Legalectric

Last night’s meeting was disappointing. No action on the Recall legal action. And few showed up. Not what I was expecting!

On the other hand, Mayor Wilson wanted Kent Laugen, who has been actively involved in the Recall effort, to be appointed to the Port Authority. As with his attempted appointment of Janie Farrar, another Recall proponent, that Laugen appointment motion failed for a second.

Here’s the missive I sent to the City Council yesterday:

Overland Comment on Recall Petition to City Council today

And here’s the Petition that was filed on Friday:

Frivolous Recall Lawsuit Filed

In the Rochester Post Bulletin, linked, about the Recall City Hall lawsuit:

Red Wing recall takes next big step with lawsuit

Suit seeks remedy for city council not approving special recall election after group gathered the required signatures.

Written By: Brian Todd | 9:08 am, Aug. 10, 2021

RED WING — Late Friday afternoon, the Recall City Hall committee in Red Wing took the next step in its efforts to bring six members of the city council to a special election.

The lawsuit, filed on behalf of Red Wing residents George Hintz, Peter Lang, Judith Kjome, Stephen Lind, Betty Kalember and Sheryl Voth, asks the 1st District Court “for correction of a deliberate ballot omission or, alternatively, for a Writ of Mandamus directing the City of Red Wing to hold an election for the recall of six city councilmembers in accordance with the strictures of the municipal charter.”

The petition points to what it calls several undisputed facts. They include that in each ward or wards at least 20 percent of registered voters signed petitions to recall council members Becky Norton, Evan Brown, Erin Buss, Andy Klitzke, Dean Hove and Laurel Stinson. However, the city council voted 6-1 – with all six council members up for recall voting no, and council member Kim Beise voting yes – on multiple occasions not to hold a special election.

In the petition, Greg Joseph, a Waconia, Minn.-based attorney representing the recall group, notes how the Red Wing City Charter states, “the clerical officer shall transmit it to the Council without delay and shall also officially notify the person sought to be recalled of the sufficiency of the petition and of the pending action. The Council shall, at its next meeting, by resolution provide for filing dates and other provisions necessary for the holding of a special recall election not less than 45 nor more than 60 days after such meeting.”

Joseph said it’s that directive to order an election that the city council has rejected, and that is the reason for the lawsuit.

However, not every resident of Red Wing sees it the same way.

Carol Overland, a local attorney who has expressed her support for the city council and its actions, said the public does not have a legal right to a recall election, and a firm case of malfeasance or nonfeasance – the justification for a recall – is absent in the recall effort.

[Original – since corrected: The idea that the petitioners who ran the recall efforts could determine what meets the legal definition of malfeasance or nonfeasance, she said, is absurd.] [Correction, I said “voters” because that’s what they’re arguing, that the voters should decide in an election whether there’s been malfeasance or nonfeasance, so insert “voters” here — it’s fixed now.]

The idea that the voters could determine what meets the legal definition of malfeasance or nonfeasance, she said, is absurd.

Council President Becky Norton agrees.

“The (Red Wing City) Charter and the Minnesota Constitution are clear that elected officials can only be recalled for malfeasance or nonfeasance,” Norton wrote in response to questions from the Post Bulletin. Norton went on to cite a case from 1959, Jacobsen v. Nagel. “The Minnesota Supreme Court has held that the same malfeasance and nonfeasance standard that applies to state officials applies to council members of a charter city.”

If the conduct of the council members does not constitute malfeasance or nonfeasance, Norton concluded, there is no obligation to schedule a recall election, which is why the city council was justified in its action.https://www.postbulletin.com/news/government-and-politics/7144940-Red-Wing-recall-takes-next-big-step-with-lawsuit

Kent Laugen, another local attorney not directly connected to the case, said while the lawsuit does not focus on whether the burden of malfeasance or nonfeasance has been reached, there is precedent from the courts saying that decision is left up to the voters.

[Precedent? Show us! It doesn’t exist][“not directly connected to the case” but DIRECTLY connected to the Recall — see quotes in other PB articles]

Whether or not there is a special election, the next election the six council members face is going to be tough, Laugen said.

The court has yet to set a hearing date for the lawsuit.

Probable cause hearing is next Monday.

Who is Tammi Jeka? She’s the woman who was doing donuts on the St. Paul Capitol lawn:

Woman waving Trump flag shouting she’s a white woman drives onto Minnesota state capitol mall

I have conflicting thoughts about this. It is framed as “mentally ill and chemical dependent” case type. Her thinking is clearly dysfunctional, but to brand waskadoodle tRumpists with “mental illness” labeling is off. This delusional dysfunctional thinking is different, but I don’t have the knowledge or training to explain. To me, it seems that intervention is necessary, and that it’s more of a chemical dependency affliction, which is the other part of the “case type” above. I’ve read some articles along this line, will try to find. We’ll see how this plays out.

Today, starting at 10:30, the Wisconsin PSC meeting is on, and last on the agenda, #15, is the Cardinal-Hickory Creek transmission line. They will be deciding whether they will interfere in judicial review of their C-HC order and make that moot by rescinding the order, and then, whether they will immediately RE-ORDER as the utilities want. Regulatory capture much?

Tune in early, because last time they ran through 40 items in 5-6 minutes!

FULL AGENDA

To listen to meeting (whatever happened to the webcast?) go HERE: https://apps.psc.wi.gov/APPS/eventscalendar/broadcast/livebroadcast.aspx

To check out all the filings in this docket, go HERE! Some very interesting and highly recommended comments were filed over the last month.

