Amazing Hurricane Sandy Photo

Now thats a lot of sand where its not supposed to be.

Some Early Morning Links:

Good morning!  Just some early morning news links for ya:

-One is apparently Leah Farris has hired herself a lawyer.  The News & Tribune has the here.

-The second is my good buddy Oracle is back!

-Lastly my post from last night.  Didnt like the fact that I had to write.  But I actually think it might have been some of my best work.

This Is An Embarrassment On The City.

This is embarrassing for the city. 

Sorry.  I know that may make a few a you mad and I really do try not to do that here.  But there is no way around this.  And it has to be said now.  I've held off typing these words, but it can wait no longer.  Mike Moore has forced my hand.

Today it was hinted at on the chatter in thread that the "Q" quickly shut down, and then later reported by the big Gman himself over at gawnews.  The mayor tried to replace the recently departed Leah Farris with Amy Huffman-Branham of the News & Tribune. 

Now lets just get it out in the open.  His entire time in office there has been rumors about him and someone at the News & Tribune.  Whether the rumors are true or not, they are out there.  EVERYWHERE!  I never once read the rumors on the Internet.  And the first time I heard the rumors, it came from someone completely non-political.  And I've heard many times since.  That fact is that whether people believe the rumors or not they are there.  Whether you like Mike Moore or not, you know that the rumors are there.  So unless Mike Moore has been living under a rock, and he certainly has not been (maybe at his mothers house, but that neither here nor there) then he has to know these rumors exist.  At the very least someone in his administration has to have at least told him because he should know.  So in no way will you get me to believe that Mike Moore has no idea about these rumors.

Now knowing these rumors, he still goes and gets information on whether her hiring would be approved.  ARE YOU KIDDING ME?  The man is either completely delusional or is off in la-la land.  My God man.  The first ten months have been nothing but a fiasco.  One controversial act or public mis-step after another.  And you want to do this?

fYou are no longer just an average citizen.  You are the mayor of our city.  You represent some 45,000 individuals.  You reflect directly on each and everyone of us.  Think with your head. (don't say it) 

Lets say for the sake of argument that he saw transfer of the communications director as an attack on him.  Then he decides that he wants someone with press experience since the com. director's main duty is talking to the press.  A more experienced person can spin it better for him.  I've got no problem with that part.  I really don't.  It would be a tough pill for Farris to swallow, but I could understand it from a political point of view. 

But we do not live in a vacuum.  Our everyday lives are heavily influenced by the environment around us.  And he has to accept the environment around him.  I don't care if this woman was going to do the job for a dollar a year and was the managing editor of the New York Times.  If the rumors are swirling around like they are, YOU CAN NOT HIRE HER!

This is either an act of extreme arrogance or extreme ignorance.

And either way, it is an embarrassment on the city and its citizens.

Wind Advisory For Jeffersonville!

UPDATE:  WAVE 3 IS REPORTING THAT THERE ARE ALREADY A FEW POWER OUTAGES IN THE AREA.

From the National Weather Service:

...GUSTY WINDS ARE EXPECTED THE REGION FROM LATE THIS AFTERNOON
THROUGH TUESDAY EVENING...

.A VERY POWERFUL...IF NOT HISTORIC...STORM SYSTEM WILL PUSH INTO
SOUTHERN NEW ENGLAND LATER TODAY AND THEN MOVE WESTWARD INTO THE
NORTHERN MID-ATLANTIC STATES. AS THIS STORM SYSTEM PUSHES
WEST...THE PRESSURE GRADIENT ACROSS KENTUCKY AND SOUTHERN INDIANA
WILL INCREASE DRAMATICALLY. SUSTAINED WINDS OF 20 TO 30 MPH WILL
BE POSSIBLE WITH OCCASIONAL GUSTS OF 40 MPH OR MORE.

