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Tag: state funding

  • Nassau University Medical Center gets $109.6M in state funding | Long Island Business News

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    THE BLUEPRINT:

    • awarded $109.6M.

    • Funding reduces projected 2026 operating loss from $167.1M to $82.5M.

    • New CEO leads reforms to improve efficiency, oversight and patient care.

    • State investment is designed to support long-term financial stability and services in Nassau County.

    East Meadow-based received $109.6 million in as continued efforts aim to ease the public benefit hospital’s financial strain. The hospital serves at-risk patients in Nassau County and is operating under new leadership.

    The funding includes $82.1 million from the Department of ‘s Vital Access Provider Assurance Program (VAPAP) for state fiscal year 2025-26 and $27.5 million from an Inter-Governmental Transfer (IGT) tied to enhanced federal funding during the COVID-19 public health emergency.

    Of the VAPAP funds, $25 million was received in August 2025, with the remaining $57.1 million expected in the first quarter of 2026. The $57.1 million balance and the $27.5 million IGT funds were not included in NUMC’s previously approved budget and, according to the hospital, will reduce the hospital’s projected 2026 operating loss to $82.5 million from $167.1 million.

    The hospital has struggled financially for years. Increasing medical costs, political in-fighting, inflation, challenges with Medicaid reimbursement and a reduction in New York State aid have all played a role in the financial challenges faced by NUMC, as LIBN has previously reported.

    The investment announced late Thursday afternoon follows a year of changes under NUMC’s new board. With Tom Stokes now serving as CEO, the hospital is set to continue implementing reforms, according to NUMC officials. In his first days, Stokes has highlighted areas to improve performance, while ongoing efforts focus on enhancing financial oversight, controlling costs, and improving revenue and operational efficiency.

    “I am deeply committed to restoring and strengthening this hospital for the patients and communities who depend on us,” Stokes said in a news release about the funding.

    “Gov. Hochul’s support affirms that our work is headed in the right direction,” he added. “With this critical investment, we can continue building a stronger, more stable future for NUMC – one that delivers the quality, access, and accountability our residents deserve.”

    “This funding acknowledges the difficult but necessary reforms underway and provides the financial runway needed to continue stabilizing operations, improving care , and positioning the hospital for long-term sustainability,” Stuart Rabinowitz, chair of the Nassau Health Care Corporation Board, said in the news release.

    “This funding marks an important step forward for NHCC and reflects growing confidence in the direction of its leadership,” Richard Kessel, chairman and director at the Nassau Interim Finance Authority, said in the news release. “We look forward to continued collaboration in supporting NHCC’s financial stability and ensuring that public resources are managed effectively.”

     


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    Adina Genn

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  • NC faces ‘short runway’ to fund Medicaid work requirements, health officials say

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    Valerie Hunter, a licensed practical nurse who works with Miles, holds his hand while listening to an audio recording on Friday, Oct. 17, 2025, in Raleigh, N.C.

    Valerie Hunter, a licensed practical nurse who works with Miles, holds his hand while listening to an audio recording on Friday, Oct. 17, 2025, in Raleigh, N.C.


    Kaitlin McKeown

    The News & Observer

    RALEIGH

    The federal spending bill passed by Congress last July known as the One Big Beautiful Bill is set to reshape Medicaid, which provides health coverage to more than 3 million North Carolinians.

    State Health and Human Services officials told state lawmakers Tuesday that one of the most urgent questions is how to pay for the new work requirements tied to Medicaid expansion. The work requirements are meant to reduce federal spending, but they cost states money to enforce.

    But lawmakers might not convene in Raleigh for months, according to a top state budget writer.

    “I’m not sure we’ll be back before April,” said Rep. Donny Lambeth, who is senior chair of the House Appropriations Committee. A new legislative session begins April 21.

    The House and Senate, both led by the GOP, ended last year at odds over the budget, including disagreements over whether to postpone scheduled tax cuts, as well as a stalemate over funding for the state’s Medicaid rebase. That’s separate from the federal Medicaid funding debate and is a recalculation of state Medicaid costs.

    “We have a very, very short runway to implement this,” said Sarah Gregosky, chief operating officer at NC Medicaid.

    The cost of work requirements for Medicaid

    She said the first communications will go out in June and July of this year to notify beneficiaries that they’ll be subject to the requirements.

    Work requirements for Medicaid expansion recipients are scheduled to begin in early 2027. Enrollees would need to work, volunteer, or engage in approved activities for at least 80 hours per month to maintain coverage, though parents and others may qualify for exemptions. States must also recheck eligibility every six months.

    Jonathan Kappler, the Department of Health and Human Services deputy secretary for external affairs and chief of staff, previously told The News & Observer that the work requirements could lead to the end of Medicaid expansion if the state does not act, because they could trigger a clause in North Carolina’s 2023 expansion law that ends the program if the state has to use state dollars to cover the costs.

    “A lot of the infrastructure we already have in place to allow us to get into compliance by Jan. 1. What we don’t have in place right now is a financing mechanism for the additional cost to implement work requirements,” said Melanie Bush, assistant secretary with NC Medicaid.

