2013 predictions

What  do I see happening in Racine for 2013

1) Mayor John Dickert keeps Racine as the #1 City in Unemployment

2) A major employer in Racine tells it’s employees, that by 2015, the Company will be moved out of Racine

3)  Delta Hawk will make little effort to hire more staff. The City makes no effort to “Claw Back” and funds used by Delta Hawk

4) Major issues with Porter’s Mayor Dicker tries to  fix by expanding the TIF. The effort fails

5)  Issues over The 7th St Roundabout mirror The City Hall Bathrooms’s issues This becomes a major scandal

6) RiverWorks begins work on the Mound St overlook. Funding drys up.

7) The City loss of the Union law suit causes 35 employees to be laid off

8) The fight over CAR 25 results in two law suits

9) The Journal Times shuts the doors

10)  The City of Racine finds out the amount of the Settlement to “Bill” found to be over $150,000.

total cost to the City  of Racine will be found to be over $250,000

11) City of Racine buys Azarian for back taxes.

Bonus

A elected City office gets divorced. The case will not be pretty

Let’s see what happens! The above is my guess

 

Give the Mayor a gift of love!

 

I understand that Mayor John  Dickert and at  least one Alderman hates the idea of the Go Go Girls vs the Nazis being made in Racine.

For a few dollars you can help the next teaser get made! This in turn helps the film get made!  What a great way to show the powers that be what you think of them!

You know you want to!

Here is the link:  http://igg.me/p/280944/x/75891

North Beach becoming?

 

Are there plans in the works to create at North Beach a Water Park? You may have read in the paper were there is talk of a four story slide to be built and operated. Is there more attractions coming? What might those be?  Perhaps a fun house or Carnival games?

As long as it’s not City money being used I am all for this. Why not?

My fear is that:

1) The City uses this as a way to charge for beach access.

2) The City spends money in creating this Water Park as speculation investment.

Lets see what happens with this.

Power of CATV

 

Your thoughts?

 

Lawyers, Guns, and Money or Will CAR 25 be the downfall of Mayor Dickert?

Send Lawyers, Guns and Money the shit has hit the fan, words from the song of the same name by  Warren Zevon, a singer I was big on from my days at U.W. Madison. Ah the days of my youth.

Now of course, in Racine, we have (as I see it) the great war on CAR 25, a war quickly   expanding from petty games by the Mayor of Racine to take CAR 25 over, to the courts.

See something the City does not understand is the Mayor nor the Good Old Boys on City Council can censor programing they do not like sorry.

Attempts to  do so will  get them sued, not I believe in the State courts but in Federal Court.  In fact the parties perhaps suing may not only be say myself and other local producers but ACLU and the FCC.

Does the Mayor want to  tangle with the feds or even the ACLU? Who in looking into CAR 25 issues might just discover the other dealings some in Racine think are going on? Boy would that make Racine look good.

Over the past few days. I have been doing research on the issues on CAR 25 as I see them, reading what I can going to city meetings and talking to other producers.

I believe  that should the RFP(s) go on that Mr. Brice will be right the City will find itself in both State and Federal court.

More interesting will be some of the upcoming Committee of the Whole meetings. Mayor Dickert I feel will be finding out that his Sheep are becoming wolfs, and they are hungry.

 

 

CAR 25 or Mayor Dickert’s Waterloo Editorial

The fight for CAR 25 goes on. I have no idea how this fight will end.

The calls I get and I am getting them, the #1 question I get is why did the fight start and #2 what does he seek to gain?

As I believe I can answer the first, I can only guess at the second, however  I am not believing  the Mayor’s stated goal of making CAR 25 better. Only God knows the true why.

As much as the war has been entertaining to watch real City employees  have and will suffer from the War there is no good outcome from the  City.