INZ077>079-090>092-KYZ025-028>043-045>049-053>057-063>067-076>078-
081-082-292000-
/O.NEW.KLMK.WI.Y.0007.121029T2000Z-121031T0000Z/
WASHINGTON IN-SCOTT IN-JEFFERSON IN-HARRISON IN-FLOYD IN-CLARK IN-
MEADE KY-HARDIN KY-BULLITT KY-JEFFERSON KY-OLDHAM KY-TRIMBLE KY-
HENRY KY-SHELBY KY-FRANKLIN KY-SCOTT KY-HARRISON KY-SPENCER KY-
ANDERSON KY-WOODFORD KY-FAYETTE KY-BOURBON KY-NICHOLAS KY-
NELSON KY-WASHINGTON KY-MERCER KY-JESSAMINE KY-CLARK KY-LARUE KY-
MARION KY-BOYLE KY-GARRARD KY-MADISON KY-HART KY-GREEN KY-
TAYLOR KY-CASEY KY-LINCOLN KY-METCALFE KY-ADAIR KY-RUSSELL KY-
CUMBERLAND KY-CLINTON KY-
INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...SALEM...SCOTTSBURG...MADISON...
CORYDON...NEW ALBANY...JEFFERSONVILLE...BRANDENBURG...
ELIZABETHTOWN...FORT KNOX...MOUNT WASHINGTON...SHEPHERDSVILLE...
LOUISVILLE...LA GRANGE...BEDFORD...NEW CASTLE...SHELBYVILLE...
FRANKFORT...GEORGETOWN...CYNTHIANA...TAYLORSVILLE...
LAWRENCEBURG...VERSAILLES...LEXINGTON...PARIS...CARLISLE...
BARDSTOWN...SPRINGFIELD...HARRODSBURG...NICHOLASVILLE...
WINCHESTER...HODGENVILLE...LEBANON...DANVILLE...LANCASTER...
RICHMOND...MUNFORDVILLE...GREENSBURG...CAMPBELLSVILLE...LIBERTY...
STANFORD...EDMONTON...COLUMBIA...JAMESTOWN...BURKESVILLE...ALBANY
139 AM EDT MON OCT 29 2012 /1239 AM CDT MON OCT 29 2012/

...WIND ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 4 PM EDT /3 PM CDT/ THIS
AFTERNOON TO 8 PM EDT /7 PM CDT/ TUESDAY...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN LOUISVILLE HAS ISSUED A WIND
ADVISORY...WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM 4 PM EDT /3 PM CDT/ THIS
AFTERNOON TO 8 PM EDT /7 PM CDT/ TUESDAY.

* WINDS...SUSTAINED WINDS AND WIND GUSTS WILL INCREASE THIS
  AFTERNOON AND CONTINUE INTO TUESDAY EVENING. SUSTAINED WINDS OF
  20 TO 30 MPH WITH GUSTS OVER 40 MPH WILL BE POSSIBLE DURING THE
  AFTERNOON HOURS MONDAY AND TUESDAY.

* IMPACTS...THE GUSTY WINDS WILL BLOW AROUND LOOSE OBJECT AND
  LEAVES AND WILL BRING DOWN SMALL TREE LIMBS. TRAVEL MAY BECOME
  DIFFICULT ON NORTH TO SOUTH ORIENTED ROADWAYS FOR HIGH PROFILE
  VEHICLES.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A WIND ADVISORY MEANS THAT SUSTAINED WINDS OF 30 TO 39 MPH OR
WIND GUSTS FROM 45 TO 57 MPH ARE EXPECTED. WINDS THIS STRONG CAN
MAKE DRIVING DIFFICULT...ESPECIALLY FOR HIGH PROFILE VEHICLES.
WEAKENED TREES MAY ALSO BE BLOWN OVER AND UNSECURED OUTDOOR
OBJECTS WILL BE BLOWN AROUND BY THE WIND. USE EXTRA CAUTION.

While the main threat is just difficulting driving and items being blown around the is a small possibility of minor power outages with this system.  You can see that from the  Weather Channel's map:

While I dont think that it will be anything wide spread or long term, the threat of brief power outages combined with the cold weather may make turning up your thermostat a good  idea just in case you were to go a small period without power.

If anything changes I'll be back to update it. 

The Perfect Storm's (Part 2) Weekend Wrap Up

As we sit here this evening the north eastern part of the nation prepares and awaits the arrival of Hurricane Sandy.  Sandy is a very unique, if not completely unique, hybrid hurricane churning in the Atlantic.  It started off as a normal tropical system in the Caribbean last week.  But yesterday it started to feel the effects of a strong trough of low pressure bringing the coldest weather of the season to the eastern U.S.  Normally this would kick the storm out to sea as we have seen so many times before.  However this time the storm is blocked from moving east. 

A tropical system is a warm core system.  It is a small low pressure that feeds off the warm waters of the ocean.  The low pressures we deal with on land are larger areas that feed off moisture feeds from the oceans as well as higher level winds in the jet stream.  Only once in recorded history has a truly tropical system merged with a trough and transformed into a hybrid while still strengthening.  It was the storm depicted in the movie the "The Perfect Storm".  It is now happening again.  But the circumstances are still unique even compared to "The Perfect Storm." 

