Newswire
Proponents of a measure to set salaries and benefits for Santa Maria Police Department employees based on an area average have started seeking qualification for an initiative on the November 2010 ballot. If approved on Nov. 2, 2010, the prevailing wage measure would guarantee police department employees compensation ”” at the minimum ”” that averaged the wages of other selected municipal police forces, county sheriff’s agencies in the Tri-Counties area and the California Highway Patrol.
Opponents of a ballot initiative that would require the mandatory impoundment of cars driven by unlicensed drivers are hopeful that voters have become so disenfranchised by a similar law that they won’t back it a second time around. Daniel Hayes, an unincorporated Jefferson County resident, has introduced Initiative 300, asking Denver voters to put “teeth” into a similar law that voters backed last year. The law requires police officers to impound the cars of unlicensed drivers. But Hayes said officers have been using their discretion and not impounding enough of the cars.
Measure C on the Nov. 3 ballot in Ventura never mentions Wal-Mart by name, but social justice advocates, unions and other proponents began crafting the initiative with one goal in mind: keeping the world’s largest retailer out of town. The measure, created in response to Wal-Mart’s plans to take over the former Kmart on Victoria Avenue, would ban any new store selling groceries that is larger than 90,000 square feet. A Walmart without groceries, however, would be allowed.
If Norton residents want to have a say over higher income taxes to pay for a water and sewer project, they will have to take it to the ballot themselves. An ordinance, approved by the council in May, requires those residents who work outside of the city to pay a half-percent income tax. Norton previously offered those residents who pay income tax elsewhere a 2 percent tax credit. The tax would raise an additional $560,000 annually for water and sewer projects.
Governor Ted Strickland’s proposal to incorporate slot machines at Ohio’s seven racetracks went to the Ohio Supreme Court Sept. 2. Let Ohio Vote, a ballot issue committee group, challenged Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner. The initiative was developed to address a $3.2 billion budget shortfall. Carlo LaParo, spokesperson for Let Ohio Vote, said the organization is against the initiative because it denies people the right to referendum, which allows citizens to vote on the proposal.
A judge ruled against a ballot initiative to have city council members elected by districts instead of at-large on Friday, calling the language of the proposal “insufficient” according to the Detroit Free Press. The community coalition Detroiters for Council by Districts filed the lawsuit with City Clerk Janice Winfrey for holding the proposal from the Nov. 3 ballot after questions arose regarding the language of the proposal and its legality.
A city traffic committee heard presentations Thursday afternoon from two firms which offer red-light camera technology, even as about a dozen protesters could be heard outside City Hall. Representatives from Phoenix-based Redflex Traffic Systems and Gatso USA of Massachusetts gave 30-minute PowerPoint presentations, and 15 minutes of question-and-answer came afterward.
Kate Brown, former state speaker of the house and now secretary of state, was interviewed by the Chieftain Editorial Board on a recent visit to Wallowa County.
In a 6-to-1 vote, the city council chose Sept. 15 to oppose Proposition One ”” the ballot measure that would allow Federal Way residents to elect their own mayor. The council is allowed, by law, to discuss upcoming ballot measures using city property only during a process in which it takes a formal position toward the measure. During a public hearing, city attorney Pat Richardson gave a presentation on the changes an elected mayor would bring. Representatives from each side of the issue were granted 10 minutes to explain their position. Twenty-one citizens spoke publicly.
All it takes is one. At a pro-Measure B meeting Wednesday hosted by the League of Women Voters of Santa Barbara, it became more apparent that citizen ballot initiatives to lower building-height limits often have been reactions to buildings residents don’t like. In the 1920s, it was The Granada. In the 1960s, it was the nine-story condominium complexes proposed for the area that is now Alice Keck Park Memorial Gardens. Now, it’s the Chapala One complex.