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Election musings - 2008 edition
Nov 13, 2007The Virginia election is now history. As a Tennessee resident, my interest in the election was purely from a work-related point of view. Not so with the upcoming presidential primaries. I will be forced to choose from the pack of panderers, partisan hacks and otherwise unimpressive folks seeking the nomination.
Conventional wisdom says that Sen. Clinton will be the Democratic standard bearer and Rudy Giuliani will got the GOP nod. I don’t like either one of them. What’s an independent-minded, slightly right of center proponent of concensus government to do?
Anyone else dismayed by the choices? Feel free to make the case for your favorite candidate, but keep it clean and civil.
Posted by Andrea Hopkins Government “sunshine”
Nov 13, 2007Last week, we told you about efforts by the Tennessee Municipal League and the Tennessee County Services Association to change the state’s open meetings law to make it easier for government officials to discuss public matters in secret. You can read our editorial opposing the change here.
Basically, the law change would give officials wide latitude to discuss controversial (or not-so-controversial) matters behind closed doors, as long as a quorum of the public body wasn’t present. It doesn’t take much imagination to see the potential for mischief.
Now, some better news on the topic. State Sen. Tim Burchett, R- Knoxville, will apparently introduce legislation to strengthen the Sunshine Law. According to the Knoxville News-Sentinnel, that legislation will mirror the recommendations of the Tennessee Coaltion for Open Government.
Bravo Sen. Burchett. We need more champions of open government - at all levels.
Dingo
Nov 05, 2007Our Debra McCown reports that the Virginia State Police is now investigating the shooting of Dingo, the little stray who found a place in the hearts of Emory & Henry College staff and students. Good. This case cries out for an independent investigation.
From McCown’s story:
Emory & Henry staff are continuing their efforts to catch Dingo, the little brown stray dog who’s spent the last few months making friends on campus.
They’re hoping to have a veterinarian examine and treat her wound – and, ultimately, find her a permanent home.
“I guess we’re all still worried about her injury,” said Dirk Moore, college spokesman. “It’s so hard to assess what her health is right now.”
He said the college would welcome help from the Sheriff’s Office to capture the dog – but he wants deputies to talk with college officials first about the approach they plan to take.
“I think they know and we know this dog is not dangerous,” Moore said, “so shooting it is really out of the question.”
He said campus officials are disappointed in how the Sheriff’s Office handled the incident, and there’s been some hesitancy to involve them again – but the community has to have faith the deputies can help.
The official account of Dingo’s behavior and the accounts from the campus are vastly different. I put more stock in the campus accounts at this point.
At any rate, even if Dingo was a problem, it’s hard to believe that the sheriff’s office sanctions shooting stray dogs, unless the animal is attacking.
As a personal aside, I was bitten by a neighbor’s dog (they have since moved) in the spring. I was running and was in the middle of the street and the dog came after me. I had a hard time even getting animal control to make a report on the incident. So apparently, Washington County’s animal control is much more responsive than most.
