In the Race

Franklin Common Council Meeting Item G3 07/22/08

2008-07-25T03:55:00Z

At the Franklin Common Council meeting this past Tuesday, our senior citizens filled the audience. When agenda items are of great concern to the seniors, I've got to applaud them in being organized and getting out in droves. And not only do they attend the meetings, they stand up and speak their minds.

For some reason there seemed to be a "rumor" circulating among the seniors that funds would be reduced for them because Item G3...City of Franklin's Community Development Block Grant projects for 2009 and reallocation of unspent, prior years funds was on the agenda. Therefore, many seniors spoke during the Citizen Comment Period. The majority of those speaking were from the regular senior group; those who participate in the Walking Program, etc. They all had very nice comments as to why they felt money should be allocated to their group, and not reduced. I heard a lot of those who say they benefited from the monies...but I only heard about one who gives back; a man spoke of a senior female who volunteers in the school district. That doesn't mean that there aren't those seniors volunteering...I know there are...and I hope there are many.

But, there is another group of seniors in Franklin who need aid. A group we do not hear from as they are not able to come to meetings on their own. Some were brought to this meeting to speak out. They came in support of the Southwest Interfaith Outreach Program.

I have a series of Podcasts regarding Item G3 tonight.

First, two Citizen Comments regarding Southwest Interfaith program.

The first is from the director, explaining the program and why they need funding; followed by a citizen of Franklin who benefits from the program. She is visually impaired and had a very heartfelt comment.

After that, a Podcast with Mark Luberda...who while giving his proposal to the Common Council for item G3, determines that Southwest Interfaith is not as important as the regular senior group. HUD is imposing cuts...and the regular group has a "history."

It is my opinion that Mr. Luberda needs to get more in touch with the citizens of Franklin before he makes these decisions. I'm really happy Southwest Interfaith showed up to the Common Council meeting. One reason is because Kristen Wilhelm was able to hear them speak. Her Podcast follows Mr. Luberda's, followed by Alderman Sohn's.

The decision? The entire Council determined that some of the monies originally meant to go the the regular senior group would go to Southwest Interfaith. The right move.

Listen to the Podcasts HERE

If you are ever tired of giving to the larger charities...and want to give to one that supports local residents, you've just found one. And they need personal help too, such as drivers.

Southwest Interfaith Outreach Program.

Tough Love?

2008-07-24T16:51:00Z

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger

Holy Cow!

I don't know who will pay the price if this happens...

The Governor? Only those stalling on the budget? All of them?

Because all state employees will suffer from the pay cuts...and they won't forget at election time.

"Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is considering an order that would slash the paychecks of hundreds of thousands of state workers to the federal minimum wage until the state budget impasse is resolved.

The workers would be entitled to recover the difference between their salaries and the minimum wage - $6.55 an hour - once the state enacts a budget and appropriates the money, under an executive order that the governor's office has drafted and that he is considering signing next week.

But the delay would help the state through an immediate cash crunch, as well as add pressure to legislators who failed to resolve their differences and pass a budget, as required, by the July 1 start of the fiscal year.

[...]

"We are not pawns. We are living breathing human being with mortgages, kids in school and car payments," said Jim Zamora, a spokesman for Service Employees International Union, Local 1000, which represents 95,000 state workers. "They're playing this multibillion-dollar game of chicken, but they're taking it out on us."

I'd say that will be one way to get the ball rolling on the budget process...

Read the full article HERE

Ethics Board? We Don’t Need No Stink’n Ethics Board…

2008-07-24T11:58:35Z

Why bother having one when you can do what Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) did and file an official ethics grievance against himself.

That's right...against himself!

Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) on Wednesday will formally ask the House ethics committee to investigate allegations that he misused his congressional office.

Aides to the powerful chairman of the Ways and Means Committee were putting finishing touches on the letter Tuesday night, according to Rangel spokesman Emile Milne.

“We’re crossing the T’s and dotting the I’s,” Milne said. “We expect to have it signed this evening [by Rangel] and ready for delivery tomorrow morning.”

[...]

