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Man dragged to death by bus
A local mayor said Monday the public will want an explanation for the bizarre death of a man who was found under the wheels of a transit bus late Friday after being dragged more than five kilometres along Highway 99 A local mayor said Monday the public will want an explanation for the bizarre death of a man who was found under the wheels of a trans... more
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Kansas mayor wins prize for dressing in blackface drag: ‘All this PC is bullshit’
"The Wichita NAACP blog reports that Mell Kuhn, mayor of Arkansas City, KS, appeared last weekend in a beauty pageant fundraiser wearing a blackface drag costume. Appearing at the event to support Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA), a group helping abused and neglected children in court, Kuhn dressed as a character named “Smellishis Poon.” During the talent portion of the event, he even had backup dancers called his “Red Hot Puntangs.” In an interview on Tuesday with the Arkansas City Traveler, Kuhn defended himself:
'All this PC is bullshit. We go around walking on eggshells all the time, we don’t get anything done.'" "The Wichita NAACP blog reports that Mell Kuhn, mayor of Arkansas City, KS, appeared last weekend in a beauty pageant fundraiser ... more -
N.Y. mayor wants to extend term limits, run again
Highlights:
Michael Bloomberg asking city council to change two-term limit so he can run again
Mayor credited with helping New York recover after September 11, 2001
First elected just two months after the attacks, he spent millions on campaign
Before becoming mayor, Bloomberg was billionaire businessman
NEW YORK (CNN) -- New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced Thursday he is asking the city council to change the office's two-term limit to allow him to run for a third term.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg speaks at a news conference at City Hall in New York on Thursday.
"If the City Council should vote to amend term limits, I plan to ask New Yorkers to look at my record of independent leadership and then decide if I've earned another term," Bloomberg said in a news conference at City Hall.
The mayor, a billionaire businessman, is credited with helping New York City recover economically after the terror attacks on September 11, 2001, which felled the twin towers of the World Trade Center and killed more than 2,700 people.
Elected for the first time just two months after the attacks, Bloomberg pumped tens of millions of dollars of his own money into that campaign, as well as his bid for re-election in 2005.
"As a businessman with expertise on Wall Street and finance and as a mayor who has balanced budgets and delivered services, I can tell you that the enormity of the challenges ahead should not be underestimated," Bloomberg said. "I care deeply about sustaining the progress we made and finishing the job the voters elected me to do." Watch Bloomberg talk about seeking a third term »
New York City Comptroller William C. Thompson, Jr., a Democrat considered a leading candidate to replace Bloomberg in next year's election, said he was "extremely disappointed" in the mayor's announcement.
"I have always taken the Mayor at his word, particularly when he said on multiple occasions that altering term limits through a council vote would be disgraceful," he said. "Let me be clear: Today's announcement constitutes an attempt to suspend democracy. We should not undermine the will of the voters."
Bloomberg, an independent since 2007, wants city council to change the current two-term limit law and offer voters another choice.
"As always, it will be up to the people to decide, not me," he said. Highlights: Michael Bloomberg asking city council to change two-term limit so he can run again ... more -
Bloomberg Called Ready to Announce Third-Term Bid
In an act that promises to upend New York City’s political world, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg plans to announce Thursday that he will seek a third term as mayor, according to four people who have been told of his intentions.
Mr. Bloomberg, whose second term ends in 2009, is barred by law from running for re-election. So he will propose revising the city’s 15-year-old term limits law, which restricts him and dozens of other elected leaders to two four-year terms, those people said.
In his appearance on Thursday, they said, Mr. Bloomberg, a former Wall Street trader and the founder of a billion-dollar financial data firm, will argue that the worldwide financial crisis — with its potentially severe impact on New York City — demands his steady hand and business experience.
The decision to challenge the term limits law, which was twice approved by New York voters, represents a remarkable about-face for Mr. Bloomberg. He has repeatedly said he supports such constraints on elected leaders, dismissed the idea that anyone is indispensable, and once called an effort to revise the limits “disgusting.”
