December 20, 2006

Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley announced December 11 that he will run for a sixth term. Daley, 64, a Past President of the Conference of Mayors, said, “I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished together to improve the lives of the people of Chicago.”

Daley was first elected mayor in 1989 and, if re-elected on February 27, 2007 and serves the full term, he will become Chicago’s longest serving mayor. His father, also named Richard, served for 21 years before dying in office.

Daley and his wife Maggie were featured in an article in the November issue of United News, United Airlines in-flight magazine. The article is about Chicago’s After School Matters program, which helps teens transfer talent, creativity, and energy to the workplace under the guidance of professional workers. The program has been honored with a number of national awards.

New Era Baseball Hat Company opens its second flagship store in Buffalo (NY), The Downtown Store, November 25. The Downtown Store - with its boutique look - is part of the $15 million transformation of the former Federal Reserve building into New Era’s new business headquarters where 285 employees will work. Buffalo Mayor Byron W. Brown commented, “This is great for downtown. I was here only a few days ago and the difference in what’s been done is like night and day,” while his son shopped for a cap.

Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino kicked off the 2006 Toys for Tots campaign November 24 and announced the start of the Toys for Tickets program, where certain types of parking tickets can be resolved by providing a toy of equal or greater value than the fine on the ticket. The U.S. Marine Corps Toys for Tots Program has been collecting holiday gifts for children for nearly 60 years. “Too many families struggle to make ends meet. After the bills are paid, there is little or no money left over to buy holiday presents. Boston and the U.S. Marine Corps want to make sure that no child is left out this holiday season,” Menino said. New, unwrapped, nonviolent gifts can be dropped off at any Boston Fire Station or the lobby at Boston city hall.

Menino and Arts Boston also launched the third annual Mayor’s Holiday Special November 24, featuring one'stop online shopping and special deals on all the city’s major performing arts events. The website at MayorsHolidaySpecial.com encourages Boston residents and visitors to give their holidays extra sparkle by making theater, dance and music part of their holiday traditions. From now through January 1, 2007, the Mayor’s Holiday Special offers more than 3,500 half-price seats at all of the city’s major holiday arts productions, including the Boston Pops “Radio City Christmas Spectacular,” Boston Ballet’s “The Nutcracker,” “A Celtic Christmas Sojourn,” “Urban Nutcracker,” and many more throughout Greater Boston.

An underground pedestrian crossing in Orange, hotel shuttles in Anaheim and a trolley in San Clemente are among project ideas approved for study by California Orange County’s largest transportation agency November 14. Anaheim, which is planning to build one of the largest transit centers in Southern California, has provided an additional $300,000 to study shuttle routes connecting the city’s resort and hotel areas to the bus-rail center, said Anaheim Mayor Curt Pringle, and an OCTA director. “We’re looking at everything, all the way up to a monorail connector,” Pringle said.

As growth creeps around the Angel Oak reputed to be 1,400 years old, plans for a new development of stores and homes will ensure the future of both the ancient tree and a health center which has served Gullah residents of the Sea Islands for decades. Charleston (SC) Mayor Joseph P. Riley, Jr. said the city worked to protect both the tree and the health center. “Both are vitally important and both deserved protection and preservation,” he said. Specifics of just what will be built in Angel Oak Village will be worked out in the coming months. Initial plans allow for shops and 285 multifamily homes. “We were insistent that the development would not harm the Angel Oak but also not disturb the sense of peace and beauty you have standing under or near the Angel Oak,” Riley said.

Columbia (MO) council unanimously approved a $10,262 loan to the city’s public access channel CAT3 TV on November 20 to cover the channel’s operating costs for the next five months. About half the funds $5,262 will be paid immediately from the Council Contingency Fund; the remaining $5,000 will be paid to the channel once it files an expenditure report in January. Mayor Darwin Hindman said that CAT3 TV is “an important community asset” that provides residents with an artistic outlet. “This is such a creative community,” he said. “It’s full of people that want to get out and create.”

Two East Chicago (IL) parks are set for remodeling this year, as part of a campaign to revamp the city’s aging infrastructure. The city announced a $2.6 million renovation of Callahan Park and Nunez Park in the city’s Indiana Harbor section during a ground-breaking at the Roberto Clemente Community Center. “We have been working on this proposal for more than a year and a half,” Mayor George Pabey said. The new parks come after major improvements in the nine-hole golf course at MacArthur Park and improvements in Tod Park this year. The money is being reallocated from existing city funds.

The Florida League of Cities announced Pembroke Pines Mayor Frank C. Ortis as the winner of its Florida Cities of Excellence Award. Ortis was presented with the award, which recognizes his city as a city of Excellence, November 24 at the Hyatt Regency Orlando International Airport Hotel in Orlando. The Florida cities of Excellence Awards honor municipal leaders and municipalities throughout the state for devoted commitment to public service and their ongoing efforts to improve the quality of life in their communities. “All finalists and winners deserve to be commended for their accomplishments, dedication and hard work,” said Rene Flowers, Florida League of cities president and council vice chair, St. Petersburg. “These winners exemplify the honor, valor, and integrity of true public service.” Ortis is a member of the Conference of Mayors Advisory Board.