Politicians are often accused of turning a blind eye to the needs of their constituents. But not so for Utah Gov. Gary Herbert. As the Deseret News reports, Herbert attended an event last week to celebrate the merger of the State Office of Rehabilitation with the Department of Workforce Services. Part of that celebration involved Herbert donning an eye mask that made him totally blind and then running some lumber through a table saw so as to experience what some sight-challenged Utahans face every day. Herbert admitted it was scary, but with help from an instructor who guided him it all came out okay. Herbert called the collaborative effort fitting, given the agency’s mission, saying “Together we’ll achieve better outcomes and results.” Now there’s an idea, eh?
Tesla Motors is understandably proud of the advancements they have pioneered in electric car technology. But some California regulators and consumer advocates say the company is playing a bit fast and loose with the name it has given its new self-driving technology: Autopilot. As the San Francisco Chronicle reports, regulators say that is deceptive because Autopilot is only a level-two system, meaning it still needs a human to be there to take the wheel at times. Only a level-five system is truly autonomous under all conditions. Tesla says it is looking into the matter, though it denies it has ever claimed the Autopilot makes a car autonomous. Riiiggght. That oh-so-concerned response is probably why Golden State regulators are drafting new rules to make them change the name.
I admit I have never seen a single episode of ‘Gilmore Girls,’ the popular TV show that went off the air several years ago. But since everything old becomes new again – at least in Hollywood – the show is coming back soon, and its producers have come up with a unique promotion to build interest. So, as the Sacramento Business Journal reports, this week two coffee shops frequented by the Capitol crowd will serve as stand-ins for a coffeehouse regularly featured on the show. The stores are just a few of 200 such locations around the country the show is using for the promo. Here’s guessing it’s a good thing the session is out or both might be overwhelmed with staffers and others looking to get some camera time.
Politics has of late played an outsized role in whether or not a lot of folks have health insurance. But now it appears that our political affiliations could also determine the level of care we get from our doctor. As the Los Angeles Times reports, a new study from Yale University shows that a health care provider’s political leanings could also impact how that person approaches medical treatment. Argh. This is really scary if you consider that diseases like cancer don’t ask who you voted for in the last election before they make a run at you. Given that, researchers suggest that doctors “consider how their own political views may impact their professional judgments.” Gosh, you think?
-- By RICH EHISEN
"I'll leave it to chance," said no PR professional ever. But, do all PR professionals have a fast and effective way to stay atop of media buzz?
Last September, we brought together three media intelligence experts to share best practices for utilizing media monitoring to manage, protect and grow brands. Using LexisNexis Newsdesk®, our experts demonstrated specific examples of media monitoring tactics.
During the webinar, our experts covered common challenges that PR professionals face, including:
Did you miss the webinar? Well, good news: We recorded it! Watch the recording now:
Around the same time that Pokémon Go players started pursuing Pikachus and tracking Tentacruels across the AR world, LexisNexis was augmenting its Web News collection with 3,700 website and blog sources covering Asia and the Middle East to help customers search for and identify regional, business critical information more quickly. Users can also search in native languages, including English, Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, French and Spanish. Since virtual exploring has so many fans, we decided to survey the vast content landscape of Nexis® to look at the U.S. Presidential Election from an international perspective. Here’s some of what we discovered when we tapped into Chinese content.
In an August post from China Daily, the augmented reality game earned a nod as a tool for encouraging voter registration among millennials in the U.S.[1] According to the article, the Clinton campaign arranged registration drives at PokéStops around Ohio. The drives proved so successful that the campaign used the lure of Pokémon Go to attract volunteers as well, saying, “Get free Pokémon and battle each other while you register voters and learn more about Hillary Clinton!” Trump Towers is a PokéStop by the way; although, not necessarily at the request of Donald Trump. In fact, the Pokémon Go website says that the PokéStops are generally “… near public art, unique architecture, or public gathering places,” which explains how the White House also earned PokéStop status. The article went on to note that it’s not just happening in America; during a recent walk through a Hong Kong park, the reporter saw Legislative Council candidates campaigning near a local PokéStop to “… connect with the younger generations.”
