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CA: San Francisco first California city to target earthquake-vulnerable towers
San Francisco just opened a new front in California’s seismic safety efforts, releasing an unprecedented list of more than 150 of its tallest buildings — a prelude to an assessment of whether they need retrofitting to better withstand an epic temblor.
MA: Retail pot shops open in Massachusetts
The Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission issued four final recreational marijuana licenses to two companies, a major milestone in the state’s slow-moving rollout of the regulated pot market approved by more than 1.7 million voters in 2016.
WV: West Virginia voters could weaken Supreme Court’s power
West Virginia politics has been roiled this fall by the impeachment trials of all the sitting justices on the state Supreme Court. But a ballot measure meant to address the underlying issue that led to the trials — how the judiciary spends its funds — has gotten little attention.
TX: Texas governor proposes no jail time for pot possession
Republican Gov. Greg Abbott recently announced he’s open to dropping the maximum punishment for possession of less than 2 ounces of marijuana from 180 days in jail to a fine. Records show more than 60,000 possession arrests in Texas each year.
AL: Alabama ethics panel drops case against ‘beach house sheriff’
The Alabama Ethics Commission voted to drop an ethics violation case against Etowah County Sheriff Todd Entrekin. Entrekin had pocketed more than $750,000 of public funds allocated for the purpose of feeding inmates in Etowah County’s jail over the last three years, which was used to buy a beach house.
NY: New York AG fires another salvo at Trump Foundation
New York has a strong case that President Donald Trump ran his charitable foundation with disregard for state and federal law, the state’s attorney general said in a new court filing.
CO: Colorado localities make renewable energy pledge
The city of Fort Collins has become Colorado’s ninth local government to pledge to get all of its energy from renewable sources by 2030. Democrat Jared Polis, the frontrunner for governor, is running on a promise to get the state’s electric power generation to 100 percent renewable energy by 2040.
WY: Wyoming preps waiver to slow health insurance premium increase
Wyoming’s Department of Insurance is preparing a federal waiver to help cut the state’s high premium prices for Affordable Care Act exchange plans, though some legislators regarded the plan as too good to be true.
NY: New York officials take action against new invasive insect
New York officials are enacting a quarantine on movement into the state of landscaping debris and other items from four states impacted by a new invasive insect called the spotted lanternfly.
MD: Maryland gerrymandering back in court; judges float independent panel
Federal judges in Maryland floated the idea of taking the state’s congressional voting map out of the hands of political leaders and leaving the drawing of electoral lines to an independent, nonpartisan commission.
MI: Michigan House OKs bills allowing online voter registration
The Michigan House unanimously approved a package of bills that will allow people to register to vote online.
PA: Pennsylvania cemetery case puts property rights issue before Supreme Court
A Pennsylvania woman is challenging a local ordinance that requires her to allow people to visit a cemetery that the town residents claim is on her land. The Supreme Court will consider whether people with similar property rights cases can bring their lawsuits to federal court or must go to state court, an issue groups nationwide are interested in.
WA: Nearly 6,500 rape kits sit untested statewide, Washington AG says
Nearly 6,500 sexual-assault evidence kits — some of them decades old — are currently sitting untested in law-enforcement storage facilities across Washington, according to the state Attorney General’s Office.
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