Councilwoman Jeske Sets the Record Straight Yet Again

At least one Ogden City Council member has the sack to address citizen issues directly. Where we ask... are the rest?

One fantastic Councilwoman Jeske Update follows in the paragraphs below... for those readers who are concerned about Boss Godfrey's 36th Street Water Tank Fetish... and other mind-numbed Godfrey priority fetishes...

Here's a most excellent Dorrene Jeske response to the concerns of another well-respected WCF reader, (all of which was earlier-buried in an article comments section below).

From Councilwoman Dorrene Jeske this morning:

The Council has taken some steps on the water tank construction at the top of 36th St. The Administration started the construction using funds from the water tank and pipe lines project at the top of 46th St. We asked for an amendment to CIP and project. Administration said that an amendment wasn't needed. We asked Gary Williams for his opinion and he told the Administration that there was enough difference in what was planned and approved and what they are doing that it needed to go to the Planning Commission and that is where it is right now. The Council will have the opportunity then to approve or disapprove the project.
Council leadership is showing more backbone than it ever has since I've been on the Council. Amy and Caitlin are proving to be a great and strong team.
Be patient. Government policies and procedures require that proper process is followed and everything takes so much time that it seems like everything is moving in slow motion.
Last night at our work meeting, we met with the department directors and heard their reports and future plans. John Arrington explained why it looks like the golf course cost the City more than $400,000. during FY2009. I'm sure that the Mayor will use this as an argument for letting a private party manage the golf course. Mr. Arrington explained that in 2007 no payments were made to the debt service accounts. He said that through better management of the golf course that past two years, Mount Ogden has improved its revenues and its financial picture. Mr. Brenkman told us that public support has been heart-warming, and they were in the middle of their first tournament this year and it is a success.
He informed us that Ogden High's Girls Golf team used the course as its home course and had taken State two years in a row. But he also said that it was discouraging to answer the phone and have people surprised that they were still open because of the controversy surrounding its future. They would benefit from some positive publicity for a change.
He said that everyone who were participating in the tournament were amazed with the improvements made and what a beautiful "gem" it is. Those who haven't played the course for years have vowed to return! The volunteers have made fantastic improvements in such a short time.
He said that they were able to purchase 20 new golf carts which has really helped because so far this year they haven't had to turn anyone away.
They are proceeding with three planned projects to make the course more playable. Mr. Brenkman said that this year is Mount Ogden's 25th anniversary and he has scheduled a fundraising tournament for June 20th.
-Dorrene Jeske.

We''ll comment in passing that it's great to have Councilwoman Jeske boldly setting the record straight once again, and once again offering her newest comments, just as she does fairly regularly here on Weber County Forum. With the exception of Chair/Councilwoman Wicks, who posts her own comments semi-regularly, sadly, we haven't heard from any of the others at all.

Where better to communicate with the Ogden voters than here at WCF, we humbly ask?

There's room for council improvement here too, wethinks. Of course, that opinion may well be that of "just us." We admit we're biased. We believe our elected government officials should keep in close touch, and that WEBER COUNTY FORUM is just the place to do that.

Comments, pleaz...

Suspicious Leshemville House Fire Kicks Off the 2009 Emerald City Arson Season

Leshemville demolition and site prep on the cheap... courtesy of the taxpayers and the OFD

Emerald City's 2008 arson spree seems to be having a reprise, after a short winter season respite. The Standard-Examiner reports that Ogden firefighters responded last night to a suspicious fire at 1893 Childs Avenue, squarely in the heart of the Ogden River Project area... the blighted river front acreage to which we affectionately refer as Leshemville, to be exact:


View Larger Map
There are a couple of aspects of this story that we found to be particularly interesting:

Less than four minutes after the call came in at 10:15 p.m., Ogden Fire Department and police had arrived at 1893 Childs Avenue to find fire burning in an empty, boarded-up house, with the blaze spreading into the attic. At that point, it was a matter of protecting the surrounding property, said deputy chief Chad Tucker.[...]
Within minutes of the firefighters cutting a hole in the roof, the old home was engulfed in high flames, which melted the siding on the neighboring house to the north.

We don't know whether it was a particularly hot fire or not. Nevertheless, we wonder what might have happened if this fire had gone undetected, and the Ogden Fire Department had not quickly arrived on the scene. With the fresh spring vegetation, the entire neighborhood could have been engulfed. Imagine the situation a month or two hence, when that neglected vegetation (and adjacent abandoned wooden and vinyl-clad structures) would have been more thoroughly dried out by the summer heat.

We thought this tidbit to be quite interesting too:

[Deputy chief Chad] Tucker said this was the first fire in this area in several months and because the neighborhood was scheduled for already demolition, the fire department was planning to drill fires for homes in the area [Emphasis added].

That's what we'd call making the best of an already bad situation... Leshemville demolition and site prep on the cheap... courtesy of the taxpayers and the OFD.

