News from around the nation.

Tampa Bay, Florida, in the path of a Category 5 storm; California facilities could turn sewage into tap water, although public acceptance lags; Maine 'living shorelines' counter rising sea levels, stronger storms; Report: Immigrants boost Colorado and U.S. economy, create jobs.

Transcript

The Public News Service daily newscast, October the 9th, 2024.

I'm Mike Clifford.

As the powerhouse Hurricane Milton nears the Florida coastline, communities in the Tampa Bay area are extending relief efforts initially launched for Hurricane Helene.

Demp's law firm in Wesley Chapel is one of many organizations that have led relief donation drives for Hurricane Helene.

But Cornelius Demp's is now grappling with the daunting possibility of widespread devastation from Hurricane Milton.

He says he would ask people to pray for all in the storm's path as they adjust to the ongoing need.

And so what we decided to do is extend our hurricane relief donation drive.

It was supposed to end this Friday, instead we're gonna do it for the rest of the month of October.

And mainly we need people just to donate what they can.

The firm has been collecting essential items such as cleaning supplies, food and clothing with help from local groups like the NAACP in St.

Petersburg and the Rotary Club of Wesley Chapel.

The firm is also helping with Caramel Friendship Church to create an Amazon wishlist so that people who don't live in the area can donate as well.

I'm Tramiel Gomes.

The Associated Press reports Hurricane Milton was upgraded back to a cat five storm as it churns towards Florida's West Coast.

The first storm could land a once in a century direct hit on Tampa and St. Petersburg.

Long-term facilities and counties where mandatory evacuations have been issued are taking their patients elsewhere while hospitals are largely on guard preparing to stay open through the storm.

And as the West becomes hotter and drier, governments and experts want to diversify drinking water sources.

California is just one state that's looking at a culturally taboo water source, sewage.

More in the State Line Solutions Journalism Network, California News Service collaboration.

Orange County is the first in the US to recycle every ounce of its wastewater.

That's 130 million gallons of water purified every day or enough to fill nearly 200 Olympic sized swimming pools.

Right now that water is being used to replenish the local groundwater aquifer, but it's actually potable.

Darren Polimus with the California State Water Resources Control Board says reusing it as drinking water makes both scientific and economic sense.

We spend a lot of money and energy moving water from different parts of the state to Southern California where it's used.

If you use it once, dump it in the ocean.

That's maybe not the smartest way to deal with the resiliency question.

California's state water officials are slated to green light new rules this month that would allow counties to purify wastewater and inject it immediately into the drinking supply.

Cities including Los Angeles and San Diego plan to recycle wastewater similarly in the next decade.

This story was produced with original reporting from Matt Vesla-Gombros and Kevin Hardy for State Line.

I'm Kathleen Shannon.

Regulators in Colorado, Florida, Iowa, and Kansas are also looking at how to use recycled water more effectively.

This is Public News Service.

Immigration boosts the economy in Colorado across the US, but new policies are needed to maximize gains and make it harder for employers to abuse workers.

That's according to a new Colorado Fiscal Institute study which found that each year immigrants generate $54 billion in state economic output.

Despite widespread claims that immigrants are coming to take jobs from US-born Americans, Sophie Shea with the Institute says immigration actually increases opportunities for all Coloradans.

Research shows study after study that there are no fixed numbers of jobs in a state.

When immigrants move to Colorado, the economy grows.

That doesn't mean fewer jobs, it means more jobs.

More than half a million Colorado immigrants work in low-wage, middle-wage, and higher-wage jobs.

They're nursing assistants, cooks, and software developers.

Nearly one in five small businesses in the state were launched by immigrants, creating jobs for US-born and new residents alike.

The report also shows how immigration has led to better, not worse, wages for US-born workers.

I'm Eric Galatas.

And two specific types of cancer are showing up in high numbers among people in jail and prison, and Illinois is no exception.

The data found that diagnoses and mortality numbers for liver and lung cancer are more prevalent among county jails and state prisons.

Lead author Dr. Zing-Shun Chow with the American Cancer Society says individuals may need to be transferred to outside facilities to receive cancer treatment, which is often denied or delayed, and that people with cancer and those behind bars share some characteristics or risk factors.

For liver cancer, some of the risk factors for developing liver cancer included hepatitis B and C, and healthy alcohol use.

And we know that for lung cancer, smoking is a huge risk factor.

And those factors are also very common among people who are currently incarcerated or with incarceration history.

She adds studies have shown that people are in Illinois state prisons with another 17,000 in local jails.

I'm Terri Dee reporting.

Finally, next to Ohio, the impact of domestic violence continues to devastate families.

Get the story from our Farah Siddiqui.

The Ohio Domestic Violence Network has released its ninth annual fatality report revealing that 114 people, including 15 children, lost their lives to domestic violence in the past year.

This includes incidents where victims were shot, strangled, or beaten, often while trying to leave their abuser.

According to ODVN's legal counsel, Lisa DeGeter, these victims were seeking help.

We continue to see victims, particularly parents, reach out for help to protect themselves and their children and not receive what is needed.

This is Mike Clifford for Public News Service.

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