It's official Coleman out Franken in.

Al Fraken in Norm Coleman out that is all I am saying on that.

2nd district council web pages.

As the races heat up I think we will do this more often. We will take a look at each candidates web page and see the differences in them. We will not agree there politics. We will judge who’s is better with content and other information.

That said lets take a look at the two candidates web pages that are involved the 2nd district race. Robert Wagner and Patrick Boyle.

First here are the two candidates address so you can check them out for your self if you wish. 

Wagner- http://www.wagnerforduluth.com/

Boyle- http://boyleforcouncil.com

What we are going to look at on the site is what they have up. Up coming events, issues, and things like that. Also we will going into the looks of the page.

As I said we are not going to talk about there politics in this post there for we will not say what they say about an issue just what they think is important maybe a little bit about why.

First lets take a look at Patrick Boyle’s web site. As you go there

e it is a simple format and it’s looks nice. Across the top of the page he has a tool bar that includes his stand on issues, about him, volunteer, news, contact. Down the right side he has events he will be at. 

When you click on the issues it has his thoughts on a few issues. They include public safety, water and gas, families and neighborhoods, job development there are a few others as well. The quality of the pictures on the site is good.

In my mind it is a good site.

Now on to Robert Wagner’s web site. The fist thing I notice about it is the night time setting on the page. Were it says his name at the top the moon is set behind it. The first thought I had was if he was going to ask that council meetings be held after 10pm.? The picture quality is poor on the page and when you click on the issue’s page it has a bunch of issues but no stands on there. It says under construction but it has been that way sense the page went up. It has been a while.

I like the use of the flag I also like the tool bar set up. One thing I wish he has was were he would be at events, fundraisers things such like that. It would allow people to know were and what is going on in his campaign.

The better more useful site right now is Boyle’s.

Hartman the front runner?

Many people are saying that Dan Hartman is the front runner right now for city councilor at large. Is he really the front runner or will he fizzle?

Hartman has been out campaigning for a number of month well others have not even started yet. Hartman is a great guy I however don’t agree with much of his politics. He most likely will win one of two seats up for election. He will have the power of three current councilors supporting him he also has the backing of the DFL and most likely will get the union endorsement.

Is it possible for him to fizzle out? Yes but I am not sure he will. I think he can and will be able to uphold a long campaign. He does seem to out much earlier then anyone however. Not sure why.

Rally against Governors cuts.

There will be a rally Monday July 6th at city hall. It starts at noon and will go till about 1 or so. The event is being hosted by the Twin Ports action coalition.

Well I don't agree with this message from the tpac I don't want to go and cover it for the blog. These are the type of events I want to start to cover for the blog and such events. If you know any please include me as a contact person. You can contact me with a press release or such at duluthneedshelp@yahoo.com .

Well I may or may not agree with your event is not a notable thing. I want to pass information on to the people. I will always be fair in any interviews that I do. I will cover the event with facts. I will also give my thoughts on the event.

Two new adds to the blog.

There are two new adds to the blog. One makes it a bit more user friendly. That is I have added a search bar to the blog. If you are looking for a certain thing you can find it easier by using the search box. You can also use it look what I have written about in the past by typing in a key word. The second one is you can become a follower of the blog.

You must be in a booster seat up to the age of 8.

Minnesota law requires that kids 8 and under must now be in a booster seat. This is the second straight law passed by the State of Minnesota that deals with safety in cars. The first was requiring to wear your seat belt this took affect a few month ago. The booster law starts this week.

Well I am one that normally does not like government intervention I am okay with both of these laws. Well I don’t think people should have to wear the belt if they chose not to it makes sense that you do. It is much safer if you do wear your seat belt. As far as booster seats it upsets me to no end that parents would not care about there children's safety.

I have seen way to many people with there kids not in seats and they should be. Not only that I have seen parents allow there kids to ride in the front when they are not old enough to do so.  With air bags in almost ever car these days you must be careful. Please use common sense people.

WTF?

Not a good week to be a famous person. This week we lost four icons, (well). the four losses mean a lot to different people.

The week started with the death of Ed McMann (86). Mcmann known mostly for being part of the Johnny Carson late night show. Also was a big part of the Jerry's kid telethon. McMann was a seasoned and very professional T.V. and radio personality. He also did many voice overs on commercials and movies.

