We can't quote Gahan on neighborhood crime because he won't address it publicly.

Yesterday we had a look-see at the progress regress of this year's campaign to date, during which Slick Jeffie and the DemoDisneyDixiecrats have focused almost entirely on the mayor's ability to obey state law and produce a suitable annual budgetary snapshot.

As Gahan carpet-bombs Seabrook with HWC's cash, there is no discussion about real issues. Hmm, do you think that's intentional?

Republicans have not been the only listeners who've responded by suggesting we speak instead about Gahan's massive accumulated debt, but as an example of what's being missed, consider neighborhood crime.

Our friend D shared this thought on Facebook. It might be the best expression of the way optics propel Gahan in Oz; it's all about how things appear, and never about whether they actually function.

"To your point re: 'We've not heard an exchange of ideas about opioid use, drug addiction or their corollaries of neighborhood crime.' As someone (one of many in our community) who has been personally affected by drug-induced/related crime at my home, I reached out to one of Gahan's handlers earlier this year to see if we could get the Mayor (and perhaps the Chief) to host a town hall meeting to discuss what we as citizens could do to help police in their efforts to make our community safer.

"I'm quoting the response I received, 'That might be good for your neighbors and the community, but that wouldn't be good for Jeff.'

"I was told that they'd circle back to the idea after the primary. Now, call me crazy, but if our elected officials are doing it right, isn't what's good for the community and its citizens ALSO good for our elected officials? Apparently not in this version of New Albany, Indiana."

D not unexpectedly adds that Team Gahan hasn't gotten around to holding this meeting, even post-primary. Grassroots organizing has proceeded as City Hall keeps their efforts at arm's length, terrified of how it might make the Genius of the Floodplain look in reality, as opposed to fantasy.

I can hear Greg Phipps now: "But he bulldozed the homeless camp, didn't he?"

Election 2019: The buying and selling of a city, or our updated master list of 73 Gahan wheel-greasers, a veritable pornographic potpourri of pay-to-play.

These 30 free-spending special interest donors top Jeff Gahan's 2019 pay-to-play campaign finance windfall of $150,000 (so far).

CFA-4 Follies: OMG, just look at Gahan's huge pile of special interest donor cash flowing to out-of-towners.

Something to consider as you enjoy your guacamole.

19 dead, nine of them swinging from a bridge in a town 250 miles from Mexico City.

This is about drugs, right?

Yes and no, but in the sense of insatiable demand by American consumers ...

Mexico cartel hangs bodies from city bridge in grisly show of force, by Tom Phillips (The Guardian)

 ... Falko Ernst, an International Crisis Group researcher who studies Mexico’s cartels, said this week’s slaughter was clearly intended to intimidate rival criminal groups, the families of their members, as well as Mexican authorities.

Ernst said the bloodbath was partly about the struggle for control of Uruapan’s local drug trade. But a more important motivation was the fight for the region’s billion-dollar avocado industry. “The big magnet here is avocados,” he said.

At Deutsche Welle: "A two-part documentary uses criminal cases to paint a picture of Berlin during the Weimar Republic."

I'm not a devotee of the "true crime" genre. Appropriately, this two-part documentary by Deutsche Welle provides broader historical context about Berlin during the period 1918-1931, which balances the crime accounts.

There is sadness and irony in the account. From the chaos of the post-war period, life in Berlin (and by extension, the Weimar Republic) improved, and a few insightful policemen like Ernst Gennat instituted modern crime-fighting techniques -- only to be undone and purged by the biggest criminal element of them all, Hitler's Nazis.

A useful 90 minutes, indeed.

Berlin during the ‘Golden Twenties’ was regarded as the most modern metropolis in Europe. People flocked to nightclubs to enjoy raucous, uninhibited and decadent parties.

Berlin might have struggled to adapt to the fledgling democracy of the Weimar Republic, but it had less difficulty enjoying the freedoms it brought. In the 1920s, Berlin was regarded as the most modern metropolis in Europe. Life was described as a "dance on a volcano." People flocked to nightclubs to enjoy raucous, uninhibited and decadent parties. But the capital was also rife with poverty, misery and violence. Crime was epidemic. The Sass brothers, two bank robbers, became urban legends, and the specter of serial killers haunted the city. Ernst Gennat, head of the criminal police, was a gifted criminologist with an exceptional solve rate. He revolutionized forensic investigation practices and laid the foundations for modern profiling. The two-part documentary uses criminal cases to paint a picture of Berlin during the Weimar Republic, reconstructing events with the help of documentary photographs from 1918 to 1933, interviews with experts and case files.

ENCORE: As Irv artlessly flatulates about street safety, let's look at actual real-world evidence.

BREAKING: Proposed yard signs for the new "There's Only One Way to NA" anti-Speck group.

Perhaps a nice sedative cocktail would help, or better yet, a high colonic.

ON THE AVENUES: Irv Stumler screams, "We don't deserve two-way streets!"

In the article linked below, the first paragraph tells the whole story, even if we've previously referenced what follows -- again and again.

That's the most depressing thing about reaching back (not "out") into the NAC archives. It's the knowledge that (in this instance) another year has been wasted.