More recently, the tenor of the articles covering the campaigns has changed. Far from taking a lighthearted look at how both candidates are trying to connect with voters, articles took a much harsher look at the state of American politics, highlighting the many foibles that both Democrat and Republican candidates are using against each other. One article—authored by Zhang Zhixin the head of American Political Studies at the Institute of American Studies, China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations—said, “The chaotic 2016 presidential election has highlighted the defects in the U.S. election system and the dysfunction of democracy.” Citing the DNC “email-gate” and the “Outspoken and reckless” Republican candidates as evidence. Zhixin went on to reason that “… the de facto two-party system and the winner-takes-all delegates counting system make extreme candidates stand out in the primaries. Therefore, moderate and rational candidates are at a disadvantage.” It’s a revealing look at what our national election process looks like from an outside perspective.
Another hot topic in web news from China is how the upcoming election will impact the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). Several articles noted that given the political climate in the U.S., Vietnam has already backed away from ratifying the trade pact, despite the fact that an easing of trade barriers would benefit the country. Another article predicted TPP’s downfall, noting that “Globalism, which has prevailed in the U.S. since the end of the Cold War, is now at risk of being replaced by Americanism to satisfy the sentiments of the emerging populist movement.”
We’ll just have to see what global news sources have to say after the polls close in November. Until then, enjoy the “augmented reality” that we call campaign season, and keep on researching.
You may not run across a Weedle or Wigglytuff, but having a comprehensive, diverse collection of sources can certainly provide you with the big picture your company needs to compete in the age of globalization. Are you capturing the insights you need to win?
[1] China Daily, HK Edition, 08/09/2016, p 12.
In addition to state legislative elections that could flip party control of 18 chambers across the country, 157 statewide ballot measures will also be contested in 35 states on Nov. 8. The measures include an unusually high number of citizen initiatives, many of which favor left-leaning issues like marijuana legalization, raising the minimum wage and gun control.
The total number of measures on state ballots this November is in line with totals in other recent, even-year general elections (the average for the last three is 160) but down significantly from the highs of 1996 and 1998, 240 and 235 respectively, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures’ Ballot Measures Database. The number of measures placed on the ballot by citizen petition drives rather than legislative action, however, is more than double that in 2014 (76 compared to 35) and the highest number in a decade (with the period from 2000 to 2014 averaging 54). This election also marks the first since 1950 that the number of citizen initiatives exceeds the number of measures referred by the legislature, although just barely, 76 versus 75.
One reason for the increase, according to Josh Altic of the website Ballotpedia, is that the number of signatures required to qualify initiatives for the ballot in many states this year was relatively low. That’s because the states’ signature requirements are tied to voter turnout in the prior statewide election, and turnout in 2014 was the lowest it’s been since World War II. In California, for instance, 27 percent fewer signatures were needed than in 2014 (366,000 compared to about 505,000 for standard initiatives and 586,000 versus about 808,000 for constitutional amendments). California voters will consider 17 ballot measures this year, compared to just four in 2014.
Wendy Underhill, who covers ballot measures and other election-related issues for the National Conference of State Legislatures, suggested the state of the economy may also have something to do with the increase in citizen initiatives this year.
“The Great Recession hit in 2008, and the economy was still hurting in 2010, 2012 and 2014, so it may be that the cost of getting initiatives on the ballot was just too great” in those election years, she told the Cap J.
Bloomberg’s Paula Dwyer cited yet another reason for the initiative spike: frustration among the politically left-leaning.
“With Republicans now in control of 33 state legislatures, and complete control of governorships and legislatures in 30 states, liberals’ frustration runs high,” she wrote. “They've turned to citizen initiatives as an outlet.”
The evidence of that, she went on to say, is “both the increase and nature of November's crop of initiatives,” with the “bulk of them” advocating “liberal causes.”
One of the hottest issues for ballot measures this year is, in fact, the legalization of marijuana. Voters in five states - Arizona, California, Maine, Massachusetts and Nevada - will consider whether to decriminalize it for recreational use, while voters in four states - Arkansas, Florida, Montana and North Dakota - will weigh medical marijuana measures. All nine of the measures are citizen initiatives.
