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America


No More Govt Utensils • Plastic ware won’t be free at federal offi ces, the U.S. Government Accountability Offi ce has declared. The GAO


has defi ned plastic ware and paper plates as


Consumers Squawk in Response to California Cage Law


G


iving chickens roomier cages may be more humane, but it’s also more expensive. Farmers say the new cage


laws taking aff ect in California are likely to drive up egg prices across the country. Animal rights activists have been pushing for larger cages for years. The new law applies to any eggs sold in the state. The Associated Press reports chicken farms throughout the country will have to either build new hen houses or stop selling to stores in California. Dave Heylen of the California Grocers Association says egg prices are already on the rise. Some farmers say giving the chickens more room will also lead to more injuries.


Attorney General Sues Towns Over Speed Traps • Suburbs around St. Louis, Mo., have become dependent on traffi c tickets to pay their bills, and the state is suing them. State law mandates that all towns report the money they get from traffi c fi nes. When tickets exceed 30 percent of general revenues, the excess must be diverted into state coff ers — a measure intended to discourage cities from becoming wholesale speed traps. Now, Missouri Attorney General Chris


18 NEWSMAX | MARCH 2015 KOSTER


Koster, a Democrat, has fi led lawsuits against 13 St. Louis suburbs. He says they’ve been ignoring the law, and have instead been “inappropriate” and “predatory” in socking motorists with fi nes.


“personal items,”


and has instructed agencies not to provide them to employees unless they have “specifi c statutory authority to do so.” The GAO calls them a “personal expense.” The debate over providing utensils apparently began several years ago in the National Weather Service (NWS). NWS President Dan Sobien, referring to the relatively small cost, told The Washington Post: “It’s a really bizarre thing. There’s no way this could cost them more than $5-$10,000.”


Downtown Houston • Houston prides itself on its lack of zoning restrictions, but that philosophy may be put to the test if its downtown population triples as some experts predict.


THEN & NOW


“And as long as I’m president, we’re going to keep on encouraging oil development and infrastructure, and we’re going to do it in a way that protects the health and safety of the American people.”


— President Obama on March 20, 2012, touting his “all of the above” energy policy


“If this bill passes this Congress, the president wouldn’t sign it.”


— White House press secretary


Josh Earnest, threatening an Obama veto of the Keystone XL pipeline


No Playing in NYC • Kids looking to play in New York City are bound to be disappointed when they clamber onto spinning playground equipment only to fi nd it has been welded into a fi xed position. The force that killed the joy of riding merry-go-rounds in parks in Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens, according to National Review Online: A fear that equipment that moved could lead to accidents and injuries. Some Brooklyn parents are complaining society has become so litigious kids aren’t allowed to have fun anymore. A Parks and Recreation Department spokesman said the playground equipment had been welded in place “in the interests of public safety.”


Developers plan to build some 4,200 new downtown apartments in coming months. Houston’s City Council passed a tax break that could save residents up to $15,000 for living downtown. The goal was to transform the city’s core into a thriving, vibrant hub


of activity.


Briefly Noted


CHICKENS/THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR/GETTY IMAGES PLATE/FFOLAS/SHUTTERSTOCK / KOSTER,OBAMA/AP IMAGES


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