TexasTowelie
TexasTowelie's JournalPence thanks US military members during stop in Hawaii
HONOLULU (AP) — Vice President Mike Pence ended his trip to Asia on Monday with a thanks to U.S. service members based in Hawaii and promises of robust military spending under President Donald Trump.
Pence sat with troops for lunch at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii and noted the president's push for increased military spending at a time when the U.S. faces threats in the Asia-Pacific posed by North Korea.
The vice president said he wanted to assure military members that "in these uncertain times, people who serve here at U.S. Pacific Command will know that in your commander-in-chief, you have a president who is going to fight to rebuild our military."
Pence wrapped up a 10-day trip to Asia that included a visit to the Demilitarized Zone separating North and South Korea, consultations with leaders in South Korea, Japan, Indonesia and Australia, and a quick stop to see troops in American Samoa.
Read more: http://www.gosanangelo.com/story/news/politics/2017/04/24/pence-thanks-us-military-members-during-stop-hawaii/100866062/
Burgess talks to tamer but dissatisfied crowd
FORT WORTH -- Weeks after his last town hall erupted with shouting, booing and hissing, Rep. Michael Burgess on Saturday drew a somewhat smaller and quieter -- yet still plenty angry -- crowd.
Like the Flower Mound town hall in March, Saturday's gathering at Harvest Baptist Church in Watauga centered largely on angst over plans to replace and repeal the Affordable Care Act. But the crowd's questions and grievances for Burgess, a doctor, also wound through global warming, U.S relations with Russia and tax reform.
Many of Burgess' responses drew angry shouts from the crowd of about 200, but the event was rather mild.
One of the more heated moments came when an audience member took to the microphone and asked Burgess, a Republican, if he would fight for American citizens and "not for the administration who wants to get in bed with the neighbors across from Alaska," a reference to Russia.
Read more: http://www.dentonrc.com/news/politics/2017/04/23/burgess-talks-tamer-dissatisfied-crowd
Wisconsin tribes clash in casino expansion fight
BOWLER, Wis. -- At 85, Betty Putnam-Schiel has trouble standing, but she gets along well enough in her home on the Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohicans' northern Wisconsin reservation thanks to tribal assistants who do everything from shovel her snow to change her lightbulbs.
But maybe not for much longer. Another tribe, the Ho-Chunk Nation, is expanding its nearby casino into a full-fledged resort that would rival the Stockbridge-Munsee's own casino, threatening the gambling revenue that supports services like Putnam-Schiel's helpers.
The Ho-Chunk say they're simply trying to provide for their own people. The increasingly bitter quarrel illustrates how tribes across the country are clashing as they battle for gambling revenue in an ever-tightening market.
"It's unfair," Putnam-Schiel said of the Ho-Chunk expansion. "I count on the help from the casino money. It's survival for a lot of us."
Read more: http://www.dentonrc.com/news/nation-and-world/2017/04/24/wisconsin-tribes-clash-casino-expansion-fight
Doctor's arrest brings attention to U.S. female circumcisions
DETROIT -- Zehra Patwa learned only a few years ago that during a family trip to India at age 7, she was circumcised, which is common for girls in parts of Asia, Africa and the Middle East.
Patwa, 46, doesn't remember undergoing the procedure, which is also called female genital mutilation or cutting and which has been condemned by the United Nations and outlawed in the U.S. But she doesn't want to.
"I have no desire to get that memory back. ... Psychologically, it feels like a violation, even though I don't remember it," said Patwa, a technology project manager from New Haven, Connecticut, who now campaigns against the centuries-old practice.
The recent arrest of a Michigan doctor accused of performing the procedure on two 7-year-old girls from Patwa's own Shiite Muslim sect, the Dawoodi Bohra, highlights how female genital mutilation is alive and well in parts of the Western world where its adherents have migrated and formed communities.
Read more: http://www.dentonrc.com/news/nation-and-world/2017/04/24/doctors-arrest-brings-attention-us-female-circumcisions
Waco gunfight still unresolved in court
WACO (AP) -- Costs are mounting for the Texas county where a fatal gunfight involving two motorcycle gangs and police led to the indictments of more than 150 bikers.
The trials arising from the May 2015 shooting at a Twin Peaks restaurant in Waco are on hold until a federal case against leaders of the Bandidos motorcycle gang wraps up, which could be at least several months, the Waco Tribune-Herald reported.
But that hasn't meant a slowdown for McLennan County, where prosecutors are sharing massive amounts of evidence with defense attorneys while awaiting tests on DNA samples from the shootout that killed nine people and wounded 20 others.
So far, work related to the case tops $200,000 for the county, not including more than $500,000 defrayed by state and federal grants and reimbursements. The balance can be paid over several budget years.
