CITY HALL

Local activist groups including Florida Rising, Florida For All and the Jacksonville Community Action Committee gathered for a rally Tuesday evening in front of City Hall, speaking out against rising rent costs.

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot is making an announcement with NASCAR leaders on Tuesday.

After years of delay, Ald. Edward Burke finally has a trial date in his blockbuster federal racketeering case.

Some critics have questioned whether the casino will generate the amount of revenue touted by the city.

He told News4JAX they are being shut down and city resources are being used to do it, which is a cost to taxpayers.

Brown said to expect uniformed and plain-clothed officers all over the area.

The 78th anniversary of D-Day this year also falls at the beginning of Women Veterans Recognition Week in Jacksonville. This marks the ninth year of the event in the city.

Joy Dobbs, the mother of Dakotah Earley, a 23-year-old culinary student who was shot earlier this month, spoke out about her son's progress and thanked the neighbor who came to his aid,.

Members of the Unity Project gathered Monday on the steps of City Hall.

Mothers living in Northwest Jacksonville who are fed up with gun violence took to the steps of City Hall on Tuesday.

The City of Jacksonville says they had no option but to break-up a protest over affordable housing in front of City Hall.

The justices agreed that the city discriminated against an activist for refusing his request to fly a Christian flag outside City Hall.

The Supreme Court ruled 9-0 in favor of Camp Constitution, a Christian civic organization, and its director.

A unanimous Supreme Court has ruled that Boston violated the free speech rights of a conservative activist when it refused his request to fly a Christian flag on a flagpole outside City Hall.

An affordable housing rally downtown was disrupted on Sunday when city workers took props from the rally and threw them away.

Some neighborhoods were damaged enough that homes were completely blown down.

More than 6,500 people were left without power, and a fire chief said some homes were destroyed.

The measure follows multiple criminal investigations at City Hall and spats over conflicts of interest among Chicago elected officials.

Starting Wednesday night, Rio de Janeiro samba schools’ elaborate floats and feather-festooned dancers will parade between packed bleachers

Starting Wednesday night, Rio de Janeiro samba schools’ elaborate floats and feather-festooned dancers will parade between packed bleachers.

Washington died in office in 1987 at age 65.

More than 2,100 employees were unvaccinated as of Monday, though about 1,400 got exemptions.

The dust, debris and the dead lying in Kharkiv’s central Freedom Square are showing Ukrainians what might become of other cities if Russia’s invasion isn’t countered in time.

In CPS, masks are required in its teachers union agreement.

Buffalo police are asking for help in locating a missing 13-year-old girl.

Fourteen people were shot before dawn Saturday morning at a hookah parlor and police said one person died and that two of the victims suffered critical injuries. (Feb. 26)

Repairs were underway Friday afternoon after more than a dozen windows of Jacksonville’s City Hall were damaged overnight.

San Francisco's police department has released preliminary figures showing a 567% increase in reported hate crimes against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders from the previous year.

The hashtag #SaccageParis, or #TrashyParis, has become an outlet for Parisians to complain about eyesores in the city and left-wing mayor Anne Hidalgo.

Supreme Court justices seem to have little doubt that Boston was wrong to refuse to fly a banner described as a Christian flag outside City Hall.

Supreme Court justices seemed to have little doubt Tuesday that Boston was wrong to refuse to fly a banner described as a Christian flag outside City Hall. Arguments at the high court appeared to unite justices on the left and right in favor of Harold Shurtleff, a conservative activist. Shurtleff wanted to fly a white banner with a red cross on a blue background in the upper left corner, called the Christian flag.

Quad-state tornado path left damage in many communities.

A push at City Hall to bring back curbside recycling in Jacksonville.

Authorities in France want to accelerate vaccinations against the coronavirus before Christmas as infections surge and more people with COVID-19 seek medical attention.

A group in favor of keeping Confederate monuments in Jacksonville took to the steps of City Hall on Friday to offer a proposal to keep the current statues and add others to honor all cultures.

The Sixth Circuit will now decide whether to permanently halt the Biden administration policy.

Five percent of unvaccinated adults said they have left a job over a vaccine mandate, according to a survey released Thursday by the Kaiser Family Foundation.