    In North Carolina, some Medicaid applications and eligibility checks are processed automatically, while others are handled by county departments of social services.

    Bush said DHHS has been working with the North Carolina Healthcare Association, which represents hospitals, and central staff at the General Assembly to think through funding options.

    She said legislative action was needed “as soon as possible so that we can begin building and testing our systems and notifying our members and working with our counties to prepare for Jan. 1.”

    She said ideally that action would come by March 31.

    According to DHHS estimates presented to lawmakers, it would cost just over $30 million per year to support county eligibility functions, with $6.5 million needed this year for state start-up costs and $13.2 million per year for ongoing state administrative costs beginning in 2027.

    Bush said the state could choose from three options — or a combination of the three — to cover the new costs: move around hospital funding to maximize it and cover new administrative costs without using state dollars; increase the share of premium tax revenue from Medicaid plans that can be directed to expansion instead of going to the state’s general fund; or redirect state savings generated by Medicaid expansion.

    She said the General Assembly would need to pass legislation to allow one of these mechanisms.

    She said lawmakers can expect a final proposal within the next three weeks.

    “We certainly can move on what options we need in terms of getting that legislation ready. But again, timing here is, I think, an issue,” Lambeth said.

    “But I understand the urgency. I do think we need to have serious discussion with leadership here about when we might be back together,” he said.

    County costs and authority

    Kevin Leonard, executive director of the N.C. Association of County Commissioners, said the federal spending bill, including its work requirements, would create major new administrative and financial burdens for counties.

    In North Carolina, counties are tasked with carrying out much of the administrative work tied to Medicaid and eligibility for SNAP, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or food stamps.

    The One Big Beautiful Bill Act is “is one of the most significant unfunded mandates and one of the largest shifts of administrative and economic responsibility, that our state and our counties have seen in generations,” Leonard said.

    “I have concerns, members, that many of our (county) commissioners have yet to fully grasp the significant financial impacts of HR 1,” he said.

    Leonard asked lawmakers to request more time from Congress, more funding clarity, clearer federal guidance, and workforce support.

    He said counties were limited in funding options, adding “counties still do not know where the funding is going to come from, and that makes budgeting very challenging. Plus, we’re hearing from others that the General Assembly may have interest in limiting” property taxes, which could reduce funding for local government.

    Officials also discussed whether some social-services work typically done by counties should be “centralized” in North Carolina.

    “North Carolina is in a minority of states that does a county administration,” said Sen. Benton Sawrey, a Clayton Republican and chair of the Health Care Committee.

    “It’s no longer just a county issue. It’s a state issue, because we’re risking state funding,” he said.

    But Leonard said when it comes to social services: “Simply converting county employees into state employees is not going to solve the challenges that we face today.”

    Local government, he said, is “the closest to the people, and I think in a centralized approach, you might lose some of that touch with the people and understanding the community.”

    “I think the centralization of mental health treatment in North Carolina is example of taking away some of those responsibilities from counties that have not always resulted in improved outcomes for patients in those communities, especially the most rural ones,” said Sen. Amy Galey, a top health appropriator and a former Alamance County commissioner.

    SNAP penalties

    The federal spending bill also makes changes to SNAP, including adding work requirements and shifting more costs onto states, as well as penalizing states beginning in October 2027 that don’t stay below a 6% payment error rate. North Carolina’s was over 10% in 2024, according to data shared by DHHS during a committee meeting earlier in the day on SNAP.

    The state could have to pay as much as $420 million based on the federal fiscal year 2024 payment error rate and benefit cost amounts, according to DHHS. North Carolina’s preliminary payment error rate through August 2025 is 7.05% — pointing toward improvements, said Michael Leigh, deputy secretary for Opportunity and Well-Being at DHHS.

    Starting October 2026, the federal government will pay 25% of SNAP administrative costs. The state and counties will pay 75% of the administrative costs for SNAP.

    The federal government currently pays 100% of SNAP benefits and 50% of administrative costs.

    Administrative costs are estimated at $16 million for the state and $69 million for counties annually, according to DHHS.

    Related Stories from Raleigh News & Observer

    Luciana Perez Uribe Guinassi

    The News & Observer

    Luciana Perez Uribe Guinassi is a politics reporter for the News & Observer. She reports on health care, including mental health and Medicaid expansion, hurricane recovery efforts and lobbying. Luciana previously worked as a Roy W. Howard Fellow at Searchlight New Mexico, an investigative news organization.

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    Luciana Perez Uribe Guinassi

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  • Tewksbury schools denied state grants due to MBTA Communities noncompliance

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    TEWKSBURY — The first consequences seem to be arriving for the remaining cities and towns out of compliance with the MBTA Communities law after Tewksbury Public Schools was informed it not be receiving certain state grant funding in fiscal 2026 as a result of the town’s noncompliance.

    A little more than a dozen towns remain out of compliance with the MBTA Communities law, which compels 177 communities in eastern Massachusetts to create zoning that would allow the creation of multifamily housing by right.

