Add Christmas trees to the long list of casualties of the Great Recession. Yes, as the Orange County Register reports , the dramatic reduction in the number of Christmas trees bought by cash-strapped families during the recent lean years took out so many...
Feel like your elected officials are not paying any attention to issues you care about? You can always take the tack that Corpus Christi resident Patricia Polastri took last month when she wanted to make a point to the “Sparkling City by the Sea”...
DEM GOVS OPPOSE TITLE IX CHANGES COLORADO Gov. John Hickenlooper (D) joined a handful of other Democratic governors in opposing the Trump administration’s plans to ensure that no federal Title IX money is used to pay for abortions. Hickenlooper...
MD Governor Signs HB 251 MARYLAND Gov. Larry Hogan (R) signs HB 251 , which requires local school systems to offer age-appropriate instruction on the meaning of consent in sex education curriculum for middle-school and high-school students (LEXISNEXIS...
TX House Approves HB 3703 The TEXAS House approves HB 3703 , which would add multiple sclerosis, autism, cancer and many other diseases and medical conditions to those eligible to be treated with cannabis oil. The bill, which would also allow for the...
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...
Former Alaska lawmaker Johnny Ellis saw his share of wacky things during his 29 years in the legislature. But nothing quite like what he experienced last week on a flight back to Anchorage from Seattle, when, as the Anchorage Daily News reports , a fellow...
JUDGE ORDERS TX TO ALLOW ONLINE VOTER REGISTRATION THROUGH DPS: A federal judge has ordered the state of TEXAS to allow residents to register to vote online when they renew their driver’s license through the Department of Public Safety’s...
There is no love lost between Ohio Gov. John Kasich and the man who bested him to win the 2016 GOP presidential nomination, Donald Trump. The latest ruffle came after Kasich used an appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press” to argue that...
California Approves AB 2888 The CALIFORNIA Assembly gives final approval to AB 2888 , which would mandate that anyone convicted of rape in the Golden State must receive jail time. The law removes a loophole that allowed judges the discretion to sentence...
Ohio Governor and aspiring GOP presidential nominee John Kasich said last week it is no more Mr. Nice Guy for him. Kasich was referring to his presidential campaign and how he plans to go on the offensive against some of his fellow candidates. But Kasich...
Gov. Jerry Brown (D) signs AB 60, which bars lawyers and law professionals from accepting advanced payment before applications for federal immigration relief under President Obama’s 2014 executive order become available (LEXISNEXIS STATE NET)).
The U.S. Supreme Court put on hold a court-ordered legislative redistricting and special election in North Carolina while it considers an appeal from Republican lawmakers in the state to keep the current districts in place through at least 2018. ...
Truth may well be the first casualty of war, but far too often the same could be said of civility at the hand of politics. But perhaps it doesn’t have to be that way. As the Idaho Spokesman-Review reports , nearly the entire Idaho Legislature showed...
The MASSACHUSETTS Senate approves SB 2092, legislation that would require the Bay State to develop a climate change mitigation plan and adopt new emissions caps of 35-45 percent below 1990 levels by 2030 and 55-65 percent below 1990 levels by 2040. The...
There are few things politicos like more than naming new buildings or bridges or other public works after a retired colleague who gave a healthy chunk of their working life to public service. But on occasion said pols get a little antsy and toss one of...
It’s not unusual for congressional candidates to have their heads a bit in the clouds, but Bettina Rodriguez Aguilera takes that one big step further. As the McClatchy D.C. bureau reports , Aguilera once claimed to have been abducted by aliens and...
Social Policy In Indiana A federal court permanently strikes down provisions of an INDIANA law passed last year that would have banned abortions sought due to fetal genetic abnormalities and required that aborted fetuses be buried or cremated. U.S...
Celebrities have as much right to get involved in the political process as anyone. After all, we’ve elected two TV hosts to the presidency, right? But if you’re going to give a big thumbs up to a candidate, you might want to be sure it’s...
In 2016 Western Kentucky University laid off about 200 hourly employees and then hired those individuals back to the same jobs the following day as employees of Sodexo, a private food services and facilities management contractor, offering 401(k) plans...
Nearly three months after winning approval from the U.S. Supreme Court to collect sales taxes from out-of-state sellers that do substantial business in the state, South Dakota will finally start doing so in November. Despite the favorable SCOTUS...
Or better yet, get it back in. That’s the word from the folks in the New Jersey town of Lavallette, who saw something glaringly wrong on a new road sign state transportation folks erected on Route 37. As UPI reports , the contractor who made the...
U.S department of education implements regulation to protect students A federal court rules that the U.S. Department of Education wrongly delayed implementation of regulations meant to protect students who take out loans to attend college from predatory...
AK Supreme Court Rules Local Gender Ordinance The ARKANSAS Supreme Court rules that the city of FAYETTEVILLE can’t enforce an ordinance banning discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. The court said it has already ruled...
For at least the fifth year in a row, Indiana Rep. David Wolkins (R) is backing a measure that an editorial in The Journal Gazette of Fort Wayne referred to as “one of the worst legislative bills being considered once again this session.”...