The storm is continuing to gain strength as it changes.  But instead of the wind speeds going higher, the wind field itself is growing in size.  As of 7p.m. tropical storm force winds (39mph+) were in area some 900 miles wide.  The coast of North Carolina is feeling tropical storm force winds at the same Bermuda is.  From the same storm.  It is expected to break all the "lowest pressure" records in its path.

When it comes on shore, it is expected to effect (in some way) the eastern 1/3 of the United States.  Along the north east coast they are expecting storm surge that could flood the subways of New York.  The Washington D.C. area is bracing for up a foot of rain.  And the odd effects of this hybrid storm are that high winds will be felt as far away as perhaps Arkansas.  The city of Chicago along the shore is under flood advisories because they expect to see 20-25 foot waves on Lake Michigan.  The Appalachian Mountains are bracing for blizzard conditions with the possibility of a foot or more of heavy wet snow.  We may even see our first snow flurries of the season from this storm. And the large wind field is expected to tap into the coldest air in Canada drive it south.

While this system will not level any areas like you see with monster hurricanes, it will affect more people than the usual hurricane does.  It is possible because of the size of the storm and the area that it is aiming for that by this time Tuesday night that tens of millions of people could be without power.  Take some time in the next day or so to have a look at our unique Hurricane Sandy.

Now on to the Wrap Up:

-The biggest story of the week happened on Friday.  At least letting us know that Mike Moore knows the old P.R. trick of releasing bad news on Friday afternoons.

Leah Farris, the city's Communication Director was fired by Mike Moore.  No reasons have been given and N&T was apparently too busy reporting on a Rotary club award to be bothered to do a story on the weekend.  This position has been in the new recently as the council decided starting next year the Com. Director would report the Parks Department and no longer directly to the mayor.  Then boom, a week later and the mayor gives her the pink slip. 

I have talked and read several people and have heard no one speak an ill word of her so that makes this a sad development.

The position was also in the news early in the year as the mayor initially decided to do away with the position.  Then when he decided to have a Com. Director, it ended up being one of his first public clashes with the council.

I will be watching and listening for what the developments will be with this story.

-If your in need of a job, head down to Amazon as they are in the process of hiring seasonal workers for the holidays.  And you never know, once you start you've got a foot in the door.

-At the county council's meeting this week protesters lined the bench.  haha.

In all seriousness after I snapped my picture of 4 protesters I understand that about 20 ended up showing up.  So I will have to retract my statement about it being embarrassing.  But still with only 20 people they probably ended up still looking like a small group of kooks.

-Jeffersonville got a new War Memorial this week.  Its on Riverside Dr. near Clark St.  It is dedicated to all the veterans of our three most recent wars, Desert Storm, Iraqi Freedom, and Enduring Freedom.  An official ceremony is set for Veteran's Day.

-Jeffersonville will get a new gas station this week.  The Marathon and Save-A-Step will open on the first.  This is a good thing for convience.  As someone who rides this road almost every day I look forward to having a gas station to go to without having to jump over to the pike.

Now lets just not get gas station happy on this stretch.  We have one.  That's enough.  Lets be creative with this space we have.

-The Jeffersonville/Clarksville flood control districts chose a company from for proposals to do a watershed study before work begins on two pumping stations.  The study will help determine the scope of the work on these two stations.

Of course Mikey, always one to have his facts straight and know how to talk to other people dropped this line after being given an estimate of between $120,000 to $150,000: “I would make this suggestion before any hours are put into this project: I strongly recommend you re-evaluate those numbers,” said Jeffersonville Mayor and board member Mike Moore. “That number’s quite a bit higher than we were told to anticipate.”
Way to be cool Mikey.  You can read the whole News & Tribune story here.

-The Jeffersonville Main Street Revitalization grant was accepted this week.  The state is throwing $250,000 at Jeff to use in its remodelling of the area from landing of the new pedestrian bridge to the downtown comerical area.  Lets hope its used in efficient ways that are creative.  Remember, Mikey's big plans for Hwy 62 are gas stations and fast food resturaunts.  Lets aim a little higher.

-Wow, that was a lot.  "That's what sh..." Dont do it. I'll be back later in the week.  Hope you have a good week.  And feel free to comment below and like the Facebook page!

BREAKING NEWS: Leah Farris Fired

According to Mike Hutt, Leah Farris, the city's Communication Director was fired today.  She had recently been put under the over-sight of the Parks Department, removing her from the over-sight of the mayor.  According to Hutt, she was fired by the mayor.

I am just now finding out about this and have no other information than what I've written so I will just link the thread here, and wait for more information until making any other comments.

