Who Should Police the Police? ; Calamari Becomes an Unexpected Star of the DNC; and More Picks 8/20
Who Should Police the Police? (Reader Steve)
From the Mercury News: “Fewer than 200 of the more than 12,000 local law enforcement agencies nationwide have some form of civilian commission or auditor. That means allegations of police abuses in most cities are typically investigated by a departments’ own internal affairs unit — a system many activists say lacks legitimacy. And any outside scrutiny of police is often left up to local governments that may be deferential to law enforcement. Even among the oversight boards, members’ powers as watchdogs vary tremendously from city to city.”
Defying Trump, 4 Automakers Lock in a Deal on Greenhouse Gas Pollution (Mili)
The author writes, “Under the California agreement, the automakers, which together make up about 30 percent of the United States auto market, will be required to increase their average fuel economy from about 38 miles per gallon today to about 51 miles per gallon by 2026. By comparison, the Trump administration’s national rule on auto emissions, which was completed this spring, rolled back a 2012 rule that required automakers’ fleets to average about 54 miles per gallon by 2025. Instead, the fleets now must only average about 40 miles per gallon.”
Going to Court Online Is Supposed to Be Safer. For Many, It’s Actually Much Worse (Dana)
The author writes, “For many immigration cases, testimony from a witness — a co-worker, a friend or relative — able to come to court and vouch for you is critical for the defense of why you should be allowed to stay in the country. But with courts going online because of the coronavirus pandemic, defendants aren’t afforded that help in some cases. Virtual courtrooms have taken away many of the resources that lawyers and defendants rely on, attorneys say, including basic necessities like being able to talk with each other in private and having an interpreter present for non-English speakers.”
Mail-Order Chicks Are Arriving Dead, Costing Maine Farmers Thousands of Dollars (Peg)
From the Sun Journal: “Last week Pauline Henderson was shocked when she picked up a shipment of what was supposed to be 800 live chicks from her post office in New Sharon. Henderson, who owns and operates Pine Tree Poultry, a family farm and chicken meat processing facility that specializes in chicken pot pies, said all 800 chicks sent from a hatchery in Pennsylvania were dead. ‘We’ve never had a problem like this before,’ said Henderson, who has been running her farm for five years and regularly receives shipments of live birds.”
Calamari, Rhode Island’s Controversial State Appetizer, Becomes an Unexpected Star of the DNC (Dan)
The author writes, “During a roll-call montage in night two of the Democratic National Convention, no vote on Tuesday night commanded the Internet’s attention quite like Rhode Island’s — or its official state appetizer, calamari. … [Joseph M.] McNamara, who once led a contentious, years-long campaign to give fried squid official recognition in the statehouse, made an enticing appeal to DNC viewers at home. ‘Our state appetizer, calamari, is available in all 50 states,’ McNamara said, as a masked chef in a black apron silently held up a platter with crispy rings of the breaded seafood. … ‘Rhode Island’s use of its DNC state roll call primarily as an opportunity to hawk calamari,’ one person wrote on Twitter, ‘is the most on-brand of all the states and territories.’”
