Considering Diversity in Snow-Day Decisionmaking

Most of this snow in Raleigh's Boylan Heights neighborhood melted within a few hours on Sunday, but schools were closed on Monday and again on Tuesday.

Most of this snow in Raleigh's Boylan Heights neighborhood melted within a few hours on Sunday, but schools were closed on Monday and again on Tuesday. Michael Grass / Route Fifty

 

Connecting state and local government leaders

STATE AND LOCAL ROUNDUP | A giant middle finger sculpture rises in Vermont … Wash. Gov. Jay Inslee’s “clean energy smart deal” … and speeding up N.Y.’s sluggish subways.

PUBLIC SAFETY | Among the most difficult decisions school superintendents have to make are the tough calls to close schools during inclement weather, especially in places that aren’t necessarily used to dealing with snowstorms. That’s been the case in Raleigh, North Carolina, where the Wake County Public Schools System on Monday defended its decision to shutter all schools countywide amid a storm that dumped many inches of snow on parts of the region while mostly sparing other areas. (The storm wasn’t particularly bad—I’ve been in Raleigh the past few days—but then again, I grew up in lake-effect snow country in Michigan while many North Carolinians cower in fear when it snows.) But as the Wake County schools noted on Twitter, the countywide school assignments—where many students are bused long distances to boost diversity—is the result of ending segregation in and around Raleigh in the 1970s. "Without countywide school assignments, we would have school segregation," the district tweeted. "Segregated schools are bad for students and bad for our community." [WTVD; @WCPSS]

ENERGY | Washington Gov. Jay Inslee unveiled a new package of legislative proposals on Monday he’s calling “a clean energy smart deal” aimed at putting the Evergreen State “on track to meet its goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions to 25 percent below 1990 levels by 2035.” Included in the governor’s proposals are new clean-fuels standards, electric vehicle incentives and converting the diesel engines of state ferries to hybrid batteries. [The Seattle Times] … Both chambers of the Michigan state legislature passed a bill on Tuesday that authorizes the replacement of the highly controversial Enbridge-owned Line 5, an oil and gas pipeline that passes through the Straits of Mackinac. The aging pipeline has prompted fears of a potential environmental disaster in the Great Lakes. [Michigan Advance] … A federal judge in Pennsylvania ruled last week that a property owner opposed to a controversial 120-mile natural gas pipeline must “must provide PennEast access to her Carbon County property for a land survey and possible construction.” [The Morning Call]

STATE GOVERNMENT | New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy hasn’t said whether six of his top staffers will testify before a special legislative committee that’s investigating allegations that a former administration official raped the chief of staff of the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency. [NJ.com] … Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts has indicated he’s supportive of efforts to create a “stand your ground” law in his state. [Omaha World-Herald] … While Minnesota has a $1.5 billion budget surplus, there’s some trouble on the horizon: “the tight labor market caused by retiring baby boomers is an immediate problem, and its pinch on growing businesses is only going to get worse.” [MinnPost]

LOCAL GOVERNMENT | A resident of Westford, Vermont who was denied a permit to build an 8,000 square-foot garage on his property has erected “a seven-foot-tall sculpture of a raised middle finger, carved from a 700-pound block of pine and perched atop a 16-foot pole.” [Burlington Free Press] … There’s a inter-jurisdictional battle in western New York state between the town of Aurora and the village of East Aurora over who is responsible for repairing and maintaining a small bridge, a dispute that ended up in the state’s Court of Appeals. [The Buffalo News]

TRANSPORTATION & MOBILITY | There may be some hope for the routinely annoyed and delayed straphangers of the New York City subway system. Andy Byford, the chief of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, has launched a new initiative to speed up trains through some slow-speed zones implemented years ago. [The New York Times; Second Avenue Sagas] … After revoking Ofo’s license to operate a dockless bikeshare system for a second time in College Station, Texas, new bikes from a new company, VeoRide, will be deployed in and around the campus of Texas A&M University during the spring semester. [The Eagle] …

HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES | A “devastating report” released by Virginia’s Joint Legislative Audit and Review Committee paints a dismal picture of foster care in the commonwealth, finding “that the state’s 120 foster care programs don’t do a good job of recruiting foster parents, especially relatives; working to reunite children with birth parents; or finding them permanent homes.” [Richmond Times-Dispatch] … In northern New Jersey, an deadly outbreak of adenovirus at the Wanaque Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation is over but state oversight will continue. [Bergen Record / NorthJersey.com]

X
This website uses cookies to enhance user experience and to analyze performance and traffic on our website. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners. Learn More / Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Accept Cookies
X
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Do Not Sell My Personal Information

When you visit our website, we store cookies on your browser to collect information. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences or your device, and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to and to provide a more personalized web experience. However, you can choose not to allow certain types of cookies, which may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings according to your preference. You cannot opt-out of our First Party Strictly Necessary Cookies as they are deployed in order to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting the cookie banner and remembering your settings, to log into your account, to redirect you when you log out, etc.). For more information about the First and Third Party Cookies used please follow this link.

Allow All Cookies

Manage Consent Preferences

Strictly Necessary Cookies - Always Active

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data, Targeting & Social Media Cookies

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act, you have the right to opt-out of the sale of your personal information to third parties. These cookies collect information for analytics and to personalize your experience with targeted ads. You may exercise your right to opt out of the sale of personal information by using this toggle switch. If you opt out we will not be able to offer you personalised ads and will not hand over your personal information to any third parties. Additionally, you may contact our legal department for further clarification about your rights as a California consumer by using this Exercise My Rights link

If you have enabled privacy controls on your browser (such as a plugin), we have to take that as a valid request to opt-out. Therefore we would not be able to track your activity through the web. This may affect our ability to personalize ads according to your preferences.

Targeting cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.

Social media cookies are set by a range of social media services that we have added to the site to enable you to share our content with your friends and networks. They are capable of tracking your browser across other sites and building up a profile of your interests. This may impact the content and messages you see on other websites you visit. If you do not allow these cookies you may not be able to use or see these sharing tools.

If you want to opt out of all of our lead reports and lists, please submit a privacy request at our Do Not Sell page.

Save Settings
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Cookie List

A cookie is a small piece of data (text file) that a website – when visited by a user – asks your browser to store on your device in order to remember information about you, such as your language preference or login information. Those cookies are set by us and called first-party cookies. We also use third-party cookies – which are cookies from a domain different than the domain of the website you are visiting – for our advertising and marketing efforts. More specifically, we use cookies and other tracking technologies for the following purposes:

Strictly Necessary Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Functional Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Performance Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Social Media Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Targeting Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.