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Amazon scraps plans for HQ2 in New York City
Michelle R. Matisons Civil & GovernmentAmazon, which reported $11.2 billion in profits last year while paying no federal taxes, pretty much does what it wants, doesn't it? Well, not quite. In November, when the company announced its expansion plans, known as HQ2, to include Long Island City in Queens, residents, community activists, and those taking on Amazon immediately mobilized opposition. In the end, local character and vehement opposition to corporate welfare won. Amazon announced last week that it was no longer considering New York City as the location for its grand headquarters expansion.
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Housing America part 3: Housing and race
Lucy Wallwork Civil & GovernmentNo discussion of the state of housing in the U.S. can be discussed without addressing the constant thread of race that has been woven through the debate from day one. Housing is only one component in the persistent racial divide in the U.S., but because shelter and wealth have become so intrinsically linked, housing is an area that has an outsized impact on inequalities. Explicit segregation laws have not determined the legal basis for housing allocation for more than 70 years. Today, you are breaking the law if you display explicit racial prejudice in the housing sector. But one look at America’s public housing estates will reveal a starkly divided country. Indeed, the housing divide in over 20 metropolitan areas today is so stark that they have been qualified as "hyper-segregated."
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Taking new steps to repair community relations
Bambi Majumdar Law Enforcement, Defense & SecurityPolice departments around the country are coming up with innovative ways to repair and rebuild community relations. One police department in Mississippi, for instance, has started issuing vouchers instead of tickets for minor traffic infractions. In Oxford, local residents won't get a ticket if they are stopped for a busted tail light or headlight. Instead, they are handed a voucher to get it fixed. As a result, police in the town have teamed up with local businesses for free car light repairs. Called the "We Care Program," it is the police department's initiative to build better relations with the community that it serves.
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How women have been making headlines in the military recently
Kristin Brandenburg Law Enforcement, Defense & SecurityIn recent weeks, women have been making military headlines at a phenomenal pace. It seems each branch has experienced firsts as far as female service members' contributions are concerned. While some events were built from decades of dedicated service, other stories are just now being written by incredible women who are fulfilling their duties and breaking barriers at the same time. With this in mind, let's explore some women who have made their marks on the military in the past few months.
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Getting ready for and managing an on-site visit by OSHA
D. Albert Brannen Business Management, Services & Risk ManagementEmployers subject to an on-site inspection by OSHA or one of the state agencies that regulate workplace safety and health should take preventive steps to prepare for such an inspection and have a plan for handling it and any follow-up that may be necessary. This article outlines best practices for getting ready for and managing such an inspection.
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Will someone leave the light on for us?
Linda Popky Facilities & GroundsPG&E, the largest utility in California, recently announced its CEO would be resigning as the company declares bankruptcy. The utility has been beset with liability claims from wildfires started or fed by defective or malfunctioning electrical equipment. PG&E is being held responsible for 17 major fires in 2017, and likely is at fault for at least part of the Camp Fire that killed nearly 90 people in Paradise, California, last fall. The current situation presents a conundrum for California utility regulators and legislators.
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U.S. Senate passes sweeping public lands act
Michelle R. Matisons Civil & GovernmentDespite the historic levels of partisanship we've seen out of Washington, D.C., recently, there's been some surprising bipartisan activity in the Senate regarding public lands expansion: the National Resources Management Act (NRMA). Now the Act heads to the House, which is expected to pass it next month with an endorsement from a supportive President Trump to codify it into law. Like anything optimistically sold as a bipartisan green initiative, this package (NRMA) is a mixed bag of tricks to be sure. But that gives us something to work with, right? For starters, nothing short of 1 million acres of newly protected land in the West is included in the package.
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Controversial seismic survey in Alaska’s ANWR halted
Michelle R. Matisons Natural Resources1002 Area, located in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), is 1.5 million acres of land rumored to contain anywhere between 4 and 11 billion barrels of oil. In 2017, the Trump administration opened the area up to oil and gas exploration when it passed a tax bill requiring the federal government to hold at least two oil and gas lease sales in the next decade. This move caused quite a controversy, and now it appears SAExploration, Kaktovit Inupiat Corp., and Arctic Slope Regional Corp. will not be moving forward on their planned ANWR seismic survey this winter. Cancellation of the seismic project bodes well for drilling opponents, but this is a battle far from over.
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Survey: Federal workers downbeat as second shutdown looms
Seth Sandronsky Civil & GovernmentUncertainty reigns among federal workers over their financial health and buying power in the face of a potential second partial government shutdown on Feb. 15, according to a survey from Clever Real Estate. The 35-day closure in December and January over a failed U.S.-Mexico border wall deal has left a lasting scar, survey results show. The eight-day survey, featuring a random sampling of 500 federal employees, indicates much angst as Congress and President Trump careen toward an unclear outcome of negotiations for a border wall, according to Thomas O'Shaughnessy, a research analyst at Clever Real Estate.
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Will the military be called on to build a border wall?
Miranda Y. Brumbaugh Law Enforcement, Defense & SecurityIn another effort to complete the construction of the border wall between the U.S. and Mexico, President Trump has turned to the military. More specifically, the president has threatened to declare a national emergency to push forward with construction: "We’re looking at a national emergency because we have a national emergency." In doing so, the U.S. military could be required to both build the wall and fund the project, which has a price estimate of $5.7 billion. Learn the latest news regarding how the military would be affected if the president pursues border wall funding and/or construction from the Pentagon.
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