Time to Walk the Walk.

It is really easy to bang away at the keyboard sneering and playing Monday Morning Quarterback with our politicians at all levels. Which isn't to say that those sneers and second-guesses are unearned. But at the end of the day if we really, really want to look ourselves in the mirror, or face our children and say we are really making a difference then it is time to push ourselves away from the desk. Time to walk the walk.

Which is why I announced this week that I am running for Clinton City Council for an At-Large seat. The election is this November 6.

Just a couple of weeks ago, via Ed Fallon's IM for Iowa mailing list I got a message urging people to run for their local offices. Ed said,

Somehow, we have to get beyond the ridiculous, popular notion that all politicians are crooks. Heck, even my favorite folk singer, Don McLean, said as much from the stage as he performed the closing act at the Iowa State Fair earlier this month, calling all presidential candidates “liars.” Do some tell lies? Sure. Big ones. But if McLean would choose to pay attention, he would hear a lot of truth in what some of the candidates have to say. In fact, some campaign rhetoric follows the same themes McLean so poetically expresses in his music.

I don’t know how to put this any more emphatically, so imagine that the next sentence is highlighted, bold-faced and underlined (this e-mail program only allows caps): WE ARE THE GOVERNMENT. IF POLITICIANS ARE CORRUPT AND ACT ONLY IN THE INTEREST OF BIG BUSINESS AND THE VERY WEALTHY, IT’S BECAUSE WE LET THEM GET AWAY WITH IT!

I've spent a lot of time in my life as the person or a person behind the candidate. I have always said that I would take my turn, when I had my fortune made and I could do and say what I wanted. But that would mean that I would allow my children to grow up in a city and a region that is not the great place to live, work and do business that I know it can be.

There is a lot of work to be done. If this campaign is to be run right -- that is to say run to win -- then there are doors to be knocked, funds to be raised, signs to be put up and voters to be turned out.

This blog is going to go on hiatus until after Election Day. But, I will continue to blog, just in a more focused way. I'll be blogging about what it is like to run a local campaign in Iowa as a first-time candidate. Please join the conversation over at www.andersonforclinton.org

Later,

Connor Anderson


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Now playing:

Street Light at 13th Avenue and Mill Creek Parkway

In the wake of another accident on Mill Creek Parkway last weekend -- this one took the life of a 77 year-old woman -- a resident has posted an online petition requesting a traffic study and consideration of a full stop light at that intersection. Currently there is simply a blinking yellow yield light.

I have signed it and I urge others to do so as well. Link to petition.

Edit: Yes, I am aware that I misspelled Clinton on my entry. Been a long week.
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Tidbits for the End of Summer

I've set a personal record for monthly billings this month so, I'm a bit bushed. I'll be making some major posts soon. In the meantime, here are some tidbits that will be of interest to regular readers:

One of the best sources for inside information on energy policy has called it quits. Policy Pete has hung 'em up. His last post should be at the link above. As far as I know, Pete -- whose pseudonym I have cursorily attempted to break through to no avail, but whose domain is owned by, Grand Finandels Trust, a company that seems to abide by the old WASP slogan, "A person's name should appear in the paper when they are born, when they marry and when they die." --is apparently a player in in the energy and financial sectors. Hopefully he will keep his archive up in perpetuity. It's links will remain a treasure trove of resources on energy policy. And for what it is worth in regards to my last post on the Magic Number for Peak Oil being 86.13mdb in 2006, Pete's pick is: 107mbd in 2017. You pays your money and you takes your chances.

If you are going to go and make one of the centerpieces of your political career anti-homosexuality and you have irresistible urges to engage in intercourse with members of the same sex you should probably consider a job in the private sector. What is it with these guys anyway?

If have that feeling, as I often do, that despite "reasonable" raises over the past six years or so you feel like you actually have less to spend, then you are probably right. Barry Ritholtz at the Big Picture wraps up some recent findings in Real Income Fails to Rise for Most of the 2000's. Remember, the Fed's inflation statistics measures inflation ex-inflation

Hang in there. A site redesign is in the works and a major post coming early next week.

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Petition Drive 101

For those from out of town, the Clinton Community Schools wish to extend the Instructional Support Levy (property tax assessment) a further one percent to a 9 percent rate. This translates into 26 cents per $1,000 of assesed value. On a $200,000 home, that's $52.00 per year. $52 per year, per homeowner to help fund the schools.

More background here, all the financial details, here.

There are those who feel that any tax increase no matter how small, no matter in what cause is one more small step towards Communism. They announced a petition drive to force a referendum on the tax increase, as is their Constitutional right, nay duty to do. Of course, they knew full well that no city referendum has passed in Clinton since the original ISL Levy passed on its second attemt in 2002. And there is one nearly every year.

When the petitions were submitted<, well, things weren't quite as cut and dried as they seemed as today's article shows:

On Aug. 6, a petition was filed by community members, with Board Secretary and District Business Director Gayle Isaac to submit the following resolution to the voters: “Shall the Clinton Community School District, of Clinton, Iowa, be authorized to levy a 1 percent increase from 8 percent to 9 percent, the assessed rate of 26 cents per $1,000 property evaluation and to also increase to 8 percent the state income tax surtax rate from the support of the Instructional Support Levy; with the collection of the levy commencing July 1, 2008, through June 30, 2013.”

The petition has to have 401 valid signatures. But according to Clinton School District Superintendent Randy Clegg, the petition was worded incorrectly and the petition did not have the required number of signatures.

...

“Their petition actually calls for an election on an instructional support program that is worded in such a way that it will not work,” he explained.

The petition also failed to be presented with the required 401 signatures of eligible voters as required under Iowa Code Section 257.18(2).

The petition was forwarded to the Clinton County Auditor, Commissioner of Elections, Charlie Sheridan. He reviewed the petition to determine if it contained the required number of signatures. An analysis provided to the district showed that only 374 verifiable signatures of eligible voters were on the petition.

During tonight’s meeting, the board will go into closed session as provided in Section 21.5(1)(c) of the open meetings law to discuss strategies with counsel. When the meeting reopens, Clegg said the board will act on a resolution to invalidate the petition.

Does anyone know how many signatures the committee claimed to have? Shocking I know, but the Herald seems to have omitted this salient fact.

410 are required but how many did they claim to have turned in? The article says the Auditor only validated 374. That's a six percent miss.

Six to ten percent is pretty average for a petition drive. People sign twice (deliberately or not) non-eligible people sign ("Here, have my cousin from Sabula sign too!"). So in order to guarantee a good petition drive, you should have, say at least 10 percent more signatures than you need.

Of course, turning in more signatures shows political muscle, so lots of groups will go out of their way to deliver two or three times the required number. But, 28 days is a tight schedule, so I can see where just getting the bare minimum for comfort was the best doable option.

So, a ten percent cushion would mean submitting at least 442 signatures.

If the signature count isn't good enough, then arcane arguments about resolution language are moot. Of course, if one were in deadly earnest about this issue, one would probably also have an attorney familiar with ballot language at least have a look at it first.

The petition language thing is (I suppose) legit. Although I think what it is really about is a big middle finger from the School District to the petition organizers. It is the School District saying, "We can pay for lawyers. Can you?" Hardball? Certainly. Suitable for Clinton? Most would say no, but a great man once said, "Politics ain't beanbag."

Play to win or go home.

The hearing was tonight. More as it develops.

Edit The wife informs me that this article from last week tells me that 475 signatures were handed in. That's a whopping 25 percent miss rate. So, pretty sloppy work on the petition drive. You have to police that stuff. It's not total signatures, it's total valid signatures.

Still, if the School Board had any inkling they were that far off the mark, why bother to play hardball with the petition language?

