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Massachusetts Senate explores “nuclear option” to help move legislation

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As of the first week of March 2015, several states are well into their legislative session.  Committee hearings are underway, and significant legislation has passed both branches of government.  In Massachusetts, however, a fight has been brewing between the House and Senate over internal rules and how expeditiously one branch will consider the merits of the other branch’s proposed bills.  As a result, the 6,500+ pieces of legislation filed by the January 2015 deadline have yet to make any movement and will likely remain in limbo until the internal rules get sorted out.

The Massachusetts Senate, led by newly elected Senate President Stanley Rosenberg, unanimously supported an amendment to the legislature’s joint rules that would give more power to the Senate than it currently enjoys when joint committees determine which bills will advance and which will stay in committee.  The Senate’s position is that its members on the joint committees should be the final arbiters of the fate of their bills.  The current rules, however, require a majority of all committee members (House and Senate members) to agree to pass or hold on to legislation.  Most joint committees have 17 members—6 members from the Senate and 11 members from the House.  Therefore, while it is true that the House has the votes on the committee to advance a proposal, no bill can reach the governor’s desk without passing both the House and Senate.

The Senate’s proposal to give greater flexibility to move Senate bills out of joint committees has not been immediately embraced by the House leadership.  Speaker of the House Robert DeLeo called the Senate initiative a “non-starter” because of years of precedence, appropriateness in the constitutional balance of power and other procedural safeguards in the rules that determine the final outcome of legislation.  The Senate is not willing to cede its position at this point, and as a result the Senate has suggested an alternate “nuclear option,” which would establish a parallel committee system composed of senators only.  While this option would expedite the consideration of Senate bills in the Senate, it is uncertain how the House would process such bills.

Practically speaking, the internal debate over the joint rules has had the effect of delaying action on all but the most routine matters.  The legislature will soon need to consider the merits of the fiscal year 2016 budget, as well as the thousands of other bills that deserve a public hearing and perhaps a debate before the full legislature.  But without formal rules in place guiding the policymaking process, there can be no serious consideration of the legislature’s and governor’s agenda on Beacon Hill.

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Duke, Virginia agree to $2.5 million coal ash settlement

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RICHMOND, Va. (AP) Duke Energy has agreed to a $2.5 million settlement with Virginia over a massive coal ash spill that coated 70 miles of the Dan River in gray sludge, state environmental officials announced Friday.

The settlement drew immediate criticism from a water protection group, while the hardest-hit locality the city of Danville continues to negotiate with Duke.

The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality said the settlement would include $2.25 million in environmental projects that Duke would perform in communities affected by the spill in February 2014. The remaining $250,000 would be placed in a fund for the department to respond to environmental emergencies.

The spill originated in Eden, North Carolina, but affected areas in Virginia, too, leaving more than 2,500 tons of the toxic ash backed up behind a dam in Danville. The ash is the waste left behind when coal is burned to generate electricity. It contains toxic metals.

The Virginia settlement is still subject to approval by the State Water Control Board. The consent order does not preclude affected localities from seeking their own settlements with Duke.

Danville officials said the spill has affected economic development and made some residents wary of the river.

“Here it is, more than a year later, and we still have citizens who are afraid to drink the water,” spokesman Arnold Hendrix said. “They’re still afraid that the coal ash is still there.”

Hendrix said testing has shown city water supplies are safe.

City Manager Joe King said Danville has been discussing several projects with Duke that he said would restore confidence in the river.

“So far they’ve not responded to requests,” he said.

The Roanoke River Basin Association said that the full environmental impact of the spill is still unknown and that the settlement does not rise to a “transgression of this magnitude.”

“We have yet to see the total impacts on water quality, tourism, the region’s image, and property values,” Executive Director Andrew Lester wrote in an email to The Associated Press.

“What price do you put on these impacts? $2.5 Million is not the number,” he said.

In a statement, Duke energy called the settlement a “fair outcome.”

“Duke Energy is committed to working with the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality to expedite the benefits of this agreement and to help protect and promote natural resources in the state,” Paul Newton, Duke Energy president for North Carolina, said in the statement.