People briefed on the matter said Mr. Bloomberg, 66, would seek to change the law through legislation in the City Council. His staff is envisioning an unusual bill that would apply only to those currently in office, allowing them to serve three terms instead of two. A permanent change would require voter approval, these people said. In an act that promises to upend New York City’s political world, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg plans to announce Thursday that he will s... more -
Mayor 'just curious' if Obama is antichrist
"FORT MILL, S.C. -- Fort Mill Mayor Danny Funderburk says he was “just curious” when he forwarded a chain e-mail suggesting Democratic Presidential Candidate Barack Obama is the biblical antichrist. “I was just curious if there was any validity to it,” Funderburk said in a telephone interview. “I was trying to get documentation if there was any scripture to back it up.”
Funderburk apparently sent the e-mail from his business account at Gastonia Sheet Metal where he works as a business agent.
The e-mail, which has circulated in the last six months since Obama secured the Democratic nomination, claims the biblical book of Revelation says the antichrist will be in his 40s and of Muslim ancestry.
There is no such scripture. And Obama is not a Muslim. But that hasn’t stopped the e-mail." "FORT MILL, S.C. -- Fort Mill Mayor Danny Funderburk says he was “just curious” when he forwarded a chain e-mail suggesting Democ... more -
Sharpe James is Now a Federal Prison Inmate
Once the mayor of Newark, Sharpe James has a new identity: Federal inmate 28791-050.
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Detroit's hip-hop mayor guilty of perjury over affair - AKA 3 QCs and 1 big J
He came to office as Motown's hip-hop mayor, saying that God had chosen him to lead and that he would "never quit on" the people he had been elected to serve.
But after six years as mayor of Detroit, Kwame Kilpatrick has stepped down after he was found to have lied about an extra-marital affair with his chief-of-staff.
In a Detroit court on Thursday, Kilpatrick pleaded guilty to charges of obstruction of justice. He faces four months in prison. Under a plea bargain, he agreed to pay the city $1m (£565,000) in restitution and serve five years on probation, during which he cannot hold public office.
It was unclear when Kilpatrick would step down. While prosecutors said he would go immediately, Kilpatrick said he would leave on September 18, shortly before a formal sentencing hearing. As the Detroit Free Press, which was instrumental in uncovering Kilpatrick's perjury, noted: "Until he leaves, Detroit will be run by an admitted felon."
The end of Kilpatrick's reign can be traced back to a raucous party that may or may not have taken place in late 2002 at the mayor's official residence, the Manoogian Mansion. Among the exotic dancers allegedly hired to perform at the party was Tamara Greene, 27.
In one version of events, the mayor's wife, Carlita, returned home to find a scene that was not to her liking, and attacked Greene. A whistleblower accused Kilpatrick of abusing his authority to hush up the party. Prosecutors said a $8.4m award to three police officers was intended to keep the matter out of the courts.
Greene was murdered at the end of April 2003 in a drive-by shooting. The investigation into the shooting uncovered text messages between Kilpatrick and his chief-of-staff, Christine Beatty. Despite Kilpatrick's denials of an affair with Beatty and his efforts to keep the messages secret, 14,000 were released to the public.
The fallout will continue as prosecutors investigate some of the city officials he appointed. One, police chief Ella Bully-Cummings, resigned on Thursday. He came to office as Motown's hip-hop mayor, saying that God had chosen him to lead and that he would "never quit on" t... more -
Detroit mayor agrees to resign
Embattled Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick pleaded guilty Thursday to charges resulting from a sex scandal and is to resign from office, a prosecutor said.
The resignation won't take effect for 14 days, Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy said outside the courthouse.
Kilpatrick will go to jail on October 28, the day of his sentencing, and serve 120 days, she said.
The mayor pleaded guilty in Wayne County Circuit Court to two counts of obstruction of justice.
Circuit Judge David Groner accepted a no-contest plea on an assault charge.
As past of his plea deal Kilpatrick also agreed not to run for public office during his five-year probation.
Kilpatrick has been embroiled in a public scandal since January, when the Detroit Free Press reported he had exchanged romantic text messages with his former chief of staff, Christine Beatty, indicating the two were involved in an affair.
