Dallas City Manager Announces Exit; Missouri Rice Reaches Cuba

Here’s some news you may have missed from over the Memorial Day three-day weekend.

DALLAS, TEXAS
CITY ADMINISTRATION | Dallas City Manager A.C. Gonzalez told members of the City Council on Monday that he will leave his position in January after three years in the city’s top administrative position. His performance became a point of debate by councilmembers. Some felt that Gonzalez wasn’t right for the position and others, including Councilmember Lee Kleinman, saying that some on the council “created such a work environment laden with hostility towards our [city] staff” where it made it difficult for Gonzalez to succeed. [The Dallas Morning News]

HAVANA, CUBA
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT | Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon was on hand in the Cuban capital city on Monday for the delivery of a 20-ton shipment of long-grain rice grown in southeastern Missouri. Among U.S. states, the Show Me State ranks fourth in rice production and the ongoing thawing of relations between the U.S. and Cuba gives American rice producers a new market. “Missouri is moving forward to take advantage of this opportunity, particularly when it comes to rice, one of the staples of the Cuban diet,” the governor, who was part of a large delegation of Missouri business leaders in Cuba, said. [KFVS-TV; St. Louis Business Journal]

ANNAPOLIS, MARYLAND
EQUAL PAY | Maryland, which has a Democratic-controlled legislature and a Republican governor, may serve as a model for other states looking to pass equal-pay legislation at the state level. “Until we can get Congress to focus on this issue in a substantive way instead of using it to play politics with each other, the state level is where it’s at,” says the vice president for government relations at the American Association of University Women. Maryland’s equal pay law, approved earlier this year, is considered the most comprehensive to pass a legislative body this year. [The Washington Post]

VADO, NEW MEXICO
INFRASTRUCTURE | This unincorporated community in southern Doña Ana County has bad roads, many that are severely potholed and impassable when it rains. But there wasn’t any local or county money available to improve the roads in this federally recognized colonia community, which have limited infrastructure. Through a Las Cruces-based nonprofit community organizing group, the community was able to get a Texas-based recycling company to donate asphalt shingles that could be used for road-building pilot project from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. [NMPolitics.net]

BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA
HATE CRIMES | In Louisiana, it’s now a hate crime to specifically target a member of law enforcement or a first responder. The new law is a win for the “Blue Lives Matter” movement, a pro-police response to the Black Lives Matter movement which has been critical of police treatment of minority communities. While supporters of the law argue it’s necessary in an atmosphere of increased anger at law enforcement, data show that there has been an overall nationwide decline in officer killings. Critics of the legislation say that adding new protected classes may ultimately serve to “dilute” hate crime legislation. [National Public Radio]

NEW CASTLE COUNTY, DELAWARE
MOSQUITOES | The County Council may vote to fine residents found to have standing water—a breeding ground for mosquitoes—on their property $50. Fears of the mosquito-borne Zika virus spreading to the area have officials considering the measure. Standing water in everything from old tires and flower pots to fountains and birdbaths would need to be regularly emptied of water deeper than 2 inches two days after rain—the first such code in the First State. [The News Journal]

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK
INVESTIGATIONS | Mayor Bill de Blasio’s schedule is full of private meetings since federal investigations of his administration began, and at least one project—construction of apartments in Brooklyn Bridge Park—has been slowed. The press often isn’t briefed on de Blasio’s City Hall departures, and some close to the mayor said he’s become frustrated with the focus on the probes. Emailing has reportedly been discouraged within the mayor’s office, which has been pushed to release more information faster on de Blasio donors denied requests—lest the investigations overlap with his reelection campaign. The mayor also wants the city’s budget passed early to boost faith in government. [The Wall Street Journal]

WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
PUBLIC TRANSIT | The District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia are finally making plans to take back oversight of Metro. D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe and Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan have rolled out the draft compact for what will be a “state safety oversight committee.” The draft gives the safety commission some real teeth to deal with Metro’s myriad safety issues—including the ability to suspend or fire the agency’s personnel for failing to comply with safety regulations. [Washington City Paper]

SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA
BILLS | Any bill that comes before California’s Assembly for a vote that would allocate $150,000 or more gets pooled into the Appropriations Committee’s suspense file. These bills—there are 694 of them in total—which have been in legislative purgatory will have their fates decided on Friday. Bills that don’t clear the hurdle will be eliminated in private without a recorded vote. Issue areas for the bills in question range from overtime for farm workers, to redevelopment of low-income housing, to school accountability reform. [Voice of San Diego]