If approved by voters in California, Proposition 64 - which would allow individuals 21 or older to possess up to an ounce of marijuana and grow as many as 6 marijuana plants for recreational use, as well as impose a 15-percent tax on retail sales of the drug - could give a major boost to the recreational marijuana movement, which has scored victories in four states and the District of Columbia so far. California, the nation’s most populous state, was the first to legalize medical marijuana, in 1996, and 24 other states have taken that action since. The state’s voters rejected a legalization measure (Prop. 19) in 2010, by a vote of 53.5 percent to 46.5 percent. But recent polling indicates public opinion has shifted, with a USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times poll showing 58-percent support for Prop. 64. Backers of the measure have also raised over 8 times more than opponents, $16,970,726 - more than half of that sum coming from Napster founder and former Facebook President Sean Parker - compared to $2,026,501, according to Ballotpedia’s analysis of campaign filings with the California Secretary of State’s office.
Another coup for the recreational marijuana movement would be the passage of Arizona’s Prop. 205, demonstrating that legalization is possible even in a state that voted Republican in every presidential election but one (Clinton v. Dole in 1996) since 1952. But according to a poll conducted in August by OH Predictive Insights, 51 percent of likely voters oppose that measure.
Raising the minimum wage, another issue that is popular among progressives - although others, including some conservatives, support it too - also figures prominently on the November ballots. Voters in four states - Arizona, Colorado, Maine and Washington - will consider initiatives aimed at increasing their respective minimum wage rates. Voters in South Dakota, meanwhile, will consider a minimum wage measure of a different type but which also made its way to the ballot via a citizen petition drive. Referred Law 20 is a popular referendum on legislation signed into law last year (SB 177) making workers under 18 ineligible for a minimum wage increase, from $7.25 per hour to $8.50 per hour, approved by the state’s voters in 2014 (Measure 18). If the measure passes, SB 177 will stand and the minimum wage for those under 18 will drop back down to $7.25 per hour. Failure of the measure would effectively veto SB 177.
Four states will consider gun control measures on Nov. 8. California’s Prop. 63, an initiative engineered by Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom (D), would ban the sale of large-capacity magazines and require background checks for ammunition purchases, as well as make stealing a gun a felony and require the reporting of lost or stolen firearms. Maine’s Question 3 and Nevada’s Question 1 - both indirect initiatives, originated by citizen petition drives but also requiring legislative action to make it onto the ballot - provide for background checks for firearm sales or transfers between parties that are not licensed gun dealers. And Washington’s Initiative 1491 would allow courts to issue “extreme risk protection orders,” barring individuals from accessing or possessing firearms. All of the measures have strong voter support, according to recent polls.
There are also a number of healthcare-related initiatives on the November ballots. The highest-profile of them is California’s Prop. 61 , which would prohibit state agencies from paying more for prescription drugs than the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs pays for them. Supporters of the measure, including the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, which is also the measure’s sponsor, have, according to Ballotpedia’s calculations, contributed $14,550,554 to the Yes on 61 campaign, while opponents, including major pharmaceutical companies, have contributed over five times more, $86,894,199, to the No on 61 campaign, making Prop. 61 the priciest ballot-measure contest in the nation this year. But in spite of the big spending by Big Pharma, an average of recent polls shows 69.5 percent support for the measure.
Another big-budget healthcare initiative on the California ballot is Prop. 52, which would require a two-thirds supermajority vote by the Legislature to amend a current law imposing fees on hospitals used to obtain federal matching funds and pay for Medi-Cal and other healthcare services. The measure, backed by the California Hospital Association, was actually intended for the state’s 2014 ballot but failed to qualify in time. Supporters of the measure include both California’s Democratic and Republican parties. And the Yes on 52 campaign has raised about $60,040,523 from donors that include the California Health Foundation and Trust, Dignity Health and Sutter Health, while the No campaign has raised about $11,562,866, mainly from the Service Employees International Union, United Healthcare Workers West.
A health-related initiative that could only appear on California’s ballot is Prop. 60, which would require actors in pornographic films to use condoms and require the producers of such films to pay for actors’ vaccinations and medical exams. Supporters have raised $4,147,809, over 10 times more than the $391,289 raised by opponents, and a USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times poll last month showed 55 percent of registered voters favored the measure.
