• Success of Gun Buyback in Phoenix May Backfire
• Source: Arizona Republic   |   Phoenix, Ariz.   |   May 20, 2013
• The gun buyback was designed, in part, to get unwanted weapons out of homes and into the hands of Phoenix police before a new law takes effect requiring police to sell the guns instead of destroy them. But the program was so successful that police are already struggling to process the more than 1,000 weapons in their possession.

• Virginia GOP Launches Tea Party Ticket
• Source: Politico   |   Virginia   |   May 20, 2013
• Rejuvenated by a Democratic scandal in Washington and a tea party conservative atop their ticket, Virginia Republicans nominated a trio of statewide candidates whose fate will be closely watched as an indicator of the health of the national GOP.

• Arkansas' Early Abortion Ban Blocked -- for Now
• Source: Politico   |   Arkansas   |   May 20, 2013
• The law was briefly the earliest abortion ban in the nation. But later the same month, North Dakota went even further, passing a ban on abortions after six weeks.

• Gov. Scott to OK Medicaid Money for Florida Hospitals
• Source: Tampa Bay Times   |   Florida   |   May 20, 2013
• The state's largest hospitals were relieved to learn Gov. Rick Scott will approve $65 million aimed at easing the transition to a new Medicaid payment system. In return, hospitals agreed not to ask for more such money next year.

• Arizona Gov. Brewer Looking to Leave Legacy with Medicaid Expansion
• Source: Arizona Republic   |   Arizona   |   May 20, 2013
• Gov. Jan Brewer, one of the state’s conservative firebrands who has attracted a national following with her messages of states’ rights and border security, is walking a political tightrope as she pushes to reshape how the state provides health care to the poor.

• Connecticut Train Crash Could Cause 'Carmageddon' Commute
• Source: USA Today   |   Northeast   |   May 20, 2013
• The suspension of rail service rail service in the Connecticut suburbs of New York City after the collision of two trains will mean thousands more vehicles on Interstate 95 and other major roads that often are clogged even under the best conditions.

• Bill to Make Illinois 19th State to OK Medical Marijuana on Gov. Quinn's Desk
• Source: Chicago Tribune   |   Illinois   |   May 20, 2013
• The Democratic governor must weigh not only the merits of the bill but also the politics, given his re-election campaign next year.

• New York Lawmaker Lopez Set to Resign Amid Sexual Harassment Accusations
• Source: New York Times   |   New York   |   May 20, 2013
• While the resignation of Assemblyman Vito Lopez, a veteran Brooklyn Democrat accused of sexually harassing several women, ends an effort to expel him from the legislature, the scrutiny is not over for Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver.

• California is 1st to Use Health Exchange for Voter Registration
• BY: McClatchy News   |   California   |   May 17, 2013
• In a move that other states are expected to follow, California is giving people who contact the state's new health exchange to buy insurance the opportunity to register to vote at the same time.

• Texas Enacts Law to Prevent Wrongful Convictions
• BY: The Texas Tribune   |   Texas   |   May 17, 2013
• Known as the Michael Morton Act, the law aims to avoid wrongful convictions by preventing prosecutors from suppressing evidence.

• Brewer's Immigrant-License Policy Upheld in Court
• Source: Arizona Republic   |   Arizona   |   May 17, 2013
• A federal judge refused to suspend Gov. Jan Brewer’s policy denying driver’s licenses to young undocumented immigrants who receive work permits through President Barack Obama’s deferred-action policy.

• Washington State's Marijuana Rules Taking Shape
• Source: Seattle Times   |   Washington state   |   May 17, 2013
• State officials released proposed rules for a legal seed-to-store marijuana system that would allow adults to buy an ounce of tested, labeled pot seven days a week.

• Facing a Strike, UC Medical Centers Cancel Elective Surgeries
• Source: Los Angeles Times   |   California   |   May 17, 2013
• Facing a possible two-day strike next week by patient care and technical workers, the five large University of California medical centers are starting to cancel elective surgeries.

• Proposal to Raise Legal Cigarette Age to 21 Catches on in New Jersey
• Source: Newark Star-Ledger   |   New Jersey   |   May 17, 2013
• New Jersey and New York are both considering raising the minimum age for buying cigarettes and other tobacco products to 21.

• Bill Allowing Armed Personnel in Schools Becomes Tennessee Law
• Source: Tennessean   |   Tennessee   |   May 17, 2013
• Gov. Bill Haslam has signed a bill that allows school districts to let people with police training be armed in schools.

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Comments

• U.S. AG Holder, Gov. Brownback Spar over Kansas' New Gun Law
  
  "RE: your response to me - I understand your confusion. Our tendency to devalue historical..."
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