Nice book.

At Lake Superior Collage to I picked up a book sitting on a table. I thought it was interesting it was put out by visit Duluth, www.visitduluth.com .

My problem with the book and it's location is this. It is LSC and most of there students are in the Duluth area and know about all the things to see and do in Duluth. This book was very nice and it could not have been cheap.

As I went around the school I counted the number of these bookes left at the school. I counted 50 I wonder how many they did drop off in the first place. What is the cost of these tourist info books? Why drop them at LSC? Should we not be looking to advertize out side of the city and get people to come here?

I am now wondering what the population of students is that are not in the Duluth area. I would consider the Duluth area to in clude Hermantown, Superior, Proctor? As far a the school enrollement goes everything else can be out of the area. I may have to try to find out.

Okay then!!!!

chicken people have there own site. Oh no, http://www.duluthcitychickens.org/ .

Look at the name of the site Duluth City Chickens enought said.

It does not look like any thing has been done to the site for some time now. It looks like it was an info site when the city was talking about this issue.

I wonder if any one has chickens in the city?

Matt Entenza to ensure Pawlenty will win.

Former DFL minority leader Matt Entenza said today that he will run for Governor in 2010. This is great news for Pawlenty should he decide to run again. I am not 100% sure he will.

Entenza did say today that he will fight on to the end. He will move on into the genral election even if he is not the winner of the endorsement. Entenza has always been a hot head and always about his self.

Here is a great post on why if Entenza does not get the endorsment he should not go on. I agree but hope he does fight on if he does not recieve it. http://tcdailyliberal.com/blog/2008/10/a-plea-to-matt-entenza-please-dont-do-it/.

This will most insure a win for Pawlenty should he decide to run in 2010.

The big ass.

Craig Samborski who owns secret service entertainment is the biggest ass. I have never cared for the guy. I wish the city would look for some one else to manage bayfront park and the parking lots around it.

Craig said that he will not allow people to park for free in his lots if the free lot at playfront is full. Here is the deal. If a family comes and say’s they are going to go to the park then let them park for free. Simple not that hard. He said it is to hard for his employees to figure out if people are using the park or going to the DECC or else were.

Wrong it should be simple. Look at the people and you also know what if there is something going on at the DECC or not, use your head.

As many people parking is hard to find at the DECC because of the construction. The DECC said they are doing a good job of making other parking arrangements to there customers. There are not but if that is what they want to believe okay I guess.

Now lets be fair to the DECC it is difficult parking in the canel. All I am saiing is lets tell the truth the DECC can not have a good parking system right now. I think most people understand this. We understand what is going on there.

As far as Graig and my thoughts on him it is not just this parking thing there are a number of other reasons I fell this way. The park has so much to offer and yet this guy does nothing.

What it shows me is how inept government is.  Find some one that knows what they are doing. I know this guys has ran hundreds of events and concerts blah blah blah……..

Johnson Controls win award.

Oh goodie. I received this email the other day and they want to exclaim how good of a company they are. Yeah right.

Email then the press release are located below.

 

Dear Duluth Community Leaders –

Imagine if your company were named one of the most ethical in Duluth.  What if that were expanded to one of the most ethical in Minnesota, or even the U.S.?  The attached news release takes that even further. An international organization has just named Johnson Controls to its “World’s Most Ethical Companies” list.  Of the 99 companies recognized in 2009, Johnson Controls is one of just 44 in the world to earn that honor in each of the past three years.

Ethisphere Magazine (http://ethisphere.com/wme2009/) said it was recognizing Johnson Controls "for going beyond legal minimums, introducing innovative ideas to benefit the public, and forcing its competitors to follow suit by consistently raising the bar for what it takes to be an ethical leader."

For the past two years you’ve heard opponents of the Duluth Public Schools’ long range facilities plan make inflammatory claims about the expertise and integrity of Johnson Controls, which has had an office in Duluth since 1956.  We just wanted to provide this credible perspective for you to consider the next time a small group of Duluthians tries to denigrate Johnson Controls.

News Releases
Johnson Controls Among 2009 'World's Most Ethical Companies'

MILWAUKEE, April 13 /PRNewswire/ -- Johnson Controls announced today it has been named for the third
consecutive year as one of the World's Most Ethical Companies by the Ethisphere Institute. The Institute
said it was recognizing the company "for going beyond legal minimums, introducing innovative ideas to
benefit the public, and forcing its competitors to follow suit by consistently raising the bar for what it takes to
be an ethical leader."
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20081030/AQTH055ALOGO)
"Johnson Controls is honored to be named one of the World's Most Ethical Companies, recognizing our
commitment to ethics throughout our corporation globally," said Jerry Okarma, vice president, secretary and
general counsel. "Our leadership is dedicated to communicating the importance of ethics as a critical part of
running the company, and our employees strive to maintain the high standards we have set for ourselves."
Ethisphere, dedicated to the creation, advancement and sharing of best practices in business ethics,
corporate social responsibility, anti-corruption and sustainability, published the WME rankings in Ethisphere
Magazine's Q1 2009 issue.

Through a rigorous, multi-step evaluation process, Ethisphere's researchers and analysts reviewed more
than 10,000 companies in order to determine the finalists.
"Johnson Controls has proven to be one of the world leaders in upholding high ethical standards, making it a
true standout in its industry, especially as unethical business actions and decisions grab headlines each
day," said Alex Brigham, executive director of the Ethisphere Institute. "The competition was very strong and
we applaud Johnson Controls for rising to the top. Their leadership and their employees recognize that
being ethical is not only the right thing to do, it is also good business practice and leads to more successful
and profitable operations."

The methodology for the WME ranking includes reviewing codes of ethics, litigation and regulatory infraction
histories; evaluating the investment in innovation and sustainable business practices; looking at activities
designed to improve corporate citizenship; studying nominations from senior executives, industry peers,
suppliers and customers; and working with consumer action groups for feedback. The 2009 World's Most
Ethical Companies methodology committee, comprised of leading attorneys, government officials,
professors and organization leaders, was consulted early on in the 2009 WME process and had the
opportunity to review and comment on the methodology used to rate this year's nominees. Ethisphere
researchers further analyze information provided by the companies through questionnaires.
To view the complete list of the 2009 World's Most Ethical Companies, please visit http://www.ethisphere.org
About Johnson Controls

Johnson Controls is the global leader that brings ingenuity to the places where people live, work and travel.
By integrating technologies, products and services, we create smart environments that redefine the
relationships between people and their surroundings. Our team of 140,000 employees creates a more
comfortable, safe and sustainable world through our products and services for more than 200 million
vehicles, 12 million homes and one million commercial buildings. Our commitment to sustainability drives
Johnson Controls Among 2009 'World's Most Ethical Companies' - Apr 13, 2009 Page 1 of 2
http://johnsoncontrols.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=113&item=1882&printable 4/20/2009
our environmental stewardship, good corporate citizenship in our workplaces and communities, and the
products and services we provide to customers. For additional information, please visit
http://www.johnsoncontrols.com.
About Ethisphere Institute

The research-based Ethisphere Institute is a leading international think- tank dedicated to the creation,
advancement and sharing of best practices in business ethics, corporate social responsibility, anti-corruption
and sustainability. The Institute's associated membership group, the Ethisphere Council, is a forum for
business ethics that includes more than 200 leading corporations, universities and institutions. The
Ethisphere Council is dedicated to the development and advancement of individuals on its membership
council through increased efficiency, innovation, tools, mentoring, advice, and unique career opportunities.
Ethisphere Magazine, which publishes the globally recognized World's Most Ethical Companies Ranking™,
is the quarterly publication of the Institute. More information on the Ethisphere Institute, including ranking
projects and membership, can be found at http://www.ethisphere.org.

Think before you say..

