For most communications and public relations professionals, crisis planning is a relatively standard tactic in the professional tool belt. While the timing of a crisis can’t always be predicted, PR leaders—together with management—frequently...
Most people would not spend $18,000 to save $200. Alas, the Mississippi Department of Public Safety is clearly not burdened with such fiscal sense. As the Jackson Clarion-Ledger reports , the DPS has recently spent $17,727.50 fighting an open records...
All hail Lincoln, a Nubian goat now known as His Honor the Mayor of Fair Haven, Vermont. Yes, as the Associated Press reports , Lincoln outlasted over a dozen other critters seeking the office, most notably a dog named Sammie, to win the final tally 13...
Since men get to constantly tell women how to manage their own bodies, Georgia state Rep. Dar’shun Kendrick thinks it’s time that women get to return the favor. In an email to colleagues she titled “Testicular ‘Bill of Rights’...
Word is that tattoos are becoming less of a thing for the younger set these days. That’s probably a good idea given that some folks apparently think it is a good idea to get a tattoo on their eyeball. Yes, on their eyeball! Thankfully, Cornhusker...
ID House Approves HB 217 The IDAHO House approves HB 217 , a bill that would require a public vote on any public projects using urban renewal money. It moves to the Senate (IDAHO STATESMAN [BOISE]). 9th Circuit Court of Appeals Rejects Challenge...
IA Supreme Court Upholds The IOWA Supreme Court upholds a lower court’s ruling that the Hawkeye State cannot deny Medicaid coverage for sex reassignment surgery. The court ruled that doing so would violate the state’s 2007 Civil Rights...
HI House Declines SB 557 The HAWAII House declines to take up SB 557 , a Senate-passed bill that would have made the Aloha State the third to become a so-called “sanctuary state,” which gives local law enforcement agencies the option to...
FL House and Senate Approves SB 182 The FLORIDA House and Senate approve SB 182 , which would allow patients to smoke medical marijuana. It moves to Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), who pushed the measure and is expected to sign it right away (MIAMI HERALD)...
NM House Endorses SB 76 The NEW MEXICO House endorses SB 76 , which would bar coyote-killing contests in the Land of Enchantment. It goes to Gov. Michelle Lujan Grishman (D) for consideration (NEW MEXICO POLITICAL REPORT).
NM Legislature Gives Final Approval to SB 489 The NEW MEXICO Legislature gives final approval to SB 489 , which would require all electricity from publicly regulated utilities to be obtained from renewable and carbon-free resources by 2045. It goes...
OR Senate Approves SB 664 The OREGON Senate approves SB 664 , a measure requiring schools to teach students about the Holocaust and other acts of genocide. It moves to the House (ASSOCIATED PRESS, LEXISNEXIS STATE NET).
WA House Approves HB 1706 The WASHINGTON House approves HB 1706 , which would require Evergreen State employers to pay disabled workers the same $12 per hour minimum wage they pay other workers. The measure moves to the Senate (ASSOCIATED PRESS). ...
EVERS SEEKS ROLLBACK OF WALKER-ERA WI WORK LAWS The budget proposed by WISCONSIN Gov. Tony Evers (D) would roll back several employment laws implemented under former Gov. Scott Walker (R), including a repeal of the state’s so-called “right...
After over a year of negotiation, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D) and legislative leaders announced an agreement to legalize recreational marijuana use in the Garden State. The deal would establish a flat tax rate of $42 per ounce, which would stay...
Calling capital punishment “ineffective, irreversible and immoral,” California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signed an executive order on Tuesday all but abolishing the death penalty in the Golden State for the foreseeable future. Newsom joins...
GA LEGISLATURE APPROVES SWITCH TO NEW VOTING MACHINES GEORGIA’s GOP-controlled General Assembly has passed a bill ( HB 316 ) providing for the adoption of new voting machines that utilize touchscreens and paper ballots for review by voters, sending...
Over the past decade, many states, citing concerns about voter fraud, have enacted voting restrictions, such as photo ID requirements and early voting reductions. It looked as though voter purges would be the next phase of that movement, after the U.S...
TX SENATE APPROVES $8.4B IN ADDITIONAL SPENDING FOR FY 2019 The TEXAS Senate approved a supplemental FY 2019 appropriation of $8.4 billion for lingering expenses associated with Hurricane Harvey, school safety measures and the teacher retirement system...
Making good on a campaign promise, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) has proposed a graduated income tax that he says would generate $3.4 billion in revenue for the state while lowering taxes for 97 percent of its residents. “It’s wrong...
With the first tax season since the federal tax overhaul now in full swing, the $10,000 cap on state and local tax, or SALT, deductions included in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act may have wealthy Americans in some high-tax states eyeing moves to cheaper locales...
As of mid-February, 21 states had passed laws streamlining regulations for the deployment of 5G or small-cell technology. In 12 of those states, Republicans controlled both chambers of the legislature and the governor’s office when the laws were...
The next generation of wireless technology, 5G, could bring major advancements in everything from entertainment to public safety. But federal, state and local governments are at odds over how that technology should be deployed and where regulatory authority...
It’s been an uncharacteristically rainy winter in California. Not a bad thing, as we natives know we’re always just a bad year or two from a big drought. The rain also produces wildflower “super blooms” in various remote locales...
Texas might be about to go to the dogs, and that’s not a bad thing. As the Wichita Falls Times Record News reports (say that three times fast!), the Lone Star State Senate passed a bill last week that would make it legal for eateries to allow dogs...