West Virginia Online Casinos & Gambling Sites For Real Money
West Virginia Online Casinos & Gambling Sites For Real Money
West Virginia Online Casinos | Where to gamble in WV in 2021?
West Virginia #1 Online Casinos » Legal Situation 2021
West Virginia Guide to Legal Online Casinos & Gambling
West Virginia Online Casinos 2021: Real-Money Casino Games
West Virginia Casinos Online | Real Money WV Gambling Sites
West Virginia Online Gambling - 2020 WV News & Site Reviews
West Virginia online casinos hit nearly $2.8 million in
West Virginia Online Casinos: Real Money Casino Apps in WV
West Virginia Online Casinos - Real Money Online Casinos in WV
is money casinos legal in west virginia
is money casinos legal in west virginia - win
[Offer] Draftkings sportsbook $50 and free $100 bet from them + $20 from me
Available in Colorado | Illinois | Indiana | Iowa | New Hampshire | New Jersey | Michigan | Pennsylvania | Tennessee | Virginia | West Virginia New users double their money up to $50 if either team scores a TD in the superbowl, so that's a $50 bet to make $50. Their has never been a superbowl game without a touchdown If you use my link and deposit $100, you'll also get a $100 free bet, this offer has no risk because after you deposit the $100 you can withdraw it immediately and still get the $100 bonus from DraftKings. They also have risk free blackjack for new users. If you are interested $bid and I'll DM you my link to get started. USA only, must be in a state where draftkings sportsbook is legal. If you already have draftkings I have refer a friend offers for other places as well. Such as betfair, tropicana casino, betmgm, FanDuel, etc. I also have various betting offers for various other sites Link: https://sportsbook.draftkings.com/sb/miketheeditoUS-NJ-SB
[Offer] Draftkings sportsbook $50 and free $100 bet from them + $20 from me
Available in Colorado | Illinois | Indiana | Iowa | New Hampshire | New Jersey | Michigan | Pennsylvania | Tennessee | Virginia | West Virginia New users double their money up to $50 if either team scores a TD in the superbowl, so that's a $50 bet to make $50. Their has never been a superbowl game without a touchdown If you use my link and deposit $100, you'll also get a $100 free bet, this offer has no risk because after you deposit the $100 you can withdraw it immediately and still get the $100 bonus from DraftKings. They also have risk free blackjack for new users. If you are interested $bid and I'll DM you my link to get started. USA only, must be in a state where draftkings sportsbook is legal. If you already have draftkings I have refer a friend offers for other places as well. Such as betfair, tropicana casino, betmgm, FanDuel, etc. I also have various betting offers for various other sites Link: https://sportsbook.draftkings.com/sb/miketheeditoUS-NJ-SB
The next Detroit: The catastrophic collapse of Atlantic City
With the closure of almost half of Atlantic City's casinos, Newark set to vote on gambling and casinos or racinos in almost every state, it seems as if the reasons for the very existence of Atlantic City are in serious jeopardy. Israel Joffe Atlantic City, once a major vacation spot during the roaring 20s and 1930s, as seen on HBOs Boardwalk Empire, collapsed when cheap air fare became the norm and people had no reason to head to the many beach town resorts on the East Coast. Within a few decades, the city, known for being an ‘oasis of sin’ during the prohibition era, fell into serious decline and dilapidation. New Jersey officials felt the only way to bring Atlantic City back from the brink of disaster would be to legalize gambling. Atlantic City’s first casino, Resorts, first opened its doors in 1978. People stood shoulder to shoulder, packed into the hotel as gambling officially made its way to the East Coast. Folks in the East Coast didn't have to make a special trip all the way to Vegas in order to enjoy some craps, slots, roulette and more. As time wore on, Atlantic City became the premier gambling spots in the country. While detractors felt that the area still remained poor and dilapidated, officials were quick to point out that the casinos didn't bring the mass gentrification to Atlantic City as much as they hoped but the billions of dollars in revenue and thousands of jobs for the surrounding communities was well worth it. Atlantic City developed a reputation as more of a short-stay ‘day-cation’ type of place, yet managed to stand firm against the 'adult playground' and 'entertainment capital of the world' Las Vegas. Through-out the 1980s, Atlantic City would become an integral part of American pop culture as a place for east coast residents to gamble, watch boxing, wrestling, concerts and other sporting events. However in the late 1980s, a landmark ruling considered Native-American reservations to be sovereign entities not bound by state law. It was the first potential threat to the iron grip Atlantic City and Vegas had on the gambling and entertainment industry. Huge 'mega casinos' were built on reservations that rivaled Atlantic City and Vegas. In turn, Vegas built even more impressive casinos. Atlantic City, in an attempt to make the city more appealing to the ‘big whale’ millionaire and billionaire gamblers, and in effort to move away from its ‘seedy’ reputation, built the luxurious Borgata casino in 2003. Harrah’s created a billion dollar extension and other casinos in the area went through serious renovations and re-branded themselves. It seemed as if the bite that the Native American casinos took out of AC and Vegas’ profits was negligible and that the dominance of those two cities in the world of gambling would remain unchallenged. Then Macau, formally a colony of Portugal, was handed back to the Chinese in 1999. The gambling industry there had been operated under a government-issued monopoly license by Stanley Ho's Sociedade de Turismo e Diversões de Macau. The monopoly was ended in 2002 and several casino owners from Las Vegas attempted to enter the market. Under the one country, two systems policy, the territory remained virtually unchanged aside from mega casinos popping up everywhere. All the rich ‘whales’ from the far east had no reason anymore to go to the United States to spend their money. Then came the biggest threat. As revenue from dog and horse racing tracks around the United States dried up, government officials needed a way to bring back jobs and revitalize the surrounding communities. Slot machines in race tracks started in Iowa in 1994 but took off in 2004 when Pennsylvania introduced ‘Racinos’ in an effort to reduce property taxes for the state and to help depressed areas bounce back. As of 2013, racinos were legal in ten states: Delaware, Louisiana, Maine, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and West Virginia with more expected in 2015. Tracks like Delaware Park and West Virginia's Mountaineer Park, once considered places where local degenerates bet on broken-down nags in claiming races, are now among the wealthiest tracks around, with the best races. The famous Aqueduct race track in Queens, NY, once facing an uncertain future, now possesses the most profitable casino in the United States. From June 2012 to June 2013, Aqueduct matched a quarter of Atlantic City's total gaming revenue from its dozen casinos: $729.2 million compared with A.C.'s $2.9 billion. It has taken an estimated 15 percent hit on New Jersey casino revenue and climbing. And it isn't just Aqueduct that's taking business away from them. Atlantic City's closest major city, Philadelphia, only 35-40 minutes away, and one of the largest cities in America, now has a casino that has contributed heavily to the decline in gamers visiting the area. New Jersey is the third state in the U.S. to have authorized internet gambling. However, these online casinos are owned and controlled by Atlantic City casinos in an effort to boost profits in the face of fierce competition. California, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Pennsylvania and Texas are hoping to join Delaware, Nevada, New Jersey and the U.S. Virgin Islands in offering online gambling to their residents. With this in mind, it seems the very niche that Atlantic City once offered as a gambling and entertainment hub for east coast residents is heading toward the dustbin of history. Time will tell if this city will end up like Detroit. However, the fact that they are losing their biggest industry to major competition, much like Detroit did, with depressed housing, casinos bankrupting/closing and businesses fleeing , it all makes Atlantic City’s fate seem eerily similar.
