Pueblog USa
Monday, November 09, 2009
Why the ‘Y’ Isn’t Serving Pueblo
Or, the chickens ARE coming home to ‘roost’.
Another item in Saturday’s Chieftain. This one about the perception that the YMCA isn’t REALLY serving all of Pueblo as it claimed it would during the run up to the decision by the City Council to subsidize their project.
I have a simple question for the Y….
Where they say….
Terry Lockwood, president and CEO of the Y, notes that the organization provides scholarships for kids who cannot afford Y membership. No requests for scholarships have been rejected, he said, and requests for them have risen by 20 percent since the new complex opened.
....I’d like to know how many such scholarships have been issued, compared to requests and to number of under-privileged children in Pueblo that would benefit from such.
Also, I seem to recall comments that the Y would be providing bus service to facilitate children on the East side getting to their new campus. I’d like to know the status on THAT service, too.
Wednesday, November 04, 2009
And the Decision IS…..
....NO MAYOR!!!
People in Pueblo are slow to accept change. Cautious is probably a better word for it.
And whereas the people who advocated for a ‘strong mayor’ think that it was their being out-spent by the opposition camp, I have my doubts. Rather, I think the people of Pueblo were thinking along the lines of that old proverb….
Happier with the ‘devil’ they know than with the one they don’t know.
And, as is always said, “The ‘devil’ is in the details.” And the people of Pueblo were totally unfamiliar with the details of how either a ‘strong mayor’ or a ‘weak mayor’ would work out. In the first place. The ‘strong mayor’ camp didn’t really provide evidence enough to convince the people their plan was a good one. Nor did they do a good job of countering the arguments of the ‘no mayor’ camp.
As for the ‘weak mayor’. Nobody gave that camp much opportunity to express their arguments. Especially the Pueblo Chieftain which did not include them in the debate at PCC.
There are many more reasons to why this came down the way it did. And I invite the advocates of the ‘strong mayor’ camp to express their opinions about that in the comments section of this thread. Click on the word “Comments” in the box, below.
Monday, November 02, 2009
Mail-In Voter Fraud, Anyone?
They’re anticipating it in New Jersey tomorrow.
Let US hope it’s not as bad here as we suspect it will be there.
Sunday, November 01, 2009
What To Do about Pueblo
Thoughts on the problems of our City.
Up front, I’m not voting for the ‘Strong Mayor’ in this Tuesday’s referendum.
I don’t think having a strong mayor will solve the current problems we experience in Pueblo.
And I commented as much in reply to a one-over-the-world e-mail from one of the advocates of such a change in our city government.
We got into a discussion in a back-and-forth exchange via e-mails. But I thought this discussion should be brought out into the open, the better to educate others on what is going wrong in our city and allow them more information with which to reach the best possible decision.
I realize that many people have made up their minds already, lacking more information, and have sent in their ‘mail-in’ ballots. But nevertheless, here is the discussion….
Thoughts on Public Discussion
A Less Than Satisfactory Experience on the Web
As promised to someone in the media, here is an item on the bane of censorship on civil discourse in the media.
Friday, October 30, 2009
Your Federal Government at ‘Work’ — 091030
If ONLY they’d come up to the third millennium.
So, yesterday, the latest version of Congress’ House of Representatives bill for health care reform hit the proverbial ‘floor’. All 1990 pages of it.
And yet, the Government Printing Office and the Library of Congress, the fine people who are supposed to provide information on what a bill looks like STILL don’t have it available for US folk here in the ‘fly-over country’.
The text of H.R.3962 has not yet been received from GPO.
This is, in my honestly held opinion, ‘stupid’. This is the 21st Century people. One HOUR after the bill hit the floor of the House of Representatives, the Library of Congress should have had it available to the Government Printing Office for the rest of US to see. And I have to wonder if these people are still using manual typewriters.
Also, for those wondering WHY I think this an issue for Pueblo….
....look around you at all the retirees living here. Myself included.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
As I Was Saying….
....about those mail-in ballots…..
....I wonder if we’ll see see this sort of thing right here in River City…..
