Idaho Looks at a Partial Alternative for Medicaid Expansion; Wooing the NFL With a No-Drone Policy
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Also: Bus drivers using hand signals to boost safety and new Kansas state slogan suggestions.
Here’s some of what we’ve been reading today ...
BOISE, Idaho: The Idaho state government might use a potential increase in tobacco taxes to boost health insurance coverage in the state that’s being billed as a partial alternative to a Medicaid expansion. As The Idaho Statesman reports:
The Governor’s Office and Department of Health and Welfare personnel have met with state legislators, business groups and health organizations to outline the proposal, the basic details of which call for state payments to primary care providers to cover basic preventive health care for people in the so-called coverage gap — people who earn too much to qualify for Medicaid but not enough to qualify for assistance obtaining health insurance.
As the Statesman points out: “The proposal is a far cry from the level of coverage and funding available if Idaho were to expand Medicaid under the 2010 Affordable Care Act. [ Idaho Statesman ]
CARSON, California: This city near Los Angeles is trying to woo a National Football League team inside the city limits and made a move to make the jurisdiction more friendly to the league. As Southern California Public Radio reports, the Carson City Council last week approved a ban on drone flights over stadium facilities. "The city of Carson has taken it upon itself to put forward our best effort to convey to the NFL that we're ready for prime time and we're going to do our part to make sure that we have one of the safest stadiums in all the United States,” Mayor Albert Robles told KPCC. [ Southern California Public Radio / KPCC ]
WAKE COUNTY, North Carolina: School bus drivers in this Raleigh-area county will be taking an extra step to ensure the safety of their student passengers. They’ll start using hand signals. As North Carolina Public Radio reports:
The district’s bus drivers have three new signals: a palm tells students to wait, a thumbs-up tells them it’s safe to board, and pointing shows students which direction to walk towards the bus.
Take a look at how the hand signals work:
[ North Carolina Public Radio / WUNC ]
TOPEKA, Kansas: Gov. Sam Brownback is on the lookout for a great new slogan for the Sunflower State. But when The Kansas City Star asked its readers for suggestions, the newspaper received some suggestions that Brownback and the state’s image guardians probably wouldn’t appreciate:
Think the land is flat? Try our economy! Andy Sandler
▪ Kansas: A Koch and a Smile! Mike Silverman
▪ Kansas, the Gunflower state Roy Inman
▪ Kansas: Where the governor is all hat and no cowboy Scott Jennings
▪ A slow ride into the sunset! Gregory M. Galvin
▪ Kansas: Where chickens come home to roost Ralph D. Gage Jr.
▪ Kansas: Where it’s easier to get a gun than to vote Luigi Pommi
And the list goes on … [ The Kansas City Star ]
LOUISVILLE, Kentucky: The new Abraham Lincoln Bridge over the Ohio River connecting downtown Louisville and Indiana is now open for business. According to the Courier-Journal about 50,000 people turned out for a special chance to walk across the bridge, which carries traffic for Interstate 65. Now that the new bridge span is open, the adjacent 52-year-old Kennedy Bridge will undergo $20 million in repair work. [ Courier-Journal ]
Michael Grass is Executive Editor of Government Executive’s Route Fifty.
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