The city this week filed more than 100 pages of documents in court asking Judge John Scherer to dismiss the lawsuit or in the alternative limit the amount of “future lost wages” that Johnson can recoup from the city.

There is a hearing scheduled for March 23, when Scherer will hear arguments about the motion. Johnson hasn’t yet filed a response to the motion in court.

He was the police chief in Minneota when Cold Spring made him a conditional offer to become chief of the Cold Spring-Richmond Police Department. Johnson quit his job in Minneota because of the offer and after assurances from Cold Spring City Administrator Paul Hetland that the job was his.

City officials then learned that the CPR and first responder certifications that Johnson listed on his resume were not current. The city voted “no confidence” in Johnson and he never was hired.

Johnson sued the city, alleging a breach of contract, contending the city was negligent when it offered him the police chief’s job then hired someone else. The lawsuit also alleges breach of implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, intentional infliction of emotional distress and promissory estoppel — essentially reneging on a promise that holds the force of contract.

Johnson’s…

But Vermont’s state-offered health plans force Howe to choose between his pro-life beliefs and insurance coverage, because all plans offered through Vermont Health Connect include a fee for elective abortion coverage, said his lawyer, Casey Mattox.

Howe declined to enroll and instead filed suit in federal court against the Department of Vermont Health Access, former commissioner Mark Larson and a host of federal officials.

“There are plenty of people who are pro-life, not for religious reasons,” Mattox said. However, he said that Howe, a Protestant, considers the fee a violation of his religious beliefs.

Through his lawyers, Howe declined to be interviewed.

Howe is in his late 50s and has been living in Vermont for most of his life. Mattox said Howe lives by himself, works part-time and would have no reason to use the money set aside for elective abortions.

The Vermont Health Access Department’s lawyer said much of Howe’s allegations are directed at federal statutes rather than state law. Assistant Attorney General Bridget Asay declined to go further into how her clients would respond to the complaint….

Opponents: Farm owner helped write zoning rules

Katie Overvaag (left to right), Sandy Thompson and Veronica Shukla walk along the Big Sioux River to protest against proposals that would lower the number of zoning board votes needed to approve a conditional use permit, to penalize citizens who appeal zoning decisions, and to allow non-family farm corporations to establish hog farms. (Photo: , Jay Pickthorn – Argus Leader)Buy Photo

A group of Turner County homeowners is suing the county commission and the owners of a proposed chicken farm in hopes of putting a stop to the $85 million development.

Opponents say the commission used a fax from the farm’s owner to re-write the county’s zoning ordinance at the last minute and without public input, in a way that made it possible to site the six million-hen operation less than three miles from Parker city limits.

Michael Schaffer, who represents three couples opposed to the Sonstegard Foods facility, says the county’s rewrite was done without proper public notice or input.

His lawsuit asks a judge to declare the ordinance null and void, which he says would nullify any building permit the county issues.

“They could have done this right,” Schaffer said. “They didn’t do it right. Now they’re taking a huge gamble if they look at approving this thing.”

The county’s lawyer, Turner County State’s Attorney Matt Olson, says the commission didn’t break any rules.

State law was followed in the 2014 zoning ordinance…

On a 3-2 vote Tuesday, the commission postponed an investigation it had unanimously proposed two weeks earlier after advice from City Attorney Tammi Bach.

Robin Marley filed the Nov. 18 lawsuit after she was fired as the city’s human resources director, saying her dismissal violated Florida’s Whistleblower’s Act and came only after she voiced concerns over problems in the fire department.

On Feb. 3 the commission unanimously approved a motion to have the city attorney coordinate an investigation of the department’s command structure, staffing and operational efficiency by an independent consultant or retired fire professional. Bach said the city’s labor counsel then suggested an investigation could reveal personnel issues that will be part of Marley’s lawsuit when it comes to trial in about a year.

“There is no attorney-client privilege, and that’s what I told the commission,” Bach said. “… Our outside counsel, and I agree with him, said it would affect the city’s defense of this whistleblower case. Some of the same witnesses would be included in the investigation, and when you are defending a lawsuit, an unknown is not…

The suit seeks compensation and damages from Safeway, which sold Shirlee Frey of Felton, Calif., the apple; Happy Apple Co., which made the caramel apple; and Shafter, Calif.,-based Bidart Brothers, the farm that supplied the apple. The caramel apples were recalled by Happy Apple on December 24, and Bidart recalled its Granny Smith and Gala apples on January 6, after the listeria strain was traced back to its fruit.

“The subject produced was adulterated, unreasonably dangerous, and not fit for human consumption,” according to the lawsuit. The recalled brands ultimately included Happy Apple, Kroger, Karm’l Dapples and Merb’s Candies brand Bionic Apples and Double Dipped Apples.

A total of 35 people in 12 states were infected with a genetically identical strain of Listeria monocytogenes, including one case in California — the lawsuit case, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Seven people died, including Frey. On December 19, the CDC traced the outbreak to commercially produced, prepackaged caramel apples. Twenty-eight of the 31 ill people interviewed by health investigators reported eating commercially produced, prepackaged caramel apples before becoming ill.

Listeria is especially dangerous in the elderly,…