Upgrade the Airport? Why?!

WEEK TV reports that our main airport guru is fighting for upgrades. You know what I think? If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Okay, I know we lost our direct flights to Denver and Orlando, but I still like the Peoria Airport. Free parking! Try finding that at any other airport. I feel safe at PIA, even late at night. The furnishings aren't modern, but they are spotlessly clean. PIA's bathrooms are the cleanest in town. The wi-fi works, works well, and is free. When my broadband is down, I've been known to go to PIA to suck up the free wi-fi. Frankly, what's not to like? The airport is rarely crowded, the staff is friendly. If you arrive with only a few minutes to spare before your flight, they still have time for the post 9/11 body cavity search without bitterness.

I know, I know, it costs quite a bit more to fly in and out of a smaller market like Peoria. When I'm not traveling on my bosses dime, I fly out of Chicago or St. Louis. However, even if they upgrade the airport, that won't change. A new terminal? Lots of huge airports have added palatial terminals for not. Unlike a new school building, a new terminal will not bring more people to Peoria. Airlines can't afford to locate hubs or add flights simply because a particular airport has plush surroundings. They go where the travelers go. They go where the money goes. Ever fly in or out of Chicago's Midway Airport? It is a cess pool. A busy, profitable cess pool.

The Peoria Airport is a blast from the past. A retro experience. I say recover the gate chairs in burnt orange, harvest gold, avocado green, and sea foam green vinyl, add a Starbucks to go along with the wi-fi, and call it a day.

This Just In From Councilman Bob Manning...

Okay, it isn't "just" in. It came in awhile back, last Monday, April 17th to be exact. I work for a living -well, kinda- and I don't check my blog e-mail as often as I should. My apologies to the Councilman.

Anyhoo, a few posts back I accused Bob of not playing nice by giving snarky e-mails exchanged between himself and School Board members regarding the proposed new Glen Oak Park School to Jen Davis at the Journal Star. I thought it was tacky and went against Mayor Ardis' kinder, gentler, at-least-pretend-to-be-an-adult version of government. Polly stands humbly corrected:

Polly --
As was noted in the Word on the Street column, Jennifer Davis FOIA'd my emails with the School Board members. I did not volunteer them to her. When this whole story originally broke, she asked me if I had spoken with any School Board members about it. I said that I had emailed a couple of them with my concerns, but I did not name the board members. That was the end of it. Big questions remain. Why are School Board members, Peoria Park District trustees, and PHA officials planning in secret? Why do their timelines keep changing? Why have they failed, to this day, to share their comprehensive plans with the public and the City Council? Those who have already built model community schools elsewhere have stated that public dialogue, neighborhood input/support, and community participation were critical to the schools' success. None of this is being done in Peoria. These decisions will affect generations to come and will affect much more than just the East Bluff. I believe that we should get it right the first time around.
Bob Manning

Polly has never been so elegantly put in her place. Got to admit. I rather enjoyed it. What Bob is ever so politely trying to convey is that Polly should remove her head from her arse and read the entire article (not just every fifth word) before posting snide inaccuracies. Point taken. Bad blogger. Bad, bad blogger.

I still favor the idea of a new school. It seems to me that Glen Oak Park would be the perfect place for a community "B thru 8" school. Moreover, I think Glen Oak Park is a yet another beautiful but decaying Peoria landmark. A new school at the proposed location could do a lot for the park as well as the surrounding neighborhood and the East Bluff.

However, I readily admit that the School Board could not have come up with a more idiotic, controversial, dorkwad way of going about selling this idea to the Public.

BTW, isn't Manning cute?

This just in...

THE GRANDVIEW HOTEL IS TO BE DEMOLISHED!!! The new owner of Junction City has closed on the property. Sometime this summer the dump is coming down. They are still debating as what to put up in its place. Anyone wanting to take a swing at the crime ridden cess pool may do so if they are willing to write a check for $500 to charity.