This year, New Jersey’s registered voters can request a mail-in ballot for any reason. (Before 2005, voters needed to provide a reason for why they needed an absentee ballot.) The state received about 150,000 absentee-ballot applications this year.
On about 2,300 of those applications so far, the signature on the request form does not match the signature on the voter’s registration forms with the state.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Dining with the ‘Kids’
A great lunch and maybe a lot more.
The distaff invited me to dine with her over lunch yesterday. A place called GPA.
Not your usual diner in Pueblo. Rather, a place where people who are SERIOUS about cooking go to learn and practice the craft. Or maybe it is better described as an ‘art form’.
Good food has been a passion of mine since I came out of that ‘spa’ the Army operates, a.k.a., the Ranger Course. Nowadays, after that particular ‘diet plan’, I pay close attention to food. Maybe TOO ‘close’. But I do appreciate a great dish. And I have to tell you that these people at the Pueblo Community College Culinary program are learning a LOT of great things. Indeed, after the Steel City Diner shut down….much to my dismay….these people are close contenders for the best dining experience in town. AND THEY’RE JUST LEARNING!!!
Look at this for lunch….
And THAT’S just ‘looking’. The flavor was EXCELLENT!
And THEN….
...there was desert as well.
And that for only $5 per place setting.
Tom Rose….
....does an excellent job instructing these aspiring chefs in how to make the best impression.
I highly recommend anyone wanting a top-quality lunch to consider going to the GPA to enjoy themselves and give these students an opportunity to refine their skills in pleasing their customers.
UPDATE: GPA is open for lunch, T-F, 11:30 am to 1:00 pm and for dinner on Wednesdays at 6:00 pm, during Spring and Fall semesters. Reservations recommended for dinner. 549-3326 for reservations.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Recycling In Pueblo
An interesting ‘engagement’.
Yesterday, I had an interesting exchange with a lady, I’ll refer to as M———. It was over the matter of recycling in Pueblo. It may well have boiled down to a matter of misunderstanding—something all too common amongst speakers of the English language. However, it may also be something more insidious in nature. It’s hard to say….
Monday, September 21, 2009
The Pueblo Sales Dilemma
If you want it, you can’t buy it in Pueblo.
At least that’s MY personal experience with purchasing things in town of late. I mean anything more than bread, eggs, gasoline, toilet paper, etc., etc., etc.
More and more I find that things I need are either not available in town or they are over-priced.
And the city wonders at THIS…..
Sales tax is the Pueblo city government’s biggest source of revenue and the city’s August tax report brought more bad news for City Council - revenue was down 8 percent when compared with the same month last year.
That marks the eighth month in a row that sales tax receipts were lower than in 2008, unwelcome news as the city prepares to adopt a 2010 budget to cover next year’s operations. Currently the city is reporting a total decline in revenue of more than 7 percent for the year thus far.—Article in Pueblo Chieftain
The point being that more and more people are turning to the web in order to make purchases. And here’s something that came out today….
Fifteen years after Jeffrey P. Bezos founded the company [Amazon.Com] as an online bookstore, Amazon is set to cross a significant threshold. Sometime later this year, if current trends continue, worldwide sales of media products – the books, movies, and music that Amazon started with – will be surpassed by sales of other merchandise on the site. (That already occurred this year in its North American business.) In other words, in an increasingly digital age, Amazon is quickly becoming the world’s general store.—Article cited @ Instapundit
I have to admit that I do a LOT of purchasing on-line. Why? Because I can’t FIND what I need in Pueblo. Other than light bulbs, fresh veggies, toilet paper and such. And even the light bulbs may have to be purchased over the internet if this fiasco about CFL’s continues.
Why is this happening?
You Can’t Find It In Pueblo
That includes not being able to find a high-tech, programmable, blue-tooth mouse. I tried to find such here. I looked all over. Even the most well-stocked store for business electronics didn’t have it. They DID have several racks of the same product, which didn’t meet my needs. And it was a rather ‘slow-moving’ product too. Why their corporate HQ thinks they need to be ‘overstocked’ on such a product while not carrying other products is a mystery. And that’s happened MORE THAN ONCE and in more stores of different venues than that. To include mens clothing, as in suits. Have to go to C’Springs to get a good suit I like.
