On this blogging day in 2007: Luddite testimonials and DNA's mayoral forum.

There were two posts on October 23, 2007. The first refers to the infamous and now entirely forgotten era of the Trog Blog Wars.

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Okay, so I changed my mind ...sue me already.

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The second posits the inconceivable (DNA being neutral about politics prior to its annexation by Deaf Gahan) grafted onto the "look how far we've ... er ... never mind." Stay tuned for 2019, when Deaf will dodge many of these same questions.

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Reminder: "Develop New Albany to Host Mayoral Candidates Forum" on Wednesday night.

(From Develop New Albany)

Develop New Albany, the City’s non-profit, Main Street organization is hosting a Mayoral Candidates Forum to be held on Wednesday, October 24th from 7:00 - 9:00 pm at the Strassweg Auditorium at the New Albany-Floyd County Public Library.

The forum will consist of two 45-minute question-and-answer sessions with a 10-15-minute break in between. Mr. Randy Hubbard, Republican mayoral candidate, has agreed to participate in the first session and Mr. England, Democratic mayoral candidate, has agreed to participate in the second session which is anticipated to begin at 8:15 p.m. Neither candidate is invited to attend the session in which the opposing candidate is featured.

The sessions will be moderated by Greg Sekula, Develop New Albany Vice-President, and a series of questions will be asked by the moderator that relate to the issues of downtown and neighborhood revitalization. The public is invited and encouraged to attend.

The following topical issues are likely to be covered in the forum in no particular order:

1) Your vision for Downtown New Albany;

2) Strategies for furthering economic development in Downtown New Albany and surrounding older business districts such as the Vincennes and State Street corridors;

3) Addressing problems associated with rental housing conditions including absentee property ownership, illegally subdivided structures, and your position on a City-initiated rental housing inspection program;

4) Strategies for promoting and increasing homeownership and re-investment in older urban neighborhoods;

5) Relationships between the City and local neighborhood associations and non-profit groups;

6) Historic preservation, including the role of the Historic Preservation Commission, historic district designation, and design guidelines;

7) One-way vs. two-way street circulation patterns in the Downtown;

8) Enforcement of violations of City ordinances;

9) Aging infrastructure;

10) Upkeep of downtown streets and public spaces;

11) Ohio River Greenway project;

12) City-County Building space issues;

13) Relationship between the office of Mayor and City Council;

14) The role of public transportation in downtown revitalization and regional economic development;

15) Strategies for the City and school system to work together to strengthen inner-city schools and what impact that would have on downtown neighborhoods; and

16) Strategies for combating neighborhood crime, particularly drug activity.

For more information contact Develop New Albany at 812/941-0018 or e-mail here.

SHANE'S EXCELLENT NEW WORDS: Laggard, though not to omit straggler, loiterer, lingerer, dawdler, sluggard, snail, idler and loafer.

Welcome to another installment of SHANE'S EXCELLENT NEW WORDS, a regular Wednesday feature at NA Confidential.

But why all these newfangled words?

Why not the old, familiar, comforting words, like the ones you're sure to hear when asking the city's corporate attorney why the answers to my FOIA/public records request for Bicentennial commission finances, due to be handed over on July 8, still haven't arrived on October 12?

Bicentennial commission financial trail? What's two (yawn) weeks (shrug) after 463 days?

October 12 update: Make that 14 weeks since the FOIA record request's due date and  546 days since I asked Bullet Bob Caesar to tell us how many coffee table books were left unsold, and how much the city's 200-year "summer of love" fest actually cost us.

It's because a healthy vocabulary isn't about intimidation through erudition. Rather, it's about selecting the right word and using it correctly, whatever one's pay grade or station in life.

Even these very same iniquitous, paving-bond-slush-engorged municipal corporate attorneys who customarily are handsomely remunerated to suppress information can benefit from this enlightening expansion of personal horizons, and really, as we contemplate what they knew and when they knew it, all we have left is plenty of time -- and the opportunity to learn something, if we're so inclined.

Today's word is laggard, including some of my favorite synonyms in the English language.

laggard

ˈlaɡərd/

noun

1. a person who makes slow progress and falls behind others: "there was no time for laggards"

synonyms: straggler, loiterer, lingerer, dawdler, sluggard, snail, idler, loafer

adjective

1. slower than desired or expected: "a bell to summon laggard children to school"

Here's another example in a sentence, from August 26, 2007.

Redistricting: Grudgingly coming soon to a laggard city near you.

For more than a year, the single most hypocritical game in a city widely known for its jaw-dropping talent at self-deception has been the irony-free ability of its tub-thumping “law and order” advocates to be magically transformed into defenders of flagrant illegality when the topic turned to the city council’s abysmal failure to heed pertinent statutes and to redistrict.

In other words, the failure of the council to simply do its job.

The council later reneged on its agreement, and can you guess who led the way in thumbing his nose at the court ruling?

Jeff Gahan, that's who. Is it any wonder his corporate attorney won't honor a simple FOIA request?

Benedetti to NAC: I've been to the Muhammad Ali Center.

In response to an article published here on May 31, 2007, 5th district council representative Diane Benedetti has cleared the air.

C'mon, who could turn down an afternoon at Louisville's Muhammad Ali Center?

At the aforementioned Jefferson-Jackson Dinner on April 27, Mr. and Mrs. Confidential were flatly envious of 5th district Democratic council candidate Diane McCartin Benedetti, who walked off with the door prize of specially selected Muhammad Ali Center materials and admission tickets. I wonder if she has yet had time to visit, and if so, whether the experience was good for her.

After this evening's council meeting, Mrs. Benedetti told me that not only has she visited the Muhammad Ali Center, she found it wonderful, and she also provided tickets to underprivileged kids so they could experience it, too.

And now you have the rest of the story, because at NAC, we follow up. Good day.

