Comments by Ken King
January 17, 2007
The HMB code that reserved a mandatory position for Mid Coast representation existed since 1991. Mr. Ginna's wordsmithing places this in the future tense, "make it a requirement, etc," as if this was something being attempted. My point was that where nothing is broken, why fix it? Fix it they did last night anyway--it's now optional. Which means it won't be long until that position is replaced with a HMB resident. We should have no doubt that our canny mayor already has someone in mind, else this…
January 15, 2007
Ironically, on the very same night that Midcoast residents are getting together to discuss a cooperative and inclusive plan for parks, the newly-elected Mayor of HMB, Naomi Patridge is introducing an ordinance that would eliminate assured representation of Midcoast residents on the HMB Parks and Recreation Commission. The alleged reason for the ordinance: it's too hard to fill the Midcoast slot! Perhaps some Midcoast residents who can will miss the County's park meeting can show up at Tuesday's HMB…
January 08, 2007
Having lived through the period Dana chronicles while working on the other side of the hill in an all-consuming industry, I was only vaguely aware of some of this history--well, truth be told, not all that much . . . So thank you, Dana, for enlightening us about the past politics of land use protection here on the coastside. The Review's gloss reminded me of one of those smiley faced buttons.
November 22, 2006
It's a misnomer to call it the "no-light" alternative when they are considering "no-project" at all as the alternative. McClung, Patridge and Fraser appear ready to abandon widening Highway 1 to four lanes north of Main to Grandview despite the traffic studies showing that this substantially improves the overall flow of city traffic during commute hours, and especially despite the fact that the developer pays for all infrastructure improvements. Passing up a chance to improve the commute experience…
November 07, 2006
Mr. Muteff's parsing of my 11/02 message misses the mark, since I didn't suggest, "that can't we all just get along." That sounds nice, but doesn't strike me as a realistic goal given the inverted order of our respective values I mentioned in that post. What I did suggest is that given our differences, we should all strive for clear communication with less intense emotional expression because to the degree we stay on message, to that degree we can talk with and to each other. Brian Ginna's tone and…
November 06, 2006
Looks like Night on Bald Mountain with all the spooky witches and goblins flying about, Pam Fisher playing the mountain, of course. The only thing missing is the Mussorgsky soundtrack. Reading this blog from start to finish, there has not been one word written, one fact offered that even hints that Pam Fisher would not be a superb board member. Instead, there has been a well-orchestrated assault on her character, that is wildly colored beyond belief. Examples: she has a large, menacing and incontinent…
November 06, 2006
Had PCF signs bothered with truth in advertising, they'd have displayed Riemer's name under Schreurs'-- remember that they worked together to elect Charlie Gardner to CUSD board in 05?
PCF's strategy was to distance Schreurs and Riemer's names because of the taint of "the ad," the one they camouflaged to look like Lundell's in the Review in 05. So Ms. Schreurs has her own signs to bolster an independent image, while Mr. Wilson gets to play second fiddle to Kirk Riemer. Image management 1a.
November 06, 2006
One more brilliant Ginna "insight" pertaining to CUSD election. By his logic, Steve Skinner would now be on HMB's council had his name been promoted above Grady and Ferreira's. We might now guess why CCF placed Wilson's name last: they want him to lose!
