President Joe Biden’s administration announced “strong support” for a Democratic push for D.C. statehood in a statement on Tuesday, putting its weight behind a long-time dream of the Democratic Party. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is expected to bring the bill, H.R. 51, to a vote this week, where it will almost certainly pass. The bill faces much more robust opposition in the Senate, however. If signed into law, the bill would create “Washington, Douglass Commonwealth” as the 51st state while maintaining a separate federal district. “For far too long, the more than 700,000 people of Washington, D.C. have been deprived of full representation in the U.S. Congress. This taxation without representation and denial of self-governance is an affront to the democratic values on which our Nation was founded,” the administration argues, adding that the representation is “long overdue.” (RELATED: Does DC Statehood Require A Constitutional Amendment, Or Can Congress Pass It Via Legislation? It’s Complicated) Biden admin announces support for making Washington DC the nation’s 51st state, creating the state of “Washington, Douglass Commonwealth…” ie Frederick Douglass. pic.twitter.com/DtdpQVLk4A — Jim Acosta (@Acosta) April 20, 2021 “Establishing the State of Washington, Douglass Commonwealth as the 51st state will make our Union stronger and more just,” the statement continued. “The Administration calls for the Congress to provide for a swift and orderly transition to statehood for the people of Washington, D.C.” The push to declare certain areas of D.C. a new state is fraught with constitutional questions as well. The founders wrote into the constitution that the land ceded by Virginia and Maryland to become the U.S. Capital city should not exceed 10 square miles. Democrats argue that because the Constitution does not call for a minimum size, only a maximum limit, that certain areas of Washington could be turned into a state while maintaining a ...
Washington state grants
Idaho State Legislature Hears Testimony from Oregon Counties Who Want to Join Idaho
A joint committee of the Idaho State Senate and Idaho House of Representatives heard last week from a group representing residents of several southern and eastern Oregon counties who want their counties to leave Oregon and join Idaho. The Idaho Press reported : On Monday, the Move Oregon’s Border for a Greater Idaho organization spoke to a joint House and Senate committee about its desire to have part of Oregon join Idaho. It would make Idaho the third largest state in the country. This invitation to present to Idaho legislators in an official capacity may have been the movement’s biggest win so far in terms of gaining legitimacy. Rep. Barbara Ehardt, R-Idaho Falls, was the driving force in making the meeting possible. Ehardt is the chairwoman of the Environment, Energy and Technology Committee. She also gives credit to Sen. Steve Vick, R-Dalton Gardens, her Senate counterpart who serves as chairman of the Senate Resources and Environment Committee, for helping set up the event. “Why not have the conversation? It’s an intriguing idea. There absolutely are benefits to the idea. It’s not necessarily something that would happen right away. Oregon, and I dare say Washington and even California, is pushing forward to try to make this happen and get the support for this move. And as Idahoans, I think we should do our part to at least have the conversation,” Ehardt said. Move Oregon’s Border is a Political Action Committee formed in 2019 that focuses on Oregon ballot initiatives. In March, Move Oregon’s Border founder Michael McCarter announced the establishment of a 501 c 4, Citizens for Greater Idaho, which will focus “on Idaho, Oregon, and beyond, to support the vision of Move Oregon’s Border.” Both Move Oregon’s Border founder McCarter and former Oregon Speaker of the House Mark Simmons spoke to the joint committee of the Idaho State Legislature last week, the group’s website reported : Former Speaker of the Oregon House, Mark Simmons of ...