At a police whistle-blower trial in 2007, the pair, under oath, denied they had an affair.
The mayor and Beatty were accused in criminal court of lying about their romantic involvement, under oath, during the summer 2007 whistle-blower trial, which eventually led the city to pay more than $8 million in settlements.
Peter Hammer, a Wayne State University law professor, testified Wednesday that in addition to a standard agreement not to disclose the amount of damages and escrow, the settlement reached last fall included another agreement on confidentiality.
"The confidentiality agreement is for private purposes," Hammer said. "It commits all parties to not disclose the contents of the text messages."
He added, "The agreement purports to manage who has access and control to the text messages as of October 17. It's dated the same day as the private contractual settlement. ... So this is a side agreement."
According to the confidentiality agreement, the text messages were to be put "into a safe and secure bank," or deposit box.
The issue became public in January, when the Free Press reported Kilpatrick had exchanged romantic text messages with Beatty, indicating the two were involved in an affair.
Kilpatrick subsequently was charged with perjury, obstruction of justice and misconduct in office. Beatty was charged with perjury. Both could be sentenced to up to 15 years in prison if convicted.
The two accused Kilpatrick of retaliating against them because of their roles in an internal affairs probe of the mayor's security team -- an investigation that could have exposed the affair. They sued Kilpatrick and the city of Detroit. A Wayne County court ruled in their favor.
Walt Harris, another former mayoral bodyguard, filed his own whistle-blower suit, contending he was punished for supporting Nelthrope's reports of wrongdoing by Kilpatrick and his bodyguards.
The city of Detroit paid $8.4 million to settle the lawsuits, but legal fees have pushed that to at least $9 million.
On Wednesday, Granholm said she would consider only two issues: whether Kilpatrick, as mayor, authorized the settlements to further his "personal and private interests," because he feared the text messages would be publicly revealed; and whether he concealed information that council members should have had in reviewing and approving the settlements.
"My responsibility ... is to determine at this hearing whether I am satisfied by sufficient evidence submitted that the respondent has engaged in such conduct," she said. "This is not a criminal trial. This is not a civil trial."
She had filed a court petition that cited a portion of the state constitution allowing the governor to remove an elected official if there is sufficient evidence that the official has been guilty of misconduct.
Kilpatrick had challenged that petition. He said the statute is vague, and accused the governor of bias. A judge Tuesday rejected that challenge, clearing the way for the hearing Embattled Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick pleaded guilty Thursday to charges resulting from a sex scandal and is to resign from office,... more -
Detroit mayor accepts plea deal.
There are a few crooked politicians in my area too. How about you?
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Jones confirms he's stepping down as Illinois Senate president
SPRINGFIELD, Illinois – Illinois Senate President Emil Jones, Jr. said today that he will retire at the end of his current term in the Illinois Senate. President Jones is the longest serving Democratic Caucus leader since the 1970 Illinois Constitution. He has served as Senate President since 2003.
“I want to thank the many people throughout the years who have honored me by sending me to Springfield to represent them, as well as the members of the Democratic Caucus who have elected me their leader for the past 15 years. This has been a great privilege to work on behalf of the people of Illinois for over 35 years,” President Jones said.
“I want to thank my leadership team and my colleagues in the Senate who worked with me side-by-side to accomplish many things for the people of Illinois,” President Jones said. “My staff has also provided incredible support and an extraordinary effort on behalf of all of the members.”
President Jones was first elected to the Illinois House in 1972 and to the Illinois Senate in 1983. He was elected Senate Minority Leader in 1993 when Democrats had 27 members. In 2007 as Senate President he led Senate Democrats to capture 37 seats – an unprecedented gain of five seats for a veto proof majority in a nonredistricting year. The 95th General Assembly marks the first time in 70 years, and the first time since the implementation of the 1970 State Constitution, that Democrats hold a veto-proof majority in the Illinois Senate. Under President Jones’ leadership in Fiscal Year 2008 education received the largest one-year increase in per student funding in the history of the state -- $400 per student -- $600 million overall in education funding. From 2003 to present, a $196 million increase was provided to early childhood education funding.
