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The Bicycle Coalition, which promotes bicycle and pedestrian safety, issued a statement in opposition to the tax cut, saying it would increase motor vehicle usage at a time when people should be getting back onto public transit and utilizing active transportation.

There could be enough support in City Council to pass the bill. But at the Wednesday council hearing, Mayor Kenneys administration also stated its opposition. Finance Director Rob Dubow said the proposal was too costly and would require scrapping across-the-board business tax cuts or cutting city services.

He also expressed doubts the savings would trickle down to workers.

Reducing the parking tax rate will most likely simply increase profits for parking lot owners and

operators, he said. The owners could choose to reallocate those profits by reducing fees for drivers or increasing wages and benefits for parking lot workers, but this bill does not guarantee that outcome.

Parkers office did not respond to specific critiques of the bill, but issued a general statement reiterating the labor potential of her legislation.

Advocacy is one of the most essential parts of the budget process. I deeply respect it, and I look forward to hearing all perspectives, she said. I am unapologetic about advocating for the interests of workers, and I will remain unwavering in my support in ensuring all workers make family-sustaining wages.

Separately, Parker has also proposed blunting the direct impact to city revenues by using pandemic recovery funds to cover the cost. But Gym shot back in a statement saying that the city simply faced more pressing uses for those funds.

All over the city, people are calling for help, Gym wrote. I believe these historic relief funds should be used to keep people in their homes, stop the gun violence crisis, and bring recovery to our small businesses.

Original post:
Philly progressives, urbanists blast $130 million cut to city parking tax - WHYY

President Biden wants to spend hundreds of billions of dollars on infrastructure, but theres a contradiction at the heart of his ambition. His own White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council issued a report in May that blacklisted a litany of projects most Americans would think are classic public works.

The council is made up of three members of the Administration and 26 progressives from the academy or activists such as Susana Almanza of People Organized in Defense of Earth and Her Resources. Thats really the groups name. In March Mr. Biden directed them to recommend federal investments in which 40% of overall benefits would flow to disadvantaged communities.

The report floats some ideas that pass progressive muster, such as renewable energy and worker training, public transportation and green housing. But the report also cites more than a dozen types of projects that will not benefit poor communities.

These include highway expansions and road improvements or automobile infrastructure, other than electric vehicle charging stations. The advisers dont explain why fixing roads wouldnt help low-income people, perhaps because they cant. The poor are far more likely to buy used cars that run on gasoline rather than new, expensive EVs. They need the mobility to travel from their homes to where the jobs are, which often isnt where mass transit goes.

The advisers also would ban pipeline creation, expansion, or maintenance. Progressives oppose new gas and oil pipelines because they want to stop fossil-fuel production. But why object to maintaining existing pipelinesdo they want more spills?

Read the original here:
The Progressive Infrastructure Blacklist - The Wall Street Journal

For advocates of New York states parole system reform, time is of the essence.

Its not just that the state Legislature is nearing the end of its session;its that every day that passes is another day that people who would benefit most from parole reform spend locked up.

Its about giving people a chance, said Alisha Kohn, director of the Queer Justice Committee at the Newburgh LGBTQ Center,who served 10 years in prison.Its taking into account not what you did 23 years ago its taking into account what youre doing now, askingtheparoleboard totake that as a factor.

New York lawmakers are weighing a pair of bills that would make significant changes to the way the state's parole system works, including one measure that would require the parole board to put a greater focus on rehabilitation when deciding whether to release an incarcerated individual.

Advocates for the bills say they would help bring more fairness to the criminal justice system. But for many law enforcement officials, parole reform would representanother blowto public safety, followingon the heels of reforms to bail and evidence disclosurethat went into effect in January 2020.

TimothyDymond, president ofthe New York State Police Investigators Association, said police and prosecutors have the same concerns now as then: Reformers are proposing and pushing through significant changes without seeking meaningful contributions from the law enforcement side.

Without getting the input, without having a level of reasonableness involved, Dymond said, I oppose any reform that makes the people of New York state less safe, and Ialwayswill. Thats what we do.

Asked Wednesday about parole reform while at an unrelated news conference in Manhattan, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said he would have to consider the bills in their final form before taking a position on them. Cuomo said he'd be more supportive of measures that allow parole decisions to be made "on the merits" rather than on a "template" that would grant an automatic release in certain situations.

"Again, it depends on what winds up in a final bill, and you know as well as I that bills change at the last minute," he said.

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Two bills supported by the Peoples Campaign for Parole Justice, an advocacy coalition, are pendinginthe current legislative session.

