Thousands of Uber Drivers Fail Maryland’s State Screening Requirements
Connecting state and local government leaders
Also in our State and Local Daily Digest: Philly parking app shutting down; San Luis Obispo’s controversial spoof video; and New York’s shuttered prisons for sale.
TRANSPORTATION | The state of Maryland has given over 4,000 of the state’s app-based ride-booking drivers, most of them for Uber, the boot since December 2015. Authorities did so because the drivers failed to meet state screening requirements—even though they passed background checks conducted by the companies they drive for. About 97 percent of the drivers impacted were driving for Uber. The state review that resulted in the rejections included about 74,000 drivers in total. [The Washington Post]
And in other transportation app news, the Philadelphia Parking Authority’s parking app, which has been imploding for a while now, will be no more. The agency is expected to make the announcement on Wednesday that the MeterUP app will go offline at midnight. According to PPA, Pango USA LLC, the Miami-based company tasked with running the app, is to blame for the program’s downfall. In the past year-and-a-half, a promised expansion beyond Center City never happened, the app was glitchy, and Pango was meant to set up advertising for the app, but the ads never appeared. And, two weeks ago, the company shuttered its Philadelphia office without notifying PPA. The city parking agency intends to issue an RFP for a new parking app by the end of the week. [Philly.com]
REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS | A judge in Kentucky has signed an order to keep the state’s last remaining abortion clinic open—for now. EMW Women’s Surgical Center will keep serving patients until an ongoing legal battle is resolved. Last week, Gov. Matt Bevin’s administration ordered EMW to stop providing abortions claiming the clinic doesn’t have the proper systems in place in the event of a medical emergency. The clinic, with help from the ACLU is suing to fight that mandate from the governor. [Lexington Herald Leader; Courier Journal]
CITY HALLS | The city manager and fire chief in San Luis Obispo, California, were reprimanded and fined for their participation in a spoof video that played at a Chamber of Commerce event in the city earlier this year. In the video, fire Chief Garret Olson is seen visiting the chamber’s offices wearing a body camera and speaking with employees, who jokingly refer to “hot,” “full monty” and “shirtless” firefighters. City Manager Katie Lichtig appears as one of three women posing as male firefighters in muscle T-shirts that resemble naked male torsos. Complaints alleged the videos violated city workplace-related policies. [The Tribune]
CORRECTIONS | New York State officials are struggling to find buyers for more than a dozen prison facilities Gov. Andrew Cuomo has closed since 2011. Of the 13 prisons the governor has shut down, 10 are upstate. New York has managed to sell three, and just a single former prison has been given a second life as the home of a new venture. The shuttering of these prisons goes along with Cuomo’s priorities for criminal justice reform, but works at cross-purposes with another of his goals, to revive stagnant and relatively remote upstate towns, many of which relied on these prisons as a source of jobs. [The New York Times]
IMMIGRATION | Colorado’s Senate is considering Republican-proposed legislation that would permit crime victims to sue sanctuary cities if an undocumented immigrant is found guilty in their case. The Hold Colorado Government Accountable Sanctuary Jurisdictions bill states sanctuary city policies run “contrary to the safety and welfare of the people of Colorado.” Lawsuits could ask for close to $2 million, according to the legislation. [KDVR-TV]
MARIJUANA | Oregon lawmakers approved legislation protecting pot users’ identities and buying habits from being released to U.S. officials by shops. If approved by Democratic Gov. Kate Brown, the shops would no longer be allowed to maintain digital records of such information—often done without the customer's knowledge for marketing purposes. [Oregon Public Broadcasting]
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