Stacks of Saturday's Vindicator Went Straight from the Presses to the Recycling Bin

Hubbard has a great recycling program.  You bag up your recyclables and drop them off in the designated dumpsters behind the fire station.  Very nice.  When we were dropping off our stuff this morning I noticed the paper section of the dumpster was filled with stacks of unsold copies of Saturday's Vindicator.  I wonder if their negative editorials about public employees are costing them sales?

Right Now

Right now, someone is late for work because their car was stolen.
Right now, bridges are crumbling.
Right now, someone thinks no one sees them picking their nose.
Right now, someone is wondering how many more times they'll have to sit in the ER waiting room.
Right now, people are wondering why Barack Obama can't be more like Jed Bartlet.
Right now, someone should know better than to post that picture.
Right now, a kid is listening to his parents worry about losing the house.
Right now, the treadmill is collecting dust.
Right now, someone is trying to be the 20th caller.
Right now, someone just went into debt at a payday loan store.
Right now, I'm listening to the Talking Heads 'Nothing but Flowers'.
Right now, someone is doing something to put a target on their back.
Right now, the Moon is waiting for us to visit.
Right now, no one is reading your Facebook status update.
Right now, you should tell them you love them.
Right now, someone is leaving angry comments on a Fox News story.
Right now, someone is worse off than you.
Right now, a dog is doing that thing where they drag their butt across the floor.
Right now, you have pictures of relatives you never knew in your house.
Right now, those tires need to be replaced.
Right now, it's time to get something done.

RICO Indictments a Good Start but Youngstown still Faces Challenges

It was good news to see 23 gang members on Youngstown's south side indicted last week for crimes that will fall under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization (RICO) act.  This type of investigation, conducted by Federal officials, has a wider scope and greater chance of taking criminals off the streets for longer periods of time.  The feds can devote more resources than local law enforcement.  These members of the LSP gang terrorized their neighborhood by selling drugs and committing murder.

The actions of gangs like this intimidate lawful citizens and cause good, productive people to flee the city for the suburbs.  This is evident in the recent census data that reports a drop in city population by 18%.  Mayor Williams may have been surprised by the dramatic drop in population but I don't think anyone else was.  High unemployment, an extremely high income tax rate of 2.75%, the worst school district in the state and a high crime rate (including hundreds of murders over the last decade) combined to make the city an unattractive place to raise a family.

The principal problem remains the economy.  The city needs a higher percentage of the population to be productive people paying taxes to provide good services. It all comes down to jobs.  The city has had high profile successes recently but it needs good, solid opportunities for a workforce that faces high unemployment.  The volume of successful opportunities needs to increase dramatically.  Does the mayor have a plan to attract such jobs?

As the details about the city's population decline are analyzed we will see that the people most able to support the city are the ones leaving.  People working for a living won't stay and pay the high income tax rate.  Those too old to move receive retirement income that is not taxed.  Ditto those on public assistance.  In ten years we can expect to see another large population drop.

What the city needs now is a plan to attract employed, productive people.  The challenge is coming up with such a plan with the resources available.

Jon Stewart Exposes Fox News's Hypocrisy Toward Teachers