Judge emphasized the fireworks display would be a "short-term" win for tourism and relief for Americans emerging from the pandemic but, in the long-term, potentially damage the forest, poison the water, and fray relations with tribal partners.
Stone Mountain’s massive monument featuring Confederate leaders has long sparked controversy. Now, the Stone Mountain Memorial Association has announced changes to the park it hopes will help tell a more "balanced" story of Georgia's past. The latest Georgia Today podcast with host Steve Fennessy and guest Tyler Estep, a reporter at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, examines the park’s history and what the future of its Confederate memorial may look like.
PBS
South Dakota is one of a number of states that plan to eliminate federal unemployment benefits by the end of June. Some state leaders say the enhanced benefits keep people from taking jobs.
That’s even led one state lawmaker to propose cutting the state’s unemployment office.
At the beginning of the pandemic Monument Health stopped all elective surgeries. That led to furloughs across the health system.
Trina Allen is the vice president of human resources at Monument Health.
“I quite honestly am thankful for the federal funds so that our caregivers could remain whole while they were off work,” Allen says. “The good news is almost all of them were able to return to work after we resumed elective surgeries.”
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Black Hills Energy wants a new tariff that would charge customers with solar panels the true cost of their energy. The utility says people who generate their own electricity cost the rest of their customers more money.
Some worry the proposal before the Public Utilities Commission will kill incentives to install solar systems.
Mt. Rushmore National Memorial has some obvious offerings, and one that’s hidden in plain sight. It’s called the Thomas Jefferson solar canopy and features 975 panels that generate electricity equivalent to the average annual consumption of 40 American homes.
The solar panels are part of a roof over one of the two parking garages at the memorial. In addition to generating power, the coverings protect cars from hail damage that can come when a storm rolls through.