    Tewksbury is among the communities who remain out of compliance after Town Meeting voted overwhelmingly to reject the proposed zoning in town in 2024. An effort to bring the measure back to Town Meeting in 2025 was blocked by the Planning Board.

    In the Dec. 17 Tewksbury School Committee meeting, Superintendent of Schools Brenda Theriault-Regan said the district was recently notified it was “currently ineligible for certain educational grant funding due to the town of Tewksbury’s noncompliance with the MBTA Communities Act.”

    That funding includes an Early College planning grant for $50,000, an Early College designation funding grant for $250,000 over five years, a time-out practices implementation grant for $50,000, which Theriault-Regan said was meant to support the district with resources to help it comply with new Department of Elementary and Secondary Education regulations on “seclusion and restorative practices.”

    “DESE also shared with us that Tewksbury Public Schools’ participation in current 2026 state-funded grants and future grants remains at risk until the town remediates this compliance issue,” said Theriault-Regan.

    The superintendent referenced how earlier this month Gov. Maura Healey’s administration said Wachusett Regional High School and South Shore Vocational Technical “were mistakenly informed that they were not eligible for Credit for Life grant awards,” as reported by the Boston Herald. A spokesperson for the state Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation told The Herald the mistake had been corrected, and those districts were eligible for that grant.

    “That was the only grant the article referenced, so we are very much concerned that our students could lose out on the programs and resources we depend on through grant funding, especially for factors outside the School Department’s control,” said Theriault-Regan. “But the article I referenced certainly gave us hope that maybe the state leaders and legislators will look at educational grant funding differently moving forward, aside from the MBTA Community Act compliance.”

    Theriault-Regan said the district was committed to working with town and state officials to “see if we can resolve this barrier and secure essential resources for our students.”

    In a phone call Tuesday, Tewksbury Select Board Chair Mark Kratman, a consistent critic of the MBTA Communities law, said there has been little communication from the state to the school district when it comes to grant funding eligibility.

    “When the schools try to reach out, they are not getting a clear answer … When they are applying for grants, we are getting crickets,” said Kratman.

    “Grants are nothing more than taxpayer dollars that have been given to the State House, and they are supposed to be fairly distributed to all the cities and towns,” Kratman continued. “We are sending our money there, and with that they are supposed to govern, they are not supposed to dictate.”

    In Greater Lowell, Tewksbury is joined by Dracut and Wilmington in still being out of compliance with MBTA Communities. In addition to the loss in state grant funding, towns out of compliance with the law have been threatened with the imposition of a special master that would impose a version of the zoning without input from the town.

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    Peter Currier

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  • Newsom chides USC to ‘do the right thing’ for academic freedom and resist Trump compact

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    Gov. Newsom on Friday waded further into the controversy surrounding a higher education compact President Trump has presented to nine universities including USC, chiding campus leadership to “do the right thing” and reject the offer.

    The compact, sent Wednesday to the University of Southern California and other campuses nationwide, has roiled higher education with its demands for rightward campus policy shifts in exchange for priority federal funding.

    On Thursday, Newsom swung back at the Trump proposal and threatened to cut “billions” of dollars in state funding to any California university that agrees to it.

    Newsom offered fiery remarks during a bill signing at UC Berkeley on Friday, escalating the stakes in the high-pressure decision confronting USC.

    “Do the right thing,” he said. “What’s the point of the system? What’s the point of the university? What’s the point of all of this if we don’t have academic freedom? … It’s not a choice, and the fact that I felt I needed to even send that message is rather shocking, because some people think it is.”

    Newsom scoffed at the notion that USC, a private institution, even has to deliberate over the Trump offer — calling it a “false choice.”

    The compact’s conservative goals

    The White House offer to USC and a small group of prominent universities — among them the University of Arizona, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of Texas and Brown University — calls on campuses to follow Trump’s views on admissions, diversity and free speech, among other areas. In exchange, they would get more favorable access to federal research grants and additional funding, in addition to other benefits.

    Universities would also have to accept the government’s definition of gender and would not be allowed to recognize transgender people’s gender identities. Foreign student enrollment would be restricted. In regards to free speech, schools would have to commit to promoting a wide range of views on campus — and change or abolish “institutional units that purposefully punish, belittle, and even spark violence against conservative ideas,” according to the compact.

    In a campus letter Friday, USC interim President Beong-Soo Kim said the White House offer “covers a number of issues that I believe are important to study and discuss.”

    “I have already heard from several members of our community, and in the weeks ahead, I will be consulting with the Board of Trustees; the deans and leadership team; and members of the Academic Senate, the Academic Freedom Task Force, the President’s Faculty Advisory Committee, and other stakeholder groups to hear their wide-ranging perspectives,” Kim said. “These conversations can take time, but they are essential to building trust and community.”

    He said it was his responsibility to “advance USC’s mission and uphold our core values.”

    Speaking at the Berkeley event, Newsom said USC is among California’s “great universities” that are “all in this together” as campuses face an uncertain and rocky future amid the Trump presidency.

