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By Bruce Mildwurf, WRAL.com (Raleigh)
As the court battle to keep 27 inmates in prison brews, some state officials are considering a back-up plan to address the issue.
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By Nelson Hernandez, The Washington Post
Top Montgomery County officials threatened Thursday to sue the state and "aggressively pursue" legislation that would change state law after Maryland's attorney general found that the county had failed to meet the state's minimum level of funding for education. The opinion renders it potentially liable for millions of dollars in penalties.
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AL: Alert system may fill rural gap
By Jason Morton, Tuscaloosa News
EUTAW, Ala. -- On Thursday, the Alabama Emergency Management Agency announced at the Greene County Courthouse the potential hiring of Global Security Systems, a Jackson, Miss.-based company that plans to bring its Alert FM system to nine West Alabama counties.
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AR: Supreme Court suspends east Arkansas judge
By Staff Reports, Arkansas News Bureau
The state Supreme Court on Thursday suspended Phillips County Circuit Court Judge L.T. Simes from the bench law through the end of his term next year over judicial misconduct accusations.
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CT: Rell makes $34 million in cuts from state budget
By Christopher Keating, The Hartford Courant
The reductions were ordered in hundreds of categories, including $8.5 million from the Department of Children and Families, $7.25 million from the multibillion-dollar Department of Social Services, $3.7 million from the Department of Developmental Services, $1.26 million from the Department of Environmental Protection, $500,000 from the state Department of Agriculture, and $200,000 from the chief state medical examiner's office.
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FL: House inquiry into Sansom to continue
By Bill Cotterell, Tallahassee Democrat
A special House committee voted unanimously this morning to continue with its investigation of former House Speaker Ray Sansom, while proceeding carefully to protect his constitutional rights to a fair trial.
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FL: ACLU suit alleges Fla. neglecting schools
By The Associated Press, Tallahassee Democrat
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — The American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit Thursday alleging that state officials in Florida are failing to ensure that students in Palm Beach County get a high quality education, as evidenced by their poor graduation rates.
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FL: Fla. justices consider mediation for foreclosures
By The Associated Press, The Miami Herald
Mediation would be a good way to expedite a flood of mortgage foreclosures, members of a foreclosure task force said Wednesday, but some disagreed on the details in oral arguments before the state Supreme Court.
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HI: Fort Hood massacre shocks Hawaii troops
By Suzanne Roig, The Honolulu Advertiser
Hawaii soldiers reacted with a mixture of shock and sadness as news of the shooting spree at Fort Hood unfolded yesterday, and some thought that it could just as easily happen here.
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ID: Idaho man to undergo mental health evaluation
By The Associated Press, The Idaho Statesman (Boise)
A judge has ordered a mental health evaluation for a man accused of intentionally driving his pickup truck into a pair of Idaho State Police motorcycle troopers parked along an interstate median.
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IL: Senators outraged over Illinois nursing home safety
By Gary Marx and David Jackson, Chicago Tribune
A top adviser to Gov. Pat Quinn outlined Thursday for the first time some of the steps Illinois must take to end the warehousing of mentally ill adults in nursing homes, including violent felons who have victimized elderly and disabled residents.
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KY: AP sources -- Suicide eyed in Ky. census worker case
By Devlin Barrett and Jeffrey McMurray, The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Investigators probing the death of a Kentucky census worker found hanging from a tree with the word "fed" scrawled on his chest increasingly doubt he was killed because of his government job and are pursuing the possibility he committed suicide, law enforcement officials told The Associated Press.
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KY: AP sources -- Suicide eyed in Ky. census worker case
By Devlin Barrett and Jeffrey McMurray, The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Investigators probing the death of a Kentucky census worker found hanging from a tree with the word "fed" scrawled on his chest increasingly doubt he was killed because of his government job and are pursuing the possibility he committed suicide, law enforcement officials told The Associated Press.
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MA: Death penalty foes rip Coakley for signing brief
By Matt Viser, The Boston Globe
Attorney General Martha Coakley, who says she is firmly against capital punishment, has drawn the ire of some death penalty opponents by urging the US Supreme Court to limit federal review of state court decisions, which opponents say could make it harder for defendants on death row to challenge their sentences.
