Where Have I Been?

I've been on the road for the past week, vacationing in California. Here is the view of the Pacific Ocean I had from the California beach house where I was staying. Those are my feet. Thanks to Anne, Craig & Sarah and Martin & Cindy for their generosity and hospitality.

Honduras

It continues to look like the Obama administration has positioned the U.S. on the wrong side of the governmental crisis in Honduras. Here are the most recent comments of Roger Noreiga and Miguel Estrada. Estrada, whose nomination to the U.S. Court of Appeals by President George W. Bush was filibustered and defeated by the Democrats in the Senate, is a native of Honduras, having been born in the capital of Teguciagalpa.

The City Budget

On Tuesday, the City Manager presented his proposed budget for the City of Topeka for 2010. He calls for spending $224.5 million on municipal operations, but the focus of the story in the T C-J is on the mill levy which the City Manager proposes to increase by 1.85 mills. Annually, Topeka's paper of record engages in this silly exercise of viewing the City's budget and the Council's budgeting process as merely an exercise in setting the City's mill levy. It is much more than this.

Currently, the City levies 32.682 mills, or about 23% of the overall mill levy. By comparison, USD 501 (54.74 mills) and Shawnee County (40.117) impact the mill levy for a Topeka resident more than the City. Moreover, the property tax dollars raised by the City's portion of the mill levy are a small part of the funds the City raises annually. For example, the money the City raises from the sales tax dwarfs the property tax revenues. The 2009 Budget (see page 18) includes $11.8 million from property taxes and $28 million from sales taxes. In fact, the City Budget provides for more money from licenses and permits ($12.9 million) than the property tax.

The Topeka Capital-Journal would provide a better service to the public if it concentrated the stories about the municipal budget on how the City Manager proposes to spend the money. After all, the budget sets the City's priorities for the year. What are those priorities and how do they match up with the City Council's? How do they match up with yours?

Mailin' it In

Local T C-J columnist, Mike Hall, regularly mails it in with his periodic (is it once/week; twice/month ?) columns. Today's is no exception. With cutbacks throughout the newspaper industry, and a story about every month concerning the efforts of Morris Communications, T C-J's owner, to refinance their debt, one has to wonder how this man keeps his job.

A sign of "Mailin' it In" is the absence of comments.

***Editor's Note: I have no comments to my posts because I have a circulation of One. To my knowledge, not even my family is aware that "from wright field" exists. Hall's columns are circulated to a wide audience that doesn't comment, in my opinion, because of the content.

Topeka Fire Department

I blogged a few days ago about the public image of the Topeka Police Department. Today, Howard Giles announced his resignation as Topeka's Fire Chief. The leaders of both of these two departments came from outside Topeka. Giles came from Georgia and Police Chief Ron Miller came from Kansas City, Kansas. During the past 2 years, Giles has been subjected to a barrage of complaints about his leadership.

Those complaints originated with the leaders of the firefighters' union. Clearly, morale is low in both departments and the public image of them is bad as well. The police officers seem too quick to protect their own rather than protecting the citizens. The firefighters are simply whiners who chose to take public their complaints about their boss.

There is no question that there is a connection between these outside hires and the internal problems with the departments. There are many well-qualified firefighters and police officers who could lead these departments, and the local officials who will select a new Fire Chief need to find someone within the department to provide new leadership.

Honduras

Honduras is a country that perhaps only a few people could pinpoint on a map of Central America. But, the events unfolding in this small country may have large and long-lasting implications for the U.S. . The democratically-elected President, Manuel Zelaya, tried to have the Honduran Constitution amended so he could remain President beyond his term, just as his friend and ally, Hugo Chavez, had done in Venezuela. The Supreme Court and the military refused to go along with the plan and the Court ordered Zelaya arrested and escorted out of the country. Roberto Micheletti, the person next in the line of succession, was installed by Congress as the interim Honduran President. It appears the rule of law that we Americans cherish was followed in Honduras, yet our President, Barack Obama has decried the "coup" and voiced support for Zelaya's restoration to power. So have Fidel Castro and the aforementioned Hugo Chavez. Here is a Reuters summary of the situation.

On July 5, Zelaya attempted to fly into the Honduran capital, but the military blocked the runway and the plane was unable to land. The military fired tear gas into a crowd of Zelaya's supporters. More on the situation here.

There is a local connection. Roger Noriega (pictured above) served George W. Bush as Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs at the time Chavez consolidated his control and power in Venezuela. Noriega is a 1981 graduate of Washburn University and began his career in government working for then-Kansas Secretary of State Jack Brier. More about Noriega's thoughts on the Honduras crisis may be found at his America Enterprise Institute biographical webpage. Expect to see more of Noriega and hear from him over the next few days.

Two days ago we celebrated our Independence Day. Today, with thoughts of freedom and independence still ringing in my ears, my thoughts and prayers are with those Hondurans standing up for the rule of law in their country. May the U.S. recognize the error we made in supporting oppression and thuggery over freedom and independence.

4th of July

The Collins Park Parade is the best neighborhood celebration of the Fourth of July in Topeka. This year marks the 37th year for this event that was begun by four local mothers whose kids were bored. The Moms broke out the pots and pans, kazoos and party hats and had the kids march around the Park. The next year, the Parade was larger, and it just grew from then on. At the time, I was living in the Collins Park neighborhood, so I still retain privileges to return every year to join in the party. My friends Frank, Melissa and Ainsley celebrated in style this year.

Thanks

Thanks to you, George Washington; and to you John Adams; and to you fine gentlemen from Virginia, Thomas Jefferson and James Monroe and James Madison; and to Ben Franklin. And thanks to you, David McCullough, and to you, too, Peggy Noonan, for telling their story so splendidly.

4th of July

Fireworks I'd like to see on the 4th of July.

The Topeka Police Department

The TPD has always been a proud and trustworthy organization composed of good men and women. I am honored to have worked closely with many of them over the years. However, a couple of recent incidents have harmed the image of the department. The incident that occurred on St. Patricks Day 2008 involving four young off-duty officers and the Llamas brothers continues to fester in the local media. Here is the most recent story from the Cap-Journal.

A few weeks ago, another young off-duty officer was booked into jail for DUI. He has since resigned from the department.

The image of the Topeka Police Department will survive the damage done to it by these incidents, but the TPD owes it to the Topeka community to purge itself of the bad apples and do a better job of selecting young men and women to serve. Officers need comprehensive training and they need to understand that their actions, whether they are on-duty or off, always are a reflection on the entire organization.

My favorite car

During my college years, I owned a 1966 Pontiac GTO coupe that looked just like this. I sold it just before I was married because my wife could not handle the clutch and the power of the engine. I traded it in on a 1970 Ford Mustang that provides me with absolutely no fond memories at all. I will know I have made it in this life when I am able to re-purchase this car.

Bryan Busby and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir

I'm not a follower of Bryan Busby, the weatherman on KMBC-TV, Channel 9 in KC, and I'm not a Mormon, but this is really neat.

Garmin Nuvi 255

I'm traveling to California in a couple of weeks and I'll be driving between Santa Barbara and San Diego, so I used an Amazon Gift Card that I had left over from Christmas to buy a Garmin Nuvi 255. I haven't used it yet, but I'm already amazed at its' ability to store so much information in such a little package.

Update: The Nuvi 255 worked great. We could not have navigated around Southern California without it.