Tank Man of Tiananmen Square, China, 1989.
Toll Man of East Spring Street, Indiana, 2010.
In both locales, One Party leadership remained oblivious.
The End.
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Saturday, December 11, 2010
La Rosita praised in today's C-J.
There's an excellent review in today's Courier-Journal for the new, expanded La Rosita's.
At any rate: Congrats to Israel and the whole crew.
It's been fun to watch Israel Landin grow his business. Five years ago, he opened a tiny taqueria in a sliver of space attached to a produce stand. He parlayed that into a cozy, full-service sit-down place that quickly became a destination restaurant, luring diners from throughout the Metro region. Now La Rosita Mexican Grill has moved to the epicenter of New Albany's downtown dining district.Marty Rosen's review is balanced. He praises the food while offering due consideration to inconsistencies in service, which have steadily improved since the move. Now, if we can just get these customers to start pouring their beers from bottles into glasses ...
At any rate: Congrats to Israel and the whole crew.
Do my eyes deceive me? Or is this a local Republican speaking about the Toll Tax ... for attribution?
Best be careful, Danny.
The Clere Channel Thought Police will be watching you from now on. Soon, just like in the Dirty War in Argentina, your words will begin disappearing without a trace. Or, perhaps a better analogy is Chuck Connors on "Branded." They'll go drumming on you for questioning bridges orthodoxy.
But what the hey. All jokes aside, know that I really do appreciate your comments, and we all thank you for them.
As Jeff noted recently, "It's largely due to the scale of the situation, but I give the bridges folks credit for one thing. I don't think I've ever seen the type of unity across multiple demographic variables as I've seen develop in opposition to their 'common enemy' status."
The Clere Channel Thought Police will be watching you from now on. Soon, just like in the Dirty War in Argentina, your words will begin disappearing without a trace. Or, perhaps a better analogy is Chuck Connors on "Branded." They'll go drumming on you for questioning bridges orthodoxy.
But what the hey. All jokes aside, know that I really do appreciate your comments, and we all thank you for them.
As Jeff noted recently, "It's largely due to the scale of the situation, but I give the bridges folks credit for one thing. I don't think I've ever seen the type of unity across multiple demographic variables as I've seen develop in opposition to their 'common enemy' status."
A Tax is a Tax!, by Daniel Short (We the People blog).
Until now, I have not expressed my views openly about the Bridges Project and the tolling associated with it. I am pro-business and low tax kind of guy. That is why I am solidly against tolling existing bridges in our community.
If we build an east end bridge and put a toll on that bridge alone, that is a user fee. While this situation is not ideal, it is tolerable. However, if we toll bridges that already exist and are paid for, that is a TAX. As a conservative, I cannot support that. If this is truly the only way to build a bridge or bridges, then I say don't build them at all.
Friday, December 10, 2010
Lead story in this week's 1Si propaganda organ provides crucial format details of Monday's public Tolling Authority forum!
It's all there in 1Si's weekly "I swear we're paying attention to small business, except when Kerry's faux pas are too loud to ignore" newsletter, The Nose Grows Times. Keep reading for how No 2 Bridge Tolls suggests you respond (with truth?) to the latest round of the Tolling Authority's and 1Si's patented buffalo bagels.
Bridges Authority to hold public forumMeanwhile, No 2 Bridge Tolls has its own request:
On Monday, December 13, the bi-state Bridges Authority is holding a public forum to gather input on its effort in developing a finance plan for the Ohio River Bridges Project.
This has been billed as the big opportunity for public input into their work. The forum is being set up as more of an open house type meeting, where people will have plenty of opportunity to interact with Authority members, and provide input in a casual way. There is not a set presentation, so attendees have the option to stay for a few minutes or a few hours; whichever their schedule allows.
This is a great opportunity to receive accurate, up-to-date information on the current status and authentic plans of the project. This is also an invitation to talk about the need for the project to move forward, to improve mobility, enhance safety, and create thousands of jobs. You don't have to speak publicly. Instead stations will be set up around the room for you to interact with authority members and the public to share your input on the importance of moving the bridges project forward. If you or someone from your organization is able to attend, please see the details below.
Louisville and Southern Indiana Bridges Authority Public Input and Information Meeting
Date: December 13, 2010
Time: 4-7 p.m. (the forum is a come and go, open house format so you are not required to stay for the entire event)
Location: Muhammad Ali Center
View Pointe Hall, 6th floor
One Muhammad Ali Plaza
144 N. Sixth Street
Louisville, KY 40202
If you'd like to comment on the project, contact Michael Dalby at michaeld@1si.org or by phone at 812.945.0266 ext 202.
