New Providence Mayor Angel Taveras to be inaugurated

Cuba's tobacco company sues Mich. shop over name
A cigar lounge in suburban Detroit is decorated with paintings and photos of famous people with a stogie: John F. Kennedy, Winston Churchill, even the 1950s Cuban revolutionary Che Guevara. "We have only one thing in common," said owner Ismail Houmani, a U.S. War Veteran, pointing at a cigar in the fingers of Guevara, a Marxist rebel. Cuba, however, believes the shop has too much common with its own famous cigar business. Cuba's government-owned Tobacco Company is suing Houmani in Federal Court ...

Kevin McCarthy talks politics, runs the stairs (really)
The San Francisco Chronicle looks at Rep. Kevin Mccarthy (R-CA), the incoming Majority Whip of the House of Representatives. McCarthy talks about his disdain of Earmarks, his political philosophy, and he even runs the stairs at his Alma Mater, Bakersfield High School. ...

New SSRN Immigration Articles
Here are some new Immigration articles from the Social Science Research Network: "Guest Worker Programs are No Fix for Our Broken Immigration System: Evidence from the Northern Mariana Islands" New Mexico Law Review, Vol. 41, No. 1, 2011 Albany Law School Research Paper No. 37 DOROTHY HILL, Albany Law School.  ABSTRACT:  The creation of a large-scale unskilled guest worker program has been a prominent element of comprehensive Immigration Reform proposals in recent years. ...

Buckle up, the dominoes may be ready to fall
Fasten your Seat Belts, and get ready for a thrilling two-week ride at City Hall as the Board of Supervisors moves to choose Mayor Gavin Newsom 's successor and, potentially, inspire a game of political dominoes. Tuesday the Board of Supervisors could appoint a successor mayor and the winner needs six votes, but no supervisor can vote for himself or herself. But naming Newsom's replacement could be a challenge because the board can't make an official appointment until Newsom's office is vacan...

Water finally restored to Highland Park
The city reissued a 24-hour alert to boil drinking and cooking water to guard against possible contamination, with the alert to end by about 5 p.m. Sunday. “The people from City Hall were saying it was back on” by Friday night, “but it wasn’t,” resident Patricia Briggs, 42, said today. Water service returned to her house — where she lives with her 20-year-old son — a little after 5 p.m. today, although “the pressure still isn’t what it should be,” Brig...

City gets only 1 bid for Taste of Chicago
The Sun-Times reports: Taste of Chicago patrons would pay a $20 admission fee--and up to $65-a-head for a music stage that draws the biggest-name talent--if City Hall accepts the only bid it got to take over lakefront festivals. That bid came from Celebrate Chicago LLC, a heavy-hitting joint-venture comprised of the Illinois Restaurant Association and two of the biggest names in the production of live entertainment: Chicago-based JAM Productions and AEG Live. Celebrate Chicago wants to boost sa...

Orlando Sets Up Hybrid Pkg Spaces; Enforced by Evil Eye
Makes sense. Special treatment for Smug Cars enforced by Smug Looks. Got it. (HT The Blaze via SondraK) As though owners of Hybrid Vehicles aren’t imperious enough with their 50-plus miles to the gallon, green-construction proponents are now reserving front-row parking spaces for such drivers at a growing number of buildings. The University of Central Florida’s new arena added four spaces for hybrids and car poolers this month. The new Amway Center’s Geico Garage has 46 spaces ...

Forget about exercise. How about resolving to do a good job?
So how are those New Year's resolutions coming? Chances are, two days into 2011, many of us have already abandoned our promises to lose weight, eat right and exercise. I mean, New Year's weekend is the wrong time to clean up our acts. But enough about us. How about a few resolutions we wish others would make this year? Here are mine. Feel free to add your own. Since Norfolk officials managed to find themselves in the news week after week in 2010, let's start with the folks running that political...

