The Perfect Deviled Egg – Chicago
l3wis [youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mGAVJuwQD7Y[/youtube]
December 2015
Will the Argus Leader have the fortitude to take their Events Center lawsuit all the way?
This is the first question that popped into my mind when I saw they were going to sue for the information. But I wasn’t the only one asking the question, I have received several emails asking the same thing.
Why?
It’s clear from the city’s track record on all things transparent and legal, they will spend as much money as they can fighting this (our money) which will probably never be decided until it makes it to the SD Supreme Court, which will take several years.
Cameraman Bruce and I both told the Argus there are other ways to skin a cat on this topic, and if they want to take the courts route, good for them, but other information about how the EC was built and paid for also exists in the private sector with the contracts the contractors signed.
While I will commend them for taking on the legal aspects of transparency in government, South DaCola will continue to pursue the low road. You never know who will crack that nut first?
It also seems the Argus finally figured out how to quote Bruce in an article;
Citizen activist Bruce Danielson, one of the most vocal critics of the city’s handling of the Premier Center siding dispute and closed-door nature of the manager at risk method used for the building project, agreed the public should have access to the settlement.
“The underlying issue here is this is a public building, and the public has to pay for this building for the next 19 years, and we do not know anything about the financing, the construction, the change orders or where the money went to. We know nothing,” he said. “The first step in any audit of any situation like this is breaking the seal of secrecy.”
Something we have been asking of this administration and city council now for several years. Let’s just hope it doesn’t take several more years to unveil the truth. Let’s face it, this isn’t about poorly constructed siding, this is about secrecy, what is the city trying to hide? I have a feeling once that skin is pulled back, we are going to find much more then a dead cat.
If the city destroys your property and it is clearly their fault what is the recourse?
Apparently it is only small claims court;
Merri Nolz won a small claims judgment against the city four years ago.
“The judge looked at it and found some contributory negligence on her part, but it was slight,†said Paul Bengford, the assistant city attorney who handled the case.
By “slight,†Bengford means 10 percent. Nolz got $1,654.06, which was 90 percent of the money she’d asked for in repairs and car rental fees.
As the article continues, you will see the irony in the judgements of the city spending thousands of dollars fighting minimal claims, which got me thinking about the lawsuit in Jackson County in which the South Dakota municipal insurance COOP, Public Assurance spent hundreds of thousands of dollars defending their (illegal) right to deny Native Americans a voting center that was in clear violation of Federal Law.
Or there was the denial of payment to an apartment building landlord who had their property destroyed by the SFPD SWAT team, or the flooding of Touch of Europe by a city fire hydrant.
It seems the city and Public Assurance would rather spend their money on attorney fees then actually doing the right thing and paying out claims when they are clearly negligent.
These are examples of the kind of disgusting pigs that work in the legal fields of our government, and I haven’t even mentioned our own attorney general.
Unlikely siting at the Huether Family Moth Ball storage
(Image, KSFY)
While Director of Parking and TIF’s, Darrin Smithe was being interviewed by KSFY about the Banks Project, he conducted the interview in fronte of the tennis centere. I was surprised there were vehicles parked in their parking lot and people actually using the facility. I wonder if Darrin broke his rackete again after another failed matche against his boss?
Snow gates work if you work em’
Here we go again, the onslaught of stories saying snow gates don’t work. As I talked about last year, they do work, and it depends on the operator. If you talk to any snowplow operator with the city, they will admit some drivers know how to use them better then others (learning curve). Last year with snow fall amounts under 6″, the snowgates were not used properly in my neighborhood. This year with two snow falls well over 6″ they used them in my neighborhood and I had barely anything in my driveway. In fact, during the first event, there was virtually NOTHING in my driveway.
But even if just a little crud is left, people are still OK with their use;
Not everyone is upset by the snow gates’ performance. Deb Billion has been living in Sioux Falls for several years, and says this year is much better than past winters.
“I vote a resounding yes on continuing using the snow gates,” said Billion.
Deb is the wife of former lawmaker Dr. Jack Billion. But there were some commenters that could not resist to piss all over them;
Its a rip off. Save the tax money wasted on these worthelss things and shovel you dang driveway. Thanks teressa Stehle for wasting our taxes. If you want the snow removed form your drivaway, then you should pay for it.
First off, I think my tax dollars were improperly used on your public education, but I won’t go there. Snow gates are simply an extension of a service the city already provides. It’s not some gigantic expenditure.
Speaking of snow removal expenditures, watch the video below (H/T MM);
The South Dacola foot soldier who sent me that vid asked if there was a better way to do this. I wonder if the snow scooper machines could just take the snow from the curb instead of wasting all this time and energy pushing it to the middle of the street and screwing up traffic flow?