Lawmaker presses forward with innovative legislation to reduce utility bills: 'Moral imperative'
In Maine, a new proposal looks to make sure that the transition to cleaner energy benefits everyone, especially those who need it most.
Rep. Sophia Warren, a Democrat from Scarborough, introduced legislation that would make it a legal requirement for the Maine Climate Council to consider how much of a household's income is being spent on energy when it makes policy recommendations to the state.
"I believe it is a moral imperative we fight poverty alongside climate change," Warren said during a public hearing, Maine Morning Star reported, citing Maine's high poverty rates and above-average energy costs.
While the Maine Climate Council addressed affordability in its 2024 Climate Action Plan, Warren's bill would ensure this priority is protected by law, regardless of future leadership.
That could make a big difference for low-income households, who spend nearly three times more of their income on energy than the average Mainer, according to state data. The bill would "comprehensively analyze household energy burden in Maine in 2025, including all energy sources, and set a target for reducing the energy burden for low-income residents by January 2026."
"A strong economy and a sustainable environmental future must go hand in hand," said Ashley Luszczki of the Maine State Chamber of Commerce, adding that businesses also need reliable, affordable energy to thrive.
Warren's proposal reflects a broader trend of climate policies that save money and reduce harmful pollution.
In February, Memphis, Tennessee, became one of 25 cities selected for the Bloomberg American Sustainable Cities initiative, a $200 million effort that promotes low-carbon, resilient communities. In fall, Washington state gave a one-time $200 utility bill credit to roughly 20% of households in the state.
There are several ways homeowners can address concerns about the efficiency of their homes' energy systems while saving money.
For instance, they can upgrade to solar power. With such improvements, you may qualify for tax incentives through the Inflation Reduction Act.
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Policies such as this one help pave the way to a future with clean, affordable energy that is within reach for all families.
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Chicago Tribune
19 minutes ago
- Chicago Tribune
Gov. JB Pritzker says he wasn't among Midwest officials on alleged Minnesota shooter's lists
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker said Monday his name was not among those of Midwestern officials kept on lists by the 57-year-old man charged with assassinating the Democratic leader of the Minnesota House and her husband. Pritzker, who was in Minnesota on Friday for a state Democratic Party fundraiser, made the comments about 12 hours after Minnesota law enforcement officials confirmed late Sunday the alleged shooter, Vance Boelter, had information that featured public officials in other states, including Wisconsin, Michigan and Illinois. 'There is not a hit list that has Illinois politicians on it,' said Pritzker, who told reporters he'd been in touch with the head of the FBI's Chicago office as well as Illinois State Police Director Brendan Kelly and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. In addition to a list of about 70 names found in Boelter's vehicle before he was apprehended on Sunday night, there was 'a hodgepodge of names that were put together, but not, as I have been told, a hit list of any sort,' Pritzker said. 'As I understand, I was not on that list,' the governor said. Pritzker said there were 'Illinois folks' listed but the governor did not provide any names of who those Illinois politicians were. 'The FBI specifically said to me that these people are not targets, and they certainly, now that he has been apprehended … they're not concerned about those people being targeted in any way whatsoever,' Pritzker said. A spokesman for Illinois Senate President Don Harmon had no immediate comment on whether the Oak Park Democrat's name or those of any state Senate Democrats appeared on any such list. A spokesman for Illinois House Speaker Emanuel 'Chris' Welch said there was no indication the Hillside Democrat was among those named. But Welch spokesman Jon Maxson said he understood some House Democrats' names were found on some documents among Boelter's possessions. Maxson said there will be a more formal briefing from the Illinois State Police for any lawmakers concerned about their security. A spokeswoman for the Illinois State Police said the agency 'is communicating with individuals in Illinois whose names were on one of the lists found' among Boelter's possessions. 'The information the shooter had accumulated, potentially in paper and electronic form, was filled with inaccuracies and needs to be put into the appropriate context before being shared with the individuals being referenced, and has been in the process of being vetted overnight by ISP special agent,' Illinois State Police spokeswoman Melaney Arnold said Monday morning in an emailed response to questions. She said she had no other information to provide at that time. At a separate news conference Monday after federal charges were filed against Boelter, Joseph Thompson, the acting U.S. attorney for Minnesota, said it was 'clear from the evidence that he's been planning these attacks for quite some time.' 'There's voluminous writings, as you've seen in the reporting, that were found both in his car and his house, about his planning, lists of names and individuals,' Thompson said. 'In terms of the why, it's unclear.' In addition to being charged in the deaths of state House Democratic leader Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, Boelter allegedly also shot and injured Democratic Minnesota state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, in the early morning hours Saturday.