The Jacksonville Community Action Committee on Tuesday afternoon joined together with other local organizations for a rally, demanding the Jacksonville City Council reinstate its “Safer Together” committee.

Anjanette Young, whose home was mistakenly raided by Chicago police in 2019 while she was forced to stand handcuffed and unclothed in her home, held a protest with her attorney, asking for transparency from Mayor Lori Lightfoot.

"We're not being revisionist. We're not waging a war on history," council member Inez Barron said. "We're saying that we want to make sure that the total story is told."

An 1833 statue of Thomas Jefferson will be removed from New York’s City Council chamber by the end of the year.

For weeks, the Northside Collation of Jacksonville has been pressing the city follow through with the removal of all remaining Confederate monuments, and on Tuesday, the organization held another rally outside City Hall.

The unnamed suspect went on a lengthy crime spree throughout downtown Los Angeles before running into an apartment complex and taking a woman hostage.

About two dozen people with the Northside Coalition of Jacksonville gathered Tuesday at City Hall to call for the removal of all Confederate monuments in the city.

Members of the Northside Coalition of Jacksonville and other people rallied Wednesday at City Hall to call for the removal of a Confederate monument.

A man was stabbed and a reporter was attacked Saturday at a protest against vaccine mandates on the south lawn of Los Angeles' City Hall after a fight broke out between the protesters and counterprotesters, the Los Angeles Police Department and local media said. About 2 p.m., a group of several hundred people holding American flags, Trump memorabilia and signs calling for “medical freedom” arrived at City Hall around 2 p.m. for the rally, the Los Angeles Times reported.

City Hall was struck by gunfire during one of two shootings early Sunday morning in Jacksonville, according to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — When it rains outside in Kansas City, Missouri, it also rains inside the rickety underground garage at City Hall, where parking spaces for the mayor and city manager sit below rebar and crumbled concrete that musty stormwater can easily seep through. The garage’s decay had long been obvious to Kansas City leaders. After all, they park there. But fixing it had not been an urgent priority until nearly 100 people died last month in the collapse of a condominium building in Surfsi

Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene and Matt Gaetz will hold a "peaceful protest" outside the city hall of Anaheim, California, after a third venue set to house an "America First" rally hosted by the pair pulled out just hours before they were set to take the stage.

Five officers have sued the Silicon Valley city of Palo Alto, saying it allowed the creation of a Black Lives Matter mural with anti-police images that constituted harassment and discrimination against law enforcement. The mural was painted last June in the street across from City Hall following the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis Officer Derek Chauvin. It was to remain on the street for up to a year but it was gone by November, according to The Daily Post in Palo Alto, which first reported the lawsuit Wednesday.

Boise’s Somali Bantu refugees are seeking accountability and release of the man shot by police more than a week ago. They say protests might be coming.

A sculpture symbolizing Britain’s complex colonial ties and an artwork featuring the faces of 850 transgender people are set to go on display in Trafalgar Square, one of London’s highest-profile venues for public art.

A sculpture symbolizing Britain’s complex colonial ties and an artwork featuring the faces of 850 transgender people will be going on display in Trafalgar Square, one of London’s highest-profile venues for public art. City officials on Monday announced the next two works to occupy the “fourth plinth,” a large stone pedestal in the central London square. From 2022 to 2024 the plinth will display Malawi-born artist Samson Kambalu’s “Antelope,” a sculpture of Pan-Africanist leader John Chilembwe beside European missionary John Chorley.

San Jose officials have passed the first law in the country that requires gun owners to carry liability insurance and pay a fee to cover taxpayers’ costs associated with gun violence.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Tuesday night that “about 99 percent” of the criticism she receives over her temperament is due to the fact she’s a Black woman.

Welcome to The Spin, the Chicago Tribune's politics newsletter.

Overland Park police are asking for help in finding 24-year-old Kyle Anthony Gutierres.

The note drew criticism from political types who saw it as the mayor bullying a staffer.

The average cost for a hotel room there could approach $240 and would include high-end amenities. That has some questioning if it should receive incentives.

Were the homeless camps at City Hall and Westport area a humanitarian crisis — or a public relations one?