If you oppose tolls on existing bridges (Clark Memorial, Sherman Minton, and Kennedy) and Spaghetti Junction, send an email to Christi Lanier-Robinson with the Bridges Authority: christi@bridgesauthority.com and tell her you want the Bridges Authority to know how you feel and state your concerns. Monday, December 13th is the Public Input meeting. If you can't attend, please write! The meeting will be held at the Muhammad Ali Center from 4-7pm. The Muhammad Ali Center is located at 144 N. Sixth Street and the meeting will be held on the 6th floor in the View Pointe Hall.
TOLLS ARE BAD FOR BUSINESSES AND FAMILIES. VOICE YOUR OPPOSITION OR THEY WILL BE PART OF OUR LIFE FOR THE NEXT 50+ YEARS!
Nash: "What is the story of the year?"
Matt Nash reviews his column topics from 2010, and concludes with what he believe is the most important story. "Generations will be impacted" by decisions made about bridges ... and I don't need to tell you, yet again, who has been conspicuously and continuously absent from the discussion.
NASH: What is the story of the year?
... The impact that the bridges will have on our region is immeasurable, as are the effects of tolls. Once the final decision is made there is no turning back. Battle lines are being drawn, and all parties are mobilizing to get their message out. Generations will be impacted by the decisions that will be made in the next few months, so I believe the issue of bridges and tolls has become the story of the year.
LEO: "Notes from Bridges Authority latest fustercluck."
More great work from Jonathan Meador. It reminds me of those days of yore when Louisville actually had a functioning daily newspaper.
Notes from Bridges Authority latest fustercluck
... This phenomenon of the open-closed meeting is a byproduct of modern American oligarchy, where atrocities can be hidden in plain sight because the devil lies in so many details. This effectively allows an organization like the Bridges Authority to appease our middle school social studies notions of democracy by inviting the public to witness an autocratic process firsthand, which is kind of like inviting someone over for dinner and making them watch you eat.
Or, as a fellow spectator noted, “We’re just watching them sit around and jerk each other off.”
Pots and kettles throughout Kentuckiana quiver as Kerry Stemler sneers: "Uninspired, uneducated, non-committed people."
Nice cameos, Curt; NAC appreciates it. Louisville Courant has the whole story here: "...uninspired, uneducated, non-committed people"- Kerry Stemler.
At Thursday morning's Tolling Authority meeting, the finance committee delivered to all the Authority members the draft of the proposed financing plan, that I guess they aren't planning on revealing to us until the December 13 public meeting, just 3 days before they vote on it.
Of course the most annoying question asked to the Authority members was a result of a press release sent out earlier Thursday morning: Say NO to Bridge Tolls calls for Tolling Authority to comply w/ Beshear's ethics order before December 16th vote approving tolls.
Thursday, December 09, 2010
Today's Tribune column: "Taking a WikiLeak on bridge tolls.”
Okay, okay. I'll go in peace. The truncheons are pretty much overkill, don't you think? Yeah, I understand my rights and all that, but since when is it that my phone call must be made to my state representative and not my mouthpiece? Wait, this isn't the jail, this is River Ridge ... and that's Dick Cheney ... help, I'm being oppressed ....
BAYLOR: Taking a WikiLeak on bridge tolls
... The difference between New Albany/Floyd County and Clark County is that in Clark, the anti-toll people include quite a few heavier hitters than me, and they’ve showed the color of money with those billboards. This definitely has the Bridges Authority rattled, because No 2 Bridge Tolls cannot be easily dismissed as malcontents. It’s populated by the respectable.
In Floyd, quite a few small businesses are in complete agreement with us, but we’re destitute by comparison with the Clark forces. I’ve uncovered numerous Republican officials here who are against tolls … but only off the record. You’d be surprised how far up the hierarchy it goes.
"Say NO to Bridge Tolls calls for 'Tolling' Authority to comply with Beshear's ethics order before December 16th vote approving tolls."
(Submitted press release)
Link to Courier Journal story: Governor Beshear orders strict reporting of potential conflicts
12/9/2010
Say NO to Bridge Tolls calls for “Tolling” Authority to comply with Beshear's ethics order before December 16th vote approving tolls.
Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear has ordered members of policy-making boards such as the Louisville and Southern Indiana Bridges Authority to reveal any potential conflicts of interest on an official disclosure statement. Say NO to Bridge Tolls is calling for all “Tolling” Authority members (including those appointed by Indiana) to comply with Beshear's ethics order before the December 16th vote approving tolls.
The Courier-Journal reported a week ago that five members of the Tolling Authority a 14 member group named by Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear, Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels and Louisville Mayor Jerry Abramson, have ties to The Build the Bridges Coalition through organizations that serve on the coalition’s board.
For example, Greater Louisville Inc., One Southern Indiana and the Louisville Urban League are all part of the coalition. Tolling Authority members, include chairman Charles Buddeke, who also is on the GLI board; Joe Reagan, GLI’s CEO; co-chairman Kerry Stemler and member Pat Byrne, who are affiliated with One Southern Indiana; and Ben Richmond, CEO of the Louisville Urban League may all have conflicts of interest. Additionally member Sandra Frazier may also have conflicts of interest. Her firm Tandem Public Relations built the website for The Build the Bridges Coalition and worked with the coalition on an aggressive media relations outreach program (according to their website).
Shawn Reilly of Say NO to Bridge Tolls said “We have asked that all members of the Louisville and Southern Indiana Bridges Authority comply with Governor Beshear's order before voting on the bridges financing plan at their December 16, 2010 meeting.”
Reilly also said “The public needs to know if Tolling Authority members or their families have ties to Wall Street banks or construction companies that stand to profit from potentially lucrative construction, consulting, or finance contracts.”
Say NO to Bridge Tolls has submitted a request to the Bridges Authority requesting copies of all the official disclosure statements and conflict of interest statements before the December 16th deadline. If the deadline is not met formal ethics complaints may be filled.
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 bridges or Spaghetti Junction, to pay for the Ohio River Bridges Project.
Link to Facebook Group
Say NO to Bridge Tolls calls for “Tolling” Authority to comply with Beshear's ethics order before December 16th vote approving tolls.
Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear has ordered members of policy-making boards such as the Louisville and Southern Indiana Bridges Authority to reveal any potential conflicts of interest on an official disclosure statement. Say NO to Bridge Tolls is calling for all “Tolling” Authority members (including those appointed by Indiana) to comply with Beshear's ethics order before the December 16th vote approving tolls.
The Courier-Journal reported a week ago that five members of the Tolling Authority a 14 member group named by Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear, Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels and Louisville Mayor Jerry Abramson, have ties to The Build the Bridges Coalition through organizations that serve on the coalition’s board.
For example, Greater Louisville Inc., One Southern Indiana and the Louisville Urban League are all part of the coalition. Tolling Authority members, include chairman Charles Buddeke, who also is on the GLI board; Joe Reagan, GLI’s CEO; co-chairman Kerry Stemler and member Pat Byrne, who are affiliated with One Southern Indiana; and Ben Richmond, CEO of the Louisville Urban League may all have conflicts of interest. Additionally member Sandra Frazier may also have conflicts of interest. Her firm Tandem Public Relations built the website for The Build the Bridges Coalition and worked with the coalition on an aggressive media relations outreach program (according to their website).
Shawn Reilly of Say NO to Bridge Tolls said “We have asked that all members of the Louisville and Southern Indiana Bridges Authority comply with Governor Beshear's order before voting on the bridges financing plan at their December 16, 2010 meeting.”
Reilly also said “The public needs to know if Tolling Authority members or their families have ties to Wall Street banks or construction companies that stand to profit from potentially lucrative construction, consulting, or finance contracts.”
Say NO to Bridge Tolls has submitted a request to the Bridges Authority requesting copies of all the official disclosure statements and conflict of interest statements before the December 16th deadline. If the deadline is not met formal ethics complaints may be filled.
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 bridges or Spaghetti Junction, to pay for the Ohio River Bridges Project.
Link to Facebook Group
Link to Courier Journal story: Governor Beshear orders strict reporting of potential conflicts
Link to Courier Journal story, Pro-Ohio River bridge group's study sees tolls of 75 cents to $2
Contact: Shawn Reilly
Say NO to Bridge TOLLS
(502) 386-6096
Wednesday, December 08, 2010
Of bridges, streets, people, and cartoonish ignorance.
As it turns out, nonsense about auto-centric "development" sounds even more like nonsense when uttered by a cartoon character in a striped shirt, even if he is an engineer. Instant classic.
Meeting, surveys and anti-toll signs for businesses ... from No 2 Bridge Tolls.
Meeting, surveys and signs for businesses ... from No 2 Bridge Tolls.
---
We need to show strong opposition to tolls tomorrow (Thursday, December 9) at the Bridges Authority meeting. Please come out tomorrow and be present at this meeting. The Authority plans to vote on a financing plan at their December 16, 2010 meeting.
Don’t forget the Public Input meeting on Monday, December 13th at the Muhammad Ali Center from 4:00 - 7:00 p.m. See below for other ways you can help.
Bridges Authority Meeting
Thursday, December 9th
10 a.m.-12 noon
Kentucky International Convention Center, Room 109
4th & Market streets, downtown Louisville
Please also voice your opinion against tolls by taking the following surveys:
Louisville.com survey
Business First Survey
Businesses: Show your support of NO TOLLS and pick up a sign to display at your business from S & K Printing, 821 Eastern Blvd. (behind PNC Bank). Call Stefan Kopf at 812-218-835. These signs are pre-paid for by No2BridgeTolls.org while supply lasts. Hurry and pick up a sign or call and reserve your sign for pickup.
---
We need to show strong opposition to tolls tomorrow (Thursday, December 9) at the Bridges Authority meeting. Please come out tomorrow and be present at this meeting. The Authority plans to vote on a financing plan at their December 16, 2010 meeting.
Don’t forget the Public Input meeting on Monday, December 13th at the Muhammad Ali Center from 4:00 - 7:00 p.m. See below for other ways you can help.
Bridges Authority Meeting
Thursday, December 9th
10 a.m.-12 noon
Kentucky International Convention Center, Room 109
4th & Market streets, downtown Louisville
Please also voice your opinion against tolls by taking the following surveys:
Louisville.com survey
Business First Survey
Businesses: Show your support of NO TOLLS and pick up a sign to display at your business from S & K Printing, 821 Eastern Blvd. (behind PNC Bank). Call Stefan Kopf at 812-218-835. These signs are pre-paid for by No2BridgeTolls.org while supply lasts. Hurry and pick up a sign or call and reserve your sign for pickup.
LEO's Meador demolishes tolls and tollers ... again. Give that man a medal.
Amok Time approaches for the Tolling Authority, which meets again tomorrow and next Thursday in addition to Monday's forthcoming, "We'll pretend to listen to the public while gazing at erotic bulldozer videos on YouTube with our iPhones," a grudging session at the Muhammad Ali Center. Meanwhile, in the thoroughly corrupted absence of the Courier-Journal, Jonathan Meador hits all the correct buttons in today's LEO.
Bridges for sale? Bi-state authority prepares public for $1 tolls, private investment, by Jonathan Meador.
... In fact, all grim economic and political realities considered, authority member and President of Greater Louisville Inc. Joe Reagan stuns nearly everyone in the room when he calls for a target construction date of August 2012.
“It’s not a reckless decision,” Reagan says, adding that setting a target date will help move the process along more quickly. “We have to be definitive.”
A quiet wave of snickering washes over the attendant opposition, and Say No to Bridge Tolls co-founder Dan Borsch looks at me and rolls his eyes.
“They can’t be serious,” he whispers. “They can’t even meet their own financing deadlines, yet they’re already setting construction dates? It’s completely arbitrary.”
Open thread: Is it contradictory to oppose tolls and support "buy local"?
Last week, reader Daniel S.'s comment after a blog post did not get the chance it deserved to engage discussion, which quickly went another direction (hey, it happens), and so I asked him if he'd mind me reprinting it as a free-standing post. Consider it done. Discussion?
--
Guys it's been awhile since we've had a decent debate, and so I'll bring back up a topic we talked about several months ago that I think definitely relates to this subject.
Roger I read your column two weeks ago that basically said tolls would cut the lifeline between Indiana and Louisville, causing major business loss for small businesses especially in Southern Indiana. At least that's how I took it.
That same week on this blog, you touted the latest effort to galvanize support for shopping local.
I'm no expert on bridges but I do know no one wants to pay to drive across a bridge, but it seems these messages are somewhat contradictory to each other. Basically, a toll that keeps people from driving to another city/state to make purchases would by its very essence increase business locally.
I would be much less likely to drive to Louisville to hang out with friends on a Friday night if I had to pay $7 just to get there, but I wouldn't stay at home either. This might not be good for Louisville businesses, but it would be great for New Albany because that's where I would spend my money.
