Information technology pioneer Mitchell Kapor once said, “Getting information off the Internet is like taking a drink from a fire hose.” As an information consumer, you are probably nodding your head in agreement right now. Yet, your job depends...
One of the biggest obstacles facing ride-sharing companies like Uber and Lyft since coming into existence a few years ago has been getting permission from city and state regulators to operate. But having won that approval in many places, the companies...
As of March, 20 cities, four states and the District of Columbia had passed ordinances, regulations or laws allowing ride-sharing services, also known as transportation network companies (TNCs), to operate, according to the National Association of Insurance...
When it comes to the issue of transportation, California Gov. Jerry Brown’s (D) main focus - beginning with his first pass through the governor’s office a generation ago - has been the often-tough sell of a bullet train connecting Los Angeles...
Ohio AG Mike DeWine announced last week that credit-card giant Chase has agreed to a $136 million settlement with the state and 46 other states over its debt-collection practices. The settlement comes in connection with an investigation that revealed...
VT Soft Drink Tax In Effect A new 6 percent tax on soft drinks took effect in VERMONT on July 1. The tax was part of a $30-million package approved by the state Legislature in May to help close a $113 million budget gap (BURLINGTON FREE PRESS). ...
Two Littleton, Colorado residents, Gene and D’Arcy Straub, have filed a pair of ballot initiatives that would redefine same-sex marriages in the state as civil unions and allow wedding-related businesses that oppose gay marriage to hire contractors...
In 2005, public outcry over a pay raise Pennsylvania lawmakers voted themselves helped erase it just four months after it took effect and fueled a major purge of both chambers in the next two election cycles. Government reform advocates have marked the...
States to Wrap Up Same Sex Marriage Cases The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ordered judges in LOUISIANA , MISSISSIPPI , and TEXAS to wrap up same-sex marriage cases in their states in line with last month’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling. The...
Warning that the world is heading toward “total unsustainability and ecological collapse” if we don’t do something to counter the impacts of global climate change, California Gov. Jerry Brown (D)called on more states and international...
Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder (R) signed a package of bills last week aimed at allowing financially troubled school districts to receive help faster during a fiscal emergency. The package, House Bills 4325-4332, collectively requires more financial reporting...
South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley (R) signed legislation last week to remove the Confederate flag from the statehouse grounds in Columbia and send it to a museum instead. Haley signed the bill nine times with nine different pens in honor of the same number...
Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin (R) said last week a monument to the Ten Commandments will remain in place on the Capitol grounds in Oklahoma City while state Attorney General Scott Pruitt appeals the state Supreme Court ruling ordering its removal. The Court...
OR Water Conservation Review Faced with worsening drought conditions, OREGON Gov. Kate Brown (D) directed all state agencies to review their water usage, implement conservation plans and report their progress to the state Water Resources Department...
The OREGON House approves SB 460, which allows the Beaver State to begin selling recreational marijuana by Oct. 1, a year earlier than originally allowed under the measure that voters approved to legalize recreational weed use. It is now with Gov. Kate...
NH Signs SB 106 NEW HAMPSHIRE Gov. Maggie Hassan (D) signs SB 106, which bars the sale and possession of synthetic drugs sold under names like Spice (WMUR.COM [MANCHESTER]). NY Issues Executive Order NEW YORK Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) issues Executive...
NH Vetoes HB 449 NEW HAMPSHIRE Gov. Maggie Hassan (D) vetoes HB 449, which would have altered a Granite State law requiring the payment of child support payments until a student has graduated from high school, even if that student is over 18. Under...
WISCONSIN Gov. Scott Walker (R) signs SB 15, which bars the manufacture of personal care products containing small, non-biodegradable plastic particles known as microbeads. The law takes effect on December 31, 2017 (FOX6NOW.COM [GREEN BAY]).
OR Approves HB 2300 The OREGON House approves HB 2300, which would allow doctors to prescribe experimental medications not yet approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to terminally ill patients with less than six months to live. It is now...
KANSAS Gov. Sam Brownback (R) issues Executive Order 05-15, which bars the Sunflower State from taking any punitive actions against clergy or religious organizations that refuse to perform same-sex marriage ceremonies (LEXISNEXIS STATE NET).
NEW HAMPSHIRE Gov. Maggie Hassan (D) vetoes SB 116, which would have done away with a Granite State law requiring anyone wishing to carry a concealed weapon to first obtain a permit (NEW HAMPSHIRE UNION LEADER). -- Compiled by RICH EHISEN
Try as we might to avoid it, time always marches on. And so it has for Pam Schofield, who State House News Service reports retired a few weeks ago after 32 years on the job as reference librarian for the Massachusetts State Library in Boston. During that...
Politicos’ misadventures with social media are well-chronicled here. But almost as common – and idiotic – is male electeds’ inability to be around attractive women without making dolts of themselves. Case in point this week comes...
Speaking of head-shakers, word comes from New Jersey that a pair of lawmakers are crafting a bill that would force any Garden State governor wishing to run for president – Chris Christie comes to mind - to step down from the governor’s office...
Crafting a state budget is not for the weak of heart, nor is it for the humor-challenged. Thankfully neither is the case in Washington, where lawmakers last week carried on what has become a more than two decades-long tradition of giving each budget negotiation...