    A day earlier the governor threatened to withhold Cal Grants, the state’s largest financial aid program to California public and private universities that sign onto Trump’s deal. The grants are awarded based on income, and students become eligible through the Free Application for Federal Student Aid or California Dream Act Application.

    In 2024-25, $2.5 billion in Cal Grants were doled out statewide. USC received Cal Grants worth about $28 million during that academic year.

    UC negotiations ongoing

    In response to a question about the proposal to USC and whether Newsom would issue the same threat of removing state funding to UCLA — the subject of ongoing negotiations over a sprawling U.S. Department of Justice antisemitism investigation — the governor said he was “not concerned” about the UC system.

    “I’m not concerned about their capacity to organize a strategy that’s thoughtful and deliberative that maintains our values … without resorting to the kind of expressed concerns that I have about the university in question that was on that list,” Newsom said.

    As UCLA continues to negotiate with the Trump administration, Newsom said he has confidence in the university system, whose leaders have been working “collaboratively for weeks” to come to a resolution.

    The governor’s more tempered remarks were a shift from his comments in August and September, when he said UC should “sue” Trump and should not “bend the knee,” a reference to his belief that the deals made by Brown and Columbia universities with the White House were bad moves that empowered the government to target more campuses.

    “Governor Newsom, [UC] President [James B.] Milliken and the board of regents are fully aligned in protecting the values, integrity and unparalleled quality of the University of California system,” UC Board of Regents Chair Janet Reilly said Friday in a statement to The Times following Newsom’s comments.

    In a Friday letter, Milliken said the Trump compact was also a subject of talks among system leaders.

    “Just within the last few days, the administration has announced a plan to impose a myriad of new requirements on universities seeking federal funding, which we will discuss soon with faculty leadership,” said Milliken, without elaborating on the matter.

    The Trump proposal has not been sent to UC. A White House official said the initial campuses on its list were the first group in potentially many more colleges to receive the terms.

    After the Justice Department found in July that UCLA violated Jewish students’ rights amid its response to spring 2024 pro-Palestinian demonstrations, the Trump administration sought a nearly $1.2-billion penalty from the school. The government is also seeking changes over admissions, foreign student enrollment, diversity programs and other GOP priorities in higher education.

    While praising UC’s handling of federal negotiations, Newsom was less supportive of recent actions by UC Berkeley to release the personal information of 160 employees to Department of Education as part of a federal investigation into alleged campus antisemitism.

    UC officials said they strive to protect employee privacy and were required to share information with the department because it enforces civil rights law on campuses. Faculty have criticized the move, with some likening it to anti-free speech practices during the McCarthy era.

    Newsom said he “requested an independent review” of the data release in order to “make a judgment as to whether or not it was appropriate, whether or not it was consistent with past practices or whether or not it should be adjusted in terms of policy.”

    USC ‘between a rock and a hard place’

    Rick Hess, an education analyst with the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank, said Newsom’s remarks “seemed not inappropriate.”

    “If a [Kamala] Harris administration had tried something like this, I think Republican governors would be equally livid,” said Hess, director of the institute’s education policy studies.

    “USC is between a rock and a hard place,” Hess added. “If they say no, what does any of this mean? What does it mean to not be prioritized for federal research funds? Does that mean the tap will be shut off? On the other hand, once you’ve signed … will the administration abide by the promises it has made? Part of the problem is, it is not entirely clear what it means to say yes and what it means to say no.”

    Newsom blasted institutions that have already “sold out” by signing Trump’s compact. The University of Texas has suggested it could agree to the terms. Leaders of the Texas system were “honored” that the Austin campus was chosen to be a part of the compact and its “potential funding advantages,” according to a Thursday statement from Kevin Eltife, chair of the board of regents.

    “In this state, our state of mind must be resolute,” said Newsom. “I don’t mean to put pressure on people. I need to put pressure on this moment and pressure test where we are in U.S. history, not just California history. And so forgive me for being so firm. This is it. We are losing this country.”

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    Daniel Miller, Melody Gutierrez, Jaweed Kaleem

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  • Despite early successes, Anchorage Career Academies face uncertain funding future

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    Sep. 21—Pamela Sebwenna is a certified medical assistant and leads the front desk of Advanced Body Solutions, a medical massage therapy clinic in Anchorage.

    Sebwenna graduated from Service High School in 2022 and studied in its biomedical career academy. She said the academy allowed her to get a job in her preferred field at an assisted living facility immediately after she graduated.

    “It makes the high school experience a little different,” Sebwenna said. “It’s a little more enjoyable if you’re doing something that you want to do.”

    Sebwenna said she was better prepared for her college anatomy and physiology class after going through Service’s rigorous biomedical academy. She said when professors brought out an anatomage table, she was one step ahead of her classmates.

    “It was much less intimidating in college because I had the experience with it in high school,” Sebwenna said. “I think it really broadens the view for students to think of what their future can look like, and it prepares them for the real world a little bit.”

