January 4, 2021

Mortensen must pay $4.5M in settlement over Denver convention center

DENVER (AP) — Mortensen Construction will pay half of a $9 million settlement to the city of Denver to resolve claims that it and a developer violated the city’s public procurement rules during the early stages of planned renovation work at the Colorado Convention Center.

Mortenson Construction and Trammel Crow Company must pay $4.5 million each and issue a public apology to the city, according to the settlement. Mortenson also will not be allowed to bid on city contracts for three years, KUSA-TV reported Wednesday.

“This case involved a serious breach of Denver’s well-established procurement rules by companies that should have known better,” Mayor Michael Hancock said.

In 2018, the Denver City Attorney’s Office found that over the course of bidding on the project, city documents were improperly released, improper discussions of the project took place and project plans that were approved were altered.

Read more: https://dailyreporter.com/2020/12/31/mortensen-must-pay-4-5m-in-settlement-over-denver-convention-center/
(Milwaukee Daily Reporter)

January 4, 2021

Legislature to require masks, ban reporters from floor sessions

Alaska lawmakers will be required to wear face masks during floor sessions when they convene in January, under rules that a committee of legislative leaders adopted Monday.

The joint House-Senate Legislative Council passed a policy outlining how lawmakers will enforce new rules in response to COVID-19.

The council also voted to bar news reporters from floor sessions, as well as to require lawmakers to sit while speaking during floor sessions, to reduce the distance that virus particles could spread.

Kodiak Republican Senator Gary Stevens chairs the council. He said lawmakers have to protect the people who work for the Legislature.

Read more: https://www.alaskapublic.org/2020/12/29/legislature-to-require-masks-ban-reporters-from-floor-sessions/

January 4, 2021

Alaska will prioritize people 65 and up for next round of COVID-19 vaccine, breaking from federal

Alaska will prioritize people 65 and up for next round of COVID-19 vaccine, breaking from federal guidance


The state of Alaska is breaking from federal guidance by focusing its next round of COVID-19 vaccine on elders age 65 and over. And it’s asking frontline essential workers, teachers, prisoners and others in high-risk settings to wait until those elderly Alaskans can be vaccinated first.

The Department of Health and Social Services released the new guidelines Thursday afternoon. They outline which groups will receive the vaccine in what’s known as Phase 1b — after the frontline health-care workers, nursing home residents and staff emergency responders in Phase 1a.

A federal vaccine committee recommended earlier this month that Phase 1b be designated for elders 75 and over, plus frontline essential workers like teachers, postal service and grocery store workers and bus drivers.

The state is including all those groups in Phase 1b. But within Phase 1b, it’s prioritizing a larger group of elders by allowing those 65 and older to be vaccinated first, instead of 75 and older.

Read more: https://www.alaskapublic.org/2021/01/03/alaska-will-prioritize-people-65-and-up-for-next-round-of-covid-19-vaccine-breaking-from-federal-guidance/

January 4, 2021

Investors sue parent company behind proposed Pebble Mine

ANCHORAGE — The company behind a proposed copper and gold mine in Alaska faces lawsuits from investors claiming it misled shareholders who have seen an 85% drop in stock value since the summer.

Two lawsuits filed in U.S. District Court in New York claim Northern Dynasty Minerals violated federal securities law when project executives did not fully provide information about the project, The Anchorage Daily News reported Friday.

Developer The Pebble Limited Partnership and parent company Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd. sought to build a mine about 200 miles (320 kilometers) southwest of Anchorage and near the headwaters of the world’s largest sockeye salmon fishery in Bristol Bay.

The project was criticized by environment groups and also condemned by Alaska Republican U.S. Sens. Dan Sullivan and Lisa Murkowski.

Read more: https://www.juneauempire.com/news/investors-sue-parent-company-behind-proposed-pebble-mine/

January 4, 2021

Instead of a baby boom, U.S. experts predict a 'COVID-19 baby bust' as the number of pregnancies

Instead of a baby boom, U.S. experts predict a ‘COVID-19 baby bust’ as the number of pregnancies drop


HONOLULU, Hawaii (HawaiiNewsNow) - At the start of the pandemic, with everyone stuck indoors, it was believed there would be a “baby boom” ― people had little else to do during stay-at-home orders.

But now, about nine months later, experts say it’s looking more like a “baby bust.”

Because of safety protocols like social distancing, people going out less, and many facing financial hardship because of the pandemic, national experts say there has been a significant drop in both planned and unplanned pregnancies.

Using data from the 1918 Spanish Flu and the Great Depression, the Washington D.C. think tank The Brookings Institute is projecting around 300,000 fewer births in the U.S. this year.

