Archive for December, 2008
Good Cops -Bad Cops
Wednesday, December 31st, 2008
We have pretty good cops around here.
For the most part.
Not a lot of ego problems.
Some, but not much.
Then there are bad cops.
A Belleville Police officer arrested a St. Charles man for wearing a t-shirt emblazoned with the word “POLICE.”
Now, Adam C. Weinstein, of St. Charles, has sued the department for what he calls a violation of his constitutional rights.
According to police documents, Weinstein was arrested in 2006 outside a bar in Belleville for “impersonating officers.” He was wearing a black t-shirt with the word police striped across the front and back under a sweater. The t-shirt became exposed when he removed the sweater because he was hot.
“Those t-shirts are a sign of solidarity,” said Howard A. Shalowitz, an attorney representing Weinstein. “How many people wear NYPD caps? Are they impersonating police?”
According to the lawsuit, a waitress told Weinstein that some police officers wanted to speak with him outside the bar. Weinstein went outside, he said, and was greeted by Belleville Police Officer Jeff Vernatti.
Vernatti, Weinstein alleges, asked him for his police credentials. Weinstein says he told the officer he didn’t have any credentials because he wasn’t a police officer.
That’s when, according to Weinstein, the police officer started screaming curse words and became physically and verbally abusive. Weinstein says he was cuffed and later released by the officer, but made to take the t-shirt off while standing in the cold.
Weinstein was ticketed for impersonating a police officer, but it was later dismissed. The ticket only alleges Weinstein wore the t-shirt.
January thaw is coming soon!
Wednesday, December 31st, 2008
After a few glancing blows yesterday’s storm was a direct hit … A solid foot.
The County Snowmobile trails open today.
That means in 10-14 days a January thaw is coming!
Can’t let those trails stay open too long.
Waterboarding Anyone?
Tuesday, December 30th, 2008
There is no penalty large enough for people who do not clean their sidewalks of ice … None!
South El Monte Continued…
Friday, December 19th, 2008
I have to admit I am fascinated by this story. Why is the Mayor of South El Monte spending so many late nights at City Hall working and should the Council stop her from working those hours?
“It’s my home away from home,” said Figueroa, who admits she’s often there until the wee hours doing city work. “I put on my slippers, put my hair up. It’s comfortable.”
No Mayor, that is weird. The story continues …
“The mayor has been living at City Hall for the last eight months,” said City Councilman Hector Delgado, who added of her office, “Does it look like a professional office or does it look like somebody’s bedroom?”
Figueroa says she spends most of her days in meetings, so she needs her evening hours to catch up on e-mail and paperwork. And she has to do that work at the office, she said, because she does not have a fax machine or a copier at home.
Figueroa, who frequently refers to herself in the third person, has been saying in recent days that she will try to comply with the wishes of her colleagues. But she makes no firm promises.
“The mayor’s work is never done,” Figueroa said. “The mayor’s got to burn the midnight oil.”
Burn baby burn?
I guess I haven't heard everything…
Thursday, December 18th, 2008
A couple days ago I wrote about the Mayor of South El Monte having a curfew instituted on her work time at City Hall. I ended that post saying there had to be more to the story … there just had to be.
This might be the end of it, but I doubt it.
South El Monte Councilman Hector Delgado sent this letter to the Tribune earlier this week. Among his accusations is that Mayor Blanca Figueroa lives in City Hall. Figueroa has denied this, saying that she has a home but has so much work to do that she needs City Hall to be open late.
Here is the letter:
I would like to take a moment to thank my colleagues on the South El Monte City Council for their support in establishing an “After Hours” policy on a 4-1 vote. The effort and thought that went into establishing this policy is reflective of the genuine concern to address the issue of safety and liability.
Our communities’ safety and tax payer money clearly outweighs a single person’s individual desires. I question the work that is allegedly being done by the Mayor at city hall after hours. I have repeatedly asked what work is being done at two or three in the morning by her. She has refused to answer me or any of my colleagues.
We as tax payers have a right to know what the Mayor is doing. I call on the Mayor to provide the entire council, city manager, and most importantly our residents written reports that account for the work she purportedly is doing and provide us an explanation as to why with a laptop, wireless card, cell phone, fax and copy machine she cannot do her work from her home.
The truth is the Mayor is living at City Hall. I invite any resident of South El Monte to come and see for them selves. Residents have every right to view our offices and know exactly what we are doing while we are at City Hall.
Lastly, I would like the Tribune to poll any elected official in the San Gabriel Valley, and ask them if they stay in their public offices until two or three in the morning several days a week.
Once again, I thank my colleagues, Mayor ProTem Louie Aguinaga, Council members Joseph Gonzales, and Angelica Garcia who understand that safety and liability clearly out weights the Mayors extraordinary accommodations.
Hector Delgado
Councilmember
City of South El Monte
Stay tuned if I learn more!
The joy of living in a small city
Wednesday, December 17th, 2008
No traffic jams. No standing in lines. On and on and on…
But when I read this … it really brings the joy of living in a small city into focus.