    Starting this year, high school students across the Anchorage School District have similar opportunities. This is the second year of the district’s Career Academies initiative, which offers career training classes at every Anchorage high school as part of an effort to boost graduation rates and bolster the local workforce. After the initial rollout of a mandatory class for freshmen last year, fall 2025 marks the first time that every high schooler in the district can choose to learn more about a potential career.

    However, the program’s future is now at risk.

    In 2023, the district was awarded a five-year, $14 million federal grant through the Fostering Diverse Schools program, which was meant to support career and technical training. But last week, the grant was abruptly defunded by the federal Department of Education. The district will not receive a total of $8.9 million over three years of grant funding unless the federal government grants the district’s appeal.

    It’s not clear if Anchorage school leaders will be able to make up the difference with local and state funding. Even with the increase to state funding that legislative leaders pushed through this year, officials estimate the Anchorage School District is facing another $70 million deficit this year.

    School board member Andy Holleman summed up the potential future of the academies in an interview Friday:

    “Uncertain,” Holleman said. “The issue with the academies is that there were a number of positions that were funded with the grant that now are going to be absorbed by our budget. To fill them out and fill out all the pathways is going to take more staff. I don’t know how we add staff right now without actually cutting another program, so it is going to be a difficult puzzle going forward.”

    Anchorage Superintendent Jharrett Bryantt told school board members that they should prioritize funding the program if they want to keep it.

    Asked by a school board member what the federal funding loss could mean for the academies on Tuesday, Bryantt said, “any of these priorities are as vulnerable as the school board allows them to be vulnerable.”

    When announcing the federal funding cutoff, Bryantt in an email said the district would evaluate potential next steps to sustain the program.

    A spokesperson said the district couldn’t provide an estimate for how much the academies have cost to implement in time for this story.

    Holleman said it’s possible the district could seek different federal grants, or that the district’s appeal may be approved because career training supported by the grant has little correlation with diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives the Trump administration is cracking down on. Holleman said partnerships with private-sector businesses could also help.

    Before the academies launched, some community members were hesitant to support the program.

    An initial proposal included moving to an eight-period day, two more than high school students currently take. Alaska has one of the shortest school years in the country, and some parents were concerned that adding extra class requirements would put students at a disadvantage by reducing the amount of time they spend studying core subjects.

    Also, when the school board voted to approve the academies in 2024, members questioned whether there would be enough interest from students to make the program worth it.

    So far, there is plenty of interest. Last year, nearly 8,000 students took career and technical education courses, about one-third of all 10th to 12th graders districtwide.

    Bryantt also points to improved graduation statistics: In the 2023-24 school year, 98% of students who passed two courses in a training area were on track to graduate.

    “I think one of the reasons why so many of those students graduate is because they can see that future,” Bryantt said during an event Wednesday. “They can see that finish line that means financial freedom and an opportunity to break cycles of poverty, which is really powerful.”

    A long history of job training

    Career-focused courses were well-established in Anchorage before the academies started. The district celebrated the 50th anniversary of King Tech High School earlier this year, which still houses more career training options under one roof than any other school in the district.

    Elements of what would become the Career Academies also existed for years in various forms around the district — Service and Bartlett each developed their own standalone biomedical academies over a decade ago, and versions of a freshman academy course existed at several schools.

    Along with community input, the demand for career training through King Tech and other standalone job training programs led district officials to try to expand students’ access to career education opportunities through the new academies.

    The district added 25 new career pathways this year. Many career-focused courses allow students to earn dual credit in math or science. Among the most popular new pathways is a digital art and design course offered at six schools.

    ASD Career and Technical Education Director Devon Roberts compares the expanded course options to the notoriously exhaustive Cheesecake Factory menu.

    “It’s a bigger menu,” Roberts said. “A lot of these courses that are new are sort of survey foundational courses to really ground students in the ability to see across a career or an industry.”

    The district also has long provided internship and job shadowing opportunities over the summer, but the academies have increased demand. While only about a dozen students typically used to get summer internships through the district, that figure exploded this year to nearly 50 summer internships.

    Service High School teacher Kaitlyn Williamson, who started the biomedical academy in 2010, said she’s flagged down by several of her former students anytime she visits the hospital.

    “They follow along with what we’re doing and they email me all the time. ‘How can I help?’” Williamson said. “… It’s that feeling, that community that keeps students with us.”

    Thaddous Jackson teaches computer science to sophomores enrolled in his cybersecurity class at Service, and said his students want hands-on experience.

    “It’s the game design that’s kind of like the hook to get them into it, and then they all want to be cybersecurity specialists. They want to learn about ethical hacking, if you will,” Jackson said. “The majority of them that apply for this pathway, they want a career in computer science in some form or fashion.”

    Orion Edwards, a 15-year-old sophomore at Service with an interest in computer science, said he’s now looking forward to a career in technology after he graduates high school.

    “I mean, it could range from coding and creating a website to making characters in video games,” said Edwards. “Really, I’m interested in the animating and the coding and just anything. Software or hardware doesn’t really matter to me, it’s all very interesting.”