Then Thursday came a two death day. Both Farrah Fawcet and Michael Jackson passed on. Fawcet (62) most well known for Charlie Angels. She was a movie star. I don't know much her to be honest.

Then I guess the biggest death this week was pop icon (to some) Michale Jackson (50) died. Jackson who was big in 80;s had many hit songs and was known for his moon walk. Jackson then had trouble later in his life.

Then today Billy Mays (50) died from what seems to be from a plane landing very hard and things falling on top of him. It seems like a possible concussion or some thing like that. Mays was well known for his sales pitches in many many commercials

To me the biggest lose of the week is Ed McMann. Most will disagree with me but so be it.

It was not a good week to be a superstar that is for sure.

Cruise ship. Duluth to Canada.

There has been rumor of a cruise ship coming to Duluth. It seems as if those are no longer rumors. It seems to fact now.

The ship is on it’s way here. It passed a inspection in N.Y. and will arrive in Duluth on July 4th.

Would you take a cruise from Duluth to Canada?

Michael Jackson dead.

I have nothing good to say about the man. The music he did was horrible and he was a horrible person. There you have you it what I think about MJ.

Two polls.

There is currently two polls up.

1. Should the Mayor blog or open a twitter account? There are five votes to this point. You still have 5 days to vote on it.

2. Do you mind if candidates put up campaign signs early? This poll just went up today.

Vote on both if you have not as of yet.

Wagner for council sign.

Duluth city council candidate Robert Wagner breaking yet another law. This one has direct implication to his big to be a city councilor. Does he not get it?

I did not see the sign but my wife did she was driving and send me a text is the 2nd district council up for election. I said yes. See said okay I saw a sign. When I saw he I asked who's sign it was. Robert Wagner she replied. My reply interesting.

You can not have signs out yet. It is illegal but for some reason it does not shock me that Wagner has at least a sign out.

Mayor to blog and or twitter?

It seems that Brandon Stahl of the Duluth News Tribune gave the Mayor some advice. He said that the Mayor should blog or twitter. Brandon said that this way the Mayor could refute any story or he could post the entire comment on his blog. As most news stories cut down what the Mayor said.

If I could give advice to the Mayor I would blog over twitter. A blog allows you to use as many words as you wish well twitter limits your use of words. Beside the fact I like a blog better then twitter. I think twitter is kind of dumb. Just my two cents.

I would however also encourage the Mayor to do one or both it would only give the public more access to government.

It came and it went.

Well as you would guess there has not been a lot of news the last few days. What has been the news is Grandmas marathon. I won’t say a lot about it as it was covered nicely at the DNT and ESPN radio.

The event went off with out a hitch other then the very hot weather. That kept the medical tent very busy. 

I was very glad that an American won the men’s race. It was the first time sense 1995. 

Read today's other post below this one. Mayors night canceled for the second time. There maybe more post later.

The grandmas marathon coverage sites:

www.webc560.com

www.duluthnewstribune.com

Mayor Nights canceled.

The Duluth news tribune is reporting that this month mayor night has been canceled. This is the second time that I know that the night has been canceled. There was no reason given for the cancelation.

It is a once a month meeting that citizens can have with the Mayor Don Ness. You are giving about 5 minutes to talk about what ever is on your mind with the mayor. The next one comes in July.

No skateboarding allowed.

The chicken council lead by councilor Sharla Gardner. Passed a complete ban on skateboarding in canal park last night. Not only did they ban skateboarding in the canal park area but they also voted to crack down on skateboarding city wide. It was a 6-3 vote last night to ban. The only councilors that voted against this were Fedora, Gilbert, and Fosle.

It seems that at least these three understand the issue’s that really matter to Duluth. The city faces major issues with it’s road’s, sewers and a budget crisis that could bank rupt the city. Yet councilor Gardner is banning skateboarding and passing that you can own chickens in the city. Get real Gardner it is time for you to go.

No need to worry about your grass.

The council stopped the mowing ordinance by 4- 5 vote. The councilors that supported the ordinance is Krause, Eckenberg, Gilbert and Stauber. These four councilors did not have a clue on the determent to this city this ordinance would have had on the city.

