POLITICAL STORM CLOUDS are swirling over City Hall, with school board members firing back at a recent vote by aldermen seeking a “pause” in plans to close one Manchester school and build another.

A REQUEST BY the city fire chief to apply for grant funding to hire firefighters was rejected last week by a committee of aldermen, to the surprise of some.

PREPARE TO TIGHTEN your belt a little more.

JAY RUAIS IS bald. You can learn that just by looking at him.

MANCHESTER’S CITY government is in quiet transition as Mayor Joyce Craig‘s tenure winds down and Mayor-elect Jay Ruais prepares to take office on Tuesday.

CENTRAL HIGH seniors this spring will have the chance to enroll in an African American Cultural Studies pilot course, the first of its kind in the Manchester School District.

KIDS IN THE CITY of Manchester who are referred to juvenile diversion and mediation programs likely come from impoverished, single-parent homes, where culture, language barriers and childhood trauma put them at a higher risk of delinquency.

A SPANISH-ENGLISH immersion program beginning at Bakersville Elementary School in the fall is looking for families to sign up to participate.

Manchester’s tax rate has been set.

MAYOR-ELECT JAY RUAIS could find himself playing the role of tiebreaker on Day One of his tenure if the race for a new chair of the Board of Mayor and Aldermen plays out as expected.

THE CITY’S PARKS, Recreation and Cemetery Division has announced the launch of Manchester’s Green Streets Program, a partnership between the city and residential property owners to expand the Queen City’s tree canopy.

MANCHESTER RESIDENTS boarded a bus outside City Hall last week to head to Goffstown, where they spoke at a public hearing on the state Department of Transportation’s draft 10-year plan.

City aldermen have approved a request for another amendment to a master development agreement between the city and Lansing Melbourne Group — the developer looking to place mixed-use, mixed-income apartments at the Pearl Street and Hartnett parking lots — pushing out the start dates for both …

CITY ALDERMEN’S EFFORTS to persuade Comcast to bring CKSH, a French-language CBC affiliate from Sherbrooke, Quebec, back into Queen City customers’ channel lineup appear to have fallen short — leaving many feeling “déçu,” — disappointed.

WITH COLDER MONTHS approaching, beds at Manchester’s homeless shelter at 39 Beech St. are expected to be full most nights, if not all.

MANCHESTER CITY CLERK Matt Normand plans to use electronic voter checklists in all city wards for the upcoming municipal general election on Nov. 7, after a successful trial run during the municipal primary on Sept. 19.

RECORD NUMBERS of Manchester residents participated in city recreational programs and activities over the summer, according to data released last week.

GET READY TO PAY more to say “I do” at City Hall.

PARKING COULD BE scarce around City Hall on Tuesday evening, when several groups plan to speak out against a proposal by an alderman to remove language from a city ordinance that he says hinders police efforts to remove homeless people from public property.

CITY ALDERMEN have approved a request from the police chief to switch to a new provider for body cameras, tasers and digital evidence management technology and eat $300,000 remaining on the existing contract because of frustrations with the current vendor.

MANCHESTER STUDENTS won’t pay more for lunch this school year after all, following a vote last week by the Board of School Committee.

MANCHESTER SCHOOL officials were celebrating last week after the district was awarded a $7.6 million Project AWARE grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

ALDERMEN HAVE hit the reset button on discussions about the future of the former Hallsville School, after plans to convert the vacant building into a mixed-use community center were scrapped recently.

MANCHESTER OFFICIALS have announced the availability of more than $3.8 million to develop affordable rental housing, permanent supportive housing and non-congregate shelters.

PLANS TO CONVERT the vacant Hallsville School building into a mixed-use community center have been scrapped.

SCHOOL BOARD MEMBERS were pleased with a recent report from Superintendent Jenn Gillis showing progress toward goals in city schools, with 11 of 17 benchmarks achieved and six others expected to be completed by August.

A FIRM HAS been selected to conduct a classification and compensation study of city employees beginning in mid-July.

CITY ALDERMEN WILL hear a pitch from the police chief next month to switch to a new provider of body camera, taser and digital evidence management technology and eat $300,000 remaining on the existing contract because of frustrations with the current vendor.

ALDERMEN ARE backing a request by Manchester Police Chief Allen Aldenberg to purchase a security camera platform similar to one his department recently borrowed from the University of New Hampshire campus police to sue at several major events.

OFFICIALS HAVE ANNOUNCED new developments on the RAISE Manchester: Connecting Communities project, including a redesign of the Granite Street Pedestrian Bridge.

IT APPEARS the schism between the city’s homelessness director and GateHouse Treatment may be smoothed over.

MANCHESTER’S BOARD of Mayor and Aldermen voted unanimously last week to create a commission to prevent childhood lead poisoning in the city.

CRISSY KANTOR’S WIN in last week’s Ward 6 alderman special election was impressive. What it means in the big picture of Queen City politics remains to be seen.

ALDERMEN HAVE APPROVED changes to the city’s tax relief incentive program, which encourages the construction of new housing units.

VOTERS IN WARD 6 will head to the polls Tuesday, May 9, in a special election to choose an alderman whose term expires in January 2024.

ALDERMEN RAISED TAXI rates for the first time in 13 years last May, and they won’t be rolled back anytime soon.

MANCHESTER HIGH SCHOOLS are moving ahead with plans to create a cooperative girls hockey team for Central, Memorial and West high schools.

WHOEVER IS SITTING at the mayor’s desk next year could be looking at a big raise, after aldermen supported a motion last week to increase the annual salary from $68,000 to $100,00 a year.