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Accused White House shooter to appear in DC court
State Law Issues |
2011/11/21 09:32
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A man accused of firing an assault rifle at the White House is expected to appear in court in Washington.
Oscar Ramiro Ortega-Hernandez is scheduled to appear in federal court Monday at 1:45 p.m.
Ortega was arrested last week in Pennsylvania. The Idaho Falls, Idaho, resident is accused of driving by the White House on the evening of Nov. 11 and firing at the White House from his vehicle. Authorities say one of the rounds he fired cracked a window of the first family's living quarters.
President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama were away, and no one was injured. |
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RI pension overhaul may head to the courts
State Law Issues |
2011/11/18 09:07
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Rhode Island is taking dramatic steps toward fixing one of the nation's most underfunded public pension systems, but the true battle with public-sector unions may be just beginning.
State lawmakers ignored jeers from public workers and the threat of a lawsuit Thursday to pass sweeping changes to the pension system covering 66,000 active and retired public workers.
The legislation is designed to save billions of dollars in future years by backing away from promises to state and municipal workers that lawmakers say the state can no longer afford. Gov. Lincoln Chafee, an independent, said he will sign the bill.
Public-sector union leaders promised a court challenge before the final votes were even cast.
The attorneys are going to make a lot of money, Philip Keefe, president of Local 580, which represents social service, administrative and technical workers. If this is overturned, it will be you, me and every other taxpayer that is on the hook for billions.
Supporters acknowledged that a lawsuit was inevitable but said the bill was thoroughly reviewed for any legal problems. Supporters said one of the reasons for the bill was to ensure there's money available when today's workers retire. |
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Company pleads guilty to dumping wastewater in Harvey Canal
State Law Issues |
2011/11/15 11:33
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A Louisiana company has pleaded guilty to a charge it illegally discharged more than 1 million gallons of oily wastewater into the Harvey Canal.
Oakmont Environmental Inc. of Harvey faces a $500,000 fine following its guilty plea Wednesday to violating the Clean Water Act.
Clifton Carr, a 62-year-old Amite resident who was the operator of the company's waste treatment facility, also pleaded guilty Wednesday to a related charge.
Federal prosecutors say Oakmont had a permit to discharge wastewater into a Jefferson Parish sewerage treatment plant after it had been pretreated.
But the company allegedly discharged the wastewater directly into the canal without separating the oil from the water.
Prosecutors said 1.2 million gallons of oily wastewater was discharged into the canal between September 2007 and March 2008. |
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Justices unlikely to have last word on health care
State Law Issues |
2011/11/15 09:00
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President Barack Obama's historic health care overhaul divided the nation from the day he signed it into law, and that seems unlikely to change no matter how the Supreme Court rules on its constitutionality.
Some legal disputes, like the 2008 presidential election, the court can settle. Others rage on, such as abortion. It may take another decade to find the balance between private and public responsibility for health care in America, a nation disdainful of big government yet historically unable to guarantee affordable basic coverage to its citizens.
Either way it rules, the Supreme Court decision will not end the debate on health care, said former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, an influential Democratic adviser. It is, and will largely remain, a debate on the role of government.
The Supreme Court's announcement on Monday that it will take up the constitutional challenge to what Republicans deride as Obamacare, sets the stage for a decision next summer in the heat of the presidential election campaign. |
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