All eyes will be on one of the nation’s largest publicly traded companies next week when shareholders will vote on whether the company should make LGBT protections part of its formal non-discrimination policy. At a meeting set for May 30 in Dallas, shareholders for the ExxonMobil Corp. will vote on a resolution to include sexual orientation and gender identity in the equal employment opportunity policy for its estimated 82,000 workers — a change the company has resisted. Thomas DiNapoli (Photo by Thomas Good via Wikimedia) The resolution is being put before shareholders by New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli. He’s trustee of the New York State Common Retirement Fund, which owns more than 16 million shares of ExxonMobil at an estimated market value of $1.3 ... Continue reading →
WASHINGTON -- The University of Pennsylvania is implementing a new policy that will offer benefits to faculty and staff in same-sex partnerships who are forced to pay more in taxes on health coverage than heterosexual married couples. Same-sex marriage is not recognized under federal or Pennsylvania state tax laws. Therefore, faculty and staff at Penn who cover a domestic partner under one of the university's health care plans must pay taxes on that partners' benefits; the same is not true of a partner in a heterosexual marriage. Penn's new policy, effective July 1, will help same-sex couples offset these taxes. The university will provide up to $125 per month (minus applicable taxes) to faculty and staff covering same-sex domestic partners under a Penn medical plan. ... Continue reading →
WASHINGTON -- The University of Pennsylvania is implementing a new policy that will offer benefits to faculty and staff in same-sex partnerships who are forced to pay more in taxes on health coverage than heterosexual married couples. Same-sex marriage is not recognized under federal or Pennsylvania state tax laws. Therefore, faculty and staff at Penn who cover a domestic partner under one of the university's health care plans must pay taxes on that partners' benefits; the same is not true of a partner in a heterosexual marriage. Penn's new policy, effective July 1, will help same-sex couples offset these taxes. The university will provide up to $125 per month (minus applicable taxes) to faculty and staff covering same-sex domestic partners under a Penn medical plan. ... Continue reading →
Animal sanctuaries in England are caring for hundreds of pet owls that were abandoned by their owners in the past year, a disturbing trend rescuers believe is linked to the end of the "Harry Potter" series. "Harry Potter" fans enchanted with the boy wizard's owl sidekick Hedwig drove up demand for the birds during book and movie releases, the Mirror reports. But now that all book installments and film adaptations have been released, many owners are abandoning their pet owls into the wild, where they are unprepared to care for themselves. "Before the films were out I had six owls, now it's 100. It’s all down to Harry Potter," Pam Toothill, a rescue workers at the Owlcenter sanctuary in Corwen, North Wales, told the paper. ... Continue reading →
Washington (CNN) - With less than two weeks left before the Wisconsin recall election, Republican Gov. Scott Walker is getting some more out-of-state help. South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley will campaign alongside Walker, who is facing Democrat Tom Barrett in the recall fight on June 1, Haley's office told CNN. – Follow the Ticker on Twitter: @PoliticalTicker Wisconsin voters go to the polls on June 5 to decide whether to remove Walker from office in the wake of last year's divisive battle over his push to limit the collective bargaining rights of public employee unions. "Scott Walker's fight is about more than Wisconsin," said Haley spokesman Rob Godfrey. "It's about a courageous governor who goes into office and carries out his promises to his state ... Continue reading →
WASHINGTON -- In the age of super PACs, campaign entities that can raise and spend unlimited sums of money, gone are the days when a broad fundraising base was needed to launch a serious campaign. Instead, candidates can rely on a small group of incredibly wealthy friends, who need only to write the checks for an eager consultant to run political ads. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich's primary campaign underscored both how much damage a super PAC can inflict and how much salvation one can provide. A New York Times report about a prospective $10 million ad campaign to tie President Barack Obama to his fiery former pastor, meanwhile, illustrates how one deep-pocketed donor could shift the balance of a presidential race. But that narrative ... Continue reading →
The campaign of Scott Walker's challenger Tom Barrett spent $580,910 last week in television ad buys, compared with $219,764 from the week before, according to ad buy numbers from a Democratic source in Wisconsin. Cable spending expereinced the biggest bump, from $13,829 to $116,340. The Greater Wisconsin Committee, an outside group on the Democratic side of the recall, also increased its television spending in the last two weeks, putting in $325,000 the week of May 8 to May 14 and $1,100,000 the week of May 15 to May 21. Walker, the controversial governor who faces a recall election on June 5, enjoys a four or five point lead in most recent polls. Unlike the Democratic side, the Republican side of the recall has enjoyed large ... Continue reading →
WASHINGTON -- In the age of super PACs, campaign entities that can raise and spend unlimited sums of money, gone are the days when a broad fundraising base was needed to launch a serious campaign. Instead, candidates can rely on a small group of incredibly wealthy friends, who need only to write the checks for an eager consultant to run political ads. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich's primary campaign underscored both how much damage a super PAC can inflict and how much salvation one can provide. A New York Times report about a prospective $10 million ad campaign to tie President Barack Obama to his fiery former pastor, meanwhile, illustrates how one deep-pocketed donor could shift the balance of a presidential race. But that narrative ... Continue reading →
