N.J.’s Richest Resident Leaves; How Many Denver Pot Shops Is Too Many?

TRENTON, NEW JERSEY
TAXES | New Jersey’s high tax burden—it’s one of only two states to levy both an estate and inheritance tax—may have helped drive away its richest resident. Hedge fund manager David Tepper, whom Forbes valued at $10.4 billion in 2015, has moved his residence and his business to Florida, which has neither tax. It’s still unclear what kind of effect this will have on New Jersey’s revenues, since Tepper’s tax returns haven’t been made public. But the news was big enough to raise concern from the state’s lawmakers. “New Jersey can’t afford to keep losing taxpayers and businesses,” said Assembly Republican Leader Jon Bramnick. [Philly.com]

DENVER, COLORADO
MARIJUANA | Denver City Council is considering legislation capping the number of locations for pot shops and grow houses, and that could mean stopping license applications as well. Millions of dollars are at stake for some marijuana businesses that already purchased property and developed facilities and are simply awaiting license approval. Approving pending licenses would let 47 new marijuana facilities through before the caps, a frustrating prospect for some council members who feel certain neighborhoods are already oversaturated. [The Denver Post]

ALAMONTE SPRINGS, FLORIDA
UBER | Alamonte Springs is about to become the first municipality in the U.S. to partially subsidize Uber fares—20 percent of any ride to or from the city and 25 percent of any ride to or from the commuter rail station. City Manager Frank Martz expects Uber’s arrival will reduce traffic congestion, and he’s not phased by the prospect of surge pricing. “[I]n the private sector, if it becomes too expensive to be used, no one will use it and the market will force the price down,” he said. “It's a supply and demand dynamic.” [NPR]

KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI
BROADBAND | Google Fiber is testing the limits of what constitutes “low-cost” broadband. The company is quietly ridding itself of the “free” low-end Internet service option it launched with in Kansas City in 2012. Customers who already agreed to pay $300 for installation, then nothing the next six years for speeds of up to 5 megabits per second, are being grandfathered in, but new clients in Johnson County are being offered $50-a-month “Fiber 100” service. The plan promises speeds up to 100 Mbps, faster than the home service national average, and installation is free. But takers are required to sign up for a year of service and don’t get free cloud data storage. [The Kansas City Star]

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA
HOMELESSNESS | San Francisco’s current system of care is ill-equipped to handle homeless seniors, according to a new city report. More than half of homeless shelter residents are age 50-plus, meaning they’re more vulnerable to terminal illness and violence. The report supports Mayor Ed Lee’s plan to create a homeless department. “San Francisco’s homeless system was designed for a younger homeless population needing short term treatment, but increasingly the people living on The City’s streets are struggling with chronic health conditions and physical disabilities that require continuing care,” according to the report. [San Francisco Examiner]

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK
CRIMINAL JUSTICE | The Internal Affairs unit of New York State’s Corrections Department, which is responsible for investigating wrongdoing by officers, has undergone a makeover and is ready to stand up to the officers’ union. Speaking on his task of rooting out problems in an agency riddled with controversy, Daniel F. Martuscello III, the department’s deputy commissioner, said, “We will do anything necessary,” adding, “I’m not here to make the union happy.” Historically, the union has been sheltered from scrutiny in the legislature by lawmakers like State Senator Patrick M. Gallivan, who represents a district where prisons are the biggest employers. In the past, the system has favored the union so heavily that guards who had been found guilty of brutalizing inmates were allowed to remain in their jobs. In one case Peter A. Mastrantonia, a guard who has been sued 17 times in brutality cases that cost the state $673,000 in settlements, remained in his position until November of 2015 when he was suspended. [The New York Times]

CASPER, WYOMING
HIGHER EDUCATION | Wyoming community colleges are experiencing an increase in applications this year as unemployment rises in the state coal, oil and gas industries. Gov. Matt Mead announced the opening of three community resource centers last week and about 900 visitors showed. “The colleges are in a position where this is just kind of in their history,” said Jim Rose, Wyoming Community College Commission executive director. “Our peak enrollment for the last decade was in 2011. That’s in the middle of the recession.” [Casper Star Tribune]

BOISE, IDAHO
TRAFFIC SAFETY | Do you know the rules of the road for bicyclists and pedestrians? Those thinking about getting a driver’s license in Idaho may want to bone up. As of January, two questions about cycling and pedestrian safety have been added to the state driver’s test to raise awareness about sharing the road. So far, it seems Idaho test-takers are doing well on the new questions. Test data shows people answer the questions correctly 88 to 96 percent of the time, except for one question about passing bikes that only 65 percent get right. [Idaho Statesman]

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON
PUBLIC TRANSIT | Between 2010 and 2014, Seattle’s bus ridership grew faster than that of any other U.S. city. During that time period, the bus system added roughly 19,000 commuters, handily beating Chicago, which came in second place with 4,000 new riders. At this point, one-in-five Emerald City residents get to their jobs by bus, and the city is second only to San Francisco in terms of overall bus reliance. Most likely, Seattle’s worst-in-the-nation traffic is to blame for more people choosing the bus over driving alone to work. [The Seattle Times]

DETROIT, MICHIGAN
WATER CRISIS | Gov. Rick Snyder reiterated Monday he doesn’t intend to resign over Flint’s water crisis, sticking to his guns about “career bureaucrats” being the ones really to blame for not sanctioning the use of chemicals to prevent against lead poisoning. “You take your shots; you deserve them. You deserve the people in Flint being angry at you,” he said. “But you don’t back away.” [The Detroit News]