All those males in city hall, and so few cojones ... but water park!

Yes, we'll continue referencing and re-referencing these facts, because one-way arterial streets needlessly tether New Albany to a street grid that actively works against our best collective interests in terms of revitalization.

Period.

Is this just our opinion?

No, it isn't.

Research by John Gilderbloom and William Riggs, coupled with verifiable experience all across the American map, combines to indicate otherwise.

Meanwhile, for those remaining unclear about the nature of opinions, this link is a good one: No, it's not your opinion. You're just wrong. 

Irv, if you're reading ... it's from July 26, 2015, and a long, long way from 1958.

The Many Benefits of Making One-Way Streets Two-Way ... Safer traffic, for one thing, by Eric Jaffe (City Lab)

From a traffic engineering perspective, one-way streets are all about speed. Without the danger of oncoming traffic, one-way streets can feel like an invitation to hit the gas. But swift traffic flow isn’t the only factor by which progressive cities judge their streets, and as safety and livability become more important, a number of metros have found the case for converting one-way streets into two-way streets a compelling one.

Count Louisville among the believers. In 2011, the city converted two one-way streets (Brook and 1st) in the Old Louisville part of town. Though originally designed as two-way streets, Brook and 1st became one-way after World War II, in keeping with the car-first engineering of the time. In championing the change, local official David James cited the need for calmer streets and economic development.

A pair of planning scholars has evaluated just how well the safety and economic claims held up following the street conversions. In a word: very. William Riggs of California Polytechnic State University and John Gilderbloom of the University of Louisville report that compared with nearby, parallel streets that remained one-way (2nd and 3rd), Brook and 1st experienced fewer collisions, less crime, and higher property valuations.

Watch the video of Dr. John Gilderbloom's two-way streets presentation last night.

Just as he did when Jeff Speck spoke in 2014 ...

Jeff Speck in New Albany: Newspaper coverage and video link.

 ... my friend and former employee Robert Landrum attended last night's wonderful presentation by John Gilderbloom's and filmed a Speck companion piece in two parts -- above as embedded here, or at YouTube:

One 

Two

A title impossible to ignore: "Death at the Elvis Museum."

Before directing you to a very serious article, I must explain what I was listening to just days before I read it.

I've always been a fan of Neil Finn and his various musical aggregations, including Split Enz and Crowded House.

The latter group's third album was released in 1991, and is considered a masterpiece by many, although the received wisdom is that Finn's decision to release a song from the album called "Chocolate Cake" as the first single doomed its reception in America.

 ... By all accounts, Crowded House (over the objections of management and label) insisted that the first single, and the album’s lead-off track, be the surreal dance song “Chocolate Cake.” The Finn/Finn collaboration was a tongue-in-cheek attack on Americans and their obsession with excess and celebrity. “Chocolate Cake” took potshots at everyone from Tammy Faye Baker to Andrew Lloyd Webber (“May his trousers fall down as he bows to the queen and the crown”). The joke wore thin quickly.

“‘Chocolate Cake,’ in hindsight, may well have undone us,” Neil Finn said. “It started off as a live song, which was tremendous fun to play. But as a first single a lot of people were put off by it. It was confrontational, which was good in a sense — people either loved it or they hated it. But maybe it gave an impression of the album which was quite remote from what the album actually was.”

As regular readers can easily imagine, I've always liked "Chocolate Cake" precisely because it sends up "Americans and their obsession with excess and celebrity" -- and no such effort could be truly complete without a reference to Elvis Presley. Accordingly, the song's third verse (after the bridge) includes this line: "I saw Elvis Presley walk out of a 7-11."

It is followed by a muffled but fully audible "moo."

I'm guessing that the sentiment and tone of "Chocolate Cake" would not have appealed to the late Paul McLeod, curator of Graceland Too and collector of all things Elvis. McLeod's shrine is the setting for a story of two lives ... and two deaths.

Death at the Elvis Museum, a "long read" by Brandon Harris (The Guardian)

Paul MacLeod may very well have been the most famous Elvis memorabilia collector of all time. He was certainly the stuff of regional legend, a gun-toting, mile-a-minute talker with a questionable relationship to the truth. In his early 70s he was still an imposing man, with slicked back white hair and a gleam in his blue eyes that let you know he had long ago lost his mind, or at least wanted you to think he had. Twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, he offered tours of his home, Graceland Too, an 1853 antebellum house at the corner of Gholson Avenue and Randolph Street in Holly Springs, Mississippi. He did not have the vintage Elvis memorabilia necessary to be taken seriously by other collectors, whose circuit of conventions he shunned. The real draw of Graceland Too was not the Elvis-themed rugs, mugs, calendars, curtains, videos, limousines, and trading cards that he had spent a significant portion of his life collecting. It was Paul MacLeod himself.

"As safety and livability become more important ... the case for converting one-way streets into two-way streets (is) a compelling one."

The first paragraph tells the story, even if we've previously referenced what follows.

I'll continue referencing it, because one-way arterial streets foolishly tether New Albany to a street grid that actively works against our best interests in terms of revitalization.

Period.

Is this an opinion?