TheElder Parolebill would provide a chance at a parole hearing for all inmates ages 55 and older who have served at least 15 years, regardless of their sentence.If passed,about 1,000people would immediately become eligible for parolehearings.

TheFair and Timely Parole bill would center parole standards around the persons rehabilitation while in prisonand disallow parole denials solely based on the crime of conviction.The proposal would stillallowdenial of parole if the board found that the person posed a significant risk to community safety.

On May 26, a coalition of groups including No One LeavesMid Hudson, the Newburgh/HighFalls NAACP, the Newburgh LGBTQ Center,Decarceratethe Hudson Valley, the NU-V.O.T.E.R.S. Movement andthe Release Aging People in Prison Campaign rallied on Grand Street in Newburgh, outside the district offices of state Sen.JamesSkoufisand Assembly memberJonathan Jacobson. The crowd of roughly 30 people chanted, Bring our elders home now and Parole justice now.

Theyurgedthe legislators to sign on to the bills as sponsors, in hopes they will advance to the floor for votes before the session endsJune 10.

A correctional facility is supposed to change behavior, Newburgh City Councilman Omari Shakurtold the rally.If you change behavior, whyare you denying people when they gobefore the parole board?

He pointed to himself as proof people can change: In and out of jail and prison from the age of 16 until 1996, Shakur hasstayed free since then, and is now an elected city official.

The push for reform is acutely personal for many advocates.

Kenyatta Shabazz of Newburgh spokeat the rally and afterwardabout her grandfather, Ulysses Boyd, who at 66 suffers from blood clots, asthma and other lung issues, and is recovering from COVID-19.Boyd has been in prison for 38 years, serving a sentence of 50 years to life for a murder committed when he was 22.Shabazzhas never seen her grandfatheroutside of Greenhaven Correctional Facility.Hes parole eligible in2036.

Not only is my grandfather a changed man from who he was 38 years ago, he has helped so many people, Shabazzsaid, adding that he works in the prison law library, helping others research their cases andwrite legal briefs.

At first, it was just life for me: Every weekend, you go see grandpa for five hours,she added, but then she saw a video of him talking about how he was waiting to die in prison.That put a spark in me.

Clifford Howard ofNewburgh, who was paroled in November after serving 38 years for murder, knew Boyd in Manhattan in the 1970s, and at Greenhaven. He saw a transformation.

Hed be a good person to be released under this new bill,Howard told Shabazz. Many people change, Howard said during the rally;insteadofcrime, theyre thinking about their families.

I thank God I still had some family that was around,and thats what got him through, Howardsaid.Thestrength that they gave me, the hope that they gave me, and my faith in Jesus Christ.

Alisha Kohn, who is transgender, spent 10 years in a mens prison and was denied parole three times before getting out.

I made it out. Im here, she said during the rally, noting thatothers who deserve release are still in prison.

Some people I consider my family that should be here now are not.

Erie County District AttorneyJohn Flynn,vice president of the District Attorneys Association of New York, opposes the parole reform bills, especially in combination.

"You're going to have the potential for some pretty serious criminals, who got a lot of years in jail, for getting out of prison," he said. "That is troublesome, and it's not good for public safety."

Even for murderers and child rapists, he said,under Fair and Timely, "there's almost a presumption in the bill that if you've been good in prison, that you're going to get out,"

Wayne Spence,president of the New York State Public Employees Federation, has beena parole officer since 1993. He said that when he started, there were about 1,200 parole offices statewide; now there are 700. Meanwhile, the number of people on parole orpost-release supervision is significantly higher.

The caseload has mushroomed, Spence said.Parole officers have less time to spend, he said, on monitoring high-needs, high-risk cases, such as sex offenders, gang members and people with mental illness, let alone helping people on paroleget back on their feet with programs or jobs.

We want these people to succeed; we do, Spence said. But he added that parole officers are unable now to monitor people as closely, or work with them as intensively as in the past, Spence said.

Its now justreferhim to a program, give him alistof jobs, and move on to the next case, Spence said.

Giving more peopleparole without first expanding the programs that help them, including the housing and care that older people require, a recipe for trouble, he added.

Unfortunately, its going to take parolees committing heinous crimesto change policy, Spence said.

Dymond and his union say that has already happened. A paroleewas charged with felony drug possession in May 2020in Sullivan Countyand released, despite multiple felony convictions and incarcerations,in keeping with bail reform.In October, the man Ray Kelly was charged with fatally dragging a South Carolina sheriffs deputy during a traffic stop, and now faces murder charges.