Who will be the first to comment?

Std-Ex: Ogden Lays Out 2010 Fiscal Goals

It appears we're about to see some political fur fly

We didn't want another day to slip by without shining the spotlight on yesterday's Standard-Examiner story, in which Scott Schwebke reports that the city council has adopted an overall blueprint of goals and objectives which will provide a foundation for the council, as city policies are developed and approved over the 2010 fiscal year. Mr. Schweke's lead paragraphs provide the gist:

OGDEN — The city council has set ambitious goals for fiscal 2010 aimed at improving the local economy, making neighborhoods safer, providing quality services, increasing public involvement in municipal government and protecting the environment.
The goals include specific objectives the council hopes to tackle between July 1 and June 30, 2010.
“Throughout the coming year these goals will provide a foundation for the council as city policies are developed and approved,” City Council Chairwoman Amy Wicks said in a prepared statement.
City Council Vice Chairwoman Caitlin Gochnour said the goals provide a unified vision for Ogden.
“This has been a great opportunity for the council to come together and unify our ideas into specific goals that will improve our community,” she said in a prepared statement.

For the convenience of our readers, we've also obtained an electronic copy of the council's "goals document," which is viewable in Adobe PDF format here:

• Ogden City Council Goals — FY2010

Our brief examination of this document reveals objectives which are mainly broad in scope; but the document gets right down to specifics in at least one instance, in which connection we'll incorporate this notable paragraph from paragraph 9 a, wherein the council resolves to support diverse community activities and events:

Invest in City owned recreation facilities for all residents regardless of age, including the Marshall White Center, Lorin Farr pools, and the Centennial and Bonneville trails. [Emphasis added].

As Gentle Reader George K. observes in a comment under a previous WCF article, it appears that Boss Godfrey is preparing to do battle with the Council over the future fate of the Marshall White Center; and we'll also accordingly observe that the council appears to have drawn a firm line in the sand with respect to this issue.

Pull up your Barca-loungers and break out the Orville Redenbacher's, folks. It appears we're about to see some serious political fur fly in Emerald City, within the next month or so.

(We've also filed the council goals document within our sidebar module "Government Toolkit", by the way. It will of course remain available there for future reader reference.)

Reader comments are invited as always.

US National Debt Clock

The clock just keeps on ticking

Hmmmm... this is certainly interesting:

• U.S. National Debt Clock

Whew!!!

Despite Godfrey Administration Misrepresentations to the Contrary, The Data Reflect Significant Marshall White Center Patronage

Patterson and Godfrey, how about telling us the truth!

By George K.

I have spent the last 24 hours researching information about the Marshall White Center because Godfrey does not present all the facts.

I have a list of the 9:00 AM Water Aerobics class and there are 31 members. The 10 o’clock class has about the same number of members, but I don’t have names and phone numbers for those members. The original class grew so much that it had to be divided because the pool was too crowded to do aerobics.

Someone indicated that most of the members of those aerobics classes did not live in Ogden. From my list of members, I can determine from telephone numbers that there are 6 from Ogden Valley, 1 from Pleasant View, 7 from North Ogden, 6 from Ogden and 4 are cell phone numbers and can’t determine the city. The members from The Valley make a day of their trip to Ogden – they do their shopping at that time and also eat while they are in town. Someone should inform Godfrey and Patterson that is sales tax revenue!

Marshall White has an impressive record of receiving grants and being a partner with several agencies to provide numerous programs and activities. Here are some of those partners and the number of participants from different monthly reports:

1. Annual Easter Egg Hunt, sponsored by Mt. Ogden Lodge # 20;
2. Black History Week, Martin Luther King Prayer Breakfast, 300 attendees; The Quest for Black Citizenship Luncheon, speaker, Ms. Essye B. Miller, R.A.M.P. Grant funded luncheon.
3. Gift of Love Christmas Dinner, 450 attendees, helped many families with food and warm clothes.
4. Gift of Love – Thanksgiving Dinner, sponsored by Project Success, hosted by Marshall White Center – dinner was served to between 880 people and 150 meals were delivered to the homebound. Approximately 100 volunteers helped.
5. Ogden/Weber Community Action conducts Head Start classes.
6. Boys and Girls Clubs have increased their membership from 33 to 130.
7. MWC and the Second Baptist Church have partnered on several very successful projects.
8. Fremont High School leases the pool for its swim team.
9. USA/ABF Boxing Invitational
10. Karate/Self Defense Class
11. Kayak Roll Classes
12. Jr. Jazz Basketball League
13. OCR Adult BasketballLeague
14. Family Literacy services
15. USDA meal services for Head Start students

In spite of what Godfrey and Patterson say, MWC is being used a lot! Just like everything they do, the Godfrey administration henchmen lie and misrepresent the facts.

Patterson and Godfrey, how about telling us the truth!