Eric Garcetti Unveils ‘Justice Budget’: Income Grants, ‘DACA Fees,’ ‘Slavery Reparations,’ ‘Alternatives to Policing’
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti told the city Monday evening in his annual “State of the City” address that L.A. was more “just” and “forward-looking” after a year of pandemic, riots, and economic shock. “Through our pain and our trauma, we showed who we are, and defined what we believe,” Garcetti said. Join us live for our annual State of the City address. Together, we can recover, rebuild, and reimagine a more just, resilient, sustainable, equitable and fair city for every Angeleno. #SOTC2021 https://t.co/r82p384qJp — MayorOfLA (@MayorOfLA) April 20, 2021 Speaking from the iconic Griffith Observatory, the mayor struck a more optimistic tone than he had in 2020, when he told the city: “This is the worst it’s ever been.” He had tweeted earlier that the state of the city was “strong, & bruised––bursting w/ joyous possibility, while cracking with sorrow.” The state of our city is strong, & bruised––bursting w/ joyous possibility, while cracking with sorrow. If you ask me what defines LA in 2021, it’s what we are doing to become a city more just, more equal, more kind, more itself than we have ever given it the opportunity to be. — MayorOfLA (@MayorOfLA) April 20, 2021 A year after Garcetti put city workers on furlough due to anticipated budget shortfalls, and cut several city departments — including a $150 million cut to the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) — Garcetti boasted that he would unveil the “biggest city budget I’ve ever presented,” and the “most progressive.” The new spending has been made possible by President Joe Biden’s recent $1.9 trillion “COVID relief” bill, which included ample spending for other programs and for bailouts of Democrat-run cities and states. Garcetti called his new budget the “Justice Budget,” saying that the top priority of city government, after fighting the coronavirus pandemic, is to create a more just city and to “make up for the wrongs of the past.” The mayor promised to ...
Japan prepares to reimplement state of emergency declaration for Tokyo
Japan is preparing to reimplement its state of emergency declaration for Tokyo due to the increase in coronavirus cases as the country is getting ready to host the Olympics this summer. “We should not fall behind the speed at which variants of the virus are spreading infection,” Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike said, The Wall Street Journal reported . Koike said on Tuesday she would be asking Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga to declare another state of emergency due to the difficulty in containing the coronavirus in the city. ADVERTISEMENT Suga suggested he would grant the request, making it the city’s third state of emergency declaration during the pandemic. Suga said the declaration would not affect the Olympics, which are slated to start July 23. Osaka’s governor also asked the central government to declare a state of emergency for the area. Osaka is seeing the British variant of the virus spreading quickly and is running out of beds for the sick, according to the Journal. Tokyo cases of the British variant aren’t as high but are spreading quickly. Tokyo lifted its last state of emergency back in March but has seen an increase in cases since. The restrictions for the requested state of emergency are not clear but might be harsher than previous ones with restaurants and stores closing down. Tokyo is working to control its cases before the Olympics and has preemptively banned foreign spectators as a precautionary measure. Tags Tokyo Japan 2021 Olympics   ...
Massachusetts Ranked Number One Most Expensive State to Buy a Home
Massachusetts has been ranked as the number one most expensive state in which to buy a home, according to a recent report. The report by SmartAsset said the personal-finance website used metrics that analyzed 48 states and Washington, DC, based on their effective property tax rate, median listing price and price per square foot, median value for homes in the bottom third of the market, and average closing costs. However, Louisiana and Delaware were the only states excluded from the report due to insufficient data. A report by MarketWatch said: All the states were ranked for each of these metrics, and then researchers calculated their average ranking. This then determined the index value they were assigned on a scale from 0 to 100, with 100 being the cheapest. Massachusetts’ index came in at zero, while West Virginia was the most affordable state with a value of 100. A study released by CNBC in July of 2018 previously ranked Massachusetts as the third most expensive place to live in America. “The Bay State is one of the four states that refer to themselves as commonwealths (the others are Kentucky, Pennsylvania and Virginia). There is no practical difference between a commonwealth and a state, but in Massachusetts one might want to put the emphasis on ‘wealth,’ because that is what it takes to live there,” the report concluded. In June of this year, reports said Boston was ranked as the fifth most expensive city to rent property, trailing just behind San Francisco, New York, San Jose, and Los Angeles, “with a median rent of $2,300 for a one-bedroom unit.” In contrast, the SmartAsset analysis found that West Virginia is a bargain hunter’s dream when it comes to purchasing a home. “The state not only had lowest median listing price in the country at $169,900, but also one of the lowest property tax rates at just 0.57%,” the report said, adding, “Overall, the South and Midwest were the cheapest places to be a homeowner, with states from ...
