Politics in Brief - November 12 2018

‘RAINBOW WAVE’ IN TX

Fourteen, or 40 percent, of the 35 gay, bisexual and transgender candidates on the ballot in TEXAS won their races on Tuesday. State and national activists said this election cycle, which saw a record 400 LGBTQ individuals run for political offices ranging from city council to governor, had likely carved a path for a future “rainbow wave” in the state. (TEXAS TRIBUNE [AUSTIN])

 

FEDERAL COURT STRIKES DOWN MD CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT MAP

A three-judge panel of the U.S. District Court for the District of MARYLAND ruled unanimously that the congressional district map drawn in 2011 was gerrymandered to favor Democrats and that the state must draw a new congressional map for the 2020 election. State officials must submit the new map by March 7, or the court will appoint a nonpartisan commission to create one. (HILL)

 

D.C. MAYOR WINS REELECTION

Last week D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) became the city’s first chief executive to be reelected since 2002. Her reelection had been virtually assured after she won the Democratic primary with no serious opposition in June. (WASHINGTON POST)

 

-- Compiled by KOREY CLARK

Business - April 17 2017

West Virginia Approves HB 3093

The WEST VIRGINIA House gives final approval to HB 3093, which would allow communities to form ”internet co-ops” that would work together with a service provider to become their community’s own provider. It is now with Gov. Jim Justice (D), who is expected to sign it into law (WEST VIRGINIA PUBLIC BROADCASTING).

Tennessee Approves SB 1215

The TENNESSEE House approves SB 1215, which would also allow for the creation of internet co-ops. It moves now to Gov. Bill Haslam (R), who is expected to sign it (CHATTANOOGAN).

Oregon Approves SB 863

The OREGON House approves SB 863, which would bar marijuana retailers from retaining information on their customers for more than 48 hours. It moves to Gov. Kate Brown (D) for consideration (PORTLAND OREGONIAN).

Connecticut Approves HB 5591

The CONNECTICUT House approves HB 5591, which would require that women retain their workplace seniority when out on maternity leave. The measure moves to the Senate (HARTFORD COURANT).

Iowa Endorses HB 134

The IOWA Senate endorses HB 134, which would bar local governments from enforcing regulations related to the occupancy of residential rental property based on family or non-family relationships of the occupants. It moves to Gov. Terry Branstad (R) for consideration (DES MOINES REGISTER).

LexisNexis Newsdesk and Nexis Uni named finalists for SIIA CODiE awards

LexisNexis Newsdesk® and Nexis Uni® are finalists in 2019 SIIA Business Technology Product CODiE Awards—LexisNexis Newsdesk® for the Best Content Search & Discovery Solution category and Nexis Uni® for the Best Source for Library, Reference or Education Resources. CODiE finalists represent the best products, technologies, and services in software, information and business technology.=

LexisNexis Newsdesk®

LexisNexis Newsdesk®, a leading global media monitoring and analysis platform, helps clients comprehensively search, analyze, monitor, and share market intelligence. With content in over 90 languages from all over the world, it touts robust coverage of traditional media and social media, including premium and licensed sources.

One CODiE judge emphasized the importance of “being able to make meaning out of the abundance of information available in today's world.” It is no surprise that the judges reviewing LexisNexis Newsdesk cited the solution’s biggest strengths as comprehensive content, simple searching, and “the enriched content coming from over 125 pieces of metadata being pulled around. Smart indexing leads to faster/more relevant results without being a ‘smart’ searcher”

Nexis Uni®

Nexis Uni® our academic research solution is uniquely aligned to the needs of today’s digital natives, Nexis Uni offers a simple, intuitive research experience that today’s students—who grew up googling for answers—can conduct on any preferred device. As a leading research provider for college students, Nexis Uni offers trusted content of more than 15,000 news, legal and business sources that students and librarians alike have come to expect from LexisNexis.

Nexis Uni’s judging feedback noted that “Nexis Uni provides the user with many great features that allow them to find information quickly and efficiently.” The judges cited Nexis Uni’s very robust platform; clean, user-friendly interface; ability to search in many languages; built-in Google Translate functionality and post-search filtering. The judges also noted the usefulness of the annotation feature and the flexibility of highlighting a single word and clicking to look up its definition or find information regarding it in Google.

SIIA CODiE Awards

The SIIA CODiE Awards are the premier awards for the software and information industries and have been recognizing product excellence for over 30 years. The awards offer 76 categories that are organized by industry focus of education technology and business technology. LexisNexis Newsdesk® and Nexis Uni® were honored as one of 137 finalists across the 44 business technology categories.

