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U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, said in a hearing on Thursday, April 28, regarding his opposition to federal tax credits for electric vehicles. This is not the first time Manchin has expressed his opposition to EV policies; in November 2021 he called the incentives “wrong” and “not American” and in March 2022 he said he was “very reluctant to go down the path of electric vehicles.” Manchin makes millions of dollars annually from the coal industry. (Ars Technica — April 29, 2022)
The number of states that are suing the U.S. Postal Service to stop the purchase of thousands of gas-powered vehicles in an attempt to have the Service electrify its mail delivery fleet; 14 of the states have Democratic governors. Two more separate, but similar, lawsuits were filed, one by the Center for Biological Diversity, Earthjustice, CleanAirNow KC and Sierra Club and the other by the Natural Resources Defense Council and United Auto Workers in New York. The Postal Service plans to purchase up to 165,000 delivery vehicles over the next decade.
Plus a look at missed opportunities for Democrats; a redistricting roundup; and, courage under pressure.
Too often they suffer for disclosing uncomfortable truths. Steps could be taken to make what they do more effective, including strengthening state laws purporting to protect them.
Some lawmakers believe that the Colorado Open Records Act has failed due to high fees and outdated technology. Although a fresh reform bill failed to pass into law, lawmakers hope they’ve laid a foundation for the next session.
Hearings regarding allegations of bid rigging and a formal City Council investigation into the city’s “smart city” program began on Wednesday. The initiative would have installed “city-directed” broadband and infrastructure.
Landlords filed 771 eviction cases in Denver County in March, the largest single-month total since the pandemic began. City officials report allotting a bit more than $49 million for emergency rental assistance.
The Minnesota city has received more than $1 million from the state to help prepare individuals for new careers, particularly in the health care, construction, IT and manufacturing fields.
Tennessee state Rep. Jerry Sexton, regarding what he would do with books that are removed from school libraries. The comment came amid a contentious debate about a House bill that would require public school librarians to submit lists of books for state approval. The House passed the bill on Wednesday. (Washington Post — April 27, 2022)
The rate at which the U.S. economy shrank last quarter, the first decline since the pandemic recession hit two years ago. However, consumers and businesses continue to spend.
With a housing market unable to meet demand and rents spiking, Minneapolis and St. Paul are turning to a practice many have scorned as bad housing policy.
A Pew analysis finds that a third of states lost residents in 2021. Analysts are debating whether these shifts and slowing population growth rates throughout the country really are signs of “demographic doom.”
In distributing rental assistance funds to prevent evictions, Indianapolis found a creative alternative model, working across departments to get the money out to vulnerable families.
The agency will create a “Fareness” panel which will analyze and recommend ways to discourage fare evasion through education, equity and enforcement to mitigate revenue loss, which is expected to reach $500 million in 2022.
The $2.45 million app, which launched on Monday, arrived nearly a month later than promised and after much of the state’s pandemic restrictions have been lifted. Just 1,425 people had registered by 8 a.m. Tuesday.
Legislative efforts to shut down offshore oil rigs along California’s coast were reignited after a major oil spill last October. But the costs of shutting down oil production may end up determining the legislation’s fate.
Metropolitan Water District of Southern California spokesperson Rebecca Kimitch, regarding the district board’s declaration of a water shortage emergency and requirement that cities and water agencies implement a water cutback on June 1 or face hefty fines. The Metropolitan Water District uses water from the Colorado River and the State Water Project to provide water to about 40 percent of the state’s population; the State Water Project estimates it will only be able to deliver about 5 percent of its usual allocation due to dry conditions. (Associated Press — April 27, 2022)
The median existing home price for all housing types in March, an increase of 15 percent from the year prior. The increase marks 121 consecutive months of year-over-year increases, the longest streak on record.
It started out as a grassroots medium for community speech, but now it’s struggling to survive. It needs a new platform that blends the best of its past with today’s technology.
A bipartisan group of lawmakers rejected two of Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s nominees to the state’s Prisoner Review Board last month, highlighting how crime and politics have changed over the last several years.
A new report found that just more than one-third of the California county’s 190,000 total jobs were “quality jobs.” But a public-private initiative wants to upgrade the region’s employment by about 20 percent.
A study found the Pennsylvania county had the most homes and businesses, primarily in rural areas, with the slowest Internet connections in a 10-county region. The poor quality of broadband has become an equity issue.
Enforcement of the ban, which includes menthol cigarettes, won’t begin until January. Californians will vote on a possible statewide ban of flavored tobacco in the November elections.
Florida activist Chaz Stevens, in his petition sent to public school superintendents across the state requesting the removal of the Bible from schools. Stevens, who is known for his tongue and cheek petitions to local governments, sent the petition in response to state lawmakers’ decision to ban 54 math books and to highlight the hypocrisy of the policy. (NPR — April 26, 2022)
The proportion of students at both four-year and two-year universities who had experienced homelessness in the last year, according to an annual survey by The Hope Center for College, Community and Justice at Temple University. Across the U.S., students are struggling to find university housing, with 43 percent of students at four-year universities having experienced housing insecurity in 2020, an increase of 8 percent from the year prior.
A new Urban Institute study finds tax rebates are a better solution, while efforts that discourage driving would have the most significant long-term impact on the inflation problem.
With the Federal Reserve raising interest rates, the yields on money market funds, state investment pools and bank accounts lag the payouts on safe securities. Staff needs to do its upside/downside homework.
We’re used to thinking of it as a waterfall of policies and fights flowing down from Washington. But increasingly it’s about ideas and movements that are erupting from the states.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced the “Clean Green Schools” initiative, which will improve air quality, advance clean energy and reduce carbon emissions in public schools across the state.
The Louisiana city’s police department wants to deploy nine license plate readers to help identify stolen cars and drivers with outstanding warrants. But critics worry about the tech’s infringement on privacy rights.
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