Bernie Sanders Wades Into Philly Tax Fight; Cleveland to Pay $6 Million to Tamir Rice’s Family

PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA
SODA TAX | Ahead of the Pennsylvania presidential primary on Tuesday, Bernie Sanders has entered the debate on a local issue in the Keystone State. In an op-ed in Philadelphia Magazine, Sanders spoke out against Mayor Jim Kenney’s proposed soda tax. The plan would raise the price of juice boxes, flavored coffee, soda and other sugary drinks, and the revenue is intended to pay for universal preschool for Philadelphia’s 4-year-olds. Sanders is clear that he does not oppose universal preschool but believes that raising a “regressive grocery tax” will hurt the city’s low- and middle-income families. His suggestion? Raise taxes on Philadelphia’s wealthiest citizens. But Sanders might be forgetting that the current Pennsylvania constitution would appear to rule out progressive taxation, something that isn’t likely to change any time soon. [Philadelphia Magazine]

CLEVELAND, OHIO
LAW ENFORCEMENT | Cleveland will pay $6 million to the family of Tamir Rice, a black 12-year-old fatally shot by a white police officer, but admit no wrongdoing in a settlement agreement that must be approved in federal court. Rice was revealed to have been playing with a toy gun after the fact, a suspicion prosecutors said a dispatcher failed to relay to responding officers. The settlement is a record high for the city and is expected to force the reexamination of police protocols. [USA Today via Detroit Free Press]

JUNEAU, ALASKA
STATE WORKER PAY | Hit by the decline in global energy prices, Alaska’s state government has been facing some difficult budget decisions, so it’s not surprising that state workers in the Last Frontier are poised to face a pay freeze. Members of the Alaska House Finance Committee moved pay-freeze legislation out of committee on Saturday where it moves to the full House. Amended legislation calls for any 3.25 percent step raises—also known as merit raises—to be frozen until oil prices hit $60 per barrel for a full year. “Raises then increase by 25 percent for every ten-dollar increase in oil price until the full 3.25-percent raise is reached at $90 oil.” [Alaska Commons]

FLINT, MICHIGAN
SOCIAL MEDIA MONITORING | The Michigan State Police has been monitoring social media comments made about the Flint water crisis, and though law enforcement officials aren’t commenting on whether there have been any subsequent investigations into threatening social media postings, the State Police said it does relay pertinent information to other state agencies or impacted individuals “so they have situational awareness.” [Flint Journal / Mlive.com]

SACRAMENTO COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
GUNS | In six years, the number of civilians licensed to carry concealed handguns went from about 350 to 8,000 across Sacramento County. That’s one in every 135 adults. California sheriffs can issue permits to anyone with “good cause” and of “good moral character,” according to broad state law. Sacramento’s Republican Sheriff Scott Jones, who’s now running for Congress, is of the mind that people applying for permits have nothing to hide—approving more than 90 percent of applicants. “The reason we’re having such an explosive rate is they weren’t available before,” Jones said. “Everybody’s rushing to get them.” [The Sacramento Bee]

WAKE COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA
TOURISM | When rock band Pearl Jam cancelled a Raleigh concert over controversial HB2, local hotels lost about $60,000. The law bars transgender people from using the bathroom of the gender they identify with. A total of 29 groups are reconsidering Wake County events, putting $34 million is estimated spending in jeopardy, according to the Greater Raleigh Convention and Visitors Bureau. The new figures come as state lawmakers begin this year’s legislative session and may feel compelled to reconsider the law passed in a special session in March. [The News & Observer]

HARRISBURG, ILLINOIS
EDUCATION | Illinois’ budget impasse has school officials worried they’ll soon have to close their doors. Harrisburg School District’s superintendent estimates he only has enough state funds left to stay open through December, and that’s pushing it. The state has cut more than $1 billion from its education budget since 2009, and while some school districts may be able to borrow money or rely on property taxes, Harrisburg has been hit harder by layoffs within the declining coal industry. [The Associated Press via The Kansas City Star]

AUSTIN, TEXAS
ETHICS | Texas state Sen. Troy Fraser is a flying lame duck. In the second half of 2015 alone, the Republican used his leftover campaign funds to pay for conference and meeting-related travel to France, Hawaii, Colorado, California and South Carolina. It total, Fraser spent more than $149,000 in campaign cash during that six month period. While in office, Texas’ elected officials have relative freedom in terms of how they spend their political contributions, as long as purchases relate in some way to state business. So, while Fraser isn’t necessarily doing anything unethical, many question whether there may be better uses for the $1.36 million remaining in his war chest. [Texas Tribune]

MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, FLORIDA
CRIME | A Miami-Dade police officer went to bed on Sunday night and awoke Monday morning to find her cruiser no longer in the driveway. The 2008 Crown Victoria marked police car contained a helmet and bulletproof vest. In comparison with other incidents of police car theft in the state of Florida—one 2015 incident involved a woman jumping from a roof and making off with an officer’s vehicle—this one seems relatively sedate. [Miami Herald]

DENVER, COLORADO
LGBT RIGHTS | Colorado’s Supreme Court declined to hear the case of a baker who refused to make a wedding cake for a same-sex couple, upholding a lower court ruling that religious beliefs and free speech can’t be cited to deny customers service. The baker’s attorneys could still try their luck with the U.S. Supreme Court. "We all have a right to our personal beliefs, but we do not have a right to impose those beliefs on others and discriminate against them," said an American Civil Liberties Union staff attorney. [The Denver Post]