In 2019, New Yorks parole system caused state and local governments to spend $683 million to lock up people for parole violations. And $91 million of that was spent by counties to jail people charged with technical parole violations, according to an analysis released in March by the Columbia University Justice Lab and the Independent Commission on New York City Criminal Justice and Incarceration Reform. That includes $3.1 million in Orange County, $1.5 million in Sullivan, and $1.8 million in Ulster.

Spence said society has forced politicians to take a hard look atrelease conditions for older, infirm people in prison, but we cant just put these people out on the street.

Why are we not creating a cross-agency task force to deal with those high-risk populations so we can get them out of jail and have services for them? he asked.I would not be arguing against this if the services were in place.

See more here:
'Giving people a chance': Progressives pushing for NY parole reform, but time is ticking - Times Herald-Record

A major bill, aimed at directing about $500 million in mining revenue and federal aid to public education and staving off politically perilous 2022 ballot questions, began its race against the legislative clock late Sunday with a broad coalition of mining interests, progressive advocates and the Clark County teachers union on board.

The bill, AB495, was heard in a joint Senate-Assembly budget meeting on Sunday evening ahead of a crucial legislative period the 120-day session ends Monday at midnight, and the bill must still clear the Assembly and Senate with a two-thirds majority vote, requiring at least some Republican buy-in. The bill passed out of the Assembly Ways and Means committee late Sunday on a party-line vote.

The bill is much more than just a tax increase. In addition to creating a new excise tax on gold and silver mine total revenue above $20 million a provision that is estimated to bring in between $150 to $170 million over the biennium the bill redirects existing mining taxes to education alone. It also allocates $200 million in federal funds to address learning loss, makes changes to Medicaid and restores funding to a private school scholarship program supported by private donations made in exchange for tax credits.

Assembly Speaker Jason Frierson (D-Las Vegas) framed the bill as the product of compromise between divergent interests, saying that many provisions had left those involved holding their nose and nodding their head.

This is, I believe, a reflection of collaboration that in my career has seldom been seen, Frierson said.

Presenting the bill alongside Frierson was Nevada Mining Association President Tyre Gray, and a representative from the largest player in the mining industry Nevada Gold Mines also testified in support.

Mining is a willing payer to achieve these goals, Gray said. Though mining alone cannot solve the structural fiscal and funding issues of the state of Nevada, it is within our DNA to be first at the table and be part of the solution.

Also at the table was Clark County Education Association Executive Director John Vellardita, whose presence has implicit election implications. Frierson said passage of the bill would result in lawmakers not advancing any of the three proposed mining constitutional amendments approved in the 2020 special session, and the teachers union is expected to withdraw its 2022 ballot petitions aimed at increasing gaming and sales taxes if the legislation passes.

Vellardita said earlier this spring that the union wasnt wed to its ballot measures and would embrace an alternative if it satisfies what we think needs to be done, although he didnt name a number at that time. At the hearing, Vellardita referred to his unions effort to force a conversation around investing and lauded the bill as a historic investment in base per-pupil funding.

I think the most significant thing that's out of this piece of legislation is a dedicated funding stream for K-12. Is it enough? No, but it's a start, Vellardita said at the hearing.

The new tax envisioned by the bill is an excise tax levied on gross revenue of gold and silver mines in the state. The rates would be set at 0.75 percent on revenue above $20 million and up to $150 million a year, and at a 1.1 percent rate for any revenue above $150 million.

The bill also allows for deductions including for proceeds deriving from federal land that is also a military base and sets a calculation for determining gross receipts, which is similar in structure to the one related to Nevadas Commerce Tax (a levy on annual revenue over $4 million that was approved in 2015).

In a diversion of an existing tax revenue stream, the bill directs money from the net proceeds of minerals tax to the state education fund rather than the general fund. Vellardita acknowledged it was possible lawmakers could use the mining money to supplant existing general fund contributions to education, but said lawmakers would face pressure not to do that from voters who expect meaningful improvement in schools.

And in a likely nod to needed Republican support, the bill will also add back $4.745 million in tax credits for the Opportunity Scholarship program, which provides private school tuition grants to eligible low-income children but is fiercely opposed by many progressive groups who see it as sapping money from traditional public schools. The program, which serves just over 1,000 students, was severely curtailed in the 2019 Legislature and closed to new enrollees Frierson at the time argued that an annual 10 percent growth factor built into the program would quickly build to simply unsustainable levels.

During the hearing on Sunday, Frierson said the number of students in the program had dropped off significantly faster than I think we anticipated last session, and so we are now within the parameters of that program. He characterized the bill not as an expansion of the program, but as maintenance of 2019 levels.

