Tuesday Round Up: Massachusetts Goes to the Dogs

Joe Mathews — Tue, 06 May 2008 16:39:00 -0400

MASSACHUSETTS DOGS: Massachusetts gives the legislature the chance to act on initiative proposals before they head to the ballot. A measure to ban dog racing in the state, which would close two tracks (including, I believe, the one you see Minnie Driver and Matt Damon visit during a date in Good Will Hunting), did not get the approval of a state panel, so it appears headed for the November ballot.

COLORADO SPEAKER TAKING IT TO THE PEOPLE: The Democratic speaker of Colorado's House says his proposal to alter the state's constitution rules on budgeting has no chance of passing the legislature, so he's going to qualify an initiative for the ballot. The proposal would undo parts of the state's voter-approved Taxpayer Bill of Rights, allowing the state to keep revenue above previous limits.

ANTI MARIJUANA INITIATIVE DROPPED: Organizers of an initiative to reverse Oregon's medical marijuana law have dropped the effort. Not enough time and money to get the signatures, the main sponsor tells Williamette Week.

MARYLAND SLOTS CONSENSUS: Labor and business groups are lining up behind a measure to legalize slot machines in Maryland to balance the budget.

GEORGIA PROPERTY TAX QUESTION: A ballot measure, referred to voters by the Georgia legislature, poses the question of whether property tax money intended for that state's schools may be redirected to redevelopment projects by local governments. Georgia has permitted this for years, but the state supreme court in February ruled the practice unconstitutional.

LOCAL SF BALLOT MEASURE HEATS UP: Lennar Corp is advertising heavily in favor of its municipal San Francisco initiative to approve its development plan for the Bayview-Hunters Point neighborhood. One question I have about Lennar: Given Lennar's financial troubles, how can San Franciscans be sure that the company will be able to develop what it promises? Lennar has had to abandon projects all over the country; in Anaheim, Calif., not far from where I live, is a giant overgrown field in the ground where a Lennar project was supposed to go.

TUESDAY ROUND UP: Colorado Corporate Crooks, and Suicide on the Street

Joe Mathews — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 14:51:00 -0400

NYT MISSES THE POINT IN COLORADO: The New York Times weighs in on the Colorado ballot initiative that would make corporate executives criminally responsible if their companies break the law. The Times focuses on the angry Qwest employees who are backing the measure, and misses the larger context. The initiative is part of a union-business battle that encompasses other measures in the state. The center of the fight is a right-to-work initiative, which has been countered by five recent initiatives filed by the United Food and Commercial Workers, best known for representing the people working in grocery stores.

RIGHT TO DIE ON THE STREET: Well, not yet. But the attacks have begun on the latest assisted suicide initiative from ex-Governor Booth Gardner. Petition gatherers, many from California, are already on the street gathering signatures. Anyone out there know the price?

DOG DEBATE: A debate breaks out over how many workers might be affected if a dog-track measure doesn't pass in Massachusetts.

LEAVE FUNDING HEADED TO BALLOT? A Washington state law giving parents five weeks off with pay to be with a new child is set to take effect in Oct. 2009. But there's no funding mechanism. A tax measure is likely headed to the Nov. 2009 ballot that would provide the funds, but that may be too late.

ALASKA, NATION UNTO ITSELF: Your blogger, in this new attempt to track ballot measures nationwide, continues to be amazed by how Alaska is governed. He's planning a trip there this summer to cover the August state elections. Here's an explanation of the tax cap in Fairbanks. He dares you to understand it.

Dog Tracks

Tuesday Round Up: Massachusetts Goes to the Dogs

TUESDAY ROUND UP: Colorado Corporate Crooks, and Suicide on the Street