Colorado voters will also consider a pair of health-related initiatives. Amendment 69 would create a state-run universal healthcare system funded through an additional 10 percent income tax. An average of recent polls shows 60.5 percent of voters oppose the measure. Prop. 106 would allow physician-assisted suicide for the terminally ill. A recent poll by Colorado Mesa University, Rocky Mountain PBS and Franklin & Marshal College showed 70 percent support for that measure.
There are a host of other left-leaning initiatives on states’ ballots, including measures banning the death penalty (California Prop. 62); protecting animal rights (Massachusetts Question 3 , Montana I-177 and Oregon Measure 100); imposing election or campaign finance reforms (Maine Question 5, Missouri Amendment 2 and Washington Initiative 1464); and increasing or extending taxes (California Props. 55 and 56; Colorado Amendment 72; Maine Question 2; Missouri Constitutional Amendment 3 and Prop. A; North Dakota Initiated Statutory Measure 4; Oklahoma SQ 779; Oregon Measure 97; and Washington Initiative 732).
There are also a number of progressive ballot measures that were legislatively referred, such as California Prop. 58, eliminating the English-only immersion requirement for teaching non-English speakers in public schools. But there are plenty of right-leaning issues on state ballots as well, including measures supporting the death penalty (California Prop. 66; Nebraska Referendum 426; and Oklahoma SQ 776); protecting the right to hunt and fish (Indiana Public Question 1 and Kansas Constitutional Amendment 1) or farm and ranch (Oklahoma State Question 777); granting constitutional authority to require voters to present ID at the polls (Missouri Constitutional Amendment 6); constitutionally enshrining the “right to work” without having to join a union (Alabama Amendment 8 and Virginia “Right to Work” Amendment); allowing public money to be spent for religious purposes (Oklahoma SQ 790); repealing a ban on plastic grocery bans (California Prop. 67); and prohibiting expansion of sales and use taxes (Missouri Constitutional Amendment 4).
There are also a handful of notable measures on state ballots that have more ambiguous political leanings. For instance, Idaho’s HJR 5, which would grant that state’s Legislature the power to approve or reject rules promulgated by state agencies, was placed on the ballot by a vote of 62-3 in the House, which has 56 Republicans but also 14 Democrats, and 34-1 in the Senate, split 28 to 7 between the two parties, according to LexisNexis State Net’s legislative tracking database. Colorado’s Amendment 71, which would increase the signature requirement for ballot initiatives to 2 percent of each Senate district and require 55-percent voter support to pass constitutional amendments, is supported by Gov. John Hickenlooper, a Democrat, but also by former Gov. Bill Owens, a Republican.
The main story of this year’s crop of ballot measures, however, is still the abundance of liberal initiatives, which could conceivably boost Democratic turnout in key presidential battleground states as some political analysts believe ballot measures aimed at banning same-sex marriage did to Republican turnout in 2004, when President George W. Bush was reelected.
There’s not a single proposed same-sex marriage ban on any state ballot this year, presumably because of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling last year legalizing same sex marriage. But other perennial conservative issues like restricting abortion or discouraging illegal immigration aren’t on state ballots either. And that may largely be due to the Republican domination of state legislatures. At least 11 Republican-governed states have enacted 20 bills this year denying public benefits or resident student status to undocumented immigrants or requiring employers to use the federal E-Verify system to check workers’ immigration status, and at least 26 mostly GOP-led states enacted legislation imposing restrictions on abortions or facilities that perform them, according to LexisNexis State Net’s database.
As NCSL’s Underhill put it: “If you have an interest that appeals to Republicans, you take it to the legislature, and if you have an interest that appeals to Democrats, you take it to the ballot.”
Left-leaning issues are among the most common subjects for state ballot measures this year. Voters in five states will consider whether to legalize marijuana for recreational use, and voters in four states will weigh medical marijuana measures. Four states’ ballots include measures aimed at increasing the minimum wage, while the ballot in a fifth, South Dakota, includes a referendum on a minimum wage bill enacted last year. Voters in four states will also consider gun control measures. The majority of the 12 combined states considering one or more of the three issues are governed by Republicans.