Welcome to Lost in the Sauce, keeping you caught up on political and legal news that often gets buried in distractions and theater… or a global health crisis. Figuring out how to divide the COVID-19 content from the “regular” news has been difficult because the pandemic is influencing all aspects of life. Some of the stories below involve the virus, but I chose to include them when it fits into one of the pre-established categories (like congress or immigration). The coronavirus-central post will be made again this Thursday-Friday; the sign up form now has an option to choose to receive an email when the coronavirus-focused roundup is posted. House-keeping:
How to support: If you enjoy my work, please consider becoming a patron. I do this to keep track and will never hide behind a paywall, but these projects take a lot of time and effort to create. Even a couple of dollars a month helps. Since someone asked a few weeks ago (thank you!), here's a PayPal option and Venmo.
How to get notifications:If you’d like to be added to my newsletter, use this SIGNUP FORM and you’ll get these recaps in your inbox!
Let’s dig in!
MAIN COURSE
Congress passes stimulus
Last week started out with a Republican-crafted stimulus bill that was twice-blocked by Senate Democrats, who objected to the lax conditions of aid to corporations, too little funding for hospitals, and a $500 billion “slush fund” for big companies to be doled out by Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin with no oversight. Conservative-Democrat Joe Manchin (WV) even criticized the GOP bill:
“It fails our first responders, nurses, private physicians and all healthcare professionals. ... It fails our workers. It fails our small businesses… Instead, it is focused on providing billions of dollars to Wall Street and misses the mark on helping the West Virginians that have lost their jobs through no fault of their own.”
Through negotiations, Democrats shifted the bill in a more-worker friendly direction. The version that passed includes the following Democrat-added provisions: expanded unemployment benefits, $100 billion for hospitals, $150 billion for state and local governments, direct payments to Americans without a phase-in (ensuring low-income workers get the full amount), a ban on Trump and his children from receiving aid, and oversight on the “slush fund” (see next section for more info). Senate Democrats also managed to remove a provision that would have excluded nonprofits that receive Medicaid funding from the small-business grants.
Further reading: After Senate Democrats blocked the Republican-crafted bill, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi led the House Democrats in releasing their own version, a best-case scenario of their dream coronavirus stimulus bill. It is interesting to contrast what the Democrats prioritized to what the Republicans focused on: “How the House Democrats' stimulus plan compares to the Senate's”
Echoing sentiments expressed during debate on the previous coronavirus bill (the second, for those keeping track), Republican senators derided the $600 a week increase in unemployment payments as “incentivizing” workers to quit their jobs. Sens. Ben Sasse (Neb.), Rick Scott (Fla.), Tim Scott (S.C.) and Lindsey Graham (S.C.) delayed passage of the bill in order to force a vote on an amendment removing the extra unemployment funding. "This bill pays you more not to work than if you were working," Graham said. Fortunately for American workers, the amendment failed and the improved bill passed the Senate and the House.
Note: In 2009 only three Republicans helped Obama pass his stimulus bill in his first month in office.
The giveaways in the bill
While Senate Democrats were able to add worker-friendly provisions, the bill still required bipartisan support to pass the chamber and some corporate giveaways remained in the final version.
NYT: “Senate Republicans inserted an easy-to-overlook provision on page 203 of the 880-page bill that would permit wealthy investors to use losses generated by real estate to minimize their taxes on profits from things like investments in the stock market. The estimated cost of the change over 10 years is $170 billion.”
NYT: “...if a company owns multiple hotels, even if the overall hotel or restaurant chain has more than 500 employees — the limit to qualify for treatment as a small business — it will still be able to take advantage of the small-business benefits offered in the rescue package. ...The provision could benefit the Trump Organization, which operates a relatively small chain, with six hotels in the United States in cities including New York, Washington and Chicago.”
“A provision for the FDA to approve ‘innovative’ sunscreens—which would benefit L’Oreal, which has operations in Kentucky—appeared in the bill, which was steered in the Senate by Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky.”