    Service High School Principal Imtiaz Azzam said she is proud of the career training opportunities available at Service, including an influx of girls taking construction courses. She rejected the premise popular among previous generations that high school is meant solely to prepare students for college.

    “We need to prepare them for career and for life. When we say career, then let them discover those, explore those opportunities we have for them, and shame on us if we don’t,” Azzam said.

    District officials also reworked a mandatory freshman-level course called “Career, College Exploration and Personal Finance” to fit recently changed state standards. The class is meant to teach students soft skills and introduce them to potential careers while providing experiences such as a visit to the University of Alaska Anchorage and a career expo, scheduled for this coming Friday.

    Help needed at home

    Employers at health care facilities locally say that years after the COVID-19 pandemic, they still see a shortage of workers across the industry. Officials with Providence Alaska Medical Center hope locally produced talent could help fill those gaps.

    According to an analysis of Alaska’s health care workforce from the Alaska Hospital and Healthcare Association, Alaska is expected to have among the most significant health care worker shortages in the nation. The report says that about 3,500 workers are needed, but fewer than 800 people graduated from local programs to fill those vacancies.

    Billie Comley was one of the first graduates from Service’s biomedical academy, and started working at Providence Alaska Medical Center in 2013. She’s now an Intensive Care Unit pediatrics nurse, and says an influx of qualified health care workers is needed.

    “We feel the shortage every day,” Comley said.

    Nancy Wingate, a medical dosimetrist at Providence, coordinates internships and job shadowing opportunities for students. Wingate said Alaska-grown students are often more likely to stick around in the health care industry.

    “If you have homegrown, that’s not a surprise for anyone. You know what the winters are like, you know what the seasons are like, and if that fits you, then great,” Wingate said. “We have a great opportunity here for you.”

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  • Officials break ground on Chelmsford Water District PFAS treatment plant

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    CHELMSFORD — Officials broke ground Wednesday on a major project to build the Crooked Spring PFAS Treatment Facility for the Chelmsford Water District.

    The Crooked Spring facility is Phase 1 of the water district’s larger PFAS remediation project, which also includes a new PFAS treatment facility at the Riverneck Treatment Plant, and a new water main line to connect the Smith Street Treatment Plant. The $43 million project was approved by voters in the water district in the spring of 2024, and the Massachusetts Clean Water Trust Board of Trustees approved a 0% interest loan for the entire project cost. It is being funded through the Massachusetts State Revolving Fund along with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and is estimated to take about two years to completion.

    Officials at the groundbreaking included state Reps. Rodney Elliott and Jim Arciero, a representative from state Sen. Michael Barrett’s office, Chelmsford Select Board member Pat Wojtas, members of the Board of Water Commissioners and officials from AECOM Engineering and Design, Waterline Construction and ResilientCE, the owner’s project manager.

    The treatment for PFAS, which is shorthand for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, will consist of three process trains of pressurized vessels 12 feet in diameter filled with granular activated carbon, which will remove PFAS chemicals to meet state and federal water quality standards. In 2022, PFAS levels of more than 20 parts-per-trillion were detected in the district’s water.

    The project will also include upgrades to the Crooked Springs Water Treatment Plant’s main building and the building of a two-celled spent wash tank with a floating decanting system and recycling pumps.

    The Chelmsford Board of Water Commissioners retained legal counsel in May 2021 to prosecute legal claims related to negligence resulting in PFAS contamination in the town’s water supplies. The water district would eventually join a larger, multi-district litigation over PFAS contamination discovered across the country.

    PFAS chemicals, sometimes called “forever chemicals,” are manmade substances that do not easily break down in nature, and can build up over time in the environment and in our bodies, causing a wide range of possible health complications. The lawsuits the water district joined allege that corporations like 3M, DuPont, Tyco and BASF knew about the dangers of these chemicals, but concealed them anyway.

    In April 2024, 3M settled for $12.5 billion in their case, and a $1.185 billion settlement was preliminarily approved for DuPont earlier that year. In November, a $750 million settlement was approved for Tyco, as was a $316.5 million settlement for BASF.

    The Chelmsford Water District received its first payment of $401,951.24 from its gross $4.2 million award in the 3M settlement in June, while the district’s awards from the other settlements are yet to be disbursed. The district separately filed a $44.5 million special needs claim against 3M and DuPont for the expenses related to this PFAS treatment project, as well as an $83,622 special needs lawsuit against Tyco and BASF.

    Originally Published:

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    Peter Currier

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  • Albuquerque-area leaders tout arrival of more than $80 million for housing and homelessness

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    Bernalillo County Commissioner Barbara Baca speaks before a front end loader parked on a dirt lot that will soon become an affordable apartment complex on Albuquerque’s West Side, thanks to a new round of state funding. (Photo by Patrick Lohmann / Source NM)

    The allocation of $83 million for housing and homelessness projects in the Albuquerque area will empower local officials to get 1,000 people off the street by next July, local leaders said at a news conference Tuesday.

    The New Mexico Legislature approved about $140 million for housing programs during the legislative session earlier this year. Elected state and local officials gathered at a dirt lot on Albuquerque’s West Side on Tuesday to celebrate the arrival of most of that money for projects in the state’s biggest metropolitan area.

