In 2013, New Albany will be 200 years old. Let's brainstorm on the topic of official bicentennial slogans.
New Albany -- where ordinance enforcement goes to die and be buried in Larry Kochert's garage.
New Albany: From plate glass to broken window panes in only 200 years.
New Albany: Two centuries of bad manners and cretinous politics.
New Albany -- Land of the indentured tenant, home of the slumlord.
New Albany: Our Coffey is cold and the Price is wrong.
You get the feeling, eh?
But seriously, lest I again find myself accused of hating my town by virtue of stating the obvious, are there any positive, uplifting slogans that we can use, and that can be said aloud without choking on the irony?
Friday, January 23, 2009
The 'Ville Voice on the C-J's 8664 hatchet work.
Good stuff in Rick Redding's blog, The 'Ville Voice, reprinted in its entirety:
C-J Follows Pattern, Critiques 8664
It’s almost comical. Every time the 8664.org people make news, as they did this week with the launch of radio ads critiquing the creation of a tolling authority, the C-J editorial board lets loose with a stern editorial. You’ve got to at least admire the consistency.
And the argument the Courier always seems to make is that a bunch of politicians and their favorite civil servant, Jerry Abramson, are behind it. So the Ohio River Bridges Project, which is pushing for the tolling authority which could ultimately push for $5 tolls, must be the way to go.
It’s a good exercise for the editorial board to come up new ways to be critical of the opposition, painting 8664 as the bad guy attempting to thwart this fine two-bridges plan that everybody they think is important has agreed on.
From today’s piece:“…the 8664 crowd has decided to run irresponsibly alarmist radio commercials, raising the possibility of $5 tolls.”The C-J touts the technology of modern tolling, claiming that regular commuters won’t pay so much. But if you talk with Tyler Allen, the man behind 8664, he’ll tell you the math doesn’t add up, and 20 minutes later he’ll still be talking. Allen is continuing a tour de force of local organizations, telling his story to anyone who will listen. The C-J won’t, so radio ads might be a good way to go.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Ordinance enforcement in the news, better if in reality.
On the same day that my column about Reclaim Our Culture Kentuckiana (ROCK) appeared in the Tribune, Daniel Suddeath contributed two newspaper articles on the loose theme of ordinance enforcement, with the first describing the quintessential New Albany scenario: A fiercesome, draconian adult entertainment law enacted some years back, ignored, starved, and ultimately proven to be toothless at the point of impact.
Now that II Horseshoes has taken its pole straight through the unlocked statute door, intriguing new laws must be written: Adult entertainment ordinance coming to February agenda.
A recent ROCK e-mailing was effusive in its praise of the city council's efforts "to protect children, families and the community from the harmful effects of the s*x industry."
Their asterisk, not ours. Here's more:
ROCK is pleased to update you that steady progress is being made in the work toward an effective ordinance and city officials have spent countless hours to ensure the document is a strong and sound protective device for the benefit of New Albany children and families ... ROCK applauds New Albany officials in their methodical and diligent approach to this very important matter to the community ... as information becomes available we will inform you of the exact date and time that you can look forward to attending the New Albany City Council meeting to thank our officials as they move forward in their efforts to protect our families and community.
I can hardly wait until this righteous zeal is directed toward the task of protecting women, children, families, the community and various house pets by enforcing ordinances and bringing to heel the city's proliferating, unregulated sl*mlord population. Appropriately ...
New Albany making efforts to clean house; Council committee’s code enforcement suggestions released
Cue Gomer Pyle: "Surprise, surprise," because Steve Price is still against it rental property registrations, although unlike a previous characterization, the 3rd district uncouncilman didn't use one of those potty words that ROCK would have to edit for family consumption.
Committee member Steve Price vehemently supports enforcing existing codes but is against singling out rental properties for registration. He said tax records already identify the names and contact information of rental property owners.
In each of these cases, all the laudable council intentions in the world mean nothing without a sustainable, funded enforcement mechanism with some semblance of teeth. More council members than ever before seem to grasp this simple truth, which is cause for cautious optimism even if holding one's breath still isn't advised.
Now that II Horseshoes has taken its pole straight through the unlocked statute door, intriguing new laws must be written: Adult entertainment ordinance coming to February agenda.
A recent ROCK e-mailing was effusive in its praise of the city council's efforts "to protect children, families and the community from the harmful effects of the s*x industry."
Their asterisk, not ours. Here's more:
ROCK is pleased to update you that steady progress is being made in the work toward an effective ordinance and city officials have spent countless hours to ensure the document is a strong and sound protective device for the benefit of New Albany children and families ... ROCK applauds New Albany officials in their methodical and diligent approach to this very important matter to the community ... as information becomes available we will inform you of the exact date and time that you can look forward to attending the New Albany City Council meeting to thank our officials as they move forward in their efforts to protect our families and community.
I can hardly wait until this righteous zeal is directed toward the task of protecting women, children, families, the community and various house pets by enforcing ordinances and bringing to heel the city's proliferating, unregulated sl*mlord population. Appropriately ...
New Albany making efforts to clean house; Council committee’s code enforcement suggestions released
Cue Gomer Pyle: "Surprise, surprise," because Steve Price is still against it rental property registrations, although unlike a previous characterization, the 3rd district uncouncilman didn't use one of those potty words that ROCK would have to edit for family consumption.
Committee member Steve Price vehemently supports enforcing existing codes but is against singling out rental properties for registration. He said tax records already identify the names and contact information of rental property owners.
In each of these cases, all the laudable council intentions in the world mean nothing without a sustainable, funded enforcement mechanism with some semblance of teeth. More council members than ever before seem to grasp this simple truth, which is cause for cautious optimism even if holding one's breath still isn't advised.
Was "Coffey Lied" an album by Steely Dan?
Or is it the overdue end to another reign of error? Only Jeff Gahan knows for sure, but here’s the long-awaited link to yesterday’s Tribune coverage of the Great Coffeyhead Implosion of 2009:
The city suffers yet another embarrassment, would-be players like the previous council president deny responsibility for their poor gamesmanship, Coffey lives to bluff another day, and the cycle repeats endlessly.
Why on earth would the council wait until he ticking time bomb detonates to do something about it?
It occurs to me that CM Coffey gets away with the perpetual gyrations and bullying obstructionism because there’s always someone on the council or in city government who has swallowed the bait, drinks the Kool-Aid and chooses to believe that Coffey actually possesses enough political clout to make good on his threats. His bluffs seldom get called, and because they aren’t, the impression is given that he’s really a certifiable force to be reckoned with, when in reality, there’s only ceaseless blow without the requisite "do something" show.New Albany City Council President Coffey named, not charged in police report, by Daniel Suddeath.
According to the report, Gillenwater claimed Coffey told him “I’ll catch up with you later and get my revenge. I’m like a Copperhead [snake], I’ll strike when you least expect it.”Coffey told police that no threats were made. He said Tuesday he never made that statement to Gillenwater and there was no reason for him to feel endangered.
The city suffers yet another embarrassment, would-be players like the previous council president deny responsibility for their poor gamesmanship, Coffey lives to bluff another day, and the cycle repeats endlessly.
Why on earth would the council wait until he ticking time bomb detonates to do something about it?
Did you know that humanity poses the greatest threat to the natural habitat of copperheads?
I’d like to link you through to today’s Tribune coverage of the events of last Thursday evening, when the president of the city council did what comes naturally, which is to say he reacted to the themes of a discussion by getting physical, likening himself to a venomous snake and vowing to strike when least expected, but of course Dan Coffey denied all wrongdoing when questioned by the police after a report was filed, which means that in the end, Coffey did the very same thing that he claimed gravely offended him when our friend Jeff Gillenwater noted aloud that Coffey was lying, although in deference to the councilman’s skewed vocabulary, I prefer to call it the daily practice of willful mendacity, but you’ll have to wait until the story appears on-line to draw your own conclusions.
It hasn’t appeared yet, but when it does, I’ll patch you through here.
Earlier I wrote that last week’s incidents (let’s not forget Coffey’s cowardly and inappropriate gaveling of Mark Cassidy during non-agenda item public speaking time) would form the basis of my Tribune column today. I wrote the piece and submitted it, but after conferring with the publisher, the column has been saved for another week pending suggested revisions. You’ll hear no disagreement from me. They’re the journalism pros, and if I don’t learn something from the experience of writing a weekly column, it isn’t worth my time to give it a try. I’ll rewrite. If I can run the piece there, I will. If not, I’ll run it here.
The one thing I will not under any circumstances do is to refrain from shining as bright a light as I’m humanly capable on councilman Coffey’s congenital political obstructionisms, on his habitual bullying of those with whom he disagrees, on his misconceptions and misunderstandings, and on the simple fact that insofar as he is able to pose (incorrectly) as the face of New Albany, it is a repugnant and self-defeating image for all of us, in his district or out.
Dan Coffey makes us all look bad, and I’m not willing to accept it without dissent. We can only hope that the council, and perhaps even Coffey’s patron Jeff Gahan, gets the memo. There are good people serving on the council, and if they are truly serious about their roles, duties and legacies, they will remove Coffey as council president. His actions constitute bad faith. His actions have humiliated the council numerous times in the past, and they did again last week.
Does any sitting council member really believe that it won’t happen again in the future?
One, maybe two … and that's a sad commentary on prevailing standards of decency.
It hasn’t appeared yet, but when it does, I’ll patch you through here.
Earlier I wrote that last week’s incidents (let’s not forget Coffey’s cowardly and inappropriate gaveling of Mark Cassidy during non-agenda item public speaking time) would form the basis of my Tribune column today. I wrote the piece and submitted it, but after conferring with the publisher, the column has been saved for another week pending suggested revisions. You’ll hear no disagreement from me. They’re the journalism pros, and if I don’t learn something from the experience of writing a weekly column, it isn’t worth my time to give it a try. I’ll rewrite. If I can run the piece there, I will. If not, I’ll run it here.
The one thing I will not under any circumstances do is to refrain from shining as bright a light as I’m humanly capable on councilman Coffey’s congenital political obstructionisms, on his habitual bullying of those with whom he disagrees, on his misconceptions and misunderstandings, and on the simple fact that insofar as he is able to pose (incorrectly) as the face of New Albany, it is a repugnant and self-defeating image for all of us, in his district or out.
Dan Coffey makes us all look bad, and I’m not willing to accept it without dissent. We can only hope that the council, and perhaps even Coffey’s patron Jeff Gahan, gets the memo. There are good people serving on the council, and if they are truly serious about their roles, duties and legacies, they will remove Coffey as council president. His actions constitute bad faith. His actions have humiliated the council numerous times in the past, and they did again last week.
Does any sitting council member really believe that it won’t happen again in the future?
One, maybe two … and that's a sad commentary on prevailing standards of decency.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Open thread: Another way of looking at EDIT expenditures.
It’s hardly a secret that New Albany’s two most reactionary councilmen subsist off their council pay packets, scant as those stipends are.
Permit me to dream for a moment …
If we manage someday to get EDIT monies out of the sewer rat hole where they absolutely don’t belong, would it be an example (in more ways than one) of legitimate economic development expenditure to buy out the remaining three years of Boner & Jethro’s council contracts in return for their resignations from public office?
It would be less than a hundred K, right?
Those of us characterized as “them people” keep joking that the council should buy out the progressive bloc and ship us en masse to communistic, atheistic Holland so (a) we could live happily, and (b) be safely out of way of the city’s congenital underachievers … but, given the cost/benefit ratio to be derived from how very little it would cost the city to sweep aside impediments to overall economic progress like the conjoined councilmen, doesn’t it make more sense for the ones capable of glimpsing the future remain, and those that cannot contribute pack up, take their buy-outs, and settle in Birdseye?
Discuss if you wish.
Permit me to dream for a moment …
If we manage someday to get EDIT monies out of the sewer rat hole where they absolutely don’t belong, would it be an example (in more ways than one) of legitimate economic development expenditure to buy out the remaining three years of Boner & Jethro’s council contracts in return for their resignations from public office?
It would be less than a hundred K, right?
Those of us characterized as “them people” keep joking that the council should buy out the progressive bloc and ship us en masse to communistic, atheistic Holland so (a) we could live happily, and (b) be safely out of way of the city’s congenital underachievers … but, given the cost/benefit ratio to be derived from how very little it would cost the city to sweep aside impediments to overall economic progress like the conjoined councilmen, doesn’t it make more sense for the ones capable of glimpsing the future remain, and those that cannot contribute pack up, take their buy-outs, and settle in Birdseye?
Discuss if you wish.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Unbelievers -- finally American?
In his inaugural address, President Obama said something that is true, but that I doubt has ever been noted by an American his position and situation.
"We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus, and nonbelievers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth."
Me, a nonbeliever, and finally recognized as part of the noble experiment. Now, if we can come to a place where we're not bringing up the end of the queue ...
"We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus, and nonbelievers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth."
Me, a nonbeliever, and finally recognized as part of the noble experiment. Now, if we can come to a place where we're not bringing up the end of the queue ...
The glass is half full.
Let's lead off with some good stuff from Billy Reed: It’s a Hopeful Morning in America (billyreedsays.com). It's easy for cynics like me to be pessimistic. Today, optimism is merited.
Barack Obama’s inauguration is underway, and for me his presidency stands to be deeply symbolic, if not for all the reasons it will be for so many others.
The presidential election results in 2004 induced a deep personal depression, but ultimately the disaster of Dubya's second term for Dubya – “disaster” perhaps being far too mild a term to describe the four years since – convinced me to put my interest in national political affairs on ice, and to look around my own neighborhood for a place where my principled involvement just might bear fruit.
Considering how much I didn’t know about local affairs four years ago, the experience has been akin to studying for a second university degree, and yet, I feel like 've made a difference, albeit small, and more importantly, found more kindred spirits than I imagined existed, who've also helped establish the groundwork for local change by becoming part of the process.
And make no mistake: You're part of the process. Don't listen to the Gahans and Coffeys and Kocherts when they insist that running for office is the only way to make a difference. They're whistling past graveyards of their own making - out of tune, no less.
Your very existence is a counterweight to petty political games played by ward heelers. They've won a few rounds, but so have you. It's sad to consider that we all should be participating together, but the decision to polarize the community has been made by a small number of persons who make no bones about protecting the little they know and have at the expense of the greater good. Posterity will judge them harshly for it.
Speaking again for myself, without listening and learning and involvement, here at the blog and out on the street, there wouldn’t be a brewery expansion project underway. I wouldn’t have an understanding, however fragmentary it remains, of all the mechanisms that go into efforts such as facilitating downtown revitalization -- my personal dream in all this.
And, tragically, how difficult it is to purge the demons of a discredited past, those personages entirely unable to contribute in any useful fashion to the future hope, but manage to retain an effective veto against the uphill climb for the sole reason of their willingness to take advantage of the less fortunate to assuage their own bitterness and instability.
