Friday, September 25, 2015

EPA warns other carmakers it will test for defeat devices - Yahoo Finance

 

Financial Times

By Chris Bryant in Frankfurt and Barney Jopson in Washington 3 hours ago

 

The US environmental regulator put all vehicle manufacturers "on notice" on Friday that it would intensify its emissions testing on diesel-powered vehicles to discover whether "defeat devices" were being used more widely.

 

Janet McCabe, acting assistant administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, told reporters: "We are stepping up our testing activities in response to VW's alleged violation."

The new testing regime will start immediately and Christopher Grundler, director of the EPA's office of transportation and air quality, said that for manufacturers it meant "we'll be keeping their vehicles a little bit longer and driving them more".

The EPA's announcement came as Volkswagen's board gathered to appoint a new chief executive to lead the carmaker, with Matthias M�ller, head of Porsche, widely viewed as the favourite candidate

Click to read entire article:  EPA warns other carmakers it will test for defeat devices - Yahoo Finance

Apocalyptic ad blasts Bennet for Iran vote | The Colorado Statesman

 

9/24/2015

A TV ad taking aim at U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet over his vote in favor of the Iran nuclear deal drew howls of outrage from Democrats and others this week. But the outspoken head of the group that paid for the ad says it’s just the opening salvo in a fusillade of vicious attacks on Bennet, who is up for reelection next year.

Reminiscent of the “Daisy” ad targeted at GOP presidential nominee Barry Goldwater more than 50 years ago, the ad begins with children counting down in their native languages — including Hebrew, Arabic and Chinese — before the screen fills with a mushroom cloud and scenes of devastation.

“A nuclear Iran is a threat to the entire world,” it says. “Sen. Michael Bennet supports Obama’s Iran Deal. Sen. Michael Bennet is jeopardizing our safety. Call Sen. Michael Bennet. … Ask him, ‘Why?’”

With a $46,000 ad buy on three local Denver stations — backed up by about the same in online advertising — the ad won’t be seen often by many, but that wasn’t the point. So-called “earned media” (stories like this one!) amplify the ad dollars by treating it as a news event.

Jonathan Lockwood, the director of Advancing Colorado, the uber-conservative, ultra-provocative group that lobs vitriolic press releases almost daily, threw down.

“Bennet is a dangerous puppet, and we will never forget he voted to hold the American people hostage and sided with terrorists and madmen to silence the innocent people he represents here in Colorado,” Lockwood said.

Calling the ad “horribly offensive and misleading,” state Dem communications director Andrew Zucker responded.

“With Washington Republicans lacking an opponent in the Colorado Senate race, it comes as no surprise that a secretly funded group with ties to the billionaire Koch brothers is out with a deeply offensive, fear-mongering attack against Sen. Bennet,” said Zucker. “The truth is, Michael Bennet passed tough sanctions against Iran, has worked to prevent Iran from having a nuclear weapon and is authoring legislation to make the Iran deal even stronger.”

The next day, when The Denver Post editorial board called the ad “the latest exercise in political sleaze” and opined that Lockwood “sounds flat-out deranged on the topic,” Zucker forwarded that far and wide, too.

The criticism doesn’t faze Lockwood, however. While he refused to say who funds his group, he claims the Left’s favorite bogeymen — that would be “the billionaire Koch brothers” —aren’t behind it.

“Liberals are more scared of this ad than they are of Iran obtaining a nuclear weapon,” he told Chatter. “They are more mad or shocked or scared over Americans expressing themselves than with Iran chanting ‘Death to America.’

“This is our opening salvo on the Iran deal issue-advocacy campaign,” he added. “The deal is not going to get any better as time goes on, it’s going to get worse and worse. People can rest assured we’re going to be continuing our work on this issue.”

Apocalyptic ad blasts Bennet for Iran vote | The Colorado Statesman

Rauner accepts resignations from IDOA Director, State Fair Direc - Wandtv.com, NewsCenter17, StormCenter17, Central Illinois News-

 

SPRINGFIELD - The Office of Governor Bruce Rauner has announced that the resignations of Illinois Department of Agriculture Director Phil Nelson and State Fair Director Patrick Buchen have been accepted.

Officials say Nelson will continue to be employed at the IDOA to help with the transition to a new director.  IDOA Chief of Staff Warren Goetsch has been appointed as Acting Director by Governor Rauner.  State officials say the search for a permanent director is underway.

In a news release, Governor Rauner says he wishes Nelson "all the best."  We will provide more details as they become available

Above is from:  Rauner accepts resignations from IDOA Director, State Fair Direc - Wandtv.com, NewsCenter17, StormCenter17, Central Illinois News-

 

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Both the head of the Illinois Department of Agriculture and the director of the Illinois State Fair submitted their resignations Thursday, a month after they announced attendance at the annual event was down by half.

Agriculture Director Phil Nelson will remain on the job for a month while Gov. Bruce Rauner looks for a permanent replacement. Nelson is the former president of the Illinois Farm Bureau, and Rauner picked him to lead the agency because of his experience as a fourth-generation farmer.

There was no word about an immediate replacement for fair director Patrick Buchen, who was named by Rauner in May. Buchen formerly worked as the executive director of the Indiana State Fair.

