A Housing Primer

I'm going to be busy tomorrow morning helping Bluegill pick out the interior for his new ride, so in the meantime, I invite you to ponder the important message contained in this link.

(Apologies for the previously bad link)

Elsa Knows

Two categories for today, kids.

1. Which local resident acquired a copy of the city's 2003 audit, lost it, and had to have the State Board of Accounts e-mail it to them again?

Bonus Essay Question: Who recently drew a city, county, or quasi-public agency paycheck, but now does not? How has that affected their ability to measure reality? Is paranoia contagious? Is quarantine called for?

News and Notes

Word on the street is that a major TV talking head, one we all have the chance to see regularly commenting on high-profile legal cases, is coming to New Albany...more details as they become available.

----------------------------------------------

No one has yet articulated why the group is so desperately opposed to a new subdivision of vintage homes relocated from the Floyd County hospital grounds. No one has yet explained why they oppose bringing tens of millions of dollars to New Albany to be used to rehabilitate substandard housing.

But the plaintiffs' hail-mary effort to stymie Linden Meadows was rebuffed, as expected, when special judge Cecile Blau cut through the attempts to confuse the issue and ruled in favor of the City of New Albany. Lead plaintiff Becky Gardenour vowed to appeal the decision. No word yet from Main Street on whether funds will continue to flow to pay for the lawsuit appeal.

----------------------------------------------

One local blogger knows better than all of us the benefits that would flow from completion of Linden Meadows.

Wonder why we never hear about it from that quarter?

----------------------------------------------

Sen. Connie Sipes is trying to hold back the tide, or at least ameliorate some of the ill effects of a telecom deregulation bill making its way through the General Assembly. This has become an annual assault on the people. Government is best when it's closest to the people. So why

would the legislature pass a bill removing local authority over cable TV, and threaten to prevent (preempt) localities from providing municipal broadband services?

----------------------------------------------

Maury K. Goldberg, publisher of the Web log "New Albany Today," provides an important service by posting the candidate filings this month. But Maury, we'll find it wherever it is.

Come back to blogging new content!

Happy Birthday, Senator!

Beloved by most Democrats and admired by millions, Birch Bayh gave his best to Indiana. Today he and his family mark the Senator's 78th birthday. Happy Birthday, Senator.

Tribune Stepping Out

We had heard the members of the new regime at The Tribune and The Evening News were maintaining a low editorial profile until they felt comfortable with their grasp of local issues.

Five of the six members of the editorial board are new to the institution, and effectively, new to the area, although publisher John Tucker can hardly be called a newcomer. He has been here, more or less as a full-timer, for time sufficient to suss out the landscape.

Today, that board came out of their self-imposed hibernation. Maybe now the citizenry will do the same. I'm persuaded that New Albany Can, but only if the people pay attention. A provocative Trib is one means to focusing that attention and the lead editorial deserves a look.

Let me first say I disagree with the conclusion and opinion expressed in the piece titled "Closing Silvercrest is right decision" under the heading "Our Opinion." That said, the editorial board tries to explain its conclusion, lays out their methodology for making a choice, and provides supporting facts and professional analysis.

The Daniels administration sent a team to "sell" the idea to the editorial board. They bought it. This is the same Republican administration that, as reported by The Tribune, claimed the support of New Albany's Democratic mayor for its 2006 agenda for the cities and for transportation priorities. Wrongly, as it turns out, but with today's editorial, TMM can add The Tribune (and The Evening News) to its roster of supporters. No printed corrections necessary.

Perhaps this was not as compelling a presentation as the headline implies, or this reader infers from the headline. The board exhibits more than a little suspicion about the Daniels administration's intentions, and pledges to closely monitor subsequent diversions of funding if the facility closes.

I've asked the publisher if the board has met with Rep. Bill Cochran (D-72) and Sen. Connie Sipes (D-46) on this issue. They have made a compelling case that the facility is uniquely suited to serving its clients and should be maintained intact.

We invite your opinions today. Post away!