2/8: States try to tax more services

Wall Street Journal: States try to tax more services

Faced with the worst budget crisis in a generation, many states are looking to expand sales taxes to services, such as lawn care or accountants' advice. The goal, legislators say, is to broaden the tax base to cover a broader swath of the economy as traditional sources of tax revenue decline.

In Kentucky, representatives have introduced a measure to extend sales taxes to some high-end services like limousines and balloon rides. In North Carolina, the legislature last year considered, but didn't pass, a proposal to tax services such as car repairs and lawn care.

Also in the South:

ALABAMA: Sen. Shelby blocks 70 Obama nominees to get defense contracts for Alabama

ARKANSAS: State begins first-ever fiscal session, as state starts annual budgeting process

FLORIDA: Fewer politicians rely on state to pay for flights

GEORGIA: Both parties upset over Gov. Perdue's plan to appoint four statewide officers

KENTUCKY: State has significant medical care gap

LOUISIANA: Education Secretary Duncan praises LA for reforms on state education

MISSISSIPPI: Gov. Barbour cuts $21 million in fourth round of budget cuts

NORTH CAROLINA: Commentary: Jim Hunt: More creativity in the classroom

SOUTH CAROLINA: Opinion: Andy Brack: Legislature should back off on search, ID bills

TENNESSEE: Mental health care cuts deepen in state

VIRGINIA: Medicaid funding for disabled could be cut in state

If you have a news story about public policy to suggest, send an email to info@bettersouth.org

2/5: Senate likely to be less diverse after elections

Washington Post: Senate likely to be less diverse after elections

In contests in Florida, Texas and North Carolina, black candidates face daunting challenges to joining the Senate, from difficulty raising cash to lack of name recognition to formidable rivals.\\

By next year, the number of black Senators could be zero, despite the fact that 12.2% of the population is black. David Bositis, a senior political analyst with the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, noted that blacks don't make up the majority population in any state and in states where there are large numbers of blacks, as in the South, there are racial divisions that make getting elected difficult.

Florida is more likely to produce the next Hispanic senator than it is the next black senator.

Also in the South:

ALABAMA: Legislation on using Alabama Trust Fund for roads and bridges is withdrawn

ARKANSAS: FEMA to provide federal funding to state for flood damage

FLORIDA: 7.5% drop in property taxes over three years hurts state's budget

GEORGIA: State gets a "D" from voter rights group

KENTUCKY: House approves ban on texting while driving

LOUISIANA: Sen. Landrieu defends $400 million Medicaid deal

MISSISSIPPI: State stops prison growth by releasing more nonviolent offenders

NORTH CAROLINA: Sen. Larry Shaw says he won't seek re-election

SOUTH CAROLINA: Conference to draw 200 to discuss future of state's land use

TENNESSEE: Sen. Alexander introduces bill to reduce mercury emissions

VIRGINIA: Bill to end ban on radar detectors advances

If you have a news story about public policy to suggest, send an email to info@bettersouth.org

2/4: States face challenge of IT improvements

Stateline: A look at how states are dealing with IT improvements

Improving Information Technology systems at the state level is an issue facing most states these days. But many can't afford to update them, due to pressing budget problems. Some states have systems that are more than 30 years old and written in outdated computer code. Then there's the problem of slow computer networks, prone to crashes and agency incompatibility.

In Virginia, officials are a year behind on creating a new multi-agency IT infrastructure. It has suffered repeated network interruptions, adding to the cost of the five-year, $2.4 billion project.

However, in Georgia, revamping the IT structure seems to be on course. So far, the $1.2 billion, eight-year contract with IBM and AT&T has hit all of its deadlines with little difficulty. The vendors have successfully taken over the state’s IT infrastructure and are now in the process of consolidating all agencies into a single statewide system.

Also in the South:

ALABAMA: Editorial: Alabama needs water-saving strategy

ARKANSAS: State under hazardous weather warning today and Friday

FLORIDA: Opinion: Florida, we have a problem

GEORGIA: Gov. Perdue pushes conservation measures for long-term water savings

KENTUCKY: Gov. Beshear urges Pres. Obama to help protect coal states

LOUISIANA: State to privatize prisoner medications

MISSISSIPPI: State House votes to sell the state's private jet

NORTH CAROLINA: Settlement on "road to nowhere" to cost feds $52 million

SOUTH CAROLINA: Senate approves photo ID requirement for voting

TENNESSEE: State law protects elderly and disabled from abuse

VIRGINIA: State AG wants more outpatient treatment for mentally ill

If you have a news story about public policy to suggest, send an email to info@bettersouth.org

2/3: Food hardship report: Poverty up in South

Examiner: Food hardship report shows increase in poverty in South

Ten of the eleven states the ThinkSouth blog covers are suffering the highest rates of hunger in America -- Mississippi, Arkansas, Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky, Louisiana, South Carolina, North Carolina, Florida and Georgia.

