tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-125660632024-03-13T21:36:17.730-05:00ConchoInfoBiting political ankles since 2004.
This site is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share alike License.Jim Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03413663900509725906noreply@blogger.comBlogger467125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12566063.post-49400861252979948782017-07-23T13:04:00.002-05:002017-07-23T13:51:05.934-05:00Some thoughts for the New Council
The elections are over and we
finally have the full council seated and I think we have some great
people on council. Still, this is basically a new City Council. Lucy
Gonzales now has the longest current service with just over 2 years
and Tommy Hiebert has the most council experience, having served 6
years in the early 1990’s. The majority of the council is just
starting to learn the job.
Jim Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03413663900509725906noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12566063.post-71295159041564491432017-07-04T18:32:00.001-05:002017-07-04T18:32:23.980-05:00Independence Day ramble
Happy Independence day. The
241st anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
An important document for a number of reasons. It was, of course, a
declaration of war. Or more accurately an acknowledgment and
justification of the state of rebellion that existed. But it was more
than just a declaration of war. It was a brief explanation of
why we have government, what the Jim Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03413663900509725906noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12566063.post-16982528081124521912017-06-11T13:14:00.002-05:002017-06-11T13:14:05.895-05:00Controling Deja VuAs I mentioned in my last post, last weeks council meeting seemed like a case of Deja Vu.
Animal control is once again on the radar. The stated reason is that Animal control can't keep straight what to call their officers in court or before a judge. I guess it can be hard to keep the less than half a dozen titles straight so they can actually show that the person that issued a citation Jim Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03413663900509725906noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12566063.post-67218141822588785182017-06-11T11:48:00.000-05:002017-06-11T11:48:23.944-05:00A bit of Deja Vu After you’ve been blogging long enough, stories start to repeat themselves. You sit down to write and it strikes you. Last weeks City Council meeting was Deja Vu all over again
We at ConchoInfo started covering animal issues from the start of the blog. Back in 2006 there was a lot to write about because of a puppy mill in one of the better neighborhoods in the city. It was mostly just a nuisanceJim Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03413663900509725906noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12566063.post-7105543077317586792017-05-29T17:06:00.000-05:002017-05-29T17:06:27.747-05:00Memorial Day Memories
Three years ago I shared a memory with you about a memorial day past. I haven’t been very active here lately but I would like to share some thoughts and history on Memorial Day, what it means to me, and ideas on how to truly honor those who have served and gave their last full measure.
Let me start with a couple memories. Forty years ago I was at Ft. Devens, Massachusetts for some Jim Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03413663900509725906noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12566063.post-85917027858540808532017-04-08T17:12:00.003-05:002017-04-08T17:12:45.933-05:00To Fee or not to FeeIt's April, so taxes are on many peoples minds. Two key events are happening very soon and I'm overdue for a look at local taxes. Everyone is familiar with the April 15th (actually 17th this year) deadline for filing Income Taxes. With the popularity of electronic filing and tax return loans about the only people that will be filing at the deadline are those that owe taxes. There is another Jim Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03413663900509725906noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12566063.post-9032610135813636572017-03-25T15:03:00.002-05:002017-03-25T15:07:20.852-05:00Do we have a free press?There is a lot of discussion about what is a free press and what it's role is in society. It's been that way since before the founding of our country. It's a concept that is often misunderstood. One of the things to keep in mind when dealing with a free press or news media, is that there are two definitions of free at work here. There is free as in free speech and free as in free lunch. These Jim Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03413663900509725906noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12566063.post-57074971108935571882017-03-21T16:37:00.000-05:002017-03-21T16:37:11.168-05:00Quick thoughts on the Meet & Confer negotiations.As most of my regular reader know (both of you know who you are) I've been following issues like Police officer wages, benefits, etc. for quite a while on this blog and website. Real wages and compensation have been slowly creeping up to where they reasonably should be. I don't really know of any City employee that's over paid (ok, maybe a couple but we won't go there yet) but the Police wages Jim Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03413663900509725906noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12566063.post-13064555703811615762017-02-26T14:40:00.000-06:002017-02-26T15:40:03.014-06:00Trashy Thoughts on Government and Journalism<!--[if gte mso 9]>
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Jim Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03413663900509725906noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12566063.post-2927635757291261602016-11-09T07:21:00.002-06:002016-11-09T07:21:38.450-06:00The election is overWell, the people have spoken. Will take us at least 4 years to understand what they truly said.Jim Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03413663900509725906noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12566063.post-25798248855337329542016-11-06T14:03:00.002-06:002016-11-06T14:03:14.503-06:00When you vote.On election day we need to remember we don't elect a debate or platform
or survey or an issue. We elect a person. Hopefully a person that shares
our beliefs and values. A person that understands and exercises
leadership. A person we can trust. Remember that when you cast your
votes. Vote for the person not the noise of the campaign.Jim Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03413663900509725906noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12566063.post-77222498335241607672016-11-05T17:33:00.000-05:002016-11-05T17:33:07.743-05:00Overdue post on what matters.<!--[if gte mso 9]>
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Jim Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03413663900509725906noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12566063.post-20475570839673653012015-08-28T18:41:00.002-05:002015-08-28T18:53:15.989-05:00Overdue posting on the appointed chief issues.
