Sherman A1
Sherman A1's Journal'Bad Paper' Discharges of Some Marines and Sailors to Get Second Look
The Navy must review thousands of general and other-than-honorable discharges awarded to sailors and Marines over the past decade for behavioral problems that may have stemmed from a military-related mental health condition or sexual assault.
U.S. District Court Judge Charles Haight approved a settlement Monday in a class-action suit known as Manker v. Del Toro, which alleged that the Navy and Marine Corps wrongly discharged members for behavior that may have been related to trauma or an injury they endured while serving.
Under the settlement, the Navy will be required to review and reconsider all discharge upgrade requests made from March 2, 2012, to Feb. 15, 2022, that were partially or fully denied.
https://www.military.com/daily-news/2022/02/16/bad-paper-discharges-of-some-marines-and-sailors-get-second-look.html
Invading Ukraine May Never Have Been Putin's Aim
An invasion is not the only way the crisis in Ukraine can play out.
A diplomatic solution may yet provide an off-ramp for Russian President Vladimir Putin, whose placement of tens of thousands of troops along Russia’s border with its smaller neighbor kicked off the current crisis.
Indeed, the leaders of Russia and Ukraine have throughout the now 20-week-long crisis accused the U.S. and U.K. of stirring panic with talk of an imminent invasion.
Invasion may never have been the point. One interpretation is that President Putin mobilized his soldiers and sailors primarily to force a dialogue with the West over what the spheres of influence and interest in Eastern Europe should be.
As a scholar who has spent his entire career studying Russian history, I see the current crisis in a broader context. If you zoom out from the events of the past few weeks, it is possible to see this dangerous standoff as part of the continuing fallout from the disintegration of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s. Some 30 years on, the architecture of what is supposed to be the “new world order” is still being built.
https://www.military.com/daily-news/opinions/2022/02/17/invading-ukraine-may-never-have-been-putins-aim.html
Texas Guardsmen Move to Unionize, Pointing to Troubled Border Mission
Several Texas National Guard soldiers are moving to unionize amid reports of a troubled border mission ordered by Gov. Greg Abbott that has been plagued by accounts of wage disruptions, rejected hardship requests, alcohol abuse and self harm.
At least six Guardsmen are working with the Texas State Employees Union to try to unionize Guard troops, Military.com has learned. The union has a long track record of lobbying elected officials and filing lawsuits tied to employment rights and wage-related issues on behalf of members.
"We're getting treated like sh--," the soldier leading the unionization effort told Military.com on the condition of anonymity to avoid retaliation. "This is all politically driven. I voted for Abbott. I agree with a lot of his politics, but not when it comes at the expense of the involuntary mobilization for upwards for 12 months. That isn't what we signed up for. We signed on the dotted line, but not for this."
https://www.military.com/daily-news/2022/02/16/texas-guardsmen-move-unionize-pointing-troubled-border-mission.html
Illinois Muni And Co-op Members Want In On State's Solar Boom
A coalition of downstate Illinois advocacy groups, solar developers, and residents is pushing for changes to help municipal and cooperative utility customers take part in the state’s recently rejuvenated solar boom.
The 2021 Climate and Equitable Jobs Act revived state solar incentives and specifically ensured the “right to self-generate” for everyone in the state, but despite that assurance, many barriers still exist for as many as 1 million customers of Illinois munis and co-ops.
Advocates and residents say the problems include requirements for expensive liability policies and special meters, bans on power purchase agreements and solar leases, poor net metering policies, and concerns about grid adequacy.
The barriers often stem from muni and co-op leaders’ desire to protect their members or lack of understanding about the solar economy. Changing outdated rules is often complicated by policies that make it difficult for members to have input or change the status quo.
https://www.riverbender.com/articles/details/illinois-muni-and-coop-members-want-in-on-states-solar-boom-56854.cfm
Missouri House advances bill to undercut Medicaid expansion
The Missouri House advanced a bill Tuesday that would put Medicaid expansion back on the ballot. The bill proposes a constitutional amendment that, if approved, would give lawmakers the power to refuse to fund the Medicaid expansion group.
Under Medicaid expansion, Missourians making less than $17,700 a year can receive coverage. Since the program started in October, following a Missouri Supreme Court decision, 64,210 Missourians have successfully enrolled. That number represents less than a quarter of those estimated to be eligible.
Rep. Cody Smith, R-Carthage, is the chairman of the House Budget committee who sponsored the bill. Smith led the effort to strip funding for Medicaid expansion from the state budget last spring.