So, it is true. Chase has gone away. Rejoice Peoria. Rejoice.

Insight Sucks

Sorry for the lack of posts. Could not get on the internet yesterday. All day. Some sort of maintenance issues that were not supposed to interrupt service but did, ALL DAY AND NIGHT. Called Insight and asked for a credit. My ears are still bleeding from the high pitched wails of laughter. Jerk wads.

I'm back!

Sorry. It seems I brought San Francisco's gloomy weather back with me. Seriously, were it not for the incredible food at every turn, I would have felt my vacation sucked. We got rained out except for the last day, so I didn't get to do much of the San Francisco touristy stuff, which I admit I enjoy. San Francisco is such a pretty city, and not just because of its ocean view. People take a lot of pride in the appearance of their homes, property, and public parks. From what I witnessed, litter is rare, even in the less affluent neighborhoods. Wish we could import some of that pride and attitude to Peoria.

I ended my news blackout yesterday and I wish I hadn't. Iran is training 40,000 suicide bombers to react if the U.S. is successful in halting its nuke progress?! Welcome to the new Cold War, people.

Today's Word on the Street column echoes a familiar theme. What is with secret meetings and local government? The School Board and Park District stole a page or two from the Ran$burg/Nixon book of politics and quietly decided where the new school should be located without public or, worse, City Council input. Third District Councilman Bob Manning is peeved, and glibly shared private e-mails proving as much with the Journal Star. Cute, but remember paybacks are a bitch, Bob. I seriously doubt publishing those e-mails are going to do anything for the much bragged about new and improved City Council and District 150 School Board relations. Methinks Mayor Ardis needs to sit Manning down and sing a round or two of "Michael Row Your Boat Ashore."

If the public doesn't want the new school to be located in Glen Oak Park in won't happen. If home owners don't want to sell to the District, they won't. Emanate domain, you say? Lawsuits, I say. Plenty of them. Really expensive ones too. Polly's prediction: The School will happen in the proposed space or not at all. The idea of a new school is more controversial than the location. I would be willing to wager that most of the homeowners along that strip of Propsect would be happy to sell for a halfway decent price. Based on 30 million dollar toilet seats, and Government's general tendency to overpay, District 150 will pay more than homeowners could ever get on the open market and they know it. Did anyone else hear East Bluff homeowners jumping up and down, joyfully rejoicing after OSF's grand expansion announcement? Commonsense would lead one to believe that people who live in crummy, high crime neighborhoods would likely leave them if they had the funds to do so.

Concerns about traffic on Prospect are bogus. People don't let their kids walk to school anymore. Check the state police website. There are almost a thousand registered sexual perverts in the East Bluff zip code alone. Even if kids did walk, safety could be addressed by building pedestrian bridges or overpasses. Moreover, the state's best middle school, Washington Gifted, is located on War Memorial, which is far busier and dangerous than piddly Prospect any day.

While munching Dim Sum in China Town, I caught a snippet of the Oprah Show. She did a special on American public schools in crisis. Oprah interviewed an expert who, I thought, made a valid point. Habitat matters. Kids who attend crummy, crumbling schools don't feel valued by society. The message Society sends, and what these kids hear is, "We don't value you. We don't expect you to succeed. We aren't going to waste our time or energy making an investment in your future."

Is there anything more dangerous than low expectations? I keep reading on my and other blogs comments like, "Glen Oak School was good enough for me 'back in the day', why isn't it good enough now?" Well, Pops, Glen Oak School and institutions like it were still nice "back in the day." Back in the day, society cared enough to build and maintain institutions that were good enough for and worthy of you. Times have changes. Codes have changed. Standards have changed. Buildings have decayed. Kids need to learn much, much, much more than readin, 'ritin, 'rithmetic to succeed in the modern world. "Back in the day" a high school education was more than adequate. Today, my plumber uses a computer, and my car mechanic requires more technical knowledge than the biggest science geek alive "back in the day."