In February, Duke and federal prosecutors said the energy giant had agreed to plead guilty to violations of the Clean Water Act and pay $102 million in fines, restitution and community service. The company said the costs of the settlement will be borne by its shareholders, not passed on to its electricity customers.

Duke adamantly denied any wrongdoing regarding its coal ash dumps for years. But in December, the company conceded in regulatory filings that it had identified about 200 leaks and seeps at its 32 coal ash dumps statewide that together ooze out more than 3 million gallons of contaminated wastewater each day.

A new state law passed in August requires Duke to either clean up or permanently cap all of its ash dumps in North Carolina by 2029.

Virginia environmental officials said they have assisted U.S. Department of Justice officials in developing a criminal case against Duke, and would press the state’s interests in any settlement.

DEQ Director David K. Paylor said in a statement the consent decree with Duke ensures that the utility “is held fully accountable for the impact of this incidence.”

The public will have until May 20 to comment on the settlement before the water board considers it.

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Steve Szkotak can be reached on Twitter at http://twitter.com/sszkotakap.

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County Commissioners to hear property acquisition request, rezoning and …

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Two public hearings will be held at the April 7 Buncombe County Board of Commissioners meeting, one on a Ferry Road property acquisition and the other a rezoning request for Monticello Road.

The board will then hear a resolution on recording closed sessions, the state of Asheville Regional Airport, a new legislative update and a tax penalty waiver request.

First up on the agenda, though, the board will proclaim April as Child Abuse Awareness Month and Parkinson’s Disease Awareness Month.

“The problem of child abuse and neglect affects many of Buncombe County’s children and has reached epidemic proportions in North Carolina. Over 129,000 reports were investigated for abuse and neglect last year,” reads a county release on the subject.

“Last year, the county’s Health and Human Services Department received 4,687 reports of child abuse and neglect right here in Buncombe County. Research shows that complex problems such as child abuse and neglect require coordinated efforts across multiple disciplines, including mental health, domestic violence, substance abuse, child advocacy, school nursing and public health.  Buncombe County is committed to coordinating and aligning our resources with community partners so we are focused on evidence-informed best practices with demonstrated improved outcomes.”

The agenda did not offer statistics on the extent of Buncombe County’s Parkinson’s disease reach but states that the illness affects 1.5 million people in the United States.

Following this announcement, the board will open up to a public hearing.

The board will consider purchasing a 137-acre tract along Ferry Road in Bent Creek from Henderson County, which has already approved Buncombe’s offered amount of $6.8 million, acquired from the budget’s general fund. In accordance with the interlocal agreement between Henderson County and the city of Asheville, the net cost for Buncombe County amounts to $3.4 million.

“Buncombe County has been working with a potential economic development partner, which is considering expanding its operations into [this county],” reads the resolution. “This project requires a large tract with nearby highway access.”

The board intends to approve the acquisition of this property.

Moving on to the rezoning request, Bruce C. Jones for the Ada Gibbs estate requests that 31 Monticello Road in Weaverville, currently an R-3 residential district, be rezoned to a CS commercial service district. The county Planning Board recommends the approval of the request, based on its proximity to the highway and other commercial spaces, saying the request is both reasonable and in the public interest.

Asheville Regional Airport will then provide an update on recent developments, and then commissioners will review a resolution opposing Senate Bill 369. If passed, the bill would make a “potentially huge financial impact to the taxpayers of Buncombe County” and “would fundamentally restructure the county‐levied sales tax system by converting the … delivery taxes into a state sales tax for distribution to counties and cities based on population. These reallocations would be phased in over years, and preliminary estimates prepared by the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners show that, when compared to current law, S369 would decrease these Buncombe County sales tax revenues used for budgeting by more than $15.5 million. And the city of Asheville would see a reduction of over $4 million.”

Following the bill opposition discussion, James and Susan Murray, owners of the Carolina Bed Breakfast, are requesting a waiver for a $201 tax penalty, resulting from a miscommunication on where to drop off their business’s occupancy tax check. For five years, the owners had dropped off the checks in one location. Unbeknownst to them, the checks then had to be mailed to the correct location. This is the first time the misunderstanding has been communicated with the owners, in the form of a $201 late penalty. Because the owners were never told to do otherwise, they are asking for a waiver for this one instance and have since corrected the practice. The Buncombe County Tourism Development Authority heard the request and approved it in a 3-1 vote, sending it on to the Board of Commissioners for final approval.

