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COLUMBIA – Attorney General Alan Wilson took a major step toward becoming South Carolina’s chief executive Tuesday, handily winning the runoff for the Republican nomination for governor over Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette. When The Associated Press called the race at 7:27 p.m., Wilson had 65% of the vote. Only 8% of the vote had been counted […]

(The Center Square) - State workers in Washington are about to get a raise, while secretive union negotiations that could include another raise get underway. A two percent pay hike negotiated as part of a 2025 contract kicks in on July 1. State employees got a three percent increase one year ago in the first year of the two-year contract. Specific job classifications, such as those in the Department of Corrections, are getting higher general raises, with some receiving a 4% increase on July 1. On Tuesday, the Department of Retirement Systems sent a notice to all state workers about the coming raise, advising them to use the additional compensation to: pay off credit card debtsave for a big vacationopen an account or add to your child’s 529 college savings fundincrease your DCP contributions for retirement Washington state has more than 150,000 state employees, with the number of people employed by the state steadily increasing in recent years. Three state agencies alone make up nearly half of all spending for agencies. Those include the Department of Social and Health Services, which employs up to 19,000 workers. The Department of Corrections with roughly 9,000 employees and the Department of Transportation with about 7,600 workers. Over 50% of all state employee salaries go to higher education, with the University of Washington (UW) alone accounting for 41% of all state salaries. The state budget does not pay the salaries of all UW employees but primarily covers a portion of base compensation for state-funded employees, while the university's tuition revenue makes up the remainder. The highest salaries at the UW are in athletics, including head football coach Jedd Fisch who was paid nearly $5.9 million last year and head basketball coach Danny Sprinkle, who was paid $3.1 million in 2025. Important to note that these athletic positions are often funded in large part through ticket sales, television contracts, and boosters rather than solely taxpayer-funds. Meantime, leadership for the largest state employee unions have started salary negotiations for their next two-year contract. Those include the Washington Public Employees Association, the Washington Federation of State Employees, the Professional and Technical Employees Local 17, and the Washington Federation of State Employees. The contract talks come just a couple of weeks after Governor Bob Ferguson’s Office of Financial Management Director warned of a dire budget picture coming in 2027, including a potential $7 billion to $10 billion shortfall. As state salaries constitute up to 30% of the entire budget, there is some extra pressure on those negotiations this time around. Ryan Frost, budget and tax policy center director at Washington Policy Center told The Center Square he’s not holding his breath that state leadership won’t cave to union demands for more salary hikes. “I think from the outside perspective if a private company has no money, they don't then ask for $2 billion in employee raises. Only the state manages to do that. This has been kind of an ongoing problem in Washington for a long time,” said Frost. Secret negotiations “We have zero seat at the table when those negotiations are being made. There’s not a state that’s more secretive than Washington and we can’t shine a single light into how that negotiation goes,” said Frost. Frost explained the closed-door deals between union leaders and OFM staff are so secretive, members of the public, including the media, are not entitled to receive any documents related to the negotiations through public records requests. “There’s not a way to keep it more hidden from the taxpayer more than the way we do it.” The state worker contract negotiation process in Washington begins with union leadership surveying its members to set core priorities. From there, negotiators from both sides exchange proposals and counter-proposals until they reach a tentative agreement, which union members then vote to accept or reject. If the contract is ratified, it is submitted to the Office of Financial Management by Oct. 1 for inclusion in the Governor's budget request. Finally, state lawmakers review the proposal, holding the power to vote it up or down in its entirety, but they are strictly prohibited from making any amendments. “They can't do anything. So, frankly, until there's a seat at the table from the taxpayer perspective, then these types of things are just going to keep happening over and over again,” said Frost. “I don't see how this next round of bargaining agreements are going to look any different than the ones that happened last time, despite the fact we're probably going to have a $7-10 billion deficit.” Frost also suggests a potential conflict of interest in that over 95% of union political action committee money in Washington spent on partisan politics has gone to Democratic or progressive candidates for state and local offices, with significant funding to candidates such as Bob Ferguson for governor. “If you look at who they contribute to with all their money, it’s going to the people they are negotiating their upcoming raises with. That’s just a rather large conflict of interest.” The Center Square reached out to the four main union groups involved in contract negotiations. The Professional and Technical Employees Local 17 was the only union to respond to say they were "in negotiations all day and unavailable."

Between June 24 and July 21, Arizona voters can participate in choosing which state and local candidates they want to see on the ballot in November. This voter guide includes some state elections, focusing on Pima County and certain competitive races. In some races, we included more information about candidates when they participated in recent […] The post Your voter guide: Arizona primary election 2026 appeared first on AZ Luminaria.

Entre el 24 de junio y el 21 de julio, los votantes de Arizona podrán participar en la selección de los candidatos estatales y locales que desean ver en la boleta electoral de noviembre. Esta guía para votantes incluye algunas elecciones estatales, con énfasis en el condado de Pima y en ciertas contiendas competitivas. En […] The post Tu guía para votar: Elección primaria de Arizona 2026 appeared first on AZ Luminaria.

The U.S. House passed an affordable housing bill on Tuesday, June 23, 2026, sending it to President Donald Trump’s desk a day after a Senate vote. Trump is expected to sign it into law. (Photo by Grace Cary/Getty Images)]]>

La Corte de Constitucionalidad  (CC) realizó una vista pública por la apelación presentada por el exfiscal Rafael Curruchiche, que antes de ser destituido, buscaba revocar la libertad condicional de Zamora en el primer caso penal que se inició contra el periodista. Por Alexander Valdéz  El pleno de la Corte de Constitucionalidad (CC) realizó una vista ... Read more The post Una apelación de Curruchiche amenaza la libertad de Jose Rubén Zamora  appeared first on Prensa Comunitaria.

