The Local Area Watch

Doubleplusungoodthink About the Bus Millage

Over the past few days my mailbox has been inundated with flyers in support of the Rapid bus millage.  They touted the usual tripe about how the tax hike will boost the economy, bring peace to the community, and fill our skies with unicorms leaping over rainbows.  Then there was a nice bit of mendacity about all these wonders costing only $1.50 a month in property taxes -- and if that's too much for you senior citizens, who vote in droves, you won't even have to pay that!

No surprise that the tax-and-spend crowd will peddle a lie whenever an empty promise won't hack it.  What was a bit of surprise was the pattern I noticed in the pictures used in the flyers.  It appears a middle-aged white man doesn't belong on a Rapid bus unless he is driving it.

School Board Election: Voting for Undertaker

The Grand Rapids Board of Education election is next Tuesday, May 3rd. Eight candidates are running for two 4-year-term seats. Your choices run from one incumbent to a semi-polished pair picked by the teachers union to a minister, a disgruntled mother, a working stiff, a kid, and finally a missing-in-action candidate (perhaps due to an alien abduction). In other words, the usual mix offering nothing much than the hackneyed tripe about too little money, too much racism, and, of course, it’s all about the children.

What none of the candidates seem to get is that the Grand Rapids public school system is a corpse.

Tree-Huggers Gone Wild

The League of Conservation Voters is running an ad campaign against Fred Upton.  Upton represents southwestern Michigan in the U.S. Congress and is chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.  He has raised the hackles of global-warmers because he voted to block funding for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s climate rules – i.e., regulation of greenhouse gases.

So, the LCV and other environmental special interest groups, like the Sierra Club and the Natural Resources Defense Council, have the long knives out for Upton.  Well, that’s politics.  But the out-and-out mendacity of the LCV ad should disgust any clear-minded voter.  The LCV simply lies about Upton’s vote.

City Commission Rides the Magic Bus to Ruin

Who supports the Magic Bus millage?  The usual suspects, of course.   Endorsements include the local Dem establishment, the River City RINO's, the goo-goo gushers, and the Portlanders.  The last of these are those dreary souls who fall to their knees and sing their wearisome hosannas to that urban heaven on Earth -- Portland, Oregon.  You know, high-tax, pricey, latte-sipping, boomer-cratic, slacker-infested Portland, Oregon.

My fellow residents of Grand Rapids should also note that each and every one of our city commissioners and the mayor have told us to vote "yes" on May 3rd.   Let's name names:   Rosalyn Bliss, Walt Gutowski, Ruth Kelly, Elias Lumpkins, Dave Shaffer, Jim White, and George Heartwell.  Not one of them has explained why we should shovel more of our tax dollars into a system that can only get its users to pay a dime to cover every dollar of costs.  These are also the people we are relying upon to balance the city books during this nationwide sea-change in the public fisc.  Knee-jerk support for public spending is bad enough in boom times.  It's unacceptable, irresponsible, and idiotic when on the road to ruin.

-- wqt3

The Magic Bus: It Runs on Red Ink!

On Tuesday, May 3rd, the Interurban Transit Partnership – the local bus system – wants to stick its hand deeper into the pockets of Grand Rapids area property owners.  It has scheduled a tax election to replace the expiring bus millage with a higher, longer-term one.  The ITP wants to jack up the bus tax by a third on property owners and wants to guarantee the payment of that tax for seven instead of five years.

So you have a choice on May 3rd.  Vote “yes” and pay the ITP $110.25 in property taxes every year for the next seven years (on a $150K home).  Vote “no” and pay the ITP nothing in property taxes.

The Boardwalk Bandits

What do John Sims, Mike Webb, Tom Beckering, and Jonathan Rooks have in common?  All have been owners of the old Berkey & Gay furniture factory property during its redevelopment over the past eighteen years as “The Boardwalk”, the commercial-residential complex located on Monroe Avenue north of downtown Grand Rapids.  What else?

via thirdwavejunta.typepad.com

Riverfront Rail-Trail Derailed?

On December 7, 2010, the Grand Rapids City Commission authorized an expenditure of public funds for a lease over an old railway along the river.  It was the City’s contribution to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources purchase of a railroad right-of-way that Central Michigan Railway Co. abandoned here in town.  The total price paid to the railroad company was $2,233,500 in federal, state, and local tax dollars.  Congratulations, fellow citizens, we are now railroad tycoons!

via thirdwavejunta.typepad.com

HAS IT BEEN OVER TWO YEARS ALREADY?

Hello L.A.W. Readers and Followers,  

Yes, Bill and I are still out there, living, working and surviving in Grand Rapids.  We have been away for far longer than expected, but life does that you know?

We have seen a number of comments come in and thank you for your continuing thoughts and interest in our website.  It’s amazing how many topics we covered over the past seven to eight years that remain timely for everyone checking in at our site here in early 2011.

Upon my website audit today, I noticed many spam comments had posted over the last few weeks and months.  I chose to erase a good dozen or more postings because of this.   I apologize if I erased anyone’s comments by mistake.   I read the feedback and if it didn’t correspond to a heading or sounded like an automated message,  I hit the good old delete key.  I tried to keep all others that appeared intentional.

Feel free to keep sending your thoughts and ideas and we will attempt to respond soon. We will be working as time permits on future posts here at L.A.W.  that will be of local interest.  Keep watching, they will arrive soon!

Also, do check out our sister sites that are under construction.  These new blog ventures will still tie into local issues - just less diverse - The River City Zek - crony capitalism in GR  and Vine & Branch - culture of life.

Enjoy!

Regards,

Bridget Dupont-Tingley,  Editor - Local Area Watch