Professor Erika's off his/her/its meds again, dancing naked at Linden Meadows.

Oh, dear. The crazy train's leaving the station again, and now it is heading for Shea Van Hoy's house.

LOCAL NEWS & TRIBUNE FAILS READERS ONCE AGAIN....

Yawn.

"Like throwing acid in a baby's face" is a far better descriptor of what it's like to read the anonymous rantings at Freedom to Screech, don't you think? After all, Linden Meadows actually could be reconverted to parkland for quite a bit less money than it would take to remediate the toxic waste at FOS.

Tenants rights? Huh?

This article covers much ground, and differences between Europe as a whole and the US must be factored into the equation, but one paragraph jumps out at me. Can New Albanians even begin to fathom life in a place where rental property ownership is fairly regulated, rather than slumlords cynically empowered?

Brits buy homes, the Germans rent – which of us has got it right? Germany seems to offer cheaper rents and more choice than the UK. But is the grass really grüner?, by Joe Palmer (The Guardian)

... She has no doubts that Germany offers tenants a better deal than the UK: "There's more to rent here and it's all very transparent. You can check if your rent is fair using the Mietspiegel [rental index] on the Munich city website. If you are paying too much, the tenants' association will step in for you."

Say kids, what time is it? Why, it's time for Steve Price to begin embarrassing himself publicly ... again.

Monday’s first city council meeting of 2008 quite possibly was the most “covered” in recent history, as the blog and media links provided below will attest. Taken together, these are ample to convey the spirit of the gathering, especially on a day when work (it’s inventory time!) beckons at an obscenely early hour.

But it’s never too early to begin documenting the myriad inadequacies and sheer cerebral vacancy of my 3rd district councilman, Steve "Spawn of Buffalo Bob" Price.

Much as one might expect, Price continued his long rearguard action against code enforcement as the only council representative to vote against Mayor Doug England’s omnibus city government remodeling ordinance, which includes the new position of “concentrated code enforcement officer.”

Price also reaffirmed his commitment to unprincipled NIMBY-ism; as best articulated in the NA Shadow Council post “Shallower and Shallower”:

He stated (and I'll paraphrase) that his default position on all zoning and planning matters destined to come before the council would be to oppose any plan that draws opposition from the closest neighbors. One assumes that includes futile stances that will subject the city to great expense when the council rebuffs strictly legal proposals.

One observer noted that Mr. Price was a bold defender of the status quo for Monday night's Sixth District NIMBYs, and wondered why he wasn't equally bold in defending his own district against decay and infestation by a slumlord/crackhouse mentality.

With Dan Coffey still groveling for crumbs at the new mayor’s table, Price is left as the council’s premier Luddite voice. We suspect Price will not be hesitant to appeal to his Neanderthal bloc – a group that has nothing whatsoever to offer as to the future of this city – by baying at the moon while carelessly ignoring the best interests of his own district … and we also suspect we’ll spend the remaining four years of his final term in documenting this pathetic record for posterity.

NA Confidential:
Just one question: Wasn't recusal, or at the very least abstention, the ethical course?

NA Shadow Council:
Wouldn't It Have Been Cool If...
Shinin and Snubbin
Sleight of Hand
Parade of Ignorance
Caffeynated Four Years?
Shallower and Shallower
He-Earned-It, But-How, Precisely?
Denison Making Mark

New Albany 15A:
Council Meeting Jan 7th, Some comments to revisit?

New Albany Today:
New City Council Meets Tonight

Courier-Journal:
Gahan elected to lead council

Tribune (later this afternoon):

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