Political Blogs More Accurate Than Newspapers, Say Those Who Read Both

Political bloggers hold an edge with shared readers when it comes to the trust factor

Here's a fascinating day-old item from the Brigham Young University news website. The lead paragraphs provide the gist:

According to research by a Brigham Young University political scientist, people who closely follow both political blogs and traditional news media tend to believe the content on blogs is more accurate.
Professor Richard Davis reports this and other blog-related insights in Typing Politics, a new book published by Oxford University Press.
“Blog readers still get most of their news from regular news sources, but they are concerned that they are not getting the whole side of the story there,” Davis said. “They suspect habitual bias in the traditional news content.”

Our gentle readers can check out the full article here:

• Political blogs more accurate than newspapers, say those who read both

This isn't exactly earth shaking news to those who regularly read political blogs, of course, although it may put a few old school print media journalists suddenly off their feed. And we'll add that there's something to be said in favor of the media positioning of bloggers, who generally avoid oppressive advertiser and other truth-killing entanglements... and at least make a yeoman's effort, usually without much monetary compensation, to ferret out the truth.

A hat tip to the fine folks at the most excellent KVNU Radio Blog BTW, who first unearthed this most interesting story.

Reader comments are invited, as always.

Std-Ex Letter: Boss Godfrey Should Focus On His Incomplete Projects

Attempts to resurrect old, rejected plans may leave Godfrey's constituents feeling deceived

Thanks to an email tip from another alert reader, we'll kick off the discussion this otherwise slow news Monday morning, by featuring an exceedingly well-crafted letter to the editor, which popped up on the Standard-Examiner website late last week. We believe it's right up Weber County Forum's alley, topic-wise; and we're sure you'll all agree:

Godfrey should focus on incomplete projects
About 18 months ago, in the midst of a hotly contested mayoral race, Mr. Godfrey shocked the city by reversing his stance on the sale and development of Mt. Ogden Park and golf course indicating that he had heard the voice of the people.
Not only would he abandon his efforts to build a gondola and engage in massive development of that property, including the undeveloped foothills above the golf course, but he further promised to do all in his power to protect it in perpetuity. His victory, by merely 400 votes, casts serious doubt on the likelihood that he could have been re-elected without this change of heart.
Recently, a "redesign" committee appointed by Godfrey (without the knowledge or approval of our city council) submitted suggestions for multi-million dollar changes to Mt. Ogden Golf course and surrounding properties. Parts of those changes include selling portions of the land, building a lodge, a winter sport park and 350 condominiums.
This plan differs in form, but not substance from the plans the mayor tried to push through during his prior term and sharply contrasts with the, "I've heard the voice of the people", speeches that barely allowed him to retain office. While the unpopular word "gondola" hasn't yet appeared openly, there are hints it has not gone away either.
Perhaps Godfrey could focus on his incomplete projects (e.g. the River Parkway development) as opposed to trying to resurrect old, rejected plans which may leave his constituents feeling deceived.
Valerie Bentley
Ogden

Ms. Bentley provides ideal fodder for discussion, as our readers launch into another new work week, wethinks.

Have at it, O Gentle Ones.

Marshall White Center: Std-Ex Double Header

The Editorial Board and Trentelman chime in

There are two excellent pieces in this morning's Standard-Examiner, regarding the Marshall White Center funding dilemma. The Standard weighs in with a strong editorial, advocating open-minded consideration of an Ogden-Weber Community Action Partnership operations takeover, upon condition that current services and programs (including pool operations) remain intact:

• OUR VIEW: Keep Marshall White Center strong

Charlie Trentelman also takes a thoughtful look at the situation in this morning's Wasatch Rambler column, and issues a strong critique of the Godfrey administration's "hamfisted" approach to the problem:

• Change is bad enough. Botched change is the worst.

We'll defer our own analysis, and volunteer that we agree with every single word in this morning's two fine Std-Ex pieces.

Beyond that, we'll also emphasize the important point we made in our last Thursday's WCF writeup on this topic:

Unless and until a firm and binding agreement is reached with OWCAP, with iron-clad provisions which precisely define OWCAP's rights and obligations, it would be the height of irresponsibility for the council to allow MWC funding to fall off-budget.

The council should not be swayed by Godfrey's slippery assurances that an acceptable OWCAP agreement may be in the works. Absent a written agreement that's satisfactory to all key MWC stakeholders, MWC funding should remain on budget.

And for those hard-core readers who'd like to have a look at Boss Godfrey's current (and plainly defective) proposed budget, it's up on the Ogden City website and is viewable here:

• Proposed Budget - Fiscal Year 2009-10

Reader comments are invited, as always.

Governor Huntsman Prepares to Jump Ship

Could the percipient accession of Gary Herbert to the Governor's post signal a harsh Executive Branch tilt toward the Utah political right?