We’ve made impressive gains these past four years, but what happened at last week’s city council meeting vividly illustrates how far we have to travel in our own community, a significant portion of which remains hidebound, ignorant and frightened. Too many opportunists among us are eager to prey on these sad weaknesses, but today, I’m an optimist. America as a whole did it with its embrace of change in the form of Obama, and so can we.
Even Dan Coffey cannot stand in the path of the future forever.
There’ll be time enough to reflect in greater depth on these themes. For now, to those of you reading who were dismayed by last Thursday's abuses, I want to offer encouragement. The battle’s just starting. If I didn’t believe it, I wouldn’t be investing in downtown. We’ll have to work harder, and work smarter.
Given the lowest-common-denominator propensities of the dead weight clinging to our legs, that shouldn’t be altogether difficult, should it?
Barack Obama’s inauguration is underway, and for me his presidency stands to be deeply symbolic, if not for all the reasons it will be for so many others.
The presidential election results in 2004 induced a deep personal depression, but ultimately the disaster of Dubya's second term for Dubya – “disaster” perhaps being far too mild a term to describe the four years since – convinced me to put my interest in national political affairs on ice, and to look around my own neighborhood for a place where my principled involvement just might bear fruit.
Considering how much I didn’t know about local affairs four years ago, the experience has been akin to studying for a second university degree, and yet, I feel like 've made a difference, albeit small, and more importantly, found more kindred spirits than I imagined existed, who've also helped establish the groundwork for local change by becoming part of the process.
And make no mistake: You're part of the process. Don't listen to the Gahans and Coffeys and Kocherts when they insist that running for office is the only way to make a difference. They're whistling past graveyards of their own making - out of tune, no less.
Your very existence is a counterweight to petty political games played by ward heelers. They've won a few rounds, but so have you. It's sad to consider that we all should be participating together, but the decision to polarize the community has been made by a small number of persons who make no bones about protecting the little they know and have at the expense of the greater good. Posterity will judge them harshly for it.
Speaking again for myself, without listening and learning and involvement, here at the blog and out on the street, there wouldn’t be a brewery expansion project underway. I wouldn’t have an understanding, however fragmentary it remains, of all the mechanisms that go into efforts such as facilitating downtown revitalization -- my personal dream in all this.
And, tragically, how difficult it is to purge the demons of a discredited past, those personages entirely unable to contribute in any useful fashion to the future hope, but manage to retain an effective veto against the uphill climb for the sole reason of their willingness to take advantage of the less fortunate to assuage their own bitterness and instability.
We’ve made impressive gains these past four years, but what happened at last week’s city council meeting vividly illustrates how far we have to travel in our own community, a significant portion of which remains hidebound, ignorant and frightened. Too many opportunists among us are eager to prey on these sad weaknesses, but today, I’m an optimist. America as a whole did it with its embrace of change in the form of Obama, and so can we.
Even Dan Coffey cannot stand in the path of the future forever.
There’ll be time enough to reflect in greater depth on these themes. For now, to those of you reading who were dismayed by last Thursday's abuses, I want to offer encouragement. The battle’s just starting. If I didn’t believe it, I wouldn’t be investing in downtown. We’ll have to work harder, and work smarter.
Given the lowest-common-denominator propensities of the dead weight clinging to our legs, that shouldn’t be altogether difficult, should it?
Bank Street Brewhouse status report: Brewing system examination day.
I’ll try to post regular updates on our progress with the NABC Bank Street Brewhouse, beginning with this one, and continuing whenever there’s time and energy.
Yesterday we had a lengthy conference call with the good people at DME, fabricator of the brewing system that will be officially on order just as soon as the bank package closes, which we hope will be in the next ten or so days.
The system specs were reviewed line by line. Architectural plans will be sent to DME and another check made to ensure that everything will fit as it should. When the build-out is completed in front and the taproom can open for business with beer supplied from Grant Line, our owner/contractor can begin roughing in the brewery floor plan and ready the building for shipping the system, which DME reckons can be delivered by May 1. It will take three to four weeks to install, and then brewing can begin at Bank Street.
Of course, we still have federal and state regulatory paperwork to complete as pertains to brewing. The Indiana three-way retail hearing is February 3, and then we should be clear to vend.
With the providential intervention of the marvelous Louisville-based architect Mose Putney, the interior and exterior designs for the building have undergone a complete transformation. The feel will be modern and contemporary, and it’s going to be a blast in warm weather with the garage doors up and the outdoor patio open.
Chef Josh Lehman, late of Le Relais, is supervising the kitchen completion and acquiring the equipment he will need to prepare the modified Belgian-style café menu that we’ll be offering.
In addition to ongoing duties at the original brewery location, which will remain operational as the source of seasonal and specialty beers, brewers Jesse Williams and Jared Williamson are heavily involved with the Bank Street planning phase. We’ll be hiring another brewer to join Jesse downtown come summer, while Jared will run the Grant Line facility.
Kelsey Donovan, a veteran of Schlafly’s brewpubs in St. Louis, will be the bar manager downtown. John Campbell, formerly of Schlafly and Bluegrass Brewing Company, is the marketing director and brand manager, charged with outside sales in Louisville metro and Indiana once production begins in earnest.
Gregg Rochman of the Rocklee Company is the project manager, numbers cruncher and professional prodder, and I’m drinking beer, signing checks and writing promos like this one. My official title is carnival barker, and Gregg’s my interpreter. We couldn’t have gotten this far without him, and now the heaviest lifting will start.
Barring the unforeseen, the soft opening will commence circa the middle of February. Opening times, kitchen hours and the like will be variable for a while as we get a feel for what will fly.
We’re excited about the prospects when we join the existing downtown dining and drinking establishments, as well as the forthcoming Toast on Market and the River City Winery, in creating critical mass in the historic business district.
Just a bit longer …
Yesterday we had a lengthy conference call with the good people at DME, fabricator of the brewing system that will be officially on order just as soon as the bank package closes, which we hope will be in the next ten or so days.
The system specs were reviewed line by line. Architectural plans will be sent to DME and another check made to ensure that everything will fit as it should. When the build-out is completed in front and the taproom can open for business with beer supplied from Grant Line, our owner/contractor can begin roughing in the brewery floor plan and ready the building for shipping the system, which DME reckons can be delivered by May 1. It will take three to four weeks to install, and then brewing can begin at Bank Street.
Of course, we still have federal and state regulatory paperwork to complete as pertains to brewing. The Indiana three-way retail hearing is February 3, and then we should be clear to vend.
With the providential intervention of the marvelous Louisville-based architect Mose Putney, the interior and exterior designs for the building have undergone a complete transformation. The feel will be modern and contemporary, and it’s going to be a blast in warm weather with the garage doors up and the outdoor patio open.
Chef Josh Lehman, late of Le Relais, is supervising the kitchen completion and acquiring the equipment he will need to prepare the modified Belgian-style café menu that we’ll be offering.
In addition to ongoing duties at the original brewery location, which will remain operational as the source of seasonal and specialty beers, brewers Jesse Williams and Jared Williamson are heavily involved with the Bank Street planning phase. We’ll be hiring another brewer to join Jesse downtown come summer, while Jared will run the Grant Line facility.
Kelsey Donovan, a veteran of Schlafly’s brewpubs in St. Louis, will be the bar manager downtown. John Campbell, formerly of Schlafly and Bluegrass Brewing Company, is the marketing director and brand manager, charged with outside sales in Louisville metro and Indiana once production begins in earnest.
Gregg Rochman of the Rocklee Company is the project manager, numbers cruncher and professional prodder, and I’m drinking beer, signing checks and writing promos like this one. My official title is carnival barker, and Gregg’s my interpreter. We couldn’t have gotten this far without him, and now the heaviest lifting will start.
Barring the unforeseen, the soft opening will commence circa the middle of February. Opening times, kitchen hours and the like will be variable for a while as we get a feel for what will fly.
We’re excited about the prospects when we join the existing downtown dining and drinking establishments, as well as the forthcoming Toast on Market and the River City Winery, in creating critical mass in the historic business district.
Just a bit longer …
Monday, January 19, 2009
For the sake of progress and civility, Dan Coffey must be censured by the city council.
The facts are undisputed.
Last Thursday evening, Dan Coffey, who is New Albany’s council president, first refused to permit a citizen to speak during the meeting time allotted for it, and then afterward both verbally and physically accosted another citizen in a public place.
Both citizens are taxpayers. Imagine that, and note how it is so conveniently forgotten by the troglodytes who typically rush to the defense of such tactics.
In correspondence over the weekend, several friends and readers contributed opinions on these events, ranging from the hope that correction will come from within the same council that acquiesced in elevating Coffey, to the view that diplomacy should be allowed to run its course, and including the sensible advice that we all begin wearing wires around the clock and posting hidden cameras in preparation for the next “60 Minutes” (if not YouTube) moment.
Coffey’s behavior was so wrong, and on so many levels, that the metaphors with New Albany’s crippling primitivism would be obvious to cavemen with far better manners than Coffey’s, although they might yet elude New Albanians accustomed to congenitally low standards of office holding.
And, it’s hardly the first time for such disgraceful displays, to which I can personally attest. Once upon a time roughly a year ago, Coffey paused from grandstanding during a council meeting to duck low behind Bob Caesar’s chair, look right at me, and mouth the words, “I’ll kick your ass.”
I'm quite sure he would try, and this, my friends, is the man that Jeff “he who would be king” Gahan regards as suited for a position of leadership in a city of 37,000 people. I believe that in this context, Gahan is an accessory to last Thursday’s civic embarrassment. He has enabled the boorishness and helped place it in a position to make us all look like dullards.
Why put us through it, Jeff?
How does this help us shed our reputation as laughing stock?
Recall that in essence, Coffey is council president because Gahan bizarrely finds the unthinkable to be somehow useful according to the hidden master political strategy that Gahan has never once been willing to share with those members of the community who by all rights should be Gahan’s natural political allies, but who have been summarily abandoned during his speedy descent into the dark side.
Gahan might sincerely believe that Coffey has something constructive to offer, or maybe his intent has been to neutralize Coffey with just such a damaging fall, but I believe that either way, the events of Thursday, January 15 are sufficient to question Coffey’s suitability for office and the veracity of Gahan’s judgment in back-room maneuvering.
You can rationalize it any way you like, but if you believe that Coffey serving as president removes him from a position to inflict mischief, this belief has already been proven wrong. If you believe that he can be co-opted for your own gain, you’re quite likely to be disappointed, too. Coffey serves Coffey, and he has been doing it for so long that his most recent ill-tempered bullying seems little more than par for the degraded course he’s always played.
Fish gotta swim, birds gotta fly, and Coffey gotta dispense self-aggrandizing malice. In some ways, it’s a yawner ... unless, of course, you're the one actually being threatened by an elected official who apparently didn't get the memo and doesn't think that human decency -- not to mention rule of law -- applies to him.
Speaking personally, I’ve spent two years mortgaging my life in order to expand or business into a downtown that has been moribund for most of my adult life. I’ve chosen to do this for two reasons. First, I believe it will be successful, and we’ll make a profit. Second, I want to do my bit to get us through an open window of opportunity and make downtown live again. It’s a risk, but also an opportunity, and I’m not the only one who sees it.
I’ve tried to talk other people into taking the same chance … and then they see the council president hiking his leg and urinating on free speech. I volunteer my time to two economic development entities, and then the same council president tells me that the only way for me to participate properly is to run for council; otherwise, I’m to have no say.
Granted, Coffey isn’t the council representative for the precinct where the new business will be located, but his closest sycophant, Steve Price, is.
To top it off, Gahan, the council representative for the area where my existing business is located, has spent the past year consistently acting against my personal and professional interests, and recently enabled the ascension of the council member who’s now doing the former president’s territorial pissing for him.
And … consider that if the current council president lacks the basic self-restraint to control his anger, avoid physical contact and refrain from verbal threats directed at a private citizen in a public place, why should I or anyone else put personal safety and business investment dollars at risk by locating anywhere close to his sphere of influence?
Rational people will recognize that without investments made by business owners like me, there is no hope whatever of Coffey’s (or Price’s) neighborhood ever improving, and yet he harbors such depths of ignorance that it’s a deal he’s willing to accept … and, in perhaps the most delicious irony of all, this elected official who works tirelessly to frighten away anyone in a position to bolster the local economy serves on the Redevelopment Commission.
Damned right I’m concerned.
This time, Coffey needs to answer for his transgressions, and in a big way. Permit me this opportunity to call for his removal as council president and a formal censure on the part of his colleagues, who by doing so might yet indicate to the rest of us that they support progress in the city of New Albany.
It is long past the time to end Coffey's habitual bullying in and out of the council chamber, isn’t it?
Last Thursday evening, Dan Coffey, who is New Albany’s council president, first refused to permit a citizen to speak during the meeting time allotted for it, and then afterward both verbally and physically accosted another citizen in a public place.
Both citizens are taxpayers. Imagine that, and note how it is so conveniently forgotten by the troglodytes who typically rush to the defense of such tactics.
In correspondence over the weekend, several friends and readers contributed opinions on these events, ranging from the hope that correction will come from within the same council that acquiesced in elevating Coffey, to the view that diplomacy should be allowed to run its course, and including the sensible advice that we all begin wearing wires around the clock and posting hidden cameras in preparation for the next “60 Minutes” (if not YouTube) moment.
Coffey’s behavior was so wrong, and on so many levels, that the metaphors with New Albany’s crippling primitivism would be obvious to cavemen with far better manners than Coffey’s, although they might yet elude New Albanians accustomed to congenitally low standards of office holding.
And, it’s hardly the first time for such disgraceful displays, to which I can personally attest. Once upon a time roughly a year ago, Coffey paused from grandstanding during a council meeting to duck low behind Bob Caesar’s chair, look right at me, and mouth the words, “I’ll kick your ass.”
I'm quite sure he would try, and this, my friends, is the man that Jeff “he who would be king” Gahan regards as suited for a position of leadership in a city of 37,000 people. I believe that in this context, Gahan is an accessory to last Thursday’s civic embarrassment. He has enabled the boorishness and helped place it in a position to make us all look like dullards.
Why put us through it, Jeff?
How does this help us shed our reputation as laughing stock?
Recall that in essence, Coffey is council president because Gahan bizarrely finds the unthinkable to be somehow useful according to the hidden master political strategy that Gahan has never once been willing to share with those members of the community who by all rights should be Gahan’s natural political allies, but who have been summarily abandoned during his speedy descent into the dark side.
Gahan might sincerely believe that Coffey has something constructive to offer, or maybe his intent has been to neutralize Coffey with just such a damaging fall, but I believe that either way, the events of Thursday, January 15 are sufficient to question Coffey’s suitability for office and the veracity of Gahan’s judgment in back-room maneuvering.
You can rationalize it any way you like, but if you believe that Coffey serving as president removes him from a position to inflict mischief, this belief has already been proven wrong. If you believe that he can be co-opted for your own gain, you’re quite likely to be disappointed, too. Coffey serves Coffey, and he has been doing it for so long that his most recent ill-tempered bullying seems little more than par for the degraded course he’s always played.
