Free Republic

Some D.C. Council members are planning to propose legislation that would prevent police from joining a federal program designed to catch illegal immigrants by matching fingerprints of arrestees against a database, officials said. The District announced it was joining Secure Communities in November, but as the Washington Examiner reported earlier this month, the program has yet to get under way because police say they have run into technical difficulties. Now, Councilmen Jim Graham and Phil Mendelson say they are sponsoring legislation that will prevent the program from ever being implemented. They plan to introduce it May 4. Police Chief Cathy...

HOUSTON – The first openly gay person to be elected mayor of Houston says she hopes her victory in Saturday's election will change how the world views the city. Houston is the nation's fourth-largest city and the biggest to elect an openly gay mayor. Mayor-elect Annise Parker spoke Sunday at a press conference after defeating former city attorney Gene Locke with 53.6 percent of the vote in the hotly contested runoff election.

San Francisco health officials reported an alarming increase in new syphilis cases last year after years of declines. New syphilis cases rose 55.8 percent in 2008 over the previous year, San Francisco public health officials reported. The increase was significantly lower than the dramatic spikes reported early in the decade, when new infections increased 167 percent from 2001 to 2002. But last year's rise would seem to indicate an increase in unsafe sexual practices, which could lead to a rise in HIV infection rates.

...I didn't expect to be a crime victim on the streets of San Francisco. ... But it happened, on a beautiful evening this past weekend near Union Square. As crimes go, it could have been much worse. I was helping an elderly man when somebody sneaked up behind me and stole my garment bag. I lost a nice suit, a nice pair of shoes and overnight toiletries. Not the end of the world, but frustrating. The real crime was the vulnerability of it all....

To all you would-be politicians hoping to jump start a career in the public spotlight at the local level, be fore-warned: Local politics can be a pretty cut-throat business. And you'd be well served to not provide your political opponents with any ammunition to help them bring you down East Cleveland Mayor Eric Brewer blasted a local television station Thursday, one day after it aired photographs that purported to show the mayor wearing a wig and lingerie. The news conference came less than a week before voters decide if he should be re-elected. You see, that guy didn't think ahead....

Four people in Los Angeles killed by gunfire in 12-hour span August 23, 2009 Four people across the city were killed by gunfire in a 12-hour span, police said today. One person was found dead about 7 a.m. in Glassell Park, and three people were killed in separate shootings Saturday night in Gramercy Park, West Adams and Hyde Park, authorities said. Los Angeles police said the man who was found dead early today, in the 3400 block of Drew Street, appeared to be about 35. He had a gunshot wound to the head and was pronounced dead at the scene....

SAN FRANCISCO—Doughnuts could be a distant memory for San Francisco city workers. They must now follow "healthy meeting" guidelines under a sweeping initiative unveiled by Mayor Gavin Newsom Thursday to encourage better eating. That means less junk food and smaller portions at staff meetings. The mayor is also ordering all city departments to help locate vacant or unused city-owned land that could be used to grow food. Vendors that offer healthy food will get preference for city contracts and permits. All vending machines on city property additionally will have to meet new nutrition standards.

Imagine a city where all the major economic planks of the statist or "progressive" platform have been enacted: * A "living wage" ordinance, far above the federal minimum wage, for all public employees and private contractors. * A school system that spends significantly more per pupil than the national average. * A powerful school employee union that militantly defends the exceptional pay, benefits and job security it has won for its members. * A powerful government employee union that does the same for its members. * A tax system that aggressively redistributes income from businesses and the wealthy to the...

Man-o-man. I'm here in Chicago and I'm feeling the second bump of the recession and its feeling bad. This is a canary in the coal mine report from my vantage point and its very weird and bad here. I'm a 54 year old Architect self employed for 23 years and well able to take care of myself. I hear about friends losing their jobs who are my age who are real producers. I am working on a project in a new condo on Michigan Avenue that was 90% sold last October and it looks empty today - probably heading into...

