Action for Recovery
Recovery in Action: 100 Days In
It’s
been 100 days since the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act was
signed, and even as much of its benefit will be felt through projects
and ripple effects yet to come, the impact is already real. This
morning, the White House released "100 Days, 100 Projects,"
a report showing a snapshot of some of the projects funded by the
Recovery Act, including new jobs in emerging sectors like renewable
energy, and holding on to jobs in critical areas like law enforcement
and education.
While the report this morning
highlighted some of the best from the past 100 days, even looking at
the past week gives an idea of what is happening all over the country.
"One of Hartselle's busiest
roadways should have a smoother driving surface by year's end. A
unanimous City Council approved contracts that will allow the Alabama
Department of Transportation to engineer and construct the Sparkman
Street resurfacing project. ‘It's always good when we can pave
streets,’ Council President Kenny Thompson said at Tuesday's meeting.
The contracts will allow the state to resurface Sparkman Street from
the north end at U.S. 31 to Hayes Street and then to the south end at
U.S. 31… The council is using federal stimulus money to fund the
project."
"Stimulus
funds will pay for 200 jobs for young people in Yuba County,
California. Mid-Valley shops, restaurants, nonprofits and government
agencies will employ hundreds of young people this summer – and pay
them with federal stimulus dollars. The funding is part of a $1.2
billion program approved by Congress in February to provide short-term
work training and employment for disadvantaged 14- to 24-year-olds.
Sheila Moore, a Yuba County One Stop training and employment counselor,
said the $465,000 share allocated for Yuba County will pay minimum wage
salaries for up to 200 youth jobs, as well as transportation vouchers
and other work-related expenses. ‘They really got the dollars down to
us fast,’ Yuba County One Stop Director Patti Clary said of the
$465,000."
"Southern Illinois University
Carbondale has received $16,694 in funding for student and/or teacher
training from the National Institutes of Health. The grant, announced
Tuesday by U.S. Rep. Jerry Costello, D-Belleville, is part of the
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and will create research
experiences over the next two summers for high school and college
students and science teachers at NIH-funded laboratories across the
country. ‘This is an example of Recovery Act funds creating jobs,’
Costello said. He noted that by supporting jobs in the fields of
education and science, the funding also provides additional benefits
that will result from the training."
"Federal stimulus money will
help upgrade the lock and dam on the Mississippi River near Red Wing,
creating about 500 jobs for two years, according to officials with the
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The Corps has received $70 million as
part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and plans to use the
funds to renovate the 70-year-old facility, according to Tom Crump,
Chief of Project Management at the Corps' St. Paul District office."
"Tennessee's plan to spend $635
million in stimulus money to plug holes in higher education and
grade-school budgets has been approved by federal officials, a
formality that will likely save hundreds of jobs. The pressure of
potential job losses lessened once President Barack Obama announced
details about stimulus money, but Tennessee's plans on how to spend the
cash influx had to be approved before the deal was finalized. The state
also will be eligible for an additional $313 million in funds this
fall. ‘These funds will help Tennessee tremendously in a time of very
difficult and challenging budgets,’ Gov. Phil Bredesen said in a
statement last week."
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