Greene County Democrat

Month: December 2021

  • Newswire: Keechant Sewell named first woman to lead New York’s Police Department

    Keechant Sewell with Mayor-elect Eric Adams at announcement of her selection to head NYC Police Department


    By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent


    Nassau County Police Department’s Chief of Detectives Keechant Sewell has beat out top candidates from around the country to land New York City’s head law enforcement job.
    Chief Sewell, the first African American in her current role in Nassau County, has earned selection as the first woman Police Commissioner in the NYPD’s 176-year history. She’s just the third African American appointed as commissioner.
    Mayor-elect Eric Adams determined that the seasoned veteran and New York native would better serve the needs of the 55,000-person department that includes more than 35,000 officers.
    “I want to let them know that we are absolutely focused on violent crime. Violent crime is the No. 1 priority,” Chief Sewell told the New York Post, adding she plans to “hit the ground running” when she takes over. Chief Sewell has vowed to fully assess what’s happening in the Big Apple before deciding on a strategy to address rising shootings and other crimes.

    She said more plain-clothes officers would hit the streets under her regime. “They are able to be in places where they are not able to be easily recognized, and if you use a surgical approach, use well-trained officers and know what their objectives are, you can get measurable results,” Chief Sewell insisted.
    A 23-year veteran, the chief has held numerous leadership positions, including hostage negotiations. In addition, she created Nassau County’s Professional Standards Bureau, which oversaw internal affairs.
    A member of the New York-New Jersey Joint-Terrorism Task Force, Chief Sewell grew up in housing projects in Queens where a formal press conference to announce her hire occurred on Wednesday, December 15.
    “Keechant Sewell is a proven crime-fighter with the experience and emotional intelligence to deliver both the safety New Yorkers need and the justice they deserve,” Mayor-elect Adams told reporters.
    When Chief Sewell takes over as commissioner in January, she’ll have to manage a strained relationship between the department and the unions who reportedly have battled over policing tactics and other issues.
    “We welcome Chief Sewell to the second-toughest policing job in America,” Patrick Lynch, the president of the city’s police union, said in a statement.n“The toughest, of course, is being an NYPD cop on the street.”

  • Newswire: First anti-critical race theory complaint in Tennessee targets Martin Luther King, Jr. book

     

     

    By Lauren Victoria Burke, NNPA Newswire Contributor

    A group called Moms for Liberty has filed an 11-page complaint alleging that the book “Martin Luther King Jr and the March on Washington” is “anti-American.”
    The complaint is the first to be filed under Tennessee’s new anti-critical race theory law. The new law specifically targeted a book about Martin Luther King Jr. and the civil rights movement, calling it “anti-American.”
    The group Moms for Liberty is in Williamson County, Tennessee. The complaint would forbid the book to be used by teachers at Williamson County Schools, a district south of Nashville, Tenn.
    The Tennessee Department of Education refused the request. The department declined to investigate the allegations because the lessons referenced were not taught during the 2020-21 academic school year.
    “The relentless nature of how these divisive stories are taught, the lack of historical context and difference in perspective, and the manipulative pedagogy all work together to amplify and sow feelings of resentment, shame of one’s skin color, and/or fear,” the complaint from Moms for Liberty read.
    Moms for Liberty protested a photo of segregated water fountains and images showing Black children being blasted with water by firefighters during the civil rights movement.
    Though “critical race theory” is a part of college level curriculum at law schools, the term has become a wide-ranging catch all in conservative circles. Many have loosely defined to mean any curriculum that includes efforts towards greater diversity and equity as well as discussions about how exclusion and bigotry has played a role in the shaping of American history and present-day events.
    “Critical race theory” gained energy as an answer to the publication of the New York Times’ 1619 Project by journalist Nicole Hannah Jones. That project greatly centered the history of African Americans and the impact of slavery in American history, politics and culture.
    On November 19 in New Hampshire, the New Hampshire Department of Education made it easier for citizens to help enforce a law passed during the summer that restricts how teachers can discuss race with an online questionnaire to prompt investigations.
    The state chapter of Moms for Liberty added a cash reward of $500 for those reporting violations.


