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Many COVID vaccine websites across the nation violate disability rights laws, blocking blind people from signing up or receiving information. In at least seven states, blind residents were unable to register without assistance.
State legislatures and Congress are ill-suited — and too partisan — for the task of weighing evidence when elections are contested. Judicial supervision of these disputes is the norm in most democracies.
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In this episode, John Barkett and Marianne Steger navigate their way through the Medicare alphabet soup in a way that’s easy to understand.
It's premised on a highly selective interpretation of lagging data, along with narrow assumptions of need.
Florida Senate President Wilton Simpson, stating that the federal government promised money for state governments, and the promise hasn’t been fulfilled. (Associated Press — Feb. 27, 2021)
The amount of a bill that Texas’ Brazos Electric Power Cooperative Inc. received from ERCOT after the mass power outages caused by the winter storm last month. Brazos is the state’s largest and oldest electric power co-op and has filed for bankruptcy.
GOP lawmakers want to use the estimated $1.6 billion that the state will receive from the federal relief package to fund $500 million in tax cuts, the unemployment insurance fund and teacher bonuses.
Cybercriminals have stolen billions in fraudulent unemployment benefit claims, have crashed websites and stolen personal data. Now, states are fighting back with greater protections.
For years, the state’s Department of Health had urged lawmakers and Gov. Inslee to increase funding for public health programs. Now, the coronavirus pandemic has highlighted the need for better fiscal support.
What began locally a year ago, has grabbed the attention and support of the national Republican Party, national conservative leaders, and according to state records, more than 240 people from outside California.
Gov. Ron DeSantis and his administration continue to claim complete transparency when it comes to the state’s COVID data and response, but many researchers are unable to get any kind of robust look at the state’s numbers.
They’ve been in the spotlight over the last 12 months as Washington bucked responsibility to the states. Now many of them are facing harsh critics and challenges to their power.
After years of leading through intimidation, New York's Democratic governor faces sexual harassment allegations and charges of covering up thousands of deaths.
Henniker, N.H., town moderator Cordell Johnstone, regarding the uncertain future of town hall meetings. Many towns temporarily suspended their meetings during the COVID-19 pandemic while others resorted to pre-printed ballots to decide issues. Some residents fear the pandemic workaround may become permanent. (Associated Press — Feb. 26, 2021)
The number of new EV school buses that the Montgomery County, Md., Public Schools Board of Education has ordered, the largest single order of EV buses by any school district in the nation. The new buses will be implemented across the next four years.
The unanimously approved bill will implement a “de facto ban” where local police departments will need approval from the General Assembly before use and they will need to maintain full control of the technology.
The bill would force Apple and Google to keep products from Minnesota developers in their app stores even if the developers use their own payment systems. The tech companies take a 30 percent commission on app purchases.
The Texas electric power market is designed to give energy companies incentive to sell electricity at the lowest possible cost. That focus helps explain why it collapsed during a historic cold wave.
It was clear health-care workers and nursing home residents would receive the COVID-19 vaccine first. Then priorities became muddled. California has 61 vaccine priority lists and local officials are allowed to deviate.
In March 2020, as thousands of public sector workers shifted to remote work almost overnight, few would have guessed they would remain there for months.
Julie Mao, deputy director of Just Futures Law, commenting on the Biden administration’s proposal to install “smart technology” features on the Mexico border wall. A coalition of privacy and immigration rights groups are pushing back on the bill, saying the proposal is “Trump’s wall by another name.” (The Hill — Feb. 25, 2021)
The proportion of Americans 65 and older who do not have broadband at home, a percentage that increases for low-income and Black and Latino seniors. However, the pandemic has encouraged many to get more comfortable online: Americans 65 and older spent an average of $187 per month online in 2020, a 60 percent increase from the year prior.
To bring remote tech workers to the city, officials created Tusla Remote, which builds a community through networking, group activities and civic engagement opportunities. Now there’s financial incentive as well.
The legislation would block or remove government financial incentives from Big Tech companies that violate free speech by blocking conservatives from their sites. But many warn the bill could cost jobs and money.
Gov. Ned Lamont says the state’s new distribution plan will focus on speed and equity. But skeptics are concerned that the plan’s eligibility guidelines, which are almost entirely by age, will keep vulnerable groups waiting.
Gov. Janet Mills says the money would be spent on rural parts of the state where COVID-19 restrictions and low Internet connectivity have hurt education and the economy. Lawmakers say $30 million is good but not enough.
In response to reports detailing AI tech's disproportionate effect on communities of color, Washington state Sen. Bob Hasegawa introduced a bill to ban AI tech and regulate automated decision systems.
New mayors will be elected this year in New York, Seattle, Boston and other cities. Given problems with budgets and crime, why would anyone want the job?
Lawmakers should ensure that cumbersome state and local regulations and review processes don't prevent providers from building out and upgrading the infrastructure that high-speed, reliable connectivity requires.
It’s the only way to get a bill out of Congress before the fall, given the imperative to get COVID relief done first. Governors and mayors need to understand that it’s a game of chess, not checkers.
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