Environmental groups are worried that a proposition
on California’s ballot may limit their ability to
sue corporations that violate state or federal
environmental laws. Proposition 64 would repeal a section of the
state’s Unfair Competition Law that allows state or local
attorneys or members of the public to sue a business for “unlawful,
unfair and fraudulent business practices.” The proposition is
supported by hundreds of businesses, including oil companies,
banks, car dealers and health insurance companies, as well as by
the state’s Chamber of Commerce and Farm Bureau Association.
In September, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, R, also endorsed the
proposal, while Attorney General Bill Lockyer continues to oppose
it.
Sharpen your fingernails and stockpile your quarters:
An initiative in Washington could bring electronic scratch-ticket
machines off the reservations and into a gambling establishment
closer to you. Supporters of Initiative Measure 892, who call their
group “Just Treat Us the Same,” say that the
current rules unfairly favor American Indians, and that the
initiative would lower property taxes. Opponents claim it would
double the amount of gambling in the state and put Washington “in
the same gambling league as big casino states like Nevada,
Mississippi and New Jersey.”
Across the West, nonprofits
have been shaking down neighborhoods and colleges, rooting out new
voters to register. In Denver alone, the county clerk’s
office had to hire 15 new staff members to help process the more
than 45,000 new voters. Meanwhile, in Reno, Nev., the state’s
Progressive Leadership Alliance has set up a billboard —
which reads “Now that you’ve done your time,
it’s time to VOTE” — to remind folks of a
year-old state law that automatically restores the voting rights of
felons who have completed their sentences for first-offense,
nonviolent crimes. According to the Las Vegas
Review-Journal, Chris Carr, the state Republican
Party’s director, called the group’s actions
“appalling” and said, “I don’t think it’s about giving
felons a second chance and the right to vote.”
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Racetrack.
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