Just Go Away.

Of course Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer should resign, if for no other reason than persistent incompetence, although you're advised to deploy a Galt House-sized grain of salt when digesting today's purely partisan GOP no-confidence measure.

At the height of the BLM protests, I was paying attention nightly to District 19 councilman's Anthony Piagentini criticism of Fischer from the right; Piagentini would have called in the black shirts if allowed. Lots of quasi-Peronist ambition in this one, don't you think?

It's true that Fischer's "bourbonism" mantra has ceased to cast a spell; he'd bungled matters hideously, and it's hard to imagine that any substantive bloc of support remains.

Fischer just needs to go away, but the push certainly doesn't need to come from the fascistic opposition. Democrats need to do it, and they won't.

Welcome to L'America.

Louisville Metro Council to consider no-confidence vote in Mayor Greg Fischer, by Darcy Costello (Louisville Courier Journal)

Louisville Metro Council Republicans are calling for an unprecedented no-confidence vote in Mayor Greg Fischer and suggesting he resign — a move Fischer has dismissed as a political game.

The resolution, filed Monday with all seven Republicans as co-sponsors, says a new mayor is essential to bring needed change in the Louisville Metro Police Department and that a lack of trust has been fostered by "false claims" of transparency and accountability from Fischer.

It goes on to urge Fischer to resign and to work with the Metro Council to "establish a transition to ensure that the community can begin the process of healing."

The legislation will be assigned to a committee, where it could be voted on next week and sent to the full Metro Council for its consideration as soon as Sept. 3. It has no Democratic co-sponsors ...

Hoosiers for Dan Borsch for Louisville Metro Council.

I suppose my first awareness of Dan Borsch was during the run-up to the pre-ordained Ohio River Bridges boondoggle.

We've actually met only a handful of times, if that. But I've always admired Dan's spot-on politics from afar, as well as his success in the restaurant and bar business. If you can make it THERE, in THAT unforgiving line of work, you can make it anywhere.

In this case, I hope Dan makes it to Louisville Metro Council. Here's one of his recent stump messages.

Right on, brother.

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Dan Borsch for Louisville Metro Council

When I took over a neighborhood diner 12 years ago I had no idea the education I was about to receive about society and how cities operate. I had led a privileged life attending the best schools in Louisville through the Traditional program at Male and then on to universities and professional jobs with a few stints in the service industry during high school and college, but only for spending money, not as a career. Taking over a worn-down diner in the most diverse neighborhood in Louisville opened my eyes to the everyday struggle so many of our neighbors go through, a struggle that is mostly a product of the system we have created.

Unless you see for yourself on a daily basis how hard it is to succeed in the world today for those without connections and/or professional backgrounds, and how the stresses of poverty shapes your outlook on life, it is nearly impossible to understand just how rigged our system is. Too many see no path to success. Too many have not had the access to opportunity they should have. Too many have had interactions with police that are degrading, insulting and sadly much worse. Too many have had work experiences that devalued them. I see the scars of these policy decisions too often. I see the product of a lack of respect for the black and working class population daily.

Our community has been focused on subsidizing luxury hotels and sprawl while we have ignored the suffering and lack of investment that surrounds us. We have not focused on the basics of good governing, instead choosing to focus on mega projects and splashy ribbon cuttings. I saw these failings firsthand and have for well over the last decade tried to educate my friends while speaking out against what I saw as a misplaced priorities in our community. I became persona non grata with some of the powers that be in our community for daring to speak out against the Bridges project, the Omni Hotel and convention center, the wastefulness of how we spend transportation money and where we choose to spend it, Urban Services District, 4th Street Live, the Urban Government Center, TIF districts.... the list goes on. I saw that we were not investing in areas of our city where the alleys and abandoned properties were piled with waste, where the schools had not been renovated in decades, where the sidewalks were not passible, where the corner store was boarded up or bulldozed into a vacant lot. I went before the Metro Council and advocated for a $15 minimum wage. I went to hearings and meetings to fight for changes. I filed open records requests to hold people accountable. But I failed to succeed in persuading the leadership in Louisville to change. The establishment saw a façade of success and were insulated from the pain that too many live with daily.