Mr. Bryce who spoke at The Cable Commission meeting on Monday said and  I paraphrase ” This (RFP on  CAR 25) might get the City sued” Might? no it will get the City sued by one person perhaps more then one, and take down (Bankrupt) at least one friend of the Mayor.  This whole CAR 25 thing is just wild.

This are my observations:

Commissioner  Robert Krug answers  questions about the RFP / CAR 25 posted on this blog, are going to be followed up on to see how accurate they maybe, as I understand it old employers to include TV stations contacted.  An open records   request will be filled with the city for a copy of a “White Paper” on Broadcasting Mr. Krug claims to have written.

Members of the Cable Commission need to understand that they are public officials and CAR 25 war has brought them into the public eye.  We will see soon, I hope more about them all and links if any to the Mayor.

Men who have hated each other in the past,  have started talking, solved the issues of the past and started working together  not only to save CAR 25 BUT what to do to bring down the Mayor.

As I have been lead to believe one business group in Racine has dropped  a Dime on a long time friend of the Mayor’s  sharing info on past events for payback on both the Mayor and the FOJ.

At least one area newspaper is looking closer  at the City Hall Bathrooms and subcontractors involved. Open records may be coming

The Journal Times have started to send open records requests to the City over CAR 25. The Reporter covering this story (CAR 25) is pulling no punches.

More members of the public are coming to city meetings AND speaking out.

At the last City Council meeting  12/19/12 that I was at,the Mayor during public comment  some I have talked to saw Mayor John Dicket as a bully trying to control how the public can communicate with Alderman, and as one man said Can he trust a letter given to the city clerk  to be passed to his Alderman get to him/her if the Mayor does not want it to happen?  WOW.

The public is more and more seeing the Mayor as a Bully and a petty Dictator.

In this fight so far I have seen

Monday’s (12/17/12) night Cable Commission meeting

An alderman ( Ray Dehahd)  lie about scoring for the CAR 25 RFP)

The Chairman (Ron Thomas) call Dehahn out on the lie

The Chairman state that he had questions on the RFP and wants more transparency.

Other members thought the same about wanting more info

The Director of Information Systems Paul Ancona: 1) Say he had no idea about how the scoring worked on the RFP  he was in charge of. (what?)    2) That the City had talked to Sky Fall Media moving CAR 25 to Kenosha (Why  did the city talk to Sky Fall about this before anyone had won the RFP unless it was preselected?)

By my count 3 video cameras were going (Not including I phones) and one tape recorder. I and others are hoping to see the video from this meeting soon.

The Fiance Committee meeting the week before was also interesting:

Why if Mr. Hendrix proposal was taken off the agenda was Sky Falls RFP not taken off the agenda? One would think that if Alderman Hert needed to be there to hear Mr. Hendrix’s  proposal that he would need to be there for Sky Fall?

Why does the MIS director not have a clue when it comes to how companies  selected to receive  the bid information? Why did so much change between the two RFPs?

At the first Common Council meeting did the Mayor of Racine have info removed from desks of the alderman? in the 16 years I have been in Racine I have not seen this occur before. Why now?

Why as it looks to me does Mayor John Dickert NOT want Chase Hendrix to donate $10K to the city of Racine?

As I have been told by  long time community members its looking like Mayor John Dicker is in panic mode over the RFP on CAR 25

By my count the Mayor does NOT have the votes to give Sky Falls the RFP.

I stand by what I said last night.

Please put away the CAR 25 RFP. If you feel you must do another do it in away that is fair and open to all. This fight is doing nothing to help the City.

I and others stand ready to help promote the good things about the City if given the chance with CAR 25. The RFP is not needed  (Paraphrased)

My bet is the Mayor finds away to give the bid to Sky Falls the City gets sued. A lot of ugly facts come out about how the Mayor acts when he thinks he can get away with it.

