More Shark-Detection Buoys in Mass.; Fantasy Sports Get OK to Resume in N.Y.
Connecting state and local government leaders
Also in our State and Local Daily Digest: Georgia city’s fight to expand a fiber network; new tree protections in Sacramento; and Idaho state worker health coverage.
MARSHFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS
SHARKS | July and August have brought with them a growing number of great white shark sightings in Massachusetts Bay and Cape Cod Bay. Coastal towns are beginning to invest in technology that can help them monitor the situation closer—if not in real-time. Marshfield is the latest South Shore community to install shark-detecting buoys off its beaches. Acoustic receivers from these devices can tell if a tagged great white shark is swimming in the area. Marshfield’s three buoys, each costing $2,500, will help the town determine whether closer monitoring of shark activity or public education are necessary. [The Boston Globe]
ALBANY, NEW YORK
FANTASY SPORTS | Daily fantasy sports will be able to resume in New York state under a law Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed on Wednesday. The state’s attorney general had filed lawsuits against two top fantasy sports companies, arguing the games were akin to illegal gambling. Under the measure Cuomo signed they’re deemed a “game of skill.” The new law requires fantasy sports operators to pay an annual fee of up to $50,000 to the state, and imposes a 15 percent tax on their revenues. It also bars the games from including college and high school sports, and mandates players be 18 or older. [Associated Press via Albany Times Union]
DECATUR, GEORGIA
FIBER | The City Council is considering a fiber network expansion, and the telecommunications industry is fighting it. High-speed internet arrived in 2014, Decatur building 144 fiber strands between government building, but now some would like to see a loop around the whole city to boost economic development. Strands would be leased to providers, but the Illinois Telecommunications Association, which represents 47 companies and about 80 of their vendors, argues enough fiber is already available through its members like AT&T. Fiber is only available to businesses through the private sector currently. “The stuff that's currently being offered to the community, it's diminished, or if you truly want the best stuff that is available, you're paying (a lot) for it,” said City Manager Tim Gleason. “It's quite costly.” [Herald & Review]
SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA
TREES | Thousands of trees on public and private land would gain new protections under a controversial ordinance the city council here might vote on Thursday. “Trees are utterly essential to our life here in Sacramento,” said Councilman Jeff Harris, a key backer of the measure. “They are what make it livable here.” Among other provisions, the ordinance would update requirements for tree removals, and allow the city to pursue fines for violations of tree-related rules, some of which could total up to $25,000 per day. [The Sacramento Bee]
CUMBERLAND COUNTY, MAINE
RELIGION | The question of how to photograph Muslim women who wear hijabs for official government reasons has often been an area of controversy. In Cumberland County, jail officials have a special protocol for these situations. They photograph the women twice—once with the hijab, once without it—and the photos of the women with their heads uncovered. Now, county officials are investigating how two mugshots of Muslim women without their hijabs were released to the media. Protesters are claiming that these photos were released as a way to shame the women who were arrested during a large Black Lives Matter demonstration in Portland, Maine. [The Washington Post]
NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK
LAW ENFORCEMENT | A New York City police officer under scrutiny for racist remarks made on Facebook, including one referring to Mayor Bill de Blasio’s wife a “former crack addict,” was captured on video grinding in uniform with a scantily-clad dancer at a 2011 West Indian Day Parade. Detective Gregory Gordon, 33, was transferred to a different precinct after the dancing incident. A new investigation was launched last week, after the Daily News exposed anti-black and anti-Muslim comments Gordon made on social media. In addition to the comment about the mayor’s wife, Chirlane McCray, referring to black people Gordon wrote: “Stop acting like anyone owes you anything. Slavery ended 149 years ago.” [Daily News]
BOISE, IDAHO
HEALTH CARE | Set-asides for state employee health insurance costs are expected to increase about 10 percent next year, after a 9.3 percent increase this year. Rising medical and prescription costs are to blame for this year’s $12,240 appropriation for all 20,200 full-time positions. “What obviously stands out is the cost of the health care delivery system itself. That is going to wind up being where we’re going to concentrate our efforts,” said state Rep. Fred Wood. “Without monkeying with the benefit package, how do we address the cost drivers in the current system?” [Idaho Statesman]
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