I saw it in the faces of my customers whose luxury dining out experience after the first of the month is a neighborhood diner. I felt it in the rage some had when they felt slighted or mistreated as a guest. I knew it in conversations with cooks, servers, and managers over the years about the life they led and while discussing their aspirations and dreams. Even though we grew up in the same city, we lived a world apart. No amount of mentoring and advice could break through the tough façade that so many have erected to protect themselves. I saw too many that had given up hope that they could move up in life and be successful in society. Bouncing from job to job with no hope for the future. I saw firsthand how the drug epidemic has ravished our society. How great people devolved into hard core addicts. I have seen the struggling mom fighting through treatment so she can once again see her children. The customers that were strung out and the ones that used my restrooms to shoot up.

I wish I could have done more, but life gets in the way of the best of intentions. We are reaping what we have sowed, and the only way forward is to look in the mirror and realize that if we don’t change the system in meaningful ways, we will not change the outcome we are getting today. When the FORBES 400 controls MORE WEALTH than the entire black community, we have FAILED. When our DEVELOPMENT FOCUS is based on SUBSIDIZING CORPORATIONS, we have FAILED. When our EDUCATION SYSTEM succeeds for a FRACTION OF OUR CHILDREN, we have FAILED. When we have THOUSAND OF HOMELESS AND ADDICTED LIVING ON OUR STREETS, we have FAILED. When we have TWO SYSTEMS OF JUSTICE, we have FAILED. When we DISRESPECT A CLASS OF CITIZENS AND MILITARIZE OUR POLICE, we have FAILED. When we have a SYSTEM THAT DOESN'T PROVIDE EQUAL OPPORTUNITY AND PATH TO SUCCESS, we have FAILED. We must change and we must accept that THE CURRENT SYSTEM IS NOT SUSTAINABLE. We have many tough decisions ahead of us, but I believe we can change the path we are on and that we have been awaken from our slumber. The façade has been pulled away and the rotting structure exposed. Justice Brandeis wrote that the best disinfectant is sunlight, we must shine the light on a broken system and recognize it for what it is, a failure.

Now is the time to rebuild the city, and country, we deserve where everyone has the opportunities we read about and dreamed of. We are all in this together.

Ryan Fenwick (Louisville) and Nick Vaughn (Floyd County) reject developer, contractor and special interest campaign donations. Shouldn't this be a trend, Jeffrey?

Back in January when Nick Vaughn announced for Floyd County council, I noticed this.

Can you imagine ranking Democratic office-holders in New Albany rejecting developer, contractor or special interest money? It's simply inconceivable given the voracious needs of the political patronage machine, as newcomers like Jason Applegate seem to have learned all too quickly.

Over in Louisville, Ryan Fenwick is making a principled stand similar to that of Vaughn. Fenwick is challenging the incumbent Pat Mulvihill in the Democratic Party primary.

Ryan Fenwick for Metro Council District 10

As Jeff Gillenwater noted: This, everywhere, now.

I AM NOT TAKING DEVELOPER MONEY

My opponent has received thousands in contributions from developers and high ranking Metro Government officials.

Since Metro Council has the final vote on project incentives, waivers, zoning and planning issues, and landmark status designation, as well as a regulatory role over Metro Government agencies, I am calling for an end to what appears to be a common practice.

At best, accepting such donations creates the appearance of a conflict of interest; at worst, it creates a regulatory environment where favoritism can outweigh merit when voting on development related issues. This can result in outcomes that are out of step with the community’s expectations and pernicious to taxpayer interests.

Today I pledged not to take any money from developers or high ranking members of Metro Government. This campaign will be funded by grassroots donors. Can you chip in?

Dan Coffey would fit just fine over there in Prospect, except Prospect wouldn't allow Coffey to live there.

As Gerth notes, the property in question was approved for use with nary a second glance when the proposal called for luxury housing.

When luxuriousness was discarded and the topic shifted to affordable housing, suddenly "them people" (in Dan Coffey's famous words) became a pressing issue, requiring even Sam Swope to be exhumed.

Plenty of parallels with New Albany's luxury-obsessed City Hall team and the city officials it coddles, eh?

Old, poor and black? The city of Prospect doesn't want you, by Joseph Gerth (Louisville Courier Journal)

Here's hoping the Louisville Metro Council and my neighbors in Prospect are happy with themselves.

They’ve succeeded in keeping old, poor, disabled and (they believe) black people out of the eastern Louisville city. Hurrah.

I'm talking, of course, about their opposition to the Prospect Cove apartment complex that the good folks in Prospect decided they didn't want right across the street from the Kroger, where they go to buy groceries — where I go to buy groceries.