CAR 25 Questions

 

KEY QUESTIONS REGARDING OUTSOURCING CAR25 OPERATIONS
1. Was CAR25 staff consulted regarding the RFP, Official Notice #7 and #15, and what were their recommendations?
2. Was CAR25 staff given the opportunity to make any recommendations in order to keep managing the channel?
3. What are the new benefits that this company can provide that our staff, volunteers, or current members cannot provide?
4. The RFP to outsource channel operations to a business also includes advertising programs. What do our policies, procedures and ordinances say about advertising on CAR25? What do our municipal and state franchise agreements say about this? What are the legal implications?
5. What does WCM say about advertising on PEG channels?
6. Has the City met with Time Warner and AT&T to discuss advertising on the channels?
7. Why can’t Racine save the extra $20,000 for Professional Services that does not serve the community in any way, and is not needed for this and put it to better use, especially in times of financial crisis?
8. What was the reason for the 2nd RFP Official Notice 15 if multiple bids were received for Official Notice 7?
9. Why was Official Notice 15 not made available to the public for 30 days or advertised in the Journal Times, and offered equally to all companies in and around Racine?
10. Why did Ron Thomas not vote in the ad-hoc sub-committee when reviewing the proposals?
11. Why did Mayor Dickert instruct MIS staff to throw away documents offering a $10,000 donation to the channel and community?
12. Why did Tom Friedel tell Ald. Ron Hart to disregard the $10,000 donation offer to the channel and community?
13. Why did an open ended contract to outsource CAR25 operations get added to the Finance agenda without going through the Cable Commission or Common Council when the only other item related to CAR25 was removed?
14. Why did the City Clerk say that the missing item was an oversight, but then was changed to say it was due to Ald. Hart not being able to attend?
15. What questions does Ald. Hart have about the donation that he could not ask at the meeting, and what questions did he have any questions related to outsourcing CAR25 operations?
16. Why did Ald. Hart not contact the company making the donation offer any time after the initial presentation at the Cable Commission meeting and again at Common Council when he had all of the details in writing plus direct contact information?
17. Was the Cable Television Commission consulted regarding the RFP, Official Notice #7 and #15, and what were their recommendations?
18. Were any former Cable Commissioners or Aldermen contacted or consulted with regarding the RFP to provide input?
19. What companies were contacted for Notice 7, and who submitted proposals for Notice 7? Who selected this list, and what was it based on?
20. What companies were contacted for Notice 15, and who submitted proposals for Notice 15? Who selected this list, and what was it based on?
21. Did the City contact businesses it has previously contracted video-related production services with?
22. Did the bidders for Notice #7 present to the Cable Commission or Committee of the Whole?
23. If you are qualified to make decisions about CAR25 operations, can you describe the equipment and hardware/software used at CAR25?
24. Wouldn’t a company from Racine be a better fit to manage a Racine Community Television channel and resource, rather than a music production company from Kenosha?
25. Who will provide the training for the new provider? Who will provide support?
26. Does the company have any experience working with CAR25? Have they volunteered in the past? Have they offered any donations or additional contributions?
RFP PROCESS:
1. Why were the bidders not given the opportunity to present?
2. Why was there no budget in the RFP?
3. Why were there no financial details or budget in the recommendation submitted to enter into a contract at the Finance meeting?
4. Why did the item get referred to go through Finance and enter into a contract before the sub-committee even went back to the Cable Television Commission?
5. What experience do Mary Osterman and Ald. Ray DeHahn have working with CAR25 or managing PEG television or CAR25 operations?
6. Did any of the bidders meet with CAR25 or go through the walk-through?
7. Who authored Official Notice #7 and #15?
8. Who originated the idea for RFP, Official Notice #7 and #15, and what was that based on?
9. Who was consulted regarding the RFP, Official Notice #7 and #15, by the author(s)?
10. Who will be making the recommendations and decision, and what experience do they have working with CAR25, or with other PEG Programs and Services?
11. Did the City use the Wisconsin Vendor Net System in the RFP process?
12. Will the Cable Commission get a copy of the proposals to review in advance of the next meeting?
CABLE COMMISSIONERS:
1. Why has Rob Krug not attended any meetings since he authored the RFP?
2. Why has Rob Krug not been removed from the Commission for lack of attendance?
3. How many meetings has Rob Krug attended since May 2010? (est. 30 months – Cable Commission meets once per month, on the 3rd Monday)
4. What experience does Rob Krug have working with CAR25?
5. What are the details of Rob Krug’s analysis of CAR25 operations, and what are they based on?
6. Why is Jim Rasmussen not on the Cable Commission any longer?
7. Why is Gary Alvarado not on the Cable Commission any longer?
8. Why is Pamela Hoadley not on the Cable Commission any longer?
9. Why is Chase Hendrix not on the Cable Commission any longer?
10. Is there a term limit to appointments on the Cable Commission?
ADVERTISING:

Wolfman Reports 12/16/12

 

7

Monuments for Fools Alexey Shchusev lives!

 

 

Woke up this morning to find this in Today’s Journal Times:

Latest Root River corridor proposals include pedestrian, marsupial bridges

http://www.journaltimes.com/news/local/latest-root-river-corridor-proposals-include-pedestrian-marsupial-bridges/article_72782b72-4454-11e2-85b5-001a4bcf887a.html

 

City revamping Uptown plan

http://www.journaltimes.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/city-revamping-uptown-plan/article_cd5254d8-4458-11e2-b64f-001a4bcf887a.html

The plans talk a good game but forget to talk about how much its going to cost or who is going to pay for it (we know it will be the home owners)

How many empty building are there in Racine? Do we need more?

The City is broke as the Mayor has said himself so much so he Mayor has called for donations to keep the city running:  http://www.journaltimes.com/news/local/city-yet-to-net-donations-after-plea-to-nonprofits/article_24d409bc-2547-11e2-8599-0019bb2963f4.html

Yet somehow all the grand ideas about will come about after we spend what we need to spend however much we need to after all our betters say we need to

I see this not only as in the Root River away to enrich the famous Friends of John with the added bonus of big lies to back failing promises  for Uptown how quick we forget Garry Becker and the money and games then. I do think like all Dictators like Stalin ” The role that monumental propaganda in different cultures had played in fostering such sacrifice was well known; whether it was a temple in Ancient Egypt or a Jesuit monastery. Stalin was a brilliant choreographer of mass ceremonies but he badly needed ceremonial locations, broad squares, straight avenues and lavishly decorated palaces.” (A Journey into Stalinist Moscow of the 1930s – 1950s) If only we cared if only the negative Bloggers would suit up! Racine would be so great! All Hail Obama!

Racine Property Taxes went up 12% this year how much more will they go up to pay for the Dreams of  glory and the big ego of Mayor John Dickert?

 

 

Please Read and tell others. (Letter to Editor coped from Racine Uncovered)

My company, AdEasel® (Adaptive Easel, LLC), is offering a minimum $10,000 Sponsorship Donation to help support CAR25 and the city of Racine. We are very interested in making a positive contribution to the city, and our offer will add new programs, services, and free training workshops available to everyone in the community. This donation will greatly benefit CAR25 as well as the entire community at absolutely no cost to the city or its residents, and will create opportunities for more community programs and partnerships, as well as greater long-term sustainability.

I served as Chairman of the Cable Television Commission for 5 years, and would like to continue contributing to CAR25 and the community. My company and I are prepared to make a significant investment to help. We have built a very successful full-service marketing and advertising agency over the last 13 years, and continue to grow each year, with high-paying, full-time jobs available right now in addition to ongoing part time, contract and internship programs (Racine designers & developers please apply),.

We have successfully implemented similar programs with other cities and organizations such as the City of Chicago, Chicago Loop Alliance, Northwestern University, and Iowa Community Action Association, in addition to working with businesses and brands around the nation and world such as Blue Cross Blue Shield®, Hospice of America, Electrical Power Products, Pierce Distribution, Harley-Davidson®, Navistar International®, First Degree, Body-Solid®, and many more.

