POLITICS & LEADERSHIP
SD abortion ban backlash

GOVERNORS
Kaine working to avoid VA government shutdown
 

The week in session
Hot issues
Across state lines
Upcoming elections
In the hopper
In case you missed it
Once around

States have faced a wide assortment of issues already this year, from eminent domain to political ethics. With the election season still ahead, these and other issues are sure to stay at the top of the headlines. 
 
 
 
 

Legislative issues of the year -- so far

More than a quarter of the 44 state legislatures meeting in regular session this year have now adjourned. And two of the six states that convene biennially have concluded special sessions (ARKANSAS and OREGON). So what do their accomplishments indicate about the issues most on the minds of state lawmakers in 2006 -- aside from re-election concerns?

 
    For one, many of the same issues that have been on lawmakers' minds the last couple of years, such as gay marriage, illegal immigration, school finance and medical malpractice reform, remained issues this year as well. And, as always, budgets again figured prominently, although the subject was much rosier than in years past. In fact, lawmakers in UTAH, WASHINGTON and WYOMING faced the enviable task of determining how to spend projected budget surpluses of $1 billion or more.
    There were also a number of notable legislative firsts. MARYLAND lawmakers, for example, passed first-in-the-nation legislation -- over the veto of Gov. Robert Ehrlich Jr. (R) -- requiring major employers to spend 8 percent of the total they pay in wages on employee health benefits, the so-called Wall-Mart bill. And in an effort to protect its waterways, WASHINGTON imposed the country's first ban on the use of phosphates in dishwashing detergent. But it was SOUTH DAKOTA that grabbed the lion's share of the national headlines with its near-total ban on abortions, setting up a potential legal challenge to Roe v. Wade. (Although it is still in session, MASSACHUSETTS also tread new ground with its historic universal healthcare plan that many observers say could be a model for the rest of the nation.)
    Meanwhile, local calamities dominated the legislative agendas in MISSISSIPPI, still grappling with hurricane recovery issues, and WEST VIRGINIA, where the focus was on avoiding a repeat of January's Sago Mine disaster. Those tragedies are not solely parochial matters, however; they've spurred plenty of other states to take up disaster mitigation and preparedness issues.
    There are plenty of other developing trends for states still in session as well. Eminent domain, for instance, is proving particularly popular this session, as a result of the public outcry over last year's U.S. Supreme Court decision granting local governments broader power to seize private property for development in the public good. The Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal in the nation's capital has made ethics reform another legislative priority this year. With the price of natural gas and other fuels sky-high across the nation, energy assistance is another prominent issue, while several states have pondered measures that would allow people to use deadly force to protect themselves outside of their homes. Still others have pondered raising the state minimum wage.   
    First Amendment issues also have been a hot topic, fueled by a series of vitriolic anti-gay protests by a KANSAS-based church at the funerals of soldiers killed in overseas conflicts. Those demonstrations have moved several states to limit demonstrations at such funerals, forcing them to find the delicate balance between the constitutional tenets of free speech and the right of grieving military families to peacefully bury their loved ones. 
    The states' improving financial picture has also made several other trends possible, such as transportation and infrastructure development, property tax relief and pay increases for teachers and other public employees. It doesn't hurt that many of those issues also make good fodder for election-year campaigns.
    (STATELINE.ORG)

