TexasTowelie
TexasTowelie's JournalGov. Otter to let insurers lift some Obamacare requirements
Idaho will let insurers sell private insurance plans with skimpier coverage, taking advantage of new flexibility to change certain Affordable Care Act requirements, Gov. Butch Otter said Friday morning.
Such a move would be aimed at middle-class uninsured Idahoans, including the self-employed. Otter and other officials believe those could include people in Idaho’s insurance gap, who can’t afford insurance but don’t qualify for Obamacare subsidies or Medicaid.
The move was announced at a Friday morning preview of the 2018 legislative session, which starts Monday. Otter and legislative leaders — House Speaker Scott Bedke, Senate Pro Tem Brent Hill, House Minority Leader Mat Erpelding and Senate Majority Leader Michelle Stennett — took questions from the news media at the annual Associated Press Legislative Preview, held at the Capitol in Boise.
Scroll down for more on the Obamacare changes and other highlights from the morning.
Read more here: http://www.idahostatesman.com/news/politics-government/state-politics/article193136399.html
3-hour wait at DMV causes 'internal screaming.' ITD says latest problem fixed
Few people who go to an Idaho DMV office expect to get in and out quickly.
Christina Navarro was under no illusions when she stopped in to renew her license on her lunch hour this week. She did not, however, expect to have to give her boss hourly updates on her progress.
“There was a lot of internal screaming,” recalled Navarro, whose driver’s license expired on Tuesday, her 33rd birthday. “I kind of anticipated it being grueling. The agent at the counter was like, ‘Well, you could come back tomorrow.’ I just had this vision where it was the same ordeal of leaving work for three hours.”
That’s about how long she was at the DMV office in Boise on Wednesday — even after she grabbed a lower-numbered ticket abandoned by someone ahead of her in line who had less time, less patience or both.
Read more here: http://www.idahostatesman.com/news/local/community/boise/article193313129.html
US Figure Skating Championships: Tennell, Nagasu, Chen named to Olympic team
Bradie Tennell, Mirai Nagasu and Karen Chen were named to the 2018 U.S. Olympic team in a live announcement on the TODAY show Saturday morning.
Tennell, Nagasu and Chen finished 1-2-3 in the ladies competition Friday night at the 2018 U.S. Figure Skating Championships in San Jose, California.
The team was determined by the U.S. Figure Skating International Committee Management Subcommittee (ICMS) using a specified list of criteria, the most important of which was a skater's finish at the 2018 U.S. Championships, 2017 Grand Prix Final (no U.S. lady qualified for the event) and 2017 World Figure Skating Championships.
While Tennell and Nagasu appeared to be locks to make the team -- they finished 21 and 15 points ahead of Chen, respectively, in San Jose -- there was some question over whether Chen would. She beat fourth-place finisher Ashley Wagner, who has a more impressive career résumé than Chen, by only 2.4 points, and Wagner defeated Chen in the free skate (130.25 to 129.11) at the U.S. championships. But Chen's third-place finish Friday, coupled with her fourth-place showing at 2017 worlds (where Wager placed seventh), were enough to convince the ICMS to put her on the team.
Read more: http://web.icenetwork.com/news/2018/01/06/264355976
Shibutanis take lead with electrifying short dance
Maia Shibutani and Alex Shibutani lit up San Jose's SAP Center on Friday with an intoxicating Latin short dance to Perez Prado rhythms that coursed through the crowd like a jolt of espresso, mixed with a dash of rum.
Exhilarating from start to finish, the routine exploded midway through with an intricate four-part twizzle sequence, its 20 revolutions executed in perfect time to Prado's "Mambo No. 8" countdown. That, plus the event's highest program component scores, helped give the two-time reigning U.S. champions a solid three-point lead heading into Sunday's free dance.
"We are always trying to push the boundaries," Alex said of the high-risk maneuver. "Obviously, we are only required to do four rotations per set for twizzles. We thought it would be clever and fun and entertaining for ourselves and the audience throughout this season."
-snip-
The Shibutanis' longtime rivals, Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue, and Madison Chock and Evan Bates, also had strong efforts. Hubbell and Donohue, third in the U.S. the past three seasons, sit second with 79.10 points, while reigning silver medalists Chock and Bates are third with 77.61 points.
Read more: http://web.icenetwork.com/news/2018/01/05/264344288/shibutanis-take-lead-with-electrifying-short-dance
Nevada judge blocks controversial anti-sanctuary city ballot measure ACLU claims victory
A Carson City judge on Friday dealt a major blow to backers of a controversial anti-sanctuary cities statewide ballot initiative, ruling the petition was too confusing to go before voters.
The proposed constitutional amendment, backed by Republican state Senate leader Michael Roberson, would make it illegal for Nevada local governments to become “sanctuary communities” that do not cooperate with federal immigration authorities.
It was challenged in a November suit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada, which argued the petition’s language was overbroad and could mislead voters.
https://twitter.com/ACLUNV/status/949345420249108483
District Court Judge James T. Russell agreed, issuing an order that blocks supporters from gathering the signatures needed to move the initiative forward.
Read more: http://www.rgj.com/story/news/politics/2018/01/05/nevada-judge-blocks-controversial-anti-sanctuary-city-ballot-measure-aclu-claims-victory/1008072001/
O.J. Simpson threatens to sue Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas
O.J. Simpson is threatening to sue The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas over an incident at the Strip resort last November.
In a letter to The Cosmopolitan that was distributed to media outlets Friday, Simpson’s attorney Malcolm LaVergne claims the “casino staff, employees, agents, and other higher-level decision makers or affiliates, including STK Las Vegas and Clique Bar & Lounge, acted with malice and racial prejudice” toward Simpson.