A Louisville company had proposed building 198 apartments for low-income seniors on nearly 10 acres. Under rules of the complex, the apartments would have been leased only to families in which at least one person was over age 55.

Rent for a one-bedroom unit would have been about $930, and a two-bedroom unit would have been about $1,000.

Additionally, no one under 18 would have been allowed to live there.

The fact that the apartments were designed for people below a certain income threshold screamed "black people" to some of the folks who opposed it, and so the city of Prospect spent some $200,000 fighting the development ...

Excellent point: "Louisville should not spend tens of millions for a soccer stadium unless it creates better jobs."

Last evening the first step was taken toward a soccer stadium in Louisville.

The Fischer administration made a successful appeal to council members Tuesday saying the public-private partnership, which would erect a 10,000-seat facility, is a good use of taxpayer money that will put acres of underused land to good use.

After a nearly two-hour discussion in the council's Budget Committee, members voted 4-1 to approve the bond.

Investors said they need to move swiftly on a new home field to stay in the professional United Soccer League. Since its inception three years ago, Louisville City FC has played at the Louisville Slugger Field baseball stadium.

Earlier there was an insightful commentary in which the authors refrained from opposing the pump-priming required to build a soccer stadium, but rather explored the implications of it, and suggested positive outcomes of the sort that Greg Fischer rarely acknowledges.

This is precisely the thinking needed whenever local officials propose tethering development to TIF zones. For instance, the jobs generated by New Albany's aquatic center are seasonal and low-paying.

Shouldn't the benefits be more expansive than that?

Louisville should not spend tens of millions for a soccer stadium unless it creates better jobs, by Richard Becker and Bryan Trafford (Insider Louisville)

Richard Becker is co-chair of Kentucky Jobs With Justice. Bryan Trafford is on the executive committee of Jobs With Justice, works at an area casino, and is a member of Teamsters Local 89.

To move forward, Louisville needs to create more jobs that pay enough to support a family. Right now, too many working families in our city feel like they are falling behind, no matter how hard they work. A low-wage floor holds down household spending power, which holds back our local economy.

As Louisville grows and puts taxpayer money into new development projects, our elected representatives should make choices that help paychecks get bigger and neighborhoods get stronger across the city.

Metro Louisville government has a chance to get this right with a major new project. The owners of Louisville City Football Club want as much as $60 million in state and local taxpayer money to help build a stadium, hotel, offices and retail stores on a parcel of land near Butchertown.

The owners of the team want Louisville taxpayers to get a $30 million loan to buy the land where they would own and operate the development. The owners apparently also plan to ask for approximately $30 million in additional taxpayer funding from the state through a “Tax Increment Funding” financing mechanism.

The development has been portrayed as a done deal, with the team saying it expects Metro Council to rush to a vote in two weeks.

But so far, there has been almost no public discussion about whether spending so much of our money on this project will help raise wages and improve the quality of jobs in our city. The members of Metro Council need to slow down, ask questions, and find ways to use this kind of major investment to create better jobs.

But can Deaf Gahan somehow outbid Louisville for soccer stadium economic development nirvana?

Previously: ON THE AVENUES: Gahan's stadium arcadium kicks off a new year with hilarity, pathos and own goals.

Now that Jeffersonville has sensibly opted out of the spectacle, New Albany remains part of this story line primarily because the American pastime of sports stadium building requires two municipalities to be played against each other. It makes no sense any other way.

Some council members open to helping soccer club build stadium, by Boris Ladwig (Insider Louisville)

A few Louisville Metro Council members say they are open to providing some government incentives to help Louisville City FC build a soccer stadium in Louisville.

Club management reminds recalcitrant Louisville politicos that the bait's still dangling over on the Sunny Side, where some public officials have been known to "take" used chewing gum in route to their quadrennial spawning grounds.

LouCity Chairman John Neace has said that without a soccer-specific stadium, the club probably would leave Louisville because it cannot generate enough revenue from sponsorships and concessions. All of the concession sales at each LouCity home game go to the baseball team, as do up to $15,000 of LouCity’s annual suite sales. Neace said the soccer club lost more than $1 million last year.

Club officials have said that they would prefer building a stadium in Louisville — but they have not ruled out locations in Southern Indiana. City officials in New Albany, for example, have told IL that they’ve had preliminary discussions with Neace about developing a stadium there. Neace pegged the stadium cost at about $25 million. The club plans to release more detailed proposals in about a month.

But here's the observation that best captures the "business as usual" aspect of it.

