Lobbyists' gifts- Some of the legislation that has been pre-filed for the 2014 General Assembly puts a limit on the gifts legislators receive from lobbyists. Isn't it time we followed the example of other states that make it illegal for lobbyists to give legislators anything. The lobbyists already have an advantage- proximity. Is there any reason why they can't meet with senators and representatives in their offices instead of at bars or restaurants? And if they do meet outside of the office, is there any reason why the legislators can't pay for their own meals and drinks. We are already paying them a certain amount each day to cover meals.
If we can't do that- If our elected officials can't bring themselves to cut off their meals, drinks, trip and ball games, there are a few things I would like to see done. On the Missouri Ethics Commission website, require all gifts for legislators' wives, other family members and staff members to be posted on the legislator's page, as well as campaign contributions from the lobbyists. It is also high time that we cut down on the turnaround time from when a legislator receives a gift from a lobbyist and when it shows up on the Ethics Commission website. Currently, a gift received Jan. 1 will not be available for public inspection until March 1. It would still be better just to make the gifts illegal.
A shoutout for Gretchen Bolander- I have enjoyed the work Gretchen Bolander has been doing anchoring the news on KODE. As with the times she has done it in the past or the times she has filled in on the morning show, she always makes those programs better.
Joplin R-8- So many things have been done by the Joplin R-8 School District that have been intended for marketing purposes (down to the recent decision to start selling off the naming rights and monetizing everything else to try to dig out of debt), that it is easy to forget that the first ridiculous naming decision made by the Board of Education was not Soaring Heights, but changing Joplin R-8 School District to Joplin Schools. I was reminded that when I saw the words Joplin R-8 on all of the stations today as they posted schools that will be closed tomorrow. Every other school district in the area is R-1, R-2, R-3, etc. It is that way all across Missouri. Is it that much easier to sell Joplin Schools? I will continue to refer to it as the Joplin R-8 School District, not only because I like it better, but because to the state, that is still what we are.
Small Town News Sale- Don't forget that for two days beginning at 10 a.m. tomorrow, my first novel, Small Town News, first published in 2005, wil be available for 99 cents in e-book form. The book is the fictionalized version of events of October 31, 2001, when Diamond Superintendent Greg Smith disappeared and the bank of Diamond was robbed.
1 comment:
Did you watch city council meeting tonight? The mayor was asked if she read a particular story in the Globe and she said, "sorry, I don't read The Globe." Should have seen those in the audience laugh, instant classic. Even the mayor refuses to read that rag.
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