“Sen. Hillary Clinton was able in recent campaign appearances to recount a dramatic arrival at a Bosnian airport in 1996 when sniper fire forced her to dash head down into a waiting vehicle and skip the welcoming ceremony prepared for the then-First Lady. Except, of course, that news footage shows her calmly walking and stopping to shake hands with a little girl and no one else present that day remembers any sniper fire. Clinton said she “misspoke” — so easy to do when you speak millions of words a week. Evidently, she also mis-remembered and perhaps misled the voters she told this imaginary story to.”
Housing Crisis? The H.U.D. Secretary is a Little Distracted Right Now
Alphonso Jackson, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, explained two years ago that political affiliations were factored into contract decisions made by the Bush administration. “Funny thing: now Mr. Jackson stands accused of just these sorts of shenanigans. Specifically, he is the subject of investigations by Congress into allegations that he rewarded developer friends and abused political enemies in doling out taxpayers’ funds.” When our country is in a time of need, the spoils system of another A. Jackson is just what we need. “Senior HUD officials have complained that Mr. Jackson instructed them to take into account political ties when making contract awards. He denies it.”
Airline construction plant at KCI would be a boon to Kansas City
Canada is now outsourcing to the United States: “It’s hardly a done deal. But Kansas City might score an economic coup — assuming the planets align correctly over the next several months. Bombardier Aerospace of Montreal is seeking a location for a $375 million assembly plant for its C-series commercial airliner.” According to the Kansas City Star, “Under this arrangement, the city would own the facility and lease it back to Bombardier. The company would receive a 50 percent break on payments in lieu of property taxes.” This has one potential hang up “whether the Missouri legislature will come through with a tax-credit program that would be crucial to the deal.” The uncertainty in the U.S economy actually served as impetus as the dollar’s “fall in recent months fueled Bombardier’s interest in a U.S. location.”
“Megabus, meanwhile, typically offers a handful of $1 seats on each trip to early bookers and then charges higher prices as the date of travel approaches.”
“Dale Moser, the president and chief operating officer of Megabus, said the last-minute, walk-up fare from Toronto to New York was about $85, and that there were no hidden charges beyond the 50-cent booking fee.”
“‘That is still more economical than all the other alternatives out there – flying, driving your own car or taking the train.”
Ontario police clear out most of Tent City
“Tent City began last July when Ontario set aside an area where its local homeless could rest without being hassled. It rapidly grew from 20 to more than 400 people — some from as far away as Florida. People put up tents and parked decrepit motor homes along the streets. Parolees and probationers found their way to the site, which is near Ontario International Airport.”
“Officials, who intended the place for local people, feared Tent City was getting out of control and would turn into a new skid row. They decided to limit it to 170 people who had either lived in the city or had immediate family ties to Ontario.”
City accused of trying to enforce barred ordinance
“The landlords say Farmers Branch sent some apartment complexes that hadn’t yet renewed their rental licenses a form that asked complexes to abide by city ordinances. It mentioned a section on citizenship and immigration.”
“When landlords asked for a copy of the section, they were given a copy of the city’s original ordinance banning apartment rentals to illegal immigrants, according to court filings from last week.”
City Tightens Its Regulation and Inspection of Cranes
“The Buildings Department said a city inspector will now have to be present every time a crane is erected, jumped or dismantled.”
“In addition, the department said it will require the lead contractor to hold a safety meeting with workers involved before each jumping operation. A Buildings Department inspector must monitor that meeting.”
“Construction industry experts have questioned the value of the department’s inspections, and one executive expressed skepticism that the inspectors had the expertise to monitor the jumping process under the new guidelines.”
City’s new street toilets to proceed, despite Seattle’s tales of woe
“The City of Vancouver is flush with optimism about its new public toilets despite calls in Seattle to can the stalls.”
“Fears of similar problems arose here in 2006 when Vancouver voted to install eight of the toilets because public urination and defecation had become a problem, and homeless citizens were in need of private 24-hour facilities.”
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