The Tribune pulls it together, and the City Council prepares to meet.

Tribune changes are coming fast and furious, and in yesterday’s edition, recently arrived executive editor Steve Kozarovich outlined the strategies that lie behind the newspaper's revamping.

In short, staffers have been shuffled, reporters hustled out onto their beats for a greater volume of local stories, new and more ideologically varied syndicated columnists inserted into the opinion page rotation, and a open call made for local writers to author columns.

Here’s one potentially valuable new addition to the newspaper:

Floyd County Meetings preview, by Amany Ali (News-Tribune), in which the week’s governmental gatherings are noted and discussed.

Yes, it’s time again for the City Council to meet, and there are hot-button issues aplenty to occupy the body’s Monday evening session tonight, including sewer tap-in rates and the ultimate fate of New Albany’s sanitation department.

Visit Volunteer Hoosier for a succinct explanation of why a simplistic regimen of higher tap-in fees would act to "discourage infill development and redevelopment":

Tonight, as the council considers the imposition of an increased sewer connection fee, I urge them to create within the ordinance the mechanism for expressing a public policy preference for “infill” development.

This council can effect that preference by authorizing a slightly higher sewer connection fee, while directing the Sewer Board to declare a moratorium for one year, or a waiver, for all residential sewer connection fees for properties within the areas currently designated as “blighted.”

As for the Great Sanitation Debate ... with Christmas right around the corner, you can expect tirades of self-righteousness and multi-hankie theatrics from the peanut gallery, as in this Priceful snippet of troglobyte graffiti scrawled above the urinals at the Luddite Bar & Grill, reprinted in its original screaming capital letters:

IF OUR "MAYOR", MR. GARNER, WANTS TO REDEEM HIMSELF, EVEN A LITTLE BIT, HE WILL LISTEN, AND GIVE SERIOUS CONSIDERATION TO SAVING OUR SANITATION DEPARTMENT, AND THE WORKERS JOBS, ESPECIALLY AS WE APPROACH WHAT IS SUPPOSED TO BE THE GIVING TIME OF YEAR. MERRY CHRISTMAS' DON'T COME WITH A PINK SLIP.

Of course, such appeals to emotion won't help unravel the riddle of determining the best sanitation solution for the city as a whole, but they are quite likely to be answered by the predictably Pavlovian yelps of the Gang of Four … which reminds NAC of an interesting idea that was forwarded to us after the publication of Paint and public art as progressive ideals -- why not in New Albany? last week.

My friend Bayard writes:

Using the blank wall of the city-county building as ‘progressive’ public art is fine, but why not use it like a big anti-smoking billboard and show how ‘not’ to do it?

He suggests something like this:

Thanks, but no thanks, Bayard.

The sublety would escape folks like Concern Taxpayer who lack the "satire" gene, and our crazed Luddites might start frequenting the spot, bringing flowers, singing off-key, drinking cheap wine and smoking weed the way the rock 'n' roll pilgrims do at Jim Morrison's grave in Paris -- and some people just shouldn't wear spandex (or leather) past the age of 50.