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Presidential Candidate Extravaganza in Clinton, Aug. 18

Rep. Polly Bukta's annual corn boil, which is always the political event of the summer in Clinton County, will be even more of a must-attend this year. She has wrapped up Sens. Clinton, Biden and Dodd as well as John Edwards. Sen. Obama has promised "a major surrogate," but not himself. Hopefully, the Obama campaign will send out the Senator's wife who is supposed to be a rather compelling person and speaker in her own right.

In addition to the presidential candidates, most of the regional statewide office holders will be in attendance. Congressman Bruce Braley will also be there.

All in all, a fine day to eat some food and pigeonhole your elected officials about whatever is on your mind.

The event has become so large that is has moved from Rep. Bukta's home to Alliant Energy Field. Noon to 4 p.m. $10 gets you some corn and a bevvy. The ball park will be serving its usual fare at the concession stands. No reservations required. Children 12 and under are free.

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Results of School Board Action re: Arts Program at CHS

CHS currently has a staff of 3 art instructors. One has been let go already this year. The Budget Committee proposed axing a second position and leaving one instructor in place. There are currently (I forget the exact number) but it is in the neighborhood of the mid 500's students signed up for art classes.

The argument was made in a very dispassionate manner that the numbers don't add up. Dr. Clegg said that 300 students was the break-even point for a full-time staff person. 550 < 600, ergo only one full time staff person needed.

Students who wish to take more advanced art classes can and should take advantage of the classes offered at Ashford or CCC.

All of this completely misses the point of course. That art students are more often than not kids having a hard time finding their place in the high school hierarchy, and in life in general and who truly NEED the art program as a lifeline. That a vital art program is just, plain and simple part of a well-rounded educational system. That modern education without the arts, music, drama, etc. is just a testing mill cranking out book smart cultural illiterates.

Running an public education system is not like running a manufacturing operation. You can't just shutter an assembly line because demand tails off for a few quarters. Education is an investment. Arts programs are not glamor programs but they are needed. If the program is cut, demand will fall off even more as students are crowded out of what little exists or walk away because what little is offered doesn't meet their needs -- commercial art, photography, painting and print making are among the classes axed tonight.

Even if the lean times pass, starting the program up again once it has degenerated into a mere trifle will require making an investment that is not necessarily justified by the numbers. I don't see this board ever making that sort of commitment of resources.

The final motion was to only cut a half a position leaving 1.5 full-time positions at the high school. It passed 5-1 (Dave Frett was not present) with only Wendy Krajnovich voting against. This was certainly a victory of expediency over vision.

This will only get worse. Last year was the struggle to save the music and band programs in the middle school. Also this year the computer courses at Washington were cut. What next year?

As I said at the meeting, the district is building palaces for education with one hand and hollowing them out with the other.

There were probably 20-25 students there turned out in black T-shirts printed, Save The Arts. Some very passionate and tearful speeches made by these young people, some of whom made the same points that I did -- that this was a lifeline for them.

Also, although my statement was a bit long winded, Debra Olsen shut me down the moment any mention of Dr. Clegg's salary left my mouth. I did not mention any number, I merely said, "the very generous salary that the Citizens of Clinton pay you," and that was it, she cut in and asked me to allow others to have their say. I was mostly done anyway, but I found it pretty amusing. For the record, I had the someone dig into the Herald Archives for me today. Dr. Clegg's current pay package is $112,500 in salary and benefits. In addition this year he was awarded an $11,900 "annuity."

Remarks to School Board on Art Faculty Cuts

Members of the Board. I am here tonight wearing three hats. I am the parent of three children, the youngest of which begins kindergarden at Eagle Heights Elementary in the fall. I am also a member of the Clinton Iowa Great Places Steering Committee. Lastly, I am also a member of the Board of Directors of the Gateway Area Coalition for the Arts. A number of members of both organizations have requested that I address you on these matters this evening.

The great leaders of this nation… Heck even I, grew up going to school in tumbledown old buildings; one room school houses and dilapidated old WPA era buildings that were cold in winter and boiling in spring. But somehow, with the care, commitment and passion of our teachers we managed to get a world-class education; an education good enough to make the state of Iowa synonymous with smart, ethical, hard working people. An education that allowed me to go to Washington, D.C. and tread the halls of power and engage with the people of privilege, the graduates of Harvard, and Yale and have them stop and ask, “Where are you from?”

“Iowa.”

“Where did you go to school?”

“Rockwell-Swaledale Community High School and University of Iowa, what’s your point?”

That is what our public schools are there for; they are the great levelers; the first, most important rung on the ladder of mobility in our society. This fine public education system is worth more to Iowa than all the money spent on all schools and all the teachers since the settlement of the state. Many of you may be familiar with the famous lament of Iowa governors and economic development people that they go to either coast and hobnob with the corporate elite and those powerful captains of industry always say, “Iowa… all our best employees are from Iowa.” And why don’t they stay here?

Well there are a few of us who return like salmon to the fresh, fertile waters of our birth to raise our own children. And what do we find? State and local school officials unable to simply maintain the status quo. Our legacy of academic and civic excellence is being squandered

Today we are talking about trying to save the art programs at Clinton High? What will we be trying to bail out next year? Drama? Music in the middle schools? Too late for some. Debate? Technology?

How about sports? No, not ever that! That would be politically untenable!

I’m telling you here and now that cutting the art program at Clinton High School is politically untenable. Not two years ago, this City received the designation of one of Iowa’s Great Places largely on the premise that Clinton was a town that appreciated the arts, that wanted to grow and embrace the arts. Now we are talking about cutting the art staff at the high school by two-thirds. Nice work. As someone who labored long an hard for that Great Places designation, who takes it to heart and continues to work to make it a reality, I take this move by the school district as a slap in the face.

I’m not the only one either. Neither the oldest, and certainly not the youngest.

Adolesence is tough stuff. Humans are genetically programmed to go through this change in life from youth to adult in a traumatic way. Fortunately we are no longer the primitive, East African Plains Apes of so long ago who send our 13 year-olds out, pointed stick in hand and say, “Here kid, bring me a mastodon pelt and you’ll be a man. If you don’t make it, hey, it wasn’t meant to be.” No, we are enlightened citizens of the 21st Century. We send our kids to high school.

Perhaps I’m facing a panel of former high school football-baseball-basketball stars, cheerleaders and prom courtesans and courtiers. But, I’m here to tell you, even at 42 I remember high school quite well, thank you. One does not graduate from high school, one SURVIVES high school. High school is the crucible… the forge from which we shape the metal of the future of our nation… of our community.

As a young man with no visible place to fit in, it was my teachers, all of my teachers but most of all my art teachers that nurtured my talents, that made me feel valuable, that gave me a vision of something worthwhile that I could do, that made me fell special. Aside from merely educating our youth this is the secondary but no less important function of high school. It is this time of life in which we begin to find our place in the world; a place where we can lend meaning to our lives; more than anything a place where we FIT IN.

It is this secondary role that the arts fit into as part of the whole. While the high school can still be realistically said to be operating “normally” without a well found arts program, it can no longer be considered complete; a fully functional system for generating well-rounded young people.

It must seem like it is all about No Child Left Behind but what about the children who get left behind because the sliver of an art program that is left behind has no room for them, or cannot offer them what they need. This is the destruction of the art program in all but name, let us make no mistake. Only a fool or a liar could face the citizens of Clinton and claim that one teacher can provide a decent high school art program in a town of 27,000.

Today the school district is with one hand putting the citizens of this city in hock for the next two decades for new palaces of education, while the other hollows them out. What good does it do us to have children who can do their sums and construct a proper sentence in accordance with the standards of the Iowa Test of Basic skills if they come out of the system as cultural illiterates? What good does it do us to have our children chasing the tails of federal mandates if they no longer reflect the nature, the expectations and the culture of the place they grew up in? What good does that do our city, our state, our nation in these times of crisis, when more than ever we need creative, enthusiastic citizens to help us cover the bets of our generations of folly?