The legislation would also direct the Commission on School Funding to explore new options for public education revenue. A report from the commission that was released last month suggested sales tax and property tax as the best mechanisms, but Frierson opposes altering the sales tax, and he said he didnt want to presuppose what the commission might recommend based on AB495s directive.

This bill is the beginning of a conversation and we are not going to stop calling for stable funding for education in this state, Frierson said.

In the meantime, the bill also calls for the appropriation of $200 million in federal COVID relief funds for COVID-related learning loss programs for school districts, including tutoring, summer school programs, extended learning and enrichment programs and support for at-risk students. The bill includes charter schools as a potential recipient of the funds, but Frierson said they would be removed in an amendment.

Another planned amendment to the bill will also charge the commission with exploring the issue of school board composition a subject Frierson and other lawmakers have championed in efforts to make more school board members appointed.

Additionally, the bill appropriates $600,000 per year to the Silver State Opportunity Grant Program the state-supported needs-based financial aid program. That allocation would restore funding to levels approved in 2019.

Another section would include aspects of Republican Senate Minority Leader James Settelmeyers legislation authorizing Medicaid reimbursement for personal care services. Frierson said that language was something that I think collectively, folks thought was worthwhile as being a part of this package.

Progressive supporters of the bill highlighted the need to fund education in Nevada, praising the measure as a necessary step toward helping students succeed, but lamented that lawmakers did not consider AJR1, proposed during the special session.

While we maintain that AJR1 from the 32nd special session would have been the ideal solution to raising revenue this session, said PLAN lobbyist Christine Saunders. This deal is a start to addressing the privileged position mining has held in Nevadas tax code until now.

Amanda Hilton, the general manager of Robinson Nevada Mine, a copper mine operating out of White Pine County, choked up as she testified in support of the measure. She said that the bill will not only enhance the industrys investment in education, but it will also protect the economic vitality of Eastern Nevada.

I sit here before you today representing the 600 miners at Robinson and my White Pine County community, Hilton said. This legislation will keep our miners working within the economic engine of our community.

Brian Mason, the vice-chairman of the Shoshone-Paiute tribe, was the only caller in opposition. He said that he was disappointed that tribes were not included in the discussion and that state dollars should be allocated to help poverty stricken reservation communities. The Nevada Republican Party also submitted a letter in opposition.

If the measure fails to advance, the electoral consequences will be felt on the 2022 ballot. Frierson has vowed to advance one of the proposed mining tax resolutions if the deal falls through, and Vellardita said after the hearing that the teachers union was prepared to spend up to $10 million in the 2022 cycle to try to pass the gaming and sales tax initiatives estimated at one point to raise a combined $1.4 billion.

Vellardita said he was optimistic about the bills chances saying it represented significant compromises on all sides, while noting the unions initial funding ask from the mining industry was closer to $400 million over the biennium. Despite that, he said the potential for things to go haywire over the final hours of the session remained high.

The shit drops, it's anybodys game, he said in an interview. Everybody that is potentially the deciding vote has a self-inflated view of value, and they try to trade it. And that's what you're seeing right now. So do I think it's there? Do I think it's possible? Absolutely.

View original post here:
Mining tax bill starts advancing through Legislature, with industry, progressives, teacher's union in support - The Nevada Independent

To my children:

I know this is a difficult time for you, as it is for all of us who care about Israel. I know you worry about our family in Israel, and youre frustrated hearing comments from your friends in school and seeing posts on social media that one-sidedly blame Israel for the conflict in biased soundbites.

I think youre doing a remarkable job weathering the daily barrage, but as progressive Jews living in Northern California, I know you struggle with how to express yourself to your friends and share a different narrative on Instagram and TikTok.

It may not surprise you to hear that I am in the same boat. I, too, am frustrated with what I see in the news, read on social media and hear from people in the community. Its especially difficult when we see people who identify as progressive condemn Israel unfairly. We cant understand why they dont see whats so obvious to us, and it disheartens us that we stood by them for so many of our shared causes and now theyre abandoning us for this one.

We marched with them side-by-side in the Womens March. Together we chanted at gun control rallies. We sat together at Planned Parenthood and NARAL Pro-Choice America lunches. You posted countless memes on social media calling for racial justice. And youve donated time and money to organizations that fight for immigrants rights and environmental justice.

Yet, when it comes to Israel, our progressive friends either sit back quietly or worse, join in with the Israel-bashers. How do we break through to them? How do we help them understand that Israel embraces progressive values and they should be standing with Israel, not with the terrorists who are attacking Israel?

