Comment My newest life as an elected official (Score 1) 109
I've served as a Milwaukee County Supervisor, an elected position here in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, for most of the past decade. We need to adhere to open meetings laws. And as part of the County Board Finance & Audit Committee, we are in charge of making decisions on how to spend millions of dollars on contracts and spending and overseeing the $1.2 billion budget.
That committee has been meeting since 11AM today. Now, usually we have seven supervisors in attendance, along with the chief legislative researcher, a committee clerk, legislative analyst, committee coordinator, and a host of other staff from the office of corp counsel, comptroller, audit, etc. Additionally, we usually have at least 25 people (at least!) who attend to speak on items, either as a supporter or a departmental representative, etc.
Today, we had six members attending in person and a seventh on part of the meeting via Skype. More importantly, everyone in the room was seated at least six feet apart. That meant we had a comparatively empty room. I did have the option to call in via Skype. Hopefully this will not result in me being a Darwin award nominee.
I don't yet know how we will handle the next full County Board meeting in a week or so. Or how the COVID-19 situation will impact the swearing in of the next County Board and County Executive, which happens around May 5, with several weeks of transition prior to then. That said, we have really good people working in our local government. We'll make the best of it. Public health and safety is our highest priority. Hence we will look at everything we can do to preserve that and carry out our duties.
"Good luck -- we're all counting on you."
No pressure.
Comment Re: Thanks for your kind support and happy though (Score 1) 31
Comment Milwaukee man attempts breaking world record for p (Score 1) 1
Comment A family connection of sorts: all in the name (Score 2) 118
Comment But could it fold itself seven times? (Score 1) 32
Comment Why do we still have thousands of nukes? (Score 1) 122
Comment Re:Never used this keystroke (Score 1) 521
Comment Re:um... (Score 2) 76
Milwaukee alders are very powerful in their community and on the city council. What's different here is that Milwaukee is the largest city in the state. It's the state's economic driver. So what happens here has resonance.
What may not be so different is that here, the taxi scene is dominated by one company with a de facto monopoly made possible by previous city action. Ald. Bauman is interested in expanding the choices available to consumers. Hence this action.
I serve on the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors. That body has been maligned so many times it's not funny. One of my colleagues was just elected as an alderman. But that's another story.
Meanwhile, I've got this open data resolution that I'm working on...
Comment Perspective from Milwaukee, Wisconsin (Score 1) 336
Milwaukee's Green Corridor along S. 6th Street is our sandbox for sustainable development. Among many attributes, it has the world's largest slab of water-permeable concrete, which was made part of the stormwater containment system that runs a beautiful stream and provides water for the on-site community gardens. A food hub is being developed just across the street from there, and we're showing true green development is replete with benefits.
The 20th century saw Milwaukee's first apex, and we're building toward a larger, more sustainable one right now. I'm thrilled to be part of it.
Comment I wonder what his 3-year-old daughter thinks (Score 2) 1431
Comment R.I.P., good man. (Score 1) 311
Comment And after all that, I forgot to add: (Score 1) 3
Comment Here's me $.02. ($3 with inflation) (Score 1) 3
To be fair, part of it is problems that I've brought upon myself. I didn't listen when they said "after doing this upgrade, UPGRADE THE FUEL INJECTOR AND THE EXHAUST, or you will pay thousands in repairs." To be fair, I wanted to verify their claim. Which proved to be true.
If that weren't enough, part of it for me will be the cost of repairing body damage, which was not caused by the upgrade in HP/torque that I had done a few years back, but rather a side-effect of the car crash that I was in thirteen years ago (as seen on Slashdot!), which shredded my left eye and wrecked my depth perception. (Tight turns in and out of my garage are a bitch.)
That's got nothing to do with diesel vs. hybrid. It's all about my vision, or lack thereof. But take into account that at least with the TDi, you need to get synthetic oil, and religiously have it changed. You'll need a new fuel filter each year -- North American/European ppl, do this in October. And there at long last, the infamous VW
So now, I still want a car with great mileage. And I'd like get an American car, a UAW car. The Ford C-Max hybrid is of interest, as it satisfies both interests. Even if the mileage may not be all that it's billed to be. And the looks aren't all that great either. But, what can you do? Perhaps -- maybe -- deal.