Five years ago: "For heaven's sake, give 'em some candy ... and maybe they'll leave us alone."

It's pre-council meeting artwork from Oct. 24, 2007. The era of the Gang of Four mercifully was coming to an end. Kochert (left) retired to his polling place, and Schmidt (right) had already been ousted in the primary. The ventriloquist's Price survived to lose in the primary in 2011, while Coffey remains in office to this day; he's made a great deal more sense lately.

Five years ago: Bistro New Albany closes.

I've never forgotten when Bistro New Albany closed, or how rotten I felt, although I had forgotten that it came just after Harvest Homecoming.

October 17, 2007: R.I.P.: Bistro New Albany.

It's remarkably easy for people who can do no better than "start up" the occasional rag picker's business or do contracting work without permits to understand how difficult a genuine paradigm shift is to achieve. All of downtown New Albany currently is engaged in that paradigm shift, and it's a work in progress that unfortunately will have its ups and downs. Bistro New Albany's demise is a downer, but within it are seeds of positive developments.

The Windsor was next in the space vacated by Bistro New Albany, to be followed by Habana Blues (in 2010). During the same period of time, there have been at least five occupants of the Bergman Building's retail space (Louis le Francais is the most recent). Connor's Place (at two locations), Studio's, Steinert's and Speakeasy have come and gone. As I've often suggested, combining the restaurant business with downtown revitalization is a wartime scenario, and we have an attrition rate to prove it. But the waves to follow have showed staying power.

And none of them, not one, has anything on David Clancy and what he achieved, facing tremendous obstacles, with bNA from early 2006 through late 2007. He was a pioneer. Thank him when you see him.

REWIND: "Steve Price compares himself to Jesus Christ. A captive city yawns. Somewhere, a dog barks." (2007)

During the past five years, 153 posts at NA Confidential have been tagged with labels bearing the uncouncilman Steve Price's name. These include:

Steve Price
Steve Price kindergarten vandalism
Steve Price rational decisionmaking
Steve Price's favored constituents
things Steve Price won't get even then
karaoke the hard way

One of my personal favorites from February, 2007, is reprinted here. What will we write about now that the uncouncilman is gone? I'm not sure, but if the city is fortunate, there'll be much to say about our collective efforts to undo his obstructionist (dare we suggest toxic?) council legacy.

Okay, it’s only fitting and proper that I should be the one to divulge the truth to you before you read it in Trogland. Yes, it happened. I was ejected from last night’s city council meeting.

I know, I know … just because Steve Price thinks he’s Jesus is no reason to lose my temper. But apparently he does. And I did. Alas, it occurred.

In retrospect, it should have been obvious that a bad moon was rising when the council considered second and third readings of the Summit Springs development on State Street, and for the second week running, the 1st district’s Dan “Wizard of Westside” Coffey was surreptitiously beamed from the chamber by playful space aliens, who placed in his stead a strange conciliatory figure waxing constructive about the virtues of development and a widened tax base.

C’mon, guys – give us our famous ward heeler back. Not really.

Just ten days ago, the council approved a first reading of the Summit Springs zoning change by a resounding 8-1 margin, with 2nd district CM Bill Schmidt alone in opposition. Last night, with councilmen Blevins and Zurschmiede absent, the vote had reached 5-1 (Schmidt one again opposing) when it came council president Larry Kochert’s turn, and he provided sweeping justification for his “slippery” sobriquet by … abstaining.

I laughed aloud, and was immediately affixed with a presidential glare.

When Kochert’s turn came for the third reading, he looked directly at me, sarcastically said “thank you,” and voted against the ordinance, remarking that only then – at the last possible moment, and having first voted in favor of the measure prior to abstaining on the second reading – could he reveal a hitherto unspoken objection, which had to do with jurisdiction for future zoning decisions.

To repeat: 4th district CM Larry Kochert recorded one vote for, one abstention, and one against … and all three stances were taken at various times on the exact same ordinance.

Is it any wonder we laugh?

No, it isn’t, but having done so openly, I feared that the worst was yet to come, and of course come it did, for if there ever were a legislative body that confirms the adage, “the beatings will continue until morale improves,” it’s this one.

My end came as 3rd district CM Steve Price took advantage of the heaven-sent opportunity afforded by his predictable tabling of further discussion of ten new police cars to, yes, prattle on for another five minutes about the very same ten police cars, which of course meant that the discussion would not be about police cars at all, but about specific nuances of CM Price’s stance v.v. take-home police cars.

CM Price’s monochromatic strumming yodel was forcibly rebutted by colleague Bev Crump, which segued into a brief period of accusatory chaos that mercifully ended with fellow councilman Jack Messer asking why the council was persisting in discussing business that had already been tabled in favor of yet another committee.

CM Price responded that he must be given time to respond to his “accusers” on the police force, and when, somewhat remarkably, CM Kochert seemed inclined to agree, the time finally had come for CM Price – previous crusader against “Nazis” in the VFW, defender of “raped” taxpayers, and linguistic mangle artist extraordinaire – to don his rubber mask of Larry Linville's best Frank Burns face and whine loudly that the council might as well bring on “the cross and nails.”

As the room dissolved into embarrassed laughter, I remarked that Price’s performance was his best ever, and this prompted a buffoonish jackal to turn and heckle me. Shrugging, I responded in the only appropriate way under the circumstances: I asked the man, otherwise known as the newly scrubbed and streamlined council candidate Dick Stewart, if he’d come to the meeting to race-bait, or just to masturbate like always -- and that did the trick.

With CM Price now waving his arms and demanding I be removed, CM Kochert actually did the right thing and tossed both Stewart and myself. Rest assured that if there had been a home plate that I could have used my hands to cover in dirt, or a water cooler to heave, it is likely to have happened.

Chief Harl was officious and pleasant, and permitted me to visit the restroom before exiting. My only regret is that Professor Erika didn’t hang around to witness it, although Auntie V's hired camera got all of it on film.

