Cat Trapping Concerns in the Florida Keys; D.C. ‘Pay-to-Play’ Local Politics
Feral cats are a problem in the Florida Keys. Andrew Oates / Shutterstock.com
Also in our State & Local roundup: Stories from New Mexico, Oregon and Minnesota.
Here is today’s State & Local news roundup for Wednesday, October 15, 2014 ...
MONROE COUNTY, Florida: Trapping feral cats in the Florida Keys is not universally loved by local residents but many local officials insist their moves to keep the feral cat population under control are absolutely a necessity to protect natural refuges and endangered species like the local Keys woodrat. Brian Bowden of the Florida Keys Free Press reports that cat-trapping programs have been in place at two wildlife refuges for the past few years but became full time last year.
ST. PAUL, Minnesota: Mayor Chris Coleman unveiled a new legislative proposal to create a paid parental leave benefit for city workers. If adopted by the City Council as part of the 2015 budget, St. Paul would become the second Minnesota city to offer the benefit, which as Frederick Melo of the Pioneer Press reports, would provide four weeks of paid leave for a mother giving birth and two weeks paid leave to the other parent.
WASHINGTON, District of Columbia: In the nation’s capital’s local government, the “correlation between the number of a major contracts being awarded and the campaign contributions coming from those contractors is breathtaking,” Public Citizen’s Craig Holman told WAMU-FM’s Patrick Madden as part the public radio station's massive investigation into public contracting and political contributions to members of the D.C. Council.
BEAVERTON, Oregon: Although members of the City Council did not take action on a proposed local ordinance regulating “the sale of marijuana, medical marijuana and marijuana- infused products” during their meeting on Tuesday, Beaverton is one of a handful of local governments in Oregon preparing for the likely passage of Measure 91, which would legalize marijuana in the state. As Laura Frazier of The Oregonian reports, Beaverton’s proposed ordinance would not set a city marijuana tax rate, which would be set through a separate resolution.
SANTA FE, New Mexico: Commissioners in Mora County, northeast of Santa Fe, voted Tuesday to maintain the county’s “community rights” ordinance that bans oil and gas drilling. But as the Albuquerque Journal’s Mark Oswald reports, the future of the ordinance could change in big ways in 2015 once one of its strongest supporters, Commission Chairman John Olivas, leaves office at the end of the year.
(Image via Andrew Oates/Shutterstock.com)