Fish gotta swim, birds gotta fly, and Coffey gotta dispense self-aggrandizing malice. In some ways, it’s a yawner ... unless, of course, you're the one actually being threatened by an elected official who apparently didn't get the memo and doesn't think that human decency -- not to mention rule of law -- applies to him.
Speaking personally, I’ve spent two years mortgaging my life in order to expand or business into a downtown that has been moribund for most of my adult life. I’ve chosen to do this for two reasons. First, I believe it will be successful, and we’ll make a profit. Second, I want to do my bit to get us through an open window of opportunity and make downtown live again. It’s a risk, but also an opportunity, and I’m not the only one who sees it.
I’ve tried to talk other people into taking the same chance … and then they see the council president hiking his leg and urinating on free speech. I volunteer my time to two economic development entities, and then the same council president tells me that the only way for me to participate properly is to run for council; otherwise, I’m to have no say.
Granted, Coffey isn’t the council representative for the precinct where the new business will be located, but his closest sycophant, Steve Price, is.
To top it off, Gahan, the council representative for the area where my existing business is located, has spent the past year consistently acting against my personal and professional interests, and recently enabled the ascension of the council member who’s now doing the former president’s territorial pissing for him.
And … consider that if the current council president lacks the basic self-restraint to control his anger, avoid physical contact and refrain from verbal threats directed at a private citizen in a public place, why should I or anyone else put personal safety and business investment dollars at risk by locating anywhere close to his sphere of influence?
Rational people will recognize that without investments made by business owners like me, there is no hope whatever of Coffey’s (or Price’s) neighborhood ever improving, and yet he harbors such depths of ignorance that it’s a deal he’s willing to accept … and, in perhaps the most delicious irony of all, this elected official who works tirelessly to frighten away anyone in a position to bolster the local economy serves on the Redevelopment Commission.
Damned right I’m concerned.
This time, Coffey needs to answer for his transgressions, and in a big way. Permit me this opportunity to call for his removal as council president and a formal censure on the part of his colleagues, who by doing so might yet indicate to the rest of us that they support progress in the city of New Albany.
It is long past the time to end Coffey's habitual bullying in and out of the council chamber, isn’t it?
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Just a side note.
If you see 1st district councilman Dan Coffey, would you please tell him that my Tribune column this coming Thursday will be all about him?
And you might tell Jeff Gahan, too. After all, he's an accessory.
And you might tell Jeff Gahan, too. After all, he's an accessory.
Saturday, January 17, 2009
"The king of bad presidents: George W. Bush."
This pretty much sumarizes Dubya's unprecedented reign of error:
I foresee the historical marker at the corner of Market and Bank: "One Southern Indiana brought the worst president ever to visit here in 2007. Thanks, guys -- may we not have another?"
"The king of bad presidents: George W. Bush."
As President George W. Bush gets ready to leave the White House, it says a lot that the most frequently asked question about his place in history is whether he's the worst president ever, or just in the top five or six.
I foresee the historical marker at the corner of Market and Bank: "One Southern Indiana brought the worst president ever to visit here in 2007. Thanks, guys -- may we not have another?"
Friday, January 16, 2009
What The F@#* Opie? Ya Ain't Seen Nothun Yet!
Here it is, the middle of the week, the predicted coldest night in recent memory, there’s nothing of consequence on TV, and y’all still elected to be couch potatoes when you could have attended one of the most entertaining New Albany Common Council meetings to date.
It started out harmless enough. Our resident mail carrier took to the podium to say he felt the Council had better things to do with its time than deal with a Resolution in support of HR676 (a US House bill concerning universal health care).
After all, the city of New Albany has no influence on the Beltway Boys so why waste the time.
At this point a non-agenda item was raised in the form of a council committee report from the housing/code enforcement threesome. (make that a twosome as CM Price abstained from officially signing the recommendation.)
Steve's reasoning was that he disagreed with a sentence that seems to hold rentals to a higher standard than us lowly homeowners as it pertained to enforcement.
As a side note, Pat Harrison & her entourage of landlords presented CM & Committee Chair John Gonder with a copy of said recommendation prior to the meeting. The mystery of that is according to Gonder himself, he had not presented said report to any Council Members prior to tonight’s meeting. Strange indeed!
Then in the Communications from City Officials slot an employee from the City Controllers office took a stand against A-09-01 which would give a raise in pay to two Non Bargaining Unit employees who work in the Utility Billing Department.
It seems they have inherited the billing duties from EMC as it pertains to Storm Water, Trash, & Sewer bills as those has now been brought back into the Cities venue.
She was followed by one of the two affected employees who pled their case for the increase after which the fun began in earnest.
Carl then stood in the absent Mayor’s stead and proceeded with a detailed explanation of England’s surgery, (good thing I didn’t eat before), recovery, therapy, and remorse for not being at tonight’s gathering.
He was going to elaborate even further but Council President Coffey took the floor and exclaimed that while the Council and the audience were concerned about the Mayor’s well being, it was not necessary to give a blow by blow report at each & every gathering.
He went on to request that if the Deputy Mayor had any further official city business to discuss to get on with it.
I went blank for a few seconds but as I recall Carl offered a report about the insurance monies received for the Tabernacle Building, the FEMA funds forthcoming from Ike, the city’s resolve to address code enforcement based in part on the committees recommendations, and his assurance that Mayor England would give his State of the City address at the next meeting.
With that we moved into “the meat of the meeting” per President Coffey.
Resolution (R-09-01) to support the aforementioned HR676 passed with a vote of 7 for & 1 abstention (CM Gahan).
Ordinance A-09-01 amending Salaries for Non Bargaining Unit employees garnered a 4 to 4 vote. At this point Pres. Dan conferred with Council Attorney Stan Robison (oh! Did I forget to mention we have a new attorney?) who ruled that a tie vote on first reading amounted to a failure to pass.
Next came Z-09-02 to amend the Zoning Classification in a portion of the West End of our fair city. Upon a recommendation from Zoning and Planning it passed with an 8-0 count on first reading.
There were two more ordinances on the agenda but one got tabled (again) and the other I blanked out on (again). Even more evidence that attending one of these events stone cold sober is hazardous to ones health!
Then came the first round of the Headliner of the evening ie; Non-Agenda Items! Our good friend and comrade-at arms Mark Cassidy took the podium to ask this council to consider the US Constitutionally mandated redistricting of New Albany’s voting districts.
If you’ll recall, the previous Council’s prime objection was that action had been initiated without having first requested that they (the Council) do their duty. Mr. Cassidy was merely attempting to abide by the Council’s wishes by bringing it forward again.
However President Coffey was going to have none of it. He cut Mark off in mid sentence explaining that in these dire times there were much more important issues facing New Albany.
He furthered that the previous Council had indeed passed a redistricting plan that met the State statute and that was the end of it.
Not one to be ignored, Mark respectfully asked if he could at least finish his remarks. Coffey nodded in the affirmative and Mr. Cassidy began again.
At this point the new Council Attorney began to dress down Mark about events concerning this subject that occurred back in 1999. Apparently Mr. Robison had been sitting in as a substitute for then Council Attorney Henderson on the evening that this subject was broached and afterwards had been berated in the media and elsewhere for his action/inactions during that event. So tonight opened up an old wound and he came out like a wounded pit bull.
To his credit he later in the evening apologized to Mark for his outburst and seemed genuinely remorseful for his actions.
President Coffey took over where Stan left off and began to look like the Dan we’ve all come to know over the years. Mark tried several times to finish his statement but in the end he was gaveled down and the meeting was adjourned.
We all took a deep breath of WHEW! Damned glad that’s over without bloodshed!
But is was not to be for Round Two was just over the horizon!
I hurriedly guided Mark out the door to the elevator and into the cold night air. We proceeded to Studio’s for our regularly scheduled Council Meeting Afterglow. We ordered a coupler of beers and were pleasantly surprised to see our very own Bluegill and his compatriot Roy stroll in.
We began to impart a report of the gathering to them and who walks in but Coffey, Gonder, Robison, & Carl Malysz!
Dan apparently hadn’t had enough and the discussion began anew with gusto!
It wasn’t long until Bluegill got involved and he & Coffey got nose to nose. The volume rose, the faces got red, threats got hurled and then slowly something close to a tone of reason began to return.
Almost all present exchanged their views on the subject and although no agreement was reached there was no broken glassware, no blood on the carpet, and no 911 calls.
Dan left, Stan again expressed his remorse to Mark, we ordered another round and collectively discussed the variety of still unresolved issues before us.
In the end it was a toss up somewhere between definite lines being drawn in the sand and a no harm/no foul street ball game.
Sure does make one wonder what the future holds though. So grab a season ticket and enjoy the festivities.
Hell they’re FREE!
It started out harmless enough. Our resident mail carrier took to the podium to say he felt the Council had better things to do with its time than deal with a Resolution in support of HR676 (a US House bill concerning universal health care).
After all, the city of New Albany has no influence on the Beltway Boys so why waste the time.
At this point a non-agenda item was raised in the form of a council committee report from the housing/code enforcement threesome. (make that a twosome as CM Price abstained from officially signing the recommendation.)
Steve's reasoning was that he disagreed with a sentence that seems to hold rentals to a higher standard than us lowly homeowners as it pertained to enforcement.
As a side note, Pat Harrison & her entourage of landlords presented CM & Committee Chair John Gonder with a copy of said recommendation prior to the meeting. The mystery of that is according to Gonder himself, he had not presented said report to any Council Members prior to tonight’s meeting. Strange indeed!
Then in the Communications from City Officials slot an employee from the City Controllers office took a stand against A-09-01 which would give a raise in pay to two Non Bargaining Unit employees who work in the Utility Billing Department.
It seems they have inherited the billing duties from EMC as it pertains to Storm Water, Trash, & Sewer bills as those has now been brought back into the Cities venue.
She was followed by one of the two affected employees who pled their case for the increase after which the fun began in earnest.
Carl then stood in the absent Mayor’s stead and proceeded with a detailed explanation of England’s surgery, (good thing I didn’t eat before), recovery, therapy, and remorse for not being at tonight’s gathering.
He was going to elaborate even further but Council President Coffey took the floor and exclaimed that while the Council and the audience were concerned about the Mayor’s well being, it was not necessary to give a blow by blow report at each & every gathering.
He went on to request that if the Deputy Mayor had any further official city business to discuss to get on with it.
I went blank for a few seconds but as I recall Carl offered a report about the insurance monies received for the Tabernacle Building, the FEMA funds forthcoming from Ike, the city’s resolve to address code enforcement based in part on the committees recommendations, and his assurance that Mayor England would give his State of the City address at the next meeting.
With that we moved into “the meat of the meeting” per President Coffey.
Resolution (R-09-01) to support the aforementioned HR676 passed with a vote of 7 for & 1 abstention (CM Gahan).
Ordinance A-09-01 amending Salaries for Non Bargaining Unit employees garnered a 4 to 4 vote. At this point Pres. Dan conferred with Council Attorney Stan Robison (oh! Did I forget to mention we have a new attorney?) who ruled that a tie vote on first reading amounted to a failure to pass.
Next came Z-09-02 to amend the Zoning Classification in a portion of the West End of our fair city. Upon a recommendation from Zoning and Planning it passed with an 8-0 count on first reading.
There were two more ordinances on the agenda but one got tabled (again) and the other I blanked out on (again). Even more evidence that attending one of these events stone cold sober is hazardous to ones health!
Then came the first round of the Headliner of the evening ie; Non-Agenda Items! Our good friend and comrade-at arms Mark Cassidy took the podium to ask this council to consider the US Constitutionally mandated redistricting of New Albany’s voting districts.
If you’ll recall, the previous Council’s prime objection was that action had been initiated without having first requested that they (the Council) do their duty. Mr. Cassidy was merely attempting to abide by the Council’s wishes by bringing it forward again.
However President Coffey was going to have none of it. He cut Mark off in mid sentence explaining that in these dire times there were much more important issues facing New Albany.
He furthered that the previous Council had indeed passed a redistricting plan that met the State statute and that was the end of it.
Not one to be ignored, Mark respectfully asked if he could at least finish his remarks. Coffey nodded in the affirmative and Mr. Cassidy began again.
At this point the new Council Attorney began to dress down Mark about events concerning this subject that occurred back in 1999. Apparently Mr. Robison had been sitting in as a substitute for then Council Attorney Henderson on the evening that this subject was broached and afterwards had been berated in the media and elsewhere for his action/inactions during that event. So tonight opened up an old wound and he came out like a wounded pit bull.
To his credit he later in the evening apologized to Mark for his outburst and seemed genuinely remorseful for his actions.
President Coffey took over where Stan left off and began to look like the Dan we’ve all come to know over the years. Mark tried several times to finish his statement but in the end he was gaveled down and the meeting was adjourned.
We all took a deep breath of WHEW! Damned glad that’s over without bloodshed!
But is was not to be for Round Two was just over the horizon!
I hurriedly guided Mark out the door to the elevator and into the cold night air. We proceeded to Studio’s for our regularly scheduled Council Meeting Afterglow. We ordered a coupler of beers and were pleasantly surprised to see our very own Bluegill and his compatriot Roy stroll in.
We began to impart a report of the gathering to them and who walks in but Coffey, Gonder, Robison, & Carl Malysz!
Dan apparently hadn’t had enough and the discussion began anew with gusto!
It wasn’t long until Bluegill got involved and he & Coffey got nose to nose. The volume rose, the faces got red, threats got hurled and then slowly something close to a tone of reason began to return.
Almost all present exchanged their views on the subject and although no agreement was reached there was no broken glassware, no blood on the carpet, and no 911 calls.
Dan left, Stan again expressed his remorse to Mark, we ordered another round and collectively discussed the variety of still unresolved issues before us.
In the end it was a toss up somewhere between definite lines being drawn in the sand and a no harm/no foul street ball game.
Sure does make one wonder what the future holds though. So grab a season ticket and enjoy the festivities.
Hell they’re FREE!
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Ulrich out, Robison in as city council attorney?
WTF?
I didn't attend tonight's meeting, but Lloyd just phoned, and evidently Jerry Ulrich has been displaced as city council attorney by Stan Robison.
I'll let the Highwayman provide the rest of the story in due time, but he also says that during non-agenda item public speaking time, Robison and council president Dan "Wizard of Westside" Coffey took ex-kingpin Jeff Gahan's place in publicly urinating on the Constitution v.v. a request to consider redistricting.
Whooo-eee. Stay tuned for a fuller report.
I didn't attend tonight's meeting, but Lloyd just phoned, and evidently Jerry Ulrich has been displaced as city council attorney by Stan Robison.
I'll let the Highwayman provide the rest of the story in due time, but he also says that during non-agenda item public speaking time, Robison and council president Dan "Wizard of Westside" Coffey took ex-kingpin Jeff Gahan's place in publicly urinating on the Constitution v.v. a request to consider redistricting.
