I agree. Perhaps, a "Lukers: Introdcue Yourself" thread would pull a few out of the woodwork. As great as you other two or three regular posters are, it would be great to have more voices chimming in.
It's really revealing, revealing the ugly underside of what's going on in local government. It also shows just how fast this ship is beginning to take on water. Their is an urgency, I see, an urgency that the mayor is responding to, and one that a significant portion of the city council isn't. That said, Bernero would get a "doesn't work well with others" on his elementary school report card if that's how the council and mayor were graded. I like his enthusiasm and passion, but it's distressing to see him take it so far, and too often into personal attacks.
I also agree with Bernero, and so many others, that we don't have the luxury we did in the 1970's and 80's of subsidizing all of these extras:
- The city needs to get out of the golf business. Many other cities in our condition would scoff at the idea that a city of our size supports 4 golf courses. That's crazy.
- I completely agree with councilwoman Wood about regionalizing what are already region assets such as the Lansing Center and Oldsmobile Park.
We simply can't afford fiscally liberality, at the moment, in these tough times.
I was just talking to a friend of mine the other day about this. Not that he's the best mayor in the world or anything, but Bernero gets a lot of guff for doing and supporting some of this stuff, but in reality he's been able to push through things that should have been done a long time ago. Plus, I think he gets blamed for things that aren't his fault at all. I heard a commercial on the radio the other day from that shoe repair place downtown, blaming Bernero for the CSO projects and all the "coffee shops downtown".
I agree that Bernero is taking too much of the blame for many things. The owner of that shoe store seems to be a nice guy and everything, but he must understand that the CSO project is something that has to be done and has been running on schedule with no help from the current administration. And all the coffee shops downtown are only a result of downtowns transition to a higher end market. Unfortunately a few businesses, like that shoe store, may be priced out, or forced to make changes.
In other news, Demmer is hiring for 750 decent paying manufacturing jobs. This is really, really big, at least as far as I'm concerned. Demmer seeks to fill 750 new jobs
In complete agreement. Bernero is doing things, structurally, that former mayors would have no dared to do, and I'm particularly eluding to hiring freezes and the like. I consider myself a pragmatic liberal in that I believe there are times when we have no other realistic choice than to right-size the government, local, state, and otherwise. I also don't get the regular citizens that complain about cuts, but then complain when someone mentions a tax increase. You can't have it both ways.
Hood, I hear Spartan Chasis down in Charlotte got a war contract, so they'll be hiring 500.
EDIT: Unbelievable; the LSJ is saying that 1,500 turned out for the jobs. This recently happened in Detroit where GM was hiring a few hundred for some tech jobs and they thousands of applications. It just shows you how tough the market is in this state. It's kind of inspiring but also really sad that people are practically having to scurry like rats to find good jobs. Very telling.
EDIT2: Also just saw that the city is going to have to cut down 200 ash trees in Washington Park because of an emerald ash borer infestation. This is really sad, as these are some old, tall trees that really give this particular park its character. They must be really old, too.
I saw that, today! It looks like SmithGroup, the famous Detroit architectural firm, drew up the renovation plans for the structure, so this should be great. I've tried to get information out of Christman, but they don't respond to my emails, anymore.
BTW, in a totally unrelated subject, has anyone noticed, if even just passing by, how many more college students go to Lugnuts games, downtown, than before? I've lived near the park for years, and I've never seen so many young, urban-types with designer handbags and sunglasses. MSU must be doing a great job of getting the word out on all of the areas amenities, because there was a time (and we're still in it to an extent) where MSU students just never went to Lansing. I've never seen so many young people taking advantage of downtown, which is still in its renaissance infancy. Just imagine how lively the area will get when things start to seriously come online.
I've seen huge crowds of MSU students gathering by bus stops on Thursday nights in East Lansing waiting to take the CATA bus to the Lugnuts games for Thirsty Thursdays. I think with the combination of CATA buses used on campus and initiatives like the Entertainment Express, more students are finding out about Lansing and bringing their friends with them. There has been more than one time where I have seen the Entertainment Express packed as it goes from bar to bar.
Comments
Peckham to add complex
Lansing mayor’s ‘good to great’ mantra is for long haul
It's really revealing, revealing the ugly underside of what's going on in local government. It also shows just how fast this ship is beginning to take on water. Their is an urgency, I see, an urgency that the mayor is responding to, and one that a significant portion of the city council isn't. That said, Bernero would get a "doesn't work well with others" on his elementary school report card if that's how the council and mayor were graded. I like his enthusiasm and passion, but it's distressing to see him take it so far, and too often into personal attacks.
I also agree with Bernero, and so many others, that we don't have the luxury we did in the 1970's and 80's of subsidizing all of these extras:
- The city needs to get out of the golf business. Many other cities in our condition would scoff at the idea that a city of our size supports 4 golf courses. That's crazy.
- I completely agree with councilwoman Wood about regionalizing what are already region assets such as the Lansing Center and Oldsmobile Park.
We simply can't afford fiscally liberality, at the moment, in these tough times.
In other news, Demmer is hiring for 750 decent paying manufacturing jobs. This is really, really big, at least as far as I'm concerned.
Demmer seeks to fill 750 new jobs
Hood, I hear Spartan Chasis down in Charlotte got a war contract, so they'll be hiring 500.
EDIT: Unbelievable; the LSJ is saying that 1,500 turned out for the jobs. This recently happened in Detroit where GM was hiring a few hundred for some tech jobs and they thousands of applications. It just shows you how tough the market is in this state. It's kind of inspiring but also really sad that people are practically having to scurry like rats to find good jobs. Very telling.
EDIT2: Also just saw that the city is going to have to cut down 200 ash trees in Washington Park because of an emerald ash borer infestation. This is really sad, as these are some old, tall trees that really give this particular park its character. They must be really old, too.
BTW, in a totally unrelated subject, has anyone noticed, if even just passing by, how many more college students go to Lugnuts games, downtown, than before? I've lived near the park for years, and I've never seen so many young, urban-types with designer handbags and sunglasses. MSU must be doing a great job of getting the word out on all of the areas amenities, because there was a time (and we're still in it to an extent) where MSU students just never went to Lansing. I've never seen so many young people taking advantage of downtown, which is still in its renaissance infancy. Just imagine how lively the area will get when things start to seriously come online.