Jaybird’s building again…
October 23rd, 2006
I can’t find the photos of his beautiful duplex in Prestigious East Phillips, drat, he took the rattiest most flea-infested place and turned it into a piece of the country in the city, complete with kiwi’s and peach trees. That is, he had kiwis in those times when my dog wasn’t leaping out of second story windows and falling on them — I think that’s why he put up that big iron fence with impalers on the top… but he liked Maggie Mae nonetheless. Now that he’s in Virginia, he’s doing it again, this time with a house that just doesn’t seem “Jay” because it’s square and quite common, and he’s surely not! Anyway, here’s the lastest project, quick before “winter” comes… if they can call it that there…
The shed dormer on the back of the house, inside and out:
And here’s the “Doghouse” dormer on the front:
Hey, Jay, it’s looking good! What’s up with those little walls there, maybe kneewalls from there across,,, send the plans!!!
Beer doesn’t kill people…
October 23rd, 2006
News of the weird… what does it mean where Pawlenty is doing “Budweiser” ads…
Beer truck rolls onto car injuring woman
Woman crushed by beer semi speaks
I heard a drip, drip, and I looked and saw a can… it was Bud Lght!
Beer keg explosion kills 1, injures 7 partygoers
Red Wing’s checks on candidates ruled wrong
October 20th, 2006
You heard it first in the Beagle, and now it’s made its way to the STrib. Maybe this will get “The City’s” attention??? Maybe they’ll take the time to peruse and digest the Constitution?
I went back in the Council minutes to see how it was that they first did background checks, a little over a year ago, when the Council appointed a new member, and what I found was that they had a discussion about whether they should appoint or whether there should be an election, and they chose appointment, but there was no discussion recorded in the minutes regarding background checks. Here are the sections from the minutes:
red-wing-council-minutes-june-21-27-july-11.pdf
There was also a letter dated June 16, 2005, from Jay Squires, from the firm hired as City Attorney, which addresses appoint v. election, and which did include a statement that, if they choose appointment, “An interested candate must make a written application on a form provided by the Council” but there is no discussion of background checks. Here’s that letter:
red-wing-city-atty-election-process-advice-june-16-2005.pdf
Then, suddenly the “background check” appears in a letter from City Administrator Kay Kuhlman, dated July 14, 2005, where she states:
In order to confirm the three qualifications, we are asking all candidates to provide staff with a copy of your driver’s license. Staff will use this to verify age and to confirm residency. In order to verify your voter eligibility, we will ask each candidate to sign a background check form. The form is attached (there is none attached in the council packet with this letter!). Please return the completed form to City Hall, attention Kathy johnson, by 4:30 p.m., Monday July 18, 2005. This is a simple background check process, done by a private firm. No results will be shared unless a voting right restrictioni is detected. If this occurs, the City Attorney will be notified and advise the Council.
Although this may seem unnecessary, the process we use will be followed for all subsequent elections. As we become a larger community, there will be times we do not know all candidates. To be fair, we need to follow the same process for all.
Really! That’s what it says. But I cannot find any City Council authorization for this — nor is there anything in the City Attorney letter regarding procedure — it appears to be staff driven. WTF? So now I’ve got to dig through this years Council minutes… zzzzzzzzzzzz…
Here’s the STrib article:
State calls credit, background checks improper.Robert Franklin, Star Tribune
The city of Red Wing wanted the right to learn a few things about this year’s candidates for the City Council beyond age and legal residence: criminal convictions, driving records, previous residences, education, jobs and credit history.
The candidates were asked to sign releases for background checks to be done by a Lakeville company. Most did sign, even though the forms released city officials from any liability if the information was wrong.
But four of 16 candidates objected, and the checks were postponed pending legal opinions. And earlier this month, the Attorney General’s office sided with the critics, saying the city had no authority to collect such information.
“This is way beyond anything I’ve ever seen in my life,” said Joe Krueger, a former City Council member and a candidate for an at-large seat. “They wanted more information, quite frankly, than Raytheon Aerospace needed,” referring to his former employer.
Elected officials are not job applicants, said the attorney general’s opinion, written by Kristine Eiden, chief deputy to Attorney General Mike Hatch. “We are aware of no authorized government program under which it would be necessary or appropriate for city officials to delve into the backgrounds of persons seeking election to city offices [to obtain] information that would reflect negatively on their eligibility,” the opinion said.
Carol Overland, an attorney who lost in the primary election, said, “It was just appalling. … We don’t live in a police state.”
City officials say the background checks were supposed to be used by the city clerk to determine whether candidates were ineligible to run, based on such things as minimum age rules or felony records.
The checks started last year when the council appointed a new member, from a number of applicants, to fill a vacancy. It had planned to keep the information confidential.
