Category: Local Interest,

After Facebook rants, Corpus Christi mayor resigns 37 days into term 

On By peanutgallerynhIn Gulf Coast Region,, Local Interest,Leave a comment

…Questions raised by local media after his campaign literature included on his educational resume a bachelor’s degree in engineering, though he refused to say where he earned it. Hours before resigning, he admitted in an interview with KIII-TV3 that he did not possess the engineering degree, though he possessed separate bachelor’s and master’s degrees and was employed as an electrical engineer at Sikorski Aeronautics for nine years.

McQueen repeatedly referred to himself during his campaign as an “aerospace engineer.”

Questions were also raised about McQueen’s hand-picked chief of staff, Shari Douglas, who also served as McQueen’s campaign treasurer. Public records show McQueen and Douglas list the same address as their home residence, but McQueen refused to answer questions about the nature of their relationship while naming her to a $60,000-per-year job as his top adviser.

After Facebook rants, Corpus Christi mayor resigns 37 days into term – UPI.com

hmmm

SC legistlator charged with domestic violence | The Sun News

On By peanutgallerynhIn Local Interest,Leave a comment

A S.C. House of Representatives member Chris Corley was arrested Tuesday on a charge of first-degree criminal domestic violence, a felony offense.

…Corley’s wife of 12 years said Corley threatened to kill her in front of two of their three children on Monday, according to a Aiken County Sheriff’s Office incident report. She said he only stopped because their children were screaming and Corley noticed blood on her head.

Corley’s wife – who is not being named by The State newspaper – said the state legislator grabbed a handgun from a vehicle outside of their home and pointed it at her, according to the report.

…Corley was elected in 2014. He is known most famously for suggesting the Confederate battle flag that flew over the State House grounds be replaced with a white flag of surrender when Gov. Nikki Haley pushed for the flag’s removal in the wake of the Emanuel Nine shootings in a Charleston church.

SC legistlator charged with domestic violence | The Sun News

Classless douchebag

L.A.’s proposed ban on single adults near playgrounds is fear-based policy making at its worst

On By peanutgallerynhIn Local Interest,, Modern Parenting,Leave a comment

In an attempt to make Los Angeles parks seem super safe, City Councilman Mitch O’Farrell has proposed barring adults unaccompanied by children from entering playgrounds. It’s an effort, he said, to keep city parks “free of creepy activity.”

….It would bar any adult from sitting on a bench, exercising or otherwise enjoying public space near playground unless he or she brought a child along.

…His proposal is based on laws in place in a handful of major cities, including New York City, where police caused a minor uproar several years ago by ticketing people for sitting on playground-adjacent benches to eat donuts or play chess.

L.A.’s proposed ban on single adults near playgrounds is fear-based policy making at its worst – LA Times

WTF?! It didn’t work and caused chaos in NYC and LA thinks to itself, hey that’s what we want to do?

Japan PM Shinzo Abe in Hawaii for landmark Pearl Harbor visit 

On By peanutgallerynhIn East Asia,, Hawaii,, Military,, Pacific Basin,Leave a comment

Mr Abe will be accompanied by US President Barack Obama, making the visit the first by the leaders of both countries since the attack.

Mr Abe will pray for the dead but will not issue an apology.

The attack on Pearl Harbour killed 2,300 US servicemen and propelled the US into World War Two.

Japan PM Shinzo Abe in Hawaii for landmark Pearl Harbor visit – BBC News

hmmm

The Deepwater Horizon aftermath

On By peanutgallerynhIn Domestic Affairs,, Environment,, Gulf Coast Region,Leave a comment

Researchers have analyzed 125 compounds from oil spilled in the Gulf of Mexico to determine their longevity at different contamination.

The Deepwater Horizon aftermath | Coastal Care

Deepwater Horizon is turning out to have been a much more toxic event with lasting ramifications than any of our leaders had the spine or the brains to admit at the time? Shocking!

Arghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

Among Oakland’s dozens of artist warehouses is one called Deathtrap – SFGate

On By peanutgallerynhIn Local Interest,Leave a comment

Outrage over the disaster has forced Schaaf to walk a delicate political tightrope of showing that the city will quickly deal with problem buildings, while reassuring artists that they won’t be subject to a sudden crackdown. During her first few days in office, the mayor established herself as a patron and protector of the arts, riding around town in a fire-belching snail car and holding an inauguration party at the sprawling American Steel warehouse in West Oakland.

…Artists, meanwhile, say they fear that the fire could become an excuse for ramped-up enforcement that will only cripple their scene at a time when Oakland’s real estate market is heating up. “Any time code enforcement comes through, the landlord sees an opportunity to kick people out, and convert the building into something that serves Oakland’s new influx of renters,” said Matt Hummel, a longtime player in Oakland’s arts scene who also chairs the city’s Cannabis Regulatory Commission.

Among Oakland’s dozens of artist warehouses is one called Deathtrap – SFGate

hmmm

Louisiana judge throws out governor’s LGBTQ protection order 

On By peanutgallerynhIn Gulf Coast Region,, Media and Culture,Leave a comment

A Louisiana district judge on Wednesday threw out the governor’s executive order seeking to protect state employees from discrimination based on their sexual orientation or gender identity. Democratic Governor John Bel Edwards issued the order in April after taking office in January

Louisiana judge throws out governor’s LGBTQ protection order – VICE News

hmmmm

Voter turnout in N.H. Democratic strongholds offset GOP surge

On By peanutgallerynhIn Granite State,Leave a comment

In contrast with other key swing states, heavy turnout by Democratic voters in New Hampshire’s bluest towns offset a surge of voters casting ballots for Donald Trump and kept the state in the Clinton column.

…“In the simplest terms, Republican turnout seems to have surged this year, while Democratic turnout stagnated,”

…“By comparison, in counties where Clinton won at least 70 percent, the vote count was 1.7 percent lower this year.”

Contrast that with voter turnout in the Granite State. We compiled election results from the Secretary of State’s office and used Rivers’ methodology to compare this year’s record turnout with that from 2012.

Overall, turnout in districts won by Trump increased by 6.0 percent over 2012 compared to a 4.2 percent increase in towns and wards carried by Clinton, but the greatest increase in voter turnout, 7.9 percent, came from the 29 voting districts Clinton carried with over 65 percent of the two-party vote. 

Election recap: Voter turnout in N.H. Democratic…

hmmmm

‘Worst possible conditions’: Residents flee Gatlinburg, Tenn., as flames engulf popular resort town 

On By peanutgallerynhIn Domestic Affairs,, Local Interest,Leave a comment

“Conditions remain extremely dangerous,” Great Smoky Mountains National Park officials said Tuesday, as evacuations were ordered in Pigeon Forge and throughout Sevier County.

‘Worst possible conditions’: Residents flee Gatlinburg, Tenn., as flames engulf popular resort town – The Washington Post

Sigh…