Do not think Councilmen and -women that I and my fellow citizens here tonight do not appreciate the difficulties facing school boards across the state. I am completely cognizant of the pressures you are under. And I sympathize. But I will not accept excuses. Yours is the responsibility entrusted by this community to build coalitions, think creatively, find new solutions to make this work.

But because these decisions are diffucult and gut-wrenching we cannot accept attempts to deflect blame for the descisons upon the teachers’ union as was insinuated by board members in the Clinton Herald. Ah, the greedy, grasping unions. The root cause of all evil in our republic. Shame on them. All they do is hold our futures in the palm of their hands. All they ask is a living wage. How dare they?! What sort of purely political animal blames the TEACHERS for their own inability to deliver a competitive, living wage that will attract the sort of educators that Iowa expects for her children? What sort of person, just a WEEK after the governor signs a bill raising teacher pay, blames the TEACHERS for his or her inability to balance the school districts books and retain staff?

And while we are addressing the ever increasing salaries of teachers, let me just address my fellow citizens in the crowd tonight. Think upon this, if thes ever-increasing rise in salaries disturbs you, if you are tired of more taxes going into the system just to maintain as is, perhaps you might consider voting for those people who want to put a proper health care system in place in this country. Because THAT, my friends is what is behind this debate here today, make no error. Health care will be behind all the Faustian bargains that the school board makes with itself in the coming years. Fix health care and we fix many problems like the one we face here today.

But that’s not going to help us here tonight. I for one am have no problem with my taxes going to teachers’ salaries. It is in fact the one thing I relish paying my taxes for. I am willing to pay higher taxes to pay the teachers more. Heck, pay ‘em like flippin’ CEO’s for all I care. If it means my children can get the same education, the same OPPORTUNITIES that I got, you’ll not hear a peep from me about the cost. Whatever it costs it’s still cheaper than sending them to Prince of Peace.

I’m with Horace Mann: public education is the foundation stone of our democracy. Iowa’s foundation is granite. THAT is what I left Chicago to come home for. THAT is the legacy came here to give my children, THAT is the legacy I DEMMAND for my children. I don’t care what the rest of the town thinks, tax me to the eyeballs for teacher’s pay. But if you can’t do that, don’t ask me for another cent for your facilities boondoggles.

We’re Iowans. We expect better. Tonight you must find a way to pay for a decent arts program in the high school. Going forward you and all of us must find a sustainable way to maintain the standards we Iowans expect in our educational system. Kick it upstairs to the legislature, march on Des Moines, I’ll be with you. Kick it upstairs to the voters, I’ll be with you. But find a way. That’s why you were elected, that’s why you get paid six figures. Find a way… Or find new jobs.

Clinton School Staff Cuts

Watch this space for remarks by me to School Board later tonight re: staff cuts. Specifically, cuts to the art faculty at the High School. Bad.

Clinton Cops Sue City Because they Failed to Read the Contract.

A recent article in the Clinton Herald caught my eye. Police Sue City Over Pay Scale.

The Clinton Police Bargaining Unit is suing the city of Clinton over the police department’s expired contract.

The contract was in effect from July 1, 2002 to June 30, 2006, and covered all sworn and non-sworn officers.

The bargaining unit contends that the pay matrix included in the contract was erroneous. The lawsuit alleges that neither the police nor the city were aware of the error when the contract was signed.

The collective bargaining agreement reflected in the contract was negotiated between the fall of 2001 and winter of 2002. Prior to the negotiations, officers were awarded a 4 percent pay increase for each promotion in rank and for each increase in “longevity.” “Longevity” is represented by incremental milestones for years of service (one, three, five, eight years, and so on).

During the negotiations, the bargaining unit and the city agreed on a 4.5 percent increase for each promotion in rank or increase in longevity. In addition, suit claims that the “negotiations that year revolved around a half percent increase to all rank and longevity positions.”

The suit alleges that the contract “fails to accurately relate or carry out the true intent or intended agreement of the parties.” It continues, “(The contract) as written fails to express the true agreement between the parties.”

The bargaining unit is asking the court to determine the true intent of the parties, and “reform the contract to reflect the true intent and agreement of the parties.”

The suit is also seeking “such other and further relief as is just and equitable in the premises.”

This story has caused soem strum and drang among both the CAVE dwellers and also among knucle-dragging conservatives who think that if unions are involved then the bedrock of liberty upon which our nation is founded is under existential threat.

Reading about the tortured nature of just performing the basics of self-governance in this city reminds me of Casey Stengal's famous lament from the dugout as manager of the 1962 Mets: "Can't anyone here play this game?"

Couple of things here. One, this has nothing to do with Fair Share. It is kind of sad how ignorant people are about how unions function -- I'm guilty of this myself, but then I can always ask a local Union Thug when I have a question. I say sad, considering that we owe most of the workplace related niceties that we take for granted to the hard work and suffering of union people in the past. Little things, like the 40-hour week, the minimum wage, workmen's compensation, basic workplace safety standards, stuff like that.

You know, it's funny but I've witnessed several occasions where one day a person would be all like, "Unions suck and are useless and drag down businesses and are good for nothing." Then a few weeks or days later that person gets a job that involves union membership -- and union wages -- and turns around and prays twice daily in the direction of the grave of John L. Lewis. Funny how a little cash and job security can change a guy's attitude, huh?

Secondly, it appears that this is a reasonable attempt to resolve a long-standing conflict between labor and management. The cops have been working without a contract for about nine months now. How long would people on this board prefer to work without a contract before taking steps to clarify things? If you were in the cops' place and could sue without loosing your job, would you? 'Vantage number two, said the Bi-Coloured-Python-Rock-Snake .

What this story fairly screams to me is the usual sort of slipshod, oh-just-do-it-it's-good-enough, attitude that plagues public affairs at every level in Clinton. Didn't know the pay matrix was wrong when they signed the contract? WTF? How could you miss that? Asking the court to "to determine the true intent of the parties, and 'reform the contract to reflect the true intent and agreement of the parties?' " Oh, that's rich. That should work out just fine then.

Here is something the local cops and City Management might want to try after the judge wipes away the tears of mirth and with Solmonic (sic?) dispatch slices the baby in twain: read the freakin' contract before you ratify it!

Building Code Kerfuffle.

Note: This is an example of the kind of journalistic thing I would simply love to do much more of if time afforded. I've done my best to get the facts correct. Quotes are direct from my transcribed notes of conversations with the person's involved. Please feel free to add anything useful or to point out corrections in the comments.

For many years in Clinton the lack of a municipal building code has been a Gordian Knot that has resisted all efforts to untie it by voters, developers, and local government officials. On March 12, a bill intended to cut the knot unanimously passed the Iowa House and was sent to the Senate. The bill, House File 590, was sponsored by State Representatives, Polly Bukta (D-Clinton) and Geri Huser (D-Altoona). It would require all municipalities under the population of 15,000 that do not have their own building code to adopt the state building code. The number of communities affected by this bill? One. Clinton.

The result was predictable and brought out the best in Clinton politics and public discourse. Elected City officials immediately disclaimed any knowledge or encouragement of Rep. Bukta’s bill. Those local constituencies that have long fought a building code cried “foul!” and many surmised in public that the whole thing is a conspiracy cooked up by organized labor, building contractors from the Quad Cities, and the Democratic Party to cram unwanted regulations down the throats of the good citizens of Clinton. City employees advocated for a building code were compared by a City Council member to Communist Party apparatchiks.

