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By Robert Hanashiro, USA TODAY

Fri/Sat/Sun, March12–14, 2010

E K E N E D States may Newsline W E D I T I O N n News n Money n Sports n Life hold onto Theaters turn tax refunds up the luxury for months Delays would help By Jonathan Palmer Nurses in health debate meet budget deficits mRole of nurse practitioners, such as By William M. Welch Melinda Staten, right, scrutinized, 3A USA TODAY

Residents eager to get their state tax refunds may Springing have a long wait this year: The recession has tied up forward cash and caused officials in half a dozen states to consider freezing refunds, in one case for as long as mRemember five months. to adjust your States from New York to Hawaii that have been hit hard by the economic downturn say they have timepieces by either delayed refunds or are considering doing so early Sunday because of budget shortfalls.

USA TODAY “It’s an indicator of how bad it is,” says Scott Pat- tison, executive director of the National Association U.S. traffic deaths decline dramatically of State Budget Officers. “You know things are bad when you have to do that.” Highway fatalities drop almost 9% in a year to less New York, hit with a $9 billion deficit, may delay than 34,000, marking lowest level since 1954. 3A. AMC photo; USA TODAY illustration $500 million in refunds to keep the state from run- Dinner theater: The AMC Fork & Screen in the Buckhead area of Atlanta features soft bucket seating, ning out of cash, says Gov. David Paterson. mMoney: Stock market riding high waiters taking orders from illuminated countertops and an extensive menu of munchies. Hawaii’s Department of Taxation says some resi- Wilshire 5000 index of almost every U.S. stock dents may not see state income tax refunds until climbs 48 points to its best close since 2008. 1B. ing to the concept of “dinner theater.” the end of August, The Honolulu Advertiser report- ‘Escapism’ helps boost So, at the Buckhead AMC in Atlanta, bring on ed. It was part of a plan by Gov. Linda Lingle to deal mSports: Baseball banks on survivors sales during a recession the mango margaritas! While watching the 3-D with a revenue drop-off by pushing costs into the In spring drills, the Atlanta Braves and Oakland blue people in Avatar, munch on handmade next fiscal period, which begins in July. Athletics see progress from proven players. 1C. blue-cheese potato chips at the Gold Class Cin- States often do not have a timetable for refunds By Maria Puente ema in Pasadena, Calif. Feast on wine-poached because delays are based on cash flow. Most states mLife: Honduras destination opens up USA TODAY jumbo shrimp in Kansas City, Mo., or lobster issue refunds within 30 days. Achange in the country’s leadership boosts rolls with a sweet Thai chili sauce in Delaying refund checks isn’t unprecedented, Pat- flights, cruise stops to Roatan, a coastal outpost. 8D.When Americans go to the movies, we Redmond, Wash. Tr y the Wagyubeef tison said, but it is something virtually no politician know what to expect: Multiplex. Pop- Cover burger with applewood-smoked bacon wants to do, because taxpayers are owed the mon- corn and soda. Barely comfortable seats. story or the shredded duck tacos in South ey and in most cases want it fast. Delays in paying Now at USA TODAY.com Middling sound and picture quality. We Barrington, Ill. And finish with a darkic- refunds and other state bills can trigger interest on can do better staying home, and yet, de- cino chocolate brownie in Olathe,Kan. those overdue payments, depending on state laws, spite the recession, we keep going — and going. “Movie theaters are doing very well,” says he said. USA TODAY’s website keeps you Now, as the movie industry celebrates a boffo Patrick Corcoran, director of media and re- California’s massive budget shortfall of more current 24/7. Check now for: year of box office — $10.6 billion in ticket sales, search for the National Association of Theatre than $20 billion last year prompted it not only to the most ever — theaters are going after new Owners, which counts 39,380 screens in 5,853 delay tax refunds but to issue billions of dollars in

om revenue and changing the moviegoing experi- theaters in North America. IOUs to vendors and others who were owed mon-

