Heather Rogers

Little being done to expand training options, and some abortion-rights supporters are reluctant to draw attention to the issue.

As the number of elderly Americans grows, some suggest that they are going to have to make due with less support. But many older people already face increasing isolation as the years go on; they live in fear of losing their homes. One recent response: a "Village model" where members and non-member volunteers join in an organized system of mutual aid.

The Northeast seaboard is chock-full of nuclear power plants. Sandy, for all its wrath, was only a Category 1 hurricane. Climate change will drive more severe storms, raise sea levels, and increase flood risks. To what extent has the industry and its regulator taken these projected climate change consequences into account?

In the face of gains by proponents of fossil fuels, some groups in denial; others hunkering down. Only a few explore new strategies to go on the offensive.

According to data from the National Center for State Courts (NCSC), 42 state legislatures reduced their state court budgets between 2008 and 2011. A variety of cutbacks ensued — including staff layoffs, reductions in courthouse hours, and pay cuts for courthouse personnel — and many state judicial systems have consequently slowed down.

Phenomenon is widespread. Case resolution time rises in 15 states; case backlog grows in 29.

The recent study has gotten widespread press attention for the proposition that organic food is not safer to eat than non-organic food. But one of the study’s lead authors acknowledges that a series of health and safety issues relating to non-organic foods were not examined.

A "Robin Hood" tax, a small fee on stock, bond, and derivative transactions, is likely to be enacted soon by several EU countries, including Germany and France, with the backing of high-profile, center-right political leaders. But in the U.S., support is only just developing. Those favoring a financial transaction (FTT) believe that an FTT would help generate the revenue needed to protect and expand government programs — and to deter what it considers the destabilizing and unproductive role of "high-frequency trading." Thus far, despite the introduction of several bills that would impose an FTT, a majority of national Democrats have stayed silent on the issue.

The Cuomo administration says it is “on track to the rail system of the future,” but but the speediest options — true high-speed rail service — have already been ruled out. The remaining options won’t go all that fast, abandoning the potential benefits that some say true high-speed rail would bring to New York.

With LSC funding effectively 70 percent lower than it was in 1981, the program is unable to meet critical needs of lower-income families.