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Friday, October 17, 2014
Alty News: Obama Sets Back the Endangered Species Act; The UN's Dismal Fundraising to Fight Ebola
Posted By Eric S. Peterson on October 17, 2014, 9:58 AM
Insiders say Karl Rove, the political advisor to President George W. Bush, covered up evidence of chemical shells in Iraqi battlegrounds from becoming public knowledge.
Top of the Alty World
“Insiders Blame Rove for Covering Up Iraq’s Real WMD”—Daily Beast
The United Nations is trying to raise $1 billion to fight Ebola—so far it's received one donation for $100,000.—Slate
A new Obama administration policy threatens to set the Endangered Species Act back half a century.—High Country News
Six out of seven of the chiefs of staff that worked for Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. Left his office to work as lobbyists.—Mother Jones
Top of Alty Utah
Transit riders call on UTA to use one cent per dollar sales tax increase to expand service.—Utah Political Capitol
The University of Utah's PAC-12 membership has led to increased spending by the university and bigger budgets.—Salt Lake City Weekly
Doug Owens and Mia Love threw down in a feisty debate that ranged from student loans and Common Core to ISIS and Edward Snowden.—Salt Lake City Weekly
Utah Politico Hub provides an explainer on the ZAP Tax on the ballot this election in Salt Lake County.—Utah Politico Hub
Rantosphere
Utah Politico Hub makes an argument to voters that retention elections for judges may be problematic but they are on the ballot and people should learn what they can before voting on them this election.
“Commentary and unsolicited opinion aside, we have these elections in Utah and their continuation is mandated by our Constitution. So, we should at least try to do this all intelligently, right? In an effort to try and provide voters some basis for casting their retention votes, Utah has created a Judicial Performance Evaluation Commission, which “rates” judges on the basis of interview questionnaires filled out by attorneys and litigants. You can access the information at http://judges.utah.gov.”—Utah Politico Hub
The Long View
UC Davis is one of the top five colleges in the nation, it's also the number 1 college in California for sexual assault reports, prompting a call for a change in the campus' rape culture. One student “Ashley”—not her real name— was raped by two men and than had to wait eight months for the school's Title IX department to investigate the report.
“By policy, the Title IX office is supposed to conclude a case within 60 working days. UC Davis Chief Compliance Officer Wendi Delmendo says her office 'tries really hard to keep in that time frame.' But some cases, especially those with multiple witness accounts, take more time.
All the while, Ashley claims she still had to face her attackers on campus. Sometimes when it happened, she’d duck into the nearest bathroom to cry before running to class. Unable to concentrate, the perpetual Dean’s Honors List student failed a class for the first time. That one failure caused her to be dismissed for a quarter, due to a contract with the university related to her financial aid.
Yet the UC Davis Title IX investigator wrote in the report that 'evidence does not show that her school, work or learning environment suffered directly because of the alleged sexual assault.'”—Sacramento News and Review
Top of the Alty World
“Insiders Blame Rove for Covering Up Iraq’s Real WMD”—Daily Beast
The United Nations is trying to raise $1 billion to fight Ebola—so far it's received one donation for $100,000.—Slate
A new Obama administration policy threatens to set the Endangered Species Act back half a century.—High Country News
Six out of seven of the chiefs of staff that worked for Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. Left his office to work as lobbyists.—Mother Jones
Top of Alty Utah
Transit riders call on UTA to use one cent per dollar sales tax increase to expand service.—Utah Political Capitol
The University of Utah's PAC-12 membership has led to increased spending by the university and bigger budgets.—Salt Lake City Weekly
Doug Owens and Mia Love threw down in a feisty debate that ranged from student loans and Common Core to ISIS and Edward Snowden.—Salt Lake City Weekly
Utah Politico Hub provides an explainer on the ZAP Tax on the ballot this election in Salt Lake County.—Utah Politico Hub
Rantosphere
Utah Politico Hub makes an argument to voters that retention elections for judges may be problematic but they are on the ballot and people should learn what they can before voting on them this election.
“Commentary and unsolicited opinion aside, we have these elections in Utah and their continuation is mandated by our Constitution. So, we should at least try to do this all intelligently, right? In an effort to try and provide voters some basis for casting their retention votes, Utah has created a Judicial Performance Evaluation Commission, which “rates” judges on the basis of interview questionnaires filled out by attorneys and litigants. You can access the information at http://judges.utah.gov.”—Utah Politico Hub
The Long View
UC Davis is one of the top five colleges in the nation, it's also the number 1 college in California for sexual assault reports, prompting a call for a change in the campus' rape culture. One student “Ashley”—not her real name— was raped by two men and than had to wait eight months for the school's Title IX department to investigate the report.
“By policy, the Title IX office is supposed to conclude a case within 60 working days. UC Davis Chief Compliance Officer Wendi Delmendo says her office 'tries really hard to keep in that time frame.' But some cases, especially those with multiple witness accounts, take more time.
All the while, Ashley claims she still had to face her attackers on campus. Sometimes when it happened, she’d duck into the nearest bathroom to cry before running to class. Unable to concentrate, the perpetual Dean’s Honors List student failed a class for the first time. That one failure caused her to be dismissed for a quarter, due to a contract with the university related to her financial aid.
Yet the UC Davis Title IX investigator wrote in the report that 'evidence does not show that her school, work or learning environment suffered directly because of the alleged sexual assault.'”—Sacramento News and Review
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