News
Local government agencies are working to reform building inspection requirements after a condo building collapsed in Surfside, Fla., last year, but some engineering experts say the proposed packages aren’t strong enough.
To protest Gov. Greg Abbott’s increased vehicle inspections, truckers have blockaded a key Texas border crossing that sees $35 billion in annual trade. The disruption could severely impact local and regional supply chains.
U.S. Rep. Andrew Clyde, defending his decision to oppose bipartisan legislation that would have named a federal courthouse in Tallahassee after Justice Joseph W. Hatchett, the first Black man to serve on the Florida Supreme Court. Just before the vote Clyde started circulating an Associated Press article from 1999 that described how Hatchett wrote a decision that struck down a public school policy allowing student-approved prayers at graduation ceremonies in Florida. Soon the bill, which had once held widespread bipartisan support, failed with 89 percent of Republicans opposing, including the bill’s two sponsors. (New York Times — April 12, 2022)
It includes investments that will raise health-care workers’ pay, improve their workplace infrastructure and provide incentives that will attract more people to the workforce, according to Gov. Kathy Hochul.
The $900 million project will be developed by the utility firm Cleco and is part of the state’s campaign to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Louisiana is the only state in the Gulf South region to put forth such a plan.
Employees are 15 times more likely to build retirement savings if they have automatic payroll deductions at work, according to AARP. But such plans don't exist for about 55 million American workers.
A proposed 43-mile route would connect North Carolina’s Johnston, Wake and Durham counties. Total cost could top $2 billion, with the feds paying half. The trains could carry as many as 12,000 people a day.
Researchers estimated the state has the potential to substantially boost local water supplies by recycling wastewater and capturing stormwater. California recycles about 23 percent of its municipal wastewater.
South Dakota Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg, in a pair of letters he wrote to state lawmakers, urging them to vote against his impeachment for his behavior before and after he struck and killed a pedestrian in September 2020. (Associated Press — April 12, 2022)
The rate of equity for Black people in America, as compared to white people, according to The National Urban League’s annual report on the State of Black America. The report also found that the median household income for Black people is 37 percent less than that of white households, Black people live an average of four years less than white people and Black Americans are three times more likely to be jailed if arrested.
L.A. Metro bucked digital privacy concerns when it turned to technology to monitor and enforce dedicated bus lane rules. The move is a win that places the rights of bus riders above the privacy of offenders.
Performative politics is failing our cities, crowding out the substantive policy debates we need to produce better outcomes. Where are the modern-day “Sewer Socialists”?
Government workers are going to press for wage increases that — at a minimum — catch them up to rising prices. Budgeters and labor negotiators need to be careful not to lock in terms that put them in a fiscal squeeze in the future.
The defense argued that there was never any plot to kidnap or harm Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and that the scheme was manipulated by the FBI. But the prosecution insisted the threat was real.
Approximately 92 percent of the sewage that reached an ocean-connected waterway was spilled after 2015; more than half came from two spills that occurred last year. L.A. officials say they are far below the state average.
The $185 million construction project will be substantially completed by May 31. Hurricane Hanna, the February freeze in 2021 and the COVID-19 pandemic have all impacted the timeline.
Officials reported that the county paid out $447,372 in a series of nine payments to a fraud scheme claiming to be an approved county vendor in late 2019. The county’s net loss was more than $216,000.
Peter Perkowski, an attorney representing two Air Force service members, regarding a federal judge’s ruling that U.S. service members who are HIV-positive cannot be discharged or barred from becoming an officer solely based on their HIV status. (Associated Press — April 10, 2022)
The number of cents that the average U.S. price of a gallon of regular-grade gasoline dropped over the last two weeks, down to $4.27 per gallon, which is still up $1.32 from what it was a year ago.
Pilot projects in five communities will test how best to address the health risks that are connected to homelessness. Results could help guide professionals in reducing what has been a chronic problem.
New data from the Governors Highway Safety Association reports an additional 507 people were struck and killed by U.S. drivers in the first half of the year, continuing a decadelong trend of increasing pedestrian deaths.
The elevation of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the nation’s highest court will not only make history but help shape America’s future, one case at a time.
The city has become the state’s most watched police department with both a federal monitor and strong civilian oversight. After a scandal exposed abuses, Oakland’s civilians have the power to overrule the police department.
From canals covered with solar panels to carbon capturing systems, there are five cost-effective, cutting-edge ideas that could reduce the effects of global warming.
A lot of people either don’t understand the chatroom-like platforms or don’t want to use them. Legal aid advocates also worry that the systems deepen imbalances of power between some parties.
An Assembly bill would reduce the definition of a work week down to 32 hours for companies with more than 500 employees and would require companies to pay overtime for time worked past four full days.
New Jersey’s largest city, having already replaced 23,000 lead service lines to improve drinking water, will upgrade its water treatment plant to enhance taste, boost capacity and keep water costs low.
The lawsuit, filed by Americans for Prosperity and the Advance Colorado Institute, argues that the new fees, which aim to raise funds for highways, transit systems and EV expansion, violate the state’s Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights.
Researchers found that state residents looked up social media platforms more than 9 million times per month, amounting to 867.87 searches per 1,000 residents. Facebook had 6.12 million average monthly searches.
