Bratton vs. Sisk
LVG breaks the race down, declaring it a contest between the “devil you know” and the one you don’t.
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A tale of two ouster suits
Larry Van Guilder looks at whether the ouster movement against Mayor Mike Ragsdale is likely to succeed given state history on the matter.
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Knox County time machine
Larry Van Guilder is so much older than he’s younger than that now…or something like that.
He’s predicting looking back at Knox County - from the future.
Analysts have since noted reasonable steps were available as early as 2002 to avert catastrophe. These included scaling back “legacy projects,” a favorite of the scandal-ridden Ragsdale administration; slashing the [...]
Knox County Commission gets all Shakespearean
Larry Van Guilder on last week’s budget hearing:
Here’s one way to consider the outcome of County Commission’s budget meeting:
“… it is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.” (William Shakespeare, Macbeth)
And here’s a more contemporary summation:
“How disingenuous can we be?” (Commissioner Mark Harmon)
Shakespeare was concerned with weightier subjects [...]
Setting a bad example?
Larry Van Guilder questions whether Knox County employees really need to be driving SUVs , particularly brand new SUVs:
Meanwhile, the mayor and two of his senior staffers drive SUVs, the property assessor’s office is requesting a new four-wheel drive Ford Explorer and public works director Bruce Wuethrich asserts that four-wheel drive vehicles are required in [...]
Read More..>>The “reasonable man” standard may be unreasonable
Larry Van Guilder:
There’s a new tool for dispensing justice in Knox County. Building upon a suggestion from Commissioner William Daniels, Commissioner Richard Briggs unveiled a dazzling world of opportunities when he proposed using the “reasonable man” standard to gauge the validity of undocumented p-card charges made by Mayor Mike Ragsdale and his senior staffers.
That [...]
Ragsdale budget might work great in la-la land
Larry Van Guilder says Knox County Mayor Mike Ragsdale’s new budget has no basis in reality; the numbers just don’t add up:
Unless Mayor Mike Ragsdale’s optimistic revenue projections are met, a lot of time and energy will have been devoted to devising and printing budgets that will be worth little more than bonfire material by [...]
Read More..>>Harsh words for Mayor Ragsdale
Suffice it to say that Larry Van Guilder is pulling no punches in his assessment of Ragsdale’s current troubles in the press.
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Taking the News Sentinel to task
LVG says our local newspaper of record isn’t doing its job:
The emperor Nero, it’s said, fiddled while Rome burned. We might say that our town’s only daily newspaper is following suit.
In today’s Knoxville News Sentinel you can find an article by Knox County Mayor Mike Ragsdale on the importance of education in developing and [...]
Why did he stir this pot?
LVG questions Mayor Ragsdale’s motives in engaging Commissioner Victoria DeFreese over her communications with constituents:
It is hard to see what public good will come from Mayor Ragsdale’s request for Commissioner Victoria DeFreese’s records of e-mails, faxes and phone calls from constituents concerned about spending in the Mayor’s office. Now the debate begins on whether these [...]
LVG: Halls development fails the TIF Test
LVG questions the appropriateness of granting a TIF to Graham Corporation for a new development in Halls:
Graham is asking for $5 million to be repaid over 15 years from the incremental taxes that - per the proposal - will be generated in the TIF plan area. The plan area covers 1,320 acres and includes 359 [...]
A Ragsdale re-imagining of the Gettysburg Address
Satire, via LVG:
The Knoxburg Address
(Rendered with sincere apologies to the memory of Abraham Lincoln, our greatest president)
The mayor speaks:
Four score and one page ago, I brought forth to this county a new audit response, conceived in desperation, handsomely bound and dedicated to the proposition that all receipts are created equal, especially mine.
Now we are [...]
Mayor Ragsdale’s hat
Larry Van Guilder tells a story to make a point:
To no one’s surprise, the Mayor and his posse had conjured up all those pesky receipts the auditor said were missing. The final word? WE’RE CLEARED! Let’s have a party!
Here’s a flash: a receipt for an expense that never should have occurred to begin with does [...]
What your Knox County P-card bought
LVG breaks it down:
By now, any Knox County resident who hasn’t spent the last year in a cave knows about the lobster dinners, Smoothie King treats, cigars and other goodies we paid for courtesy of Mayor Ragsdale’s generous p-card policies. If you’re a homeowner, it might interest you to consider what part of your property [...]
A puzzling pro-developer bias on Knox MPC?
LVG thinks so:
But MPC is even more vexing than County Commission. The 15 people on MPC aren’t elected, they aren’t paid, so why the obvious developer bias month after month? Often enough, this body ignores the recommendations of the MPC staff - who are paid - if doing so will cause hardship to a developer. [...]
C’mon blogging community
I noticed that no one had anwered Larry’s question,so I thought I’d try to get it some wider play.Help out by linking to his blog at your own.
Let’s help Knoxville reporter and blogger Larry Van Guilder by offering some words of wisdom and support as he faces the relatively new reality of a beloved spouse [...]
Don’t let Ragsdale get away with it
That’s Larry Van Guilder’s message in his column this week for the Halls Shopper:
John Werner, Requitta Bone, Margie Loyd, Tyler Harber and Finch have all earned the dubious distinction of “former Knox County employee.” Meanwhile, the chief architect of the scandal straightens his tie, smiles for the camera and bravely proclaims: “No comment.”
And here’s [...]
A damning indictment of Ragsdale
Larry Van Guilder is pulling no punches in his summary of why he thinks Knox County Mayor Mike Ragsdale is “guilty, guilty, guilty:”
The clamor surrounding Cynthia Finch, the woman the Mayor once compared to Jesus, may prove just loud enough to drown out the cries for Hizzoner’s head. That would be a travesty, not because [...]
Larry Van Guilder’s Top 10 List
He’s blogging an imaginary Ragsdale list at Tabloid Boy:
Ragsdale’s Top Ten Justifications for P-Card Problems
10. John Werner did it. He’s gone, so leave me alone!
9. We have to have receipts? Who knew?
8. Pinkston, Scoobie and Lumpy hired stand-ins for the Jan. 31, 2007 appointments meeting. During the meeting, the real Pinkston, Scoobie and Lumpy disguised [...]
Ragsdale resignation rumors redux
As I mentioned the other day, rumors that Knox County Mayor Mike Ragsdale would soon resign were circulating madly last week, although when asked, Mike Arms said there was no truth whatsoever to the speculation.
Now George Korda weighs in on the still-out-there talk about an imminent Ragsdale resignation:
More potential trouble for Ragsdale could stem from [...]
