He only plays a psychiatrist during redevelopment meetings.

Last week, there was a meeting.

ON THE AVENUES: Really, the word “progressive” embarrasses you? That’s okay, because political cowardice disgusts me.

 ... Of course, right now, as it stands, the city’s interminable, fear-driven delay of street grid reform is quite effectively achieving the very same result, by leaving in place a one-way arterial street grid that nullifies every penny-ante ribbon cutting and “stay open late” promotion tossed into the air by increasingly desperate indie shop owners in the absence of a downtown economic development plan, because while street grid reform could be so very helpful, and constitute an economic development plan in itself, it would fatally embarrass a Democratic mayor to be seen openly advocating it.

It's exactly as if Jeff Gahan were to say it's okay to be gay, just as long as you don't kiss in public.

When the meeting was finished, and David Duggins, the city’s selective economic development director, had dispensed with strong-arming those in attendance as to what they were and were not interested in hearing -- according to Mr. Duggins -- he and I began a private discussion.

Soon the topic arose of the city’s persistent lies and fabrications pertaining to heavy truck traffic as diverted from Main to Spring, Market and Elm. Mr. Duggins brushed off my comments.

I replied that it’s easy for him to ignore something he never directly experiences, both by virtue of living in a less dense area of Clark County, and being neither a walker nor a biker. In short, I told him that when you’re not the one suffering from post-traumatic stress syndrome caused by the window-rattling din of trucks that were not there before, you’ve no idea how it detracts from your “quality of life.”

He greeted this with a massive, dismissive and scornful scoff, chortling, “That’s what Hawkins on Main Street always said, too, and that guy’s just plain crazy.”

Now, I never knew that working as a selective economic development director came imbued with psychiatric diagnosis credentials, but if the Hawkins fellow in question indeed is "crazy" as characterized by Mr. Duggins, then he’s crazy like a fox.

Because: Guess where the trucks are NOT, any longer.

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Interested in helping formulate a platform incorporating principle, rather than poppycock?

Drinking Progressively: Let's make it Tuesday evenings, beginning on November 25.