• Federal wage hike set for this month, By Ry Rivard, July 1, 2009, Charleston Daily Mail: “About 26,000 West Virginians will find a bit more comfort in their paychecks later this month when the federal minimum goes up by 70 cents an hour…”
• Minimum wage in Illinois raised to $8 an hour, July 1, 2009, Belleville News-Democrat: “Despite the current recession, a lot of workers in Illinois are getting a raise Wednesday.  The state’s minimum wage has increased by 25 cents an hour…”

• Bill to expand Pa. health insurance sparks debate, By Michael Vitez and Heather J. Chin, July 1, 2009, Philadelphia Inquirer: “Democratic leaders in Pennsylvania hope to double the number of residents who receive state-sponsored health insurance, known as adultBasic, but Republicans fear the costs may be too high…”
• Pennsylvania House expands health insurance to low-income adults, By Lauren Boyer, June 30, 2009, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: “Over Republican objections, state House Democrats voted yesterday to expand the state’s adultBasic health insurance program to cover more than 130,000 low-income adults…”

• Down to the Wire: Dems say they have Medicaid deal; Barbour still must sign bills before deadline, By John Mott Coffey, June 30, 2009, Commercial Dispatch: “Legislative leaders expressed confidence the House and Senate today will finalize the state budget just hours before the new fiscal year begins at midnight. This would come after three days of cranking out more than 100 appropriation bills — including one for the Medicaid program that’s been the main sticking for months…”
• Miss. Medicaid bill headed to governor, By Natalie Chandler, June 30, 2009, Clarion Ledger: “A Medicaid funding plan has been approved tonight as state lawmakers continue a special legislative session at the state Capitol.  Lawmakers had to come to a quick agreement. Medicaid was set to expire at midnight unless they agreed to reauthorize the health-care program that serves nearly 600,000 lower-income Mississippians…”

• Financial crisis torments states, By Stephen C. Fehr, July 1, 2009, Stateline.org: “Four states closed billions of dollars in budget shortfalls and approved spending plans in the last 24 hours, but  legislatures and governors in six states were still far apart on their budgets as the fiscal year began Wednesday (July 1)…”
• Tracking the recession: Budget deadline looms, By Stephen C. Fehr, June 29, 2009, Stateline.org: “Nearing the Wednesday (July 1) start of a new fiscal year, several states still are struggling to cover substantial budget gaps that will leave governors and legislators no choice but to cut spending and or raise taxes and fees.  If legislatures don’t approve budgets on time, some states could be forced to shut down all but essential government services…”
• States struggle to meet budget deadlines, By Susan Saulny, June 30, 2009, New York Times: “Indiana lawmakers beat their deadline and passed a state budget early Tuesday evening, but in five other states, budget deals for the 2010 fiscal year remained in limbo, as legislators made last-minute efforts to avert shutdowns…”
• Budget deadline ticks down for states, By Nicholas Riccardi and P.J. Huffstutter, July 1, 2009, Los Angeles Times: “Across the country, state legislators and governors struggled Tuesday night to agree on spending cuts and tax hikes as they ran up against a midnight deadline to approve a budget…”

One in six kids in S.D. fighting poverty, By Molly Young, July 1, 2009, Sioux Falls Argus Leader: “One in six South Dakota children live in poverty, according to a report issued Tuesday by a children’s advocacy group.  Sioux Falls-based Voices for Children says 33,000 people younger than 18 - or 17 percent of all children in South Dakota - live below the federal poverty line of $21,027 for a family of four…”

• Costs hit low income households, By Steve Schifferes, June 30, 2009, BBC News: “The cost of living for those living on minimum household budgets is rising faster than inflation, the Joseph Rowntree Foundation has calculated.  It says that the costs for a single household on its low-income budget were up 5.3% this year, with rises of 5% for pensioners and couples with children…”
• Rising cost of basic essentials ‘hitting poorest hardest,’ By Mary O’Hara, July 1, 2009, The Guardian: “The rising cost of everyday staples such as food and public transport during the recession has hit the poorest hardest, a study reveals today.  The latest Minimum Income Standard (MIS) report from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) concludes that the basic amount an individual needs to earn to have an acceptable standard of living has gone up by twice the rate of inflation, leaving more people struggling…”

One in three Oregon students failed to get a diploma, By Betsy Hammond, June 29, 2009, The Oregonian: “One in three students in Oregon’s high school class of 2008 failed to get a diploma, a much worse showing than the state previously reported. Under pressure from the federal government, the state adopted a more accurate way of tracking how many students earned diplomas…”