Here's an interesting item this morning: Utah's Governor Jon Huntsman, who was re-elected to his gubernatorial post only last November, with an overwhelming 77.6% of the vote, has suddenly announced his upcoming resignation, contingent upon his pending appointment as U.S. Ambassador to China. This morning's Salt lake Tribune story provides the lede:

Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. will resign from office to accept President Barack Obama's nomination to serve as his ambassador to China.
Sources told The Salt Lake Tribune that an announcement is scheduled for today. Huntsman is in Washington, D.C., and calls to his spokeswoman and various staffers were not returned Friday night.
Huntsman would still have to be confirmed by the Senate, a process that could take weeks or even months. Typically, governors who have been nominated have not resigned until after their confirmation.

To label this out-of-the blue development a "surprise" would be a gross understatement, we believe; and we're certain that many Utah political moderates are staggering around this morning in a state of shocked disbelief. Huntsman's relatively middle of the road political posture has garnered broad support across the entire Utah political spectrum; and as the SL-Trib notes in a companion article this morning, Huntsman's resignation, and the percipient accession of Lt. Governor Gary Herbert to the Governor's Office, could very well signal a sharp tilt in the Utah Executive Branch, markedly to the right.

We'll confess that we're at a loss to explain the meaning of this development. Does this move on Huntman's part represent an effort to distance himself from Utah politics, in preparation for a 2012 presidential run? Is this prestigious appointment part of a pre-emptive Obama plan to take Huntsman out of the 2012 race? Does it evidence Huntsman's abandonment of the difficulties of elective politics altogether, and his desire to finish off his political career on the plush ambassadorial champagne and caviar circuit? Is Huntsman leaving the Governor's office of his own volition... or was he pushed? Perhaps a few of our readers will be willing to weigh in with their own opinions on this. Frankly, this one has us completely stumped.

So many questions... so few answers.

Before closing, we'll also present the opinion of Utah Libertarian Andrew MCullough, who offers an excellent suggestion about how Huntsman can make the best of this new ambassadorial opportunity:

Tonight it is reported that Governor Huntsman will shortly be appointed U.S. Ambassador to China. Congratulations, Governor. Sounds like a great job. But it brings up an interesting question. Is there any chance you could take a few more Utah Republicans with you as staff? How about Senator Buttars and a few of his cohorts? Please give it some thought. This could turn out to be a great boon for our State.

Don't let the cat get your tongues.

Standard-Examiner: Emerald City is Technically Broke

Spotlight on John Patterson's 5/14/09 "sequestered funds" gaffe: Sometimes even the most loyal and devoted key insiders will occasionally slip up and tell the truth

Fascinating Scott Schwebke followup story this morning on the Marshall White Center funding dilemma, which was the topic of yesterday's WCF article. After years of reckless administration borrowing and spending, Emerald City appears to be perched on the brink of technical insolvency. City revenue is tight for a city that's compelled to make an annual $3/4 million bond payment for an ill-conceived downtown money pit, and Godfrey asserts we're down to making some hard budgetary choices. We incorporate Mr. Schwebke's lead paragraphs below:

OGDEN -- About $350,000 would have to be trimmed from city operations to cover costs for the Marshall White Community Center if the municipality doesn't turn the facility over to Ogden-Weber Community Action Partnership, Matthew Godfrey said Thursday night.
Godfrey discussed during a city council work session the rational for eliminating funding from his proposed 2010 fiscal budget for the Marshall White Center.
As the budget was being finalized, negotiations with OWCAP for a possible take over of the center were continuing smoothly, said Godfrey. As a result, it was decided no money would be included in the budget for the Marshall White Center which would lessen the amount of severe funding cuts for other departments, he said.

It appears to us that the entire MWC operation may find itself on the chopping block unless one of the following happens:

1) The Ogden-Weber Community Action Partnership (OWCAP) nonprofit (or some other white knight) quickly comes to the rescue and assumes financial responsibility for future MWC operations;

2) The Council sends Godfrey back to his throne room on nine, instructing him to cut a further $350 thousand from his administrative budget.

If we were sitting on the Ogden City Council, we'd be strongly urging our council colleagues to adopt Plan 2. This is what the state legislature did (twice) to Governor Huntsman during the last legislative session, leading to a balanced fiscal year 2010 state budget; and we believe the city council should follow suit. What the heck. Godfrey could close the budget gap by canning three or four of his bloated and overpaid Economic Develpment Department "A" team, and nobody would notice the difference. None of them are doing anything useful these days anyway, it seems to us.

And here is by far the most interesting and revealing paragraph in this morning's Scott Schwebke's morning writeup, wethinks:

Godfrey also said John Patterson, the city's chief administrative officer, mispoke earlier this week when he told the Standard-Examiner that funds eliminated for the Marshall White Center were in a reserve account and could be restored if a deal with OWCAP fell through. In order for the city to fund the Marshall White Center money would have to be cut from other city operations, he said.

