Price tag: Mayor Sharon Weston Broome is asking the Metro Council to approve spending $300,000 on a study aimed at identifying disparities in the city-parish’s procurement process. The money would be used to compare the percentage of businesses that are disadvantaged and minority- or women-owned compared to the percentage of city-parish contracts those businesses receive. Broome issued an executive order on Monday for a review of possible racial, ethnic and gender bias in the city-parish’s procurement process.
With consent: Democratic Minnesota Sen. Al Franken apologized today after a Los Angeles radio anchor accused him of forcibly kissing her during a 2006 USO tour and of posing for a photo with his hands on her breasts as she slept. Leeann Tweeden posted the allegations, including the photo, on the website of KABC , where she works as a news anchor for a morning radio show. Tweeden joined the then-comedian on one of several trips to entertain troops in December 2006. Read more.
Robocalls: Phone companies will have greater authority to block robocalls from reaching customers. Rules adopted today by the Federal Communications Commission make clear that phone companies can block calls that are likely scams, such as numbers that start with a 911 area code, or one that isn’t currently assigned to anyone. Phone companies can already block some calls that trick consumers by showing up on Caller ID with fake numbers. The changes won’t stop robocalls completely, though experts say these steps are a good start. Read more.