Last on the agenda is a resolution to adopt a policy for recording closed county sessions. The board proposes that all closed sessions would be recorded either with video or sound. The recorded minutes would then be made public record, so long as making the record public does not interfere with the purpose of the meeting.

The board will then go into the consent agenda and adjourn.

The meeting will be held Tuesday, April 7, at 4:30 p.m. on the third floor of 200 College St. For the full agenda, click here.

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Parkinson’s Disease shakes the hand of a former editor

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Pint-sized North Myrtle Beach egg hunter shows off advanced technique during annual Easter tradition

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State plans slowly adopt new Federal OSHA reporting requirements

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Beginning on January 1, 2015, employers in states with Federal OSHA jurisdiction were required to start reporting to OSHA work-related fatalities (that occur within 30 days of the work-related incident) within 8 hours of learning of the fatality, work-related in-patient hospitalizations, amputations and losses of an eye within 24 hours of the work-related incident.

However, those states that operate their own state OSHA program have until January 1, 2016 to implement the new requirements. To date, only four states have adopted and put into effect the new federal OSHA reporting requirements. These include:

  • North Carolina – effective January 1, 2015
  • Iowa – effective January 14, 2015
  • Tennessee – effective February 24, 2015
  • Indiana – effective March 1, 2015

Some other state plans have indicated that they are currently in the proposed rulemaking process and intend to adopt the new federal requirements relatively shortly. These include:

  • Minnesota – Agency’s intention is to adopt the new requirements by March 18, 2015 with an effective date of October 1, 2015.
  • New Mexico – A public hearing on the proposed rule to adopt the new reporting requirements is scheduled for May 15, 2015.
  • Oregon – The agency currently has an open comment period until March 11, 2015 and anticipates adopting the new requirements in March with an effective date of January 1, 2016.
  • Virginia – The bill to adopt the new requirements was submitted to Governor McAuliffe on February 26, 2015 for signature with an action deadline of March 30, 2015. The effective date is unclear.
  • Washington – A public hearing on the proposed rule to adopt the new reporting requirements is scheduled for March 27, 2015 and the agency intends to adopt the new requirements on May 5, 2015. However, the effective date is unclear.

Arizona has submitted a request to Governor Ducey to proceed with proposed rulemaking adopting the new reporting requirements and is currently waiting for a response from the Governor’s office. The remaining state plans are currently evaluating the new federal reporting requirements but have not indicated when they will adopt and implement them. To ensure compliance, employers are encouraged to continue to monitor the various state plans progress in adopting these new requirements.

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Jersey shore summer rentals: Signs of life?

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ASBURY PARK, N.J. — The Waldorf condominium complex in the Ortley Beach section of Toms River is a work in progress.

Front-end loaders and construction trucks are parked outside. Workers are rebuilding its swimming pool. And they haven’t yet started on the patio that houses a snack bar and leads directly to the beach.

But Dominique Carmoega traveled with her family from Manhattan last weekend and saw enough to take the leap. She’s booked for three weeks at the Waldorf in July.

“We’re pretty sure they’re going to get the work done,” Carmoega, 38, said last week.

USA TODAY

Super rebound? 5 telltale signs of Jersey Shore recovery

The Jersey Shore’s summer rental season – the first indicator of the tourism season – continues to improve in the third year since Superstorm Sandy struck. Visitors are renting earlier in the year. And homeowners are offering fewer discounts, observers said.

The activity still hasn’t reached pre-Sandy levels, they said. But it removes a concern that vacationers who were displaced by Sandy to Cape May or Rehoboth Beach, Delaware or the Outer Banks of North Carolina wouldn’t return.

BACK TO THE PATTERN

As the summer approached last year, landlords “were freaking out they had a lot of unbooked weeks,” said Chris Fotache, owner of ShoreVacations.com, a website that markets more than 300 homes. “Right now they seem to be doing well. Many (customers) booked in February and March. They are back to that pattern.”