Everyone please think before you say some thing. Councilor Jeff Anderson has gotten a ton or good and bad comments toward him and his domestic partner ordinance. Regardless of your feeling on the issue there is no reason for a personal attack on Jeff or the gay community.

As I have said I am not sure how I feel about this ordinance as of yet. I hope to meet with Jeff on Friday. I have not heard if I will be or not.

Think before you say something would you wanted it said to your or about you. Please lets every one no matter your feeling be civil.

Jeff Anderson said the following in an email.

I emailed Jeff the other day asking him a couple of days about his ordinance. The ordinance deals with domestic partnership. 

I thought it was interesting so I thought I would share it with you.

 

1. What is the purpose of introducing this?

Because same-sex couples and different sex domestic partners have little access to legal recognition of their relationship and their families, a domestic partner registry can be used to assist employers who wish to make domestic partner benefits available to their employees.  I believe that the federal and state governments should be taking the lead on this.  Since they are not, I believe that local governments should in order to provide certain recognitions for all of our citizens.

2. If it is going to be largely symbolic then why do it?

It will undoubtedly be symbolic for some couples, but for others it will make it easier for them to receive benefits from their employers.  57% of Fortune 500 companies provide domestic partner benefits.  This will help our citizens who are unmarried, or cannot legally be married more easily access these benefits.  This is not a gay marriage proposal.  This is simply a registry, identical to the registry that Minneapolis has had in place since 1991; and the same as more than 70 other cities have in place.

3. What are some benefits this would bring to the city?

I think most people would agree that they want their city to be a welcoming city for all people.  This levels the playing field and helps bring some equality that currently does not exist.  Also, this will not cost taxpayers a dime.  People must pay to register which covers the costs associated with maintaining a registry.

It's important to note that the proposed registry does not create any special rights for same-sex couples.  The proposed registry would be open to both same-sex and different sex couples alike.
The proposed registry places no requirement on any business, or the City of Duluth itself (in fact state law prevents municipalities from providing domestic partner benefits to its employees).  However, if an employer chooses to do so, having a city registration mechanism may assist in the administration of their benefits program.

4. What kind of feed back have you been getting so far?

Good.  I have certainly received some negative feedback, mostly from people who don't understand the concept of the registry.  The majority of feedback I've received has been very positive and supportive.

Domistic Partner registrey

Duluth City Councilor Jeff Anderson wants to put forth an ordinance and an accompanying resolutions that would allow domestic partners to register at city hall.

Anderson said this would be mostly symbolic. If that the case then why do it? Many of you know that Jeff Anderson is the first openly gay councilor in Duluth history. I like Jeff he is an outstanding person. I don't always agree with him politically this may be one of those times. I however am not sure because I don't yet know enough about this.

I do however believe that marriage is between a man and a women now domestic partnership is not marriage.

Duluth Politics following a couple of stories.

Duluth Politics is following a couple of stories. Iwill be commenting on them soon. Keep looking back for more later.

More on Winson leaving the city.

A source told me yesterday that there were other issues that neither the Mayor nor Mark Winson were letting on. It seems that the main reason's that Mr. Winson said are partly true and not true say’s one city hall worker.

The person  told me that there were issues that the Mayor and Winson  did not agree on. They were major issue’s that could not be resolved between the two. Well they share the same desire to improve Duluth it is not the same way said this source.

It seems that Winson was not enjoying the job because it did not fit him any longer the source did conform that. They told me you could see it was not the same Winson that worked here before. You could see that from the beginning.

This source believes that Winson nor the Mayor wanted to lead on that there was political difference between the two and that is why it was not brought up.

They did want to stress however that Mark Winson and the Mayor were both great people and enjoyed working with each other for the most part. They seemed to be able to work well together even with some differences.

It seems that Winson to me would have said if there was an issue or not. I did however want to pass along this info just so you all can make up your own minds.

Gas prices to go up for summer driving.

As many of you know the summer time is the time many people take vacations and go on trips. With this most of the time you see increase in gas prices. This summer does not seem to be any different.

Triple A has said they expect gas to go up to around $2.23 per gallon around the country on an average. That is a far cry from the $4.00 it was a short time ago. In fact that is less 20  cents more then what gas is right now around the country.

What does this mean for Duluth drivers, it seems that Dultuh is one of the highest prices in State. I would guess we will see prices tap out at around $2.29 that will at this point be just about the average. 

This is just a guess as to what prices will be this summer. The triple a is good at this gas price thing however LOL we will see.

Pay to park at playfront park.

*****UDPDATE***** Just heard from a councilor and I was correct any changes such as charging for the playfront parking lot (lot A) would need to be approved by the city council.

 

I saw this on Brandon Stahl’s blog, http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/pages/buzz.

It seems that they are charging for parking at play front. The small lot leading in to playfront has always been free. It should remain that way in my mind. I understand that they could possible be charging to park there now. The fee is $4.00. I am wondering if this is true.

If it is councilors do not know about it. If the city wants to charge for that lot  I believe that is something the council must approve. It is clear by Brandon’s story that at least one councilor did not know they may be charging for it.

It seems the reason they may be charging is because of the lose of parking at the DECC because of construction. I say oh well.

I will not pay to park there. I hope others do the same.

Just a note I will send an email to a councilor to see if my thought is right about needing the approval and let you know.

Poll question is up.

There is a new poll question. It involved Mark Winson who will be stepping down as the CAO of Duluth.

As many people know he was fired by former Mayor Herb Bergson. Then rehired by Mayor Don Ness. Now just two month on the job he is leaving again. He claims on his own. Do you agree.

Take time to vote on the right hand side of the blog.

Tea Party

I did not get to see any of the news coverage of the tea party as I had work last night. I have no idea what the numbers were that they used. If you heard I would like to know. As I said the DNT under estimated yesterday but that is okay. They used a number that one speaker tossed out as a guess and he could only see part of the crowd.

One women claims that she took a picture from the other side of the bridge. She said it looked like there was only about 200 hundred people she was way off. I would expect that from this person however.

The crowd was 1,000 people strong. It went almost down to the bridge and almost down to the fish tank on either side of stage. It was hard for me to tell once the event started as I was center stage. I walked around before and after the event however and it was clear that was much bigger then any one had expected.

There was about 15 speakers or so. Russ Stewart did a great job of expaining this was not a democrat or republican issue. It was an issue that all American’s needed to stand up to. There were also a couple of other speakers that did this as well. They are right.

This started under President Bush and it is just being continued by President Obama and this congress.

Great turn out at tea party.

I don’t have a lot of time but it was a great event with a huge turn out. I expect that estimates by the media will be low. There was easily 1,000 people there.

I guess there is a lot of people not happy with government and the way it is going on both sides.

 

****UPDATE****

Duluth News Tribune say’s there was about 700 people at the rally this is one wrong estimate by the media.

Live Blog.

I was going to live blog the Duluth Tea Party this afternoon. I have decided not to do that. One wrong move and in the big drink could go the computer. That would not be a good thing.

You will get my thoughts on it either before or after work depending on when I get home.

Reminder the tea party starts in about 2 hours behind the DECC. 12:15 or so start time.

Winson email.

Yesterday after I had learned that Mark Winson was leaving the city at the top aid to the Mayor I sent a short email to him.

The email basically said thanked him for all of his years of service. Also in the email I had said that I hope he is leaving on his own terms and it was not pressure from the Mayor or any one else in city hall.

Mr. Winson replied to my email. Again it was short there for a short reply.

“John, thanks for the note.  I am leaving of my own volition.  The job of CAO doesn't fit who I am anymore.  The Mayor and I have gotten along fabulously because we share the same desire to make Duluth a better and stronger community than it already is.”

Mark

I agree that both the Mayor and Mr. Winson share the desire to better Duluth. I also think for the most he and the Mayor did get a long. I however had heard that they did not agree on a few key points in the mayor’s plan. Well no one will tell me what those maybe, I wonder if this is why he is leaving.

