‘It is a huge honour and privilege': New Mayor of Dudley appointed
THE former Deputy Mayor has been appointed the new Mayor of Dudley.
Amblecote councillor, Pete Lee, was named the borough's first citizen at the Annual Council Meeting last night (May 15).
He has pledged to raise thousands of pounds for five charities during his year in office.
After officially being sworn in, the Cllr Lee named the charities he will be helping to raise money for in the coming year – The Gurkha Welfare Trust, Guide Dogs for the Blind Association, The Leukaemia Unit Appeal Fund (supporting the Georgina Unit at Russells Hall), The Alzheimer's Society and Disability in Action (Queen's Cross Network.)
Councillor Pete Lee, Mayor of Dudley, said: 'It is a huge honour and privilege to serve the residents of the borough as Mayor of Dudley.
'Over the past year as Deputy Mayor, I have enjoyed meeting so many individuals and organisations and hearing about the amazing work they are doing across the borough and I'm looking forward to meeting so many more during the coming year.
'I am also looking forward to raising funds for these incredible charities so they can continue their incredible work.'
The Mayor also said he will be reintroducing the Lord's Prayer and the National Anthem to full council meetings. His wife, Gloria, will be Mayoress.
At the same meeting, Councillor Mushtaq Hussain was named Deputy Mayor of Dudley, with his wife, Sugra Hussain, Deputy Mayoress.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


New York Times
24 minutes ago
- New York Times
No, Not That Lee. Pentagon Finds Black Hero to Rechristen Base Long Named for Robert E.
In its latest move to undo diversity efforts, the Army announced this week that it had found ways to restore the names of seven installations that long venerated Confederate heroes. But in the case of Fort Lee in Prince George County, Va., the Pentagon did it with a curious twist. Rather than restore the name of Gen. Robert E. Lee, the Confederate commander who defended slavery, the Army found Pvt. Fitz Lee, who was Black and fought in the Spanish-American War. Private Lee, who had kidney disease, died in 1899 within months of being awarded a Medal of Honor. The Army announced the plans for Fort Lee in a list of the seven installations it intended to soon rebrand. The move would cancel changes adopted during the Biden administration at the recommendation of a commission created by Congress to find worthy replacements for base names with ties to the Confederacy. The base was named for General Lee from 1917 until 2023. But for the past two years, it was named Fort Gregg-Adams for Lt. Gen. Arthur J. Gregg, the first Black man to reach the rank of an Army three-star general, and Lt. Col. Charity Adams Earley, the highest-ranking Black woman to serve as an Army officer in World War II. The renaming effort is just the most recent by President Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to dismantle their predecessors' diversity inclusion measures. In March, the administration stopped calling the large military base in North Carolina 'Fort Liberty,' reverting it to its previous name, Fort Bragg. 'We're not interested in your woke garbage or your political correctness,' Mr. Hegseth said in a speech there on Tuesday, to the cheers of an audience of soldiers in battle dress uniforms and red berets. Like General Robert E., Private Fitz was born in Virginia. He was one of four Buffalo Soldiers who received a Medal of Honor for valor on June 30, 1898, halfway into the war with Spain in Cuba. They went ashore from the U.S.S. Florida, a steamer, to rescue wounded Cuban and American soldiers from a beach near Tunas de Zaza, after a losing skirmish with Spanish forces. 'This after several previous attempts at rescue had been frustrated,' said their Medal of Honor citation, recounting their valor after what American historians have called the Battle of Tayabacoa. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. Already a subscriber? Log in. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.


San Francisco Chronicle
3 hours ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Oakland business looted, vehicle set on fire hours after peaceful anti-ICE protest ended
Two businesses in Oakland's Fruitvale district were reeling Wednesday morning after a group of people allegedly looted a shoe store following a peaceful anti-ICE protest Tuesday night. One person was arrested on suspicion of stealing merchandise, police said. A crowd ransacked a Shiekh shoe store near International Boulevard and 34th Avenue on Tuesday night, according to videos reported by KTVU and police. A car parked on 34th Avenue was set on fire, and trash cans on the sidewalk were knocked over, spilling garbage onto the sidewalk. The looting and vehicle fire occurred after a peaceful protest denouncing arrests of immigrants by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers had ended, according to businesses owners and Fruitvale residents. Oakland police said officers responded to a car crash at 34th Avenue and International Boulevard at 8:40 p.m., where 'several people threw objects at the officers' and damaged a police vehicle. No officers were injured, police said. People then set the crashed vehicle on fire. An hour later, around 9:30 p.m., officers were called to the 3400 block of International Boulevard for a report of a business that was burglarized. Approximately 30 people ransacked the Shiekh store, police said. An unidentified person was arrested on suspicion of possessing stolen merchandise and a burglary tool. 'Looting and violence in any form or the destruction of property will not be tolerated in the city of Oakland,' Mayor Barbara Lee said in a statement. 