April 28, 2022

Legislature to consider whether Delaware's court fines system needs overhaul

Delaware House lawmakers will vote next month on a bill that could begin scaling back punishments for those who can’t afford to pay court fines.

State Rep. Sean Lynn’s legislation tackles Delaware’s criminal fines from multiple angles, eliminating some court fines outright and allowing judges to waive any fine at any time.

One target is the public defender fee, which Office of Defense Services legislative and communications director Jon Offredo says does not actually pay for public defenders. "We don’t want to see the money either, because if people can’t afford an attorney, they can’t afford an attorney," he said.

Offredo added that the attorney fee "sets the wrong tone" by giving low-income clients the impression that public defenders charge for their services.

Read more: https://www.delawarepublic.org/politics-government/2022-04-26/legislature-to-consider-whether-delawares-court-fines-system-needs-overhaul

April 28, 2022

Andrew Yang's new political party endorsed a Minnesota gubernatorial candidate who's against UBI

Andrew Yang’s new political party is off to a confusing start in Minnesota, as its first endorsed statewide candidate – independent gubernatorial candidate Cory Hepola – has expressed skepticism about one of the Forward Party’s founding principles: universal basic income.

Universal basic income was one of Yang’s major campaign points during his unsuccessful runs for president and mayor of New York City. As the idea has gained legitimacy across the country, cities like Minneapolis, St. Paul, Compton and Richmond started experimenting with government-funded, unconditional monthly cash payments for low-income families.

When Yang switched his affiliation from Democrat to independent and announced the creation of the Forward Party last October, he told an audience of Washington D.C. supporters: “By the way, [the Forward Party] is how we’re going to pass universal basic income.”

But the Forward Party endorsed Hepola in March, who told Axios that while he now supports the policy on a federal level, he has no plans to institute a statewide UBI if elected as Minnesota’s governor.

Read more: https://heartlandsignal.com/2022/04/27/andrew-yangs-new-political-party-endorsed-a-minnesota-gubernatorial-candidate-whos-against-ubi/

April 28, 2022

Moody's gives Illinois second credit upgrade within one year

SPRINGFIELD – Illinois on Thursday received its second credit rating upgrade from Moody’s Investors Service within one year, moving up one notch but remaining in the worst shape of the 50 states.

It’s the third upgrade between the three major credit ratings agencies during Gov. JB Pritzker’s tenure, the other coming last year from Standard & Poor’s shortly after the first Moody’s upgrade.

The upgrade to Baa1 status, or three notches above what is referred to as “junk bond” status, reflects “solid tax revenue growth,” which allowed the state to bolster financial reserves and increase payments toward unfunded liabilities, according to Moody’s.

The upgrade to the general obligation bond rating likely means lower interest costs when the state borrows money.

Read more: https://www.capitolnewsillinois.com/NEWS/moodys-gives-illinois-second-credit-upgrade-within-one-year

April 28, 2022

Alleged 'mastermind' of bank-fraud case is sentenced to 14 months in prison

A central Iowa businessman alleged to be the “mastermind” of a million-dollar scheme to defraud the Small Business Administration has been ordered to serve 14 months in prison.

Federal prosecutors had asked the judge in the case to sentence Michael Barry Slater, the founder and president of Vital Financial Services in Clive, to 57 months in prison and to impose a “significant fine” for his conviction on one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud.

Instead, U.S. District Judge Stephanie Rose last week sentenced Slater to 14 months in prison, with a three-year term of supervised release to follow. Rose also ordered Slater to pay restitution in the amount of $4,528,191. No fine was imposed.

Slater was part of a group of financial executives criminally charged with shifting millions in potential losses from the now-shuttered Valley Bank in Moline, Illinois, to the SBA.

Read more: https://iowacapitaldispatch.com/2022/04/26/alleged-mastermind-of-bank-fraud-case-is-sentenced-to-14-months-in-prison/

April 28, 2022

Iowa doctors receive confidential warnings

The Iowa Board of Medicine recently sent confidential letters of warning to a dozen Iowa physicians for issues ranging from surgical care to criminal behavior.

The board investigates more than 500 complaints every year, and when it decides not to take public disciplinary action against a doctor, it has the option of sending a confidential, non-disciplinary letter. Those letters typically are an expression of the board’s concern, and they may include a request – not an order – that the doctor take some form of corrective action, such as further education.

Confidential letters, in which the recipients and the underlying facts are kept secret by the board, are a frequently used, but largely unpublicized, tool of state licensing boards. In 2020, the Iowa Board of Medicine took public disciplinary action in 46 cases while issuing confidential letters of concerns in 65 cases.

In January, the board sent out seven confidential letters to doctors. Among them were letters related to a physician’s use of a female chaperone during examinations of female patients; a physician who used co-workers to obtain controlled substances; and a physician who made improper comments to a female patient, and failed to appropriately communicate with a patient, during a breast examination.

Read more: https://iowacapitaldispatch.com/2022/04/27/iowa-doctors-receive-confidential-warnings/

April 28, 2022

Deep Cuts to Unemployment Passes, Critics Say It Won't Help Workforce Shortage

The Republican-run Iowa House agreed to cut benefits for unemployed workers by 10 weeks yesterday in a move critics say will cause an even further exodus of workers out of a state that desperately needs them.

