Getting a break: The Knock Knock Children’s Museum has received a donation from the Dodge Family Fund to launch the Knock Knock for All Access Fund program, which will provide free field trips to all Head Start preschoolers in the nine-parish Capital Region and reduced admission for qualifying families in need. A press conference is taking place this morning at the Carver branch library to announce more details about the initiative. The new museum is nearing completion in City-Brooks Park on Dalrymple Drive and is expected to open this summer.
Going up: U.S. builders broke ground on new homes at a faster pace in February, a sign that developers expect solid sales growth this year despite higher mortgage rates. The Associated Press reports housing starts rose 3% last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.3 million, citing data from the Commerce Department released this morning. Almost all of those gains came from construction of single-family houses, which rose 6.5%. Construction of apartment buildings fell 7.7% in February. Read the full story.
Step by step: The Republican health care overhaul backed by President Donald Trump cleared another hurdle in the House of Representatives this morning with the Budget Committee approving it. Reuters reports the committee approved the plan even as the White House and party leaders discussed changes to satisfy disgruntled conservatives. The Budget Committee vote was 19-17, with three conservative Republicans—Reps. David Brat, Gary Palmer and Mark Sanford—joining the panel’s Democrats in voting against it. Read the full story.
