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Not your grandma's bingo

By Pamela M. Prah, Stateline.org Staff Writer

All three types of machines pictured here were once in operation in Alabama before the governor’s task force on illegal gambling confiscated them. Their owners deemed the machines legal electronic bingo, but the task force called them illegal slots.
All three types of machines pictured here were once in operation in Alabama before the governor’s task force on illegal gambling confiscated them. Their owners deemed the machines legal electronic bingo, but the task force called them illegal slots.
It has the drama and suspense of a John Grisham novel: pre-dawn gambling raids by state troopers, rumors of political payoffs, rowdy demonstrations at the State Capitol and a fly-over at this year’s Rose Bowl in California with a banner that read, “Impeach Corrupt Alabama Gov. Bob Riley.” All this fuss over bingo? While many other cash-strapped states are trying to expand gaming as a way to get more revenue, Alabama's outgoing governor is on a mission to stamp out illegal gambling in the Heart of Dixie.

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CA: Fair Political Practices Commission considers how to regulate social media in politics



Should campaign chatter on the Twittersphere squeeze "This tweet was paid for by" into the 140-character blasts? A Fair Political Practices Commission subcommittee considered that and other questions at a hearing Wednesday on regulating political communications on new media platforms such as blogs, social networking sites and YouTube videos.
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CA: Schwarzenegger administration considering buying $5,000 devices to combat in-home care fraud


The Schwarzenegger administration is considering buying $5,000 high-tech devices to photograph and fingerprint Californians who get subsidized in-home care for the elderly and disabled. The MorphoTrak "mobile biometric identification" device can fingerprint, snap a photo and transfer data to government systems, according to state social service officials.   Read More
GA: Georgia debates online voter registration


Georgia senators passed a bill Wednesday to allow full online voter registration, but some legislators said that could cause more problems in verifying voter eligibility.   Read More
GA: Pet microchip measure approved by House


Microchips under the skin might prove beneficial under pet-lover legislation passed Wednesday by the Georgia House. HB 1106, sponsored by state Rep. Gene Maddox (R-Cairo), a veterinarian,would require animal shelters to scan any cat or dog that's to be adopted or euthanized for an owner-identifying microchip.   Read More
HI: Abercrombie stresses education and jobs in first campaign ads


The first television and radio commercials in the campaign for governor, airing this week by former U.S. Rep. Neil Abercrombie, focus on employment, education and an end to Furlough Fridays.   Read More
IA: Tentative compromise reached on texting


An Iowa House-Senate conference committee reached tentative agreement today on a texting compromise that would ban most drivers from sending or reading text messages and ban cell phone use by young drivers altogether.   Read More
MA: Deval Patrick casts wide 'Net in first online chat


Jabbing his computer keyboard like a bantamweight, a feisty Gov. Deval Patrick took on Herald readers yesterday in a lively one-hour online chat that at one point had him punching away in ALL CAPS.   Read More
MA: A $63m push to retrofit housing


Mayor Thomas M. Menino will announce today what is being billed as the largest energy efficiency overhaul in public housing in the nation's history, a sweeping initiative designed to save electricity, countless gallons of water, and millions of dollars.   Read More
MN: MN House panel votes no on porn-free hotel bill


A bill that would prohibit Minnesota government employees from staying in hotels with pay-per-view pornography has failed in a House committee.   Read More
MT: E-mails -- No pressure from Dems in poaching case


Internal e-mails released Wednesday show top officials at the governor's office and Montana Fish, Wildlife and Park were aware a Madison County poaching investigation involved a prominent Republican who later went to work for Denny Rehberg.   Read More
NC: E-mail archiving goes at snail's pace


In July, Gov. Bev Perdue signed an executive order directing the state's information technology staff to implement a new system "as soon as practicable" to automatically archive government e-mail for 10 years. But eight months later, only 1.4 percent of the 60,787 e-mail accounts maintained by the state are on the new archiving system.   Read More
NM: State voting machines secure at private facility


Automated Election Services (AES) is storing a total of 43 state-owned voting machines without charge at its Rio Rancho facility, according to secretary of state spokesman James Flores.   Read More
PA: Court says parents can block 'sexting' cases


In the first federal appeals court opinion dealing with "sexting" — the transmission of sexually explicit photographs by cellphone — a three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit ruled Wednesday that parents could block the prosecution of their children on child pornography charges for appearing in photographs found on some classmates' cellphones.   Read More
PA: Appeals court won't rule on free speech, 'sexting' link


PHILADELPHIA, Pa. -- A federal appeals court Wednesday decided not to decide whether photos in a "sexting" controversy are free speech protected by the First Amendment.   Read More
SD: State gets grant for electronic medical records


South Dakota will receive $6,081,750 in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds to facilitate statewide health information exchange and improve health information technology.   Read More
US: States pressure e-tailers to collect sales tax


The economic slump is helping rekindle a debate on whether online retailers should have to collect state sales taxes, a question that has pitted the new economy against the old.   Read More
VT: Vermont department streamlines services


WATERBURY, Vt. -- April Goodrich used to work in the Morrisville district office of the Department for Children and Families, working with local clients seeking benefits. Today, the Hyde Park woman takes calls from clients all over the state from a desk in Waterbury, part of a new system that state officials say will be more efficient.   Read More
WA: Tax break for data centers OK'd; laws lose controversial term


Lawmakers approved a tax break Wednesday for technology companies' computer servers, the first piece of Democrats' jobs agenda to go to Gov. Chris Gregoire for her signature and one with the bipartisan support lacking for other job-creation proposals.   Read More
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