NPR – by Nina Totenberg

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday that taxpayer-funded grants for playgrounds available to nonprofits under a state program could not be denied to a school run by a church.

“The consequence is, in all likelihood, a few extra scraped knees. But the exclusion of Trinity Lutheran from a public benefit for which it is otherwise qualified, solely because it is a church, is odious to our Constitution all the same, and cannot stand,” Justice John Roberts wrote for the majority.   Continue reading “Supreme Court Rules Religious School Can Use Taxpayer Funds For Playground”

Fox News 10

NEW YORK (AP) – Gay pride parades Sunday in New York, San Francisco and other cities are spotlighting resistance to what participants see as new pressure on gay rights, while contending with the prospect of protests over the events’ own diversity and direction.

In a year when leaders are anxious about new President Donald Trump’s agenda, both the New York and San Francisco parades will be headed by groups more focused on protest than celebration. In New York, grand marshals – including the American Civil Liberties Union – were chosen to represent facets of a “resistance movement.”   Continue reading “Gay pride parades sound a note of resistance – and face some”

Tucson.com – by Caitlin Schmidt

More than a month after a former Pima County sheriff’s official revealed in federal court a two-decade criminal conspiracy to misuse federal funds, the sheriff is asking the state to step in and conduct a second investigation.

In September, former Chief Deputy Christopher Radtke was indicted on several felony counts of conspiracy to launder money and theft concerning programs receiving federal funds. In February, Radtke accepted a plea agreement for three misdemeanor counts of theft of federal funds and was sentenced in May to one year of probation, 100 hours of community service and ordered to pay $3,000 in fines.

Continue reading “Pima County sheriff seeks state inquiry into use of RICO funds”

Fox 10

LOS ANGELES (AP) – Johnny Depp has asked a crowd at the Glastonbury Festival when was the last time an actor assassinated a president. The remarks came during a segment Thursday in which Depp was speaking about President Donald Trump.

He asked the question at the annual festival that celebrates the performing arts.

The 54-year-old “Pirates of the Caribbean” star followed by saying that he is not an actor, but someone who lies for a living.   Continue reading “Johnny Depp: ‘maybe it’s time’ to assassinate a president”

National Park Service

National Heritage Areas (NHAs) are designated by Congress as places where natural, cultural, and historic resources combine to form a cohesive, nationally important landscape. Through their resources, NHAs tell nationally important stories that celebrate our nation’s diverse heritage. NHAs are lived-in landscapes. Consequently, NHA entities collaborate with communities to determine how to make heritage relevant to local interests and needs.

NHAs are a grassroots, community-driven approach to heritage conservation and economic development. Through publicprivate partnerships, NHA entities support historic preservation, natural resource conservation, recreation, heritage tourism, and educational projects. Leveraging funds and long-term support for projects, NHA partnerships foster pride of place and an enduring stewardship ethic.

Continue reading “What is a National Heritage Area?”

Arizona Highways – October 20, 2014

Interstate 19, which is entirely in Arizona, is an oddity among U.S. interstate highways. I-19, which runs from Tucson to Nogales, is the country’s only continuous highway that lists distances in kilometers, rather than in miles.

As the Associated Press reported earlier this month, the highway’s embrace of the metric system dates to the Carter administration. The idea was to make the interstate more accessible to tourists coming from Mexico, where kilometers are the standard unit of measuring distances.   Continue reading “Interstate 19: Miles or Kilometers?”

Fox 10

PHOENIX (AP) – The Arizona Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday that young immigrants granted deferred deportation status under a program started by former President Barack Obama are not eligible for lower in-state college tuition.

The ruling by a three-judge panel overturns a 2015 decision by a trial court judge that said deferred action recipients were considered legally present in the U.S. under federal immigration laws and therefore qualified for state benefits.   Continue reading “Arizona court overturns in-state tuition for DREAMers”