No, it isn't. Research by John Gilderbloom and William Riggs, coupled with verifiable experience all across the map, combines to indicate otherwise. For those unclear about the nature of opinions, this link is a good one: No, it's not your opinion. You're just wrong. Irv, if you're reading ...

And, as you may already know, councilman John Gonder has invited Dr. Gilderbloom to come to New Albany and speak.

You are invited to listen as Dr. John Gilderbloom preaches his "gospel of things urban" on Tuesday, August 4, at the library.

Jeff Gahan's abject failure to act on this fundamental infrastructure truth isn't the only reason why he needs to be forcibly returned to selling veneer for a living, but it's significant among them. Still, in spite of all evidence to the contrary, his fawning sycophants insist that he really does "get it" even if he cannot bring himself to say so publicly.

That's not good enough for leadership, is it?

The Many Benefits of Making One-Way Streets Two-Way ... Safer traffic, for one thing, by Eric Jaffe (City Lab)

From a traffic engineering perspective, one-way streets are all about speed. Without the danger of oncoming traffic, one-way streets can feel like an invitation to hit the gas. But swift traffic flow isn’t the only factor by which progressive cities judge their streets, and as safety and livability become more important, a number of metros have found the case for converting one-way streets into two-way streets a compelling one.

Count Louisville among the believers. In 2011, the city converted two one-way streets (Brook and 1st) in the Old Louisville part of town. Though originally designed as two-way streets, Brook and 1st became one-way after World War II, in keeping with the car-first engineering of the time. In championing the change, local official David James cited the need for calmer streets and economic development.

A pair of planning scholars has evaluated just how well the safety and economic claims held up following the street conversions. In a word: very. William Riggs of California Polytechnic State University and John Gilderbloom of the University of Louisville report that compared with nearby, parallel streets that remained one-way (2nd and 3rd), Brook and 1st experienced fewer collisions, less crime, and higher property valuations.

Amanda Beam's column about human trafficking and the sex trade, and Kevin Zurschmiede's spa denial.

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Why do you think politicians like roads and bridges so much?

This article gives whole new meaning to considerations of the usual suspects.

The impact of public officials’ corruption on the size and allocation of U.S. state spending, Leighton Walter Kille (Journalist's Resource)

 ... A 2014 study in Public Administration Review, “The Impact of Public Officials’ Corruption on the Size and Allocation of U.S. State Spending,” looks at the impact of government corruption on states’ expenditures.

The study’s findings include:

Construction projects find particular favor because they present a wealth of corruption opportunities: “First, construction involves large, complex, nonstandard activities, so the quality of construction can be very hard to assess. Second, domestic and international construction industries are dominated by a few monopolistic firms. Third, the industry is closely linked to the government. Governments have major roles as ‘clients, regulators, and owners’ of construction companies. It is very common to bribe government officials to gain or alter contracts and to circumvent regulations related to construction.”

Do you know this man? Let me know if you do.

Some time around the 31st of October, this man cashed a forged NABC paycheck at a Main Source Bank location in New Albany. This is the surveillance photo from the bank, via the NAPD. He tried it a second time but was unsuccessful, perhaps because the amount was way higher than even the owners make (that's attempted humor). The name and address on the check proved to be the result of stolen identity (the address was the Wayside Mission in Louisville).

If you know the perp, contact me. Thanks.

Reminds me of the fans in Philadelphia.

Just a thought, but perhaps an additional jeer might be directed to those who scheduled the city council crime session on the same evening as Develop New Albany's primary annual fundraiser, which drew a couple hundred people, among whom were many who surely would have entered the council chamber to watch Dan Coffey wag his finger about things they already knew, if not for already having committed to the once-a-year special occasion.

The latter was on the calendar first, as far as I can tell, and being two places at once eludes even my considerable carnival barker skills. But I'm sure the conflict was just a coincidence, right?

TRIBUNE CHEERS & JEERS: June 10, 2009

... to all the residents, bloggers and city officials that frequent New Albany City Council meetings but didn’t show up for the public safety meeting last Wednesday. The New Albany Police Department laid out some pretty startling statistics as to how out of control crime is in the city. Aside from myself, there was one other person from the public there. Bring up paving or indoor smoking, and you’ll have people claiming the sky is falling if something isn’t done. Talk about crime — something that truly impacts each and every one of us — and nobody shows up. That kind of message tells criminals that we don’t care if our town becomes overrun with drugs, robberies and home break-ins. We can talk about economic development and blighted housing all day, but it really doesn’t amount to a hill of beans if our city isn’t safe.

— Tribune Staff Writer Daniel Suddeath

Eyesore Project in Gary, Indiana.

Thanks to M for this link.

Eyesore Project targets Gary's abandoned buildings, by Marisa Kwiatkowski (NWI.com)

A 12-year-old girl was sexually assaulted in Gary recently after her alleged aggressor dragged her into a nearby abandoned home, police said.

For years, officials have argued that crime festers in the city's empty or abandoned buildings. Now, nine of those properties are being targeted by the Lake Street Community Oriented Policing Office's Eyesore Project. The office is manned by volunteers recruited by the Miller Citizens Corp.'s Public Safety Committee, according to the organization.