Police Officer’s Near-Fatal Fentanyl-Contact Overdose Prompts New Concerns

PUBLIC SAFETY | An East Liverpool, Ohio, police officer who had a near-fatal drug overdose on Friday when he came into accidental contact with fentanyl, the powerful synthetic opioid, while searching a vehicle during a traffic stop is back on the job this week. “When I got to the scene, he was covered in it. I patted him down, and that was the only time I didn’t wear gloves. Otherwise, I followed protocol,” said Patrolman Chris Green, who needed four shots of Narcan to stop the overdose. Police cruisers in East Liverpool come with special protective gear for police officers who may come into contact with lethal substances like fentanyl. The incident is prompting agencies to remind first responders and residents of the dangers of accidentally coming into contact with powerful opioids. [The Morning News; Dayton Daily News]

MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS | In addition to two city council positions and a ballot initiative on police discipline, voters in Los Angeles are casting ballots in two important L.A. Board of Education runoff races that could give candidates funded by charter school advocates a first-ever majority of seats on the board, which oversees the second-largest school system in the nation. This vote is pivotal not just because the L.A. Unified School District is at a turning point on the spread of these charter facilities, but also because the terms of newly elected board members have been lengthened—each new member will now serve for five and a half years. [Los Angeles Times]

CITY HALLS | A probe into emails exchanged among employees of the Chicago Department of Water Management has found sexist and racist messages, including emails about former President Barack Obama. Officials in the Windy City expressed dismay at the scandal, but not surprise.  "The pervasive culture of racism at the Water Department has been an open secret for years,” said 6th Ward Alderman Roderick Sawyer, the chairman of the City Council Black Caucus. [Chicago Tribune]

In a 6-3 vote on Monday, the Portland, Maine, City Council voted to eliminate the position of the mayor’s special assistant as part of a $345 billion budget measure. Mayor Ethan Strimling tried to save his special assistant’s job but warned the council: “Without this minimal resource, this office will fail.” Some councilors said that the special assistant was hindering collaboration between the mayor’s office and council. [Portland Press Herald]

The mayor of Stanley, Wisconsin, a small city near Eau Claire, suddenly resigned last week without explanation. “He just wrote it on a piece of paper,” said City Clerk Ketty Clow. “It was very quick. He didn’t give a reason. It said ‘I resign as mayor.’ It had his name and date.” The city council voted Monday for the council president, Norman Christianson, to fill out Mike Henke’s term as mayor. [Leader Telegram]

PUBLIC HEALTH | A federal judge agreed with the U.S. Department of Justice “that Aetna wasn't being truthful” when the company claimed its decision to pull out of healthcare exchanges in 11 states “was strictly a business decision triggered by mounting losses.” Evidence, including internal e-mail conversations, pointed to the retreat from the exchanges as a means to avoid “judicial scrutiny” over the company’s merger with Humana. [CNN Money]

The North Dakota State Health Department issued a boil water order for residents in Glen Ullin, a small town 54 miles west of Bismarck, after a dead mouse was found floating in one of the town’s water supply tanks. The tanks are being drained and disinfected. [Bismarck Tribune]

CORRECTIONS | State officials in Pennsylvania are launching the first council to help former prisoners navigate re-entry into society. The Pennsylvania Re-entry Council is a collaboration between four state agencies—the Office of the Attorney General, the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency, the Department of Corrections and the Board of Probation and Parole. The Council will aim to address five major issues associated with prison release: housing, health care, education, essential government documents and employment. [Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]

TRANSPORTATION | Rockfall that has blocked a rural road near the town of Absarokee, Montana for nearly two years has some residents in the area agitated. “The county commission, as far as I’m concerned, is a big joke,” said 81-year-old Jerry Sternad. “I’ve been up here since ’68 and rocks fall. I’d just use my (bulldozer) and push them off. The whole pile could have been moved in three to four hours.” Stillwater County officials have hesitated to clear the rocks blocking Stillwater River Road because they’re worried more rocks could fall from a cliff alongside the road. County Commissioner Dennis Shupak blamed recent delays on pending federal funding. “Yes, the wheels of government turn awful slow,” he said. “We’re getting three or four (complaints) a week probably.” [Billings Gazette]

PIEING | A Sacramento judge declared a mistrial in the felony assault case against a local activist, accused of smashing a pie into the face of the city’s then-mayor, Kevin Johnson, last September. Johnson retaliated with a series of punches. [The Sacramento Bee]