TexasTowelie
TexasTowelie's JournalOregon will start issuing driver's licenses to undocumented immigrants in January
SALEM — A law passed by the Oregon Legislature in the summer of 2019 allowing people without documentation of legal residence to obtain a driver’s license in the state went into effect on Jan. 1.
Because the Oregon Driver and Motor Vehicle Services is closed for the New Year’s holiday, and then the weekend, the first licenses won’t be issued until Jan. 4 at the earliest.
Those licenses will not trigger automatic voter registration, unlike other Oregon driver’s licenses.
While the new law gets rid of the requirement to prove U.S. citizenship or legal residency to receive an Oregon driver’s license, those wishing to get their license must still show proof they live in Oregon, and then pay a fee and pass a driving test.
Read more: https://www.eastoregonian.com/news/state/oregon-will-start-issuing-driver-s-licenses-to-undocumented-immigrants-in-january/article_2bb03038-4abb-11eb-8f0f-1f4742b53bff.html
Casey's fined for COVID violations; conservative group pledges to appeal
Casey’s Restaurant in Klamath Falls has been fined $8,900 by Oregon OSHA for a willful violation of the governor’s executive order that prohibits dine-in eating.
The family-owned restaurant was issued a red warning notice on Nov. 29 to stop serving food and drinks on-site during a two week “freeze” to slow the spread of COVID. OSHA inspected the restaurant between Nov. 29 and Dec. 2 and interviewed an owner and several employees about the working conditions and operations.
According to OSHA’s inspection, Casey’s owners claimed they lost roughly $30,000 due to previous restrictions on businesses back in the spring. Owner Patty Barney told an OSHA inspector that they couldn’t afford to close their doors again to take-out only.
“We cannot operate our business under the restrictive guidelines of Executive Order 20-65. We believe these guidelines are not applied equitably or in a way that allows businesses in our industry to survive,” owners Annie Patzke, Patty Barney, Michael Patzke and Dolores Patzke wrote in a letter to OSHA. “It seems to be under the guise of ‘doing something’ that the state is once again engaged in irreparably harming certain groups while protecting others.”
Read more: https://www.heraldandnews.com/news/local_news/caseys-fined-for-covid-violations-conservative-group-pledges-to-appeal/article_5ce7b94b-6b17-564b-be50-554215089a12.html
(Klamath Falls Herald and News)
Gov. Kate Brown warns businesses not to reopen, defy COVID-19 orders
Gov. Kate Brown issued a warning to Oregon businesses Thursday that defy her executive orders meant to reduce the spread of the coronavirus. The warning comes as some business owners say they plan to reopen Jan. 1.
Brown said she has directed Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the Oregon Liquor Control Commission to deploy all available resources to ensure businesses are in compliance. Businesses could face fines or closure notices.
Some Oregon mayors are also appealing to the governor to change how she categorizes counties by risk and backing the plans of business owners to reopen, KATU-TV reported.
“It’s unfortunate and irresponsible that some local politicians are choosing to willfully mislead business owners into jeopardizing public health and risking fines, instead of working with their communities to help stop the spread of COVID-19 so that we can reopen businesses, schools, and more quickly return to normal life," Brown said.
Read more: https://www.registerguard.com/story/news/2020/12/31/gov-kate-brown-warns-businesses-not-reopen-defy-covid-19-orders/4106541001/
(Eugene Register Guard)
Ex-N.J. Democratic candidate now advocating for Trump, alleging wild election fraud claims
One of the lawyers working with Sidney Powell to make rambling allegations of voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election is a Lakewood man who ran for office three times as a Democrat.
Lakewood attorney Howard Kleinhendler ran on the Democratic organization line in runs for Congress and State Assembly in five New Jersey counties.
Now he’s a Donald Trump supporter and he’s making a last-resort effort to help Trump remain in the White House.
On Wednesday, Kleinhendler asked the U.S. Supreme Court to merge voter fraud cases in Michigan, Georgia, Arizona and Wisconsin in a bid to seat Republican electors in states where Joe Biden has been certified as the winner.
He wants the top court to hear the cases before Congress meets on January 5 so 73 electors now in Biden’s column could be added to Trump.
Read more: https://newjerseyglobe.com/presidential-election/ex-n-j-democratic-candidate-now-advocating-for-trump-alleging-wild-election-fraud-claims/
GOP bashing Murphy for early prison vaccines
Republicans seem ready to make an issue of a Phil Murphy administration decision to provide COVID-19 vaccinations to some state prison inmates ahead of residents of state-run veterans homes.
“It is unconscionable that Governor Murphy’s administration is vaccinating the convicted criminals in our prisons before the heroes in our state’s veteran home,” said newly-elected GOP State Chairman Michael Lavery. “From the beginning of this crisis the Governor has failed to protect the veterans homes from Covid, has refused to share details of what, if any, actions he took to minimize spread, and just recently missed a deadline to get our state’s heroes and vulnerable vaccinated promptly.”
Murphy has seen his approval ratings soar as a result of his handling of the pandemic, and Republicans seeking to defeat him in next year’s gubernatorial campaign are widely expected to use the deaths of nearly 7,500 nursing home residents and nearly 200 veterans as wedge issues to bring the governor’s standing to a politically competitive level.
