Maine’s outdoor recreation economy involves 4.7% of state employment by Mary Stroka, The Center Square | January 12, 2021 11:00 AM Print this article
With 4.7% of its total employment working in outdoor recreation, Maine is the third most heavily involved state in the industry, according to statistics that The Bureau of Economic Analysis released
The economies of Hawaii (at 5.9%) and Wyoming (at 5.2%) are the only ones that have a higher percent of total employment in the industry, based on state level data published last year.
Maine’s industry holds about 40,069 jobs, which are predominantly in accommodation and food services (15,143) and retail trade (10,380), according to the report’s estimates, which are based on the 2012 North American Industry Classification System. Only about 1,435 of the jobs are in government, which makes it the sixth-lowest government employer in this industry in terms of total employee count (following Ver
Legislators eligible for pay raise in new year
The Massachusetts state flag AP PHOTO/STEVEN SENNE
By MICHAEL P. NORTON
BOSTON Massachusetts lawmakers are in store for another pay raise.
Two years after Gov. Charlie Baker certified a raise of 5.93% for the 200 members of the House and Senate for the 2019-2020 session, the governor in a letter to Treasurer Deb Goldberg on Wednesday advised her that a 6.46% increase is warranted in the base pay of legislators based on changes in median household income.
The raise in the base pay for legislators last session increased it by $3,709 to $66,256. A 6.46%t increase works out to a $4,280 raise to $70,536.
Even as average personal incomes rose during the pandemic largely because of government aid, millions of people who didn’t receive such help have fallen into poverty, struggling to pay for
Column: Ohio tax revenues: Good news for state budget talks
Logan Kolas - Buckeye Institute
Ohio has a chance to build on a relatively successful economic response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Gov. Mike DeWine’s executive budget should take it. As he sets spending priorities for the next two years, DeWine should limit proposed spending increases, cut unnecessary spending, and strategically use the state’s rainy day fund to keep Ohio on a prosperous, sustainable fiscal path.
The pandemic quickly cratered Ohio’s budget surplus flipping a $200 million surplus in February to a $775 million deficit by the end of April and forcing state lawmakers to make hard choices. Fortunately, Ohio has taken lemons and made lemonade. Responsible decisions early in the pandemic to freeze spending, along with prudent budget cuts, preserving the rainy day fund, and better-than-expected state tax revenues have positioned Ohio well heading into the next budget cycle.
8 Jan 2021
Funding for the arts has been described as “steady” under the Trump administration, according to arts advocates, but now that Joe Biden will be in the White House, they are hoping for an “astronomical increase.”
Taxpayer-funded National Public Radio (NPR) reported on the push for arts funding from the Biden administration, including its own funding.
According to the Congressional Research Service (CRC), Congress appropriated $445 million to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting in 2019.
“The National Endowment for the Arts gives grants to organizations across the country from big ones like Lincoln Center and NPR to small ones like the Wichita Falls Alliance for Arts and Culture,” NPR reported.