The Shore’s tourism industry is looking to improve on last year, when it generated $6.6 billion for Monmouth and Ocean counties.

There are more than 30,000 seasonal second homes in Ocean County and more than 10,000 in Monmouth County, according to Tourism Economics, a research firm. And they are considered an economic bellwether. Their tenants commit far in advance and provide a safeguard against rainy and cold weather.

Meanwhile, homeowners count on the second source of income to pay for their expenses.

Ralph Hook of Pequannock bought a unit on the third floor of the Waldorf 16 years ago. It wasn’t for his love of summers at the Jersey Shore; he has a perfectly nice swimming pool in his backyard.

Instead, he saw it as a good investment. He could rent it out during the summer, use it during the offseason and watch its value appreciate.

The strategy worked well until Sandy hit Ortley Beach hard in 2012. His unit survived, but the ground floor was washed out. He’s lost two years’ worth of rental income. And he – and other condominium owners – have shelled out thousands more for repairs.

MAKING PROGRESS

This summer, though, the Waldorf might reopen, bringing some financial relief to its owners. They are aiming for the Fourth of July.

“You would love to see it go faster, but there’s (only) so much you can do with the funds,” Hook said. “You do see progress, especially from last October to now. You’re starting to see a whole lot of progress being made.”

Real estate observers reported slow and steady improvement. Average rental rates for seasonal homes rose 1.3% last summer, crawling back after plummeting 4% in 2013, Tourism Economics reported.

Fotache said web traffic on ShoreVacations.com was up as much as 20% this year, getting at least a little closer to its pre-Sandy levels.

John Anthony, who owns three properties in Seaside Heights, said he’s booked in June and July and has only a few days available in August – even though he raised his prices this season.

Still, real estate agents wonder what would have happened if the winter weather hadn’t been so cold.

“The Jersey shore is still one of those places, yes a lot (of rental activity) is online, but people want to go down and see the house” in the winter, Lee Childers of Childers Sotheby’s International Realty said. “I think the crummy weather, particularly on weekends, held that back.”

Carmoega provides hope for Ortley Beach that the diehards are waiting to return.

It was one of the towns that was hit hardest by Sandy. But to Carmoega, it doesn’t matter. She has been coming there for vacations since she was 6. Her two sons are about the same age. And she wants them to have the same experience.

“I’m sure it will be different in some ways,” she said. “But we’re still looking forward to it and happy to go back.”

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The National Center For Lesbian Rights On Indiana, The NCAA, & LGBT Athletes

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Governor Mike Pence calls Indiana’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act a way to “enhance protection” for Hoosiers. Helen J. Carroll, former coach of the national championship-winning University of North Carolina-Asheville and current sports project director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights, calls it “horrifying.”

“We’re horrified by the law,” the activist told us in a phone interview. “And, we don’t feel satisfied when they’re trying to say that they’re walking it back.

“I think it’s a desperate backlash to take rights away from LGBT people anywhere you can,” she added, citing the gay marriage movement. 

The RFRA is getting its own backlash, however. Despite making its objections publicly known, the NCAA men’s Final Four championship remains in full swing in Indianapolis this weekend. As such, it may be up to women’s college basketball to lead the charge and hit Indiana where it hurts: the wallet. Officials are currently determining whether or not to move the 2016 women’s Final Four tournament away from Indianapolis, and UConn has already banned its employees from conducting official business in the state. Given the strength of UConn’s women’s basketball team, Indiana stands to lose some hefty tourism dollars because of this controversial legislation.

Activists like Carroll are optimistic about “putting pressure” on Indiana to reverse the law. But as much as the NCAA talks about fighting discrimination, it seems that it still runs rampant within the league, particularly concerning female athletes who happen to be LGBT.

“I think there’s a huge fear of discrimination, and in some ways it’s true,” Carroll said. “A big part of my job at NCLR is working with athletes who have lost scholarships or been tossed off of teams because they’re lesbians, or coaches who have been fired because of their sexual orientation. That certainly is out there. But what we are seeing is that there’s more and more support for coaches and athletes  to be out and be themselves, especially in institutions and communities that support the coach, they’re well known, they’re accepted for who they are. That group of coaches could be out visibly without repercussions. We’d certainly love to see that. Be don’t even have one out Division I coach right now. In 2015, that’s just archaic.” 