Whooo-eee. Stay tuned for a fuller report.
Pogo and all that.
My second column appeared in the Tribune today.
BAYLOR: Pogo's axiom and New Albany Sydrome
Yes, I know. Gently: I checked the original headline that I submitted, and it reads, "Pogo and the New Albany Syndrome."
Not being critical. Just for the record.
BAYLOR: Pogo's axiom and New Albany Sydrome
Yes, I know. Gently: I checked the original headline that I submitted, and it reads, "Pogo and the New Albany Syndrome."
Not being critical. Just for the record.
Baptist Tabernacle? Think big.
The city-owned Baptist Tabernacle had its roof blown off by last September's hurricane-force winds, and now local officials are trying to decide what to do next. For the story on the insurance settlement ...
New Albany ponders options for building; 1 report in hand, another awaited, by Grace Schneider (formerly One Great Newspaper).
I'd like to see the historic buildings already on that block preserved, reused, and woven together with a contemporary architectural design, the result being a governmental campus of the sort mentioned in the article.
Yes, it will cost money. It also would link the past and the present and address future needs for a government that probably will endure in spite of Grover Norquist's best anarchistic efforts.
Everything costs money. It's time to concede this, move forward and get something done.
New Albany ponders options for building; 1 report in hand, another awaited, by Grace Schneider (formerly One Great Newspaper).
I'd like to see the historic buildings already on that block preserved, reused, and woven together with a contemporary architectural design, the result being a governmental campus of the sort mentioned in the article.
Yes, it will cost money. It also would link the past and the present and address future needs for a government that probably will endure in spite of Grover Norquist's best anarchistic efforts.
Everything costs money. It's time to concede this, move forward and get something done.
I hope you'll be sitting at a bar like this in a month or so.
(Does not come equipped with Max Headroom bar staff)
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
How does one tell the difference?
Chris Morris offers a jeer in today’s Tribune:
JEERS..... to those responsible for vandalism on the New Albany riverfront. For some reason, there are a few bad apples in our community who find enjoyment out of tearing up private and public property.
There’s a simple and painfully obvious corollary to these sentiments. In fact, much of the city has the appearance of having been vandalized, and while it would be redundant to insert yet another recitation of unkempt properties, dilapidated housing and denial of responsibility, the squalor deriving from neglect that we take for granted on a daily basis promotes the overnight variety occurring on the riverfront.
JEERS..... to those responsible for vandalism on the New Albany riverfront. For some reason, there are a few bad apples in our community who find enjoyment out of tearing up private and public property.
There’s a simple and painfully obvious corollary to these sentiments. In fact, much of the city has the appearance of having been vandalized, and while it would be redundant to insert yet another recitation of unkempt properties, dilapidated housing and denial of responsibility, the squalor deriving from neglect that we take for granted on a daily basis promotes the overnight variety occurring on the riverfront.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
8664: Stemler, the study, and digging a bit deeper (Part 2)
A review of Ohio River Bridges Project (ORBP) history, then, along with the support of 8664 by many Hoosiers, lead us to Kerry Stemler’s published claims.
His first claim is that 8664 doesn’t address congestion from the west in New Albany. A review of both the 8664 and ORBP plans, however, does not support that conclusion.
Anyone who regularly travels I-64 and I-265 in the New Albany area knows that the intersection of the two is a congestion-inducing bottleneck during heavy traffic times. Accordingly, the much less expensive 8664 plan budgets $52 million to augment that merge point, including the construction of additional lanes. In contrast, the ORBP for which Stemler advocates, even with its nearly doubled price tag of $4.1 billion, budgets no money for that area. The already crowded interchange is, in fact, not addressed by the ORBP plan at all.
Further, neither Stemler’s remarks nor the ORBP reflect concerns about the flow of human traffic between West Louisville and New Albany.
As much faith as I have in the West Louisville residents I know and the work they’re doing to revitalize the area, a portion of New Albany’s criminal activity has traditionally been attributed by citizens and police alike to our proximity to its sometimes struggling neighborhoods. The veracity of that attribution notwithstanding, it’s clear that New Albany has a vested interest in the betterment of our southern neighbors.
Like the I-64/I-265 interchange, the ORBP again fails to address the issue with its massive expenditure. 8664, on the other hand, stands to improve West Louisville substantially, thus improving New Albany by association. Aside from reestablishing an attractive waterfront from downtown to approximately 22nd Street, 8664 would remove the massive 9th Street ramp to I-64 that has for decades served as a physical and psychological barrier between West Louisville and the downtown business district. Doing so would help foster confidence in the area and spur much needed investment.
Additionally, an 8664 review of impact in other cities that have restored waterfront areas shows that not only is the directly reclaimed property positively affected, but a secondary zone, usually within ¼ or ½ mile of the reclamation area, also shows increased value and investment. In Louisville that amounts to 60 - 120 city blocks, much of it to the west of the downtown business district, nearer New Albany.
As we move toward reopening the K&I Railroad Bridge to pedestrian and bicycle traffic, more closely connecting Louisville’s riverfront with our own, what’s on the other end of it will play a considerable role in determining how attractive an amenity it will be in and of itself and, ultimately, how accessible other amenities on the opposite shore will be. A rejuvenated West Louisville is the best possible scenario for allowing New Albany to market a pedestrian bridge connecting the two as an asset and to encourage those enjoying Louisville’s waterfront to extend their walk or ride to include our shops, eateries, and cultural institutions.
Though already partially addressed, Stemler’s second claim is that since Hoosiers have not had a voice in visioning the 8664 plan, it would damage our side of the river.
Momentarily setting aside the regular communication that occurs between Hoosiers and 8664, the group’s consistent requests to communicate with Indiana officials and business leaders, and the fact that Indiana businesses help sponsor the group’s events, two points immediately come to mind: 1) As 8664 representative Joe Burgan rightly pointed out in the article, his group, unlike Stemler’s, is currently the only one standing up to East Louisville political forces, fighting to prioritize the East End Bridge that Hoosiers have favored for decades and 2) prioritizing the East End Bridge stands to create an economic boon in Indiana, as shown by the federal environmental impact study conducted for the ORBP.
The study claims that the East End Bridge will create approximately 10,000 jobs in Indiana that may otherwise go to Kentucky, a number used not only by Kentucky-based bridge opponents to argue against it but also by local chamber of commerce One Southern Indiana to support it. As recently as a 2008 article published in The Lane Report’s Market Review of Greater Louisville and Southern Indiana, 1SI again touted the job creation numbers and District 71 State Representative Steve Stemler characterized the East End Bridge as “really the missing, critical link” in our region.
While 1SI and ORBP representatives did acknowledge the East End Bridge as part of the larger ORBP scheme later in the article, job increases induced by completing the I-265 loop were mentioned repeatedly while no similar claims were ascribed to the proposed third downtown bridge. Odd then, that Kerry Stemler, Past-Chair of 1SI, would refer to a plan that prioritizes East End Bridge construction as “detrimental” to our state.
Beyond his initial illogic, however, Stemler and the Bridges Coalition’s more recent advocacy betrays his concern for keeping Hoosier voices prominent in the decision making process.
Perhaps the most significant financial occurrence in the bridges saga since the formation of the Build the Bridges Coalition has been Kentucky's passage of a transportation budget in 2008 that included much less than the amount deemed necessary to maintain the ORBP schedule. It showed not only the difficulty inherent in financing such a megaproject but also revealed important preferences as Kentucky officials chose to delay East End Bridge construction by two more years, instead prioritizing available funds on the redesign of Spaghetti Junction in preparation for a new Downtown Bridge.
Given Indiana’s long favoring of the East End Bridge and the benefits touted by his own economic development organization, one would think that Stemler would have rushed to the defense of his fellow Hoosiers, decrying the decision and pushing for the Bridges Coalition to pressure Kentucky’s government to return the East End Bridge to its rightful place in the funding hierarchy. Instead, he and the Coalition chose a far different course of action: the pursuit of tolls.
We'll examine the potential impact of those tolls on Hoosiers in the next installment.
His first claim is that 8664 doesn’t address congestion from the west in New Albany. A review of both the 8664 and ORBP plans, however, does not support that conclusion.
Anyone who regularly travels I-64 and I-265 in the New Albany area knows that the intersection of the two is a congestion-inducing bottleneck during heavy traffic times. Accordingly, the much less expensive 8664 plan budgets $52 million to augment that merge point, including the construction of additional lanes. In contrast, the ORBP for which Stemler advocates, even with its nearly doubled price tag of $4.1 billion, budgets no money for that area. The already crowded interchange is, in fact, not addressed by the ORBP plan at all.
Further, neither Stemler’s remarks nor the ORBP reflect concerns about the flow of human traffic between West Louisville and New Albany.
As much faith as I have in the West Louisville residents I know and the work they’re doing to revitalize the area, a portion of New Albany’s criminal activity has traditionally been attributed by citizens and police alike to our proximity to its sometimes struggling neighborhoods. The veracity of that attribution notwithstanding, it’s clear that New Albany has a vested interest in the betterment of our southern neighbors.
Like the I-64/I-265 interchange, the ORBP again fails to address the issue with its massive expenditure. 8664, on the other hand, stands to improve West Louisville substantially, thus improving New Albany by association. Aside from reestablishing an attractive waterfront from downtown to approximately 22nd Street, 8664 would remove the massive 9th Street ramp to I-64 that has for decades served as a physical and psychological barrier between West Louisville and the downtown business district. Doing so would help foster confidence in the area and spur much needed investment.
Additionally, an 8664 review of impact in other cities that have restored waterfront areas shows that not only is the directly reclaimed property positively affected, but a secondary zone, usually within ¼ or ½ mile of the reclamation area, also shows increased value and investment. In Louisville that amounts to 60 - 120 city blocks, much of it to the west of the downtown business district, nearer New Albany.
As we move toward reopening the K&I Railroad Bridge to pedestrian and bicycle traffic, more closely connecting Louisville’s riverfront with our own, what’s on the other end of it will play a considerable role in determining how attractive an amenity it will be in and of itself and, ultimately, how accessible other amenities on the opposite shore will be. A rejuvenated West Louisville is the best possible scenario for allowing New Albany to market a pedestrian bridge connecting the two as an asset and to encourage those enjoying Louisville’s waterfront to extend their walk or ride to include our shops, eateries, and cultural institutions.
Though already partially addressed, Stemler’s second claim is that since Hoosiers have not had a voice in visioning the 8664 plan, it would damage our side of the river.
Momentarily setting aside the regular communication that occurs between Hoosiers and 8664, the group’s consistent requests to communicate with Indiana officials and business leaders, and the fact that Indiana businesses help sponsor the group’s events, two points immediately come to mind: 1) As 8664 representative Joe Burgan rightly pointed out in the article, his group, unlike Stemler’s, is currently the only one standing up to East Louisville political forces, fighting to prioritize the East End Bridge that Hoosiers have favored for decades and 2) prioritizing the East End Bridge stands to create an economic boon in Indiana, as shown by the federal environmental impact study conducted for the ORBP.
The study claims that the East End Bridge will create approximately 10,000 jobs in Indiana that may otherwise go to Kentucky, a number used not only by Kentucky-based bridge opponents to argue against it but also by local chamber of commerce One Southern Indiana to support it. As recently as a 2008 article published in The Lane Report’s Market Review of Greater Louisville and Southern Indiana, 1SI again touted the job creation numbers and District 71 State Representative Steve Stemler characterized the East End Bridge as “really the missing, critical link” in our region.
While 1SI and ORBP representatives did acknowledge the East End Bridge as part of the larger ORBP scheme later in the article, job increases induced by completing the I-265 loop were mentioned repeatedly while no similar claims were ascribed to the proposed third downtown bridge. Odd then, that Kerry Stemler, Past-Chair of 1SI, would refer to a plan that prioritizes East End Bridge construction as “detrimental” to our state.
Beyond his initial illogic, however, Stemler and the Bridges Coalition’s more recent advocacy betrays his concern for keeping Hoosier voices prominent in the decision making process.
Perhaps the most significant financial occurrence in the bridges saga since the formation of the Build the Bridges Coalition has been Kentucky's passage of a transportation budget in 2008 that included much less than the amount deemed necessary to maintain the ORBP schedule. It showed not only the difficulty inherent in financing such a megaproject but also revealed important preferences as Kentucky officials chose to delay East End Bridge construction by two more years, instead prioritizing available funds on the redesign of Spaghetti Junction in preparation for a new Downtown Bridge.
Given Indiana’s long favoring of the East End Bridge and the benefits touted by his own economic development organization, one would think that Stemler would have rushed to the defense of his fellow Hoosiers, decrying the decision and pushing for the Bridges Coalition to pressure Kentucky’s government to return the East End Bridge to its rightful place in the funding hierarchy. Instead, he and the Coalition chose a far different course of action: the pursuit of tolls.
We'll examine the potential impact of those tolls on Hoosiers in the next installment.
Monday, January 12, 2009
8664: Stemler, the study, and digging a bit deeper (Part 1)
A recent Tribune article detailing the misrepresentation of the 8664 plan in a study commissioned by Kentucky state transportation officials was unfortunately marred by misleading statements from Kerry Stemler, a Hoosier and member of the Build the Bridges Coalition’s Executive Committee.
Aside from his snide and inaccurate assertion that 8664 is nothing more than “pretty pictures”, Stemler objected to the plan on two points: that it doesn’t address congestion coming from the west in New Albany and that a lack of concern for Indiana’s needs have rendered the plan “detrimental to what’s going on our side of the river”.
Neither is true.
Before examining Stemler’s claims, however, it’s important to understand the context in which his Build the Bridges Coalition operates. As Hoosiers who’ve long supported the construction of an East End Bridge are well aware, that particular span was officially adopted as part of the region’s transportation plans in 1969. It was reaffirmed in those plans in 1978 and 1993.
For decades, a small but wealthy contingent of Kentucky property owners, via a group called River Fields, has fought the construction of the East End Bridge. It wasn’t Hoosier citizens, elected Indiana officials, nor even traffic engineers who purposely complicated matters by introducing a downtown bridge proposal in 1994.
That year, Louisville’s Downtown Development Corporation (DDC), a private group with strong ties to both River Fields and Louisville Mayor Jerry Abramson but no public accountability, released a study suggesting that Spaghetti Junction congestion could only be eased by attaching the interchange to an additional downtown bridge. The DDC’s relationship with Abramson, who has over the years unilaterally approved the transfer of millions of dollars from Louisville coffers to the organization, has become so suspect that members of the city’s Metro Council recently filed open records requests in an effort to at least track how the money is spent.
Even though that relationship and the study’s bridge conclusion were and are still disputed, River Fields seized the obstructionist opportunity and, under the leadership of then president Jim Welch, released a plan for a Downtown Bridge within months.
