Latest news with #SenateBill52
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
TSTC Abilene Campus to launch new facility with trade programs
ABILENE, Texas () – Texas State Technical College (TSTC) Abilene Campus is nearing completion of a new facility that will provide new programs to meet the increasing demand for trade workers in the Big Country. The Big Country is seeing an ever-expanding growth of new industries and infrastructure, and with that growth comes a need for workers. Texas State Technical College in Abilene is using that need as a new opportunity for expansion with its campus. The project began for an additional building for TSTC classes in April of 2024 and has seen lightning movement with its construction. This 52,800 square foot building came with a total project cost of $30.3 million and is looking to open its doors very soon. To help pay for this project, TSTC was allocated funding through the Capital Construction Assistance Projects, under Senate Bill 52, during the 87th Texas Legislative Session in 2021, for expansion projects at 7 of the 10 campuses across the state. With the new facility also comes new programs of study, and Provost for TSTC West Texas, Andy Weaver, outlined what those new programs will be. 'In this building, we're going to be adding diesel technology, electrical line worker, plumbing, and HVAC. It's going to be an exciting offer, and it's serving a lot of our industry partners across the region,' Weaver said. Weaver went on to outline how TSTC prides itself on having the tools to bring real-world scenarios into the classroom for more in-depth student learning. One example of this is the state-of-the-art ambulance simulator, which is only found in a few select locations across the globe, and which TSTC students in medical studies have already been using. This new campus will be no different. The plumbing program will have a pit inside the facility filled with dirt and a variety of pipe layouts to simulate plumbers having to locate and repair pipes in the field. Weaver spoke about another addition to their Electrical Lineworker program that will be used as a teaching aid while prioritizing the safety of the students. 'We've already built the pole yard for that program. And then behind the building, there will be a short pole yard where students will be able to learn how to do the work at the top of the pole without having to climb to the top of the pole,' Weaver said The construction is expected to be completed by July of this year, allowing students to attend the new facility starting in the fall semester of 2025. Weaver stated that they are preparing for the new students and are actively working to ensure everything is ready for their arrival. 'We've already began accepting applications. We're already working those applications. We already have some students enrolled in those programs. We are absolutely pushing to get more applicants. Right now, we need more applicants, want more applicants. But we're headed in the right direction,' Weaver said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
02-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
McNary Sources of Strength club aims to end mental health stigma, help suicide prevention
McNary High School senior Mason King said when something happens, and it feels like there's nothing you can do because a support outlet is taken away, you go into tunnel vision. The new Sources of Strength club is aiming to help Celtic students in those situations. 'Now people can see like, 'Hey, I can come here, and maybe they'll have resources for me,'" said King, a student-peer leader in the group. Sources of Strength is focused on suicide prevention. It leverages peer-to-peer social networks to end the stigma around mental health. It is part of Oregon's Big River Program, an initiative that increases access to youth suicide prevention and intervention training. The initiative, sponsored by the Oregon Health Authority, comes from the national Sources of Strength program, an evidence-based suicide prevention project for K-12 schools and institutions. The Oregon Health Authority allocates $1.1 million annually toward Sources of Strength programming implementation, including curriculum, training, licensing and more in elementary, middle and high schools. OHA began funding Sources of Strength programs statewide in 2019 after the Oregon Legislature approved funding for youth suicide prevention, and after Senate Bill 52 — Adi's Act — required school districts to adopt comprehensive policies on student suicide prevention. "(Sources of Strength) is one of the only programs in the field of suicide prevention that can show schoolwide population-level increases in protective factors, decreases in self-reported suicide attempts and increased connection and belonging in schools," said Kim Lippert, OHA communications officer. Suicide prevention and mental health crises have been long-standing issues that Salem-Keizer has been attempting to address. According to the Oregon Health Authority, Oregon had the 12th highest youth suicide rate nationally in 2022. The district has around six schools with Sources of Strength groups, primarily at the secondary level, according to