Where does the sales tax revenue come from if people have to go out of town to buy what they need?
The retailers in town are digging a hole for themselves. It will become a grave. Not only for their business activities, but also for public activities of the government.
And the answer is not to tax sales made on the internet. That would only exacerbate the problem. Why? Because whereas the city would benefit from relief, the local businesses would STILL be going down the hole to oblivion. And THAT would mean even MORE trouble for the city.
What IS the answer?
Maybe the local businesses ought to get more competitive.
Seriously…..why should I pay $138+ for something from a local retail outfit when I can get it for half that price (including shipping and handling) if I buy it over the internet?
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Stupidity (Part 1)
Looking at the idea of a Mayor in Pueblo.
One of my favorite citations is….
Stupidity got us into this mess. Why can’t it get us out?
I think a lot upon ‘stupidity’. I come across it nearly every day on the web. And when you encounter it THAT much, there’s plenty of it to go around. I encounter it so often I’ve developed what I call a ‘working definition’ of how to recognize it when I see it. Here it is….
Stupid, adj., Ignorant and proud of it.
The point here being that I consider stupid behavior in people as when they are ignorant of facts and are so proud of their ignorance that they refuse to examine a situation or proposal with an open mind, i.e., gathering all the important facts on the matter, before making a decision. And/or unable to relate the facts to the situation or proposal in a logical manner.
Case in point….
At the public forum on the proposed health care reform, I asked one of the supporters of HR 3200 if they’d even READ the legislation. To which they replied, “I don’t care.”
Got that? They don’t care enough about the matter to take the time necessary to read the legislation that will impact them, their parents and their possible children.
Classic ‘stupid’, by my definition.
So….
....we’re looking at the idea of changing the City Charter. It isn’t the first time we looked at doing that vis-a-vis a mayor. Won’t be the last.
What does this have to do with ‘stupid’?
Well…..
....I’m trying NOT to be ‘stupid’ and asking various parties in this discussion to show me the ‘advantages’ and ‘disadvantages’ of their proposals.
On the one hand we’ve got the CALM group with their proposal for a ‘strong mayor’.
On the other hand, we’ve got the City Council appointed Blue Ribbon Panel and their proposal for a ‘weak mayor’.
On the THIRD hand, we have today’s editorial in the Chieftain and it’s support of the ‘status quo’.
NONE of these have provided, as far as I can tell, a compare and contrast evaluation of the ‘advantages’ and ‘disadvantages’ of each of the three options.
With out this sort of information, we’re looking at another GREAT OPPORTUNITY to do something truly ‘stupid’.
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Now That You Mention It — 090910
The Chieftain fires a ‘Warning Shot’?
Seems that a couple of weeks ago, the Chieftain ran an interesting editorial item from a source that, to the best of my knowledge, they’d never called upon before. This after a couple of posts I made on this blog wherein I took their ‘journalistic qualities’ to task.
I made those posts in order to provide what I call ‘counter-spin’ to the articles that had been written about two events I attended.
I’ve held off on replying to their more recent item until I’d consulted with some others. And having done that, I’ve decided it was time to call out the Chieftain once again.
Why do I do this?
Because it is essential for a free country to have ALL the facts of a matter. Not just one-sided ‘spin’ on matters of importance. Otherwise, that saying by President James Madison….
A popular government without popular information, or the means of acquiring it, is but a prologue to a farce or a tragedy, or perhaps both. Knowledge will forever govern ignorance, and a people who mean to be their own governors must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives.
....will come to pass.
So, here is my reply to their ‘editorial’.....
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Those Damn Dams
Remembrances and Thoughts on Some Damming Business.
Frank Starginer passed away last week. He was quite the man in town. Some people loved him. Some people didn’t think so highly of him. I wish I’d had the time to pick his highly informative brain and record all I could from him. He was so full of information that we need. And now….most of it is lost to us.
