#city-council

#city-council

The proposal before council would require newspapers to pay an initial $373 fee for each rack. For a newspaper with 25 racks, that would be a $9,325 hit.

"We're talking about revitalizing our neighborhoods and rebuilding our communities that are facing blight and abandonment. We're also talking about adding tax dollars to our revenue stream and creating new economic opportunities."

"Music and the arts will be the key to the rebirth of our downtown and the health and safety of our streets, our kids, and our culture as a city," Dunphy said when he first proposed the plan.

The original sign, created by artist Michael J. Masucci, was erected in 1986, on a small hill located behind a parking lot at 8555 Santa Monica Boulevard, next to the EZTV art gallery. The sign paid homage to the original Hollywood sign and became a cultural landmark and tourist attraction for many years, particularly within the LGBTQ+ community during the AIDS crisis.

Mamdani stated that the City Council's budget strategy effectively ensures this structural deficit will continue indefinitely, impacting vital city services and failing to solve deep financial problems.

The Quincy Firefighters Association Local 792 expressed their disappointment, stating, 'That's negligence, not due diligence. This isn't about politics - this is about doing the right thing and protecting the men and women who go out and protect Quincy every day.'

Fourteen Angelenos have qualified to run for mayor, including incumbent Karen Bass, City Councilmember Nithya Raman and former reality TV star Spencer Pratt. Seven City Council incumbents face at least one challenger, while Councilmember Monica Rodriguez is running unopposed to represent her northeast San Fernando Valley district.

The Portland Housing Bureau has found additional millions in its coffers, adding to the $21 million in unspent funding disclosed late last year. It is unclear exactly how much money is in the fund, but Council President Jamie Dunphy told the Mercury Monday that it is expected to be in the millions. The newly uncovered dollars will impact two pieces of legislation the City Council is considering this week.

Oakland leaders have declined for the second time to reappoint two incumbents to the Police Commission, the civilian body overseeing the Oakland Police Department. At the City Council meeting Tuesday night, all but two council members - Carroll Fife and Noel Gallo - voted to reject the nominees submitted by the Police Commission Selection Panel in December: Ricardo Garcia-Acosta, chair of the commission, and Omar Farmer, an alternate commissioner. The commissioners' terms expired in October, but both have continued to serve in a holdover capacity.

Menin declared victory right before Thanksgiving - earlier than any speaker candidate in New York history - but with weeks to go before the actual vote there is still time for Council members to reconsider. The "vote pledges" that Menin has in her pocket are worth only a little bit more than the press release they're printed on, and as one reporter once said about the shifting sands of these alliances, " politics ain't beanbag."

Portland is close to selecting a city administrator to replace Michael Jordan, who's served in the role since January and will retire at the end of the year. The city administrator is largely responsible for overseeing the city's budget and daily operations, with the help of a team of deputy city administrators who run the city's bureaus. The top three finalists include former Mayor Ted Wheeler's first chief of staff, and two other candidates from Colorado and Texas.

Koch's proposal comes in response to public outcry after the council's finance committee approved a 79 percent raise, from $159,000 per year to $285,000, in June 2024. The increase, which would have also raised each city councilor's salary by 50 percent, was originally supposed to take effect Jan. 1, 2025 but was delayed in October 2024. "I've been listening and speaking to Councilors and our residents, and I felt it was appropriate to revisit the issue," Koch said in a press release Wednesday.

The Council's message when it ignores the custom of member deference seems to be: See? We're not provincial, turf-protecting insiders! We act in the interest of the whole city! But we're talking about four instances in two decades, if not longer. The Council has considered thousands of land use applications in that time, and in 99.9 percent of them, the local member has decided the result. Make no mistake: Member deference is alive and well.

"I think some people only look at the numbers and see the number of deaths are not going in the right direction. It's important to explain that Vision Zero is not a model, it's a goal," Koyama Lane told the Mercury. She says Portland should remain steadfast in its belief that no one should die while trying to get around the city. "Getting to that number zero is a holistic goal that we can never give up on," Koyama Lane said.