Emily Reverman, Salem-Keizer communications manager. The district started the program during the 2018-19 school year. McNary started its Sources of Strength club during the 2023-2024 school year. The group is still working to get going after the counselor who started it left. There are 15 students in the club out of nearly 2,000 students at McNary. The group meets every Friday during lunch to discuss outreach, club visibility and future activities. Ashley Lynch, a sophomore and student-peer leader, said the group's goal is to create a comfortable and safe space for students. While the group is run by students, it is guided by the school's six counselors. "We want kids to know how to access their own resources, how to access outside resources, and how to help their friends," said Ashley DeLaRosa, a McNary counselor. "If we can do that and continue to build that sense of community, that's really going to increase our sense of belonging." DeLaRosa said she started Sources of Strength at Claggett Creek Middle School before transferring to McNary and taking over the program at the beginning of the school year. "This year we're really focused on getting the word out, building the club up, and then we'll see what campaigns we decide to run next year," DeLaRosa said. Through Sources of Strength, student-peer leaders like King and Lynch can share signs to watch for — including the slightest change in habits — to bring awareness to the sometimes hidden mental health struggles teens experience. King said they were excited to join the Sources of Strength club when DeLaRosa told them about it at the beginning of the school year. "I was like, 'Finally, people were trying to do something about this genuine crisis that we're having in schools,'" King said. "Of course I'm going to join. I want to help out with this because I feel like there hasn't been enough genuine representation of mental health stuff." King and Lynch said there's still a stigma surrounding students speaking up about their mental health and are looked down upon because others either don't believe it or see it as attention-seeking behavior. This makes people bottle up their emotions more, they said. "Throughout my life, every time that I've said, 'Hey, I need help,' it's been shot down with, 'I need help more' or 'that's not real,'" King said. Lynch talked about the stigma around boys not being allowed to cry because society says they're supposed to be strong and confident. "Guys should be able to show the exact same emotions that any one of us girls can, and that doesn't make them weak," Lynch said. Lynch said addressing the stigma now will help students "tremendously,' potentially helping them avoid generational trauma or deal with the issue later in life. "I want this club (to have) an effect," King said. "As long as it'll help somebody hearing that they've gone through the same thing, that's all I care about." OHA's Lippert said Sources of Strength is the agency's most 'upstream' suicide prevention program, and the only program that specifically supports K-5 suicide prevention curriculum. Upstream, in this context, refers to approaches that reduce adverse outcomes and strengthen protective processes. It is a strategy aimed at addressing the root causes of mental health symptoms and prevention. Training and curriculum models are different for primary and secondary schools. At the primary school level, school counselors are trained to deliver lessons to classrooms using a universal curriculum. The secondary school level uses a peer-led training model where students, advisors and counselors are trained with materials, resources and wellness plans. "At the high school level, it's really harnessing the power of young people to spread messages of hope, help connection, and try to create places where everybody can feel like they belong," said Liz Thorne, Matchstick CEO and founder, which works with OHA to implement Sources of Strength programming. "They do that through their activities, their voices, their culture (and) their interactions with other students." Thorne said around 230 primary schools in Oregon have implemented Sources of Strength, while there are 111 groups active in secondary schools. Alexander Banks is a news intern at the Statesman Journal. Reach him at abanks@ This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: McNary High School starts student-run suicide prevention club
Yahoo
10-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Arts, entertainment, business converge in attempt to secure Kansas film production incentives
