Tuesday, May 13, 2014

Spring Break


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> For those few wondering (and possibly sighing in relief), I decided a few weeks back to take a break from posting to O Vancouvria!. Between the unfortunate "he said she said" business over Jim Moeller's Tesoro stance, my "day job" doing landscape renovations and teaching gardening classes, and me breaking my head against continued walls of Vantucky-and-adjacent local government (weak City Council, rude and unresponsive bureaucrats, and the M+M oligarchy), it became clear local politics and local change was the main cause of my blood boiling.
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> So, a breather. And a re-think.
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> Here's where a rested blogger and professionally trained anthropologist is at:
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> No more five-six times daily posts whenever a notion political pops in my head. I'll get an aneurysm, you'll find me a headache, and nothing changes.
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> No more following up publicly on tips "of the moment" - Tesoro, the Interstate Bridge mess, waterfront hoo-ha, M+M's dastardly deeds, the idiotic bumblings of "our man in Olympia", and (lastly) the as-yet-unapproved by Council (who cant deny commercial development on lots zoned commercial anyways) Uptown McDonald's. Yeah, I gots positions on the shiznit. No, I dont care to tilt at windmills. Yeah, I know for a fact these issues are Don Quixote worthy.
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> No more railing against our powerless City Council and lack of citizen oversight and true accountability in our weak-mayor Vantucky government-including not trying to force change at the ballot box. Eric Holmes is a good city manager-and makes (for now) our half-assed style of city government a non issue - thanks to STRONG neighborhood groups and non governmental orgs. I assume I'll scream with everyone else when and if Council hires, say, a David Madore-like city manager. But not now.
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> Instead of bemoaning, I plan on critical oversight and investigating-fieldwork that gets the actual lay of the ground - not just the gloss or the muck. Praise where merited, scorn where deserved - and constructive critique with actual possible solutions to our messes. My post on goings on with a plastic bag ban, for instance.
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> I plan on creeping along carefully and laying low to this ground, keeping an ear out for the devil in our details. I have no aspirations to be anyone's mouthpiece nor a desire for political office - I'm unelectable anyways. For reals.
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> Stay tuned. I'll say what needs to be said, and cast a light on what others sweep under rugs here. Have no doubt.
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> Next post (Friday): efforts by City Council to regulate plastic bags. Looks like Anne McEnerny-Ogle's maybe got a quorum on a possible ban with some savvy groundwork.

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Please, go ahead and say something - let me and others know what you think, how you feel, what should be done...what I didn't say, should have said...or how shrill I am/not shrill enough. Be assertive here.