Yes we need a strong Mayor and to this point I think Mayor Ness has done a pretty good job. No we don’t agree on everything. There are a number of things that I like however that he has done.

I wonder however is the Mayor to demanding on his CAO? This is the person that does the day to day operations of the city. Well the Mayor is off doing his job that entitles a lot on it’s own.

Keep in mind now this is the second CAO in one Mayor that has left that spot. Well it appeared that Lisa left because of issues with the council I wonder if that is the true reason? Lisa Potswald remains with the city in a different job.

Winson going going gone.

As John reported Mark Winson will be leaving the city again. This time it is on his terms he said. Well I am not sure about that.

John and I are both following this close. Neither one of us could believe it. We have talked on the phone about this mornning. It is to bad.

Mark will return to LSC were he left.

More later. I will try to have a post up some time tonight.

BREAKING NEWS: Winson leaving as top aid to Mayor Ness.

Mark Winson is leaving at the Mayors top aid. COA Mark Winson has said he will leave his position with the city. This will happen on May 8th.

I will have more on this later.

Lots going on.

Lots going on. I will try to comment later. I am way busy right now. I will try to post today. Other wise it will come tonight or tomorrow.

Crime up according to police.

In what was a brief discussion the other night a long time police officer told me that he has seen crime on the rise. He said that all types of crime were up in Duluth. He feels a big reason to this is the growing drug problem we face.

He said were he sees the big increase right now at this point is break inn’s. That will is to anything. Business, homes, cars ect…. He also said he believe that violent crimes have been on the rise, not nearly as fast. He did say however if we don’t get this drug issue in check we will see a huge in violent crime we will see those crimes go up with in the next three years.

He said with a young leader like Ramsey he is excited about department and hopes things will improve very fast.

MWC- Ron Stone- Lew Latto.

Just a follow up to the whole Lew Latto issue.

Another very reliable source tells me that it was MWC that made the decision and not Ron Stone to let Lew Latto go. The ownership of the mid-west tolds it Duluth market manger (Ron Stone) that one local radio show had to go on each of it’s two talk stations. Well the MWC ownership did not say they wanted Lew off the air. It seems that they left an impression to that affect.

The Duluth stations have been doing poorly and that is why they hired Ron Stone to take over there MWC Duluth stations. Stone has been a proven leader in there eyes.

The stations owed by MWC here in Duluth have been losing in the ratings to Gal West stations, they have also been losing advertisers.  It seems as if they are doing what they see fit. Stone is just the local manger doing what he is told.

Drastic changes by MWC will they pay off or hurt more?  BTW there is no truth to the rumor that Stone is getting fired. It seems that if he leaves it will be his choice to do so.

Police officer told me crime is up.

Tonight i was talking with a police officer. I will not/can not share his name. He told me that crime in Duluth was up. He has been on the force for a number of years.

More on this some time soon, now however it is off to bed.

Dumb resolution on council agenda for Monday.

I don’t want to say to much about this now. I think I am going to save most of my rant about this for my first segment on Danny Does Duluth. I am not sure however. You will have to turn to DDD on Tuesday to find out my final decision.

This is yet again our council putting it’s voice were it is not needed nor should it waste it’s time doing so.

The resolutions says that all elected officials will buy American when using stimulus money.  Now I agree that we all should buy American when we can. This resolutions again goes to far, http://www.duluthmn.gov/clerk/council/resord09/09-0217R.pdf.

Well I agree with parts of this it is not the Duluth City Councilors place. That is all I am going to say for now. Your thoughts always welcome.

Real community leader.

You  may have heard that there was a stabbing the other day. The stabbing took place in an apartment building on third street.

The stabbing happened in the afternoon. The incidents was over money. The person that did the stabbing Ritchie Rich has 17 criminal cases filled against him in 5 counties in Minnesota.

I would say lets keep this guy here. He sure seems like a real pillar or the community. Sure sounds like some one I want to live next to.

Some information came from the Duluth News Tribune. www.duluthnewstribune.com

Duluth Tea Party.

I am sure many of you have heard about this. Well I don't agree with the people putting this together. I do agree with the message. I think it is important to allow our government to over spend.

The government must spend some money. The way they have been spending over the last 8 years is insane. This has been both republicans and Democrats. The Republicans need to understand that they have been the one's in charge over the last 8 years at least with President Bush. He spend money on a war like a drunken sailor.

I am not sure if I will go this event or not. I do thinks it's message is an important one however. I wonder if the tea party will have any affect on any thing?

Hi Everyone.

I am the new guy here. John asked me to be a part of this blog. He said he wanted to have some one from the other side on his blog as well. Yes that means I am a democrat.

I wanted to just swing in and say hi and let you all know I will blog when I get a chance. It should be fun.

Another at-large candidate to announce.

Beth Olson will announce that she will run for city council at-large. She will be the second person in the last couple of weeks to do so. Beth however is much farther left then Dan Hartman is.

Beth Olsen will make her announcement Thursday April 9th, at 5pm. She will do so at the Harrison Community Center. I will have more later.

Almost a week and a half.

It has almost been a week and a half sense Lew Latto has not been on the air at WDSM. He was fired by management there.

There web site www.wdsm710.com still has him as on there. They have at least updated there shows that go across the top of the site he is not listed there. I guess you can’t ask for to much at one time.

There just has not been much going on.

Not much going on right now. There are a few things I was going to make comments on and may still we will see.

I will post when I find something interesting. As always thanks to all who read this blog. It is greatly appreciated. Now I just wish more would take part in the discussion LOL.

wonders why?

I wonder why blogs have to use fake names? Why can’t they say what they believe with there real name? 

Dan Hartman web site.

As I reported last night Dan Hartman is going to seek the at-large city council seat. There are again two spots up for bid this election.  One will be open well one is held by councilor Jim Stauber.

His web site has an introduction up I am not sure if he is going to do more today starting at 9 or not. In the piece he talks about how the council and Mayor are forward thinking and we need to continue that he says. Well I disagree with him on this thought that we have a forward thinking council.

He say’s we don’t need any drastic changes to move Duluth forward. Well I agree with this in part I also think we do need to stop electing those that don’t work for all of Duluth.  There are councilors on the council now that have an agenda and they want to push. No matter what it may do to the city. These councilors are on both sides.

Should there be anything new on his site starting at 9 I will pass it a long.

 

UPDATE: There is nothing new on the site. It is just the one video. I will have more on this later.

Tea Party specifics.

This is just a reminder about the Duluth Tea Party events. It will take place on April 15th. Yes that is tax day. It starts at 12!5 pm behind the DECC.

Dan Hartman will announce that he is a candidate for the At-Large City Council seat.

Dan Hartman who dropped out the 3rd district race in 2007 because he did not get the endorsement of the DFL will now seek a new seat.

Hartman is going to announce that he is running for the city council at-large seat.  There is two spots up one currently held by councilor Stauber. The other will be an open seat.

Hartman will have his announce on his web-site www.hartmanforcouncil.org.

More tomorrow on this.

Blast from the past.

As you know today is April Fools day. There is not much real news out today. Instead of pulling a prank I thought it would be fun to take a look back at some old post.

 

This was writtien. Friday November 30th 2007.  Your thoughts on if any of this post is true or not.  How do you think the Mayor has done up to now? 

Do we have to watch our wallets our do you think we are safe?

 

Friday, November 30, 2007

Mayor elect Ness showed his true colors.