“The $25 billion allocated in loans and loan guarantees for the airlines will also benefit eligible businesses "approved to perform inspection, repair, replace, or overhaul services, and ticket agents.” The last two words — ‘ticket agents’ — mean that travel agents who book flights will also be able to apply for a piece of the $25 billion.”
“The credit reporting industry got a win by defeating a total ban on negative credit reports during the crisis. Instead, a watered down version made it into the final bill: Consumers wouldn't get a negative credit report if they have an agreement with a lender to delay payments or make partial payments.”
Trump’s signing statement
While signing the latest coronavirus relief bill, the president also issued a signing statement undercutting the congressional oversight provision creating an inspector general to track how the administration distributes the $500 billion “slush fund” money. The newly-created inspector general is legally required to audit loans and investments made through the fund and report to Congress his/her findings, including any refusal by the executive office to cooperate. In his signing statement, Trump wrote that his understanding of constitutional powers allows him to gag the special IG:
"I do not understand, and my Administration will not treat, this provision as permitting the [inspector general] to issue reports to the Congress without the presidential supervision required" by Article II of the Constitution.
The signing statement further suggests that Trump does not have to comply with a provision requiring that agencies consult with Congress before it spends or reallocates certain funds: "These provisions are impermissible forms of congressional aggrandizement with respect to the execution of the laws," the statement reads. While some have said that Congress fell short in this instance, one Democratic Senate aide told Politico that Congress built in multiple layers of oversight, including “a review of other inspectors general and a congressional review committee charged with overseeing Treasury and the Federal Reserve's efforts to implement the law.” Legal experts have pointed out that a signing statement is “without legal effect.” But that ignores the fact that oversight is not equal to enforcement. The problem, in my opinion, isn’t that Congress won’t be notified of any abuses of power by Trump. The problem is that congressional Republicans and the judiciary have largely failed to hold him accountable and enforce our laws even after learning of his abuses.
Concerns about the IG
Another potential weakness in the oversight structure is the inspector general position itself. The special inspector general for pandemic recovery, known by the acronym S.I.G.P.R., is nominated by the president and confirmed by the Republican-controlled Senate. As we’ve seen from Trump’s previous nominees, particularly judicial, many unqualified individuals have been confirmed. The Democrats will not have the power to stop the president and Mitch McConnell from jamming through a loyalist to fill the SIGPR role.
Former inspector general at the Justice Department Michael Bromwich: “The signing statement threatens to undermine the authority and independence of this new IG. The Senate should extract a commitment from the nominee that Congress will be promptly notified of any Presidential/Administration interference or obstruction.”
You may recall that Trump has already proven that he’s willing to interfere with the legally-mandated work of an inspector general. When the Ukraine whistleblower filed a complaint last year, the IG of the Intelligence Community, Michael Atkinson, investigated and determined the complaint to be “urgent” and “credible.” Atkinson wrote a report and gave it to Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire to hand over to Congress. However, the White House and DOJ interfered and instructed Maguire not to transmit the report to the Senate and House Intelligence Committees. Chairman Adam Schiff had to subpoena Maguire to turn over the report and testify before his committee. Further, there are already five IG vacancies in agencies that have a critical role in responding to the pandemic. The Treasury itself has not had a permanent, Senate-confirmed IG for over eight months now, and Trump hasn’t nominated a replacement. The Treasury Dept. has taken a lead role in the coronavirus response, with Secretary Mnuchin handling most of the negotiating with Congress on Trump’s behalf. The fact that the lead agency doesn’t have IG oversight should be troublesome in itself; replicating the situation with a special IG doesn’t seem to be a promising solution.
The other four coronavirus-related agencies without a permanent IG: Department of Health and Human Services’ IG has been vacant for nine months, Department of Defense’s IG has been vacant for four years, Department of Education’s IG has been vacant for one year, and Office of Personnel Management’s IG has been vacant for four years. Overall, there are twelve IG vacancies in the 37) presidentially-appointed offices.
UPDATE: The nation's inspectors general have appointed Glenn Fine, the Pentagon's acting IG, to lead the committee of IGs overseeing the coronavirus relief effort.
This is one of several oversight mechanisms built into the new law. They include: A committee of IGs (now led by Fine), a new special IG (to be nominated by Trump), a congressional review panel (to be appointed by House/Senate leaders)
Direct payments
Included in the stimulus bill is a $1200 one-time direct payment for all Americans who made less than $75,000 in 2019 (less than $150,000 if couples filed jointly). More details can be found here. I have read that the Treasury will use 2018 information for those who have not filed yet this year, but I am not 100% sure that’ll happen. Mnuchin has said that Americans can expect to receive the money within three weeks, but many experts expect that timetable to be pushed into late April. Additionally, that only applies to Americans who included direct deposit information on their 2019 tax returns. Those who did not include their bank’s information will have to be sent a physical check in the mail… which could take anywhere from two to four months. Other options are being discussed, including partnering the Treasury Dept. with MasterCard and Visa to deliver prepaid debit cards. Venmo and Paypal are reportedly lobbying the government to be considered as a disbursement option. Future payments? House Speaker Pelosi is already planning another wave of direct payments to Americans, saying that the $1,200 is not enough to mitigate the economic effects of the pandemic: “I don’t think we’ve seen the end of direct payments.” Republicans, meanwhile, are taking a ‘wait and see’ approach, using the next couple of weeks to measure the impact of the $2 trillion bill passed last week.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy: “What concerns me is when I listen to Nancy Pelosi talk about a fourth package now, it’s because she did not get out of things that she really wanted...I’m not sure you need a fourth package...Let’s let this work ... We have now given the resources to make and solve this problem. We don’t need to be crafting another bill right now.” For the fourth legislative package, Democrats have said they would like to see increased food stamp benefits; increased coverage for coronavirus testing, visits to the doctor and treatment; more money for state and local governments, including Washington, D.C.; expanded family and medical leave; pension fixes; and stronger workplace protections.
