State / Local

Federal Money Could Supercharge State Efforts to Preserve Nuclear Power
A plant in Michigan might become the first to reopen after closing. The Palisades plant in southwest Michigan could be revived by a $1.5 billion loan from the U.S. Department of Energy.
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Dozens of Rogue California Police Agencies Still Sharing Driver Locations with Anti-Abortion States
In October 2023, California Attorney General Rob Bonta clarified that a 2016 state law, SB 34, prohibits California’s local and state police from sharing information collected from automated license plate readers (ALPR) with out-of-state or federal agencies. Despite the Attorney General’s definitive stance, dozens of law enforcement agencies have signaled their intent to continue defying the law by sharing ALPR information with law-enforcement agencies of states with restrictive abortion laws, putting abortion seekers and providers at risk.
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Is the Southwest Too Dry for a Mining Boom?
Critical minerals for the clean energy transition are abundant in the Southwest, but the dozens of mines proposed to access them will require vast sums of water, something in short supply in the desert.
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Clusters of Atmospheric Rivers Amp Up California Storm Damages
When multiple atmospheric rivers hit California back-to-back, the economic damage from resulting rain and snowfall is three to four times higher than predicted from individual storms, a Stanford study finds. The insight could help water managers and disaster planners better prepare for future impacts of climate change.
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Democratic Governors Ask Congress for Immigration Aid to Reverse Years of “Inaction”
Nine Democratic governors sent a letter to President Joe Biden and congressional leaders, requesting federal aid and urging changes to immigration law as their states take in an overwhelming number of asylum-seekers. The governors asked that Congress grant Biden’s request to include in a supplemental funding bill $4.4 billion for a federal migration strategy and $1.4 billion in aid to states and local governments dealing with an influx of migrants.
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In Eagle Pass, a Tense Border Standoff Between Texas and the Federal Government Is Reaching a Crescendo
A park on the Rio Grande is the new focus of a long battle over border enforcement that’s reached the U.S. Supreme Court. Under federal law, the federal government has sole authority to enforce immigration laws — a power that’s been affirmed by Supreme Court decisions, but Gov. Greg Abbott, in the past three years, has convinced state lawmakers to spend more than $10 billion in an attempt to deter hundreds of thousands of migrants who have crossed the Rio Grande into Texas, many of whom are seeking asylum.
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Hybrid Urban Water Sourcing Model
Houston’s water and wastewater system could be more resilient with the development of hybrid urban water supply systems that combine conventional, centralized water sources with reclaimed wastewater. Reclaimed wastewater could make supply systems more resilient.
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Some Cities See Migrants as a ‘Lifeline.’ Policy Could Follow, Experts Say.
As congressional leaders wrestle with potential solutions as part of a larger spending agreement, a former top national immigration official offered a proposal: Fund basic help for migrants at the border and in destination cities, send them where they’re wanted and can get jobs, and make quick decisions on asylum to discourage mass entry.
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ZeroEyes AI-based Gun Detection, AEGIX Incident Management to Be Deployed in Urah’s 1,086 Public K-12 Schools
ZeroEyes, the creators of the AI-based gun detection video analytics, and AEGIX Global, a Utah-based provider of incident management services, announced that the Utah State Board of Education has approved a contract to provide the joint solution for all Utah public K-12 schools, including charter schools.
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Three Migrants Drowned Near Eagle Pass Park After Border Patrol Was Denied Access
Texas officers took control over Shelby Park against the city’s wishes on Wednesday and have since blocked U.S. Border Patrol agents from entering.
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How Can California Solve Its Water Woes? By Flooding Its Best Farmland.
Restored floodplains in the state’s agricultural heartland are fighting both flooding and drought. But their fate rests with California’s powerful farmers.
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Are Ski Mask Bans a Crime-Fighting Solution? Some Cities Say Yes.
Amid concerns about crime and public safety, at least two major U.S. cities recently considered banning ski masks or balaclavas to prevent criminal behavior, despite a lack of academic research about the effectiveness of such bans. Philadelphia is the latest city to prohibit ski masks in some public areas.
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NYC Sues Bus Companies that Texas Hired to Transport Migrants
More than 33,000 migrants have arrived from Texas since August 2022. The city wants the 17 bus and transportation companies twhich contracted with Texas to take the migrants to New York City to pay more than $700 million in damages.
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Immigrant Rights Groups Sue Texas to Halt New Law Allowing Arrests of Migrants
The lawsuit asks a judge to prevent the state from enforcing Senate Bill 4, which will authorize Texas police to arrest immigrants suspected of crossing the border illegally.
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Texas Must Remove Floating Barrier from Rio Grande, Fifth Circuit Court Orders
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ordered Texas on Friday to remove the floating barrier it deployed in the Rio Grande at Eagle Pass this summer, affirming a lower court’s ruling. The appeals court upheld an earlier ruling by an Austin federal judge to remove the 1,000-foot-long barrier the state deployed near Eagle Pass.
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