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The City Council approved the creation of a supplemental zoning board of adjustment on Tuesday, Nov. 21, in hopes that the second board will help reduce the time developers have to wait for a hearing, thereby reducing costs.
The proposed legislation, which is waiting for a signature from the Texas governor, could cost taxpayers almost $380 per arrest if unlawful entry into the country by undocumented migrants becomes a state law and is locally enforceable.
The state appeals court has overturned a San Diego Superior Court ruling that would have barred the state from sharing registered gun and ammunition owners’ personal information for research purposes.
William Cogswell, formerly a Republican state lawmaker, regarding his election win for Charleston, S.C., mayor over incumbent John Tecklenburg. This is the first time that the city has elected a Republican mayor since the 1870s. (Associated Press — Nov. 22, 2023)
The cancellation of two of the biggest offshore wind projects in the east highlights challenges in the fledgling industry and the obstacles to coastal states’ clean energy goals.
Democrats at the local, state and federal levels are all using freedom as a catchall, believing the value helps promote their various policy ideas.
States around the country are enacting common-sense, bipartisan reforms that will help break the cycle of poverty, crime and incarceration, making our system fairer and our communities safer.
Transportation emissions accounted for 35 percent of greenhouse gas emissions in the state, the most of any sector. The Advanced Clean Cars II mandate will require 51 percent of new car sales to be electric in 2027.
The state has pledged billions of dollars to its pre-kindergarten program, which will be available to 4-year-olds for free, but has no plans to formally evaluate its benefits. Many are wondering: Is the program effective?
Over three-quarters, or more than 500 dorms, of state-run correctional housing units don’t have air conditioning, but proposed legislation would make it a requirement to provide some cool air to the units by July 1.
Circuit Judge David Stras, regarding a decadeslong court assumption that Section 2 of the landmark civil rights law is privately enforceable. Stras was one of three judges of the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals who upheld a lower court’s ruling that only the head of the Justice Department can bring Section 2 lawsuits and dismissed an Arkansas redistricting case that argued that the state’s House map dilutes the voting power of Black people. (NPR — Nov. 20, 2023)
One of the hallmarks of effective homeless response is coordinated effort. Mayors met in Los Angeles, the nation's homeless capital, to figure out how they can work together to reduce the entrenched problem.
Tight labor markets can be hard on corporations. But they can help marginal workers find jobs.
Fatalities increased 18 percent from 2019 to 2022, despite the fact that the overall number of miles traveled decreased by 3 percent. Policymakers are trying to find ways to curb speeding and reckless driving.
What started as a simple question, “when will Metrorail riders on evenings and weekends be spared the longer waits for train arrivals,” has turned into a 5,757-page journey of emails and attachments, all without an answer.
Los Angeles spends millions on body cameras to help provide transparency and accountability, but most of the footage never gets seen. Now department leaders are wondering if artificial intelligence can help solve the issue.
Brandon Johnson had previously critiqued how the city has used a tax structure that relies on property taxes, fines and fees, and yet his 2024 proposed budget counts on $46 million more in fines and fees than this year.
Jacqueline De León, a senior staff attorney at the Native American Rights Fund, regarding the predicted 5 million Native and Alaska Native-identifying voters for 2024 elections. (NPR — Nov. 20, 2023)
Voters backed the sale of Cincinnati Southern Railway, the only city-owned interstate railroad in the country. The city plans to put $1.6 billion from the sale into a trust fund for infrastructure maintenance.
One scholar thinks we have carried our penchant for urban tree-worship a bit too far, giving nature too much credit for city-dwellers’ mental health.
The Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission is able to examine the conduct of officers and issue discipline, regardless of whether or not they are found at fault by their peers. The discipline can be anything from retraining to decertification.
The measure would grant unemployment benefits to striking workers by amending existing state law. Republicans oppose the measure, making the bill’s future in the GOP-controlled Senate uncertain.
Interest in leasing new office space was at just 21 percent of pre-pandemic levels for the third quarter of 2023. However, there was a slight increase in tenants looking for mid-sized office space.
City officials have successfully shut down the lime-green tents that were advertising “Free COVID Testing” and were offering $5 cash to individuals in exchange for personal information and test samples.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom, regarding the reopening date of I-10, the major Los Angeles freeway that was closed last Saturday due to an arson fire that burned about 100 support columns. Originally it was estimated that the interstate would be closed for between three and five weeks, causing major traffic challenges for the estimated 300,000 vehicles that use that stretch of freeway daily. There were more than 250 people working around the clock to make the highway repairs. (Associated Press — Nov. 17, 2023)
Latinos accounted for more than half of U.S. population growth in the last two decades. Understanding of this community hasn’t kept pace, but a new resource from the Latino Policy and Politics Institute could help change that.
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