When I was on the Woods Cross City Council, I attended Planning Commission meetings as part of my duties. In those meetings, I always appreciated the comments Dave Hill would make in regards to the matters that came before the commission. I didn't always agree with the decisions that he made, but, I always knew that he had studied the issue and was making the decision that he felt was best for the residents of Woods Cross.
I know that as a City Council member, Dave Hill will study the issues and will always make the decisions that he feels are best for the residents of Woods Cross. I can't ask for more from a City Council member, than that they study every issue that comes before them and always vote in a way that they feel will make things better for the residents of our fine City. I know Dave Hill will do this and that is why I'm supporting him for Woods Cross City Council.
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Don't damage national unity!
An article on ZDNet talks about a law in Jordan that could punish bloggers who post things that are "damaging to national unity." I can't imagine what would happen if such a law ever passed in the US. I know that the chances of such a law being implemented here are slim to none, but, it still made me wonder what the effects would be.
It seems like most of the political blogging that happens in the U.S. of A. is damaging to national unity. Now what if we rounded up all those bloggers and put them in jail? I'm glad I live in the United States of America where I'm free to blog about anything that may be damaging to national unity.
It seems like most of the political blogging that happens in the U.S. of A. is damaging to national unity. Now what if we rounded up all those bloggers and put them in jail? I'm glad I live in the United States of America where I'm free to blog about anything that may be damaging to national unity.
Tuesday, October 09, 2007
Woods Cross Council goofs again!
The Woods Cross City Council made a major blunder, again! At their council meeting on October 2nd, they approved a re-zone request to allow heavy industrial to expand in Woods Cross.
This may seem like a small thing that is isolated to a certain portion of the city, however, in my opinion, it makes a bad statement to all heavy industrial companies in Woods Cross. In the past, the opinion of the Council has been that the City would eventually like to see heavy industrial go away. Probably not tomorrow, but, maybe in 100 years or so. Now the opinion of the majority of the Council seems to be "Let them grow where they want, as long as it's not in my backyard."
I believe that Council member Rick Earnshaw (since he is up for re-election this year) needs to offer an explanation for his vote to allow Heavy Industrial expansion in Woods Cross.
This may seem like a small thing that is isolated to a certain portion of the city, however, in my opinion, it makes a bad statement to all heavy industrial companies in Woods Cross. In the past, the opinion of the Council has been that the City would eventually like to see heavy industrial go away. Probably not tomorrow, but, maybe in 100 years or so. Now the opinion of the majority of the Council seems to be "Let them grow where they want, as long as it's not in my backyard."
I believe that Council member Rick Earnshaw (since he is up for re-election this year) needs to offer an explanation for his vote to allow Heavy Industrial expansion in Woods Cross.
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Two big issues about Vouchers
There are two things I keep hearing as to why I should vote for Referendum 1.
The first issue is that people claim that private schools don't have accountability. The anti-voucher group says that private schools teachers don't have to be certified. Yep, that's the way it works when you aren't beholden to a union. The problem with this thinking, is that a private school teacher who is not measuring up and getting several complaints from parents isn't going to be a private school teacher very long. Now let's look at the way things work in the public school system. If I don't like what a teacher is saying to my children, I complain to the principal who may or may not take any action. That principal also doesn't have to let me know what action, if any they took. If my kids go to a private school, I tell the administration that if things don't change I move my kids elsewhere and that hits them in the pocket book. That sounds like the private school has more accountability than a public school.
The second issue that gets brought up is public money to private schools. Public money goes to private schools all the time. At the present time public money doesn't go to private K-12 schools, but, private universities get public money all the time. Do people forget where "public money" comes from? It comes from tax payers. So maybe it would make people feel better if, instead of vouchers, we call it a rebate?
The first issue is that people claim that private schools don't have accountability. The anti-voucher group says that private schools teachers don't have to be certified. Yep, that's the way it works when you aren't beholden to a union. The problem with this thinking, is that a private school teacher who is not measuring up and getting several complaints from parents isn't going to be a private school teacher very long. Now let's look at the way things work in the public school system. If I don't like what a teacher is saying to my children, I complain to the principal who may or may not take any action. That principal also doesn't have to let me know what action, if any they took. If my kids go to a private school, I tell the administration that if things don't change I move my kids elsewhere and that hits them in the pocket book. That sounds like the private school has more accountability than a public school.
The second issue that gets brought up is public money to private schools. Public money goes to private schools all the time. At the present time public money doesn't go to private K-12 schools, but, private universities get public money all the time. Do people forget where "public money" comes from? It comes from tax payers. So maybe it would make people feel better if, instead of vouchers, we call it a rebate?
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
What are voucher opponents really afraid of?
When I was a small child, I was afraid of many things. I was afraid of the monster under my bed. I was afraid of the scary images in my closet. As I got older and wiser, I realized that there really wasn't a monster under my bed and that the scary images in my closet were really just my clothes hanging in different ways.
So this brings me to my big question of the day. What are school voucher opponents really afraid of? They can't be afraid of losing money, because as LaVarr Webb pointed out in his column on Sunday, public schools would have more money per student than they do today. In his column he mentions that the "legislative fiscal analyst estimates that the voucher program could pay out $429 million over 13 years if all qualified voucher students use the program. But it would mean we would not have to spend $1.8 billion for those students in the public school system." Now I'm not a math major, but I learned early on in my public school life that 429,000,000 is a smaller number than 1,800,000,000. So why can't voucher opponents do such simple math?
Come on voucher opponents, what are you afraid of? Does the thing you are afraid of make as much sense as being afraid of the monster under my bed, or are they just in your imagination, like the scary images in my closet?
So this brings me to my big question of the day. What are school voucher opponents really afraid of? They can't be afraid of losing money, because as LaVarr Webb pointed out in his column on Sunday, public schools would have more money per student than they do today. In his column he mentions that the "legislative fiscal analyst estimates that the voucher program could pay out $429 million over 13 years if all qualified voucher students use the program. But it would mean we would not have to spend $1.8 billion for those students in the public school system." Now I'm not a math major, but I learned early on in my public school life that 429,000,000 is a smaller number than 1,800,000,000. So why can't voucher opponents do such simple math?
Come on voucher opponents, what are you afraid of? Does the thing you are afraid of make as much sense as being afraid of the monster under my bed, or are they just in your imagination, like the scary images in my closet?
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