Nationwide
Small groups of right-wing protesters — some carrying rifles — gathered outside heavily fortified statehouses around the country Sunday, outnumbered by National Guard troops and police brought in to prevent a repeat of the violence which erupted at the U.S. Capitol. As darkness fell, there were no reports of any clashes, the Associated Press reported.
Security was stepped up in recent days after the FBI warned of the potential for armed protests in Washington, D.C., and at all 50 state capitol buildings ahead of President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration today. Crowds of only 20 people or less demonstrated at some boarded-up, cordoned-off statehouses, while the streets in many other capital cities remained empty, according to AP.
Some protesters said they were there to back President Donald Trump. Others said they had come to voice their support for gun rights or decry government overreach. As the day wore on with no bloodshed around the United States, a sense of relief spread among officials, though they were not ready to let their guard down, AP reported.
The heavy law enforcement presence may have kept turnout down. In the past few days, some extremists had warned other against falling into what they called a law enforcement trap. The security measures were intended to safeguard seats of government from the type of violence which broke out at the U.S. Capitol January 6, when far-right Trump supporters overran the police and bashed their way into the building while Congress was certifying the Electoral College vote, according to AP.
Vermont
Vermont is facing at least its second lawsuit in 4 months regarding a voucher program which allows students in communities which don’t have schools or are not part of a supervisory union to attend schools of their choice, including private institutions, the Associated Press reported.
The Vermont system in which certain town pay tuition for students to attend other schools is unconstitutional because it’s not available to all students in the state, according to the Liberty Justice Center, a Chicago-based national nonprofit law firm which fights for school choice. If the lawsuit succeeds, officials at the nonprofit said they will file legal challenges in other states with similar school choice programs, according to AP.
Critics have said the lawsuit is a veiled attempt to get a case to the U.S. Supreme Court, where conservative judges have six of the nine seats, to get more public funding into private education. The Vermont suit comes 6 months after a divided U.S. Supreme Court ruled in a Montana case states can’t cut religious schools out of programs which send public money to private education, AP reported.
Following that decision, three Vermont families filed a lawsuit in September in federal court, claiming denying them the state tuition benefit to send their children to religious school is unconstitutional. A similar lawsuit challenging Maine’s exclusion of religious schools from a high school tuition voucher program was denied by the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and the parents challenging the law and their attorneys have vowed to appeal the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court, according to AP.
New York
The driver of a New York City bus which plunged off a bridge blamed the dramatic crash on mechanical failure, claiming the tandem vehicle “just took off” as he slowed into a turn, the Associated Press reported.
Everton Beccan, 55, disputed the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s assertion a day earlier he had refused to submit a drug and alcohol test at the hospital. “There’s no reason for me to refuse a drug test,” Beccan, who broke his jaw in late Thursday’s crash, said. “I’m just thankful no one was hurt.”
The MTA Saturday released an internal document which said Beccan refused three times to submit a urine sample a urine sample to the transit agency. The test Beccan ultimately took was done by the hospital and wasn’t conducted until several hours after the crash. The MTA said it was concerned by his failure to submit a test even after he passed an alcohol breath test. Beccan is being “withheld from service without pay,” according to AP.
The crash happened at a turn Beccan made “hundreds of times” along his regular route, claiming he lost control of the bus after easing up on the gas pedal. After the crash unfolded, Beccan said he “helped who I could help” and called 911. Seven passengers suffered minor injuries after one part of the bus plunged onto the access road. The other half remained on the bridge. No other vehicles were involved, AP reported.
Fort Collins, Colorado
With COVID-19 restrictions forcing bars and restaurants to seat customers outside in the dead of winter, many are scrambling to nab erratic supplies of propane to fuel space heaters they are relying on more than ever to keep people comfortable in the cold, the Associated Press reported.
Propane long has been a lifeline for people who live in places too remote to get natural gas piped to their homes for heat, hot water and cooking. This winter, 5-gallong propane tanks have proven a new necessity for urban businesses, especially in places like the Rocky Mountains, where the sun often taken the edge off the chill and people still enjoy gathering on patios when the heaters are roaring, according to AP.
Nearly all states allow at least some indoor dining, but the rules nationwide are a hodgepodge of local regulations. In Fort Collins, Colorado, indoor seating at bars and restaurants is limited to 25 percent of normal capacity, so there’s a strong incentive to seat customers outside despite the complication and expense, AP reported.
Lately, high demand has led to erratic supplies. However, household hoarding, similar to the toilet paper shortage, also has contributed to the shortage. One national tank supplier reported a 38-percent sales increase this winter. The supply is there, it just may take a bit more searching than normal, according to AP.
Fair Haven, Vermont
A goat and a dog who were each elected mayor have helped raise money to renovate a Vermont community playground, the Associated Press reported.
The oddball idea of pet mayor elections to raise money to rehabilitate the playground and to help get local kids civically involved came from a local town manager. In 2018, residents elected Lincoln the goat as its honorary mayor. Lincoln helped raise about $10,000, while the current mayor, a Cavalier King Charles spaniel named Murfee, has raised $20,000. The town chipped in another $20,000, according to AP.
Murfee’s owner, Linda Barker, said when she was talked into having Murfee get involved in politics, she though it would be easy to raise money through T-shirts. Then the pandemic struck. So she shifted to masks. Barker has made nearly 1,000 of them and will be making another round of them for Valentine’s Day. She raised more than $5,000 from the masks and a similar amount form basket raffles, AP reported.
The town also recently was awarded a $50,000 grant from the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund. Ironically, the honorary mayor is not welcome on the playground. Barker said there is a “no dogs allowed” sign. “Murfee is going to take that up with the town,” Baker said Sunday. “He is going to contest it.”