a 20.5% increase from 2016, according to the NALEO Educational Fund. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Election Day is finally here, and this year more than 17 million Latinos are expected to cast a ballot. The National Association of Latino Elected …

Social Issues

play sound

A package of New York City bills can help preserve affordable housing. The Community Land Act creates more pathways for communities to purchase and …

More than 36,000,000 Latinos nationwide will be eligible to vote in the 2024 presidential election - an increase of four million voters since 2020, according to the Pew Research Center. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

By Lourdes Medrano for Yes! Media.Broadcast version by Kathryn Carley for Arizona News Connection reporting for the Yes! Media-Public News Service …

Social Issues

play sound

A nonprofit report aims to build trust in Michigan's voting system by explaining the safeguards that ensure fair and free elections. The report …

Social Issues

play sound

Wyoming's secretary of state is asking county clerks to report non-citizens who try to vote, although cases of that - or any other - kind of election …

 

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