Owensboro City Commission agenda, June 6, 2025
• Proclaim National Police Week.
• Proclaim Professional Municipal Clerks Week.
• Receive a "BBQ & Barrels" update from Public Events Director Tim Ross.
• Receive an update about hail damage to city properties by Brent Kelley, Loss Prevention Manager.
• Consider board appointments.
• Hold first reading of an ordinance to change the name of Taylor Avenue to Kamuf Way.
• Hold first reading of an ordinance repealing Ordinance 2-2019, and adopting the Daviess Fiscal Court countywide animal control ordinance.
• Consider approving a municipal order directing the Mayor to provide TS Entertainment LLC a total of $1.5 million in four installments, to help the company develop an entertainment center at 5000 Frederica Street in the old Towne Square Mall building.
• Consider promoting Mollie J. Gerteisen to regular, full-time, non-civil service telecommunicator with the Police Department.
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Yahoo
13 hours ago
- Yahoo
Demonstrators arrested at Palestine Action event
More than a dozen people have been arrested in Norwich city centre for showing support for Palestine Action, which has recently been proscribed by the government as a terrorist organisation. Norfolk Police said 13 people "holding placards showing support" for the group were arrested outside City Hall during the protest, which started at 12:30 BST. They were held on suspicion of displaying an item in support of a proscribed organisation, contrary to Section 13 of the Terrorism Act 2000. Five people were taken to Wymondham police station for questioning while the other eight were de-arrested after they gave their details to police. A 14th person had a sign seized by officers. The force said the protest was over by 14:00 BST. Supt Wes Hornigold said: "We will always work to facilitate peaceful protest and protect the democratic right to assembly. However, the actions of this group were unlawful. "Our officers' role is to prevent disorder, damage and disruption in the local community and they will use their powers to do this. Any breaches of the law will be dealt with." The arrests came a day after the Metropolitan Police said a further 60 people would be prosecuted for supporting Palestine Action. The force said it followed the arrest of more than 700 people since the group was banned on July 5, including 522 in central London last Saturday. More prosecutions are expected in the coming weeks, and arrangements have been put in place "that will enable us to investigate and prosecute significant numbers each week if necessary", the Met said. Palestine Action was banned by Home Secretary Yvette Cooper following criminal damage to planes at RAF Brize Norton. As a result, membership of or support for the group is a criminal offence, punishable by up to 14 years in prison. Cooper said the ban was based on "strong security advice following serious attacks the group has committed" as well as "plans and ideas for further attacks". But Amnesty International chief executive Sacha Deshmukh has described the mass arrests that have happened since then as "deeply concerning". Last month, the High Court ruled that Palestine Action would be able to challenge its proscription. Lawyers for the group's co-founder Huda Ammori argue that the ban breaches the right to free speech and acts as a gag on legitimate protest. Follow Norfolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X. More on this story Palestine Action can challenge UK ban, court rules UN human rights chief criticises UK Palestine Action ban Some don't know 'full nature' of Palestine Action, says Cooper Related internet links Norfolk Constabulary Proscribed Terrorist Groups or Organisations
Los Angeles Times
17 hours ago
- Los Angeles Times
City officials want to fund immigration defense. The budget crisis makes it hard
Good morning, and welcome to L.A. on the Record — our City Hall newsletter. It's Noah Goldberg, with assists from Julia Wick, Seema Mehta and David Zahniser, giving you the latest on city and county government. Days after the Trump administration's mass immigration raids came to Los Angeles, City Councilmember Ysabel Jurado started looking for money to help the city's undocumented residents. In a June 10 motion, she asked City Administrative Officer Matt Szabo to detail options for finding at least $1 million for RepresentLA, which provides legal services for undocumented Angelenos facing deportation. A week later, an official from Szabo's office said they were 'unable to identify eligible funding sources' for the $1 million, which would come on top of $1 million the city has already allocated to RepresentLA. This summer in L.A., an immigration crisis is colliding with a budget crisis, leaving some councilmembers frustrated that the city cannot do more, as federal agents whisk thousands of immigrants away to detention centers and potential deportation. The city has been active in court, joining an ACLU lawsuit that temporarily blocked federal agents from using racial profiling to carry out indiscriminate immigration arrests. Mayor Karen Bass also announced a program to provide immigrants with gift cards, funded by private philanthropy, when many were afraid to go to work. But coming up with another $1 million for immigrant legal defense, after city officials closed a nearly $1-billion deficit through cuts and slated layoffs, has proved a slog. 'Why is it that we can't find the money for this?' asked Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martínez during a Civil Rights, Equity, Immigration, Aging and Disability Committee meeting on Aug. 1. 