November 28, 2020

Maine group launches campaign to put universal health care on the ballot

With many Mainers going without health insurance and an unemployment crisis throwing even more off their plans during a pandemic, a health care advocacy group is launching an effort to gather signatures for a 2022 ballot initiative directing the legislature to establish a universal, publicly-funded health care system that will cover everyone in the state.

The initiative is being put forward by Maine Health Care Action, a campaign launched by the organization Maine AllCare. A summary of the ballot measure says it would direct state lawmakers to “develop legislation to establish a system of universal health care coverage in the State,” calling for “the joint standing committee to report out a bill to the Legislature to implement, by 2024, its proposal.”

Abbie Ryder, campaign manager for Maine Health Care Action, said the group will begin gathering signatures in January for the ballot initiative. A little over 63,000 signatures are needed to put the issue before the voters. But Ryder said the goal is to gather 80,000 given that some signatures will likely be deemed invalid.

She said once the group starts collecting signatures, they have 12 months to gather the necessary amount. If they do, the initiative will be placed on the November 2022 ballot.

Read more: https://mainebeacon.com/maine-group-launches-campaign-to-put-universal-health-care-on-the-ballot/

November 28, 2020

More COVID-19 cases, more restrictions for Louisiana

More than two months after Louisiana’s relatively low COVID-19 numbers gave Gov. John Bel Edwards a reason to move to Phase 3 of the state’s reopening plan, the governor announced Tuesday that he is returning the state to a “revised Phase Two.”

That means lower capacities in restaurants, gyms and “nonessential” retail establishments and sports stadiums. Bars will not be allowed to serve patrons inside if more than 5 percent of COVID-19 tests in their parish are positive.

The new rules will go into effect Wednesday morning and last for 28 days to December 23. Edwards said if national experts are correct and the U.S. is entering a rough stretch of months, then the tougher restrictions will have to be renewed at Christmastime.

Though it won’t be included in his official proclamation, the governor said, he’s asking all employers — in the public and private sector — to let their employees work from home to the greatest extent possible and asking residents across the state to curtail holiday parties and big family gatherings during the holiday season. He made his remarks two days before Thanksgiving and pleaded with residents to make sure they and their loved ones will have future Thanksgivings by scaling back Thursday’s gatherings.

Read more: https://lailluminator.com/2020/11/25/more-covid-19-cases-more-restrictions-for-louisiana/

November 28, 2020

KS Supreme Court tackles 15-year feud on flawed installation of glass panels at KU football stadium

LAWRENCE — The Jayhawks are winless on the football field in 2020, but frustration borne of that folly cannot compete with the 15-year competition to assign financial responsibility for life-threatening mistakes with installation of the glass-and-metal shroud on Memorial Stadium’s press box.

This extraordinary legal controversy fostering a pile of Johnson County District Court rulings, three Kansas Court of Appeals decisions and a new Kansas Supreme Court opinion has been characterized as the state’s “Odyssean litigation” for its sheer longevity and eventful turn of the screw.

Shortcomings with the facade installed in 1999 weren’t discovered until 2004 during KU’s investigation of water leaks. That’s when it became apparent a subcontractor used the wrong set of shop plans and affixed the transparent wall with improper attachments. The deficient anchors, district court records show, created a “hazard of certain casualty” if the wall system failed.

“The structural integrity of the press box itself was in peril,” said Danne Webb, an attorney representing general contractor Walton Construction Co., formerly headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri.

Read more: https://kansasreflector.com/2020/11/27/supreme-court-tackles-15-year-feud-on-flawed-installation-of-glass-panels-at-ku-football-stadium/


The Kansas Supreme Court is attempting to referee an end to 15 years of litigation from the fumbled installation of glass panels on the press box and luxury suites at Memorial Stadium at the University of Kansas. (Tim Carpenter/Kansas Reflector)

November 28, 2020

Iowa's 'ag gag' has stifled investigations, despite pending court challenges

The legality of Iowa’s controversial “ag gag” law, designed to block undercover investigations at agricultural facilities, could soon be decided by a federal judge.

The case is being watched closely by agricultural giants, labor unions, dog breeders and animal-welfare organizations around the country. Currently, a temporary injunction prevents Iowa from enforcing the 2019 law, and an appeals court is considering a lower-court decision striking down an earlier, 2012 version of the law.

Although a trial on the constitutionality of the new law is tentatively scheduled for February, it’s more likely the case will be decided without a trial since the basic facts are not in dispute.

In recent years, similar ag gag laws were struck down by courts in North Carolina, Kansas, Utah, Idaho and Wyoming. Even so, and despite the previous court ruling that said Iowa’s 2012 ag gag law was unconstitutional, the laws are having an effect.

Read more: https://iowacapitaldispatch.com/2020/11/27/iowas-ag-gag-has-stifled-investigations-despite-pending-court-challenges/

November 28, 2020

Gov. DeSantis extends his ban on letting local leaders enforce COVID mask mandates

Local government leaders will remain powerless to put teeth into their mask mandates against COVID-19 anytime soon — Gov. Ron DeSantis this week extended his ban on enforcement of these measures.

In an executive order Wednesay, DeSantis decreed that the ban would last — “unless otherwise modified or rescinded” — for the duration of the public health emergency that he declared in March, as coronavirus began to spread in Florida.

The order acknowledges that the state “continues to suffer economic harm as a result of COVID-19-related closures,” but adds that “Floridians should not be prohibited by local governments from working or operating a business.”

The administration made the move quietly, posting the executive order on the governor’s official webpage but not mentioning it in any press release or on his Twitter or Facebook accounts.

