Academy of Local Politics

Citizen apathy never accomplishes anything. It takes action on the part of the citizens to accomplish real change. Thoughtful, courteous, timely input on issues.

So, when some of the citizens of Lo Prado, Chile spoke to their Mayor, he listened and acted. According to Breitbart.com...

For the first time in Chile, a mayor plans to give out free Viagra to men 60 and older in his town to improve their "quality of life" four times a month...

 "This has to do with quality of life and it's done responsibly. It's not just like handing out candy at the corner," Gonzalo Navarrete, a physician and mayor of the poor town of Lo Prado south of Santiago.

And, just how much is it going to cost this "poor town" to provide this "quality of life" service?

 "We'll give out four, 50 milligram pills, in other words, for four sexual relationships per month," Navarrete said, adding that the program would have a starting cost of about 20,000 dollars.

I'm not sure what the value of their dollar is, but $20,000 sounds like a chunk of change to me for this program, especially considering the description of them being a "poor town".

Why is this service being offered at this cost? It is all about citizen involvement.

The mayor said the idea for his unprecedented move came from hearing older men in his town complain about not getting enough sex.

There you have it. Proof positive of the results that can occur, when citizens decide to band together and make their complaints known to the proper officials.

Last September I wrote about the "conspiracy theory" between the...

City of LaCrosse (WI) Police Department and the FBI covering up the "murder" of male college students over the past decade.

"Since 1997, eight college-aged men have drunk heavily at local taverns, then turned up dead in one of the area's rivers."

The report last fall was about the FBI refusal to release their report on these deaths. Even going as far as refusing to respond to a request for this report from the Associated Press under the Freedom of Information Act.

Yesterday we learn from numerous sources, including this one in the Eau Claire Leader-Telegram...

Two retired New York City detectives believe serial killers are behind the drowning deaths of 40 young men nationwide.

Kevin Gannon and Anthony Duart, who have been tracking the suspicious drowning deaths of young men across the country ever since investigating the death of a college student who drowned in New York in 1997, told ABC News that the death of University of Minnesota student Chris Jenkins became "the link" connecting the drowning deaths of usually high-achieving college students in 25 cities in 11 different states.

Jenkins vanished from a St. Cloud, Minn., bar on Halloween 2002, and his body was found along the Mississippi River.

Initially, his death in 2002 was ruled an accident or suicide but later was reclassified as a homicide in November 2006, according to the Associated Press. That change caused some investigators to re-examine their conclusions or ask the FBI to do so.

When Gannon and Duarte took a look at Jenkins' death, they wanted to know where his body went into the water so they'd be able to gather evidence from the actual crime scene, according to the ABC news story.

The pair said they found a smiley face painted somewhere at crime scenes in Indiana, Iowa, Ohio,Pennsylvania and Wisconsin according to the ABC news account. Even though the color of paint used and the size of the faces varied, they are convinced it "is a sick signature claiming responsibility for the homicide."

Gannon and Duarte also came to believe that more than one person is involved in the murders.

The Smiley Face Killers? Plural?

Roaming the nations river town colleges?

KSTP TV-5, based in the Twin Cities, lists 19 victims from Minnesota and Wisconsin who Gannon and Duarte believe may be related, including three from Eau Claire and six from LaCrosse.

Eau Claire Police Chief Jerry Matysik isn't buying it.

"We would all like to have easy answers to these deaths," he said. "Believing in a conspiracy is appealing to many people because terrible events make us uncomfortable."

"Strangely, people are often more comfortable believing in a conspiracy because it is less threatening," he said.

"If a serial killer was truly responsible for the deaths of these students, we could stop the killer and all feel safe again. However, we feel vulnerable with the reality that life is unfair and that something as prevalent in our lives as alcohol can kill so many people. This reality is not pleasant.

And a number of them just happen fall into a river where this smiley face was painted?

Something makes me think we haven't heard the end of this story.

The final municipal service that many people need...is a cemetery. 

So, what's new in the cemetery world?

How about a cemetery where people can be buried without chemicals or even a coffin. According to the Wisconsin State Journal "green" graveyards are growing in popularity.

That's right... a cemetery where people can be buried without chemicals or even a coffin.

Well, maybe a bamboo casket like this one.

Dave Drapac, president of the Trust for Natural Legacies says... "You can pretend that your body's going to be nice and preserved if embalmed and air tight...          but that's not the case. It's not a pretty picture any way you choose. "

Interest isn't exploding but it is growing...

James Olson, spokesman for the National Funeral Directors Association and owner of the Lippert-Olson Funeral Home in Sheboygan, said interest in green burials has increased, especially in the last two years.

While there aren 't many options for such burials in Wisconsin, cremation -- which doesn't take up any land or introduce chemicals into the ground -- remains a popular choice for people looking for a more environmentally friendly send-off, Olson said. Also, some caskets are made without metals and are biodegradable.