'It appears that level of urgency is not being transmitted through this report, because when we're in other situations, we find the money.' Jurado piggybacked off her colleague. 'This is an immigration legal crisis,' she said, adding that she felt 'disappointment, frustration and, frankly, anger with the outcome here that we can't find a single dollar to support immigrant communities and this legal defense fund.' 'I find it really hard to believe that the CAO couldn't find any money for it,' she said in an interview. RepresentLA, which is a public-private partnership with the county, the city, the California Community Foundation and the Weingart Foundation, has seen a surge in demand for legal services since the immigration raids began in June, said Jorge-Mario Cabrera, a spokesperson for the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights, or CHIRLA, which manages RepresentLA. 'The need is higher than the needs being met,' Cabrera said. The city has contributed funding for RepresentLA since its inception in 2021 — initially $2 million each fiscal year before dropping to $1 million in 2024-2025 and $1 million this year out of a total budget of $6.5 million, with the other $5.5 million coming from L.A. County. RepresentLA, which has served nearly 10,000 people, provides free legal representation for undocumented immigrants facing removal proceedings, as well as other services such as help with asylum applications. Some attorneys are on staff, while others are outside counsel. In April, Bass said in her State of the City speech that the city would 'protect every Angeleno, no matter where you are from, no matter when you arrived in L.A ... because we know how much immigrants contribute to our city in so many ways. We will always stand strong with you.' But behind the scenes, the city's financial struggles put even the initial $1 million for RepresentLA in jeopardy, with the mayor proposing to slash it to zero for this fiscal year. 'Getting the initial $1 million back was quite a battle,' said Angelica Salas, CHIRLA's executive director. 'It had been zeroed out. We were able to get just the money enough to continue the program for those who are currently in the program.' The City Council managed to claw back the $1 million during budget negotiations by slowing down hiring at the LAPD, as well as 'ending duplicative spending,' said Naomi Villagomez-Roochnik, a spokesperson for Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez, who sits on the budget committee. (The mayor and Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson have since said they are looking for money to reverse the hiring slowdown.) 'It's a crumb when you compare it to the rest of the city budget,' Hernandez said. RepresentLA has 23 attorneys working on deportation hearings, and Salas said each represents about 35 clients at any given time. An additional $1 million 'would allow us to expand our capacity for the new people — the thousands of people who have now been picked up in this new sweep,' she said. At the committee hearing earlier this month, Councilmember Monica Rodriguez said the City Council should find savings in other areas to help pay for important programs like RepresentLA. 'Next time the city attorney comes asking us for outside counsel money, you could say 'No' and redirect those resources. ... When the mayor comes for Inside Safe, for additional discretionary money that she is unaccountable for, you could say, 'No, we're taking $1 million and putting it for RepresentLA,'' she said. 'Let's effing go.' The committee called on the city administrative officer's staff to research options for funding RepresentLA, including grants or reallocating money from elsewhere. Szabo confirmed to The Times that things will be different at the next committee meeting. 'Our next report will provide options to fund RepresentLA at the level requested,' he said in a text message. BALLOT ROYALE: Labor unions and business groups have been locked in a heated battle of ballot measures for the last three months, after the City Council hiked the minimum wage for hotel and airport workers. Each side is trying to get measures on the ballot that would have far-reaching effects, including one that would put the minimum wage increase to a citywide vote. Unite Here Local 11, which represents hotel and restaurant workers, has proposed four ballot measures that, according to critics, would wreak havoc on the city's economy. Business leaders, in turn, have filed a ballot petition to repeal the city's $800-million business tax — a move denounced by city officials, who say it would gut funding for police and other essential services. — SAGE ADVICE: The Jurado staffer who was arrested during an anti-ICE demonstration in June gave a heads-up to her boss that she planned to take part, according to text messages obtained by The Times through a public records request. 'Going to the protest at [City Hall] fyi,' Luz Aguilar wrote to Chief of Staff Lauren Hodgins. Hodgins responded with words of caution. 'To reiterate what we spoke about a few mins ago, if you choose to take part in any community action, please ensure that you approach the event with peace and care for those around you and stay safe,' Hodgins wrote. 