This being 2007, this discussion inevitably spilled over to Internet bulletin boards, chiefly the “Hey Martha!” board run by the Clinton Herald’s parent company, Community Newspaper Holdings, Inc. On March 23, David Jindrich, an Iowa Department of Corrections Employee, posted a message that stated in part,

It’s no secret that the City Council feels that they have egg on their frowning faces. First, two City employees [i.e.: Fire Chief & Fire Marshall] with the blessing of the Mayor, take the issue to the State Fire Chiefs (sic.) Association [A professional organization] to lobby the legislature for a change in state law. Then Polly joins ranks and runs the HF through the House with little debate. The Mayor denies any knowledge on behalf of the Council that the Fire Department employees had taken the issue to Des Moines.

Jindrich had also apparently posted the text of an e-mail text of an email sent by Second Ward City Councilman, Mike Kearny to three members of the Senate Local Government Subcommittee that are considering the bill. CNHI moderators deleted this post and then revoked Jindrich’s posting privileges on the Clinton Herald bulletin boards.

Jindrich then posted on the privately run, “Hey Mabel!” boards informing the readers there (many of whom frequent both communities) of his booting from Hey Martha! and reposting the email from Councilman Kearny. The text of this email reads:

>----- Original Message -----
From: Michael Kearney
To: bill.heckroth@legis.state.ia.us ; brian.schoenjahn@legis.state.ia.us
brad.zaun@legis.state.ia.us
Cc: Roger Stewart ; Polly Bukta
Sent: Wednesday, March 21, 2007 4:02 PM
Subject: House File 590


Senator Heckroth, Senator Schoenjahn and Senator Zaun,

I am a City Councilman representing the 2nd Ward of the City of Clinton. I am deeply disturbed by House File 590 because it is my understanding that the legislature was lobbied by employees of the City of Clinton without the prior knowledge or consent of the City Council. I might have expected such behavior in the former Soviet Union or modern day North Korea, but not in the United States where policy matters should be advocated openly by
elected bodies and not employees of the elected body in secret.

You should know that there are many of us both on the Council and other
community leaders who are very concerned about life and safety issues and who have been discussing approaches to deal with them who now feel that the rug has been pulled out from under them by the action which is now before the legislature.

Please call me with any questions. (Phone number redacted, ed.)

Sincerely,

Michael J. Kearney
200 5th Avenue South #304
Clinton, Iowa 52732

Mr. Jindrich stated that he was informed via e-mail that his membership in the CHNI, Hey Martha! boards had been revoked. According to Jindrich the stated reason was simply “violation of terms of service,” and that he received no warning.

Jindrich was contacted on March 23 and agreed to provide the author with a copy of the correspondence from CNHI but as of this writing had not done so.

It should be noted that Mayor Wynn did participate in a press conference on March 20, that generally supported the bill.

When asked if the e-mail message was genuine, Councilman Kearny asserted that it was. He clarified his position by stating, “The City Attorney has made it pretty clear over the last year, that in matters relating to the City the City Council is the decision making body. It is very disturbing that we have city employees who are taking it upon themselves to lobby. I’ve got a problem with that.”

Kearny also felt that Representative Bukta was wrong to introduce the bill without discussing it with City officials. “I am not happy about the fact that what has taken place has taken place without the knowledge of the council. You’d think she’d have the courtesy to inform the City Council,” Kearny explained.

The City of Clinton has steadfastly refused to adopt a building code. Starting in the 1940’s (time line here) the City Council has taken up the matter no less than five times. Voters defeated the previous two attempts by the City Council to adopt a building code in 1995 and in 2003. The 1995 referendum lead to the adoption of a fire code.

A recent example of the confusion that can be caused by a fire code that is dependent upon the subjective rulings of individual enforcement officers is the case of the restoration of the Armstrong Building on South 2nd Street. In 2005 plans were submitted for the adaptive reuse of the building using historical preservation tax credits. The Chamber of Commerce and Regional Development Corporation would occupy the ground floor while affordable housing apartments would be constructed by Spirit Lake-based, Community Housing Initiatives.

The Armstrong Building had an existing sprinkler system and the plans called for maintaining and upgrading that system. For both aesthetic, cost, and historical preservation reasons the plan was to keep the old wooden floor joists exposed.

The building permit was issued before construction began. However in April, 2005 while construction was nearly halfway completed, the Clinton Fire Marshall, Mike Brown told the joint developers that the fire code required that the ceilings be enclosed in drywall.

Community Housing Initiatives wished to appeal the decision. The City found it difficult to assemble the Appeals Board. It turns out this body had never been convened. The City had difficulty locating one member at all and several members were out of town for extended periods. It took seven weeks to bring the board together. The appeal was rejected and total cost to CHI was $38,000.

This was CHI’s third project in Clinton. The company also was the lead developer for the adaptive reuse of the Howes and the Van Allen Buildings. CHI Manager of Development, Sam Erickson said they would work with the city again, but, “If you want to continue to develop and forward your community, you are going to have to make things easier for developers and. You are going to turn people away.”

Ms. Erickson cited Dubuque as a stellar example of a medium-sized city that has balanced the need for historic preservation and redevelopment of a decaying downtown with modern building practices and codes. Without a code and enforcement personnel, “You are threatening all the good work that is being done to revitalize the downtown. You are doing everything else right. The rest of the country is able to find ways to do this,” Erickson concluded.

HF 590, if passed would give Clinton a one-year window in which to develop its own building code, suited to its own needs. Surely, after all these long years, with the examples of thousands of successful towns and cities to emulate – one of the best examples a mere hour’s drive north – Clinton can finally do what it has failed to do since 1941, adopt a modern building code.

Reps Bukta and Huser have done Clinton a favor by forcing the City to do the right thing. Few will thank them for it. That is what makes what they have done all the more courageous. That is what real leaders do.

Biodiesel Economics and Clinton Plant

This week the City of Camanche and Clinton County met with officials from Hawkeye Bio Energy to consider a tax increment financing plan to assist in the building of a soybean biodiesel plant. The Hawkeye Bio Diesel plant has been in the works for more than two years now and construction is underway on the plant business and administrative offices on the plant site. Estimated cost of construction is $90m. According the an article in the Clinton Herald,, Hawkeye Bio Energy is requesting $5m in TIF financing for the project.

I have written extensively on this blog about the macroeconomics of ethanol production. But we have paid little attention to soy (and vegetable oil-based)
diesel. A September, 2006 article by the Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank outlines some of the economic factors. One of the most attractive things about biodiesel is that it can be made from post-consumer waste. A major input in smaller biodiesel plants is recycled grease and frying oil.

Most important for producers of biodiesel, the 2005 Energy Act provides a $1.00 per gallon subsidy for biodiesel produced from virgin oilseed. The Act only provides a 50-cent subsidy for diesel made from recycled product, an effective $ .50 subsidy for oilseed farmers. Although the tax-credit portion for seed producers is scheduled to sunset in 2008 there will certainly be efforts to extend it by farm state members of Congress. In addition to the direct subsidies to biodiesel producers and indirect subsidies to seed stock farmers, one needs to also factor in the additional multimillion dollar annual direct federal subsidies to soy and canola farmers.

Biodiesel or blended diesel (regular petroleum diesel with biodiesel added) is technically and chemically an attractive substitute for petroleum-based diesel. One factor is because of recent regulations that require diesel fuel to include substantially less sulfur, a major ingredient in smog and acid rain. Sulfur is however a key ingredient in diesel fuel that allows it to lubricate engines. So reducing the sulfur content in petroleum-based fuel requires additives. However, adding just 1 or 2 percent biodiesel will restore the lubricity of the fuel.

