Latest news with #HouseBill334
Yahoo
17-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Utility line caused 21,000-acre Mogote Hill Fire, which is now under control
Crews work to secure containment lines on the Mogote Hill Fire near Wagon Mound this weekend. (Photo courtesy NM Forestry) A fast-moving wildfire near Wagon Mound that ignited Friday is now under control, according to a State Forestry spokesperson, and investigators also determined that a utility line was the cause. The Mogote Hill Fire in Northern New Mexico grew to 21,300 acres, according to dispatch records. That's a little more than 33 square miles. The grass fire ignited a little after noon Friday amid dry conditions and high winds, prompting evacuation orders along a nearby state highway. Multiple state crews responded and made significant progress over the weekend. Precipitation over the wildfire also helped, Forestry spokesperson George Ducker said in an emailed statement. The threat to a few structures in the area has passed, and evacuation orders are no longer in effect, Ducker said. Ducker told Source New Mexico said he did not know who owned the utility line that sparked the blaze, and referred the issue for comment to the Mora County Sheriff's Office, which had not responded by publication Monday morning. 'Stonewalling': Forest Service mum on firings during wildfire briefing for congressional staff Rural electrical co-operatives own most of the utility lines in that area. This legislative session, lawmakers are considering House Bill 334, which would remove liability for rural electrical co-ops that spark a wildfire as long as they've submitted wildfire mitigation plans in advance for approval by the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission. Lawmakers have told Source New Mexico the bill is an attempt to prevent lawsuits from bankrupting small electrical co-operatives that typically have little cash on hand, especially in high wind events during ongoing drought. At an interim Legislative Finance Committee last summer, Rep. Joe Sanchez (D-Alcalde) said a lawsuit against the Jemez Mountains Electric Cooperative, where Sanchez used to work, ultimately had to pay $25 million for its role in the Las Conchas Fire in 2011. The amount of risk co-ops face from wildfire lawsuits limits the amount of insurance they can secure, he said, and after the Las Conchas Fire, the co-op can only get $2 million to $3 million in coverage. 'Any lawsuit would put the co-ops in bankruptcy, and all that's going to do is drive up costs for poor people in our rural areas,' he said at the meeting. HB334, which Sanchez and four other lawmakers sponsored, is awaiting a hearing at the House Rural Development, Land Grants and Cultural Affairs Committee. The committee's schedule for the last week of the session has not yet been released.
Yahoo
05-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Flathead County health experts prepare as measles spreads across U.S.
Mar. 5—Flathead County health officials and experts are preparing for measles as an outbreak spreads in Texas and cases of the virus pop up across the United States. "If you are unvaccinated and you live in the Flathead, well our herd in the Flathead is not immune," said Logan Health pediatrician Dr. Ken Graham last week, referencing herd immunity or when enough people are immune to a virus to make it difficult to spread. For measles, herd immunity is reached when roughly 94% of people are protected against the virus. About 86% of Montana's two-year-olds have at least one dose of MMR vaccine, which covers measles, mumps and rubella, according to the state Department of Public Health and Human Services. That is slightly lower than the national average of 90%. But the level of protection in Flathead County is unknown. That's because counties are no longer required to report vaccination rates after the passing of House Bill 334 in 2021. While county data is unavailable, Graham suggested that since the onset of Covid-19, vaccination rates have dropped across the board. Mistrust of vaccinations grew during the pandemic. On a national scale, vaccination coverage among kindergartners has decreased from 95.2% during the 2019 — 2020 school year to 92.7% in the 2023 — 2024 school year, leaving approximately 280,000 kindergartners at risk during the 2023 — 2024 school year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A longtime opponent of vaccines, U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. suggested Americans consider the measles vaccine after the outbreak in Texas turned deadly in recent weeks. In a March 2 opinion piece published on Fox News Digital, he recommended parents in particular consult with physicians about it. "The decision to vaccinate is a personal one," Kennedy wrote while highlighting good nutrition as "a best defense against most chronic and infectious illnesses." Aside from the Texas outbreak, measles cases have popped up in nine states: Alaska, California, Georgia, Kentucky, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York and Rhode Island. Back in the Flathead Valley, health experts like Graham have sought to assure people of the vaccine's safety. "There's so much misinformation but what we do know is this is entirely safe, we know that with certainty. And it does not cause autism. We know that with certainty," Graham said. "If we don't get the message out, I'm really worried about Montana, especially as you get further north [in the state]." Graham said that vaccination rates are sometimes lower in rural communities, such as in Northwest Montana. County health officials said they would follow a standardized protocol to respond to an outbreak and adjust to circumstances on the ground. "We utilize the protocol as a guide, but our specific response will be altered slightly to best address an outbreak based on what disease is involved and other contributing factors," said Lisa Dennison, population health manager for Flathead County. The best thing you can do if you suspect you have measles is to quarantine and contact a physician, Graham said. Measles is most notably a childhood respiratory infection that spreads easily and prove fatal. Symptoms include a high fever, cough, red, watery eyes and a spreading rash. While death rates have been falling worldwide as more children receive the measles vaccine, the virus still kills more than 200,000 people a year, according to the Mayo Clinic. As a result of high vaccination rates in the past, measles hasn't been widespread in the U.S. in about two decades. Most outbreaks occurring now are in people who were unvaccinated. Reporter Kate Heston may be reached at 758-4459 or kheston@
Yahoo
16-02-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Kokua Line: Do traffic cams check expired registrations?