The former City Hall lawyer considers herself the last progressive standing in the New York City mayoral race.

San Francisco’s former public works director, who resigned after being charged in a City Hall corruption case, won't face criminal charges for an alleged armed robbery that turned out to be a bad joke, the prosecutor's office announced Thursday. Mohammed Nuru, 58, was booked into jail on suspicion of attempted robbery on Wednesday after reportedly trying to steal a bag of potato chips from someone in a break room at the San Francisco-Marin Food Bank, where Nuru was volunteering.

Faith leaders, celebrities and lawmakers across the political spectrum are condemning a rise in antisemitic incidents around the world triggered by the recent conflict between Israel and Gaza’s militant Hamas rulers.

They have slammed Mayor Lucas’ budget decisions as “defunding the police” and called Kansas City “a city in crisis.”

Ahead of a special forum to discuss a proposed local option gas tax in Duval County, the Jacksonville City Council on Tuesday heard from members of the public during a town hall meeting at City Hall.

Greenville’s 10-story City Hall has outlived its use as a government center, and developers are eyeing it for residential, office and retail space in a fast-growing downtown.

People who live along Ken Knight Drive in the Washington Heights neighborhood no longer have to walk out their door and see and smell piles of trash that they said went uncollected for a long period of time.

The city of St. Augustine on Sunday lowered the American flag at City Hall to half-staff in honor of former Mayor George Gardner.

Los Angeles police have announced the arrest of a suspect in an alleged attack by a pro-Palestinian group on Jewish men outside a restaurant earlier in the week.

Lightfoot said she's been struck by the "overwhelming whiteness and maleness" of Chicago journalists.

Journalists of color long had accepted the crumbs handed to us, Dahleen Glanton writes.

It is thought that a mixed dosing schedule could lead to an increase in work absences the day after immunization against the coronavirus.

Brexit and the coronavirus pandemic have hit London in a perfect storm.

A joint meeting between the Jacksonville City Council and the Duval County School board was recessed just after starting Friday morning due to a disturbance.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Following gunfire at a youth football game in Mandarin, a Jacksonville City Councilman called for a discussion about park safety Monday night at City Hall. Inside the council chambers, several youth football coaches voiced their concerns. “Nothing is going to be done until a child dies,” said Shawn Fountain, athletic director with Westside Football League. By News4Jax count, there have been two incidents involving shots fired during Jacksonville-area youth football games in the past year. RELATED: Parents react to gunfire at youth football jamboreeDetectives said more than 500 players and spectators were in attendance at the Mandarin Athletic Association football jamboree but no injuries were reported.

(AP Photo/Craig Mitchelldyer, File)PORTLAND, Ore. – The mayor of Portland, Oregon, announced Thursday he would seek $2 million in one-time funding for police, other agencies and outreach programs to try to stem rampant gun violence in the city. The move by Mayor Ted Wheeler represents an about-face after city leaders in June voted to cut nearly $16 million from the police budget, reductions that included the elimination of a gun violence reduction unit. During an hour-long news conference Thursday, Wheeler, activists, faith leaders and community members reiterated that in order to solve the problem of gun violence, the community must work together. Wheeler said the tactic is not the same as the now-eliminated Gun Violence Reduction Team and would be more transparent. Wheeler said he supports the ideas, beginning with asking City Council to appropriate $2 million in one-time fiuds from the city’s reserve stability contingency account created last fall, to address gun violence.

