May 27, 2019

ACLU alleges Maricopa County Attorney illegally withholds public records

The American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona is suing Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery, alleging he has failed to fulfill an abundance of public records requests for a freelance journalist who received just one document over a seven month period.

Sean Holstege filed a public records request, on behalf of the ACLU of Arizona, into the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office in October 2018 regarding “basic information about how that office functions, including policies, budgets, and data on individual criminal cases,” the lawsuit says.

Holstege – a former staff writer with The Arizona Republic and freelance writer for Phoenix New Times – only received one document, with little to no substantive responses from Montgomery’s Office after several follow-ups, it says in the suit.

State law requires the government to “promptly” disclose records, but the ACLU of Arizona is suggesting that one document over seven months does not meet that standard. The one record Holstege received was a staff roster for a single year within the date range requested, according to the lawsuit.

Read more: https://azcapitoltimes.com/news/2019/05/22/aclu-alleges-maricopa-county-attorney-illegally-withholds-public-records/

May 27, 2019

Claim seeks $45M for incapacitated woman who gave birth

Lawyers for an incapacitated woman who was raped and later gave birth at a Phoenix long-term care facility have filed a $45 million notice of claim against the state, saying she may have been impregnated before.

The claim, which is a precursor to a lawsuit, also alleges the woman was raped repeatedly before giving birth last December.

A former licensed practical nurse at Hacienda Healthcare has been charged with sexually assaulting the 29-year-old woman, who has been in long-term care since age 3 after suffering a near-drowning.

She gave birth to a boy at the facility on Dec. 29. Employees said they had no idea she was pregnant.

Read more: https://azcapitoltimes.com/news/2019/05/23/claim-seeks-45m-for-incapacitated-woman-who-gave-birth/

May 27, 2019

Republicans approve strident requirements for citizen initiatives

Rejecting complaints from Democrats, Republican lawmakers have voted to add a series of new requirements that need to be met by people proposing their own laws and constitutional amendments.

Some of the changes approved on a party-line vote are procedural, such as saying that paid and out-of-state petition circulators cannot gather signatures until they register with the Secretary of State’s Office. And registration is prohibited for anyone who has been convicted of fraud, forgery, identity theft, or of any felony and his or her civil rights have not been restored.

But Sen. Martin Quezada, D-Glendale, charged that the real goal of SB1451 is to set up a system that allows otherwise valid petitions to be disqualified for technical reasons.

He said that’s being done intentionally by those opposed to the kind of ideas pushed by voters after they could not get the Legislature to consider their pleas. More to the point, Quezada said it allows foes of these ballot measures to quash the proposals before voters get their chance to weigh in.

Read more: https://azcapitoltimes.com/news/2019/05/25/republicans-approve-strident-requirements-for-citizen-initiatives/

May 27, 2019

Metro Atlanta transit plan takes a step forward

Efforts to create a metro Atlanta transit plan took a step forward Wednesday when a regional board approved a method for selecting projects for funding.

The Atlanta-Region Transit Link Authority would use 14 criteria — such as population projections in the proposed transit corridor and the availability of local funding — to help determine which projects are first in line for crucial federal and state funding. It’s an attempt to bring a measure of objectivity to a selection process that likely will remain politically sensitive.

That sensitivity was on display Thursday when members of the authority — dubbed the ATL Board for short — discussed the process. DeKalb County CEO Michael Thurmond, a Democrat, said he wanted the criteria to clearly reflect the board’s commitment to equity — ensuring all communities receive their fair share, especially low-income or other disadvantaged communities.

“One of the major challenges we face is lack of income mobility — intractable poverty and high unemployment,” Thurmond said.

Read more: https://www.ajc.com/news/local-govt--politics/metro-atlanta-transit-plan-takes-step-forward/6WP8B8UnFSqmLKxix354NM/

May 27, 2019

Lawmakers resume work on bills to help struggling rural Georgia

Some of Georgia’s most powerful lawmakers are renewing their efforts to revive rural communities, a push that so far has resulted in incremental steps toward internet access, health care and business growth.

Though many small-town Georgians may not have seen much of a difference, members of the Georgia House of Representatives plan to continue their work to turn around economic stagnation, hospital closings and population losses in rural parts of the state.

The House Rural Development Council recently restarted its work for at least two more years, crafting legislation to support sparsely populated areas.

The boldest bills proposed by the council during its first two years haven’t passed, including measures to fund internet construction, expand rural transit and give tax incentives to professionals to move to rural towns.

Read more: https://www.ajc.com/news/state--regional-govt--politics/lawmakers-resume-work-bills-help-struggling-rural-georgia/Mt6WJpzftgC5KFWvz3mb2J/

May 27, 2019

Pressure grows to force out Hoschton officials

Republican and Democratic leaders join forces to show residents how to file complaints against city leaders who made racially charged remarks.


A steady stream of Hoschton residents filed into a rented hall next to City Hall Wednesday to fill out paperwork they hope will force Mayor Theresa Kenerly and Councilman Jim Cleveland out of office.

The chairs of the Jackson County Republican Party and the Jackson County Democratic Party joined forces in assisting residents in filling out complaints. The forms claim the two officials’ racially charged remarks subjected the town to public ridicule and violated city ordinances for behavior in office as well as state non-discrimination laws.

The bipartisan effort is the latest attempt to ratchet up pressure on Kenerly and Cleveland following an Atlanta Journal-Constitution investigation into comments the mayor reportedly made during a search for a new city administrator. According to city documents and accounts by two members of the City Council, Kenerly said she withheld the application for one finalist “because he is black, and the city isn’t ready for this.”

