When the economic crisis deepened this fall, this city already was losing scores of police and firefighters because it could no longer afford the rich salaries and benefits it offered after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Now, with crime on the rise and tax revenue sinking, this San Francisco Bay area city faces more cuts in police and fire department budgets.
It is a scenario being closely watched by the many other California municipalities that offered the same lucrative pay packages — and that now face the same fiscal pressures.
Continue reading ‘California Cities Cut Police Budgets’
An aging cruise ship could become temporary housing for Hurricane Ike refugees if Texas officials can navigate through the federal government’s paperwork.
Federal Emergency Management Agency officials said they had not received a formal request for funds to use the ship and that a state agency’s e-mail to a FEMA administrator did not follow protocol for making such a request.
Continue reading ‘Texas floats plan to house Ike victims aboard ship’
A Boston Housing Authority director says Barack Obama’s aunt, a Kenyan woman who has lived in public housing for five years, is an “exemplary resident” and only recently did anyone know of her connection to the presidential contender.
Obama’s campaign spokesman Reid Cherlin confirmed to the Herald yesterday that Zeituni Onyango, 56, who lives on Flaherty Way in South Boston, is Obama’s aunt on his father’s side.
Continue reading ‘Boston Housing Authority ‘flabbergastered’ Barack Obama’s aunt living in Southie’
Multiple senior government officials tell ABC News the intelligence community is anticipating a message from Osama bin Laden before or just after the presidential election.
As we race toward Election Day, sources say a number of intelligence analysts have concluded it is critical for al Qaeda’s top leader to be seen or heard, if only for public relations purposes. Those analysts believe that if bin Laden is not heard from, he runs the risk of being considered irrelevant or impotent. The U.S. intelligence community has some indication that there is some confusion among Islamic radicals about their leadership.
Continue reading ‘Exclusive: U.S. Expects Bin Laden Message Near Election’
Barack Obama and John McCain are evenly matched in the swing states of North Carolina and Missouri, though Obama is strongly outpacing McCain in two of those states’ crucial battleground counties, according to new Politico/InsiderAdvantage polls.
In North Carolina, Obama and McCain were tied with 48 percent of the vote. Only 3 percent of voters in the state remain undecided. In Missouri, McCain led Obama 50 percent to 47 percent, an edge that was within the margin of error.
Continue reading ‘Poll: Dead heats in 2 key swing states’
The campaign signs indicate that the candidate is from Delaware, but they don’t give a clue what office he is seeking.
The candidate himself has refused to debate his opponent or appear before the voters he hopes will re-elect him, instead sending surrogates to read canned statements on his behalf at candidate forums.
Continue reading ‘Biden waging stealth re-election campaign’
It is almost too late for an October Surprise. But Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain should be wary of the Last Weekend.
The final days of the last two presidential races featured unexpected twists that appeared to have an impact on the outcome, shifting the allegiances of some undecided voters in what turned out to be very tight races.
Continue reading ‘Obama and McCain: Be wary of the final weekend’