This week, New Jersey Veterans of Foreign Wars state commander Brian Wiener slammed Murphy for the state’s handling of COVID-19 at veterans homes in Paramus, Menlo Park and Vineland. Wiener wants a special prosecutor named to handle the investigation.
Read more: https://newjerseyglobe.com/governor/gop-bashing-murphy-for-early-prison-vaccines/
Minimum wage up by $1 an hour in NJ, bringing it to $12 for most low-income workers
The hourly minimum wage in New Jersey goes up by $1 for most low-income workers starting Friday, bringing it to $12.
The mandatory pay increase is the latest installment in the state’s ongoing ramp-up to a $15 hourly minimum wage and comes during the economic downturn triggered by an international pandemic that has hit low-income workers particularly hard.
Other minimum-wage workers in New Jersey, including those employed by farmers and seasonal and small businesses, will also get modest raises as the calendar turns to 2021.
The state’s hourly minimum wage is gradually being increased to $15 for most workers by 2024, under a law enacted by Gov. Phil Murphy in 2019. Additional $1 wage hikes are scheduled to occur annually over the next three years.
Read more: https://www.njspotlight.com/2020/12/nj-1-minimum-wage-increase-12-agricultural-workers-get-less-10-44-pandemic-worst-hit-sen-declan-oscanlon-says-insanity-businesses-struggling/
Moynihan Train Hall Opens at Penn Station
NEW YORK - The $1.6 billion project transformed the more than one hundred year-old James A. Farley post office on 8th Avenue and 33rd Street into a state-of-the-air transit hub.
Commuters who take the LIRR and Amtrak can head to the new train hall to catch their trains.
Governor Andrew Cuomo cut the ribbon on the 255,000-square-foot transit hub for Amtrak and Long Island Rail Road commuters, providing them a bright and spacious alternative to the dingy and cramped Penn Station.
The project is the brain child of the late Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan from back in the 1990s, but Governor Cuomo took the venture and put it into fruition starting in 2017.
The big draw for the people who headed there Friday was the 92-foot-high Skylight.
Read more: https://www.ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/news/2021/01/01/moynihan-train-hall-opens-at-penn-station
(Spectrum News)
Nebraska court clears way for Costco-affiliated poultry farm
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The Nebraska Supreme Court cleared the way Thursday for a new Costco-affiliated poultry farm just outside of Lincoln, despite opposition from neighbors, environmental groups and others.
The court rejected an appeal that sought to overturn the approval of the proposed farm in southwestern Lancaster County. The court said it agreed with a district court judge's ruling that opponents who challenged it in court lacked legal standing and the Lancaster County Board acted properly in 2018 with its 3-2 vote to issue a permit.
The poultry operation would include four large barns that would raise approximately 190,000 broiler chickens every few months for the Costco processing plant in Fremont.
The lawsuit filed by E. Jane Egan and Janis Howlett argued that the board's decision failed to consider potential pollution and losses in property values for nearby homes. It also argued that the site's owner, Randy Essink, didn't have proper experience in running a poultry operation.
Read more: https://www.newschannelnebraska.com/story/43117042/nebraska-court-clears-way-for-costco-affiliated-poultry-farm
Governor's staff discussed a plan to reopen schools based on mask mandate
Gov. Kevin Stitt wants all schools to reopen for in-person learning next month {January}. State Superintendent Joy Hofmeister wants a mask mandate in all school facilities.
Earlier this month, staff for each hashed out a proposed order that would have done both but was ultimately rejected by the governor a day before the state Board of Education could vote on it, according to multiple sources and documents obtained by The Frontier.
“We just didn’t get there,” Hofmeister told The Frontier.
Due to rising COVID-19 cases, some schools continue to operate in a virtual learning system, including both Oklahoma City and Tulsa school districts.
Stitt has complained about the continuation of virtual learning and recently asked Oklahomans to pressure local school boards to reopen their buildings
Read more: https://www.readfrontier.org/stories/governors-staff-discussed-a-plan-to-reopen-schools-based-on-mask-mandate/
Racial equity commission calls on Kansas lawmakers to ban 'no-knock' warrants
TOPEKA — A commission tasked with examining race-related issues in Kansas is urging lawmakers to consider changes to police officer training, a ban on no-knock warrants and increased data collection by law enforcement.
The governor’s Commission on Racial Equity and Justice first report included 60 recommendations requiring action from different levels of government. The report was submitted to Gov. Laura Kelly early in December and may be considered in the upcoming legislative session.
In the first of three annual reports, the commission focused its attention on a lack of data within the state and interactions between minorities and law enforcement.
“This first report was really a focus on the criminal justice system and law enforcement because we know that studies have found nationally Black drivers are more likely to be stopped by police than white drivers and 2.5 times more likely to be killed by law enforcement,” said Tiffany Anderson, superintendent of Topeka Public Schools and co-chair of the commission. “We also know that Kansas is not immune to this, so it was with this background with the commission came together.”
Read more: https://kansasreflector.com/2020/12/29/racial-equity-commission-calls-on-kansas-lawmakers-to-ban-no-knock-warrants/
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Gender: MaleHometown: South Texas. most of my life I lived in Austin and Dallas
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Current location: Bryan, Texas
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