4 veterans' last week on S.F. Board of Supervisors
Four Veterans on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors will leave office this week, taking with them a collective 35 years of experience as lawmakers and leaving behind an eclectic legislative record. Termed out of office, they lose their jobs at noon Saturday when their successors are scheduled to take the oath of office. Two of the departing supervisors, Chris Daly and Sophie Maxwell, were swept into office with the rebirth of district Elections in 2000 amid a call to embolden neighborhood ...

Water service trickles back to Highland Park
The city reissued a 24-hour alert to boil drinking and cooking water to guard against possible contamination, with the alert to end by about 5 p.m. today. "The people from City Hall were saying it was back on" by Friday night, "but it wasn't," resident Patricia Briggs said Saturday. Water service returned to her house -- where she lives with her 20-year-old son -- a little after 5 p.m. Saturday, although "the pressure still isn't what it should be," Br...

Becoming mayor after years of fighting authority
Even before she was elected to Oakland's School Board and City Council, Jean Quan saw herself fighting the system for those on the margins. She'd organized Filipino farmworkers and translated in Hospitals for Chinese families. In the 1960s, she and her future husband helped force UC Berkeley to create academic programs dealing with Minorities' histories and cultures. But after her swearing-in Monday as Oakland's mayor, Quan, 61, will find herself at the helm of the city hierarchy, an outsider...

Becoming mayor after years of fighting authority
Even before she was elected to Oakland's School Board and City Council, Jean Quan saw herself fighting the system for those on the margins. She'd organized Filipino farmworkers and translated in Hospitals for Chinese families. In the 1960s, she and her future husband helped force UC Berkeley to create academic programs dealing with Minorities' histories and cultures. But after her swearing-in Monday as Oakland's mayor, Quan, 61, will find herself at the helm of the city hierarchy, an outsider...

McGinn's go-it-alone approach gets mixed results at City Hall
Two weeks after his election as mayor, Mike McGinn delighted Seattle City Council Members with a visit to their offices. Friendly and unescorted, he parked himself in the middle of Councilmember Sally Clark's office to chat. Councilmember Jan Drago acted as tour guide, taking the soon-to-be mayor from office to office. Councilmember Nick Licata swooned in his newsletter that McGinn's "seemingly ever present smile may become his Trademark." A year later, McGinn's trademark is not his smile but ...

Urban Adventurer Explores The Secret Underbelly Of The City (VIDEO)
Have you ever jumped onto subway tracks to explore its tunnels? Or climbed the lattice-work of the Williamsburg bridge to get a great view of the city? Steve Duncan has. Videographer Andrew Wonder shot this incredible short documentary, Undercity, about Duncan, an urban historian and all-around adventurer. The two of them journey into the dark, hidden underbellies of the city (illegally) and climb its bridges to gain an amazing perspective of the city. A few of their stops include the secret...

Becoming mayor after years of fighting authority
Even before she was elected to Oakland's School Board and City Council, Jean Quan saw herself fighting the system for those on the margins. She'd organized Filipino farmworkers and translated in Hospitals for Chinese families. In the 1960s, she and her future husband helped force UC Berkeley to create academic programs dealing with Minorities' histories and cultures. But after her swearing-in Monday as Oakland's mayor, Quan, 61, will find herself at the helm of the city hierarchy, an outsider...

Solomon new council leader
The Providence City Council’s new president, Michael A. Solomon, waves to those attending Monday’s council swearing-in ceremony at City Hall. PROVIDENCE — City Councilman Michael A. Solomon, a Ward 5 Democrat, was unanimously elected the new council president at a standing-room-only ceremony at City Hall on Monday. Solomon was among 15 members of the City Council, all Democrats, who were sworn into office to four-year terms. Councilman Terrence M. Hassett, a Smith Hill Democrat...