Source: National Conference of State Legislatures, Initiative and Referendum Institute, Ballotpedia
This month New Jersey’s Democrat-led General Assembly passed, and Republican Gov. Chris Christie pledged to sign, legislation increasing the state’s 14.5 cents-per-gallon gas tax - the second lowest rate in the country and one that hasn’t changed since 1988 - to 37.5 cents-per-gallon, the nation’s seventh highest rate. In exchange for Christie’s assent to the gas-tax hike, which will provide $16 billion for transportation projects over the next eight years, lawmakers agreed to cut the state’s sales tax rate from 7 percent to 6.625 percent over two years and eliminate the estate tax, which together will ultimately reduce state revenues by over $1 billion a year.
The governor’s office has touted support for the measure from business interests, including the Burlington County Regional Chamber of Commerce, whose president Kristi Howell issued a statement saying: “The sales tax cut will help residents keep more of their money and ultimately put more back into our economy, helping us build a stronger New Jersey. Residents have long been fleeing our state to avoid the estate tax. This bold move will keep some of our residents in the state during their retirement years. We applaud the Governor for these bold moves to improve the economic viability of our great state.”
But a report from Moody’s Investors Service was less complementary.
“The $1 billion net loss...equivalent to 2.9 percent of current revenues, will worsen the state’s existing budget challenges,” the report said. “Although the renewed capital investment will benefit the state’s infrastructure and economy, the net effect of the revenue package is credit negative because it will strain the state’s operating budget amid rapidly rising pension contributions and below-average revenue growth.” (NJ.COM, STATELINE.ORG, REUTERS, NEW JERSEY GOVERNOR’S OFFICE)
Four years ago, with the state in the middle of a protracted budget crisis and Gov. Jerry Brown (D) warning of deep budget cuts, California voters approved Proposition 30, temporarily raising income taxes on the state’s highest earners. The 1 percent to 3 percent increases for single and joint filers who make over $263,000 and $526,000 per year respectively generated nearly $34 billion - about a third of the state’s total general fund revenue - in 2014. But the tax hikes also made the state’s revenues highly dependent on economic booms and busts and their resulting impact on wealthy taxpayers’ capital gains taxes.
At a budget presentation in May, Brown described the state’s finances as a “zigzag reality.”
“In order to manage this budget,” he said, “it’s like riding a tiger.”
But now, with the Prop. 30 tax rates scheduled to expire in 2018, a coalition of unions, medical groups and others are backing a ballot measure to extend those rates through 2030. Brown said if that measure, Prop. 55, doesn’t pass, the state faces a budget shortfall in the next three years and potential cuts to education and other government services. The governor has declined to take an official position on the measure, however.
“I said it was temporary when I started, when I got Prop. 30 passed — I helped to pass it — and I think I’ll leave it there,” he said at the May budget presentation. But a USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times poll last month showed 57 percent support for the measure from registered voters and even majority support from those making over $100,000 per year. (LOS ANGELES TIMES)
Lottery officials and state lawmakers in NORTH CAROLINA said last week they are considering changes including making reselling tickets a crime. The news comes after an investigation by The Charlotte Observer revealed that hundreds of players of scratch-off ticket games had beat overwhelming odds repeatedly. (NEWS & OBSERVER [RALEIGH])
The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to hear appeals of lower court rulings letting MARYLAND and PENNSYLVANIA keep $50 million and $125 million respectively in a dispute with tobacco companies over the 1998 multistate tobacco settlement agreement. The dispute involved an annual payment in 2003 the tobacco companies were required to make as part of that deal. (REUTERS)
-- Compiled by KOREY CLARK
On Nov. 8, voters in Grafton and Windham, Vermont will consider whether to approve a wind project that would install two dozen 500-foot-tall turbines capable of generating enough power to light 42,000 homes for a year on a tract of private forestland that spans the two towns. The vote on the wind project, which would be the largest in the state, could determine the fate of wind development there and also impact the statewide race for governor between Democrat Sue Minter, who supports wind power development, and Republican Phil Scott, who opposes it, a contest The Cook Political Report has rated a tossup.
