October 27, 2019

Beto O'Rourke on Gender Identity

https://twitter.com/BetoORourke/status/1188114866919432197

October 27, 2019

Beto O'Rourke on Gender Identity

https://twitter.com/BetoORourke/status/1188114866919432197

October 27, 2019

Nicole Galloway nabs Chris Sloan as campaign manager

Auditor Nicole Galloway has nabbed former labor operative Chris Sloan to lead her gubernatorial campaign.

Sloan announced the news on Twitter and in a campaign fundraising email Monday evening.

“I’m thrilled to join Nicole Galloway’s team and to hit the ground running,” Sloan said in a statement to The Missouri Times. “We are going to build a grassroots campaign that will empower communities across Missouri to take back Jefferson City. Nicole’s candidacy offers the people a new way for Missouri, by putting the needs of working families ahead of connected insiders.”

https://twitter.com/cssloan/status/1186380954283196416

Sloan most recently served as campaign manager for Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak, who won a close race over Republican Adam Laxalt to become the first Democrat to lead the state in two decades.

Read more: https://themissouritimes.com/65796/nicole-galloway-nabs-chris-sloan-as-campaign-manager/

October 27, 2019

GM puts $1.5B for Wentzville plant on table during strike negotiations with UAW

General Motors has reached a tentative deal with United Auto Workers who have been on strike nationwide since September — which includes a $1.5 billion investment into the plant in Wentzville.

United Auto Workers (UAW) employees at the Wentzville plant are set to vote on the tentative agreement by Thursday evening.

The Wentzville plant, west of St. Louis, was included in a massive workforce development bill pushed through the General Assembly in the spring. The bill, signed into law by Republican Gov. Mike Parson, was designed to lure a $1 billion expansion of the plant.

UAW workers went on strike against General Motors (GM) in mid-September, demanding better wages and job protection. The parties reached a tentative agreement last week, which is still being decided.

Read more: https://themissouritimes.com/65833/gm-puts-1-5b-for-wentzville-plant-on-table-during-strike-negotiations-with-uaw/

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Missouri UAW workers vote in favor of GM proposal with Wentzville investment on table


United Auto Workers (UAW) Local 2250, representing the Wentzville plant, voted in favor of a proposal from General Motors (GM) to end the ongoing strike.

A $1.5 billion investment into the plant in Wentzville is on the table during negotiations, multiple sources confirmed to The Missouri Times.

That particular plant was included in a massive workforce development bill pushed through the General Assembly in the spring. Signed into law by Republican Gov. Mike Parson, it was designed to lure a $1 billion expansion of the plant.

UAW Local 2250 cast 3,300 total ballots, with 20 voided. Of those, 63.5 percent (1,913) of production workers approved of the proposal. Additionally, 69.9 percent (202) of skilled trades employees voted in favor of the proposal.

Read more: https://themissouritimes.com/65893/missouri-uaw-workers-vote-in-favor-of-gm-proposal-with-wentzville-investment-on-table/

October 26, 2019

Lawsuit: Southwest pilots streamed video from bathroom cam

PHOENIX (AP) — A lawsuit filed against Southwest Airlines by a flight attendant alleges pilots on a 2017 flight had an iPad streaming video from a hidden camera in a bathroom in one of the airline's jets.

The lawsuit alleges flight attendant Renee Steinaker saw an iPad streaming video from the plane's forward bathroom when she entered the cockpit to be the required second person in the cockpit when the pilot left to use the bathroom about 2.5 hours into a Feb. 27, 2017, flight to Phoenix from Pittsburgh.

According to the suit, Steinaker saw the pilot in the streaming video on the iPad and the co-pilot "with a panicked look on his face" acknowledged that the iPad was streaming from a camera in the bathroom but asserted it was a "new security and top-secret security measure installed in all of Southwest's Boeing 737-800 planes."

The suit said Steinaker took a cellphone photo of the iPad video, provided the photo with a report to Southwest management and was warned by a supervisor to not tell anybody about the incident.

Read more: https://www.oaoa.com/news/business/article_53a97b52-f505-5ef0-a297-4b2b3e9ec138.html
(Odessa American)

October 26, 2019

Democratic presidential candidate Marianne Williamson brings her 'big truths' to a Connecticut yoga

Democratic presidential candidate Marianne Williamson brings her ‘big truths’ to a Connecticut yoga studio


Democratic presidential candidate Marianne Williamson brought love, peace and a host of progressive policy proposals to a New Haven yoga studio Friday afternoon.