If anything, it seems tolls would help local businesses because the vast majority of businesses on this side of the river are supported more by Hoosiers than Kentuckians. Sure, there are some that can draw good numbers from Louisville, but that's more of an exception than a rule of thumb.
Tolls could actually force Southern Indiana businesses to market more to local people. Regardless of how many Louisville customers spend money on this side of the river, per capita I'm sure it doesn't even begin to stack up to the amount of hoosiers that go to Louisville for their entertainment and purchases.
Stopping that leakage, in my opinion, would result in bigger profits for Southern Indiana businesses than simply retaining the small percentage of Louisville residents that spend money in Southern Indiana.
I guess what I'm saying is I can see several ways that tolls would be damaging to business, but more so for Louisville than us. Wasn't New albany at its peak when getting to Louisville was cumbersome?
And for the record I haven't fully formed an opinion on tolls yet. I think the argument on both sides is pretty much being driven by emotion at this point, but it's not something I cover so I haven't attended all the bridge meetings. But honestly if we were all shopping and spending locally, how important would the issue really be?
Just some food for thought.
--
Guys it's been awhile since we've had a decent debate, and so I'll bring back up a topic we talked about several months ago that I think definitely relates to this subject.
Roger I read your column two weeks ago that basically said tolls would cut the lifeline between Indiana and Louisville, causing major business loss for small businesses especially in Southern Indiana. At least that's how I took it.
That same week on this blog, you touted the latest effort to galvanize support for shopping local.
I'm no expert on bridges but I do know no one wants to pay to drive across a bridge, but it seems these messages are somewhat contradictory to each other. Basically, a toll that keeps people from driving to another city/state to make purchases would by its very essence increase business locally.
I would be much less likely to drive to Louisville to hang out with friends on a Friday night if I had to pay $7 just to get there, but I wouldn't stay at home either. This might not be good for Louisville businesses, but it would be great for New Albany because that's where I would spend my money.
If anything, it seems tolls would help local businesses because the vast majority of businesses on this side of the river are supported more by Hoosiers than Kentuckians. Sure, there are some that can draw good numbers from Louisville, but that's more of an exception than a rule of thumb.
Tolls could actually force Southern Indiana businesses to market more to local people. Regardless of how many Louisville customers spend money on this side of the river, per capita I'm sure it doesn't even begin to stack up to the amount of hoosiers that go to Louisville for their entertainment and purchases.
Stopping that leakage, in my opinion, would result in bigger profits for Southern Indiana businesses than simply retaining the small percentage of Louisville residents that spend money in Southern Indiana.
I guess what I'm saying is I can see several ways that tolls would be damaging to business, but more so for Louisville than us. Wasn't New albany at its peak when getting to Louisville was cumbersome?
And for the record I haven't fully formed an opinion on tolls yet. I think the argument on both sides is pretty much being driven by emotion at this point, but it's not something I cover so I haven't attended all the bridge meetings. But honestly if we were all shopping and spending locally, how important would the issue really be?
Just some food for thought.
Tuesday, December 07, 2010
It's a Free Frites Fete from 2 - 4 p.m. this Saturday afternoon at Bank Street Brewhouse.
This Saturday (December 11), Chef Josh Lehman is soliciting your opinion with free samples of frites and sauces.
From 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., the Bank Street Brewhouse kitchen crew will offer guests free samples of frites in the form of an assortment: Different cuts of potatoes, different types of potatoes (russets, sweet, yukon gold) and different sauces for accompaniment, including the seven sauces currently on the menu, along with ten new ones (green curry, rosemary aioli, blue cheese, dill lime aioli, horseradish, hot chili, mango ketchup, peanut sauce and more).
Patrons are asked to vote for their favorite cuts, types and sauces.
But there's even more.
There will be frites fried in duck fat (which makes everything taste better), and also a special beer for the event.
Anyone care to guess where I'll be on Saturday?
From 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., the Bank Street Brewhouse kitchen crew will offer guests free samples of frites in the form of an assortment: Different cuts of potatoes, different types of potatoes (russets, sweet, yukon gold) and different sauces for accompaniment, including the seven sauces currently on the menu, along with ten new ones (green curry, rosemary aioli, blue cheese, dill lime aioli, horseradish, hot chili, mango ketchup, peanut sauce and more).
Patrons are asked to vote for their favorite cuts, types and sauces.
But there's even more.
There will be frites fried in duck fat (which makes everything taste better), and also a special beer for the event.
Anyone care to guess where I'll be on Saturday?
