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June 21st, 2013

Sequester effects less painful than expected, but lawmakers still unhappy

The congressionally mandated budget cuts called sequestration continue to have an impact on Wyoming. And while the state’s Republican lawmakers say those cuts aren’t having as big of an impact as predicted by Democrats, Matt Laslo reports from Washington that the delegation still isn’t happy with the sequester.

Efforts to restore sage grouse habitat move forward

Last year, we reported on a new project to restore sage grouse habitat that’s been disturbed by energy development in the Powder River Basin. The Bureau of Land Management, the Natural Resources Conservation Service, and other agencies are participating in the effort. And they’re starting to make progress. Wyoming Public Radio’s Willow Belden spoke with Janelle Gonzales, who’s coordinating the project for the BLM, and Bill Ostheimer, a natural resource specialist at the BLM’s office in Buffalo. Gonzales says what they’re trying to do is restore sage grouse habitat after oil and gas wells are no longer in use.

A crime victim and perpetrator talk about how their unlikely friendship came to be

Restorative justice is an approach to dealing with crime that put the victim of the crime front and center and considers how the offense affected the community, rather than looking at it as an isolated incident. Wyoming Public Radio’s Irina Zhorov has a three part series about restorative justice efforts in Wyoming, starting with a case study.

Restorative justice initiatives in WY are just starting

Restorative justice is an approach to dealing with crime that put the victim of the crime front and center and considers how the offense affected the community, rather than looking at it as an isolated incident. Wyoming Public Radio has a three part series about restorative justice efforts in Wyoming, starting with a case study.

Watt and Farnham discuss the benefits of restorative justice in their lives

Restorative justice is an approach to dealing with crime that put the victim of the crime front and center and considers how the offense affected the community, rather than looking at it as an isolated incident. Wyoming Public Radio has a three part series about restorative justice efforts in Wyoming. In Part One we heard about how Stephen Watt and Mark Farnham initially crossed paths. Part 2 outlined how restorative justice works and fledgling initiatives the state is taking to use it. But since there aren’t any restorative justice programs for adults in Wyoming yet, Watt and Farnham had to sort of improvise. Still, it seems to have worked out. In part three of our series, we’ll hear what this self-led restorative justice therapy has meant for Watt and Farnham.

With added OSHA personnel, more companies get safety consultations

Wyoming consistently has one of the highest rates of workplace fatalities in the country. Many of these are in the energy industry, though not all. Last year, the state legislature decided to tackle the problem by hiring more safety consultants for Wyoming’s Occupational Health and Safety Administration, or OSHA. Most agree that the change has been positive, but some say more still needs to be done, in order to reduce workplace injuries and deaths. Wyoming Public Radio’s Willow Belden reports.

News Director Bob Beck reflects on 25 years at WPR

Wyoming Public Radio’s news director, Bob Beck, has been with the station for 25 years this month. During that time, the station has received 81 national, regional and state awards. Bob himself is a two-time winner of Edward R. Murrow awards and has contributed to two Emmy-award-winning television projects. He’s covered the Wyoming Legislature longer than any other broadcaster in the state, and he’s helped WPR grow from being a small station covering southeast Wyoming, to a nationally recognized operation covering the entire state. Bob joined Wyoming Public Radio’s Willow Belden to talk about his time at WPR. He says a lot has changed since he started here in 1988.

Irina Zhorov is a reporter for Wyoming Public Radio. She earned her BA from the University of Pennsylvania and an MFA from the University of Wyoming. In between, she worked as a photographer and writer for Philadelphia-area and national publications. Her professional interests revolve around environmental and energy reporting and she's reported on mining issues from Wyoming, Mexico, and Bolivia. She's been supported by the Dick and Lynn Cheney Grant for International Study, the Eleanor K. Kambouris Grant, and the Social Justice Research Center Research Grant for her work on Bolivian mining and Uzbek alpinism. Her work has appeared on Voice of America, National Native News, and in Indian Country Today, among other publications.
Based on Capitol Hill, Matt Laslo is a reporter who has been covering campaigns and every aspect of federal policy since 2006. While he has filed stories for NPR and more than 40 of its affiliates, he has also written for Rolling Stone, The Atlantic, Campaigns and Elections Magazine, The Daily Beast, The Chattanooga Times Free Press, The Guardian, The Omaha World-Herald, VICE News and Washingtonian Magazine.