from the San Diego Reader

The city is facing financial collapse thanks to decisions willfully made by the mayor and city council. Their bond ratings are being downgraded and their actions are under federal investigation. The 2003 audit still hasn’t been released, and probably won’t be released until after the November elections because of the information contained.

So what was the city’s response to all this information being made public?

The media is giving them a black eye.

from the Lincoln Journal-Star

David Heffelbower had his house condemned by the city. For great coverage on this story, read this story and this story by Jenna Johnson from the Daily Nebraskan.

Anyway, the city also raised sewer rates.

from the Lincoln Journal-Star

from the Lincoln Journal-Star

From the Lincoln Journal Star staff editorial (journalstar.com):

…The bond would have paid for more than half of the six-year, $135 million deficit in street project money identified by the mayor’s Streets Roads and Trails Committee. The bond would have helped fund 33 major street projects in the city, with work to have begun on all by 2007…The unfortunate thing is that Lincoln taxpayers will still pay for these improvements in the long run because the work has to be done…

from the Lincoln Journal-Star

UNL started a policy in April that would ban political advertising from Memorial Stadium. Nebraska’s Republican Party just learned about the policy two days before the game, after already spending thousands of dollars on fliers. They cried out that the policy was a violation of free speech, so the policy was suspended so that it could be clarified.

Meanwhile, Nebraska center Richie Incognito was suspended indefinitely for repeatedly violating team rules and general misbehavior.

from the San Diego Reader

Arnold Schwarzenegger says that politicians who can’t say no to special interests are girlie men.

Then he lets Chevron-Texaco, his biggest contributor, write his energy policy.

from the Lincoln Journal-Star

This cartoon is as much about Arnold Schwarzenegger’s much-cheered definition of “Republican” versus George W. Bush’s definition of “Republican,” but since 1st District Congressional candidate Jeff Fortenberry has presented himself as nothing more than a Bush/Cheney puppet, he gets to play the part of the confused Republican in this cartoon.