Good morning, it’s Tuesday, July 23, 2024. In today’s edition, crime rates plummeting nationally; Iowa abortion ban to take effect; techies hit pause on new California city:
Top Stories
PUBLIC SAFETY: Crime rates across the nation are plummeting — despite what you might see on the cable news channels. Several reports from independent experts show homicide, burglary, robbery and motor vehicle theft plunging to pre-pandemic levels, after a troubling spike during the first year of lockdowns.
The FBI’s annual report of official crime statistics won’t come out until later this year, but evidence suggests the shift toward lower crime rates began last year. States as diverse as California, Texas, Iowa, Colorado and Montana have all registered double-digit declines in order rates.
Experts don’t have a great explanation for why things are headed in the right direction, though most say there’s no one policy that contributed to either the spike in crime or its reversal. Several reminded us that even in the midst of the spike, crime rates were substantially lower than they were in the 1980s and 1990s. Read more at Pluribus News.
ABORTION: The Iowa Supreme Court has rejected a challenge to the state’s six-week abortion ban. The ruling sends the case back to a district court to lift an injunction, setting the law up to take effect in the coming days. (Des Moines Register)
EDUCATION: New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu (R) has signed legislation creating a pilot program incentivizing schools to buy local produce. The program will reimburse select schools for purchasing New Hampshire-grown products, including fruit, meat and vegetables — as well as cider and maple syrup. (New Hampshire Bulletin)
MORE: Alabama House Republicans have refiled legislation to impose criminal penalties for having objectionable library material accessible to children. The bill would apply criminal obscenity laws to public libraries and K-12 school libraries. (Alabama Reflector)
PUBLIC HEALTH: Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine (R) will sign legislation today requiring public and charter schools and municipal sports and recreation facilities to maintain automated external defibrillators. Current state law requires high schools to teach students how to use the life-saving devices. (Cleveland Plain Dealer)
In Politics & Business
CENSUS: The U.S. Census Bureau will begin conducting tests ahead of the 2030 Census in western Texas; tribal lands in Arizona; Colorado Springs; western North Carolina; Spartanburg, S.C.; and Huntsville, Ala., starting in 2026. The six sites are meant to reach hard-to-count and historically undercounted populations. (Associated Press)
CALIFORNIA: Tech entrepreneurs seeking to build a new city in Solano County will pull their ballot measure this year under a deal reached with county supervisors. Supporters of the California Forever project will spend two years on an environmental impact report and development agreement before seeking voter permission to build a city that could eventually be home to 400,000 people. (Associated Press)
TENNESSEE: A political action committee backed by the conservative Club for Growth will spend $3.6 million on Tennessee legislative races. The School Freedom Fund is supporting challengers to several Republican legislators skeptical of school voucher plans. (State Affairs)
By The Numbers
23: The number of fatalities related to Hurricane Beryl, which hit Houston two weeks ago. Many of those deaths have been ruled heat-related, after the storm knocked out power to nearly three million homes and businesses. (Texas Tribune)
4.1%: The raise Rhode Island lawmakers received beginning July 1. State legislators now make an annual salary of $19,817, up $781 over the previous figure. (Providence Journal)
$4.1 billion: The amount Connecticut has in its budget reserve fund, after revenues came in nearly $300 million over state estimates. (CT Mirror)
Off The Wall
Officials running the Paris Olympics have set up a boulangerie at the mouth of the Olympic Village that will bake more than 2,000 baguettes, croissants and other treats every day. French officials have set up a 46,000-square foot restaurant complex to feed athletes at the games, in the most French way possible. (New York Times)
Sharks caught off the coast of Brazil have a drug problem: Researchers found traces of cocaine in 13 sharpnose sharks, with concentrations up to 100 times higher than in previously dissected fish. (Sky News)
Quote of the Day
“Look, if they do the polling and it turns out that they need a 49-year-old balding gay Jew from Boulder, Colorado, they’ve got my number.”
— Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D), with a little sense of humor about his chances of being the Democratic nominee for vice president. (Politico)