House rules require the ethics committee to initiate an investigation if a sitting House member files a formal complaint with the panel. Fearing political retribution, members rarely file complaints against each other, and ethics experts say they have never heard of a lawmaker filing a complaint against himself.

In an angry press conference last week, Rangel said he had asked staff how to write the complaint. He also attacked a Washington Post story about Rangel’s efforts to raise money for a New York City college center in Harlem bearing his name. The article alleged that Rangel had broken House ethics rules barring the use of congressional letterhead for financial solicitations.

Rangel said he didn’t believe he had violated any ethics rules and thought the ethics committee would agree with him. Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) last week said she supported his request for a probe.

Rangel to file complaint against self — first official grievance since 2004

Wow! Pretty cool, huh?

That would be like Alderman Sohns filing a complaint against himself for parading select Franklin bloggers' property tax records in front of the Common Council at a public meeting.

There was nothing illegal about it...but it was a pretty (I'll be kind) not very nice thing to do.

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Ever have the urge to be a guest blogger?

Now’s your chance × here

Franklin Common Council Item G5 07/22/08

2008-07-24T02:48:00Z

I attended the Common Council meeting yesterday, Tuesday, July 22^nd.

Several interesting items were on the agenda. I’m going to present those items through short podcasts, in no particular order, and as I have time to go through the tape.

I’ll be starting tonight with Item G5, which was:

Resolution accepting Declaration of Restrictions, Covenants and Easements for Sendik’s West, 5320-5430 W. Rawson Avenue.

This discussion began with Alderman Wilhelm bringing to the attention of the Council and the Mayor that the Development Agreement was a mess. She had meticulously gone through it and, in the end, this item is being sent back to City Staff to be corrected

The first podcast is Alderman Wilhelm discussing her findings.

The second podcast is an email from Greg Devorkin to Mayor Taylor, explaining what he is responsible for regarding landscaping and maintenance, etc.

One last note, at the last few meetings it has been noticed that the equipment in the Common Council meeting room is on the fritz. Two meetings in a row the camera that allows you to view documents on television screens wasn’t working, but that has been repaired. And now the last two meetings, the microphones haven’t been working properly.

It would be nice to have all Common Council meetings done as a webcast. New Berlin does it with their School Board meetings. This is something I suggested tonight at our Franklin School Board meeting. Wishful thinking, I know….but it wasn’t that long ago that I remember viewing our School Board meetings on Public Access T.V. We’ve gone backwards.

Listen to Podcasts HERE

We know why they got them...but why remove them?

2008-07-23T17:01:36Z

More research….this time about tattoos.

A simple study and obvious finding. More women remove tattoos than men. But the next question is why? Why do they, after wanting them in the first place, feel the need to remove them?

Before I read the article I thought about it for a minute. I don’t have a tattoo, but it wasn’t hard to imagine that if I did, at my age why would I want one removed. Let’s see…

I thought I’d make it a nice one…I like flowers…If I had a tattoo of a rose (that’s common) on my shoulder, at age 40, would I still want it?

I’m trying to be open minded …when I was younger I used to dress differently… always had my shoulders showing….I guess that’s when someone would want to flaunt a tattoo (that wouldn’t have been me). Now, at my age, I can’t imagine having been at my child’s wedding all dressed up with a rose tattoo on my shoulder. I can’t imagine a 50 year old sitting in a church dressed formally that way. I would be embarrassed.

So I read the article.

“Most of them decided to have tattoos at their ages from 16 to 23 and decided to remove them at their ages of 30.About 44% of tattoo wearers said they wanted to feel unique, this is why they decided to have tattoos, 33% wanted to feel independent, 28% said it is a way for life experiences to 'stand out'. To the question on why they decided to remove tattoos 57% answered that it causes embarrassment, 38% said they feel that body image is lowered because of body art, 37% had problems while choosing clothing, 25% said that feel shame, 21% did it because of a special occasion, such as marriage.”

I guess I pinpointed that pretty well. I don’t think you needed a study for this one.

But you can read about it here.