Trump’s signature Normally, a civil servant signs federal checks, like the direct payments Americans are set to receive. According to a Wall Street Journal report, Trump has told people that he wants his signature to appear on the stimulus checks.
THE SIDES
War on the poor continues
Amid the coronavirus crisis, Trump has defended his continued support of a Republican-led lawsuit to dismantle the Affordable Care Act, which would result in 20 million Americans losing health insurance if successful. The Supreme Court agreed to hear arguments in the case this fall. Contrasting with his position that the ACA is illegal, Trump is considering reopening enrollment on HealthCare.gov, allowing millions of uninsured individuals to get coverage before potentially incurring charges and fees related to COVID-19. Joe Biden called on Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who is leading the charge against the ACA, and President Trump to drop the lawsuit:
“At a time of national emergency, which is laying bare the existing vulnerabilities in our public health infrastructure, it is unconscionable that you are continuing to pursue a lawsuit designed to strip millions of Americans of their health insurance and protections under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), including the ban on insurers denying coverage or raising premiums due to pre-existing conditions.”
The Trump administration is also pushing forward with its plan to kick 700,000 people off federal food stamp assistance, known as SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program). The USDA announced two weeks ago that the department will appeal Judge Beryl Howell’s recent decision that the USDA’s work mandate rule is “arbitrary and capricious." Additionally: The Social Security Administration has no plans to slow down a rule change set for June that will limit disability benefits, the Department of Health and Human Services still intends to reduce automatic enrollment in health coverage, and the Department of Housing and Urban Development will continue the process to enact a rule that would make it harder for renters to sue landlords for racial discrimination.
Lawmakers’ stock transactions
The Justice Department and Securities and Exchange Commission are beginning to investigate stock transactions made ahead of the economic crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic. CNN reports that the inquiry has already reached out to Senator Richard Burr for information. “Under insider trading laws, prosecutors would need to prove the lawmakers traded based on material non-public information they received in violation of a duty to keep it confidential,” a task that won’t be easy. Sen. Burr is facing another consequence of his trades: Alan Jacobson, a shareholder in Wyndham Hotels and Resorts, sued Burr for allegedly using private information to instruct a mass liquidation of his assets. Among the shares he sold were an up to $150,000 stake in Wyndham, whose stock suffered a market-value cut of more than two-thirds since mid-February.
Environmental rollbacks
Using the pandemic as cover, the Trump administration has begun to more aggressively roll back regulations meant to protect the environment. These are examples of what Naomi Klein dubbed “the shock doctrine”: the phenomenon wherein polluters and their government allies push through unpopular policy changes under the smokescreen of a public emergency. On Thursday, the EPA announced (non-paywalled) an expansive relaxation of environmental laws and fines, exempting companies from consequences for pollution. Under the new rules, there are basically no rules. Companies are asked to “act responsibly” but are not required to report when their facilities discharge pollution into the air or water. Just five days before abandoning any pollution oversight, the oil industry’s largest trade group implored the administration for assistance, stating that social distancing measures caused a steep drop in demand for gasoline.
Monday morning update: In an interview with Fox News this morning, Trump said he was going to call Putin after the interview to discuss the Saudi-Russia oil fight. A consequence of this "battle" has been plummeting prices in the U.S. making it difficult for domestic companies (like shale extraction) to turn a profit. It's striking that the day after Dr. Fauci told Americans we can expect 100,000 to 200,000 deaths from COVID-19 (if we keep social distancing measures in place), Trump's first action is to talk to Fox News and his second action is to intervene in an international tiff on behalf of the oil and gas industry.
Gina McCarthy, who led the E.P.A. under the Obama administration, called the rollback “an open license to pollute.” Cynthia Giles, who headed the EPA enforcement division during the Obama administration, said “it is so far beyond any reasonable response I am just stunned.” The EPA is also moving forward with a widely-opposed rule to limit the types of scientific studies used when crafting new regulations or revising current ones. Hidden behind claims of increased transparency, the rule would require disclosure of all raw data used in scientific studies. This would disqualify many fields of research that rely on personal health information from individuals that must be kept confidential. For example, studies that show air pollution causes premature deaths or a certain pesticide is linked to birth defects would be rejected under the proposed rule change. Officials and scientists are calling upon the EPA to extend the time for comment on the regulatory changes, arguing that the public is unable to express their opinion while dealing with the pandemic.
“These rollbacks need and deserve the input of our public health community, but right now, they are rightfully focused on responding to the coronavirus,” said Representative Frank Pallone of New Jersey, the chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
Other controversial decisions being made:
A former EPA official who worked on controversial policies returned as Administrator Andrew Wheeler’s chief of staff. Mandy Gunasekara helped write regulations to ease pollution controls for coal-fired power plants and vehicle emissions in her previous role as chief of the EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation. In a recent interview, Gunasekara, who played a role in the decision to exit the Paris Climate Accord, pushed back on the more dire predictions of climate change, saying, “I don't think it is catastrophic.”
NYT: The plastic bag industry, battered by a wave of bans nationwide, is using the coronavirus crisis to try to block laws prohibiting single-use plastic. “We simply don’t want millions of Americans bringing germ-filled reusable bags into retail establishments putting the public and workers at risk,” an industry campaign that goes by the name Bag the Ban warned on Tuesday. (Also see The Guardian)
Kentucky, South Dakota, and West Virginia passed laws putting new criminal penalties on protests against fossil fuel infrastructure in just the past two weeks.
The Hill: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said Friday that it will extend the amount of time that winter gasoline can be sold this year as producers have been facing lower demand due to the coronavirus. It will allow companies to sell the winter-grade gasoline through May 20, whereas companies would have previously been required to stop selling it by May 1 to protect air quality. “In responding to an international health crisis, the last thing the EPA should do is take steps that will worsen air quality and undermine the public’s health,” biofuels expert David DeGennaro said.