Sitting barefoot on a folding chair, Williamson told the crowd of about 100 supporters that she is seeking donations and volunteers for her long shot quest.

"Connecticut is not an early primary state but you’re American voters....you vote with your dollars...and with your volunteering,'' Williamson said.

Speaking for more than two hours, Williamson answered questions and outlined her platform, which includes policies to tackle childhood trauma, a young adult national service program, a mass mobilization to address the effects of climate change and $500 billion in reparations for the descendants of enslaved people.

Read more: https://www.courant.com/politics/hc-pol-marianne-williamson-new-haven-20191025-hp5gl75cwrccppcyhxrnfichgi-story.html

October 26, 2019

Bridgeport synagogue bomb threats unfounded, traced to Florida man, police say

A Florida man with a history of mental health issues called in two bomb threats to a Bridgeport synagogue Friday, prompting evacuations and a swift police response to the congregation just two days before the one-year anniversary of the deadly mass shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue last year.

Congregation B’nai Israel was evacuated mid-afternoon Friday while police investigated, but no devices were found and no one was hurt, Bridgeport Police Chief Armando Perez said.

The calls were traced later in the afternoon to a Florida man in his 60s with documented mental health issues and a history of making similar fake threats in the past, Bridgeport police said Friday night. He will not be arrested, police said.

“We are in touch with his family and they are taking measures to keep him away from access to telephones,” Capt. Brian Fitzgerald said. “There is no current threat to this synagogue or any others in the area that we are aware of.”

Read more: https://www.courant.com/breaking-news/hc-br-bridgeport-synagogue-bomb-threats-20191025-idvucskuv5c43jl5ip2bechrxq-story.html

October 26, 2019

Lamont Administration Waits On Hospital Deal

HARTFORD, CT — The 20 Connecticut hospitals that sued the state in 2016 could be close to a deal with Gov. Ned Lamont that will save taxpayers money.

“We had good productive negotiations with the hospitals,” Lamont said Monday. “And we’ve got a proposal on the table.”

Lamont said they’ve been waiting to hear back from the hospitals for a few weeks now.

“If we get that done by the end of the month that would be great,” Lamont added. “It represents significant savings to Connecticut taxpayers and takes out a level of uncertainty for what the lawsuit could have cost the state.”

Read more: https://www.ctnewsjunkie.com/archives/story/20191022_lamont_administration_waits_on_hospital_deal/

October 26, 2019

State says pols missed deadline to have their day in court

Sen. Rob C. Sampson, R-Wolcott, and his predecessor, Joe Markley, were itching for a legal debate over political speech and campaign finance law. All they got Tuesday before the Connecticut Supreme Court were arguments over missed deadlines.

They say the State Elections Enforcement Commission violated their First Amendment rights by imposing fines of $5,000 on Sampson and $2,000 on Markley over campaign mailers promoting them in 2014 as reliable defenders against the policies of Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, a Democrat.

At issue was the question of whether the mailers were just a benefit to Sampson and Markley, who disagreed with Malloy on everything from taxation to criminal justice? Or did they also benefit Tom Foley, the Republican nominee for governor in 2014?

“The state cannot limit a candidate’s advocacy, especially highly effective advocacy, merely because a communication might have an effect on another candidate’s election,” their lawyers argued in a brief to the court. “The First Amendment guarantees a candidate’s right ‘to speak without legislative limit on behalf of his own candidacy.’ ”

Read more: https://ctmirror.org/2019/10/22/state-says-pols-missed-deadline-to-have-their-day-in-court/

October 26, 2019

FBI alert on corruption in marijuana licensing draws attention in FBI alert on corruption in marijua

The FBI has released a short audio notice asking for the public’s help investigating any possible public corruption in the nation’s burgeoning marijuana business — noting that some states are charging as much as $500,000 for dispensary licenses.

The announcement, released on the FBI’s website in August, has gotten the attention of local officials, since Rhode Island is one of the few states — if not the only state — that charges that much for a medical marijuana dispensary license.

While it’s unknown whether any Rhode Island lawmakers are under investigation, Gov. Gina Raimondo was emphatic Tuesday when she told reporters that the process for choosing who will win licenses for six new dispensaries next year will not mirror the allegedly corrupt process used in Fall River, where federal officials have charged the mayor with taking bribes from marijuana businesses.

Raimondo said the licenses will be chosen through a lottery system and the process and criteria used for deciding which companies win the lucrative licenses are still being drafted by regulators.

Read more: https://www.providencejournal.com/news/20191025/watchdog-team-fbi-alert-on-corruption-in-marijuana-licensing-draws-attention-in-ri