TexasTowelie
TexasTowelie's JournalMinimum wage in Nevada increasing in July
The minimum wage for Nevadans will increase in just a few months.
Assembly Bill 456, which passed the Nevada Legislature in 2019 and takes effect July 1, increases the minimum wage in increments of 75 cents an hour annually through 2024.
Starting July 1, the minimum wage will be $9.50 an hour for employees receiving health benefits and $10.50 an hour for those without health benefits, according to the state Office of the Labor Commissioner.
Overtime rates will also increase beginning July 1, except for employees who are exempted from overtime requirements.
Read more: https://lasvegassun.com/news/2022/mar/21/minimum-wage-in-nevada-increasing-in-july/
Sisolak wants to study free community college in Nevada
Gov. Steve Sisolak has set aside $5 million in federal pandemic money toward finding ways to make community college and apprenticeship training programs free for more Nevadans.
Sisolak announced that plan in his State of the State address, handing the job to the Workforce Development Committee and asking that panel to come up with a plan by 2025. He said the commitment expands the existing programs, including the Nevada Promise Scholarship.
The Promise Scholarship allows certain high school graduates to attend community college at a substantially reduced cost.
In a statement, he said the American Rescue Plan money will “kick start” initial recommendations from the committee.
“We know that skills training is essential to our workers and businesses,” he said. “A high school education isn’t enough and we should recognize that it’s no longer preschool through grade 12 but at least preschool through community college or other post-high school training.”
Read more: https://www.nevadaappeal.com/news/2022/mar/23/sisolak-wants-study-free-community-college-nevada/
Largest wind farm built at once in North America begins operations in Oklahoma
The largest wind farm built at one time in North America has begun operations, providing energy to Oklahoma customers.
The Public Service Company of Oklahoma (PSO) announced Monday that the Traverse facility is a 998-megawatt (MW) center in both Blaine and Custer counties, just outside of Oklahoma City. It is part of the 1,484-MW North Central Energy Facilities (NCEF) project.
In addition to the 356-turbine Traverse facility, the NCEF project includes the 199-MW Sundance wind farm, near Carmen, Oklahoma, that began commercial operation in April 2021, and the 287-MW Maverick wind farm, southwest of Enid, Oklahoma, which began in September 2021.
All three facilities have cold-weather packages for increased performance during extreme weather.
Read more: https://www.timesrecordnews.com/story/news/2022/03/22/oklahoma-largest-wind-farm-built-once-begins-operation-public-service-company/9457107002/
(Wichita Falls Times Record News)
Washoe County Commission denies election deniers
Washoe County commissioners, citing concerns about legal authority and fearing unnecessary chaos, rejected proposed changes to local election procedures supported by 2020 election deniers pushing bogus claims of election fraud.
Following more than six hours of public comment, commissioners voted 4-1 on Tuesday against the resolution with only Republican Washoe County Commissioner Jeanne Herman, the proposal’s sponsor, in favor.
“All of the things in it, even the things that the board can move forward with today, are going to put our election in jeopardy,” said Democratic Commission Vice Chair Alexis Hill. “This resolution would limit access to voting and create chaos and throw our voting tallies into question. I don’t see any evidence for this resolution.”
The proposal comes as a wave of Republican-led election changes are being considered in multiple counties across Nevada, mirroring legislation passed in other states restricting the voting process.
Read more: https://www.nevadacurrent.com/2022/03/23/washoe-county-commission-denies-election-deniers/
Kimmel: Republican Senators Show How Far We Haven't Come & MyPillow Mike's Wacky New Lawsuit
Former Trump COVID-19 adviser cites vaccine 'safety concerns' in UT address
A former COVID-19 adviser for former President Donald Trump, speaking Monday evening at the University of Texas, falsely told a small crowd that COVID-19 vaccines present serious safety concerns and advocated against inoculating children.
Scott Atlas, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution, a conservative think tank at Stanford University, also implied that the high number of COVID-19 deaths in the U.S. were linked to “lockdowns” and other pandemic safety restrictions, and he said government data around COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths was exaggerated and flawed.
The Salem Center for Policy at UT’s McCombs School of Business hosted Atlas.
The presentation, titled “The SARS2 Pandemic: Will Truth Prevail?” was open to students, staff, faculty and the general public. About 20 people watched the talk in-person and a few dozen watched virtually.
Atlas, a radiologist, does not specialize in public health or infectious diseases. He has previously faced criticism from multiple medical experts, the Stanford Medical School faculty and the Stanford Faculty Senate, which passed a resolution stating Atlas is “promoting a view of COVID-19 that contradicts medical science.”
Read more: https://www.statesman.com/story/news/2022/03/23/scott-adams-ut-austin-falsely-claims-vaccines-safety-concerns-children/7124582001/
Russia's withdrawal from the Council of Europe is a loss of hope for human rights
By Jeffrey Kahn1:30 AM on Mar 23, 2022
The last light that kindled hope for Russia to be included within Europe burned out last week. Russia withdrew from the Council of Europe. This decision, coinciding with the council’s decision to terminate Russian membership with an eye toward expulsion, is much graver than widely understood.
This is no mere diplomatic rift. It is the snuffing out of hope not only for millions of Russians, but for hundreds of millions of Europeans whose countries remain members of an organization that emerged from the embers of Europe’s last horrible conflagration.
The Council of Europe describes itself as the continent’s leading human rights organization. Its focus, unlike the European Union, has been building democracy and the rule of law more than building commerce. But the two go hand-in-hand, and no member of the EU, nor future member, could remain outside it.
The signal achievement of the Council of Europe is its Convention of Human Rights. From its stunningly beautiful court in Strasbourg, France, the European Court of Human Rights decides cases brought under the convention, a commitment to fundamental human rights that is enforceable against states by their own citizens, often requiring states to pay money damages and make systemic reforms to their legal and political frameworks.
Read more: https://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/commentary/2022/03/23/russias-withdrawal-from-the-council-of-europe-is-a-loss-of-hope-for-human-rights/
Former U.S. Senate candidate Amanda Edwards announces run for Houston mayor
by Patrick Svitek, Texas Tribune+Amanda Edwards, the 2020 Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate and former member of the Houston City Council, is running for mayor of the city, a contest that is already garnering statewide attention despite being over a year away.
The field already includes two names well-known in Texas politics: veteran state Sen. John Whitmire, D-Houston, and Chris Hollins, the former Harris County clerk who oversaw election changes in 2020 that became a lightning rod for Republicans. They are competing to replace term-limited Mayor Sylvester Turner in the November 2023 election, which is nonpartisan.
“As a native Houstonian and as someone who has a very deep passion and high level of experience in the city, my reason for running for mayor is to make sure that we are tackling some of the city’s challenges but also seizing some of the opportunities,” Edwards said in an interview. She added that Houston, the largest city in Texas and the fourth-biggest in the country, is “at a crossroads.”
Edwards said her top issues will be preventing flooding, increasing economic opportunity and combating crime. Like other major cities, she said, Houston has seen a rise in crime, “and we need to make sure that we have enough law-enforcement officers in the communities, not just to improve response times but also create” better relations with those communities.
Read more: https://www.texastribune.org/2022/03/23/amanda-edwards-houston-mayor/
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Gender: MaleHometown: South Texas. most of my life I lived in Austin and Dallas
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Current location: Bryan, Texas
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