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Across state lines

Congressional pork has states living high on the hog

Although Congress funded 29 percent fewer "pork-barrel" projects this year than it did in 2005 (9,963 compared to 13,997 last year), spending for those projects reached a record high of $29 billion. So says the 2006 Congressional Pig Book released in April by the Washington D.C.-based non-profit organization Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW). 
    Pork-barrel spending, or just pork, is the term used to describe Congressional earmarks for specific projects back in lawmakers' home districts. Specifically, pork refers to funding intended solely to curry political favor with the home voters. The term is thought to derive from Southern plantations, when slaves were relegated to eating leftovers of slaughtered pigs that had been discarded into the "pork barrel."
    The CAGW uses seven criteria to identify pork, noting that it must 1) be requested by only one chamber of Congress; 2) not be specifically authorized; 3) not be competitively awarded; 4) not be requested by the President; 5) greatly exceed previous requests or funding; 6) not be subject to Congressional hearings and; 7) serve only local or special interests. 
    According to the CAGW report, in 2006 ALASKA and its 663,661 residents received the most federal bacon ($325,106,000), a per capita total of $489.87. Next was HAWAII, which garnered $378.29 per capita, and Washington D.C., which averaged $182.07. CALIFORNIA took home the largest cumulative amount, $733,634,000, but ranked only 43rd at just $20.30 per capita. GEORGIA ranked dead last with just $12.06 per capita. 
    Among the projects noted in the report are $550,000 earmarked for the Sparta Teapot Museum in Sparta, NORTH CAROLINA, $100,000 for the Richard Steele Boxing Club in Henderson, NEVADA and $234,000 for the National Wild Turkey Federation in Edgefield, SOUTH CAROLINA. The accompanying chart shows how each state fared in 2006. The full report can be viewed at www.cagw.org. 
 

-- Compiled by RICH EHISEN

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Budget & taxes

CALIFORNIA SENDS RECORD BOND PACKAGE TO VOTERS: After four months of often acrimonious negotiations, CALIFORNIA lawmakers last week came to terms on an agreement to borrow a record $37.3.billion to finance the expansion and repair of crowded roads and schools, prevent flooding, and encourage the construction of housing in urban areas and near public transportation. 
    The proposal, which voters must still approve in November, would easily be California's largest and most significant infrastructure investment since Gov. Pat Brown (D) undertook an equally significant development program 40 years ago. That effort doubled the state's water storage capacity, added thousands of miles of freeways and greatly expanded the state's college and university system. But unlike that program, which was done with an eye toward future growth, this plan is aimed primarily at accommodating the consequences of California's massive population explosion over the last four decades. 
    The deal is a major victory for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R), who has made infrastructure improvement his top legislative priority this year. After initially receiving criticism from legislative leaders for the failure of the bond measure to get resolved in time for the June ballot, Schwarzenegger earned kudos for his handling of the new deal from Senate Pro Tempore Don Perata (D), who said, "He played the role he should have played. Weeks from now you'll find out he did things that now are not too obvious." (LOS ANGELES TIMES)
    
BOLD MOVE IN CONGRESS TO CUT OUT `PORK': Two weeks ago, a freshman Republican U.S. senator, Tom Coburn of OKLAHOMA, anxious about this fall's elections in the wake of the Jack Abramoff and former GOP Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham scandals, forced his chamber to vote individually on a series of "pork" projects attached to a $106.5 billion defense bill. His colleagues may have been a little taken aback by the move, which had been used only once before in the Senate. But they must surely have been stunned when the second item up for a vote -- a $15 million earmark for a seafood ad campaign in the Gulf region -- failed to pass. "I guess Senator Coburn is the new Miss Congeniality," said ARIZONA Sen. John McCain (R). "I hope we can pry some more pork out of it." That's just what Coburn intends to do; he's targeted 17 other pork projects, totaling $2,680,145,000. (CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR)

BUDGETS IN BRIEF: The TEXAS Legislature approved a major business tax overhaul last week that is the centerpiece of Gov. Rick Perry's (R) plan to cut school property taxes by a third. Other Perry proposals, including a $1-per-pack increase in the cigarette tax, were still moving through the legislature with two weeks left in the 30-day special session on school finance (AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN). * The CONNECTICUT Legislature approved a $16.1 billion revision to the $31 billion two-year budget plan adopted last year. The update was the result of a compromise between Republican Gov. M. Jodi Rell, who sacrificed her plans to eliminate the state's car tax and inheritance tax, and Democratic legislative leaders, who gave up a $500 tax credit for low-income taxpayers and an earned-income tax credit program (NEW YORK TIMES). * PENNSYLVANIA Attorney General Tom Corbett has filed suit against R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. and Lorillard Tobacco Co., seeking to recover $47 million he says the state is owed this year under the 1998 tobacco settlement agreement. The Keystone State joins 23 others that have sued the two major tobacco producers for withholding part of their annual payment, following an independent consultant's report in March stating that large tobacco companies have been unfairly hindered by the agreement (PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER). * NEW YORK convenience stores filed a lawsuit against Gov. George Pataki (R) last Tuesday in an effort to get him to enforce a 2005 state law requiring the collection of taxes on the sale of cigarettes and gasoline by Indian retailers to non-Indian customers. Pataki has resisted forcing the tax collections, favoring the establishment of "tax compacts" with Indian nations instead (SYRACUSE POST-STANDARD).
 

