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Friday, Sep. 19, 2008

Loose Lips: A flurry of inactivity in Livingston

Livingston's City Council has given new meaning to government inaction.

We all know elected officials get a bit squirmy come ballot season -- "What exactly have you been doing in office?" voters wonder -- but Livingston has raised the bar for underachievement.

The past two council meetings have been canceled for a lack of agenda items. Livingston's council watchers have taken notice.

No public comment. No reports from Supervisor John Pedrozo's mini-me. No insight into what the council's been doing to earn its monthly stipend.

"It just kind of irks me that they're not doing their job," council gadfly Mike Torres told Lips. "We don't need any election since we don't have any meetings."

Wait! Is he suggesting a lawless Livingston? What'd happen if there wasn't a fearless council on the dais ready to do what's right for the city without fear of making some unhappy? Probably just become part of the county, Torres said, adding that he's not advocating secession from the League of Cities.

Mayor Gurpal Samra explained that the city isn't taking cues Sacramento leaders in their attempt to pass a budget.

It's quite the opposite, Samra said. The city has been on hyperdrive preparing the final draft of the general plan update, which includes reviewing the pages of citizen comment.

One resident turned in 500 pages of questions and analysis alone. There's also been a dearth of other pressing items needing the council's OK.

With each meeting costing about $2,000 in staff and attorney time, Samra said it'd be a waste of money to unnecessarily call meetings.

Don't fret, though. Samra promised (or threatened for those who yawn through the proceedings) that the council would meet twice next month.

"If they're looking for interaction with the city, it's coming," he said.

With four of the five council seats up for grabs, Torres thinks the electeds may be dodging the public, but it's not going to work for him.

He's pledging his votes to all the challengers. It's gamble, he admits, but they'll probably meet regularly. It also may mean that the council meetings will no longer feel like showdowns at high noon.

Since he's been locked out of the chambers, Torres has been spending Tuesday nights watching his other favorite drama -- old Western shows.

Get the story from the UC

Look out First Amendment friends, Merced may have its first government-run news service.

UC Merced launched a news blog (complete with an RSS feed) to serve the needs of those pesky journalists who are always seeking quotes and facts.

Following the path of Pravda, the Soviet Union's leading newspaper, and of China's Xinhua News Agency, the UC's voice of the people promises to keep readers up on what's happening on Scholars Lane.

The blogs are condensed versions of the press releases, conforming to the 30-second news cycle that gives us all the stories we love and quickly forget.

"This is just one more way for the public to read the latest news about our campus, as it occurs," spokeswoman Patti Waid Istas said in a press release. "We hope the addition of video and photos will make visitors feel like they are 'in the know.'"

Lips wants to know why it's hosted by Blogger and not off the university's Web site. Isn't this a high-tech university?

Sadly, the blog's emperors don't allow feedback on each post, instead suggesting e-mails.

Get your daily dose at www.ucmercednews

.blogspot.com.