Verily, it has never been my intention to “gonzo blog,” or be part of the story. From the beginning, I’ve felt that it was enough to provide reports that admittedly entertain, but also provide the reader with insight into the city’s council meetings.

But there are times when the breathtaking inanity exhibited by the likes of my 3rd district representative is enough to shatter the firmest of one’s resolve. Last night was just such a night. Sorry ‘bout that, although I’m not promising it won’t happen again.

Why? Because the answer to New Albany’s dilemma simply does not lie in Steve Price’s preferred state of degradation, deprivation and yokeldom, although there’s some solace to be derived from the fact that as he warbles and croons the “we can’t” defeatist line, plenty of people aren’t buying it. They both “can,” and “are,” and there's little that he's yet been able to do about it.

Lacking any constructive notions for how the pie might get bigger, and mired in the tattered depreciation logic of the landlord, our councilman seeks only to wrap his fingers around the piggy bank and keep the hands of others as far away as he can.

Yet ... if one possesses as chief operating wisdom such a naked contempt for progress and success, it stands to reason that he must seek to permit as little as possible to actually occur, lest the doom of cognitive dissonance creep through the bolted doors of his perception.

That's a fine way of protecting one's own limited bailiwick. It does not improve the community, or benefit future generations. In fact, it is nothing more than the expressed public will to fail.

We need to put a stop to it, and a chance is coming ... first in the primary, and then ...

Hail, Toga Party!

Five albums and five more musical noteworthy listens during 2007.

As originally posted to samizdat, our private chat and literary discussion group.

ALBUMS

Crowded House – Time on Earth
Idiosyncratic eighties pop now yielding to bittersweet middle aged musings on the meaning of life, loss and endurance, owing primarily to the suicide of drummer Paul Hester, with sufficient doses of Neil Finn’s trademark subversive lyricism to inspire thought even if the pop isn’t nearly as bouncy as during the group’s Reagan Era heyday. No ground is broken, but great melodies are proffered, packaged with understated yet suitably intense performances.

The Feeling – Twelve Stops and Home
Youthful and expert Brit borrowers of every trick in the pop music playbook, chock full of hooks and melodies (apply alcohol to create ear worms) and schlock-cocked-eyebrow lyrics about love and loss. That’s enough for me, and yet it should be noted that the results hardly can be classified as bubblegum: “My love is stronger than you think/Much stronger now I’ve had a drink.”

Bruce Springsteen – Magic
At first, the Boss’s latest collection of songs didn’t strike me as overtly political or daring; in fact, in spite of the energetic backing of the E Street Band, the project almost seemed pedestrian, but a half dozen listens revealed a depth that has continued to impress ever since. The song “Magic” provides half the epitaph for the clueless supporting the failed Bush regime, with John Fogerty’s live rendering of “Fortunate Son” supplying the other (see below).

Manic Street Preachers – Send Away the Tigers
Commended by critics as a return to form, although my preferences continue to lie with the dark and elegiac Lifeblood (2004). Spare production accenting a classic power trio, minimal embellishments, with emphasis on short, succinct pop anthems, but bassist/lyricist Nicky Wire still manages to name drop Lee Harvey Oswald in what is ostensibly a love song (“I am just a patsy/the Oswald in Lee Harvey”), guitarist James Dean Bradfield is in fine voice throughout, and Sean Moore finally is permitted to play drums in a manner that would elicit at least a drunken leer of approval from the late Keith Moon.

Radiohead – In Rainbows
It’s fairly obvious that this latest stage in Radiohead’s artistic growth melds the experimentation of post OK Computer with excellent songs. Oddly, not one piece stands out, and yet I hear something different and tasteful each time I listen. A nuanced and rewarding effort.

NOTEWORTHY LISTENS (VARIOUS)

LIVE: John Fogerty in Louisville and Bruce Springsteen in Cologne, Germany
By sheer happenstance, these two performances by rock legends occurred a scant ten days apart in December, and on two different continents. In both cases, it was the first time I’d seen the performer in question live. Elderly pros Fogerty (two hours) and Springsteen (two and a half) provided memorable bang for the buck. Crack musicianship included Kenny Aronoff on drums and Billy Burnette on rhythm guitar (Fogerty’s current traveling band) and the E Street Band’s familiar and stellar lineup (nine people can make big noise, folks). See: This is what will be: The Boss, live in Cologne.

LIVE: Snow Patrol at White River State Park in Indianapolis (August 3)
The band’s Eyes Open album landed in 2006, but I didn’t get around to buying it until 2007. Fortunately there was a live show in Indy, which turned out to be on my birthday. Clever road weary stage banter was some of the best I’ve heard, and the outdoor venue at White River has good acoustics, pristine sound and is highly organized. A wonderful experience all around.

DVD: U2 ZooTV Live from Sydney
The final show of one of the most renowned tours in rock’s modern era is admittedly uneven, having been scripted for a worldwide satellite television broadcast. It doesn’t matter, because my chronological Irish contemporaries have simply never been in as thunderously fine a form as during the show’s seven opening songs, all taken from Achtung Baby, and played with skill and fury that is positively riveting. During the two hours that follow, the usual set list suspects are happily accented by the presence of three seldom performed cuts from Zooropa, including “Stay (Faraway, So Close)”, but unfortunately sans “The Wanderer.”

WEB: Wolfgang’s Vault
On-line repository for four decades of streaming audio concerts, many of which originally were King Biscuit Flour Hour broadcasts back in FM radio days when so little content was available to poor schmucks in places like New Albany. Everyone from Miles Davis to Elvin Bishop, and entirely free of charge.

BOOK: Groovin' High: The Life of Dizzy Gillespie, by Alyn Shipton
While not the most arresting biography I’ve read, Shipton nonetheless has I important and plausible things to say about the position of Gillespie in the development of bebop, and I was inspired to listen again to the recordings that I have for proof of the trumpeter’s genius.

