City Council 21-Jul-2015: Blackstone townhome project, Dry Creek Phase 3 trail, maintenance of parks …

The council chambers were full, primarily with residents opposed to the Blackstone project. The discussion was very civil and respectful across the board. THANK YOU! A couple of scout groups were also present. Please note, because of the intense public interest in the Blackstone project my summary of this item (#5) is quite lengthy and includes lots of references. 

Questions for Candidates that Won't be Asked in a Debate

The 2016 presidential election race has already begun and the 2015 municipal election season is fast approaching in my neighborhood. I have 3 sets of 5 questions I seek answers to when looking at candidates. These are not likely ones that will come up in a debate so I have to dig a little to answer them.

A Question of Character

America the Beautiful

Last Sunday as we sang America the Beautiful at church my heart was pierced by the lyrics and tears began to roll down my cheeks. The words “God shed His grace on thee” led me to think of all the times in history that His hand rested upon our nation from its founding until today. Below are a couple of examples.

• The destruction of the French Fleet in 1746 recounted by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow in his ballad entitled “A Ballad of the French Fleet” was one such event.
• Washington’s victory at Boston on March 17th 1776 which was enabled by Colonel Henry Knox’s miracle filled retrieval of cannons from Ft. Ticonderoga (a 600 mile round trip journey) in the dead of winter is another.

There are however times when it seems He has left us. Of course the reality is that we have left him. The following is a preface from an earlier post on Columbus, Providence and the Discovery of America where I shared my thoughts on this subject: