2010
The SF city council agrees with Staggers, but it isn’t even a blip on the radar screen
Want to make your home or business safer? The city wants to charge you for that.
The Gargoyle Leader is featuring two stories today about how the city council is at odds with Dr. Staggers (again) yet no mention of how they had a change of heart over one of Kermit’s suggestions. Last week Kermit suggested that a 23 page proposed city ordinance on alarm systems should go through committee first, because the ordinance is too far-reaching (it includes a licensing and registration fee to have a security system – that’s right kiddies, only in Sioux Falls would they find a way to charge you for making your business safer). At the time, most of the city council disagreed with Kermit and the PD proclaimed that they have spent “two years” writing the ordinance (like that makes it better). They felt that we should just ‘trust’ the PD. Well, big surprise in the informational meeting on Monday! After fielding many ‘concerns’ from constituents on the matter, the rest of the council decided it was a good idea to go to committee.
Once again, Kermit was with the citizens and right on the issue and the rest of the council was wrong. Is anyone detecting a trend here?
Now to the stories in the Gargoyle. The first one is a blatant attempt to smear Kermit a week before the election. It is clear that there is nothing wrong with Kermit wanting to exempt non-profits that help the homeless, but the rest of the council just can’t resist shooting him down, it was CLEARLY POLITICAL. Even Munson gets in the fight and tries to stifle Kermit (in between the babblings of Quen Be De Knudson).
Councilor Kermit Staggers introduced an amendment that would have added the proposed County Permanent Supportive Housing, St. Francis House and the Union Gospel Mission. “I think what we want to do with this amendment is to send a message that we are concerned about homeless people. I think that’s a very good message for us to send,” he said. Councilor Bob Litz, who proposed adding fire inspection fees to the exemption list, said Staggers’ amendment is veering away from the original intention of the ordinance. Since 1996, the exemptions have been applied toward projects involving volunteer labor and materials that promote affordable housing, city planning director Mike Cooper said. Cooper said the city would lose more money with multifamily projects such as homeless housing and estimated the city would lose a minimum $300 per unit for an apartment complex.
Cooper is concerned about the city losing a couple of grand while flushing $5 million down the toilet called the ‘River Greenway Project.’ Give me a f’ing break! This was clearly political.
And once again, Kermit has proven that he is on the right side of another issue;
Mayoral candidate and current City Councilor Kermit Staggers hopes that doesn’t happen. “I hope he wins,” Staggers said of Wiedermann. As a city councilor, Staggers has spoken against the cameras, often casting the lone vote for their removal. Countdown-number systems that show pedestrians and motorists how many seconds remain until the light turns yellow have been installed at some downtown crosswalks. Those systems are the proper way to deal with intersections that see a lot of foot traffic, Staggers said.
But Vernon can’t resist the urge to claim all drivers that go thru that intersection, “Guilty until proven innocent.”
Vernon Brown cited the death of Argus Leader employee Edie Adams, who was killed at the intersection of 10th and Minnesota as she crossed the street in 2003, as a reason that location needs the camera system.
That has always been my concern with the cameras. I assume the person who killed Adams was prosecuted and handed a punishment. So why do the rest of us have to pay for the crime? It is clear what kind of mayor Brown would make. He would probably ramp up code enforcement to an even higher level of ridiculousness. We need a mayor who trusts us as citizens to do the right thing, not presume we are all guilty.
HERE is Kermit’s TV spot
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMu7pbxMUyA&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]
Zandbroz in Sioux Falls has a blog now
I remember when I moved to Sioux Falls in 1991, there wasn’t much to do for an 18 year old. I used to walk downtown from my apartment behind Gigglebees and there were only two places open (that I remember), Zandbroz and Minervas. Obviously living off of $350 a month, I wasn’t eating at Minervas. I used to ‘treat’ myself to a raspberry smoothie and spinach quiche at Zandbroz once in awhile.
Let’s vow to get rid of all socialist programs in our country . . .
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=10RDIgt7LAA&feature=player_embedded#[/youtube]
Think traffic is bad in Sioux Falls while driving your car? Hit the streets on a bicycle.
“Just another successful bicycle commute in Sioux Falls”
When you are in your car, you can observe a lot of rudeness from the safety of your vehicle, but if you really want to see a high level of ass-hattery by SF drivers, get on a bicycle or moped and travel our streets. One Saturday, last summer, I rode my bike down 41st street from Barnes and Noble to Ground Round. I was almost hit 4 times and one time I had to hit my breaks so hard I almost went over my handle bars into the lap of a guy driving a Mustang convertible, and he had the nerve to flip me off. Yeah, Mr. Cool. I like to take the bike trails as much as possible, even though I have to circumvent yuppie moms with their double strollers, it is still 200 times safer then our streets.
According to an Argus Leader/KELO-TV poll that surveyed 800 likely voters in Sioux Falls, 70 percent of the city’s residents think traffic in the city is worse than it was five years ago. Twenty-seven percent feel things are about the same, and 3 percent say traffic is better. The poll has a margin of error of 3.5 percent.
Who is this 3 percent?