This month the developer of the wind project, Spanish energy company Iberdrola Renewables, offered to pay 815 registered voters in the two towns a combined $565,000 a year for 25 years - $14.1 million in total - plus millions more to each town. While some called that offer a blatant effort to buy votes, the state attorney general’s office said it didn’t appear to violate state law. It “doesn’t say that the funds go only to those people who signed a sworn statement that they had voted for it,” said Michael O. Duane, senior assistant attorney general. Still, the Times Argus said in an editorial: “The naked offer of money to individual citizens may be even more corrosive to the civic life of the town than the potential environmental effects of the wind turbines.” (NEW YORK TIMES, COOK POLITICAL REPORT)
A federal judge who has been weighing a challenge to Wisconsin’s Voter ID law harshly criticized state officials at a hearing last week for failing to provide DMV workers adequate training about the proper procedures for obtaining alternative voting credentials. In July U.S. District Judge James Peterson ordered the state to issue such credentials to anyone who had difficulty obtaining Voter ID-compliant identification. But news reports surfaced this month about a DMV office giving erroneous information to an African-American man seeking those credentials.
A DMV official testified at the hearing that the agency had stepped up its training since publication of those reports. And Peterson acknowledged that fact but said the state should have done more and acted sooner, pointing out that the process remained “spotty, erratic and so uncertain.”
“There hasnʹt been any real outreach on the...process,” he said. “Certainly after this court order there should have been [intense] training.” (ASSOCIATED PRESS)
An effort to qualify referendums for the November 2018 ballot on six gun control laws passed in CALIFORNIA this year has failed. Organizers only managed to collect an average of about 166,000 signatures for each of the referendums, less than half of the 365,880 needed to qualify them for the ballot, according to the California secretary of state’s office. (SACRAMENTO BEE)
U.S. District Judge Mark Walker extended FLORIDA’s voter registration deadline to Oct. 18, due to the disruption caused by Hurricane Matthew. The state’s original deadline was Oct. 11. (REUTERS)
The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals denied a request to expedite a case involving a challenge to ILLINOIS’ same-day voting law on the grounds that it benefits Democratic strongholds like Chicago at the expense of rural regions that tend to favor Republican candidates. As a result, same-day voter registration will be an option in the state on Nov. 8 (CHICAGO TRIBUNE)
- Compiled by KOREY CLARK
Calling impending health insurance price hikes “a very serious problem,” Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton (D) said reforming the six-year-old healthcare system must be a priority for state and federal lawmakers in 2017. Dayton’s comments in the wake of a recent announcement that health care premiums through the state’s health benefits exchange will rise between 50 and 67 percent next year.
“The reality is the Affordable Care Act is no longer affordable to increasing numbers of people,” Dayton told reporters last week.
The increases are among the highest in the nation, though Dayton said part of the reason is that Gopher State rates have consistently been lower since Obamacare began and are now coming more in line with those found in other states. But while Dayton said the program widely known now as Obamacare has “some serious blemishes and serious deficiencies,” he still supports it and wants it to continue.
“We’ve got 20 million more people covered [in the U.S.]. In Minnesota we’ve got one of the lowest uninsured rates in the country,” Dayton said. “So it’s been very successful in important ways that I don’t think we want to give up on it.”
Republicans seized on Dayton’s comments, noting they have proposed several reforms that have all been rejected by majority Democrats. But Dayton rejected that, laying the bulk of the blame instead on Congressional Republicans, who he says have stymied all efforts to improve the system. He cited two specific proposed reforms – the creation of a national catastrophic-coverage pool that would ease pressure on private-market rates and the expansion of income eligibility for the health care tax credits – he said would immediately help reduce costs but which have gone nowhere.