I was on the charter review committee in 2007 and this current committee. We covered the appointment options several times and in detail. Over at the Conchoinfo blog ( http://conchoinfo.blogspot.com/search?q=civil+service ), we have been covering the appointed chief and how state civil service law affects it since 2006. San Angelo is a Texas Civil Service city. It's been one since the Jim Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03413663900509725906noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12566063.post-76725432741851252062015-05-25T12:19:00.001-05:002015-05-25T12:19:44.497-05:00When your mind works against you | Ted Powell | TEDxJacksonvilleJim Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03413663900509725906noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12566063.post-18443352638869703722014-09-14T20:28:00.000-05:002015-01-05T19:39:17.795-06:00Welcome to the Party
I received an email from the San Angelo Tea Party recently that you can see on this weblink. They have finally discovered that San Angelo has the second highest property tax in Texas. Welcome to the party. We've been following property and other tax rates for years. San Angelo has been the second highest property tax city in Texas for aboutt two decades and property tax doesn't even come Jim Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03413663900509725906noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12566063.post-59027433492244832532014-09-14T18:03:00.002-05:002014-09-14T18:05:16.303-05:00Bored with boards
There is a lot of talk lately about boards and commissions. State of the Division has posted a couple articles that are critical of the board member selection process and the Animal Shelter Advisory Committee. I have to agree with much of what he says. I also think I understand what's at the root of the problem with boards.
It's hard for the city government to create effective boards when Jim Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03413663900509725906noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12566063.post-45650688126409337762014-08-24T14:08:00.003-05:002014-09-09T07:02:42.759-05:00EngageYou probably have noticed that the city government is going to try to encourage citizens to be more engaged with their city government. They've announced programs they are calling COSA university, Citizens 101, and lunch and learn. Looks like they will be spending lots of time of on what city government does and how it does it. This is good and probably necessary. The stated goals are to train Jim Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03413663900509725906noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12566063.post-2406198484080489462014-06-28T20:03:00.000-05:002014-09-09T06:26:58.214-05:00Historical Perspective Thought for the Weekend.As we relax this weekend and get ready for the 4th of July, I feel a little time travel thought experiment might be fun.
In a thousand years, will San Angelo be a healthy community with a continuous historic connection back through today to Ft. Concho, etc. or will it be just another archeological site being studied for why it failed to survive and thrive?Jim Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03413663900509725906noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12566063.post-27862045298164401652014-06-01T13:09:00.000-05:002014-09-09T06:26:58.221-05:00Taking it to the Streets
We're in the middle of the budget cycle right now and for the next several months when the City Council isn't talking about water they're going to be talking about streets. It's an important issues and it's overdue.
There is no doubt about it. Many (most?) of our streets are in terrible shape. There will be lots of talk about how they got in this shape. Bad decisions were made on Jim Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03413663900509725906noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12566063.post-44928890596595655832014-05-31T06:39:00.000-05:002014-09-09T06:26:58.231-05:00Radical
Been doing some house cleaning in emails, etc. and ran across something I wrote to a friend of mine that has some very different ideas on politics. Think it's time to share it with more people.
You asked me an interesting question the other day: Do I consider you to be radical? You seemed disappointed when I answered yes. I did tell you I didn't consider that a bad thing, but I want to giveJim Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03413663900509725906noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12566063.post-2505430441706855362014-05-26T15:43:00.000-05:002014-09-09T06:26:58.217-05:00Memorial Day Thoughts and PBRIt's memorial day and every news outlet, social media site, and most blogs rightly have something to say about the true meaning that so often gets forgotten on this weekend of Bar-B-Que and the Indie 500. It is a time to reflect on duty, honor, and country. And it's been said in many ways and many places far better than I can say it here. So I'm just going to share a memory. A thought, feeling orJim Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03413663900509725906noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12566063.post-86545811930398354812014-05-09T06:53:00.000-05:002014-09-09T06:26:58.286-05:00A pause for a look backIt's been almost a year since the last election. It seems fitting that we should review the speech that Mayor Morrison gave after he was sworn in. He made a very strong case for what needed to happen as the city moved forward during his administration. At around 3:12 in the video he emphasized the need for all decisions to be made openly and transparently before the public in the council meetingsJim Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03413663900509725906noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12566063.post-85126804492372650682014-05-04T16:59:00.001-05:002014-09-09T06:26:58.279-05:00The future
I've been thinking a lot about the future of ConchoInfo and my involvement in politics and issues. Here is where I am today.
I will keep the conchoinfo blog and conchoinfo.org website up for the foreseeable future. The expense is minor and it doesn't take much to keep them on the web. I will probably do more posting from time to time but really, I'm stretched pretty thin and need help. ThereJim Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03413663900509725906noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12566063.post-49110126573002180222014-04-05T20:42:00.001-05:002014-09-09T06:26:58.238-05:00The EndI'm thinking about shutting down ConchoInfo. The blog hasn't been active in a while. My last post was in November, and Jim Ryan, the other main poster hasn't posted since May. Nothing has been added to the website, and very little has been done on FaceBook or Twitter. I have still been showing up at council meetings, mostly out of habit, but not really making much of a difference.
There has beenJim Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03413663900509725906noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12566063.post-32330611071004481582013-11-11T21:06:00.000-06:002014-09-09T06:26:58.228-05:00Clarifying Muddy IssuesThere seem to be some issues about that are pretty muddy. Some of them are recent, some are old and some of the muddiness is from confusion about the old and new issues. Probably won't clear away all the mud but can at least make a start and point to references that can help make the mud transparent.
Good place to start is with the SMD-2 City Council Seat, currently held by Marty Self. For thoseJim Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03413663900509725906noreply@blogger.com1