The Downtown Bridge proposal was introduced not to suggest the construction of an additional bridge, however, but as a mechanism to further fight the eastern one. As Kentucky politics boiled, Hoosiers had no voice in the matter and their concerns were ignored even as public polls at the time continued to show overwhelming support for the eastern bridge.
As the green of Hoosier’s east end referencing “Build the Bridge” bumper stickers faded, consistent lobbying and delay tactics from River Fields and their allies continued to divert attention from the majority opinion to the point that years passed before a still contentious “political compromise” was reached, backing the region into a corner with a monstrous, all or nothing $4.1 billion Ohio River Bridges Project (ORBP) that we’ve yet to and may never figure out how to finance.
For some, that was the point. Of the two bridges, one project plan, even our governor, Mitch Daniels, said in the News and Tribune, “The 'one project' idea - I think for some people - it was a tactic to delay the whole project."
It’s worth noting that, according to ORBP estimates, Indiana currently has the money in hand to build the East End Bridge and its corresponding northern approach – twice – while incurring no debt. The delayed Kentucky approach, already more costly owing to mass and length, was made tens of millions of dollars more expensive and thus more difficult to finance with the inclusion of a 2,000 feet long tunnel that, according to River Fields’ pressure tactics, is necessary to protect a single historic estate.
Tellingly, River Fields, who supposedly counts historic preservation among its concerns, has advocated for a plan that would demolish numerous historic structures downtown and in nearby areas to facilitate a bridge, a grossly expanded Spaghetti Junction, and a widened I-65 there.
In recent years, Jim Welch, the previously noted former River Fields leader and East End bridge opponent, was named Chair of the DDC. The DDC, in turn, helped create the Build the Bridges Coalition and Welch became a member of its executive committee. Questions as to why a staunch opponent of the East End Bridge was given such a prominent role in pursuing financing for the Bridges Project have gone unanswered.
Interestingly, another founding member of the Coalition dependent on Abramson’s support, Greater Louisville Incorporated (GLI), may have provided early impetus for exploring the removal of Interstate 64 from Louisville’s waterfront even before 8664 was formed. Though admittedly unconfirmed, a reliable source has publicly stated that Louisville entrepreneur Doug Cobb, founder of the Cobb Group, CEO of Appriss, and former GLI president, was impressed enough with other cities’ success in removing their waterfront expressways that he had the group travel to study them as possible best practice. The following GLI president also supposedly supported the expressway removal idea. Outside of speculation about Abramson’s and River Fields' influence, the group’s about face concerning local interstate initiatives remains largely unexplained.
Though Louisville, New Albany, and Jeffersonville governments have all ceded leadership to them, the Build the Bridges Coalition is a private organization and, like the DDC, has no public accountability even though its membership consists of several groups who receive public funding. Two of its founding organizational members have documented and/or reported histories that do not all match the group’s stated objectives, qualified professionals have publicly refuted factual claims made by the group but have received no response, information about decision making methodology has often been available only through legal challenges and the public has almost no input into the process at all.
Regardless of intentions, that’s the situation that One Southern Indiana helped exacerbate under Kerry Stemler’s leadership when they joined the Coalition and the one he continues to support in his capacity as an executive committee member.
Next time, we’ll begin looking at his published claims.
* a small portion of the above was paraphrased from the 8664 web site history section.
Aside from his snide and inaccurate assertion that 8664 is nothing more than “pretty pictures”, Stemler objected to the plan on two points: that it doesn’t address congestion coming from the west in New Albany and that a lack of concern for Indiana’s needs have rendered the plan “detrimental to what’s going on our side of the river”.
Neither is true.
Before examining Stemler’s claims, however, it’s important to understand the context in which his Build the Bridges Coalition operates. As Hoosiers who’ve long supported the construction of an East End Bridge are well aware, that particular span was officially adopted as part of the region’s transportation plans in 1969. It was reaffirmed in those plans in 1978 and 1993.
For decades, a small but wealthy contingent of Kentucky property owners, via a group called River Fields, has fought the construction of the East End Bridge. It wasn’t Hoosier citizens, elected Indiana officials, nor even traffic engineers who purposely complicated matters by introducing a downtown bridge proposal in 1994.
That year, Louisville’s Downtown Development Corporation (DDC), a private group with strong ties to both River Fields and Louisville Mayor Jerry Abramson but no public accountability, released a study suggesting that Spaghetti Junction congestion could only be eased by attaching the interchange to an additional downtown bridge. The DDC’s relationship with Abramson, who has over the years unilaterally approved the transfer of millions of dollars from Louisville coffers to the organization, has become so suspect that members of the city’s Metro Council recently filed open records requests in an effort to at least track how the money is spent.
Even though that relationship and the study’s bridge conclusion were and are still disputed, River Fields seized the obstructionist opportunity and, under the leadership of then president Jim Welch, released a plan for a Downtown Bridge within months.
The Downtown Bridge proposal was introduced not to suggest the construction of an additional bridge, however, but as a mechanism to further fight the eastern one. As Kentucky politics boiled, Hoosiers had no voice in the matter and their concerns were ignored even as public polls at the time continued to show overwhelming support for the eastern bridge.
As the green of Hoosier’s east end referencing “Build the Bridge” bumper stickers faded, consistent lobbying and delay tactics from River Fields and their allies continued to divert attention from the majority opinion to the point that years passed before a still contentious “political compromise” was reached, backing the region into a corner with a monstrous, all or nothing $4.1 billion Ohio River Bridges Project (ORBP) that we’ve yet to and may never figure out how to finance.
For some, that was the point. Of the two bridges, one project plan, even our governor, Mitch Daniels, said in the News and Tribune, “The 'one project' idea - I think for some people - it was a tactic to delay the whole project."
It’s worth noting that, according to ORBP estimates, Indiana currently has the money in hand to build the East End Bridge and its corresponding northern approach – twice – while incurring no debt. The delayed Kentucky approach, already more costly owing to mass and length, was made tens of millions of dollars more expensive and thus more difficult to finance with the inclusion of a 2,000 feet long tunnel that, according to River Fields’ pressure tactics, is necessary to protect a single historic estate.
Tellingly, River Fields, who supposedly counts historic preservation among its concerns, has advocated for a plan that would demolish numerous historic structures downtown and in nearby areas to facilitate a bridge, a grossly expanded Spaghetti Junction, and a widened I-65 there.
In recent years, Jim Welch, the previously noted former River Fields leader and East End bridge opponent, was named Chair of the DDC. The DDC, in turn, helped create the Build the Bridges Coalition and Welch became a member of its executive committee. Questions as to why a staunch opponent of the East End Bridge was given such a prominent role in pursuing financing for the Bridges Project have gone unanswered.
Interestingly, another founding member of the Coalition dependent on Abramson’s support, Greater Louisville Incorporated (GLI), may have provided early impetus for exploring the removal of Interstate 64 from Louisville’s waterfront even before 8664 was formed. Though admittedly unconfirmed, a reliable source has publicly stated that Louisville entrepreneur Doug Cobb, founder of the Cobb Group, CEO of Appriss, and former GLI president, was impressed enough with other cities’ success in removing their waterfront expressways that he had the group travel to study them as possible best practice. The following GLI president also supposedly supported the expressway removal idea. Outside of speculation about Abramson’s and River Fields' influence, the group’s about face concerning local interstate initiatives remains largely unexplained.
Though Louisville, New Albany, and Jeffersonville governments have all ceded leadership to them, the Build the Bridges Coalition is a private organization and, like the DDC, has no public accountability even though its membership consists of several groups who receive public funding. Two of its founding organizational members have documented and/or reported histories that do not all match the group’s stated objectives, qualified professionals have publicly refuted factual claims made by the group but have received no response, information about decision making methodology has often been available only through legal challenges and the public has almost no input into the process at all.
Regardless of intentions, that’s the situation that One Southern Indiana helped exacerbate under Kerry Stemler’s leadership when they joined the Coalition and the one he continues to support in his capacity as an executive committee member.
Next time, we’ll begin looking at his published claims.
* a small portion of the above was paraphrased from the 8664 web site history section.
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Obama inauguration party at the Public House, January 20.
At the suggestion of longtime regular customer Dennis, NABC is going to accept moveon.org's offer to join the national celebration of Barack Obama's inauguration, to take place on Tuesday, January 20 at the Public House (prost room).
The working title is "NABC Public House Inauguration Bash New Albany," and the party will begin at 5:00 p.m.
While precise details are still being conjured, if you wish to be seated in Prost among the like minded, and in front of the flat screen, you can RSVP here.
Details are in the offing.
The working title is "NABC Public House Inauguration Bash New Albany," and the party will begin at 5:00 p.m.
While precise details are still being conjured, if you wish to be seated in Prost among the like minded, and in front of the flat screen, you can RSVP here.
Details are in the offing.
Our Gahanic Majesty's Bequest: How many days since this/any city council redistricted?
The answer, as of today, is 5,870 days (the most recent lawful ordinance was 12/17/92).
Sunday readers, I need a little help.
I'm working on a Tribune column about the city council's ongoing failure to redistrict (see Bluegill's thoughts below), and it would be helpful to have a definitive rendering of exactly how long it has been since any New Albany city council has complied with its own rulebook and carried out lawful redistricting hereabouts.
The number of days will become part of the column's title, and can be converted into a running daily digital count on the blog's front page. Think of it as the sum numerical total of accumulated unconstitutionality.
Bluegill brought all this back to my attention with this comment earlier today hre: Tribune's "2009 agenda for Floyd County."
Sunday readers, I need a little help.
I'm working on a Tribune column about the city council's ongoing failure to redistrict (see Bluegill's thoughts below), and it would be helpful to have a definitive rendering of exactly how long it has been since any New Albany city council has complied with its own rulebook and carried out lawful redistricting hereabouts.
The number of days will become part of the column's title, and can be converted into a running daily digital count on the blog's front page. Think of it as the sum numerical total of accumulated unconstitutionality.
Bluegill brought all this back to my attention with this comment earlier today hre: Tribune's "2009 agenda for Floyd County."
Kudos to the Tribune for publishing a very sensible agenda.
All the more baffling, then, that the City Council seems unable to produce an agenda of its own.
I would note also that waiting for the 2010 census would delay fair voting even more than what might be apparent. Results of that census won't be available until 2011, within a year of a municipal election, barring the Council from acting until after yet another unconstitutional vote was complete in 2012.
And that's exactly what Gahan, Coffey, Price, Benedetti, and McLaughlin, based on their voting records, want.
Tribune's "2009 agenda for Floyd County."
Memories can be deceptive, but in my lifetime of reading the Tribune, I can't recall a precedent for today's editorial page and its highly relevant "agenda" items, most of which have been staple items for discussion at NAC.
Explanatory excerpts and topic headings are listed below; follow the link to read the editorial board's thoughts in their entirety.
---
OUR OPINION: Tribune offers 2009 agenda for Floyd County
In 2009, we think the following events need to be pushed to the top of residents’ and elected officials’ agendas. They are listed in no particular order. Please spend some time with them and share your opinions with us and those we elected to represent us in public office.
Let’s get the master plan approved to show we’re serious.
Address the lack of space issue downtown — specifically the jail and the City-County Building.
Give area police and fire departments what they need to protect us.
The New Albany City Council needs to stop dragging its feet and redraw the districts to be legally compliant.
Break ground for a new wastewater treatment plant in the county.
Stop using economic development income tax funds to reduce sewer rates.
Continue cleaning up downtown and promoting it.
New Albany needs to cure its water woes — no public swimming pool and a lackluster riverfront.
Fix up our ‘front yards.’
Stop talking about correcting downtown New Albany traffic patterns and do it in 2009.
We hope you agree that these items merit your attention. Floyd County is filled with wonderful people with excellent ideas. We think if residents, elected officials and organizations work together as a team and stay focused on moving forward, we can succeed. But what do you think?
Our Opinion editorials are consensus viewpoints of the editorial board of The (New Albany) Tribune.
EDITORIAL BOARD >> Steve Kozarovich, publisher & executive editor; Chris Morris, region editor; Mary Tuttle, advertising manager.
Explanatory excerpts and topic headings are listed below; follow the link to read the editorial board's thoughts in their entirety.
---
OUR OPINION: Tribune offers 2009 agenda for Floyd County
In 2009, we think the following events need to be pushed to the top of residents’ and elected officials’ agendas. They are listed in no particular order. Please spend some time with them and share your opinions with us and those we elected to represent us in public office.
Let’s get the master plan approved to show we’re serious.
Address the lack of space issue downtown — specifically the jail and the City-County Building.
Give area police and fire departments what they need to protect us.
The New Albany City Council needs to stop dragging its feet and redraw the districts to be legally compliant.
Break ground for a new wastewater treatment plant in the county.
Stop using economic development income tax funds to reduce sewer rates.
Continue cleaning up downtown and promoting it.
New Albany needs to cure its water woes — no public swimming pool and a lackluster riverfront.
Fix up our ‘front yards.’
Stop talking about correcting downtown New Albany traffic patterns and do it in 2009.
We hope you agree that these items merit your attention. Floyd County is filled with wonderful people with excellent ideas. We think if residents, elected officials and organizations work together as a team and stay focused on moving forward, we can succeed. But what do you think?
Our Opinion editorials are consensus viewpoints of the editorial board of The (New Albany) Tribune.
EDITORIAL BOARD >> Steve Kozarovich, publisher & executive editor; Chris Morris, region editor; Mary Tuttle, advertising manager.
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Better late than never, so here’s my list of favorite 2008 albums.
The marvelous thing about being a music buff is that there’ll always be time later to pick up on the releases and groups that were neglected or omitted, Glasvegas and TV on the Radio among them. It’s also wonderful to know that whether I live three more years or thirty, it won’t be necessary to waste a moment’s time on the inanity of country music.
That’s right, so get used to it: I’m a rock-pop-oriented listener, and unapologetically mainstream.
No, I enjoy lots of jazz and classical, too. Sorry, but the “no depression” genre completely depresses me, and although snippets of Americana and roots music peep through (Polk Miller, anyone?), it isn’t very often.
My favorite local, live music of the year was at Fringe Fest. Thanks to John Campbell for arranging it, and I enjoyed each and every one.
Feel free to post your own choices. As I write, “Day & Age” by the Killers is playing. I doubt it would have made the list.
TOP TEN (IN ORDER)
Elbow – The Seldom Seen Kid
I knew nothing about this British group before April, and now I can’t get one line from the song, “Grounds for Divorce” out of my head: “Soon we will be drinking with the seldom seen kid.” There’s a novel in that one solitary quotation, and more where it came from.
Counting Crows – Saturday Nights & Sunday Mornings
Ever unfashionable group, and yet the “concept” moves me: The first half of the album chronicles how thoroughly you hate yourself for doing what it takes while on the prowl, and the other half how the behavior is even less excusable over hot coffee in the cold light of morning.
The Hold Steady – Stay Positive
Contending for “most listened to” disc of the year. Any songwriter who can use the words “subpoenaed” and “sequestered” in successive six-syllable, sing-along chorus lines deserves a vocabulary medal – and it makes sense. He “went there on business.”
