Feeling Heat From Anti-Vaccine Parents, State Pulls Immunization Education Program
The Arizona State Capitol in Phoenix Shutterstock
STATE AND LOCAL ROUNDUP | N.Y. Gov. Cuomo heads into deteriorating tunnel … San Francisco accounting errors … and ACLU sues judge over countywide homeless camp ban.
Good morning, it’s Friday, Oct. 19, 2018. Immunizations lead Route Fifty’s state and local government news roundup but scroll down for more from places like San Antonio, Texas (where changes are in store for Alamo Plaza); Fall River, Massachusetts (where there’s a mayoral recall); and Orange County, Florida (where there’s an improved one-stop permitting office).
STATE GOVERNMENT | Arizona state officials pulled a vaccine education pilot program after parents opposed to immunizing their children filed complaints with the Governor’s Regulatory Review Council. "Providing information doesn't take away a parent's choice to seek an exemption,” said State Rep. Heather Carter, who helped create the pilot program. “This is a major concern. Vaccines have saved lives for generations. We all want to live in safe and healthy communities." [Arizona Republic] … Before he leaves office in January, Maine Gov. Paul LePage plans to release a two-year budget proposal that “will recommend continuing some of the governor’s most controversial initiatives.” [Bangor Daily News] ... The Nevada Commission on Ethics decided this week that Storey County Sheriff Gerald Antinoro “willfully breached Nevada ethics law in 2017 by misusing government resources, his third ethics violation since he took office in 2011.” [Reno Gazette Journal] … New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo traveled into the rapidly deteriorating rail tunnel under the Hudson River connecting New Jersey with Penn Station in midtown Manhattan to underscore the need for funding its replacement through the Gateway Project for the Northeast Corridor. Pointing to century-old rebar in the tunnel during a press tour, Cuomo said: “And you can see it’s all rusted and deteriorated. It’s literally flaking off.” [Gov. Andrew Cuomo / YouTube]
CITY HALLS | After a recent audit of the San Francisco Housing Authority discovered major “accounting errors” that’s forcing city leaders to figure out how to fill a $25 million shortfall, Mayor London Breed said this week: “For many years, Housing Authority has always been, unfortunately, dysfunctional.” [KQED] … Residents in Fall River, Massachusetts have initiated a process to recall Mayor Jasiel Correia, who is facing federal charges of defrauding investors. [Boston Herald; Herald News] … Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh is narrowing the list of people for the city’s next police commissioner. [WBAL] … In a 9-2 vote on Thursday, the San Antonio City Council approved a plan to redesign Alamo Plaza, including the closure of a number of a adjacent streets and relocating the cenotaph. [KSAT]
COUNTY GOVERNMENT | In Ohio, the American Civil Liberties Union is suing Hamilton County Common Pleas Judge Robert Ruehlman, who in August issued “a permanent, countywide ban on homeless camps.” [Cincinnati Enquirer / Cincinnati.com] … The Orange County government in Florida has opened a newly renovated and improved one-stop permitting office at its administration building in Orlando. County Mayor Teresa Jacobs said: “We know that time is precious, and are so pleased that these improvements will help to improve our customer service and overall efficiency.” [Orange County Gov’t] ...
Michael Grass is Executive Editor of Government Executive's Route FIfty and is based in Seattle.
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