 --  Compiled by KOREY CLARK

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Politics & leadership

SOUTH DAKOTA ABORTION BACKLASH: The controversial new SOUTH DAKOTA law outlawing abortions even in cases of rape and incest appears to have touched off a resistance movement within the state. Republican legislators who supported the ban are attracting challengers for their seats, from other Republicans as well as Democrats. The approval rating of Gov. Mike Rounds (R), who signed the legislation in March, has dropped 20 percent, according to recent polls. Opponents of the law are gathering signatures for a ballot measure to overturn it. And if that initiative fails, not only is Planned Parenthood planning to challenge the law in federal court, but the tribal president of the Oglala Sioux Indian Nation in SOUTH DAKOTA has vowed to construct an abortion clinic on reservation land -- which is not subject to state law -- that would be open to all women in the state (STATELINE.ORG).

AT THE POLLS: OHIO Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell garnered the GOP nomination for governor in last Tuesday's primary election, setting up a November showdown with Democratic primary winner Rep. Ted Strickland, who's been leading Blackwell in the polls. Republicans have dominated Buckeye State government for more than a decade (NEW YORK TIMES). * In another primary last Tuesday, the longest-serving leader in INDIANA's statehouse, Senate President Pro Tempore Robert D. Garton (R), was unseated by newcomer Greg Walker, a Columbus accountant. Garton had drawn criticism from some of the GOP faithful recently for derailing anti-abortion legislation and advocating for lifetime, taxpayer-funded health insurance for lawmakers (INDIANAPOLIS STAR).

POLITICS IN BRIEF: The U.S. Justice Department is suing the state of ALABAMA for failing to create a statewide computerized voter database by Jan. 1 in compliance with the federal Help America Vote Act. The Justice Department is seeking a court order requiring the state to develop a plan within 30 days to bring its voter registration into compliance (ASSOCIATED PRESS, MONTGOMERY ADVERTISER). * Last week, a U.S. District Court upheld a redistricting map drawn up in 2006 by the Republican-controlled GEORGIA Legislature. Democrats had alleged the map was designed specifically to allow the GOP to hold on to a state Senate seat (ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION). * Organizers of last Monday's nationwide "Day Without Immigrants" protests say they will now shift their efforts into political action by helping legal immigrants become citizens, registering voters and getting out the vote in next month's primary elections. Only 39 percent of the estimated 41 million Latinos living in the U.S. are currently eligible to vote, according to the Pew Hispanic Center (LOS ANGELES TIMES). * Democratic legislative leaders in CALIFORNIA canceled Assembly and Senate floor sessions last Monday to accommodate lawmakers participating in "Day Without Immigrants" rallies. Minority leaders held a news conference at which they accused the Democrats of cheating taxpayers. Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata (D) called that action an election-year "publicity stunt" (SACRAMENTO BEE). * MINNESOTA's 2006 session may end a few days before the state's May 22 constitutional deadline. Three of the state's top legislative leaders are of Norwegian descent and want to adjourn on or before Norwegian Constitution Day on May 17 (ST. PAUL PIONEER PRESS).
 

