Source: Los Angeles Times | California |
June 4, 2013
Monday's ruling protected California's right to collect DNA during arrests, but civil libertarians said they would continue to challenge the California program as overly broad. Challenges of the California program are pending in the California Supreme Court and the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.
Source: AP/Seattle Times | Washington state |
June 4, 2013
The newest drug-sniffing dog on a police force in Washington state is one of a few that are not trained to point out pot during searches. Other police departments are considering or in the midst of re-training their dogs to ignore pot as well, part of the new reality in a state where voters last fall legalized marijuana use.
Source: Washington Post | District of Columbia |
June 4, 2013
The city accused CareFirst -- the city’s dominant private health insurer -- of drastically cutting the number of small-business plans it will offer on the insurance exchange.
Gov. Terry Branstad called the education reform bill he signed into law Monday “a turning point in Iowa history,” but it lacks many of the provisions included in the administration’s initial pitch for improved schools.
More than half of the states now require a DNA mouth swab when people are charged with a serious crime, and many of the others were awaiting a U.S. Supreme Court ruling on the constitutionality of the practice.
Despite Florida having no major hurricanes in the last seven years, one-third of the insurance companies that have taken over policies previously held by Citizens Property Insurance Corp. have gone belly up -- and cost taxpayers $400 million.
A new system for evaluating educators, announced by the state on Saturday, will reshape how teachers are hired and fired in the city. It will also have a profound effect on students, who will take part in a series of new exams designed to help administrators grade teachers in specialized subjects.
Education officials from all over the state are saying they don’t anticipate using the law, and many are adamant that the proposal won’t come up in their community.
Two pieces of new, high-profile legislation approved by the Iowa Legislature last month could result in downgraded credit ratings and higher borrowing costs in the years to come for the state’s cities and universities, the credit-rating agency Moody’s warned last week.
This weekend 95 affiliated events across the country will be a part of National Day of Civic Hacking, which is aimed at advancing the principles of transparency, participation and collaboration with regards to government and its use of technology.
Organizers fell short Thursday in gathering the required number of valid signatures to recall Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who was recently found guilty by the courts of engaging in racial profiling.
Source: Boston Globe | Massachusetts |
May 31, 2013
Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley has filed a lawsuit against federal regulators, alleging that new rules reducing the number of ground-feeding fish that can be caught for the rest of the year will be a “death sentence” for the industry.
Embattled Boston Fire Chief Steve E. Abraira, facing sharp criticism from his command staff over his management style and response to the Boston Marathon bombings, is threatening to sue his deputy chiefs if they continue launching what his lawyer claims are “defamatory” attacks.
Nationally, six straight years of revenue declines have put enormous pressure on state and local governments, nevertheless, some are thriving. Standard & Poor's, the credit-rating agency, reports that it issued more bond upgrades than downgrades in 2012.
The Medicaid expansion and the Affordable Care Act are in full swing. With the influx of people who will be applying for benefits and the ACA requirement for online enrollment, it is more important than ever to verify the identities of those accessing benefits up front.