    New Mexico House Speaker Javier Martinez (D-Albuquerque) said the city needs the lion’s share of the new housing funding because it is the epicenter of the state’s housing crisis and where most people go for services.  

    “Here is where the services are for communities,” he said. “And so I was not shy, and my House colleagues were not shy, about calling that out and making sure that we delivered money that could be used and executed today.”

    Albuquerque’s count of unhoused individuals has increased by 108% since 2017, a rate more than two-and-a-half times the national average, according to the Pew Charitable Trusts, which also reports median rents in the city  increased 46% between 2019 and 2024.

    Overall, Albuquerque lacks about 20,000 housing units to meet the demand, said Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller. 

    “We have national trends, whether it’s a housing shortage in general across America, or whether it is challenges around fentanyl and addiction and unhoused and homelessness, and then we have our own Albuquerque challenges,” Keller said. “But this is a step-change answer to those issues.”

    More than $20 million of the funding will be used for expansion of the Gateway network of shelters and services, according to a news release. That includes $5 million for a 204-unit shelter for seniors; $6.5 million for Gateway West, which serves 660 people nightly; and additional funding for Gateway Young Adult.

    Gateway Young Adult will provide an “appropriate space for young adults” to receive services and a path to permanent housing. 

    The funding will also help pay for “gap financing,” which are subsidies to private developers to ensure affordable housing complexes get built, leaders said. One such project, the Tierra Linda Projects, will receive $6 million to complete the financing for a 240-home development to house roughly 840 low-income residents in what is now a dirt lot across the street from where the news conference occurred. 

    The newly created Office of Housing is overseeing the allocation of the projects. In April, the office and its employees moved from the state’s finance department to the New Mexico Workforce Solutions Department, which effectively doubled the department’s budget, said Secretary Sarita Nair. That the department was able to allocate $80 million a few months later is an achievement, she said.

    While the governor’s office announced the first round of funding last week, local leaders gave more specifics Tuesday on where more than $60 million of the funding will be spent, including:

    • $17.85 million for the purchase of the Poblana Place apartments in Bernalillo County for an 84-unit workforce housing complex for seniors and displaced youth;

    • $1.5 million for a new mixed-income development called Sombra del Oeste in southwest Albuquerque, adding 72 homes;

    • $10 million to convert the iconic but vacant Wells Fargo building in downtown Albuquerque into the 13-story Lomas Tower, which will mean 100 residents for 140 people who earn less than 70% of the area median income (in Bernalillo County, that’s $44,800 for a one-person household);

    • and $13.5 million for West Mesa Ridge A and B in the 700 block of Coors Boulevard, which will include 128 three-bedroom homes for residents earning from 30% to 80% of the area median income.

    Taken together, the new funding will enable leaders in Bernalillo County and Albuquerque to help 1,000 people find stable shelter within the next year, leaders promised. 

    “It’s ambitious, but we can do it,” Bernalillo County Commissioner Barbara Baca said at the news conference. “And we will do it in a way that lifts up entire communities.”

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  • Ruling revives lawsuit to allow state funding for special education to go to religious schools

    Ruling revives lawsuit to allow state funding for special education to go to religious schools

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    A 9th Circuit Court of Appeals panel revived a lawsuit this week filed by Orthodox Jewish families that sued California education officials over the state’s policy of refusing to fund special education programs at religious schools.

    Two religious schools and three Orthodox Jewish parents whose children have autism filed the lawsuit against the California Department of Education and the Los Angeles Unified School District last year. The parents sought to send their children to Orthodox Jewish schools and argued that the state’s policy of barring funding for religious institutions was discriminatory.

    Other states allow certain religious private schools to receive special education funding. For decades in California, those dollars have only been permitted to go to schools that are nonsectarian.

    Judge Kim Wardlaw, writing for the panel, ruled that California’s requirement burdens the families’ free exercise of religion. The panel’s decision sends the case back for reconsideration to a federal court that had previously rejected it.

    Attorney Eric Rassbach, who represents the families in the lawsuit, called the court’s decision a “massive win for Jewish families in California.”

    “It was always wrong to cut Jewish kids off from getting disability benefits solely because they want to follow their faith. The court did the right thing by ruling against California’s bald-faced discrimination,” he said in a statement.

    The California Department of Education argued in legal filings that by not certifying religious schools to educate children with disabilities, which would be required for them to receive federal funds, it was upholding the “principle that the government must be neutral toward and among religions.”

    The California Department of Education declined to comment, citing pending litigation.

    Funding for special education can be directed to a private school if a local school board determines, on an individual basis, that it would be the best way for a particular student with disabilities to receive an education, the department wrote in court papers.

    Attorneys for the California Department of Education wrote in court papers that the nonsectarian requirement was necessary because without it, local district officials would wield significant power to direct students to their favored religious institutions.

    “This is the opposite of the government neutrality toward religion that the Constitution requires…” the department’s attorneys wrote.

