November is National Family Caregivers Month, and many of the 200,000 Nebraskans who help care for loved ones with a health issue or disability could use help. Caregiving can take its toll. In one survey, almost three-fourths of caregivers said they were emotionally stressed, and over half reported financial strain. .
Montana has upgraded its outdated online unemployment insurance system, which should allow the state to process unemployment claims more efficiently. The system had not been modernized in more than 20 years. The last time Montana updated its online unemployment insurance system, people were still using dial-up modems on their home landlines and Windows 95 software to access the internet. .
California has just given approval for signature-gathering for a proposed state ballot measure to create education savings accounts, with $17,000 a year per student usable at any accredited private school in the country. Opponents say the move would hurt public schools. Kevin McNamee, a community college professor spearheading the proposal, countered low-income families should have choices not limited to their local public school. .
Major utilities in West Virginia, Mon Power and Potomac Edison, want to reduce the credit their solar customers get for producing power the utilities use. Critics countered the move would dampen the market for solar in the state. Net metering is a billing mechanism giving credits to residential and small business owners for excess energy produced by their solar panels, which flows back into the grid. .
A new statewide program in Kentucky is providing addiction advocacy groups and recovery centers with flexible funding to focus on resource equity and expansion of services. Gary Biggers, program operations manager for the nonprofit Voices for Hope, said the nearly $50,000 grant will be used to provide staff with training centered on listening, empathy, and nonjudgmental communication when working with diverse populations. The group will also work with communities of color to provide education on overdose, substance use trends, and community resources for recovery. .