According to the Minneapolis Fed, biodiesel from seed stock will remain price competitive (with or without the Energy Act subsidies) as long as crude oil prices remain in the $50/barrel range. Regardless of subsidies however, the Fed goes on to state:

The National Biodiesel Board estimates that if all the current and proposed projects in the country get built, they would be capable of producing 1 billion gallons of the fuel a year. A federal biodiesel mandate (some members of Congress have proposed requiring U.S. vehicles to burn 2 billion gallons annually by 2015) would certainly stimulate demand for that much biodiesel.

But Tiffany, at the University of Minnesota, believes that a lower production ceiling is more realistic. “If we just had a low-blend strategy for the whole country, maybe we could use about 500 million gallons of biodiesel [annually],” he said. Pushing production beyond that level risks driving up prices for soy and canola, thereby raising production costs and making biodiesel derived from fresh oil less competitive, even if the federal tax credit is renewed two years from now.

It is worth noting here that the increased demand for corn for ethanol production is the driving factor behind the recent run up in corn prices and also in farm land.

If demand for biodiesel takes off, producers are likely to turn to yellow grease [post-consumer and industrial waste] as their preferred feedstock. Most recycled grease goes unused, and prices are lower and more stable. So grease renderers, not farmers, are in a better position to capitalize on any long-term growth in biodiesel usage.

The same economic constraints will likely prevent biodiesel from weaning the country of its dependence on imported oil. Even if nationwide biodiesel production rises to 1 billion gallons annually, that represents only 2 percent of diesel consumption in 2005.

Biodiesel's limited horizons raise the question of whether the fuel is worth subsidizing. Compared with other energy and agricultural subsidies, the cost of the federal biodiesel tax credit is a drop in the bucket, but because it's indexed to consumption, the subsidy will grow with biodiesel output.

All of this is not to say that biodiesel doesn't have a bright future in the district. Fundamentally, biodiesel is an effective, environmentally beneficial motor fuel that many consumers want to use. It provides farmers buffeted by low commodity prices with an additional market for their crops. Equally important, it gives those with an entrepreneurial bent the opportunity to add value to their produce, as in the case of the Minnesota Soybean Processors cooperative in Brewster.

Even if biodiesel won't eventually provide a market for all the soy and canola farmers can grow, or displace regular diesel from the nation's gas tanks, it's likely to continue to grow, with or without subsidies.

Bottom line here is that biodiesel, like ethanol, is no panacea to petroleum dependency. It's role should be understood, like ethanol's, to be a regional one and also one of many alternative fuels that will in combination help lower but not eliminate dependence on petroleum. Only drastically reduced demand for petroleum fuel can truly help accomplish that.

Biodiesel shows a slightly more sustainable market case than ethanol with or without subisied It is attractive for the following reasons; it can be made from post-consumer waste, diesel fuel can give a mileage/performance ratio that is better than gasoline powered vehicles making it attractive as an auto fuel substitute.

Being a bit lower-risk than an ethanol plant the Hawkeye Bio Diesel facility should be in a better position to raise the capital for construction. This then begs the question of whether TIF financing to the tune of 18% of construction costs, in order to produce 50 jobs is a good deal for the taxpayers of the City of Camanche and Clinton County. This in light of the already overextended TIF financing in this region that I have documented here. I’ll take that up in a subsequent post.

The Parade Begins: Obama in Clinton

Senator Barack Obama will be at the Clinton Community College Auditorium, 1000 Lincoln Boulevard, Clinton, Iowa. [ map ]

Saturday, March 10 -- 4:00 - 5:30 P.M.Doors will open at 3:00 P.M.

As a matter of disclosure, at this time I am supporting Barack Obama although I have yet to make any donations and I am certainly not on staff.

All local candidate appearances for all parties that I am informed of will appear in this space.

Taking Kids To Chicago. Why Is That So Special?

So, Laura had to go see her parents in Homewood on Saturday to take care of elder-care business. I said that the kids and I would tag along. I've been threatening to take them to the Art Institute for months. Also, each kid gets a weekend in Chicago with daddy for their birthday, and everyone was sick during Jo and Liam's recent anniversaries, so they were owed a trip.

I know people here in Clinton who think nothing of a four hour trip to Adventureland or to some other small town in Iowa to see friends or family but would no more contemplate a weekend in Chicago than a weekend on the moon. Which is quite sad really. As so many people are sick of hearing me say, Clinton is the closest city in Iowa to Chicago. It is a bit less than three hours from my front door to the Grant Park parking garage.

Now, being from Iowa I well remember the first time I had to drive in Chicago and I sympathize with anyone who feels like they couldn't handle it. Four lanes of bumper-to-bumper traffic going 80 miles-an-hour, people dodging in an out and not really knowing where you are going... NASCAR ain't in it. It is scary.

But still, that shouldn't be a barrier to all the benefits that Chicago can offer to children. The look on your kid's face when you walk out of the train station and she is staring straight up at the side of the Sears Tower is priceless. There are tons and tons of free or dead cheap children's programs at all the museums and cultural institutions. Even the most modest budget can take advantage of the things Chicago has to offer.

But try this on for size. Drive a mere two hours into the suburbs, say Naperville or somewhere along I-88, and take the train. METRA trains run on the hour. A round trip ticket downtown for a single adult is $7.50 (from Homewood) and kids under 12 are free. Or a weekend pass is $5.00.

You get to see this look on your kids' face as they get to ride in the upper deck or a "real train," and no traffic to deal with and you get dropped off in the heart of the loop. If one comes in from the South Side one gets dropped off right at Grant Park.

At the Art Institute weekend admission is $12 for an adult and kids under 12 are free. The Art Institute has something for everyone. Rowdy Young Boys? Check out the Arms and Armor room. Young girls will dig the historically accurate dollhouse Minature Rooms.

And of course everyone loves to go see the Impressionist exhibits on the second floor. But it isn't just wandering around looking at art. Heck, even the most precocious kids aren't going to stand for more than an hour of that. We hadn't been in more than two of the Impressionist galleries (we were still looking for the Seurat) when Jo was begging to "go ride the elevators."

Down in the basement is the Children's section. Touchable sculptures and a crafts room staffed by current and former School of the Art Institute students. Plus, if you do a little looking ahead of time they have guided tours and lectures just for kids. All free.

We happened to drop by on Youngest Chicago Designs afternoon. But there are always things going on and it is easy to plan a trip by going to the Art Institute web site.

Although the museum was very busy the Kraft Center was not crowded at all. There were no more than eight or so children participating in the activities at any one time. Molly and Jo both spent almost an hour designing their "dream homes," with lots of help and attention from the staff. The young staff were great, asking lots of questions about why the kids were putting this or that there and questioning their design decisions. Great stuff. Did I say it was free?

Afterwards, there are the pleasures of the new Millennium Park just across the street from the Art Institute and Randolph Street train station. A new skating rink, an insanely great new auditorium by Frank Gehry, the "jellybean" and the Crown Fountain shown above. There are also bicycle rentals for the summertime.

Our total expenses:

• $40.00 in gas for the van Clinton - Homewood - Clinton (plus some errands for the Grandparents).


• $7.50 round trip train ticket for one adult and three kids Homewood to Randlolph St.


• $12.00 one adult and three kids admission to the Art Institute


• $20.00 on Art Institute swag for the kids (optional)


• Total: $79.00.

Of course we ate at Grandma and Grandpa's and left the wife behind. But a family of four could still do the day for under $100.00.

And of course, it isn't just the Art Institute. This kid of stuff is available everywhere:
The Field Museum
The Shedd Aquarium (check out Tots on Tuesdays)
All the way to the Old Town School of Folk Music

And really, the first time you take them you will all remember it forever. Of course they may go on school trips but nothing compares to going with mom and dad. Clintonites really should take more advantage of the proximity to Chicago than they do. Take advantage of the fact that a world-class city is closer to your doorstep than Waterloo. Just one or two trips a year can have a lasting effect on the children. My kids certainly haven't stopped talking about it. They bugged us all the way home to set a date for our next "vacation" in Chicago.

