Just as the lower-court planning and zoning commission blinded themselves to current city code, so did the Truth or Consequences City Commission. Mayor Amanda Forrister and her husband have been granted a kennel permit, making their hunting-dog operation legal, or at least sanctioned by her fellow city commissioners.
The city is falling apart all at once, 60 years of infrastructure neglect coming to crisis, while its debt capacity is exhausted. City officials were real with legislators and they were real back.
So far, good-ole-boy government is enabling Mayor Forrister to remain above the law. The 30 animal-control violations against her and her husband, which include animal cruelty, were not considered in P&Z deliberations and the current kennel law was thrown out the window.
There will be no sunshine on the possible sale of the city's electric utility. If it happens, it will be a private sale to Sierra Electric Cooperative.
Hooray. Fairness under the city's zoning code was in evidence at the Dec. 14 city commission meeting, thanks to Mayor Pro Tem Rolf Hechler. He went through his findings of fact before ruling, as required by law, eschewing opinion.
The next city manager must hold to a course correction, reversing 60 years of water, wastewater and electric infrastructure neglect--Bruce Swingle is leaving in May.
The $3 million to $5 million to repair Cantrell Dam isn't worth it, the engineer said. Even at full function, it doesn't provide flood protection against three-inch intense-rain events. The engineer recommended "breaching" the dam, not repairing it, until City Commissioner Merry Jo Fahl said breaching would "scare" people.
Whether Truth or Consequences Mayor Amanda Forrister and her husband are exempt from the law she enacted hangs in the balance--as does the fate of their 14 dogs--which are underfed, unvaccinated, unlicensed and 10 dogs over the limit allowed without a special-use permit.
The city commission's workshop on the hot springs clarified that it's up to the city, not the Office of the State Engineer, to take care of the hot springs. The city's position as a protestant to a 400 acre-feet-a-year commercial hot springs application is heightening the city's interest.
The two sheriff's candidates were asked 11 questions and given five days to respond. Sierra County Sheriff's Deputy Lieutenant Joshua Baker responded to all questions. He is running as a Republican. Michael Lanford did not respond, indicating a disinclination to be transparent. He is running as a Democrat.
Truth or Consequences attracted one of the greats, Tom Hamil. He had an enormous talent for painting music, his auditory and visual synesthesia giving us visual jazz.
Tony Soprano took over businesses, sucking the life out of them like a lamprey eel until it was "busted out." Truth or Consequences has similarly ridden its rate payers and exhausted its utilities. The trash utility is the new cash cow.