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PNS - Monday, April 7, 2025 - White House economic plans dominate the headlines, but actions on elections and voting rules are sparking debate. Local groups voice concerns about the future of immigration, health care and nutrition.
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PNS - Monday, April 7, 2025 - U.S. stock futures plunge ahead of Monday open as Trump tariff shock continues; AZ voting rights advocates oppose Trump's election order; OR hunger-fighting groups call USDA food program cuts 'cruel;' Debate over school vouchers in TX moves to House floor.
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By Kathleen Shannon - Producer, Contact - News
Big Sky Connection - Federal science and environmental justice-related online datasets are critical to research, policy and litigation in Montana and across the U.S. Many of those tools are vanishing under President Donald Trump's orders, but a handful of nonprofits are working quickly to save them. Comments from Katie Hoeberling, director of policy initiatives, and Cathy Richards, data-inclusion specialist, both with the Open Environmental Data Project.
Kathleen Shannon
April 4, 2025 - As U.S. government website purging continues, the Open Environmental Data Project is one of several groups working to preserve public access to federal climate science and environmental-justice data and tools.
The efforts are a direct response to President Donald Trump's orders to scrub government websites of information and references related to DEI and climate change, among other topics.
Katie Hoeberling, director of policy initiatives for the project, said people rely on this data for critical research, advocacy and policy, and litigation work.
"Everyone who has paid taxes in the last two decades helped create this information," she said. "So the fact that it's been taken down, not only is it kind of erasing the history of our country, it feels like theft."
Along with high-priority federal website information, the project is looking at "lower-risk" data from non-government websites to save and house on its website. People can also nominate a website to be archived.
Hoeberling said these datasets and tools aggregate key information to address environmental justice issues, which can have widespread impacts. And they make up a widely accepted body of evidence that, she said, can help hold polluters accountable, aid in climate-change planning and guide agencies in prioritizing funding for disadvantaged communities.
"So the data removals are just part of this larger effort to not just stop supporting communities that need support but to hide the impacts that we are inevitably going to feel and are already feeling," she said.
Cathy Richards, a data-inclusion specialist for the project, said she tries to focus on the opportunities presented by this challenge.
"One of the big things that's in this process I've been thinking a lot about is developing platforms and data portals in ways that make it a lot easier for people to access things, a lot more resilient generally," she said.
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PNS - Friday, April 4, 2025 - The administration stands behind its tariffs, despite declines in markets. Advocates nationwide push back against federal rollbacks affecting military families, and the environment and big budget plans advance in Congress.
