Breathing In Wildfire Smoke Prompts Concerns Across the West

Good morning, it’s Thursday, Aug. 2, 2018. Leading Route Fifty’s state and local government news roundup: The health impacts of the wildfire smoke in western states. Scroll down for that and more, including stories from Brooklyn, New York; Valley Park, Missouri; New Orleans, Louisiana; and Nome, Alaska; plus the latest news from Route Fifty.

PUBLIC HEALTH | Smoke from various wildfires across western states has caused air-quality to decline in many places, including Boise, Idaho and Salt Lake City, Utah. Public health agencies have urged caution for infants, young children, the elderly and anyone who is pregnant or has respiratory problems. The health impacts of breathing in wildfire smoke and particulates are not great, as you can expect. According to the Mount Shasta News: “Those particles are too small to be properly filtered by the human respiratory system and can penetrate deep into the lungs. Some toxins can even end up in the bloodstream and cause cardiovascular problems.” [Boise State Public Radio; Mount Shasta News]

• Ann Arbor, Michigan: In a Flint water crisis legal ruling handed down Wednesday, U.S. District Court Judge Judith Levy gave the green light to a class-action lawsuit, but dismissed Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder as a defendant. [Michigan Radio]
• Brooklyn, New York: A study of a 2013 measles outbreak in unvaccinated communities in Brooklyn shows that the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene’s response cost nearly $40,000 and required 10,000 hours of work by 87 staff members. [New York Post]
• Braddock, Pennsylvania: In this old steel town just outside Pittsburgh, “the toxic footprint is emblematic of what it means to suffer environmental injustice in the U.S. And nobody invested in the town’s future can afford to ignore it.” [CityLab / Topic]
• Oklahoma City, Oklahoma: Members of the Oklahoma City Council gives the green light to pursue litigation against the pharmaceutical industry over the opioid abuse crisis. [The Oklahoman / NewsOK]

CITY HALLS | Officials in Houston have not yet given approval to permits that would allow a controversial center to house unaccompanied migrant children to open. That includes a permit needed to serve food. [Houston Public Media]

• Toledo, Ohio: Competing regional water plans go before the Toledo City Council. [Toledo Blade]
• San Antonio, Texas: The city is trying to achieve a regulatory sweet spot as e-assist scooters multiply. [The Rivard Report]
• Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Mayor Jim Kenney has named a new chief of staff to take over for one of his longtime aides. [BillyPenn]
• Grand Rapids, Michigan: City Commission members approved the selection of a new city manager, Mark Washington, currently a deputy city manager in Austin, Texas.  [MLive]
• Cleveland, Ohio: Councilman Kerry McCormack is a point person on the Cleveland City Council for looking at how the city can integrate smart technology to improve quality of life, including parking apps. [Plain Dealer / Cleveland.com]
• Austin, Texas: Mayor Steve Adler says that “something has gone horribly wrong” with public discourse over the city’s land-use planning process, CodeNEXT, and wants to start over. [KUT]
• Valley Park, Missouri: For years, Kris Kobach has defended towns that passed local anti-immigration ordinances. Those localities, like Valley Park, have lost big—but Kobach, now running for Kansas governor—has fared considerably better. [Pro Publica / The Kansas City Star]

LAW ENFORCEMENT | Investigators in Reynoldsville, Ohio believe that the late police chief, who died at his home in May of a fentanyl overdose, came into contact with the drug after obtaining them from the department’s evidence room. [WCMH]

• Astoria, Oregon: “A ballot measure in November to repeal Oregon’s sanctuary law could complicate local law enforcement’s relationship with the Hispanic community while repairing it with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.” [Daily Astorian]
• Carson City, Nevada: State officials in Nevada are “racing to overturn a lower court’s decision blocking one of the three drugs scheduled for the execution of convicted killer Scott Dozier before one of the drugs expires in November.” [The Nevada Independent]
• Seattle, Washington: Meet Carmen Best, Seattle’s new police chief. [The Stranger]
• Montgomery County, Maryland: The Montgomery County Police Department has released body-camera footage and testimony in the case of a fatal officer-involved shooting of an unarmed Silver Spring man. [WTOP]
• Brockton, Massachusetts: A lawsuit filed against the city by a black amputee who was arrested by local police after a parking enforcement officer used a racial slur in an incident involving a handicapped parking space. [The Washington Post]
• Los Angeles, California: Are there really secret societies operating within the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department? [LAist]

PARKS & RECREATION | Should the historic French Quarter in New Orleans be turned into a state park? Louisiana Lt. Gov. Billy Nungesser thinks it’s an “outside the box” idea worth considering. [The Times-Picayune / NOLA.com]

• Durham, North Carolina: Some feel that the city is moving too quickly on developing a new bike trail along the former Durham Belt Line railroad. [The Herald Sun]
• Gardner, Kansas: The Johnson County’s Department of Parks and Recreation is starting a new gun-safety campaign after a gun scare at a day camp. [WDAF]
• Galesville, Illinois: The city’s master plan suggests that a special parks district could be used to fund local parks. But the city currently has no interest in pursuing such a plan. [The Register-Mail]

ELSEWHERE | A social services board that serves a handful of northern Iowa counties wants the state to investigate how services are delivered in and how money is spent on the mental health region that covers 22 counties. [Globe-Gazette] …. Massachusetts state lawmakers may have unintentionally banned horse racing [Boston.com] … Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan has called on officials in Pennsylvania and New York to take responsibility for the debris and sediment that washes downstream into Chesapeake Bay. [Baltimore Sun] … Officials in Cupertino, California are interested in getting Apple to pay for a local Hyperloop [Business Insider] … The Nome, Alaska Common Council is looking for the public to decide a new sales tax on hotel and motel rooms. [Nome Nugget] …

ALSO on Route Fifty:

• EPA Administrator Seeks ‘50-State Solution’ to Fuel Economy Standards
• At Crossroads for Dockless Bikeshare, Seattle Chooses to Go Big
• Some Wisconsin Schools Installing Gunshot Detection Systems