Congressman Kenny Marchant

Variation in the way Washington teachers and other school staff are paid does not pose a constitutional problem, the Washington Supreme Court ruled on Thursday. In overturning a King County Superior Court ruling in a case brought three years ago by the Federal Way School District, the court said cost of living differences account for most of the uneven distribution of state money to school districts. While Federal Way receives the lowest school salary money from the state, the court said that the Legislature has been steadily closing the gap between districts. Voters, however, worked against the plan when they passed Initiative 732 mandating ... Read Full Story

The Virginia Supreme Court upheld permits for construction of a multistate power line Thursday, rejecting a claim by the project's opponents that state regulators ceded too much authority to the federal government. The court unanimously ruled that the State Corporation Commission's approval of the Virginia portion of the line was supported by evidence that the project is an acceptable solution to meeting future demand for electricity in northern Virginia. Dominion Virginia Power and Trans-Allegheny Interstate Line Co., a subsidiary of Pennsylvania-based Allegheny Energy Inc., plan to build the 500-kilovolt transmission line from Washington County, Pa., to Loudoun County, Va. The 265-mile line would also ... Read Full Story

A premier Dublin golf club can continue to bar women from membership, the Irish Supreme Court ruled Tuesday in a discrimination case inspired by similar protests against men-only clubs in the United States. In a split 3-2 judgment, Ireland's top court ruled that Portmarnock Golf Club was not violating Ireland's Equal Status Act, because that 2000 anti-discrimination law permits exceptions for exclusively male and female clubs. The seaside club northeast of Dublin successfully appealed a 2004 Dublin District Court judgment that found Portmarnock in breach of the law — and threatened to withdraw its bar license if it didn't give women equal access to ... Read Full Story

The Virginia Supreme Court upheld permits for construction of a multistate power line Thursday, rejecting a claim by the project's opponents that state regulators ceded too much authority to the federal government. The court unanimously ruled that the State Corporation Commission's approval of the Virginia portion of the line was supported by evidence that the project is an acceptable solution to meeting future demand for electricity in northern Virginia. Dominion Virginia Power and Trans-Allegheny Interstate Line Co., a subsidiary of Pennsylvania-based Allegheny Energy Inc., plan to build the 500-kilovolt transmission line from Washington County, Pa., to Loudoun County, Va. The 265-mile line would also ... Read Full Story

Mexico's Supreme Court ordered freedom for 20 men convicted in the 1997 massacre of 45 Indian villagers in southern Chiapas state and new trials for six more, ruling Wednesday that prosecutors used illegally obtained evidence. The bloodshed in the village of Acteal was the worst single instance of violence during the conflict in Chiapas, which began when the Zapatista rebels staged a brief armed uprising in early 1994 to demand more rights for Indians. Paramilitaries with alleged ties to government figures attacked a prayer meeting of Roman Catholic activists who sympathized with the rebels. Over several hours on Dec. 22, 1997, the assailants killed ... Read Full Story