In addition, not all cemeteries require cement vaults to surround the caskets, which serve mainly to keep the ground from collapsing under heavy equipment such as lawn mowers and backhoes, he said.

Simpler can also mean cheaper when it comes to funerals and burials. The average cost of an adult funeral, including embalming, preparation of the body, buying a casket and paying facility and staff costs is $6,195, according to 2006 statistics from the National Funeral Directors Association. That doesn't include the cost of a cemetery plot, monument or other burial costs.

In all honesty, this topic interests me because of the cost of funerals. But according to Mr. Olson...

"Money isn't the reason for the increasing interest in green burials.  It's about minimizing the ecological effects of traditional burials. "It really is a true concern for the environment." 

Concern for the environment may be the reason some people will be interested in "green" funerals. But, a whole lot more will be interested because of the color of money.

That's what I think.

A couple of days ago I revisited Snellville, GA.

One of the comments which fascinated me was by Council Representative Kelly Kautz when she stated...  "At this point and time, I'm ashamed to be sitting up here. We're worse than Lithonia."

Lithonia? What's up with Lithonia? I found out. Kind of.

WXIA-TV 11 from Atlanta report on their website Tuesday...

The contents of City Hall in the embattled city of Lithonia were packed up and moved down the road to the police department Tuesday, without the mayor's approval.

Police patrol cars were on site and officers used video cameras to document the events during the move, which was ordered by the city council.  Council members said storing their records at the police department is the only way they can ensure the city can get back to business.

We came into this story in the middle, didn't we? Wow?

(This picture is a part of the actual move of the records.)

How do they even know what records they have and where to find them if needed?

"We'll actually do a complete inventory once we get everything over to the office," said Chief Willie Rosser.

I wonder if they are then placed in the Evidence Room?

The controversy between the mayor, police chief, and council boiled over two weeks ago when Mayor Joyce McKibben fired Chief Rosser.  The city council immediately voted to reinstate him.

I love this next part of the story...

Two days later, two of the mayor's aides were arrested when they tried to enter City Hall and the mayor donned a neck brace, which she said she wore because of injuries received during a tussle with a police officer who tried to keep her from removing her computer hard drive from her office.

Her computer hard drive? Her office?

I believe it would be the City of Lithonia's hard drive and the Mayor's Office which she is only temporarily occupying.

Council Representative Kathleen deCocq stated...

"It didn't just start two weeks ago.  [City Hall has] been closed for over five weeks.  We have zero revenue coming in the city.  We need to be accessible to the public."

Whoa...we came into the middle of not just a story, but the middle of a very long story. And, to think a Council Representative in Snellville, claims they are in worse shape than Lithonia?

From more than a thousand miles away, who am I to argue?

Every city should be known for "something". No matter how large or small. It is called marketing. The purpose is to capture outside money which is then churned again and again and again through the local economy. 

Some cities struggle for years to find their marketing niche and never do. They never come up with a logo or slogan that works for them.

Then there is Weed, California.

Weed (Population 3000) is named after the city's founder Abner Weed. Located on Highway 5 in northern California. According to this AP news report...California tourism officials have identified Weed as the single most recognized name along I-5.

That is quite a feat! The most recognized name along Highway 5!

For decades, Weed's name has become synonymous with pot-smoker humor, and locals will tell you it's a common sight to see red-eyed, tie-dye clad college students posing in front of the town's Weed highway signs, flashing thumbs ups for the camera...

Gas stations sell “High on Weed, CA” shirts and hats to tourists passing through town...

Mayor Chuck Sutton said the city's chamber of commerce has used another play on words, “Weed like to welcome you,” to promote the town.

But, Weed has a problem. More specifically, a small local beer brewery has a problem.

Weed brewer Vaune Dillmann faces possible sanctions or fines from the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau if he continues to brew and sell beer with bottle caps printed with the label “Try Legal Weed.”

Huh? Puns are now illegal? it seems so.

The labels on his beers have a picture of the Weed arch and the city's founding father, Abner Weed, on the label. Dillmann's bottle caps also say a “A Friend in Weed is a Friend Indeed."

But...

Bureau spokesman Art Resnick said Monday that the bottle caps tell consumers to support an illegal drug -- a policy that violates rules of the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau.

Mr. Dillmann's response ...

The owner of the Mount Shasta Brewing Co. said he's also outraged that his beer is being singled out for using a possible pot play on words when Anheuser-Busch has used “Bud” -- another name for marijuana -- to promote its Budweiser line of beers.

“What's the difference here?” Dillmann said. “They sell Bud -- we sell Weed.”

Touche!

Siskiyou County Supervisor Michael Kobseff is coming to the defense of the brewery and city. In a letter to the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau's administrator, Kobseff writes...

“Surely, the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau is not in the business of suppressing the ingenuity of a small business owner, (and) the community of Weed ...,”

Mr. McCain... Mr. Obama... Mrs. Clinton.

What is your position on puns?