Colorado ‘Ballot Selfie’ Legal Battle; Washington City’s Police Dog at Center Civil Rights Lawsuit
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Connecting state and local government leaders
Also in our State and Local Daily Digest: Lobster ‘trap war’ in Maine; N.D. Emergency Services wants additional $4M for protests; Virginia county reconsiders NYE meetings.
Here are some state and local government news items that caught our eye …
BALLOT SELFIES | A federal judge in Denver this week will hear arguments for and against a Colorado state law originally passed in 1891, which now prevents voters from sharing cell phone photos of their marked ballots including so-called “ballot selfies.” Opponents of the law argue that it’s outdated and restricts free speech. They’re seeking a preliminary injunction to block authorities from enforcing the statute. But Suzanne Staiert, deputy secretary of state, says it protects voters from coercion. [The Denver Post]
POLICE K-9 | Police in Tukwila, Washington, near Seattle, had a department K-9’s teeth filed down because of his reputation for inflicting severe bites. But just weeks later the now-dead dog, named Gino, ripped a fist-sized chunk out of a 19-year-old domestic violence suspect’s leg. The suspect, Luis Yellowowl-Burdeau, has since filed a civil rights lawsuit against the department. The lawsuit alleges that the dog bit 31 people in about four years, including his handler and another police officer. It also claims that Gino’s behavior shows the K-9 unit in the Tukwila Police Department has fallen into a pattern of unconstitutional conduct. [The Seattle Times]
LOBSTER | A “trap war” taking place between lobstermen in Maine has prompted the state to step in and offer a $15,000 reward for information. The dispute over territory has left hundreds of thousands of dollars of equipment lost, as competing fishermen have cut buoys from each others’ traps. “This trap war is without a doubt the most costly loss of gear I have witnessed in my 32-year career with the Maine Marine Patrol,” said Col. Jon Cornish, head of Maine’s Department of Marine Resources law enforcement division. [Bangor Daily News]
PIPELINE PROTESTS | North Dakota’s Department of Emergency Services wants $4 million for police response to the Dakota Access Pipeline protests in Morton County, with its original $6 million credit line having dried up. It’s unclear whether the federal government would partially reimburse the state. [The Bismarck Tribune]
NEW YEAR’S DAY | In Virginia, Arlington County Board Chairman Libby Garvey wants to end the government’s tradition of holding a New Year’s Day meeting for bragging rights they’re the first in the region to get to work annually. [The Washington Post]
HEROIN | Three drug houses seized by the U.S. government in the epicenter of Rutland, Vermont’s heroin crisis have been returned to the city for conversion into owner-occupied homes—symbols of recovery. [Brown County Democrat]
LEAD POISONING | Nearly a dozen state and local officials called for more action to fight childhood lead-poisoning in Philadelphia and elsewhere in Pennsylvania. "This is an issue in which we all have to work together to come up with real solutions," said State Sen. Vincent Hughes. "We are not going to run away from it." Statements from government leaders have come in the wake of an ongoing Inquirer/Daily News/Philly.com series that has shown that children in Philadelphia are newly poisoned at a higher rate than those in Flint, Michigan. [Philly.com]
NEXT STORY: Morton County, N.D.’s Reaction to the Standing Rock Check-in Push on Facebook