WASHINGTON - Historically, when the economy heads south, crime rates go up. But in this recession, things are different in the District. The murder rate is at its lowest in nearly thirty years. With more on this, D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- A former high-level aide to Sen. Barbara Boxer has been sentenced to five years in prison on child pornography charges. Jeff P. Rosato, 32, of Arlington, was sentenced Friday in a hearing before U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III. He received the minimum sentence allowed under federal guidelines and will have to register as a sex offender.

Text size: Indictments reveal prison crime world Officers, inmates charged in drugs, extortion By Justin Fenton | justin.fenton@baltsun.com April 17, 2009 The court records read like a scene out of Goodfellas: From their prison cells and with the help of corrections staff, authorities say, members of a violent gang were feasting on salmon and shrimp, sipping Grey Goose vodka and puffing fine cigars - all while directing drug deals, extorting protection money from other inmates and arranging attacks on witnesses and rival gang members. A seven-month investigation that included wiretaps on contraband prison cell phones led to the indictment on...

... she makes chicken for her children but eats Oodles of Noodles herself... ... She is 29, with twin babies and a toddler, facing eviction because she's $300 behind on rent... ... The little girl, 15-16 months old, wears a striped top that swallows her tiny arms. Her nose is runny, her eyes empty. Hers is not the picture of hunger that Americans are accustomed to seeing. She isn't emaciated, like those living in squalid conditions in famine-stricken countries, but she is underweight and malnourished, often fed chips and sugary drinks instead of milk and formula... ... poor diets lacking...

MILWAUKEE - A Milwaukee woman accused of filing fraudulent voter-registration forms has been charged with one count of election fraud. A criminal complaint released to the media Tuesday says 19-year-old Latoya T. Lewis turned in multiple forms with the same voter name on them.

Well, well - looks like The Gangsta Thug Messiah wants us honest taxpayers to bail out his criminal voting class in the 35 blue counties. Make it so, Number 2!

As if we needed any reminder that times in America have changed, there is further evidence that the nearly decade-long rally of prosperity and reduced crime has ended. We are officially in a recession, a panel of experts told us last week, after months of speculation and hundreds of thousands of layoffs. At the same time, many big cities, including Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, Boston and Pittsburgh are reporting an increase in homicides this year, potentially signaling an end to the slide in violent crime. In Chicago as of last week, police had recorded 612 murders so far in 2001...

Hearst to Slash, Sell or Close the Chronicle By SHIRA OVIDE Hearst Corp. said it may close its San Francisco Chronicle newspaper unless it can quickly slash costs at the money-losing daily. A vendor sells a copy of the San Francisco Chronicle at his newsstand in the San Francisco Municipal Railway station. Getty Images A vendor sells a copy of the San Francisco Chronicle at his newsstand in the San Francisco Municipal Railway station. A vendor sells a copy of the San Francisco Chronicle at his newsstand in the San Francisco Municipal Railway station. A vendor sells a copy of...

Unbelievable. Houston taxpayers could start footing the bill to help first-time homebuyers pay off debts and improve their credit scores, under a proposal before City Council this week.The “Credit Score Enhancement Program” will give up to $3,000 in grants to individuals who are trying to qualify for mortgages through the city’s homebuyers assistance program. City officials say some applicants fall short of eligibility by only 10 or 20 points on their credit scores, and paying off some debt balances can quickly improve their numbers. Want to know how dumb this is? The Chron.com article doesn’t mention the sponsor of this...

Mayoral challengers attack incumbent Villaraigosa By Jerry Berrios, Staff Writer Updated: 02/23/2009 05:29:15 AM PST TUJUNGA - As election season winds down, five of the nine candidates hoping to dethrone Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa took some jabs at the well-financed incumbent at a mayoral forum in Tujunga Sunday afternoon. Sunday's forum was yet another debate at which the mayor was a no-show. During a recent editorial board meeting with the Daily News, Villaraigosa said his campaign would focus on his achievements and he would not debate the mayoral challengers. On Sunday morning, Villaraigosa did attend a meeting of San Fernando...

Police in Baltimore today made what is believed to be the first arrest in a civil disobedience program aimed at supporting homeowners who refuse to vacate their foreclosed homes. An activist with ACORN — the Association of Community Organization for Reform Now — faces criminal charges after breaking into a home in southeast Baltimore on Thursday to protest the foreclosure crisis sweeping the country.