Pennsylvania
Judge upholds clean-up plan for Chesapeake Bay
HARRISBURG, Pa. – A judge rejected a bid by farm industry and home builders’ groups to block federal and state pollution limits designed to improve the health of the Chesapeake Bay by more tightly regulating wastewater treatment, construction along waterways and agricultural runoff.
U.S. District Court Judge Sylvia Rambo in Harrisburg ruled that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency was within its authority to work with six states and Washington, D.C., to set and enforce standards to reduce nitrogen, phosphorus and sediment that drain from rivers into the bay and harm the ecology of the nation’s largest estuary.
In her 99-page decision Friday, Rambo rejected arguments that the EPA overstepped its bounds under the federal Clean Water Act, created an unfair process and used standards that were flawed or unlawfully complicated.
The EPA and the group of Chesapeake Bay states “undertook significant efforts to preserve the framework of cooperative federalism, as envisioned by the (Clean Water Act),” Rambo wrote. The act is “an ‘all-compassing’ and ‘comprehensive’ statute that envisions a strong federal role for ensuring pollution reduction.”
Michigan
Suzuki recalls 193,936 vehicles for air-bag defect
DETROIT – Suzuki is recalling 193,936 cars and SUVs because of a defective air bag sensor in the front passenger seat.
Grand Vitara SUVs from the 2006 through 2011 model years and SX4 small cars from the 2007 through 2011 model years are involved.
Sensor mats measure passengers’ weight and determine if the air bag should deploy. Determining who sits in the seat is important because the force of an air bag can injure children or small adults.
Suzuki says the mats can stop working after repeated flexing. If that happens, the bag will deploy even if a small person is in the seat. The automaker says there are no reports of accidents or injuries due to the problem.
Suzuki will notify owners starting next month. Dealers will replace mats for free.
Ohio
At least 35 are injured after Greyhound bus wrecks
CINCINNATI – A Greyhound bus drove off an interstate highway in southwest Ohio early Saturday, struck a tree and a fence and flipped on its side before sliding to a stop in a cornfield, injuring at least 35 people.
None of the injuries was considered life-threatening, though several people were trapped and had to be extricated by firefighters and paramedics, the State Highway Patrol said in a statement.
Georgia
State’s politicans no longer to watch free football games
ATLANTA – One college football tradition in Georgia will soon disappear: letting politicians into the stadium for free.
A new law taking effect next year bans lobbyists from giving Georgia’s politicians free college football tickets, a rite as well-established as Game Day beer and barbecue in the football-obsessed South. As the season kicks off, lobbyists and lawmakers are squeezing in a few more free games before the prohibition takes effect Jan. 1.
Disclosure reports show that lobbyists have given Georgia politicians nearly $1,400 in college football tickets and related entertainment since the start of the season in late August. That’s just the beginning. Last year, registered lobbyists shelled out more than $14,000 in tickets and perks at college football games, according to an Associated Press review of the spending reports that lobbyists must file.
Many lawmakers get tickets in Georgia because the Legislature controls the $6.4 billion higher education budget, including the roughly $1.9 billion that comes directly from state coffers. A free ticket probably won’t swing a vote, said William Perry, executive director of Common Cause Georgia. However, he described the tickets as just one part of the unchecked lobbyist spending that distorted Georgia politics.
“What happens is that it creates a culture, a luxury of lifestyle for our elected officials,” Perry said.
Just having access to tickets can be a nice perk. Spending on football tickets accounted for just over 1 percent of the $1.3 million that lobbyists spent in 2012. That underestimates the value of the tickets considering most games played by the University of Georgia are sold out. Average fans cannot get inside a stadium unless they pay markups or have season tickets, which require mandatory “donations” and sitting on a waiting list.
Get elected to office, and you can go for free. UGA spent about $9,500 on tickets for public officials last year. This year, it’s invited state lawmakers to an Oct. 12 game against Missouri. Tickets for that game were selling Friday from a low of $74.99 to a high of $1,127.50 on StubHub, an online ticket market.
“The current law is in effect for this football season. And we’ll abide by it,” UGA spokesman Tom Jackson said. “And the new law isn’t going to affect us until next football season. And we’ll abide by the new law.”
The practice isn’t limited to Georgia. State lawmakers can buy tickets at face value to see top-ranked Alabama play, while fans would need to make annual donations for a similar opportunity. Ethics officials scolded the University of Wisconsin in 2005 for allowing 11 state lawmakers to buy tickets to sold-out football games.
“The university should know better and shouldn’t put elected officials at risk,” Ethics Board Director Roth Judd said at the time. “It’s not good policy for the university to try to curry favor by providing perks to elected officials it doesn’t make available to ordinary citizens.”
In Georgia, even lower-ranked football programs get in on the act. Georgia State University spent $950 on Aug. 30 to host 16 lawmakers and staffers at its home opener, records show. The guests included Senate President Pro Tempore David Shafer, who noted that he pays for his own tickets to UGA football games.
“I attended the season opener,” Shafer said. “The face value of my ticket was $12.”
Georgia Tech gave Sen. Don Balfour, R-Snellville, a $50 ticket to an Aug. 31 game, according to spending reports.
Associated Press