Heres what I want to say to them. I want to remind them of what it means to be a true progressive and how our shared values relate to current events in Israel and, in fact, happenings throughout the greater Middle East.

Progressives believe in the right to free speech. We believe you ought to be able to say what you want, even if its terribly critical of the government in power. Today, you can stand in the middle of Tel Aviv, scream insults about the Israeli government, and walk away without being arrested. In fact, it happens all the time. But if you stand in the middle of Gaza City and insult Hamas, or in the middle of Tehran and insult the IRGC, you will be dragged away by the authorities, detained, arrested, and who knows what else.

Progressives believe in democratic rule. We believe in regular, free and fair elections, and that parties of varying beliefs should be able to run for office. Israel has had four elections in the last two years, and in the last election, an Arab party that rejects the foundational principles of the State of Israel was elected to the Knesset. Meanwhile, the last time we saw elections in the Palestinian territories was more than 14 years ago.

Progressives believe in womens rights. We believe women should be given every opportunity that men are afforded. In Israel, women serve in combat units in the military, on the Supreme Court, in the Knesset and have even served as prime minister. But in Saudi Arabia, women cant travel abroad without a mans permission. In Afghanistan, girls cant go to school in Taliban-run areas. In Pakistan, girls whove been raped are subject to honor killings. And in Egypt, 92 percent of women between the ages of 15 and 49 have been forced to undergo genital mutilation.

Progressives believe in gay rights. We believe our gender and sexuality should not impact our freedoms, and LGBTQ people deserve all the same rights as straight people. Israel has some of the largest gay pride parades in the world (in which weve marched as a family), and is a country proud to have openly gay members of Knesset, trans rock stars representing the country in international competitions and gay soldiers proudly serving in uniform. However, in Gaza, if authorities discover you are gay, its very likely you will be tortured and killed.

Progressives believe in minoritys rights. We believe the role of government is to protect the minority, and we are highly sensitive to the tyranny of the majority. In Israel, Arabs make up roughly 20 percent of the population and they have the right to vote and run for office, and even serve on the Supreme Court. Arab Israelis do struggle to gain equal access in some areas, which is why progressives constantly advocate for the rights of Arabs and Muslims living in the Jewish state. But in Saudi Arabia, you are not allowed to step foot in Mecca or Medina if you are not Muslim. Gaza is judenrein, meaning no Jews are allowed to be there. Even West Bank areas run by the Palestinian Authority prevent Jews from living there. That is what one would call religious apartheid.

Progressives believe in freedom of the press. We believe reporters should be able to report the news without fear of the government shutting them down, even if theyre critical of the government. In Israel, you can open nearly any newspaper or turn on any TV station and youll hear plenty of frustration aimed at the government. But if a reporter in Saudi Arabia insults the royal family, they may not walk away in one piece.

Progressives believe children should be cherished, protected and valued. Actually, conservatives believe that, too. This is a universal value, which is why Israel spends billions of dollars protecting children by building bomb shelters and investing in anti-missile systems (Iron Dome) that can shoot rockets out of the air before they kill children. Meanwhile, Hamas uses children as human shields, hiding their weapons caches in schools and mosques.

I want to remind our friends that Israel is a little country that embraces progressive values even though it is surrounded by authoritarian-run countries that dont.

That progressive country spent 12 days defending itself against a terrorist army, Hamas, which has the backing of some of those authoritarian-run countries. And despite it being nearly impossible to be a good progressive when youre at war, Israel does its best, including tactics like alerting inhabitants so they can evacuate buildings before the bombs drop.

Now, is Israel doing everything right? No, of course not. But no country does everything right not even the most progressive countries in the world do. And surely, the United States doesnt. From our immigration policies to racial injustice to massive economic inequality, we have our own work to do here.

So yes, its OK to question the actions of Israels government. Its human to feel empathy for innocent civilians hurting on both sides of the Gaza-Israel border. And its right to criticize Israelis who are participating in violence against Arabs. But theres a difference between legitimate criticism and one-sided, biased condemnation of the Israel Defense Forces trying to protect its citizens from an onslaught of terrorist rockets.

So if your friends and social media contacts cant see themselves supporting Israel for some reason, so be it. Im sure they have legitimate reasons.

But lets be clear that they should not blame their lack of support on their progressivism. Thats not what holds them back. Its something else and they may want to search their souls for what it is. And when they discover it, they may also discover what to call themselves.

But in the meantime, you ought to feel really good about your own values and your ability to call yourself progressive. For indeed, thats what we are.

Keep fighting the good fight. Im proud of you.

More here:
To my children: Being progressive and pro-Israel go hand in hand J. - The Jewish News of Northern California