Federal Auditors Recommend Colorado Repay $9.7 Million; Ohio’s New Anti-Blight Rule
Connecting state and local government leaders
Also in our State and Local Daily Digest: L.A. County family homelessness soars; a squabble over number of airport noise complaints; and concerns over weakening Texas open-records rules.
AUDITS | Federal auditors say Colorado misspent or did not properly account for $9.7 million of federal grants used to set up the state’s online healthcare marketplace. They’re recommending the state be forced to repay the money. [The Denver Post]
BLIGHT | Ohio just became the first state to outlaw the use of plywood on abandoned or vacant properties. Clear boarding, the act of securing such properties with clear polycarbonate windows and doors, has been catching on as a way to mask urban decay, and this bolsters the practice. [NBC 24]
HOMELESSNESS | What’s the single most-direct factor in what’s caused the major increase in family homelessness in Los Angeles County? “If the CalWORKs benefits are inadequate to pay for housing, then they become homeless,” according to Phil Ansell, who is directing the county’s homelessness initiatives. “The equation is that simple.” [KPCC]
AIRPORT NOISE COMPLAINTS | An Italian man who’s a former astronaut appears to be the Washington, D.C. resident responsible for filing thousands of noise complaints with the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority. There’s a discrepancy over the numbers. But Roberto Vittori estimates he filed roughly 3,000 complaints. MWAA says there is a complainer in the area where he lives who submitted 6,500. Vittori suggested the Authority may have inflated the number to discredit him. He’s filed a public records request for more information. [The Outline]
Meanwhile, “San Diegans are tired of airport noise and tired of complaining.“ [inewsource.org]
INFRASTRUCTURE | Sacramento will forge ahead with plans for a downtown streetcar line, amid uncertainty over whether the administration of President-elect Trump will support a federal funding request for the project. The Obama administration offered $75 million in federal funds for the $150 million line. But a formal grant agreement can’t be signed until the city comes up with matching funds. Backers of the streetcar say they want to revise the request to make it bigger, asking for $100 million and upping the overall value of the project to $200 million. “We don’t know the impact of the new administration,” West Sacramento Mayor Christopher Cabaldon said. “We are watching this carefully.” [The Sacramento Bee]
COURTS | The Alabama Supreme Court has ruled that a woman may proceed with a wrongful death claim against a doctor for the miscarriage she suffered when she was six weeks pregnant—before the fetus had reached the stage of viability. The decision reverses a Jefferson County judge’s order that had dismissed her claim. Alabama’s highest court’s decision was unanimous. "Today, this Court again reaffirms the principle that unborn children are protected by Alabama's wrongful-death statute from the moment life begins at conception," Justice Tom Parker wrote in a special concurring opinion. [AL.com]
LGBT RIGHTS | All future state contractors with Virginia’s executive branch must agree to a non-discrimination policy that includes sexual orientation and gender identity, per an executive order Gov. Terry McAuliffe signed Thursday. The move by McAuliffe, a Democrat, comes shortly after state Del. Robert Marshall, a Republican, filed a bill to regulate transgender people’s use of restrooms across the state—being likened to North Carolina’s now-infamous “bathroom bill.” But the new bill takes things a step further, requiring all parents in a school be notified by the principal if a student requests to be treated as a member of the opposite sex. [WTVR; The Washington Post]
OPEN RECORDS | Once one of the most transparent states in the nation, Texas’ Public Information Act was weakened by two rulings in 2015. Now a bipartisan effort has emerged to pass legislation requiring private entities to open their records if they receive public funds or provide government services. [KUT]
WORKFORCE | The Maine Department of Transportation has 90 open positions on highway crews that work to keep roads clear of snow and ice during the winter. “It is increasingly difficult to find people who are willing to plow snow,” said John Cannell, director of highway and equipment maintenance. [Portland Press Herald]
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