Phoenix, AZ, USA. Details emerging from Arizona’s new budget — approved by state lawmakers late Thursday (March 11) — are staggering. More than 310,000 adults and 47,000 low-income children will lose health insurance under the plan, which reduces spending by about $1.1 billion, eliminates full-day kindergarten and, according to The Arizona Republic, slashes funds “that were one of the last best hopes for the state parks system to stay afloat.”

Arizona was listed just behind California as one of the most fiscally challenged states in the nation in a November report by the Pew Center on the States, the parent organization of Stateline.org. Thursday’s budget bears that out.

Add this page to your favorite social bookmarking websites.

Washington, DC, USA. Indiana soon could join at least 11 other states and allow residents to bring their guns to work, as long as they are stored out of sight in their cars. But a shooting in Portage, Ind., last week — in which a state worker frustrated over a poor performance review retrieved a gun from his car and fired at coworkers — is causing opponents to ramp up their pressure on Governor Mitch Daniels to veto the bill.

“This is further evidence that guns and the workplace simply don’t mix,” said the president of the Indiana Chamber of Commerce, speaking to the Evansville Courier and Press."

“The last thing our state should do is validate the opportunity for a disgruntled employee to get a gun from his or her vehicle and threaten the lives of innocent co-workers and bystanders.”

Add this page to your favorite social bookmarking websites.