Oasis – Dig Out Your Soul
Noisy guitars, the usual snarky attitude, Zak Starkey’s farewell on drums and ramped-up psychedelic ambience add up to only 60% of a classic album in spite of Noel Gallagher’s best songs in a decade, but that’s fine by me.
Coldplay – Viva La Vida
Let’s put it this way: In my world, “U2 soundalike” simply isn’t a pejorative.
Duffy – Rockferry
Welsh sprite with good pipes and an eerie Dusty Springfield vibe, whose atmospheric songs get played on television series promos far too often for my austere taste. I forgive her for it.
Johnny Dowd – A Drunkard’s Masterpiece
My soundtrack during transit to the beer fests during the month of May. A seamless montage of dysfunction, love, murder, betrayal and infidelity – but wait, isn’t he playing “Smoke on the Water” now?
Keane – Perfect Symmetry
Shameless, sugary melodic Brit-pop with meaningless verses and shimmering choruses that can be whistled in the shower. Doesn’t get any better than that. Another U2 opening act that I adore.
John Mellencamp –Life, Death, Love and Freedom
Love the man, and love the direction he’s been heading. Hint: Leftist, populist, bleak, and profoundly disturbed with the asinine legacy of W’s clueless exurban Amerika.
David Gilmour – Live in Gdansk
I’m only a casual Pink Floyd follower, and was not expecting to be enthralled by an album purchased primarily because of the Polish locale where the 2006 concert took place (the former Lenin Shipyards). But I was, and belatedly realize that Gilmour is a true giant.
HONORABLE MENTION (IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER)
Radiohead – In Rainbows
This merits an asterisk: The album was placed on my 2007 list, although it was technically released in the US on January 1, 2008, and it is placed here again only because we saw the band live for the first time ever in Indianapolis on my 48th birthday, August 3, and the performance was transcendent.
Def Leppard – Songs from the Sparkle Lounge
The group continues to tour and record, and there are quality components on display each time out. Toby Keith’s cameo on the first track is not among them.
Supergrass – Diamond Hoo-Hah
The Brit aggregation’s previous album, “Road to Rouen,” is an all-time fave of mine, and expectations were tempered, correctly, for this follow-up.
My Morning Jacket – Evil Urges
Granted, I don’t pay close enough attention, but where’d the Prince shtick come from? I love it.
Kings of Leon – Only by the Night
There’s something dangerous and spooky about these guys, and whatever it is, it’s growing on me. I liked the last album better, though, recalling how cool it was to listen while on serious painkillers following my shoulder surgery in ‘07.
REM – Accelerate
Had you forgotten what it’s like to devote multiple sessions to an REM album? Short, restorative, and providing future hope.
Lindsey Buckingham – Gift of Screws
He’s too eccentric to be included in the upper pantheon of creativity, even if fully deserving.
Goldfrapp – Seventh Tree
I’m told that the earlier releases bear less of the acid-trip madrigal influence. No complaints here. Dreamy, spacey, damned English.
The Feeling – Join with Us
Not an improvement over the group’s hook-laden debut. Jury’s out.
That’s right, so get used to it: I’m a rock-pop-oriented listener, and unapologetically mainstream.
No, I enjoy lots of jazz and classical, too. Sorry, but the “no depression” genre completely depresses me, and although snippets of Americana and roots music peep through (Polk Miller, anyone?), it isn’t very often.
My favorite local, live music of the year was at Fringe Fest. Thanks to John Campbell for arranging it, and I enjoyed each and every one.
Feel free to post your own choices. As I write, “Day & Age” by the Killers is playing. I doubt it would have made the list.
TOP TEN (IN ORDER)
Elbow – The Seldom Seen Kid
I knew nothing about this British group before April, and now I can’t get one line from the song, “Grounds for Divorce” out of my head: “Soon we will be drinking with the seldom seen kid.” There’s a novel in that one solitary quotation, and more where it came from.
Counting Crows – Saturday Nights & Sunday Mornings
Ever unfashionable group, and yet the “concept” moves me: The first half of the album chronicles how thoroughly you hate yourself for doing what it takes while on the prowl, and the other half how the behavior is even less excusable over hot coffee in the cold light of morning.
The Hold Steady – Stay Positive
Contending for “most listened to” disc of the year. Any songwriter who can use the words “subpoenaed” and “sequestered” in successive six-syllable, sing-along chorus lines deserves a vocabulary medal – and it makes sense. He “went there on business.”
Oasis – Dig Out Your Soul
Noisy guitars, the usual snarky attitude, Zak Starkey’s farewell on drums and ramped-up psychedelic ambience add up to only 60% of a classic album in spite of Noel Gallagher’s best songs in a decade, but that’s fine by me.
Coldplay – Viva La Vida
Let’s put it this way: In my world, “U2 soundalike” simply isn’t a pejorative.
Duffy – Rockferry
Welsh sprite with good pipes and an eerie Dusty Springfield vibe, whose atmospheric songs get played on television series promos far too often for my austere taste. I forgive her for it.
Johnny Dowd – A Drunkard’s Masterpiece
My soundtrack during transit to the beer fests during the month of May. A seamless montage of dysfunction, love, murder, betrayal and infidelity – but wait, isn’t he playing “Smoke on the Water” now?
Keane – Perfect Symmetry
Shameless, sugary melodic Brit-pop with meaningless verses and shimmering choruses that can be whistled in the shower. Doesn’t get any better than that. Another U2 opening act that I adore.
John Mellencamp –Life, Death, Love and Freedom
Love the man, and love the direction he’s been heading. Hint: Leftist, populist, bleak, and profoundly disturbed with the asinine legacy of W’s clueless exurban Amerika.
David Gilmour – Live in Gdansk
I’m only a casual Pink Floyd follower, and was not expecting to be enthralled by an album purchased primarily because of the Polish locale where the 2006 concert took place (the former Lenin Shipyards). But I was, and belatedly realize that Gilmour is a true giant.
HONORABLE MENTION (IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER)
Radiohead – In Rainbows
This merits an asterisk: The album was placed on my 2007 list, although it was technically released in the US on January 1, 2008, and it is placed here again only because we saw the band live for the first time ever in Indianapolis on my 48th birthday, August 3, and the performance was transcendent.
Def Leppard – Songs from the Sparkle Lounge
The group continues to tour and record, and there are quality components on display each time out. Toby Keith’s cameo on the first track is not among them.
Supergrass – Diamond Hoo-Hah
The Brit aggregation’s previous album, “Road to Rouen,” is an all-time fave of mine, and expectations were tempered, correctly, for this follow-up.
My Morning Jacket – Evil Urges
Granted, I don’t pay close enough attention, but where’d the Prince shtick come from? I love it.
Kings of Leon – Only by the Night
There’s something dangerous and spooky about these guys, and whatever it is, it’s growing on me. I liked the last album better, though, recalling how cool it was to listen while on serious painkillers following my shoulder surgery in ‘07.
REM – Accelerate
Had you forgotten what it’s like to devote multiple sessions to an REM album? Short, restorative, and providing future hope.
Lindsey Buckingham – Gift of Screws
He’s too eccentric to be included in the upper pantheon of creativity, even if fully deserving.
Goldfrapp – Seventh Tree
I’m told that the earlier releases bear less of the acid-trip madrigal influence. No complaints here. Dreamy, spacey, damned English.
The Feeling – Join with Us
Not an improvement over the group’s hook-laden debut. Jury’s out.
Upstairs at the (forthcoming) River City Winery.
Develop New Albany's most recent board meeting was held upstairs at the future River City Winery on Pearl Street. We all can see the marvelous restoration of the exterior facade, which the first photo above shows in its flooded 1937 appearance. Accompanying below are a few more views of the upper floor interior. Note that the large banquet/meeting room will be available for rental once the winery as a whole opens, which I'm told should be late winter or early spring. Speaking for myself, I can hardly wait.
Friday, January 09, 2009
Auto Pilot Only Works If a Course Is Plotted In.
Deep within the bowels of the ever elusive concept known as "code enforcement" we find a cluster f#@* of such asinine proportions as to make a classic military FUBAR look like a successful manned space flight to Mars.
At the very bottom of the heap is the Ordinance Enforcement Officer position that was created under Title XV, Section 150.040 of the New Albany Building Regulations.
By ordinance that person reports directly to the City Attorney. Which brings me to the question, do we have one of those yet (attorney, not enforcement officer)?
Next in line is the Building Commissioner, who under 150.020 is authorized and directed to administer and enforce all of the provisions of this subchapter (i.e.; Building Regulations).
Now here is where the confusion begins.
Under 150.023, the Building Commissioner shall be directly responsible to the Board of Public Works and Safety in the performance of his duties. I find this conflicting for at least two reasons.
First of all, under Title V of the New Albany Code entitled Public Works, the BOW’s responsibilities by ordinance deal with Garbage & Refuse, Sewers, Wastewater Treatment, Water, Drainage, Cemeteries, and Storm Water Management. I can find no mention to that body’s involvement in the structural aspect of buildings.
I do however find the following under Indiana Code 36-7, which outlines the office of Planning & Development: IC-36-7-2-9 states among other things that “Each unit shall require compliance with (1) the code of building laws and fire safety laws that are adopted in the rules of the fire prevention and building safety commission under IC-22-13.” These are referenced in the New Albany Code under 150.010 entitled Adoption of Regulations by Reference.
I’m reading by state statute that Planning & Development would be the Building Commissioners go-to entity for guidance on enforcing building codes. That is, if one follows the chain of command as prescribed by law.
Continuing on up the ladder the next official in line is the City Attorney (I’ve already asked the question haven’t I?) who once again under IC 36-4-9-12 shall among other things (2) “Prosecute violators of city ordinances.”
Then we finally get to the very top rung, and we find under IC-36-4 (City Executive) 5-3 Powers & Duties he shall (1) enforce the ordinances of the city and statutes of the state; (6) supervise subordinate officials; and (7) ensure efficient government of the city.
WOW! What a system! Anyone dare to venture a guess as to who’s on first and what the hell (if anything) is on second?
So far the best I can come up with is a quote from a classic Paul Newman movie: “What we have heah is a failuaa to communikate!”
I’ll stop for now, but stay tuned sports fans. We wouldn’t want the county government's role in this saga to go unexplored!
http://www.amlegal.com/nxt/gateway.dll/Indiana/newalb/cityofnewalbanyincodeofordinances?f=templates$fn=default.htm$3.0$vid=amlegal:newalbany_in
http://www.in.gov/legislative/ic/code/title36/
At the very bottom of the heap is the Ordinance Enforcement Officer position that was created under Title XV, Section 150.040 of the New Albany Building Regulations.
By ordinance that person reports directly to the City Attorney. Which brings me to the question, do we have one of those yet (attorney, not enforcement officer)?
Next in line is the Building Commissioner, who under 150.020 is authorized and directed to administer and enforce all of the provisions of this subchapter (i.e.; Building Regulations).
Now here is where the confusion begins.
Under 150.023, the Building Commissioner shall be directly responsible to the Board of Public Works and Safety in the performance of his duties. I find this conflicting for at least two reasons.
First of all, under Title V of the New Albany Code entitled Public Works, the BOW’s responsibilities by ordinance deal with Garbage & Refuse, Sewers, Wastewater Treatment, Water, Drainage, Cemeteries, and Storm Water Management. I can find no mention to that body’s involvement in the structural aspect of buildings.
I do however find the following under Indiana Code 36-7, which outlines the office of Planning & Development: IC-36-7-2-9 states among other things that “Each unit shall require compliance with (1) the code of building laws and fire safety laws that are adopted in the rules of the fire prevention and building safety commission under IC-22-13.” These are referenced in the New Albany Code under 150.010 entitled Adoption of Regulations by Reference.
I’m reading by state statute that Planning & Development would be the Building Commissioners go-to entity for guidance on enforcing building codes. That is, if one follows the chain of command as prescribed by law.
Continuing on up the ladder the next official in line is the City Attorney (I’ve already asked the question haven’t I?) who once again under IC 36-4-9-12 shall among other things (2) “Prosecute violators of city ordinances.”
Then we finally get to the very top rung, and we find under IC-36-4 (City Executive) 5-3 Powers & Duties he shall (1) enforce the ordinances of the city and statutes of the state; (6) supervise subordinate officials; and (7) ensure efficient government of the city.
WOW! What a system! Anyone dare to venture a guess as to who’s on first and what the hell (if anything) is on second?
So far the best I can come up with is a quote from a classic Paul Newman movie: “What we have heah is a failuaa to communikate!”
I’ll stop for now, but stay tuned sports fans. We wouldn’t want the county government's role in this saga to go unexplored!
http://www.amlegal.com/nxt/gateway.dll/Indiana/newalb/cityofnewalbanyincodeofordinances?f=templates$fn=default.htm$3.0$vid=amlegal:newalbany_in
http://www.in.gov/legislative/ic/code/title36/
Here's why it's funny ... or pathetic.
(backposting)
Before relaxing our grip on Dan Coffey’s New Year’s coronation, otherwise known as Monday’s city council meeting, a respectful but nuanced nod is due at-large councilman John Gonder, who took time during the PUB-OFF-COMM of the conclave to share a newspaper story about deaths in a tragic fire in Anderson, Indiana.
Apparently the fire was set by children playing with a cigarette lighter, and although the precise make and model of the lighter could not be gleaned from the media coverage, CM Gonder was moved to ruminate on the council’s much maligned “novelty lighter” ordinance of 2008.
He defended the council’s good intentions in approving the ordinance, observed that there had yet to be any discernable sign of enforcement stemming from it, and noted that if the ordinance was fated to be ignored, it would be better to remove it from the code book entirely.
Before I proceed, allow me to offer clarification. I continue to regard John Gonder and Jack Messer as my de facto council representatives, given the absence of diplomatic (or undiplomatic) recognition – or, for that matter, a pulse – from those representing the 3rd and 6th districts, these being my home and work areas, respectively.
Accordingly, I appreciate Gonder’s remarks on Monday, and remarkably, Gonder’s sincerity prompted a brief discussion of how the council might better monitor enforcement of the laws it passes, and perhaps more importantly, it led to another in a series of confessions from the city attorney to the effect that in the absence of time and money, such violations will have to be reported to his office, and will be investigated accordingly.
Somewhere, Jim "Gomer Pyle" Nabors’ ears are burning, but we’ll take what we can get, while hoping that indications of conscience are harbingers of better things to come. Later in the meeting, preliminary ordinance enforcement plans were previewed. Later in the week, a rumor went around to the effect that the city attorney would become full time. All well and good, assuming anything actually happens.
Now for the promised nuance.
Obviously, some members of the council remain in abject denial when it comes to the power of the symbolism attached to what they do … and don’t do, and in this context, CM Coffey’s Monday semantics about the importance of what doesn’t happen when it isn’t seen deserves placement in the dumpster, and fast.