    Lauren Victoria Burke is an independent journalist and the host of the podcast BURKEFILE. She is a political analyst who appears regularly on #RolandMartinUnfiltered. She may be contacted at LBurke007@gmail.com and on twitter at @LVBurke

    targets Martin Luther King, Jr. book

  • Newswire : Rep. Sewell holds “Building a Better Alabama” infrastructure district tour

    Congresswoman Sewell with Choctaw county officials at bridge site to be improved with infrastructure funding

     

    Livingston, AL – Today, U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell (AL-07) concluded the first leg of her “Building a Better Alabama” Infrastructure District Tour, stopping in Marengo and Sumter Counties to highlight the transformational funding from the $1.2 trillion bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. Congresswoman Sewell also visited Choctaw and Clarke counties.
     
    “The first leg of my Infrastructure District Tour was a great success and I look forward to continuing my travel to alert our communities of the transformational infrastructure funding coming their way!” said Rep. Sewell. “By visiting our communities and speaking with constituents and local officials, I am prepared to leverage our collective resources to ensure that infrastructure projects in our district receive the funding and prioritization they deserve.” 
     
    Sewell began the day in Demopolis with a visit to Whitfield Memorial Hospital followed by a press conference to discuss the healthcare provisions in the Build Back Better Act and how federal funding from various pieces of legislation have helped support hospitals by keeping first responders, frontline health workers, and other providers of vital services safely on the job. She took the opportunity to thank frontline workers for fighting to keep residents of the 7th District safe and healthy during the pandemic.
     
    She then visited Carl Turk County Road 12 in Livingston to highlight the over $6 billion in federal funding for Alabama included in the infrastructure law that will help fix Alabama’s roads and reduce the backlog of major repairs for highways and bridges in Alabama.

    The Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act will:
     
    • Create Millions of Good-Paying Jobs – Together with the Build Back Better Act, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act will create an average of 2 million jobs per year over the course of the next decade.
    • Repair and Rebuild Alabama’s Roads and Bridges – The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act is the single largest dedicated bridge investment since the construction of the interstate highway system. Based on formula funding alone, Alabama would expect to receive:
    o $5.2 billion for federal-aid highway apportioned programs
    o $225 million for bridge replacement and repairs under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act over five years. 
     
    • Connect Every Alabamian to High-speed Internet – Broadband internet is necessary for Alabamians to do their jobs, participate equally in school learning, health care, and to stay connected. Yet 18% of Alabama households do not have an internet subscription, and 11.5% of Alabama residents live in areas where, under the FCC’s benchmark, there is no broadband infrastructure. Under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, Alabama will receive a minimum allocation of $100 million to help provide broadband coverage across the state, including providing access to the at least 565,000 Alabamians who currently lack it. It also makes 1,518,000 Alabamians (31%) eligible for the Affordability Connectivity Benefit, which will help low-income families afford internet access.
     
    • Make Transformational Investments in Alabama’s Water Infrastructure – Currently, up to 10 million American households and 400,000 schools and child care centers lack safe drinking water. Under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, based on the traditional state revolving fund formula, Alabama will expect to receive $782 million over five years to improve water infrastructure across the state and ensure that clean, safe drinking water is a right in all communities. The bill also includes $23 billionnationally for the bipartisan Drinking Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Act.
    • Improve Healthy, Sustainable Transportation Options – Alabamians who take public transportation spend an extra 66.2% of their time commuting and non-White households are 4.5 times more likely to commute via public transportation. 25% of transit vehicles in the state are past useful life. Based on formula funding alone, Alabama would expect to receive more than $400 million over five years under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to improve public transportation options across the state.
     
    Alabama can also compete for the $12.5 billion Bridge Investment Program for economically significant bridges and nearly $16 billion of national funding in the bill dedicated for major projects that will deliver substantial economic benefits to communities.