NYT: At the Interior Department, employees at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have been under strict orders to complete the rule eliminating some protections for migratory birds within 30 days, according to two people with direct knowledge of the orders. The 45-day comment period on that rule ended on March 19.
WaPo: The Interior Department has received over 230 nominations for oil and gas leases covering more than 150,000 acres across southern Utah, a push that would bring drilling as close as a half-mile from some of the nation’s most famous protected sites, including Arches and Canyonlands National Parks… if all the fossil fuels buried in those sites was extracted and burned, it would translate into between 1 billion and 5.95 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide being released into the air. That upward measure is equal to half the annual carbon output of China
Court updates
Press freedom case Southern District of New York District Judge Lorna Schofield ruled that a literary advocacy group’s lawsuit against Trump for allegedly violating the First Amendment can move forward. The group, PEN America, is pursuing claims that Trump “has used government power to retaliate against media coverage and reporters he dislikes.” Schofield determined that PEN’s allegation that Trump made threats to chill free speech was valid, providing as an example the White House’s revocation of CNN correspondent Jim Acosta’s press press corps credentials:
”The threats are lent credence by the fact that Defendant has acted on them before, by revoking Mr. Acosta’s credentials and barring reporters from particular press conferences. The Press Secretary indeed e-mailed the entire press corps to inform them of new rules of conduct and to warn of further consequences, citing the incident involving Mr. Acosta… These facts plausibly allege that a motivation for defendant’s actions is controlling and punishing speech he dislikes.”
Twitter case The president suffered another First Amendment defeat last week when the full 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals declined to review a previous ruling that prevents Trump from blocking users on the Twitter account he uses to communicate with the public. Judge Barrington D. Parker, a Nixon-appointee, wrote: “Excluding people from an otherwise public forum such as this by blocking those who express views critical of a public official is, we concluded, unconstitutional.” Trump-appointees Michael Parker and Richard Sullivan authored a dissent, arguing the free speech “does not include a right to post on other people’s personal social media accounts, even if those other people happen to be public officials.” Park warned that the ruling will allow the social media pages of public officials to be “overrun with harassment, trolling, and hate speech, which officials will be powerless to filter.” Florida’s felon voting U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle ripped into Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’s administration for failing to come up with a process to determine which felons are genuinely unable to pay court-ordered fees and fines, which are otherwise required to be paid before having their voting rights restored. “If the state is not going to fix it, I will,” Hinkle warned. He had given the state five months to come up with an administrative process for felons to prove they’re unable to pay financial obligations, but Florida officials did not do so. The case is set to be heard on April 28 (notwithstanding any coronavirus-related delays).
ICE, Jails, and COVID-19
ICE One of the most overlooked populations with an increased risk of death from coronavirus are those in detention facilities, which keep people in close quarters with little sanitation or protective measures (including for staff). Last week, U.S. District Judge Dolly Gee ordered the federal government to “make continuous efforts” to release migrant children from detention centers across the country. Numerous advocacy groups asked for the release after reports that four children being held in New York had tested positive for the virus:
“The threat of irreparable injury to their health and safety is palpable,” the plaintiffs’ lawyers said in their petition… both of the agencies operating migrant children detention facilities must by April 6 provide an accounting of their efforts to release those in custody… “Her order will undoubtedly speed up releases,” said Peter Schey, co-counsel for the plaintiffs in the court case.
On Tuesday, 13 immigrants held at ICE facilities in California filed a lawsuit demanding to be released because their health conditions make them particularly vulnerable to dying if infected by the coronavirus. An ACLU statement says the detainees are “confined in crowded and unsanitary conditions where social distancing is not possible.” The 13 individuals are all over the age of 50 and/or suffering from serious underlying medical issues like high blood pressure.
“From all the evidence we have seen, ICE is failing to fulfill its constitutional obligation to protect the health and safety of individuals in its custody. ICE should exercise its existing discretion to release people with serious medical conditions from detention for humanitarian reasons,” said William Freeman, senior counsel at the ACLU of Northern California.
Meanwhile, ICE is under fire for continuing to shuttle detainees across the country, with one even being forced to take nine different flights bouncing from Louisiana to Texas to New Jersey less than two weeks ago. That man is Dr. Sirous Asgari, a materials science and engineering professor from Iran, who was acquitted last year on federal charges of stealing trade secrets. The government lost its case against him, yet ICE has had him in indefinite detention since November.
Asgari, 59, told the Guardian that his Ice holding facility in Alexandria, Louisiana, had no basic cleaning practices in place and continued to bring in new detainees from across the country with no strategy to minimize the threat of Covid-19...Detainees have no hand sanitizer, and the facility is not regularly cleaning bathrooms or sleeping areas…Detainees lack access to masks… Detainees struggle to stay clean, and the facility has an awful stench.
Jails State jails are making a better effort to release detained individuals, as both New York and New Jersey ordered a thousand people in each state be let out of jail. The order applied only to low-level offenders sentenced to less than a year in jail and those held on technical probation violations. In Los Angeles County, officials released over 1,700 people from its jails. A judge in Alabama took similar steps last week, ordering roughly 500 people jailed for minor offenses to be released to lessen crowding in facilities. Unlike in New York and New Jersey, however, local officials reacted in an uproar, led in part by the state executive committee for the Alabama Republican Party and Assistant District Attorney C.J. Robinson. Using angry Facebook messages as the barometer of the community’s feelings, Robinson worked “frantically” to block inmates from being released.
Reuters: As of Saturday, at least 132 inmates and 104 staff at jails across New York City had tested positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus… Since March 22, jails have reported 226 inmates and 131 staff with confirmed cases of COVID-19, according to a Reuters survey of cities and counties that run America’s 20 largest jails. The numbers are almost certainly an undercount given the fast spread of the virus.
