Policy Archives - Page 3 of 29 - The Westside Story

Trump administration issued 1,700 exemptions to offshore drilling rules

Feb 25, 2019

Trump’s Interior Department has issued a large number of exemptions to an Obama-era offshore drilling rule put in place after BP’s Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010. Critics say the readily available waivers...

New study suggests soda taxes are effective in curbing consumption

West Side Story

Feb 23, 2019

Health, Policy, Science

A new study suggests that the first soda tax passed by a US city was effective in reducing consumption of sugary drinks and improving the health of the local population, according to Gizmodo. Berkeley, Calif...

Facebook negotiating multi-billion dollar fine over Cambridge Analytica scandal

West Side Story

Feb 16, 2019

Business, Policy, Science

Facebook is negotiating with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) over a fine to settle the agency's investigation into their mishandling of user data, according to the Washington Post. Though still under nego...

New proposal from congressional Democrats would see the US go carbon-neutral by 2030

West Side Story

Feb 7, 2019

Environment, Policy, Science

A new resolution from Congressional Democrats calls for the US economy to go carbon-neutral within just ten years, alongside proposals for universal healthcare, free higher education, and a jobs guarantee, acco...

Trump’s critics should back his HIV plan, but hold him to it on all fronts

West Side Story

Feb 6, 2019

Health, Opinion, Policy, Science

For the most part, President Trump’s second State of the Union speech met the expectations of his critics, with plenty of boasting, showboating, and many statements that only make sense given the worldview of T...

Canada’s new food guidelines reject dairy in favor of a plant-based diet

West Side Story

Jan 24, 2019

Health, Policy, Science

New dietary guidelines from the Canadian government have abandoned recommending daily dairy consumption, in the first update to the food guide since 2007, according to BBC News. The guide includes dairy in a ca...

2020 Democrats should put climate change front and center

West Side Story

Jan 23, 2019

Environment, Opinion, Policy, Science

US Presidential elections have started earlier and earlier in recent decades, and 2020 will be no different, with several Democratic candidates having officially announced plans to run, and many more having sig...

The EU’s diplomatic status was quietly downgraded by the Trump administration

West Side Story

Jan 8, 2019

Policy, Science, World

Trump’s state department downgraded the diplomatic status of the European Union’s US delegation at some point in 2018, without informing the EU, according to the Washington Post. Since 2016, the EU delegatio...

US researchers are once again hindered by the government shutdown

West Side Story

Jan 7, 2019

Opinion, Policy, Science

Yet again, the partial government shutdown is threatening the continuity of federally funded science and research in the US. On Monday, the shutdown became the third longest ever, on its seventeenth day, with n...

Airbnb sees major policy victory in federal court

West Side Story

Jan 3, 2019

Business, Policy, Science

Airbnb saw a major legal victory Thursday when a federal court blocked a New York City law that would have required the company to submit a list of its hosts to the city’s regulators, according to Politico. The...