policy

A federal authority accuses Maine's educational officials to have committed a violation of title -ix by allowed transgender athletes to take part in women's and girls sports.

This decision resulted from a review of the compliance check of Maine's educational department, which was introduced by the US Ministry of Health and shortly after President Donald Trump with the Maine Governor Janet Mills (D) last month on the policy of the state on this topic with Maine Governor Janet Mills (D). After Trump signed an executive regulation on February 5, through which the federal government was asked to overturn the funding of faculties that enable trans -athletes to take part in women's and girls sport, the Maine Principals' Association explained that it will proceed to follow state law in relation to gender identity.

Title IX was enacted in 1972 and prohibits discrimination as a result of gender in schools that receive federal financing. In a message sent on February 25, the incumbent director of the HHS office for civil rights said that Maine's Ministry of Education “violated IX by allowed male athletes to compete against female athletes in current and future sporting events”.

“In comparison, male athletes are not exposed to increased security or competitive concerns that only affect women,” continued the message, which was signed by the incumbent OCR director Anthony F. Archeval and sent to the offices of Mills and Main's Attorney General. “This lack of equal opportunities and fair competition represents a violation of title IX.”

In the announcement, the continued non -compliance with the federal guidelines may lead to a reference to the US Justice Ministry. The news of the termination of the OCR was only reported on Wednesday by the Bangor Daily News.

A spokesman for the Attorney General Maine, Aaron M. Frey (D), said the Washington Post on Thursday that his office wouldn’t have any further comment. The spokesman for Danna Hayes previously informed the Bangor Daily News that state officials weren’t contacted by the OCR during their investigation.

While transgender athletes make up a tiny percentage of the participants in university sports, Trump and the Republican Party, which the NCAA manager of the NCAA, was harmed during his presidential campaign last 12 months. When he took office on January 20, considered one of his first actions was to issue an executive order through which it was stated that his administration would “defend the rights of women and protect the freedom of conscience by using clear and accurate language and precise guidelines that acknowledge that women are biologically female and men are biologically male”.

In the manager order it was also essential that the term “gender identity” reflects “a completely internal and subjective self -feeling that is separated from biological reality and gender and exists on an infinite continuum that does not form a meaningful basis for identification and cannot be recognized as a substitute for sex”.

Maine's Human Rights Act states that “gender identity” means “gender -specific identity, the appearance that mannerisms or other gender -specific characteristics of an individual means regardless of the assigned gender of the individual at birth”.

The exchange between Trump and Mills, which took place on February 21 at a gathering of the state governors of the White House, was released two days after a maine of Maine in Fox News appeared and after the victory of a transgender athlete at a state highschool, High School Vault Championship of their state, a federal disappointment of the colleges of their state.

At the meeting of the White House, Trump called to Mills and asked if “she would not keep up with his executive order”. Maine's governor replied that she would “comply with state and federal laws”, whereupon Trump said: “We are the federal law”. He threatened to withhold the federal financing of her state.

“We will follow the law, sir. We'll see you in court, ”said Mills.

Later on today, the office law office of the US education department and its HHS counterunder announced an investigation by the Maine educational authority. The next day, the US Agriculture Ministry said that it initiated a review of Maine University's compliance in response to what it described because the “obvious disregard” of this state for Trump's executive regulations.

In his later announcement to the authorities within the Maine, the HHS OCR quoted the Pole Vaulter and a story published by Outkick, which focused on a Maine Transgende athlete from the Maine, who reached the rostrum last month within the Nordic ski competitions of the High School.

“In the announcement” the availability of additional opportunities for individuals who differentiate a “gender identity” from their gender, also by the Maine Principals' Association's own logic as a result of the idea of gender identity against pupils who discover as their gender. “

Extraordinary force

The de minimis chaos

Silicon Valley's largest water authority will vote Tuesday on whether to support Gov. Gavin Newsom's plan to spend $20 billion to construct a large, 45-mile-long tunnel under the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to move water from Northern California to Southern California to facilitate California.

The board of directors of the Santa Clara Valley Water District, a government agency based in San Jose, will achieve this Consider contributing $9.7 million for planning and geotechnical studies for the project, which is amongst California's longest-running and most controversial water proposals.