Mayor elect Don Ness ran his campaign on bringing the community together. He also said that he will bring responsible spending back to city hall. Mayor elect Ness showed his true colors at the council meeting Monday night.
He showed that all of his promises were just that. He could care less about the average Duluthain. He is just going to spend your money and tax you out of your house. That was made way to clear on Monday night. The mayor elect did nothing but vote to raise our taxes and increase utility rates. The taxes will not benefit us at all either. They raised storm water run off by 17% and sewer rates went up 11%. Never gave a reason to why he voted the way he did. Like it or not that is what you get.
I wonder if this silent but deadly treatment is what he will take into the Mayor's office. If this is the type of Mayor he will be then we are in for a long four years. We may want to hang on to our wallets. The type of mayor that is needed now is one that can and is willing to work with a limited budget. To this point it is very clear that Mr. Ness is not willing to do this.
What is clear is that he wants to raise taxes so the city has money to fund unneeded things. These projects may indeed be good, however when you don't have the money you need to take a look at if they are needed.
He showed this again on Monday night with two other votes. One of the two votes was to not override the Mayors veto of the housing investment fund. Whether the fund is a good thing or not is debatable. I think it is in theory but I have some issues with it. Mr. Ness did not vote in favor or over ridding the veto because he thinks the project is a good one. It also helps many people out.
This is true however when we are in a budget crisis we need to focus on the core issues. I hate to say it but this is far from a core issue. The fact of the matter is our streets and sewers are falling a part. The police along with other emergency services are in need of man power and equipment.
The second vote was on if we should conduct yet another feasibility study for a high speed train to connect Duluth with the Cities. The study only cost us tax payers a small amount of $40,000 dollars.

Keep in mind we have already had three studies done. All of them said the project would not be a good one for Duluth to get involved in. I guess it is a classic case of "if you don't succeed; try, try again". This time we can all rest assured that the study will have the "right" results. The study will be conducted by the railroad authorities from many counties.

Mr. Ness said this was a critical vote and we need to support it because we have in the past. It is the wave of the future he said. Calling for a huge come back for trains.
Simple fact of the matter is this project will just be yet another fish tank . I mean G.L.A. ( Great Lakes Aquarium). The numbers will fall well short of the predictions and we will do nothing but subsidise the train.

Posted by John at 4:25 PM

Labels: Duluth City Council, Duluth Politics, Mayor Ness, True Colors

New poll.

The poll is will you take part in the Duluth Tea Party? It just went up so take time to vote.

Mayor’s night canceled tonight.

The mayor’s night  set for tonight is canceled because of the weather.

Mayor’s night is were citizens have an oppertunity to meet with the Mayor and talk about any issue(s) they wish to.  They get five minutes.

It happens every month.  The last Tuesday of the month.

Weather is horrible.

I am one of those people that will go any were is most any condition. Yet today I would not go any were if I don’t have to. It is bad.

There are accidents all over the place. Buses are having trouble moving and they are getting in accidents. 

If you do go out please be careful. 

Lake Superior College to go smoke free.

Lake Superior College is going smoke free. They are most likely one of the last Government building or colleges that to do so. I don’t remember what the date is.

The policy does not allow smoking in the parking lot, out side the building, in the school, in the woods on the property, and in your car.

 

Duluth Tea Party.

I will be hopefully interview some one from the group. I will be in contact with them this AM by email.

I would guess they would do the interview because they want to get the work out as much as possible.

I encourage people to think of going to this event. It will be a great event against our government and there endless spending on both sides.

Nettleton on lock down.

Nettleton was put on lock down yesterday. A call came in to 911 about 11 AM.  The caller had said a teacher had been shot. 

Cops ran in to the school and checked out the school. They went on every floor and in every room.  The school was cleared after a search showed no such thing as happening.

There was no teacher shot. Nor was there any sign of a student or adult with a gun on the property. This call took 12 police officers.

It turned out to be a prank yet the school and the cops did every thing right.  The kids remained calm as they were instructed to go in to rooms and under desks. Cops did a great job of getting there and doing there jobs.

The call that came in to 911 was made by a cell phone. There is no way to trace the call. The call sounded like it was a child but again there is no real way to tell.

Duluth Tea Party.

You may have heard of this event.  They now have a blog at http://duluthteaparty.blogspot.com/ . There is just one post now as the site went up today. 

I will have more as I learn more about the event here as well.

Duluth Politics on twitter.

We are now part of twitter.  You can follows on twitter here http://twitter.com/DuluthPolitics . Our twitter site will be used to have short post or thoughts. You will also see some personal things shared there. Such as what I am doing, did, plan on doing ect….

Link to Food Stamp Story in the Star.

http://www.startribune.com/local/east/42033327.html?elr=KArksUUUU

Here is a snipped of the story.

“The 317,000 Minnesotans relying on food stamps will get a 14 percent increase in their monthly benefits. For a family of four, that means a jump in maximum benefits of $80 a month to about $668.”

Okay well I believe the food stamp program is good. There are problems with it as well. One of the big issues I have that you can buy anything on it.  I am a huge believe that it should have a set program of things you can buy. 

There is also cash on some people’s cards and they can buy such things as beer and cigarettes with this side of the card. This is wrong.

Technorati Tags: Food Stamps,Minnesota,Star Trib,Stimulus,EBT

WDSM web site: Slaps Lew in the face.

Currently the web page for WDSM radio say’s Lew Latto is on the air. The way Lew was treated was wrong. Yes Lew has done it to his employees in the past.

It is however a big slap in the face to Lew. The station should have made sure it did not have him on the web page any longer.  As you know Brad Bennett is now on from 8-11 AM.  That is fine by me.  I know many people don’t like Brad’s show.  That is your right.  Isn’t it great to live in a place were you have the right to say what you believe?

The WDSM web page also have Lew still on the staff page again now you have fired Lew take him off your page.  Just another note there liners still stay Brad is on 9-11not 8-11 AM.

The WDSM web page is www.wdsm710.com . 

 

Technorati Tags: WDSM Radio,Lew Latto,Brad Bennett,Web Page

Food Stamp increase.

If you have read this blog for any time, you know what I think of the EBT system.

I believe there is a lot of problems out there. People find ways to get it that should not.

Any way on to what I want to say.  The first stimulus packages will arrive in Minnesota starting Wednesday.  What is it?

A 14% increase in the food stamp program. Great!!!!

More later.

No Lew Latto today.

Right now I am listening to WDSM and Brad is on.  It is clear he will be on now 8-11 AM.

Lew was to do his last show today.  That did not happen.  Mr.Stone did not allow Lew to have his final show today.  Here is what was on Lew’s web site today.

www.lewlatto.com

                    THANK YOU!

     This is a sad day for me.  Instead of hosting my final radio show, I must instead try to explain the details of my dismissal.  Before I do that, however, I would like to thank everybody for your wonderful support!

I have spent hours and hours these past two weeks answering a multitude of e-mails.  It is proof to me of the extended radio family which we all have been a part of.  Your kind words have been so gratifying!

     It was never my intent to go public with my dismissal, however after I learned in an e-mail from Ron Stone, the market manager for WDSM and five other local radio stations, that he had canceled my final broadcast today, I had no choice.  I consider his action an attack on my integrity.  I had assured Mr. Stone that I would not discuss my situation on the radio show.  I had not, as you all know, and would not have done so on my final broadcast!   Not being on-the-air today means I cannot personally say "goodbye" to the thousands of listeners who tune in daily. 

     Many of you have asked me why Mr. Stone canceled my show.  I cannot give a logical reason.  WDSM last fall had the best ratings the station has ever had in its current format.  My ratings have always been strong and as a radio station owner: never mess with success!  The many sponsors who have been on my show for years brought more revenue to WDSM than I was costing the station.  Perhaps I am not enough of a "patriot" for Mr. Stone.  Only he can answer that!

     I have no immediate future plans, except to relax for a while.  If Midwest Communications would like me to return to WDSM after Mr. Stone is gone, I would certainly consider it.

     Should any other opportunity present itself, I will post my future plans here on my web site. 

Thank you again for your wonderful support!

                                                               Lew

Chat With Other Tabernacle of Truth Listeners

00 Days, 01 Hours, 45 Minutes, 45 Seconds.

 

Note the clock on his site at the time still  had an hour and 45 minutes at the time. It does not seem like he has any current plans according to his web page.   More to come when I find something out.

New Lew info.

I just talked to a second source that is involved in radio. The source told me that there is  no truth to the Hog going to a talk station.  It has changed to a classic rock as of yesterday.

He said that Lew is in fact moving to 1490. I guess we will find out on Monday.

Also Brad Bennett’s show will now be three hours long 8-11 AM accourding to his report to me.

102.5 the hog going to hog talk?

Well some people have been talking, there for rumors have been around that the hog will go to an FM talk station.

If this was to be true this maybe were Lew Latto goes. Keep in mind I think this whole Lew Latto thing has been some kind of stunt all a long.  After developments over the last few days.

Now I think it would be a poor chose for MWC to do this.  The FM station in the Twin Cities is not going over the best. I wonder how they think it would work better in a smaller market.  The only think that may work is if it was mostly local talk show host.  People up here like local talk. I also think that if there were to change 102.5 to a talk station they would have to have balance both views expressed on the station.

I would  be a bit surprised if they did change the station to a talk format. With that said it is something Ron Stone has wanted to do for some time. He has more say at MWC then he did when he was GM at Clear Channel. Clear Channel never would have allowed a FM talk station up here.

The other thing is the hog is a pretty good station from what people tell me.  I don’t listen to it not my type of music. I wonder why they would change this? Yes I understand that if it went to a talk station it would not be called the hog any longer.  Although i like hog talk LOL.

Let the conversation and rumors go here. 

Post coming tomorrow.

I will not make any new post tonight. I will aprove comments and such tonight. 

Tomorrow back to posting.  I will post what I know about a possible FM talk station in Duluth.  Danny kind of broke that on the comments in the post below.  More Lew chat also.  Anything else that may come up.

I will say this again.  The Lew Latto deal looks more and more like a stunt all the time.

Lew Latto to stay at Mid-West.

A source tells me that Lew will stay put at Mid-West Communications. The source told me Lew may or may not be on WDSM. The source would not say what station he would be on.

I asked the source it this was all a game played by Lew and the radio station. Again they would not say one way or the other. They hinted that Lew was never going to go to AM 1490 however. The source said that Lew did not want to go there because of how weak the station is.

UPDATE: Lew is playing this like he is leaving the stations all together. I don’t know who to believe. The source I have is a radio station employee. The source may be a not Mid-West employee.

UPDATE #2: Lew Latto will only do one show on Friday no matter were he ends up. The counter on his blog is when an announcement will appear.

Reminder I never use the name of my sources unless they say I can.

Lew Latto and other web pages.

Okay so I am beginning to think this whole Lew Latto thing is a stunt.

I have no idea what to believe any more nor do I really care.  I don’t listen much to Lew. I have not listened to much local talk radio for a long time. Yes I tune in to shows now and then not like I use to however.

The DCB Watch is now reporting that Lew will stay with mid west communications. His story can be found here www.dcbwatch.blogspot.com .

I am thinking Lew will stay were he is at WDSM and this whole thing was a stunt from the beginning, after all April first is right around the corner.

Another short meeting.

There was yet another short city council meeting last night. Not as short as the one two weeks ago.  This meeting was about an hour long.

The council voted down a decrease in there pay. I am okay with that.  The vote was 6-3. The three that voted for it was Jim Stauber, Todd Fedora, and Tony Cuneo. I see both sides of this and if I was on the council I would have more then likely voted for it. I however see why others voted against. I really see were councilor Krause was coming from.  I will have more on his comments later.

Now one reason I would have supported it is face it this was for two years. It would have been volunteerary by the council if it would have passed.

I agree that the Duluth City Council does not get paid any were near those of other city’s it’s size.  Now I however understand that this is a public service and it should mean you receive nothing at least it use to. This has changed I am not sure that is for the good. 

Don’t get me wrong I think these people should  be paid something.  This is why I believe if there is a increase proposed the citizens should vote on that.

Lew Latto to AM 1490?

It is being reported at www.dcbwatch.blogspot.com that Lew is moving his show there. There is also another interesting idea by Danny at www.dannydoesduluth.com .

Well I have also heard a this rumor of 1490 I thought there is no way Lew would do that.  With that said I understands Lew passion for radio.  He may just do it. 

Here is why I thought he would not. The show does not fit well with the rest of the programming. 1490 is a sports station. They run the fan network when it works for them if that does not work they then run fox sports programming. AM 1490 is also one of the weakest stations around.  It is very hard to pick up. You may get it one spot and not the next. 

The second was more of a concern that I thought Lew would have. The first would be more up to the station management. We shell see what happens on Friday.

Now on to the Danny Does Duluth idea. Danny thought it would be cool if he finished his show on Friday and then went to AM 1490 and did another show following the show on WDSM. 

This would be interesting if he was to do it.  It would be a move unheard of. It does make sense with clock on his site.  It is a possibility. I am not sure he will do it however.  Again a waiting game. 

Lew Latto web page

As most of you know Lew’s show is coming to an end on WDSM this week. Friday will be the last of the show there. What happens next who knows.

Lew has said little on the air. He has only said show will end on WDSM and will not talk about it further on the air. Lew now a counter on his site www.lewlatto.com. Some think as did I when I saw it. It was a count down to the end of his show on WDSM. 

That can’t be the case however if it was the counter would have about an hour less of time on it.  The counter puts it near an hour past when Lew’s show would end on Friday.  What is the counter for then? 

I believe it is to find out what Lew is going to with his show. He will make announcement on his web page.

Council Pay.

Well you may remember a while ago I talked about the possibility of the council cutting there pay.  Now three councilors have proposed to do just that. 

The suggestion was meet with some strict opposition last night at the agenda session. I agree with opposition. 

Most people don’t understand what councilors do other then meetings.  There is a number of other things they do then just council meetings.  Right now I think there pay is just fine. One councilor said they should be paid more.  I don’t agree with that either. 

More on this later.  There was an interesting attempted mad last night.

More Lew Latto talk.

It seems to me according to all my sources that Lew Latto is making his own chose to leave. The radio station wanted to make changes to the show.

Lew Latto did not like the changes there for he was going to retire or find some thing else. It is clear to me at this point that change is good.  Now I did just listen to the DDD show and I agree with him in part. www.dannydoesduluth.com is were you can find it.

Danny says that it seems the show is being taken off the air for a syndicated show. I wish if they take Lew off that he would be replaced by a new local talk show host. I know of some one who could fill that spot if the station was interested. In fact I know of more then one that could.

Now I will say this again, the Lew Latto show was  a lot like a syndicated show in that he did not talk about local issue nearly enough.

That is some thing that has lacked in local talk radio for a long time.  In fact sense Duke Skorich radio show days there has not been a talk show that had talked about local issue most of the time. I did not agree with Duke however I enjoyed the show because most of the time it was local.

I would encourage WDSM to look to fill the spot with a local host. Not more uninteresting national talk.  I believe the air waves are filled with enough of that. It is very important to have local talk programs.

Has mid-west carried there talk format to far one way?

Yes, I believe they have.  The format for all the shows have seemed to change from a talk show host to an interviewer. It seems like most of the shows are now focusing on interviews.  I guess it is okay. This to me is not talk radio however.  Yes okay do an interview ever once in a while.  It at least is not local talk radio.

Local talk radio needs to be about local issues and it needs to be a host  or even a possibility of two host talking about the issues.  Then taking calls.

The focus has seemed to interviews and I don’t care for it. What are your thoughts?

Lew Latto history?