You can now have your grass as long as you like. You should still try to cut your grass when possible. It just makes things look nice.

The fact is however this ordinance would have been unenforceable and it was micro management at it’s worst.

Hold the phone.

Well it seemed for sure that if the lawn mowing ordinance by Krause was to pass it would become law. As two years ago current Mayor Don Ness voted for it as he was then a city councilor.

It now seems that Duluth Mayor Don Ness has some concerns about the ordinance. The mayor has concerns that there is not enough city staff to make the ordinance work. He also said that there is more serious issues facing the city. This is not the thing staff should spent time on.

You can read more here later. You can also read a great articale about it at http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/pages/buzz.

Interview set.

The interview is now set with custom cab owner Dan O'Hearon. It is set for Monday either late afternoon or early evening.

After the interview is complete I will be off to my softball so you can look for the interview to either be up late Monday night or Tuesday morning. It will also be posted on the interview page.

Custom Cab.

Custom cab to cut it’s night service. This after two cabs were robbed this week. Both happened this week. One on Monday night the other Wednesday night. 

I believe this is the right chose yet it will hurt there small business. Dan O’Hearon seems to understand what is important. That is the safety of his employees. Well it is a tough decision for him I am sure it shows that people really care about there business and there employees at the same time.

Dan basically is saying I will not put my business or employees in harms way tell this is resolved. That is great. When I do take a cab I always try to use custom cab. This will only make me use them more when needed. The only time I don’t use them is if there is a long wait, but this makes me thing I will wait for them.

I hope to get a chance to talk to Dan about this and I hope he gets his business up and running at full strength soon.

I encourage every one when you need a cab to call custom cab. 

If I was the owner of Carnival Thrillz

If I was the person in charge of thrillz I wonder consider cutting all ties with Robert Wagner. He is doing nothing but bringing your business down. I know that the economy is tight right now however the types of events he puts on are not ones you should want to get involved in.

He also clearing does not understand that you need a permit for these types of events. You always have needed one. If you wish to continue to do business with Wagner I would encourage you to make sure he has his permits well a head of time and he shows them to you. The permits are his responsibility  not your unless you are putting on the event. 

Now I would again cut ties with Wagner as to me this is not the type of event you would want at your place. Your business is suppose to be a family fun center. I would encourage you to do those type of events even after hours of regular business.

A second run in with cops.

Robert Wagner a candidate for the Duluth City Council 2nd district had yet another run in with the Duluth Police. For the second straight time the event took place at carnival thrillz.

This is now the second time with in a month that Wagner has had a run in with the cops. Both times for organizing a rave. Both times he did not have a proper permit to hold the event.

The first time was a campaign fund raiser that was a rave. Yes he held an fund raiser from 10- 2 am who in there right mind does that well running for city council.

More later.

Liar Liar.

At least if you are 3 rd district city councilor Sharla Gardner. Councilor Gardner has introduced an ordinance that would ban skateboarding, inline skates, and roller skates in business districts.

Gardner said that the ordinance did not ban anything. It was just cleaning up an old ordinance. That is a lie. Fact is with out the ordinance change the council could not legally pass the resolutions that ask to ban these activities.

Finds it funny…

I find it funny how the Duluth Huskies' are still promoting opening day at Wade Stadium. Oh yeah by the way opening day was June 1st.

They may want to start promoting current games rather then games that have already took place. They might get people to go to the games that way.

There web site is www.duluthhuskies.com .

Mow this part 2.

Okay well I am still awaiting emails I will do a second part anyway. This may turn in to a three of four part blog or more by the time it is all done.

Okay well some view this as an attack on “bad” landlords it can be viewed from many different ways. I don’t believe this is so much of an attack on landlords. I believe the city have passed many ordinances and resolutions that are attacks against landlords. This one sure hinderers to landlords and other however.

I am not sure that many councilors have thought about the effects of this ordinance should it pass. I believe it will however pass and that is very very unfortunate. At best this passes 5-4 it could pass with as many as 6 or 7 councilors voting in favor it.

Here we go, who will this hurt and what else could it do? This will hurt the elderly, those that don’t or can’t get a lawn mower. It will also pit people against each other.