One of Frank’s pet ‘peeves’—he had a number of important ones—was the safety of Pueblo from the possibility of a failure of the Pueblo Lake dam. I’ve heard him talk on it a number of times. As I’m sure a number of others have as well. Many to the point of despair. However, what he said about the potential for disaster may have been more accurate than most people would care to think.
I say this based on two incidents. One from a year ago. Another just today.
A year ago, I attended the Colorado Federation of Garden Clubs, Southern District Annual Meeting. There the guest speaker was talking about water issues for southern Colorado. I happened to be seated at the table with the gentleman and somehow….I don’t know exactly how….the discussion came around to water control mechanisms, e.g., dams. During the conversation, he mentioned that about 50% of the dams in Colorado were below ‘par’, i.e., not up to ‘snuff’, for their requirements. This prompted me to remember Frank’s comments about dam safety. Especially the Pueblo Reservoir dam.
Today, I found THIS on the web.
Now I have to wonder about the safety of Pueblo again.
If Frank were here and heard about this, I’m certain he would have been at the next 2010 Commission meeting raising (1) his hand and (2) cain.
[Hero: n., One who is never appreciated until he is no longer around.]
Thursday, March 05, 2009
Back to Politics — BRPoCG - 3
How we got here? How we’re organized?
More views of the on-going Blue Ribbon Panel on City Government (BRPoCG).
The week before meeting focused on a presentation of how the Pueblo city government got to be the way it is configured today.
In my professional opinion, something about being a retired Army officer with some experience in giving information briefings, it could have been done better. There were no visual materials other than a copy of the City Charter for reference. The presenter had his copy marked with post-it notes to help him quickly flip to a particular page.
Furthermore, there was no organizational charting to show the different forms that the city government took, let alone the various departments therein and who they reported to. This, I think, is an important aspect of understanding what the city organization looks like. Not everyone is as ‘textually’ oriented as the presenter apparently was. Some people are more ‘visually’ oriented, i.e., they understand a complex topic better with diagrams and pictures.
One example would be the Board of Water Works. When and why did this utility get separated from the city? Another example is the electricity utility. Colorado Springs has that utility inside its government. Additionally, consider Englewood. They have a ‘concrete’ utility that deals with the development and maintenance of sidewalks, curbs and gutters.
These are ALL aspects of the city government that should be looked into. If not having to do with a mayoral form of government, certainly have a significant impact on how the government functions, mayor or no.
It is my considered opinion that the panel was poorly served by this presentation. And, for their sake, I hope they get better information on how we got to this current organization, as it will likely impact on where we go with the question at hand.
The more I look at this. The more I believe that a City Charter Convention is going to be required to address the form of city government Pueblo adopts and other important aspects of how the government functions.
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Back to Politics — BRPoCG - 2
Additional thoughts on the first meeting of the Blue Ribbon Panel of City Government (BRPoCG).
Maybe I should have said, “In a day or two,” instead of “later today”. I was OBE (Overcome By Events) after posting that initial item of similar title. At any rate, here is an additional thought on the initial meeting of the BRPoCG.
There was mention that the panel might want to hear from the Right Honorable Mayor of Denver, Colorado, John Hickenlooper.
I’m not sure WHY someone thinks this might be a good idea, other than the fact that Denver is the largest city in Colorado. But Denver is an ‘odd bird’ in terms of governance. Why? Because Denver’s government combines both city AND county government into one entity. They are not like Pueblo where the city and county government are separate. So whatever he would have to say would not bear too much on whatever form of government Pueblo might want to adopt. It is impossible for the city and county of Pueblo to be united into one entity. This is especially true with the other metropolitan districts in the county, i.e., Beulah, Rye, Colorado City, Pueblo West. Each of them has their own identity and governance and I have doubts that they’d like to join with the city of Pueblo in a monolithic system. They would likely look upon Pueblo having an overwhelming say in their local governance as Puebloans would look upon Denver telling it’s citizens how to deal with their fireplaces or using augmented mobility fuels and get their auto emissions checked.
So why this interest in Hickenlooper? Why not get a mayor of a city who has a similar situation as we have here in Pueblo city-county to speak?