Virginia’s Worrisome Hepatitis A Outbreak; Major Pension Investment Headache in Kentucky
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Also in our State and Local Daily Digest: Water contamination questions in Pennsylvania; Colorado State Fair’s marijuana boost; and Florida tourism suffers.
RICHMOND, VIRGINIA
PUBLIC HEALTH | The widespread hepatitis A outbreak in Virginia that has been linked to strawberries served to customers at the Tropical Smoothie Cafe chain could grow beyond the 40 cases already confirmed by the Virginia Department of Health since it can take 50 days for the liver disease to develop. Lawsuits are starting to be filed, too. “My strong suspicion is this thing is going to creep up to 100, 125 people who are sick,” said a lawyer representing one man suing Tropical Smoothie Cafe and others who were sickened in an unrelated hepatitis A outbreak in Hawaii health officials believe may be linked to raw frozen scallops served at a chain of sushi restaurants. [Richmond Times-Dispatch]
FRANKFORT, KENTUCKY
PENSIONS | One of the biggest and worst-performing investments in the severely underfunded Kentucky Retirement Systems is a hedge fund, which the state recently plowed more money into. The $14.9 billion retirement system provides benefits for upwards of 355,000 state and local government retirees. As of June 30, it had invested $455 million in Prisma Capital Partners’ Daniel Boone Fund—about 3.3 percent of the system’s assets. But, since then, KRS trustees decided to raise that amount to over $700 million. A former KRS board member pointed to problems when it comes to transparency with hedge fund investments. “You don’t know where your money is,” said Chris Tobe. “I sat on the KRS investment committee, and I literally didn’t know where in the world our money was being held or by whom. It’s a horrible lack of transparency when you’re dealing with taxpayer money.” [Lexington Herald Leader]
HORSHAM, PENNSYLVANIA
WATER QUALITY | Federal regulators told local residents Monday that they “really don't know and . . . really can't answer” what the impacts and risks are for those who for years drank water contaminated with perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) before those toxic substances were discovered in public and private wells. The source of of PFOA and PFOS is firefighting foam used at former U.S. Navy facilities in the area. Since 2014, 16 public and private wells in three townships have been shuttered because of the contamination. [The Inquirer]
PUEBLO, COLORADO
MARIJUANA | The tax revenue that has come with legalized recreational marijuana sales is benefiting the Colorado State Fair, with $300,000 from the state’s marijuana cash fund going to help Colorado 4-H and Future Farmers of America organizations. The fact that the State Fair events put on by those organizations haven’t made much money has been a source of contention with the Colorado State Legislature. According to Pueblo County Commissioner Sal Pace: “I think it’s important for the citizens of Pueblo to realize that marijuana funds are going to our Colorado State Fair and are playing a role in helping the Fair become more successful.” [Pueblo Chieftain]
ORLANDO, FLORIDA
TOURISM | Vacation crowds appear to be lighter than usual here, during a summer marked by a series of tragic and unsettling events in the Sunshine State. During about one-week’s time in June, “Voice” singer Christina Grimmie was shot and killed at an Orlando venue, a massacre took place at the Pulse nightclub, and an alligator fatally attacked a child at Disney World. Meanwhile, tepid economies in Latin America, concerns over Britain’s vote to leave the European Union, and fears over the spread of the Zika virus are also seen as possible dampers on tourism. “We have a Florida problem, not a SeaWorld Orlando problem,” Joel Manby, SeaWorld Entertainment CEO, said during a recent call with investors. Attendance at SeaWorld in Orlando dropped this summer, but was up at sites in California and Texas. [Tampa Bay Times]
BOISE, IDAHO
GAMING | In response to requests from a local 8-year-old, the mayor of Boise has issued a proclamation declaring Aug. 30 “Gamer’s Day.” Samson “Sam” Emerizy, a fourth-grader, began pushing for a video-game-themed holiday last December. He started by writing a letter to Mayor Dave Bieter. “Since I was, and still am, really obsessed with video games, I thought, ‘Hey, why don’t I make a day about video games?’” Emerizy said. He tracked down Bieter at a YMCA event in June to hand deliver a second letter. “I was like, ‘Holy crap, I’m actually talking to the freaking mayor of Boise,’” he said. The mayor was unable to create a holiday, but was willing to issue the proclamation. Aug. 30 is also Emerizy’s birthday. [Idaho Statesman]
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