Archive for December 8th, 2008
December 8th, 2008
Because the C-Notes, Talkin’ Cubs blog is in hibernation, I had to make this post here. Ron Santo missed being included in the Hall of Fame by nine votes. I thought Santo would make it this year; he’s been so close for so many years, I thought this would be the year. (Just like I thought this would be THE YEAR for the Cubs). The 64 living Hall of Famers who vote didn’t select anyone. Santo had the most votes with 39 (he needed 48). Jim Kaat was second with 28 votes.
Billy Williams and Ernie Banks are Hall of Famers. Santo, who hit between them for so many years, is not. Doesn’t seem right.
December 8th, 2008
The Editorial Board will start discussing what items should be on its 2009 agenda today. We hope to roll out the agenda in early January.
We’ll surely discuss crime. Even though Winnebago County is no longer No. 1 in the state, being No. 2 is almost as bad.
Because unemployment in Rockford is higher than anywhere else in the state, jobs probably will be on the list. Education is always an agenda item. Education, jobs and crime are intertwined. Improve one, improve them all.
Environmental issues also are constant concerns as sprawl continues and green space disappears.
The agenda will include specific action items and categories. Let me know what the agenda categories should be and what the action steps should be.
December 8th, 2008
Lots of you have commented on the blog items about the state parks. I’ll try to keep up on the issue, but I don’t expect there to be any movement until the General Assembly convenes in January. Meanwhile, in my research about the DNR, I found out that there’s a Natural Resources Advisory Board. I didn’t know that board existed and neither did a couple of state legislators I talked to.
The agency’s mission is to advise the DNR “on long range policies to assist in guiding the protection and conservation of renewable resources of the state and recommend changes in hunting and trapping seasons and bag or possession limits. They also recommend to the Director which projects receive funding in bike, boat, and OSLAD grant programs. Members serve six year terms and are appointed by the Governor.” (Info from DNR Web site).
A couple of years ago the board urged the governor and the legislature to use DNR money for its intended purposes. I didn’t see any recent pleas to reinforce that position, but then the minutes on the Web site are way behind. The last minutes posted are from February and the board was supposed to have met three times since then.
I will get around to putting some of this information in the print product. I’ve been using these posts to transcribe some of my notes and will write a column on the DNR and park closings within a week.
