News from Across the Nation - Oct. 17, 2016

IDAHO

There may not be a taco truck on every corner, but ADA COUNTY’s food-truck-inspired polling station will feed a need for some voters: a place to cast their votes early to avoid the Election Day rush.

Chief Deputy Clerk Phil McGrane came up with the idea. In the run-up to Nov. 8, the $50,000 vehicle will be hauled to various locations throughout the county.

Poll workers are using previous voting data to figure out the best places to park to attract the most voters. That includes spots near major employers and hospitals. On Election Day, the trailer will serve as a backup polling place, if needed.

ARIZONA

MARICOPA COUNTY has levied a record $1.5 million fine on a solar power plant, ironically, because of air pollution.

From June 2014 to January 2016, the county’s Air Quality Department cited “clean-energy” producer Arizona Solar One LLC for 21 violations including failure to conduct the performance tests required by their permit, removal of emissions control systems without approval and exceeding permitted emissions limits.

Although it’s a solar plant, some of its processes to create steam to run turbines, which involves nitrogen oxide. Leaks of the chemical and fumes can combine to form ozone pollution, the New Times reported.

The air quality department will use the fines to fund research projects related to air quality, community outreach campaigns and community programs, among other uses.

CALIFORNIA

Hospitals in LOS ANGELES COUNTY will soon be required to report when patients are infected with a certain potentially lethal “superbug” —  bacteria can’t be killed by antibiotics.

About two dozen states require hospitals to report when patients are sickened with CRE (carbapenem-resistant enterobacteriaceae), but California does not.

Dawn Terashita of the county’s acute communicable disease control program said health officials will use the data to “look for clusters of infections and prevent outbreaks.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 75,000 Americans with hospital-acquired infections die during their hospitalizations each year.

FLORIDA

Using its zoning code, MIAMI-DADE COUNTY has proposed a ban on fracking for oil and gas. “This is about our water supply,” said Commissioner Daniella Levine Cava, according to the New Times.

Fracking in South Florida would require drilling through the aquifer, which is protected by a thin layer of porous limestone. The consensus among independent experts who have studied the area is that if the aquifer were polluted by fracking chemicals, it would likely remain that way permanently, the newspaper reported.

Neighboring BROWARD COUNTY passed a fracking ban earlier this year.

ILLINOIS

Running for office in suburban COOK COUNTY just became a little easier. County Clerk David Orr’s office has created a free Running for Office Starter Kit. By using the kit, residents can find out which positions they’re eligible to run for and also receive the information and documentation needed to complete the process of running for office.

An interested resident can enter information online such as name, date of birth and address, and the kit will generate a candidate packet complete with the statement of candidacy, loyalty oath and petition- for-nomination forms filled in with the user’s information. Orr’s office said the kit can help prospective candidates save time — and avoid mistakes that might disqualify them.

INDIANA

ALLEN COUNTY is the latest county where the state has declared a public health emergency, allowing officials to create a needle-exchange program to combat the spread of hepatitis C and HIV among drug users. County commissioners had previously approved the needle exchange but needed the state’s okay, the Associated Press reported.

The Indiana Department of Health has already declared similar public health emergencies in seven other Indiana counties, mostly in the southern part of the state.

MARYLAND

MONTGOMERY COUNTY’s library system has launched a Career Online High School (COHS) program — designed to bring adults back into the classroom, if virtually — and prepare them for post-secondary education or jobs.

Coursework focuses on one of eight high-growth, high-demand career fields before moving on to core academic subjects. COHS pairs each enrolled student with an academic coach, who provides him or her with an individual career path, offers ongoing guidance, evaluates performance and connects the student with the resources needed to master the courses. Students are given up to 18 months to complete the program.

Library officials said the program is free for a limited number of participants.

MICHIGAN

● The ball is in the state’s court now that WAYNE COUNTY has asked the state to release the county from its consent agreement that declared a financial emergency in 2015.

County Executive Warren Evans made the request, touting the county’s “improved financial picture” less than 18 after asking the state for the declaration, the Detroit Free Press reported.

In a statement, Evans wrote, “We’ve stuck to our ‘Recovery Plan’ and come very far in a short period of time. There’s much more work to do, but we’re on a sustainable path…” A spokeswoman for the state treasurer promised a prompt response, noting that the county has made “significant financial progress.”

