I am still trying to get details on this event. But it is going to take place Wednesday night at The Holiday Inn City Centre in the Starlite Room. They will focus on economic questions. I have also heard that two of the mayoral candidates have turned down the invitation.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YM3gZ0hCKP8&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]
Sen. Jim Bunning continues to object to extending unemployment benefits. On Monday, the Kentucky Republican once again prevented a vote on a bill that would extend eligibility for enhanced unemployment benefits and subsidized health insurance for laid-off workers by 30 days.
If Congress fails to pass an extension, the National Employment Law Project estimates that 1.2 million people will lose their benefits in March. Bunning’s action could cause thousands of people to miss their unemployment checks starting this week, though it’s likely that Congress will pass an extension within the next two weeks that will retroactively cover their losses.
The video of him telling the reporter to get off his elevator is comical (see above). His baseball career below.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Alz5d1L0Ggs&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]
Stormland had a couple of stories, and once again, they didn’t ask the other side, big surprise. The first was about sales tax revenues being up in the first couple of months of 2010. Gee, wonder if that has anything to do with people getting their tax returns and buying shit they need . . .
Sales tax collections in Sioux Falls grew by 5.7 percent in the first two months of 2010. The new numbers reflect the first positive growth in six months.
While it’s too early to tell whether this the beginning of something big, Mayor Dave Munson says it is good news.
2010 is off to a good start for the city of Sioux Falls because the first two months of sales receipts show people are spending again.
“It’s encouraging to see that because it was July of ’09 that we saw a positive in the sales tax.  Coming now, it couldn’t be more timely, so we are really pleased to see that there is a growth,” Munson said.
Notice, no mention of tax returns or the $400 tax credit that Obama handed out this tax season. What do people do (especially poor and working class people) when they get their tax return? They freaking blow it. That is why revenue was up.
Or it may have something to do with this;
This February, the city received a $473,000 check from the state from audit investigations – a large amount, Rowenhorst said. It makes up 13 percent of the February revenue, which totaled $3.6 million. The large check is 12 times the amount received in February 2009, when the city received $38,600. If the state audit checks are removed from the monthly revenue totals, February revenue this year actually is down 6 percent from last February. With the state checks, this February is up 7 percent.
Their next story was about potholes. While I was impressed that the pothole machine showed up so quickly, I had a good chuckle at the end of the story. It wasn’t in the print story, but listen to what Katie says at the end of the clip;
“After five hours about half of the repair had been blown out by cars.”
Well, when you don’t even have a person get out of the vehicle to repair the hole, what do you expect? That machine may be better at seasoning steaks instead of filling potholes. I would love to meet the asscrack that sold the city that POS.
l3wis