American Politics Digest

• Budget & tax surges: Scotch Plains hits $40.9M (+$2M from 2025), tax rate to 2.007 (+0.180), avg resident +$243
• Personnel boom: +$2M total, police...

GOP holds firm control now: 23 trifectas vs Dems' 16, 26 governorships to 24, 28 legislatures to 18. But Dem surges in specials signal shifts.

• WI...

Oahu bottlenecks: In 2024, only Honolulu Hale and Kapolei Hale for in-person voting, causing hours-long lines and polls open past 11 p.m.

Counties...

Bipartisan tensions erupt as legislators demand details on voter info shared with DOJ; office refuses, citing litigation threat.

• Postcards...

62% passage rate on over 70 Wisconsin school referendums signals chronic underfunding, forcing districts to seek voter approval for basics like...

Roanoke reallocates $2.5M in annual Emergency Shelter and CDBG grants:

• Belmont-Fallon wrap-up: Prior funds finishing housing rehabs with Habitat,...

• 24 states challenge Trump's March 2026 EO on USPS mail rules and citizenship lists, arguing it usurps state authority under Article I, Section 4.
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Ohioans push to ban power-hungry data centers amid privacy fears – they could surveil residents – but face ballot hurdles.

• Massive resource drain:...

Religious freedom clash in NY long-term care: Dominican Sisters' Rosary Hill Home sued the state on April 6, challenging the 2023 LGBTQ Residents’...

External money is surging in this small TX town's council elections:

• Six candidates raised $47,567 total, with about half from...

Government shutdowns from funding lapses since 1981 are a zero-sum failure, costing billions and delaying services.

• Recent extremes: 42-day full...

Emerging trend: GOP-led measures under 'election integrity' are already suppressing turnout, hitting Dem-leaning groups hardest.

• Louisiana:...

Key tensions in SCOTUS retirement politics:

• Trump's plea: Hopes 76-year-old Alito and 77-year-old Thomas remain healthy and on bench long-term after...

State Question 832 pushes to raise Oklahoma's minimum wage from $7.25 to $15/hour—first hike in 20 years—on the June 2026 ballot.

• Supporters (Raise...

Key Nebraska Legislature updates on health and housing:

• Medicaid coverage timing: Appropriations Committee recommends federal max retroactive—2...

Oregon donors gain more spending power with less oversight after Gov. Tina Kotek signed HB 4018, delaying and weakening 2024 campaign finance...

Key proposal: NC General Assembly's House committee seeks a constitutional amendment limiting annual local property tax revenue increases, eyeing fall...

• School scandal: Lafourche Parish middle schooler charged in Sept 2025 for AI-generated nudes of classmates, causing emotional harm.
• HB 119: Makes...

Alabama's Legislature passed HB220, letting top officials—including the Governor—remove their appointed board members at any time.

Key details:
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Key risks in NC's unregulated hemp-THC market:

• Products like gummies sold without testing, labeling, potency checks, or age limits – minors can buy...