Author: Ethan Johnson

Photo courtesy of Ormat Technologies On April 15, the Bureau of Land Management announced the adoption of two existing categories of exemptions to ease the approval process for geothermal energy exploration on public lands. According to the National Environmental Policy Act, a categorical exclusion avoids the need for an environmental assessment or impact report because it has been determined that a particular action will not have a significant impact on the environment. The BLM can utilize express exemptions from either the U.S. Forest Service or the Department of the Navy to expedite review of geothermal exploration proposals, but further development…

ALEXANDRIA, LA (KALB) – Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill stopped in Alexandria on April 24, six days after her first 100 days in office.”It's been a whirlwind,” she said. “We had three sessions in a row. It's a little hard to grade myself because I'm so busy, but I'm going to fight for the freedom of speech that I had with the people when I ran for office. We've tried to keep our promise to fight for jobs and fight crime. I think we've made a good start in terms of all of this. Yes, it’s still early.”Regarding open meetings…

BATON ROUGE, La. (WVUE) – Governor Jeff Landry questioned whether Louisiana taxpayers have a right to know how their government makes decisions.FOX 8 asked him about the bill that would drastically reduce the public's access to government records.Related articleIn an interview, when asked if taxpayers have that right, he compared the right to public records to going to a restaurant.”Well, listen, that's a great question. Right? They elect us with full confidence that we're going to go out there and solve these problems. When we make decisions, those decisions are made public and they become national policy,” he said.”But all…

Slovakia's populist government on Wednesday adopted a controversial law affecting public television and radio broadcaster RTVS, which it accuses of lacking impartiality. One of the main changes is that the general director of RTVS will be elected by a new management council consisting of nine members (four appointed by the Minister of Culture and the remaining five appointed by Parliament). ). of… Slovakia's populist government on Wednesday adopted a controversial law affecting public television and radio broadcaster RTVS, which it accuses of lacking impartiality. One of the main changes is that the general director of RTVS will be elected by…

NORTH WILKESBORO, NC / ACCESSWIRE / April 24, 2024 / InfusionPoints, LLC, a leading cybersecurity advisory, technology, and managed services company, today announced that it is a leading governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) application specifically designed for cloud service providers (CSPs) pursuing FedRAMP. Announcing the beta release of Command Center. and Department of Defense compliance. This announcement marks an important milestone in our mission to simplify the complex compliance landscape of CSPs in highly regulated environments.InfusionPoints Announces Beta Launch of Command Center for the U.S. Government InfusionPoints Announces Beta Launch of its Dedicated GRC Application, Command Center for the U.S.…

Brazil's Deputy Finance Minister Dario Durigan acknowledged that if Congress approves new spending, the government will face challenges that could hamper efforts to meet its key goal of zero deficit in 2024. Durigan said in an interview published Wednesday that the government is working to ensure that the budget approved for 2023 has “the correct balance of revenues and expenditures.” But “other issues” currently being discussed in parliament could mean “the plan” originally approved by lawmakers cannot be implemented. These include a potential reduction in payroll taxes for local governments, a tax relief package for sectors related to hotels, events,…

Climate change plays an important role in the lives of Afghans. (representative)Kabul: The Taliban government has entered initial talks with the United Nations, donors and non-governmental organizations over the effects of climate change in Afghanistan, organizers announced Wednesday.After four decades of war, Afghanistan ranks as one of the least prepared countries to face the effects of climate change, which causes extreme weather and distorts the natural environment.Foreign aid to Afghanistan has declined since the Taliban took over in 2021, with donors wary of backing a government seen as a pariah, further exposing poor and climate-vulnerable regions. It is supposed to…

According to the Bishops' Conference's Land Pastoral Commission, Brazil saw an increase in the number of disputes over land, water and forest territory in 2023, reaching 2,203 cases and affecting more than 950,000 people.These are the highest numbers in the history of the report, which the commission, known by its Portuguese acronym CPT, has produced annually since 1985. The commission announced that it had identified 2,050 conflicts in 2022, affecting 923,000 people.Until the end of the 19th century, most of the land in this South American country belonged to the Brazilian Empire. The Republic (declared in 1889) brought large tracts…

Access to Abortion, Reproductive Rights in the United StatesTrack access to abortion in the US: Since the Supreme Court's decision, Roe vs. Wade, the legality of abortion is left to each state. The Washington Post tracks states where abortion is legal, banned or threatened. Abortion and elections: In a critical election year, voters in about a dozen states could decide the fate of abortion rights by putting constitutional amendments on the ballot. Biden supports legal access to abortion and is encouraging Congress to pass legislation that would legally codify abortion rights across the country. After months of mixed signals about…

HARTFORD — The state's nearly 46,000 public employees are receiving big pay raises, and Republican lawmakers are warning of long-term fiscal implications for Connecticut taxpayers and state coffers. . The agreement between Gov. Ned Lamont and the State Employees Bargaining Agents Coalition (SEBAC), which represents 35 government unions, grants public sector workers a 2.5% pay increase and 2% incremental raises. The SEBAC contract passed the state Senate on a 24-12 vote along party lines, and was approved in the state House on a 106-44 vote with support from a minority of Republicans. This contract takes effect on his July 1,…