'This is not a city-sanctioned activity and you are participating on your own accord so want to ensure your safety along with the safety of those around you.' Aguilar did not text back. She was later arrested at the demonstration and ultimately charged with resisting arrest after allegedly assaulting a police officer. — BACK TO COURT: Prosecutors filed two new corruption charges against City Councilmember Curren Price this week. The charges were connected to two votes he cast on funding for the city housing authority and the L.A. County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, both of which were paying Price's wife, Del Richardson. Price's attorney called the new charges 'nothing more than an attempt to pile on to a weak case.' Sources told The Times this week that prosecutors tried to get Richardson to testify in front of a grand jury as part of Price's case. She did not ultimately do so. — IT'S FUN TO STAY AT THE YMCA: Bass, L.A. County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath and City Councilmember Traci Park were all in the Palisades Thursday morning at a ceremony where Horvath pledged $10 million from her discretionary funds toward rebuilding the Palisades-Malibu YMCA. — GIFT ECONOMY: Our public records request for all the gifts Bass received in the last year and a half came back, with the list largely composed of ceremonial gift exchanges with her foreign counterparts (chopsticks and a teacup from the mayor of Sejong, South Korea, estimated cost $32; a scarf and a hat from Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo, estimated cost $45). There were a few interesting tidbits: Bass received flowers (~$72) from race and gender scholar Kimberlé Crenshaw, who coined the term intersectionality. There were also fancy Dodgers tickets and food (~$590, but marked as 'paid down') from her longtime lawyers at Kaufman Legal Group, along with flights and travel for two speaking engagements. — NOT RULING IT OUT: When Bass appeared on the podcast 'Lovett or Leave It,' host Jon Lovett gave her a 'crazy pitch': What if the city of Los Angeles broke off from the county, forming its own city-county? Bass said it 'wasn't that crazy' and asked (jokingly) whether Lovett would be taking on the messy ballot initiative … before reverting back to her standard line on the need for intergovernmental cooperation. Bass also told Lovett that the city is still looking at ways to carve out an exemption to Measure ULA taxes for Palisades fire survivors selling their lots. And, she said, the city is in the process of hiring its long-promised film liaison 'as we speak.' — HOT SEAT: Gov. Gavin Newsom and Democratic lawmakers launched a special election campaign on Thursday, urging California voters to approve new congressional districts to shrink the state's Republican delegation, as Texas Republicans fight to redraw their own maps to favor the GOP. If the plan moves forward through the many hoops ahead, another district could be created in southeast Los Angeles County, which would undoubtedly kickstart frantic maneuvering ahead of 2026. (L.A. County Supervisor Hilda Solis' name is already getting thrown around as a potential candidate, though her office didn't respond to a half-dozen queries.) — DON'T ASK, DON'T TELL: City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto came out swinging against SB 79, state Sen. Scott Wiener's latest housing density bill, back in May. Now, both proponents and opponents are clamoring to know whether Bass will take a position on the controversial bill. The Times has been asking too, but so far the mayor and her team have not responded to questions. That's it for this week! Send your questions, comments and gossip to LAontheRecord@ Did a friend forward you this email? Sign up here to get it in your inbox every Saturday morning.
Axios
a day ago
- Axios
With indictment, Cantrell joins Louisiana's notorious political history
Mayor LaToya Cantrell became the first New Orleans mayor to ever be federally indicted while serving her term in City Hall. Why it matters: Cantrell becomes part of a notorious history of Louisiana politicians who have faced criminal charges from their time in office, which has long lent the state an unenviable reputation. Between the lines: Also the first Black female mayor of New Orleans, Cantrell has long said she has faced more intense scrutiny than others who have held the role. As New York Times columnist Charles M. Blow wrote last year during a failed effort to recall Cantrell, the mayor "has faced constant accusations of impropriety" as she's been "subject to a kind of sexism specific to Black women: misogynoir, as it's called." Worth noting: Cantrell's attorney told Axios around 1:30pm Friday that he had not received a copy of the indictment yet. He did not make any further comments. Catch up quick: Dozens of Louisiana politicians have faced criminal charges. Here are three standouts. Former Rep. William Jefferson Jefferson faced corruption charges after the FBI filmed him taking a $100,000 cash bribe with the goal of paying off an African official, the FBI says. Days later, the FBI infamously found $90,000 stashed in his freezer. He was convicted of bribery, racketeering and money laundering. Former Gov. Edwin Edwards The colorful Cajun was so popular with voters that he was elected governor four times from the 1970s through the early 1990s, though he faced multiple federal indictments during his third term. But he wouldn't be convicted until May 2000, when he was found guilty of taking bribes over riverboat casino licenses in his fourth term. Edwards spent eight years in a federal prison before launching a final unsuccessful campaign for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives in 2014. Former Mayor C. Ray Nagin Nagin, who led New Orleans during and immediately after Hurricane Katrina, was the city's first mayor convicted of corruption, according to WWL. Nagin, who was charged after leaving office, was found guilty of 20 counts of wire fraud, bribery and tax evasion after prosecutors said he took bribes while in office. He was sentenced to serve 10 years and was released early when officials sought to decrease prison populations in 2020 during the coronavirus pandemic.