Carroll added that a supportive coach can be crucial to helping a player come out of the closet. Part of her job entails running workshops with coaches on how to support athletes who are LGBT, especially in an environment in which homosexuality may be frowned upon.

“It’s not so much the institution or the coach meeting with the team and saying, ‘Everybody on this team has to be straight or you’re out,'” she explained, referring to the reluctance of some athletes to come out. “It’s not happening overtly like that. But, if you have players that see that they have lesbian coaches, and those coaches never talk about it, they’re out, there’s a big culture of silence around that. The players are not going to feel like they can be out. They’re going to feel in a subtle way that they need to be closeted.”   

One such case, she noted, is Phoenix Mercury center Brittney Griner. Griner publicly came out in 2013, after leaving Baylor University, and is now engaged to WNBA player Glory Johnson. 

“I think Brittney Griner and her fiancée are fantastic role models,” Carroll said. “I think it’s also an example of Brittney being able to be who she is, which makes her a much better basketball player. At Baylor, she was not allowed to be out publicly, and I think that impacted her play. Her senior year they did not win the National Championship. I don’t how anybody could have Brittney Griner on their team and not win the National Championship. I think that’s a very good example of how teams can be much better if their players can bring their entire selves to the court.”

Carroll advises young lesbian athletes to seek out the group Go! Athletes, which works with the LGBT community. Getting support is vital, especially for lesbians. 

“There is the double factor of homophobia and sexism, and it affects every single female athlete and coach in sports,” she told us. “Every single woman. So combating that, and of course, the added issues of race or religion, is difficult for women. Just look at the cover of Golf Digest.”  

Bottom line: “There has to be respect for every player on a team, regardless of where you are, whether it’s at Baylor or Notre Dame.” 

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Poll finds worry ‘higher than ever’ over college applications

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Posted Apr. 5, 2015 at 5:00 AM

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Tom Eblen: Balancing rural recreation, agriculture, nature no easy task for …

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UK team spirit abundant at Keeneland

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Town reviews options after violation notice

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NORTH TOPSAIL BEACH | Town officials in North Topsail Beach are reviewing its options for complying with a notice of violation it has received from the state regarding the sandbag revetment recently completed at the north end of town.

The North Carolina Division of Coastal Management issued a notice of violation on March 26. The town has 10 days from the time it receives the notice to respond.

Assistant Town Manager Carin Faulkner said Thursday, the day before the holiday weekend, that the town was reviewing the information and looking into its options but had not yet submitted a response to the state.

“There has not yet been a formal reply,” she said.

The notice of violations indicates the town has violated the terms and conditions of its Coastal Area Management Act (CAMA) permit allowing the construction of the sandbag revetment.

A permit was issued Oct. 24, 2014, for the construction of a sandbag structure measuring six feet high by 20 feet in base width. It was amended on Nov. 26, 2014, to allow for a larger structure 12 feet in height by 45 feet in base width.

The permit also authorized a temporary construction containment tube, also known as a geotube, to be installed at the seaward-most toe of the sandbag revetment to help with safety during construction of the sandbag structure. As a condition of the permit, the geotube was to be removed upon completion of the project or by May 21, whichever came sooner.

The state received notification on Feb. 24 that the project was complete.

As of a site visit on March 25, the geotube had not been removed, according to the notice of violation.

“A lot of the geotube is covered by sand; that’s pretty much why it hasn’t been removed,” Faulkner said.

She said the town hopes to come to a resolution with the state that will allow them to keep the geotube in place as the structure has helped to stabilize the area.

“We’re seeing if there are options (to keep it),” she said.

The notice of violation calls for removal of the geotube to comply with the conditions of the permit.

Failure of the town to respond to the notice may result in a notice of continuing violation and a possible court injunction being sought or other enforcement action taken.

A civil assessment of up to $10,000 plus investigative costs may be assessed against violators, the notice said.

The notice signed by DCM District Manager Debra Wilson indicates another site visit will be made in the near future to determine if the “request to cease and desist” has been complied with.  

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