I am gulping Pepto by the gallon after writing a check in the five digits to Uncle Sam yesterday. No, I'm not rich. This year the NYSE was kind to me, and, thus, I must be kind Uncle Sam. Nonetheless, I still have a budget. I still work to make ends meet. I hate taxes, mostly because I can't shake the feeling that most of my tax money goes towards government waste and not basic services. Regardless, I would be willing to pay significantly more if we could do right by properly educating today's kids.

After all, do you want an educated accountant or a disgruntled thug picking out your nursing home?

Polly is here:

But if it makes anyone feel better, I left my heart in Peoria. Well, a bit of it anyway. Actually, what really might bring joy, comfort and a hearty "Nah, Nah, Nah Nah!" to my thirteen devoted fans -That's twelve more than Luciano and ten more than Mike Bailey, by the way- is the fact that it is warmer in Peoria than northern California. It's sweatshirt weather here.

I checked the Journal Star on line this morning, it seems that you all have found plenty of trouble without my help. Note to self. No more Downtown bar hopping.

Can I tell you? The food they have in this town is incredible! And the coffee is to die for. It is a blessing that the weather is not swimsuit worthy. After yesterday's numerous meals and chocolate truffles, I don't think I can fit my arse into a swimming suit ever again. Totally worth it.

I will post when I can. Try to be good. And if anyone sees Chase, someone give him a good smack for me, will ya? His comments on the proposed new school are as vile as ever. (I would censor the jerk, but this IS America and you can be wrong/a racist asswipe if you wanna. Then again, it is MY blog...)

Off to eat pasta in North Beach.

Love,

Polly

Polly's Reply

Sean,

Thanks for replying. Your answers provide some comfort. However, I take issue with your contention:

"There has been only one decision by the District, and that is where
the school will be located. We feel that is solely our call based on
what we believe is best for the children who will attend the school."

Solely the Board's call? Not likely. Kind of begging to be put in your place on that one, Sean. The sole commandment and most important element of real estate is, of course, LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION. The location of this proposed school will remain the most controversial element of the entire plan and therefore the Public should have been privy to it before said decision was cast. Polly predicts "the one decision [made] by the District" will be the first one vetoed by the public. Considering the location would require homes to be demolished and that the proposed property trade with the Housing Authority could result in public subsidized housing built on the old Glen Oak School site, it amazes me that the School Board didn't predict public outrage on its location "decision."

I appreciate and admire the District's relatively low debt. However, the District still has seven years until its current debt is paid. It is too early to celebrate by acquiring more debt, which is what a bond represents. Moreover, the District needs to come up with a plan to reign its personnel costs before the Public will embrace any new construction. You could build the public school B-8 equivalent of Harvard, but unless and until The Board solves its "annual spending problem", the best new school will solve nothing. In fact, you will ruin the one thing the District may have going for it- it's comparable low debt. No person, business, or institution with a serious "cash flow problem" would be well advised to solve the situation with yet more debt.

As I see it, The Board has four options:

1. Cut waste and/or expenses, (Think Edison)

2. Re-negotiate contracts/benefits with Unions, (Think strike)

3. Raise taxes, (Think bodyguard)

4. Combination of the above. (Think riots)

I think number four is the most responsible alternative, although it won't be popular. I'd rather chew glass than take your job. If your goal is to make Peoria Public Schools the place where parents want to have their kids get an education LONG TERM, The Board must admit and respond to all of its financial problems/mistakes. Otherwise a new school, regardless of its location, is simply frosting on a manure cake.

God speed,

Polly

I'm starting to like this guy...

I received another fine e-note from School Board Vice President Sean Matheson this morning, replying to my last post. He is succinct in answering/justifying some common concerns so I'm posting his entire letter:
Polly,

I know as soon as I write these words that they are instant fuel for
the "District 150 is run by idiots" machine, but here goes nonetheless:
we don't actually have a "plan" to show you.

