News from Across the Nation - Oct. 16, 2017

ALABAMA

JEFFERSON COUNTY’s Department of Health will receive $300,000 from the Justice Department to help establish a resource recovery center to prevent overdose deaths. “The Jefferson County Department of Health is very pleased to receive this financial and technical assistance from the DOJ to enhance our ongoing efforts to prevent overdose deaths,” said Mark E. Wilson, county health officer. The county saw 251 opioid deaths last year — 100 from heroin and 105 from fentanyl, more than double than in 2015.

CALIFORNIA

Forget about that man who sailed the ocean blue in 1492. Starting no later than 2019, the second Monday in October will be observed as Indigenous Peoples Day instead of Columbus Day in LOS ANGELES COUNTY. “The motion, let me be clear, is not about erasing history,” said Supervisor Hilda Solis, who introduced it with Supervisor Sheila Kuehl. “This is about understanding that for centuries, America’s ancestors oppressed certain groups of people. And while we can’t change the past, we can acknowledge and make that history right today.” The motion, which makes Indigenous Peoples Day an official county holiday, also designates Oct. 12 as Italian-American Heritage Day.

FLORIDA

â–ºHILLSBOROUGH COUNTY’s medical examiner confirmed the county’s first death from Kratom or Mitragynine, an herbal supplement. The victim’s  mother told a local TV station that she found two empty packets of Optimized Plant Meditated Solutions (OPMS) Gold. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Kratom is a plant consumed throughout the world for its stimulant effects and as an opioid substitute. It is typically brewed into a tea or chewed, smoked or ingested in capsules. Kratom is also known as Thang, Kakuam, Thom, Ketum and Biak. The Drug Enforcement Administration includes it on its “Drugs of Concern,” substances that are not currently regulated by the Controlled Substances Act. Some states have banned the sale of Kratom.

â–ºPALM BEACH COUNTY’s state attorney said they will seek the death penalty in a 27-year old murder case police dubbed the “Killer Clown Cold Case.” Sheriff Ric Bradshaw credited new DNA evidence and recent witness interviews with helping to close in on suspect Sheila Keen Warren, arrested Sept. 26 in Washington County, Virginia.

Authorities say Warren, now 54, dressed up as a clown May 26, 1990, to deliver flowers and balloons to Marlene Warren, who died after being shot in the face. At the time, the suspect worked with Marlene Warren’s husband, Michael Warren, who had a used car business. She married Warren 12 years after the murder.

ILLINOIS

â–º The fizz has gone out of COOK COUNTY’s soda pop tax, which some called the most expansive and expensive in the country. On Oct. 11, by a 14–2 margin, the Board of Commissioners voted to repeal the tax enacted in November 2016 and implemented in August.  Revenue from the 1-cent-per-ounce tax on sweetened beverages was expected to help plug a $1.8 billion gap in the county’s budget and reduce the county’s obesity rate.

â–º Winning pumpkin princesses show off their trophies at the annual pumpkin festival in TAZEWELL COUNTY. The Pumpkin Capital of the World — a town called Morton — is located in the county, where residents recently took part in the festival’s pageant, pie-eating contest and pumpkin weigh-off. The county is home to a Libby’s pumpkin cannery, which reportedly produces 85 percent of the world’s canned pumpkin. After Tazewell County, the top three pumpkin-producing counties in Illinois are KANKAKEE, MASON and LOGAN. 

MARYLAND

There are other Amazon fish to hook besides its second headquarters: The BALTIMORE COUNTY Council voted unanimously earlier in September to support the state’s $2.2 million incentive package designed to help lure an Amazon distribution center to Sparrows Point, the site of the former steel mill, according to a Baltimore Sun report.

While there’s been no official word from the online retail giant, Baltimore County officials have said Amazon is in negotiations to build an 855,000-square-foot distribution center with 1,500 employees at the industrial and transportation hub being developed on the site of the former steel mill.

Baltimore County also is offering a $200,000 conditional loan, which represents a required 10 percent match of the state loan.

MICHIGAN

â–º INGHAM COUNTY wants to replace its court-appointed attorney system with a public defender office that would employ full-time lawyers and investigators. Currently, the county appoints private attorneys on a case-by-case basis. The county’s plans for a public defender office is an effort to meet the Michigan Indigent Defense Commission’s standards. Counties have to submit compliance plans by Nov. 20. A study puts the cost of the new public defender office at $2 million.

