Chicago Tribune,
by
John Byrne
&
Gregory Pratt
Original Article
Posted by
NorthernDog
—
6/26/2021 9:12:23 AM
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CHICAGO — Jean Baptiste Point DuSable Lake Shore Drive it is. Or rather, will soon be. Two years after a South Side alderman introduced an ordinance to rebrand the landmark Chicago Lake Shore Drive to honor DuSable because he was upset he didn’t hear the Black founder of Chicago mentioned during a river boat tour, the City Council on Friday ended months of racially charged debate by adopting a compromise to make it so. The vote was 33-15, with “no” votes coming from 12 white and three Latino aldermen. The ordinance calls for the renaming to happen immediately, but a
Associated Press,
by
Staff
Original Article
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NorthernDog
—
6/25/2021 10:23:51 PM
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Reeling from massive cutbacks in volunteers during the COVID-19 pandemic, and grappling with high construction costs, Habitat for Humanity leaders would be the first to admit they’re struggling. (Snip) What could have been the knockout blow was the spike in construction costs. Lumber prices, according to the National Association of Home Builders, increased by more than 300% since April 2020. Demand for new homes, as well as demand for supplies for renovation projects and other factors, also kept costs high, experts say. Prices have come down in recent weeks, but they are still significantly higher than before the pandemic. Morgan
WMAQ-TV [Chicago IL],
by
Staff
Original Article
Posted by
NorthernDog
—
6/24/2021 6:19:46 PM
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Twenty-two members of Chicago City Council sent a letter to Mayor Lori Lightfoot Thursday asking her to "honor and consistently follow" the body's rules of order after a meeting the day before devolved into chaos before abruptly adjourning. (Snip) "We, the undersigned members of the Chicago City Council, hereby call on you - in your current capacity as Presiding Officer - to honor and consistently follow the 2019-2023 Rules of Order and Procedure of the City Council," the letter begins. "We have witnessed numerous occasions in recent meetings where the various rulings made by you as Presiding Officer have been inconsistent
ABC News,
by
Devin Dwyer
Original Article
Posted by
NorthernDog
—
6/23/2021 6:37:35 PM
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Among the most hotly anticipated decisions as the U.S. Supreme Court closes out the term this month is whether its oldest member and most senior liberal will call it quits. Justice Stephen Breyer, who is still in apparent good health and showing passion for the job, has given no indication he will retire this year, but he faces extraordinary outside pressure from Democratic activists to step down. Last week, a group of 18 progressive legal scholars published a full-page ad in the New York Times saying "it is best for the country" if Breyer retires immediately, while a coalition of
Yahoo News,
by
Chloe Xiang
Original Article
Posted by
NorthernDog
—
6/23/2021 3:58:58 PM
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India Walton, a nurse and progressive activist, upset four-term incumbent Byron Brown in Tuesday’s Democratic primary in Buffalo, N.Y., in a bid to become the first socialist mayor of a major American city since 1960. Walton, who would also become the first female mayor elected in Buffalo, must still win in the November general election — though the last time the city elected a Republican to lead it was during the presidency of John F. Kennedy. There is currently no Republican seeking the office. While absentee votes have not yet been counted, the Associated Press declared Walton the winner in
WCCO-TV (Minneapolis, MN),
by
Esme Murphy
Original Article
Posted by
NorthernDog
—
6/23/2021 9:02:12 AM
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MINNEAPOLIS — In an unusual move, the Minnesota attorney general is asking the public to submit impact statements ahead of Derek Chauvin’s sentencing on murder charges Friday. It’s been two months since Chauvin was convicted on all counts for murdering George Floyd. While victim impact statements are common during sentencing, comments from the community are not. (Snip) The law, under 611A of Minnesota’s statutes, does allow to have community impact, but it says nothing about whether the entire state or nation can come in. Family members are also expected to give victim impact statements, likely similar to the one made
Fox News,
by
Louis Casiano
Original Article
Posted by
NorthernDog
—
6/23/2021 8:07:34 AM
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The Colorado police officer who was killed Monday along with the suspected gunman and a civilian was identified Tuesday as a 19-year veteran of the force who was "targeted" and "ambushed" because he was wearing a uniform and badge, officials said. Gordon Beesley was a school resource officer at Oberon Middle School in the Denver suburb of Arvada but was working patrol while school was out for the summer, the Arvada Police Department said. No other details about him were disclosed. In a news conference, police Chief Link Strate said Beesley was targeted because he was a police officer.
Fox Business,
by
Brittany De Lea
Original Article
Posted by
NorthernDog
—
6/22/2021 9:59:11 PM
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Retailer Ikea is under fire after one of its stores reportedly sent out a lunch menu for a Juneteenth celebration that is said to have featured certain dishes that perpetuate racial stereotypes. An Atlanta Ikea store sent a letter to employees last week to inform them of the celebration, which allegedly included a note about a "special menu" including items like fried chicken, watermelon and other foods with ties to racism, as reported by local CBS affiliate. The meal was intended as an internal celebration for store workers, not for customers. A spokesperson for Ikea told FOX Business that to
Press-Democrat [Santa Rosa CA],
by
Ethan Varian
Original Article
Posted by
NorthernDog
—
6/22/2021 2:29:55 PM
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Lawmakers in Sacramento are poised to extend statewide eviction protections beyond the end of June to ensure emergency rental aid reaches struggling tenants in time to cover potentially all of their unpaid rent during the pandemic, a move strongly backed by local renter advocates and met with resistance by many landlords. The underlying issue is that state and county governments have been slow to distribute the $2.6 billion in federal funds to cover back rent. In Sonoma County, officials have so far disbursed less than 10% of the $32 million set aside for its rental aid program. Renter advocates fear
Hill [Washington DC],
by
Jordain Carney
Original Article
Posted by
NorthernDog
—
6/21/2021 10:32:08 PM
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Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) is digging in on her opposition to nixing the 60-vote legislative filibuster amid growing pressure from progressives to change the rules to help pass voting rights. Sinema, in a Washington Post op-ed, argued that nixing the legislative filibuster would weaken "democracy's guardrails" and that the country would "lose much more than we gain." "It’s no secret that I oppose eliminating the Senate’s 60-vote threshold. ...My support for retaining the 60-vote threshold is not based on the importance of any particular policy. It is based on what is best for our democracy. The filibuster compels moderation and
CNBC,
by
Berkeley Lovelace Jr.
Original Article
Posted by
NorthernDog
—
6/21/2021 8:33:11 PM
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The highly contagious delta variant is the fastest and fittest coronavirus strain yet, and it will “pick off” the most vulnerable people, especially in places with low Covid-19 vaccination rates, World Health Organization officials warned Monday. Delta, first identified in India, has the potential “to be more lethal because it’s more efficient in the way it transmits between humans and it will eventually find those vulnerable individuals who will become severely ill, have to be hospitalized and potentially die,” Dr. Mike Ryan, executive director of the WHO’s health emergencies program, said during a news conference. Ryan said world leaders and
BBC News [UK],
by
Staff
Original Article
Posted by
NorthernDog
—
6/21/2021 1:55:01 PM
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A project to preserve endangered Tasmanian devils on a small island has backfired after the predators killed seabirds in large numbers, a conservation group says. A small number of devils were shipped to Maria Island east of Tasmania, Australia, in 2012. The move aimed to protect the mammals from a deadly facial cancer that had driven them towards extinction. The devils have recovered since, but the island project has come at a cost. The introduction of the devils to the island has had "a catastrophic impact on one or more bird species", according to BirdLife Tasmania, a local conservation organisation.
Comments:
They'll have to be carried out of the Senate chambers.