First, I am very happy to know, as I promised, that the new playground is going to go into Whitney Park by the end of this month. We need to thank Wil Rodriguez and Diana Maclean for all the work that they put into getting this to happen. As well, I am most pleased with the progress that we are making on the Rail Trail near Whitney Park. I was told that the bids will be going out to get the old rail road bridge painted and prepped to link it up with the Northside. And, while at it I continue to push to get stairways from off the levee to the playground from the places where streets approach the levee. With the play grounds Moms and Dads will be bringing their kids to play, and with the other improvements old folks like me, will want a better access to the Park.
Next, it was great to see a student, a teacher, and an Advisory Board member from WTA on 22 in Focus this past Sunday representing the vocational programs at WTA and how well they are working, the quality of the students, and the well-paying jobs they are walking into. I think that the only thing slowing us from a bright future is the social economic stigma attached to working people jobs. It will be hard to undo 100’s of years of Old World thinking that those who work industry, or engaged in manual labor are inferior to more professional job holders, and their presumption that people who get their hands dirty are beneath them. OK, a graduate in the right “trade” can walk out of high school and start making $50,000 a year, with no college debt, and if they do choose to on to college later in life, they can pay for it out of pocket. So congrats again to WTA its students, faculty, staff, and private sector Advisory Members for a JOB well done.
Lastly, I know my recent editorials have come off a bit strong, but it does make me angry when people have to resort to a con job to convince the voters that they have a better idea. Especially when a part of their rhetoric is that the people, the voters should decide. What, decide they are right or wrong based upon exaggerations out of context, and in general their version of facts. More of the same politics of hypocrisy has always gotten me ticked. Over my 50 years of civil and civic involvement I have walked out because of this. Give us the real facts and then let us decide. If it is all about you can’t trust government, can’t trust those others… and you distort facts for effect, then we cannot trust period. And, if in our pluralistic Democratic Republic, where we the people are the ultimate authority, because we are those held ultimately responsible and we cannot work together then we as a nation and a people fail. As Ben Franklin said at the Constitutional Convention, we need to put aside our ambitions and self-interests; for beyond our shores there are those waiting to see us fail. And, even though their Constitution was imperfect, it was the best that they could create and it will require future generations to continue to improve upon it and adjust it to meet the ever changing needs.
Anyway, while I have gotten feedback from many I run into while the dog, most of it positive. I have not gotten much feedback from City Councilors. So, I do not know where they stand on these issues, or the expressed principles. But, I have more often been a standalone kind of guy in speaking for myself, and the near lifelong participation in civic and civil affairs, academic study, research; contact with some very smart and successful people and a very diverse set of life experiences. My outspoken nature, that while more often right, may still explain my lack of being rich and famous…(that is my humor, sorry), but as you can well imagine retaliation for rebellion can have its price; thus then the lack of backup even from those who may benefit from what said or did. Luckily I have the approval of many who actually get the job done so I can still be a Community Advocate. Thank you, Brian Hoose ( [email protected] ) for those who do want to give me feedback.
