#local-government

#local-government

According to her website, Ms Sood came to Leicester from India, where she had been studying for a PhD, in 1970, and completed her studies before becoming a primary school teacher for about 20 years. She became the city's first female Hindu councillor in October 1996, after winning a by-election triggered by her husband Paul's death earlier that year. Twelve years later, in May 2008, she became the UK's and Leicester's first Asian female lord mayor, and said at the time: "This is great news for a great city, especially as a woman who came here to make it her home."

shows a blatant disregard for the expertise of librarians,

Under an open access agreement with Surrey County Council, neutral host provider Freshwave is deploying 13 new 4G/5G outdoor small cells for mobile operator O2 in Guildford city centre. Open access agreements allow local authorities to retain control of their street assets while working with different mobile network operators (MNOs) and neutral hosts such as Freshwave. The outdoor small cells comprise compact mobile units, which are roughly the size of a shoebox and are designed to improve coverage in areas with high footfall.

It was supposed to be a speech with a clear message of hope for survivors of the Palisades fire. In her State of the City address in April, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass called for a law exempting fire victims from construction permit fees - potentially saving them tens of thousands of dollars as they rebuild their homes. Eight months later, the City Council is still debating how much permit relief the city can afford.

A group of councillors were violently intimidated and pelted with eggs at a meeting by people wearing balaclavas in the public gallery, MPs have been told. Swale Borough Council in Kent were debating making their area a District of Sanctuary for asylum seekers in the meeting on Wednesday evening. The council also confirmed that their office was also damaged, with toilets and lifts vandalised and deliberate flooding caused water to pour through the ceiling in several areas.

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging. At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground.

Higgins, who was backed by the Democratic National Committee, is also the first woman to be elected mayor of Miami. Zoom in: Higgins and González both ran on anti-corruption platforms following years of political scandal and dysfunction in city government.

The letter, seen by the Guardian, demanded Kimberley stop publishing or sharing videos, posts or commentary about the Reform leader and the wider Reform party. It also claimed Kimberley's videos contained content that misrepresents Monk and contributed to her harassment by members of the public. Kimberley denied the claims and told the Guardian there was no legal basis for the demands, adding the letter was written as if someone fed into ChatGPT write me an angry legal letter'.

She should've been suspended when the ruling was made in January, it is a serious offence and she should have been suspended pending an investigation. It beggars belief that she was then re-selected for the elections. They knew that she had [a judgement made against her] in January, and in May this year they put her forward for Chair of the Environment and Scrutiny Panel

Caltrain is seeking four Caltrain riders to apply for its Bicycle & Active Transportation Advisory Committee (BATAC), which serves as the primary venue to integrate the interests and perspectives of customers who primarily use active transportation - bicycling, scootering and other related modes of transportation - to access to the Caltrain system into the planning processes. Caltrain needs the following: One representative of a public agency from San Franciso County One public agency representative from San Mateo County

Back in 2022, he ran for city council in a small California town. He lost, but the moment forever changed the way he saw the place - and local governments, for that matter. "I was trying to become a better candidate," he recalled to TechCrunch. "I wanted to understand how my city actually worked, what decisions had been made, why, who said what. And I couldn't figure it out. It's a total black box, and almost intentionally opaque."

Many of the weaknesses which we have reported here in the report are not new. They are long-standing issues that have persisted, some of which over many years. The pace of improvement has not matched in some cases the scale of the challenge facing the authority around a number of these matters. Without urgent and sustained action and clear accountability the council risks remaining in a cycle, in my view, of statutory intervention and limited assurance.

At 39, she divides her time between shaping young minds as an economics professor at the Pleasant Hill campus of Diablo Valley College (DVC) and steering the city of Vallejo toward transparency, accountability and trust. It has been a challenge balancing the dual roles, especially because there is a lot of work to do in Vallejo, said Sorce, who says she wishes she had 40 hours in a day.

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... The public is invited to the annual election of mayor and vice mayor by the Cupertino City Council, followed by the oath of office, on Thursday, Dec. 11, at Cupertino Community Hall, 10350 Torre Ave. Doors open for the Mayor Initiative Wrap-Up and Reception at 5 p.m., and the ceremony begins at 6 p.m. Refreshments will be provided.

Waymo might be expanding its autonomous taxi services to northern cities like Minneapolis and Detroit, but back in Santa Monica, the company's strained relationship with local residents has reached a breaking point. According to the Santa Monica Daily Press, the city council has issued a formal demand that Waymo end overnight operations at two charging facilities there. City counselors unanimously approved the measure, which doesn't mention Waymo by name, but instead orders two lots the company uses to charge and dispatch vehicles to cease nighttime operations.

Under the government's Climate Action Plan 2019, councils were mandated to select an area of their county where methods to reduce carbon emissions are trialled, known as a Decarbonising Zone. These include energy efficiency, biodiversity and other low-carbon initiatives which, if successful, could be rolled out on a wider scale. Designated zones include the Aran Islands in Galway, the Dingle Peninsula in Kerry, and Ballymun and Ringsend/Poolbeg in Dublin.

I've taken this step because I feel that I need to protect free speech.

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.

A sheriff wields enormous power and position on a local level, yet we elect them in the same political fashion as we do city councilmembers and school boards. But today's sheriffs oversee multimillion-dollar agencies, manage jails and set enforcement priorities that shape entire communities. In theory, this allows informed and nuanced voters to split their ballots, allowing them to vote in the sheriff they feel is best qualified regardless of political affiliation while otherwise voting down the party line.

Mayors and councillors in England face suspensions of up to six months for serious misconduct and repeated rule breaches as the government seeks to overhaul standards in local government. Under plans unveiled on Tuesday, local authorities will be handed powers to suspend rule-breaking councillors and mayors, including those found guilty of bullying and assault, and to withhold their allowances. Ministers said the changes, which will be introduced via parliamentary legislation, would help improve public confidence in local government.

"undocumented bogus asylum seekers in many cases", which was "an affront to the people of Broxbourne"

Dumped fridges, a felled tree left to rot, and household waste floating in the breeze perhaps not what a tourist would expect to see when they arrive in London, after leaving its most famous airport. But that's exactly what greets people as they drive past Heathrow's northern perimeter on their way towards Central London. Last week I headed out to Harlington near Hayes to interview residents, after hearing things were getting out of hand with fly-tipping in their cul-de-sac.