Legal and Legislative News

[First]  [Previous] |    1595     1596     1597     1598     1599     1600     1601     1602     1603     1604    | [Next]  [Last] of 1623 page(s)

State budget increases spending; no new taxes

The San Diego Union-Tribune (CA)

by Ed Mendel

January 11, 2006

SACRAMENTO - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger proposed a $125.6 billion state budget yesterday that uses a surge in tax revenue to boost spending for schools, transportation and most other programs except for welfare.

Here are some of the main parts of his proposed budget for the fiscal year, which begins July 1: A $4.3 billion increase for K-12 education and community colleges. The increase includes a $1.7 billion repayment that school groups say is about one-third of what is owed under an agreement two years ago.

Soldier continues fight not to serve under U.N.

World Net Daily

January 11, 2006

A U.S. soldier court-martialed for refusing to wear the insignia and blue beret of the United Nations and serve under the world body's command is now appealing his case to a federal appeals court.

Michael New was among several hundred troops sent to Macedonia by President Clinton in 1995 on a U.N. peacekeeping mission. But New refused to obey the order, calling it illegal for him to serve under a foreign power.

Covert propaganda

Source Watch

January 7, 2006

The Government Accountability Office, an investigative arm of Congress, said on Thursday that the Bush administration violated federal law by producing and distributing television news segments about the effects of drug use among young people.

The accountability office said the videos "constitute covert propaganda" because the government was not identified as the source of the materials, which were distributed by the Office of National Drug Control Policy. They were broadcast by nearly 300 television stations and reached 22 million households, the office said.

Nurses don't have to get flu vaccines

The Seattle Times

by Warren King

January 6, 2006

A federal judge in Seattle Thursday agreed that nurses at Virginia Mason Medical Center still won't have to choose between refusing a flu shot or keeping their jobs - even though most of them have chosen to get the shots after all.

U.S. District Court Judge Marsha Pechman ruled that a labor arbitrator had the authority to rule last August that the hospital couldn't force its more than 600 nurses to receive the shots as a "fitness for duty" requirement.

Middle-school teacher arrested

The San Francisco Chronicle (CA)

by Cicero A. Estrella

January 4, 2006

The San Carlos Police Department arrested a middle-school physical education teacher who allegedly made secret videotapes of female students as they changed clothes, according to Cmdr. Sandra Spagnoli.

Neal Sato, 34, of San Bruno was arrested Tuesday on six counts of lewd acts with a child after investigators found in his computer 100 deleted files and images of girls changing into uniforms, Spagnoli said. Some of the files date to October 2004, and not all the victims have been identified, according to Spagnoli.

Homeschool Graduates Considered ‘Preferred Enlistees’ In Armed Services

WDC Media

January 2, 2006

After a long struggle, the military has now fully opened the door to homeschoolers. Homeschool graduates who desire a career with any of the four branches of the Armed Services are being treated as "preferred enlistees."

This means that homeschool graduates who enlist in the military will be treated as Tier I candidates even though their formal status will remain Tier II. As a result of this change, homeschoolers will receive the same educational benefits, cash bonuses, and available positions in the Armed Services as any of their peers.

Employment background checks prompt concerns

Seattle Post-Intelligencer (CT)

by John Christoffersen

January 2, 2006

STAMFORD -- Jessica Smith thought she was a shoo-in for a cashier's job at an Office Depot in Minnesota last summer. The store manager was encouraging, saying he just needed to run a criminal background check.

But a week later, Smith received a rejection letter that cited a lengthy rap sheet, including drug convictions in Washington. "I have no record," Smith, 19, said as she flipped through court documents. "They all say felony and guilty. I've never even been to Washington." Smith, who fought for six weeks to clear her name before eventually landing the job, was a casualty of one of the latest trends in business hiring. Companies increasingly rely on background checks to ease security concerns and protect against costly lawsuits.

Bush signs Patriot Act reauthorization

Science Daily (TX)

December 31, 2005

CRAWFORD -- President George W. Bush signed a series of bills into law Friday, including one reauthorizing the USA Patriot Act for five weeks.

Bush and the U.S. House of Representatives had sought to make the Patriot Act permanent, but the threat of a Senate filibuster led to a compromise in that chamber of an extension until next summer. The House, technically already in recess, cut that to a one-month extension to force Congress to deal with the act next month.

Santa Clara preschool teacher arrested on child porn charges

The Mercury News (CA)

December 30, 2005

SANTA CLARA -- A preschool teacher was arrested on charges he had child pornography on his home computer, authorities said.

Curtis Koji Oishi, 35, of Santa Clara, remained free on $10,500 bail on Friday on charges of possessing and distributing illegal sexually oriented images of children, said Sharron Pearson, an investigator with the Santa Clara County Sheriff's office.

Districts working to include homeschoolers

The York Dispatch (PA)

by Christina Kauffman

December 30, 2005

Sue Rothermel said she thinks her homeschooled children should be allowed to play sports at Dallastown Area public schools. After all, her family pays taxes.

But homeschooling five boys doesn't leave much time, so she'll decide whether her children will participate based on the amount of paperwork required. "It could be a real pain in the neck if they began to require a ridiculous amount of documentation," she said.

[First]  [Previous] |    1595     1596     1597     1598     1599     1600     1601     1602     1603     1604    | [Next]  [Last] of 1623 page(s)