Dang rights Mr. Patterson misspoke. Neither the Council nor the public are supposed to know about "sequestered funds" or secret administration slush fund accounts. Patterson definitely put his foot in his mouth this time, much to Boss Godfrey's obvious annoyance. But assuming for speculation's sake that Patterson spoke the truth, and that such a slush fund may indeed exist, we wonder how many dollars Boss Godfrey may actually have squirreled away? Perhaps the Council should call in Ogden City Controller John Arrington to find out. The council could have him testify under oath.

Mr. Patterson's inadvertent gaffe of course illustrates the primary problem for an administration like Godfrey's, which routinely operates by stealth, secrecy and deceit. Government secrets are difficult to keep, even under the most favorable circumstances. Sometimes even the most loyal and devoted key insiders like Godfrey henchman John Patterson will occasionally slip up and inadvertanly tell the truth.

The floor is open O Gentle Ones. The world blogosphere eagerly awaits your ever-savvy comments.

Councilman Garcia Stands Up For Marshall White

Read Councilman Garcia's plaintive letter to the citizens of Emerald City below

More news this morning about Boss Godfrey's least favorite Emerald City amenity, the Marshall White Center. Ace Reporter Schwebke informs us this morning that negotiations are in progress with the Ogden-Weber Community Action Partnership nonprofit, whom Godfrey hopes will enter into an agreement to take over responsibility for operation and management of the center. The fly in the ointment? The ever-optimistic Mayor Godfrey, apparently operating in his usual "count the chickens before they are hatched" mode, has already removed MWC funding from his proposed 2010 budget, even in the absense of a binding OWCAP/Ogden City management agreement. Read Mr. Schwebke's illuminating morning writeup here:

• Garcia: Save Marshall White/Ogden councilman asks to restore funding for center

We'll offer our own take on this; and we'll be brief: Unless and until a firm and binding agreement is reached with OWCAP, with iron-clad provisions which precisely define OWCAP's rights and obligations, it would be the height of irresponsibility for the council to allow MWC funding to fall off-budget. Councilman Garcia is already complaining that the council is out of the loop regarding the ongoing OWCAP negotiations. Just imagine the possibilities for Godfrey chicanery if non-budgeted MWC funding decisions were left to the sole discretion of the Mayor's office, with necessary operational funds "sequestered" and disbursed, without council control, from another Godfrey "slush fund," at Godfrey's whim.

Among the items up on the Std-Ex website this morning is a plaintive 5/13/09 email letter addressed to the city of Ogden City, the text of which we'll incorporate here:

To the citizens of Ogden:
City funding for the Marshal White Center is at risk. The budget that has been proposed by Mayor Godfrey eliminates all City funding for the Center.
I requested information form Mayor Godfrey about his intentions for the Marshal White Center' future and have received no response from him. Then the budget came to the Council with no funding after the Mayor told citizen's in a Council meeting that it would remain open.
I am going too ask the Council to restore the funding for the Marshal White Center. Financial support for the Center from the City is critical to ensure that it remains open and continues to provide all of the current services to our community.
I urge all concerned citizens to let the Council know your opinion. Two public hearings will be held on the city's budget on May 25th and June 9th.
Jesse M. Garcia
Ogden City Councilmember
Municipal Ward 1

We're confident our gentle readers will know what to do... and they can do it here:

• Ogden City ouncil Contact Information

Before closing, we'll also make note of one unresolved bone of contention which is lightly mentioned in Mr. Schwebke's writeup. The MWC operates a swimming pool, which is currently used for a variety of existing MWC programs. The Godfrey administration is however strangely non-committal about future pool operations under prospective OWCAP management; and Patterson declines to say whether OWCAP would keep the center's pool open. In this connection we note that this morning's story reveals that OWCAP would like to add six to eight classrooms to its current MWC operation. For those who are familiar with the MWC layout, take a wild guess where those classrooms would be built. This is of course merely one of the issues which we believe ought to be resolved by written agreement, before the council agrees to alter the MWC status quo in any manner.

Don't let the cat get your tongues, O gentle ones.

Wednesday Morning News Roundup

Three interesting items to provoke a Weber County Forum morning discussion

By Curmudgeon

Three more Standard-Examiner items worth noting this morning. First, this headline: "Dems tap Smith to replace DeCaria as Weber attorney" .

Ah, if only it were true. Mr. Smith was chosen not by "Dems" but by a unanimous vote of the Weber County Commission, all three members of which are Republicans. [Which has me wondering whether the three elected Republicans on the Commission chose from among the three names sent it by the Weber County Democratic Party the candidate the Commissioners thought least likely to win the job at the polls come November. Mr. Smith will be, as was Mr. DeCaria before him, the County's only elected Democrat. Link to the story and the SE's headline gaffe here.

