Friday Follies...
It's the end of the week...beginning of some serious time off.
And time once again for many of you to fail to stop and read the posts or comment here. Well, it's like I say: "You don't bother to read this blog, you miss way to much for your own good", so that absolves ME.
I'm doing what I do, namely bringing what's pertinent (in news and life) to YOU.
And like any horse, you can always lead them to water, but you can't make them drink. So...with that in mind, let's proceed...shall we?

- Ciao, Luciano - It was with a sincere sadness that I learned yesterday about the passing of possibly one of THE greatest tenors there ever has been, or ever will be. You have to rank Pavarotti RIGHT up there alongside Bjorling, Carerras, Domingo, DiStefano, and even Lanza. To me, there is no greater thrill when it comes to opera than to watch someone just open the mouth and have the music FLOW forth...no strain, no pretense, just song, no matter what language it is sung. Granted, opera is an "acquired taste", and it's certainly NOT for everyone, but (IMHO), in order to appreciate music as the art form it truly is, one has to expose themselves to ALL facets of the art. To "rap", I will ONLY state, that I have "tried" it, and found it repulsive, repugnant, and totally without redeeming social or artistic value. 'Nuff said there.
Opera, on the other hand is about not only the music...it's about a story...about people, and about conflicts and resolutions. It's a fairy tale brought to song; it's about an epic; it's about life. And Luciano embraced that life.
His music is testament to his life, but moreover, it's about how WE interpret life ourselves. Whenever we listen to music that invokes such an emotional response, we can't help but become just a bit introspective. And in that process, we can hope to learn more about ourselves. Pavarotti did that for US, and he did it with such passion. So now...he sings for the heavenly.

- Chief York States Crime Has Dropped -
Well, spank me rosy, will 'ya? When I saw the headline, I thought "Here we go again...more doctored statistics". And from where I sit and live, those figures MUST be from another city, because they don't ACCURATELY reflect MY part of town. When Rusty presented his 2008 budget to council, he cited the "fact" that crime had dropped in the city NINE percent (yawn) with a FOUR percent drop in violent crime (bigger yawn). He said "Even though our population has risen steadily, our crime has dropped".
Well, that ABOITE thing has something to do with THAT, don'cha think? I mean THAT (new) part of our city isn't exactly SWARMING with criminals like MY part of town now, is it?
DUH!
So I can at least extend my THANKS to all you in Aboite (and that includes YOU, Rusty) for making crime drop (statistically-speaking) across town....now, how's about doing something to RELIEVE the ACTUAL crime in MY neighborhood, hmm? Let's put YOUR (skewed) stat sheet away and start looking at MY (actual) stats, OK?

- Lawsuit Contests Property Tax -
Now THERE'S a novel idea.
In out lawsuit-happy society, what BETTER way to make your point about unfair taxation, than to SUE THE ASSES off of local government.
I love it!
I won't bore you with all the details,which can be found (at length) in other peoples' blogs, so we'll just hit the high points.
Homeowners are staging a revolt against increasing property tax hikes...and with good reason. For far too long, cities and counties have relied upon the HOMEOWNER to pay THEIR way, as well as off tax ABATEMENTS to businesses to have them come to THEIR cities and counties. And enough is finally enough.
-Assessment errors have been alleged in Marion and Allen counties. Annual updates of property values (along with "trending") based on similar properties have led to a 24% average INCREASE for residential taxpayers.
-There is no "uniform" of property assessment and taxation, as numerous taxing districts have resulted in wildly varying rates. The suit points out that unfair assessment procedures skews and distorts the true market values of residential properties.
-The Common School Fund, which is a revolving account to give school districts with lower assessed values low-interest construction loans, technology grants, and charter school startup assistance is non-restrictive when it comes to collecting taxes from homes.
(maybe I should sue the city or better neighborhood protection...you here me there at the City-County building? I'm talking to YOU guys!)

-ITT Donates Night-Vision Goggles to Police -
ITT aerospace has partnered with the FWPD and the ACSD to allow these agencies to "own the night" with 32 sets of spanking new night-vision goggles (boy, they could SURE put them to work down HERE).
Sheriff Fries plans to use the 16 pairs of goggles his department will receive for the traffic division. These new models are better than the ones currently used by SWAT.
Chief York will be receiving 15 pairs of the new goggles (wow...that leaves ONE pair unaccounted for...does that mean that I'M going to get them?) and will be using them with HIS Emergency Response Team. At several thousand dollars a pop, I'm sure they will be well utilized (and I'll be home whenever you decide to drop off MY pair, OK?).

So there you have it...all the news that's fit to print.
(or is that PRINT to FIT?)

Do have a SAFE weekend!