Will the Lew Latto show be off the air starting next week? Well I am not sure when it may happen I would not be surprised to see it happen.

Many radio talents have been talking about it privately for some time now. It seems that WDSM has been looking for a way to improve there ratings.

In doing so it seems like they want to drop a long time talk show host in the Duluth area. That is what the host claims anyway. Lets face it Lew is offen not in the studio many times he is in Florida and does the show from there.  He also claims to talk about local issues. Yet if you listen to the it never or hardly ever talks about local issues. 

I have known Lew for many years but I believe it is time for the station and him to move on. 

Not much political news but there is other news.

Not much political news going on right now in Duluth. There is however a number of other interesting issues going on.

Lew Latto gone from WDSM?  I have heard rumors for some time and had some other info but chose to hold on to it. Now today the paper has something in it so I will comment.

Shipping news.

A bad bad car crash kills two young men. 

 

Those post coming up.

No news

No post today so far nothing going on really.

My new blog.

Back to school and in my 30’s.  Is the name of the new blog, find it here,http://backtoschoolandinmy30s.blogspot.com.

If you have or are going back to school and are in your 30’s or more this site is for you.  I hope it becomes a resource for us all.

I am going back to school and I start tomorrow at LSC.  I am going for CNA program.  Anyway head over there is you are interested in reading it. Right now it only has one post but I will post there a lot I have feeling. My question today at the site is, those that have gone back already what was your feeling before you started?

First Oriental Grocery Closes it’s doors.

It is sad that yet another business had to close do to the economic down turn. I know a lot of people loved the store.

One thing I did find interesting for the DNT was a reason why she closed her doors.

Cummings-Gibbs has owned the store for four years with decreasing sales affecting the bottom line for two years. She said the decision to close came last week, in part to her husband, Joe Gibbs, losing his job in February.

Okay I guess it makes perfect sense that neither one of you are working now.

 

School board meeting yesterday.

The board held a special meeting last.  I had planned on going for a bit but was unable to do so.  I was hoping that Harry Welty would have something on his blog but he does not.  At least not as of yet. 

If anyone went let me know what happened this will be an open threat of short.  Your comments will still need to be okayed. I sure do want to know what happened at the meeting however.

Post away!

Cancelation already?

These are cancelations already.  Note that the storm has not even hit yet.  Why do we panic can’t we wait and see first. From the DNT.

Timestamp
Your Name
Your email or phone #
Name of Organization
Details about closure or cancellation

.

3/10/2009 7:29:46
Lu Avery
misslu58@yahoo.com
Town of Oakland, WI
The Town of Oakland (Douglas County) has rescheduled its town meeting from tonight at 7:00 pm to Thursday, March 12, at 7:00.

.

3/10/2009 7:46:54
Kenwood Edison
Kenwood Edison
Kenwood Edison
Early dismissal at 1 p.m. today with regular busing. Students will be served lunch before dismissal. No Kids Club.

.

3/10/2009 7:57:05
Keith Fulcher
fulcher@arrowheadtel.net
town of Ellsburg
Township Election will be held today polls open at 10:00 till 8:00 p.m but the annual town meeting will be cancelled and will be held on march 17,2009 at 7:00 P.M.

.

3/10/2009 8:22:47
Sara Kubarek
skubarek@glaquarium.org
Whirligigs Preschool Program
The Tuesday and Wednesday Whirligigs Preschool program at Great Lakes Aquarium is cancelled this week due to the weather. If parents would like the lesson plan for the week they can e-mail Sara Kubarek at skubarek@glaquarium.org.

Should the Mayor be able to appoint communications and policy officer and a community relations officer.

Below you will find what will be a question we vote on next election.  The council failed to pass this it’s self. It needs a 9-0 vote to pass.  Councilor Sharla Gardner voted against it was an 8-1 vote.  This it did not pass.

The current Mayor Don Ness wants this to pass.  I think it would be a good idea to vote yes on this in November. Basically all it is asking is if you think the mayor who ever it is should be able to appoint these positions. 

PROPOSITION
Should the Duluth City Charter be amended to provide the Mayor
the ability to appoint a communications and policy officer and a
community relations officer and allow the job specifications for
each position be established by City Council resolution?
Yes _____ No_____
A “YES” vote is a vote in favor of allowing the Mayor to
appoint a communications and policy officer and a community relations
officer and that job specifications for those appointments
will be established by City Council resolution.
2
A “NO” vote is a vote against allowing the Mayor to appoint a
communications and policy officer and a community relations officer.
Approved as

I had a quickie with the city council.

Well tonight was the first meeting I have been able to attend in around a month or so.  I have been able to catch some of the meetings on T.V.

Tonight's meeting was a very quick one. That is why the title. The meeting lasted all of about 33 minutes. It is the fastest I can remember in the past 13 years. Yes that is how long I have been going to council meetings. 

Need less to say there was not much going on at the meeting but I will have more later. There were a couple of interesting things. 

I do however need to say this.  In the big return of Mark Winson here is what he said all meeting long. At the end of the meeting “ In my return I feel the need I should say something.” “ So something.” It got a good laugh.

Meetings tonight.

I will be attending both the city council meeting tonight and the school board board meeting. I will be at the school board meeting for a short time. I will have an update on what I can from there. Then it will be off to the council meeting.

You can get updates on both here tonight.

DP sports update.

I have a new post on the DP sports page. www.dpsportspage.blogspot.com. I will have more later there today as well.

Right now you can read about the bulldogs troubles the last three weeks of the season.  Also what time I think it is for the bulldogs.

Later I will have some high school hockey tournament stuff up there.  I will be picking the winners in every game.

Paper lay offs.

I just went to the News tribune site and the blogs and went to the business blog.  There I found that Patrick Garmoe was laid of on Friday.

It is to bad because Mr..Garmoe did a great covering the city politics the short time he did that with the paper.  He then moved to the business section.  Were he has been doing a wonderful job coving those issues. 

I know the paper is having troubles but it is sad that such a great person had to feel the effects of this.  I wish Patrick the best in what ever may come next for him. 

If you wish to contact Patrick you can go to his blog www.laidoffinduluth.blogspot.com . Send him well wishes.  I am sure he would be grateful.

Poll update.

Should the Norshore be closed is the poll.  There is two day left on the poll.  Right now the no’s have it but lets see what happens at the end.

If you have not voted yet please do so.

 

Technorati Tags: polls,poll update,NorShore

Winter just won’t leave us alone.

March many times means warmer weather.  It also however can mean some mean winter storms.  That seems to be the case starting tomorrow.  After a number of days of near 40 degree weather it seems we are in for a change.

The national weather service is set to issue a serve winter storm warning.  The storm could drop as much as a foot of snow on the area. It may also bring near 50 mile an hour winds with it.  It is set to last two days. 

I guess we will live. It sucks being so close to spring and then another blast of winter comes. 

Technorati Tags: Winter,Spring,Winter sucks,March

It's nice that some blogs.

It is nice to see and hear that some blogs edit post before they post them. I will not do that here. If there is something in the post I don't like I will not post the whole thing.

Now I will say again I am proud of this blog. I wish we would have more people comment here. I have a lot of readers. I think there are a few reason's why people don't comment. One is I don't allow people to comment with out registering on blogger. I don't allow anonymous post.

NorShore Experience in trouble again?

I have said this many times about the NorShore. It is not my type of place and I have never been in there.  I however don’t have a problem with it being there.  Now yes I wish it was something else. It is what it is by owners chose.

The business got in some trouble because of a couple of major accusations against it.  The punishment for those was a one say suspicion of it’s liquor license.

Now it seems that on the day there were not allowed to sell alcohol they did. Some are up in arms as they should be if this was the case.  The owner had no comment that makes me thing there they did sell and they knew what they were doing. 

