The House: As 2020âs Final Contests Settle, Vacancies Arise
A Commentary By J. Miles Coleman
Thursday, February 11, 2021
KEY POINTS FROM THIS ARTICLE
â With the race for NY-22 settled, 2020âs House elections may finally be fully in the rearview mirror, though IA-2âs results will be reviewed by Congress.
â Before this week, we rated two special elections in Louisiana as safe for either party; with a new vacancy in TX-6, we see an imminent special election there as Likely Republican.
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â Two more districts, NM-1 and OH-11, seem likely to host special elections soon, as their incumbents have been designated for positions in the Biden administration.
THE urban landscape around Civic, Acton and Braddon will never be the same.
Neither will pedestrians walking at pace along already busy footpaths.
It’s not quite a sign of the apocalypse, but the newfangled e-scooters have made navigating Canberra akin to avoiding the proverbial horseman.
Spotting a man in a suit and tie capped off with a dignified stack helmet on has been as common a morning sight as that same man riding on the verge of intoxication later that night into the darkness.
Most of the 1500 e-scooters lie littered on the horizon, unscrupulously dumped where they stopped, since their introduction last September.
By STEVE HOWE | Observer-Dispatch, Utica, N.Y. | Published: December 22, 2020 UTICA, N.Y. (Tribune News Service) When Air Force veteran and Sherrill native Chuck Osier died in 2015, his wife, Donna, received paperwork from the funeral director to request a burial marker or medallion from the Department of Veterans Affairs. Osier submitted the form for her late husband, who was cremated and placed in an urn as he wished. She’d hoped to get a medallion to go with his flag, to be placed in a shadow box and given to their son. After she received a letter from the secretary of Veterans Affairs that said her husband couldn’t be honored with a medallion or plaque since he was cremated, Osier said she stewed over it for weeks. She couldn’t understand why the VA wouldn’t honor Chuck, an honorably discharged veteran who served during the Vietnam War.
Brindisi Takes To House Floor On Behalf Of Veterans
Congressman Anthony Brindisi spoke on the House floor Wednesday in support of his Chuck Osier Burial Benefits Act. Brindisi’s bipartisan legislation was included in HR 7105 and passed both chambers of Congress. The legislation, introduced by Brindisi in January, extends VA burial benefits for Veterans who are buried in a non-traditional fashion. The legislation now heads to the President’s desk.
“Chuck Osier bravely and honorably served our country and it is time our country honor him and Veterans like him who chose non-traditional burials,” Brindisi said. “Now this bill heads to President Trump’s desk and Chuck’s family can ensure all Veterans’ will be honored for their service, regardless of how they choose to be laid to rest. Our Veterans defend our country and fight for our freedoms and we need to live up to the promises we made them. Today, we are fulfilling a promise to the Osier family.”