February 4, 2018

Malloy's Gas Tax And Toll Proposal Has Democratic Support

HARTFORD, CT — In the last year of his term, Democratic Gov. Dannel P. Malloy is calling for a 7-cent increase in the gas tax and the establishment of electronic highway tolls by 2023.

Malloy is also asking the legislature to approve the establishment of a $3-per-tire fee and acceleration of the transfer of car sale taxes by two years to the Special Transportation Fund, which will be insolvent in the next two years if the legislature takes no action.

Malloy made the announcement Wednesday in the Old Judiciary Room of the state Capitol.

It’s the first time in his eight year tenure that Malloy, who isn’t seeking re-election, has proposed tolls. In the past, Malloy had never ruled out tolls, however, he never explicitly proposed them until now.

Read more: http://www.ctnewsjunkie.com/archives/entry/20180131_malloys_gas_tax_and_toll_proposal_has_democratic_support/

February 4, 2018

Lembo Estimates That Connecticut Is On Track To End the Year With A $244.6M Deficit

HARTFORD, CT — A week before the state of a new legislative session, state Comptroller Kevin Lembo estimated the state budget adopted just three months ago is $244.6 million in the red.

In his monthly letter to Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, Lembo said he still believes the deficit is larger than the governor’s administration estimates because of the amount of money the state will have to pay to settle legal claims.

The deficit has also grown over the last month in large part due to reduced revenue available to the General Fund, according to Lembo.

The state experienced an increase in estimate income tax revenue due to changes in federal tax law and the one-time repatriation of hedge fund profits, but those windfalls are required to be transferred to the Rainy Day Fund. After accounting for that, overall General Fund revenue is down by approximately $16 million – and savings targets on the spending side may be challenging, Lembo said.

Read more: http://www.ctnewsjunkie.com/archives/entry/lembo_estimates_that_connecticut_is_on_track_to_end_the_year_with_a_244.6m_/

February 4, 2018

State Seeks To Dismiss Hospital Lawsuit

NEW BRITAIN, CT — Connecticut officials are looking to use passage of the state budget as one of two reasons they believe the courts should dismiss a 2016 lawsuit filed by almost every hospital in the state.

Attorneys for the Departments of Social Services and Revenue Services filed a motion in New Britain Superior Court two weeks ago to have the lawsuit challenging Connecticut’s hospital taxing scheme dismissed because the legislature has rendered the original argument moot.

“Given that the Hospital User Fee has been repealed,” attorneys for Connecticut wrote in a motion to dismiss, “the prospective relief sought by the Plaintiffs in this action has already been provided to the Plaintiffs by the General Assembly and is no longer available for the Court to provide.”

But if that argument doesn’t work, the state is asking the court “to dismiss the present action on the grounds that the Plaintiffs have failed to exhaust their administrative remedies as administrative proceedings are currently pending before both Commissioners.”

Read more: http://www.ctnewsjunkie.com/archives/entry/20180202_state_seeks_to_dismiss_hospital_lawsuit/

February 4, 2018

Rhode Island lawmakers push to wipe out outdated abortion laws

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — The battle over abortion resumes at the State House this week with a push to finally “wipe off Rhode Island’s books” vestigial laws — with no current force-and-effect — that could be resurrected by a Trump-era Supreme Court.

One law requires prior notice to a spouse. Another prohibits insurance coverage for an abortion in most cases unless the woman has paid a premium for a policy that gave her the option. A third mandates the imprisonment for up to seven years of anyone who attempts to induce a “miscarriage? in a pregnant woman. And a fourth, dating back to 1973, says: “human life commences at the instant of conception.”

All were effectively rendered moot by the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark Roe v. Wade decision 45 years ago, as well as subsequent court rulings.

But “we have a president who is anti-choice, no friend of women, and has demonstrated a reckless disregard for the Constitution,? said state Rep. Edith Ajello, the lead sponsor of H7340, the House version of this year’s reworked Reproductive Health Care Act.

Read more: http://www.providencejournal.com/news/20180203/ri-lawmakers-push-to-wipe-out-outdated-abortion-laws

February 4, 2018

Rhode Island Attorney General: Offshore Drilling Puts Coastal Economies At Risk

Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Kilmartin is urging the U.S. Interior Department to terminate a plan that would allow oil and gas drilling off the coast.

The proposal for the National Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program, which would be in effect from 2019-2024, would open up more than 90 percent of coastal waters for business.

The plan includes 47 potential lease sales, two of which are in the North Atlantic. There have been no sales in the Atlantic Ocean since 1983 and there are no existing leases, according to the U.S. Interior Department.

Kilmartin signed a letter along with 11 other attorneys general from coastal states that was sent to Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke on Thursday.

Read more: http://ripr.org/post/ri-attorney-general-offshore-drilling-puts-coastal-economies-risk

February 4, 2018

Raimondo Maintains Big Fundraising Lead In Q4; Survey Puts Approval At 40 Percent

Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo maintained her huge financial advantage over gubernatorial rivals in fourth-quarter fundraising, with a balance of $3,349,632 towering over the comparable amount ($240,572) for the closest competitor, Cranston Mayor Allan Fung.