Speaking of jazz geniuses, there was also a memorable time during my recovery from shoulder surgery when I bonded again with Mr. Beiderbecke: Quality time with Bix.

And, finally, a local musical event made a big impression: In the Mood: Saturday at the Speakeasy with the Glenn Miller Orchestra ... and more than a few ghosts.

Slow news millennium? Quick, someone's toilet-papering a tree.

(Cue ominous music from the soundtrack of "Jaws")

The gripping post-election scandal was first revealed in a breathless letter to the editor from the victims:

On Wednesday morning, the night after the elections, we woke up to an unsettling sight at our homes. When we looked out onto our front lawns we realized that someone had been to our homes in the middle of the night without being invited. Some people came to our homes and placed many Doug England for Mayor Signs all over our front yards. They did this because we either supported Randy Hubbard for Mayor or because we are friends with Randy Hubbard supporters.

(Sirens are heard screaming in the background as people flee to bomb shelters)

Duly prompted, the blog debate began simmering:

Anonymous said...

WHAT A MESS! Is someone going to file charges with the prosecutor against the persons involved in the vandalism of private property by flooding ENGLAND FOR MAYOR signs in several persons yards after the election?

Former Tribune staffer Amany Ali, herself a victim, then contributed a guest column on the topic:

Tribune readers may remember a recent letter to the editor that told of an election-night prank that involved the placement of election signs in yards of folks who supported the Republican candidate who lost the New Albany mayor’s race. I did not support that candidate. However, I am a friend with a couple, who happen to be Republicans, who did support that candidate. That being the case, six yard signs were placed in my yard. The moronic part of that is I actually campaigned for the winning candidate.

(Dick Cheney appears on the screen dressed in Army fatigues. He is fondling a nail studded baseball bat ... and drooling)

In the grand tradition of innuendo, all involved naturally claim to know the identity of the signage perpetrators, some of whom may have already apologized for being so typically New Albanian, but none of them will reveal names. Wouldn’t that simple act alone bring shame raining down on the wretched households of the sicko perps, and dissuade them from again committing such heinous crimes?

(Ding! Ding! Ding! )

Congratulations, New Albany. Our municipality now has expended more words in murkily debating a forgettable, sophomoric prank than were spoken altogether about pertinent local issues during the actual election campaign.

Folks, we’re talking about yard signs here – you know, those unsightly visual pollutants that contribute nothing to political discourse, prevent no one from voting a straight party ticket, are illegally placed in right of ways where they don’t belong by people like Larry Kochert who don’t care about rules, and that serve overall to remind us that local politics remains about nothing so much as donating a patch of lawn to your wife’s first cousin’s buddy from kindergarten so he can advertise his candidacy for city cawncil.

By the way, for those interested in the full dimension of 1SI muteness, it's Day 13 of the Michael Dalby/One Southern Indiana stonewall watch. Now, that's an outrage.

We Americans should be ashamed, but apparently that gene has gone missing.

Veterans Day falls on November 11th because that's when the Armistice took effect in 1918, ending World War I. A previous generation knew about the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, but numerous other mass bloodlettings have occurred since the war to end all wars, and there can't be more than a handful of living Great War veterans worldwide, so we forget the source ... as always, to our peril.

To my mind, it is unfortunate that memories of the First World War's suicidal tragedy are almost entirely extinguished, and yet far more jolting is the recognition that the same can now almost be said of World War II's legacy. It has been 62 years since VJ Day, and one needn't be a calculus major to do the Grim Reaper's math of inexorable attrition.

In terms of documentary filmmaking, Ken Burns's latest epic about the Second World War and the generation of Americans that fought it was imperfect in execution and too long by half. However, it succeeded in putting a significant truth across to those caring to listen: The majority of ordinary Americans sacrificed in some way, large or small, during the war years. There were inevitable exceptions, but sacrifice was demanded, and it was accepted.

Such a time when conspicuous consumption actually was frowned upon now seems more remote to us than the Pleistocene.

It's hardly a novel thought to remind readers that during the present period of our purportedly critical struggle against so-called "Islamofascism," not the slightest inconvenience has been asked of the American populace, leaving the brunt of the fight to be borne by servicemen and their immediate families.

Surely that's just another reason why posterity will rank the current occupant of the Oval Office far below Millard Fillmore, but as the United States settles into what almost surely is to become a long, steady decline into well-armed Third World status -- if you don't believe it, then watch your neighbors in their garish Hummer queuing to pay increasingly worthless dollars for petroleum so that they can travel to Wally World for another basket filled with Chinese-made plastic -- it's a depressing way to contemplate the Veterans Day observance.

Depressing ... and unavoidable. I'd dearly love to be more upbeat, but there are times when it makes more sense to be realistic. U2's Bono, who by all rights should have been the choice for 1SI's "economic policy" address Tuesday at the Grand and not our miserably failed president -- if for no other reason than guitarist The Edge serving as a more musical and trustworthy right-hand man than Dick Cheney -- once wrote a song about the unification of Germany entitled, "Daddy's Going to Pay for Your Crashed Car."

Who'll be America's Daddy?

Yep.

The Courier Journal's take: Democrat overcomes ex-sheriff's criticisms, by Dick Kaukas.

For further commentary: NA Shadow Council's Democrats Earn First At-Bat.

Preliminary doodlings indicate that the Coffey contagion may finally have been isolated. Of course, that's after a bunch o'Electors.

Overall ... a good outcome.

More later.

Consider this an open thread to discuss election results.

Another NA (non-alcoholic) election day.

Don’t forget:

You must have an ID to vote – and to get served after you vote.

Don't forget:

If you're looking for a polling place, call the Floyd County Democratic Party at 812-207-7941.

