Also on today’s menu:
Ford F-150 Lightning Catches Fire
A ‘State Tax’ Would Become A State Tax
Testing To Save Lives Is Illegal
Representatives of the Norfolk Southern railway company, whose train carrying toxic chemicals derailed near East Palestine, Ohio, on February 3, causing a huge fire, pulled out of a public meeting about the disaster, citing security concerns. That only heightened residents’ anger about the derailment, in which eleven of the fifty train cars carried hazardous chemicals, causing a massive fire and forcing about 5,000 nearby residents in Ohio and Pennsylvania to evacuate.
Norfolk Southern had supported the repeal in 2017 of a rule imposed by the Obama administration that required better braking systems on rail cars that carried hazardous flammable materials. Donors from the railroad industry poured more than $6 million into Republican political campaigns, leading to the Trump administration’s elimination of the rule. The companies claimed that the new electronically controlled pneumatic brakes on high-hazard flammable trains would “impose tremendous costs without providing offsetting safety benefits.” Railroads also lobbied to limit the definition of high-hazard flammable trains to trains that carry oil, not industrial chemicals. Therefore, the train that derailed in Ohio was not classified as an HHFT.
After the derailment, emergency crews performed a controlled release of vinyl chloride from five railcars that were at risk of exploding, releasing thick plumes of black smoke that residents say harmed both humans and animals. Thousands of dead fish were found in the creeks, and people told local media that their chickens had died suddenly, and that their pets had fallen ill.
Ford F-150 Lightning Catches Fire
Ford Motor Company announced a halt in the production of its electric F-150 Lightning pickup truck to address a potential battery issue that resulted in a vehicle fire on February 4. The company said on February 15 that it believes engineers have found the root cause of the fire and that the investigation into the problem is expected to be completed by the end of next week, followed by adjustments to the truck’s battery production process that “could take a few weeks.”
The fire, which was first reported by the Detroit Free Press, occurred in a holding lot during a pre-delivery quality check and spread to a nearby vehicle, Ford said.
Ford said it will continue to hold “already-produced vehicles while we work through engineering and process updates,” and it was “not aware of any incidents of this issue in the field and do not believe F-150 Lightnings already in customers’ hands are affected by this issue.”
A ‘State Tax’ Would Become A State Tax
Representative Thomas Schamberg (D-Wilmot) has introduced a bill that would eliminate the statewide education property tax — a local property tax that the state falsely claims to be state funding for education as required to meet its constitutional obligation — and instead use $363 million from New Hampshire’s general fund to support public education.
Schamburg testified before the House Education Committee on February 16, saying, “Property taxes are way out of control,” and referring to the current lawsuit to prevent wealthy communities from retaining “excess money” collected under the statewide education property tax for use in reducing their local property taxes instead of using the money to help property-poor communities — precisely the problem that the co-called Claremont lawsuit that went before theNew Hampshire Supreme Court sought to address.
While there was a lot of opposition to the bill, the only valid argument against it came from Katherine Heck of the New Hampshire Municipal Association when she pointed out that the effective date of July 1 would be too soon to implement the change. She said the way budgets are set would require an 18-month implementation process.
Testing To Save Lives Is Illegal
Authorities say 434 people died from drug overdoses in 2022, and the majority were fentanyl-related. Yet, the New Hampshire Bulletin reports, the very testing equipment that could help people detect the presence of fentanyl in drugs is illegal in New Hampshire. Fentanyl testing strips, which can detect fentanyl in cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin, and pills, are characterized as drug paraphernalia, and someone found with testing strips can be charged with a misdemeanor, facing up to one year in jail and a fine of $2,000.
Governor Chris Sununu, in speaking of the overdose deaths, explained that fentanyl is being mixed with Adderall, Xanax, marijuana, and vape cartridges, and is “killing our citizens.” He announced a new public awareness campaign called “No Safe Experience,” focused on teaching people about the dangers of fentanyl in counterfeit pills and illicit drugs.
Democratic representatives David Meuse and Amanda Bouldin are sponsoring House Bill 470, saying that New Hampshire’s current law “hampers” drug-checking efforts and that people could use drugs more safely, with less risk of overdose, if they have broader access to testing equipment. More than 30 states have legalized fentanyl testing strips. Even Texas Governor Greg Abbott changed his position to support their decriminalization after the state experienced a surge in fentanyl-related deaths.
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