Author Archive

By Jim Sack

Sex can be very, very divisive. It certainly was at council last night. Just ask Councilman Tom Smith how it felt to be personally attacked for a rude and insensitive statement he is alleged to have made. Just ask the dozens of young people who showed up to lobby for “their rights.” Just ask the score or so who were there to rail against “those people.” Just ask the rest of council all of whom who sat through forty long, long minutes of contentious arguments from both sides. It was an impassioned evening that can be described as sad.

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There was little of significance on the agenda last night at council, so little in fact that members wondered why President Marty Bender had even bothered to hold the meeting. You see, there seems to be a cycle to the business of council not unlike various rhythms of life and, in council’s case, they peak during the budget season when there is a parade of paper and people to the table.

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By Jim Sack

I mourn the passing of two remarkable women who made a remarkable difference in Fort Wayne; Dr. Jane Irmscher and Anne Richard, the former a beloved health commission of our county, the other an equally revered mother of a former mayor.

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By Jim Sack

Interesting. The Wall Street Journal reports on page A3, column one, paragraph seven, line four that our guy, Mark Souder, has, at least once, taken taxpayer money and used it for his personal gain.

Read the story. He is not alone and the let us call him just one more poor victim of a system that fails to keep close tabs on your tax dollars. Poor Mark. Victim. I am sure he is suffering.

According to interviews with 20 current and former members of Congress, lawmakers use the excess cash for shopping or to defray spouses’ travel expenses. Sometimes they give it away; sometimes they pocket it. Many lawmakers said they didn’t know the rules demand repayment.

“If that was the policy, you could never get many members traveling,” said Rep. Solomon Ortiz, a Texas Democrat. Mr. Ortiz said he had never returned any money.

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By Jim Sack

Most Americans distrust their government, or so a poll states.

After first blush that seems very sad, the government Lincoln described as of, for and by the people should be considered a threat to our rights.

So, three thoughts have come to mind: the validity of the poll, whether the outcome is anything new, and what are our rights?

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By Jim Sack

Money talks and council members listen.  Simple as that.

The parking lot at the city county building last night was unusually filled with Lexus, Mercedes, Audis and the other rolling status symbols of wealth.  Inside the chamber was filling with the well-to-do who were up in arms about a developer planning to building on his, the developer’s land.  The citizens, most representing Cherry Hills, a golf-community on the city’s suburban north side, argued against the office complex that the plan commission had recent approved.  Their rambling arguments were simple: not in my back yard, we were promised verdant vistas forever and the tired saw of traffic problems.  Council members buckled to the will of the people.  Six members publicly stated they would vote against the change.  Done.  So, the sprawlites get their way.  They do not want the owner of the land, a developer, a businessman, a taxpayer, etc, to ruin their view.  These are people who bought land at a premium, they lament, and demand that their semi-rural setting remain same for perpetuity.  No change in my backyard, no progress unless it is progress I approve of.  The mob won.  No pitch forks or torches, mind you, but a mob, the public, taxpayers, involved citizens just the same. The sort of neighborhood “intrusion” into policy making that makes Liz Brown testy.

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By Jim Sack

Ben Lanka missed a point this morning in his political column in the Journal. His error, while slight, gave me time to think about the media in Fort Wayne.

Ben chided the mayor, Tom Henry, an old-family Fort Wayner, for referring to State Boulevard as State Street. So? Most of the old-timers in Fort Wayne, most who have been raised here would know it that way, not just as State Boulevard. Point for the mayor flub for the out-of-town reporter. Ben, however, is a very nice guy, works hard at his craft, but blew that one.

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By Jim Sack

I heard the other day about what seemed to be a real blatant bit of insider dealing.  It is a lesson in how Fort Wayne works and how rumors grow into something more.

The story was of a sweet-heart deal and conflict of interest.  It involved a leading citizen and one of his employees sitting on a board making the decision on the matter.

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By Jim Sack

Council was awash with stories last night.

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By Jim Sack

There is a sale going on in Europe, thanks to financial problems in Greece, Ireland and a couple more European countries, that can benefit you but won’t help our economy much.

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Having seen the intergovernmental task force on co-location today I much prefer sausage making.

At least with sausage making you can drink a nice German beer, say a Kostritzer from Gera, to dull the pain. There was no such option today. The meeting was comical at times, disappointing most of the time, disrespectful, inarticulate, confused, and oh yes, a mess.

The highly respected John Stafford chairs the task force and even as capable and articulate as he is the meeting got away from him quickly. The seating chart should have been a giveaway. One the left (literally, not figuratively) were Councilmen Tom Smith, Tim Pape and Mitch Harper. On the right (literally and figuratively) were County Council members Roy Buskirk, Paula Hughes and Paul Moss. In the middle (to their misfortune) were commissioners Linda Bloom and Nelson Peters, moderator Stafford and placed uncomfortably near Councilman Moss our fuming Mayor Tom Henry. (Bill Brown fortuitously had scheduled something else moons ago so he was spared the confusion and confrontation and pettiness.)

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