Read more: https://www.floridaphoenix.com/2020/11/27/gov-desantis-extends-his-ban-on-letting-local-leaders-enforce-covid-mask-mandates/

November 28, 2020

Who are the true radical extremists in the Georgia U.S. Senate race?

The Republican argument against Georgia U.S. Senate Democratic candidates Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock is that they are “radical extremists.” And if true, that would be a problem.

Our system of government is built upon compromise and moderation, and putting radical extremists in charge of such a government would be self-destructive. Georgia voters understand that danger, as they demonstrated this month by refusing to give Donald Trump and the radical extremists masquerading as Republicans another four-year term in the White House.

And everything that has happened in the three weeks since the Nov. 3 election has confirmed the wisdom of that decision.

Who but radical extremists would attempt to overturn the clear results of a presidential election? Who but radical extremists would insist that millions of valid, legitimate votes — from Georgia, Michigan, Arizona, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin — be tossed aside as if they don’t exist, as if the American citizens who cast those votes don’t exist?

Read more: https://georgiarecorder.com/2020/11/24/bookman-who-is-the-true-radical-extremist-in-georgia-u-s-senate-race/

November 28, 2020

Colorado lawmakers to tackle small business relief, child care, housing in special session

Lawmakers will meet Nov. 30 for a special session on relief for small businesses and individual Coloradans, which state leaders have said is necessitated by the urgency of pandemic-related needs ahead of their regular session in January.

“Colorado families, restaurants, bars and small businesses can’t wait any longer for help — they need relief to get through the challenging months ahead,” Rep. Alec Garnett, D-Denver, said in a Nov. 19 statement from the governor’s office about the special session. Garnett was recently elected House speaker by his Democratic colleagues.

“We are going to pass targeted legislation that helps families avoid eviction and small businesses stay open to sustain our recovery and help Coloradans who have been hit hardest by the pandemic,” Garnett said.

In a Nov. 19 executive order, Gov. Jared Polis laid out his priorities for the special session, which parallel some of those he described for lawmakers in a proposed stimulus package that would require general fund money and cash fund transfers. The stimulus package would require $1.3 billion in adjustments to the 2020-2021 fiscal year budget, and includes a list of measures aimed at helping Colorado’s economy recover from the pandemic

Read more: https://coloradonewsline.com/2020/11/27/colorado-lawmakers-to-tackle-small-business-relief-child-care-housing-in-special-session/

November 28, 2020

AZGOP chair eyes nullification of presidential election in new lawsuit

By Jeremy Duda - November 25, 2020


Arizona Republican Party Chair Kelli Ward wants a judge to allow her to examine ballots to determine if any were improperly counted in an effort to overturn President-elect Joe Biden’s victory, though she hasn’t shown any evidence of the theoretical problems she’s alleging.

Ward plans to bring suit under a state law permitting any voter in the state to challenge election results on grounds of misconduct by election officials, illegal votes or if the loser is declared the winner through an “erroneous count of votes.” She is suing in her capacity as an individual and as an elector for President Donald Trump.

It is the latest challenge from state Republicans to the results of the election, which Biden won by about 10,500 votes. This is the fifth lawsuit involving Arizona’s election results and the second involving Ward.

According to the proposed complaint, the chairwoman will request that “the Court declare that the certificate of election of the Biden electors is of no further legal force or effect,” and “that the election is annulled and set aside” in accordance with a state law permitting a judge to reject the outcome of an election if a lawsuit shows that result to be improper. If an inspection of ballots proves Trump got the highest number of votes, Ward wants the judge to declare his electors as the winners.

Read more: https://www.azmirror.com/2020/11/25/azgop-chair-eyes-nullification-of-presidential-election-in-new-lawsuit/

November 27, 2020

Jewish UT-Austin students share feelings on their safety after recent anti-Semitic incidents

While scrolling on her phone, Alexis Horowitz’s heart broke. She had just learned from an Instagram post that the Chabad center at the University of Delaware was intentionally set on fire.

“I heard about it the second it happened,” electrical engineering freshman Horowitz said. “One of my friends is on the exec board at the University of Delaware Chabad, so he immediately was posting about raising money and awareness.”

Following the 82nd anniversary of Kristallnacht, an event of anti-Semitic violence in Nazi Germany, Horowitz wondered about her safety on campus.

Kristallnacht was the mass destruction of Jewish homes, businesses and synagogues across Germany and German-occupied territories on Nov. 9 and Nov. 10, 1938. For many Jews living in Nazi Germany at the time, it was considered the true start of the Holocaust.

Read more: https://thedailytexan.com/2020/11/24/jewish-ut-austin-students-share-feelings-on-their-safety-after-recent-anti-semitic

November 27, 2020

Greenberg Smoked Turkeys to break ground on new facility following fire, explosion

Greenberg Smoked Turkeys Inc. will be breaking ground on a new shipping and freezer facility next week after a fire and explosion earlier this month that severely damaged its storage facilities.

In a message on Facebook, the company thanked everyone for their kind words of encouragement after the East Texas staple had to delay orders for this holiday season.

The company will break ground on the new building Monday. The statement also shared that the website is back online, and Greenberg is accepting orders for the 2021 holiday season.

“We will continue to update on Facebook and our website,” the company wrote. “We wish everyone a happy and healthy Thanksgiving!”

Read more: https://tylerpaper.com/news/business/greenberg-smoked-turkeys-to-break-ground-on-new-facility-following-fire-explosion/article_50a13d8c-2f4b-11eb-ab76-8311c11b50ed.html