There has been a lot of complaints of this business and I wonder how much of this is a witch hunt against the type of business it is?  Any thoughts. 

Technorati Tags: NorShore

A hot lotto winner in the area.

Some one is a bit wealthier today. It seems some one in St Louis County won the hot lotto jackpot. The jackpot is worth 3.62 million dollars. 

The winner has up to a year to claim the prize. I would like to think that it would be claimed before then.  If you recently bought hot lotto tickets, have them checked.

It was not me who won, then again you have to buy a ticket to win.

Happy Birthday!

Today is city councilor Jeff Anderson’s birthday.  If you wish to say happy birthday you can leave a comment here or if you are on www.facebook.com you wish him well there.

Happy birthday Jeff have a good one.

Zamboni turns 60 year old.

Okay so the Duluth News Tribune yesterday reported that the zamboni turns 60 years old this year.  Well I enjoyed reading the story and thought it was a good story.  I am not sure it needed to be were it was. 

It was on the front page and the lead story.  I thought that was a bit funny.  That is the major thing going on in Duluth and or the world. What about Iraq, Iran, North Korea.  What about the school district, the city troubles.

The story should have either been in the local or sports page and tied the DECC zamboni driver in like it did.  It was not a front story thing.  With that said it was Sunday and a feel good story so that is good I guess. Any way Happy 60th birthday to the zamboni.

Military absentee ballot’s.

I was talking to a friend currently serving in Iraq. Thankfully he will be returning in the next week to week and half.

Well we were talking he said he did not a get a chance to vote.  He had problems with his absentee ballot from the from the State.  It was there problem as well.  This was however not the issue he had with military absentee ballot’s. 

His issue with military absentee ballot’s were that they had to mailed in.  He thinks that they should be able to fax or email there ballots in on election day.  What do you think of the idea. 

I know he wants to try to change the law.  He has told me that he will make ever effort to do so when he returns.  Not sure what if anything will come of it. 

Follow UMD and High School Hockey tonight on the sports page.

Get updates on High School hockey Denfield and Proctor.  Also UMD and the Minnesota Gophers. High school game us under way and UMD starts at 7:05pm.

www.dpsportspage.blogspot.com for updates.

Rush takes on the DNT. Well short of.

It was a none story to me.  First off as far as papers go people already there thoughts on if the paper is bias or not.  It does not matter what paper you read.  You form your own thoughts on the paper and or reporters if they have a political agenda or not.

Rush said the Duluth News Tribune is getting a grant to study new ways to tell story’s.  Rush seems to believe that this would drive the DNT to the left.

I don’t listen to Rush very much.  After all if it Rush.  Rush is a far right talk radio host.  Do I agree with him some time sure I do, there are also many times I don’t.  I have gotten so mad at him at times I decided just not to listen much.  It seems that DNT reporter Brandon Stahl does not listen to Rush either.  Not a indication what way he leans in politics.  Find out why he does not listen here. http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/pages/buzz.

After you check it out you will understand this comment.  Thanks for listening to ESPN Brandon I appreciate it. As most people know I work part time in radio and that is the station I work at.  I board op local sport programming. 

Minneapolis Red Star ( Star Tribune) pulls out of Duluth.

The Star Tribune has pulled it’s last reporter out of Duluth.  Larry Oaks will be moving to the twin cities and will continue to work for the paper.  He will become an editor for the paper. 

Larry Oaks did a great job of covering Duluth for the red star.  I did not often read there paper.  When Larry did an article that I was interested in however I would pick it up.  Time to time I do check them out online.

It is two bad the red star will not continue to cover Duluth to the standard they did. There may still be a few story’s about Greater Minnesota.

I wish Larry Oaks the best of luck in his new job with the paper.

Busy

Holy Cow were did the week? It is already Thursday and I have not had a chance to update. I will try to but I can't make any promise for this week. Check as there has been a lot going. Again I will do my best to get a few things up this week.

Some people should not care for animals or anything at all.

This was the head line on the DNT’s website tonight:

Windchill caretaker gets jail time, fine in colt neglect case.

All I have to say about that is good.  If you want to read the article go the www.duluthnewstribune.com.

Lisa Potswald update.

A source of mine has told me what department she will be in.  This is a reminder I don’t say any of my sources unless they want me to. In this case I am not sure the source wants me to do so.

Lisa will take over as director of public administration.  I am not sure what this person does.  I do know that it is a newer position created by the Mayor last year. Lisa has also been filling that spot already on an interim level.

More post later today.

Lisa Potswald, New job, Mayor, Don Ness, Mayor Ness

We have one Senator and one well fake one.

Well Minnesota currently has one Senator Amy Klobuchar. Minnesota should have two elected Senator’s yet the only senate race yet to be decided is here in Minnesota. 

The race that I quite caring about some time ago was between Al Franken (D) and incumbent Norm Coleman (R).  The race was to close to call at the close of the election.  A recount took place and as of now Franken leads but he is not yet been seated.  He also should not be as there is legal issues going on.

Our pretend senator made a trip around the State yesterday. Franken made a stop in our area visiting with three elected officials. Franken meet with Duluth Mayor Don Ness, and St. Louis County Commissioner Peg Sweeny here is Duluth.  He also meet with Two Harbors Mayor Randy Bolen.

In the meeting they discussed issues facing our area that could be worked in on federal level. So you see Al is being a senator even when he is not yet seated nor is he for sure the winner.

I have a problem with it does not matter who it was.  If Norm did this I would say the same thing.  Stay out in tell there is a winner.  Yes both of these men need to keep up to date on the issues. That they should do anything more is wrong as I see it.  

Lisa Potswald

Now that we have a new COA in Mark Winson.  Mayor Ness said that Lisa will retain a job with the city.  As far as I know that job has not yet been specified.  Now many people thing that she should just be let go.

I agree and I don’t agree.  Here is why I would agree with if the job is new and he is creating it just for her to stick around then yes she should just be released.  If however she would be taking over a job then I think she has ever right to stay.  That is were I would disagree with those saying she should not work for the city.  If it is current job with the city then I am okay with her staying. 

Lisa Potswald was not a good COA at all.  That does not mean she is not able to help the city in another way.  I would however say don’t appoint or give  her to any public relation job.

Interview page.

I have a new column up on the interview page.  Please remember the interview page is also were I put interesting columns I find on the internet.

This one I want you to head over and read.  I would love to get everyone’s thoughts on it.  It is by Ann Coulter and it is called Good Bye America.  Is she right or wrong and why? Read and lets discuss it there.  

www.dpinterviewpage.blogspot.com , if this link is wrong or does not work you can click on the link to right of this page.

Thank God: Potswald out Winson in.

Lisa Potswald is out and Mark Winson is back in as mayor’s top aid. Thank God.  More tomorrow.

DP page updates.

It is almost playoff time in the WCHA DI hockey and the NCHA DIII hockey. That is why we talk U.M.D., UWS and CSS hockey on our sports page.  Check it out at www.dpsportspageblogspot.com .

The UWS yellow jackets and St. Scholistica Saints will battle it out on Friday night.  Head to the sports page to read my thoughts on the out come.  Also all about the bulldogs last three series of the season.

Why is school closed? What people are saying.

Harry Welty former school board member and activist with Let Duluth Vote said this.  When asked by what he thought of the school’s closing today by Duluth Politics. 

“The Trib reported that at 5:30AM Dr. Dixon was driving over the hill and telling the Trib reporters that it was icy. When I went to school in southern Minnesota sometimes the rural kids weren't bussed in on bad days. Most of the Duluth kids live in town where the driving was fine. Maybe Dr. Dixon is saving a day's wages for now to help with his budget woes and postponing them until Duluth has to make up a snow day at the end of the year. That would mean more money for the Red Plan now. Of course, maybe I'm just being cynical.”

