News from around the nation.

Trump's suggestion that US 'take over' the Gaza Strip is rejected by allies and adversaries alike; Bill could protect MD tenants from 'no cause' evictions; Advocacy groups tee up their priorities for NV Legislature; Outer Banks officials want to make tourism more sustainable.

Transcript

The Public News Service Wednesday afternoon update.

I'm Mike Clifford.

President Donald Trump's proposal that the U.S. take over the Gaza Strip and permanently resettle its Palestinian residents was swiftly rejected and denounced by American allies and adversaries alike.

That's for the Associated Press.

Trump's suggestion came at a White House news conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who smiled several times as the president detailed a plan to build new settlements for Palestinians outside of the Gaza Strip and for the U.S. to take ownership in redeveloping the war-torn territory into the Riviera of the Middle East.

And a bill making its way through the Maryland General Assembly could protect renters from unjust evictions.

House Bill 709 would create what's known as a "good cause" law.

It would enable, not require, local governments in Maryland to put eviction laws in place in their communities to prevent landlords from evicting tenants without cause.

People could still be evicted for disorderly conduct that disturbs other residents, a major breach of a lease, or causing damage to the property.

Erika Puentes with the group Progressive Maryland says the idea is to help keep Maryland families stable.

Good cause laws require transparency and accountability from corporate landlords for why they're choosing to evict a tenant.

Good cause would prevent people from being evicted unless the landlord provides a good reason.

A number of city leaders, including the mayors of Baltimore and Tacoma Park, have expressed support for a good cause law in the past few years.

But some developers and landlords have voiced opposition, saying it would make it more difficult to evict problem tenants.

I'm Simone Perez.

Next to Nevada, where the legislature just kicked off this week and progressive groups are sharing their top priorities.

Many are asking Governor Joe Lombardo to work with Democrats to get important legislation over the finish line.

Matilda Guerrero-Miller with the Native Voters Alliance says the climate crisis is only worsening in Nevada.

Whether it's record-breaking temperatures in the summer or cold winters that force family decisions about how to afford home heating, she says more should be done.

We're fighting for stronger outdoor worker protections and an end to utility shutoffs during extreme heat and cold.

And this is not about policy, it's about basic survival and the ability to thrive.

Nevada did approve a regulation that mandates businesses with more than 10 employees conduct a job hazard analysis and write up a safety program with solutions to potentially harmful conditions.

I'm Alex Gonzalez reporting.

And North Carolina's Outer Banks is slowly shifting toward a more sustainable approach to tourism.

The region has been successfully attracting people to the chain of barrier islands, with visitation exploding, especially during the pandemic.

But the increased tourism has put more pressure on the region.

Lee Nettles heads up the Deer County Outer Banks Visitor's Bureau.

That whole process kind of fundamentally changed the way we go about our business.

Visitor bureaus like ours, destination marketing organizations, have traditionally been all about demand generation.

You couldn't help but notice that something had to change.

This story based on original reporting by Taylor Helterman for Triple Pundit.

This is public news service.

Next to Georgia, a state that faces a growing mental health crisis among children with schools on the front lines.

A new report shows that 119 kids across the state experience major depression and more than half aren't getting the help they need.

Angela Kimball with the mental health advocacy group Inseparable says schools play a key role in closing these gaps by making mental health resources more accessible.

One of the most important roles is that schools can help promote resilience and skills like getting along well with others, healthy coping skills, making responsible choices.

All of those things can help mitigate against mental health challenges later on.

The report suggests several policy changes to help address the crisis.

They include expanding Medicaid billing to cover school based mental health services.

Shantia Hudson reporting.

And legal action continues in efforts of cleaning up a portion of Ohio's waterways.

The Ohio EPA has been added as a defendant in a lawsuit accusing the board of Lucas County Commissioners, the city of Toledo and the Environmental Law and Policy Center of failing to have an effective plan to prevent dangerous amounts of phosphorus from occupying Lake Erie.

Phosphorus produces cyanobacteria which appears in water as a blue-green or brownish algae.

Lake Erie waterkeeper Sandy Ben calls the EPA's control plan ineffective.

We've got now just in the last two years an increase of 100,000 cattle coming into the Maumee watershed, most of it unpermitted, piles of manure on the ground here, there and everywhere and you can actually physically see the manure running off into the streams.

Ben notes commercial fertilizer phosphorus use has decreased by almost 40 percent, but livestock is increasing and with that comes more manure runoff.

She says the agencies being sued are more focused on the phosphorus in farmers' chemical fertilizers.

I'm Terry Dee reporting.

And the final deadline is approaching for members of the Texas legislature to decide on participating in the summer EBT program that provides grocery benefits to low-income families with students.

The state didn't participate in the program last summer.

Clarissa Clark with the North Texas Food Bank says if lawmakers don't meet the March 1st deadline, they're essentially leaving federal dollars on the table.

It's 450 million dollars in federal taxpayer money that comes back to the state.

It helps those who are food insecure and it also puts money back into our economy.

So there's a lot of wins to it.

To qualify for summer EBT, families must meet the income requirement for the National School Lunch Program or be certified for school meals through SNAP or Medicaid.

I'm Freda Ross reporting.

This is Mike Clifford for Public News Service, member and listener supported, heard on radio stations big and small, your favorite podcast platform, find our trust indicators and content at publicnewsservice.org.