But there is a reason for this. The plan as to how the school will
look, its footprint on its site, and the community programs it will
offer (such as a health and dental clinic, Peoria Public Library branch,
senior citizen exercise and meeting rooms, etc) are all intended to be
determined by a 2-3 day community charrette starting in May or June.

There has been only one decision by the District, and that is where
the school will be located. We feel that is solely our call based on
what we believe is best for the children who will attend the school.

There are some fundamental beliefs on what the school should be like,
though, that guided that decision. It will house students from 6 weeks
old through 8th grade (what we call B-8). It will be air conditioned and
be open well into the evening and weekends for community use. It will
incorporate LEED (or high energy efficiency) design characteristics that
will keep our costs of running it down. And it will have room for
students to run and play and learn in green areas, not on blacktop.

As for the financing, these two new schools (and the ones to follow)
are critical to our cost cutting strategy of consolidating two older,
educationally outdated schools into one new, educationally appropriate
school (I can explain what we mean by "educationally appropriate", but
it would be another longer email). District 150 has an amazingly low
debt level. Indeed, we are scheduled to repay almost all of our existing
bonds over the next seven years or so. We will structure repayment of
our new construction bonds so that as our existing bonds retire, we will
begin paying off the new ones. This will allow us to keep the tax rate
steady, i.e. no increase. Or to put it more simply, District 150's
financial problems are all in its annual spending (91% of it personnel
costs), not in its overall financial health. We are cash-flow poor, but
luckily unencumbered by debt.

I am sure you may have more questions, but I don't want to bog you
down with an endlessly long email. If you would like to post some
questions on your blog with my responses, I would be willing to do that.

Best,

Sean

Bloggers get the COOLEST e-mail...

I have got to check my blog e-mailbox more often. Most of Polly's in box consists of the posted comments from my beloved fans and foes, which are automatically sent to my e-mail account. Since I read your comments whenever I login to my blog, I tend to get lazy when it comes to reading my PollyPeoria e-mail. After today, I am resolved to be more diligent.

I received this lovely e-note from School Board Member Sean Matheson:

Dear Polly,

I was relieved to see you were interested in studying the new
school site we are contemplating - not everyone is giving us that
chance. I was wondering if you would like to get together over
coffee or a beer to discuss the issue. I would just like the
opportunity to make our case and for you to to grill me before you
decide whether to oppose or endorse our plans.

And since I am letting you use that picture of me talking on the
phone outside my trailer, isn't it the least you could do? ;-)

Sean Matheson


Sean, I would love nothing more than to take you up on the offer, but I got this demure-mystery-woman-anonymous-persona to keep up. Although the thought of free beer is really tempting... I am trying to independently gather as much info as I can. Is there someone I could call in order to obtain a written copy of the plans? I tried the Admin Bldg. on Wisconsin, they thought I was on crack.

I also want thank Scott for his lovely pic of his very hairy gams. Sorry, Dude, your legs are NOT hotter than mine, but your bathroom looks quite superior. Scott has a very sex red bathtub. Sigh. I am giving up on my feeble attempts at home improvement. Anyone know a good contractor? Or a talented Arsonist?

By the way, Scott has a really nice blog. I read through the whole thing today. Good stuff.

Are All Local Politicians On Crack?

Consider the evidence:

Peoria District 150 School Board renews Edison contract, submits plans for a swank new school in a controversial area, guaranteed to produce numerous lawsuits, while trying to find it's way out of an $17 million dollar deficit.

City Council has cut back on the most essential of basic services, fire fighting. In the wake of disasters like 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina, the lesson our Council has learned is that Peoria must be immune from horrid disasters. This immunity allows Council to be completely comfortable gifting a TIF to one of America's most profitable corporations to fund an underground parking lot for a museum no one (okay, a few CAT executives and local politicians) really give a rat's ass about.