● In a sign of the times, the OTTAWA COUNTY Sheriff’s Office is offering training to the public on what to do in case of an active shooter.

The class will offer “strategies, guidance, and a proven plan” for surviving an active shooter event. The class is free with registration required and participants must be at least 18 years old.

The Civilian Response to Active Shooter Events (CRASE) course was developed by ALERRT (Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training).

MONTANA

PARK COUNTY lost hundreds of thousands of dollars after the state closed the Yellowstone River because of a massive fish kill. That’s the finding of a report from the University of Montana; the closure cost the county between $360,000 and $524,000 in tourism revenue.

The report says that about 31 percent of jobs in Park County depend on tourism, a large portion related to the Yellowstone River, according to the Bozeman Daily Chronicle.

Thousands of whitefish succumbed to a parasite in the water, according to State Fish, Wildlife and Parks officials, who closed the river on Aug. 19, as water temperatures hovered near 70 degrees and flows neared historic lows.

The river has since been reopened.

NEW YORK

● The State Department has told MONROE COUNTY that its practice of waiving the $25 local share of passport fees is a violation of federal law.

County Clerk Adam Bello said as many as 668 people have been given waivers on passport or pistol fees since 2008, the Democrat and Chronicle reported.

● Northern WARREN COUNTY residents will soon have access to a mobile satellite Department of Motor Vehicles office that will operate a few times a month.

County Clerk Pam Vogel told The Post Star that offering the service would also help the county capture 12.7 percent of fees that go entirely to the state when transactions are done online. The idea was modeled off of WASHINGTON COUNTY’s mobile clerk’s office.

NORTH CAROLINA

New fathers who work for DURHAM COUNTY will get 12 weeks of paid leave under a new parental leave policy that took effect Oct. 1.

The policy is also open to employees who adopt, foster or take responsibility for a child under the age of 5, the News and Observer reported.

OHIO

A $2.9 million grant will pay for SUMMIT COUNTY to remove lead from 160 homes.

Money from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development grant will go to help the county’s public health department target homes built before 1978 occupied by low-to-moderate-income residents, the Akron Beacon Journal reported.

OREGON

● BENTON COUNTY and the city of Corvallis may combine to fund a homeless czar position.

The administrator for the Housing Opportunities Action Council would be an employee of the United Way of Benton and Lincoln counties and will start work on Nov. 1 if the county agrees to contribute $20,000, according to the Corvallis Gazette-Times. The council oversees implementation of a 10-year plan to eliminate homelessness in Benton County.

● An initiative proposed for the November ballot will let COOS COUNTY voters decide on a property tax increase that will make eight museums free.

The tax would be the first of its kind in Oregon, KCBY News reported.

SOUTH CAROLINA

The state election commission has told GREENVILLE COUNTY’s elections commission to stop sending an 11-question form to students who want to register to vote using their college addresses.

The state commission called it a violation of its policy and state law.

Three Furman University students sued the county to use their college addresses to register, a policy the Greenville News said is allowed in every other South Carolina county.

SOUTH DAKOTA

Clerk magistrates in 14 counties now have a little less happiness in their work days, now that they may no longer perform marriage ceremonies.

Third Judicial Circuit Presiding Judge Gregory J. Stoltenburg cited the significant time commitment — at least 30 minutes per ceremony — in his rationale, the Watertown Public Opinion reported.

The Third Circuit includes HAND, JERAULD, BEADLE, SANBORN, MINER, LAKE, MOODY, BROOKINGS, KINGSBURG, CLARK, HAMLIN, CODINGTON, DEUEL and GRANT counties.

TENNESSEE

Grants totaling $2.4 million will help bring high-speed broadband internet to parts of four counties.

MARION, MORGAN, GRUNDY and TROUSDALE counties will benefit from three U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development grants, the Times Free Press reported.

UTAH

After three years of planning, including a year of training, SEVIER COUNTY Emergency Medical Services now offers paramedic services in its ambulances.

The department will sport 11 paramedics who did training for three days a week for a year, including 12-hour shifts in a hospital’s emergency room, according to the Richfield Reporter.

News From Across the Nation is compiled by Charles Taylor and Charlie Ban, senior staff writers. If you have an item for News From, please email ctaylor@naco.org or cban@naco.org.