  • Newswire: White House, Dems disturbed by Sen. Manchin’s Build Back Better betrayal

    By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent

    Black Press photojournalist and social media maven Anthony Tilman assessed the death of President Joe Biden’s Build Back Better legislation this way:
    “[Fifty] Republicans in the Senate don’t care about children in their own communities and want them to remain in poverty, and yet they still get re-elected. That’s the sad truth.”
    While Tilghman accurately assessed the GOP blocking popular and needed legislation, the most consequential “no vote” came from a Democrat.
    In an appearance, Sunday, December 19, on the Republican-friendly network Fox News, West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin – who carries the “D” party tag but certainly has routinely demonstrated GOP views and values – said he would vote “no” on Build Back Better.
    “I have always said, ‘If I can’t go back home and explain it, I can’t vote for it.’ Despite my best efforts, I cannot explain the sweeping Build Back Better Act in West Virginia, and I cannot vote to move forward on this mammoth piece of legislation,” Sen. Manchin said in the statement.
    The $1.75 trillion economic and climate package would transform America’s social safety net, particularly benefiting African Americans and other people of color. The monthly child tax credit payments to families have already significantly reduced child poverty. Still, Sen. Manchin has opposed that saying he didn’t want to continue government “handouts.”
    Build Back Better would create a universal pre-K program, help families with childcare and send them the child tax payments for another year. It would also provide even more subsidies on the Affordable Care Act exchanges for four more years and offer more assistance for individuals and families who fall below the poverty line.
    With climate change a major issue, the bill earmarks $570 billion into measures to blunt the effects of environmental damage.
    It would address shortfalls in affordable housing and provide cash for parents to purchase food for their children during the summer months when they’re not in school.
    Like many in the Democratic Party, Biden-Harris administration officials expressed their outrage with Sen. Manchin.
    “[Sen. Manchin’s] comments were at odds with his discussions this week with the President, with White House staff, and with his own public utterances,” The White House said in a statement after the senator’s Fox News appearance.
    “On Tuesday of this week, Senator Manchin came to the White House and submitted – to the President, in person, directly – a written outline for a Build Back Better bill that was the same size and scope as the President’s framework, and covered many of the same priorities,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki wrote in the statement.
    “While that framework was missing key priorities, we believed it could lead to a compromise acceptable to all.” Psaki said Sen. Manchin “promised to continue conversations in the days ahead and to work with us to reach that common ground.”
    “If his comments on FOX and written statement indicate an end to that effort, they represent a sudden and inexplicable reversal in his position and a breach of his commitments to the President and the Senator’s colleagues in the House and Senate,” Psaki asserted.
    She added: “Just as Senator Manchin reversed his position on Build Back Better this morning, we will continue to press him to see if he will reverse his position yet again, to honor his prior commitments and be true to his word.”
    After getting word of his colleague’s decision to sabotage Build Back Better, Vermont Democratic Sen. Bernie Sanders blasted Sen. Manchin during an appearance on CNN.
    “Well, I think he’s going to have a lot of explaining to do to the people of West Virginia, to tell him why he doesn’t have the guts to take on the drug companies to lower the cost of prescription drugs,” Sen. Sanders insisted.
    “West Virginia is one of the poorest states in this country. You got elderly people and disabled people who would like to stay at home. So, he’s going to have to tell the people of West Virginia why he doesn’t want to expand Medicare to cover dental hearing and eyeglasses.”
    Sen. Sanders continued:
    “I’ve been to West Virginia a number of times, and it’s a great state, beautiful people, but it is a state that is struggling. And he’s going to have to tell the people of West Virginia why he’s rejecting what the scientists of the world are telling us that we have to act boldly and transform our energy system to protect future generations from the devastation of climate change.”
    “Joe Manchin voted for a huge increase in military spending. Manchin voted for an infrastructure bill that added $250 billion to the deficit. The truth of the matter is that if you look at the military budget $770 billion times that by ten years, it is four times is higher than what the Build Back Better plan is.”