Don't forget:

To quote Groucho Marx, when the taps finally open at 6:00 p.m., there'll be "dancing in the streets, drinking in the saloons, and necking in the parlor," at least until the sad reality of Dan Coffey's inevitable victory over write-in candidate Skittles the Cat begins to sink in. I'll likely be at Connor's Place for celebration and commiseration.

You've forgotten: The following first ran on May 2, 2006.

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Another election day is here, and with it eleven hours of state-mandated prohibition against the sale of demon rum.

Presumably, this unwelcome vestige of an otherwise discredited social policy serves as a bulwark against the horrific possibility that unscrupulous politicos or their conniving agents might swap half-pints of Kessler (or a similarly valued slopping spree at a downtown tavern) in exchange for a poor wretch’s vote.

As there exists no commensurate prohibition against the sale of strong black coffee, chocolate-covered Krispy Kremes and hickory-smoked bacon, apparently the veiled but very real threat of breakfast-induced bribery is not worthy of the same scrutiny as that posed by the insidious grape and the grain.

If you’re hopelessly intoxicated after ingesting that half-pint of Kessler, are you really any more destructive to democracy than the perfectly sober voter who is following instructions provided by a fundamentalist preacher who has promised not temporal inebriation, but a favorable reference when the time comes to take up residence in heaven?

Nope, me thinks you're not. We hope you thought ahead and visited your favorite package store on Monday night. Cheers ...

Cat's in the cradle, and more endorsements preceding Tuesday's election.

At the very last moment, a write-in candidate has been certified by the state of Indiana’s election board, and he will oppose the incumbent 1st district councilman Dan Coffey in Tuesday’s race.

His name is Skittles, a feral cat found living beneath an illegally installed water heater in a West Endian rental property around the corner from Coffey’s house, and shown here enjoying a long overdue hot bath following his recruitment by desperate constituents.

According to Skittles, “I’ve seen first-hand what Coffey can do with plumbing, and let me tell you, even a wild animal knows better.”

He added, “Unlike Steve Price, I’m no lap cat.”

In response, the Wizard of Westside has angrily vowed to again tamper with as many ballots as it takes to turn back the unexpected feline challenge and retain iron control of the city’s poorest district, which Coffey has earnestly guided to ever greater depths of impoverishment since his election eight years ago.

Intriguingly, Tribune publisher John Tucker has reached a similar conclusion:

Unfortunately, because Coffey is unopposed (he won by literally a few votes during the primary) he’ll probably be back for four more years. But even so, if I were in his district I’d leave the ballot blank or write in my crazy Uncle Fred’s name rather than surrender to four more years of his type of leadership.

District 1: Vote Skittles as a write-in, and help clean the Wizard’s litter box.

While we’re at it, here are the senior editor’s remaining endorsements.

District 2: Bob Caesar (D)
Long-term, downtown businessman knows the score, will not require prompting from hidden radio wave electro-shock impulses to know which way to vote.

District 3: Brenda Scharlow (R)
Meaningful entrepreneurial experience easily trumps a lowest common denominator opponent. For more, go here, and note publisher Tucker's words:

Price and Coffey are of like mind and vote. They have made it their job to stop progress in New Albany, and in that respect, they do a very good job. Unlike Coffey, there is someone running against Price. Brenda Scharlow is running on the Republican ticket. I’ve never met Brenda Scharlow. I have read her platform and watched her talk at a debate. She seems a capable person. However, make no mistake, I would vote for her mostly because the incumbent has proven himself to be incapable of the job.

District 4: Pat McLaughlin (D)
Quietly does his homework and refuses to pander to blogs like mine.

District 5: Dick Bliss (R)
Absence of family ties to “The Gary” a massive plus.

District 6: Jeff Gahan (D)
I’m simply unwilling to hold one admittedly colossal misstep against him.

At-Large: John Gonder (D), Jack Messer (D), Kevin Zurschmeide (R)
If Skittles fails in his bid to unseat Coffey, he promises to run against superannuated Democratic at-large candidate Jim Hollis on a personal hygiene platform.

Mayor: Doug England (D)
Perpetually encumbered by baggage, but what England is best at doing is what New Albany needs right now. Fortunately, we’re not being called upon to elect a saint, but to choose a mayor. Opponent Randy Hubbard has failed to offer compelling evidence that he possesses the energy or vision to succeed as mayor. For more, go here.

Clerk: Marcey Wisman (D)
Modernizing the office would be an easier job if so many of the purse string holders weren’t clueless Luddites busking for nickels and dimes on street corners.

See also:

Tasty fried fish since 1985 ... and by the way, vote for me.

Not an endorsement, but rather an embarrassment.

Whither Harvest Homecoming?

Don't forget where to drink good beer during Harvest Homecoming.

Meanwhile, the best way to meet your trognonymous critics is head on and full speed:

It feels just like 1967 all over the place... from the Letter from New Albany blog.

Driving past this morning, detouring around the over-night tent city that downtown has become, I was amused by the plastic neon "fencing" surrounding every possible living inch of Monroe Shine. I know nothing gives them more anal-compulsive fits than hordes of swill-drinking red-necks from the lower tax brackets putting out hundreds of cheap cigarettes in their shrubberies.

Lately, I've made my peace with Harvest Homecoming, but the debate resurfaces with regularity, and one thing you can count on is that in coming years, there'll be an emerging dialogue as to the way Harvest Homecoming plays out each year. Harvest Homecoming is deeply conservative institution, but the downtown cityscape is changing, and there will inevitably come a time when the festival is called upon to change with it.