Second, there's a story about the RDA selling land downtown to someone to develop Phase Two of the Union Square condo project. We measure progress here in Junction City in small ways. For example, from the story, this:

The development would be geared toward buyers who want to live in an urban setting near a host of amenities, including the FrontRunner commuter rail system, a possible street-car system and several retail projects such as a Wal-Mart Supercenter planned at 20th Street and Wall Avenue, Allen said. [Allen is the developer of Phase II.] Note: proximity to a planned streetcar line mentioned as something that would make the condos attractive to buyers. Not proximity to a gondola ride [which was touted in the advertising by the planned developer of the Windsor condos], but a street car. Progress --- however small, but progress none the less.

Finally, on a topic which we discussed on WCF last week, a blistering editorial in today's Salt Lake Tribune, headlined "Coddling Criminals," taking the Lt. Governor to task for his saying he does not intend to enforce the recently passed law requiring candidates to report campaign donations within thirty days of receipt. I especially liked this:

While the law has some teeth, it is unfortunate that those teeth are attached to a dog that refuses to bite, or even growl.... Failure to enforce the law is a gross dereliction of duty by Herbert. Exactly right. And that is an editorial with some bite to it. No shilly-shallying, no "but, on the other hand"-ing. Hebert is a toothless dog by his own choosing, and has promised to commit "a gross dereliction of duty" in office. Yup.

Kudos to the SLTrib editorial board.

Did Boss Godfrey Call the Standard-Examiner "On the Carpet?"

Hearsay reader allegation: Boss Godfrey took the people from our home town newspaper to his special school for obedience training

By David S.

If you've noticed the tone of the Standard Examiner has turned very pro-Godfrey lately, here's why.

Trentleman told me Godfrey called a meeting at the newspaper and told them they were all "anti growth" and he chewed them out.

So before the meeting, we had articles about the river project failure, Leshem's bankruptcy, and Godfrey and Johnson's money laundering. It was all newsworthy stuff, but not favorable to Godfrey so it was deemed "anti growth".

Now we have articles about some tiny blurb in an obscure magazine, old news about Godfrey looking for federal money to prop up Leshemville, and an article saying the dustbowl at 12th and Wall is "on track." It's all old, pointless news, but it is "pro growth" because it's pro Godfrey.

And Godfrey's meeting was also perfectly timed to make the newspaper gun shy about reporting his recent diversion of water money to start subsidizing the destruction of the bench land with water rate payer's money.

It's clear by the end of Godfrey's meeting the newspaper people had their noses on the floor and have been obedient ever since.

Things happen for a reason.


Comments, anyone?

Lame Excuses For Boss Godfrey's Continuing Incompetence, Courtesy of the Standard-Examiner Editorial Board

Sadly, Std-Ex Publisher Lee "Gondola Boy" Carter and a few other non-journalists on the Std-Ex Editorial Board have again seemingly gone haywire, and continue to offer lame excuses for the staggering incompetence of our Little Twit Mayor

We don't want this post-mother's Day Monday afternoon to completely slip by without drawing our readers' attention to this morning's Standard-Examiner lead editorial. It seems that the Boss Godfrey House Propaganda Organ is back on track, making excuses for Boss Godfrey's dismal performance during his 2-1/4 mayoral terms:

• OUR VIEW: Recession a development killer

We're going to take a wild guess, and assume that today's editorial mainly represents the views of Std-Ex publisher Lee "Gondola Boy" Carter, and a the majority of the corrupt and mindless pro-Godfrey Chamber of Commerce types who inexplicably sit on the Std-Ex editorial board, and NOT the opinions of the professional journalists who are SE editorial board members. We doubt that sensible and objective professional journalists like editors Doug Gibson and Andy Howell would publish tripe like this, without a good solid nudge from the Godfreyite people who are REALLY in charge at the Standard. Godfrey's latest Std-Ex editorial board excuse for Godfrey's continuing years-long business incompetence? What else: the current recession.

And just to keep it all in perspective, and for those who are keeping track of Godfrey's offrail projects, here's the short list of Boss Godfrey's failed projects, most of which were already failures before the advent of the current recession:

The River Project, which has been Godfrey's flaky pet project for something like eight of his nine years at the mayoral helm, and it has now completely launched off-rail. - DOA, as a practical matter.

The Windsor Hotel Project - DOA.

The Larry Myler Hotel and Wading Pool Project - DOA.

Stuart Reid's Ashton Square - DOA.

The Junction Profect - Not technically DOA, but bleeding taxpayer dollars at a rate of $3/4 million per year minimum. This year, with the Flowrider Repair, this boneheaded money-pit project cost the taxpayers a cool $1 million plus.

As we all know, there are many more of these moribund, failing and DOA Godfrey projects, some of which the little twit hasn't even mentioned to the City Council or the press.

Frankly, there's only so much energy that any reasonably well-intentioned Ogden citizen/blogger can practically devote toward putting together into a story like this.

Consider this a brief and incomplete list of failed and DOA Boss Godfrey projects.

Let's hear it from our gentle readers about the many other failed Boss Godfrey projects which we omitted in our haste to post this article.

There's a municipal election coming up.

