I’m old enough to remember when Goodcents was Mr. Goodcents. Apparently he no longer identifies as male.
I’m also old enough to remember when Dunkin’ was Dunkin’ Donuts. Can confirm they still have donuts.
Mr. Goodcents became Goodcents in 2012. Dunkin’ Donuts became Dunkin’ in 2019.
I’m just out here droppin’ knowledge on ya.
Speaking of names, did you know Democratic politician Gary Hart was originally named Gary Hartpence? Then he dropped his pence.
Gary Hartpence was born in 1936 but changed his name to Gary Hart in 1961. This one took a little more research but again I’m out here workin’ for ya.
It’s not often you learn of a man who is intentionally misleading about his age but Hart’s campaign literature for many years listed his birth year as 1937. Then some journalists reported that a copy of his birth certificate–and some public records on file at his high school in Ottawa, Kan.–showed his birth year as 1936. Hart eventually confessed that 1936 was accurate.
Can honestly say when I started this column I had no idea Gary Hart would get so much ink–or even a mention–but here we are.
I apologize.
Shatto Milk Company is getting into the Chiefs playoff spirit by releasing red velvet milk. I think it’s from red cows, but I’m no dairy farmer so don’t take my word for it. Better check with Speckman, he used to own some farm ground and once stepped in cow manure, so he’s up on this stuff.
When a cow laughs does milk come out of its nose?
The playoffs start this weekend. The Chiefs are a better offense when Darrel Williams is playing running back than they are when Clyde Edwards-Helaire is playing running back. You can disagree if you want but you’d be wrong.
Let’s talk Parkville.
In her response to an ethics complaint against her, Mayor Nan Johnston repeatedly referred to Jason Maki’s Sunshine requests as harassment. Oops. Bad move. By doing so she violated terms of the $195,000 settlement the city paid to Maki to make his Sunshine lawsuit go away. So Maki could be in line for another payday. If Nan keeps being Nan, Maki’s gonna have a nice retirement nest egg.
After Nan’s written outburst, Maki sent the city a notice to let them know their mayor had gone too far. He demanded the city to refute the mayor’s comments, a public apology and demanded the mayor be removed from office prior to a Jan. 4 board of aldermen meeting. The response? Thus far the city has posted a statement on its web site saying: “On Dec. 14, 2021, the board of aldermen was made aware of certain recent statements made by the mayor that could be interpreted as suggesting that a citizen’s use of the Missouri Sunshine Law was a form of harassment. Those comments are the individual’s views and are not representative of the board’s or the city’s beliefs. The board of aldermen is committed to accountability and transparency and fully supports the use of the Sunshine Law to ensure open government.”
Whether by design or whether by coincidence, the mayor was not present at the board of aldermen meeting on Jan. 4. No word on her having been “removed.”
At least one alderman appears to be trying.
During last week’s Parkville Board of Aldermen meeting, alderman Brian Whitley proposed multiple steps that the city should take to improve transparency. Some of Whitley’s highlights include:
.Develop a public-facing dashboard of all Sunshine requests to include date of request, requestor name, total fees/waiver of fees, staff hours to fulfill the request, copy of request, status of request and the city’s interim and final responses to the request.
.Livestreaming and recording of all meetings where a quorum of elected officials and commission/committee members are present. “Presently, I believe we livestream board of aldermen meetings, PDIC, CLARB, and planning and zoning meetings. We do not presently livestream ethics, finance, board of zoning adjustment, TIF, aldermen work sessions/strategic planning sessions. We should cross train staff to handle livestreaming if our contractor, CuriousEye, is unavailable.”
.Have the city provide @parkvillemo.gov email addresses for all commissions/committee members to handle all public business and keep public business separate from personal business. This would allow the city server to capture all email traffic. “I believe that this will greatly enhance the city’s ability to timely and completely fulfill Sunshine requests about commission/committee activities.”
.Beginning May 2022, have the city provide the city administrator and all elected officials with mid-tier iPads (or laptop for the city manager on the first day of employment) and mid-tier cell phones to conduct all public business. “This way, phone records, text messages and other activity for the public good can be easily produced for Sunshine requests. Rather than City Hall playing switchboard for calls to the mayor and alderpersons, constituents would contact their mayor or alderperson directly. This contact information would be made available on the city’s website,” Whitley said.
(Get the light of day in full transparency and all that stuff via email to ivan@plattecountylandmark.com)