KFSN-TV Fresno, CA (9/15, Perez) reported, "Reedley residents packed a city council meeting Tuesday night, urging city council members to give the police department the resources it needs." This came following "a weekend stabbing literally put crime on one woman's doorstep in South Reedley. A teen was attacked in one family's yard Saturday afternoon. While the fearful homeowner called 911, the victim tried to force his way inside." This stabbing "in broad daylight was followed by a deadly shooting Sunday night. It all comes as Reedley Police deal with a shortage of officers. Chief Steve Wright tried to reassure residents at Tuesday's meeting, but also admitted the department is short-staffed." He noted the department has nine vacancies and only 34 people, and on some shifts, "only two officers and a sergeant are on duty." "'s created a situation where you can't fill previously funded positions. We've had to freeze positions and not fill them," Wright added.

The Cowichan News Leader (9/15, Bennett) reported, "Tonight the City of Rossland will host a public design charrette at the new Rouge Gallery to garner input on how Rosslanders would like to see their downtown take shape during renovations planned for next year." The City plans to replace the aging infrastructure of parts of the city next spring and summer. This "resurfacing stage of the project will have a particularly significant impact on downtown. The charrette offers an opportunity to provide input to Rossland officials as the city advances with its Official Community Plan."

WABC-TV New York City (9/15, Solis) reported, "A nasty battle in Connecticut is underway in one of the richest towns in the country. The Justice Department is investigating whether efforts to build affordable housing are being thwarted by strict zoning regulations in the Town of Darien." Darien lacks affordable housing, as "30% of the units in a complex were set aside when it was built, but that was 15 years ago. Now the Justice Department is investigating whether Darien is in violation of the Fair Housing Act." Chris Stefanoni, a local developer who has been trying to build senior housing since 2005, stated, "The Town of Darien is against affordable housing, it's as simple as that." He added, "There's a strong emphasis on maintaining a certain standard, a way of life, different code words that people use, and it's unfortunate." The Stefanonis have received "relationation from vandalism" due to their feelings on the issue.

KDRV-TV Medford, OR (9/15, Sandberg) reported, "Two affordable housing projects in Medford are receiving millions of dollars in state funding. They are among 16 projects across Oregon to receive more than $34 million from Oregon Housing and Community Services. The Spring Street Apartments received nearly $2 million in housing preservation funds for improvements to its senior housing. The planned Canterberry Hills Project received about $800,000." The Housing Authority of Jackson County believes these funds will aid the increasing number of people seeking affordable housing. Jason Elzy, a spokesperson with the authority stating the "need is ever-growing, and the demand is unmet. We continually see that our occupancy here at the Housing Authority is high, our waiting list for affordable housing is long."

WIS-TV Columbia, SC (9/15), "The fight against the construction of a cell phone tower in Columbia is heating up with members of Columbia City Council stepping in. Councilmembers say they are considering legal action against Optima Towers, the company building the tower." Optima Towers wants to build the tower in a local neighborhood, noting they will construct the tower "in such a way that makes it look like a tree." However, "Before taking any legal action, council is looking at other options, including constructing the tower in another location."

The Lakeland (FL) Ledger (9/15, Palmer) reported, "Rejecting pleas from Polk City officials, county commissioners voted unanimously Wednesday to take back the troubled Mount Olive utility plant. In a 3-2 vote, they turned down a motion supported by commissioners Randy Wilkinson and Jean Reed to give Polk City officials three months to complete a plan to address the city's financial problems." This commission then approved a recommendation to "to take back the plant, which commissioners in 2008 agreed to sell to Polk City," with the formal eviction taking effect Sept 15, 2011. Officials also want "a renegotiated agreement to continue to operate the system and they sought more time to catch up on the debts that piled up under the previous city administration." County Attorney Michael Craig was also "given authorization to hire a private lawyer to handle the litigation that will be needed to take back the plant."

The Detroit Free Press (9/15, Neavling) reported, "Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano announced today that his lawsuit against the county's former landlord over money he says is owed to taxpayers is headed to arbitration. The suit, filed in June, claims private investors who own the Old Wayne County Building overcharged taxpayers $5 million in rent and repairs and never paid the county $35 million from the building's 1985 sale." Ficano expressed "frustration" over the case heading to arbitration because "taxpayers will no longer have input on how aggressively the county should pursue the case." He stated, "It's very unfortunate that Wayne County taxpayers will not get the opportunity to hear all the evidence and make a decision based on the facts. But the citizens of Wayne County can rest assured that we will do everything in our power to recoup the $40 million they are owed."

The Record and Herald News (NJ) (9/15, Redmond) reported, "The River Vale Township Council is moving ahead with using eminent domain to acquire the River Vale Country Club. Over the summer, officials from the township and representatives from Chemitek, the owner of the country club, worked to negotiate a fair purchase price for the property, along with an adjacent parcel of land known as the Mesker Site. However, the two sides were unable to come to terms on an agreement, according to Township Attorney Holly Schepisi." According to Schepisi, legal proceedings "could negate a previously reached agreement between the two sides that would allow for the development of 59 units on the Mesker Site, in exchange for the placement of a conservatory trust on the golf course that would prevent building on it for 50 years." The council passed an ordinance last July regarding "the option of exercising eminent domain to acquire the two properties."

BikePortland.org (blog) (9/15, Maus) reported, "TriMet's $1.5 billion Portland-Milwaukie Light Rail Project is facing a $200 million budget gap and cuts currently being considered could impact bike parking and bike access. The gap is due to an unexpected announcement by the Federal Transit Administration in July that they'd only fund 50% of the project instead of a 60% share that all previous light rail projects have gotten." The blog posting notes that "among the cuts being considered are removing planned viewing areas from the design of the new Willamette River Bridge, not doing planned upgrades to the Rhine Pedestrian Bridge, not replacing the Clinton Station Pedestrian bridge, and taking 20% out of the planned budget for bike parking." PBOT project manager Art Pearce said "they're just now starting to identify pieces of the project that can be cut."

The Washington Post (9/17, Kravitz) reported, "The second part of Metrorail's extension from Falls Church to Dulles International Airport and Loudoun County could cost as much as $1.3 billion more than original estimates, which may mean higher rates for people who use the Dulles Toll Road." This estimate was provided "Wednesday to members of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, which is overseeing construction. The first phase is costing $2.75 billion, the authority said." While early estimates predicted the second phase would be similar in price, "the new price range increases the cost by at least $690 million and potentially twice as much," with the final price depending on the placement of the Metrorail stop at Dulles Airport. The building of an underground station at Dulles could "balloon" the project to approximately $6.6 billion. The state is considering raising the rates on the toll rate to compensate.

CrunchGear (9/15, Deleon) reported New York City "will be gaining Wi-Fi access points, courtesy of Time Warner and Cablevision, the two big local cable companies. Well, not really 'courtesy of,' since there's a whole bunch of caveats attached to the deal. First thought: we're about five years past the point where municipal Wi-Fi could be considered 'neat.'" The catch to this Wi-Fi is that "while available to the public free of charge, will only be usable for up to 30 minutes per person. (That's up to three, 10-minute sessions.) It's almost like, gee, thanks for nothing. Oh, sure, you can use the access point past that 30-minute mark, but it'll cost you 99 cents a day after that." The article states "the value of such a Wi-Fi system is somewhat less than it would have been in, say, 2004 or 2005. You have to figure that a good portion of the people out there have phones with Internet access."