Most of these projects were in failure mode even in the "good" times, but aren't doing so hot during the current recession, either.

Wethinks we need a complete list.

Don't forget to chime in with your comments and list additions, people.

As a special treat, we'd like to hear from that twisted Cavendish guy, who tries to blackmail people, and still swears, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, that Godfrey is a "genius."

Boss Godfrey Polishes His Tarnished Public Image

Per the Std-Ex: The Godfrey administration presents some evidence that Boss Godfrey is not a complete screw-up

We got a good chuckle out of this morning's Scott Schwebke story, which we thought to reveal a not-so-subtle note of Godfrey administration desperation. Maybe that's just us, however. Check it out for yourselves however, gentle readers, and let us know what you think:

• Big Ogden retail projects on track

In the wake of the Godfrey administration's latest disappointment, in what's working out to be a long parade of administration disappointments, we suppose it's reasonable that Godfrey and his "A" team would try to polish up its public relations image, and cast about for a list of projects that aren't quite yet DOA. In this connection, it would appear that Godfrey and his henchmen have done just that, and accordingly issued a press release to Mr. Schwebke, concerning projects which still have a discernible pulse. Sure enough, there are still two of them that Godfrey hasn't yet botched up, which just goes to show, that contrary to overwhelming public perception, Godfrey is not a complete screw-up.

Reader comments are invited, as always.

Std-Ex Letter; Jan Hamer's Most Excellent 5/4/09 Missive Works Its Way To the Editorial Page

The Envision Ogden/FNURE money laundering story ain't quite buried... yet

To kick off this morning's discussion, we'll reprise Jan Hamer's most excellent May 4th letter, which we spotlighted on Weber County Forum last Tuesday. It's a thoughtful and well reasoned piece, urging renewed and enhanced scrutiny of the Envision Ogden/FNURE money laundering matter. The letter has finally worked its way from the live website to the Standard-Examiner editorial page this morning, and we believe it's well worth another look:

• Campaign finance disclosure means transparency

Although we're sitting on the edge of our seat, eagerly awaiting new and further Std-Ex reporting/editorializing on this story, we're delighted to see this letter being made available to the Standard's hard-copy readership this morning. For the moment, at least, we'll remain optimistic that this may well signal the Std-Ex's intention to refrain from completely burying this story.

We'll also note in passing that it might be politic, we think, for a few of our readers to mosey on over to the Std-Ex website, and to lodge a few more remarks in the comments section beneath the letter, just to let Std-Ex management know that significant numbers of Std-Ex subscribers remain interested in further treatment of this story.

Don't let the cat get your tongues O Gentle Ones, if you know what we mean (and we think you do.)

SL Trib: Lieutenant Governor Refuses to Enforce the Law

Weirdly, Republican Lt. Governor Herbert says his job is merely to "accept" campaign donation reports, and not not to enforce the Utah reporting law violations

By Curmudgeon

There was a story in Friday's SL Trib that was worthy of mention, I think. It reported that Utah's Lt. Governor Gary Herbert says his office "won't enforce" a law passed last legislative session that requires campaign donations of more than $25 dollars to be disclosed by the candidate receiving them within 30 days. The Lt. Governor's office says its job is merely to "accept" the reports, not to enforce the reporting law. Even if the report came in more than 30 days after the deadline, Joe Demma, Herbert's chief of staff, said the Lt. Governor's office would not enforce a penalty.

From the story:

However, state law firmly puts the onus on Herbert's office to make sure that all candidates are filing reports that conform with the law and to report any candidates in violation to the Attorney General's Office. Candidates who break the law could be charged with a class B misdemeanor. Why then would the Lt. Governor's office not file charges in such a case? You will love the answer. So will Mayor Godfrey and Councilman Johnson:

“I think simply filing an amended report would work.” But, Sheena McFarland's probing story points out, "that report could come well after the election ends." Uh hun. Yes it could. And has, right here in River City. This is so blatant a "protect our political friends" approach to non-enforcement of election laws, it has outraged even Republican legislators. To their credit. From the story:

That's not good enough for Sen. Greg Bell, R-Fruit Heights, who cosponsored the bill. “To play games by not properly reporting contributions and then filing an amended report and say 'No harm, no foul'... that was not our intention,” Bell said. Kudoes to Sen. Bell, who is not one of my favorite legislators.

The story goes on:

When a candidate misreports campaign finances, it can impact a race. In Utah, supporters of the state's lax campaign finance laws often argue the laws are lenient because everything is disclosed for voters to see, said Kirk Jowers, a campaign finance attorney.

However, that only works if candidates accurately report contributions. “If voters cannot get timely contributor information, it eliminates their ability to fairly see influence on that legislator that may or may not make a difference to them,” said Jowers, who also is the director of the Hinckley Institute of Politics at the University of Utah. And what says Rep. Brad Dee, a sponsor of the bill? He "understands" the Lt. Governor's position on not enforcing the law that makes enforcement his responsibility. But Dee sees no real problem because he can't imagine candidates not complying because "it's simple and entirely possible." Uh huh. [Rep. Dee, may we introduce you to Councilman Johnson?]

