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The nation is pivoting towards electric vehicles as a more climate-friendly alternative to gas-powered vehicles. Some worry about the chance that in the future millions of EV batteries will end up in a landfill.
With elections on their minds, governors’ most watched policy speech of the year had some technology highlights, like luring tech companies and remote workers with robust broadband.
State legislators from both sides of the aisle have voted to table the proposed bill that aims to make the state a hub of hydrogen energy. Gov. Lujan Grisham worries that, without the bill, the state may miss its climate goals.
With more electric vehicles on the road in the coming future, state officials worry how they will build and maintain roads with fewer drivers buying into the gas tax. Some are considering fees per mile driven.
The Ohio city’s police dispatchers union has filed an unfair labor practice charge regarding a recent installation of a camera in the dispatch center’s work area, which the union compares to a “spy camera.”
Arizona state Rep. John Fillmore, regarding his proposed 35-page bill that would rewrite the state’s election laws. His bill would require ballots for future elections be counted by hand, require specific excuses for early voting and prohibit counties from setting up Election Day voting centers where anyone can cast a ballot. Fillmore said he was not suggesting a return to the way things were prior to the 1965 federal Voting Rights Act. (Daily Independent — Jan. 26, 2022)
The annual salary that Mayor Eric Adams can give to his brother as senior security adviser, as agreed upon by a New York City ethics panel. Adams had initially said he would hire his brother, Bernard, as deputy police commissioner with a yearly salary of $240,000.
A functioning administrative state is necessary for democracy to work. Weaponizing administrative functions invites ineffectiveness and a cycle of retribution.
The federal infrastructure bill’s passage renewed hopes that Texas would finally get a coastal storm barrier. But Galveston and Houston could still get hit by a hurricane before it is built.
It's an election year, so expect to see legislative action on all things relating to education. Meanwhile, government and business will be competing for talent in a labor market tighter than it’s been for a generation.
The Washington state Supreme Court will consider whether enforcing fares on public transit systems violates passengers’ rights. If upheld, the court’s ruling could have statewide ramifications.
The city joins every county in the state as it signed the billion-dollar deal just ahead of the deadline, following months of pushback. The money will fund treatment services, medicine distribution and educational outreach.
With 44 percent of state residents living in a child-care desert, there aren’t enough options. Child care for two children uses 27 percent of a family’s income. The Tri-Share program aims to reduce those obstacles.
Art Spiegelman, author of the graphic novel “Maus,” which won the Pulitzer Prize in 1992, commenting on the McMinn County, Tenn., School Board’s decision to remove “Maus” from its curriculum due to “inappropriate language” and an image of a nude woman-mouse. The graphic novel depicts the story of his Jewish parents living in Poland in the 1940s and their experiences as a Holocaust survivor. In the novel, Jews are drawn as mice and Nazis are drawn as cats. (Associated Press — Jan. 27, 2022)
The nation’s gross domestic product growth last year as it rebounded from the 2020, pandemic-induced recession, the largest increase since 1984.
From 1890-1930, they exploded across the American landscape, offering people the chance to own a home just outside the city. Lack of government support curtailed their growth, but these historic neighborhoods serve as models for efficient urban planning.
State lawmakers should be thinking about how to go on one-time spending sprees — such as funding infrastructure projects, including broadband, largely underwritten by the trillion-dollar infrastructure bill.
For decades, American vehicles have been growing heavier and taller. They are also deadlier, killing more pedestrians in the past 10 years. Better regulations and traffic calming can help. But the pace of change is slow.
After a payment issue nearly shut off power to the Buckfield Fire Station, legislators are considering a ban on disconnecting utilities for public safety buildings without a 60-day warning first.
34 community and 40 non-community systems are producing drinking water with high levels of the PFAS contaminants, impacting thousands of state residents. N.J. is the first state to set strict standards for PFAS.
The pilot program aims to encourage electric vehicle adoption among farmers and other commercial customers to help reduce the impacts of climate change, which directly impacts the state’s agriculture.
U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell, regarding a panel of federal court judges’ decision to block Alabama’s new congressional map for its disadvantage towards Black voters. Sewell is the only Black member of Alabama’s congressional delegation. (NPR — Jan. 25, 2022)
The trust gap between Democrats and Republicans in the scientific community, with 64 percent of Democrats trusting science and only 34 percent of Republicans, the largest gap since NORC at the University of Chicago began administering the General Social Survey in 1972. The science trust gap has widened significantly since 2018 when 51 percent of Democrats and 42 percent of Republicans had high confidence.
Things will not get better if those of us who see what is going down give in to fear. There are things elected officials and the public in general can do to safeguard our bedrock principles.
2022 is an election year. Republican investigations are continuing in states, while Democrats are convinced the GOP seeks to rig the rules to ensure their party’s victory. Redistricting is nearly complete with the clear loser being competition.
The aging digital infrastructure behind the Department of Public Health’s online dashboard was unable to keep up with the flood of new COVID-19 data caused by the omicron variant, resulting in updates to be several days late.
Elbert County Clerk and Recorder Dallas Schroeder has allegedly copied a voting system’s hard drive and has been summoned for a deposition. This is the second election official to be investigated for a potential security breach.
Ten members of Congress have requested an investigation into the Border Patrol’s evidence collection teams, the latest development into the handling of the 2010 killing of Anastasio Hernández Rojas.
Florida state Sen. Lauren Book, regarding someone trying to extort her by threatening to reveal nude photos that were stolen from her and have been bought and traded online since 2020. Book has been a strong advocate against sexual assault and often tells the story about how she was sexually abused by a nanny for six years while growing up. (Associated Press — Jan. 25, 2022)
The number of people in Wisconsin who lack access to quality broadband services according to a 2021 report from the Federal Communications Commission. However, a privately conducted study estimated the actual number of disconnected residents could be more than 600,000. Gov. Tony Evers is urging residents who can’t afford Internet service to sign up for new federal subsidies.
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