  • School Board finalizes new principals’ contracts; hires Career Center Director

    The Greene County Board of Education met in its regular session Monday, December 20, 2021 with three board members constituting the quorum, Leo Branch, Veronica Richardson and Carol Zippert.
    In the personnel actions recommended by Superintendent Dr. Corey Jones, the board approved the employment of Ms. Brittany Harris as Principal of Eutaw Primary School as well as her one year probationary contract, effective January 1, 2022.
    At its November 15, 2021 meeting, the board approved Ms. Andrea Perry as Principal of Greene County High School, effective November 1, 2021, following the resignation of former Principal Willie Simmons, and, subsequently, at Monday’s meeting, approved Perry’s one year probationary contract, effective November 1, 2021.
    On the recommendation of the superintendent, the board approved the employment of Teresa Atkins as Director of the Greene County Career Center, effective January 1, 2022.
    Nyesha Watson was hired as Pre-K Teacher at Eutaw Primary School for the 2021-2022 school year.
    The board approved the voluntary transfer of Dencer Hall from Maintenance Helper to Full-Time Maintenance Employee.
    The board accepted the resignation of School Nurse, Deidre Paige-Hall, effective December 31, 2021.
    The following administrative items recommended by the superintendent were approved by the board.
    * Service Authorization Fee Agreement between Greene County Board and Links 2 Learning, Linking Pivotal Services for Learning.
    * Proposed Salary Schedule for Maintenance, School Custodial Workers, and Instructional Substitutes.
    * Field Trip Request for Greene County High School, to travel to LaGrange, Georgia, April 14, 2022, for end of year success for Math Excellence.
    * Greene County High School Boys Basketball Team to travel to Chattanooga, Tennessee for basketball tournament December 16-19, 2021.
    Payment of all bills, claims, and payroll.
    Fuel Award for the 2021-2022 school year to Pruett Oil (only bidder).
    Approval of Tuesday, December 21, 2021 as alternate day for Friday June 18, 2021, relative to Juneteenth National and State Holiday. Employees were approved for a 4-day work week (summer plan) and had completed the time requirements to satisfy the week prior to the proclamation. On June 17, 2021, Gov. Kay Ivey issued a proclamation declaring Friday, June 18, 2021 a state holiday to commemorate Juneteenth, a new federal holiday that falls on the 19th of every June.
    In his abbreviated report to the board, Dr. Jones noted that positive COVID-19 cases reported in Greene County had risen to 3.8% out of 105 tested in the previous seven days. He stated that the system is prepared for online classes if the situation warrants returning to virtual instruction. “We have the technology in place; we will just have to adjust delivery of instructional plans and materials,” he said.
    Jones said the system is also planning to return to virtual Town Hall Meetings to encourage our community to get vaccinated.

  • City of Eutaw’s finances are improving according to Mayor Latasha Johnson

    Mayor Latasha Johnson

    In her report, at the end of a routine Eutaw City Council meeting on Tuesday, December 14, 2021, Mayor Latasha Johnson announced, “Our city finances are improving, we have paid the IRS lien; we have paid the Greene County Board of Education in full for the Carver School, which we are converting to the Robert H. Young Community Center; and we have paid the Industrial Development Authority in full (approximately $85,000) for a loan they made to us to extend the sewage line to the Love’s Truck Stop at Exit 40 on Interstate 20/59.

    Mayor Johnson also reported that the city had been able to meet all requirements of the USDA Rural Development agency for the loan to improve the City’s water system. All required reserve accounts have been satisfied and the annual payment of $102,281.25 is available to pay this obligation on or before January 1, 2022.

    “We have been able to get a better grip on our city finances, with the help of our financial consultant and a CPA that is doing our audits. The reason our finances are improving are three-fold, better staffing that has developed a budget and fiscal controls; better staffing of our water department which has reduced losses and increased collections; and the additional sales and gas tax revenues we have received, primarily from the
    success of the Love’s Truck and Travel Center,” said Mayor Johnson.

    “When we came into office, our finances were a mess and we could not tell if we were going to be able to pay our bills. IRS had a lien against all city property for past due employee taxes. We were able, during the year, to slowly get a handle on our finances. Reconcile and rearrange our bank accounts. Develop a budget to monitor our expenses. We also worked to straighten out the Water Department and collect unpaid bills. All these steps have placed our city in a better position to go forward, to seek grants and to provide basic services to our residents,” said Johnson.

    The Council also voted to use $27,000 in unspent American Rescue Plan funds to provide a $542 incentive to each city employee who is fully vaccinated for the coronavirus. Employees must present evidence of vaccination to receive this year-end benefit.

    In other actions, the Eutaw City Council, approved:

    • Travel reimbursements for Police Chief Tommy Johnson, Municipal Judge Joshua Swords, and four city magistrates for attending various training sessions.