-- Compiled by KOREY CLARK

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KAINE WORKING TO AVOID VA GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN: The ongoing rancor over the state budget has VIRGINIA Gov. Timothy Kaine (D) preparing for the worst case scenario -- an impasse that would shut down the Old Dominion government. To avoid that, Kaine is reportedly prepared to issue executive orders declaring the police, prisons and hospitals, among other state agencies, to be necessities of government, forcing those entities to continue normal operations regardless of whether lawmakers reach a budget deal by the July 1 deadline. 
    The major dividing point to date has been disagreement between the House and Senate over how to fund several proposed transportation projects -- the Senate wants to pay for them with tax hikes, which the House vehemently opposes. Kaine budget spokeswoman Delacey Skinner has so far refused to confirm or deny Kaine's possible plan, opting instead to express the administration's faith that the Legislature will work out the budget impasse before it comes to a shutdown. 
    "We do not believe it is going to come to a government shutdown," Skinner said last week. "The governor has full confidence that the legislature will come to an agreement on a budget in enough time to avoid that."
    But Kaine has also hinted broadly at his intentions should lawmakers not reach a deal, telling statehouse reporters repeatedly of late that "I am the chief executive, and I'm going to run the state until someone with the power tells me not to." 
    But while the VIRGINIA chief executive's office is considered to be among the most powerful in the nation, some observers question whether Kaine has the constitutional authority to keep government running in case of a budget stalemate. 
    "There are a tremendous amount of things I don't think he can do," said House Majority Leader H. Morgan Griffith (R), who over the years has clashed repeatedly with governors about their powers. "I don't think he can keep the state parks open. I don't even think he keeps the schools open. I don't think he has that much power."
    University of VIRGINIA professor A.E. "Dick" Howard, the principal author of the current constitution, disagrees, saying last week that "there's a strong constitutional case for the governor acting under his executive authority."
    But doing so could spark various legal challenges. Employees at agencies not deemed essential, for example, could be inclined to ask a court to force Kaine to keep their agency open. Previous situations like this in other states offer little guidance for how a court might respond.
    Legal scholars say it is unlikely that any court will order all of government to be either shut down or kept open, and judges are usually unwilling to make judgment calls that are normally left to politicians. A similar stalemate in KENTUCKY in 2004, for instance, left the Bluegrass State without a budget for months. In that case, the courts simply sat on the challenge to the governor's authority until the dispute was resolved in the Legislature. The judge then declared the case moot. (WASHINGTON POST)
    
    BUSH VOUCHER PROPOSAL DOA: It hasn't been a good last few months for FLORIDA Gov. Jeb Bush (R). After being brushed off in his attempt to keep the Terry Schiavo battle alive in the Sunshine State Legislature and getting a cold shoulder from his brother's administration in Washington on his plea for help in ending federal oversight of a court-mandated Everglades cleanup (see April 17 SNCJ), Bush received a stinging defeat on his pet education voucher proposal when the Senate rejected the idea last week. Bush wanted legislative approval to ask voters to protect and expand his voucher program that allows people to use public money to send their kids to private schools. Instead, The Republican-controlled Senate killed the proposed constitutional amendment by a single vote. Adding insult to injury, four Republicans -- including Majority Leader Alex Villalobos (R) -- voted against the measure, rejecting a hard sell from the governor that the measure was necessary to reverse a recent state Supreme Court decision that ruled his 1999 voucher program unconstitutional. It was a costly vote for Villalobos, as a clearly angered Senate President Tom Lee (R) stripped him of his post as majority leader minutes after the vote, saying he no longer viewed the Miami senator as a team player. The Senate vowed to immediately take up an alternative voucher bill. (MIAMI HERALD)
    
SCHWEITZER PARDONS WWI SEDITIONISTS: MONTANA Gov. Brian Schweitzer (D) posthumously pardoned 75 men and three women convicted of sedition in the Treasure State for being critical of the United States during World War I. Forty-one of these, including one woman, were sent to prison, some for as long as 20 years. MONTANA was one of 26 states during that time with sedition laws that made it a crime to say or publish anything "disloyal, profane, violent, scurrilous, contemptuous or abusive" about the government, U.S. soldiers or the American flag. In one instance, a traveling wine and brandy salesman was sentenced to 7 to 20 years in prison for calling wartime food regulations a "big joke." It was also illegal to speak German or publish books in that language. Schweitzer, himself a descendant of ethnic Germans who immigrated to this country in 1909, said "I'm going to say what Gov. Sam Stewart should have said," referring to the man who signed the sedition law into effect in 1918. "I'm sorry, forgive me, and God bless America, because we can criticize our government." (NEW YORK TIMES) 

