Iowa Treasurer Wants Senate ‘Scoundrels’ to Pay $2.2M Sexual Harassment Settlement

SEXUAL HARASSMENT| Iowa’s Democratic Treasurer Michael Fitzgerald wants Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds to ensure sexual harassment settlement money that the former communications director for the state Senate GOP was awarded in court doesn’t come from taxpayers. The complainant said she was fired when she spoke up, but her bosses said it was over her work. Fitzgerald further demanded changes based on the woman’s testimony, which Reynolds has left up to the legislature. “We do have a tight budget, and now we have this $2.2 million for those scoundrels up in the Republican Senate to pay,” Fitzgerald said. [Radio Iowa]

RELIGION | Mahwah Township, New Jersey is calling on a New York Jewish group to remove piping installed on local utility poles to create a religious boundary known as an eruv. About 200 people gathered Monday to back the township’s demand. In Jewish tradition, Orthodox Jews within an eruv can do certain tasks that would otherwise be prohibited on the Sabbath—such as carrying keys or pushing a stroller. The township says that South Monsey Eruv Fund is violating zoning regulations that prohibit signs on utility poles. A Facebook group, Mahwah Strong, has gained 3,000 members in six days and plans to track Mahwah’s enforcement of its ordinances, according to the group’s founder. [NorthJersey.com]

SOCIAL MEDIA | The American Civil Liberties Union is calling on Maine Gov. Paul LePage to stop deleting comments posted on his official Facebook page and to stop blocking citizens from it. The ACLU of Maine sent LePage a letter Monday accusing him of censorship and violating free speech rights. “The First Amendment protects us from government censorship,” said University of Florida professor Clay Calvert, a First Amendment expert. “But to the extent that a government official, such as the governor . . . or President Trump, uses these social media platforms to convey official information and controls the page, then that suggests there is actually government action involved and that’s where the First Amendment comes into play.” [Portland Press Herald]

CATS | Stubbs, an Alaskan pet-turned international celebrity has passed away. The political mythology surrounding Stubbs started with an apocryphal tale. Legend has it that back in the 1990s, the cat was elected as Talkeetna, Alaska’s mayor in a write-in campaign organized by voters unhappy with the human candidates. In fact, Talkeetna is only a “historic district” and doesn’t even have a city council, let alone a mayor. The family that owned the store where Stubbs lived said this about his reputation in town: "No one could imagine the notoriety that Stubbs had," the family wrote in the statement. "Over 75 percent of visitors ask, 'Where's the Mayor?' or come in with this statement “I have an appointment with the mayor.” RIP Mayor Stubbs. [Alaska Dispatch News]

TRANSPORTATION | A showdown continues between New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo over the city’s subway system. As the Metropolitan Transportation Authority planned to release an emergency plan for the system, the city issued its own list of priorities and stressed that it should not be expected to foot the bill for upgrades. MTA Chairman Joseph Lhota dismissed the city’s list of recommendations as “silly” political posturing. Referring to de Blasio, Lhota added: “He leaves people with the impression that we’re sitting on cash, and we’re not.” [The New York Times]

SPECIAL SESSION | Illinois will see its second legislative session in a month, this one on education, after Gov. Bruce Rauner made the call because lawmakers failed to pass public education funding legislation weeks before schools open. The budget the Democrat-controlled legislature passed over the Republican governor’s vetoes requires state aid to schools to be administered using an “evidence-based formula,” a piece of legislation they didn’t submit fearing another veto. That formula prioritizes the neediest schools first, after ensuring no district receives less money than the year previous, with a $250 million-a-year grant to Chicago schools and a stipulation the state covers the $215 million employer portion of the city’s teacher pensions. Rauner sees the caveat as a bailout. [The Pantagraph]

UNIONS | Connecticut’s House of Representatives narrowly approved an employees’ concessions deal projected to save $1.57 billion the next two fiscal years in a largely party-line vote. Republican lawmakers contend the agreement preserves an unsustainable benefits system, with the new, doubled employee pension contribution rate 4 percent of payroll still below the national average of 6 percent for state workers. The bulk of the savings comes from a three-year pay freeze and three furlough days, which state police troopers and assistant attorneys general unions are exempt from. [The CT Mirror]