IS IT TRUE; Part 2: August 23, 2011

IS IT TRUE; Part 2: August 22, 2011

IS IT TRUE that there were some lighter moments in last night’s meeting of the Evansville City Council and that one of them turned into a 30 minute discussion on pigeon coops inside the city limits?…that this 30 minutes started and ended with humor but that in between this 30 minutes seemed like it took longer than watching “Out of Africa”?…that the controversy is over a very animated couple who live in the 2nd Ward and have been keeping “racing pigeons” as a hobby for many years?…that it was stated that about 100 people in Evansville have “racing pigeons” and that one of their supporters even referred to these “racing pigeons” as athletes and that he goes to Louisville to buy their training meals?…that in one particularly animated exchange when referring to a neighbor who “doesn’t like their dog, doesn’t like their pigeons, and doesn’t like them” that the couple was defended by another neighbor who “likes their dog, likes their pigeons, and likes them”?

IS IT TRUE that it seems as though the City of Evansville has a law on the books that one can’t keep a pigeon coop closer than 50 feet from another person’s home and that this pigeon coop is only 35 feet away?…that the rule was changed back near the turn of the century and that pre-existing pigeon coops are grandfathered in?…that there was even a discussion about whether the law applied to the pigeons that were alive at the turn of the century or the coop itself?…it looks as though this very likable couple and their pigeon coop will be grandfathered in as the Council members saw the humor in the whole discussion but were worn out after their 4 hour session?…that maybe Evansville will have an entry in the Pigeon Olympics soon?

IS IT TRUE that the City County Observer has been referring to the McCurdy Hotel as the convalescent home for pigeons and bats for over a year now?…that the population of pigeons and bats has been steadily increasing in the old classic hotel?…that the top floor of the McCurdy is more than 50 feet above the ground so it would qualify as a home for “racing pigeons”, passenger pigeons, and for pigeons of the plain ole sky rat variety?…that the best short term prospect we have heard to generate revenue at the McCurdy is to designate it as the “Official Pigeon Coop of the City of Evansville” and to charge the refugee pigeons that have been displaced by the 50 foot resolution a fee to live there?…that 5th 3rd Bank may want first dibs on the rental fees though as they are holding the superior mortgage on the McCurdy and the City of Evansville holds the 2nd?…that once the pigeons or their masters have paid off the 1st mortgage of over $1.6 Million, then the City of Evansville may get something after all?

IS IT TRUE that there is a public works project in San Francisco that makes the Front Door Pride program and the Vision 1505 project look like thrifty acts of genius?…that the City of San Francisco’s Chinatown subway project is 1.7 miles long, 8 stories underground, and is now estimated to cost $1.6 Billion up from the $647 Million estimate when it was first proposed?…that at $1 Billion per mile it is no wonder that subways are not adopted all over the country?…that the first trial estimates show that it would be 10 minutes faster to just take the bus?…that adding some busses would have only cost a couple of million dollars?…that when our elected officials continue to spend $1 Billion per mile for subways and $240,000 for each apartment at the safe house that they just demonstrate how out of touch with reality they are?…that it is good to know that the Mayor of San Francisco in his project that was really designed to get the political support of the power brokers of Chinatown make the City of Evansville look like Albert Einstein for their unsustainable and overpriced “affordable housing” programs?

IS IT TRUE that John Kish was in attendance at last night’s City Council meeting and was prepared to discuss the concerns of Councilman John Friend on “vetting the vettors”?…that City Council President B. J. Watts abruptly adjourned the meeting and that Mr. Kish’s opportunity to address this publically was circumvented?…that we look forward to September 12th when concerns regarding London Witte can hopefully be discussed in a public meeting?