NewsWatch: Cities and Counties

New Jersey Towns Add Lightning Detectors
Lightning detection systems that sound alarms as potentially dangerous storms approach are becoming increasingly frequent in public parks, golf courses and pools in New Jersey, according to a report on NorthJersey.com. New Jersey Star-Ledger

Online Companies Must Pay Hotel Taxes to Atlanta
Online travel companies that book hotel rooms in Atlanta must begin paying more in occupancy taxes, a Fulton County judge has ordered in a ruling expected to generate millions of dollars in revenue for the city. In an order Wednesday, Superior Court Judge Alford Dempsey stopped short of handing Atlanta a complete victory. He determined the Internet travel reservation companies do not have to pay the city past-due hotel and motel occupancy taxes. Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Making New York City Lofts Legal
Under a sweeping law passed by the state Legislature, hundreds of former factory buildings and warehouses across New York City can become legal residential lofts. It is the first expansion of the loft laws in more than two decades and extends the classic Cinderella renter's story far beyond Lower Manhattan, where most of the city's legal lofts had been concentrated, into latter-day SoHos like Williamsburg, Brooklyn; Bushwick; and Long Island City, Queens. The new law, which was passed last month after initial objections from City Hall, will force landlords to make upgrades to their buildings. It will make formerly illegal lofts eligible for rent stabilization and protect the tenants against evictions. And it will make rental royalty out of those prescient people who moved into illegal lofts in the former frontier and now-chic neighborhoods. New York Times

San Francisco Sued Over Cell-Phone Radiation Law
CTIA-The Wireless Association filed a lawsuit to block enforcement of the San Francisco "Cell Phone Right-to-Know" ordinance. The ordinance challenges the Federal Communication Commission's (FCC) determination that all FCC-compliant wireless handsets are safe by mandating that retailers post Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) values. CTIA-The Wireless Association

Council Accepts Resignations of Three Over Salary Flap
Three Bell, Calif., administrators whose huge salaries sparked outrage in this small blue-collar suburb of Los Angeles have agreed to resign, the City Council said Friday. Council members emerged from an hours-long closed session at midnight Friday and announced that they'd accepted the resignations of Chief Administrative Officer Robert Rizzo, Assistant City Manager Angela Spaccia and Police Chief Randy Adams. Rizzo was the highest paid at $787,637 a year -- nearly twice the pay of President Obama -- for overseeing one of the poorest towns in Los Angeles County. [Update: California's Attorney General  announced that his office would conduct an investigation of the matter]. USA Today

One in Five New York Schools Require Immigration Papers
Three decades after the Supreme Court ruled that immigration  violations cannot be used as a basis to deny children equal access to a public school education, one in five school districts in New York State is routinely requiring a child's immigration papers as a prerequisite to enrollment, or asking parents for information that only lawful immigrants can provide. New York Times

County Asks State for Bailout Millions
Finance officials with the cash-strapped state of California  will consider whether to grant a multimillion-dollar loan to a county considering bankruptcy because it illegally funded a new hospital and now has to repay the debt. Modoc County is asking the state for a bailout, hoping to secure a loan for between $4 million and $12.5 million so it can continue to provide services to county residents. Sacramento Bee

Ten States Add Campaign Finance Laws
Ten states have swiftly passed new laws requiring additional disclosure of political spending, following a Supreme Court ruling that lets corporations and unions pump unlimited amounts of money into certain campaign commercials. USA Today