DENVER—Senator Ron Wyden today formally requested the Department of Justice open an investigation into whether Acting Interior Solicitor Daniel Jorjani misled or lied to Congress about the Interior Department’s “awareness review” process for handling public records requests that involve political appointees. Interior’s FOIA policies are already under investigation by the department’s Office of Inspector General.
The Center for Western Priorities released the following statement from Executive Director Jennifer Rokala:
“There is mounting evidence that Daniel Jorjani egregiously and repeatedly lied to Congress in an attempt to cover up illegal political interference with the Freedom of Information Act. Senator Wyden is completely right to hold up Jorjani’s nomination, and the Senate should ultimately reject his appointment.
“Jorjani and the FOIA interference policy he helped craft are now the subject of multiple investigations. At the very least, he should no longer be allowed to serve as Interior's Chief FOIA Officer. Secretary Bernhardt should immediately appoint a career FOIA official who will follow the law, rather than continue with a political operative who looks for ways around it.”
Last week, a bipartisan group of four senators called on the Environmental Protection Agency to reverse changes to its FOIA policy that would give political appointees broad latitude to withhold portions of public documents. EPA’s FOIA changes, which were published in the Federal Register without public comment, are substantially similar to FOIA practices that have been uncovered at the Interior Department.
Ethics Office Examines Allegations That Interior Dept. Officials Violated Transparency Laws [New York Times]
Interior held back FOIA’d documents after political screenings [Roll Call]
Trump administration delayed releasing documents related to Yellowstone superintendent's firing [The Hill]
For more information, visit westernpriorities.org. To speak with an expert on public lands, contact Aaron Weiss at 720-279-0019 or aaron@westernpriorities.org. Sign up for Look West to get daily public lands and energy news sent to your inbox.
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The Center for Western Priorities is a conservation policy and advocacy organization focused on land and energy issues across the American West.
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With house flippers earning an average gross profit of $60,000 in Q1 2019, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its report on 2019's Best Places to Flip Houses as well as accompanying videos.
To help serious real-estate investors find the best markets to list their flipped properties, WalletHub compared more than 170 U.S. cities across 29 key metrics. The data set ranges from median purchase price to average full home remodeling costs to housing-market health index.
Best Cities to Flip Houses
Worst Cities to Flip Houses
1
Sioux Falls, SD
163
Los Angeles, CA
2
Missoula, MT
164
New York, NY
3
Rapid City, SD
165
New Haven, CT
4
Billings, MT
166
Boston, MA
5
Peoria, AZ
167
Wilmington, DE
6
Tampa, FL
168
San Francisco, CA
7
Fort Smith, AR
169
Oakland, CA
8
Greensboro, NC
170
Newark, NJ
9
Las Cruces, NM
171
Yonkers, NY
10
Boise, ID
172
Bridgeport, CT
Best vs. Worst
To view the full report and your city’s rank, please visit:
https://wallethub.com/edu/best-cities-to-flip-houses/23158/
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mcast Awards College Scholarships to Ogden Area High School Seniors
Leaders and Achievers Scholarship Program recognizes students’ achievements in and out of the classroom.
Comcast awarded $60,000 in scholarships to 24 college-bound students across Utah for the 2019-20 academic year as part of the Comcast Leaders and Achievers Scholarship Program.
Scholarship recipients from the Ogden area include:
Leaders and Achievers recognizes high school seniors for their outstanding character, integrity, academic achievement and a commitment to community service, giving these young people additional opportunities to prepare for the future and to engage in their communities.
Each student receives a one-time, $2,500 scholarship to be used toward undergraduate education-related expenses. Since 2001, the program has awarded more than $33 million to nearly 30,000 high school seniors across the country.
Below is the full list of scholarship recipients in Utah and their high schools:
American Fork
Bountiful
Kaysville
Midway
Millville
Ogden
Orem
Payson
Pleasant Grove
Provo
Riverton
Salt Lake City
Sandy
Stansbury Park
Syracuse
Tooele
West Valley City
The Comcast Leaders and Achievers Scholarship Program provides scholarships to students who strive to achieve their full potential, who are catalysts for positive change in their communities, who are involved in their schools, and who serve as models for their fellow students. The philosophy behind the program is to give young people every opportunity to prepare for the future and to engage them in their communities. The program also demonstrates the importance and value of civic involvement, especially by the business community. Visit here to learn more about the program.