UPDATE:  Goliath is also reporting this and says he has it confirmed.  You can she the very brief story here.

Breaking News: Protest Shuts Down City.... Bench

As announced on the chatter today, Protesters were out in force in front of the County Building. 

Actually, on the bench in front of the County Building.  The protesters numbered 4.  When I first drove by, I didn't actually know if that was the protest and drove around to find it. 

Yep.  Turns out that was it.  Four people at 3:10pm of a protest scheduled from 3pm to 3:30pm.  No news stations were present, although maybe they missed it too, as I thought I had.

File this under bad idea. 

I have no problem what so ever with people wanting to make sure that elected officials know their position on the issues.  But the problems here are numerous.

First, if four people is all you can muster for a half hour protest, your better off just writing a letter to your elected official.

The second problem is why they didn't write a letter.  They are trying get voters to vote the current office holders out.  So the protest is not about letting elected officials know your position, but instead an attempt to sway the voters.  Problem is, when only four people show up, you look like a small group of kooks.

And finally, they wanted the media there.  Really?  They wanted TV stations there.  Do you know how embarrassing that would have been?  But just for them. 

All in all just poor planning by a group of people who mean well (whether you agree with their politics or not).  But poor motives (doing it just to effect an election) and planning have made this a great big... non-story.

One (and I emphasize one) Moderators Hypocrisy

If you haven't been to the CCC today the thread on the rumor going around has been closed by MDHeights1.  That's fine.  While I'll agree that there was probably a little too much speculation going, as I stated below I would not allow it on here either, there was also legitimate conversation going on about the situation and why this could be a legitimate deal.  I respect that decision to close the thread.

What I don't respect is a  moderator playing games and being hypocritical.

Earlier today "Kelley" made several post on several different threads that didn't amount to anything.  Commenting on threads that have been up for weeks.  In fact she commented on no less than NINE threads today.  All today.  And what did she add to those conversations?  Some examples:

-"Did anyone go to the Grand Opening?"

-"Congratulations!

If you need any editing help, let me know!

Kidding!"

-"I get you, Tina!"

Now that's really adding to the conversation (complete sarcasm).  It was nothing more than poorly disguised attempt to move the rumor thread down out of sight.

My two problems with this. 

1.  Your a moderator which is a position of power and responsibilities on the site.  And you use this to play games.

2. She used one the "bumps" as a chance to laugh at a shot taken at the "Oracle".  So now she's telling us who we take shots at or laugh at.  Hypocrisy I say.

She's not above this and has done it before.  Her favorite nickname has been on the site to call the Oracle the Orifice.  Really? 

Your a moderator.  Your supposed to be the adult among the children that are the posters.  And that's how you act? 

Tuesday Morning Notes

This is a direct result of my having consumed a little too much champagne while sitting in the hot tub Sunday and thinking I would do the post afterwards.  That combined with the woman with whom I live with and am related to by marriage's desire to take my note taking pen combined to create a rather half assed Wrap Up.  So here are some notes left out and some new ones.

-The stop sign by the Aquatic Center is there to stay.  It was taken down to help the neighborhoods close to the sign turn on to 8th street.  But in the end it just proves to be to confusing.  Driving becomes a routine in areas that you drive all the time and thus the removing and replacing of the sign became somewhat hazardous.  I think I had this one right.  Have a look see here.

-The city's communication's director is being moved to the oversight of the Parks Department.  This was something the council was not all together on and was probably as divisive an issue as they have had among themselves since they took office. 

The reasoning was that this person is the communications director for the entire city, not just the mayor.  And mayor initially did not want this position to be filled.

I'm conflicted on this one.  If the mayor has no desire to work with the council and the perceived disconnect (and that's putting it nicely) actually exists, then I understand their wanting some control over the communications director.

On the other hand we have an actual human being that is just trying to do their job and is caught in the middle of all of this.

Quite frankly, JAML has not decided how to feel about this one.

-The park to go around the retention pond in downtown is on hold for the foreseeable future.  This one I am not conflicted on.  There is a very real chance that during heavy rains the pond could fill with sewage.  That would be on the news and make Jeff a laughing stock to the area.  Its also very possible that the pond could dry up during dry spells.  Which would just make the thing ugly.

The mayors statement that he doesn't understand why the council doesn't want the park is disingenuous.  The settings for the park have changed by him and have taken what would have been stable area and changed them into an area with great variables.

-The setup for the downtown Trick or Treating has changed as now apparently anyone can enter and start where they please.  My guess this is the result of some complaints the mayor heard from some attending parents.  Will it work or cause a mess.  This will be interesting on a completely minor scale.

