News from Across the Nation - March. 20, 2017

ARIZONA

The Department of Defense (DoD) Office of Economic Adjustment has awarded a $532,700 grant to COCONINO COUNTY for a Joint Land Use Study, which provides recommendations for land uses compatible with missions of military installations while  supporting economic development and community values.

“We appreciate that the DoD Office of Economic Adjustment saw the value in this project and awarded this grant,” said Supervisor Art Ryan. “This grant will allow the Policy Committee to study the best uses for this land and determine what is in the best interest of our community while fulfilling the missions of our military installations.”

 

FLORIDA

Tenants of PALM BEACH COUNTY Park Airport in Lantana are losing money when President Trump visits, according to a report by CBS News. The Secret Service has determined that the airport must close down due to security concerns whenever Trump is in town due to its proximity to Mar-a-Lago. Trump has visited his luxury country club four out of seven weekends of his presidency.

Twenty-eight businesses in all, including a flight school and a banner ad company, are trying to beef up business during the week, when the president isn’t visiting. So far, the county has also paid $1.7 million in extra security costs when the president comes to town, according to several reports.

The county is conducting a study to determine the extent of the costs and benefits to Trump’s presence in the county, the Palm Beach Daily News reported. County Administrator Verdenia Baker said that he could attract tourists. Baker said the county would need a few months to measure the tourism revenue impact.

ILLINOIS

● OnStar to the rescue: Earlier this month, LAKE COUNTY sheriff’s deputies were in pursuit of a stolen Buick, but the suspects would not pull over. The owner of the car told police the vehicle was equipped with OnStar, the security subscription service, so the sheriff’s office got in touch with the company and OnStar disabled the vehicle. Police were able to nab all three suspects.

“I can’t say it’s the first time we used it, but it is very unusual,” Sgt. Christopher Covelli, a spokesman for the sheriff’s office, told the Lake County News-Sun. In 2012, the same service shut down a car that led police on a high-speed 40-mile chase in the Chicago area.

●  MADISON COUNTY is finding an innovative way to record its history by inviting residents to contribute to Madison Historical: The Online Encyclopedia and Digital Archive for Madison County, Ill. Residents will be able to participate by providing oral history interviews, photos and documents.

The new history site was set to be introduced this month in the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Morris University Center Conference Center. The project is being spearheaded by the local school superintendent and history professors from the university.

MONTANA

A Great Falls medical company has notified GALLATIN and CASCADE counties that it is severing its contracts to provide medical services at their detention centers, according to a report by the Bozeman Daily Chronicle.

The company, Benefits Spectrum Medical, says it is pulling out of the contracts because of “litigious behavior of the inmates and the inordinate time and effort it takes to defend the claims, including those that are completely without basis,” the newspaper reported. The counties are weighing their options; Cascade County is considering bids, including one from Planned Parenthood of Montana, according to the Great Falls Tribune.

NEVADA

Limited cellphone reception is helping news of what happens in Vegas stay in Vegas.

But CLARK COUNTY would like to improve service on the Strip, where visitors’ smartphones are overloading wireless networks with social media postings, live video streaming and requests for GPS directions.

“At a convention center, when there’s a big show like [the Consumer Electronics Show] … some of the wireless carriers will bring in a mobile wireless communications system to handle the increased need for data and bandwidth,” said Mike Harwell, the county’s assistant manager of business license operations.

Fixes may include assisting wireless communications companies in placing more small cells, low-powered nodes located close to the ground, on and around the Strip to improve coverage and connectivity speed. There is capacity to more than double the number of small-cell sites on streetlight poles on one section of Las Vegas Boulevard, the Review-Journal reported. The county is also considering placing cell sites on bus stop shelters and casino properties.

NEW MEXICO

An audit in progress has shown that so far, oil and gas companies owe almost half a million dollars in back taxes to EDDY COUNTY.

While identifying, mapping and finding the valuation of oil and gas properties within the county, auditors found 111 omitted drilling rigs and 101 miles of omitted pipeline that hadn’t been claimed, along with more than $460,000 in unpaid back taxes, the Associated Press reported.

NORTH DAKOTA

The state Supreme Court told DUNN COUNTY it cannot veto the location of an oil and gas waste treating plant approved by the state industrial commission.

The opinion upholds a district judge’s ruling that sole authority for zoning rests with the state commission, which regulates energy development in the state.

In 2013, Dunn County officials said a treatment site was zoned as “rural preservation,” which does not allow for salt water storage tanks. Three other oil-producing counties had filed documents supporting Dunn County, the Associated Press reported.

PENNSYLVANIA

●  Vaping in ALLEGHENY COUNTY’s public indoor places isn’t just passé, it’s illegal. The County Council put e-cigarettes and handheld vaporizers on the same standard as tobacco products, forbidding them in locations such as schools, government buildings, sports stadiums, restaurants and similar spaces, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

●  The auditor general’s office will examine the child protection system in 13 counties, evaluating the impact of high turnover rates and minimal training. The Pennsylvania Children and Youth Administrators Association (PCYA), an affiliate of the County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania, praised the decision, adding that current state law includes a 2.5-year difference between when county children and youth agencies submit their proposed budgets and when money is delivered.

“This process does not allow counties to take into consideration new mandates that are adopted in the intervening time, and unless the legislature would approve a supplemental appropriation, the counties’ only options are to cut spending in other areas, to request to move existing funds, or to increase property taxes,” PCYA Executive Director Brian Bornman said.

The auditor general’s report hopes to offer recommendations to improve stressors so that children and youth agencies can improve the quality of care at-risk children receive.

TEXAS

●  DALLAS COUNTY’s first-ever expunction clinic will help those accused but not convicted of crimes clear their records.

The free Dallas Expunction Expo will educate the public on the importance and the process of clearing criminal arrest records. Participants will be able to speak with volunteer attorneys about their arrest records and connect with community organizations and other social service agencies, CBS-DFW reported.

WISCONSIN

In an effort to cut phosphorus in lakes, DANE COUNTY has allocated $1.1 million to help local dairy farmers apply and build community manure storage capacity.

When farmers run out of manure storage space, WISC-TV reported, they often spread it on frozen or snowy ground, and University of Wisconsin scientists estimated that 40 percent of manure containing phosphorus ends up in the lakes. In addition to a centrally located storage facility, the count will entertain proposals that describe innovative ideas and strategies for managing manure such as ultrafiltration or composting.

WYOMING

With up to 50,000 visitors expected to visit Central Wyoming for Aug. 21’s total solar eclipse, NATRONA COUNTY will offer permits for landowners in the unincorporated areas of the county who plan to play host to campers.

There’s no charge for the permit, which is limited to the week before and the week after the eclipse. Though Development Director Jason Gutierrez said landowners don’t need permits, roughly 100 landowners have expressed interest, according to K2 Radio. Gutierrez says they present logistical challenges, including traffic, sanitation, food, water, fire, health problems (with people coming from sea level to mile-high elevations) and finding ample space for emergency vehicles to reach campers if necessary.

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.