The Easiest Thing To Do Is To Blame Everyone Else

2008-07-23T11:40:00Z

You hear a lot about families with troubled kids. Kids dropping out of school, joining up with gangs, doing violent crimes. Eventually someone gets hurt or someone gets killed. Then blame is handed out. There is always a lot of blame. It isn’t very often that the blame takes a full circle and comes back to the parents, though. Usually the parents are blaming everyone else instead.

In Cleveland, Ohio there is a small group of woman who are on the streets trying to be moms. That’s because they’ve lost their real children…killed on the streets. Instead of taking the easy way out and blaming everyone else, they are taking the responsibility. They know their sons were "tearing up the community." They’re telling people it’s time “to take the blinders off.”

These mothers are working against youth violence in Cleveland

I Like A Man In A Uniform...

2008-07-22T22:44:00Z

But…

While I certainly have nothing against a kilt, nothing at all, mind you…I believe it has its time and place.

I believe kilts do belong on this Irish pipe band

And also, on this fine Scotsman

And especially on the Prince of Wales

But, there is no way that I want to open my door or drive down the street and see this

Do you????

Pull 'Em Up

2008-07-22T16:51:00Z

Sometimes I drive out towards 27th Street and go past a home that has a lawn that gets mowed by a teenager. There have been times I wished I had my camera with me because I swear I would stop and take the guy's picture and put it up here for you to see. He actually mows the lawn with his pants down below his rear end...his entire butt hanging out, with boxers showing. I can't understand how he is doing it. Pushing the lawn mower up and down the slight hill when he can barely walk. I wonder if it is his way of getting back at his parents for making him mow the lawn...saying "I'll show you, if you're going to make me mow the lawn, I'm going to do it looking like this"...and he literally makes an ass of himself (in my opinion anyway).

Well, this fashion trend...pants hanging below the butt...I don't understand it, but I'm not meant to understand everything.

Many cities across the country are passing ordinances against wearing pants that way...and I'm not sure how they are getting those laws passed, but they are. New York, Flint, and Chicago are among them.

MARCIN SZCZEPANSKI/DFP
Flint Police Chief David Dicks pats down a man who was stopped
Monday in Flint for his sagging pants.

The man was warned and released.
Dicks said his officers would start arresting people wearing saggy pants that
expose skivvies, boxer shorts or bare bottoms

It's The Law: No sagging pants in Chicago

Are your Jeans Sagging? Go Directly To Jail

Me, Myself and I

2008-07-22T11:50:00Z

What makes those who are locked away believe they have the same rights as those who are on the outside? As I finish writing that statement I realize how sad it is in this case...a double edged sword.

Josef Fritzel is the 73 year old Austrian man who is in jail awaiting trial for keeping his daughter prisoner in the cellar for 24 years. While there, he raped her and fathered seven children. Three of the children had never seen the light of day.

This man is pure evil. And he is now locked up and afraid he will be harmed…and he should be afraid.

But get this…the poor guy (I don’t mean that) is a little upset. He’s demanding to be let outside for breaks. He’s going stir-crazy being locked up. All he cares about is himself.

Fritzel has got one 19 year old daughter, who he fathered with his daughter who was kept prisoner, who is dying from organ failure.

I wish there was such a thing as being sentenced to life in a cellar with no windows....

Watch…he’ll plead insanity.

Josef Fritzel Going Stir Crazy In Cell í here

How Would You Feel About A Smoking Ban In Franklin? Updated

2008-07-22T00:35:00Z

One Franklin resident was vocal at the last Common Council meeting regarding the fact that he believes Franklin should impose a smoking ban.

Hear what Casper Green had to say here ×

You may agree with Mr. Green, but think seriously about this.

How many places of business are we willing to have lose business if we implement a smoking ban?

We all know the businesses that will be hurt the most are bars.

Right now, I admit, I don't enjoy going into a restaurant and sitting next to a smoker while I am eating. But if that's the way I feel, I can eat somewhere else if I don't like it.

Here are some examples of what is going on in the state...

"It's been two weeks since smokers in Eau Claire had to snuff out. So far the Tavern League say no formal complaints have been filed at City Hall and the City County Health Department hasn't issued any citations. But this is a tale of two bars… in two cities.

