Tears Over Oregon’s Pensions ‘Moral’ Dilemma; Texas Warning Over Refugee Resettlement
Oregon State Capitol
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Also in our State and Local Daily Digest: Cancer-causing metal in New Jersey water systems; South Dakota city leaders spar in meeting; and Florida’s new invasive species discovery.
SALEM, OREGON
PENSIONS | The vice chair of the Oregon Investment Council broke down in tears at a meeting last week as she discussed the extent of the state’s public pension woes. "This is becoming a moral issue,” said Rukaiyah Adams. “We can't just talk about numbers anymore." Adams described how the state was set to pass a record $22 billion in unfunded pension promises to future taxpayers. "We're beyond crisis," said Katy Durant, chair of the Council. "We should have been addressing this 20 years ago and it's just been building.” [The Oregonian/OregonLive]
AUSTIN, TEXAS
STATE AND FEDERAL RELATIONS | Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is threatening to withdraw his state’s participation in national refugee resettlement program unless federal authorities adopt a state plan for additional vetting of refugees. “Despite multiple requests by the state of Texas, the federal government lacks the capability or the will to distinguish the dangerous from the harmless, and Texas will not be an accomplice to such dereliction of duty to the American people,” the governor said in a statement. [Texas Tribune]
TRENTON, NEW JERSEY
PUBLIC HEALTH | A cancer-causing metal that a new report found in more than 150 water systems in the Garden State, is prompting calls from state legislators for health authorities to reassess their water-quality standards standards on hexavalent chromium. There are no uniform standards on just how much hexavalent chromium, which was at the center of the 2000 movie “Erin Brockovich,” needs to be consumed in order to increase cancer risks. Sen. Raymond Lesniak said it would be “a colossal failure of government to refuse to take the needed actions to keep our drinking water clean and safe.” [The Record]
KEY LARGO, FLORIDA
INVASIVE SPECIES | Burmese pythons have started breeding in the Florida Keys. The species has long known to be expanding in the Everglades, but this is the first time wildlife officials have found hatchlings in the Keys. The news isn’t a good sign for already the already-threatened Key Largo woodrats, cotton mouses and other similar creatures the pythons like to prey upon. In response, officials plan to send out postcards to residents of the Keys to let them know about the enormous snakes and ask for help in tracking them down. [Miami Herald]
SIOUX FALLS, SOUTH DAKOTA
LEGISLATIVE FIREWORKS | An outspoken citizen activist turned Sioux Falls City Council member, who uses “a ‘scorched earth’ approach to alienate fellow councilors, antagonize the executive branch and put herself in the crosshairs of a possible ethics probe,” got into a shouting match on the dias during a public meeting. “Voices raised, gavels banged, and accusations flew.” [Argus Leader]
TULSA, OKLAHOMA
CODE ENFORCEMENT | The backlog in Tulsa’s Working in Neighborhoods Department is so long, residents will have to wait an average of about 30 days before their complaints are even looked into. In August, the wait climbed to 45 days. Dwain Midget, the head of the department blamed a 20 percent budget cut for the backlog. “Staff were told not to put in work orders in April because we didn’t have money,” Midget said. “You can’t spend money you don’t have.” At the current pace, the department is set to run out of funds again come February. [Tulsa World]
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