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• Sheriff Joe Arpaio Sued by Department of Justice
• Source: Arizona Republic   |   Arizona   |   September 3, 2010
• The U.S. Department of Justice filed an unprecedented lawsuit against the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office for refusing to provide full access to records and facilities for a civil-rights investigation.
• 1 Comments

• Court Won't Force State to Defend Proposition 8
• Source: San Francisco Chronicle   |   California   |   September 3, 2010
• A state appellate court refused to order Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Attorney General Jerry Brown to appeal a federal judge's ruling overturning Proposition 8, California's ban on same-sex marriage.
• 1 Comments

• IRS Investigates Finances of Planned Parenthood
• Source: New York Times   |   Oakland, Calif.   |   September 3, 2010
• The criminal division of the Internal Revenue Service is looking into the finances of Planned Parenthood Golden Gate, while the organization has brought in forensic accountants to evaluate its books.

• Chiles, Sink Pledge Cooperation in Governor's Race
• Source: Miami Herald   |   Florida   |   September 3, 2010
• Lawton "Bud" Chiles and Alex Sink said in a joint news conference that they are "in sync" on key state issues as Chiles vowed to help Sink's gubernatorial campaign.

• Audit: Wisconsin's Adoption of Law Enforcement Data System Slow
• Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel   |   Wisconsin   |   September 3, 2010
• The state has spent years and $6.4 million in federal money on a shared law enforcement data system that major police agencies have been slow to adopt, an audit found.

• Pension Fund Investments Are Up, But Gaps Persist
• Source: Stateline.org   |   September 3, 2010
• State retirement plans earned a median 13 percent return for the budget year that just ended. But the financial challenges facing public plans are anything but over.
• 1 Comments

• Detroit Police Gun Buyback Nets 800 Weapons
• Source: Detroit Free Press   |   Detroit, Mich.   |   September 3, 2010
• All of the $20,000 donated for a gun buyback program held by the Detroit Police Department was spent and thousands more were committed in vouchers to cover the more than 800 guns turned in. Of the 478 people who turned in guns, about 200 received vouchers for cash, which the department expects to cover through donations from other businesses and organizations.

• 'Pill Mill' Law Puts Possibly Dangerous Drug Clinics on Radar
• Source: Houston Chronicle   |   Texas   |   September 3, 2010
• Doctors have registered 217 pain clinics with the Texas Medical Board under a new state law meant to attack rogue pill mills, though authorities suspect the newly-documented clinics represent only a fraction of a massive network of suppliers of potentially dangerous prescription pills. As many as 200 clinics dispense millions of controlled drugs each year in the Houston area alone, law enforcement officials estimate. The law required pain clinic owners to register, a process created to combat organized crime and accidental overdose deaths tied to a proliferation of cash-only prescription pill pushers.
• 1 Comments

• Google Earth Helps Identify Code Violators in North Carolina
• Source: Government Technology   |   North Carolina   |   September 3, 2010
• With immediate access to aerial images, code enforcement officials in Mecklenburg County, N.C., can find out who's violating codes with a simple click. But county officials say they're not using technology like Google Earth to snoop around randomly. According to Tim Taylor, a county code enforcement manager, they only take the eyes-in-the-sky route to verify complaints from residents. The use of this technology by local governments, however, has put the argument of public use versus privacy rights under the microscope.

• Obama Declares State of Emergency for Massachusetts
• Source: Boston Globe   |   Massachusetts   |   September 3, 2010
• President Barack Obama has declared a state of emergency for Massachusetts ahead of Hurricane Earl's arrival off the state's coast. The action authorizes the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency to coordinate disaster relief efforts. It also paves the way for financial aid.
• 1 Comments

• 26 City Teachers Paid for No Work Now Have Jobs
• Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch   |   St. Louis, Mo.   |   September 3, 2010
• St. Louis Public Schools officials said they have found positions for more than two dozen teachers who have been drawing salaries without working. The 26 teachers had started the school year on Aug. 16 without classroom assignments. Collectively the teachers were paid up to $40,000 this school year.

• Race to the Top Grants Go to New Student Assessment Strategies
• Source: Washington Post   |   The Nation   |   September 3, 2010
• The federal government awarded $330 million to two groups that are developing new student assessment systems for dozens of states and Washington, D.C., in an effort to upgrade their much-maligned standardized tests. Drawn from the Obama administration's $4.35 billion Race to the Top fund, the grants aim to build on the fast-growing movement toward national standards in English and math. With new expectations for what students should learn come new hopes for improving how their achievement is measured.
• 1 Comments

• Candidate Nathan Deal Opens Finances to Public
• Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution   |   Georgia   |   September 3, 2010
• Republican gubernatorial candidate Nathan Deal fulfilled his pledge to release his tax records as his rival Roy Barnes had four months earlier. The former North Georgia congressman, who listed his net worth at $2.5 million on his financial disclosures, put 29 years worth of his income tax records online. He released only 1040 forms, which offer a basic overview, however, not the detailed supplemental forms that show the specific revenue streams from specific businesses and properties.

• Offshore Oil Rig Explodes in Flames, 13 Rescued
• Source: USA Today   |   Gulf of Mexico   |   September 3, 2010
• An offshore oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico that exploded did not leak a significant amount of oil into the water, the Coast Guard said. All 13 rig workers were rescued by a supply ship and none were seriously injured. The owner of the oil and gas platform, Mariner Energy of Houston, reported that a mile-long slick was visible on the water near the rig.

• Jeff Greene Sues Newspapers Over Campaign Coverage
• Source: Miami Herald   |   Florida   |   September 2, 2010
• Palm Beach billionaire Jeff Greene accused two newspapers in a libel lawsuit filed of orchestrating a "plan to assassinate [his] character" that cost him the Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate in Florida.
• 1 Comments