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Since 9/11, it’s the only state Capitol in the Northeast without metal detectors and one of only eight nationwide that anyone can bring a gun into, whether the firearm is concealed or carried openly.
The $95 billion pension has pushed back against an independent review that it has not been transparent when it comes to earnings and fees associated with alternative investments like hedge funds and equity firms.
Researchers are alarmed by the recent disclosure of sensitive election system software by an ally of former President Donald Trump, and argue the exposure was tantamount to a serious breach of election system security.
The number of states that prohibit school districts from setting mask mandates. Sixteen states and the District of Columbia require masks be worn in schools.
Joint statement published simultaneously by the editors of 229 medical journals. (The BMJ, September 6, 2021)
With staffs stressed by the pandemic and threats growing, managed security service providers can bring up-to-date expertise to bear while helping governments hold down costs.
Visitors to the National 9/11 Memorial in lower Manhattan, where the World Trade Center towers once stood, reflect on the events that took place two decades ago and what it means to them today.
At least two of the candidates have promised income tax cuts, but both plans would offer benefits to more than just low-wage earners and would have to get past a Democrat-controlled Legislature.
With three statewide measures on the Nov. 2 ballot, voters will have to decide on a retail marijuana sales tax increase, a property tax cut and legislative oversight of state spending.
The governor wants Congress to expand Medicaid coverage to those eligible at no cost to the state government. The workaround could be passed through the Medicaid Saves Lives Act or as part of the annual federal budget.
The pay increase would affect about 146 workers and would cost about $300,000 per year. The resolution would make Santa Fe the first government in New Mexico to offer a $15 minimum wage for employees.
The proposed rail link between Baltimore and Washington would provide a 15-minute ride and eventually extend to New York. Opponents of the $10 billion project cheered the Federal Railroad Administration’s notice.
The percentage of U.S. workers who are members of a union. Labor Day started as a celebration of worker solidarity and was first organized by labor unions. The purpose of the holiday has faded over time as more workers have left unions.
Arthur DeGaetano, director of the Northeast Regional Climate Center at Cornell University, commenting on the fact that the flash floods in the Northeast last week resulted from not one storm but several small storms whose interactions with each other were hard to foresee. (New York Times, September 3, 2021)
With the city’s transit system badly flooded by the hurricane’s rains, calls have grown to increase capital spending now to upgrade subways and buses. But fees from the road tolling program are many months away.
Natural disasters such as fires, floods and storms are more intense and are developing more rapidly. The “new normal” that climate change has brought to emergency managers is unpredictability.
Most Americans associate Labor Day with the end of summer. But the holiday was originally a form of worker activism during a period of rapid industrialization. Solidarity, not barbecue, was the buzzword back then.
New research from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis found that the stay-at-home and other emergency orders enacted by officials in response to the coronavirus pandemic likely saved thousands of lives in the region.
Hotter days are increasing in Baltimore and can put vulnerable populations at risk. To combat the heat, the city is opening cooling centers, replacing blacktop with heat reflective material and expanding tree coverage.
With a 6-2 vote, the Texas city has overridden the mayor’s veto of issuing $96 million in nonvoter approved debt. As of August 2020, El Paso was Texas’ top-ranked city for outstanding certificates of obligation debt.
The Pierce County, Wash., auditor confirmed that five dead people voted in the 2020 presidential election, and three people are being tried for the “tribute votes.” The confirmation only shows that voter fraud prevention efforts worked.
California state Sen. Scott Wiener, regarding the proposed legislation that would require some department stores to have a gender neutral section for some child products, like toys and hygiene and teething products. This is at least the third attempt to pass a bill like this. (Associated Press — September 2, 2021)
The number of states that have agreed to allow electronic driver’s licenses to be added to digital wallets on Apple devices. Arizona and Georgia will be the first states to enact the feature.
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While government employees, students and the general public had to wait in line for hours in the beginning of the pandemic, at-home test kits make it easy to diagnose for the novel coronavirus in less than 30 minutes.
The goal of having nonpartisan elections is not to remove all politics from governing but to remove a conflict point that keeps a school board from doing its job.
Democratic state lawmakers want to broaden immigrant legal protections by closing exemptions under the sanctuary law, but police unions are ramping up efforts to block the legislation.
The state had hoped to announce COVID-related grants for broadband expansion, water and sewer projects and resident and business support by mid-October, but the timeline has been pushed back to early 2022.
Hurricane Ida has done immense damage to Louisiana’s power infrastructure, leaving millions without power. Some lawmakers hope the damage will help convince some GOP members to support the proposed infrastructure package.
Officials of Terrebone Parish, La., in a statement posted on Twitter, imploring residents to stay away after evacuating to escape Hurricane Ida because there was still no electricity, unreliable water services, damaged emergency shelters and no operating hospitals in the area. (Reuters — September 1, 2021)
The number of people Amazon is planning on hiring for corporate and technology positions in the coming months, which amounts to more than one-third of Google’s and nearly the entirety of Facebook’s workforce.