.c ence for millions of Americans, turning some No kidding. For generations, Americans have ey. State Controller John Chiang called the delayed multiplexes into luxury outposts and quasi- payments a “shameful chapter in the State’s histo- ay community centers while assigning new mean- Please see COVER STORY next page u ry” when the IOUs ended last September. California still faces budget problems, but Chiang

od said that revenue is running ahead of projections

at mCruise contest this year, lessening the threat of a repeat. Submit a video showcasing your

us “Californians should expect to receive their hard- talent; go to epicstar.usatoday.com Potholes put dent in city coffers earned tax refunds on time,” Chiang said. The delays come as some states continue to face deep budget holes, even as economists say the na- USA TODAY Snapshots® tenance budget to fix roads decimated tion as a whole has begun recovery. In a recent re- Crews out earlier to by potholes. The extra funding is com- port, the budget officers group and the National Time zones where the cope with epidemic ing from savings in other road pro- Governors Association said state fiscal conditions jects. “We don’t count the potholes. “have continued to worsen,” and that state reve- USA’s population lives By Marisol Bello It’s just out of control,” says Dena nues can be expected to lag one to three years be- USA TODAY Gray-Fisher,spokeswoman for the hind a national recovery from recession. state Department of Transportation. This fiscal year, the report said, 36 states have cut Drivers are battling an epidemic of USA TODAY uSioux Falls, S.D., Mayor Dave nearly $56 billion in spending, and 30 states have Pacific teeth-rattling potholes, jarring not only Rough roads Munson has been scouting city streets cut funding to public and higher education. 16.4% Mountain Central Eastern wheels and tires but also transportation and finding more potholes than he’s 6.6% 28.9% 47.5% departments trying to pay for road fixes. mHow a pothole seen in years. In January and February, Contributing: The Associated Press “The roads are so bad, you have to is formed, 6A the city went through 256 tons of re- wear a mouthpiece,” says David Alston, pair material, almost double the 130 50, a school bus driver in Iselin, N.J.. tons it used in the same months last year. “This year States with refund problems Pothole patching crews are making repairs earli- is so abnormal,” he says. er this year after an unusually severe winter of uThe extra cost is nicking already tight budgets. uAlabama is waiting on money to become Alaskan Hawaiian heavy snowstorms followed by freezing temper- Medford, Mass., has spent almost double its available to pay $79 million in refunds from 0.2% 0.4% atures, then a quick warm-up: $500,000 snow and ice budget since Christmas to already-processed tax returns. uArkansas’ Legislature has approved mov- Source: Analysis of Census Bureau data by Paul Overberg, USA TODAY uWichita has patched 13,000 potholes in the repair potholes. first two months of the year, three times the 4,000 Potholes are good news for car repair shops. ing $25 million from a trust fund to cover tax By Paul Overberg and Karl Gelles, USA TODAY it repaired in the same period last year, says Public Somerset Tire Service in East Meadow, N.Y., is see- refunds. Works Director Chris Carrier. ing almost triple the usual number of customers uIdaho last week announced an emergency Crossword, Sudoku12D uWashington, D.C., kicked off its second-annual coming in with blown tires, bent rims and other transfer of $30 million to an account that pays Editorial/Forum 8-9A Potholepalooza, a month-long campaign to fix pot- damage, says assistant manager StevenWalchak. tax refunds because it had been drained to Marketplace Today12D holes, a week earlier than planned. Since it began The pothole problem is unlikely to improve un- zero, with more tax refunds pending. QIJFAF-05005v(L)a Market scoreboard 6B uKansas may delay refunds amid a severe State-by-state 6A last Friday, the city has received 570 repair requests less more money is spent to maintain roads, says TV listings 13-14D by phone, e-mail, text message or tweets. The city Peter King,executive director of the American Pub- cash crunch. ©COPYRIGHT 2010 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co., Inc. has filled 1,300 potholes so far, says Department of lic Works Association.“What we are seeing is the uNorth Carolina began delaying refund Subscriptions, customer service Transportation spokeswoman KarynLeBlanc. result of deferring maintenance over time,” King checks in early February. 1-800-USA-0001 www.usatodayservice.com uThe Iowa Transportation Commission voted says. “Next year it will be worse, and two years Source: The Associated Press Tuesday to add $12 million to its $18 million main- from now even worse.”

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