November 05, 2006
Dwight Wilson must shake his head about how his handlers opted to push the unknown Reimer over Wilson, a cynical ploy at bottom. Witness the plethora of split campaign signs with Reimer's name over Wilson's, as if Wilson is boosting Reimer on his shoulders. If that isn't galling enough, Wilson, the largest vote getter in the school board race four years ago, appears at the bottom of the Review ad with Jolanda Schreurs on top and Kirk Reimer again straddling Dwight's fictive shoulders. (Post cards…
November 04, 2006
CCF (and PCF) found a pliant candidate in Kirk Reimer to round out its slate. No surprise that LCP members rank competence over political loyalty in choosing who to vote for the school board. Mr. Ginna implies Leland Yee's $500 donation to Pam Fisher is suspect, since Yee appears to gain nothing by Fisher's election. Ginna wonders if Fisher even met with Yee--I wonder at Mr. Ginna's naivet�. Yee not only met with Pam Fisher, but was sufficiently impressed to make a substantial contribution to…
November 04, 2006
Anyone notice, "CUSD candidates report contributions" on page 12A in this week's Review? Kirk Reimer is reported to have over $6000 in campaign contributions, roughly four time that of either Scheurs or Wilson. The saying goes, "Follow the money," if you want to understand how things really work in politics. $4000 of Reimer's $$ comes from Keith Waddell, now known as CUSD's "anonymous donor" for the work on the athletic fields. Mr. Waddell also paid CUSD's legal costs in the Highland Park neighbors'…
November 04, 2006
Talk about chutzpah! I think it's hilarious that Kirk Reimer is sandwiched between the two incumbents in the Review ad, sharing credit for their stated accomplishments, as if he has already been a board member. I wonder if voters are really as credulous and easily manipulated as that?
November 03, 2006
Joel, I hope that your confidence that the planners have figured it out right is not premature and will be bourne out by the studies.
Call me cynical, but if an introduced third lane lasting a few tenths of a mile "gives everyone hope," I imagine the impact of 700+ residents' vehicles and those of their guests will bring everyone back to reality as they merge into the existing roadway.
November 03, 2006
Mssrs Farbstein and Bacon have unique notions about what Coastsider's operational mission is or should be. In this case, Barry linked to a Tribune article while giving a capsule summary describing the pro position in more words than the anti's objections, but then is accused of news slanting by these two. Thanks for being vigilant and "objective" concerned citizens, both of you. Farbstein faults Barry for not elaborating as much as the Tribune article, and not making inferences lacking in the original.…
November 02, 2006
Alexis De Tocqueville wrote in his Democracy in America (1835) that Americans have a greater propensity to form associations than people of any other country. It only stands to reason that those of us forming groups like CCF and LCP, to name two, would have more in common than not, and that since the goals of these respective groups are inverted, that sparks fly when we meet here on Barry's "commons," much as those between Shakespeare's Montagues and Capulets. I am an avowed partisan, but I also…
October 31, 2006
What can Brian Ginna possibly be trying to convey when he lands in a discussion about school board candidates and asserts, "Smells an awful lot like LCP spending $23K (mostly) on the HMB City Council elections and not having to file details until the following January. HOW IS THAT ANY DIFFERENT?" That to most folks, Mr.Ginna, is known as a non sequitur, which means it doesn't follow from any previous discussion anyone else is having, even though it makes sense to you alone. First, there you go again…
October 30, 2006
Brian Ginna floats another red herring into a Coastsider discussion. Jonathan Lundell worked on Voice of the Coast the year after he lost his election, so the two events are unrelated. But don't let facts stand in the way of a good fish story. The dirty trick for a school board seat (of all things!), exposed the character of the board member implicated, Ms. Schreurs, as well as that of her ally, Mr. Riemer, who financed the prank. And let's not forget that this was done not just to damage Jonathan…
October 30, 2006
Mr. Bacon, the figures appearing in another letter were $373,000 for the district side, and almost a fifth as much for the neighbors, according to Mrs. Fisher, which would be near $80,000. That represents a lot of $$ for a few families to raise, so "mutually-destructive" would seem to apply. Superintendent Bayless told the neighbors that a donor was paying for the entire development as well as any legal costs incurred, presumably to indicate his commitment toward proceding, and that deep pockets…
October 30, 2006
Don't agree with you about the Economist, Barry. The magazine is an anthology of articles culled from the daily British paper of the same name, and all of those articles are written from a smug, neoliberal viewpoint, which happens to be the domiant paradigm in economics today. The writing style is sprightly and flip, but also iritatingly allknowing because of the stance of its writers, who assume readers must agree with them on what's good policy, i.e. "good economics." Because they don't challenge…
October 29, 2006
Her Poodle peed on the astroturf? Outrageous! Let's get Cheney towaterboard the mutt and find out who gave the order...
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