President Jones also shepherded the passage of one of the most comprehensive reform measures of the criminal justice system in the history of the State through the Illinois Senate. Among the many substantive changes to the criminal justice system spearheaded by Senator Jones was legislation to videotape interrogations in capital cases. This single piece of legislation put Illinois at the forefront of the nation as the first state to require that interrogations in capital cases be videotaped. SPRINGFIELD, Illinois – Illinois Senate President Emil Jones, Jr. said today that he will retire at the end of his current term in the... more -
Detroit mayor arrives at jail
DETROIT, Michigan (CNN) -- Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick was jailed Thursday after a judge found that he had violated terms of his bond by taking an unauthorized trip to Canada last month.
Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's booking photo from the Wayne County Sheriff's Department.
1 of 2 Kilpatrick, who is facing felony charges of perjury, obstruction of justice and misconduct of office, had been free on $75,000 bond.
Wayne County Sheriff Warren Evans said the mayor will be treated like any other high-profile inmate at the jail. Measures will be taken to ensure his security as well as that of other inmates at the facility, the sheriff added.
Kilpatrick will be held in a restricted area where no one except deputies will be allowed to have close contact with him, the sheriff said.
The mayor has been snarled in a public scandal since January, when the Detroit Free Press reported that he had exchanged romantic text messages with his former chief of staff, Christine Beatty, indicating the two were involved in an affair.
He and Beatty, testifying last fall in a whistle-blower trial, had denied they had been having an affair.
Kilpatrick attorney Jim Parkman said an immediate appeal of the mayor's jailing is planned. A hearing on the appeal has been scheduled for Friday, the Detroit Free Press reported.
Parkman noted that Kilpatrick's trip "wasn't a personal trip over there to go to Caesar's Palace and play" but for Detroit business. "He believes it was the right thing to do, and on the spur of the moment, he just went," Parkman said.
Kilpatrick visited Windsor, Ontario, on July 23 to discuss with Windsor's mayor a plan to sell Detroit's half of the tunnel connecting the two cities, according to the Free Press. See how close the two cities are »
Under the terms of his bond, Kilpatrick was required to give the court 48 hours' notice for business travel, District Court Judge Ronald Giles noted Thursday.
Kilpatrick apologized for the trip, telling Giles his first priority was taking care of the city. DETROIT, Michigan (CNN) -- Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick was jailed Thursday after a judge found that he had violated terms of his bo... more -
Detroit Mayor Kilpatrick ordered to jail
Mayor Kilpatrick ordered to jail on bond violation
A Wayne County judge today ordered Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick to jail for violating the terms of his bond by traveling to Canada on July 23.
"If it was not Kwame Kilaptrick sitting in that seat, if it was John Six-Pack sitting in the seat, what would I do?" said Robert Giles, judge of 36th District Court. "That answers something. I go back to my original keep it simple."
He revoked his bond and ordered Kilpatrick to jail. Mayor Kilpatrick ordered to jail on bond violation ... more -
Workers report feeling ill after handling letter addressed to mayor
Princeton Borough’s Deputy Clerk Delores Williams suffered an allergic reaction on her fingers after opening an envelope addressed to the mayor’s office Tuesday morning, police reported, setting off a hazardous materials emergency at Borough Hall.
Ms. Williams notified her supervisor in the Clerk’s Office, who also suffered an allergic reaction when she came into contact with the package, officials said during a press conference about 1 p.m. today.
Police were notified and others persons in the building who were exposed to the letter, including some that demonstrated less severe allergic symptoms were quarantined in Borough Hall, but no one was taken to the hospital, officials said.
About 20 more people who had been in Borough Hall were evacuated at about 11:20 a.m. and were directed to the front steps and landing of the building and were surrounded by yellow caution tape. Borough Police Chief Anthony Federico urged members of the public to stay away from Borough Hall, saying that some of the quarantined people had suffered a burning sensation in their mouths.
Officials who responded to the scene, including Trenton Fire Department Rescue 1’s Hazardous Materials unit, determined that the envelope contained no biohazardous material Wednesday afternoon, said Lt. David Dudeck.