Previously, we've discussed possible strategies for "alternative" Harvest Homecoming events to take place near downtown during the same time. These might involve more, shall we say, "contemporary" food, drink and entertainment options, with perhaps an element of social and political advocacy that reflects a broader plane than that currently espoused. Any such effort would have to come entirely from ourselves, because as guardians of New Albany's chosen "signature" annual event, Harvest Homecoming's organizers well understand the resources the festival commands, and aren't likely to cede these any voluntarily time soon. That's why I persist in thinking that off-campus, privately inspired options are the best path; if these succeed, the pressure on Harvest Homecoming to reinvent itself will be irresistible.

I wrote these words a couple years ago:

Ideas we surely have, and in abundance, but money and volunteer labor are two commodities in much, much shorter supply. Currently these are directed toward Harvest Homecoming, which possesses its own internal and self-perpetuating set of rationales and objectives. For what it is, it’s a wonderful thing.

But as my councilman might say, "it is what it is."

For once, he'd be right.

As currently configured, I accept Harvest Homecoming as it is, while at the same time seeing what it might become, and envisioning ways to aid and abet its evolution -- particularly once NABC is doing business downtown.

Until then, there's good beer alongside the swill at Connor's Place ... and choice always is a good thing.

ESNA Oktoberfest meeting tonight features Price, Scharlow and a guy who plays spoons.

For its October meeting tonight (October 10, 2007), the East Spring Street Neighborhood Association has scheduled as guests Steve Price (D-Dubious) & Brenda Scharlow (R), candidates for the 3rd district city council seat. The meeting will be held at Muir Manor, which is located on the corner of East Spring Street and 13th.

Questions previously addressed to the mayoral forum attendees candidates will be repeated -- more often to Price than to Scharlow. The neighborhood association's business meeting will be from 7:00 to 7:30 p.m., with the guests arriving at 7:30.

Republican Brenda Scharlow's platform includes ordinance enforcement and promoting business downtown, while the extremely nominal and syntax challenged Democrat Price "value's your taxpayer dollars," "identifies problems and implores solutions," and once played geetar for the Darlins on the old Andy Griffith Show.

No beer allowed. Too bad.

In a manner of speaking ... from the front porch ... next Saturday.

Yes, it's that time again.


In the fall of 2006, we removed the ancient draft beer box beneath the bar at the Public House and installed a new one.

The old one, which had been in place since 1992, was still functional, but because of corrosion and leakage, it became impossible to use indoors. Our worker at the time built two sets of casters and rolled it out the back door, where it remained parked, fully exposed to the weather and scrap metal thieves, throughout the winter and into 2007.

That is, until a month ago, when I paid my itinerant handyman an unspecified sum to move the keg box to my garage for the ostensible aim of rehabbing it in preparation for the annual NA Confidential Harvest Homecoming Parade Party at my home.

Life promptly intruded, and just yesterday I finally remembered to plug in the venerable appliance and see if it actually still worked. I’m delighted to report that she’s cooling as I write. All that's needed is a good scrubbing.

And so …

Saturday, October 6 is the date for this year’s HHPP at the residence of Mr. and Mrs. Confidential. If you know us well enough to know where we live, and if you’re not embarrassed at the prospect of being spotted drinking beer on the porch with me, you’re a default invitee.

Festivities will start circa 10:00 a.m. with the institution of cigars, White Castles (jalapeno cheese) and espresso as we watch the city workers prepare the parade route. The taps will be open during this time, as it is well known that somewhere in the world, it’s after 12 noon.

This year’s draft beer selection will be NABC Bob’s Old 15-B (porter); Bluegrass Brewing Company (Main & Clay) Oktoberfest, and our traditional Poperings Hommel Ale from Belgium. A fourth surprise may be on tap if it arrives in time.

Please bring a beer snack. There will be a main course of yet to be determined food, likely a pot of vegetarian chili, and day-long grazing. Anything that goes well with beer is eligible.

If you’re in the parade itself, stop by for adult refreshments afterward. There’ll be bottles of Sprecher sodas for non-alcoholic thirst quenching.

As a final note, please contribute your suggestion for the wording on our banner this year.

The best suggestion yet was inspired by last year’s plan (sadly, we didn’t follow through) to actually have a “stealth” float in the parade, seemingly innocuous, but at the last moment (a la “Animal House”) to reveal that we’ve all dressed in women’s clothes, with the theme being: “NA Confidential: DRAGGING New Albany into the 21st century.”

Ah … what might have been … but perhaps a banner denouncing our do-nothing councilman would be enough. Let me know.

And, come by for a beer next Saturday.

Here is the coverage from last year: Time for just one more -- beer, not parade float.

GOP’s six-week saturation sliming of Doug England begins – and yes, NAC told you so.

I was elected the Floyd County Republican Party Chairman back in March. One of my top priorities was the upcoming New Albany mayor and city council races.
--David L. Matthews, chairman of the Floyd County Republican Party

That’s six long months for the Republican chairman to formulate a platform plank – any platform plank will do, thanks – that pertains to the city of New Albany in this day and time.

Instead, from the relative solitude of his suburban Greenville command bunker, Matthews has leaped into the New Albany mayoral fray by unleashing the first salvo of his party’s forthcoming negative campaign against Democrat Doug England, with the intended beneficiary being Republican candidate Randy “Silence Is Golden, Golden” Hubbard.

But with yesterday's letter to the editor of the Tribune, Matthews uncannily (and surely unintentionally) corroborated something I wrote in this space just two weeks ago:

It’s beyond debate: Hubbard “tete-a-tete” avoidance mode noted by city residents, Tribune columnist, the Who’s Tommy, and man in moon.

In this continually widening Republican void, where platform planks and ideas go to die, I’m left to surmise that Hubbard’s “duck ‘n’ cover” defensive posture circa the Labor Day opening political campaign weekend is merely a tactical prelude to calculated fireworks later in the autumn. It’s just about the only thing that makes sense at this point.

My best guess would be an 11th hour outburst of negative campaigning in October, with the saintly Hubbard himself deigning to remain “above” the muddy fray while local confederates do the dirty work of contrasting Hubbard’s purportedly impeccable law enforcement credentials with patronage abuse questions that linger in the public consciousness from England’s two previous terms as mayor.