FILE - In this Jan.18, 2019 file photo, French President Emmanuel Macron meets pupils as he visits a school canteen in Saint-Sozy, southwestern France. With a meatless four-course meal that Lyon City Hall says will be quicker and easier to serve to children who must be kept socially distanced while eating lunch to avoid coronavirus infections. With more local elections expected later this year, the arguing over Lyon's school meals offered a foretaste of broader political battles to come. Lyon City Hall said serving the same meal to all children, instead of offering them their usual meat and meat-free options, would shorten the time they take for lunch. City Hall said it also opted for meat-free meals because they suit all children, including those who habitually don't eat meats for religious, dietary or other reasons.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – There are new questions this week about the future of downtown Jacksonville. Two years ago when the city blew up old City Hall, it was supposed to be a catalyst of major downtown development. “You can’t have a plan just for downtown and not have a plan holistically for the city,” said Timothy Sloan. While these are just some of the ideas, the group plans to meet again in two weeks and begin the process of recommendations. The Downtown Investment Authority will look at the shipyards, the former Jacksonville Landing site and other projects that are set to happen but have been delayed.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Community organizations rallied Saturday at Jacksonville’s City Hall, calling on city leaders to speak out against “anti-mob” legislation proposed by Gov. It’s an ongoing fight over House Bill 1, which would increase penalties for violent protests in Florida. Organizations against its passing say they need to hear where city leaders stand on this. RELATED: Jacksonville Mayor: Violent demonstrators ‘do not represent our city’The controversial proposal is pitting those who people believe First Amendment rights are being threatened against others who believe the increased penalties are a way to combat public disorder. And those who organized or funded violent protests would be treated as members of an organized crime group.

“We have reached another important milestone today in our efforts to provide in-person learning for our students in the Chicago Public Schools system,” Mayor Lori Lightfoot and CPS CEO Janice Jackson said in a joint statement Monday afternoon. “We have secured agreement on one other open issue and made substantial progress on a framework that we hope will address the remaining issues. We are calling for a 48-hour cooling off period that will hopefully lead to a final resolution on all open issues. As a result of the progress we have made, and as a gesture of good faith, for now, teachers will retain access to their Google Suite. Students will remain virtual Tuesday and Wednesday and we will update the CPS school community as there are further developments.”

Additional security precautions remain in effect and will continue at least through Wednesday’s Presidential Inauguration. “If you pose a threat to public safety, we will come for you. On Sunday, Tallahassee Mayor John Dailey praised the Governor for sending national guardsmen to protect the Capitol. “I know that he cares for the safety of Tallahassee and the Capitol Complex as much as I do as well,” said Dailey. According to the City of Tallahassee, no one has requested a permit to demonstrate on Inauguration Day.

After the Flagler Beach City Manager tested positive for coronavirus Thursday, the city made the decision to shut down City Hall and the City’s Building Department. City staff will work remotely until then. “While I am feeling mild effects of the virus, I am resting, upbeat and following the advice of medical professionals. I will remain quarantined at home until I can fully recover and return to work when it is absolutely safe to do so,” Interim City Manager Rick McFadden wrote in a press release. While the facilities are closed, those who need to contact City Hall can call (386) 517-2000 and leave a voicemail.

Trends and opinions among Georgia voters appear to be shifting since the November election, according to AP VoteCast, which surveys thousands of voters in the state before the presidential race and during the Senate runoffs. One question asked voters whether they believed the country was heading in the right direction. Looking at attitudes toward President Trump among voters choosing Republicans: In the November election, 89% of Perdue’s voters said they had a very or somewhat favorable opinion of the president, in the AP VoteCast survey. Compare that to the results of the AP VoteCast survey for the runoff: Among Perdue voters, views of the president remained similar, with 87% favorable to 12% unfavorable. But I would expect there will be a large chunk of voters who will step away after what they witnessed this week.”

NEPTUNE BEACH, Fla. – The city of Neptune Beach has closed City Hall and Public Works Buildings to the general public due to a COVID-19 virus outbreak among employees and altered operations to keep working. Mayor Elaine Brown said the city was forced to take action to protect the public and employees from the virus. According to City Manager Stefen Wynn, nearly every department of the City has been affected by positive cases of the virus, including top city officials. He emphasized that the services provided by the city are essential and although the city has closed its buildings to the public, those services will continue uninterrupted. Nine Neptune Beach officers were quarantined last summer after two tested positive for COVID-19.