"Business is down about 23 percent," says Tina Wesner, a bartender at the Five O’clock Club

"We've seen a large increase in business," says Brad Windeshausen, the owner of Whiskey Dicks.

Whiskey Dicks and the Five O'clock Club: They're only a few blocks apart, but owners say they're business is heading in opposite directors."

Two Weeks Later: What Bars Are Saying About The Smoking Ban 07/14/08

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Residents wanted to talk about a workplace smoking ban in Chippewa Falls and a proposed sand mine in Chippewa County. But the Chippewa Falls City Council took no action on either topic Tuesday night.

The council did approve the minutes of last Thursday’s city Transportation Committee, which oversees public safety issues. But that committee took no action on the smoking issue.

An Eau Claire tavern owner, Julie Johnson, said a smoking ban that took effect July 1 has had a drastic effect on business at the 5 O’Clock Club. The tavern on Fenwick Avenue is across the street from Altoona, which allows smoking in taverns.

“Our business as of this weekend has gone down 25 percent. And it’s only going to go down further,” Johnson predicted."

Chippewa Falls Council Takes No Action On Smoking 07/15/08

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Village of Weston is one step closer to a smoking ban in restaurants.

Taxpayers had their say in a village-wide survey.

About 700 residents responded.

Weston Village Administrator Dean Zuleger tells WFXS the results show that the majority of people say they want a ban at indoor public places, like offices and restaurants.

Smoking Ban Survey Result: Majority Want Restaurant Smoking Ban, But ot Bars 7/16/08

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So, until if, and when there is a state smoking ban, certain restaurants and bars will continue to lose business.

And if the entire state does implement a smoking ban in the future?

What next? What next legal activity should we have the government interfere with?

I'm sure it won't be too hard to think of something.

How's Your Hip Action?

2008-07-21T16:55:00Z

Mine? Not so good...not when it comes to mastering the the Hula Hoop, anyway.

Can you Hula Hoop?

"The hula hoop marks its 50th anniversary this year, and its popularity is still going strong."

I don’t know that I could master it now if I couldn’t before, but there are a lot of people who are giving it a try, and they are loving it.

Right…I rank that up there with baton twirling…another thing I could never do.

I was more of a stilts and pogo stick kind of girl….

Read the story from the Boston Globe

Hula Hoops Have Come Full Circle ×

View the Hula Hoop Photo Gallery ×

Hula hoop moment from Circus Smirkus performance 2006

A Message From Franklin Common Council President Re: UDO

2008-07-21T11:35:00Z

On Tuesday night I am introducing a modification to the City's Unified Development Ordinance (UDO). What I am trying to accomplish is to make the Common Council more ACCOUNTABLE in how our City is ultimately going to look. The change that I am recommending is to the City's site plan approval process. Currently a developments site plan approval, (architecture, parking, landscaping, etc.), never goes before the Common Council. It is brought before the Plan Commission and approved or denied. In my first three months in office there have been a few cases where my hands were tied and I was not allowed to make any changes or improvements. I have a real problem with this.

In April I went before the voters and asked that they give me the opportunity to make Franklin a better place. However, our UDO prevents me from determining how our city looks. Currently I am being held ACCOUNTABLE but City policy does not give me the tools to accomplish my constituent’s desires. I would like to be held ACCOUNTABLE and I want this responsibility to rest on my shoulders. Therefore, my proposal still sends the site plan to the Plan Commission and they will make a RECOMMENDATION to the Common Council for final approval. I still want our fine Plan Commissioners to handle all of the heavy lifting, but I want the Common Council to have ability to fine-tune it. I am privileged to have been given this opportunity to serve and I would like to be able to make sure that your vision gets adopted. Ultimately, this is YOUR city and it is Your Voice that should be heard.

Please feel free to contact me on this issue.

Steve F Taylor

Common Council President

No Bread and Water for You!

2008-07-20T22:32:00Z

Duane Keiser

So, there’s a reason we feed our prisoners better that a simple diet of bread and water. Maybe that’s all some of them deserve…especially those who murder, or those who harm children, or those who deal drugs. But we treat prisoners better.

Let’s keep a better eye on the underweight ones now, too.

Yahoo News/AP í here

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Ever have the urge to be a guest blogger?