TIF-ed Off?

In a once-in-a-millenium alignment of the stars, I find myself in agreement with my bête noir on the Clinton Herald bulletin board in the overuse of TIF districts in Iowa in general but in Clinton in particular.

TIF stands for tax increment financing. TIF is a tool created by the state for local governments. When a public improvement, either a road, school or private development project is carried out it (generally) raises the value of the land. The difference in the taxable value of the land before the development and for a certain period after the development, is the "increment." In a TIF district, all the taxable value of the increment for a certain period of time, usually 10, 15 or 20 years, is diverted from general revenues and used to finance all or part of the project. This can be either to actually build a city-financed project such as roads or schools. Or, it can be a pure tax set aside or rebate to a developer to use such a piece of land, such as has been done in Clinton for large employers with new projects.

In general, TIF's can be good things. They can allow certain projects that could not be financed out of general funds or out of bond issues to come to fruition. They can be a useful incentive to lure that special employer to your town.

But all things should be used in moderation and like any tool its overuse can transform it into a crutch without which the entity cannot perform the original duties. That I fear is what is happening with TIF financing in Clinton, and throughout the state.

Dave put me onto a report from the ISU Economics department, Swenson, Dave, et. al. Tax Increment Financing Growth in Iowa. It contains a lot of useful statistics heretofore not gathered on TIF use in the State. The authors state in their introduction,

During the 2003 Iowa General Assembly, legislators held several meetings on the
topic of economic development tools, and specifically addressed questions of TIF
use and potential abuse. Revealed during these proceedings was a dearth of
information about much of TIF use in Iowa, in particular, the amount of debt
associated with TIF districts in the state, the kind of debt, the duration of the
debt, and overall, the kinds of projects that benefited from this authority. State
secondary data compilations do not allow for an inquiry into the kinds of firms
that benefit from TIF authority – those assessments must be done at the local
government level and involve research of both city and county government
finances.

Apologies for the odd line breaks. Cutting and pasting from Adobe PDF requires an middle step that it is too late for me to bother with.

Swenson, et. al. do not come to any conclusions as to whether TIFs are successfull, good or bad. In fact the authors state in their conclusion that the data is all over the place,

It is very hard to demonstrate that TIF usage has, on the whole, benefited the
state of Iowa in any uniform manner. Our data show that three-quarters of all of
the valuation gains in TIF districts in Iowa are concentrated in just 31 cities (and
half of the growth in a mere 11 cities). Among those top 31 cities, some are
enjoying booming job and population growth, but some are not. Some of are
expanding their total tax bases, and some of them are contracting despite their
aggressive use of TIFs. For some it is enhancing fortunes, and in others it is not
reversing long and pervasive patterns of business and population decline. None
of our data can sort out what growth would have occurred in growing areas
regardless of the use of TIF incentives, nor can it tell us what growth would have
left had TIF resources not been utilized.

But they do say this about the small small and medium-sized communities:

Here is a common scenario about TIF usage in Iowa’s smaller cities: Usually, TIF
authority is applied to areas of communities that are near the edge of town or
aligned with other growth areas of the community, say along a major state
highway – their economic development zones or districts. Frequently, much if
not all of the incremental growth in these communities is a relocation of growth
from deteriorating main-street areas out to the benefited zones. As a
consequence, the TIF district gains, the general tax base shrinks, and the relocating
firm gets a tax break. The cities claim they retained the businesses and
count this as an economic development success, but city, school, and county
general fund tax rates go up to cover costs no longer borne by the re-located firm.
Regionally there has been no job or income growth as a result.

From conversations with county auditors and others privy to city and county
government activities regarding TIF usage, there are also increasing reports that
TIF revenues in Iowa are a lucrative revenue stream for cities that they are loathe
to cede back to other local governments. There are also reports that TIF
revenues, according to the Iowa Code, supposed to be collected and used
specifically for economic development or urban renewal debt payments and
infrastructure enhancements are being used to pay for fire stations, libraries,
parks and recreation facilities, general road repair and maintenance, and hosts of
other general or traditional government uses.

As for Clinton itself, the study had the following data about Clinton County's use of TIF financing. The per capita TIF valuation in Clinton County in 1997: $527. 2006: $1497. That is an increase of 284% in nine years. This strikes me as um, shall we call it irrational exuberance?

I have three children ages 5,7 and 9. Most of the new projects in Clinton: Ashford, ADM's expansion, the new riverboat development at Hwy 30 and Mill Creek Parkway are 15 year TIF's. Not one of my children will be the beneficiary of a single dollar of the increased property taxes generated by those projects during their school years.

I think the onus should be very squarely on the shoulders of City and County officials to make a very careful, coherent and concrete justification for any further use of TIF's in Clinton County for the near future. It seems to me that too many business plans now incorporate TIF as part of the profitability calculation. Without it the business plan is no good. But our economic development planners want so much for new development and business that any plan, even if it is fundamentally weak, is looked upon as a gift. That's not right. The burden of proof should on the project owner to show a concrete payoff to the City or County in excess of the avoided or invested incremental taxes independent of his business plan.

I urge everyone in Clinton that the next time a major civic improvement that is proposed to be financed with TIF dollars that some hard questions be asked and that the elected officials know that, finally we are keeping score.

Are For-Profit Universities Economically Sustainable?

The following article appeared in last Sunday's New York Times, and encapsulates many of the concerns I and I think others have had about Ashford University. Troubles Grow for a University Built on Profits:

PHOENIX — The University of Phoenix became the nation’s largest private university by delivering high profits to investors and a solid, albeit low-overhead, education to midcareer workers seeking college degrees.

But its reputation is fraying as prominent educators, students and some of its own former administrators say the relentless pressure for higher profits, at a university that gets more federal student financial aid than any other, has eroded academic quality.

According to federal statistics and government audits, the university relies more on part-time instructors than all but a few other postsecondary institutions, and its accelerated academic schedule races students through course work in about half the time of traditional universities. The university says that its graduation rate, using the federal standard, is 16 percent, which is among the nation’s lowest, according to Department of Education data. But the university has dozens of campuses, and at many, the rate is even lower.

...

Many students accuse recruiters of misleading them, and the university’s legal troubles trace back to similar accusations of recruitment abuses. In 2003, two enrollment counselors in California filed a whistle-blower lawsuit in federal court accusing the university of paying them based on how many students they enrolled, a violation of a federal rule.

After the lawsuit was filed, the Department of Education sent inspectors to California and Arizona campuses. The department’s report, which became public in 2004, concluded that the university had provided incentives to recruit unqualified students and “systematically operates in a duplicitous manner.”

The university paid $9.8 million to settle the matter, while admitting no wrongdoing. But the department’s searing portrait of academic abuse aroused skepticism among many educators.

Those questions are likely to dog the university as it defends itself in the lawsuit, which a district court had dismissed but an appellate court reinstated in September. The university could be forced to repay hundreds of millions of dollars if it loses. It asked the Supreme Court last month to review the appellate ruling, arguing that an adverse outcome in the lawsuit could expose it to “potentially bankrupting liability.”

It is the function of a corporation to enhance shareholder value. Period. Delivering a good or service are merely the modus for generating the profits that feed the shareholders. A corporation that is well run may well have internalized the importance of delivering a high-quality product or service to achieve those profits. But shareholders may not always be satisfied with the level of growth in profits that diligent attention to quality may imply. This raises a larger question in economics and investing: it is appropriate to have near permanent expectations of growth for most or even many firms?