In itself, a novelty lighter ordinance is perfectly rational and incontestably well-meaning, and yet it is unmistakably inconsequential in the larger legislative scheme of things. After all, kids were setting houses on fire with matches long before lighters were invented.
A novelty lighter ordinance becomes symbolic fodder for satire, and worthy of at least a slight measure of regular derision, when it can be clearly contrasted with an accompanying absence of sustained, quantifiable action in far more important areas.
Presenting the Gahan Gambit: Look, ma – following in the footsteps of our conniving council predecessors, we’ve once again refused our Constitutional duty to maintain fair legislative districts, but check it out: We’re protecting children from the evil Chinese!
I know, I know … when you have to explain the joke, it isn’t nearly as funny. The problem remains that more of “us” than “them” get it the message … if not the joke.
Before relaxing our grip on Dan Coffey’s New Year’s coronation, otherwise known as Monday’s city council meeting, a respectful but nuanced nod is due at-large councilman John Gonder, who took time during the PUB-OFF-COMM of the conclave to share a newspaper story about deaths in a tragic fire in Anderson, Indiana.
Apparently the fire was set by children playing with a cigarette lighter, and although the precise make and model of the lighter could not be gleaned from the media coverage, CM Gonder was moved to ruminate on the council’s much maligned “novelty lighter” ordinance of 2008.
He defended the council’s good intentions in approving the ordinance, observed that there had yet to be any discernable sign of enforcement stemming from it, and noted that if the ordinance was fated to be ignored, it would be better to remove it from the code book entirely.
Before I proceed, allow me to offer clarification. I continue to regard John Gonder and Jack Messer as my de facto council representatives, given the absence of diplomatic (or undiplomatic) recognition – or, for that matter, a pulse – from those representing the 3rd and 6th districts, these being my home and work areas, respectively.
Accordingly, I appreciate Gonder’s remarks on Monday, and remarkably, Gonder’s sincerity prompted a brief discussion of how the council might better monitor enforcement of the laws it passes, and perhaps more importantly, it led to another in a series of confessions from the city attorney to the effect that in the absence of time and money, such violations will have to be reported to his office, and will be investigated accordingly.
Somewhere, Jim "Gomer Pyle" Nabors’ ears are burning, but we’ll take what we can get, while hoping that indications of conscience are harbingers of better things to come. Later in the meeting, preliminary ordinance enforcement plans were previewed. Later in the week, a rumor went around to the effect that the city attorney would become full time. All well and good, assuming anything actually happens.
Now for the promised nuance.
Obviously, some members of the council remain in abject denial when it comes to the power of the symbolism attached to what they do … and don’t do, and in this context, CM Coffey’s Monday semantics about the importance of what doesn’t happen when it isn’t seen deserves placement in the dumpster, and fast.
In itself, a novelty lighter ordinance is perfectly rational and incontestably well-meaning, and yet it is unmistakably inconsequential in the larger legislative scheme of things. After all, kids were setting houses on fire with matches long before lighters were invented.
A novelty lighter ordinance becomes symbolic fodder for satire, and worthy of at least a slight measure of regular derision, when it can be clearly contrasted with an accompanying absence of sustained, quantifiable action in far more important areas.
Presenting the Gahan Gambit: Look, ma – following in the footsteps of our conniving council predecessors, we’ve once again refused our Constitutional duty to maintain fair legislative districts, but check it out: We’re protecting children from the evil Chinese!
I know, I know … when you have to explain the joke, it isn’t nearly as funny. The problem remains that more of “us” than “them” get it the message … if not the joke.
Thursday, January 08, 2009
"Beer Money" and a Bank Street Brewhouse progress report.
The first Tribune column is up today: Defeating the New Albany Syndrome.
In my mind, the columns bear the title of "Beer Money" even if they're not identified as such in the newspaper itself. This will be the title of the collection of essays that will be published when there's time. Like 2015.
There's little time because one of the best ways to defeat the New Albany Syndrome is to do something, and plenty is being done. Accordingly, there's another busy day ahead as we seem to be gaining speed toward the Bank Street Brewhouse's taproom opening.
Here's the weekly report.
As noted previously, it would appear that the bank's on board, and the financing package will be complete very soon following a few formalities.
Construction has resumed at the building, and because of it, we won't be able to stage the Benjamin Franklin birthday party and Old Lightning Rod rollout originally planned for January 17 inside the new site. Instead, we'll tap the beer like always at the original location in the 6th council district. Many thanks to Steve Resch for his patience as we have designed and configured the interior. The man is a saint.
Currently our team, informally called the Gang of Seven, is in place and immersed with all the pesky details required to open the doors. When all the biographical information for the team members is in place, I promise to share it with readers.
The ATC hearing comes on February 3, and we should be clear of the alcohol licensing hurdle after it concludes. The plan is to open at some point just after that, with the probability that it will be "soft" for a while, perhaps only lunch and Progressive Pint hours in the evening. We're still groping through it. The brewing system can be ordered when cash is in hand, and will take at least three months to fabricate, deliver and install, so until then, we'll be brewing on Plaza Drive and giving the pickup truck a workout.
There'll continue to be small-scale guerrilla marketing in Louisville and limited amounts of NABC beer to vend until the new system is up and running. We're buying more kegs, ramping up production as much as possible, and hoping for the best.
I recall the words of John Lennon: "People think I'm crazy/doing what I'm doing," and to be honest, there are times when I question the origin of the compulsion. But it's clear to me that the single best thing I (and NABC) can do for downtown -- for our community -- is make the new business a success, and help make the pie bigger. We're doing the right thing, and I believe we're doing it the right way.
Time to get to work.
In my mind, the columns bear the title of "Beer Money" even if they're not identified as such in the newspaper itself. This will be the title of the collection of essays that will be published when there's time. Like 2015.
There's little time because one of the best ways to defeat the New Albany Syndrome is to do something, and plenty is being done. Accordingly, there's another busy day ahead as we seem to be gaining speed toward the Bank Street Brewhouse's taproom opening.
Here's the weekly report.
As noted previously, it would appear that the bank's on board, and the financing package will be complete very soon following a few formalities.
Construction has resumed at the building, and because of it, we won't be able to stage the Benjamin Franklin birthday party and Old Lightning Rod rollout originally planned for January 17 inside the new site. Instead, we'll tap the beer like always at the original location in the 6th council district. Many thanks to Steve Resch for his patience as we have designed and configured the interior. The man is a saint.
Currently our team, informally called the Gang of Seven, is in place and immersed with all the pesky details required to open the doors. When all the biographical information for the team members is in place, I promise to share it with readers.
The ATC hearing comes on February 3, and we should be clear of the alcohol licensing hurdle after it concludes. The plan is to open at some point just after that, with the probability that it will be "soft" for a while, perhaps only lunch and Progressive Pint hours in the evening. We're still groping through it. The brewing system can be ordered when cash is in hand, and will take at least three months to fabricate, deliver and install, so until then, we'll be brewing on Plaza Drive and giving the pickup truck a workout.
There'll continue to be small-scale guerrilla marketing in Louisville and limited amounts of NABC beer to vend until the new system is up and running. We're buying more kegs, ramping up production as much as possible, and hoping for the best.
I recall the words of John Lennon: "People think I'm crazy/doing what I'm doing," and to be honest, there are times when I question the origin of the compulsion. But it's clear to me that the single best thing I (and NABC) can do for downtown -- for our community -- is make the new business a success, and help make the pie bigger. We're doing the right thing, and I believe we're doing it the right way.
Time to get to work.
Wednesday, January 07, 2009
El Capitán, Coach K, and the promise of funny hats.
I admit to having some initial doubts about the Tribune's cheering and jeering endeavor, but it's hard to argue when they get it right. With full knowledge that any of us may eventually end up on the wrong end of the raspberries, it's nice to see some thus far well-guided editorial action taking place where there wasn't much before.
Today, publisher Steve Kozarovich (or Coach K as I've decided to call him from now on) drops the beat on both NAC's own El Capitán and the City Council.
Roger will be doing a regular Thursday column:
And the Council has been doing the usual:
There's more at Cheers & Jeers, Jan. 7, 2009.
Roger may have more to say about it, but tomorrow is Thursday so buy a paper. If it's not any good, I'll show you how to make your very own pirate hat out of it. And don't worry, Capitán, I'm still working on the Bulgarian Navy uniform for you. That Trib photo will be classed up in no time.
Today, publisher Steve Kozarovich (or Coach K as I've decided to call him from now on) drops the beat on both NAC's own El Capitán and the City Council.
Roger will be doing a regular Thursday column:
CHEERS..... to New Albany’s Roger Baylor for accepting the commitment to write a weekly Opinions column that will appear in The Tribune on Thursdays. Baylor grew up in New Albany and is a local business owner and political critic. You won’t always agree with him. We may not even agree with him, but we believe all opinions are important to consider. Also, it’s not easy to open yourself up to scrutiny from the general public. We greatly appreciate that he is entering our regular rotation and sharing his thoughts in order to spur debate...
And the Council has been doing the usual:
JEERS..... to only one New Albany City Council candidate running for council president. When you only have one option, there’s not a lot of choice in the matter. It’s a big responsibility and the residents of New Albany will suffer because the one who stood up was Dan Coffey, an obstinate long-term member of the council who has had trouble with factual accuracy and joining the 21st century.
There's more at Cheers & Jeers, Jan. 7, 2009.
Roger may have more to say about it, but tomorrow is Thursday so buy a paper. If it's not any good, I'll show you how to make your very own pirate hat out of it. And don't worry, Capitán, I'm still working on the Bulgarian Navy uniform for you. That Trib photo will be classed up in no time.
60 minutes: Tee time in due time.
It didn't come from Gordy Gant, and it didn't come from Even Deeper Throat, but here it is, anyway.
A reliable source tells NAC that Steve LaDuke now has an extra hour each month to devote to dining, drinking and golf after being told by the mayor that he is out as a member of the Building Commission, with a replacement to be announced shortly.
LaDuke apparently has no objections to the shuffle. Did we mention that enjoyable extra hour?
The only part we can't verify is which mayor made the call.
A reliable source tells NAC that Steve LaDuke now has an extra hour each month to devote to dining, drinking and golf after being told by the mayor that he is out as a member of the Building Commission, with a replacement to be announced shortly.
LaDuke apparently has no objections to the shuffle. Did we mention that enjoyable extra hour?
The only part we can't verify is which mayor made the call.
Tuesday, January 06, 2009
2009 Weakness Exposition, Day 1.
It's well understood that Coffey's ascendancy to the council presidency is owed to two primary factors:
1. No one else on the council wanted a leadership role
and
2. Since a majority of the other council members have shown an unwillingness to stand against Coffey's often untruthful, always counterproductive grandstanding, they hope the presidency will tame him in a way that they've been unable to muster themselves, with Gahan's consistent cowering (as praised by Coffey last night and confirmed by other CMs and citizens elsewhere) being exhibit A.
Didn't the Tribune jeer specifically mention "reactionary tradition" and that "leadership is lacking"? Isn't this a textbook case?
Council members regularly complained throughout the previous year about both Coffey's taking over meetings and his pugnacious yet incompetent residency on the Redevelopment Commission. Their first step of 2009 was to ensure more of both.
Given that they individually passed on taking responsibility for reining Coffey for a solid year, does anyone actually believe, should it become necessary, that council members will suddenly convene to do so in the future?
As Coffey himself mentioned last night, sometimes the most telling changes are the ones you don't see. That's commonly true because they don't happen.
I'm sure they'd point to other things but, to more experienced eyes, perhaps the most important impact generated by freshman council members, at least some of whom surfed what was essentially an anti-Coffey/Gang of Four wave into office, was to ignorantly hand off any notion of leadership to the most seasoned obstructionist in the city.
If recent history is any indication, we can all expect a succession of private mea culpas in the coming year about how they wish they'd voted differently while never actually raising the point publicly as Coffey runs over them.
The thin blue council line is getting noticeably thicker. Unfortunately, the defensiveness and insular instincts already apparent in the first meeting of the year aren't the byproduct of risk taking or bold maneuvering but rather a more general insecurity associated with the inability to explain one's self.
Even if Coffey handles the presidency well, he was put there by fear, misgivings, and a lack of fortitude that lend themselves to cynicism about rather than trust in any future council decisions.
Ask any of the council members about the person best suited for the presidential role and I highly doubt that more than a couple, let alone a majority of them, would name Dan Coffey. And yet, he's their new president, solely because no one else would step up or speak out.
Is that how they define an accomplishment? If so, I hope they let us know soon. Otherwise, their count and the public's count may differ even more than last year.
1. No one else on the council wanted a leadership role
and
2. Since a majority of the other council members have shown an unwillingness to stand against Coffey's often untruthful, always counterproductive grandstanding, they hope the presidency will tame him in a way that they've been unable to muster themselves, with Gahan's consistent cowering (as praised by Coffey last night and confirmed by other CMs and citizens elsewhere) being exhibit A.
Didn't the Tribune jeer specifically mention "reactionary tradition" and that "leadership is lacking"? Isn't this a textbook case?
Council members regularly complained throughout the previous year about both Coffey's taking over meetings and his pugnacious yet incompetent residency on the Redevelopment Commission. Their first step of 2009 was to ensure more of both.
Given that they individually passed on taking responsibility for reining Coffey for a solid year, does anyone actually believe, should it become necessary, that council members will suddenly convene to do so in the future?
As Coffey himself mentioned last night, sometimes the most telling changes are the ones you don't see. That's commonly true because they don't happen.
I'm sure they'd point to other things but, to more experienced eyes, perhaps the most important impact generated by freshman council members, at least some of whom surfed what was essentially an anti-Coffey/Gang of Four wave into office, was to ignorantly hand off any notion of leadership to the most seasoned obstructionist in the city.
If recent history is any indication, we can all expect a succession of private mea culpas in the coming year about how they wish they'd voted differently while never actually raising the point publicly as Coffey runs over them.
The thin blue council line is getting noticeably thicker. Unfortunately, the defensiveness and insular instincts already apparent in the first meeting of the year aren't the byproduct of risk taking or bold maneuvering but rather a more general insecurity associated with the inability to explain one's self.
Even if Coffey handles the presidency well, he was put there by fear, misgivings, and a lack of fortitude that lend themselves to cynicism about rather than trust in any future council decisions.
Ask any of the council members about the person best suited for the presidential role and I highly doubt that more than a couple, let alone a majority of them, would name Dan Coffey. And yet, he's their new president, solely because no one else would step up or speak out.
Is that how they define an accomplishment? If so, I hope they let us know soon. Otherwise, their count and the public's count may differ even more than last year.
Leftovers and Cappuccino: More on Monday's council meeting.
The Tribune's Daniel Suddeath has filed his account of last evening's largely uneventful council conclave.
Suddeath ends his account with an overview of comments made by the deputy mayor, who addressed the topic of ordinance enforcement.