    • The assignment and assumption of the garbage collection contract from Waste Away Group Inc. (Waste Management) to the Arrow Disposal Company.

    • A rental agreement with the Tribe of Jacobs Ladder for one room at the R.H. Young Community Center.

    • Use of the gym at the RH Young Community Center to Rev. McIntosh, BluePrint for Leadership Alabama on December 22, 2021.

    • Holidays for city employees for Dec. 22 (half-day) and Dec. 23 and 24 for Christmas; and December 29 (half-day) and Dec. 30 and 31, for New Years.
    • Paying all bills through December 31, 2021.

    • Not holding a City Council meeting on the fourth Tuesday because of the holidays.

     

     

  • COVID-19

    As of December 20, 2021, at 10:00 AM
    (according to Alabama Political Reporter)

    Alabama had 858,396 confirmed cases of coronavirus,
    (6,446) more than last week with 16,353 deaths (88) more
    than last week)

    Greene County had 1,313 confirmed cases, (2 more cases than last week), with 45 deaths

    Sumter Co. had 1,412 cases with 42 deaths

    Hale Co. had 3,233 cases with 89 deaths

    Note: Greene County Physicians Clinic has testing and vaccination for COVID-19; Call for appointments at 205/372-3388, Ext. 142; ages 18 and up.

  • Newswire : Mozambique gas project – multi billion dollar investment in a vulnerable nation

     

    Fishing in Cabo Delgado
     
    Dec. 13, 2021 (GIN) – An investment of $1.15 billion in a gas project in northern Mozambique is being challenged by Friends of the Earth which foresees a major increase in greenhouse gas emissions by up to 10 percent by 2022.
     
    That’s the equivalent of the combined annual emissions of all 27 EU member countries, according to FoE.
     
    The decision to provide the finance package – one of the biggest ever offered to a foreign fossil fuel project by the UK Department of Trade and Foreign Affairs – is unlawful, the group maintains.
     
    Mozambique is not only one of the poorest countries in the world, but also one of the most affected by the climate crisis and most vulnerable to its impacts. It is also in the middle of a .
     
    Under the contract, the $20 billion development will extract 43 million tons of liquid natural gas (LNG) per year for 32 years from offshore gas fields in Cabo Delgado and will create 4.3 billion tons of combusted emissions.
     
    FoE, represented by the UK law firm Leigh Day and the law firm Matrix Chambers will argue primarily that the failure of UK’s export credit agency to quantify the emissions produced from the use of the liquid natural gas (LNG) meant the conclusion that financing the project was compatible with the Paris Agreement, was unlawful. The project undermines Mozambique’s ability to meet its climate commitments under the Paris Agreement, claims FoE.
     
    “How can Boris Johnson expect the rest of the world to pull the plug on fossil fuels when his government is giving such enthusiastic support to a development that could have the same climate impact as the entire EU aviation sector?” asked Will Rundle, head of legal at Friends of the Earth.
     
    “The UK government should be supporting the building of a cleaner, safer future – not projects that will continue to fuel the climate emergency for many years to come,” Rundle added. 
     
    Last month, the UK government ended overseas fossil fuel subsidies, ruling out support for a $3.5 billion oil pipeline in East Africa. “We believe the government acted unlawfully by failing to comply with its climate obligations, which is why we are taking legal action. 
     
    UK’s export finance office had been accused by activists of “rank hypocrisy” over its record on fossil fuel financing. They acknowledged that there were both environmental and reputational risks in providing funding.
     
    Lawyers at Friends of the Earth recently claimed that the gas development has worsened conflict in Cabo Delgado, northern Mozambique, where armed militants have killed an estimated 2,500 people and displaced almost 700,000 since 2017.
     
    The construction stage of the project alone displaced more than 550 families from their land, destroyed the local fishing industry and attracted radicalized militants looking to cash in on the development, the lawyers said. 
     
    The US is also backing the $20 billion methane gas development. The US Export-Import Bank (Exim) has provided a $4.7bn loan to the project.
     
    The government of Mozambique hopes the development will generate billions of dollars in revenue and catapult the country to middle income status by the mid-2030s – a big gamble at a time when the coronavirus pandemic has hit gas demand. 
     