The Iowa Legislature’s vote to cut unemployment benefits from 26 to 16 weeks is expected to be signed by Gov. Kim Reynolds. It also lowers benefits from 39 weeks to 26 for workers who lost their jobs after a business closure.

“When we have more jobs available than we have people on unemployment, we need to take a look at a system that was put in place during a much, much different time in our history,” Reynolds said in March.

The bill lowers the maximum amount of time a worker who is unemployed through no fault of their own can claim benefits, as well as forces them to accept lower-paying work earlier in their unemployment tenure. Only five Southern states and Kansas allow a maximum of 16 weeks or fewer.

Read more: https://iowastartingline.com/2022/04/27/deep-cuts-to-unemployment-passes-critics-say-it-wont-help-workforce-shortage/

April 28, 2022

St. Paul Starbucks the first in Minnesota to vote to unionize

A St. Paul Starbucks became the first of the coffee chain's Minnesota locations in which workers have voted to unionize.

Workers United, an affiliate of the Service Employees International Union, said Wednesday that employees at the Starbucks coffee shop on Snelling Avenue near Stanford Avenue in St. Paul voted 14 to 1 to in favor of the formation of a union.

In a tweet, Workers United relayed a statement from the organizing committee saying, "We're so proud to have won this victory and hope it sets the tone for more organizing In Minnesota."

The Snelling Avenue shop was one of the first in Minnesota to push for unionization earlier this year after a wave of workers at Starbucks across the country filed for union elections. Other Starbucks have followed suit in recent months, including one of the Starbucks at the Mall of America and several locations in Minneapolis.

Read more: https://www.startribune.com/st-paul-starbucks-the-first-in-minnesota-to-vote-to-unionize/600168538/

April 28, 2022

St. Paul Starbucks the first in Minnesota to vote to unionize

A St. Paul Starbucks became the first of the coffee chain's Minnesota locations in which workers have voted to unionize.

Workers United, an affiliate of the Service Employees International Union, said Wednesday that employees at the Starbucks coffee shop on Snelling Avenue near Stanford Avenue in St. Paul voted 14 to 1 to in favor of the formation of a union.

In a tweet, Workers United relayed a statement from the organizing committee saying, "We're so proud to have won this victory and hope it sets the tone for more organizing In Minnesota."

The Snelling Avenue shop was one of the first in Minnesota to push for unionization earlier this year after a wave of workers at Starbucks across the country filed for union elections. Other Starbucks have followed suit in recent months, including one of the Starbucks at the Mall of America and several locations in Minneapolis.

Read more: https://www.startribune.com/st-paul-starbucks-the-first-in-minnesota-to-vote-to-unionize/600168538/

April 28, 2022

'Jeff from town': How a former Hormel CEO came to be a Democratic candidate for a U.S. House seat in

‘Jeff from town’: How a former Hormel CEO came to be a Democratic candidate for a U.S. House seat in southern Minnesota


Jeff Ettinger, in some ways, is an unusual candidate for the Democratic party.

The former CEO of Hormel is running for U.S. House in a special election for southern Minnesota’s 1st Congressional District after the death of Republican U.S. Rep. Jim Hagedorn, following a career in which Ettinger earned tens of millions leading the Austin-based meatpacking giant.

He’ll be competing with seven others for the DFL nomination in a party where many criticize the environmental, labor or animal welfare record of Big Ag, as well as the gulf between the pay of top executives and average workers. And Ettinger also has a history of supporting Republicans, like Mitt Romney for president in 2012.

It’s a resume that some opponents argue won’t sway voters in the May 24 primary or Aug. 9 general election. Yet his campaign has gained early traction. He has won the significant endorsements made so far in the crowded primary race against more liberal candidates, and has raised by a wide margin the most money of any Democrat.

Ettinger’s supporters say his credentials reflect a centrist with business and philanthropic experience, and a person with deep ties to the area who can appeal to voters in the Republican-leaning 1st District.

Read more: https://www.minnpost.com/greater-minnesota/2022/04/jeff-from-town-how-a-former-hormel-ceo-came-to-be-a-democratic-candidate-for-a-u-s-house-seat-in-southern-minnesota/

April 28, 2022

Republican Party to charge new fees, vet volunteers, ban critics from state convention

The Minnesota Republican Party plans to vet volunteers, charge campaigns for volunteers and bar people who “publicly attack” the party or its endorsed candidates from attending its state convention next month in Rochester.

The requirements would seem to anticipate a chaotic scene, as the ongoing struggle between mainstream and more radical factions of the party continues.

The party is also asking all statewide campaigns to submit a list of their volunteers one week before the convention, and will charge campaigns up to $30 per volunteer, according to party documents first reported by former GOP operative Michael Brodkorb.

Brodkorb suspects that’s designed to dissuade people from bringing in hoards of people to “run around the convention.”

Read more: https://minnesotareformer.com/2022/04/26/republican-party-to-charge-new-fees-vet-volunteers-ban-critics-from-state-convention/