But the Attorney General’s office also found that the city had no right, once the information was collected, to keep it private.
The results of last year’s checks were made public Friday and include brief reports on whether discrepancies were found in eight applicants’ criminal or driving records.
City officials said they were told by the city clerk that all the applicants were eligible.
Election candidates already file a statement saying they are eligible to serve. But Red Wing officials defend the idea of background checks, noting that some are required for city employees and volunteers.
“In today’s age, we really feel we need to not just protect the city but community members,” said Deanna Sheely, assistant City Council administrator.
Council President Stephen Castner said that, at one time, there were suspicions about the qualifications of a Red Wing candidate, and that a candidate for a Goodhue County office was found to be underage.
“Why go through the bother of an election?” Castner asked, if a candidate is ineligible and the election has to be repeated.
Asked if he still thinks it’s a good idea, he said, “I still think it is,” as long as its voluntary.
Secretary of State Mary Kiffmeyer, who supervises elections, said she’s never heard of such a practice. “In general I don’t think it’s a good idea for the government to be doing that to people,” she said.
Refusing to sign
The release form was handed out to candidates with other election materials, as in “here are materials, have a look and return them,” said Sheely, the assistant administrator. The release form says signing is voluntary, but candidate Krueger said he was told twice that he should sign. He didn’t, and got on the ballot anyway.
Some candidates took the attitude of “what have you got to hide?”
Overland said her background check could have found driving violations from her 10 years as a truck driver; her struggle to pay off student loans, and a house foreclosure when she was a law student. “Does that mean I’m not qualified for public office?” she said.
Before signing her form, she crossed out almost everything except permission to check on a felony record.
Robert Franklin â?¢ 612-673-4543 â?¢ rfranklin@startribune.com
©2006 Star Tribune. All rights reserved.
Here’s my Commentary from the Beagle, for some odd reason it’s not available on-line:
Oh, now it is!!!
City’s elected leaders and staff have betrayed the public trust
Carol Overland, Red Wing
The Republican Eagle – 10/22/2006
To the Editor:
Every city council member is sworn to uphold the Constitution. Yet Red Wing members display collective abject ignorance of basic principles, sitting idly by, or worse, voicing agreement, as staff act without authorization to conduct candidate background checks. One council member said, â??To me, thatâ??s the right thing to do â?¦ . I donâ??t see anything wrong with it at all.â?
The Office of the Attorney General has issued a formal opinion:
“We are aware of no authorized government program under which it would be necessary or appropriate for city officials to delve into the backgrounds of persons seeking election to city offices for purposes of obtaining information that would reflect negatively on their eligibility or qualifications for office â?¦ .
“Finally, implicit in the facts provided is the suggestion that ‘the City’s’ intent was to take some sort of action in opposition to the candidacy of any person it determined to be ineligible on the basis of information revealed in the criminal background checks. As a general proposition, it is considered contrary to public policy for the resources or authority of a governmental agency to be used for purposes of attemption to influence the outcome of an election for public office.”
That it even needs to be said. That the city doesn’t think there’s anything wrong. Remember the oath to uphold the Constitution? Where is the outrage? The right to run for office is fundamental. To go beyond statutory qualifications, to interfere, to appoint oneself judge of worthiness, to dig for dirt, this is intrusive, extreme and controlling. And then to divert, distract, discount and dismiss when it becomes public. Who do you think you are?
With habeas corpus thrown out the window, is it any wonder in these times of â??security concernsâ? that city candidate background checks is “the right thing to do?â? And given the ability of the government to detain and jail people indefinitely, and a political environment where challenging government is regarded as terroristic, or un-American at best, is it any wonder people donâ??t stand up to hold the city accountable?
Constitutional rights must be exercised; use it or lose it. Iâ??m not willing to accept that we live in a police state, and I will not acquiesce quietly Fire the lot of them, all the responsible staff. Terminate the city attorney contract. Vote and recall the entire City Council. Off with their heads.
Carol A. Overland
Red Wing
And an abbreviated (and anonymous) update from the Republican-Eagle:
The city of Red Wing announced Thursday that it will make public the background information gathered more than a year ago on City Council candidates.
Council Administrator Kay Kuhlmann said in a press release that she will release the results of the 2005 background checks done by Verified Credentials Inc. of Lakeville, Minn., sometime today to the Republican Eagle.
The city never completed background checks on the 2006 candidates, she said.
