D.C. Transit Police Officer Tried to Support ISIS With Gift Cards; Should Yellowstone Grizzlies Be Hunted?
Authorities say a Washington, D.C.-area transit police officer has been charged in an FBI sting with attempting to support the Islamic State group. Pablo Martinez Monsivais / AP Photo
Connecting state and local government leaders
Also in our State and Local Daily Digest: Tennessee Democrats challenge voter ID law; Maine gov. wants 9,500 state positions gone; and Miami-Dade rethinks campaign finance.
WASHINGTON, D.C.
ISIS | A police officer for the Metro Transit system in the nation’s capital has been charged with attempting to support the Islamic State group and was arrested on Wednesday morning. Nicholas Young, 36, is accused of seeking to provide $245 in gift cards for mobile messaging to ISIS. Authorities said Young did not pose a threat to the transit system and that the FBI had monitored him since 2010. [The Associated Press]
YELLOWSTONE N.P.
GRIZZLY BEARS | Last March, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed removing Endangered Species Act protections for grizzly bears in Yellowstone National Park. And in recent months, officials have been hashing out a management plan for the bears that would go into effect if the “delisting” of the Yellowstone population becomes final. But state and federal officials have been at odds over some of the details. Discussions continued on Tuesday. Some of the concerns involve how state agencies would determine the number of bears that can be hunted and where hunts could occur. Yellowstone is mostly in Wyoming but extends into parts of Idaho and Montana as well. [Bozeman Daily Chronicle]
NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE
VOTER ID | Democratic lawmakers want to overhaul Tennessee’s photo voter ID mandate, arguing courts have struck down or weakened similar policies in five other states. The law was passed by the Republican-dominated General Assembly in 2011, and Dems are now calling it a Jim Crow law intending to suppress minority votes like in North Carolina. Minority and poor voters are far less likely to have a state-issued photo ID like a driver’s license or U.S. passport that the law requires to cast a ballot. Like Republicans in other states, proponents of the bill argue they’re worried about voter fraud. "[V]oter fraud in the state of Tennessee is like hunting zebras [here]. They don't exist,” said state Rep. Bill Beck, a Democrat. “It is not about voter fraud, it is about keeping people from the ballot box." [Times Free Press]
AUGUSTA, MAINE
JOBS | Don’t call it a “hiring freeze.” That’s what Gov. Paul LePage said about his push to reduce state jobs. Hiring for executive branch positions has ceased, and LePage is approving department requests to fill vacancies directly. LePage would like to see 9,500 positions cut. [The AP via The Washington Times]
MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, FLORIDA
CAMPAIGN FINANCE | 125,000 signed petitions—enough to fill two U-Haul trucks—were delivered to the county clerk of courts on Monday. At stake is the system for funding campaigns in the county. In the coming weeks, once the signatures are counted and verified, the county commissioners will be tasked with either adopting campaign finance reform measures themselves or putting the issue before the voters in November. Among other changes, the proposal would cap contributions to a mayoral, county commission or school board campaign at $250, down from $1,000. In addition, major county vendors and their lobbyists would be prohibited from donating to candidates. [Miami Herald]
SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA
ELECTIONS | The office of Alex Padilla, the secretary of state for the Golden State, mistakenly notified two congressional candidates that they would be on the ballot come November when, in fact, neither of them made it through the primary. Joe Shammas and Patrea Patrick came in third—California advances the two candidates who garner the most votes, regardless of party—yet both received letters certifying nomination from Padilla’s office. Shammas even called the secretary of state’s office and was told there was no error with his nomination. Upon hearing the news, Shammas relaunched his website and even bought campaign posters and yard signs. [Los Angeles Times]
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