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MA: Inmate stabs 2 officers at prison in Shirley
By Shelley Murphy, The Boston Globe
A state prison inmate allegedly slashed the neck of one correctional officer and stabbed another in the cheek with a homemade weapon Wednesday night at the Souza-Baranowksi Correction Center in Shirley after being told he would be forced to share a cell with another inmate, according to a union official.
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MA: State gun storage law is argued before SJC
By Martin Finucane, The Boston Globe
The Middlesex district attorney's office argued before the state Supreme Judicial Court yesterday that a law that requires guns to be stored in locked containers or outfitted with trigger locks is valid.
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MD: Waiting to learn who pays Dixon's legal bills
By Julie Bykowicz, The Sun (Baltimore)
BALTIMORE -- Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon's legal bills, racked up during a years-long corruption probe that has led her to enlist seven criminal defense attorneys for a theft trial next week, could run into the hundreds of thousands of dollars, legal observers say.
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MI: Divided state court picks top county judges
By Dawson Bell, Detroit Free Press
A divided Michigan Supreme Court voted today to renew the appointment of Wayne County Circuit Court Chief Judge Virgil Smith for another term, but named new chief judges in Oakland and Macomb counties.
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MI: 55 Michigan troopers to be rehired
By Chris Christoff, Detroit Free Press
State budget director Bob Emerson said the department was given the go-ahead today to hire the troopers, who were among some 100 rookie troopers laid off July 1 in a cost-saving move by Gov. Jennifer Granholm.
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NC: Ethics panel clears NC Rep. Shuler in TVA probe
By Mike Baker, The Associated Press
Congressional ethics investigators have concluded that North Carolina Rep. Heath Shuler did not act inappropriately while a residential development that he was involved in sought lake-access rights from the Tennessee Valley Authority.
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NE: Lincoln senator recommends furloughs, not layoffs for workers
By JoAnne Young, Lincoln Journal Star
Senators introduced five bills in special session Thursday, aimed at saving money for the state or saving money for a particular program. Lincoln Sen. Bill Avery introduced a resolution (LR4) that would have agencies use furloughs rather than layoffs of state workers if needed to meet across-the-board budget cuts.
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NH: McDonald's pays $35,000 to girl burned by tea
By James A. Kimble, The Union Leader (Manchester)
BRENTWOOD, N.H. – An Exeter girl is collecting a $35,000 settlement from a McDonald's restaurant because she suffered second-degree burns from hot tea that spilled on her lap, according to court documents.
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NH: State worker pleads not guilty
By Annmarie Timmins, Concord Monitor
Holly Wheatley, 36, pleaded not guilty yesterday to charges that she stole nearly $25,000 from the state while working for the Department of Resources and Economic Development.
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NV: Managing fraud a lesson of recession
By Abigail Goldman, Las Vegas Review-Journal
Robert Frimet is a self-proclaimed fraud expert, a businessman who audits other companies' books, gives lectures on recognizing employee theft, and sits as a civilian member on the Nevada Fight Fraud Task Force.
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NY: Senate Democrats rebuff governor on special session
By Tom Precious, The Buffalo News
Reducing the state's soaring deficit, legalizing gay marriage, slowing property tax growth and toughening drunk driving laws are among the items on the agenda for a special session of the Legislature that Gov. David A. Paterson has scheduled for Tuesday.
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NY: Wind-energy firm takes Yates County town to court
By Steve Orr, Democrat and Chronicle (Rochester)
ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- Angered by a Town Board vote in Italy, Yates County, to kill a turbine proposal, a wind-energy company is asking a judge to override the elected board members and allow the project to go forward.
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NY: Breslin: Open defense funds
By Rick Karlin, Times Union (Albany)
State Sen. Neil Breslin is proposing legislation that would unmask the names of people who give money to legal defense funds set up for lawmakers.