So, the legislature passes a law to require reporting campaign contributions within thirty days, and we include in the law the Lt. Governor's responsibility for enforcing it, and he says "Nah. Don't feel like it." And Rep. Dee says that's fine with him, because he can't believe that any candidate would not comply with the law anyway.

I presume Rep. Dee also believes in the Tooth Fairy, the Easter Bunny and that Bill Clinton never inhaled.

Boss Godfrey Seeks $4 Million in Federal Ogden River Cleanup Funds

Godfrey and "Broke-ass Leshem" scramble for a $4 million Obama administration handout

This is interesting. Today's Standard-Examiner reports that Boss Godfrey has applied for a $4 million federal grant to clean up the Ogden River:

• Ogden to seek $4M to clean up part of river

And here's a fairly startling snippet from today's Ace Reporter Schwebke story:

The river clean-up initiative is being spearheaded by California businessman Gadi Leshem.

That's right. "Spearheaded" is the word Ace Reporter Schwebke used, possibly a little tongue-in-cheek. Big Money (now broke-ass) Investor Gadi Leshem, who's basically been in hiding ever since his Coverall, Inc. revenue source filed for Chapter 11 protection last year... is "spearheading" the Ogden River Cleanup, says Mr. Schwebke, with an apparently straight... (but possibly playful) face.

Yes... "Spearheading" is the description Schwebke used, we reiterate. Too funny.

Very humorous of you, Mr. Schwebke. (wink, wink; nudge, nudge)

Comments?... Anyone? Does Schwebke have an EXTREMELY subtle sense of humor, or what?

Imagine if these creeps Gadi and Godfrey were to actually receive a $4 million federal handout. Imagine how much of that would actually go to the federal project intended, ha-ha-ha.

And it's not as if the federal government exactly follows up on the massive money it doles out, in which connection we'll post this, which pretty much illustrates exactly how lame the U.S. government is now... as it hands out billions to losers like Leshem and Godfrey:

• Fed Inspector General Knows Roughly Nothing About The Fed (VIDEO)

Gentle reader comments are invited, as always.

Emerald City Chalks up its 100th Puff Piece

Something for the lumpencitizens to think about with a municipal election coming up

This morning's Standard-Examiner puts the spotlight on another of those "city ratings" puff pieces which appear from time in magazines of national circulation. The latest of these comes from Newsmax Magazine, which has Ogden City pegged as fifth in the nation among cities "that best embrace core American values." We got high scores for Hospitality, Wholesomeness Family-Friendliness, among other attributes, and even finished above Logan City, which we've always kinda considered to be the gold standard for these core American civic virtues. Read Charlie Trentelman's full writeup here:

• Ogden recognized for 'American values'

In our never ending effort to provide our readers with all the necessary links, we've googled and present the very short Newsmax Magazine tout piece here:

• Newsmax magaaizine Rates the Top 25

Yeah. it's just a brief blurb; and Godfrey plays it down for that reason. Still it's the hundredth magazine article in the past 3-1/2 years, Godfrey reminds us. His scrapbook is getting pretty thick we suppose.

But in our heart of hearts we know that there's one more magazine issue that Godfrey craves, and that Godfrey won't rest until it's in newsstands across the nation:

There's a city council race coming up November, in which the lumpencitizens will be called upon to fill four seats. The Council candidate filing period commences in a little more than a month. Unless we want to see a magazine cover like this on the newsstands some time in the near future (or a similar golf magazine cover story touting a bulldozed and flattenened Mt. Ogden Golf Course), it's probably time to recruit some responsible, prudent grown-ups to run for these offices, we believe. Just a helpful reminder from yer old pal Rudi.

And what say our gentle readers about all this?

Feel free to expound upon the ratings... Boss Godfrey's self-consuming gondola obsession... the upcoming council race... or whatever else lifts your skirts.

Ogden's Open Space Still Threatened By the Little Dork From Harrisville

More brilliant insight into Boss Godfrey's "secret" top of 36th Street scam

Gentle reader Dan Schroeder has just sent us a link to a newly posted article on the Ogden Sierra Club web site:

• Ogden's open space still threatened

In this masterpiece of amateur journalism, Schroeder skillfully juxtaposes three recent developments that threaten the open space on Ogden's east bench:

1. Three proposed water tanks that will provide water service to currently undeveloped areas.
2. The recent golf course/condominium proposal for the top of 36th Street.
3. Last fall's mysterious clearcutting on the Malan's Basin property.

While the forces behind these developments undoubtedly would like us to think they're unrelated, Schroeder's map vividly shows what a curious coincidence that would be. We'll leave it for our gentle readers to draw their own conclusions.

Don't let the cat get your tongues, O gentle ones.