Stuart Little, a lobbyist for Grow Kansas Film, photographed in 2021. (Noah Taborda/Kansas Reflector) TOPEKA — Film and television production professionals are hoping this is the year incentives become law so Kansas can attract talent to grow the local media industry. Kansas is one of a small handful of states without incentives for film production, which industry professionals say is a missed opportunity for an economic boost. A film production tax incentive bill made it through the 2024 legislative session, passing the House with a 102-22 vote and the Senate with a 32-5 vote, but it was caught in Gov. Laura Kelly's blanket veto of a package of tax break bills. The Legislature first considered an incentive bill in 2022. This year, Senate Bill 52 has garnered support from the state's tourism and economic development groups, the state Department of Commerce and native Kansan film professionals. 'Kansas does not make it easy for its creative young people to stay here. We are unwilling to staunch the creative brain drain by actively telling our kids that it's better for them to move away,' said Kristin 'Kiki' Bush, an actor from rural Kansas, at a Feb. 4 hearing for the bill. 'Without incentives, they probably will,' she added. The bill would create the Kansas Film and Digital Media Production Development Program within the Kansas Department of Commerce. It's based on a similar tax credit used in 40 other states, according to Stuart Little, a lobbyist for Grow Kansas Film, a coalition of film professionals. 'You come in and you spend money on a production in a state,' Little said. 'You do the qualified expenditures. You follow the rules. You get an audit. You get done. You can collect 30% of a tax credit.' The program would offer up to $10 million in tax credits per year for eligible film, video or digital media companies, with the caveat that at least 10% of credits approved each year are Kansas-based production companies. Productions must meet certain criteria in order to receive a 30% production or post-production income tax credit. The amount of tax credits can increase if a project is a multi-film deal, a television series, a big-budget production or if it contributes to Kansas' film production infrastructure or workforce. Credits can also increase if at least half of a production crew are Kansas residents or if a company has previously participated in the program. Investments in production facilities at Wichita State University and Kansas State University-Salina and in a 50-acre underground film preservation and restoration facility in Hutchinson indicate a burgeoning film business, according to industry professionals advocating for the bill. 'This is in some ways an arts issue, an entertainment issue,' Little said. 'It's a business issue.' For filmmakers, actors and investors supporting the bill, all the issues are one. Bush, the actor, added: 'I believe our landscapes and our people's stories are worthy enough to compete with other states — that our stories are worthy enough to film.'
Yahoo
06-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
State senators introduce TREES Act to help with timber recovery in Georgia after Hurricane Helene
In response to the widespread devastation of Hurricane Helene to Georgia's farming and timber industries, several state senators filed legislation to provide relief to those impacted by the storm's damage. Senate Bill 52, the Timberlands Recovery, Exemption and Earnings Stability, or TREES, Act, would provide for economic relief and exemptions on taxes to those working in the Georgia timber industry. According to the Georgia Forestry Commission, and cited by the state legislature, the timber industry saw as much as $1.3 billion in losses from Hurricane Helene as of November 2024. Due to how long it takes for timber to provide any return on investment, as a result of the time it literally takes trees to grow, the Georgia General Assembly may provide grants, tax relief and other recovery assistance for those in the disaster areas. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] TRENDING STORIES: Deadline to take federal buyout arrives, giving government staff final day to choose Georgia Senate to vote on bill banning transgender students from girls' sports Fulton Co. Commission extends maintenance contract at county jail 'It is the intent of the General Assembly to authorize local governing authorities to provide temporary tax relief from the taxes levied pursuant to Code 48-5-7.5 so that the timber industry, and the businesses and families that provide timber products to such industry, will realize a reduced cost for growing new product and recovering from the devastating effects of Hurricane Helene,' the bill text reads. Under the provisions of the proposal, local governing authorities will be able to grant temporary tax relief for the end of 2024 and each quarter of 2025 to eligible businesses and families, insofar as the taxes that would be levied fro standing timber. The tax relief allowed by the legislation would be 'paid from funds of the eligible governing authority to which the taxes were or were to have been paid,' the bill says. To offset these costs, governing authorities will be able to offset the loss of revenue by requesting grants from the Georgia Tax Commissioner's office, citing the bill proposal. The tax relief will not be able to exceed what the fair market value of harvested or sold timber would be, and the value of that must still be added to the local tax digests for calculation related to school funding, according to the legislative text. If voted to pass by both the Georgia House of Representatives and the Georgia Senate, and then signed into law by Gov. Brian Kemp, the bill would take effect immediately, helping to provide relief to members of Georgia's timber industry. [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
