CNCounty News

News from Across the Nation - Jan. 22, 2018

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ARIZONA

Flu cases in PIMA COUNTY — nearly 1,000 cases reported through Dec. 30 — are 10 times higher than last year, according to The Arizona Daily Star. The numbers appear alarming because last year’s flu season arrived late and this year’s is unusually early, Aaron Pacheco, spokesman for the Pima County Health Department, told the newspaper. Arizona is one of 26 states reporting a high number of outpatient visits due to the flu. There have been 20 pediatric deaths from the flu, including one in MARICOPA COUNTY, according to an Arizona Department of Health Services report.

 

CALIFORNIA

The City and County of SAN FRANCISCO has given the green light to an 18-month pilot program that will feature 250 electric bicycles for rent. The e-Bikes will be part of the Ford Go-Bike program, which started in June 2017 with more than 2,600 bicycles available at 262 stations across the region. The e-Bike, with a maximum speed of 18 mph, is powered by a 345Wh Li-ion battery, features a user interface panel, lets riders know their speed and battery charge level and does not need to be returned to a dock.

A mudslide wreaks havoc on U.S. Highway 101 Jan. 9, after a severe winter storm smacked SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, killing at least 20. Some 7,000 people were evacuated and hundreds were stranded in their homes. “It looked like a World War I battlefield,” Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown said. Photo courtesy of Santa Barbara County Fire Department

Two years ago, the CALAVERAS COUNTY Board of Supervisors saw marijuana farming as a way to lift their Sierra foothills community out of the economic despair that had deepened because of a massive wildfire. Now, a new Board has voted to ban commercial cannabis cultivation. Supervisors have said they are responding to concerns about pollution and crime, claims the growers dispute.

Calaveras County joins PLACER, EL DORADO and a number of other Sierra foothill counties with bans on commercial cultivation, leaving SACRAMENTO and YOLO counties as some of the few jurisdictions allowing it, according to a report by The Sacramento Bee.

 

DELAWARE

Facing the possibility of costly court challenges from labor unions, SUSSEX COUNTY Council members voted Jan. 9 by 4–1 against a right-to-work ordinance. Councilman Rob Arlett had proposed the ordinance, saying it would be a way to attract new industries to the county. Dozens of union members packed the council chambers and stood outside during county meetings to protest the proposal. Councilman Irwin Burton said it was a tough decision but “if we adopt this ordinance, we will be in expensive, time-consuming litigation.”

In all, 28 states have passed right-to-work laws. Supporters of right-to-work laws say the measures help grow the economy, but opponents say such laws are passed to break up organized labor, hurt blue-collar workers and limit revenues from union members.

 

ILLINOIS

UNION COUNTY recently celebrated its bicentennial. The county was officially formed in the Illinois Territory on Jan. 2, 1818, before Illinois became a state, The Southern newspaper reported. The Union County Historical and Genealogy Society hosted a celebration at the county courthouse where local residents portrayed historic characters. One resident portrayed the then-state attorney who read the legislative act that created Union County.

 

NDIANA

BARTHOLOMEW COUNTY commissioners recently approved a 4 percent increase in county funding for Centerstone, a non-profit that provides mental health services. But with the commitment to pay more than $600,000 a year, the county officials are also asking for more accountability for how the money is being spent, The Republic recently reported. Centerstone provides services in 17 Indiana counties, including a 24-hour hotline.

 

MARYLAND

State legislators are considering a bill that would allow counties to increase fees to developers who want to build in congested areas that are “closed” to construction because of crowded schools, The Baltimore Sun reported. As proposed, the bill would double developers’ fees in areas where schools are between 110 percent and 115 percent at their capacity. Fees would increase by 200 percent in areas where schools are between 115 percent to 120 percent capacity.

MICHIGAN

OAKLAND COUNTY is reviewing bids from businesses looking to develop an autonomous vehicle pilot program. The county sent out an RFP in November. Contracts will be awarded Jan. 30. A county Connected Vehicle Task Force was formed in 2014, releasing a report in August on recommendations on how to deploy the world’s first countywide connected mobility system. The county wants a local business to develop, deploy and maintain the autonomous vehicle pilot program.

 

MINNESOTA

ANOKA COUNTY is cracking down on the number of people who misrepresent “therapy” pets as service animals. The county has a formal written policy that welcomes service animals but prohibits ordinary pets in county buildings. And the county isn’t the only one. Across the metro area, other counties are joining in, including HENNEPIN, DAKOTA, RAMSEY and WASHINGTON counties.

