(The Center Square) – A number of downtown Seattle property owners owe the city a collective $16 million in taxes after a Washington Court of Appeals ruling. Downtown property owners are subject to a local improvement district tax that go toward improvement projects near the Seattle waterfront. Property owners within the Seattle Waterfront district area contribute to a portion of the area’s improvement costs. They pay an annual assessment payment based on a $1,000...
The Italian Unesco site is hoping to reduce over-tourism with the charge – the first of its kind in a major cityAfter years in the making, Venice will on Thursday begin charging day trippers to enter the city in an effort to protect the Unesco world heritage site from the effects of over-tourism.While the measure has ignited criticism and derision from some, who argue it is unconstitutional and restrictive of freedom of movement – the Venice mayor, Luigi Brugnaro, has compared his “bravery” in...
Authorities in Bakersfield made 211 arrests, recovered 127 stolen vehicles and seized four firearms in the first six weeks of an enforcement effort between local police and the California Highway Patrol to reduce crime in some California cities, Gov. Gavin Newsom's office said Tuesday. Newsom announced last week that he was sending California Highway Patrol officers to Bakersfield as part of an expansion of an anti-crime campaign that began in the Bay Area earlier this year. It turns out they...
RIO GRANDE VALLEY, Texas (ValleyCentral) — The Supreme Court heard arguments in a case that could impact how cities across the nation handle homelessness on Monday. The case comes after a city in Oregon is fining people for sleeping or camping in public places. The city of Grants Pass, Oregon issued over 500 tickets for []
GRANTS PASS, Ore. – Grants Pass Mayor Sara Bristol spoke with NBC5 about the Supreme Court case Tuesday, centered on whether or not the city can criminalize sleeping in public spaces. Monday saw the first oral arguments in front of the country’s highest court, in a case that’s garnering nationwide attention. Mayor Sara Bristol said […]
Something seems to be terribly wrong with our foster care system. Several children have died in past few years while they were supposed to be taken care of. And now comes a $750,000 lawsuit being settled by the state (“State to pay $750,000 in foster abuse case,” Star-Advertiser, April 16).
Experts say the Supreme Court case on homelessness is more likely to impact smaller cities.
Mauro Quattrochi is facing a decision shared by many in Toronto: commit to a “wallet-bursting life in the city, or a car-bound, almost-as-expensive life outside it?” Quattrochi, an engineer living in downtown Toronto, says the mortgage cost on his condominium townhouse will skyrocket upon renewal next year. “We're staring down the barrel of an economic gun,” Quattrochi told CTV News Toronto. He wants to start a family with his partner, “but with the costs of food, childcare, and general...
The Supreme Court is set to hear oral arguments Monday over a challenge to a law letting cities fine homeless people, potentially radically changing the lives of the hundreds of thousands without homes. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that cities cannot ticket homeless people for camping in public when there were no alternative
When Helen Cruz pitched her tent in a city park a few years ago and made it her home, she chose the location for one reason: She wanted to be close to the houses she cleans for a living but could never afford for herself. “People see the irony of it,” said Cruz, 49. “I never looked at it like that.” What Cruz didn’t realize then was that living in a park in Grants Pass, Oregon, would place her in the middle of a national debate that will reach the Supreme Court on Monday about whether cities can...
The council had 73 new homes built at Daresbury View and Berners Road, Arbourthorne. The project has now cost £15,604,000 in total, a meeting of the council’s finance committee heard on Tuesday (April 16). Committee members agreed to a drawdown of £700,000 from the council’s stock improvement programme budget to cover the extra cost. A report to the committee said: “Following numerous commercial meetings between SCC [Sheffield City Council] and the contractor at project handover it became clear...
The Sundance Film Festival may kick the snow off its boots once and for all. The annual celebration of independent film announced on Wednesday that it is open for pitches from cities across the United States on becoming the new permanent home of the festival starting in 2027. Sundance has taken place in the luxury […]