GOVERNORS IN BRIEF: CONNECTICUT Gov. M. Jodi Rell (R) stripped one of her administration's top fraud investigators of her duties after she learned the woman, Kristine Ragaglia, had testified to receiving many of the same gifts given to former Gov. John G. Rowland's administration. Ragaglia was reassigned to administrative duties pending further investigation (WASHINGTON POST). * CALIFORNIA Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) attended a National Football League owners meeting in Dallas last week to lobby the league "to bring another team or two" to the Los Angeles area. LA, the nation's second largest television market, has been without an NFL franchise since both the Raiders and Rams left town in the early 1990s (SACRAMENTO BEE). * OKLAHOMA Gov. Brad Henry (D) called on lawmakers to put an extra $100 million toward establishing a state endowment fund that would support research projects across the Sooner State. Legislators have already agreed to place $100 million of the state's anticipated $400 million in excess funds into such an endowment (OKLAHOMAN [OKLAHOMA CITY]). 
 

-- Compiled by RICH EHISEN

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Here are some of the topics you will see covered in upcoming issues of the State Net Capitol Journal:  - Minimum wage - "Fair share" health care  - The changing face of disaster insurance

BUSINESS: The LOUISIANA Senate endorses a measure that would force insurers to clear any rate hikes through the Pelican State Insurance Commission. It moves to the House (ADVOCATE [BATON ROUGE]). * MICHIGAN Gov. Jennifer Granholm (D) signs legislation that enacts fines up to $25,000 for gas station owners who intentionally cheat consumers by delivering less fuel to customers than indicated on pump meters (DETROIT FREE PRESS). * The ILLINOIS House and Senate endorse legislation that would force mine operators to build rescue chambers inside mines that will protect employees during an emergency. The chambers would contain first aid materials, oxygen tanks and other necessary materials. It heads to Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D), who is expected to sign it (DAILY HERLAD [ARLINGTON HEIGHTS]). * The OKLAHOMA Senate approves SB 806, which would legalize and regulate tattoo parlors in the Sooner State. The measure would also bar anyone under 18 from getting inked. It moves to Gov. Brad Henry (D) for review (OKLAHOMAN [OKLAHOMA CITY]). 

CRIME & PUNISHMENT: The ALASKA House endorses SB 200, which would allow residents to use deadly force outside the home in the case of a carjacking or in a situation where a child is in danger of being kidnapped, sexually assaulted, injured or killed. It also expands the places where citizens can "stand their ground" to include a workplace, hotel or home where the person is a guest, and grants the shooter immunity from civil lawsuits. It fires off to the Senate (ANCHORAGE DAILY NEWS). * MINNESOTA lawmakers send to Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R) legislation that would require demonstrators to stay back at least 500 feet from funerals and graveside ceremonies. Pawlenty is expected to sign the bill into law (ST. PAUL PIONEER PRESS). * The MICHIGAN Senate unanimously approves its own ban on funeral demonstrations. The bill, which would also require protesters to stay at least 500 feet away from a funeral, goes to Gov. Jennifer Granholm (D). She is expected to sign it (LANSING STATE JOURNAL). * The ARIZONA House approves legislation making it a crime for people to use fraud or deceit to get someone else's cellular phone records. It moves to Gov. Janet Napolitano (D) (ARIZONA DAILY STAR [TUCSON]). * The KANSAS House and Senate approve a measure requiring anyone arrested on felony charges to submit a DNA sample to authorities. It goes to Gov. Kathleen Sebelius (D) for review (LAWRENCE JOURNAL-WORLD). 