Mayor Fischer’s office last week referred IL’s questions to Louisville Forward, the metro government’s economic development arm, which declined to answer questions about whether it would be open to considering specific types of incentives, such as direct financial support, a tax moratorium or the creation of a tax increment financing district. Louisville Forward directed IL to an FAQ that it released along with the feasibility study, in which the city says that it has not yet decided to participate in building the stadium.

It's economic development, y'all -- and isn't Eastridge Drive desperately in need of some?

"How New Affordable Housing Development Incentives Could Change Louisville."

Today I'll be attending a candidate luncheon sponsored by the Southern Indiana Realtors Association. As such, this article is timely reading.

If you've ever asked the question, "But what do we do about The Project?" (code language if ever I've heard such), I'd recommend taking a look.

I don't have a simple, glib answer to this question, primarily because there isn't one. However, taking inventory of the principles involved and being willing to speak openly about them surely must constitute the first step toward understanding.

Has the local Democratic Party ever had anything coherent to say about these issues?

Didn't think so.

How New Affordable Housing Development Incentives Could Change Louisville, by Jacob Ryan (WFPL)

The Metro Council on Thursday will take up an ordinance that housing advocates say is imperative for expanding affordable housing options in the city.

At present, Louisville is a sharply segregated city with a zoning policy that may violate fair housing laws, said Cathy Hinko, executive director of the Metropolitan Housing Coalition. This vulnerability stems from zoning policies that ban development of certain housing types in some areas of the city.

The ordinance up for council consideration is seen by fair housing advocates as a first step to address these problems and give low-income residents more housing options outside of historically impoverished neighborhoods.

It’s a first step, Hinko said, but a big one.

Coomes on waterside drinking.

There is an "eye of the beholder" aspect to all this, which probably makes sense. What doesn't make sense are the layers upon layers of alcohol regulation -- local, state, federal -- as reflect "thinking" that hasn't changed since Prohibition was repealed.

Booze blues: Liquor-shy Metro Council unwisely delays Waterfront tavern vote, by Steve Coomes (Insider Louisville)

It appears the Louisville Metro Council needs to get out more, as in across the Ohio River, to see what’s happening along the waterfront in New Albany, Jeffersonville and Clarksville. There are restaurants and bars popping up all the time along or near those shores, drawing hoards to the edge of the region’s most significant geographical feature while enjoying food and adult beverages.

Yes, beer, wine and spirits, because they can and have a right to, even if they’re not consumed with food.

“I think what’s going to give is (Norfolk Southern's) reluctance.”

I've no idea whether the K & I resolution described below was passed, seeing as coverage of last night's Metro Council meeting has been focused on David Tandy's Omnibus Mimosa Reform Act of 2013.

NA councilman John Gonder, whose quote appears in the header, probably is right as to the inevitability of Norfolk Southern bowing to pressure from all sides. It'll take a while, and the railroad will have to be paid off with a sizable cocktail of cash, condoms and bourbon, and that's too bad, because it really should be nationalized.

But it will happen.

Louisville Metro Council to consider urging opening K&I Bridge to pedestrians, by Marcus Green (C-J)

... The resolution states that opening the bridge to the public will promote economic development, health and the environment, and that the structure has long been meant for public use. It “urges the bridge owners to recognize this community benefit.”

There are more than 100 examples of trails running next to active rail lines, according to research from Rails to Trails, a Washington, D.C-based nonprofit group that creates cycling and walking paths on former rail corridors.

Welcome to the "we can't keep allowing Southern Indiana to kick our asses" drinkie law.

Southern Indiana routinely means quite little to Louisville, except (of course) when we have a three-hour head start on serving Bloody Marys and Mimosas on Sunday mornings. Then it becomes all political.

“With the passage of this legislation we have taken steps toward furthering economic growth in Louisville through our hospitality industry,” said Councilman David Tandy (D-4). “This helps our economy keep dollars circulating in our community by allowing Louisville restaurants to compete with their Southern Indiana counterparts.”

Honestly, I find this attention immensely flattering, and will reflect upon it with a smile each time Bank Street Brewhouse serves a carry-out growler at 10:15 a.m. on a Sunday morning -- until Louisville's carry-out laws finally are altered, too.

Seriously: Louisville's on-premise-only mimosa ordinance points to the hypocrisy of various unchanged blue laws remaining on the books, both there and everywhere else.

