L.A.’s City Elections on Tuesday; Portland Commissioner Wants Uber’s ‘Greyball’ Investigated

LOS ANGELES ELECTIONS | On Tuesday, voters in the nation’s second-largest city will cast their ballots in a variety of elected positions, including mayor, but also Measure S, the closely watched ballot proposal that could change the face of growth, housing and economic development in L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti is running for re-election and faces a crowded field with 10 candidates. If Garcetti doesn’t secure 50 percent, he’ll head to a runoff election in May. Elections are also being held for City Council, city attorney and city controller, among other local positions. Charter school proponents will have their best chance yet to execute a power shift and win a controlling majority on the city’s Board of Education. Three of the Board’s seven seats are open and several charter-backed candidates are seen as strong contenders. [KCET-TV; Los Angeles Times]

LAW ENFORCEMENT | Local police departments across the country creating DNA databases unique to their jurisdiction and in the process, creating their own rules around the databases, including whose information is stored and for how long. The police departments, some of which store information on juveniles and persons never convicted of a crime, claim the local databases are necessary due to state and federal backlogs. [Associated Press]

CITY HALLS | Portland, Oregon, Commissioner Nick Fish wants the City Council to investigate if Uber broke any laws or contracts with the revelation the ride-hailing company used “Greyball” software to thwart inspections. "I will seek the ability to issue subpoenas. We need to compel Uber to produce information,” Fish said. “The council cannot consider any updates to our code without understanding the magnitude of this scandal." [Willamette Week]

According to Anchorage Mayor Ethan Berkowitz, Alaska’s largest city has seen “no measurable benefit” from almost $40 million spent for the first four and a half years of the city’s (as yet uncomplete) upgrade to its municipal business software. Although he considered halting the project early in his term, with the help of a steering committee, the mayor determined that the city had invested too much in the project already to throw it out. "The project will be valuable once we're done," Berkowitz said. "The project will be worthless if we don't complete it." The SAP software project, if completed by the current deadline in July, will have lasted six years, stretched through two mayoral administrations and undergone a 700 percent budget increase. [Alaska Dispatch News]

LGBT RIGHTS | The U.S. Supreme Court vacated the U.S. Court of Appeals ruling in favor of transgender student Gavin Grimm on Monday, after the Trump administration withdrew the Obama administration’s guidance to public schools on bathroom policy. Justices would’ve heard the case this month but will instead have the lower court reconsider the dispute between the 17-year-old Virginian and the Gloucester County school board. The Obama-era directive advised schools to let transgender students use bathrooms that correspond to their gender identity, but now the court must decide if Title IX’s prohibition on the basis of sex includes gender identity. [The Washington Post]

STATE GOVERNMENT | A new Gallup poll found 74 percent of Illinoisans have no confidence in state government, largely due to a history of corruption and the budget mess. The mistrust of government is irrespective of political party affiliation. “People all over the state are hurting,” said state Rep. Dave Severin, a Republican. “There are people with needs and we haven’t done a good job of addressing those things.” [WJBC]

The Missouri Department of Conservation’s former director, who left his position more than seven months ago, continues to be taking in a paycheck from the state every two weeks as part of a separation and release agreement. “To ensure an amicable parting, the parties wish to compromise, resolve and settle, finally and forever, any claims and causes of action that were or could have been asserted by the employee against MDC,”according to the state’s agreement with Robert Ziehmer, who now works for a foundation with connections to the Bass Pro Shops chain. [St. Louis Post-Dispatch]

STATE LEGISLATURES | Alabama lawmakers will meet on Tuesday to discuss a possible impeachment vote that Gov. Robert Bentley, a Republican who has faced allegations of an inappropriate relationship with a staffer, could face. The specific nature of Tuesday’s meeting was not clear, but a House of Representatives spokesman said that there’s “a procedural question that needs to be answered by the full committee.” [Montgomery Advertiser]

One of every four bills this year in the Utah Legislature is sponsored by a lawmaker with a professional or personal interest in them. For instance: a state representative who owns an insurance agency sponsored four bills dealing with the insurance industry. Some legislative leaders see an upside. "If you have law enforcement officers talking about law enforcement, some could call it a conflict—others could call it a perspective," according to Republican House Speaker Greg Hughes. [The Salt Lake Tribune]

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT | Williston, North Dakota is seeing glimmers of economic hope after the bottom fell out of the local oil sector, following a peak around 2014. With oil prices edging upwards, drilled but uncompleted wells are gradually being brought online. At the same time, some workers who arrived in Williston during the boom years have put down roots, giving the city’s population a boost. [Billings Gazette]

K-9s | South Carolina’s First Dog has passed away. Gov. Henry McMaster’s English bulldog, Boots, died Sunday morning after being treated for lymphatic cancer. [The State]