EDUCATION: A host of the country's largest beverage distributors, including Cadbury Schweppes PLC, Coca-Cola Co. and PepsiCo Inc., agree to halt nearly all sales of sodas to public schools, starting with the 2008-09 school year. The participating companies, which currently reach 87 percent of the school beverage market, say they will sell only water, unsweetened juice and low-fat milks to elementary and middle schools and only diet sodas in high schools (CHICAGO TRIBUNE). * SOUTH CAROLINA Gov. Mark Sanford (R) signs legislation that creates a statewide charter school district. The measure also allows for the creation of an entirely online charter school, although lawmakers would still need to approve rules to regulate such an institution (STATE [COLUMBIA]). * The NEW JERSEY State Interscholastic Athletic Association gives initial approval to a plan that would make the Garden State the first in the nation to test high school athletes for performance enhancing drugs. A final vote is set for next month (STAR-LEDGER [NEWARK]). * A CALIFORNIA Senate committee approves legislation that would require textbooks to include the contributions of gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender people to the Golden State's and nation's history. It moves to the full Senate (CONTRA COSTA TIMES). 

ENVIRONMENT: The MINNESOTA House unanimously approves legislation that would require the state's three largest coal-fired power plants to cut their mercury output by 90 percent by 2014. The bill now goes to the Senate (MINNEAPOLIS STAR TRIBUNE). * ALASKA wildlife officials announce the state's aerial wolf-control program netted less than half of its goal of 400 wolf kills this year. The Last Frontier State has killed a total of 564 wolves over the last three years as a means to control their predation on moose and caribou herds deemed vital for human consumption (JUNEAU EMPIRE). * MAINE Gov. John Baldacci (D) signs legislation that limits the volume of wood from construction and demolition debris that may be substituted for conventional fuel in boilers to 50 percent per year. The debris is imported into Maine by the ton and used as a cheap biomass fuel (PORTLAND PRESS HERALD).

HEALTH & SCIENCE: ARIZONA Gov. Janet Napolitano (D) vetoes a proposal to require emergency room patients suing for malpractice to prove by "clear and convincing evidence" that the care provided to them did not meet expected professional standards. Napolitano said the measure is likely unconstitutional (ARIZONA DAILY STAR [TUCSON]). * NEW JERSEY health officials snuff out a proposal to ban people from smoking within 25 feet of restaurants, bars and other businesses. The state has instead decided to ask business owners to set their own standards (STAR-LEDGER [NEWARK]). 

HOMELAND SECURITY: A COLORADO Senate committee endorses HB 1343, which would require contractors doing business with the state to use a federal database to check whether their new hires are in the country legally or risk losing those state contracts. It moves to the full Senate (ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS [DENVER]).  

SOCIAL POLICY: The KANSAS House endorses a measure that would allow Sunflower State officials to restrict the driver's licenses of parents who owe more than $500 in back child support. It drives off to Gov. Kathleen Sebelius (D), who is expected to sign it (LAWRENCE JOURNAL-WORLD). * VERMONT Gov. Jim Douglas (R) signs legislation that creates "baby safe havens," designated fire stations, police stations and places of worship as sites where someone can turn over a newborn child without facing criminal punishment. To date, ALASKA, HAWAII and NEBRASKA are the only states without such laws (BURLINGTON FREE PRESS). * The VERMONT Senate endorses a proposal that would make it illegal to deny someone a job, housing or other public accommodations because that person has undergone a sex change operation or has a cross-gender identity. It moves to the House (RUTLAND HERALD). 

POTPOURRI: The ARIZONA Senate endorses legislation that would change existing Grand Canyon State law to allow people to carry firearms into restaurants that sell alcohol. Gov. Janet Napolitano (D) vetoed similar legislation last year (ARIZONA DAILY STAR [TUCSON]). 
 

-- Compiled by RICH EHISEN

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UPCOMING ELECTIONS (05/04/2006 - 05/25/2006): 05/09/2006  Nebraska  Primary Election     US House (All)     US Senate (Nelson) 05/09/2006  Oklahoma  Special Election     Senate  038 05/16/2006  Kentucky  Primary Election     House  (All)     Senate  (Even)     US House (All) 05/16/2006  Oregon  Primary Election     House  (All)     Senate  3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 13, 15, 16, 17, 19, 20, 24, 26  Constitutional Officers:          Governor     US House (All) 05/16/2006  Pennsylvania  Primary Election     House  (All)     Senate  (Even)  Constitutional Officers:          Governor, Lieutenant Governor     US House (All)     US Senate (Rick Santorum) 05/23/2006  Arkansas  Primary Election     House  (All)     Senate  (All)  Constitutional Officers:          Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, Treasurer, Attorney         General, State Land Commissioner     US House (All) 05/23/2006  Idaho  Primary Election     House  (All)     Senate  (All)  Constitutional Officers:          Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, Treasurer, Attorney General,  Superintendent of Public Instruction, State Controller    TOP OF PAGE