The SIIA CODiE Awards are the industry's only peer-recognized awards program. Business technology leaders including senior executives, analysts, media, consultants and investors evaluate assigned products during the first-round review which determines the finalists. SIIA members then vote on the finalist products and the scores from both rounds are tabulated to select the winners. Winners will be announced during the  Business Technology & Company CODiE Award Winner Announcement Party immediately following TechConText, June 12 in San Francisco.

Details about each finalist are listed at http://www.siia.net/codie/2019-Finalists

Politics in Brief - January 14 2019

HIGH TURNOVER AMONG TX GOVT WORKERS IN 2018

Well over 28,000 TEXAS state employees, 19.3 percent of the total state government workforce, left their jobs last year, the highest turnover in five years, according to a report from the state auditor’s office. The top reasons for the departures were retirement, pursuit of higher pay and adverse working conditions. (TEXAS TRIBUNE [AUSTIN])

 

BIG PAY RAISE FOR SD LAWMAKERS

SOUTH DAKOTA lawmakers are getting their first pay increase in over two decades. Their 90-percent raise, from $6,000 per session to $11,378.80, is the result of a law passed last year setting lawmaker salaries at a fifth of the state’s median household income. (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

 

MORE CONGRESSIONAL SEATS COMING FOR SUN BELT STATES

Several Western and Sun Belt states, including TEXAS, FLORIDA, and ARIZONA, will likely pick up seats in the U.S. House in the next reapportionment after the 2020 census, as a result of population growth, according to projections by Election Data Services. Those gains will come at the expense of Rust Belt states, including PENNSYLVANIA, NEW YORK and OHIO, where populations have grown only modestly or declined. (HILL)

 

VT HOUSE CONCEALS REPRESENTATIVES’ CONTACT INFO

Personal contact information for VERMONT state representatives was removed from the state Legislature’s website this month. House Speaker Mitzi Johnson (D) said the action was taken in response to an increase in threatening phone calls and other behavior in the past two years. (VTDIGGER)

 

-- Compiled by KOREY CLARK

Governors in Brief - November 19 2018

DESANTIS WINS FL RECOUNT

A machine recount in FLORIDA has confirmed that Republican Ron DeSantis won the Sunshine State’s highly charged gubernatorial race. The final margin of 34,000 votes was enough to avoid an automatic hand recount. But Democrat Andrew Gillum has not conceded and may go to court in an effort to ensure a recount is fully complete in Palm Beach County, a Democratic stronghold that had not completed its recall by last Thursday’s 3:00 PM EST deadline. (NEW YORK TIMES, MIAMI HERALD)

 

IA GOV COMES DOWN ON OUTSPOKEN CONGRESSMAN

Newly re-elected IOWA Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) urged controversial U.S. Rep. Steve King (R-IOWA) to consider whether his inflammatory rhetoric on immigration is out of step with his district. Voters selected King, who co-chaired Reynolds’s re-election campaign, for another term representing the most strongly GOP district in the Hawkeye State, but the margin (50 to 47 percent) was the narrowest of his nine previous elections. “Steve King needs to make a decision if he wants to represent the people and the values of the 4th District or do something else, and I think he needs to just take a look at that,” Reynolds told reporters afterward. (SIOUX CITY JOURNAL)

 

COOPER SEEKS MORE FEDERAL HURRICANE RELIEF FUNDS

NORTH CAROLINA Gov. Roy Cooper (D) asked the Tar Heel State’s Congressional contingent to help the state secure an additional $5 billion in federal relief funds to help with recovery from Hurricane Florence. Congress appropriated $1 billion in relief funds in October for the state, which suffered approximately $17 billion in damages from Florence. (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER)

 

KY GOV DECRIES ‘CULTURE OF DEATH’

KENTUCKY Gov. Matt Bevin (R) blamed mass shootings in America on a popular culture “inundated by the worst things that celebrate death,” including television shows and movies that feature zombies. He said he knew some people would decry his position as “trite and simplistic,” but insisted that violent TV shows and video games, coupled with a rise in the prescribed psychotropic drugs, are desensitizing young people to the impact of violence on society. (WASHINGTON POST)

 

OH LAWMAKERS OVERRIDE KASICH AGENCY RULE VETO

The Buckeye State General Assembly overrode OHIO Gov. John Kasich’s (R) veto of SB 221, a bill that allows anyone adversely affected by an agency rule to request that a legislative panel review it and potentially declare it invalid. Kasich said there is already a process in place for people to challenge government agency rules, but lawmakers said the business community asked for the bill. (CLEVELAND.COM)

 

-- Compiled by RICH EHISEN