South DaCola

Editorial Cartoonist from South Dakota

1st Amendment

1st Amendment Curt Soehl Downtown Sioux Falls Open Government Open Meetings SF City Council Sioux Falls

Sioux Falls City Council Chair doesn’t like being yelled at

l3wis 4Comments

Curtist the Blurtist had a plan last night. He pulled an item from the consent agenda. The city was allocating $150K for two new ambassadors for DTSF. While I think it is awesome DTSF is creating jobs, I doubt the employees are making $75K each for the summer, but as DTSF says they need money for ‘training’. LOL. Why did Curt pull the item? Because he thought this would be a great opportunity to talk about the great thing these ambassadors are doing. Well, he was wrong. While our country is going into a tailspin because of a very stupid person, constituents are NOT happy, and they certainly won’t be happy about the city spending more money on the transient issue by spending more money NOT ON THEM!

So some constituents weighed in, and it wasn’t pretty. While they were certainly not friendly in their testimonies, they weren’t wrong. After the trip to the woodshed, Curt was unhappy so he said something like, “I didn’t know we were going to get yelled at . . .” First off, Curt, that is really your main job, listening to constituent complaints, and secondly if you want to POP off at constituents during a meeting you are VIOLATING a rule MMM put in place, NO CONSTITUENT INTERACTION WHILE THEY ARE AT THE PODIUM. So Curt, if you want to change the rules, which I am ALL for, to allow councilors to interact with constituents during public input, DO IT! But until that rule change is made I suggest you such your pie hole and take it like a big kid, or better yet RESIGN. Your disdain for public engagement is getting old, like you (as you pointed out in the meeting.)

1st Amendment Downtown Sioux Falls Sioux Falls Trump

Over 1,000 show up for Anti-Trump Rally DTSF

l3wis 3Comments

Some are saying towards the end it was closer to 2,000 and they plan to do this almost every Saturday until Sally Tomato leaves office. I will try to find a video a friend shot while riding on the back of my Pedicab down Phillips. People lined the street on both sides from Keloland to Minerva’s. It was crazy! but when you have crazy in charge, this is what happens. Where were these people before the election? I think I am more bitter towards non-voters then I am with Trump voters, you weren’t going to change those morons minds anyway, but people who sat it out because they didn’t like either candidate. Call a whaabulance, I have never liked anyone who has ran for office, I just pick the one that will do the least damage, that would have been Harris, this wasn’t rocket science. This won’t end well for us or anybody else involved.

1st Amendment Bishop Dudley House Downtown Sioux Falls Homeless Mayor TenHaken Open Government Open Meetings SF City Council

The City of Sioux Falls doesn’t understand transparency and open government

l3wis 7Comments

Here we go again, concocting some ‘solution’ for an issue in the city and not bringing the public along in that ‘solution’;

City officials say more information on a $150,000 marketing campaign aimed at addressing “nuisance behavior” and discouraging panhandling in downtown Sioux Falls is coming soon.

There have been several ‘rumored’ ordinances that are awaiting the council’s approval including making it illegal (trespassing/camping) in our parks. But why not have a public discussion where the citizens can offer solutions?

Asked for an update this week, TenHaken’s communications officer Vanessa Gomez said, “I would expect us to be able to share more in the next month or so.”

So what’s the big secret? If you are instituting new laws shouldn’t you tell the public in advance? My guess is that they are going to be very controversial and I wouldn’t doubt the ACLU gets involved. Just like the Brockhouse animals you are going to drop this in our laps at the last minute.

I told a city official last week that every country and community that has either solved homelessness or made virtually invisible did it one way; Transitional housing. I suggested the city buy four Tzadik properties on bank foreclosure, remodel them to be 1 bedroom and studios and gift them to the St. Francis house and offer them a yearly subsidy for handling the transitional housing. We seem to be throwing money at ad agencies to educate the public, but we are doing very little to actually help these folks. For $150K you could house 25 people for a year!

I suggest that moving forward, the council tells us what they are planning, and NOT next month, TODAY!

1st Amendment Downtown Sioux Falls SFPD Sioux Falls

Are SFPD watching us on the DTSF camera system?

l3wis 2Comments

Probably.

It’s no secret that MMM started a program of setting up DTSF public security cameras, which I support, sometimes. This public camera system sitting on light poles and other infrastructure downtown has helped to solve many crimes downtown, piecing together video evidence and tracking the suspects. BRAVO! A great use of technology. Where it gets creepy is when the PD use it to intimidate, harrass, or squelch free speech. Let’s just say that the SFPD are using the camera system on DTSF cell towers to target and chase violators, several blocks after the violation occurred. There is much more I could say, but I best button up for now. I just want every tourist, transient, local or whatever breed you are, if you are DTSF and participating in ANY kind of illegal activity on our public property, you are likely being recorded and watched.

1st Amendment SF City Council Sioux Falls

Now is the time to speak up

l3wis 2Comments

Not sure what Lalley was getting at, but if I understand it just a little bit he may be asking advocates to sit down and shut up;

But there are rules, written and implied, that guide us in the public redress of grievances.

Civility, decorum, manners – call it what you wish – but we do ourselves no favors in support of our values by casting it aside.

Passion is human, it is admirable.

For me at least, roiling anger is destructive.

What’s become clear over the past several weeks, as the proposal for the city to lease the parking lot at Eighth Street and Indiana Avenue came to light, is that we need to take a breath.

Doesn’t matter who is president, governor or mayor of our fine city, I have always supported free speech rights, and I don’t care how those words come out. In a time where DC is trying to chill free speech rights, and we have a local governing body of total secrecy this is the most important time to be heard. Sure, I would agree, screaming at these people or dropping dirty words at the podium may not be the best approach to being heard, but difficult things must be brought up in these meetings in order to come up with the best solutions. Problems get solved with differing views and objectives. When 9 people on a body agree on something, it makes me a bit suspicious and a little concerned issues are not being fully vetted (well I know they are not being fully vetted).

As Lalley suggests, try to keep decorum when attending these meetings, but don’t hold back, speaking truth to power is the only way we take back our country and city and if enough of us are loud enough they will have no choice but to listen. Sorry Pat, the Kumbyah approach doesn’t work with these folks.

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