Once around the statehouse lightly

GAS WARS: No, the cost of gasoline is not about to plummet. But with the price of the fuel hovering around $3 a gallon, and with the summer tourism season about to begin, two Midwest neighbors are jostling for your driving dollars with unique promotional campaigns. According to the Sioux City Journal, IOWA and SOUTH DAKOTA have launched gas giveaways to help ease the pain of driving to such in-state Meccas as Mt. Rushmore and the Amana Colonies. SOUTH DAKOTA opened the skirmish by offering vouchers for $20 worth of ethanol to anyone in 10 neighboring states who agreed to receive promos from the state tourism office. The Hawkeye State countered with $50 gas cards, but only plans on giving away 23 cards to people who register at state welcome centers.

UNFORTUNATE BUST: When you are director of the OREGON Liquor Control Commission and you have an accident that leads to your arrest on charges of driving under the influence, you really have only one option. So, reports the Oregonian, Teresa Kaiser last week bid farewell to her staff and resigned the job she has held since August 2003. Kaiser was involved in a two-car accident in late April, and a breathalyzer test registered 0.16, double the legal limit. No one was seriously hurt in the bump-and-grind, with the only true damage suffered by Kaiser's career.

ENDANGERING SPECIES: In some parts of the world, Burmese pythons are tourist attractions. In south FLORIDA, however, the 15-foot reptiles are a nuisance. And a growing concern, no pun intended. The Associated Press reports that rangers in the FLORIDA Everglades National Park snagged 95 pythons in 2005 alone. The problem gained national notoriety last year when one of the snakes exploded while trying to swallow an alligator, but that was not an isolated incident. Another python was caught chasing a cat around a swimming pool, while others have been found digesting waterfowl, rats and various domestic pets. "People buy them while they're [inch-long hatchlings]," says a state biologist. "By the end of two years, they're 10 feet long."

CENSORING THE NEWS (PAPER): It bills itself as "ARKANSAS'S (sic) newspaper of politics and culture." But the governor's office has a different view of the Arkansas Times. Last week, notes the Times, Gov. Mike Huckabee's press office stopped sending releases and scheduling information to the paper, claiming in a written statement by press spokesman Alice Stewart: "We don't consider the Arkansas Times a news organization." Stewart added that "major news organizations" would continue to receive the email alerts and updates. Stewart, reports the paper, would not say who made the decision to cut off the Times, or why the decision was made.

IN THE LIMELIGHT: The police department in Paterson, NEW JERSEY, took the unusual step last week of publicizing the names of those arrested on drug and prostitution charges. According to the West Paterson Herald-News, the police took out full-page ads in the Herald-News and a sister paper, the Record of Hackensack, listing the names and addresses of all those nabbed for the relevant infractions between July 1, 2005, and February 28, 2006. Purpose: shame. Problem: at least a few of the folks named were never actually convicted and so, in the eyes of the law at least, were innocent of the charges. A police spokesman admitted as much when he acknowledged that some people named in the ad may have had their cases dismissed before the ad appeared in print. Can you spell "l-a-w-s-u-i-t?" 
 

-- By A.G. BLOCK

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Editor: Rich Ehisen
Associate Editor: Korey Clark
Contributing Editor: A.G. Block
Editorial Advisor: Lou Cannon
Correspondents: Richard Cox (CA), Steve Karas (CA), 
Bruce McKeeman (CA), Linda Mendenhall (IL), 
Lauren King (MA) and Ben Livingood (PA)
Design: Richard Hansen, Heather Conway 

Copyright 2005 State Net
ISSN: 1521-8449