“But those are things Congress can’t even consider because all Republicans want to do is make political hay out of it,” Dayton said. The ACA “is trapped where it is. It was a start, but it needs to be improved based on experience, which we’ve been unable to do.” (ASSOCIATED PRESS, MINNEAPOLIS STAR-TRIBUNE, BRAINERD DISPATCH)
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee (D) issued an executive order (EO 16-09) earlier this month directing state agencies to devise a broad plan to combat opioid abuse in the Evergreen State. The order directs state agencies, tribal governments and private partners to implement a response plan that focuses primarily on treatment and prevention, including stopping the over-prescription of opioid-based painkillers. The order also directs state agencies to work with public schools to educate kids about the dangers of opioid abuse. He said his office will also work with health insurance companies to ensure they cover treatment for addiction. (SEATTLE TIMES, WASHINGTON GOVERNOR’S OFFICE, NORTHWEST PUBLIC RADIO)
MASSACHUSETTS Gov. Charlie Baker (R) announced last Tuesday that the 12-member state Supreme Judicial Court Nominating Commission will start screening applicants to replace soon-retiring Justices Margot Botsford and Justice Geraldine Hines. Both will step down next year. Baker had three nominees named to the court earlier this year, Justices Frank Gaziano, David Lowy and Kimberly Budd. (BOSTON GLOBE, STATE HOUSE NEWS [BOSTON])
A NEW JERSEY judge ruled last week there is enough probable cause for a citizen’s official misconduct complaint against Gov. Chris Christie (R) in connection with the ongoing “Bridgegate” scandal – politically-motivated lane closures on the George Washington Bridge that caused massive traffic delays over a four-day span in 2013 – to move forward. The ruling from Bergen County Municipal Presiding Judge Roy McGeady requires Christie to appear before the court on Oct. 24. Christie said he would appeal the decision. (STAR-LEDGER [NEWARK], BBC NEWS)
-- Compiled by RICH EHISEN
A federal appeals court rules that the structure of the U.S. agency charged with guarding consumers’ finances is unconstitutional. The ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit determined the structure of the U. S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau gives its sole director too much power. It did not invalidate previous CFPB actions, but it could impact other suits the agency is battling. The agency is expected to appeal (REUTERS).
The OREGON Supreme Court rules that the practice of Beaver State police and postal authorities conducting warrantless searches of mail they suspect of containing illegal drugs is unconstitutional (EUGENE REGISTER-GUARD).
In an effort to combat an epidemic of opioid addiction and overdoses, VIRGINIA Attorney General Mark R. Herring (D) announces the Old Dominion will distribute about 50,000 drug disposal kits statewide to help residents safely do away with unused opioid-based medications like oxycodone. Another 30,000 kits will be handed out to hospitals, pharmacies, law enforcement agencies and nonprofits. Distribution will being Nov. 1 (RICHMOND TIMES-DISPATCH).
The ARIZONA Court of Appeals rules that the same-sex spouse of a gay woman who has given birth is entitled to the same parental presumptions and rights as if she were a man. Justices rejected the arguments by the biological mother of a child that the Arizona laws determining who is legally presumed the parent of a child only apply when that other person is a male (ARIZONA DAILY SUN [FLAGSTAFF]).
is not gold, we know this to be true. Except when it comes to the shiny new dome of the New Hampshire State House in Concord. As the New Hampshire Union Leader reports, the finishing touches are just about done on the years-long renovation of the almost 200-year-old building. Those efforts include snazzy new gold leaf paint lovingly applied to the Capitol dome and the stately lantern and majestic eagle that reside on it. In contrast to the previous restoration undertaken in 1997, the new paint is designed to endure for many years to come. Officials concede that the last paint job wore out early, laying bare the structure’s dull copper bones. But if you think finishing the paint is the end of it all, guess again. Events celebrating the building’s historical significance are planned through June 2019, its official bicentennial.
Clowns abound and they are scaring the living holy heck out of everyone. No, I am not speaking of the impending presidential election but of the spate of actual humans dressed up in clown garb who have been terrorizing folks across the country for the last several months. The phenomenon has also spread to the UK, Canada and Australia, putting officials so much on edge that even the White House was forced to respond to questions about it. While nobody so far has been harmed by a scary clown and authorities say most of the sightings are just pranks, the furor has now actually claimed a real victim: McDonald’s mascot Ronald McDonald. Yes, as the Washington Post reports, one of the most famous clowns of all time is going into hiding until the clown furor dies down. Too bad he can’t convince folks from said impending election to follow suit.