If you’re curious or upset that there is no longer video livestreamed, contact PSC Helpdesk at (608) 267-9195 or email at PSCHelpdesk@wisconsin.gov

Stopping the overdose on the front lines

Here’s an effort to supply NARCAN to libraries:

Company to Supply Free Narcan to Libraries – Emergent BioSolutions will provide two doses to every public library branch in the US

Recently on our local COVID page (to which I post the stats daily), I was challenged for posting on COVID and not the many ODs in our community, the party stating that “there were more ODs than COVID deaths.” Nope, NOT true! Although I’ve heard of several ODs here, we’ve had 74 COVID deaths since the start of tracking, and no way have we had more ODs than COVID deaths.

But given the challenge, and that I didn’t know how many ODs here since March 2020, I did some digging to see what the stats are on ODs.

A search of our local Republican Eagle for “overdose” had a lot of hits from here and surrounding area (rather wide circle):

SEARCH RESULTS HERE

Yesterday or the day before, I got this info from Goodhue County, though note it’s not 2021 info, only current through 2020, and it’s DRAFT info:

For Goodhue County separately, but no 2021 info yet:

And this despite a sharp increase in ODs in Minnesota:

Comparisons aren’t particularly relevant, whether between numbers of COVID deaths v. numbers of OD deaths, or between numbers of OD deaths here and elsewhere. One is too many.

I had asked for OD statistics, and got the info above. I also asked about treatment options, and info on resources, because I know from days as an attorney taking on whatever issues for whoever walked in the door how difficult it is to get into treatment. Even with an intervention that pushes someone toward straightening up, getting IN to treatment, whether inpatient or outpatient, is so difficult, between location, openings, PAYING FOR IT in our wonderful capitalistic health “care” system, what a mess. Back then, I did have a list of options for clients, and so remember my successes and failures to help clients through to sobriety, one failure particularly tragic, three times with the same client, who died of his addiction to alcohol. We need to do more to help people get treatment, and to get to the state where they’re ready for treatment, and that takes commitment and MONEY.

Per the County: When it comes to treatment, there is a statewide online treatment resource called www.fasttrackermn.org , and another statewide resource locator is https://www.211unitedway.org/ .

Also, below, please note some of Goodhue County specific treatment resources:

• Goodhue County Health and Human Services – Rule 25 Assessments and funding, guidance and resources – Red Wing (651) 385-6181 or HHS main line (651) 385-3200.
• Valley View Recovery – Inpatient (currently men’s only) – Cannon Falls (507) 601-5006
• Common Ground – Outpatient Services, assessments – Red Wing (651) 347-6500
• Midwest Recovery – Outpatient Services, assessments – Red Wing (651) 846-9010
• Zashata Burton with Moment to Moment Healing – Assessments, individual counseling – Red Wing (651) 380-0043
• Nystrom & Associates – Substance treatment services, counseling – Red Wing (651) 977-500
• Goodhue County Treatment Court – Helping non-violent offenders within the criminal court system.  Treatment Court Coordinator Kaitylyn Olmsted  (651) 267-4958

Thank you for this list of resources. Nina Arneson, Director of Health and Human Services, Goodhue County, has been very helpful and responsive in finding health related info.

The Office of Attorney General’s Residential Utility Division (OAG-RUD) has told the gas utilities in search of recovery for its EXTREME supply expenses during the natural gas price spike in February where to go… or more correctly, where NOT to go — that this should NOT come out of ratepayer pockets — that it’s the on the shareholders. YES! Love it when this happens.

The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission has an “investigation” into the massive gas price spike in February, and how the huge price spike and increased costs should be handled (Many other states’ Commissions have opened an investigation too). Thus far, it’s appeared that the Commission’s intent is to pass it on to the ratepayers and spread it out so it’s not so painful. But not so fast folks! It’s so heartwarming to read a pleading, particularly one filed by Office of Attorney General – Residential Utilities Division, where they say “NO!”

Read it HERE:

There are three ongoing dockets at the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission looking at the “gas crisis” from February.

Now pay attention, because this HUGE gas spike was only 2-3 days:

Some background Legalectric posts:

Texas — it’s a gas — natural gas… DOH! February 17th, 2021

It’s still a GAS! February 28th, 2021

The PUC is looking at a few questions, but what troubling is that the Commission seems to presume that the utilities will recoup from ratepayers! This presumption was evident in previous Commission meetings, and was disturbing, to put it mildly!

There are three dockets trudging along on the same path, and to look at all the filings go to eDockets and look up the dockets:

• 21-135
• 21-138
• 21-235

In May, the Commission issued another Notice of Comment Period and noted these issues, followed by a laundry list of topics for comments:

The AG’s Office minced no words and told them “NO!” For example:

Once more with feeling — ENJOY!

OAG_20217-175863-02

I’m particularly interested in storage, because a client lives above Minnesota’s only gas storage dome, an at least 10 square mile just north of Waseca, with 7 billion c.f. of natural gas stored below. A gas intermediate (not peaking) plant was proposed there, first a very small one, then one 10 times that in MW, and thankfully neither was built.

Knowing about that storage (and too many Minnesotans do not), storage was the focus of my comment in this docket last February:

OAG-RUD did address the failure of the gas utilities to utilize storage:

Bottom line to the OAG-RUD?