 

The BROWN COUNTY Board of Commissioners recently declined to adopt a plan that would allow some residents to get their drinking water tested for nitrates and other farm contaminants by the state Department of Agriculture. The tests are part of a statewide project to assess water quality in private wells in some areas vulnerable to leaching from fertilizers and pesticides. But in the farm-dominant county, the commissioners said they were worried that the Agriculture Department would use the information to regulate the use of fertilizer.

 

MONTANA

No room at the detention center? LAKE COUNTY Sheriff Don Bell is taking to social media to post the names of those who were cited rather than jailed because the center was full, the Missoulian recently reported. “I want to be transparent,” he told the newspaper. “I want people to know what I’m up against…. It’s not uncommon here for someone to receive a felony ticket, be booked and then released. If we’re at 46 and an officer wants to bring somebody in, they have to contact me to get approval. They will call me and say ‘This is what I have.’ In most cases, for me to go over that maximum number, it has to be some kind of violent offense.” County commissioners are aware of the problem but say that it’s a particular challenge on several fronts.

 

NEBRASKA

The SAUNDERS COUNTY public defender position will cease to be an elected office at the end of 2018. The Board of Supervisors will contract the job starting in 2019 because state statutes only require elected public defenders for counties with more than 100,000 residents. The incumbent public defender and the position will be removed from the 2018 primary ballots, the Ashland Gazette reported.

 

NEW HAMPSHIRE

A bill in the Legislature would reduce the allowable hours a retiree may work for a member of the state retirement system. That would complicate part-time work by retired employees who continue to work for counties, often filling in as law enforcement and public safety personnel, according to the Concord Monitor.

 

NEW JERSEY

The federal government will reimburse SOMERSET COUNTY $579,088 to cover the costs of providing protection to President Donald Trump when he visits his golf course in Bedminster. The Presidential Residence Protection Assistance Grant Program will also issue nearly $300,000 to the New Jersey Department of Law & Public Safety and a combined total of nearly $85,000 to the townships of Morristown and Bedminster for their costs. Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster is now considered a “residence of the president” and thus is eligible to apply to receive federal grants exclusively for providing reimbursement of law-enforcement personnel costs for protection activities, My Central Jersey reported.

 

NEW YORK

Driving kids around ERIE COUNTY? Light up and you could be fined.

The County Legislature is considering banning smokers from lighting up in a car occupied by anyone under 16.

Laws restricting the ability for smokers to light up in their vehicles have become more common in the last five years, The Buffalo News reported. ROCKLAND COUNTY, along with seven other states and dozens of cities, have laws against smoking in cars with children.

 

NORTH CAROLINA

A partnership between the state insurance department and the North Carolina Air National Guard will make the STANLY COUNTY Airport home to a major emergency training center, just the second in the United States. The area’s rugged terrain, including lakes, rivers, mountains and forests makes it attractive for trainees from around the world, WUNC Radio reported.

 

SOUTH CAROLINA

Revelers don’t have to go home, but they can’t stay in GREENVILLE COUNTY bars past 2 a.m. That’s thanks to a new ordinance, passed by the County Council, that requires bars and restaurants that serve alcohol to close at 2 a.m..

Amendments to allow businesses to remain open after 2 a.m. but refrain from further alcohol sales were struck down, Fox Carolina reported.

 

TEXAS

TRAVIS COUNTY is going local in its efforts to combat coyotes. Since 2005, the county has contracted with Texas Wildlife Services to deal with nuisance birds, feral hogs and coyotes. The Commissioners Court has switched to the city of Austin Animal Services Office, which has a higher threshold to respond with lethal force, the Austin American Statesman reported. The state considers lethal methods as soon as coyotes are observed during daylight hours chasing or taking pets from residential streets or yards.

 

UTAH

BEAVER and SALT LAKE counties have passed a resolution urging state lawmakers to pass stricter hate crime laws. Prosecutors have said the current law is unenforceable because it lacks a list of specific groups and the Salt Lake resolution enumerates the groups who have reported being targeted, including Jews, Mormons, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Orthodox Christians and others. The Statewide Association of Prosecutors and Utah Sheriff’s Association have also called for stronger tools to address crimes against specific groups, the Salt Lake Tribute reported.


News from Across the Nation is compiled by Charlie Ban and Mary Ann Barton, senior staff writers. If you have an item for News From, please email cban@naco.org or mbarton@naco.org.

 

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