After 74 percent of the city’s electorate voted in favor of a charter study commission on Election Day this past Tuesday, the commission’s five members are prepping to get down to business on assessing the city’s form of government. The commission is charged with scrutinizing the city’s charter and possibly making recommendations. They have nine […]

The Stephen Manor and Vita Garden housing complexes are receiving $7 million of improvements after being purchased by Vitus Group of New York. And thanks to some local employers, some of the improvements are being done by local young men seeking to turn their lives around. The large-scale project is being handled by Ellisdale Construction, […]

Developers of a $7 million renovation project at the Stephen Manor and Vita Gardens housing developments are seeking more local contractors to fill jobs on site after receiving complaints that they weren’t hiring enough area workers. The Vitus Group of Manhattan recently bought both complexes and is rehabilitating them. In June, Vitus Group’s Scott Langan […]

Randy Thompson is one of five citizens whose names will appear on the general election ballot this November for a charter study commission. A charter study commission [CSC] would scrutinize the city’s current form of government and possibly recommend changes. The CSC is subject to two votes in the November general election. First, voters can […]

Members of the public continued to request that the city implement a civilian review board at the Sept. 5 council meeting. A civilian review board [CRB] — also known as a citizen review board or a civilian complaint review board — is a group of citizens who look into the public’s complaints against the police […]

The deadline is past and the signatures are counted, and five city residents have been approved to run for the charter study commission. A charter study commission [CSC] would scrutinize the city’s current form of government and recommend changes if they see fit. The CSC is subject to two votes in the November general election. […]

The threat of a recall for three council members is effectively no more. Duanne Small, who spearheaded the city recall committee, said today his group no longer plans to file a lawsuit against the city for rejecting their three recall petitions in August. The city rejected the petitions on the grounds that officials did not […]

Candidates for recall and a possible charter study commission now have until the first week in September to hand in their petitions. Previously, today, Aug. 31, was the deadline, established by city clerk Steve Kay. Now, recall candidates will have until Sept. 4 while charter study commission candidates will have until Sept. 7. The extended […]

Community activist Duanne Small [pictured above] is hitting the pavement to collect signatures for a petition to join the city’s charter study commission. The charter study commission, established via ordinance in May, would scrutinize the city’s current form of government and possibly suggest changes. In the November election, the electorate will vote on whether they want […]

Duanne Small’s recall petitions were rejected today after having been handed in yesterday at 4:50 p.m. The petitions, which called for the removal of Mayor Ed Johnson, Deputy Mayor John G. Loffredo and Councilwoman Sue Henderson from office, contained about 2,644 signatures each. Small, a community activist, spearheaded the effort to collect signatures. The reason […]