Question : When a vehicle runs a red light and the license plate number is recorded on camera, does the system also check if the registration is current ? Answer : The Red-Light Safety Camera system checks the vehicle's registration so that a ticket can be mailed to the registered owner of the vehicle that ran the red light, but it doesn't generate a citation for an expired registration at this point—only for running a red light and, in the coming months, for speeding. A bill that would have authorized the use of cameras to enforce a broad swath of traffic infractions was introduced in the Legislature this session but has been gutted (more on that later ). To answer another reader's question, yes, once automated speeding enforcement begins, the registered owner of a vehicle caught by a traffic camera speeding through a red light would receive two tickets in the mail, one for violating Hawaii Revised Statutes section 291C-32 (c ) and one for violating 291C-108, said Shelly Kunishige, spokesperson for Hawaii's Department of Transportation. Those laws apply to traffic signals and speed, respectively, in areas with automated enforcement. Ten Honolulu intersections have traffic cameras enforcing red-light running, and automated enforcement against speeding is expected to begin at those same intersections within a month or so ; the DOT has not announced the exact date. For a list of the intersections and the history of the program, go to. Don 't miss out on what 's happening ! Stay in touch with breaking news, as it happens, conveniently in your email inbox. It 's FREE ! Email 28141 Sign Up By clicking to sign up, you agree to Star-Advertiser 's and Google 's and. This form is protected by reCAPTCHA. Meanwhile, House Bill 334, which as originally written would have authorized the state Department of Law Enforcement to 'establish and implement any traffic camera to impose monetary liability on the registered owner of a motor vehicle for failure to comply with traffic related laws ' has been stripped down to include just one of its original elements : making the knowing destruction of a traffic camera a class C felony. Originally, the bill would have allowed DLE to mail a citation 'for any violation of traffic laws that do not mandate the physical arrest of violators within 10 calendar days from the time of the incident for motor vehicles disregarding traffic laws.' Civil libertarians opposed the bill, including ACLU Hawaii, which submitted testimony saying that rather than being expanded, 'the use of traffic camera systems should be halted or delayed until the due process and privacy issues they raise have been properly settled.' One objection : The ticket goes to the vehicle's registered owner, regardless of who was driving the car, violating 'the bedrock American principle that the accused be considered innocent until proven guilty.' Read the bill, committee report and testimony at. Sewer fees The public is welcome at two more town hall meetings to discuss proposed sewer-fees increases. 'These meetings aim to inform residents about the rationale behind the fee adjustments, the extent of the increases, a proposed customer assistance program, and to provide an opportunity for questions and feedback, ' according to a news release from Honolulu's Department of Environmental Serv ices. One meeting is set for Tuesday at Manoa Valley District Park from 5 :30 to 7 p.m. in the old gym. The other is Thursday at Ewa Mahiko District Park, 5 :30 to 7 p.m. in DP Multi-Purpose Room 1. ENV wants to increase sewer fees annually for the next 10 years, starting July 1. For details on the plan, see. Mahalo So many complain about government workers, but I've gotten help over the years, especially from people working in agencies that assist senior citizens. I probably didn't say 'thank you ' enough at the time, so let me say it now.—A reader------------Write to Kokua Line at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Suite 2-200, Honolulu, HI 96813 ; call 808-529-4773 ; or email.------------
