Author

Elaine S. Povich
Elaine S. Povich covers consumer affairs for Stateline. Povich has reported for Newsday, the Chicago Tribune and United Press International. She also has worked as a freelancer for the Washington Post, the Fiscal Times, Governing, Kiplinger and AARP Bulletin. She has written three books, including "John McCain: American Maverick," and is at work on a fourth. She is an adjunct professor of journalism at the University of Maryland. Povich received the Everett McKinley Dirksen Award for Distinguished Reporting of Congress for her work on how the personal health care stories of members of Congress affect policy. She is a past president of the Washington Press Club Foundation, which helps young women and minorities excel in the field of journalism through internships in Washington, D.C. A native of Bath, Maine, Povich graduated from Cornell University and holds a Master's Certificate in Multimedia Journalism from the University of Maryland.
Debate over holding back third graders roils state legislatures
By: Elaine S. Povich - May 7, 2023
Should third graders who don’t read well enough to pass a standardized test repeat their grade? That question is roiling states, with some choosing to keep the practice, some to modify it and others to scrap it. Most states require students to take standardized tests that measure progress in reading and math in the third […]
As book bans gain favor, some say libraries could go
By: Elaine S. Povich - April 2, 2023
Amid the national uproar about whether to allow students access to a wide variety of books, the superintendent of a Virginia school district this week proposed a sweeping solution: Get rid of school libraries altogether. Mark Taylor, who leads the district in Spotsylvania County, Virginia, suggested at a recent school board meeting that eliminating libraries […]
Trash troubles: The pandemic started it; inflation keeps it going
By: Elaine S. Povich - January 1, 2023
Terrill “Ya Fav Trashman” Haigler, who worked for 14 months during the height of the pandemic as a Philadelphia sanitation worker, spent much of his tenure pointing out to the media and city officials the neighborhoods where garbage was piling up in the streets. With a website and outreach to local news outlets, Haigler shone […]
Thieves hit on a new fraud: Synthetic identity theft
By: Elaine S. Povich - May 9, 2022
They combined real Social Security numbers with mismatched or phony names to create new identities, according to investigators.