Michael Mills, a veteran health inspector in New York City, helps create a map of the city you won’t find in any guidebook: a rat map. That’s right, a map of the New York neighborhoods that rodent populations call home.
Today, rodent complaints by residents from all over New York are electronically pinpointed on the city’s computerized rat map, which allows inspectors to track complaints and hot spots over time and determine how well rat-control efforts are working.
I’ll take the occasional skunk in the yard any day.
Local Bloggers
Tuesday, December 16th, 2008
I recently came across a blog from Concord, CA … MayorofConcord.Com (Not Really).
This is a really good local political blog!
It was back in August of 1974 when I moved to Concord. I wasn’t there very long … couldn’t wait to get out of California … but Concord was home for a very short time.
If anyone is thinking about starting a new blog on their local political scene, this is a good model.
Now I've heard everything!
Monday, December 15th, 2008
Fed up with the nocturnal work habits of its mayor, a California city council has approved a curfew limiting how late she can work at City Hall.
South El Monte council members say they have safety and liability concerns for Mayor Blanca Figueroa, who frequently works until the wee hours of the morning. She must now leave the building by 11 p.m.
The mayor — a self-described night owl — calls the restriction petty. She says she needs to stay late because her daytime schedule is filled with meetings and her inbox is overflowing with letters from residents affected by the worsening economy.
That was all the story.
There has to be more to it.
There just has to be.
Mergers
Friday, December 12th, 2008
From the Wisconsin State Journal…
If you drive a straight shot from the state Capitol to Middleton, no fewer than seven police agencies could pull you over.
I’m all for enforcing traffic laws. But do we really need seven law enforcement jurisdictions covering one short stretch of road?
Of course not.
Imagine the savings for taxpayers if only one or two agencies patrolled the area. They could do a fine job of enforcing the law at less cost.
Now imagine if all of Wisconsin’s more than 3,100 local units of government did more to share services or merge with neighboring communities.
It wouldn’t fix our economy or solve the $5 billion state budget hole. Consolidation takes time to negotiate and save money.
Yet Wisconsin has been talking about consolidation for years now, with little progress. It’s time for real action in the face of a recession and cash-strapped public service budgets.
A bright spot last week came from two municipal organizations that serve and lobby for cities and villages, including Madison.
The League of Wisconsin Municipalities, representing 188 cities and 390 villages, announced it is consolidating its staff with the Wisconsin Alliance of Cities, which comprises 40 of the state’s bigger cities. Alliance spokesman Rich Eggleston said the savings will allow his group to cut dues by 25 percent next year.
“We should have the same amount of bang for fewer bucks,” Eggleston said.
If the umbrella groups for cities and villages can save money by consolidating, that’s a powerful reason for member cities and villages to combine functions, too. Few other states the size of Wisconsin have so many cities, villages, towns and counties as well as school, technical college and special-purpose districts.
Former GOP Gov. Scott McCallum forced more communities to consider mergers and other efficiencies in 2001 by threatening to end the state’s $1 billion revenue sharing program. But McCallum’s laudable effort fell flat after he offended local leaders by calling them “big spenders.”
Since McCallum left office, the number of governmental units in Wisconsin has only increased, according to the Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance and U.S. Census figures.
Everybody loves the concept of local control. But some of this “control” is an illusion. Locals get almost half their money from the state. So the state already calls a lot of the shots.
Two big stumbling blocks to local government mergers are union contracts and turf battles. But with the economy sinking, local governments owe it to property taxpayers to finally get serious about sharing more services to shave expenses.
Amen.
The price of corruption
Thursday, December 11th, 2008
A special election has a price tag for tax payers and county clerks are standing by to find out just how big it’s going to be.
Jackson County Clerk Jerry Reinhardt says the cheapest alternative is to combine the special Senate election with the municipal election already scheduled for April 7. That would cost Jackson County taxpayers about $5,000. He says a separate election could cost up to $50,000.
“We’re one of just 110 election jurisdictions in the state so you can imagine the state wide cost of a total special election,” Reinhardt said.
If each of those jurisdictions spent just $50,000 on the special election, the statewide price tag would be more than $9.25 million. But Reinhardt says he prides himself on keeping election costs low and in order to get the true expense, one would have to add up the costs county-by-county.
Cook County Clerk David Orr says an election in his county alone would cost $12 million. A spokesman for the state board of elections estimates it could be more than $30 million for the entire state to hold an election.
No matter what the cost, the Jackson County clerk says the money just isn’t there.
“There’s just not that much of a buffer in anyone’s budget,” Reinhardt said. “If the state doesn’t fund the cost for each local jurisdiction, it’s going to cost something…services, jobs. We can’t come up with forty of fifty thousand dollars within Jackson County government.”
The executive director of the Chicago-based watchdog group the Better Government Association says the cost is necessary to maintain the integrity of the process.
I hate to be the one to tell them … but Illinois has no integrity to maintain.