Les habitudes des joueurs français ont bien évolué ces dernières années. Certains titres font l’unanimité, d’autres progressent vite grâce au live casino et aux nouvelles mécaniques de jeu. En 2026, l’offre est riche et variée, et les plateformes rivalisent pour proposer les titres les plus demandés. Des adresses comme Ile de Casino reflètent bien ces […] Cet article Jeux de casino en ligne : les plus populaires en 2026 est apparu en premier sur Corbeau News Centrafrique ou si b il LPP et actualités en République centrafricaine.

ده سال پس از برگزیت؛ فرانسه چه برد و چه باخت؟

اقتصاد جمهوری اسلامی؛ فرار از فروپاشی و یا ادامه مشکلات؟

A charter amendment requiring recurring City Hall audits is headed to voters, despite assertions that similar legislation is already in place. The post Save Austin Now audit proposal advances despite existing legislation, setting up political clash appeared first on Austin Current.

SALEM — Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield announced new criminal charges Tuesday against four people the state alleges stole taxpayer money and victimized vulnerable Oregonians by filing fraudulent Medicaid reimbursement claims. Rayfield’s announcement coincided with the federal government pressing Medicaid fraud charges against more than 450 people. In Oregon, each of the new cases involved […]

NUG တပ်တွေနဲ့ PLA ပြဿနာ ညှိနှိုင်းအဖြေရှာဖို့ ကြားအဖွဲ့တွေတိုက်တွန်း

The North Dakota State Board of Higher Education on Tuesday named Lisa Karch as interim president of the North Dakota State College of Science. NDSCS President Rod Flanigan announced this month plans to retire Dec. 31, but the board voted to place him on paid administrative leave from July 1 through the end of the […]

Hillwood adds another industrial building to its AllianceTexas development, while another company focuses on south Fort Worth.

فاطمه سپهری در اعتراض به رفتار مسئولان زندان دست به اعتصاب دارو و غذا زد

واکنش‌ها به سفر هیئت طالبان به بروکسل

(The Center Square) – Leaders of the California Senate announced they are pushing an $11.25 billion housing bond that would pay for construction of new housing across the state. The bond is proposed by Senate Bill 417, authored by Senate President Pro Tempore Monique Limón and Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas. The legislation is also known as the Affordable Housing Bond Act of 2026. “This bill dedicates more than $11 billion to not only increase supply across our state, but also to ensure that Californians from all income levels can keep a roof over their head,” Limón said at a Tuesday afternoon press conference announcing the bond. “Affordability is not just a one-and-done," Limon told reporters at the Capitol in Sacramento. The bond would allocate billions of dollars in new home construction and acquisition and rehabilitation of existing homes, among other aims, Limón said. Any new construction of multi-family housing, like apartment buildings, must designate at least 10% of the new units as affordable housing units to qualify for any of the money from SB 417. In addition, $150 million would pay for housing for former foster youth and homeless young adults, Limón continued. And $1.25 billion would be funneled toward veterans’ homeownership programs through the California Department of Veterans Affairs, often known as CalVet. “Homeownership is a major purchase for so many, no doubt, but for a veteran, it’s a welcome home,” Sen. Bob Archuleta, D-Norwalk, said. “It provides stability for their children, builds lasting relationships and to be part of a neighborhood.” The billions of dollars from this bond complement communities’ efforts across the state to secure financing and permits and meet zoning requirements to build affordable housing, Sen. Christopher Cabaldon, D-Napa, said at the press conference. “They’ve done all the hard work,” Cabaldon said. “They got everything that they need to go. All they need is the last bit of financing for those projects to become roofs, to become homes.” According to an analysis of Senate Bill 417, $5.25 billion will be allocated to building multi-family housing, $250 million for the Tribal Housing Grant Program. Farmworkers will also be helped by the bond – $250 million will go toward the Joe Serna Jr. Farmworker Housing Program, which will also help tribal communities to finance housing. The bond will ultimately be decided on by voters at the polls during the Nov. 3 general election, but the bill to place the bond on the ballot has to pass in the Assembly before it heads to a vote in the Senate. Data from the California Debt & Investment Advisory Commission shows that so far this year, the state’s bond debt issuance has gone down since 2025. Last year, $102.91 billion of bond debt was issued, which dwarfs the 2026 debt issuance load of $32.75 billion, The Center Square previously reported. That same commission released a report earlier this year showing that the state’s overall debt load between state- and locally-issued bonds exceeded $99 billion, according to previous reporting by The Center Square. Notably, amid the state’s $16.9 billion budget deficit, senators defended the decision to move a bond to the voters later this year, saying that they kept the state’s budget woes in mind as they look at ways to solve the homelessness crisis. “What has been a constant is the priority that our voters in California have placed on housing,” Limón said. “It is the prioritization of the voters that gives us the confidence to move this forward.”

Over 10,000 people are expected this week at the Little Bighorn National Monument and surrounding area as Indigenous people celebrate not only their win against Custer but their resilience. The post Reflecting on Greasy Grass: ‘We weren’t wiped out, and we continue to persevere’ appeared first on Montana Free Press.

Australian lithium developer Ioneer announced new strategic partnerships with two South Korean engineering and infrastructure groups for its Rhyolite Ridge project in Nevada.  The move comes as conservation groups advance a legal challenge against the mine they say would threaten the survival of an endangered wildflower and fish endemic to Nevada. On Tuesday Ioneer announced […]

Faster electrification is the best way to secure lower energy bills and stronger energy security,... The post CCC: Faster electrification of UK will ‘put money back into people’s pockets’ appeared first on Carbon Brief.