South DaCola

Editorial Cartoonist from South Dakota

2010

Lewis & Clark Sioux Falls

Why is the city of Sioux Falls footing the bill for smaller communities around us on Lewis & Clark?

l3wis 6Comments

Maybe I didn’t catch this right in this meeting, but it kinda sounds like that Sioux Falls is paying the Lewis & Clark pipeline for construction that not only benefits us, but other communities. As I have talked about in the past, it chaps my hide that we ponied up $70 million for something we won’t have until 2012 (supposedly) but it even bothers me more that we are floating money to the smaller communities around us. Why? Sioux Falls has enough problems with their budget and spending, we don’t need to be subsidizing other communities. No wonder people live in Harrisburg, Tea and Canton, Sioux Falls is constantly bailing them out, so why live in ‘expensive’ Sioux Falls, when you can have clean ‘small town’ living that you don’t have to pay for.

Downtown Sioux Falls

The problems with Downtown Sioux Falls

l3wis 24Comments

Jesse from the Blues Bashers kicks it in front of The Touch of Europe

The Gargoyle Leader did a story about the lagging business downtown, but fails to talk about the real problems with Downtown;

The tough national economy has slowed or halted progress on a number of downtown developments, but the news isn’t all bad from an area of town considered by Sioux Falls leaders as one of the city’s top attractions.

While the economy is probably a big part of the problem, there is also other factors;

• The Washington Pavilion is doing fewer events then they first did when they first opened

• There is no dance halls or major live music venues downtown

• Downtown does not appeal to a broader audience, just people who live there and those who can afford fine dining

• Parking meters and lack of convenient parking

• Lack of leadership and marketing from the organization Downtown SF who charges DT businesses a boat load to market them

• Moving events to Phillips to the Falls instead of keeping them on the street in the main DT area

• Lack of weekly DT festivals during the summer

I have often said the City and DTSF have used too much caution when promoting DT. I say ‘Try anything’ and if it fails or causes problems, try something different. Leaders in our community often talk about SF as being progressive, give me a break. Progressives try new things and don’t put stipulations on those ideas. I’m 37 years old, and I have told people that DT SF was a lot more fun and hopping when I was 21 then it is now (in terms of entertainment). Time to turn back the clock.

Sioux Falls Mayor Race Vernon Brown

Vernon Brown; Poor choice for Sioux Falls mayor

l3wis 10Comments

I will be doing a series on South DaCola of ‘who not to vote for’ before I do my endorsements. Vernon gets the first spot.

As Greggo ‘Council Seat handed to him on Silver Platter’ Jamison told a friend the other day, ‘Stop being negative.’ Well Greggo, honesty is not negative, not telling the truth to citizens is very negative. Makes a city councilor like yourself long for a washer and dryer in every bedroom, oh that’s right, you already have that, and you can scramble eggs on your heated garage floor. And Vernon has not been honest with the public. While running against Stehly in the last election he told voters he planned to finish his full term as councilor and had no intentions to run for mayor ‘at that time.’ He also voted against a tax increase then changed his mind down the road and voted for that same tax increase. You know, the one that was ‘supposed’ to be a 50/50 agreement with the developers, but since that increase tax payers have put in over 16x more then the developers. You are either for or against tax increases, you can’t just flip-flop on an issue like that. Makes you wonder what other things he will flip-flop on as mayor.

Why is Mr. Butterflies not qualified besides the lack of honesty and reliability? Well, because he has zero experience to be mayor. ZERO! He was a reporter and a marketing person. Big deal. That means I am qualified to be mayor. While I will give credit to Vernon for his advocacy for the homeless and monkey crappers (he claims bilking the taxpayers to save the zoo as one of his ‘accomplishments’), it does not qualify him to be mayor, if anything, it qualifies him to be a city councilor at best . . . oh . . . wait . . . he already is. Keep being a city councilor Vernon, and some day you may get your former co-worker’s job as Chief of Staff.

Vernon is clearly not ready to be mayor.

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