(The Center Square) - State spending will only rise by 1.76% from $6.2 billion to $6.3 billion in fiscal year 2025, according to the Revenue Stabilization Act passed by the Arkansas House of Representatives Wednesday. The RSA is the second lowest in the past five years. It went up 2.95% last year, 2.99% in fiscal year 2023, 1.55% in 2022 and 2.87% in 2021, according to Rep. Lane Jean, R-Magnolia, who co-chairs the state budget committee. "A couple of things that...
(The Center Square) – Pennsylvania remains one of a few states where poll workers don’t process ballots before Election Day. Supporters of pre-canvassing, as it's called, believe giving counties more time to open envelopes and prepare ballots for counting will deliver faster results. As it stands, poll workers can’t begin the pre-canvassing process until 7 a.m. on Election Day. Counting doesn’t start until the polls close at 8 p.m. and must continue until all...
(The Center Square) – Vendors setting up shop on sidewalks in Clark County must now apply for business licenses. The county's new licensing process, which opened up to applicants on Tuesday, comes after the state legislature’s passage of Senate Bill 92 last year. The new ordinance says the commercial use of sidewalks to “sell, peddle, offer to sell or solicit for sale” by offering or displaying goods and items is inconsistent with their purpose, adding that, if...
(The Center Square) — The Danish green energy company Topsoe plans to make its largest U.S. investment to date in the commonwealth, according to an announcement from the governor Wednesday. The deal would bring a $400 million new factory to Chesterfield County, potentially creating 150 new jobs, pending a final investment decision. Topsoe also plans to start a scholarship program awarding $10,000 to five Chesterfield high school students each year who intend to pursue a...
(The Center Square) – With hours to spare, the Spokane City Council voted on Monday to renew its contract with the Salvation Army to continue operating the controversial Trent Resource and Assistance Center. The approval follows a December vote that extended the current contract through the end of April. Last summer, the council called for proposals to replace the Salvation Army and have another organization run the homeless shelter, but the request was later canceled. ...
(The Center Square) - UCLA canceled Wednesday classes after a night of violence between opposing protestors over the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza. Fights between pro-Israel and pro-Palestine protestors went on for hours before police arrived, and stood by until eventually separating the two skirmishing groups. “For over four hours, two opposing groups were allowed to pummel each other with no law enforcement present despite dozens of people beaten,...
(The Center Square) – Saying the penalties are too lenient in Illinois, some Republican lawmakers want to increase the consequences for fleeing the police. In DuPage County alone, cases of fleeing police have increased over the past three years by 151%, but state Sen. Seth Lewis, R-Bartlett, said police departments all over Illinois are experiencing motorists refusing to pull over for a traffic stop. “We are seeing those who are fleeing and trying to elude law...
(The Center Square) – Several state and federal agencies have reached an agreement modifying their approach to cleaning up the radioactive and chemical waste buried beneath Washington's Hanford Site, a decommissioned nuclear production complex. The Tri-Party Agreement reached Monday between the U.S. Department of Energy, Washington State Department of Ecology and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency followed years of negotiations that began in 2020, according to the...
(The Center Square) — Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp signed a series of public safety bills on Wednesday, including a measure to require Georgia counties to comply with federal immigration laws. Kemp, a Republican, signed Senate Bill 63, which expands the list of "serious offenses" for which bail is required, and SB 421, which stiffens the penalties for "swatting" and drive-by shootings. The move to tackle swatting follows several instances involving Georgia officials around the...
(The Center Square) – Voters will once again decide on a constitutional amendment to increase minimum funding for Kansas City’s police department after the Missouri Supreme Court set aside a previous result from the 2022 election. Last September, the state’s highest court heard arguments from Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas stating the exact cost of the ballot measure wasn’t provided to voters. On Tuesday, Justice Paul Wilson wrote in a 42-page opinion the ballot’s summary...
(The Center Square) – Newly released survey data shows that Americans are less confident about the economy. Gallup’s recently released economic confidence rating dropped from March to April as inflation remains elevated. Just after the polling was conducted from April 1-22, the federal government released underperforming Gross Domestic Product data. “This is the first time in five months that confidence has not seen a marginal improvement, and the first decline in...
(The Center Square) – A member of the King County Council hopes to get to the bottom of how taxpayer funds are being spent in cases where tenants refuse to pay their rent. Councilmember Reagan Dunn on Tuesday introduced a motion that would place restrictions on the Housing Justice Project’s use of King County funds and request an audit of the organization’s operations related to rental assistance and legal services. “The bottom line here is we need to get more...