Detroit's Wheelchair Ramp Requirements; Knoxville's Waste Thefts
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Also in our State & Local roundup: Stories from Nevada, Maine and Minnesota ...
Here is today’s State & Local roundup for Friday, October 10, 2014 …
DETROIT, Michigan: In a city with no shortage of infrastructure problems, Detroit’s ongoing efforts to reconstruct sidewalks to include wheelchair ramps at intersections—which cost $10,000 per intersection—has been questioned by many who wonder if it’s a good use of the city’s strained resources. But as Joel Kurth of The Detroit News reports, the city doesn’t have much of a choice as the “work is the latest in a decadelong, court-imposed effort to force Detroit into compliance with federal handicapped accessible laws.”
PORTLAND, Maine: The acting director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy told officials in Maine that punishment won’t solve the state’s drug-abuse problems during a visit to the state on Thursday. “We want to use every opportunity to move people away from the criminal justice system but we don’t think legalization is the answer,” said Michael Botticelli, according to David Hench of the Portland Press-Herald.
CLARK COUNTY, Nevada: Schools in the Las Vegas area are experiencing a “critical” shortage of substitute teachers and want to use retired teachers, Trevon Milliard of the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports. Nevada state law dictates that before school officials turn to retired teachers as substitutes—which would mean that the retired teachers would be paid in addition to their pension—they must show they’ve made every effort to fill the vacant positions.
MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota: Minnesota’s largest city has a new sister city, the port city of Basaso in Somalia. According to Erin Golden of the Star Tribune, members of the Minneapolis City Council approved the city’s 12th sister-city relationship on Thursday, a move that was greeted warmly by Minneapolis’ large Somali community.
KNOXVILLE, Tennessee: Knoxville city officials are investigating an unknown number of city employees for alleged minor thefts and scrapping violations at a solid waste transfer facility. The city’s inquiry was prompted when the Knoxville News Sentinel received an anonymous tip on the matter and asked the city for more information. The facility accepts solid waste like “recyclables, tires, building materials, construction/demolition debris and also household hazardous materials, such as automotive oil, antifreeze, fluorescent light bulbs and pesticides,” according to Tony Hernandez of the News Sentinel.
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