Mississippi, the state with the highest incidence of food hardships report, saw their numbers increase when children under the age of 18 were factored into the statistics. Mississippi households without children held a hunger rating of 22.5 percent while Mississippi households with children held a hunger rating of 33.8 percent.

Also in the South:

ALABAMA: State Senate fails to pass $1 billion road construction bill

ARKANSAS: Counselors see increase in gambling addictions in Arkansas

FLORIDA: Including illegal immigrants in census count becomes an issue in Senate race

GEORGIA: PSC wants refund for taxpayers from abandoned Yucca Mtn. nuclear waste project

KENTUCKY: State highway plan could cost $11 billion from 2010-2016

LOUISIANA: Coastal restoration funds in President Obama's proposed 2011 budget

MISSISSIPPI: Commentary: Odds stacked against state lottery

NORTH CAROLINA: State has exhausted ability to borrow money according to new report

SOUTH CAROLINA: Study links port expansion to health problems

TENNESSEE: Nursing home care in state ranks very low

VIRGINIA: Under Gov. McDonnell, death penalty likely to expand

If you have a news story about public policy to suggest, send an email to info@bettersouth.org

2/2: SELC ranks South's top threatened natural places

Daily Progress: SELC ranks South's top threatened natural places

The Southern Environmental Law Center released its top ten places in the South it believes are facing immediate peril. The sites noted are in Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Alabama.

"The major environmental threats we face in this country are playing out in the Southeast," said Jeff Gleason, SELC’s deputy director. "Our region is contributing disproportionately to global warming, and, in fact, our six southeastern states, if viewed as a single country, would be the world’s seventh largest source of heat-trapping carbon dioxide emissions."

In the Carolinas, the Catawba-Wateree waterway (NC & SC), Cape Fear River (NC), and freshwater wetlands near Charleston were named. Georgia's Ogeechee River and right whale calving grounds made the list. Alabama's Black Water River, the Ocoee Region in Tennessee, the Chesapeake Bay and Roanoke River Basin in Virginia, and Southern Appalachian Mountains in Virginia and Tennessee also made the list.

Also in the South:

ALABAMA: Opinion: Alabama's gambling situation is a mess, and this must not be allowed to continue

ARKANSAS: Juvenile detention facilities overcrowded in state

FLORIDA: Lawmakers asked by environmental group to ban plastic shopping bags

GEORGIA: Legislators again push to drop annual property tax on autos

KENTUCKY: New initiative covers birth-to-graduate learning

LOUISIANA: Analysis shows that casinos are not recession-proof

MISSISSIPPI: Lawmakers vote on pseudoephedrine prescriptions law

NORTH CAROLINA: Civil Rights museum opens in Greensboro in famous Woolworth's building

SOUTH CAROLINA: Court ruling to protect state's wetlands

TENNESSEE: Gov. Bredesen delivers final state of the state address

VIRGINIA: State Senate bills say 'no' to requiring health insurance

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2/1: VA, MD want to trap pollutant-filled runoff

Washington Post: Virginia, Maryland want to trap pollutant-filled runoff in Chesapeake Bay

When rain falls on cities and suburbs in the Chesapeake Bay's watershed, it washes road grease, trash and pet waste into storm sewers and then into bay tributaries.

Virginia and Maryland want real estate developers to trap the runoff water, put it into grassy fields or gravelly pits and let it sink in naturally. Environmentalists are all for that idea. However, developers think new requirements set by the states are too tough -- and could backfire by encouraging sprawl.

In Virginia, former Gov. Kaine approved the new rules, but a state board has suspended them. A spokeswoman for Gov. McDonnell said on Friday that he will re-evaluate the issue. Maryland lawmakers haven't backed away from the idea as of yet. But developers are gearing up to lobby against the runoff rules.

Also in the South:

ALABAMA: State Senate moving slowly on bills -- none have passed yet

ARKANSAS: Legislative committee to consider lottery bill

FLORIDA: Hiaasen: Fast trains are cool...and very expensive

GEORGIA: Rules revolution in Georgia House

KENTUCKY: Governor's task force urges renewable energy requirement

LOUISIANA: State to pay CA firm $5.3 million to collect $460 million in back taxes

MISSISSIPPI: State senate committee considers reducing number of legislators

NORTH CAROLINA: State enforces gluten-free claims to cheers across the country

SOUTH CAROLINA: Senate uses parliamentary tactic on voter ID bill

TENNESSEE: State BOE approves Bible class for public schools

If you have a news story about public policy to suggest, send an email to info@bettersouth.org