Miami Herald
30 minutes ago
- Miami Herald
The Trumps promote a new crypto venture: Bitcoin mining
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The debut of American Bitcoin, which is set to merge with a publicly traded company later this year, has heightened those concerns, introducing new ethical questions and pulling the Trumps even deeper into crypto, a business the White House has aggressively championed. President Donald Trump is financially intertwined with two other crypto ventures -- a so-called meme coin created by a longtime business partner, and a separate company, World Liberty Financial, that he and his sons founded before the election. At the same time, he has ended a yearslong enforcement campaign against crypto companies by the Securities and Exchange Commission and vowed to sign legislation that would advance the industry's priorities. Now his family is seeking to profit from a branch of the industry tied directly to bitcoin, a famously volatile asset that has seen its price surge based on the president's pronouncements. Eric Trump serves as chief strategy officer for American Bitcoin. A business entity he formed with his older brother, Donald Trump Jr., controls 20% of the new company. Over the past month, the Trump brothers have embarked on a promotional tour, trumpeting American Bitcoin at high-profile corporate conferences in Las Vegas and Toronto, where a giant company banner hung over the convention hall. The new venture could soon become an important source of capital for the Trump family. American Bitcoin has a stash of 215 bitcoin, worth about $22.5 million at current prices, with plans to accumulate more. And once the company's shares become available on Wall Street, it will offer another avenue for traders to invest in a Trump entity. 'They're doing this because they want to make money,' said Rep. Maxine Waters of California, the highest-ranking Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee. 'In so many ways, it's a conflict.' In the crypto world, mining serves a vital purpose. A central appeal of bitcoin is that it allows people to transfer money without a bank overseeing the exchange. Instead, a loose network of computers across the globe run calculations that verify every transaction -- a process known as 'mining' because the computers are rewarded for that work with newly generated bitcoin. The computing power necessary to run these machines is enormous. The constant whirring of bitcoin miners has prompted noise complaints in states like Arkansas, where mining facilities have popped up near small communities. For years, environmental groups have argued that the energy-intensive practices of miners have contributed to climate change. But the business is growing. Many prominent bitcoin mining companies have been traded on the public market for years, including MARA Holdings, Core Scientific and Riot Platforms, which are worth more than $12 billion combined. All of those firms have profited from the Trump presidency. 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Yahoo
38 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Who Is Vance Boelter? What to Know About the Man Accused of Shooting Minnesota Lawmakers
Vance Boelter was arrested on June 15 after allegedly shooting two Minnesota lawmakers and their spouses in their homes He evaded authorities for nearly two days before he was arrested Boelter worked several different jobs and was living with a friend at the time of the shootingsVance Boelter was arrested for allegedly shooting two Democratic Minnesota lawmakers and their spouses. He is the alleged killer of lawmaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark. The shooting occurred in their home outside Minneapolis, Minn., in the early hours of June 14. Boelter also allegedly shot Democratic Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, in their home, but both of them survived the assassination attempt. Boelter was missing for nearly two days before Governor Tim Walz and law enforcement officials confirmed that they had arrested him in the woods near his home in Green Isle, Minn., on the night of June 15, per CBS News. Boelter previously said he is a dad of five who worked for funeral service companies and once claimed to own a security firm. His motivations for the attacks have not been officially confirmed, but Gov. Walz described the shootings as "politically motivated." Here's everything to know about Vance Boelter, the man arrested for allegedly shooting two Democratic Minnesota lawmakers and their spouses on June 14. In the early hours of June 14, Boelter allegedly set out to assassinate several Minnesota lawmakers. First, officials said, he approached Sen. Hoffman's home in Champlin, Minn., where, according to Walz, he impersonated a law enforcement official and shot both the state senator and his wife, Yvette. The Hoffmans' daughter was home at the time of the shootings and called police, who transported the wounded couple to a hospital. After identifying the victims, police decided to check on the Hortmans' home. When officers arrived at the home in Brooklyn Park, they saw a vehicle that mimicked a police car with its emergency lights on, per CNN. Boelter, who was dressed as a police officer, allegedly left the home just a few minutes later and began shooting at the police. He was able to evade