Well current board member Ann Wasson had this to say.

“Unfortunately the call needs to be made by 5am and we rely on the advice of experts at the weather station.  With the possibility of freezing roads and sidewalks, it becomes a hazard for walkers (with car traffic) and our buses. We pick students up from a long way out. Also, not everyone is able to have a parent drive them to school. So, we have to go with a decision so parents can get day care or call in for a  day off work. “ Ann Wasson

Another current school board member has replied to my email about the school closing the other day. Here is what Laura Condon said.

“I hope you got a reply for this, but the decision to close has to do with what our transportation department decides is safe for our students--sometimes the outer parts of Duluth are the problem”

 

More as they come in.  Thanks to those that have replied so far.

Can you tell my why school’s are closed.

So the BIG I mean little ice storm we had yesterday was canceled last night at about 10 or 11 pm.  With little to no effect on anything other then once again people panicked and closed things early yesterday.  Well the roads all of yesterday were in good shape what was bad were alleys and sidewalks.  The storm for the most part was a joke.  Now that is not a bad thing but we live in Duluth we should have a wait and see attitude in stead everyone jumps the gun.

That leads me to a question why the hell are the schools closed today? Any ideas anyone. I forgot with school canceled tonight there is no sports or anything tonight.

Talk of the Town show.

Tracy had News Tribune reporter Brandon Stahl on last show.  It was an interesting segment with him. Now there were a number of things I wanted to talk about from the show. I don’t remember most of them now, for two reason’s.  One I did not take notes and I don’t remember what I did yesterday LOL . Second being the added stress of my son being in the hospital the last couple day’s I don’t remember a few things I wanted to discuss about the show. 

Anyway on to what I do remember.  They were talking about the new lay out. Tracy had asked people what they thought about it on his face book page. Many of the comments were they did not like the new lay mine included.  I said I did not like it as it looked a lot like the USA today paper and that lay our is just a train wreck.  People added if they bought the paper or not.  Most of the comments to that was also a no.  That stands for me as well.  I said that with the lay out and it being razor thin I don’t buy the hard copy. 

I do read the paper every day . How do I do this?  I read it online.  After all it is just one of my many online stops in the day to get news.  I do need to be perfectly honest I never did really buy a hard copy of the DNT even in the old lay out.  Well there were times and still are that I do by a hard copy of the DNT.  I do this because there a story or more that I want to save. 

Now lets be honest again the DNT is not losing reader ship or gaining readership because of a lay out.  Well some may drop or add because of a lay change they cancel each other out.  They are losing as many if not all newspapers around the country are because of many different issues. Number one being the internet.  A lot of people and advertisers are going to the net instead of papers to get the news or advertise there business.

More later.

Post coming tomorrow, I hope.

****UPDATE**** It does not look like I will be able to update the site today. If I can it will be late tonight. As our little boy is in the hospital.

hope to make a couple of post tomorrow. One on the state of news papers. Brandon Stahl and Tracy Lundeen had a very interesting conversation tonight. I want to make a few comments on. Also the left and how it is good for them but not others.

I do have a major issue to deal with tomorrow so I am not sure if and or when tomorrow I will get them up. I hope to asap.

More on the tribute show: Buddy Holly, Big Bopper, Ritchie Valens.

The number one tribute show to Buddy Holly, The Big Bopper, and Ritchie Valens is the winter dance party. www.winterdanceparty.com yes they are coming to Grand Casino Hinckley. If you would like to get tickets you click on the link www.ticketmaster.com

Now as I said I have seen this tribute once and can’t wait to see it again.  The first time I saw the show was at the Nor shore Theater. The show was outstanding. More then I would have ever thought.

John Mueller (Buddy Holly) is amazing.  The performance to the look is all Buddy Holly. I can say the same about Ray Anthony ( Ritchie Valens) and Jay Richardson ( The Big Bopper).  They are all simply amazing. 

Just a note about Jay Richardson he is the son of the Big Bopper.  I am sure his father is very proud of his son and keeping his music a live.

Danny Does Duluth.

Danny Does Duluth will be having a very interesting show on Friday.  He will be interviewing Tony (who has had issues with me as well as Danny). The show will be interesting so tune and listen.  Again it will take place on Friday. 

I will be asking Danny to stop by and give a bit of what he will cover on the show. With out giving away the whole episode of course.

Danny show can be found here www.dannydoesduluth.com and one of Tony’s blog can be found here www.dcbwatch.blogspot.com

An interesting poll quesiton with interesting results so far.

The Superior Daily Telegram has a very interesting poll question on it’s web page. www.superiortelegram.com.

The question is do you think the nation has the leadership it needs in Barack Obama? What I find even more interesting is the result as of this point.  Keep in mind that Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan blindly voted for this guy. 

Right now the poll has 901 votes cast.  Yes that are a lot more people then that in Wis, MN that have a chance to vote on this. If you take these results however unscientific they are it is interesting.  Would people vote the way they did just a few month ago today?

Here are the poll results.

Yes

30.97%

I'll wait and see

19.87%

No

49.17%

Total Votes: 901

Yes that is right almost 50% of the people that voted don’t believe we have the right leadership.  Well just about 31% do. Anyway  I thought it was interesting.  Your thoughts?

More on parking tickets.

The Duluth News Tribune has a follow up to it’s story yesterday about parking to close to a drive way in the paper today. There included a few more laws that people may or may not have known.  I did know of all of them.  Fact is most Minnesota cities have these same laws. 

Again not knowing is no excuse. It is in fact your responsibility to know these laws when you get your license. Well some people thing these maybe outrageous I disagree. Most of these are for safety reason’s. 

Technorati Tags: Duluth,Parking,DNT,Stupid people,police,laws

The Day the Music Died.

50 years ago today Buddy Holly, The Big Bopper, and Ritchie Valens were killed in a plan crash.  The plan left in very winter conditions and most likely should have never took off. 

Even though i was not born for another 20 years after this happened, I grew up listening to these guys.  I still have a love for the oldies.  My dad has told me so many stories and I have seen and read so much about the crash.  It is a day I will never forget.  I also had the chance to see the tribute at the Norshore.  

Buddy Holly, the most known artist and head liner, had a plane lined up to fly them to their next concert site. Little did he or anyone know it would be their last concert. The plane went down just a few miles from the air port that they had taken off from.

Thank you Buddy Holly, Big Bopper and Ritchie Valens. You will never be forgotten and your music will forever live on.

Don’t forget, the Tribute group will be at Grand Casino Hinckley on Friday February 20th @ 8pm. Tickets available at www.ticketmaster.com.

Check out the DP sports page.

Check out the sports page for my thoughts on the big game yesterday.  It can be found at www.dpsportspage.blogspot.com or just click on the link to right of the page.

Technorati Tags: DP pages,page updates

Stupid People: Not knowing is no excuse.

It seems that some people did not know about Duluth parking law. When it comes to parking near a driveway.  Now the city has decided to write tickets for it. Now I don’t know if they have written many in past for it or not, but it does not matter.  Now they are.

The DNT has a great article about it in today's paper.  Here is the link,http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/event/article/id/111104/. In the story the police point out that not knowing is no excuse for not paying a ticket.  I agree 100%.  They also point that it is your responsibility when you get your license to know all the rules and regulations and it is.

One of the people in the story is former Duluth Mayor Herb Bergson wait no it is another Bergson.  His son received a ticket and was mad along with his wife. There said they never new about the law.  Here is what David Bergson said in the paper.

“I absolutely couldn’t believe it,” said Bergson, the son of former Duluth Mayor Herb Bergson. “I’ve never heard of that law. I can’t believe that it’s even a law.”

Again come on people these laws have been around for a long time get with the program. 

Technorati Tags: Duluth,Police,Bergson,Mayor Bergson,parking,tickets,stupid people