As City Hall considers the final permit needed before the new shredder can begin operating, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is investigating the proposed move. The probe focuses on zoning and planning ordinances that protect industries in certain parts of the city without consideration of the health and well-being of people who live nearby.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A group of African-American community and faith leaders shared their support for the Lot J development project in a news conference Wednesday morning outside City Hall. “There have been so many negative things said about Lot J, but this is a game-changer for Jacksonville,” City Councilman Reggie Gaffney said. But the group gathered Wednesday pushed back against those claims, saying the Lot J project is an investment in Jacksonville’s Eastside and is in the best interest of the city -- and all of Northeast Florida. “Long term, it’s going to enhance the city of Jacksonville and surrounding areas because as Lot J grows, other opportunities are going to follow,” Gaffney said. “I believe that Lot J can be a game-changer for ALL of Jacksonville,” Newby said.

Two-week-old vandalized ceramic bust of Breonna Taylor is seen from behind, in Oakland, on December 27, 2020. CBS SF BayArea"I don't think there's a single person in Oakland who doesn't know who Breonna Taylor is, and I don't think you attack a sculpture like that by accident," he said. Smashed two-week-old vandalized ceramic bust of Breonna Taylor in Oakland, on December 27, 2020. CBS SF BayAreaTaylor, 26, was killed during a nighttime police raid on her Louisvillle, Kentucky apartment in March. "Say her name, Breonna Taylor" has become a civil rights call for justice.

With some Americans now paying the price for what they did over Thanksgiving, health officials are warning people begging them, even not to make the same mistake during the Christmas and New Year's season. Andrew Cuomo has ended indoor dining indefinitely in New York City as coronavirus cases and hospitalizations climb. As of Monday, only takeout orders and outdoor dining will be allowed in one of the world’s great cuisine capitals. THE NUMBERS: Deaths in the U.S. have climbed to almost 2,260 per day on average, about equal to the peak seen in mid-April. ___Find AP’s full coverage of the coronavirus pandemic at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The controversial Lot J project is still taking center stage even though the Jacksonville City Council has decided to not vote on the project until next month. Protesters shouted outside City Hall to City Council members, Curry and others, upset that the city is even considering spending over $233 million on the entertainment complex. Inside, City Council was meeting and it was expected the council would take up the Lot J issue and possibly take a vote on the matter. The lack of action by City Council tonight was seen by many observers as a good step. And while City Council is going on a holiday break, they might hold another special meeting this week to take up questions.

Public schools reopened for in-school learning Monday after being closed since mid-November. Public school doors reopened for preschool students and children in kindergarten through fifth grade whose parents chose a mix of in-school and remote learning. Overall, the city counts about 1 million public school students; most have opted to learn from home this fall. Masks and social distancing are required at all city schools. About 190,000 students were eligible to return to school buildings starting Monday.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – As Florida reported its third consecutive day of more than 10,000 newly confirmed coronavirus cases, large crowds gathered for events across Jacksonville. Organizers asked parade-goers to socially distance and encouraged them to wear masks. News4Jax saw groups both wearing masks and not wearing masks and most tried to keep their distance from one another, but some spots along the parade route did get more congested. “We are still going to try and have some fun but yes, definitely going to maintain some distance from everyone,” Taylor Self said. The Florida Department of Health reported 10,431 new cases of COVID-19 in the state on Saturday with 494 new cases in Duval County.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – It’s going to be a busy weekend in Jacksonville for those hoping to enjoy some fun sporting events downtown and for those with a more serious agenda. A peaceful rally is planned for 3 p.m. Saturday at City Hall -- just 30 minutes before kickoff of the annual Georgia-Florida game at TIAA Bank Field. The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office is preparing for the events to keep everyone safe, and police are also monitoring any potential unrest surrounding the election results. pic.twitter.com/PN76rsfxRn — NAACP (@NAACP) November 6, 2020Jefferson said people should be hesitant to believe things, especially in a random text message, but they should also be aware. Those coming for any of the sporting events this weekend are encouraged to still come early, despite smaller crowds due to COVID-19 and stadium capacity limits.

FILE - In this Nov. 3, 2020, file photo, a long line of people waiting to vote stretches around City Hall on Election Day, in Honolulu. Overall, the state’s vote-by-mail election appears to have been a big success, leading to record numbers of voters participating. The law also gives voters the option to vote in person at voter service centers, where people may also register to vote or get help with casting a ballot. Ma said people waited between two to four hours on Tuesday at the two voter centers on Oahu, an island with about 549,000 registered voters. Another factor was people who view voting in person on Election Day as sacrosanct and something they wanted to do.

