California March 12, 2019 California teacher sues teachers' union, AG Becerra for deducting dues A California special education teacher filed suit earlier this week against the state’s teachers union and California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, arguing that she was never informed of her right to opt out of paying union dues.
Immigrant Rights March 7, 2019 9th Circuit rules asylum applicant has right to go before judge, setting up Supreme Court showdown In a major break from another key appellate court, the San Francisco-based 9th Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday ruled that a Sri Lankan man who failed his initial asylum screening has the constitutional right to go before a judge -- threatening to further clog the immigration court system with tens of thousands of similar claims, and setting up a virtually certain Supreme Court showdown.
State and Local March 7, 2019 Banked time-off pay for California workers creates huge taxpayer liability In California, it pays to not use your allotted vacation time, at least if you’re a state government worker.
State and Local March 2, 2019 Poster connecting Rep. Ilhan Omar to 9/11 terror attacks ignites outrage at West Virginia capitol A poster that was displayed at the West Virginia statehouse Friday linking Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., to the September 11, 2001 terror attacks, sparked outrage between lawmakers, a report stated.
Supreme Court February 20, 2019 Supreme Court curbs power of government to impose heavy fines and seize property In a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled to drastically curb the powers that states and cities have to levy fines and seize property, marking the first time the court has applied the Constitution’s ban on excessive fines at the state level.
State and Local February 17, 2019 Los Angeles City Council’s president suggests to deploy ‘army of cats’ to deal with rat situation Herb Wesson, the president of Los Angeles’ City Council, suggested deploying an “army of cats” to fight City Hall’s rodent problem but was told Friday that adding cats to the equation would likely only worsen the issue.
OPINION February 14, 2019 Amazon quits New York -- 'Victory' by progressives helps city wave good-bye to 25,000 jobs Critics of the Amazon plan can rejoice in their success in having prevented economic development in a moribund area of western Queens. They have preserved stagnation and called it progress.
State and Local February 14, 2019 Texas lawmakers propose funding border wall on their own As Washington, D.C. debates a budget deal that would get President Trump barely 1/20th of the border wall funding he requested, and with significant strings attached, two local Texas lawmakers are proposing dipping into the state’s "rainy day" fund to finance the border barrier on their own.
State and Local February 14, 2019 Former Michigan governor's final acts included pardoning fellow accountant, a 'career drunk driver' Former Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder, in his final days in office, pardoned a wealthy “career drunk driver” in an effort to help the man seek a lucrative promotion, a move branded by Snyder's critics as a mockery of justice.
OPINION February 11, 2019 Dr. Marc Siegel: Ancient typhus is plaguing modern day Los Angeles – How did we get here, what should we do? Medieval life has made its way to modern day Los Angeles, where groups of 4,000 or more homeless people huddle together on city streets constituting a “typhus zone.”
New York February 10, 2019 Bronx lawmaker says City Council ‘controlled’ by homosexual community, refuses to apologize City Councilmember Ruben Diaz Sr. said Sunday that he’d rather give up his powerful committee assignments than apologize to openly gay Speaker Corey Johnson for his homophobic comments.