TexasTowelie
TexasTowelie's JournalOhio Still Lagging In Turnout Among Younger Voters
The US Census Bureau says more people under 24 voted in Ohio last year than in the last few midterm elections. But younger Ohioans still arent voting in numbers as big as their counterparts in nearby states.
Ohios midterm elections have gone overwhelmingly Republican over the last decade. Last year, 22 percent of 18 to 24-year-old registered Ohio voters did so.
Thats more than twice the figure from 2014 which had record low overall turnout. And its up from just over 20 percent in 2010.
But elections statistician Mike Dawson says that 22 percent figure is still lower than nearby states.
Read more: https://www.statenews.org/post/ohio-still-lagging-turnout-among-younger-voters
Ohio University expels fraternity chapter after student's death
ATHENS -- Ohio University announced today (Tuesday) that the local chapter of the Sigma Pi fraternity is now permanently "expelled" from campus, for multiple violations of OU's policies regarding hazing and alcohol use.
This news comes after the university kicked off a Student Code of Conduct investigation into the Epsilon chapter of the Sigma Pi fraternity early last November after news broke of an OU student dying at an off-campus residence that, the university is alleging, was an unofficial annex of the fraternity.
The student, Collin Wiant, 18, who allegedly was a pledge of the fraternity chapter at the time, was found unresponsive at 45 Mill St. on Nov. 12, 2018, The NEWS previously reported. OU initiated a cease-and-desist order for all organizational activities for the fraternity chapter a day later.
According to documents of the Student Code of Conduct violation hearings provided Tuesday by the university, the fraternity was found, through a preponderance of evidence standard, to have violated 10 different statutes in the Student Code of Conduct. Those include:
Read more: https://www.athensnews.com/news/campus/ohio-university-expels-fraternity-chapter-after-student-s-death/article_d22dde74-6b79-11e9-8c56-f7f982531c1e.html
Nuclear subsidies bill to be adjusted
After dozens of witnesses lined up last week to oppose his proposal for nuclear subsidies, House Speaker Larry Householder says he expects some changes to the proposal before it passes the House in mid-May.
It was all good testimony, though some may not see it that way, the Glenford Republican said. The purpose of it was to sort of smoke out the opposition, see what was out there, and some of the things that might be able to be addressed in this bill.
A variety of environmental groups and business organizations opposed House Bill 6, which would offer credits of $9.25 per megawatt hour of carbon-free electricity, paid for via a new $2.50 monthly charge on residential electric bills, with higher amounts for larger business users.
In exchange, Ohioans would no longer pay current mandates for energy efficiency and renewable energy programs.
Read more: https://www.ohio.com/news/20190430/nuclear-subsidies-bill-to-be-adjusted
'Do you really want to take that on?' Manchin freezes governor's primary
West Virginias senior senator continues to flirt with the concept of leaving Congress to run for governor, leaving a race frozen and onlookers scratching their heads.
Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., won reelection and a six-year term in November. By January, he began teasing the notion of challenging incumbent Gov. Jim Justice in 2020. He elucidated those remarks this week in a radio interview with WV MetroNews.
By this fall, with all of my family involved, I should be able to make a decision, he said.
State Democrats, meanwhile, cant make heads or tails of Manchins waffling. Some say hes just saving space for a surrogate candidate; some take him at his word that hes weighing a run in earnest; most all agree that hes boxed out any newcomers to race, for fear of going toe-to-toe with one of the most formidable political brands in West Virginia.
Read more: https://www.wvgazettemail.com/news/politics/do-you-really-want-to-take-that-on-manchin-freezes/article_6127f406-812f-5142-b7ba-d3ff66a38c46.html
West Virginia magistrate pleads guilty to tax fraud
WHEELING, W.Va. (AP) A magistrate in West Virginia has pleaded guilty to tax fraud.
News outlets cite a statement from U.S. Attorney Bill Powell in reporting that Ohio County Magistrate Harry A. Radcliffe III entered the plea on Monday to conspiracy to impede the Internal Revenue Service.
As part of the agreement, a nine-count indictment against Radcliffe, which included charges of wire fraud, filing false income tax returns and bribery, was dismissed.
Defense attorney Dave Jividen said the plea stemmed from Radcliffe's failure to report some income on his tax return, such as money earned from mowing yards.
Read more: https://www.herald-dispatch.com/ap/ap_region/west-virginia-magistrate-pleads-guilty-to-tax-fraud/article_7171c772-e30e-55de-85ed-8f1f8911989b.html
W.Va. House Democrats Call for Action Against DNR Director After Domestic Violence Charge
Some Democratic members of the West Virginia House of Delegates are calling for action against a state agency director who was charged with domestic battery earlier this month.
Delegates Cynthia Lavender-Bowe and Amanda Estep-Burton are the lead signatures on a letter to Gov. Jim Justice calling for Division of Natural Resources director Stephen McDaniel to be fired.
