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Alabama to provide $15M in grants for industrial site development
(The Center Square) – Seven economic development organizations have been awarded $15.5 million in Growing Alabama grants for industrial sites by the Renewal of Alabama Commission. The Growing Alabama program provides a one-for-one tax credit to taxpayers who contribute to economic development organizations for approved projects. There is $23 million allocated for the program this year. The communities receiving the funding to improve industrial sites include Auburn, Brundidge, Enterprise and...
VP Harris nears lock on Democratic nomination for president
(The Center Square) – Vice President Kamala Harris has received support from a majority of delegates across the country, enough to secure the Democratic nomination for president at next month's convention as long as the support remains when an official vote takes place. No other candidate's name has surfaced since President Joe Biden announced Sunday he was stepping out of the race. Harris, a presidential primary candidate in 2020, has collected more than $100 million in campaign donations since Sunday in her bid against former...
DOJ accuses Alaska doctor of $10 million in health care fraud
(The Center Square) – An Alaska doctor and her husband are facing federal charges for allegedly filing $10 million in false health care claims, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. Rheumatologist Claribel Tan operated a medical clinic in Anchorage along with her husband, Daniel Tan, according to the DOJ. They are accused of misrepresenting the type and dosages of medication given to their patients and creating false medical records. ...
Ohio senator regrets call for ‘civil war’
(The Center Square) – A Republican Ohio state senator said he regrets his remarks at a rally in Middletown for GOP vice-presidential candidate J.D. Vance. Sen. George Lang, R-West Chester, told the crowd before Vance spoke at his first rally without former President Donald Trump that if Republicans lose the 2024 election, it would take “a civil war to save the country.” “I’m afraid if we lose this one it’s...
Washington gray wolves to remain classified as an endangered species
(The Center Square) – The Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission has decided not to change the endangered species status of gray wolves in the state. In a pair of 5-4 votes on Friday, the commission rejected the recommendation of the Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife to downlist the wolves to either "threatened" or "sensitive." Downlisting the wolves would have meant lesser penalties for poaching, as well as somewhat easier access to permits to kill wolves that attack livestock. ...
Beshear backs Harris, swipes at Vance on national TV interview
(The Center Square) – Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear is among the few Democrats likely under consideration to be the party’s vice-presidential candidate in November, and the two-term leader said Monday he’d be willing to listen if Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democrat’s likely nominee, calls him. Beshear appeared Monday on MSNBC’s and said he supported Harris as the party’s candidate in wake of President Joe Biden’s decision less than 24 hours earlier to end his campaign. The governor said he took it as a compliment...
Party pushing Cornel West for president sues North Carolina elections board
(The Center Square) – Litigation was filed Monday by the Justice for All Party, supporter of Cornel West for president, against the North Carolina State Board of Elections by three Fayetteville residents. The lawsuit of plaintiffs Johnny Thomas Ortiz II, Jimmie Gregory Rogers Jr. and Weldon Murphy says the state board had “no legal authority” for its action, and that the party met the 13,865-signature requirement of state law. Defendants are the state board as an entity, and each of its members and Executive Director...
AZ Democratic delegates show support for Harris after Biden ends presidential bid
(The Cenyter Square) – A number of Arizona Democrats are following President Joe Biden's lead and endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris to be the party's new nominee for president. Biden ended his reelection campaign Sunday after receiving pressure from members of the Democratic Party following his debate against former President Donald Trump. In his place, Biden pledged support for Harris, and in the next 36 hours, Democrats across the nation...
Next Yakima city manager set to make $207,000 annually
(The Center Square) – Vicki Baker was announced as Yakima's next city manager during last week's Yakima City Council meeting. Her first day on the job is scheduled for Aug. 8. Baker’s employment agreement still needs to be executed by the city council, but the proposed agreement would pay Baker an annual base salary of $207,000. ...
Virginia Democratic leadership pledges support for Harris
(The Center Square) — Virginia’s Democratic senators banded together within 24 hours of President Joe Biden’s exit from the presidential race to offer their unanimous endorsement of Biden’s pick, Vice President Kamala Harris. “Vice President Kamala Harris has served as a steadfast and principled leader alongside President Biden for the past four years. She will carry Democrats to victory up and down the ballot this November,” the Democratic senators wrote in a statement. “She is the clear choice to succeed President Biden and continue her...
