January 22, 2007

Cha Vang, a Hmong immigrant from Laos, was shot to death in northern Wisconsin in early January while hunting squirrels north of Green Bay. The murder was generally believed to be a hate crime and, while there are suspects, no one has yet been charged with the crime. Green Bay Mayor Jim Schmitt on January 11 held a candlelight vigil in frigid weather, addressing 200 mourners. The Hmong were granted refugee status at the end of the Vietnam War in return for their service to Americans on and off the battlefield. A majority settled in Minnesota, around Minneapolis and St. Paul; about 40,000 went to Wisconsin, including 6,000 in the Green Bay area. At the vigil, Schmitt said, “I know there’s some anger when bad things like this happen. We need to practice some patience and know that justice will be served in this matter.”

Denver Mayor John W. Hickenlooper is celebrating a January 11 decision of Democrats that awarded the 2008 Democratic Convention to The Mile High city. The award was seen as recognition that the Democratic Party acheived recent electoral gains in The Rocky Mountain West. Denver beat out New York City as the convention site. Hickenlooper pledged to make the event “the best convention ever.” The city needs to raise $80 million to host the convention, which is estimated to draw $116 million in tourism business. About 35,000 delegates and members of the press are expected to attend the event. The Republican National Committee announced that its 2008 convention would be held in Minneapolis'st. Paul (MN).

Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl, along with School Superintendent Mark Roosevelt, announced the first-ever donation for the high school college access program, the Pittsburgh Promise, a program that will offer money to high school students seeking college education. The scholarship program will cost no extra tax-payer dollars, but will be funded solely on a fundraising/donation basis. The program will not only help families plan for their children’s education, but in part, help pay for college education. “This program is not just a college access program, but a revitalization strategy for Pittsburgh,” said Ravenstahl. “We are confident that when it comes to education, it will not be a reason why families are leaving Pittsburgh. It is going to take big ideas and goals to turn the city around and this is exactly what the Pittsburgh Promise is.”

The District of Columbia region's top elected officials have held an initial meeting to cooperate on homeland security issues. New District Mayor Adrian Fenty met January 12 with Maryland Governor-Elect Martin O’Malley and Virginia Governor Timothy M. Kaine in a priority meeting to pledge future cooperation as the region begins to apply for federal grants. O’Malley, then mayor of Baltimore, and Kaine, former Richmond mayor, are both Democrats as is Fenty, newly sworn in. O’Malley was sworn in as the new Governor of Maryland January 16. Kaine dubbed the trio “The Three Amigos” and said that their collective experience as city council members and mayors – rather than party labels – will make them effective regional leaders.

The January issue of The Nation features Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson. Under the headline: The Other Rocky, author Sasha Abramsky and the article has a sub-head: Salt Lake City’s Mayor Anderson Fights The Good Fight.” Anderson gets specific praise for leadership is Salt Lake City against the war in Iraq and a speech at an anti-war protest that drew 6,000 people during a visit to the city by President Bush. The 55-year old mayor also got praise after being elected mayor in 1999 with leading a change where the city “That has become synonymous with some of the most creative urban government thinking in the country.” He also gets the author’s kudos for pushing the Kyoto treaty locally, and such initiatives as replacing SUV’s in the city’s fleet with hybrid cars and an ambitious recycling program.