Now’s your chance × here

Autism Speaks...Savage Freaks

2008-07-20T06:34:00Z

Summary: On his nationally syndicated radio show, Michael Savage claimed that autism is "[a] fraud, a racket. ... I'll tell you what autism is. In 99 percent of the cases, it's a brat who hasn't been told to cut the act out. That's what autism is. What do you mean they scream and they're silent? They don't have a father around to tell them, 'Don't act like a moron. You'll get nowhere in life. Stop acting like a putz. Straighten up. Act like a man. Don't sit there crying and screaming, idiot.' "

Click here to read more     ×

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“Autism is a complex neurobiological disorder that typically lasts throughout a person's lifetime. It is part of a group of disorders known as autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Today, 1 in 150 individuals is diagnosed with autism, making it more common than pediatric cancer, diabetes, and AIDS combined. It occurs in all racial, ethnic, and social groups and is four times more likely to strike boys than girls. Autism impairs a person's ability to communicate and relate to others. It is also associated with rigid routines and repetitive behaviors, such as obsessively arranging objects or following very specific routines. Symptoms can range from very mild to quite severe.

Autism was first identified in 1943 by Dr. Leo Kanner of Johns Hopkins Hospital. At the same time, a German scientist, Dr. Hans Asperger, described a milder form of the disorder that is now known as Asperger Syndrome. These two disorders are listed in the DSM IV (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) as two of the five developmental disorders that fall under the autism spectrum disorders. The others are Rett Syndrome, PDD NOS (Pervasive Developmental Disorder), and Childhood Disintegrative Disorder. All of these disorders are characterized by varying degrees of impairment in communication skills and social abilities, and also by repetitive behaviors.”

Read more at Autism Speaks   ×

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I suppose I have pity for someone as ignorant as Michael Savage. He can't possibly have any real knowledge of the disability of autism. I wonder if he has knowledge of any learning disabilities. He doesn't realize how fortunate he is to be able to communicate with other people.

Maybe Savage spends too much time behind a microphone. Perhaps he needs to get out into the "general public" more often to see what people are all about. He's lost touch with reality. 1 out of 150 children has autism and it is real. I think Savage may have lost a few listeners. Let's hope so.

Please...Contact WTMJ to voice your concerns about Michael Savage

620 WTMJ AM Milwaukee ×

H/T: Sprawled Out ~ John Michlig

Garbage Is A Girl's Best Best Friend...For Diamonds

2008-07-20T02:09:00Z

She calls it a miracle….

Well, maybe if I had $20,000 socked away into a pair of diamond earrings I could think of miracles in terms of material things.

And I can’t imagine I would be so careless with a pair of $20,000 earrings, either. But I guess you don’t know how you would be with luxuries like that until you have them.

I bet she wasn’t feeling too luxurious when she was sifting through the city dump looking for those gems, now was she?

A miracle? I call it lady luck.

Jeweler Somehow Finds Her 3-Carat Gems At Fresh Kills × here

"How I Spent My Summer Vacation" Challenge

2008-07-19T18:10:00Z

I’m holding a challenge.

I know there are many of you who would love to be a blogger on MyCommunityNow but are afraid to take the step. So now is your chance to get your little toe wet.

Write me your best summer vacation memory…past or present. Write it as a blog the way you would like to read it if one of the bloggers was writing it. It can be a funny experience, exciting, touching, whatever you want.

Write it in Arial font in 11 point. Attach one picture if you like (in a proper image size, please). Email it to me here . Please indicate if you would like your real name posted with your “blog” if it is chosen to be posted, or your comment name (please include that - your email information will remain private).

Start today if you like…deadline is Saturday, July 26^th at midnight.

Here’s what will happen. From all entries submitted, I will choose my favorite five. One will be posted each day August 4^th through the 8^th. Based on reader comments combined with my favorite, one of you will be chosen by me to write a guest blog on a topic of your choice (blog must follow NOW guidelines and I reserve the right for final approval). My decision is final.

So what are you waiting for? I know at least five of you out there would like to write a blog.