Firefighters union emphatically backs new safety proposal
(The Center Square) – Spending money on safety is clear, says the nation’s leading firefighter safety union, and it expects local and state governments to do the same. Emphatically backing the Emergency Response Standard proposed by OSHA, the International Association of Fire Fighters endorses the 46 minimum industry standards, or equivalency of meeting them. Evan Davis, testifying for the union June 4 before a Homeland Security subcommittee in the U.S....
Perry, Lee question Trump rally security breakdown
(The Center Square) – Two of Pennsylvania’s congressional lawmakers probed U.S. Secret Service Director Kim Cheatle on Monday about the agency’s communications minutes before a gunman opened fire at a July 13 campaign rally, nearly killing former president Donald Trump. Like most members of the House Oversight Committee, however, they were left with more questions than answers. Such as why the agents assigned to protect the former president that day...
Spokane sets up process to recognize, take action on neighborhood resolutions
(The Center Square) – The City of Spokane is taking steps to unify its communities and create a more cohesive local government that responds to input from each neighborhood. Members of the Spokane City Council discussed setting up a process for receiving resolutions from its various boards and commissions during Monday’s Finance and Administration Committee meeting. The officials regularly receive resolutions and requests but lack an internal process to respond. ...
State officials predict Florida K-12 enrollment will continue to grow
(The Center Square) — Florida economists have suggested that full-time enrollment in Florida's schools has increased over recent years but still remains below pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels. The Florida Office of Economic and Demographic Research held a two-part education estimating conference in late June and July for Florida's Public Schools Capital Outlay Full Time Equivalent Membership - and forecasts show a small but steady increase in enrollments. During the pandemic, enrollments...
Federal broadband delays mean states face uphill challenge
(The Center Square) — A slow rollout of federal money to connect more homes to broadband internet leaves states dealing with higher overall costs. The effects of inflation — and drifting away from a focus on getting more broadband built — mean that problems are brewing. Not everything falls on the backs of state officials, though. Much of the problem comes from choices made by federal leaders in how they’ve...
Denver mayor touts success with immigrants, tax for housing in annual address
(The Center Square) – Managing overwhelming numbers of immigrants and a pledge to pass a sales tax to pay for housing were key points of Democratic Mayor Mike Johnston’s State of the City address on Monday. Johnston told stories to highlight his administration’s response to thousands of immigrants bused by Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott. “When she crossed the border, like many, she did not intend to come to Denver,”...
Georgians continue to struggle at the pumps
(The Center Square) — Portia Effinger has seen firsthand the difficult choices some Georgians have to make when faced with high gas prices. "It is very difficult, and it's mind-boggling," Effinger said as she filled up her car at a Chevron Station on N. Peachtree Road off Interstate 285 in Dunwoody last week. "I work in public service, and so it's very heart-wrenching when you hear someone say they have to choose between putting gas in their car, paying their car payment versus putting food...
'I think everybody will get there': WA Dem chair on delegates endorsing Harris for prez
(The Center Square) – With President Joe Biden’s Sunday announcement that he is dropping his reelection bid and endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris to take his place, Washington state’s Democrats look to be jumping on the Harris bandwagon. The Washington State Democratic Party endorsed Harris immediately after Biden announced on social media that he was standing down, but party Chair Shasti Conrad said the organization is giving state delegates some time to process what has happened. ...
New York City Council votes to sue Adams over solitary confinement law
(The Center Square) — The New York City Council is gearing up to take Mayor Eric Adams to court to ensure a ban on solitary confinement in city jails goes into effect in the latest back-and-forth of an escalating intra-party feud. The Democratic-led Council voted on Thursday to approve a resolution authorizing Speaker Adrienne Adams to take legal action if the city goes to court to block the law restricting the use of solitary confinement in the jails. ...
Illegal immigrants can keep professional licenses despite deportation with new law
(The Center Square) – Migrants who get deported from the country may be able to keep their professional license from Illinois under a new law. Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed the measure into law last week. House Bill 5457 provides that the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation may not revoke, suspend, or take any other disciplinary or non-disciplinary action against a license or permit issued under the law based solely upon an immigration violation. ...
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