Pres. Franklin Roosevelt

Mary Souza’s Newsletter

The Wisconsin and Idaho teachers grabbed my attention this past week.  Their signs, shouts and indignant anger drove me to research the distinction between public and private sector unions.  I’m embarrassed to say that I’ve never paid much attention to those differences until now.

Private sector unions deal with corporations.  These employee unions negotiate for better wages and benefits, and any increases come out of company profits.  But the company must be careful because if they give too much, they’ll go out of business and everyone will be without a job.

Public sector unions, however, are another issue. These are unions for government employees, teachers, police and fire fighters. Government workers don’t create any profits, so they are paid by taxpayer dollars, and therein lies the problem.  Did you know that even the very liberal President Franklin Roosevelt, who was a champion of private unions, said that government employees should not have union negotiations for their contracts?  Here’s what he said:   (more…)

Mike Kennedy

Councilman Mike Kennedy, said at yesterday’s hearing about a public vote on McEuen, that he was “not elected to dodge the tough issues”.  (He was elected by TWO votes, and both of those came from Canada.)

No one is asking you to “dodge” anything, Mike.  We are asking that the final decision on the final plan for McEuen & Tubb’s Hill  go to the PEOPLE. The park belongs to the public, not to your full-time employer, Steve Meyer who, along with LCDC’s Charlie Nipp, owns the large swath of property right across the street from McEuen park.

The Mayor owns a building only half a block from the park. And the Pita Pit staff, including owners Jack Riggs and his son Peter, along with about five more staff, all were on hand at yesterday’s hearing to say they do NOT want a public vote. Their restaurant is one block from the park.

This is not about the details of the plan, or about which features people like or dislike, this is about final version of the plan, along with costs and funding, being placed on the ballot for the already scheduled November 8th city election.  Even if it’s not required by law because you are using the LCDC for funding, it’s still the right thing to do.

NIC President Bell

Big News for NIC!

Oh my goodness, College President Priscilla Bell must be so thrilled at the news that $6 Million dollars should be refunded to NIC for the pre-paid rent on the Mill site property!  She is desperate for money.  She recently traveled to Boise to beg the legislature for more funding, and she even asked billionaire Warren Buffett to donate an important piece of railroad land near the Mill site, which Ms. Bell said the college could not afford to buy.

The newly discovered $6 Million refund could go a long way in helping these financial needs. Maybe now the college won’t keep raising our taxes in this tight economy when folks are already paying the inflated NIC taxes that jumped 32% when the college took Foregone taxes, they said at the time, in order to purchase the Mill site.   (more…)

They Asked No Questions!

Dear Newsletter Readers,

I know this is the second letter this week, but I’m furious.  My head is spinning at the behavior of our City Council last night.

I watched their regular meeting on Channel 19, just to see if anyone would talk about the McEuen plan. Some folks from the public did, but that’s not why my hair is on fire.  The problem is this:  (more…)