  • Newswire: Alabama’s Bryce Young becomes first quarterback in team history to win the Heisman

    By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent


    Bryce Young isn’t even eligible for the 2022 NFL Draft, but his gridiron achievements certainly are pro-worthy.

    The Alabama quarterback became the fifth sophomore to win the Heisman Trophy, college football’s most outstanding player award.

    Young, 20, also becomes the first Crimson Tide quarterback to win the Heisman, and it marks the second consecutive year an Alabama player has won the award.

    “I’ve always been labeled as someone who’s not the prototype, being an African-American quarterback and being quote-unquote undersized and not being that prototype, I’ve always been ruled out and counted out,” Young stated during his acceptance speech.

    The six feet and 194-pound field general has thrown for more than 4,300 yards this season with a 68 percent completion rate.

    During the 2021 season, Young has passed for 43 touchdowns with just four interceptions, and he enjoys a 175.5 passer rating.

    “People a lot of times have told me that I wasn’t going to be able to make it,” Young exclaimed.
    “And for me, it’s always been about not really proving them wrong but proving to myself what I can accomplish. So, I’ve always pushed myself to work the hardest, and I try my best to do all I can to maximize all that I can do. And thanks to the people around me and through the grace of God, I’ve been able to make it here, and I’m truly grateful for that.”

    Young led the Crimson Tide to a 12-1 record, including an explosive 41-24 victory over then No. 1 ranked Georgia in the SEC Championship.

    Young broke the single game passing record, 559 yards against No. 22 Arkansas, and shattered SEC Championship record for total offense and passing yards after going 26 of 44 for 421 yards and three touchdowns during his first year as a starter.

    Bryce is the 8th African American quarterback to win the award. Andre Ward was the first in 1989. Since 2010, 6 of the 10 quarterbacks selected to win the Heisman are African American.
    Tim Tebow (Florida 2007), Sam Bradford (Oklahoma 2008), Mark Ingram Jr. (Alabama 2009), and Lamar Jackson (Louisville 2016) are the only other sophomores to win the Heisman in the award’s 86-year history.

    Johnny Manziel (Texas A&M 2012), and Jameis Winston (Florida State 2013), are the only freshmen to win the award.

    “The National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) profoundly congratulates Bryce Young, the African American star quarterback of the University of Alabama, for winning the Heisman Trophy,” NNPA President and CEO Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr., stated.

    “Young’s outstanding achievement on the football field epitomizes the genius and excellent talent of African American athletes in all sports,” Dr. Chavis declared.

  • Newswire: Weekly Unemployment Claims hits more than 50-year low

    By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent

    Weekly claims for unemployment benefits dropped to a new multi-decade low last week, the Labor Department reported Thursday. At 184,000 claims, adjusted for seasonal swings, it was the lowest level of initial claims since September 1969, when the figure stood at 182,000.

    “In the week ending December 4, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 184,000, a decrease of 43,000 from the previous week’s revised level,” the labor department reported.

    The previous week’s level was revised up by 5,000 from 222,000 to 227,000, the report stated.
    The 4-week moving average was 218,750, a decrease of 21,250 from the previous week’s revised average.

    This is the lowest level for this average since March 7, 2020, when it was 215,250. The previous week’s average was revised up by 1,250 from 238,750 to 240,000.

    The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 1.5 percent for the week ending November 27, an increase of 0.1 percentage point from the previous week’s unrevised rate.

    The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending November 27 was 1,992,000, an increase of 38,000 from the previous week’s revised level.
    The previous week’s level was revised down by 2,000 from 1,956,000 to 1,954,000.

    The 4-week moving average was 2,027,500, a decrease of 54,250 from the previous week’s revised average. This is the lowest level for this average since March 14, 2020, when it was 1,730,750.

    The previous week’s average was revised down by 2,500 from 2,084,250 to 2,081,750.
    The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending November 20 were in Alaska (2.9), District of Columbia (2.8), New Jersey (2.3), Puerto Rico (2.3), California (2.1), Hawaii (1.8), Minnesota (1.8), Nevada (1.8), Illinois (1.7), and Massachusetts (1.7).