Peoria Park District just has to have a bigger, better zoo. BTW, have you seen the very tacky, albeit very expensive, "Get Behind The New Zoo" billboards in town? The Park District thought donations would come pouring in, but they haven't. Instead of taking the hint that citizens, otherwise known as TAXPAYERS, don't desire a new zoo the Park District has decided to pursue forced donations, also known as TAXES.

If it is legal for companies to require drug testing as a condition of employment, I think periodic drug testing should be mandatory for public "servants" as well.

Caterpillars Can Be Such Parasites

Ouch. That's got to hurt. I speak of the enormous chip on City Council's shoulder. Said chip apparently requires ten members of City Council to bend over and give Caterpillar whatever it wants whenever it wants it. Hey, Guys (and Gal) ask yourselves, "If the City were to have a referendum asking Joe and Joan Blow Taxpayer to help chip in for a museum- let alone a hoity underground city owned but not operated parking garage, would such a measure pass?" NO! IT WOULD NOT! WHY WOULD WE GIVE A TIF TO CAT, OF ALL COMPANIES?! It's not like CAT is going down the toilet with GM, Delphi, or most airlines.

You know the only guaranteed profitable, crowd pleasing, major draw and attraction of the museum will be? The CAT center. You know why? Very few people would be motivated to turn off a re-run of Saved By The Bell in order to take an in depth tour about Peoria. Might be sad, but it is true. Now, getting one off his or her lard ass to take little Junior down to the CAT center to play with virtual tractors... Now, that's a good time! Get to use my new camcorder too! In fact, I would like to book Junior's tenth birthday party now, thanks. Lil Junior will be the envy of Peoria Academy, I tell you. Er... but I digress.

Why can't we build what we can afford ("we" defined as the very profitable company that is CATERPILLAR), and then and if it turns out to be the overnight, stunning sensation/success everyone ("everyone" defined as a handful of CAT executives and local politicians) says it will be, add on to it?

If CAT wants a friggin visitor's Center, and frankly I don't blame them- big tractors and dump trucks are really cool, plus John Deere has a "pavilion"- why do they need tax money/TIFs to do it? They don't. But what the hell, why not ask?

When I turned sixteen I asked my parents for a new car. What warm, happy memories I had of that conversation as I rode my bike to my job at McDonald's for the next two years. Nothing wrong with asking. Can't hurt, right? My parents still have a chuckle at my expense now and then. "Remember that time when Pol asked for a new car? Just because she was 16 and wanted one? What a crazy kid. Thought she was dropping acid for sure."

It does hurt when CAT asks for fluff because the City gives and taxpayers fund this unnecessary crap while schools and sidewalks crumble and Peoria's most dangerous neighborhoods continue to spiral downward. After tonight, does anyone really think we won't be subsidizing a swank hotel?

I'm thinking most of City Council must be toking it up with the majority of the School Board. Did you ever wonder what became of the Stoners at your high school? Now you know. They "grew up," got elected, and for some bizarre reason they are still desperately trying to please/suck up to the popular/rich kids. Puke.

Did everyone remember to renew their memberships at the Riverplex? Yeah, that's what I thought.

Hell Freezes Over. Blog Leads to Job Offer.

Well, kinda. Sort of. Not full time or anything, and I have no idea if this entity would being willing to pay for my pithy writing style, but nonetheless, I am very flattered. Of course, I can't take said offer because I would have to stop being the head dorkwad of my department at my current place of employment. I've already spent my raise and had new business cards printed up. I am not allowed to moonlight.

Moreover, I would have to give up my pseudo anonymous status, which I have come to rather enjoy. I'm not really anonymous anymore. During my lunch hour yesterday someone actually shouted, "Hey! PollyPeoria! You suck!" at me as I was feasting on a Cuban wrap from Roly Poly in front of the courthouse. What are the chances that one of my thirteen devoted readers would share the same lunch hour and location as me? Felt like a bit like a minor celebrity.

Mmmm.... I'm starting to get hungry. Is it lunch time yet? I'm thinking lemongrass chicken from the Thang Ling push cart today.