News from Across the Nation - July 25, 2016

NEVADA

WASHOE COUNTY and the Second Judicial District Court will display “recovery” doors throughout the downtown courthouses, the Washoe County District Attorney’s Office and the Washoe County Administration Complex.

The Art for Recovery Community Project features renowned local and emerging artists’ work, depicting their interpretation of the theme of “Sober Is . . .” This project was created to raise awareness and to end the stigma associated with the disease of addiction.

 

CALIFORNIA

Twenty “tiny houses” — modified utility sheds — will provide temporary shelter for up to 40 homeless people in YUBA COUNTY. The 8-by-14- foot, one-room structures were placed on vacant land owned by the county. They come with two beds, no running water or electricity, though LED lamps are provided.

The community is designed to provide housing for up to 30 days, while social services and community agencies work to move the residents into permanent residences.

Donations from charities and corporations keep the county’s cost to less than $100,000, KCRA TV News reported.

“We can talk about the issue of homelessness all day long and we can talk about what we want to do,” County Administrator Robert Bendorf told a reporter, “but we felt it was important to act.

FLORIDA

DUVAL and ORANGE counties are testing a program to help incarcerated heroin users to kick the habit. They’ll receive addiction counseling, therapy and treatment after their release, which includes a monthly shot of Vivitrol, a non-addictive drug that blocks the euphoric effects of heroin, the Orlando Sentinel reported.

“If you try to shoot up, you won’t feel anything,” said Christopher Hunter, the county’s director of health services. Orange County is paying for the pilot with state funding; 144 jail inmates have volunteered for the program. Heroin-related arrests have spiked the past five years — from fewer than 100 in 2010 to more than 800 in 2015.

A similar program in Massachusetts reduced re-arrests by about 9 percent. Nationwide, the recidivism rate for drug offenders is 77 percent within five years of release, according to federal data.

GEORGIA

• Thanks to a $48,000 gift from the Atlanta Hawks Foundation, DEKALB COUNTY has broken ground on a new outdoor basketball court at the county’s Gresham Park.

The park is across the street from a school named for a notable basketball fan: The Barack Obama Technology Elementary School is the first school in Georgia to be named after the president.

• An anti-government group decided to take the law into its own hands at a recent CLAYTON COUNTY Board of Commissioners meeting, according to the Clayton Daily News.

“I’m here to invoke my absolute and guaranteed rights to … effect a citizen’s arrest,” said Carl Swensson, the group’s leader. He declared that three commissioners and the district attorney were “under arrest,” and “commanded” law enforcement officers who were present to “take possession.”

Police took no action and the group eventually left, and the meeting continued. County Police Chief Michael Register said they would be arrested if they came back into the commission chambers and would be charged with assault if they attempted to make the arrests themselves.

KENTUCKY

No, KENTON COUNTY isn’t getting into the beer business, but it’s government offices will be moving to an old brewery. The county purchased the Bavarian Brewing Co. building — once destined for a date with a wrecking ball — for $4.5 million, WLWT TV News reported.

The building housed a brewery from 1866 to 1966. More recently, it was a restaurant and nightclub.

“It’s extremely exciting,” said Kenton County Judge Executive Kris Knochelmann. “It’s going to be a daunting task. We’re going to have a lot of work to do over the next year and a half.”

MARYLAND

• WASHINGTON COUNTY is planning to transform a mostly deserted former Army base into a vibrant mixed-use community with commercial, residential and recreational uses.•

County commissioners voted unanimously to take ownership of Fort Richie. The county will facilitate the buildout of the Cascade Town Centre at Fort Ritchie.

County Administrator Gregory Murray said that the project could attract about 3,000 people to the area and an estimated 1,000 jobs.

The Army closed the base in 1998. The county will assume ownership of the property on Sept. 15, according to the Herald Mail.

• High school graduates in WICOMICO COUNTY who qualify can now receive full scholarships to attend community college under a new program.

After the County Council approved the plan in June, two business leaders pledged $15,000 each over the next five years to back the program. County officials turned over $265,000 to the Community Foundation of the Eastern Shore, which will manage and distribute the funds.