... (Dan) Coffey, who represents District 1, received a unanimous nod from the council Monday to be its president except for Councilman Jack Messer, who abstained from voting.Coffey had noted aloud that he and city clerk Marcey Wisman "went through" the list of positions and determined who was "most qualified" to serve, but like Lucy pulling back the football as Charlie Brown takes his steps to kick ...
Coffey was the lone member nominated for the position and was suggested by Councilman Pat McLaughlin. He replaced Councilman Jeff Gahan who said previously he didn’t want to be president in 2009.
Coffey appointed himself to the Plan Commission and will remain on the Redevelopment Commission with Councilwoman Diane McCartin Benedetti, who was also selected to be the council’s vice president by the body.So much for qualifications, seeing as though lengthy experience hath abundantly shown that Coffey officiously attached to anything vaguely resembling "planning" and "redevelopment" ranks just below the senselessness of the senior editor being selected to the College of Cardinals and taking up residence in the Vatican ... but so goes life (and ironic detachment) in the open air museum.
Suddeath ends his account with an overview of comments made by the deputy mayor, who addressed the topic of ordinance enforcement.
Deputy Mayor and Director of Community Development Carl Malysz promised the council more action in the next 30 days centralized to code enforcement.Follow the link above to read the remainder of the story, which includes Malysz's thoughts on the future of rental property registration.
Mayor Doug England plans to give the State of the City address at the Jan. 15 council meeting which will include parameters on code enforcement.
In the meantime, Malysz said the mayor is ready to fill the code enforcement officer position that will be funded by Community Development Block Grant money.
Gavel passed and triumphant Wizard on best behavior as council meets.
Hey -- NAC gets paid whether or not the council performs. In short, Monday was by the numbers, perhaps mercifully so, with the usual opening day pleasantries and promises to be on the same page.
A subdued Coffey ventured, "This is the best council I’ve sat on," and now, I suppose we'll all see. After the lessons of 2008, what passes for a progressive bloc within the current aggregation is having precious little to do with what undoubtedly is a progressive bloc in the city, which might serve as its natural ally. Consequently, it will be interesting to see how that circle is squared, although one thing is clear: Sit between them and the restroom when both groups are in Studio's, and watch how few of them visit the head.
But heck ... I'm just a cockeyed optimist.
Monday, January 05, 2009
Tonight: Council greets a new year with a change of command.
The agenda for tonight’s inaugural city council meeting of 2009 isn’t yet available on-line, but no matter … never mind.
We know that a new council president will be selected, and sources indicate that the Wizard of Westside is the only serious candidate to replace outgoing president Jeff Gahan. Folks, I’ve got 50 clams riding on this one, although don’t ask me to reveal my pick. Just remember: It's all about the money, assuming you know how to count.
And, there is ongoing suspense as we await Mayor England’s reactivation from the injured reserve list, and his much anticipated ordinance enforcement strategy, which will be debuted before the council at some point soon -- perhaps tonight, perhaps not.
Meanwhile, the Tribune editorial team has awarded a “jeer” to the city’s legislative body:
Huzzah!
Speaking of putting one’s own interests first, let’s sauté the bologna, ice the Coffey and celebrate the probable ascension of the first district's guardian angel to the president’s chair with a ritualistic nuzzling of the cherished gavel and this piece from the NAC archives, originally published back in 2005.
City Councilman Cappuccino speaks with NA Confidential.
See you tonight.
We know that a new council president will be selected, and sources indicate that the Wizard of Westside is the only serious candidate to replace outgoing president Jeff Gahan. Folks, I’ve got 50 clams riding on this one, although don’t ask me to reveal my pick. Just remember: It's all about the money, assuming you know how to count.
And, there is ongoing suspense as we await Mayor England’s reactivation from the injured reserve list, and his much anticipated ordinance enforcement strategy, which will be debuted before the council at some point soon -- perhaps tonight, perhaps not.
Meanwhile, the Tribune editorial team has awarded a “jeer” to the city’s legislative body:
JEERS .... to the New Albany City Council for continuing its reactionary tradition in 2008. Questionable decisions are a part of any elected body. We don’t expect to agree with every action — but take action. Our biggest disappointment with the council is its inability to make substantive change to help its residents. Decisions consistently appear to be made with little to no long-term vision and are mainly reactions to “fires” or the policing of nickels and dimes. The leadership is lacking and the creative solutions are next to nonexistent. For example, council members unanimously voted to fine business owners for selling novelty lighters, yet they begrudgingly voted against legally redistricting because it would impact their elected positions. So much for putting the city’s best interests first.
Huzzah!
Speaking of putting one’s own interests first, let’s sauté the bologna, ice the Coffey and celebrate the probable ascension of the first district's guardian angel to the president’s chair with a ritualistic nuzzling of the cherished gavel and this piece from the NAC archives, originally published back in 2005.
City Councilman Cappuccino speaks with NA Confidential.
See you tonight.
Sunday, January 04, 2009
Sunday newspaper delivery shuffle.
Our household subscription to the Sunday edition of the Courier-Journal is history. Louisville's once great, now perhaps irreparably degraded newspaper has been replaced by the New York Times, courtesy of Sunday home delivery.
We continue to subscribe to the Tribune on a daily basis.
Today's NYT includes another marvelous op-ed piece by Frank Rich. With regard to the impending departure of the current occupant, undoubtedly the worst president in American history, there's simply no such thing as piling on.
We continue to subscribe to the Tribune on a daily basis.
Today's NYT includes another marvelous op-ed piece by Frank Rich. With regard to the impending departure of the current occupant, undoubtedly the worst president in American history, there's simply no such thing as piling on.
A President Forgotten but Not Gone, by Frank Rich (New York Times).
The last NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll on Bush’s presidency found that 79 percent of Americans will not miss him after he leaves the White House. He is being forgotten already, even if he’s not yet gone. You start to pity him until you remember how vast the wreckage is. It stretches from the Middle East to Wall Street to Main Street and even into the heavens, which have been a safe haven for toxins under his passive stewardship. The discrepancy between the grandeur of the failure and the stature of the man is a puzzlement. We are still trying to compute it.
Saturday, January 03, 2009
Gahan to step aside as council president as Coffey buys a new bow tie.
On Monday evening, New Albany's city council will convene for its first meeting of 2009, and ...
The Green Mouse (and NAC's intrepid reporter, Gordy Gant) both say that there's only one council member interested in Gahan's seat: Dan "Wizard of Westside" Coffey, who ended 2008 with a sustained and uncharacteristic charm offensive.
Will he heed Gahan's alleged lead and be "reserved"?
How long will the self-restraint (if any) last when the first grandstanding opportunity approaches the plate, fat and hittable?
Is there a Bazooka Joe university diploma for tact somewhere, kept hidden away from public view?
Meanwhile, reporter Suddeath can't resist a gentle dig at the departing president's expense, but Gahan deftly sidesteps the prompt.
... The smoking ban — which was passed by the council and later vetoed by Mayor Doug England — was a huge topic in 2008, but Gahan said the council’s legacy should be remembered for other decisions that the public may have overlooked.
Indeed. One huge one that leaps to mind was Gahan's savage opposition to the fairest redistricting plan seen in this city in decades ... perhaps ever.
Funny, isn't it, that Gahan's aversion to the Constitution trumped his mandated reticence as president. Since Coffey, too, opposed redistricting (primarily because of "them people"), I suppose we'll not be seeing the council dot its duty this year, either.
Sad, but status quo in the open air museum.
Gahan won’t return as New Albany City Council president, by Daniel Suddeath (News and Tribune).
After serving three years as New Albany City Council president, Jeff Gahan plans to step aside Monday to make way for new blood.
“You have to be a little more reserved in the meetings with your own personal opinions and agendas, so the meetings will be run in a way that the rest of the council members are given ample opportunity to express their concerns,” Gahan said.
The Green Mouse (and NAC's intrepid reporter, Gordy Gant) both say that there's only one council member interested in Gahan's seat: Dan "Wizard of Westside" Coffey, who ended 2008 with a sustained and uncharacteristic charm offensive.
Will he heed Gahan's alleged lead and be "reserved"?
How long will the self-restraint (if any) last when the first grandstanding opportunity approaches the plate, fat and hittable?
Is there a Bazooka Joe university diploma for tact somewhere, kept hidden away from public view?
Meanwhile, reporter Suddeath can't resist a gentle dig at the departing president's expense, but Gahan deftly sidesteps the prompt.
... The smoking ban — which was passed by the council and later vetoed by Mayor Doug England — was a huge topic in 2008, but Gahan said the council’s legacy should be remembered for other decisions that the public may have overlooked.
Indeed. One huge one that leaps to mind was Gahan's savage opposition to the fairest redistricting plan seen in this city in decades ... perhaps ever.
Funny, isn't it, that Gahan's aversion to the Constitution trumped his mandated reticence as president. Since Coffey, too, opposed redistricting (primarily because of "them people"), I suppose we'll not be seeing the council dot its duty this year, either.
Sad, but status quo in the open air museum.
Friday, January 02, 2009
Why not use the buildings already there?
In Thursday’s edition of the Tribune, county commissioner Steve Bush ruminated on the $5.8 million appraisal of the Grant Line Road property that includes the downtrodden but nonetheless historic building that houses the county’s Youth Shelter.
His conclusion? Use the predominantly green property to build a new City County Building nearer to the Interstate.
Why? Because to do so would represent a future-oriented perspective.
Of course, comic relief was provided by county council kingpin Larry McAllister, who noted the absence of money, the hopelessness of the situation, and the dearth of any ideas on his part to remedy the situation.
Presumably these admissions of political impotence are designed to guarantee his re-election by way of assuring constituents that he'll work to keep them poor.
In today’s Courier-Journal, it is revealed that Clarksville’s town government has approached the owners of the recently vacated Value City on Eastern Boulevard with a mind toward flipping the town hall currently located off Veterans Parkway and redeveloping the shopping center area and its acres of unused concrete for use as the new town hall.
Granted, the situations aren’t entirely analogous; Veterans Parkway is an exurban blemish, but Clarksville has a more valuable hand to play as a result.
At the same time, with downtown New Albany properties available for adaptive reuse (even the old M. Fine factory building makes sense in this context), is abandoning the city center for increasingly rare suburban green space really a future-oriented perspective?
His conclusion? Use the predominantly green property to build a new City County Building nearer to the Interstate.
Why? Because to do so would represent a future-oriented perspective.
Of course, comic relief was provided by county council kingpin Larry McAllister, who noted the absence of money, the hopelessness of the situation, and the dearth of any ideas on his part to remedy the situation.
Presumably these admissions of political impotence are designed to guarantee his re-election by way of assuring constituents that he'll work to keep them poor.
In today’s Courier-Journal, it is revealed that Clarksville’s town government has approached the owners of the recently vacated Value City on Eastern Boulevard with a mind toward flipping the town hall currently located off Veterans Parkway and redeveloping the shopping center area and its acres of unused concrete for use as the new town hall.
Granted, the situations aren’t entirely analogous; Veterans Parkway is an exurban blemish, but Clarksville has a more valuable hand to play as a result.
At the same time, with downtown New Albany properties available for adaptive reuse (even the old M. Fine factory building makes sense in this context), is abandoning the city center for increasingly rare suburban green space really a future-oriented perspective?
Thursday, January 01, 2009
ROCK and roll over, at least when it comes to s*x.
After the last ROCK publicity campaign in December, I decided it might be useful to keep closer tabs on the local gestation of attacks on civil liberties and the advocacy of theocratic fascism, so I signed up for the organization's newsletter. When I receive troop-rallying announcements like the one below, complete with naughty words like "sex" expunged, I'll reprint them here, along with my standard rejoinder.
Exactly which culture are they so intent on reclaiming?
----
Happy New Year from the ROCK family to yours!
Friends,
As I sit back in the midst of this busy season and the accelerated pace ROCK is maintaining, I wanted to take a brief moment to reflect on 2008. It has been absolutely incredible. Literally thousands have joined ROCK in Kentucky, Indiana and across our nation. The momentum and the feeling that something special is happening is palpable in our office and hopefully for you too.
This past year, we were involved in keeping s*x businesses from opening, in creating strong ordinances protecting families and communities, and working with citizens and public officials across the region. We worked to educate parents and children on internet safety and to raise awareness about the harms associated with p*rnography for our communities, families and children. We had the first ever ROCK Concert which exceeded expectations! ROCK has defended our nation's heritage and our founding principles and is working to bring our nation's motto, In God We Trust, to Kentucky roadways. And it is because of that same trust and faith that we know ROCK has been blessed with so many successes in 2008.
ROCK would not be able to stand up for all that is good, right and decent without you - our partners collectively standing with one voice to forever change where we live. Thank you so much.
Looking ahead to 2009, it is already stacking up to be another wonderfully hectic year with more projects, initiatives and events to protect our children, families and communities. We will soon be launching our new website, a new email format, text messaging and a new printed quarterly newsletter.
ROCK needs you and others more than ever! I look forward to working with you as we impact our region for the future of our children and grandchildren.
Bryan Wickens, President
Exactly which culture are they so intent on reclaiming?
----
Happy New Year from the ROCK family to yours!
Friends,
As I sit back in the midst of this busy season and the accelerated pace ROCK is maintaining, I wanted to take a brief moment to reflect on 2008. It has been absolutely incredible. Literally thousands have joined ROCK in Kentucky, Indiana and across our nation. The momentum and the feeling that something special is happening is palpable in our office and hopefully for you too.
This past year, we were involved in keeping s*x businesses from opening, in creating strong ordinances protecting families and communities, and working with citizens and public officials across the region. We worked to educate parents and children on internet safety and to raise awareness about the harms associated with p*rnography for our communities, families and children. We had the first ever ROCK Concert which exceeded expectations! ROCK has defended our nation's heritage and our founding principles and is working to bring our nation's motto, In God We Trust, to Kentucky roadways. And it is because of that same trust and faith that we know ROCK has been blessed with so many successes in 2008.
ROCK would not be able to stand up for all that is good, right and decent without you - our partners collectively standing with one voice to forever change where we live. Thank you so much.
Looking ahead to 2009, it is already stacking up to be another wonderfully hectic year with more projects, initiatives and events to protect our children, families and communities. We will soon be launching our new website, a new email format, text messaging and a new printed quarterly newsletter.
ROCK needs you and others more than ever! I look forward to working with you as we impact our region for the future of our children and grandchildren.
Bryan Wickens, President
Couldn't help it.
Okay, so we're driving to the supermarket to get ingredients for my world-famous sauerkraut/mushroom/bean/smoked beer/doppelbock soup (there's no room left for the potatoes, so I'll have to dill them) when I see this marvelous sign at the stop 'n' rob on the southeast corner of Silver and Spring:
Acept food stamp
"Adept food stamp" would make more sense. I wonder why they only take one at a time?
Acept food stamp
"Adept food stamp" would make more sense. I wonder why they only take one at a time?
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