Rural

Rural schools are less likely to participate in district-wide free lunch and breakfast programs despite the fact that rural families typically have more economic need for the nutrition program, according to a recent analysis from USDA’s Economic Research Service. The study of the USDA Community Eligibility Program found that only a third of eligible rural schools participated in the program, while 46% of eligible schools in urban areas did. [node:read-more:link]

It’s 6 p.m. on a Tuesday in August and residents who have climbed the City Hall steps learn that, once again, there will be no city council meeting. So once again, they will be unable to discuss with local officials the pollution that has been plaguing their small town for the better part of a decade. Uniontown has an inordinate number of polluters for a town of 2,300, and residents say city leaders often dodge their attempts to air their grievances. [node:read-more:link]

U.S. oil safety regulators have thrown out Obama-era requirements for crude and ethanol trains to install advanced braking systems, citing an updated economic analysis. [node:read-more:link]

Late last month, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced plans to add $600 million to fund e-Connectivity, a pilot program aimed at bridging the rural digital divide by improving broadband internet access for American farmers. But the rural digital divide is wider than ever, as farmers struggle to run tech-dependent businesses without broadband. [node:read-more:link]

The Department of Homeland Security announced a proposal to sharply tighten immigration rules today. Some immigrants who use welfare programs that they are legally entitled to use, like food assistance and housing vouchers, could be denied green cards because they use those programs.  It's already been a rule that, in order to get a green card, an applicant can't be what is known as a public charge.It's a phrase that goes all the way back into the 19th century in our immigration laws. Basically, it means an immigrant who relies primarily on the federal government. [node:read-more:link]

Children who grow up in rural areas have a better chance of earning more money later in life. A Penn State study confirms that report and tracks the impact of other factors affecting both urban and rural children.The farther away from a city a person is raised, the more likely they are to climb the economic ladder, according to economists, who also found that community characteristics associated with upward mobility have different effects in rural and urban locations.The researchers looked at intergenerational economic mobility in low-income children at the U.S. [node:read-more:link]

Rural America faces an increasingly dire access to justice crisis, which serves to exacerbate the already disproportionate share of social problems afflicting rural areas. One critical aspect of that crisis is the dearth of information and research regarding the extent of the problem and its impacts. This article begins to address that gap by providing surveys of rural access to justice in six geographically, demographically, and economically varied states: California, Georgia, Maine, Minnesota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. [node:read-more:link]

Tthe Alliance for Lawyers and Rural America (AfLARA). Designed as a convening space to be shaped by its membership, AfLARA aims to serve as a means to an end for people and organizations working near the intersection of law and rurality. In other words, AfLARA is the home at which all of us – including you – can gather, learn from one another, and work together to make the most of opportunities that serve to address rural legal needs. Membership is open to lawyers and non-lawyers alike, whether you are rural, urban, or living anywhere in between, and whether your focus is access to justice, [node:read-more:link]

Utah residents in West Jordan are fed up with a foul odor they say is coming from the Dannon yogurt plant. Maurie Vance created a petition on change.org, urging city, county and state officials to work with residents and Dannon to find a solution to the smell.She describes the smell as being obnoxious and says it is at its worst during the fall and winter months.“It’s like a sour milk, dirty diaper — disgusting,” Vance said.The petition has received hundreds of signatures.“It gags you so much, you don’t go outside. You run back into your house,” said West Jordan resident Dana Grandy. [node:read-more:link]

A split is growing between cities that want to require private companies to give workers paid sick days and states that are determined to stop them. In the last three years, a dozen states have banned localities from passing paid leave requirements, more than doubling to 22 the states that now outlaw such local ordinances. The state moves come in response to the increasing number of cities and counties passing paid sick days ordinances. Since 2015, more than 20 cities, as well as eight states, have approved measures mandating that companies provide local workers with paid sick leave. [node:read-more:link]