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The amount of dead marine life that has been removed from the waters near St. Petersburg, Fla., in the last 25 days due to the red tide crisis. The situation has put many commercial fishermen out of business and the cleanup effort has put a severe financial strain on nearby counties and cities.
A recent Supreme Court ruling in a California case affirms that every American should have the right to make political donations without fearing violence or persecution.
Gov. Gavin Newsom and lawmakers agreed to convert former hotels into permanent housing with federal coronavirus relief dollars and provide an additional $2 billion over two years to local governments.
Congress continues to debate how to replace revenue from the long-term decline in the gas tax. Meanwhile, some states have upped the registration fees for EVs and a few experiment with a vehicle-miles-traveled tax.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer can’t issue a veto to keep the powers she used during the early days of the pandemic to institute sweeping health and safety restrictions. The Senate voted along party lines for the petition.
The program, which will toll vehicles entering Manhattan’s central business district, has been in limbo since the Trump administration refused to OK the review process. It is expected to raise $1 billion in revenue annually.
The U.S. Small Business Administration announced nearly $68 million worth of COVID relief grants to venues in the Baltimore region. Many of the theaters and museums have been closed since the pandemic started.
The amount in new federal spending Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) has set for a vote this week.
Jeff Zients, the White House pandemic response coordinator, commenting on the fact that virtually all COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths in the United States are now occurring among unvaccinated individuals. COVID continues to kill people faster than guns, car crashes and influenza combined. (Bloomberg — July 16, 2021)
Wildfires aren’t caused by forests, but the default approach to fire prevention is to clear them. Climate may be the real problem, and preserving trees a big part of the solution.
More and more states are rolling out digital driver’s licenses, and experts see that trend continuing as federal standards take shape and citizens embrace an improved government experience.
Employers across the state are struggling to fill vacant positions as the pandemic-exacerbated worker shortage continues. There are currently more than 110,000 open jobs on the Job Center of Wisconsin website.
Before self-driving vehicles can be safely deployed in cities, the technology must learn all of the diversities of driving and pedestrian behavior, like the technically illegal “Pittsburgh left.”
Gov. Gavin Newsom requested that residents voluntarily reduce their water usage by 15 percent as the drought worsens. Some wonder if state officials should mandate water restrictions while others think it’s unnecessary.
Charlie Wooley, director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Great Lakes regional office, regarding the change of the name of some fish previously known as “Asian carp” to “invasive carp” in an effort to combat anti-Asian hate crimes that surged during the pandemic. Other wildlife organizations are also revising names that can be considered offensive; the Entomological Society of America recently removed “gypsy moth” and “gypsy ant” from its listings. (Associated Press — July 15, 2021)
The amount that Amazon is donating to Arlington County, Va., for 550 affordable housing units to be built near the site of a planned Amazon headquarters.
Downtowns thrive when small-scale manufacturing is prioritized, and the ownership of those businesses is diverse. Federal recovery funds can go a long way toward helping this vital sector.
Ongoing efforts to find election irregularities might serve the ambitions of some in politics, but they aren’t viewed favorably by many Americans. A new report documents the spread of unconventional “audits” to new states.
Forty-one percent of residents have yet to be vaccinated, while new daily COVID cases and hospitalizations are increasing. Officials say more outreach and requirements may be necessary to help curb the growing spike.
New legislation would provide residents with more control over when their personal data is deleted or sold. The data privacy bill was announced as breaches are on track to break a previous record set in 2017.
As discussions around cryptocurrencies increase, fintech innovators are looking to receive direction on how to launch new products more easily while lawmakers focus on risks and volatility.
The city will begin its $230,000 campaign to try and increase public transit ridership, which dropped 80 percent in March 2020 and is still 60 percent below pre-pandemic levels.
The number of overdose deaths that occurred in 2020, a record high and an increase of 29 percent compared to the year prior.
Senator Chuck Grassley, the top Republican on the Judiciary Committee, regarding proposed legislation that aims to legalize cannabis, allowing adults, 21 years and older, to purchase and possess up to 10 ounces of marijuana. Many are skeptical that the bill will pass. (Reuters — July 14, 2021)
More of them could compete at every level, from community leagues to the Paralympics, but adaptive sports technology is expensive. There’s much that local governments could do to improve access.
The good conduct system California recently implemented is mistakenly adding time to inmate firefighters’ sentences. Officials have fixed the malfunction and are working to recalculate the sentences.
Gov. Charlie Baker’s future of work study suggests that as many as 25 percent of workers could potentially be displaced over the next decade as remote work, e-commerce and automation increase.
Gov. David Ige will maintain the current COVID regulations until the state reaches its 70 percent vaccination rate target, despite complaints that the restrictions are unnecessary. Currently, 58.6 percent of residents are fully vaccinated.
New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, regarding the attention that Virgin Galactic has brought to the state with its recent space flight and the economic benefits that the headquarters brings. (Associated Press — July 13, 2021)
The amount that natural gas traders and pipeline companies made in just nine days when Texas’ power grid collapsed earlier this year.
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