Newswire
The success or failure of one measure on the ballot this year will determine the future of the city’s library system and could steer how some services find funding in years to come. Ballot measure 4A, which will appear on this fall’s ballot, will propose a new way of funding the city’s libraries, a system currently in danger of major funding cuts and multiple closures in the wake of a larger municipal budget crunch.
Borough voters will be asked to decide Tuesday if they want lower property taxes bad enough to pay a tax every time they buy something. The tax measure combines a borough-wide sales tax with a cap on how high the Assembly can set its property tax rate. The measure includes a 3-percent sales tax on up to $1,000 — so a shopper would pay $30 on a $1,000 computer. But that rate applies only if they bought it outside the city limits of Wasilla, Palmer or Houston.
Stu Allen describes himself as “a 23-year-old kid who just got (ticked) off watching the news” about California voters overturning that state’s Supreme Court ruling that same-sex marriage was a constitutional right. Calling themselves “Yes on Equal Rights,” he and his girlfriend, Crystal Russell, 22, relied on Google searches and the how-to guide on the Secretary of State’s website to launch an initiative to put same-sex marriage on the 2010 ballot.
New opposition has emerged in the debate about Question 5, a proposed expansion of the state’s medical-marijuana law that would allow nonprofit dispensaries to distribute the drug. Don LaRouche, of Madison, a medical-marijuana patient, and the Maine Prosecutors Association recently took public stands against the measure, which will be on the Nov. 3 ballot. LaRouche said he’s the spokesman for Maine Citizens for Medical Marijuana, an offshoot of Maine Vocals, a group that has for years wanted to legalize marijuana.
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has upheld a lower court’s decision to keep voter referendum questions about Allegheny County’s maligned drink tax off the ballot. The tax originally took effect in January 2008 as a 10-percent levy on poured drinks in bars and restaurants. The revenue was set aside for mass transit. It’s since been lowered to 7 percent.
Palm Springs voters will decide in November whether to approve a complex ballot measure requiring more telephone customers in the city to pay a utility tax. The proposed Measure G, city officials say, will make sure all Palm Springs telephone users ”” including cell and cable phone customers ”” pay their fair utility tax share.
Local farmers and agriculture supporters gathered at Wayne Upton’s horse farm in Frankfort Thursday evening were urged to spread the word about state Issue 2 to “city folk.” Farm Bureaus from three counties and state Rep. Ray Pryor conducted the public information session to help those in the agriculture industry learn more about Issue 2, a proposed amendment to the state Constitution that would create an Ohio Livestock Care Standards Board to set rules for livestock treatment in the state of Ohio.
The city posts all of its City Council agendas online, but staff members still must hand-deliver notices of special meetings to each council member’s doorstep. “It’s such a poor use of resources and time,” said City Council member Frost Yarnell. “People have to drive all over the city to deliver these.” So the city is asking voters in November to change the charter to allow notices to be sent by e-mail to council members. That ballot initiative, 2B, is one of three that propose minor changes to the charter.
A referendum asking voters to ratify House Bill 2001, a major transportation package funded by a state gas tax increase, will not appear on the ballot next fall, state elections officials reported. Sponsored by former state Sen. Gary George (R-Newberg), the initiative, titled “Oregonians Against Highway Robbery,” was crafted in response to the legislature’s approval of a six-cents-per-gallon gas tax increase, as well as increases to vehicle registration and title fees.
The Alameda Chamber of Commerce will host community meetings Thursday to outline its opposition to the proposed ballot initiative to redevelop Alameda Point and to field questions from the public. The chamber’s board of directors voted against the initiative last month, saying it believes the initiative puts businesses and the city at financial risk because it would earmark property tax increments generated by the redevelopment project to go toward SunCal Companies and not to the city.