Author

Elaine 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.
Nearly half the states now allow in-state tuition for immigrant students
By: Elaine Povich - August 22, 2023
When Cristian Dubon Solis was getting ready to graduate from a Boston high school in 2020, he started planning to apply to college. It was only then he realized that as an immigrant lacking permanent legal status, he wouldn’t qualify for in-state tuition at Massachusetts state universities, nor for state-sponsored financial aid. With no way to […]
Students blocked from campus when COVID hit want money back. Some are getting refunds.
By: Elaine Povich - August 9, 2023
Thousands of college students will get hundreds of dollars in compensation as colleges and universities move this summer to settle multimillion-dollar lawsuits stemming from canceled classes and activities during COVID-19 pandemic shutdowns. While some of the class-action suits against the colleges and universities are still in litigation, and still others dismissed, several major cases have […]
Lawmakers call foul on referee abuse
By: Elaine Povich - September 8, 2021
A few years ago, an umpire at a softball tournament for 12-year-old girls in Stoughton, Wisconsin, made a call on a play at the plate: The runner was safe. Angry parents hollered it was a “stupid” call, and after the game, the ump recalled, two fathers followed him to the parking lot, “yelling at me […]
Waste not?
By: Elaine Povich - July 19, 2021
Prominent Northeastern grocery store chain Hannaford Supermarkets made headlines recently by declaring that for an entire year it had not sent any spoiled or outdated food to landfills, where the organic decomposition process produces methane, one of the most potent greenhouse gases. Instead, Hannaford, which operates in New England and New York, is contracting with […]