2009
No wonder ‘Deliverance’ was filmed in the South
The South Carolina governor decided to take a hike. To bad he didn’t take our governor with him;
Sanford’s whereabouts were unaccounted for Monday when he stepped out of the public eye following a bruising session with the state Legislature. Even his wife, Jenny, said she did not know where he was, The Associated Press reported, according to The State newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina.
State Sen. Jake Knotts, a fellow Republican and adversary of Sanford, told CNN that South Carolina law enforcement officials informed him Saturday that the governor had taken a South Carolina Law Enforcement Division vehicle on Thursday and had not yet returned.
“I found out that he was taking frequent trips at odd times of the night in a SLED car with no security,” Knotts said. “He would be driving. I got wind that he had taken another one of these types of capers last Thursday, and that nobody knew who he was with.
Sure it wasn’t Billy Bob Janks?
State Senate Minority Leader John Land, a Democrat, accused Sanford of engaging in “erratic” behavior.
Well, he would fit right in in Pierre. Isn’t it strange how he resembles Jerry Apa . . .
10th Anniversary of the Whitelephant Pavilion
I was quoted in the article today;
Scott Ehrisman, a citizen advocate who attends city meetings and blogs about council discussion and decisions, said that in recent years, he has come around to supporting the subsidy.
However, he said the city should stop spending Capital Improvements Program money on the Pavilion.
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“I have often called it City Hall’s dirty little secret that really didn’t come to light until the window funding debate,” Ehrisman said.
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He is leery of the city backing other big projects such as an events center, using the Pavilion as a lesson in what it costs to build and maintain a center.
“The Pavilion teaches us that the city will use these projects as an excuse to raise our retail taxes, which is unfair,” he said. “Once we start charging people extra … to pay for Broadway plays and Elton John concerts, we send a message to the community that the city’s spending priorities are more about entertaining the minority then providing essential infrastructure for the majority.”
Here is the extended version of the quote I emailed, if you are curious;
“Should the Pavilion, at some point, support itself as opposed to getting a subsidy from the city?â€
I have come around on supporting a subsidy in recent years. The problem isn’t that the Pavilion receives a subsidy from the entertainment tax it’s that the city also subsidizes the Pavilion through the CIP fund, in turn giving them a double subsidy. For example, the entertainment tax subsidy only is for operational costs, while the CIP subsidy is for building upgrades and maintenance. In essence the Pavilion has been double dipping on subsidies from the inception without the public’s knowledge. I have often called it city hall’s dirty little secret that really didn’t come to light until the window funding debate was brought before the council. I guess I would like to see the Pavilion stop taking CIP funding and only manage from the entertainment tax subsidy. I would also like to see them pay their management for performance instead just automatic pay increases from year to year. I think if the Pavilion got into a ‘money making’ philosophy it would be helpful to their endowment, which benefits us all. A lot needs to change though before that occurs, for instance, they need to start gearing the facility towards working families like having the Science Center, the Visual Arts Center and Cinedome open at night instead of the day. I also think that the conflicts of interest that exists with board members not only looks bad, it can also cost the Pavilion more in what they pay for outside services because a board member may pressure them to use a more expensive service.
“And, as the city looks for new projects, like a new event center, does the 10-year run of the Pavilion with the subsidy still necessary, teach us anything?â€
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It teaches us that the city will use these projects as an excuse to raise our (retail) taxes. Which is unfair. A special tax, like an entertainment tax, should only be used to subsidize the facility. Once we start charging people extra for food and utilities to pay for Broadway plays and Elton John concerts we send a message to the community that the city’s spending priorities are more about entertaining the minority then providing essential infrastructure for the majority. I would support a new event center if the city would guarantee it would ONLY be paid for through a bed and booze tax. I’m afraid though with the city’s track record on the double subsidy to the Pavilion, that the taxpayers of Sioux Falls will have to put forward a significant amount taxes on essential goods and services without their knowledge to fund the facility. And if that’s the case, how is taxing things we need for everyday living so a minority can be entertained good for the quality of life of the majority?
Man who created City Hall dictatorship runs for Mayor
Little did we know yesterday, the very man who created HOME RULE was running for mayor, Bill Peterson. I caught this on KELO right about the time Plantiff commented below;
The man who created the form of city government Sioux Falls operates under says he’ll also run for mayor. Bill Peterson led the initiative to create a full-time mayor position for the city back in 1994. The former state Representative and House Majority leader plans to turn in his official paperwork by the end of the week.
“I think the question we have to ask in Sioux Falls going forward in the next couple of decades is, ‘What sort of city are we? What kind of jobs are we going to have? What kind of amenities and culture are we going to have here?'” Peterson said.
Pretty scary stuff. It’s like creating a Frankenstein to be your butler. He has created a city government that fines it’s citizens without due process, overtaxes us for Rhino barns and raises fees at a inflationary rate of health insurance premiums. Thanks, but no thanks Bill. This guy needs to be rejected early and fast.
I’m also sick of people who work for a low paying employer tell me about how they want to bring ‘jobs’ to Sioux Falls. We know what kind of ‘jobs’ you would bring, Bill. Also, I’m also about fed up with the Quality of Life Projects and amenities jibber jabber. Fix the over $100 million backlog we have on our roads in Sioux Falls first, then we’ll talk monkey crappers and Jr. Football fields.