Last month, Buchen's office released figures for the 11-day State Fair in Springfield clocking attendance at 411,547 — down from 844,649 the year before. He contended past numbers were inflated, pointing to gate and parking revenues that were down just $55,000 from 2014.

Rauner took some heat for holding the state fair despite the ongoing budget impasse, and he made it a point to visit the grounds every day. Rauner's office would not comment beyond announcing the departures.

mcgarcia@tribpub.com

Twitter @moniquegarcia

Above ifs from:  http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/politics/ct-rauner-illinois-agriculture-director-state-fair-met-0925-20150924-story.html

Central Illinois newspaper sues Gov. Rauner over public information request for schedule

 

SPRINGFIELD, Illinois — A central Illinois weekly newspaper is suing Gov. Bruce Rauner after the attorney general's office said he must turn over appointment calendars showing his daily schedule.

An Illinois Times reporter submitted a May request through the Freedom of Information Act for Rauner's daily calendar from April 1 to May 15. When the documents arrived, information was redacted.

On Tuesday, Attorney General Lisa Madigan's office issued an 18-page opinion saying Rauner's office violated the act and should provide the requested information.

However, Madigan's office can't enforce the ruling.

That led to the Springfield newspaper filing a lawsuit Wednesday in Sangamon County. It seeks to force Rauner's office to turn over complete documents, saying the administration "intentionally and in bad faith" violated open records law.

Rauner spokeswoman Catherine Kelly declined comment, citing pending litigation.

Above from:  Central Illinois newspaper sues Gov. Rauner over public information request for schedule

 

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Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2015 03:48 pm

AG rules against Rauner, in favor of Illinois Times

Newspaper sues governor

By Bruce Rushton


Gov. Bruce Rauner has refused to release his appointment calendar to Illinois Times, so the paper sued him today, following a favorable decision from the Illinois Attorney General. Photo by Patrick Yeagle.

Illinois Times today sued Gov. Bruce Rauner after Attorney General Lisa Madigan ruled that the governor must turn over his appointment calendar in response to the paper’s request made under the state Freedom of Information Act.
The newspaper asked for Rauner’s appointment calendar last spring after the governor walked out of a Holocaust remembrance ceremony. The newspaper’s request came after the governor’s press office ignored an emailed query asking where the governor had gone while a Holocaust survivor spoke at the annual ceremony held at the Old State Capitol.
Rauner gave the newspaper a redacted version of his appointment calendar showing that he had attended a meeting in the governor’s office while the ceremony continued. The governor redacted the names of the person, or people, with whom he met. The newspaper subsequently appealed to the attorney general, who ruled that Rauner must disclose the names of the people who attend meetings memorialized in his appointment calendar, which is prepared by public employees on public time using public equipment.
Rauner had claimed that the calendar was maintained for the governor’s convenience, but the attorney general determined that the calendar is the public’s business.
“(T)his office’s review of the redacted entries indicates that they all appear to pertain to the business of the state, rather than the personal affairs or private business interests of the governor,” Michael J. Luke, counsel to Madigan, wrote in the 18-page decision issued Tuesday. “Because the governor’s calendar was prepared and is maintained by the governor’s office and pertains to public business, it is a public record of the governor’s office for purposes of the Illinois FOIA.”
The newspaper sued Rauner today in Sangamon County Circuit Court, demanding that the governor release the requested appointment calendar. The newspaper sued because the attorney general’s decision is not final and could be appealed in court by the governor. In short, the Illinois Freedom of Information Act contains no provisions that force the governor to follow the attorney general’s directive.
“We have no way to enforce a binding opinion (by the attorney general),” said Don Craven, attorney for Illinois Times. “They (the governor’s staff) can just sit there and do nothing.”
Other media outlets, including the Associated Press and the Chicago Reader, have been unsuccessful in convincing Rauner to release his appointment calendar showing with whom he has met. Rauner has also refused to tell the Chicago Reader the names of lawyers in private practice who have done work for the state and been paid with public money.
In refusing to release his calendar to Illinois Times, Rauner had claimed that providing unredacted copies would pose a security risk and that someone who intended to harm the governor could discern patterns from the calendar that would provide opportunities to physically hurt Rauner. The attorney general’s office, after examining Rauner’s unredacted appointment calendar, determined that was nonsense.
“The governor’s calendar predominately consists of information regarding appointments: names of individuals and groups, and telephone numbers or meeting locations as applicable,” Luke wrote in his written decision. “The governor’s office has not provided facts demonstrating that disclosing those names, telephone numbers or meeting locations from past appointments would pose a security risk to the governor.”
The governor had also claimed that information on his appointment calendar was preliminary in nature and therefore exempt from disclosure. However, the attorney general found that Rauner had not demonstrated that this was true.
Rauner had also claimed that the public could discern his thought processes and legal strategies if he revealed his appointment calendar, particularly with regard to meetings attended by attorneys for the governor. The attorney general found no merit in that argument.
“(T)he mere presence of an attorney in a meeting is insufficient to justify (withholding of the record),” Luke wrote. “Based on our review, disclosure of the redacted entries would not reveal that privileged communications were involved or, more specifically, the substance of any confidential attorney-client discussions.”
As a candidate, Rauner had pledged to be open and transparent. Neither the governor nor a spokesman could be reached for immediate comment on Wednesday.

Read the lawsuit here.

Read the AG's decision here.

From:  Contact Bruce Rushton at brushton@illinoistimes.com