Such a late attack strategy would at least explain Hubbard’s odd reticence as England has aggressively lapped the somnolent ex-sheriff early in the contest, and twice opening bloody cuts: First, with the Democratic candidate’s city hall relocation press conference and Hubbard’s subsequent conceptual disorientation, and second, in the aftermath of the GOP candidate’s inexplicable debate withdrawal …

It is highly flattered to have been proven absolutely correct, even if I erred slightly in thinking that the Republicans might wait until October to begin dropping napalm.

Silly me, although when you have a dog that won’t hunt, perhaps it’s best to periodically squeeze off a few noisy rounds to make the folks back home think they might be having meat for dinner instead of the same tired soup bone.

If only the voters in New Albany might be gifted with red meat from the Republican party.

Of course, it cannot be denied that Doug England carries baggage from previous administrations, and by the terms of political engagement, it’s certainly not unfair for the GOP to play dirty and to go negative, even this early in the contest.

It's just that for once we'd love to see these terms of engagement altered to reflect the power of ideas rather than the soiling capacity of spitballs.

Given that Hubbard has failed to articulate any platform planks of substance … given that he refuses to debate England one on one and ask questions of England himself rather than permit Matthews to carry his lunch pail … given that neither Hubbard nor his party chairman have shown any willingness or ability to address New Albany’s big ticket urban issues at this decisive time, we must regard Matthew’s swift boat pyrotechnics as strictly diversionary in nature, and we’ll continue to do so until Hubbard shows signs of a pulse.

Whether NAC’s opinion matters of not (hold your catcalls, Troglodyte Nation), we’ve spent much of the past three years bemoaning the lack of substantive dialogue on pressing local issues, and positing that we stand at a particularly important juncture with respect to the city’s future viability.

Meanwhile, Matthews can do no better than deploy a Republican Youth League operative’s second-hand smirk to mock England’s willingness to discuss issues on any street corner, and before any size crowd, even as Hubbard’s catatonic silence threatens more of the same cautious, caretaking “conservatism” that has managed to “conserve” only those numerous bad political and governmental habits that have led to regress in the first place.

And, without a debate. How short-sighted (read: arrogant) is that?

England has made one thing perfectly clear, and arguably, it is the most important point that any candidate for public office in New Albany needs to make in 2007: Doing nothing is not an option at this point in the city’s history.

The sooner Matthews, Hubbard and the GOP grasp this self-evident wisdom -- shall we accompany the GOP brain trust on a walking tour of the historic city core to promote much needed consciousness-raising? -- the sooner a genuine debate can be joined and a legitimate alternative offered.

With the mud already flying, there seems depressingly little hope for optimism … but somewhere, at least, Karl Rove is smiling.

It’s beyond debate: Hubbard “tete-a-tete” avoidance mode noted by city residents, Tribune columnist, the Who’s Tommy, and man in moon.

But what the hell, you can win a plasma screen television without even showing your face at the forthcoming pachyderm picnic. Appropriate, eh?

A couple of weeks back, NA Confidential was entirely unsurprised to learn that Republican mayoral candidate Randy Hubbard would be cravenly sidestepping an October debate with his Democratic opponent, Doug England.

Randy Hubbard and the headlong flight from ideas.

Apparently Plan A is the hope is that England will commit an unforced error capable of being exploited for electoral gain. There seems to be no Plan B. In the interim, Hubbard’s attempted gravitas seems increasingly less plausible than what is almost certainly the non-spinnable reality: A comprehensive absence of platform content, grasp and ideas on the part of a reluctant candidate desperately recruited by his own party for the sole reason of warding off an expected insurgency emanating from the upstart outsider residing at the Admiral Bicknell.

With Hubbard’s silence deepening by the day and his electoral stock quavering, the Tribune’s Sunday guest columnist Daniel Robison opportunistically spotted an opening and commented serviceably on September 2 in Englandfest tickets available.

(Hubbard) recently told IU Southeast that he can’t face off against Democratic nominee Doug England in mid-October because of time constraints; an excuse I would’ve taken for a joke if it weren’t Hubbard’s true explanation.

Hubbard’s move suggests he has all but thrown in the towel. If he cared at all about Nov. 5’s outcome, he would’ve agreed to this showdown — at the very least to prevent England from milking the situation for his campaign’s benefit. And refusing to debate is certainly no way to comfort donors nor attract new money, the true lifeline of a campaign.

But such obviousness apparently can’t to be taken for granted in Hubbard’s camp. Undeterred by his opponent’s refusal to RSVP for the debate, England has smartly stated that he will turn the event into a one-candidate forum, effectively turning a would-be debate into a promotional event for himself on Oct. 16.

In this continually widening Republican void, where platform planks and ideas go to die, I’m left to surmise that Hubbard’s “duck ‘n’ cover” defensive posture circa the Labor Day opening political campaign weekend was merely a tactical prelude to calculated fireworks later in the autumn.

It’s just about the only thing that makes sense at this point.

My best guess would be an 11th hour outburst of negative campaigning in October, with the saintly Hubbard himself deigning to remain “above” the muddy fray while local confederates do the dirty work of contrasting Hubbard’s purportedly impeccable law enforcement credentials with patronage abuse questions that linger in the public consciousness from England’s two previous terms as mayor.

Such a late attack strategy would at least explain Hubbard’s odd reticence as England has aggressively lapped the somnolent ex-sheriff early in the contest, and twice opening bloody cuts: First, with the Democratic candidate’s city hall relocation press conference and Hubbard’s subsequent conceptual disorientation, and second, in the aftermath of the GOP candidate’s inexplicable debate withdrawal, as referenced previously by columnist Robison.