Let's examine the model of the for-profit education institution. It is probably true that during such a company's early, start-up days growth in revenues and profits may be rather spectacular as the company grows to a given size. At some point management may feel an optimal size has been reached. Such an optimal size is a fuzzy benchmark but surely includes such criteria as an ability to effectively hire and manage faculty and maintain a certain educational standard and graduation rate. It must be able to do this in order to ensure a product of reasonable quality such that customers will continue to patronize the establishment.

At that time, what the company really gets into is what is (one hopes) a long period of very slow or stable growth that produces regular, predicable profits. Nothing spectacular, just good old-fashioned blue chip margins. There are a large number of investors for whom high growth (and coincidentally, higher risk) investments are not appropriate; who put more value on an good, old-fashioned annuity investment. Such companies should be more attractive than they are.

But investors collectively have shunned such blue chip companies in recent years. Such a company will be punished by the Wall Street collective which is dominated by institutional investors and mutual funds who value growth stocks most highly. Furthermore, the business plan of the managers and venture capitalists may call for a medium term profit trajectory that rules out such staid business models.

Thus the drive for continuing growth in company size and profits will eventually see an educational institution grow to the point where the size dictates that quality will be reduced. This in turn leads to increased customer dissatisfaction -- higher drop-out and lower graduation rates, increased difficulty in achieving or maintaining accreditation -- which will put pressure on recruiters to continue to feed the maw of the massive education machine, a la the lawsuit now facing the University of Phoenix.

Most of the executives of Bridgepoint Education, Inc, the parent of Ashford University, come to their company by way of the University of Phoenix. In my dealings with some of those officials I am convinced that most of them are aware of the flaws of the University of Phoenix and started Bridgepoint to deliver a better quality education product.

A lot of Clinton's future is pledged to Bridgepoint's ability to deliver a quality education product over a long period of time. I think many of the readers will have their own anecdotes with regard to how well Ashford is doing in avoiding the pitfalls of University of Phoenix -- not just at the business model level -- but also in the areas of faculty, class, and workplace quality.

I think that the management of Bridgepoint will serve themselves, their employees, their customers, and (I hope not lastly as far as they are concerned) the City of Clinton by concentrating on a business model that embraces a high-quality, slow growth, long-term moderate profitability approach. The traditional VP trajectory; spectacular growth, IPO, additional growth to the breaking point will inevitably lead to a poor result for the whichever stockholders end up holding the bag (certainly not the management) and most importantly as far as I'm concerned for the City of Clinton.

DMR: Iowa National Guard Equipment Levels 7th Lowest

Blizzard? Tornado? Flood? Outbreak? The Guard has half its gear in Iraq. Missions Overseas Sap Iowa Guard of Gear:

he Iowa Army National Guard has one of the worst equipment shortages of National Guard organizations in the country for responding to large-scale terror attacks or natural disasters, a federal report released Wednesday said.

The U.S. Government Accountability Office, an investigative arm of Congress, said the Iowa National Guard had 42.5 percent of its authorized equipment inventory for nondeployed forces as of November 2006. That was seventh-lowest among the 50 states, the District of Columbia and three U.S. territories.

However, there is no question the global war on terrorism has taken a toll on the Iowa National Guard's equipment inventory. In the fall of 2001, the Iowa Guard had 74 percent of its authorized equipment inventory, Hapgood said.

The federal report said the majority of state national guards have capabilities to handle typical domestic missions, but shortages exist and concerns remain about the ability to respond to large-scale, multistate events. The massive, state-led and federally funded response to Hurricane Katrina illustrates the Guard's important role in such events, the study added.

The Army has budgeted $21 billion between 2005 and 2011 to modernize the Army National Guard and expand its equipment inventory, the GAO report said. However, this equipment may be deployed to meet overseas demands, and the Army has not specified how much equipment will remain in the United States for domestic missions, the study said.

South Clinton: The Death Of A Neighborhood

Big tip of the hat to Jerry Goedkin for pointing this out to me.

Dr. James R. Fishr, Jr. is an organizational psychologist, organic chemist and author of a number of books. He is also a Clinton native and expresses eloquently the tensions in the city. Do go read the whole thing, The Death of A Neighborhood

You look like you're lost, sir," said a stout female security officer, as she left her vehicle with the large letters “ADM” on the vehicle's door.

"No, I'm not lost. I'm seeing how you have destroyed the neighborhood of my birth."

In an officious manner, obviously feeling duty bound to fulfill her appointed role, she replied, "I'm sorry to tell you, sir, but you are now on private property."

"That is sad," I said as I put my car in reverse, hesitating to touch the button to automatically roll up my window. Turning her back to me as she returned to her vehicle, I could hear her say, almost to herself: Yes, it is, isn't it?

...

Two sets of ironies come to mind in the "Death of a Neighborhood." One is that a disproportionate number of my friends who grew up in South Clinton have either died early in life, or have suffered from incurable diseases. It causes me to wonder if the climate of the community was a factor. If so, they would be better off living elsewhere. My friend still living in South Clinton suffers from cancer. She has fought valiantly to deal with it without complaint and would never think of blaming her condition on the location of her home.

Another irony is that were it not for the Clinton Corn Processing, then the name of the company, I would not have had a chance for a college education. I worked for five summers at Clinton Corn while acquiring two degrees. Indeed, Clinton Corn, then changed to Standard Brands, Inc., was my first employer as a chemist in research and development under Dr. Newton. Nor would I have been able to enjoy the professional life I have experienced were it not for this summer place of employment.

Online Behavior or Yes, We Have No Bananas

Came across this interesting post via metafilter, regarding psychopathic behavior in on-line forums.

The Blog Commenter's Gaze:

The cover story of the December 9th issue of Science News, The Predator's Gaze, is about psychopathy. The whole article is worth a read, but the brief description of psychopathy at the beginning got me thinking about something that Anil Dash wrote the other day. He highlighted a review of a B&B made by a potential guest that was upset that his many attempts to persuade the owners to accept his expired gift certificate. Anil labeled this person a sociopath:

As a public service, I offer you my analysis. This quote is how you can tell this guy is a sociopath. Not that he merely went online and vented to random strangers about his greediness. No, rather, that he was willing to concede his own willful ignorance (or illiteracy?) while complaining. The web is littered with these chuckleheads who point out their own sociopathic behavior while complaining about others.

At dinner the other night, a group of us were talking about a particularly irksome message board contributor and the subject of sociopathy came up again. This particular person seemed to be oblivious to the rules of the board, didn't pick up on the social cues of other participants or moderators to modify his behavior, and was making public personal attacks against others while complaining that others were doing the same to him, even though they were not. Anyone who runs a community site, has comments on their blog, or participates on a message board knows this guy -- and it usually is a guy. He's the fly in everyone else's ointment, screaming in the middle a quiet conversation, and then says things like "if you hate me, I must be doing something right".

With that in mind, some quotes from the Science News article:

Psychopaths lack a conscience and are incapable of experiencing empathy, guilt, or loyalty.

People with psychopathy don't modify behaviors for which they're punished and don't learn to avoid actions that harm others, Blair proposes in the September Cognition. As a result, they fail to develop a moral sense, in his view. Blair's theory fits with previous observations that psychopaths have difficulty learning to avoid punishments, show weak physiological responses to threats, and don't often recognize sadness or fear in others.


He views psychopathic personalities as the product of an attention deficit. Psychopaths focus well on their explicit goals but ignore incidental information that provides perspective and guides behavior, Newman holds. Most other people, as they take action, unconsciously consult such information, for instance, rules of conduct in social settings and nonverbal signs of discomfort in those around them.