-If you are one who likes to drive around and look at the fall colors you may want to get that done this week sometime.  A major storm, with a cold snap behind it, look to be approaching the area by weeks end.  The storm looks to cause windy conditions that would blow a lot of the changed leaves down.  This week is going to be warm so it would be a great chance to look at the leaves while they are still up.

-Finally I will comment briefly and vaguely on the rumors.  I have heard from people I trust that the damage was done to a city vehicle.  Beyond that everyone has heard the same story as to the cause but that part becomes unreliable.  At least some what.  While I believe the reason, I wont discuss that here until it becomes part of the record.  And I will actually delete any comments that do.  You can comment on the rumors themselves, but not the details.

As I stated on the Chatter though, if the whole city is filled with smoke, theres a good probability that there is at least one structure fire.


Enjoy the week and I'll be back later in the week or as is needed.  Remember to comment below and like the Facebook Page.  

Caddyshack's Weekend Wrap Up.

How did I decide on Caddyshack this week?  Well, I mentioned it in a thread on the CCC.  Then I someone responded with a quote from the movie.  Then I heard it mentioned twice on the radio this week.  So Caddyshack it is.

Caddyshack is a 1980 comedy movie that centers around the going ons at a private golf club named Bushwood (only recently out of the blue one day did I get the gag on the name of the club).  It stars Chevy Chase as a loner golfer that is very good at the course.  Rodney Dangerfield as Al Czervik, a obnoxious developer that likes to keep things light and up beat and doesnt need to act like a snob.  Ted Knight as Judge Elihu Smails, a snobby judge who seems to be in charge at the club even though both his father and Ty's father founded the club.  Bill Murray as Carl Spackler, the dim witted grounds keeper.  And Michael O'Keefe as Danny Noonan, a caddy and soon to be college student that is worried about his future and just trying to make it the world.

What follows is one of the most surprisingly funny movies you can have based on the concept.  It wraps the life of a caddy trying to make it in the world and trying to be more than he is destined to be, with rich people.  Some of who realize how fortunate they are, and others who believe that favoritism is their birth rite.  Between Chase's down to earthiness, to Dangerfield's outragousness, to Knight's snootiness, Caddyshack is a gem that can not be ignored.

Now on to the brief Wrap Up:

-More moves were made to ensure that the Louisville Metro area will have two new bridges in the near future.  The moves made this week all but ensure that tolls will be present on at least some of the bridges people will cross to get from one side of the river to the other.

While most people are against the tolls, I frankly do not care.  The money it will save me personally on gas traveling daily to the JAML Corporate Headquarters will be well worth it.  And I'd imagine that I'm not the only one. 

My take on this issue is this.  I'm going to use this bridge, so there is no reason I shouldn't help pay for it.

-Apparently Jeffersonville's new boat is more of a controversial piece of news than I thought.  As said last week I'm not sure that it was needed, but anything that could help response time in the event of an emergency is welcomed. 

Well apparently I'm not completely backed on this one as quite the debate on this issue has evolved.  Leading some less knowing individuals to diminish the events of 9/11 and the continued threat on the U.S. 

Again, I'm not sure its needed.  But someone did and extra help isn't going to hurt anyone.

-Finally the rumor mill is going wild on the CCC.  I did a little asking today and the story I heard matched up to what I could guess from the facts and innuendo given.  

The deal that a lot of people don't want to think about was given to me unsolicited today.  If these rumors were found out to be true, it could make Jeffersonvill a laughing stock of the area.  Lets hope that they are not true.

As always feel free to comment below and like the Facebook page.  See you later in the week or as news warrants.

Inspiration From Youth

I'm sure you all heard about the sad story of Lane Goodwin.  It truely a sad story.  One that had me misty eyed as I heard it discussed on the radio this morning.  Hell, its making me misty eyed right now.  I dont mind if I write badly about local politics.  But I do mind if I write badly about truly important strories that touch so many people.

What I can and will do is pass along a story of true inspiration that should move all us adults and hope that we can be as brave and compasionate as the young men in this story. 

#thumbsupforlane

http://www.clipsyndicate.com/video/playlist/26402/3797072

When football goes pro wrestling:

A little fun for today.

The Center Of The College Basketball World Weekend Wrap Up

This week marked the beginning of practice for the college basketball season, and thus the start what should be the return of this area to the top of the college basketball mountain.

