Vermont’s $20,000 Price for Releasing Emails; Hockey Team’s Move Burns County Taxpayers

MONTPELIER, VERMONT
PUBLIC RECORDS | If media outlets in Vermont want months of emails sent by former staff members in Gov. Peter Shumlin’s office, they’ll need to fork over $20,000, a spokesman for the governor said earlier this week. Shumlin’s office has released what they called a “representative sample” of the emails and says that in order to release more they’d need to hire additional, temporary staff. In early April, the governor’s office looked to delete emails sent by former staffers. Days later, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filed charges in a fraud case involving a ski resort in the state, Jay Peak. Prior to that time, Shumlin’s former campaign manager and deputy chief of staff left his administration to work for the CEO of the resort. [VTDigger]

PORTLAND, MAINE
ARENAS | The Portland Pirates, an American Hockey League team, are moving to Springfield, Massachusetts. And concerns are simmering not only over the hit to businesses near the Cumberland County Civic Center, where the team played, but also over the fact that county taxpayers are repaying $34 million of bonds issued to renovate the arena. Taxpayers are also required to cover the facility’s operating losses, which amounted to $600,000 last year—the hockey team the lead tenant. The chairman of the arena’s board of trustees said: “We’re still struggling to bring us out of the red and into the black.” [Portland Press Herald]

STATE COLLEGE, PENNSYLVANIA
LAW ENFORCEMENT | In the commonwealth of Pennsylvania there are 2,561 municipal jurisdictions. About half of them, 1,287, do not have their own police force and rely on the Pennsylvania State Police for their local policing needs. In most states, jurisdictions without local police rely on county sheriff’s departments for law enforcement. One reason this distinction matters is that places in the Keystone State policed by state cops don’t have to make any sort of special payment for the service. "There is no fee to have us as the primary police force," according to the state police’s public information officer. "Other than the taxes that everyone pays, there is no special fee that we collect from those areas." [WPSU / Keystone Crossroads]

WASHOE COUNTY, NEVADA
WATER | With an uptick in snowpack and reservoir storage, the Truckee Meadows Water Authority won’t require customers to cut their water usage this year. During the past two years, amid extreme drought, the authority asked residents to reduce the amount of water they were using by 10 percent. Washoe County is in northwest Nevada and encompasses Reno. Last year’s snowpack in the region was one of the worst ever recorded. “We’re in a bit of a recovery period now after four very dry years,” said a hydrologist for the authority. [Nevada Public Radio]

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON
MISOGYNY | A Seattle marijuana advocate has filed a bar complaint against a lawyer, Jason M. Feldman, who allegedly sent a letter to five female City Council members, making derogatory and misogynistic remarks and suggesting they commit suicide. The reason for the missive? Feldman was apparently upset the five city lawmakers voted against a proposal to vacate a street to build a long-pending sports arena. Some hope the arena could lure a professional basketball team back to Seattle. The vitriol directed at the council members wasn’t confined to the single letter. Nasty, sexist comments rolled in from others on Facebook, Twitter and by email as well. Mayor Ed Murray and the arena developer condemned the comments Wednesday. [The C Is for crank]

BOISE, IDAHO
PUBLIC LANDS | Since gaining statehood in 1890, the Gem State has sold off about 41 percent of its public land to private interests such as logging companies, ranchers and private fishing clubs. That’s according to Idaho Department of Lands data, which the Wilderness Society obtained through a public records request. The land sale findings come at a time when Idaho lawmakers have discussed a push to gain more state control over federal lands there. “Once these public lands end up in the hands of corporations and private individuals, the freedom to use and enjoy them is almost impossible to get back,” said a Nez Perce tribal member and former chairman of the Tribal Fish & Wildlife Commission. [Idaho Statesman]

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK
PUBLIC TRANSIT | The Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which operates the New York City subway system, is considering two proposals for how to carry out necessary repair work on twin tubes under the East River. The tunnels flooded and sustained major damage during Hurricane Sandy. Both options will be a major inconvenience for subway riders who rely on the L train to travel between Manhattan and Brooklyn. A full shutdown of the Canarsie tubes, which would last a year and a half, would be the faster option. Shutting one of the tubes at a time would reduce service by 80 percent. About 225,000 commuters ride the L train daily, and the MTA is looking at boosting subway service on other lines, plus adding new bus and ferry links between Manhattan and Brooklyn. [The New York Times]

TECUMSEH, MICHIGAN
CRIME AND PUNISHMENT | Criminal charges have been dismissed against a couple arrested and arraigned last month for failing to return a Dr. Seuss book to a public library. The couple, Melvin and Catherine Duren, paid all of the overdue fees and the cost to replace the book, which they said they had lost. The economic crimes unit of the Lenawee County Prosecutor’s office last year began overseeing cases involving delinquent books for two local libraries that had reported losses of more than $10,000. “The more I learned of the case, the more I agreed to represent them, pro bono,” said a lawyer for the Durens. [The Daily Telegram]

MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA
POLICE DOGS | Even though he had a cone around his head and a splint on one of his back feet Colt, a 2-year-old police dog, escaped from his handler’s home Thursday around 2 a.m. The Belgian Malinois had recently been injured in a training accident. According to Miami Beach police spokesman Ernesto Rodriguez, the dog’s handler had just arrived home with Colt after a late night training session and let him loose. But the handler’s house door wasn’t closed all the way, and the dog made a run for it. “At the end of the day he’s a dog who has a brain and four paws,” Rodriguez said of Colt, who hadn’t been spotted as of late morning. [Miami Herald]

RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA
FINES | Because of the insurer’s ongoing problems with technology, coverage, billing and payments, state Insurance Commissioner Wayne Goodwin said Wednesday he plans to issue a fine “in the millions of dollars” against Blue Cross and Blue Shield. The fine is considered unprecedented. North Carolina’s insurance department has received 13,596 calls about problems with the company from customers, resulting in 2,708 written complaints. [The News & Observer]