Then, in an interview with the AJC, Cleveland defended the mayor’s comments and made matters worse by volunteering his opinion that interracial marriages were against his Christian upbringing. “I have black friends, I hired black people. But when it comes to all this stuff you see on TV, when you see blacks and whites together, it makes my blood boil because that’s just not the way a Christian is supposed to live,” the councilman said.

Read more: https://www.ajc.com/news/local-govt--politics/pressure-grows-force-out-hoschton-officials/rRaHAJ8VEZv0DUxPrUiHKK/

May 27, 2019

The Benefits of Playing Music Help Your Brain More Than Any Other Activity

Brain training is big business. Companies like BrainHQ, Lumosity, and Cogmed are part of a multimillion-dollar business that is expected to surpass $3 billion by 2020. But does what they offer actually benefit your brain?

Researchers don't believe so. In fact, the University of Illinois determined that there's little or no evidence that these games improve anything more than the specific tasks being trained. Lumosity's maker was even fined $2 million for false claims.

So, if these brain games don't work, then what will keep your brain sharp? The answer? Learning to play a musical instrument.

Why Being a Musician Is Good for Your Brain

Science has shown that musical training can change brain structure and function for the better. It can also improve long-term memory and lead to better brain development for those who start at a young age.

Read more: https://www.inc.com/john-rampton/the-benefits-of-playing-music-help-your-brain-more.html

May 27, 2019

Former Georgia County Commissioner Indicted on Extortion and Bribery Charges

A federal grand jury in the Northern District of Georgia has returned a three-count indictment against a former commissioner in DeKalb County, Georgia, for extorting bribe payments from a DeKalb County subcontractor. Assistant Attorney General Brian Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division made the announcement.

Sharon Barnes Sutton, 59, of Stone Mountain, Georgia, was arraigned on an indictment that charges her with two counts of extortion and one count of federal program bribery by U.S. Magistrate Judge Russell G. Vineyard for the Northern District of Georgia.

According to the allegations in the indictment, Barnes Sutton was an elected member of the DeKalb County Board of Commissioners (“the DeKalb Board”), representing District No. 4 of DeKalb County. The DeKalb Board is comprised of seven elected, part-time commissioners. Among other functions, the DeKalb Board appropriates funds for infrastructure development within the county, and a simple majority of four commissioners is needed to award public contracts for any such project. The indictment alleges that, during the relevant time period, Barnes Sutton also chaired the DeKalb Board’s subcommittee on Finance, Audit, and Budget, which undertook preliminary reviews of contracts, and was a member of the DeKalb Board’s subcommittee on Public Works and Infrastructure.

The indictment further alleges that, in May 2014, Barnes Sutton approached an individual whose company had received a sizeable procurement award from the DeKalb Board in connection with the construction of a wastewater treatment plant. Barnes Sutton demanded monthly payments of $500 from this individual, later increasing her demand to $1,000. The individual made the first $500 payment in June 2016 at a restaurant in Decatur, Georgia. The indictment further alleges that Barnes Sutton asked the individual to meet her at the restaurant and brought her son along so that her son would receive the cash payment on her behalf. The individual made the second $500 cash payment at Barnes Sutton’s residence in July 2014. The FBI disrupted Barnes Sutton’s continued demands in August 2014.

Read more: http://evans.allongeorgia.com/georgia-state-politics/former-georgia-county-commissioner-indicted-on-extortion-and-bribery-charges/

May 27, 2019

State worker bonuses, teacher pay raises. How SC will spend $9 billion

COLUMBIA, SC -- State workers, teachers and college students are winners in this year’s $9.3 billion state budget, which lawmakers gave final approval to Tuesday.

Thirty-two thousand S.C. state employees are slated to get a $600 one-time bonus added to a 2% pay raise this year after state lawmakers adopted the state’s spending plan — which starts July 1.

The budget still needs Gov. Henry McMaster’s signature to become law, and he has the right to issue vetoes if he objects to any part of it. However, the governor and lawmakers have worked closely together on the budget, meaning it’s unlikely McMaster will have major objections to the spending plan.

But S.C. House Speaker Jay Lucas, R-Darlington, said Tuesday he doesn’t plan to call the House back until next January to take up the governor’s vetoes, barring an “emergency.”

Read more: https://www.thestate.com/news/politics-government/article230604694.html

May 27, 2019

Disgraced ex-SC lawmaker asks judge to dismiss probation in domestic violence case

COLUMBIA, SC -- Disgraced former S.C. lawmaker Chris Corley (R) avoided a lengthy prison sentence after he pleaded guilty in 2017 to first-degree criminal domestic violence against his wife — and now he’s asking an Aiken County judge to dismiss him from probation.

On Wednesday, Corley made his first court appearance in nearly two years, asking Circuit Court Judge Clifton Newman to end his probation, saying he had completed the sentencing requirements of more than 100 hours of community service and anger management.

“This caused me to almost lose my family, and I did lose my standing in society,” Corley, R-Aiken, said in court Wednesday, according to the Aiken Standard, which first reported the hearing. “I’m just so sorry for everything that happened.”

The S.C. Attorney General’s Office, who is prosecuting the case, told The State Newspaper on Thursday it opposes the early dismissal.

Read more: https://www.thestate.com/news/politics-government/article230737069.html

While I admit that I'm willing to give anyone a second chance (and moire), Corley has served less than two years of probation of the five years that he was sentenced. Considering that Corley received probation rather than jail, I believe that it would be best to revisit the request in another year.