'To the business owners, we are committed to accountability, safety and protecting the well-being of our communities. Our commitment to peaceful protest does not extend to rioting, or the destruction of property,' Lee said. On Wednesday morning, workers inside the Shiekh store were cleaning up the mess left behind. Clothing racks were empty and merchandise and shards of glass from the shattered front door were sprawled on the floor. The store's manager declined to be interviewed. Next door, Deep Singh, owner of Oakland Discount Liquor and Market, arrived to find his garbage cans knocked over and trash spread on the sidewalk in front of his business. 'It's a mess,' he said. 'Who wants to walk into a store (like that) now?' Some businesses on East 12th Street, in front of Fruitvale Village where the protest was held, remained boarded up Wednesday morning. None appeared to be burglarized. Norma Orozco, the communications manager at the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, said she returned to the nonprofit's headquarters at International Boulevard and 34th Avenue at about 8 p.m. after the protest ended and saw an abandoned vehicle that had crashed into a parked car on 34th Avenue. Neighbors moved the car from the crosswalk to the side of the road. She said nearby police officers did not immediately respond to the scene of the crash and fire. About an hour later, groups of people tried breaking into the car and later set the car on fire, she said. Firefighters responded and put the fire out, but the vehicle was later set on fire again, Orozco said. 'Everything that happened last night was completely preventable,' she said. 'There were multiple points of intervention, and there were multiple people who saw this happening and not a single step was taken to prevent this.' Victor Moreno, a Fruitvale resident, was walking his two dogs along International Boulevard on Wednesday morning when he stopped to observe the workers cleaning inside the Shiekh store. Moreno said he saw black smoke from his apartment window at about 8 p.m. after arriving home from the protest. He said the demonstration was peaceful. 'What I'm afraid of is that people will start to blame the protesters for what happened,' Moreno said in Spanish, referring to the alleged looting. Singh, the liquor store owner, said he supported the ICE protests and did not believe demonstrators took any part in the destruction. . 'I don't think you should hurt the business owners that are supplying you in the community,' he said.
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Yahoo
NYC Chinatown residents unveil alternative plan to relocate 'mega jail'
[Source] Community advocates in Manhattan's Chinatown unveiled a new proposal last week calling for the relocation of a controversial, borough-based jail project as opposition intensifies against what would become one of the world's tallest detention centers. Catch up The Manhattan jail at 124-125 White Street stems from former Mayor Bill de Blasio's 2017 announcement to create a borough-based jail system replacing Rikers Island, which the City Council voted to shut down in 2019. Major construction of the borough-based jails began in June 2021, but the Manhattan project now faces significant delays, with costs rising from an original $1.7 billion estimate to $3.8 billion and completion pushed to 2032 — though city officials now consider the original 2027 Rikers closure deadline unattainable. Community group Neighbors United Below Canal (NUBC) filed a lawsuit in 2020 citing the city 'underestimates the impacts of the Manhattan jail' on traffic, noise pollution and socioeconomic impacts, initially winning before the city's successful 2021 appeal. Demolition work that began last spring has disrupted the adjacent Chung Pak senior housing center, with residents reporting structural damage and dust, and one tenant describing constant shaking that feels 'like an earthquake is coming.' Trending on NextShark: The latest efforts NUBC and a new community group, Welcome to Chinatown, held a rally on June 2 to present their 'Alternative Plan,' which proposes relocating the Manhattan jail to the currently vacant Metropolitan Correctional Center that closed in 2021. Under their proposal, the 125 White Street site would be converted into 1,040 units of affordable housing, a 25,000-square-foot public plaza and community retail space, while reducing the maximum building height from 335 feet to 235 feet. NUBC co-founder Jan Lee said the plan 'reflects what the community has been asking for all along: more affordable housing and a real voice in what happens to our neighborhood.' The proposal has won support from Councilmember Chris Marte, Assemblymember Grace Lee, State Senator Brad Hoylman-Sigal and other elected officials, with Community Board 1 passing a resolution endorsing the plan last month. Trending on NextShark: What's next The alternative proposal faces significant obstacles, requiring both city and federal approval since the Metropolitan Correctional Center is a federal facility. Community advocates have contacted Sen. Chuck Schumer's office, and according to Lee, Schumer has been in touch with the Bureau of Prisons regarding the facility's status. Time is running short, with Lee warning that the window for changes could be just 'a matter of weeks' as 'once those boring tests are over, the bulldozers come in.' Meanwhile, Mayor Eric Adams' office maintains that any decision to relocate the jail must go through the City Council. He noted that the original Chinatown site selection occurred under the previous administration, with a spokesperson stating, 'the contract to build the Manhattan-based borough jail at this site has already been signed and the work has already begun.' Trending on NextShark: This story is part of The Rebel Yellow Newsletter — a bold weekly newsletter from the creators of NextShark, reclaiming our stories and celebrating Asian American voices. Subscribe free to join the movement. If you love what we're building, consider becoming a paid member — your support helps us grow our team, investigate impactful stories, and uplift our community. Trending on NextShark: Subscribe here now! Download the NextShark App: Want to keep up to date on Asian American News? Download the NextShark App today!