I’m sure you have seen this story about a reckless driver taking out two houses, but these photos from the incident made me chuckle (H/T – BnB’s-spawn);
“I know I have Merry Maid’s number in here somewhere!?”
“Job well done. Time for a Colt 45 and a cig!”
Today is a sad day for open government in Sioux Falls. City Clerk Debra Owen was sacked. She was instrumental in letting the sunshine in on city government;
During her time as clerk, the council established an internal audit unit to review city expenditures, posted public documents on the city’s website, including campaign finance reports, and began streaming Web meetings on the city’s Web site. Those meetings also are archived.
I don’t know all of the details, and no one is commenting. But some suspect it has to do with the human resources office and the upcoming EC vote. Whatever, it was back-handed and cowardly.
How well do I know Debra?
Debra has always been my point man (woman) when I needed any public information, she would point me in the right direction. But Debra never stepped over the line. NEVER. She was always professional and tried her best to keep her opinion out of it. She also never told me what I should or should not do, she also NEVER questioned my intentions. There is one thing that Debra understood above everything; We live in a free country, and the best way to keep it free is by letting in the sunshine.
She will be sorely missed, and I wish her the best of luck.
I won’t name the employee, because that is not what is important here. BUT, I will say they are invaluable to city government, and without them most citizens would be virtually in the dark when it comes to council action without their due diligence.
That being said, the rumor is a few councilors and the mayor’s office are at the heart of trying to get this person terminated. In fact they spent almost 3 hours in executive session last night after the council meeting discussing the issue. City attorney Gail Eiesland and HR director Bill O’Toole laid out their case against them. Which doesn’t surprise me, since they both have been questioned on legalities by this certain someone in the past about city business.
Doesn’t Killing the Messenger ever get old?
from the SD Peace and Justice Center:
The poverty rate in the United States is at 15.1%, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s annual Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage report. Â This means that 46.2 million people in the United States are in poverty, the largest number since the government began tracking poverty in the 1950s. Â In addition, the poverty rate for children is 22% and has only been higher three times since the mid-1960s. Â 49.9 million individuals in the U.S. lack health insurance. Â Senator Bernie Sanders wrote a very interesting opinion piece on the subject, and mentions the fact that the top 1% of Americans earn more than the bottom 50%.
The Argue Endorser also did an extensive story about poverty and the economy in South Dakota;
Figures released Tuesday show that 13.7 percent of South Dakotans are living below the federal poverty level. That puts the state marginally below national poverty levels of 14.2 percent but above neighboring states of Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota and Nebraska.
When over 10% of your population is living in poverty, you have to scratch your head a bit and wonder how long this recession is going to last. South Dakotans have always been known to be modest when it comes to income, and these numbers show that it only takes a little down tick to go from lower middle-class to flat out broke real quick. As MC from Dakota War College commented the other day on this site:
I find it odd….
The county is building a homeless shelter,
The city is building an events center.
Yeah, what ironic times we live in? Huh?
Members of the City of Sioux Falls code enforcement team will hold a news conference at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday at the Law Enforcement Center, 320 W. Fourth St., to discuss the city’s recent efforts to revise its administrative appeals process in light of the recent South Dakota Supreme Court opinion of Daily v. City of Sioux Falls, which held the former appeal process unconstitutional.
City attorney Dave Pfeifle, assistant city attorney Paul Bengford and assistant director of Planning and Building Services Kevin Smith will be available to explain the new procedures and answer any questions.
Mayor Mike Huether and City Council have passed changes to the procedures used by the city in its administrative appeals process. These revisions have culminated in a complete overhaul of the ordinances dealing with administrative appeals in order to satisfy the court’s concerns with the former process.
Blah, Blah, Blah, whatever. Nothing has really changed. I hope Dan shows up to ask some real questions.
Episode #10 will be recorded on September 27 and I think will be one of our better shows. We have secured a major player in city politics (sorry, it’s not Janoct Ajda) for our guest. I encourage you to send us questions that have to do with city politics, mostly Events Center and infrastructure.
l3wis 