Newsom's idea is to construct a 36 foot high concrete tunnel Taking water from the Sacramento River about 15 miles south of Sacramento, near the town of Courtland, and sending it about 150 feet deep over 45 miles beneath the marshes and marshes of the Delta to the large State Water Project pumps near Tracy to advertise, thereby achieving the reduction trust in them.

In recent years, courts have ruled that pumps have to be shut down or temporarily turned off at certain times of the yr when salmon, delta smelt and other endangered fish swim near them, disrupting the usage of farms and cities like San Jose, Los Angeles can be restricted. Angeles and San Diego will have the opportunity to receive water. A tunnel drilled beneath the delta's mud would allow the state to maneuver water south in “big bursts” during very wet winters, advocates argue, particularly vital as climate change makes rainstorms wetter and drought years worse .

“Given our changing hydrology, there is a greater risk that we will need to move water during these major events,” said Karla Nemeth, director of the California Department of Water Resources, which might oversee construction.

Nemeth found that within the spring of 2023, when California was inundated by atmospheric river storms, 156,000 cubic feet of water per second – an infinite amount, much like the flow of the Columbia River – flowed through the delta and under the Golden Gate Bridge to the ocean. When state and federal pumps near Tracy reach maximum capability, they will pump about 15,000 cfs. The tunnel would help California more reliably move more water south, to the San Luis Reservoir, aquifers and other places, she said.

Had the tunnel been constructed during atmospheric river storms last spring, it might have moved 941,000 acre feet of water – enough for 9.8 million those that would otherwise have flowed into the ocean, she added.

Opponents of the project, which include environmental groups and Delta counties reminiscent of Contra Costa, call the project a Southern California water grab that takes an excessive amount of freshwater, degrades water quality within the Delta and San Francisco Bay, and harms salmon and other fish and wildlife populations .

“The Delta Tunnel would burden our infrastructure and communities with more than a decade of unbearable construction, ultimately increasing water salinity and harmful algae blooms and causing the Sacramento River to temporarily backflow,” wrote Contra Costa County Supervisor Ken Carlson . in a letter to the Santa Clara Valley Water District last week that was also signed by supervisors from Solano, Yolo, San Joaquin and Sacramento counties.

The project has been around for generations. In 1982, former Gov. Jerry Brown called it “the peripheral channel.” This yr, voters rejected it in a statewide election that became a water fight between Northern California and Southern California. Gray Davis and Arnold Schwarzenegger each tried unsuccessfully to bring it back, and Brown, who renamed it the “California Water Fix,” pushed for a two-tunnel version a decade ago but left office in 2019 following the large Westlands Water's faltering district in Fresno has pulled out of the partnership.

Newsom took office in 2019 and scaled down the plan to only a tunnel. He stressed the necessity within the face of climate change and against earthquakes that would destroy the delta's dikes.

In December, the state certified its final environmental impact statement. Also this month, Southern California's massive Metropolitan Water District, which supplies water to twenty million people, voted to contribute $141 million to its remaining studies.

There are 18 agencies which have agreed to be partners within the project and canopy the prices. The goal is to interrupt ground in 2027 and complete construction in 2042, Nemeth said.

The big query for these local authorities — whether to finance the $20 billion construction cost and who can pay for overruns — will are available 2026 or 2027. The Santa Clara Valley Water District's share can be about $650 million.

Two other Bay Area water agencies, the Alameda County Water District in Fremont and the Zone 7 Water Agency in Livermore, also recently endorsed the project and agreed to fund a few of its studies. East Bay MUD and Contra Costa Water District aren’t partners within the project.

Newsom called the project one in all his top priorities in the ultimate two years of his term.

In 2019, the Santa Clara Valley Water District Board voted 4-3 to support the plan and contribute $11 million for its planning and environmental studies.

“The delta poses a lot of risks,” said Cindy Kao, the county’s import water manager. “Sea level rise, climate change, seismic issues and environmental issues. This will make our water supply more resilient and reliable.”

Critics say water agencies across the state should do more to enhance local supplies, reminiscent of through stormwater capture, recycled water and environmental protections, somewhat than counting on water transported a whole bunch of miles away.

“It's a really risky and unsafe project,” Katja Irving, conservation officer for the Guadalupe Regional Group, told the Sierra Club. “We will spend a lot of money on it before we know whether it will be feasible. And we could instead spend that money on repairing local dams or reducing water rates.”