Ritchie negotiating for office space in Ogdensburg City Hall
OGDENSBURG — State Sen. Patricia A. Ritchie is in talks with City Officials here about opening her St. Lawrence County office in City Hall. The proposed space, in the basement, was previously used by city police detectives, said Mayor William D. Nelson. It has been vacant for about five years, he said. The senator's office and City Officials are negotiating payment, Mrs. Ritchie said. City officials were reluctant to offer specifics on the negotiations, because any deal must first b...

Ogdensburg police swear in 5 recruits
OGDENSBURG — The city Police Department returned its road patrol division to full strength Monday with the swearing in of five new officers. Taking the oath of office in a mid-morning ceremony at City Hall were Corey J. Maxner, 24, of Canton; Ryan H. Polniak, 24, of Lisbon; Michael C. Durham, 24, of Norwood; Keith C. Morgan, 32, of Ogdensburg; and Ian M. Vanier, 24, of Canton. Chief Richard J. Polniak Jr. said the new officers will bring the department's patrol roster up from 11 to 1...

CMB changes mind, will now release tax returns
* That was quick… After brusquely rejecting on Monday that she should release her Income Tax returns, Chicago Mayoral Candidate Carol Moseley Braun did an about face Monday night. She now says she will release her tax records Tuesday, matching the disclosures made by her three major opponents. “She changed her mind. It is no Big Deal,” Braun spokeswoman Renee Ferguson said. “She had intended to release them after Feb. 22 (Election Day), but everybody made such a big deal of it.R

Three shipping containers converted into a stylish home
A chronic trade imbalance - the United States imports far more goods than it exports - has resulted in a stylish new house that's the first of its kind in Lexington, Ky. The house that Todd Hoffman and Gae Granville-Hoffman built is made out of three steel shipping containers - the large steel boxes used to move manufactured goods across the oceans on large ships. When the ships reach a port, the containers are loaded onto trains or trucks for delivery. Because more stuff comes into the country ...

Hassett takes oath
Ward 12 Chairwoman Joan Petterson lends her support to councilman Terrence M. Hassett at Monday’s inauguration. PROVIDENCE -- City Councilman Terrence M. Hassett, who has been undergoing rehabilitation since being struck by a hit-and-run driver on Atwells Avenue on Oct. 29, returned to City Hall and received an ovation Monday from friends and colleagues as he took the oath for another term. Hassett, who suffered a fractured skull and severe leg injuries in the accident, said he...

Barcelona Gay And Lesbian Monument Plans Outlined
Taking a page from Amsterdam's famed Homomonument, the city of Barcelona will erect a monument in honor of the city's gays, Lesbians and transgendered people who have "suffered persecution and repression throughout history," the AFP is reporting. Scheduled to be unveiled in February, the new monument will be pink and triangular in shape, much like its Dutch counterpart. Though the monument's location has yet to be announced, a spokesman for Barcelona's City Hall confirmed the square directly ...

Cory Booker: Hypocrisy
2010 was a challenging year. Our city, like so many others, faced extraordinary obstacles brought about by the worst economy in decades. Fiscal hardship unrivaled since the early 1970s forced painful decisions. Further, after four years of double digit percentage drops in shootings in Newark, shootings rose compared to 2009. Finally, at the end of the year, after our largest police union refused to make any concessions to avoid layoffs - even ones worth as little as $50 to each of its members ...

ABA Telling College Students: Dont Go To Law School
Anyone who's been through the three-year Torture chamber known as Law School could've said this long ago: The American Bar Association has officially...

Kit Bond to work for St. Louis-based law firm Thompson Coburn
WASHINGTON • Christopher "Kit" Bond likes to say that he is neither shy nor retiring. He proved as much by starting work Monday at Thompson Coburn, a St. Louis-based Law Firm, two days before his successor is sworn in as Missouri's newest senator. Bond did not seek re-election in November while finishing his fourth six-year term in the Senate, and his seat was captured by fellow Republican Roy Blunt, a congressman from southwestern Missouri. Senate rules forbid outgoing senators from affil...