Most people have picked IU as the preseason number 1 and the favorite to win the NCAA title.  The few that didn't pick IU went with UL as the favorite and the Cards are generally picked to at least duplicate their run last year to the Final Four.  Throw in UK, who is the defending National Champions, and who are generally picked no lower than 5th in the preseason polls and you can label the Kentuckiana area as the center of the college basketball world.

IU has probably the best player in the country going into the season with Cody Zoeller.  He is complimented by a balanced cast that makes IU a threat on offence from every where on the court. 

UL has senior point guard Peyton Siva and Sophomore stud forward Shane Behanan anchoring their quest to return to college basketball's final weekend.  And one of, in not the, deepest benches in the country.

UK returns sophomore forward and shooter Kyle Wiltjer off last year's National Championship squad to go along with the country's number one recruiting class that is filled with high profile NBA prospects.

Not since the late '70's, early '80's have the area teams been so highly regarded.  At that point, all three teams were perennial Final Four teams and all came away with at least one championship during that time. 

Now thanks to John Calipari's unprecedented recruiting and winning of the National Championship last year, IU's emergence last season as an elite team, and UL's remarkable run to the Final Four all three are considered "elite" teams this.  And for all the craziness that college basketball brings out in the locals, this year we can rightfully be called "The Center Of The College Basketball World"!

Now to the on to the Wrap Up:

-The biggest news of the week was the announcement of the return of the out door ice rink for the holiday season.  It will open on "Black Friday" and run 7 days a week through the holidays.  It will remain open during January, but as of this point, only on the weekends.

I will bash the mayor whenever he does something that I think is bad or wrong.  Well I'm a big enough person to give him kudos when they're deserved as well.  And on this I say: "Kudos mayor." 

This was a huge success last year and bringing it back was a no brainer.  It would have only been a completely petty move not to bring it back and the mayor was above that on this issue.  While, local attendance may drop this year from the "newness" being gone, hopefully attendance from outside the city will increase as people hear about it for the second year in a row and decide to see what the deal is.  This is something that is unique and adds a holiday feeling to the city and hopefully can be an asset to local businesses.

Far too often do we read on the message boards something like "I don't use it, why should I pay for it?"  Well, as someone who will not be using it (come on people, I can barely walk straight with shoes on, let alone skate) I say this my tax money well spent and I am happy to see it make its return.

-The New & Tribune has a nice piece on the Pilot House project that you can read here.  It basically states that the project is in limbo with many questions that no one seems to be looking for the answers on.  It also seems to me from reading it that many at city hall are just fine with the project being on hold right now.

This is a unique little circumstance here.  One of Mikey's group of supporters are the people that think that Jeff should exist in a bubble and only focus on itself.  A "Mayberry" kind of existence if you will.  This would be right up their alley.  However, there has just been one problem after another trying to get this project off the ground.  Most of which seem to have nothing to do with the mayor's administration. 

The thing is that most of the problems are all small problems (although, as stated above, there are a LOT of them), and those could dealt with and the project could move forward if the administration would put their figurative head down and plow forward.

Instead, its seems that they are hoping that this project just fades from people's memory.  That way they don't have to get their hands dirty, but also don't have to be the ones that put the ax to the project.  Mikey likes to straddle the fence as much as possible.

-This week Jeffersonville joined the Water Patrol game.  On Friday, they launched their new patrol boat that they will use to help monitor and protect the Ohio river and the people on it with.  They received a federal grant for the purchase of the boat and also to cover the cost of the training to operate the boat and the procedures to use. 

I'm not sure this was needed, but in the event of an emergency, any chance we have to increase response time I'm all for.

- Beginning Monday, Mulberry Street between Chestnut and Market streets in downtown Jeffersonville will be closed until the November the 5th. This is so more work can be done on the landing ramp from the pedestrian bridge.

-Finally, I don't know if anyone noticed, but New Albany took over the management of their sewers operations.  It is expected to save them quite a bit of money.  And that only makes sense.  Cut out the middle man and that's one less person you have to pay.

I only bring this up because former mayor Tom Galligan took some heat when he did the same thing.  Turns out he was just a head of the curve. 

We will now all wait for Debbie Harbeson to write her column on the evils of government running a sewer.

-That's it folks.  I'll be back later in the week or as news warrants.  Until then feel free to comment below and like the Facebook page!

Local Legend Gets Honor

Today we take a break from political news and venture in to the world of sports.  Because Friday night, Our Lady Of Providence High School will honor their former coach and Indiana Football Hall Of Fame Coach Gene Sartini by naming the football field after him.

Sartini, who coached the Pioneers for forty years from 1971 to 2011, will receive the honor before Friday nights game against in city rival Clarksville. 