Entertain us with your best summer vacation experience. Who knows, maybe you'll decide to be the next NOW blogger after this experience.

My challenge is open to readers from all Communities.

Good luck!

No Matter How You Feel About The War...

2008-07-19T11:30:00Z

This soldier's story is worthwhile...

"Finding Inspiration In Tears Of Joy"

"This is a different Iraq than the one I left two years ago in so many ways. I am constantly surprised this trip when something subtle points to such an obvious change. It is often only much later that you recognize the measure of what you have witnessed and often it’s the absence of things such as explosions and small arms fire in the distance that point to the progress having been made.

Then there are times when the change hits you across the forehead like a 2x4. Yesterday I found inspiration in the tears of joy on hundreds of faces at the graduation for the Iraqi Military Academy at Rustimiyah as 252 young men graduated from the one year course of instruction and were commissioned as 2nd Lieutenants in the Iraqi Army and Air Force.

From the moment we arrived [....] ÃFinish the story here

All Clear! SPLAT

2008-07-18T16:42:46Z

Holy tomatoes…the all clear has been given.

What was thought to be bad is now good!

"As of today, FDA officials believe that consumers may now enjoy all types of fresh tomatoes available without concern of becoming infected with salmonella Saintpaul," the outbreak strain.”

Read the story from My Way

So it is now safe to indulge in all types of tomato activity….

Dip your hot dog in homemade catsup.

Coat those ribs in homemade BBQ sauce.

Put a giant slice of beefsteak tomato on your burger.

Make your favorite pasta sauce out of Roma tomatoes.

Or…try this….

Two gangs fight by help of 10 tons of rotten tomatoes. 1st price is a keg of lager ...

Note: Certain hot peppers are still on the Beware list

A Beer That's Just Peachy

2008-07-18T11:40:00Z

Sam Calagione (Founder/President of Dogfish Head), and next to him
is Rob Tod (Founder of Allagash Brewing).

I found my summer beer of choice for this year thanks to my son and daughter-in-law, who were visiting from Colorado over July 4^th.

They make their own beer, but went out to pick up a few different types while they were visiting. One that they brought home was just right for a hot summer day.

If you’ve ever eaten a ripe peach but ate the fruit around the “pit” you may have noticed it is more of a sweet/sour flavor. Dogfish Head makes Festina Peche, and it reminded me of that fruit around the peach pit.

Festina Peche

Availability: Summer
Release Date: June 1st each year

A refreshing neo-BerlinerWeisse fermented with honest-to-goodness peaches to (get this!) 4.5% abv!
Because extreme beers don't have to be extremely boozy! Available in 4-pack and draft during the sweaty months.Sadly, there are only two breweries left in Berlin still brewing the BerlinerWeisse style which is characterized by its intense tartness. There were once over 70 breweries in Berlin alone making this beer! In addition to fermentation with an ale yeast, Berliner Weisse is traditionally fermented with lactic cultures to produce its acidic or green apple-like character. It is delicately hopped with a pale straw color and served as an aperitif or summertime quencher. To soften the intense sourness, Berliner Weisse is traditionally served with a dash of essence of woodruff or raspberry syrup.

In our Festinal Peche since the natural peach sugars are eaten by the yeast, the fruit complexity is woven into both the aroma and the taste of the beer so there is no need to doctor it with woodruff or raspberry syrup - open and enjoy!

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It's got to be served ice cold and forget the bottle...you need it in a glass to enjoy the beauty of it..a Pilsner is perfect.

And Woodman's has a HUGE beer selection.

Dogfish Head Craft Brew Ales

Going Down, Please

2008-07-17T22:30:51Z

So it’s the third day with oil prices tumbling…yes, I said it, tumbling below $130 a barrel…in over a month. A year ago that would have been an inconceivable thought. Right now I’ll go with it.

Since July 4th natural gas prices are down 20 percent and just since Monday, oil prices have dropped 10 percent cheaper a barrel.

Whoo-hoo!

So is this a trend?

Or just something temporary?

We’ll have to wait and see, now won’t we?

But we can enjoy it for the weekend.

Read one story at MSNBC å here

But you’ll be hearing more about this for awhile.

By Adam Schreck