Very simply, we would just like to help provide new, absolutely free programs, services and training workshops for CAR25 and the entire community. We are the first company to step forward to offer a sponsorship donation to CAR25, but hopefully not the last. I want to make sure that our Aldermen and Community members are aware of our $10,000+ Sponsorship Donation Offer, and have enclosed a copy of the documents we provided at last Tuesday’s Common Council meeting. My local Alderman, Terry McCarthy, graciously offered to distribute these documents, and placed a copy on each Alderman’s desk at Common Council about 10 minutes before the meeting.

To my surprise however, many Aldermen did not receive these documents, and they were even literally taken out of Aldermen’s hands. These were official documents and communications from my business that were notarized by the city clerk, and on the agenda, with hard copies printed for all of the Aldermen (see attached files and Common Council agenda: http://legistar.racinenet.org/detailreport/matter.aspx?key=17408 and http://legistar.racinenet.org/attachments/7454890f-27c5-48a3-8364-29aca9fdff0b.pdf).

I have since learned that Mayor John Dickert had instructed a city employee from the MIS department to remove these documents and throw them away, and also that City Administrator Tom Friedel told Ald. Ron Hart to disregard what I had to say just minutes before the meeting.

I made a short presentation to Common Council, and they unanimously voted to address our donation offer at the next Finance & Personnel meeting, Dec. 10, 2012. On the morning of the Dec. 10, 2012 Finance meeting however, I received an email stating that my item was not on the agenda because Ald. Ron Hart asked that it be removed under the excuse that he could not be there. Ald. Hart already heard our initial presentation at the previous Cable Television Commission meeting, had a printed copy of our donation offer from that meeting, and then heard it again at Common Council. This really made no sense why just this item was removed when no other communications were removed, and even a new item was added as a direct referral from Mayor Dickert related to outsourcing CAR25. I had already changed my schedule and still attended the meeting, ready to make a presentation and answer any questions they had, but was told that they could not discuss my donation offer since it was removed from the agenda, and there was no vote on the issue. So now our donation offer has been tentatively deferred until sometime in January.

As far as I know, there are not any other companies asking to make donations like this that will benefit everyone equally from students to small businesses to organizations. I certainly hope that other businesses and community members that are trying to make a donation and positive contribution to the city are not given the run-around like we have received from our Mayor and City Administrator.

With all due respect, Mayor Dickert, Tom Friedel, Ald. Hart and Ald. DeHahn really do not understand the technicalities of user interface and experience design, search and social marketing, custom application development, opt-in and responsive marketing, brand management, programming platforms, on-demand streaming, or live broadcasting, not to mention PEG regulations, but somehow they are playing an instrumental role in impeding our donation offer, and are separately attempting to outsource channel operations to a for-profit company from Kenosha.

I am hopeful that despite this, the rest of Common Council and the Community would be in support of accepting our donation, working together with to expand upon CAR25’s success, maintaining fair and equal access, and developing new free programs that will help build communication and job skills, improve local businesses or organizations, or help to create new ones. If our donation is accepted, and we can work together to keep CAR25 managed the way it is with additional sponsorships, we will further pledge a larger donation to help rebrand the city and improve our city web site and marketing programs.

Racine needs to make some changes to how we do business, while working to improve our perception both internally and externally, and we would be very excited to collaborate with any other businesses or community members that would like to be involved. This should be a much more positive process. Let’s work together to do what is right for CAR25, and what is best for our entire community.
Sincerely,

Chase Hendrix
President & CEO, AdEasel
Former Chairman of the Cable Television Commission

 

 

 

 

Note This may be a better link other reads report this one is

http://legistar.racinenet.org/detailreport/matter.aspx?key=17408 and http://legistar.racinenet.org/attachments/7454890f-27c5-48a3-8364-29aca9fdff0b.pdf).