authorities and escaped on foot out of the neighborhood. Both Melissa and Mark died as a result of their gunshot wounds. Melissa was a Democrat who represented Minnesota House District 34B and served as the Speaker Emerita of the Minnesota House, per her Minnesota Legislature bio. She was initially elected in 2004 and was working her 11th term at the time of her death. Melissa and Mark, who would have celebrated their 32nd wedding anniversary in August, were parents to a daughter, Sophia, and a son, Colin, according to her website. Shortly after he shot the four individuals, Boelter escaped via a nearby golf course, and a statewide manhunt commenced. Within hours, authorities searched for Boelter at the home he was renting, made contact with his wife and inspected the vehicle he allegedly used during the shootings. Inside the vehicle, which was described as looking "exactly like an SUV squad car," authorities discovered a "manifesto" with a "list of names" or seeming potential targets, per a June 14 press conference. After a 43-hour manhunt across Minnesota, police found Boelter in the woods near the home he shared with his wife and children outside Green Isle, Minn. Officials shared that he was "armed" at the time of his arrest, but added "there was no use of force." "There's no question that this is the largest manhunt in the state's history," Brooklyn Park Police Chief Mark Bruley said in a press conference after the arrest. Drew Evans, the superintendent of the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, added, "We are confident that the violence that he committed and the murders he committed, and the attempted murders, that he conducted that activity alone. We will be exploring if there are any broader network. We have not encountered that at this time." After his arrest, Boelter was subsequently charged with two counts of second-degree murder and two counts of second-degree attempted murder, the criminal complaint showed, according to Reuters. Just hours after Boelter evaded authorities, he sent a series of text messages to his roommate, David Carlson, and another individual. Carlson later spoke to NBC affiliate KARE about their close friendship and read the message Boelter sent him. "I love you guys. I've made some choices, and you guys don't know anything about this, but I'm going to be gone for a while. I may be dead shortly," Boelter allegedly wrote. "So I just want to let you know that I love you guys both, and wish it hadn't gone this way. I don't want to say anything more and implicate you in any way, because you guys don't know anything about this. But I love you guys, and I'm sorry for all the trouble this has caused.' In addition to other professional interests, Boelter served on a state economic and business development board, the Minnesota Governor's Workforce Development Board. Boelter became a member in 2016 when former Governor Mark Dayton appointed him. In 2019, Gov. Walz reappointed Boelter, but it doesn't appear that the two had a working relationship. Sen. Hoffman was also on the panel. However, it's unclear if the two knew each other, since there are 41 members on the board. Hoffman and Boelter attended a virtual meeting together in 2022 to discuss the job market after the COVID-19 pandemic, according to The New York Times. Carlson, who said that he had known Boelter since the fourth grade, alleged that his longtime friend was struggling both financially and mentally. Carlson said that Boelter "just gave up on life for some reason," per The New York Times. Carlson also shed some light on Boelter's political beliefs and claimed that his friend had voted for President Donald Trump in the 2024 election, had a "fascination with military equipment" and "really hated" abortion, per an interview with Fox 9 Minneapolis-St. Paul. Carlson also claimed that Boelter had written a book about his religious beliefs. In addition, Carlson alleged that Boelter gave him a four-month advance in his rent payments ahead of his alleged shootings. Boelter rented a room at Carlson's house while working in the funeral industry because his family home was allegedly further away from his job. Boelter has previously said that he and his wife, Jenny, are parents to five children, per The New York Times. At the time of the shootings, Boelter was living with Carlson and working with a couple funeral service companies. Prior to his most recent work experience, Boelter, who graduated from St. Cloud State University in 1996, worked in the food industry for years before he shifted his focus. Boelter alleged that he and his wife founded the private security company, Praetorian Guard Security Services. However, Carlson told Fox 9 that the security company was nothing more than a dream. When asked about the business, he replied, "No, that was just some fantasy. It was never ... He would talk about it but there was no movement on that part." Boelter also shared videos online as a speaker for Minnesota Africans United, a nonprofit serving African immigrant communities. The organization later released a statement saying that Boelter was involved in a 2022 webinar, but he "was never hired, paid, or contracted by Minnesota Africans United. He has never served in any official capacity, and we have had no contact with him since that one-time appearance." Read the original article on People
