An analysis by New York City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer found that the city’s five pension funds have paid over $2 billion in management fees over the past decade with virtually nothing to show for that investment. “We asked a simple...
Train crews CALIFORNIA Gov. Jerry Brown (D) signs SB 730, a bill that requires a train or light engine used in connection with the movement of freight to have at least two operators at all times. Violators face fines up to $1,000 for a first violation...
SB 1556 Approved in TN The TENNESSEE Senate gives final approval to SB 1556 , which would allow therapists to reject patients based on the counselors’ own religious beliefs. The measure moves to Gov. Bill Haslam (R) for consideration (JURIST...
WI Senate Approves AB 547 The WISCONSIN Senate approves AB 547 , which would limit regulations designed to avoid or minimize construction on wetlands. It moves to Gov. Scott Walker (R), who is expected to sign it into law (MILWAUKEE JOURNAL-SENTINEL...
Over 100 proposed amendments to Florida’s Constitution are currently being considered by a commission that meets every 20 years. Among other things the proposals would make it harder for state lawmakers to increase taxes, create a patients’...
Across the nation, prison inmates or their families have been suing states for the heat conditions in their un-air-conditioned cells that they say violate the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment. States have argued...
Last year, after Blue Cross announced it was pulling out of Minnesota’s individual health insurance market and the state’s Commerce Department revealed that the remaining insurers were planning to increase their premiums by 50 percent or more...
NJ Governor Signs SB 3370 NEW JERSEY Gov. Chris Christie (R) signs SB 3370 , which criminalizes the act of operating a drone aircraft while under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Violators face jail time and fines up to $1,000 (NJ.COM)
TN Federal Court Rules A federal court rules that TENNESSEE may no longer revoke a person’s driver’s license over their inability to pay a traffic ticket. U.S. District Judge Aleta Trauger’s ruling included a preliminary injunction...
DC City Council Approves Initiative The WASHINGTON D.C . City Council approves legislation to overturn Initiative 77, a voter-approved ballot measure that would end a two-tier minimum-wage system that allows restaurants and others to pay tipped workers...
Stand back, because the Bruce Lee wannabes are on the way! Yes, as NPR reports , Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey has signed a bill that overturns a prohibition on nunchucks, the traditional martial arts weapon that loosely translates to “chain sticks.”...
Being in politics means learning to roll with the punches, but former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger recently had to take that lesson a step further. As the Washington Post reports , Schwarzenegger was signing autographs at his annual Arnold Classic...
Some days it feels like this old world is about to just burn itself down. Literally, given how fast climate change is progressing. But there’s no shortage of other problems, from an epidemic of school shootings to an equally insane epidemic of measles...
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is good at ruffling more than eagle feathers. The Federal Highway Administration is also angry with him, this time over hundreds of “I Love NY” signs on Empire State highways. As the Associated Press reports , the...
Add canvassing your constituents to the things an African American person might do that causes someone to freak out and call the police. As the Portland Oregonian reports , Oregon state Rep. Janelle Bynum was recently canvassing her district – knocking...
OH House Approves HB 263 The OHIO House gives final approval to HB 263 , which would allow dogs to accompany their owners on a restaurant patio if the eatery is okay with it. The measure is now with Gov. John Kasich (R) for consideration (SANDUSKY...
Thirty-nine percent of the 80 state judgeships in Hawaii are currently held by women, according to an analysis of online judicial data by the Honolulu Star-Advertiser . That rate is three percent higher than it was in 2004 but still well short of the...
Federal Court Rules In MI A federal court rules that children in MICHIGAN do not have a fundamental right to being taught to read and write. The ruling by U.S. District Judge Stephen Murphy III came in a suit against Gov. Rick Snyder (R) and a number...
Utah legislators are pondering doing away with the Beehive State’s so-called “porn czar,” officially known as the “obscenity and pornography complaints ombudsman.” The state made big news in 2000 when it created the position...
For decades, the ukulele has been synonymous with the Hawaiian Islands, sparking images of blissful beaches, warm ocean breezes and the generous spirit that is the essence of aloha. Sadly, in recent years the ukulele has been co-opted by that most dreaded...
As I often say, if you think our elections are goofy...you are right. But we are not alone. Case in point comes from Ukraine, where Han Solo’s Wookie co-pilot Chewbacca got arrested last month for disturbing an election in Odessa. This was particularly...
In spite of some tragic failures, the slow movement toward autonomous cars is rolling forward. The latest proof comes from Massachusetts, where State House News Service reports that Gov. Charlie Baker (R) recently signed off on an agreement to allow testing...
A Superior Court judge has ordered Maine Gov. Paul LePage (R) to take the necessary steps to implement voter-approved expansion of Medicaid in the Pine Tree State. Superior Court Justice Michaela Murphy gave LePage until June 11 to file an expansion plan...
HI Govenor signs SB 2046 and SB 2436 HAWAII Gov. David Ige (D) signs two gun measures: SB 2046 , which prohibits the manufacture, importation, sale, transfer and possession of bump fire stocks, multi-burst trigger activators and trigger cranks in the...
Republican Karen Handel defeated Democrat Jon Ossoff in the special runoff election last month to fill the seat vacated by former U.S. Rep. Tom Price (R-Georgia), who was appointed health and human services secretary by President Donald Trump. Democrats...