As Hubbard’s image resolution bytes grows ever fuzzier, surely England’s team is tempted to consider a more conservative campaign, but I’ve never been one to advocate running out the clock. It seems to me that Hubbard’s virtually pulse-free profile, coupled with the likelihood of a textbook GOP smear campaign down the road, actually provides England with yet another tactical opportunity, albeit counterintuitive, to land a haymaker.

Here’s why.

If people on New Albany’s streets know anything, it is that the hyperkinetic England won’t sit still for a moment if again elected mayor. He may do the right thing, and he may do the wrong thing, but he possesses sufficient energy and vision to do something.

Love him or hate him, this much is known.

Unfortunately for England, many of these same people haven’t completely forgotten that there were reasons for his crushing defeat at the hands of Regina Overton in 1999. These reasons include hubris, which the ex-mayor seems to have convincingly addressed on numerous occasions since re-entering the political fray, and the public’s lingering recollection of behind-the-scenes patronage scandals and slushy improprieties … which he has not.

At least, not yet.

Hence the current, golden opportunity.

By mustering a measure of introspection as to the lessons of the past and the wisdom of age, and by offering a wee bit of penitence as a prelude to a hopeful future, England might now stage a bold preemptive strike and earnestly address the legacy of backroom dealings that inevitably arises whenever his 2007 candidacy is discussed around town, and in particular, as these perceptions pertain to individuals whose shadowy influence at the time has come to be viewed as malign rather than constructive.

England might reassure voters that having learned from experience, there is no need to fear that history might repeat itself. He might explicitly distance himself from the key backroom players of the time. He might close by pledging that a future England administration will not become entangled in the sort of good-old-boy’s school patronage disbursements and borderline ethical fundraising ties that sadly discredited otherwise successful terms in office.

In fact, he might raise the bar even higher. Dare we broach the possibility of an ethics commission for municipal government in New Albany?

If Hubbard intends to open fire, then England should make the gunslinger's powder as wet as possible as a prelude to spiking the barrel on election day.

Then again, maybe I’m mistaken about it all.

Perhaps the mayoral contest is all but sewn up, and England need not make such a journey as a necessary step toward ensuring a third act in his mayoral history. Certainly I’ll still vote for him either way, although with this niggling caveat:

The suggestions offered here serve primarily to address doubts and concerns that have been expressed to me in wide ranging conversations with friends and acquaintances, most of whom acknowledge England’s considerable chutzpah, while remaining far less enamored of some members in his past, and perhaps present, entourage.

My mind’s made up, but they’re the ones who might yet need reassurances that this time around, sharing in the spoils on the part of certain of England’s coterie is subordinated to creating more for all the city’s residents.

Coming to downtown this Saturday (August 18): Worlds of Flavor Bar-B-Q and Music Festival.

Click on the image for a bigger version.

I'd have let readers know about this sooner, but for a variety of reasons advance notice wasn't possible. My own busy schedule, coupled with the annual "Beer and Sweat" homebrewing party in Cincinnati on the same day, served to dissuade me from organizing a "World of Flavor" beer segment as a portion of the proceedings, but at least NABC beers will be on tap at three of the four downtown estaurants, and there's always next year to make the fest grow.

It looks like cooler temperatures for Saturday, so I'll be out and about. Hope to see you there.

Here are a few other calendar dates to consider if you’re a beer aficionado:

Monday, August 20
The co-founder and CEO of Stone Brewing is coming, and you can Meet Greg Koch at Stone Brewing Night: Monday, August 20, at the Public House.

Fri., Sat. & Sun., August 24, 25 & 26
Peak Summit Groove and Dance Festival in and near the Rustic Frog, just inches outside downtown New Albany.

Saturday, August 25
The 4th annual Brew at the Zoo takes place at the Louisville Zoo.

Friday, August 31
It’ll be a pre-Oktoberfest German beer gala when Sandkerwa NA, an homage to Bamberg’s beers, begins.

Press release: Historic Home Tour Back for Second Year ... Organizers Expect 500 Visitors.

The New Albany Historic Home Tour, September 8, 2007, takes you behind the scenes as the doors of ten properties in the city’s four historic districts are opened to visitors. Discover the rich architectural heritage of New Albany as you explore private residences, gardens, and commercial buildings. On this tour, sponsored by Develop New Albany, you are invited inside for a glimpse of what it is like to live, work, and worship in these unique structures.

Floyd County Historian David Barksdale commented, “With the tour, we can involve the community first-hand in New Albany’s historic experience. The architectural diversity and walkable neighborhoods of our city are a well kept secret and we enjoy having the opportunity to show them off to the Metro area. An estimated 500 visitors will see New Albany from a different perspective as we open the doors to our past, present, and future.”

New Albany’s four historic districts contain over 800 buildings. A highlight of this year’s event is St. Mary of the Annunciation Catholic Church. An outstanding example of Romanesque Revival architecture, it was built in 1858 for the German Catholic community. Also on tour this year is the Reibel House, used as a hotel in the 1800s and the Zinsmeister house, a Second Empire gem, sometimes known locally as the Little Culbertson for its similarity to the Culbertson Mansion State Historic Site.

The tour starts at 10:00 a.m. at the New Albany Farmers Market at the corner of Bank and Market Streets where you will purchase tickets and pick up your tour booklet and driving map. You can set your own pace and visit the stops in any order you wish through the close of the tour at 5:00 p.m.

Ticket costs are $15 for an adult. Children under 15 are $5. Visit
www.newalbanypreservation.com for information about purchasing
advance tickets. Or purchase them at any one of the following New Albany locations: AAA Plumbing Doctor, 302B Market Street; Martha’s Attic, 222 Pearl Street; Treet’s Bakery & Café, 133 E Market; or Downtown Farmers Market, Bank and Market Streets, Saturdays starting August 4.

All proceeds fund historic preservation activities in New Albany.

Questions: HomeTourNA@msn.com