COST OF SCALED BACK HIGH-SPEED RAIL IN CA GOING UP The cost to build a 119-mile segment of CALIFORNIA’s high-speed rail system in the state’s Central Valley could be $1.8 billion higher than the $10.6 billion previously projected, according...
In 1998 Washington voters approved a ballot measure, Initiative 200 , barring the state’s government from giving preferential treatment to anyone based on race, gender or national origin. Just before ending its regular session last month, the state’s...
The Wisconsin Supreme court ordered the reinstatement of 15 appointees of former Gov. Scott Walker who were removed from their posts in connection with an ongoing power struggle between the state’s Republican controlled Legislature and new Democratic...
FEDERAL APPEALS PANEL ORDERS NEW DISTRICTS, SENATE ELECTIONS IN MI A three-judge federal panel has ordered MICHIGAN’s Republican-controlled Legislature to redraw at least 34 political districts before the 2020 election - and ordered the state...
In spite of his personal opposition, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee (R) said he would allow a measure legalizing sports betting to become law in the Volunteer State without his signature. “The governor has said he does not believe that the expansion...
After passing the House in March, a bill championed by Gov. Laura Kelly (D) to expand Medicaid in the Sunflower State appears to have died in the GOP-controlled Senate. Senate Democratic Leader Anthony Hensley forced a procedural vote to move HB...
Responding to a drastic increase in foreclosures since 2009, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D) signed a package of bills aimed at helping cash-strapped Garden State residents stay in their homes and overwhelmed cities deal with a rash of vacant foreclosed...
BULLOCK SIGNS MT REINSURANCE BILL MONTANA Gov. Steve Bullock (D), signed legislation last week that will create a reinsurance program to help reimburse insurers for high-cost claims so those costs aren't included in determining individual marketplace...
NY Assembly Endorses SB 501 The NEW YORK Assembly endorses SB 501 , a bill that would require toy manufacturers to tell state regulators when children’s products contain hazardous chemicals like cadmium, with toys containing materials like toxic...
TX Senate Approves SB 11 The TEXAS Senate approves SB 11 , a broad school safety measure that would, among several things, require that classrooms be equipped with phones and establish threat assessment teams to help identify potentially dangerous...
NY Governor Signs AB 2572 NEW YORK Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) signs AB 2572 , legislation that bans offshore drilling in Empire State coastal waters. The measure bars the state from granting permits for drilling and exploration in offshore areas controlled...
WA House Gives Final Approval to HB 1638 The WASHINGTON House gives final approval to HB 1638 , which would remove a parents’ ability to seek a personal or philosophical exemption from their children being vaccinated for measles. The measure...
KS Supreme Court Rules The KANSAS Supreme Court rules that women in the Sunflower State have a constitutional right to obtain an abortion. Justices ruled that both the state and U.S. constitutions support that right. Opponents vowed to seek to amend...
NY City Bans Alcohol Advertising on City Property Citing health risks associated with consuming excessive amounts of alcohol, NEW YORK CITY bans alcohol advertising on city property. The ban takes effect immediately, but ads already in place will be...
If you’re going to have a state amphibian, it might as well be one with as ridiculous a nickname as possible. I’m presuming that was what Pennsylvania lawmakers were thinking recently when they voted to name the Eastern hellbender salamander...
Geez, don’t make California Assemblymember Melissa Melendez angry. Or at least make sure the sharp objects are out of her reach. As CalMatters reports , fellow Republican Chad Mayes once gave Melendez a basketball signed by members of her favorite...
Don’t like the high cost of burials? Against cremation? Not down with mummification? Well, Washington state lawmakers may have just given you another good option. Yes, as the Washington Post reports , Evergreen State pols have endorsed a measure...
With apologies to Bob Dylan and James Brown, the times they are a changin’ and it’s no longer just a man’s world. While a lot of us already know this to be true, the word is just getting to a lot of states, or at least to the language...
Blame it on Blue Planet II. Since the nature documentary series began airing in early 2018, the blight of ocean plastics has come into focus for those who have watched it. Sir David Attenborough has become the Jiminy Cricket for this generation—a...
In the information age, data serves as the ultimate currency. Advertisers pay for it, platforms build empires on top of it, and researchers devote significant resources to find it. Yet much like currency, not all data holds equal value. Instead of using...
Today is National Honesty Day. It’s an ironic ending to a month that begins with the mischief and mayhem of April Fool’s. But in an era marked by declining trust in institutions, honesty is a hot commodity. And while trust in government and...
The World Day for Safety and Health at Work is a time to focus on issues that range from simple office practices (watch your posture) to slack attitudes or procedures that lead to devastating consequences on a massive scale. The International Labour...
Machine learning has become a buzzword in recent years, but the term dates to 1959 when AI-pioneer Arthur Samuel described machine learning as giving “computers the ability to learn without being explicitly programmed.” Decades later, having...
The Trump administration is plunging ahead with waivers that will encourage states to impose controversial work requirements on Medicaid recipients despite a federal judge’s ruling striking down such requirements in Arkansas and Kentucky. ...
Nine states have received federal approval for waivers allowing them to impose work requirements on Medicaid recipients. A federal judge has struck down the requirements in two of those states, Arkansas and Kentucky. But waivers are pending in another...