l3wis

On the fence

l3wis June 16, 2008 0Comments

I was approached by the city clerk the other day while I was having lunch downtown. She told me that the council was voting on water/sewer/light rate increases tonight and asked if I was going to come to the meeting. I was unaware they were going to vote on this tonight. Minutes here. I’m kind of on the fence on this. Though I am disappointed that there has not been small rate increases over the years instead of all at once and that the planning and funding for the Lewis and Clark water pipe wasn’t more in advance. I still think the rate increases are needed, BUT I disagree with pre-paying for something me may not get, and may not supply enough water when we get it. The dirty little secret about Lewis & Clark is that it still isn’t a 100% done deal, we are still waiting for Federal funding, and recently Senator Johnson commented that he was not sure when that funding would come. We also don’t know what kind of water supply we will get from the pipeline, some say it will supply plenty of water, others say the river can’t supply enough. Not sure. The other problem I have with the rate increases is how much water our city WASTES on the city parks. They expect us to limit our watering, but they do not practice what they preach. I see the city overwatering several parks in our city. Everyone knows grass can go dormant without totally dying out. I have NEVER watered my lawn in the 5 years I have lived in my house. It usually goes dormant by the beginning of August, and guess what, it always grows back in the spring. My fear is that us as citizens are footing the bill for the city overwatering and overdevelopment.

Like I said, not sure how I feel about the rate increases, but I will say this, sewer and water rates are still the lowest of all my utilities.

Who is lying now?

l3wis June 16, 2008 2Comments

Photo from Sioux Empire Arts Council

A few years ago this MURAL showed up on the side of the Horsebarn Arts Center in Falls Park. It was done by Eyob Mergia. I like the mural and think it is a nice edition to the park. I don’t think it looks quite right on an historical building, but either way, still a nice touch. When it was first put up the word from the SEAC was that it was TEMPORARY. Later it was found out that was not true at all. One my artist friends here in town was concerned how the mural got there, because everything should be approved/recommended by the Visual Arts Commission, then voted on by City Council. They did not approve it (much like the fiasco over the Mayor’s plaque that still is ILLEGALLY placed in the entrance of Falls Park Drive). It was determined that Mike Cooper (who was head of the Parks Dept at the time) approved the mural.  So when the VAC, SEAC and the City was asked how Mike had the authority to approve the mural without recommendation from the VAC and the City Council, they backtracked on their answer. Instead of admitting guilt, and going thru the approval process the city and VAC claimed it was a large PAINTING and did not have to go thru the approval process. They claimed that since it was not directly painted on the building that it was not a mural, but according to dictionary.com the definition of a mural is clear:

They claimed that it was FREE-STANDING and not affixed to the building. Well guess what, they lied.

Friday afternoon I was out riding my bike and noticed the mural was taken down, but the studs it was affixed to were still up, and guess what, the studs were bolted to the foundation and nailed to the soffet overhang on the roof. That would mean it was AFFIXED. I guess they are cleaning all the birds nests from the studs and that is why the mural was taked down, not sure if they are putting it back up, but if they do, I suggest they get it approved from the VAC or maybe they could get King Dave to put it back up in the middle of the night like he did with his plaque.

Satire stretched to the limit?

l3wis June 14, 2008 2Comments

This is the cover of The New Yorker this month. The Obama campaign is condemning the image, which is no surprise. The MSM is making a big deal out of it, saying it is satire in poor taste. I’m on the fence, since most of my toons are borderline bad taste. I think most readers of the New Yorker will get it. The toon is making fun of Americans more then it is making fun of Obama. I think it pokes fun of the fact that most Americans believe what the image portrays. I’d be curious what the McSame version would look like?

I guess I’m going to have to start going to church

l3wis June 13, 2008 0Comments

Sad News, Tim Russert died today.

I didn’t always agree with Tim’s journalism, but I loved his show. He had some of the most powerful politicians in my lifetime on his show and he would hammer them. It is still unsure how he died, but now they are saying it was a cardiac arrest, which is different then a heart attack because there is no symptoms.

Meet the Press was my church, I set my alarm for 7:50 every Sunday to watch the show, and would yell at the screen. And it was always so much better then the other Sunday morning political shows, it was always sharp and to the point.

Gonna be some tuff shoes to fill.

Good luck panhandling

l3wis June 12, 2008 0Comments

This story made me chuckle a bit. I can’t imagine the homeless will have much luck getting some spare change during the convention – tight wad Republicans.