A bill advancing in the minnesota house would establish a statewide paid family. Leave program are mike. Bowen report is the first time lawmakers have considered the idea but backers say the timing is right tell households of ended by the pandemic house file. Twelve hundred would create a statewide fund for employers and their staff to pay into presenting roughly two to three dollars a weekly earnings. The plan would then cover twelve weeks of partial wages for a worker dealing with a serious illness or caring for a newborn or another loved. One northfield city council member. Jessica petersen white says like many people she's to make difficult choices juggling a young child and her job because of the pandemic mann maternity leave lasted a little more than a week. And then i was working harder than ever before. It's makes your bookstore survive. Twenty twenty supporters say the fund would help working families deal with long term effects of the crisis and could help reduce staff turnover but senate republican site the cost for small business owners and note that many employers offer their own plans. The bill also opposed by the minnesota chamber of commerce clearinghouse committee this week while the minnesota house version is seeing some movement. It's unclear whether the bill in the senate will get a hearing. Louis dejoy the embattled postmaster general said wednesday. He's not going anywhere as he faces. Withering criticism of his leadership of the us postal service and called for president. Joe biden to oust him that political testifying at a house oversight and reform committee meeting dejoy said he intended to be around a long time. Get used to me. He said politico notes joys resolve may be put to the test soon as biden nominated three people to fill open seats on the board that determines the post pastors fate. Would that come see opportunity to get rid of dejoy. An election in washington's largest city and at making elections better reflect the will of voters is getting some new funding. Worn that from eric. Taken off the center for election science is making seventy thousand dollar grant to seattle approves and four other groups around the country seattle approves wants to change the city's primary elections so that voters select all the candidates they support rather than just one logan bowers ran for seattle city council and twenty nineteen. He saw voters struggle with a crowded field of candidates and thinks approval. Voting would make the process easier. If there's two candidates that have similar views. They don't have to worry that their votes going to be split and then both candidates will lose and so the net was also that if the candidates that make through tend to be favored or approved by more voters voting reform groups were also chosen in the san francisco bay area austin texas missouri and utah. This is p. ns federal regulators have issued a preliminary permit now for a pumped hydropower project using water for blink powell but conservation groups say climate change could make that plan unsustainable. The project would pump water from the lake. Drain it downhill to a generator and send the power to massive batteries for storage. The twenty two hundred megawatt project would supply cities in arizona. California nevada over lines previously used by retired navajo generating station but gary wachner with the group save. The colorado says falling water levels will make the colorado river an unreliable source of water starting to build billions of dollars with the infrastructure in this lake in the system. That is clearly in severe decline. It's just range way to try to generate fritters martyr faster easier ways generous than from stories hydro. The permit gives the developer daybreak power. The go ahead to negotiate for land use rights and finalized plans for the project but conservation groups say the three point. Six billion dollars would be better invested in solar and wind power projects mark. Richardson reporting new data. She was a big drop just over nine percent. In the number of indiana students apply for federal student aid this year. Experts say that could mean a big red flag for college enrollment. The national college attainment network cracks festivus free applications for federal student aid. Morally keller is network director of technical assistance if the fastest are already running just under ten percent behind and faxes are very strong indicator about the likelihood to enroll in college. We may be getting setup for another significant drop in college. Enrollment this fall one speculations. Many students are holding off waiting to hear whether their preferred college will offer in person instruction semester. And finally our lily bulky tells us a cohort of white people of means are transferred well to black lead food and land organizations across the nation as a form of reparations and restored of justice at the detroit black community food security network executive director maliki. Akina says a white woman from california called last year saying she wanted a sizeable portion of her inheritance to go to the organization. He akini recalls. She felt there was some lack of justice in how the money was acquired and she wanted to redirect it into the community one of the fundamental reasons that black brown and indigenous communities suffer food insecurity is because of dispossession of land. One of the things that gives the community. The ability to feed itself is having access to land to grow and produce food according to recent data. Wait people own ninety. Eight percent of us farmland though many black americans have deep roots in farming. The story was produced with original reporting from ruth. Terry for yes. Media this is by clifford four public news service.