“A charred ‘caster is not what I had in mind…”
October 20th, 2006
Yesterday afternoon, things got a little hot in the ‘hood, sirens going, stopping just down the hill and around 7th toward the park. Here’s the story, with great quotes in the running for understatement of the year:
â??A charred caster is not what I had in mind,â? said 22-year-old Jeff Nielsen, referring to one of his expensive instruments.
and
â??This is not cool,â? Nielsen said.
and summing it all up:
â??Iâ??m not trying to jump to conclusions,â? Nielsen said, â??but I think itâ??s pretty safe to assume Iâ??m gonna have to find a new place to live.â?
Here’s the story from the Beagle:
Electrical short causes fire in local home
Jen Cullen
Fire damaged a home on Seventh Street Thursday, leaving three people temporarily homeless.
Two of the put out residents watched from the street â?? teeth chattering â?? wondering about their guitars.
â??A charred caster is not what I had in mind,â? said 22-year-old Jeff Nielsen, referring to one of his expensive instruments.
All three of the homeâ??s residents â?? including the owner â?? got out of the two-level house safely.
But Nielsen and his friend Nate Hess stood across the street hoping their guitars would be as lucky as they were.
â??This is not cool,â? Nielsen said.
Both men have been renting rooms at the house since August when they enrolled in the guitar repair program at Minnesota State College-Southeast Technicalâ??s Red Wing campus.
Nielsen was leaving for work just after 4 p.m. when he said he noticed smoke billowing from the rear of the home.
The Minneapolis native grabbed Hess and told the homeâ??s owner, Gordon Pecinovsky, about the smoke.
Pecinovsky called 911.
Nielsen said he noticed a â??campfire smellâ? in the house earlier in the day. He thought nothing of it, assuming the aroma was from the fireplace of a nearby neighbor.
What Nielsen was probably smelling, said Fire Marshal Steven Hamilton, was a blaze in a crawl space between the first and second floors.
Hamilton said houseâ??s balloon construction made the fire hard to find.
â??We had to pull the ceilings down to get to the actual flames,â? he said, noting that the house is probably more than 100 years old.
Common in homes built before 1930, balloon construction often plagues fire fighters because it can cause flames to spread through interconnected hidden spaces between a homeâ??s basement and attic.
â??We donâ??t want to take any chances in a home like this,â? Hamilton said.
Fire fighters stayed on the scene for more than two ours making sure the blaze was out.
Hamilton is calling the fire accidental. He said an old fuse box appears to have shorted out, sending flames up a wall in an addition of the home.
The fire marshal estimates damage between $50,000 and $100,000. Not a total loss, he said, because the homeâ??s structure was relatively unharmed.
Fire fighters were able to salvage most of the belongings on the homeâ??s main level, Hamilton said, including Nielsen and Hessâ?? guitars.
A representative from the local chapter of the Red Cross showed up about an hour after the fire began to see if anyone needed help finding a place to stay.
Nielsen said he planned on hanging out with friends. Hess, who is from Madison, was unsure what he was going to do.
â??Iâ??m not trying to jump to conclusions,â? Nielsen said, â??but I think itâ??s pretty safe to assume Iâ??m gonna have to find a new place to live.â?
Suddenly, a Plan for Carbon Capture and Sequestration
October 19th, 2006
So here we’ve been dealing with this Mesaba application for about a year now, the DOE’s EIS Scoping hearing was one year ago next week, and all along there’s been, EXPRESSLY, no intent of carbon capture and/or sequestration — NO INTENT! Suddenly, in the Rebuttal Testimony, they have a “Plan for Carbon Capture and Sequestration.”
(Compliments of www.hauntedadventures.com)
Things change, there’s a “plan,” and what a plan it is…
Here’s the Rebuttal Testimony of Ed Steadman:
Here’s Rebuttal Testimony of Wolk:
Wolk-rebuttal-testimony.pdf
Here’s the Rebuttal Testimony of Richard Stone:
stone-rebuttal-testimony.pdf
And here’s the weirdest part — “Plan for Carbon Capture and Sequestration” (I had to cut it in two parts because it refused to upload).
Color me jaundiced, but what a crock. And now we’ve got to waste our time reading this and picking it apart, fighting to make it all public information. Plus they hired some gorilla in the store room to bend the notebook rings so they don’t close, can’t read it without blowing a gasket every attempted page turn… OK, guys, get ready, I’s a pickin’ with surgical precision. Oh, hey, I’ve got a better idea… why don’t we just pump it up… ah… oh… ah… nevermind, it’d just be released again… ppppppppffffffbbbbbbbbbbtttttt.. Look! There goes Tom Micheletti propelled into the stratosphere! Both our Co2 and Mesaba problem solved! (Special thanks to a certain party, whose name I can’t recall,for her sequestration advice!)
So now I’ve got it in a real notebook that works, a hot cup of Sleepytime Tea, with visions of CO2 pumping stations and store room gorillas dancing in my head…
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
