Open Spaces

April 24th, 2009 Listen to the Whole Show   Food banks in Jackson are overwhelmed by immigrant workers. Food banks across Wyoming are packed. Some are seeing twice as many people in line as they did a year ago. Many of the newcomers are Spanish-speaking immigrants - especially in Jackson, where jobs in construction, landscaping, and the service industry are fading with the recession. Addie Goss Reports.

A listing of today's stories

Pro and anti-coal groups are trying to influence you. This week Congress has been discussing stronger environmental regulations pertaining to the energy industry. And the future of Coal is part of those discussions. Meanwhile the industry and opponents are embroiled in a publicity campaign over whether or not coal is good. The Environment Reports Lester Graham looks at the campaigns for-and-against coal. A task force tries to improve Wyoming's workplace safety. Wyoming continues to have among the nation's highest rates of deaths on the job. Now the Governor has set up a task force to help improve workplace safety. One of his senior advisors is Gary Hartman. He tells Addie Goss that their new task force met in March with representatives from oil and gas, mining, construction, and other industries. They'll meet again next week. Hartman says another state with a high rate of workplace fatalities, Alaska, was able to reduce those deaths over the past 10 years. That state is sending one of its experts to Wyoming. Supreme Court Chief Justice Bart Voight discusses new challenges facing Wyoming's Judiciary. It's a time of change for the Wyoming Supreme Court. They are moving into the computer age, have a renovated court facility, and are dealing with the same budget shortfalls as the rest of us. Chief Justice Bart Voight tells WPR's Bob Beck that budget cuts will be a challenge. The shootings at Columbine forced law enforcement to undergo a change in strategy. The ten year anniversary of the attack on Columbine High School was this week. The event changed the way schools and law enforcement address student violence. KCFR's Megan Verlee reports on how the attack changed school security and emergency response. 2nd stories of downtown businesses may be revitalized. You probably have never paid any attention, but there are a lot of vacant 2nd stories of buildings in Wyoming. Those stories used to be popular, but now they are an afterthought. A couple of state organizations are hoping to change that. Betsy Bradley and Mary Hopkins of the State Historic preservation office join Bob Beck to discuss their project, Living upstairs in Wyoming. In part two of our series on diversity, Jackson Hole residents look at the pros and cons of a diverse community. WPR's Bob Beck has more. In the last 20 years things have changed in Jackson Hole. The population of Teton County has surged. The Census bureau notes that in 2007 the median household value was well over 400 thousand dollars and the median income was roughly 73-thousand dollars. But affluent people are not the only ones coming to Jackson Hole. 12 percent of the population is now Hispanic and that number steadily grows. The workers are needed to fill service jobs that more affluent people don't take. It has led to changes in the dynamics of the valley that have some local residents talking. In part two of a series devised by a group of leadership Wyoming classmates we hear what Teton County residents have to say about all these changes. Wyoming will put money towards homelessness. Wyoming is set to receive over 1.7 million dollars in federal stimulus funds to address homelessness. Mary Randolph directs the Wyoming Rural Development Council, which will administer the money. She tells Addie Goss that the aim of the grant is to help Wyoming governments and non-profits prevent people from becoming homeless during this recession. A group tries to show what it is like to be in need. About 9 percent of Wyoming residents live in poverty, according to the most recent federal statistics. But those numbers are from 2007. Wyoming's unemployment rate is now higher than it's been in nearly 6 years. Community Action of Laramie County offers direct services to people living at up to twice the poverty level - about 44 thousand dollars a year for a family of four. The group decided to give people a sense of what it's like to need. Wyoming Public Radio's Molly Messick reports. Food banks in Jackson are overwhelmed by immigrant workers. Food banks across Wyoming are packed. Some are seeing twice as many people in line as they did a year ago. Many of the newcomers are Spanish-speaking immigrants - especially in Jackson, where jobs in construction, landscaping, and the service industry are fading with the recession. Addie Goss Reports.