California Landslide Closes Large Swath of Pacific Coast Highway
The Pacific Coast Highway in Big Sur, California
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Also in our State and Local Daily Digest: People can record Seattle police; no 'lunch shaming' in Nevada county; and a Michigan town's public school PR problem
TRANSPORTATION | A section of California’s scenic Highway 1 near Big Sur is closed after a massive landslide took out about one-quarter to one-half of a mile of roadway. It’s unclear when the road can be reopened since the landslide is still moving. [The Mercury News; The Tribune]
POLICE | Seattle City Council approved an ordinance allowing the public to observe, record and criticize police activity without being accosted—except when impeding law enforcement’s ability to do its job or inciting violence. [The Seattle Times]
PENSIONS | In order for Kentucky to get its pension funding problem under control, the state government realistically needs $700 million a year, the state budget director testified on Monday. The findings came from a consultant’s report commissioned by Gov. Matt Bevin’s administration. [The Courier Journal]
PUBLIC EDUCATION | It’s unclear why unpaid school lunch debt more than doubled over the past year in Washoe County, Nevada, from $29,560 to $29,560. School officials don’t want to be in the position where they’re “lunch shaming” and take food away from a child. Washoe County, located in northwestern Nevada, is not alone when it comes to unpaid meal debt in the Silver State: Three-fourths of school districts in Nevada are in the same boat. [The Nevada Independent]
A small town in southwest Michigan is dealing with a string of bad headlines involving school leadership and teachers. That includes the superintendent plagiarizing other people’s work in a newsletter, a teacher and the superintendent’s secretary caught on video in a bar poking fun of students with special needs and the superintendent and assistant high school principal lacking state certification. The mayor is considering pulling his children from the local public schools. “I grew up here. My family grew up here. But what’s going on is unacceptable,” Bangor Mayor Nick Householder said. [The Detroit News]
PROCUREMENT | A 1 percent improvement to Maryland procurement would equal $160 million in savings with the state’s budget of more than $16 billion. [The Baltimore Sun]
FUEL | Anchorage is rolling back zoning laws prohibiting storage containers for hazardous materials like fuel from being constructed within 1,000 feet of residences, after the Government Hill neighborhood complained it would prevent development near the city’s port. [KTUU-TV]
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