Sounds a lot like the fellow we were discussing at dinner. I don't think most of the people that demonstrate antisocial behavior in comment threads are actually psychopaths or sociopaths (there is a difference) in real life. Rather, interacting via text strips out so much social context and "incidental information" that causes some people to display psychopathic behavior online and fail to develop an online moral sense.

Thinking about disruptive commenters in this way presents an interesting challenge. According to the article, psychopathy seems to be genetic in nature and curing people of this extreme antisocial behavior can be difficult. An Australian study cited in the article found that boys with behavioral problems reacted better to rewards for good behavior than to punishments for bad behavior. Maybe looking for ways to reward bad online community members for their good behavior as well as trying to replace some of the stripped away social context is the way forward. (A quick idea for replacing some social context: add a graphic of eyes to the text-posting interface?)

The Future Of News In Clinton?

Both on the blog and in my professional life I talk a lot about how technology doesn't just allow us to make huge transformations in our economic and social circumstances, technology demands those changes. The modalities of these changes center around a few central theories and movements:

• The wisdom of crowds


• Radical transparency


• Open source culture

Each of these ideas on their own are subjects worthy of books and journal articles. And they exist. Next to each is a link providing a Wikipedia entry as a place to begin. I'll continue to write and speak on them. But I think it is time for action.

One of the hallmarks of 21st Century Technoculture should be strong, participatory communities not only at the global and/or special-interest level, e.g. MySpace and say, model railroaders, but at the local level as well. After all, what good does it do one to have rich, interactive, global, technologically-mediated experiences and relationships if one’s meatspace existence -- the place of living and breathing -- are devoid of any cohesion, organization or community spirit? Better to bring to bear the tools of the global macro- technoculture to bear on the needs of the microculture of Clinton, Iowa.

Now, Clinton has at least two or three pretty active discussion forums. One is hosted by The Clinton Herald and the other by a private person at www.clintoniowa.com. These forums allow for all sorts of discussion on local topics and sometimes even expand on and add to news stores and allow people to build on shared experience. But one of the drawbacks of bulletin boards is that they often descend into bickering and name-calling.

The bulletin boards could be home to original reporting but by their very technological structure they lack cooperative editing tools and a friendly display format for articles.

The local newspaper, The Clinton Herald, as are all newspapers today, a holdout of a previous technoculture. The idea of a news organization that painstakingly crafts its stories once per day and then manufactures and distributes them on dead trees, frozen in that printed form until the paper molders is totally inappropriate on many levels for the 21st Century.

News is slippery stuff. The idea of a news story, frozen for all time on ink on paper is a product of the 18th Century manufacturing processes that brought us the newspaper in the first place. News stories insist by their very nature that they be annotated, corrected, added on to, and collaboratively assembled.

So, in the spirit of brining 21st Century technoculture to bear on the needs of Clinton, Iowa I propose the following little experiment, an open-source news portal for Clinton powered by Wikinews. Behold the Clinton Wikinews Portal!



Okay, it’s not much. But that’s where you come in. For everyone who has ever bitched about the local news coverage in insert name of media organization here, now is your chance. Know the whole sordid back-story of whatever is going on at the Humane Society? Want more meat on City Council goings on? Need an excuse to go to all Clinton High School basketball games?

Then go forth and report. Gather some facts. Facts, for certain of my bulletin board friends, are provable assertions backed up by more than one source and documentable. See the Wikinews article on Writing An Article. Talk to some people, write a story, check your spelling and grammar and post it.

Only have a few facts to contribute? Post a story in development and let other people put meat on the bones of your story. Find a factual error in a story, correct it yourself.

All of this and more is possible through the technology of the Wiki, the software platform running behind Wikipedia. It is a signature of our early 21st Century technoculture; open-source, transparent, shapeable by the masses.

This is an experiment. Is there enough interest and ability for people to report and analyze the goings on in a town of 27,000? Can it be done in such a way to provide additional information and quality that is not available from the local newspaper? Theoretically, because of space and financial constraints the Clinton Herald will never be able to have the breadth and depth of an active user-generated news site. But the question is, can people be motivated to create their own local news in a town the size of Clinton?

That’s what I aim to find out. I think this project is the perfect vehicle for journalism students and teachers at all levels. No longer chained to budgets for ink and paper, budding young muckrakers are free to go forth to write and report and practice their craft. In the coming weeks, I’ll be reaching out to those of you in the business of teaching writing and journalism. If anyone is going to fully embrace this tool from the get-go it will need to be young aspiring writers.

Later in the week, I will post some links on tips for getting started with Wiki news. It is pretty straightforward and there is a minimum of coding needed in order to post stories. Many of the functions can be accomplished with the press of a button in the editing window.

In the meantime, anyone who is interested in contributing and helping with this project should feel free to contact me at cman@cman.cx

Until then, I’ll close this last post of 2006 with Hunter S. Thompson’s famous tag line: Res ipsa loquitur, the thing speaks for itself.

Happy New Year.

New Library Proposal, Part 1: What's On The Table

Earlier in the week I weighed in over on the Clinton Herald forums on the question of the proposal for a new location for the Clinton Public Library at the site of the existing (shuttered) Harding Elementary School.

That response was a bit off-the-cuff and as I said, uncharitable to the Library Board of Trustees and their long and thoughtful deliberations. It deserves a more thoughtful response.

This then will be the first in a series of posts on the New Library Project. This post will talk about the proposal that the Library Board unveiled last Wednesday. Part 2 will examine the long, tortured history of efforts to get a new library building for the city. And Part 3 will weigh the pros and cons of the current proposal.

First, a bit of full disclosure. I am the immediate past President of the Friends of the Clinton Library, having resigned the post in November. That resignation next to nothing to do with any disagreements I had with either the Friends' Board or the Board of Trustees. It was due to the increasing level of my work and family commitments. I also felt strongly that the organization needed someone else who could step up to give full attention to the matter of making the new library happen.

I also served as an ex officio, non-voting member of the Board of Trustees and participated in all of the planning process that led up to the proposal that was unveiled on Wednesday, December 6. I will remain as active in that process although no longer in any official capacity.

So, what is on the table with this proposal? The plan calls for a 42,000 square foot facility on a single level that will replace the current Carnegie Library's just under 28,000 square foot building. In 2003 the City took a five year option from the School Board that allowed the Library Board to examine the possibility of using the closed Harding Elementary School as site or the foundation for a new library building.

In the Spring of 2006 a revised library planning document was produced by the Board of Trustees. This planning document was put together with the help of several open public meetings.

The plan's key points were:

• Room for a 100 seat auditorium and meeting facility.


• Adequate shelf space for the core collection to expand from 119,000 volumes to 140,000 volumes.

In the Summer of 2006 the Board went through a long and competitive process of soliciting the interest and proposals of architecture firms, finally settling on Scholtz-Gowey-Gere-Marolf (SGGM) of Davenport. Greg Gowey also held a couple of open public meetings to solicit input on what users wanted to see in a new building. In addition, Mr. Gowey was given a firm limit of $7 million dollars for a budget.

With those guidelines in mind, Greg Gowey has come up with a wonderful concept that makes terrific use of the green space, the old building and adds an airy yet intimate new addition.

Here are some highlights from the report, the full version of which I have made available here. Either click to open in Acrobat in your browser window or right-click the link and choose "Save As" to download. Warning: 15mb PDF.

Click on each picture below to go to a full-sized image.


Figure 1: Plan of the site. The old Harding School building is shown in dark brown, the addition in yellow.


Figure 2: An aerial view of the proposed building. The roof of old Harding is black.


Figure 3: Exterior view of the covered entrance to the new addition.


Figure 4: Interior view from the main circulation desk facing the main entrance and the lounge with fireplace.


Figure 5: Interior view of the Children's Department showing the different color scheme.