Many elderly people still live in homes in Duluth. Many of them can’t mow there grass however. There are also many low income people that don’t or can’t afford to buy a lawn mower. We live next door to some one that does not have a mower. Her grass is well over 10 inches right now. She can’t buy a mower and the one she has does not work. Well I have mowed her lawn in the past and will when I can it is hard for me. I don’t have much time plus I already also help out or other lawns as well.

This is just a micro-mange ordinance that accomplishes nothing. It is unenforceable.  More later.

Mow this……..

Those of you that know me already know this. Those that don’t here it is for the first time maybe. Gary Krause is a very interesting person. Yes I like him however he is some times a lose cannon on the council, there are times you have no idea were he is coming from or were he maybe going.

Two years ago you may remember councilor Krause introduced an ordinance’s that called on people to mow there lawns. It seemed to be yet another attack on landlords. Well many property owners take care of there land some don’t. This goes for either rental or single family owned houses.

As you may remember this passed two years ago by a 5-4 vote but was vetoed by then Mayor Herb Bergson.  One of the few things I agreed with him on.

Now it’s back by the same councilor. The only change in the ordinance is your grass could be two more inches longer before it is deemed illegal. Two years ago the ordinance was if your grass was 8 inches then it was to high. That moves to 10 inches in this ordinance.

I disagree with this ordinance. I will have more on this later. In that post I will dive in to a few different things. I am waiting on some email reply’s.

Mayor Ness to balance the budget.

Mayor Ness said he has a way to balance the budget that would not pass the buck to the tax payers. The balanced budget erases a 6.2 million deficit.

Ness said he does not want to raise taxes any further for 2009. His plan would also avoid lay offs in the city. He also added that it does not cut city services.

The plan needs to be approved by the city council.

More on this later. 

Lew Latto can’t tell the truth.

I wonder how any one can trust any thing that Lew say’s. He can’t even tell the truth about him being fired. He keeps saying that he was on an extended vacation.

Now ever one knows that he was fired by Ron Stone yet Lew say’

 

I was on an extended vacation. Please Lew come out and say you were fired.

Lew is far from the tabernacle of truth when he can’t even tell the truth about his firing. Just come out and tell the truth Lew you were fired say it on the air. You can do it.

TELL US THE TRUTH LEW!!!!!!

No Governor Pawlenty.

After this term is over in 2010 Minnesota will have a new Governor. Yes that is correct Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty has said he will not seek a third term.

This seems to open up his run for President in the next presidential election. Now I disagree with that this will help him. I think that him not being Governor is a bad idea. It is better to run for president as a current some thing (Governor) in this case. It seems to hurt you more when you run as a former what ever.

Now if he would have ran for a third term and lost that would have been worse but the fact is if he ran for a third term he would not lose no matter who the Democrats bring forward.

This will sure open the race on both sides and idea on who may run now? I would guess there is no shorted of candidates. 

The Duluth Huskies win.

The Huskies had there home opener last night at Wade Stadium. Well there was not a very big crowd the huskies fought on for a win.

The game was tied after nine innings at 4 with the St. Cloud river bats. It remained tied to the bottom of the 12th inning.

Tim Jobe was up with a running scoring position. Tim was not going to get any thing good to hit in his at bat. He did however make contact with one pitch.

He lined just over the head of the second basemen for the bat’s and won the game for the huskies 5-4.

Lew Latto return.

Lew Latto returned the the air yesterday after being fired a couple of month ago. The little bit I listened and what I have heard from other people the show has not changed at all. It is still the same old show.

It seems that Lew did not listen the the poll here.

If Lew Latto returns to the air waves were do you think it will be.

WDSM

  3 (23%)

KDAL

  2 (15%)

WEBC

  0 (0%)

FAN 1490

  0 (0%)

Lew don't come back please.

  8 (61%)

Much better.

I am doing much so post will be coming as things go on. I will hopefully post some today. I am also going to be cleaning up the site a bit today as well. I will be taking down the sports page and all will appear here on this site. I don’t write that much about sports.

I would have started to post again yesterday but it was my daughters fourth birthday and we spent the day with her. She got to plan the whole day it was fun.