Meanwhile, in civilized portions of the world, if you need a drink at 7:00 a.m. on Sunday, you go and have it. In America, you search through concordances and charts to learn how and where the drink can be taken, all the while thanking the knavery of organized religion for the trouble.

Read Thomas McAdams's amusing recap at Louisville.com

K & I Bridge, in which we praise the virtues of condemnation.

Reporter Sheldon Shafer's right on top of it at the Courier-Journal, as David Karem says aloud what so many of us remember hearing discussed during pre-recessionary times, when the reopening of the K & I first became a public topic.

Condemnation suit could be pursued in effort to force opening K&I Bridge to walkers, bicyclists

 ... Louisville Metro Councilman Tom Owen, D-8th District and chairman of the transportation committee, said the K&I was open for public use — including to vehicles — from 1913 to 1979. It was designated U.S. 31 during those years.

That protracted public use and right-of-way could be grounds for pursuing a condemnation proceeding to get a court ruling to reopen the bridge’s former automobile decks to walkers and bicyclists, probably through federal court, officials said.

Karem said metro officials are researching the possibility of a condemnation action toward that end.

Previously at NAC:

A report on the history of the K & I Bridge.

Norfolk Southern the problem, hundreds of crowbars the answer.

Metro council's Yates: “And we’ve reached out to people all over."

Yeah, he seems like the "reaching out" sort, all right.

Where have I heard all this before?

Council members clash over change to landmarks ordinance, at LEO's "Fat Lip" blog.

Last night was the final public hearing on the proposed changes to Louisville’s historic landmarks ordinance, which would give the full Metro Council final say instead of the Landmarks Commission, and require that the majority of signatures on petitions to protect a landmark be from citizens within a 1-mile radius of the property ...

... Speaker after speaker strongly condemned the changes, to healthy applause from the crowd. One common complaint was that the commission has experts in this feild who understand the issue, and council members are not only lacking such knowledge, but might be tempted to side with developer/business interests in order to block a site from being landmarked.

"Metro Council Members vote No on Bridge Authority Appointments."

(Submitted by Say NO to Bridge Tolls; Curtis Morrison, Communications Director)

Say NO to Bridges Tolls is applauding the 6 member of the Louisville Metro Council who voted against the re-appointment of two members to the Bridges Authority and calls on Mayor Abramson and Governor Beshear to recall other members of the Bridge Authority who are not listening to the will of the people.

While the Louisville and Southern Indiana Bridges Authority had their 9th business meeting of the year Thursday evening, the Louisville Metro Council took up a vote to re-appoint Joseph Reagan and Dr. R. Charles Moyer to the Bridges Authority.

Reagan and Moyer failed to be confirmed unanimously with 6 of the most respected members of the Metro Council voting not to confirm the two. The opposition against Moyer and Reagan was led by Rick Blackwell, D-12th who said ‘he was dismayed that the board is made up of non-elected citizens and does not include metro council members nor representatives of southwest or southern Jefferson County.”

Others who voted against the appointments were: Tina Ward-Pugh, D-9th; Jim King, D-10th; Vicki Welch, D-13th; Hal Heiner, R-19th; and Doug Hawkins, R-25th.

Heiner, the Republican candidate for mayor, said “he voted against the nominations because he wished the appointments could have been made by the new mayor when he takes office in early January.”

Shawn Reilly co-founder of Say NO to Bridge Tolls said “I want to thank these 6 members of the Metro Council for standing up to this un-elected authority and saying that they will not be a rubber stamp for tolls.”

Reilly also said “As a result of the Bridges Authority failing to allow public comments at their meeting, I am call on Mayor Jerry Abramson and Governor Steve Beshear to recall members of the Bridges authority, and appoint member that will listen to the will of the people, and who will not impose tolls on our community.”

Say NO to Bridge Tolls is a broad based community group representing tens of thousands of people across Indiana and Kentucky that are opposed to any tolls being placed on existing or new bridges, and or the Spaghetti Junction, to pay for the Ohio River Bridges Project.

Link to Facebook Group Say NO to Bridge Tolls

Link to Louisville Southern Indiana Bridges Authority

Seriously: Metro council to follow NA's lead with tolls resolution. Wow.

From WFPL:

Metro Council Members Consider Anti-Toll Resolution

More On The Tolls Resolution

It's surreal, but when it comes to the anti-toll backlash, New Albany's city council fired the first shot with its resolution two weeks ago. This fact undoubtedly disturbs some members of the community, who view themselves as the proper, official arbiters of leadership. They need to try to understand that sometimes they need to listen to broad-based public opinion, rather than dictate terms.