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NY: Schenectady County earns unwanted rank
By Carol DeMare, Times Union (Albany)
Schenectady County ranked first among upstate counties and Long Island for reports of domestic violence incidents per capita in 2008, U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer said Thursday.
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NY: Did grants open doors?
By James M. Odato, Times Union (Albany)
Although lawyers representing former state Sen. Joseph L. Bruno insist he did not hand out improper favors to clients who invested pension funds with his employer, state records show Bruno arranged state grants for them.
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PA: LaGrotta claims innocence in scandal
By Tracie Mauriello, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Two years after pleading guilty to crimes he now says he did not commit, former state Rep. Frank LaGrotta is looking for exoneration in the court of public opinion -- something he was unable to get in the court of law.
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PA: Grand jury may seek charges against Perzel
By Dennis B. Roddy and Tracie Mauriello, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
A statewide grand jury is considering recommending charges against former House Speaker John Perzel, R-Philadelphia, and a number of others in connection with millions of dollars in taxpayer-funded computer data that investigators believe was used for political campaigns.
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SC: Gov. Mark Sanford gave up privacy, Supreme Court rules
By Tim Smith, The Greenville News
The South Carolina Supreme Court today denied a request by Gov. Mark Sanford to keep a report by the State Ethics Commission of its investigation of him secret, ruling that the governor completely waived his confidentiality in an August letter.
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SC: S.C. court: Sanford ethics probe is public
By Jim Davenport, The Associated Press, The Charlotte Observer
South Carolina's Supreme Court ruled Thursday that an ethics investigation into Gov. Mark Sanford's travel must be made public, clearing the way for lawmakers considering impeachment to review a report on the probe.
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SD: Group to review court translators
By The Associated Press, Argus Leader (Sioux Falls)
A committee has been appointed by the South Dakota Supreme Court to study the use of interpreters and translators in the state's courts.
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TN: Judge declines paper-ballot push
By Richard Locker, The Commercial Appeal (Memphis)
A Nashville judge Thursday turned down a motion to force state election officials to move faster toward installing paper-ballot voting systems across Tennessee in time for the 2010 general election as required by the legislature.
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UT: Commission wants ethics teeth and campaign caps
By Cathy Mckitrick, The Salt Lake Tribune
In its final work session, the Governor's Commission on Strengthening Democracy wrapped up almost a year's worth of deliberations with a few bold recommendations to advance to Gov. Gary Herbert, including one to put some teeth in existing campaign and lobbying laws.
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VA: Court order issued to stop review of Beach absentee ballots
By Deirdre Fernandes, The Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk)
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. -- The tight 21st District race took several dramatic turns Thursday, with a raucous rally outside the voter registrar's office, allegations of vote-count irregularities and finally a court order to temporarily stop a review of absentee ballots.
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VA: State Supreme Court censures Va. Beach judge
By Kathy Adams, The Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk)
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. -- The state Supreme Court reprimanded a Virginia Beach Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court judge Thursday for violating ethical conduct standards in a 2007 case.
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VT: No charges for Flanagan in gym incident
By Sam Hemingway, Burlington Free Press
State Sen. Edward Flanagan will not be charged criminally for allegedly engaging in inappropriate sexual conduct at a Burlington health club in August, a prosecutor who reviewed the case said Thursday.
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WA: State to pay $525,001 in public-records settlement
By Christine Clarridge, The Seattle Times
The state Department of Social and Health Services has agreed to pay $525,001 to two women and a teenage girl for failing to turn over public records after they filed a $45 million lawsuit against the state claiming they were physically and sexually abused by their foster father.
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WI: Judge dismisses lawsuit against state DOT officials
By Staff Reports, Wisconsin State Journal (Madison)
A federal judge on Thursday dismissed a lawsuit against two state Department of Transportation officials which claimed that the department illegally sold drivers' personal information to firms that made it available on the Internet.
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WI: Wis. Assembly delays action on drunken driving
By Scott Bauer, Wisconsin State Journal (Madison)
The Democratic-controlled state Assembly refused to vote Thursday on a comprehensive toughening of Wisconsin's notoriously weak drunken driving laws after the measure unanimously passed the Senate.
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