Plague Case Leads to Feral Cat Roundup in Albuquerque
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Also in our State and Local Daily Digest: Pittsburgh’s mayor is “folksy;” N.M. Gov. vetoes all university funding; L.A. County likes its sanctuary cities.
PUBLIC HEALTH | City health officials in Albuquerque are warning residents not to feed feral animals and to take other precautions, after the discovery there of a plague-infected cat earlier this month. A pet dog in Northeast Albuquerque died of plague in March. Mark DiMenna, deputy director of the city’s Environmental Health Department, said officials have trapped about 30 stray cats in the area and are testing them for plague, which can cause symptoms such as fever, chills and headaches in humans. [ Albuquerque Journal ]
ELECTIONS | Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto has released his first major ad for the 2017 campaign and you could be forgiven for mistakenly thinking he’s running against President Trump and Patriots quarterback Tom Brady. The video is a montage of pittsburgh sports history, Americana and images of urban renewal set to a folksy country number. Peduto's competition for the office doesn’t seem particularly impressed by the ad spot. “The last time I checked, Donald Trump isn’t running for mayor, and Bill Peduto isn’t running for President,” said Rev. John Welch, one of two challengers Peduto will face on the May 16 ballot. [ Pittsburgh Post-Gazette ]
EDUCATION | Gov. Susana Martinez vetoed all funding to the University of New Mexico , including almost $8 million to its Comprehensive Cancer Center, in protest of the state legislature’s increases in taxes and spending. Martinez was also frustrated with the Senate’s failure to schedule hearings for her public university system Board of Regents nominations. The legislature can’t override the line-item veto. [ Silver City Sun-News ]
INCENTIVES | Gov. Greg Abbott is opposed to a recent budget proposal from lawmakers in the Texas House that would strip money from a fund used to help lure companies to the state. Abbott wants to see $108 million go toward the so-called Texas Enterprise Fund . The pool of taxpayer money is used for incentives like a $1.3 million cash grant for Hulu, the television streaming service, which last week agreed to establish a customer service center in San Antonio with 300 to 500 jobs. [ DallasNews / The Dallas Morning News ]
IMMIGRATION | Eight demonstrators were taken into deputy custody for protesting Los Angeles County Sheriff Jim McDonnell’s opposition to California Senate Bill 54, which would limit local police agencies’ cooperation with federal immigration enforcement. More than two-thirds of county residents support the “sanctuary city” movement , according to a Loyola Marymount University poll. [ ABC7.com ; Hollywood Patch ]
INTERNATIONAL DISPUTES | Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry wants Florida Gov. Rick Scott to help locally based power plant company APR Energy , which had $44 million in assets seized by Australia. APR rented four turbines to Forge Group Power in the country, but when that company went bankrupt they were seized by a third party. Because the turbines were improperly registered according to Australian courts, APR hasn’t been able to retrieve them. Curry hopes Scott can get President Trump involved. [ The Florida Times-Union ]
MUSIC | Music from a public access channel playlist used as filler during breaks from debate in the Alaska Legislature has gained a passionate following among lawmakers, staffers and lobbyists. The tunes actually serve a purpose—to let viewers know the channel is still working, even when debate is on hold—but the playlist itself is just as much form as it is function . Happy coincidences keep fans of the music amused. An instrumental rendition of Wu-Tang Clan’s hit “C.R.E.A.M.”—Cash Rules Everything Around Me—for example, was played last month during a break in the House’s debate on the operating budget. And an instrumental version of Tears for Fears’ “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” preceded a recent House vote on an income tax. [ Alaska Dispatch News ]
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