Read more: https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2021/01/01/instead-baby-boom-us-experts-predict-covid-baby-bust-number-pregnancies-drop/

January 4, 2021

'They are tired of being at home'; Guam private schools ready to reopen

In January, Guam will reopen schools in the teeth of an ongoing coronavirus outbreak.

The decision to do so reflects changing government confidence around the pandemic and its effects on students, and the impact of in-person learning on the island’s school system.

Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero has committed herself to open schools and has approved all institutions of learning to resume face-to-face classes on Jan. 18. Most private schools will start Jan. 19 because Jan. 18 is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, a federal holiday.

While the road ahead will be rocky, principals of private schools expressed confidence.

Read more: https://www.guampdn.com/story/news/local/2021/01/03/guam-private-schools-reopening-covid/4083348001/
(Guam Pacific Daily News)

January 4, 2021

Court grants construction workers' petition for preliminary certification of collective action

Court grants construction workers’ petition for preliminary certification of collective action against IPI


CHIEF Judge Ramona V. Manglona of the District Court for the NMI has granted the petition for a preliminary Fair Labor Standards Act certification of collective action filed by three Turkish construction workers against Imperial Pacific International LLC, and its parent company, IPI Holdings, Ltd.

At a hearing held on Dec. 30, 2020, Judge Manglona also granted the plaintiffs’ withdrawal of the issuance of notice to all potential members.

Attorney Richard Miller represents Özcan Genç, Hasan Gökçe, and Süleyman Köş in their lawsuit against IPI and its contractor, IDS Development Management & Consultancy, which is registered in Turkey, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Miller told the court that his clients will move to dismiss the lawsuit against IDS.

The lawyer said he will file a new Rule 23 motion for class action certification and will file a motion for default judgement.

Read more: https://www.mvariety.com/cnmi-local/73-local/8555-court-grants-construction-workers-petition-for-preliminary-certification-of-collective-action-against-ipi
(Marianas Variety)

January 4, 2021

Some American Samoans stranded in Hawaii have died waiting to be repatriated

Honolulu, HAWAII — American Samoa has sealed off its borders since March, leaving hundreds of its residents stranded in Hawaii and elsewhere in the United States.

Now some of those who were stuck have died.

There are roughly 600 American Samoans stranded in the US.

At last official word, repatriation flights were being pushed back to February, giving the American Samoan government time to work out its vaccination and re-entry plans.

Nine months into the global pandemic and American Samoa is still COVID-free, but the toll has been heavy on separated families.

Read more: https://www.samoanews.com/local-news/some-american-samoans-stranded-hawaii-have-died-waiting-be-repatriated

January 4, 2021

Texas GOP official suggests guillotine for Mitt Romney but calls it bad metaphor, not a call for

Texas GOP official suggests guillotine for Mitt Romney but calls it bad metaphor, not a call for beheading


WASHINGTON — A top official of the Texas Republican Party insisted Sunday he had been misunderstood after suggesting on Facebook late Saturday that he wanted Utah Sen. Mitt Romney “introduced to our friend Mr. Guillotine.”

An uproar ensued, with social media filled with pleas for the FBI to pay a visit to the official, Terry Harper, given the reference to beheading.

Romney’s transgression: Hours earlier, he had chastised Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and 10 others who vowed to object when Congress reviews President-elect Joe Biden’s Electoral College victory on Wednesday.

Harper called it a misunderstanding. To him, the guillotine was just a metaphor to illustrate why a “Never Trumper” like Romney should be driven from office.

Read more: https://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/2021/01/03/texas-gop-official-suggests-guillotine-for-mitt-romney-but-calls-it-bad-metaphor-not-a-call-for-beheading/

January 4, 2021

Paxton files bill to prohibit government orders closing places of worship

Texas Senator Angela Paxton, who represents Texas’s Senate District 8, has filed a bill for the 87th session of the Texas Legislature that would prevent government officials from issuing an order that would close places of worship.

“The (COVID-19) pandemic has been interesting in many ways, but one of the things that has really happened during this time is there's just been these unique situations that we really never encountered in Texas and in our society about, kind of, the way things work,” Paxton said.

Paxton said she had heard a lot of concern from constituents about government closing places of worship. The idea for the bill specifically came from Pastor Gerald Brooks at Grace Church in Plano, she said.

Paxton said it was one thing for churches to choose to meet in a way that makes people feel comfortable and safe.

Read more: https://starlocalmedia.com/allenamerican/paxton-files-bill-to-prohibit-government-orders-closing-places-of-worship/article_65b15c94-4ac5-11eb-998b-a7797be1c21f.html