    However, Wardlaw wrote in her ruling that the state failed to show that its nonsectarian requirement is “narrowly tailored to serve” the interest of religious neutrality.

    Wardlaw added that it puts parents in the position of being forced to choose between an education for their disabled children and religion.

    “Parent Plaintiffs are required to choose between the special education benefits made available through public school enrollment (and subsequent referral to a private nonsectarian nonpublic school placements) and education in an Orthodox Jewish setting,” she wrote.

    A U.S. district judge last year dismissed the case and denied a request for a preliminary injunction to block the state from enforcing the rule.

    Wardlaw affirmed the lower court’s decision to dismiss claims from Shalhevet High School and Samuel A. Fryer Yavneh Hebrew Academy because neither school could satisfy the requirements necessary to be certified to educate students with special needs, according to the decision.

    Teach Coalition, a group that helps secure government funding for Jewish day schools, lauded the ruling as a major victory for religious liberty.

    “This is a game changing moment for our community and for religious families of children with disabilities — not only requiring change in the state of California but holding nationwide implications,” Teach Coalition chief executive and founder Maury Litwack said in a statement.

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    Hannah Fry

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  • CKH Group Secures Access to Federal and State Funding to Local Governments

    CKH Group Secures Access to Federal and State Funding to Local Governments

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    CKH Group is on a mission to get local governments compliant with their annual financial audits in order for them to be viable for certain state and federal funding.


    ATLANTA, April 29, 2024 (Newswire.com)
    –
    CKH Group, an Atlanta-based CPA firm, has revolutionized the government contracting space by going directly to all 159 counties and 611 cities in Georgia and connecting with local governments of all sizes in order to offer staff augmentation and auditing services. As part of an initiative to support the Georgia community, they have identified a problem they are ready to solve.  

    Local governments can be barred from certain federal or state funding due to being delinquent on the annual audits of their financial statements. Smaller government entities may struggle to find a company within Georgia with the experience to take on the work and deliver the same level of quality and timeliness that is needed. However, CKH Group has made it a mission to tailor their services to the needs of the community. With this in mind, CKH Group has also hired three Army Veterans with over 50 years of operational experience in State and Federal Government, which has considerably aided in understanding challenges faced within the government sector.

    “CKH Group deeply cares about all municipalities and how each individual citizen is impacted by the overall financial status of each town, city, and county throughout the state of Georgia. We demonstrate our sense of commitment and loyalty by having personally driven to all cities and counties throughout the state,” Roger Nixon, VP of Business Development at CKH Group, remarks. In his team’s travels, they have connected with local governments who may be in need of these services to remain compliant and secure state funding. 

    CKH Group’s Government Auditing Division has already assisted over a dozen local governments and developed rapidly as they have identified this need within local communities. When asked why they traveled in-person to each community rather than communicating digitally like other companies might, Roger explained, “Old-fashion values is what CKH Group was founded upon years ago, and what drives us today to develop deep and long-standing relationships with those that we serve; where each one is treated with priority.” 

    Local governments who may also require annual financial statements audited and would like to gain access to federal funding can reach out to CKH Group or make them aware of any requests for proposals. 

    About CKH Group: 

    CKH Group is an Atlanta-based small business CPA firm specializing in providing comprehensive financial solutions to state and local governments. With a commitment to excellence and a deep understanding of the unique challenges faced by government entities, CKH Group offers assurance, tax, accounting, and advisory services designed to help local communities flourish. For more information on how CKH Group can be of assistance, visit https://www.ckhgroup.com.  

    Source: CKH Group

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  • Cambridge Central holds mascot forum ahead of vote

    Cambridge Central holds mascot forum ahead of vote

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    CAMBRIDGE, N.Y. (NEWS10) -Cambridge Central School District students were once known as the Cambridge Indians. Just like other New York schools, the district had to take down its Native American imagery or lose state funding.

    “We’re trying to find a mascot that surely paints the culture in a good light and isn’t debatable,” stated Cambridge Senior and President of National Honor Society, Kateri Murphy.

    Cambridge CSD asked students at its mascot forum to keep a few characteristics in mind when choosing a new name and image. The orange and black school colors are here to stay.

    “Strength, power, courage, pride, and ferociousness. The top two right now that we have from the students are the tigers and the eagles, which came out of that survey,” explained Cambridge Senior and Class of 2024 President, Deacon Schneider.

    Before the forum, the student body was given a survey on what they would like to see symbolized. A majority said they want the mascot to be tied to local history in some way.

    “Eagle feathers, they give as gifts as a symbol of wisdom and pride. So that would be a great healing sense to our last mascot,” described Murphy.

    Some members of the community and Board of Education expressed that no matter what is chosen as the Cambridge mascot, they are glad the students are involved.

    “A symbol can bring that awareness and put on a platform to really educate the kids. A constant reminder of who we are and where we came from,” said Board of Education Member, Dillon Honyoust.

    A board workshop is being held on March 7 at the school to review the survey and community comments. The March 14 board meeting will adopt a new mascot.

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    Anthony Krolikowski

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