I could write a whole blog post blasting the current PHS administration for their removal (and that's what it was) of Sartini, but much like the coach himself, I'll keep this classy and positive.

And he has a long list of positives all of which are very impressive.

Through 40 years of coaching at Providence (their are two previous years at the old Flaget H.S. in Louisville and Shawnee also) he compiled a record of 268-158 with 30 winning seasons.  Add in 5 sectional titles, two State Runner-Up finishes and his 2004 induction into the Hall Of Fame, and honoring the former coach was a no brainer. 

He is also a graduate of UofL where he also played football and held the record for the longest reception until recently and his ties to the local area make an institute that most everyone respected.

Though most on here are Jeff High fans, a school that typically holds an advantage over Providence, there was always a respect for the Pioneer program because of Sartini.  Even in years which JHS was greatly favored and seemed to have the advantage at all the key positions, it would be normal to here the local fans say something along the lines of  "well we should beat the hell out of them.  But those kids better come ready to play because you know Sartini will have his kids ready."

And that's probably the highest form of respect that a coach can receive and is the truest testament to a coaches ability.  And for forty years that was feeling of many around these here parts when Providence's week came up on the schedule.

And Sartini was like a fine wine.  He only got better with age. 

Indeed, the '90's may have been his best decade.  Starting with a run to the final game in 1993 to the schools first three game winning streak over JHS towards the end of the decade.  He proved that his style may not look like what the rest of the schools he was playing had evolved into over the years, but the game hadn't passed him by. 

Sartini added another class act to the tail end of the story. 

Although he was run out by the administration, the Hall Of Famer said it never crossed his mind to decline the honor of having the field named after him and said nothing but positives when talking about the place he called home for 40 years.

Classy individual  Hall of Fame Coach. 

And now every student that attends PHS or opposing team and their fans that make their way to Clarksville to play the small private school will know the his name.  And he certainly deserves the honor.

Here's to you Coach Sartini.

James Bond's Monday Morning Wrap Up

Do you ever start to work on something and then some things come up, and you just say: "ehh, there's not that much to work on.  I'll just do it tomorrow."?  Then your schedule completely changes and you end up not being able to find the time the next day?  Yep, that's why we're are here quickly for a Monday Morning wrap up.

But James Bond never procrastinated. 

And it was 50 years ago this past Friday that the first ever James Bond movie was released. 

Created by Ian Fleming in 1953 as a Cold War hero, Bond has proved to be timeless.  He has been featured in 22 "official" films over that time.  He has saved everything from his country, the world and sometimes just himself, battling a cast a characters for villains that has spanned the SPECTRE (get it? haha).

The face has changed over the years (as has the enemies and their motives).   Starting with Sean Connery to the current Daniel Craig the character, while tweaked, has remained true enough to the original (although the newest ones are officially a "reboot" with no continuity with the previous) and yet remains popular with all ages.

As cheesy as it should be to have a man with a single handgun destroying an army of foes with machine guns, Bond always managed to do it in a way that had just enough believability that viewers dismissed the unrealistic nature of it, and, as a man anyway, you just wanted to be him.

He had a soft side for the ladies though.  Yes sir.  Bond even let his heart be captured by a woman once.  Even married her before having her taken by his arch nemesis "Blofeld" in "On Her Majesty's Secret Service", maybe the best of the whole series.

A legal dispute over the character of Blofeld almost kept us from seeing Bond avenge his late wife as the villain was pushed to the side.  But through some legal loop-holes and camera angles, 12 years later, Bond would have his revenge in one of the franchises most gratifying moments.

(what this clip cuts out is that Bond is visiting his wife's grave site when the helicopter picks him up)

By the way, did I mention I gave Bond tips on women?  Oh well, onto the wrap up.

-Amazon officially started operations this week in Jeffersonville.  Most of the details and my take can be found in this post.  But again this is great for Jeffersonville all the way around and boost to the local economy for all our surrounding areas.  Nothing like adding a bunch of jobs to the area right before the holidays!

-Of course, as if on cue, there was a pretty serious wreck the morning of the ceremony, which has only increased fears of many residents in this area or that travel 62 that the increase traffic will be dangerous.

While it will be more "dangerous" by just the fact that mathmatically speaking, more cars lead to an increased risk, I think this is some what just a fear of change on peoples part.  The most dangerous part will be in the first few months as all drivers adjust the new level of traffic on the road.  Good or not, driving your regular daily comute becomes routine and now that routine has changed for a great many people.

Take it slow.  Allow time to adjust to the new traffic.  And when in doubt, drive as I do.  Like every other driver is a complet friggin moron.

