Couple of things
- Got to say, I'm not sure what to make of the bill that would enable residents of a city to de-annex their property. It says there are provisions that will prevent isolated pockets of non-city people, but this whole thing seems mighty weird.
- I think every six months or so Bob Bowen writes a letter about the three-laning of Hawthorne Avenue. There's a very simple reason why Hawthorne exists as a three-lane road now - logistics. It's incredibly narrow, and I can't even begin to fathom how that road could function, particularly between Atlanta Highway and Oglethorpe Avenue, as a four-lane road. I think there are a lot of things that need to be done on that corridor, primarily an extensive beautification project, but returning the road to a four-lane street isn't one of them ... and I'm saying this as one of those guys who does deal with that traffic every day.
- Actually having known people who attended the Georgia Democratic Party Convention and folks who worked with Jane Kidd during the election process has just solidified one of my newest beliefs ... that Bill Shipp is growing more and more out of touch.
- This story is kinda baffling for a variety of reasons. First, it seems partially absurd to me that either party would be offended by the other campaigning on congressional pay raises, particularly in the light of another campaigning on a minimum wage increase. Second, it seems absurd to me that the party that did campaign on not permitting increases was willing to permit any pay increase to go through. Third, it seems absurd to me that the party that wanted the COLA increase didn't flip it around against the opposition party and say something to the effect of 'they opposed yours for political reasons and now they oppose ours for political reasons.'
- Uh ... not that I'm completely opposed to having campus security carry handguns, but is anyone else troubled by this ..
- Adrian's talking about the closed-doors policy of purchasing land.
- There are things which are simply awesome, and then things which absolutely transcend awesomeness.
- I think every six months or so Bob Bowen writes a letter about the three-laning of Hawthorne Avenue. There's a very simple reason why Hawthorne exists as a three-lane road now - logistics. It's incredibly narrow, and I can't even begin to fathom how that road could function, particularly between Atlanta Highway and Oglethorpe Avenue, as a four-lane road. I think there are a lot of things that need to be done on that corridor, primarily an extensive beautification project, but returning the road to a four-lane street isn't one of them ... and I'm saying this as one of those guys who does deal with that traffic every day.
- Actually having known people who attended the Georgia Democratic Party Convention and folks who worked with Jane Kidd during the election process has just solidified one of my newest beliefs ... that Bill Shipp is growing more and more out of touch.
- This story is kinda baffling for a variety of reasons. First, it seems partially absurd to me that either party would be offended by the other campaigning on congressional pay raises, particularly in the light of another campaigning on a minimum wage increase. Second, it seems absurd to me that the party that did campaign on not permitting increases was willing to permit any pay increase to go through. Third, it seems absurd to me that the party that wanted the COLA increase didn't flip it around against the opposition party and say something to the effect of 'they opposed yours for political reasons and now they oppose ours for political reasons.'
- Uh ... not that I'm completely opposed to having campus security carry handguns, but is anyone else troubled by this ..
Campus security chiefs could use the handguns as a last resort and only after exhausting other lawful means of force, including verbal warnings, restraints, pepper spray and a baton.
....
The district has no plans to buy batons or spray, according to Frank Platt, the school district's police chief.
- Adrian's talking about the closed-doors policy of purchasing land.
- There are things which are simply awesome, and then things which absolutely transcend awesomeness.
posted by Jmac at 7:02 AM
7 Comments:
I’m not sure where I come down on this closed-door thing.
On the one hand, I will observe that the Commission has not always acted in a forthright manner when attempting to acquire private property, and believe that the process could benefit from public oversight. As I noted on my former campaign site:
“The Commission’s attempted condemnation of land for the East Athens Community Park resulted in a financial bloodbath for the county’s taxpayers. Although this process began in 1999, its related judicial proceedings extended into 2003. The county government tried to use its eminent domain powers to force a landowner to sell his property at a fraction of its fair market value. Instead, the Commission merely succeeded in racking up a series of expensive losses in the Clarke County Superior Court, the Georgia Court of Appeals and the Georgia Supreme Court. Rather than the $250,000 originally offered for the property, the county’s taxpayers had to pay the sum of $2.9 million, thereby depleting the funds that had been earmarked to construct and equip the park.”
Note that my ire was directed at the Commission in a corporate sense, not toward any particular individual (though some of the people involved in this fiasco are still in office and even more were until earlier this year). Also note that just because a government lawyer maintains a particular position, that position may not be upheld by the courts. The Commission has engaged in a number of ill-advised legal battles in recent memory, namely those involving condemnation of the land mentioned above, attempting a hostile takeover of the Hospital Authority, and the dual debacles of rental registration I and II. Additionally, I maintain that the Board of Education’s millage rate increase in 2004 was illegally approved by both the Board and the Commission (and I defy the attorneys of either, or the Department of Revenue for that matter, to offer a compelling legal explanation as to why I am wrong). Yes, I know that the job of an attorney is to defend his/her client’s position. That said, though, the Commission has shown a tendency to follow bad legal advice from whatever source (or ignore good legal advice as the case may be).
On the other hand, though, I recognize the point made in a recent Banner-Herald editorial:
“Certainly, there is a legitimate reason - one which clearly is in the public interest - for a local government to keep secret its interest in acquiring land. Obviously, if the county's mere interest in buying land was disclosed in public meetings, owners of property in the area of the contemplated purchase could command a premium price, given the county's openly stated need for the land.”
My recollection is that there was quite a bit of consternation last year about the “secrecy” of economic development incentives local governments can offer to private companies, specifically as regarded a proposed state law. For what it is worth, I felt that lots of folks, both inside and outside government, demagogued the issue. But do not the same reasons for the secrecy of local government land purchases hold true for such economic development incentives as well? As someone who has formal economic development experience and training, I can attest that private companies seeking industrial development incentives operate under the same need for secrecy as would any local government regarding a land purchase.
So, what to do?
So, JMac, what are you a little troubled by? That the school district is not planning to buy batons or pepper spray? So what? And if you're concerned about the use of force, lighten up. That is not out of line with our own rights and obligations as private citizens. Georgia does give the right to self defense, including the use of lethal force. Now if it said something like "security chiefs are allowed to use handguns as a first line of defense," THEN we'd have a problem.
Adrian, a couple of points ...
- I think, if you'll recall from previous discussions and this very one, I haven't openly opposed granting highly trained, professional security officers the right to carry handguns on campuses. One would agree that these individuals would exercise the most due restraint in dire circumstances, and you are correct in stating that this is not out of line with regard to how our current law enforcement system operates.
- From a purely logical pespective, when the school board says there are three to four options to employ prior to discharging the weapon and then, in the same breath, admit that two of those options are not going to be incorporated into their budgets and/or plans, then yes, I think one has a right to raise an eyebrow.
- Over the past few days you've done your darnedest to be a contrarian fella. It's kinda cute in a harmless puppy sorta way ... but you're just not that good at it. Just food for thought.
This whole blog is a harmless puppy.
Besides which, I thought that I was secure as the resident contrarian.
Bite your tongue! This blog is a fierce German Shepherd ... named 'King' with a spiked collar, a strikingly high intelligence level and a taste for Cajun food and cold beer.
And, James, we like to pass the 'contrarian' crown around a bit. Keeps everyone on their toes.
"Campus security chiefs could use the handguns as a last resort and only after exhausting other lawful means of force, including verbal warnings, restraints, pepper spray and a baton.
....
The district has no plans to buy batons or spray, according to Frank Platt, the school district's police chief.
Kind of sounds like the bureaucratic version of "I'm handing out lollipops and ass-whoopings, and I'm all out of lollipops."
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