Hesperia Officials' War on Halfway Houses; Maine Gov. Considers Suing Over Substance Abuse Allegations
Connecting state and local government leaders
Also in our State and Local Daily Digest: Washington senator thinks Seattle needs 'adult supervision'; Nebraska child welfare cases on the rise; Chicago water tax appears likely to pass
HESPERIA, CALIFORNIA
CRIMINAL JUSTICE | Sharon Green runs two transitional houses for homeless, non-violent felons—many of whom were released under the state’s criminal justice reform measures—who would otherwise have few alternatives. Yet the desert city where she lives, 80 miles northeast of Los Angeles, has been less than welcoming to the service she provides. Hesperia’s elected officials have been using new legislations and restrictive ordinances to make it next to impossible to operate halfway housing for the mentally ill, addicts and former criminals. One new law the city council adopted requires landlords to evict any renter whom the police even suspect of criminal activity. Hesperia’s mayor even likened the campaign to drive out felons to exterminating cockroaches. [Los Angeles Times]
AUGUSTA, MAINE
GOV. PAUL LEPAGE | Maine’s governor indicated Tuesday that he might take legal action over an opinion article in a Portland newspaper that alleged he had problems with substance abuse. Gov. Paul LePage told a radio host that he has been advised not to discuss the article because “there might be a very large lawsuit about it.” The op-ed, written by a substance abuse counselor, ran on Labor Day weekend. It was widely criticized and The Portland Press Herald has since removed the article from its website, replacing it with an editor’s note saying it “should not have been published. It did not meet our standards.” LePage drew national attention in recent weeks over comments he made about the race of drug dealers and for a profane voicemail message he left for a Democratic lawmaker. [Bangor Daily News]
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON
HOMELESSNESS | A state senator here has plans to introduce legislation to crack down on homeless encampments and punish local governments that fail to enforce regulations for the sites. State Sen. Mark Miloscia, a Republican, is running for state auditor. Under his proposal, local governments would not be allowed to put in place policies for homeless encampments that are less stringent than those set at the state level. Localities that do so could lose state funding. The Seattle City Council is currently weighing a proposal that would make it tougher to evict people from unauthorized camps. Miloscia singled the city out as he discussed his plan. “Seattle, frankly, needs adult supervision,” he said. [The Seattle Times]
LINCOLN, NEBRASKA
CHILD WELFARE | The state inspector general for child welfare found 22 deaths or serious injuries of kids in the system this past year to be “tragic outcomes.” Conditions at the Youth Residential Treatment Center in Kearney are deteriorating, per the fourth annual report, and programming lacking for the most troubled young men. Cases referred to the inspector general for review rose 40 percent last year. [Lincoln Journal Star]
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS
WATER TAX | City Council votes Wednesday on Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s new tax on water and sewer service. If passed, residents can expect to pay and extra $226 a year on their water bills by 2020. The tax is projected to raise $239 million needed to fund municipal workers’ pensions. During a test vote, 26 of the city’s 50 aldermen voted in favor—a sign the measure will likely pass. [Chicago Tribune]
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