Read more: http://www.dentonrc.com/news/state/2017/04/24/waco-gunfight-still-unresolved-court
Partisan battle over sanctuary cities coming to a head
AUSTIN – House Democrats this week are preparing to wage a battle they know they’ll lose but say they have no choice but to fight.
At issue is Senate Bill 4, the so-called sanctuary cities legislation that would require local law enforcement agencies to enforce federal immigration laws. The measure, scheduled for a debate and floor vote on Wednesday, has been designated an emergency by Gov. Greg Abbott and several top Republican legislative leaders.
Democrats and other bill opponents have called it counterproductive, warning that it will break down the trust between law enforcement and immigrant communities.
“We intend to fight this bill with everything we have,” said state Rep. Chris Turner of Arlington, who heads the House Democratic Caucus, which is outnumbered by a near 2-1 margin.
Read more: http://www.reporternews.com/story/news/local/texas/2017/04/24/partisan-battle-over-sanctuary-cities-coming-head/100864778/
Gov. Holcomb signs assistance for East Chicago into law
INDIANAPOLIS — Gov. Eric Holcomb signed into law Thursday a plan to indefinitely continue portions of his emergency order providing state assistance to lead-contaminated areas of East Chicago.
House Enrolled Act 1344 designates city neighborhoods contaminated by past lead manufacturing operations as "areas of special concern," and directs state agencies to continue working in those areas with federal counterparts to relocate residents and remove or remediate soil tainted by lead or arsenic.
It also requires the Indiana Department of Environmental Management to annually test the city's water supply to confirm it complies with federal lead and copper limits for drinking water.
The new statute, which took effect immediately, was sponsored by state Reps. Earl Harris, Jr., D-East Chicago; and Mike Aylesworth, R-Hebron; and state Sens. Ed Charbonneau, R-Valparaiso; Lonnie Randolph, D-East Chicago; and Rick Niemeyer, R-Lowell.
Read more: http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/lake/gov-holcomb-signs-assistance-for-east-chicago-into-law/article_f1f6d8ce-91f4-59d4-b1e3-87f8b2085b53.html
State provides another loan to keep Gary schools operating
INDIANAPOLIS — The state of Indiana is providing the Gary Community School Corp. another interest-free loan to meet its April employee payroll and health insurance premiums, as well as cover student bus service for the month.
The State Board of Finance voted 3-0 Monday to approve a Common School Fund loan of $3,265,144 to the financially struggling school district.
It comes six weeks after the state provided a $3.75 million loan to Gary schools for its March payroll and critical vendor payments.
The heavily indebted school corporation in February requested a $14 million loan to carry it through the remainder of the school year.
Read more: http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/state-provides-another-loan-to-keep-gary-schools-operating/article_ce7cfef6-46f5-5922-b763-1266d25c45da.html
Indiana GOP announces tax-hiking agreement to pay for roads
INDIANAPOLIS — Republicans who control the Indiana Statehouse announced details of an agreement Thursday that would raise taxes on motorists in order to pay for improvements for crumbling infrastructure.
It was an unusual victory lap for top GOP leaders who have been more accustomed to championing tax cuts over the last decade.
"We want them to start smelling asphalt in July," House Speaker Brian Bosma said. "That is when the taxes increase, the user fees increase."
The agreement, a major Republican priority, is expected to come up for a vote Friday before lawmakers adjourn for the year. Gov. Eric Holcomb has signaled that he will sign it.
The measure would raise fuel taxes by 10 cents a gallon while creating a new $15 vehicle registration fee. Hybrid owners would have to pay a $50 fee, while electric car owners would have to pay a $150 fee.
Read more: http://www.southbendtribune.com/news/politics/indiana-gop-announces-tax-hiking-agreement-to-pay-for-roads/article_22631f70-6613-587d-b0d0-73446fb18be4.html
Buttigieg cites $63 million in private investment in downtown
SOUTH BEND — As candidate for the Democratic National Committee the first two months of 2017, South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg said he came to believe the solutions to the problems facing people, cities and governments will come from the local level, not from national or state sources.
In his State of the City address Tuesday night at Riley High School, the mayor said he was glad to be in the middle of the effort to solve those problems.
For the second consecutive year, the city’s Smart Streets project was highlighted by the mayor.
He acknowledged that the project caused a good deal of disruption over the past year. But he said the “ripping off the Band-Aid” approach ultimately was better than a multi-year project for downtown.
Read more: http://www.southbendtribune.com/news/politics/buttigieg-cites-million-in-private-investment-in-downtown/article_258e4567-1599-523b-b344-840a5f01a488.html
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