We now await word from Jeffersonville, where Mayor Tom Galligan might well be the single most vociferous Southern Indiana proponent of the bridges boondoggle, exceeding even One Southern Indiana in blind allegiance to what surely by now is revealed as a religious, not transportation, cause. Galligan needs to listen to his city's business owners along the river. They are not happy. I trust they'll be presenting the "no tolls" case very soon.

New Albany's mayor, Doug England, is on holiday. When he gets back, it will be City Hall's turn to sniff the air and reach a conclusion. Earlier today, in a press conference held to rebut abhorrent HRCC slime mailings, Shane Gibson identified potential bridge toll as one of the most important issues in the race for the District 72 seat in the House, along with education (in general), local school closings and jobs.

Although we have little in the way of public transport, the "no tolls" train is about to leave the station. So far, Kevin Zurschmiede and Bob Caesar are afraid to leave the waiting room and risk offending the likes of One Southern Indiana. It may take a bit longer, but we're going to find out who comes down, and where. Stay tuned.

Former CHDO head John Miller running for Louisville Metro Council.

When last we glimpsed John Miller, he was presiding over the disintegrating remnants of New Albany's CHDO, which is a sad story overall, and one told previously in this space.

Linden Meadows bubbled to the surface again a few days ago: New Albany Sewer Board won't go after Linden Meadows tap fees. About the same time, Bluegill gave a heads-up that Jake at The 'Ville Voice blog had taken notice of John. None of us knew that he is running against Louisville's iconic 9th district Metro Council rep, Tina Ward Pugh.

Spoiler alert: Jake's assessment is not pretty. I'll let TVV speak for itself:

Tina’s Opponent Breaking Campaign Finance Law

Interesting 9th District Nawbny Connection

As one or the other pop culture wag once mused, it gets "curiouser and curiouser" around these parts. If not for the topical application of Progressive Pints, I'm not sure how we'd make it through the night.

What is both litter and free speech, and also green all over?

From LEO's Fat Lip blog (June 3):

Constitutional right to litter?:

A Metro Council committee approved an anti-litter ordinance last night that would prohibit The Courier-Journal (and other offenders) from tossing advertising supplements on front lawns, driveways and sidewalks. The C-J claims this violates the First Amendment and is threatening to challenge the ordinance in court if approved by the entire council next week.

Now look carefully at the bag containing this hunk o' "free speech", as photographed yesterday on 13th Street in New Albany.

Somehow I doubt whether this means the free speech is bio-degradable.

Louisville's Metro Council, the Courier-Journal and littering.

Relevance from The Ville Voice blog. I keep seeing 13th Street in New Albany.

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Anti-Littering Ordinance Targets C-J, by Rick Redding (on Metro Council).

Councilman Brent Ackerson is introducing an ordinance tonight, along with eight co-sponsors, that is likely to fly through the Public Safety Committee and come up for a full vote next month. It’s an anti-littering ordinance, but it really targets the Courier-Journal.

“My staff has gotten more calls on this issue that for any other subject, including storm debris, since I took office,” said Ackerson, whose District 26 encompasses St. Matthews.

Here’s what it’s all about. The newspaper produces a weekly advertising circular that is delivered only to non-subscribers. It requires its carriers to deliver these flyers to each address that doesn’t receive a newspaper. You can call and request to be taken off the list, but most people don’t, sort of like the no-call telemarketers’ list.

The C-J, of course, promises advertisers distribution throughout the county. It’s no doubt part of the reason Arnold Garson keeps bragging about the paper reaching 85 percent of local residents. Maybe not. But the point is that the carriers typically toss the flyers on driveways, in yards or on sidewalks. And it really falls under the definition of littering. When residents don’t fetch them, they end up piling up.

Most newspaper carriers make their deliveries by car, and with so many customers dropping the service, there are longer stretches of neighborhoods with no subscribers.

And a lot of the flyers end up in dumpsters, undelivered. Or storm drains or ditches. This is something the C-J doesn’t tell its advertisers.

The new ordinance doesn’t outlaw the flyers. It does require that they be delivered to front porches, and not tossed out the windows of delivery vehicles.
Other sponsors include Council members Jon Ackerson, King, Henderson, Butler, Welch, Blackwell, Peden and Flood.

If it passes, the C-J will have to make some serious changes in its system of delivery.