State & Local Daily Digest: D.C. Seafood Dinner Sparks Phoenix Controversy; Alaska’s Grim Budget Options
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Also in our news roundup: Ohio job losses; Pennsylvania governor boosts minimum wage for some state workers; and continued concerns from Porter Ranch natural gas leak.
PHOENIX, ARIZONA
EXPENSES | A $420 seafood dinner in Washington, D.C., from 2014 has created a controversy for Phoenix city employees who are being asked to reimburse Glendale taxpayers who ended up paying for the meal. Glendale Councilman Sammy Chavira, whose official travel costs have been the subject of recent scrutiny, ended up expensing the entirety of the Johnny’s Half Shell dinner, which was attended by Phoenix’s fire chief, assistant fire chief, director of homeland security and emergency management, police department executive assistant, plus a city councilman. The diners had shrimp cocktail, oysters, seafood stew, halibut, scallops, and gumbo among other items. [The Arizona Republic]
JUNEAU, ALASKA
STATE BUDGETING | Job losses from state budget cuts, taxes and reductions in dividends from the Alaska Permanent Fund—all of which are under consideration by lawmakers—are poised to rival those from the state’s economic crash between 1986 and 1988. That’s according to a new study from Gunnar Knapp, the director of the University of Alaska-Anchorage’s Institute of Social and Economic Research. The big question: What options will state lawmakers choose to mitigate the impacts of the downturn? And all the options are grim. [Alaska Dispatch News]
LOS ANGELES COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
PUBLIC HEALTH | Although the massive 16-week natural gas leak in the Porter Ranch community was capped in February, residents are still complaining of headaches and dizziness. Los Angeles County health officials will go door to door in the impacted area on Thursday to do a more thorough assessment of the residents’ health concerns. [Los Angeles Daily News]
RICHMOND, VIRGINIA
DEATH PENALTY | Members of the Virginia Senate passed a bill that would permit the use of the electric chair for capital punishment when lethal injection drugs are not available. While death row inmates can currently choose death via the electric chair over lethal injection, proponents of the bill want the electric chair to be the default option when the often hard-to-procure lethal injection drugs aren’t available. Gov. Terry McAuliffe has not taken a position on the matter. [The Washington Post]
AUSTIN, TEXAS
MEDICAID | According to a study from the Texas Association of Health Plans regarding the state’s Medicaid program, Texas pays the national average cost per prescription but prescribes name-brand drugs at a rate higher than all but five states. Health plans could save the state money if they had more flexibility to prescribe generic brands over higher-cost name brand drugs. [Texas Tribune]
MONROE COUNTY, OHIO
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT | Some interesting stats regarding the state of the economy in the Buckeye State: Since 2000, 10 of the state’s counties saw one in five jobs disappear and 18 counties saw median household income drop by 20 percent. In Monroe County, 40 percent of local jobs have disappeared in the last 15 years. One in six Ohio residents live in poverty, especially in the 32 counties that make up the state’s Appalachian region. [Cincinnati Enquirer]
HARRISBURG, PENNSYLVANIA
MINIMUM WAGE | Gov. Tom Wolf signed an executive order on Monday immediately raising the minimum wage for certain state workers—about 450 people—from $7.25 an hour to $10.15 an hour. Certain state contractors will see a higher minimum wage starting in July. [Newsworks / WHYY]
LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY
CRIME PREVENTION | Police in Kentucky’s largest city have been walking around downtown and placing yellow tickets on cars assessing how well drivers are safeguarding valuables inside their vehicles. While some people think the crime prevention effort is a good public information campaign, others feel it’s an invasion of privacy. [The Courier-Journal]
BISMARCK, NORTH DAKOTA
PUBLIC EDUCATION | Any high school student in the Peace Garden State can take one Advanced Placement exam at no cost thanks to a new program from the North Dakota Department of Public Instruction. Students who receive free or reduced-price meals would be eligible to take up to four AP tests for free. [Bismarck Tribune]
ASHEVILLE, NORTH CAROLINA
PARKS AND RECREATION | A popular soccer field will be getting artificial turf but not everyone is happy about it. While the new turf will stand up better to the elements and will have a longer lifespan than natural turf, some are citing fears over possible cancer risks, which haven’t been proven but have raised concerns nonetheless. [Citizen-Times]
Michael Grass is Executive Editor of Government Executive's Route Fifty.
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