News from Across the Nation - Aug. 8, 2016

LOUISIANA

Jayla Pete, Ty’janae Green and Naya Slaughter, 2016 high school graduates in Calcasieu Parish, La., show off their big checks — college scholarships awarded by the parish’s Human Services Housing Program. The awards go to high-achieving residents of federally subsidized housing who has either graduated from high school or is a head of household who has returned to school. The funds go directly to the student’s school for tuition, books and related educational activities.  Photo courtesy of Tony Guillory, Calcasieu Parish police juror

 

CALIFORNIA

• LOS ANGELES, SAN DIEGO and ORANGE counties are urging gay men to take extra precautions due to a spike in “invasive meningococcal disease” among their populations.

The disease, caused by bacteria, can lead to death, even with early diagnosis and treatment. It is spread through close contact such as kissing, sharing drinking glasses, eating utensils, cigarettes or water bottles.

• A measure to use marijuana tax proceeds to fight homelessness won’t be on the November ballot in LOS ANGELES COUNTY. The Board of Supervisors, which had backed a 10 percent tax on marijuana businesses’ gross receipts, has decided it’s a non-starter, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Supervisor Sheila Kuehl, who proposed the marijuana tax measure, asked her colleagues to pull it. She cited pushback from some homeless service and drug treatment providers who think the county shouldn’t be seen as promoting marijuana legalization.

FLORIDA

• The virtual currency known as Bitcoin isn’t real money, according to MIAMI-DADE COUNTY judge’s ruling.

Judge Teresa Mary Pooler threw out felony charges against Michael Espinoza, a website designer charged with illegally transmitting and laundering Bitcoin valued at $1,500, The Miami Herald reported.

“The court is not an expert in economics; however, it is very clear, even to someone with limited knowledge in the area, the Bitcoin has a long way to go before it is the equivalent of money,” Pooler wrote in her order dismissing the case.

• The Food and Drug Administration has allowed some blood banks to resume collections after ordering a halt on July 27 because locally-acquired cases of Zika were reported in BROWARD and MIAMI-DADE counties, The Wall Street Journal reported.

FDA has authorized the use of an unapproved lab test to screen blood for the virus.  As of Aug. 5, a spokesperson for the agency said there had been no reports of the U.S. blood supply being tainted by Zika. Sixteen cases of Zika infection in Florida had been recorded by that date, according to the Miami Herald.

The Wynwood neighborhood, the focus of the Miami-Dade outbreak, is being sprayed with the pesticide Naled. Mayor Carlos Gimenez said early applications were successful.

IDAHO

The TETON COUNTY Board of Commissioners approved a resolution to formally oppose efforts to transfer federal public lands to the state of Idaho or local governments.

Public lands managed by the U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management and National Park Service comprise 33 percent of Teton County.

“The Board of County Commissioners strongly supports federal ownership and management of public lands in Teton County and the incredible value of federal lands bring to our county’s economy, recreation, heritage, and quality of life,” the resolution states.

Teton joins counties in Arizona, Colorado and Wyoming that have taken the same stance.

IOWA

STORY COUNTY supervisors have agreed to permit Dakota Access to cross the Heart of Iowa Nature Trail in the county to build part of its pipeline.

The pipeline company has promised to minimize inconvenience while providing every possible reassurance of safety. But some residents fear the construction will damage the trail and inconvenience its users.

Dakota Access also agreed to give the county’s Conservation Board up to $1.6 million to use for paving a four-mile section of the trail — funds that the board has discretion to use on other projects, according to The Gazette.

An attorney for Dakota Access, said if the supervisors had not approved the agreement, the company would have pursued eminent domain for an easement to cross the trail.

MARYLAND

Come November, voters in PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY will decide whether to expand the County Council from nine members to 11. A ballot question seeks voter approval to amend the county’s charter.

Each of the current councilmembers represents a district; the new members would be at-large, representing the entire county.

Proponents say at-large members, not beholden to a district constituency, can take the long view of what’s best for the county of nearly 900,000 residents, The Washington Times reported.

But some critics say the measure is a ploy to circumvent term limits, because councilmembers who are “termed-out” after two consecutive terms could run for an at-large seat.

NEVADA

CLARK COUNTY will now require a public hearing to deal with the objectionable annexations of properties throughout the county by the city of Las Vegas.

“As long as the city continues to aggressively move forward with these annexations, we will continue to protest,” said Commissioner Larry Brown. “Many residents know that we have tried many times to work with the city through negotiations, arbitration and mediations. This seemed like the next logical step the county could take — to bring it back to the judicial system and bring clarity to the situation.”

The county can direct the city to remove the property from its jurisdictional boundaries, place any municipal taxes that would go to the city as a result of the annexation into a special fund to be held there and direct the district attorney’s office to seek an injunction or judgment in District Court.

Trouble has followed the expiration in January of an interlocal agreement that allowed county landowners to connect into city infrastructure without paying higher city tax rates, The Review-Journal reported.

The Legislature passed a bill barring cities from forcing unincorporated property owners into service areas, which prompted the Las Vegas City Council to define service areas as property within existing city limits.

NEW JERSEY

Animal welfare concerns have prompted BERGEN COUNTY freeholders to ban circuses and exotic animal shows on county property. That includes parades, carnivals, trade shows and any event in which animals have no permanent home or are removed from their homes for more than 18 hours at a time.

According to The Record, zoos, sanctuaries, rescue centers and educational programs featuring animals are exempt.

NEW YORK

• BROOME COUNTY has made a $10,000 donation to the Broome County Veterans Fly Fishing Program. The donation will fund travel and fishing instruction for county veterans through the County Veterans Service Agency, WICZ News reported.

• The TOMPKINS COUNTY Charter Review Committee has recommended giving some of the sheriff’s duties to a commissioner of police, whom the county Legislature would appoint, the Ithaca Journal reported.

Any change from an elected position to an appointed position would have to be approved by Tompkins County voters in a referendum. If it passes, an appointed police commissioner would perform criminal functions of the job, while an elected sheriff would hand civil duties and management of the Tompkins County Jail, which just lost a variance to house more inmates than it was designed to hold, WENY News reported.

If passed, the terms of sheriff and commissioner of police would begin Jan. 1, 2019. The department of police would also come into operation on that date.

OHIO

Refinancing debt on Paul Brown Stadium and Great American Ball Park could save $65 million for HAMILTON COUNTY over 20 years. The county bonds, sold in 1996, are worth about $376 million, the Cincinnati Enquirer reported.

WASHINGTON

The KING COUNTY Council lifted a moratorium on legal pot business in unincorporated areas of the county.

Legal pot farms had to be 10 acres or larger in rural zones during the four-month moratorium, the Seattle Times reported.

WISCONSIN

A rapid transit bus route got the okay from the MILWAUKEE COUNTY Board, clearing the way for service between downtown Milwaukee and the Milwaukee Regional Medical Complex. County transportation officials will apply for a federal transit grant that would pay 80 percent of the costs of the nine-mile route, estimated at $45 million.

A county consultant estimates 13 minutes of transit time would be shaved off the full length of the route between downtown and a county park-and-ride lot, The Journal-Sentinel reported.