Pam Fessler

Advocates Struggle To Reach Growing Ranks Of Suburban Poor

Pam Fessler — Mon, 20 May 2013 10:49:20 +0000

Poverty has grown everywhere in the U.S. in recent years, but mostly in the suburbs.

Obama Forms Presidential Commission To Study Voting Problems

Pam Fessler — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 20:09:17 +0000

President Obama has established a new bipartisan commission on election administration, something he promised to do in his Feb. 12 State of the Union address. He signed an executive order Thursday making it official.

The Presidential Commission on Election Administration is being headed by two longtime Washington attorneys, Bob Bauer and Ben Ginsberg. Bauer was general counsel to the president's re-election campaign and is also Obama's former White House counsel.

America's Homeless in 2013: 'We Shouldn't Have To Live Like This'

Pam Fessler — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 15:12:06 +0000

If aging is not for sissies, that's especially true if you're homeless. You can be on your feet for hours, or forced to sleep in the frigid cold or seriously ill with no place to go. But, increasingly, the nation's homeless population is getting older. By some estimates, more than half of single homeless adults are 47 or older.

And there's growing alarm about what this means — both for the aging homeless and for those who have to foot the bill.

Study: Nearly Half In U.S. Lack Financial Safety Net

Pam Fessler — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 10:42:35 +0000

In his inaugural address, President Obama talked about a country where even "a little girl born into the bleakest poverty knows that she has the same chance to succeed as anybody else." But in reality, that's not always the case.

Thanks, But No Thanks: When Post-Disaster Donations Overwhelm

Pam Fessler — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 16:57:12 +0000

Newtown, Conn., was so inundated with teddy bears and other donations after last month's school shootings that it asked people to please stop sending gifts. Relief groups in New York and New Jersey are still trying to figure out what to do with piles of clothes and other items sent there after Superstorm Sandy.

It happens in every disaster: People want to help, but they often donate things that turn out to be more of a burden.

'Giving Tuesday': The Start Of A Holiday Tradition?

Pam Fessler — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 14:27:31 +0000

First, there was the post-Thanksgiving sales spectacle Black Friday and then the online version, Cyber Monday.

What If There's No Winner? Presidential Campaigns And Their Lawyers Prepare

Pam Fessler — Fri, 02 Nov 2012 22:04:02 +0000

The presidential race is expected to be extremely close, and that has a lot of people nervous about what it will mean for election night.

Does it mean that the vote count could drag on for days, or even weeks, as it did in 2000?

Lawyers for the campaigns, the political parties and state election offices are preparing for the possibility.

Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted could very well be the man in the middle of any election night storm.

Pre-Election Legal Battles Target Voting Rules

Pam Fessler — Fri, 24 Aug 2012 14:07:53 +0000

If you vote, you might very well be confused about what the rules will be when you go to cast your ballot this fall. There's been a flood of new laws on things such as voter identification and early voting, and many of them are now being challenged in court.

Some cases could drag on until Nov. 6, Election Day, and beyond.