Tribe opposed by Trump loses land
On Wednesday, The Federal Bureau of Indian Affairs announced the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe’s reservation would be "disestablished" and its land trust status removed. Tribal Chairman Cedric Cromwell called the move "cruel" and "unnecessary,” particularly coming in the midst of a pandemic crisis. Rep. Bill Keating (D-Mass.), who last year introduced legislation to protect the tribe's reservation as trust land in Massachusetts, said the order “is one of the most cruel and nonsensical acts I have seen since coming to Congress.” The administration’s decision is especially suspicious as just last year Trump attacked the tribe’s plan to build a casino on its land, tweeting that allowing the construction would be “unfair” and treat Native Americans unequally. As a former casino owner, Trump has spent decades attacking Native American casinos as unfair competition. At a 1993 congressional hearing Trump said that tribal owners “don’t look like Indians to me” and claimed: “I might have more Indian blood than a lot of the so-called Indians that are trying to open up the reservations” to gambling. More than his past history, however, Trump has current interests at play in the Mashpee Wampanoag’s planned casino: it would have competed for business with nearby Rhode Island casinos owned by Twin River Worldwide Holdings, whose president, George Papanier, was a finance executive at the Trump Plaza casino hotel in Atlantic City.
In the Mashpee case, Twin River, the operator of the two Rhode Island casinos, has hired Matthew Schlapp, chairman of the American Conservative Union and a vocal Trump supporter, to lobby for it on the land issue. Schlapp’s wife, Mercedes, is director of strategic communications at the White House.
In 1988, Jessica Arredondo was abducted and murdered in the Denver area. Is a convicted killer responsible for her death?
In November 1988, Jessica Arrendondo, 21, was an operator at the U.S. West phone company. She had graduated from Abraham Lincoln High School a couple of years ago, where she played soccer, served on the student senate, and captained the school’s cheerleading squad. Perhaps it’s because it was the 1980s and Jessica loved dancing, but her pictures bring to mind the actress Jennifer Beals of Flashdance fame. At the time of her murder, Jessica was living at home with her parents and her beloved dog Frosty. She also loved her new car, an eye-catching red 1988 Mustang convertible. According to her family, she had saved money for months and months, and the car was her pride and joy. She kept it in immaculate condition, and the car had a personalized license plate that read “88 PONY.” Friday, November 25, 1988, was the day after Thanksgiving. Jessica and her boyfriend hopped in her car and headed towards Glendale, Colorado, a municipality in the southern part of metropolitan Denver. On the way, they had a minor disagreement. She dropped him off at Neil’s, a bar in Glendale, and drove away. It was the last time he would see her. At 11:25 PM, Jessica’s Mustang was found abandoned with its blinkers on at E. 7th and Jackson Street, a few blocks from Neil’s. When police inspected the scene, they noticed there was damage to the exterior of the car as if a minor accident had occurred. Witnesses reported that Jessica had been kidnapped from the site by multiple men, and at least one article mentions that two cars were involved. Police suspected that someone had crashed into her car intentionally as a ruse to get her to pull over and then abducted her. On Saturday afternoon, two passersby were playing in the snow along U.S. 36 in Larrimer County and found a nude body about 50 feet from the road. This area is north of Denver, close to Rocky Mountain National Park, and approximately a 1.5 hour drive from where Jessica’s car was abandoned. The autopsy later revealed Jessica had died from blunt force trauma to the head. Although one article in the Denver Post stated there were no signs of sexual assault, a later article in the Fort Collins Coloradoan clarified that investigators believe she was sexually assaulted, although there is no forensic evidence proving so. Some reports state that the trauma to Jessica’s body may have been from her jumping from a moving vehicle, but this is merely speculation. Jessica’s clothes were recovered scattered along the highway near where her body was found. At the scene, law enforcement found tire tracks indicating someone had backed up a vehicle and dumped Jessica’s body down an embankment. The other notable clue was not one, but two sets of footprints in the snow near the body, consistent with witnesses’ assertions that there were multiple men at the scene of her abduction. Despite composite sketches of two of the men seen at the accident scene, law enforcement never named any suspects. Jessica’s case soon went cold. Another Murder, Five Years Later On February 12, 1994, Rhonda Maloney, 25, finished her shift as a waitress at Harrah’s Casino in Central City and headed towards her home in Adams County. Robert Eliot Harlan, 29, pulled his car alongside hers and ran her off the road near the intersection of I-76 and I-25. Once she had stopped the car, Harlan threatened Maloney with a gun. He dragged her from the car and proceeded to rape her repeatedly. Mother of three Jaquie Creazzo was on her way to pick up her father around 5:45 AM. The sun had not yet risen, but in the darkness she noticed the two cars haphazardly on the side of the ramp to northbound I-25, one with blinkers on. She slowed down and caught a glimpse of a blonde woman fleeing one of the cars; the terrified expression on her face made Creazzo come to a complete stop. Maloney ran to Creazzo’s car and jumped in, telling her she’d been run off the road and then raped for hours by a man with a gun. Creazzo immediately headed toward the local police station. Harlan had not given up; he was in hot pursuit, and a dangerous chase ensued on the icy road. Harlan pulled alongside Creazzo’s Cadillac and fired several rounds into the driver’s side, hitting Creazzo in her face, knee, and spine. She tried to steer but she lost control, crossed the median, and came to a stop on the lawn of her destination, the Thornton Police station. Behind the wheel, Creazzo was still conscious but covered in blood, unable to move and spitting out teeth. Harlan appeared, telling Creazzo not to tell anyone about Maloney, saying he would find her and kill her if she did. She watched helplessly as Harlan pulled Maloney from the passenger’s seat and sped off. Creazzo would later tell the Los Angeles Times, “Being paralyzed is a small price to pay to get this person, actually if you want to call him a person, off