No 2 Bridge Tolls phone banking on Saturday (11th) -- Tolling, er, Bridges Authority public input meeting comes Monday (13th).
From No2BridgeTolls:
We are seeking volunteers who can help out this Saturday (December 11) for one-two hours at a phone bank we have set up at the Sheraton Riverside, located behind the Buckhead Mountain Grill in Jeffersonville. We will provide the script and a list of NO Tolls supporters to call.
Please let us know if you are able to help out by responding to this e-mail.
We need to arrange for enough phones for the volunteers, so we need commitments and the time slot you can help. We may also need volunteers for one and a half hours on Monday morning from 7:30 a.m. - 9:00 a.m. Please let us know if you can help at this time as well.
Just as a reminder: This coming Monday, December 13, is the first Public Input session of the Bridges Authority, to be held at the Muhammad Ali Center from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. We need you to attend this meeting and show our united opposition to tolls.
We are seeking volunteers who can help out this Saturday (December 11) for one-two hours at a phone bank we have set up at the Sheraton Riverside, located behind the Buckhead Mountain Grill in Jeffersonville. We will provide the script and a list of NO Tolls supporters to call.Please let us know if you are able to help out by responding to this e-mail.
We need to arrange for enough phones for the volunteers, so we need commitments and the time slot you can help. We may also need volunteers for one and a half hours on Monday morning from 7:30 a.m. - 9:00 a.m. Please let us know if you can help at this time as well.
Just as a reminder: This coming Monday, December 13, is the first Public Input session of the Bridges Authority, to be held at the Muhammad Ali Center from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. We need you to attend this meeting and show our united opposition to tolls.
The Bridges Authority will release the format of this meeting on Friday, (only 72 hours notice), but we will be prepared to respond with an approach that ensures our messages can be heard. Be sure to attend this meeting and spread the word to other "NO Tolls" supporters. If you cannot attend, please check our website and at least call or write your government representatives and let them know you oppose tolls on existing bridges and Spaghetti Junction. Our message of "NO Tolls" needs to be heard.
Bridges Authority Public Input Meeting
Monday, December 13, 2010
Muhammad Ali Center
View Pointe Hall, 6th floor
Bridges Authority Public Input Meeting
Monday, December 13, 2010
Muhammad Ali Center
View Pointe Hall, 6th floor
One Muhammad Ali Plaza
144 N. Sixth Street
Thanks for your continued support. Be sure and check the website for updates and our Community page on Facebook.
Thanks for your continued support. Be sure and check the website for updates and our Community page on Facebook.
Coffey refuses to name names; pumpkin patch freezes solid; NA council completes another session.
It appears that the Gang of Pour was not represented at last night's council meeting, putting us into the same category of zombie-like irrelevance as every last one of Steve Price's long-suffering, utterly ignored constituents. Fortunately, the Tribune's Daniel Suddeath is well paid to endure the indignities. Here is his report:
New Albany City Council passes $1.7M to balance 2010 budget; Annexation passes while preservation commission abolishment turned away.
... Councilwoman Diane McCartin-Benedetti sponsored the measure, and said she did not support the administration’s original proposal because it did not include a repayment of the EDIT funds that would have been spent on public safety.
“I think EDIT — economic development [tax] — needs to be used for economic development,” she said.
Develop New Albany's "First Tuesday" is today at 5:00 p.m.
And such a fine, crisp day to go proselytizing for the anti-tolls movement. Wait! It occurs to me that just such a networking function as First Tuesday would be the ideal place for it. I have an idea ...
Monday, December 06, 2010
"A Bridges Reality Check," by Steve Wiser at The 'Ville Voice."
Big thanks to Jake at The 'Ville Voice for publishing this timely essay by Steve Wiser. Visit Wiser's website for more.
A Bridges Reality Check: Jobs, Safety, Traffic
“Jobs – Safety – Traffic” are the three primary reasons featured in a television commercial promoting construction of the $4.1 billion dollar Ohio River Bridges Project (ORBP). As with any ad campaign, the information presented is favorably presented toward building a new downtown bridge, rebuilt Spaghetti Junction, and a new East End Bridge. What this ad doesn’t tell you is that tolls are proposed on all the bridges (new and existing), as well as possibly Spaghetti Junction, to pay for all of this. And, this ad only tells you one side of this debate.
Before tolls culturally divide this community in half, and serve as obstacles to its future success, let’s look at the ORBP’s two-bridge rationale as presented in their ad campaign.
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