Raimondo has proven an exceptional fundraiser since she entered politics with a 2010 run for state treasurer.

Yet a new Morning Consult survey showed Raimondo with a 47 disapproval rate -- compared to a 40 percent approval rate -- suggesting a competitive re-election fight. Raimondo, who won election as governor by defeating Fung in 2014, has not reached an approval rating of 50 percent in publicly available polling in recent years.

Yet the Democratic governor's cash stockpile indicates she will have plenty of money to support her campaign. Raimondo collected $562,000 in contributions from individuals during Q4.

Read more: http://ripr.org/post/raimondo-maintains-big-fundraising-lead-q4-survey-puts-approval-40-percent

February 4, 2018

Woman faces felony criminal mischief charge after she smashes car windows of interracial couple

A Texas woman is facing a felony criminal mischief charge after she was accused of smashing the car windows of an interracial couple and yelling slurs at them during a December incident that the couple’s attorney is calling a hate crime.

Melissa Shelton, 29, was indicted by a grand jury in Guadalupe County, Texas, on February 1, attorney Justin Moore said in a press release. Moore is representing the victims in the case, Jacob and Victoria Chapa. Shelton is white, while Jacob Chapa is Mexican-American and Victoria Chapa is African-American, their attorney says.

The couple was in Marion, Texas, on December 10, 2017, when they “suffered a vicious and cowardly hate crime,” Moore wrote in the press release. Moore said the couple was looking at a house that was under construction that they were considering buying, when they saw Shelton smashing their car windows with a large rock.

Moore said when the couple confronted Shelton, she began yelling “racial epithets” at them, saying they “did not belong” in the community and were “poor Mexicans” who “could never afford to live here.”

Read more: https://heavy.com/news/2018/02/melissa-shelton-engel-texas-jacob-victoria-chapa/

February 4, 2018

Walsh: Several Million Dollars Of Budget To Be Reserved For Boston Police Body Cam Program

Following the release of a preliminary study on police body cameras, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh says he will put money in the budget to move the program forward, despite his reservations.

“While we’re thinking about where we go with body cameras ... we are going to put money in the budget to start the process moving forward,” Walsh said in an interview Friday with Boston Public Radio. “We’re not sure exactly how much money it would be, and we’re not sure if it would ever be spent, but we’re going to begin the process of putting a placeholder there.”

By “placeholder,” Walsh said he means several million dollars will be set aside in the budget for the program. “Not $100,000 to begin the process as we move forward,” Walsh said.

Walsh has previously expressed reservations about the program, despite Police Commissioner Bill Evans’ positive assessment of the embattled year-long trial. Evans has said the only “roadblock” to a permanent implementation would be the budgetary concerns.

Read more: https://news.wgbh.org/2018/02/02/local-news/walsh-several-million-dollars-budget-be-reserved-police-body-cam-program

February 4, 2018

An avian delight: Birds and Cranes in The Eagle

Windsor official sues town over discontinued road

WINDSOR — A piece of land once notorious as the site of an 1846 murder is making news again.

Two Windsor residents, one of them the chairman of the Select Board, contend that the town is trespassing by improving and maintaining a section of road discontinued at a town meeting in 1920.

While rural residents often press towns to fix abandoned roads, the reverse is true here.

Timothy T. Crane and Patricia S. Crane, of 860 Crane Road, claim in a civil action before the Land Court in Boston that with its recent improvements to the road, the town "has attempted to oust them as the rightful owners."

Read more: http://www.berkshireeagle.com/stories/windsor-official-sues-town-over-discontinued-road,531176

February 4, 2018

Massachusetts officials should yank Wynn Boston Harbor's gambling license, Democratic candidate for

Massachusetts officials should yank Wynn Boston Harbor's gambling license, Democratic candidate for governor Jay Gonzalez says

The Massachusetts Gaming Commission should revoke Wynn Boston Harbor's license to operate a casino after a $7.5 million settlement was concealed from the regulatory agency, a Democratic candidate for governor said Thursday.

Jay Gonzalez, one of three Democrats hoping to challenge Republican Gov. Charlie Baker in the race for governor later this year, said that sexual misconduct allegations against CEO Steve Wynn aside, his company covered up a $7.5 million settlement with a Wynn Las Vegas manicurist who alleged he pressured her into sex.

"It is now clear that while applying for the one license to operate a casino in the Boston area, the Wynn corporation deliberately withheld information relevant to its suitability, including the existence of a $7.5 million payoff to silence a sexual assault victim," Gonzalez said in a statement.

"Even without Steve Wynn involved, the Wynn corporation's conduct is disqualifying and its license should be revoked," he added.

Read more: http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2018/02/massachusetts_officials_should.html#incart_river_index