Not only does the city’s Department of Public Works spread salt when the streets are dry and there is no snow in the forecast, it also is leaving its excess salt in the middle of Story Parkway.
This big pile of road salt was dropped in the middle of Story Parkway just east of Mitchell Blvd.
C’mon, guys.
OK, so there is an advantage to walking the dogs at the ridiculous hour of 5 a.m.
Yes, it was stinky of County Executive and courthouse cockroach enabler Scott Walker to take a jet trip — financed by a developer — to Florida to address the Transportation Development Association’s of Wisconsin’s annual convention and to raise money for his gubernatorial campaign. (Walker, after he was busted, said he would reimburse the developer.)
It’s also stinky for the TDA to hold its convention in Florida in the first place. After all, TDA members generally are road builders who make their money at the various Wisconsin local and state public troughs. For a Wisconsin lobbying group to take its Wisconsin-earned money to spend in Orlando is more than a bit tacky. It does suggest a new slogan, though: “Wisconsin road builders: destroying neighborhoods up north so we can afford to party down south.”
The County Board now has its own radio show, “Inside the County Board,” on WISN (1130-AM).
The one-hour show will be on at 9 p.m. on the first Sunday of every month.
“Inside the County Board is intended to give listeners a more in-depth analysis of actions taken by County Supervisors,” according to the press release announcing the show.
What a load of crap that is. The County Board has not shown much interest at all in making routine public information available to the public in a timely and easily accessible manner. The Board still does not make resolutions and reports available online with committee agendas. The Board is the worst local unit of government at making public information easily accessible for anyone wanting an “in-depth” understanding of just what it is the County Board is voting on and what impacts those votes will have on the public.
County officials each year, year after year after year, promise that soon, soon, soon all the reports and resolutions that supervisors will consider will be posted in advance. Still, they aren’t. Meeting audio now is streamed, but without the documents being discussed, they can be really hard to follow. Same with the County Board meetings themselves.
It’s hard to believe the County Board show will be anything more than big spin: “We won’t provide you with the data, but we’ll tell you what it means.”
Early prison release, reality and partisanship
Thursday, February 25th, 2010You would think that the JS, given its tough, tough economic circumstances, would understand about other institutions facing tough, tough economic circumstances.
That is not the case, however, when it comes to the state’s early prisoner release program. There’s a non-story there, and the JS was all over it. The state is letting some non-violent offenders out of prison a month or two early.
Some of them — surprise! — re-offend.
Police Chief Edward Flynn complained to the paper that the state is increasing the city’s costs. The JS, journalistic watchdog that it is, does nothing to verify or investigate Flynn’s assertion — does the chief seriously believe that if these folks are held an extra month they won’t re-offend? That the city won’t be spending time and money re-arresting them?
The early release program is pretty much of a non-issue (at least until just one of the released inmates commits some heinous crime two weeks before his original release date — then political hay will be made until the cows come home to Wisconsin Avenue) blown out of proportion to create a faux scandal. If I were in Democratic Gov. Doyle’s administration, I would suspect the paper of having a partisan agenda.
Fortunately, in its totally even-handed manner, the paper carried, on the very same day, a total non-story about two State Department of Justice press releases. Republican J. B. Van Hollen’s shop borrowed wording from other agencies’ press releases about cases they worked together.
Stop the presses! Nothing amiss here!
Gee, think the paper has ever taken a few paragraphs from press releases?
That’s it for now. I must go out and, like the paper, shovel it.
Posted in Commentary, Journal Sentinel, State Government, media | 2 Comments »