the street.” Creazzo provided police with a description of the perpetrator and the car, helping to generate leads. In the meantime, Darryl Harlan, Robert’s brother, had seen reports about Maloney’s murder on the news and he made a horrific realization. Robert had shown up at Darryl’s house at 8 AM the morning of the murder, wearing bloody sweatpants. Darryl asked Robert if he had vomited on himself. That morning, Robert left his bloody clothes and an unloaded gun at his brother’s house. On February 15th, Darryl approached their father, a Denver police detective, and shared his suspicions. Detective Belt Harlan Jr. bagged the items his son Robert had left at his son Darryl’s house. According to Darryl, the two of them then broke down and cried at the realization of what Robert may have done. Detective Harlan then took the bagged items directly to Denver Police Chief David Michaud, and Robert Harlan was arrested that day. Harlan was in custody, but Maloney was still missing and Harlan provided the cops with no new information. Maloney’s purse was recovered by the side of a road. A local Aurora man who saw a news report about the recovered purse and the ongoing search believed the cops were searching in the wrong place. A San Francisco Examiner article entitled, “Amateur sleuth locates body in record time,” describes how Loyal Burner mapped out the area and initiated his own search. Although police had been searching for a week, Burner found Rhonda Maloney’s nude body in 1 ½ hours near the town of Watkins, east of Denver. Maloney’s autopsy revealed she had been severely beaten, with several fractures to her skull, and had injuries consistent with sexual assault. Cause of death was determined to be a gunshot to the head. The Suspect Given the similarities in M.O., law enforcement in Larimer County named Harlan a suspect in Jessica Arredondo’s abduction and murder. At first glance, Robert Harlan may have seemed like an unlikely perpetrator. He had stable employment. He was the son of a Denver police detective and seemed to have solid family ties. Indeed, both his brother and his father testified in his defense during the sentencing phase of his trial. But even a brief look into Harlan’s past revealed a history of harassment and violence against women. The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel reported that Harlan was on parole and in a sex offender program at the time of the murder. Although I could not determine what precipitated this sentence, a separate article mentioned he had been arrested for using a stun gun on his then-wife. The month before he killed Rhonda Maloney, a psychologist who had been treating Harlan for a year wrote letters to Harlan’s probation officer and a judge, recommending that he be supervised more closely because he was a danger to the community. Harlan had a parole revocation hearing scheduled two days after Maloney was killed. A second rather damning fact was that Harlan was working as an operator at U.S. West, where Jessica Arredondo had worked. In fact, he had been in that position for eight years and had worked alongside Jessica. Harlan’s history at work soon grabbed headlines, as the Maloney trial galvanized 39 women who had worked at U.S. West to hire a lawyer and seek a $22 million settlement. They claimed Harlan made lewd comments, touched them inappropriately, and harassed them, creating a hostile and un unsafe work environment. At one point, he brought a gun to work. He stalked one of his co-workers, and she obtained a restraining order against him. The women claimed their fear of Harlan escalated after Arredondo’s disappearance, yet U.S. West never took action against Harlan. The Only Suspect? Larimer County Sheriff’s Department investigator John Toppenberg was quoted in the news during the Maloney trial. The judge excluded any evidence about the Arrendondo murder during the Maloney trial. Regarding Harlan, Toppenberg claimed “He is our only suspect. He is our prime suspect. It is our view that he killed Jessica Arrendondo.” To this day, no other suspects have been named. If you recall, however, there were two sets of footprints where Jessica’s body was found. Another article also states that not one, but two cars were observed driving her off the road the night she went missing, and that police believed three men were involved; two composite sketches were released to the press. Harlan may be the only suspect they have identified, but it seems he is not the only suspect involved. Harlan’s Fate On June 20, 1995, Harlan was found guilty of Maloney’s kidnapping, rape, and murder, as well as the attempted murder of Jaquie Creazzo. In September, he was sentenced to death by lethal injection. At the time Harlan was sentenced, no one had been executed in Colorado since 1967, and only a couple of men were on death row. Gary Lee Davis was executed in 1997, however, and for crimes similar to Harlan’s: the kidnapping, rape, and murder of Virginia Ray. Given the governor had refused to grant Davis clemency, this likely raised Harlan’s fear that he too may be put to death. He appealed his convictions and the sentence, filing several briefs about voir dire, the suitability of various jurors, whether or not a change of venue was warranted, instructions given to jurors, and other typical appeals that were all denied. In 2003, Harlan again appealed his death sentence. This time, the filing had teeth. Jurors had brought Bibles into the jury room while deliberating his sentence in 1995, considering passages such as the oft-quoted “eye for an eye” during the discussion. It is against state law for jurors to consider outside materials irrelevant to the case during deliberation. (Further, it seems wildly inappropriate and unconstitutional to weigh a particular religion’s belief in such a determination.) In a 3-2 decision, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled this was a violation of Harlan’s rights. Because this happened during the sentencing phase, not the guilt phase, his conviction was upheld but his sentence was overturned. The U.S. Supreme Court later refused to reinstate the death sentence for Harlan. Other victims? One article noted that there are over 35 unsolved homicides of young women in the Denver area in between 1975 and 1995, a period which would have included Harlan’s viable killing years. There are several young women who were murdered and found nude by roadsides preceding and following Arredondo’s death. Because both Arrendondo’s and Maloney’s deaths do not adhere to a clear pattern—the first seemingly a gang rape and murder, the second interrupted by Jacquie Creazzo’s heroic act—I think it is difficult to assign a complete MO to Harlan or to know how he would have