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Gig Economy Workers Gain Security, But at What Cost?
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — It started with installing some red and green LED lights. Then came the disco balls, neon eyeglasses and a gold Bluetooth karaoke microphone. Daniel Flannery had transformed the car he drives for Uber and Lyft into a party on wheels. “You put everything together, and it encourages people to loosen up,” he […]
‘Cannabis Equity’ Runs Into Roadblocks
OAKLAND, Calif. — During the 1980s and ’90s, Alexis Bronson’s illegal cannabis delivery business could barely keep up with demand. In the spring, Bronson made weekly trips to the redwood forests of Humboldt County to buy marijuana wholesale from renegade growers with farms hidden in the hills of Northern California. Bronson would wrap 5 or […]
Caught in a Disaster? Your Rescuer Might Be an Amateur
NAPA, Calif. — Wearing goggles and a bright green vest, Brenda Burke approached the 3-foot-tall flame in a crouched position, holding a fire extinguisher at the ready. The flame radiated heat in the cool morning air, its reflection dancing across Burke’s goggles. She got within a few feet of the flame and pressed the lever […]
As Smaller Marijuana Businesses Get Squeezed, State Revenue Takes a Hit
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Tyler Kearns, owner of the cannabis cultivation company Seven Leaves, stood in one of his half-dozen temperature-controlled grow rooms on a recent day, surveying a crop derived from the same mother plant. “We have really tried to educate the general public through talks, tours, communication and presentations,” Kearns said, “to bring a […]
Why This State Thinks Engineers Can Save Pedestrians’ Lives
Pedestrians walk past the Deland Opera House in downtown Deland, Fla. Between 2009 and 2016, pedestrian deaths in Florida rose by 40 percent, to 652 from 466. Phelan M. Ebenhack via AP In August 2017, Alexis Dale moved from San Diego to South Florida to attend Florida International University, trading one coastal paradise for another. […]
Banning the Bans: State and Local Officials Clash Over Plastic Bags
Women walk with plastic bags through Chinatown in San Francisco. Two years ago, California voters approved a statewide ban on single-use plastic carryout bags, but at least nine other states have enacted laws prohibiting local officials from adopting bag bans. © Eric Risberg / The Associated Press Bisbee, a city of 5,200 tucked into the […]
Mobile Clinics Assume Greater Role in Preventive Care
The Family Van makes a stop in Boston. Mobile health clinics are assuming a more prominent role in the U.S. health care system. © Courtesy of the Family Van One afternoon last month, the Family Van stopped at the corner of Washington and Roxbury streets in Boston. The regulars had already formed a line, waiting […]
Lobbyist Gift-Giving at Issue in More States
Demonstrators seeking a ban on gifts to lawmakers are taken away after being arrested at the Pennsylvania Capitol in Harrisburg. © The Associated Press Two months after demonstrators demanding greater accountability from state legislators were arrested at the Pennsylvania Capitol, a bill to ban gifts from lobbyists to officials remains stuck in committee without a […]
Why Some Officials Want to Ban Secret Government Settlements
John McKeon, a Democratic New Jersey state legislator and author of a measure passed by the General Assembly this year that would bar state and local governments from entering into confidential settlements with whistleblowers. © The Associated Press Missouri has settled some expensive lawsuits this year. One case against the state’s Department of Labor resulted […]
What Do States Owe People Who Are Wrongfully Convicted?
Floyd Bledsoe, center, after walking out of the Oskaloosa, Kansas, courthouse a free man in December 2015, after new evidence showed he was wrongly convicted of murder in 2000. Many states, including Kansas, are trying to figure out what people like Bledsoe are owed for the time they spent behind bars. © Chris Neal/The Topeka […]
Should Police Be Allowed to Keep Property Without a Criminal Conviction?
Evidence technician Kit Abernathy of the Vancouver, Washington, Police Department looks over items seized under the civil asset forfeiture laws. As proceeds from civil forfeiture have swelled, so has controversy surrounding the laws. © The Associated Press When Sean Devonish and Jeremy Keets, two friends from Indianapolis, set out for a weekend trip to Cincinnati […]
Infrastructure Strategy Touted by Trump Has Produced Uneven Results
The Interstate 495 Capital Beltway’s high occupancy express lanes in Virginia were financed through a billion, public-private transportation partnership. Whether so-called P3 financing can be leveraged for a trillion public works program nationwide is uncertain. © The Associated Press This story has been updated to clarify information regarding the Capital Beltway HOT (high-occupancy toll) Lane […]