To qualify, students must have lived in the county for two years, enroll in a degree or certificate program at WorWic Community College and register for 12 or more credit hours in the fall immediately after high school graduation, among other requirements. The students are required to maintain at least a 2.0 grade point average.

MONTANA

Lt. Gov. Mike Cooney (D) has declared a “drought alert” for GLACIER, TETON, PONDERA counties and part of LEWIS AND CLARK COUNTY.

In a letter to county commissioners, he noted the determination was based on water supply and soil moisture data from state and federal agencies and other indicators. The region has experienced two consecutive years of low snowpack, early runoff and minimal subsoil moisture. Additional counties may be added to the list, Cooney added.

NEW YORK

Students at SUNY-New Paltz and SUNY-Ulster will have access to a sexual assault crisis counselor thanks to ULSTER COUNTY, which received a $140,000 state grant.

The counselor is a certified rape crisis counselor, liaison to law enforcement agencies and educator who will provide training to both students and administrators at orientation and throughout the year, WAMC News reported.

TEXAS

NUECES COUNTY commissioners have authorized 91 polling locations to allow any county resident to vote, eliminating precinct-based voting requirements. The secretary of state must approve the plan.

State officials are expected to approve similar plans in six Texas counties with at least 100,000 residents in November, according to The Caller Times.

VIRGINIA

The FAIRFAX COUNTY Board of Supervisors has passed a resolution emphasizing racial and social equity in decision making.

The Washington Post reports that policy will allocate funding to lower-income areas and affect police, school and land use issues. It will consider the importance of diversity in hiring and other decisions.

WASHINGTON

After years of the SNOMOISH COUNTY Health District and Sheriff’s office collecting unused medicine, the district board passed an ordinance putting the responsibility of destroying drugs safely onto the pharmaceutical companies that produce the drugs.

The ordinance requires one box for every town or city, and an additional box for every 30,000 residents. Homebound patients can also get pre-paid mailers to dispose of their medicine. Companies must submit their stewardship plans to the health district by December, with an eye toward implementing the plans in early 2017.

Snohomish will be the eighth county in the nation with a medicine stewardship program, The Herald reported. ALAMEDA COUNTY in California was the first in 2012.

WEST VIRGINIA

FAYETTE COUNTY’s plan to ban fracking waste is unconstitutional, according to a federal judge. Judge John Copenhaver invalidated the county’s unanimous approval of an ordinance banning the waste, passed in January 2016, saying state and federal law trump county ordinances, West Virginia Public Radio reported.

In his ruling, Copenhaver cited a 1999 decision in City of Huntington v. the State Water Commission, stating that “Public health is a matter of statewide rather than local or municipal interest or concern and in the regulation of public health the power of the state is supreme.

WISCONSIN

Wisconsin’s voter ID law looms large over people without a permanent address, but the DANE COUNTY Board of Supervisors passed a resolution to help homeless residents obtain the necessary documentation to vote.

The resolution allows the homeless to list county buildings as their permanent address. This could extend voting rights to the more than 3,500 people who experience homelessness in Madison each year. Before the voter ID laws, homeless people without proof of residence like a utility bill or bank statement could register to vote by obtaining a proof of residence letter from a social service organization, such as a homeless shelter, the Cap Times reported.

WYOMING

A pet rescue trailer, donated by the Central Wyoming Kennel Club and other organizations, will help NATRONA COUNTY manage pets displaced by a natural disaster.

It is stocked with 65 kennels, bags of cat litter, collars, leashes, dishes for food and water, ID-micro-chipping equipment, including a scanner, computer and printer.

“Red Cross shelters won’t take companion animals unless they’re service animals,” Stewart Anderson, Natrona County Emergency Management coordinator told the Casper Journal. “That puts people and pets at risk – people will not evacuate if they can’t take their pets.”

It’s the only such unit in Wyoming, but Anderson said it can be dispatched to other Wyoming counties facing emergencies

News From the Across the Nation is compiled by Charles Taylor and Charlie Ban, senior staff writers. If you have an item for News From, please email ctaylor@naco.org or cban@naco.org.