On the house floor Tuesday, Smith explained the amendment would allow legislators to split funding for Medicaid expansion recipients off from the broader program. “This would enable us to kind of uncouple those two parts of the program and appropriate for them independently, and respectively of each other,” Smith said.
https://news.stlpublicradio.org/government-politics-issues/2022-02-16/missouri-house-advances-bill-to-undercut-medicaid-expansion
A marina for St. Louis? A Mississippi River enthusiast makes the case
There are 21 marinas along the Mississippi River from St. Charles County to Alton, Illinois — but not one on the shores of the city of St. Louis. Dean Klinkenberg thinks that’s a mistake. In a NextSTL.com essay titled “St. Louis Deserves a Marina,” the mystery novelist and travel writer argues the city is missing out on recreational boaters and wrongly ceding water access to industry.
A longtime Mississippi River enthusiast, Klinkenberg knows many people will be skeptical. But, he said, many of the arguments against marinas fail to account for no-frills marinas that can adapt to changing water levels.
The marina in Kimmswick provides a great example. “You take a couple of barges, just strap them together and you put some gas pumps and maybe a little store on there,” Klinkenberg explained on Wednesday’s St. Louis on the Air. “Then those barges can float with the river and rise and fall as the river does.” If major flooding is predicted, he noted, you can even tow them away before it hits.
The bigger argument, then, might be the dangers of the Mississippi. Thanks to extensive dredging beginning in the 1930s, the channel is much faster than in the days Samuel Clemens worked on it. Thanks to that engineering, St. Louis is now the third-busiest inland port in the U.S. — and hazards are not limited to swift currents.
https://news.stlpublicradio.org/show/st-louis-on-the-air/2022-02-15/a-marina-for-st-louis-a-mississippi-river-enthusiast-makes-the-case
Journalist accused by Gov. Parson speaks out: 'He's done me wrong'
Josh Renaud was in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch newsroom when Missouri Gov. Mike Parson stepped to a lectern in Jefferson City last October. His colleagues had gathered to watch a video feed of Parson’s remarks. Renaud didn’t.
“Whatever it was going to be, I knew it was something I didn’t want to hear,” he said.
One day before, Renaud had published an exposé revealing that a website maintained by the state’s Department of Elementary and Secondary Education left vulnerable the Social Security numbers of educators throughout the state.
Renaud knew the governor wasn’t happy — but he didn’t realize how unhappy until he heard gasps from the other side of the newsroom.
https://news.stlpublicradio.org/show/st-louis-on-the-air/2022-02-16/wednesday-st-louis-journalist-at-center-of-parsons-hacking-claim-speaks-out
North St. Louis group wants to reclaim vacant properties, fill them with homeowners
Community leaders in the Baden neighborhood of north St. Louis are going to court to compel absentee homeowners to repair vacant properties or release the houses to people willing to renovate them.
The Revitalization of Baden Association is working with Legal Services of Eastern Missouri to secure the homes from their absent owners. The neighborhood association also is seeking help from carpenters, plumbers and others who specialize in renovations to work with potential buyers or to purchase the homes themselves.
People who live in the Baden neighborhood want to see more homeowners there, said Gloria Gooden, the association's housing and economic development director.
“We have a desire to return the neighborhood back to its original state, which was mostly property owners,” Gooden said. “We're thinking that if you're a property owner, you have more invested in the neighborhood.”
https://news.stlpublicradio.org/economy-business/2022-02-17/north-st-louis-group-wants-to-reclaim-vacant-properties-fill-them-with-homeowners
U.S. Justice Department sues Missouri over law restricting federal firearms laws enforcement
A controversial Missouri gun law that penalizes police for enforcing federal gun laws is facing a new legal challenge from the U.S. Justice Department.
On Wednesday, the department filed suit to prevent Missouri from enforcing its Second Amendment Preservation Act, also known as SAPA, a law that allows citizens to file suit for up to $50,000 if they believe their second amendment rights were violated by police enforcing federal gun laws.
In a statement, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division, said Missouri cannot “simply declare federal laws invalid.”
https://news.stlpublicradio.org/law-order/2022-02-16/u-s-justice-department-sues-missouri-over-law-restricting-federal-firearms-laws-enforcement
Students sue Wentzville School District over book bans
Two students are suing the Wentzville School District after it removed multiple books from school libraries.
Last month, the district’s school board voted to remove "The Bluest Eye" by Toni Morrison. The district has also temporarily removed many more books as part of its formal review process.
The ACLU of Missouri filed the suit in federal court on behalf of the students and their families, saying the students have “a First Amendment right to be free from official conduct that was intended to suppress the ideas and viewpoints expressed in the Banned Books.”
The class-action lawsuit alleges the district targeted books that represent viewpoints of authors or protagonists who are people of color or people who identify as LGBTQ.
https://news.stlpublicradio.org/education/2022-02-16/students-sue-wentzville-over-book-bans
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