Cuomo’s Law Enforcement Order Aimed at Protecting Public Transit; Duluth vs. Invasive Beetles
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Also: Copper wire thieves darken Tulsa and Oregon eyes California gun control measure.
Here’s some of what we’ve been reading today…
ALBANY, New York: A new executive order from Gov. Andrew Cuomo aimed at boosting security on public transit networks during the holiday season would grant jurisdiction to law enforcement from neighboring New Jersey and Connecticut in the Empire State during the holiday season. “This order gives our partners in New Jersey and Connecticut greater ability to help patrol and protect our mass transit networks. Together we will continue to remain vigilant, and I urge all travelers to stay alert and safe throughout the holidays,” Cuomo said in a statement. [Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s Office]
DULUTH, Minnesota: The emerald ash borer, which has been wreaking havoc on ash trees in neighboring Superior, Wisconsin, for two years has a foothold in the city of Duluth, where it was discovered on four trees on Park Point that had been inspected for the invasive beetle. As the Duluth News-Tribune reports, an emergency quarantine was imposed on the park by the Minnesota Department of Agriculture back in October and there’s a meeting this week to figure out what to do next. [Duluth News-Tribune]
SALEM, Oregon: Don’t expect Oregon state lawmakers to tackle any gun control legislation during the legislature’s 2016 short session. But, as Oregon Public Broadcasting reports, Senate Majority Leader Ginny Burdick, a Democrat, is working to build bipartisan legislation for the 2017 legislative sessions, including a California-style emergency protective order, which, she says is “aimed at is people who are in crisis, whether it’s a mental health crisis or some kind of other crisis where they are clearly a danger to themselves or others.” [Oregon Public Broadcasting]
COLUMBIA, South Carolina: Two months after record flooding in the Palmetto State, many damaged roads in the Columbia area are still closed. In Richland County, 25 roads remain closed along with 20 state-controlled roads, which, The State, reports, is down from a peak of 133. Across the state, flooding caused an estimated $137 million in damage to roads. [The State]
TULSA, Oklahoma: Thieves have stolen around $200,000 worth of copper wire from street and highway lights in Oklahoma’s second largest city, leaving long stretches of roadways in the dark. And getting the broken lighting fixtures repairs will take some time, The Tulsa World reports. If we can get the funding in place and the contractors, we’re hoping it could a three- to six-month repair,” Terry Ball, Tulsa’s streets and stormwater director, told the newspaper. “But whether or not that’s realistic, I don’t know until we get the contractors and costs in place.” So far, thieves have taken six times the amount of copper wire than all of last year. [The Tulsa World]
Michael Grass is Executive Editor of Government Executive’s Route Fifty.
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