Articles by Steven Gilchrist

In June 2021, the American Legislative Exchange Council's (ALEC) Center for State Fiscal Reform released its annual publication regarding state government's unfunded pension liabilities. The Council's annual publication titled: Unaccountable and   Unaffordable, 2020  found that the combined unfunded pension liability for state governments in the United States is $5.82 trillion. This amount averages to $17,748/person.  "Unfunded pension liabilities are a looming threat to states' financial health," says ALEC CEO Lisa B. Nelson. "Unfunded public pension liabilities represent a massive risk for state taxpayers, as well as state workers and retirees. Fortunately, states like Wisconsin, Michigan, Tennessee and Oklahoma have all enacted pension reforms in recent years that will ensure promises to workers and retirees are honored, provide flexibility for young workers and protect hardworking taxpayers," says ALEC executive vice president of policy Jonathan ...

Last year, cities across the United States saw an increase in the number of homicides compared to recent years. The murder rate increased in cities such as Buffalo, Chicago, and Philadelphia. The number of homicides also increased in Louisville, Kentucky. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation the national murder rate increased nearly 15% in 2021 compared to 2020. As of August 2021, approximately 65% of the murders in Louisville have gone unsolved. As of 2019, the national average for solved murder cases nationwide was 61.4% according to the FBI.  According to the Louisville Metro Police Department (LMPD), the city of Louisville had 188 homicides in 2021. Last year was the deadliest year on record for the city of Louisville. The previous record for the most homicides in a year for Louisville was in 2020, when 173 people were murdered. According to LMPD records, 583 people were injured by gun violence in 2021. Also, in 2021, 24 children were killed and 123 children were in...

Last month, on the day before Thanksgiving a 55-year-old woman was shot several times on a street in South Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The woman eventually died from the wounds that she sustained. Her death marked a tragic milestone for the city since it was the 500th homicide of the year. The last time that the city of Philadelphia reached 500 homicides was in 1990.  At 499, the 2020 total for homicides was the second-highest on record. City leaders expect for 2021 to be the deadliest year in Philadelphia's history. As of December 24, 2021 there were 547 homicides this year in Philadelphia. In 2019 there were 356 homicides and in 2018 there were 353 homicides. City law enforcement data shows that the total amount of violent crimes have decreased; however, the number of homicides in Philadelphia have been on the rise. Civic and community leaders are examining methods for how to reduce the number of homicides in Philadelphia. The state of Pennsylvania has a preemption law - which pr...

Frances Slanger plaque - MA State House   Boston, MA. - In Nurses Hall at the Massachusetts State House there is a plaque dedicated to Frances Y. Slanger - a nurse who served during World War II. Born in Poland in 1913, Slanger emigrated to Boston, Massachusetts with her family in 1920. Slanger eventually became a nurse serving as a 2nd Lieutenant in the U.S. Army Nurse Corps. Slanger served in the 45th Field Hospital unit in Normandy after the D-Day invasions. She died as a result of artillery fire. She was the first American nurse killed in action after the D-Day invasions. After her death, Slanger was awarded the Purple Heart medal.

Framingham, MA. -  Meta Vaux Warrick Fuller (June 9, 1877 - March 18, 1968) was a prolific African-American female sculptor. Fuller was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She was also a prominent painter, poet, and theater designer. Fuller started her artistic career at the Philadelphia Museum and School of Industrial Art. After graduating in 1899, she moved to Paris, France to study at the Academie Colarossi. While in France, Fuller was mentored by American civil rights leader W.E.B. DuBois, American sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens, and French sculptor Auguste Rodin. Rodin, often considered the founder of modern sculpture, inspired Fuller's passion for natural and emotive forms. During the Harlem Renaissance, Fuller was described as one of the most imaginative African-American artists of her generation.  Meta Fuller Collection - Danforth Art Museum Fuller died at the age of 90-years-old in Framingham, Massachusetts. The Danforth Art Museum, which is located in Framingham, i...

On August 30, 2021, United States military forces withdrew from Afghanistan. The withdrawal of U.S. troops concluded the longest war in American history. On August 26, 2021, 13 U.S. service members were killed and 18 were injured in an attack at a security checkpoint at Kabul airport. The U.S. service members killed in the attack were the first American military personnel killed in action in Afghanistan since February 2020. At least 170 Afghan civilians were also killed in the attack.    Prior to the conclusion of the war, a  December 2019 report from The Washington Post indicates that more American contractors died during the war in Afghanistan than American troops. The report suggests that the U.S. government did not keep an accurate count of the number of American contractors who died during the war in Afghanistan. The Washington Post report estimates that 3,814 U.S. civilian contractors have died since the beginning of the war in Afghanistan in October 2001. The estim...

USS Massachusetts Memorial Committee display. Fall River, MA. -  September 11, 2021, marked the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks that occurred in New York City, Washington,  D.C., and Shanksville, Pennsylvania. The 9/11 attacks were the deadliest terrorist act in world history. The attacks took the lives of 2,977 people who represented 78 countries. More than 6,000 people were injured in the attacks. The victims of the attacks ranged from ages 2 to 85 years old. In Fall River, Massachusetts, there is a memorial dedicated to the 94 Massachusetts residents who died from the September 11th terrorist attacks. In 2002, the Memorial was established by legislation signed by then-Massachusetts Governor Jane Swift. Massachusetts State Representative Robert Correia of Fall River sponsored the legislation to create the Memorial.  Massachusetts victims of 9/11/2001 There is a quote from a statement delivered by U.S. president George W. Bush on the day of the 9/11 attac...