This article by Colin Woodard appeared in the Sun Journal, March 1st, 2018. A pair of resolutions under consideration by the Legislature that lift much of their wording from model bills written by a secretive, corporation-funded group could help lead to a radical rewriting of the U.S. Constitution. The resolutions seek to add Maine to [...]
This article by Daniel C. Vock appeared in Governing, February 26th, 2018. Housing prices in California continue to soar, in part because many cities have discouraged dense development. That’s led to a big fight in Sacramento over whether the state should force cities to allow apartment and condo buildings near transit stations. Frustrated with cities [...]
This article by Lawrence Davidson appeared on CNN's website, February 21, 2018. If local Florida officials want to pass firearm restrictions in response to the latest mass killing with an assault weapon, they risk being suspended from office, fined and sued personally for damages. MORE...
This article by Jonathan Stempel appeared on Reuters, February 15, 2018. A federal appeals court on Thursday threw out a constitutional challenge by the conservative group Citizens United to New York state’s requirement that registered charities disclose their donors annually. The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan rejected claims that the requirement violated [...]
The lobbying group that led the assault on Obamacare has targeted movements across the US to ensure workers can get needed time off This article by Renee Feltz appeared in The Guardian, February 11th, 2018. This week marks 25 years since Bill Clinton signed the Family and Medical Leave Act, which gives US workers the [...]
The federal legislation would overturn laws in 17 states and prevent a reintroduction of such a measure in Maine. This article by Colin Woodward was published in The Evening Express, January 29, 2018. Last year a legislative panel unanimously rejected a bill drafted by a secretive group that would have made it nearly impossible for communities [...]
This article by Simon Davis-Cohen appeared on Desmog, January 17, 2018. In early January, a federal judge ordered the nonprofit law firm Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund (CELDF) to pay $52,000 to an oil and gas exploration company for defending a rural Pennsylvania township’s ban on underground injections of frack waste. This sanction comes at the [...]
This article by Valerie Volcovici appeared in Rueters, January 3, 2018. A company that plans to build a coal export terminal in the Pacific Northwest to ship western U.S. coal to Asian markets sued the state of Washington on Wednesday for blocking construction last year. Lighthouse Resources Inc filed a lawsuit in federal court against [...]
This article by Sandy Kurtz appears in The Pulse, December 13, 2017. How weakening of water protections affect us all, here and abroad The recent weakening of water protection in Chattanooga’s stormwater ordinance favors homebuilders over water quality despite numerous citizen objections based on engineering and scientific knowledge. The process allowed homebuilder profit at the [...]
This network is trying to change the fabric of Ohio’s constitution to allow for more direct democracy. This article by Sarah Horne was published in The New Political, December 7, 2017. The Ohio Community Rights Network (OHCRN), the Athens Bill of Rights Committee and the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund (CELDF) have been supporting an [...]
