District maps, final budget still unsettled matters

Capitol Ideas

Written by Rep. Bob Brookens Tuesday, 15 May 2012 14:39

Days 86 through 90 of the session flew by, with little good accomplished. We’re now on overload. Consti­tu­tionally, we meet for 90 days, but a resolution was passed earlier to give us through May 31. I hope we don’t take that long. The story is we could be back home Wednesday, May 16. Don’t count on it.

Well, the House and Senate have each now passed their respective budgets. The joint conference committee has been meeting, trying to hammer out the differences. They’re not done.

That’s the one thing we must pass before we adjourn.

However, the real monkeys on our backs remain the governor’s wish for a tax plan to be passed this year, and the matter of getting redistricting maps passed.

We still have no congressional...

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Helplessness arises the face of death

View from the Hill

Written by Paul Penner Tuesday, 27 November 2012 14:42

Though it may not be obvious to the average observer, I am a softie when it comes to animals. I enjoy getting to know them, discovering their personality and relating to them in ways that are meaningful.

The opportunity to know one particular animal, however, will never happen. Call it fate, or just an unfortunate accident, it does not matter. Life—and all the experiences that encompass that word, all the beauty and all the harsh, brutal expressions of nature—happens.

Four kittens from a litter of seven born about four months ago survived a rash of predatory animal attacks, raising hopes of re-establishing a family of felines on our farm. Their mother, a victim of a predatory animal’s hunt, has left them orphans. Not long...

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Views from the ‘cliff’ may surprise

Staff Soapbox

Written by Jerry Engler Tuesday, 04 December 2012 18:12

I don’t like looking over the fiscal cliff as conjured by our politicians.

Before the elections, it bothered me enough that I was thinking a total turnover in politicians might be the better thing for the United States.

I especially was thinking that Romney needed to be elected for the good of the country, no more Obama. But apparently some folks disagreed with me.

I was afraid that with more Obama and his like, the economy was going down the tubes. It might be time to sell stocks, and hoard cash.

But, with what sense I still had, I asked Cousin Jim what he thought. Jim is only four months younger than me, but unlike me, he is totally retired after a career as a bank officer and stock broker.

I hate to admit it, but when you look...

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Mysteries still linger as year ends

Free Falling

Written by Bob Woelk Tuesday, 11 December 2012 14:25

As we approach the end of another year, I suppose I should be just that much smarter. But, I find there are still quite a few things I don’t understand. Here are just a few examples.

I still don’t get jazz. I mean, just play it the same way every time. I know it’s an art form, and I can’t really read music anyway, but I find all that improvising annoying.

I can’t figure out how leaders of other countries can kill their own citizens. In Syria, for example, the death toll in the uprising there has climbed to 42,000. Yes, we have plenty of hostility in our nation’s capitol, but our government would never dream of trying to wipe out its citizen critics.

I still don’t understand the appeal of smoking. Even when the tax on a...

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