The envelope, which came through conventional mail, was sent by an elderly man living in a nursing home in Louisiana in need of a medication for a brain condition, Lt. Dudeck said.
The man had originally attempted to send a letter enclosed in the envelope to a company in Princeton, but that letter was returned to him after it could not be received by the company, Lt. Dudeck said. The man then wrote a letter to the mayor expressing his need for the medication and enclosed the original letter in the envelope addressed to the mayor’s office.
Authorities would not disclose the man’s name. Princeton Borough’s Deputy Clerk Delores Williams suffered an allergic reaction on her fingers after opening an envelope addressed to ... more -
Red Ken back for good in 2012?
Ken Livingstone has stated he intends to run for Mayor of London in 2012, just in time for the Olympics.
Does this mean taxes will be doubled to pay for the games? Will Boris disappear underneath that hair? Has London had enough of him already? Ken Livingstone has stated he intends to run for Mayor of London in 2012, just in time for the Olympics. ... more -
Saving Port Gibson
The town of Port Gibson, Mississippi is in need of your help. Declared "too beautiful to burn" by Ulysses S. Grant during the notoriously destructive Vicksburg Campaign of 1863, Port Gibson has become one of the most historically significant towns in the South. Now, a highway expansion project and almost twenty years of indecision and infighting threaten to transform Church Street, a lovely, tree-lined avenue, into a major interstate. Meet a few locals determined to save this national treasure.
Help unite the community around an Eastern bypass!
Sign the petition to save Port Gibson at:
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/save-port-gibson-missi...
For more information on other ways you can help the cause, please visit:
www.portgibsonheritagetrust.org
Credits -
A Pete's House Production
A film by Grady McGahan
Shot by: Robert Northrup
Archival Footage: Robert Clark
Music: "The Second Battle of Port Gibson" by Lonesome Mel, Mary Mac, and Larry
Special Thanks: Bob Thibodeaux, Terry Merritt, Jane Ellis, Al Hollingsworth, Shirley & Willie Daigle, Georgia's at the Depot, and Port Gibson Heritage Trust
If you like the music, be sure to check out www.myspace.com/lonesomemel The town of Port Gibson, Mississippi is in need of your help. Declared "too beautiful to burn" by Ulysses S. Grant during t... more -
GLA - Mayors Reception for London Gay Pride 2008
Boris Johnson pays tribute to Ken Livingstons diversity on the Mayors reception for the London Gay Pride 2008.
Plus Ben Summerskill from Stonewall and Paul Birrel, chairman of Pride London.
London, 01st of June of 2008 Boris Johnson pays tribute to Ken Livingstons diversity on the Mayors reception for the London Gay Pride 2008. ... more -
Blacks should 'go back home' if they don't like Boris
Boris Johnson faced embarrassment when a key aide resigned after calling for black critics of the Mayor of London to return to the Caribbean
James McGrath stood down as a senior political adviser over an ill-judged remark to an internet journalist interviewing him on the Mayor's policies on race. Boris commented "James is not a racist. I know that. He shares my passionate belief that racism is vile, repulsive and has no place in modern Britain."
Mr McGrath, 34, who has worked for the Tory party for seven years, was appointed director of political strategy at City Hall following Mr Johnson's victory over Ken Livingstone last month. Boris Johnson faced embarrassment when a key aide resigned after calling for black critics of the Mayor of London to return to the Car... more -
Romanian village elects dead mayor
The Romanian village of Voinesti re-elected their mayor of eighteen years, Neculai Ivascu, this week despite knowing that he had died of liver disease shortly after polls opened. "I know he died but I don't want change," one citizen told reporters. The day was bittersweet for Ivascu's living opponent Gheorghe Dobrescu, who was given the post but must still face the fact that he lost to a dead man. The Romanian village of Voinesti re-elected their mayor of eighteen years, Neculai Ivascu, this week despite knowing that he had died ... more
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Youth can have greater impact on politics than just voting
A 19 year-old became a mayor of a city- how cool is that? This shows that with a little dedication, the youth can challenge their older counterparts. A 19 year-old became a mayor of a city- how cool is that? This shows that with a little dedication, the youth can challenge their olde... more
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