REDWOOD CITY – Tensions are escalating between San Mateo County Sheriff Christina Corpus and the Board of Supervisors: The San Mateo County Sheriff is asking for an investigation into County Executive Mike Callagy, while the sheriff is standing behind him.

In a grievance to the board on Sunday, Corpus accused Callagy of undermining her authority and undermining the effectiveness of her office.

“This investigation should cover his (Callagy's) attempts to conspire against an elected sheriff, discrimination, sexual harassment, abuse of power and ongoing interference in the operations of the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office,” Corpus said within the letter. “If the committee does not act, I will have no choice but to escalate this matter to the state level.”

The board is reviewing Corpus' grievance and “will take the time necessary to determine the appropriate course of action,” supervisors Noelia Corzo and Ray Mueller said Monday in an announcement on behalf of the board. Callagy “rejects the sheriff's allegations as false and defamatory” and “welcomes a full, transparent and independent investigation into all allegations made against him,” the supervisors said.

“County Executive Callagy has been an ethical public servant in San Mateo County for over 41 years,” they said. “Unless proven otherwise, the board will continue to have complete faith and trust in his leadership.”

In her grievance, Corpus paints a really different picture of Callagy. During their first meeting after her election, he told her that she had to reveal who she had met inside the district and when, Corpus said. She called the request “inappropriate and offensive.”

“As a woman of color who has endured sexual harassment in this county, I was shocked and appalled by his inappropriate behavior,” the sheriff said. “I cannot imagine he would have made such a demand of my predecessors, who were all men.”

Corpus also accused Callagy of exceeding his authority and interfering within the sheriff's office's operations. She said “a glaring example” was his decision to authorize double additional time “without involving me.” The move cost the county and taxpayers $17 million and had other consequences, in line with Corpus.

“This interference not only circumvented my authority, but also set a dangerous precedent,” Corpus said. “Mr. Callagy's actions destabilized labor relations, undermined my ability to lead effectively, and compromised safety in our correctional facilities. With Mr. Callagy's support, unions developed the false notion that their negotiations went beyond labor issues and included personnel matters.”

Corpus was apparently referring to a recent vote of no confidence in her chief of staff, Victor Aenlle. The unions representing the MPs and sergeants claim Aenlle has abused and demeaned their members and exceeded his civilian role by making decisions about their duties. Corpus dismissed the vote as a political ploy by special interests to undermine her leadership and pressure her into personnel changes.

The heated disagreement comes amid an independent investigation commissioned by the Board of Supervisors into “multiple personnel allegations” related to the sheriff's office. The investigation is being led by former Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge LaDoris.

That investigation took a surprising turn last week when Mueller revealed that Corpus Assistant Sheriff Ryan Monaghan, her third deputy, had been fired after Cordell questioned him. The timing “suggests possible retaliation” against Monaghan for his participation within the investigation, Mueller said Friday in an announcement on behalf of the panel.

Cordell was asked to analyze whether Corpus took any retaliatory motion against Monaghan.

In its grievance, Corpus said Monaghan was fired not for sitting down for an interview with Cordell, but due to his “duplicity in performance and failure to expeditiously implement the goals of the Sheriff's Office.”

“This decision had nothing to do with retaliation,” Corpus said, stating that it was her decision alone as an elected sheriff to fireplace an unterminated and unclassified worker.

The sheriff suggested that the county executive – through the board – was using its position to intervene in Monaghan's dismissal, stating that the 2 had a “long personal relationship.”

“Mr. Callagy's interference in internal personnel matters is not only inappropriate, it is legally unfounded and an attempt to undermine the democratic process. It sets a dangerous precedent that could lead to further destabilization of the district administration,” she said.

Corpus questioned whether Callagy would have treated her male predecessors the identical way.

“His actions are an example of the challenges women – especially women of color – continue to face in leadership positions, particularly in male-dominated fields like policing,” she said.

Corpus said she was disillusioned but not surprised by the panel's response to her grievance.

“This is what I have experienced for years in this county,” the sheriff wrote in a response Monday afternoon. “Your response does not address the serious concerns I raised regarding Mr. Callagy's inappropriate behavior. It sends a clear message: If you are a woman in San Mateo County and file a complaint, you will be fired.”

Check back later for updates.