behaved without the interference of others. I assume Harlan’s DNA is in CODIS, but it is unclear whether DNA from these various cold cases (or Jessica's, for that matter) has been processed. Do you think Harlan was involved in the killing of Jessica Arredondo? A very long shot, but do you know of any perpetrators in the Denver area at the time that could have been involved in Jessica's disappearance (either ties to Harlan or similar MO)? Do you think Harlan is a serial killer? Are there other cases you think Harlan is a good match for? If you have any information on abduction and murder of Jessica Arredondo, please contact the Larimer County Sheriff’s Office at Larimer County Sheriff's Department at 1 (970) 498-5100. Sources https://apps.colorado.gov/apps/coldcase/casedetail.html?id=1425 http://blogs.denverpost.com/coldcases/2010/07/25/killers-rammed-car-kidnapped-young-woman-and-tossed-body/1637/3/ https://www.pomc.com/mw_stories_1-19/jessica_arredondo.html https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-11-20-mn-64850-story.html https://www.denverpost.com/2005/12/19/killer-harlan-gets-life-without-parole/ https://caselaw.findlaw.com/co-supreme-court/1026772.html Newspaper sources (sorry, no links) “Suspect has history of sex offenses,” Daily Sentinel. February 18, 1994 “Amateur sleuth locates body in record time,” San Francisco Examiner. February 21, 1994 “Kidnap-murder link strong,” Daily Sentinel. February 22, 1994 “Results of autopsy on slain waitress won’t be given until suspect’s hearing,” Daily Sentinel. February 23, 1994 “Harlan suspected in ’88 slaying,” Fort Collins Coloradoan. June 24, 1995. “Murderer’s policeman father expected to be final witness,” Daily Sentinel. June 28, 1995 “Harlan sentenced to death in murder,” Fort Collins Coloradoan. July 2, 1995 “Killer’s former co-workers plan suit,” Daily Sentinel. July 6, 1995 EDIT: Changed spelling of Jaquie Creazzo's name. Although it also appears as "Jacquie" in several places, I switched to the spelling in the legal document.
In West Virginia, there will be a few legal offerings that will keep gambler’s money safe, paid out, and protected while being legal and regulated. West Virginia becomes the third state to offer legal online casinos, following New Jersey and Pennsylvania . West Virginia legalized betting on horse races in 1931, being one of the first states in the country to do so. The next 50 years was a pretty quiet one on the gambling scene for both the country and the state, and it wasn’t until 1980 that West Virginia decided to add more authorized gambling, this time making charitable gambling legal. As we wait for the official launch of legal, real money online gambling services in West Virginia, we have no choice but to have fun in land-based platforms. So, if you are looking for somewhere to enjoy gambling services, some of the land-based WV casinos, that will quench your betting thirst include; The Casino Club at Greenbrier Online casinos in West Virginia 2021. The West Virginia online casino industry launched in late 2020 after preparations that lasted just over a year. West Virginia online gambling was made legal in March of 2019 through House Bill 2934. As a result of that legislation, West Virginia casino locations are now able to provide licenses to online In February 2019, West Virginia became the fifth US state to legalize online gambling when the State House Bill HB 2934 was passed, and although online casinos have been legal since 2019, it wasn’t until the following July 2020 when the first online casino opened its doors. FAQ: West Virginia online gambling. Here are answers to some of the most common questions about online gambling in West Virginia. What types of online gambling are legal in WV? Online sports betting, casino games, and poker are all legal in West Virginia. Online sportsbooks were the first to launch in late 2018, followed by online casinos in 2020. Online casinos are now live and legal in West Virginia.DraftKings Casino became the first online casino to open its doors to West Virginians in July 2020. The launch of DraftKings is only the first of a handful of casinos that could come to the Mountain State. Real money casinos come equipped with a number of features including blackjack, table games and, of course, slot machines. Legal Status of Online Casinos & Gambling — West Virginia. At the present moment in time, there is nothing written in state law that makes it illegal for someone to get on their computer and play their favorite casino games for real money. Online casino betting in the Mountain State is building more momentum almost every month. The relatively new market continues to take more online wagers and generate more profits each week. In January, West Virginia online casinos nearly reached $2.8 million in revenue. This was an increase of about $250,000 from... In this case, you can get some bonus money that is equal to a certain percentage of your initial deposit. For instance, let’s imagine that there’s a West Virginia legal online casino or West Virginia poker platform that provides a 100% bonus up to $200.
Why the poorest county in West Virginia has faith in ...
MORE NELK VIDEOS: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLklwWZTPxmdLSLMeZTNOE0M1tklluO6sZSUBSCRIBE TO NELK FOR NEW VIDEOS EVERY MONDAY: https://youtube.com/user... These are the best 2 online casino in West Virginia with real money + fastest payouts under review for 2021.Bovada - https://thebetresource.com/go/bovadaBetO... 10 Secrets Casinos Don't Want You to Know. Subscribe for more amazing videos! http://bit.ly/Subscribe-to-Richest Casinos are multi-million dollar business... Where do you find Coin Pusher that PAY REAL MONEY Near You? I list places to find out, and tips when looking for Money Coin Pushers!Sunday April 2 come check... Our Community Guidelines and policies apply to all YouTube content and define what you can and cannot do on YouTube. Cop followed me for 25 miles on the highway. He could find no reason to pull me over. I got off the highway and went to a gas station. Cop followed me and... Donald Trump was more popular in McDowell County than anywhere else in America during the Republican primaries. Paul Lewis explores the power of the Republic... I talk about one of the most commonly asked questions I get as a truck driver. Prostitution and hookers aren't as big of a problem as people think it is. I a... Contrary to Hollywood scripture, RL Cowboy Lyfe was less Rawhide and more A Million Ways to Die of Dysentery in the Desert. The life of a cowboy in the 1800s... Top 10 reasons NOT to move to West Virginia. The Mountain State.Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=4761105Business email: [email protected] ...