And finally...I’ve met a lot of political animals over the last two decades, from Congress to statehouses all the country. Without question my favorite of them all is a dog: California Gov. Jerry Brown’s Pembroke Welsh Corgi, Sutter. Originally the pet of Brown’s sister, Kathleen, Sutter came to live with Jerry and First Lady Anne Gust Brown in 2010 shortly after Brown started his historic third term as governor. Sutter made his press debut the following year, seemingly overnight the precocious pooch became a star. He soon had his own Twitter and Facebook accounts, which were more popular than most lawmakers. He was also a regular on the campaign trail, highlighting events for Brown’s favored ballot measures and his 2014 reelection campaign. Sutter was part of the Capitol scene in other ways as well, like when his face appeared on playing cards Brown handed out to make a point at a State of the State speech, or in the editorial musings of the Sacramento Bee’s Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Jack Ohman. Sutter was in fact so famous that his sightings around the Capitol drew spontaneous bouts of giddiness from tourists, staffers, lawmakers and, yes, even crusty old statehouse reporters. Alas, time only marches on. California’s “First Dog” is 13 now and battling cancer, and as the Sacramento Bee reports, things are not looking well. So if this is the end, I’ll note the words of legendary Sacramento animal advocate Jennifer Fearing, one of Sutter’s occasional sitters and walking companions: “He’s had a humanizing impact on the Capitol.” Indeed he has. Good dog, Sutter. Good dog.
This post was guest written by Courtney Resnicky, a senior at Wright State University.
The battle between who is telling the truth, who is twisting the truth, and who is flat out lying during this Presidential election seems to have become more heated than ever. In both presidential debates we’ve heard the candidates urge voters to “check the facts” on their websites and a rundown of the “lies told” pops up from various new sources all over social media after any big statement, debate, or rally. While it’s certainly necessary to separate fact from fiction, it’s also important to remember that there is most likely some involuntary bias in the fact checkers that are posted on candidate’s websites or on news sites that have already declared their allegiance for a specific candidate. So, what can we do in order to be informed voters and understand the background of each claim? Luckily, in a world full of technology there are actually quite a few options.
First, voters need to realize that they can’t rely on getting their news from a single source. Not all media is unbiased and even the most well-meaning of websites may occasionally get their facts mixed up. It’s important to “shop around” when looking for information about the presidential candidates and their platforms. Search media sources that are historically more republican, then search through sources that are historically more democrat and compare the two. Read through media sources that have a reputation as being more “moderate” or “independent” and take note of how their information may differ. Finally, check sources from outside the United States who are a little less affected by the political debates and may be a little less bias in some instances. Take LexisNexis Academic as an example. As a student, I find it to be a great tool for quickly searching through all these sources. It doesn’t necessarily rely upon your knowledge of specific media outlets and can pull information from all around the world to put a varied amount of sources in front of you. Voters may be surprised to learn how much opinion can differ or how information is skewed depending upon the outlet. However, being exposed to as much information as possible will allow voters to form their own opinion about a subject and enable them to conduct more-informed research before making a decision.
Research isn’t only important for learning general information about the candidates and their platforms. It’s also an essential skill to have when reading through the “fact checkers” that appear on many websites during large presidential events. Many fact checkers will provide a comment explaining the validity of an underlined statement along with a source that they can back their analysis with. Voters should use these links to explore the source and become more familiar with why the analysis may claim the statement is true or false. Often times, especially if the source is reputable, there will be links to other sources which will provide readers with even more background information. While it may be easy to simply scan through a single fact checker and tally up the ratio of truths to lies, it’s a much better idea to simply use these as a starting point to do further research. Additionally, much like how professors often require college students to “cite more than one source,” voters should make sure they look at more than one fact checker and scrutinize both the analysis and sources for each statement. If something doesn’t feel right, question it! Fact checkers are typically run by actual people and human error or bias can always come into play. Many fact checkers will even let you leave your own comments that, after approved, may contribute to the analysis. Just make sure you make sure you continue to do your research and don’t take things at face value.
More than ever, voters have access to innumerable resources. The trick is learning how to sift through this information and make a well-informed decision. Media research sites like LexisNexis Academic, media monitoring and analysis tools like LexisNexis Newsdesk, the proliferation of news on social media, the frenzy of the media that ensures numerous articles each day, and the easily accessible fact checkers from around the world mean that voters have a chance to do their own research and really dig into each of the candidates and their statements. Millennial and college-aged students probably even have access to academic research databases that aren’t open to the general public. We’ve all learned how to conduct research through projects at school, now it’s time to apply that skill to real life. The only way to implement change and truly be involved in this election is to become informed and, to do that, we need to remember not to take everything as it seems. It may seem arbitrary, but doing your research about the candidates and taking notes throughout the last month of this campaign will ensure that you know what – and who – you’re voting for on November 8th.