-Finally, to wrap up this slow week, something that suprisingly got little attention was the mayor's announcement that the city is going to change parts of the landing for the Pedestrian Bridge including the lighting.  He also stated that there would be no further public input meetings on the new plans. 

A couple of things on this:

1.  I wonder if the city can change their agreement with Louisville to not have a uniform look across the bridge.  Also if the city was already in an agreement with the company for the lighting.  If so, these could be cause for concerns as far as legal action goes.

I will say that I would assume (yep, I know what happens) that Mikey and his legal team already know that they can do this before announcing it.  Because any legal action against the city or verbal sparring with the city of Louisville (who is paying for everything except Jeff's ramp and landing) would make Mikey's first year as mayor rank up with the maiden voyage of the Titanic.

2.  I completely understand the mayor's desire to not have another public input meeting on the redesign and changes.  I really do.  No matter how good or benificial something is, there is always going to be a group of people that dont like what you present to them.  And typically they are going to be the loudest of the masses.

That being said, one of Mikey's campaign promises was that he would get public input on all major projects by the city.  This goes directly against it and proves to be another promise that Mikey can not fulfill. 

And its not the just the landing that he has pulled this on. 

Remember the canal alternative public meetings?

There were supposed to be three.  But after the second one was nothing short of disasterous for him the third one just quietly passed without ever happening.

Again, I dont blame him for not having the meeting.  I blame him for making promises to get ellected that he didnt fully think through.



I'll be back later this week as news demands or about Thursday with a collum.  Until then enjoy the fall weather and "Like" the Facebook Page.

(And of course spell check is down, so ignore the errors.)

Amazon's Opening Contradicts A Moore Campaign Argument

This week Amazon began operations in Jeffersonville in its new distribution center.  The facility will employ 1,050 workers and even for more peak months. 

This is a great event for the city of Jeffersonville.  Many of the workers will no doubt come from Jeffersonville which is good for our residents.  But many will also come from other areas including Clark County, Floyd County and yes Louisville.  Which means that workers from outside our normal base will be spending their money, at least at some points, while inside the Jeffersonville city limits.  Which means further job and business growth and increased tax revenues.

And standing right there at the "opening" ceremony was Mike Moore.  How ironic.

Now don't get me wrong.  He should be there.  He is the mayor of the city in which this large employment opportunity is taking place.  Any mayor would be there.  It is a great day for the city and it should receive as much hype as the city can possibly provide.

The ironic part, is this destroys one of Mikey's campaign arguments against former mayor Tom Galligan.  Mike would tell everyone who would listen that Galligans policies were making it difficult to attract new business to the city.  That his spending on city projects would take tax rates to point that business would shy away from the city.  And  his promise was to change that and make Jeffersonville more attractive to prospective businesses.

One problem for little Mikey's theory.  Amazon announced its intention to move here and the very beginning of the year.  Meaning they have been interested in and exploring opportunities in Jeffersonville and River Ridge for some time before he took office.  Thus thumping Moore's theory on Galligan's policies scaring business away. 

Now Mikey will no doubt try to take full credit for Amazon.  Hell, he tried to take credit for Accent which had been building in Jeffersonville since the middle of last year at least.  And he'll tell you it was his policies and direction that landed Amazon and the 1,000 plus jobs.  But don't be fooled.

It was indeed Galligan's (and certainly Mitch Daniels as well) policies that first attracted Amazon to Jeffersonville.  What company wants to make a large investment into a city that doesn't want to invest in itself.  Under Galligan's watch, there was a clear message that the city was moving forward and  investing in itself.  Accent jumped on board.  So now has Amazon.  If your counting that's about 1,600 jobs that can primarily be credited to Galligans administration.

You want more examples of Galligan knowing what he was doing when it came to attracting businesses?

Look no further than River Ridge Director of Marketing Paul Wheatley, a former member of the Galligan Adminstration who was hired away by River Ridge.  Naysayers often criticized Galligan for his choice of personel, especially outsiders.  But whether it was an outsider or a local guy like Wheatley, Galligan was smart enough to put people knowledgeable and educated in development in positions with in his administration.

Moore, has chosen local guys because they are cheap, and because... well I'm sure you've heard the rumors about how Waiz got that job.

Now Moore's time is upon us.  Remember, it took Jeffersonville a good two plus years to dig out from underneath the mess that Waiz left us in.  Now we are left with him teaming with Moore. 

And what is Moore's vision for the future?

Well according to his statements to the News and Tribune: “We certainly need another gas station or two and a couple of fast food restaurants up this way,”

How exciting.