The two lawmakers wrote Monday they believe McDaniels continued employment would be unacceptable.
McDaniel was arrested on charges that he physically assaulted his ex-wife in Florida on April 6. According to the Charleston Gazette-Mail, he entered a deferred prosecution agreement that will allow for his charges to be dropped after one year.
Read more: https://www.wvpublic.org/post/wva-house-dems-call-action-against-dnr-director-after-domestic-violence-charge
Hospitals across West Virginia file suit against pharmaceutical companies
MOUNDSVILLE A slew of hospitals operating throughout West Virginia filed a lawsuit in Marshall County Circuit Court Monday against a number of pharmaceutical companies.
The hospitals and hospital networks filing as plaintiffs in the case are:
Appalachian Regional Healthcare
Bluefield Regional Medical Center
Charleston Area Medical Center
Davis Health System Affiliates
Grafton City Hospital
Greenbrier Valley Medical Center
Monongalia Health System Affiliates
Plateau Medical Center
West Virginia University Health System
Among the more than 20 defendants in the case are: companies involved in the process of distributing opioids, including AmerisourceBergen Drug Corporation; others involved in marketing opioids, including Purdue; and national retail pharmacies involved in selling the drugs, including CVS, Rite-Aid and Walmart.
The suit alleges the companies, through their various roles in the marketing, distribution and sale of opioid medication, created and perpetuated the ongoing opioid crisis.
"Defendants systematically and repeatedly disregarded the health and safety of the public," the complaint alleges. "Charged by law to monitor and report dangerous behavior, they failed to do so in favor of maximizing corporate profits and increasing their market share."
Read more: https://www.wvnews.com/news/wvnews/hospitals-across-wv-file-suit-against-pharmaceutical-companies/article_8bf5b79a-9b2c-52bc-91c0-bb8a99ca7ebc.html
The hospitals are suing for unreimbursed costs for treatments related to the opioid crisis.
Man found guilty in shooting homicide of transgender woman sentenced to prison
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas A two-year long murder case wrapped up Monday in the Nueces County Courthouse.
Four defendants have now received their punishments. All were accused in the brutal murder of a 47-year-old transgender woman from Robstown, Texas. She was shot upwards of 17 times.
On Monday, the last of the defendants was sentenced to a lengthy prison term.
"The worst of the human condition was met with the best of jury service," First Assistant District Attorney Matt Manning said.
Read more: https://www.kiiitv.com/article/news/local/man-found-guilty-in-shooting-homicide-of-transgender-woman-sentenced-to-prison/503-9dd40079-8243-4685-8ac6-1f101b0a28d0
Harris County DA hits ITC with five environmental charges
The Harris County District Attorneys office has charged Intercontinental Terminals Company with five counts of water pollution, Kim Ogg announced Monday.
ITCs Deer Park petrochemical storage tanks caught fire in mid-March. The days-long conflagration created a thick plume of toxic smoke and chemicals that blanketed parts of greater Houston. The blaze led neighborhoods and schools to shelter-in-place, prompted to the temporary closure of the Houston Ship Channel, and raised concerns about air and water quality in the area.
The discharge from the ITC fire into Tucker Bayou is a clear water pollution case, Environmental Crimes Division Chief Alex Forrest said, in a news release announcing the charges. We are looking forward to reviewing the reports of other local and federal agencies, as they complete their investigations, so that we can determine if other charges will follow.
The company is being charged with one count of water pollution for each day water pollution in Tucker Bayou was at criminal levels during the five day period from March 17 through March 21.
Read more: https://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Harris-County-DA-hits-ITC-with-five-environmental-13804597.php?ipid=houstonhomepage
New Mexico militia leader Hopkins pleads not guilty to firearms charges, jailed without bail
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. A federal magistrate judge ordered the leader of an armed group that detained asylum-seeking families near the U.S.-Mexico border to remain jailed Monday as he awaits trial on a federal firearms charge.
Larry Mitchell Hopkins, who is also known as Johnny Horton Jr., pleaded not guilty to being a felon in possession of firearms and ammunition during a detention hearing that was delayed earlier in morning because the federal courthouse in Albuquerque was abruptly evacuated.
The U.S. Marshals Service said it could not provide information hours later on why the courthouse was cleared. It reopened shortly after noon. Hopkins had his initial hearing in Las Cruces, near Sunland Park, New Mexico. U.S. Marshals transferred him to Albuquerque after he was attacked in the jail.
Hopkins, 69, clad in a gray jumpsuit and shackled at the waist, wrists and ankles, inched across the courtroom as an officer helped him down a step and escorted him out of the courtroom where he had been waiting to appear before the judge.
Read more: https://www.elpasotimes.com/story/news/2019/04/29/nm-militia-leader-hopkins-pleads-not-guilty-ordered-stay-jail/3621255002/
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Gender: MaleHometown: South Texas. most of my life I lived in Austin and Dallas
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