(NBC via AP)Here’s a collection curated by The Associated Press’ entertainment journalists of what’s arriving on TV, streaming services and music platforms this week. MOVIES— Many things will be different about Halloween this year, but the annual rush of horror films is much the same. It stars Sope Dirisu and Wunmi Mosaku as a Sudanese refugee couple finding new horrors in life in England. But Neon, the “Parasite” distributor, last week put a restored version into theaters and on Tuesday brings it to VOD. One is Natalie Margolin “The Party Hop,” which she wrote during quarantine in one week in early April.

Pope Francis lights a candle for peace during an inter-religious ceremony for peace in the square outside Rome's City Hall, Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2020 (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)ROME – A masked Pope Francis welcomed religious leaders to a socially-distanced interfaith peace prayer Tuesday, appealing for a unified international effort to work for peace and an end to the coronavirus pandemic. “The pandemic is reminding us that we are blood brothers and sisters,” they said in a joint appeal issued at the end of the service. For weeks, Francis has shunned facemasks in his public and private audiences despite a surge in COVID-19 cases across Italy and even inside Vatican City. The service was organized by the Rome-based Sant’Egidio Community, which each year organizes an interfaith peace prayer in the spirit of the first one of its kind, celebrated by St. John Paul II in Assisi in 1986. In the past week 11 Swiss Guards and a resident of the hotel where Francis lives have tested positive.

A federal appeals court on Thursday blocked a judge's ruling that would have extended the deadline for counting absentee ballots in Wisconsin a week past Election Day. If the appeals panel ruling stands, ballots will have to be received by Election Day. In an unsigned opinion, the appeals court panel cited Supreme Court precedents that argued against judges changing voting rules near an election date. Circuit Judge Frank Easterbrook was appointed by Ronald Reagan and Circuit Judge Amy St. Eve was appointed by Trump. Circuit Judge Ilana Rovner, an appointee of George H.W.

De Blasio said the number of administered vaccine doses has declined 63% for all children in the city from a year ago. For children over age 2, the number of doses is down a "shocking" 91%, he added. For children under 2 years old, the number of vaccine doses administered across the city declined by 42% from last year, de Blasio said. City doctors have administered fewer than 150,000 vaccine doses over the last six weeks, he said, far fewer than the almost 400,000 doses administered last year. "Now is the time to get your child vaccinated," de Blasio said.

New York City health officials have identified 30 additional kids with pediatric multi-system inflammatory syndrome, a potentially fatal illness doctors suspect is being caused by Covid-19 infections. There are now 82 confirmed cases of PMIS in the city, up from 52 the day before, Mayor Bill de Blasio said at a press briefing Wednesday. Of the New York City cases, 53 tested positive for the coronavirus or have the antibodies against the disease, suggesting they previously had the coronavirus and recovered, de Blasio said. City health officials don't know what makes kids more susceptible to the disease, how long it takes to manifest or their likelihood of developing it, de Blasio said Wednesday. New York City officials said the symptoms in children differ from the most common coronavirus symptoms in adults, which include a sore throat, fever, dry cough and trouble breathing.

Congress is hashing out the terms for the next package of federal loans for small businesses, even as millions of entrepreneurs still have no idea whether help is on the way. The Paycheck Protection Program, a $349 billion federal forgivable loan measure, ran out of money last Thursday just two weeks after starting. "I've still heard nothing from Chase," said Christina Dorando, founder of Cresthill Academy in Hoboken, New Jersey. She applied for the paycheck loan through JP Morgan Chase when the window opened on April 3 and, more than two weeks later, she still has no idea whether the funding is on its way. Today, it's down to a skeleton crew of 14 employees, whom Dorando is paying from personal savings.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer on Wednesday warned of an economic recession as the coronavirus spreads through the country and criticized the Trump administrations latest call for issuing $1,000 checks to Americans in response. The coronavirus is slowing our economy to a near standstill and we are almost certainly anticipating a recession, Schumer said in a speech on the Senate floor. He added that expanded unemployment benefits would be a more effective way of helping workers than a $1,000 check from Washington.