â–º IRON COUNTY’s Circuit Court has been notified by the Michigan Supreme Court that it has been awarded a $55,000 grant for an intense probation supervision program. It is the only county in the Upper Peninsula to be selected for the Swift and Sure Sanctions Probation Program, which targets high-risk felony offenders with a history of probation violations or failures.

According to the Michigan Supreme Court, more than 1,000 current probationers have participated in Swift and Sure across the state. Among graduates, 67 percent were unemployed at admission, and only 14 percent were unemployed at discharge. The Michigan Supreme Court says the cost per probationer is declining steadily.

OREGON

The number of complaints from residents living near residential marijuana crops has prompted the JOSEPHINE COUNTY commissioners to establish a “pot patrol” group to monitor the grows.

Two members of the group would be code enforcement officers and one would be a sheriff’s deputy. The patrol’s funding could come from marijuana permit fees and potentially county-wide marijuana taxes. Commissioners hope to have the patrol in place Jan. 1, 2018, KBOI News reported.

PENNSYLVANIA

LEHIGH COUNTY is appealing a federal judge’s ruling that would likely a redesign of its seal. Judge Edward Smith ruled in favor of the Freedom from Religion Foundation, which claimed that the large cross at the center of the seal violated the Constitution’s Establishment Clause forbidding government from favoring one faith over others, The Morning Call reported. Existing case law required Smith to find that the county was honoring the settlers because they were Christians.

He asked the foundation’s lawyers to propose an injunction that would likely bar its future use. Lehigh County includes the seal on its flag, buildings, website, letterhead, legal documents and as a screen saver on displays in the county meeting room. Adopted in 1944, the seal also contains the historic Lehigh County Courthouse, a heart said to symbolize Allentown, a bison representing the herd at Trexler Nature Preserve, cement silos and bunting.

TEXAS

HARRIS COUNTY officials have recommended replacing its 100-year flood maps, following Hurricane Harvey — the third 500-year or greater storm in three years. That will have wide-ranging consequences for where development can take place.

County Engineer John Blount told the Houston Chronicle that he recommended expanding to a 500-year standard or greater to further regulate new development in the county and is considering forcing developers looking to build in those areas to elevate homes more than currently required. The 500-year designation is a storm that has a 0.2 percent chance of occurring in any year.

VIRGINIA

â–º Located in a region with one of the highest costs of living in the country, ARLINGTON COUNTY is considering a proposal to introduce a housing conservation district to preserve existing market-rate affordable housing that will be part of a zoning ordinance amendment.

The district will aim to retain and renovate affordable housing units, encourage construction of affordable housing, encourage renovation and infill development while accommodating redevelopment. Consultation with various commissions within the county will continue through the fall and community outreach is expected to begin sometime this winter, as is a General Land Use Plan amendment.

â–º BOTETOURT COUNTY is ready for its close-up. A movie screen manufacturer is opening there, adding 50 new jobs to the area. The company, Harkness Screens, will occupy a 100,000-square foot building that had stood vacant for several years. “We are pleased to welcome another company to Botetourt County that is a leader in its industry,” said Todd Dodson, vice chairman of the Botetourt County Board of Supervisors.

WASHINGTON

KING COUNTY deputies will provide juveniles a simpler version of the Miranda warning to make it easier for children to understand their rights when they get arrested. It follows research that shows teens often lack the experience and judgment to recognize and avoid choices that could be detrimental to them, and that they can be easily swayed into waiving their rights, according to The Associated Press.

Instead of saying, “You have the right to remain silent” and “Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law,” deputies will tell them, “You have the right to remain silent, which means that you don’t have to say anything,” and “It’s OK if you don’t want to talk to me.” The new warning was developed with input from the county’s Department of Public Defense and a nonprofit organization called Creative Justice.

WISCONSIN

New procedures by the MARATHON COUNTY Circuit Courts are showing increased compliance by domestic violence offenders in treatment programs. A series of probation hearings, all scheduled for Fridays, can lead to immediate weekend jail sentences if they are found to be in violation.

Before the first hearing, 60 days after sentencing, the offender should have a domestic violence intake and assessment completed with a treatment plan set up. If offenders have not set up treatment plans, they go to jail.

Service provider Peaceful Solutions reported that in January and February 2017, about half of the abusers failed to show up for their intake process (to get started on treatment). In July and August, the no-show rate was down to about 6 percent, the Wausau Daily Herald reported.

News from Across the Nation is compiled by Charlie Ban and Mary Ann Barton, senior staff writers. Gene Smith, Iron County, Michigan and Bev Schlotterbeck, executive editor also contributed to this report. If you have an item for News From, please email cban@naco.org or mbarton@naco.org.