The former NFL star, who is living in Las Vegas, was “drunk and unruly” at the hotel’s Clique bar and then was banned from the property, TMZ reported last year.
LaVergne confirmed the ban in an Associated Press report the next day.
Read more: https://www.reviewjournal.com/local/local-las-vegas/o-j-simpson-threatens-to-sue-cosmopolitan-of-las-vegas/
Mandalay Bay staff interacted with Las Vegas shooter more than 10 times in days before Oct. 1
Mandalay Bay hotel staff had more than 10 interactions with Stephen Paddock in the days leading up to his Oct. 1 massacre of 58 people on the Strip, including two on the day of the shooting, MGM Resorts International said Friday.
“Mandalay Bay staff, room service and housekeeping had contact with Paddock or entered his suite more than 10 times over the course of his stay, including the three days leading up to October 1,” an MGM Resorts spokesperson said in an email.
MGM sent the statement in response to questions from the Review-Journal sent Dec. 28 about possible changes to company policies on entering guest rooms without consent.
“There were numerous interactions with Stephen Paddock every day at the resort, including a room service delivery and a call with housekeeping on October 1, all of which were normal in nature,” the MGM Resorts spokesperson said in the email.
Read more: https://www.reviewjournal.com/crime/shootings/mandalay-bay-staff-interacted-with-las-vegas-shooter-more-than-10-times-in-days-before-oct-1/
AG took 2 years to charge NDOT workers in Las Vegas theft ring
A pattern of suspicious tire purchases by the state Department of Transportation helped investigators uncover at least $35,000 in theft — and the possibility of hundreds of thousands of dollars in additional taxpayer losses.
The results of the 2014 investigation were so well-known within the department that workers dubbed it “Tiregate” because the employees suspected in the theft had resigned or been fired but not prosecuted, according to half a dozen current and former workers.
But the attorney general’s office finally filed criminal charges against the former workers in December — two months after the Las Vegas Review-Journal requested case documents and more than two years after investigators discovered the theft.
District engineer Mary Martini, head of the Las Vegas office where the thefts were alleged to have occurred, said transportation officials for months had been asking the attorney general for updates on the case.
Read more: https://www.reviewjournal.com/investigations/ag-took-2-years-to-charge-ndot-workers-in-las-vegas-theft-ring/
6 Gilbert charter school teachers fired over campus incident
Six teachers at a Gilbert charter school were fired after an on-campus incident last month that violated school policy, the school confirmed in a letter to parents..
Imagine West Gilbert, on its Facebook page, sent out letters to parents during the Christmas break informing them of the decision. A copy of the letter, which names the teachers, was posted on the school's Facebook page.
The letter said officials became aware of a Dec. 21 incident involving six of their staff members that took place on school property during school hours. The school did not disclose the specifics of the incident but said it was serious in nature and a clear violation of school policy.
Imagine West Gilbert officials said in the letter they have made several new hires for the coming semester.
Read more: https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/gilbert/2018/01/05/6-gilbert-charter-school-teachers-fired-over-campus-incident/1009536001/
State Supreme Court requires warrant to track cars with GPS
Police cannot put a GPS device onto a vehicle to track its movements without first getting a warrant, the Arizona Supreme Court ruled Wednesday.
In a precedent-setting decision, a majority of the justices said people in vehicles have a “reasonable expectation” of privacy. That includes being able to travel where they want without government monitoring.
And while people drive on public roads, Chief Justice Scott Bales said that is quite different than using technology to track someone, in this case for 31 hours.
But Wednesday’s ruling did not help Emilio Jean who was arrested and convicted on charges of money laundering and transporting marijuana in the truck. A majority of the justices — not including Bales — said that with the state of the law on GPS tracking and searches unsettled until this point, the officers who put the device on the truck without a warrant were acting in good faith and the conviction stands.
The ruling was not unanimous.
Read more: http://azcapitoltimes.com/news/2018/01/03/state-supreme-court-requires-warrant-to-track-cars-with-gps/
Billionaire Discount Tire Founder, Art Collector, Pot Hater Bruce Halle Dies at 87
Bruce Halle, art collector and billionaire founder of Discount Tire, died on Thursday according to multiple reports. Forbes ranked the 87-year-old Paradise Valley resident as the richest person in Arizona and the 144th wealthiest person in the U.S. Halle's net worth was about $5.2 billion, according to Forbes.
Halle built his wealth with the chain of independent tire stores. He founded the company in 1960 in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and the company eventually grew to include 950 stores nationwide.
Halle and his tire empire occasionally courted controversy, including multiple calls for a boycott of his stores. In 2016, Discount Tire stores here posted "Re-Elect Sheriff Joe Arpaio" signs in their windows. And the same year, Halle and Discount Tire contributed $1 million to the anti-Prop 205 campaign, which would have legalized recreational marijuana in Arizona.
Halle and his wife, Diane, were also well-known Latin American art aficionados and amassed a collection of 300 works. The two sponsored various art exhibitions. Works from the Diane and Bruce Halle Collection have been displayed at exhibitions at the Art Institute of Chicago and the Phoenix Art Museum.
Read more: http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/news/phoenix-landfill-search-no-body-doesnt-mean-there-is-no-case-10013301
Profile Information
Gender: MaleHometown: South Texas. most of my life I lived in Austin and Dallas
Home country: United States
Current location: Bryan, Texas
Member since: Sun Aug 14, 2011, 03:57 AM
Number of posts: 112,070
