City council approves more ordinances to refrain from enforcing, declares victory, and returns home to carve the Christmas spam.

Last night's final city council meeting of 2013 is amply covered by Grace Schneider in the C-J. Surely she's cursing the misfortune of drawing the short straw.

Of Vicki "Erika" Denhart's favored council seat holders, Kevin Zurschmiede and Diane Benedetti were absent. It's an unscientific assertion, but I'll reiterate: Has there been such a recurring level of council absenteeism in the past decade?

I think not. Because gin was sounding far better than spin, I wasn't there, either. Then again, I wasn't elected to serve, which implies clocking in on a regular basis.

Shirley Baird was present, and offered an ordinance to suppress aggressive panhandling. It was passed on its first two readings, as was the port authority enabling legislation. The latter seems justified, at least until we see the strikingly poor caliber of usual suspects appointed to its governing board, and are duly repelled. As for panhandling, it brings to mind an array of stirring council memories, including porch furniture bans, prohibitions on novelty lighters and heroic objections to non-binding resolutions.

Really?

I'm not sure why non-binding resolutions get all the attention. Non-binding ordinances are far more common in this town.

Port authority or otherwise, you can bet we'll see two-way movement for bikes and walkers on the Greenway -- and no monster trucks.

There are two interesting pieces by Daniel Suddeath in the weekend edition of the Paywall Picayune.

New Albany may establish port authority; Gahan: Authority would aid in riverfront planning, development

NEW ALBANY — New Albany is set to take the first steps toward establishing a port authority — a move that could bolster the Ohio River Greenway and aid the city in constructing riverfront developments such as piers and a marina.

On Thursday, the New Albany City Council is slated to cast initial ballots on forming a port authority through legislation backed by Mayor Jeff Gahan. State statute allows local port authorities to construct facilities, improve canals and waterways and build dock lines and piers within its jurisdiction.

And ...

Ohio River Greenway likely landing $1M donation; Horseshoe Foundation considering a matching grant

NEW ALBANY — The Ohio River Greenway Commission likely will be the recipient of a $1 million donation for riverfront improvements in New Albany.

On Thursday, Greenway officials presented the Horseshoe Foundation of Floyd County with a grant proposal for the organization to match the $1 million donation. Greenway Commission Project Coordinator Shaunna Graf said Friday she couldn’t confirm that the donation had been made, but said the organization has “many conversations with various donors all the time.”

If you have the requisite hall pass, you may go there, taking care to dodge the Hansons that continue to come flying at you like a video game of old.

Indiana's code defines port authority, and I must digress here: Yesterday when I searched for the relevant code section, the search ended with a specific URL: IC 8-10-5 Chapter 5. Creation of Port Authorities by Local Governments

Today, every attempt to paste this same URL into my browser leads immediately to the Indiana General Assembly 2014 page. While I contemplate the message of this redirectional intrigue, the code still can be accessed here: Port authority as defined by Indiana code at Findlaw

Maybe this link will be direct and active again: http://www.in.gov/legislative/ic/2010/title8/ar10/ch5.html