Vacuum sewer system is on to-do list after hanging fire for six years
It's backing up. It's overflowing. It's close to the Rio Grande. Fixing it is finally a priority.
Category Analyses
Whitehead has a plan to fix city’s sewer woes
Whitehead to the rescue, along with "water bear." Looks as if the city was disregarding warnings about violations to its sewer-water-discharge permit, until Whitehead came along. He was a tad too late to prevent an administrative order being handed down by the feds, though.
Memorial for those who died
The last functioning hospital in southern Gaza was attacked today by Israeli tanks. I try to understand the situation there from bits and pieces of news and reports from many online sources.
$8 million general obligation bond for new middle school will be on November ballot
The T or C middle school is 40 years old and has a lot of problems. The school district's facilities master plan lays out the costs of repairs vs. new building, and new looks better, especially considering NMPED's possible match for a new building. Taxes will NOT go up.
Poly-cart customers are exploited mercilessly by the city
Poly-cart customers have carried the costs of the city's solid waste department since it opened its collection center in 2013. The city imposed the suggested rates from the Parkhill study, now 1.5 years old, which didn't straighten out the inequities in the fees, but did quantify them.
Final T or C 2025-2026 budget is $90 million: one-third operations, two-thirds capital projects
Thank goodness the city is receiving about 70 percent grant money of the $60 million needed for capital projects. Local citizens will be paying off another $15 million in debt, which doesn't include interest.
T or C to spend about $250,000 to correct some of its employees’ low pay
Walmart has essentially set the local minimum wage at $15 an hour--which the city hasn't beat for years. The second compensation study in the last three years once again establishes market rate and competitive pay.
City gets over $7 million grant for “Cantrell Dam Project”
With the July 2020 flood and dam failure creating ongoing liability to the city, with the Office of the State Engineer requiring it be fixed "timely," this project became a priority. It will cost $9.725 million in engineering fees and construction costs, if the bids come in within budget.
Welfare queen mentality combined with rah-rah palaver reveals mayor’s conceit and ignorance
If you are going to brag, it shouldn't be about getting a welfare check from the government.
New court case against city: nepo baby vs. whistleblower
An employee pointed out his boss, the mayor's son, O.J. Hechler, was hired as a felon who was still on probation, in violation of city policy. He was fired shortly afterward.
From “Exceptionalism” to “Exceptionalism”
If you have never heard of Carl Schmitt, you've missed the glue that holds all the Administration's actions together. Schmitt was Germany's leading jurist in the 20s and 30s. As professor of jurisprudence he wrote political theory attacking liberal parliamentary democracy. Those books are the blueprint of the new America.
Rough start for Sierra County Arroyo Flood Control District Directors
Can this board set the mission and policies that will stick? They have 10 months as temporary appointees. Or will their work be wiped out, swept away by successors, since each of their five seats will be on the November 2025 ballot?