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Politics

Merry Christmas, Washington

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

By Jake Nichols

Jackson Hole, Wyo. – Whereas the federal government wouldn’t know a decent Christmas tree if the Grinch shoved it up their chimney, the Mayor of Jackson hereby proclaimed the 2010 Capitol Christmas tree the best ever. Ever.

Wyoming has never supplied the nation’s capitol with a, let’s-be-federally-correct ‘holiday tree,’ so excuse Washington if they should gasp at the sight of a real beauty from the Bridger-Teton National Forest this November. Or, perhaps they might gasp when the 65-foot conifer is unveiled all red and dry and pine beetle-killed. At least that’s the joke going around the BTNF offices: that the department should send DC a tree ravaged by beetles to coax more money out of the Department of Agriculture to help fight the scourge.

Farmer’s Market shakedown
In the good ol’ days, the Town operated like a Jackson contractor: They raked it in and assumed their bookkeeper was keeping track of things. The bookkeeper, of course, was raking it in too and nobody noticed when big numbers, with more trailing zeros than a World Cup soccer score, had gone missing. That was so yesterday.

With the Town now lifting the couch cushions for change, Sadek Darwiche had little chance of skating his Farmer’s Market by the Council without passing ‘Go’ and collecting a $200 bill for Exposition fees. Darwiche was seeking an exemption on the grounds that the market was a non-profit, an extraordinary benefit to the community, and staffed solely by volunteers. “Our budget is very tight,” he told the five misers.

But Mayor Mark Barron wasn’t about to let the Market dictate. Not when the Town has recently made others like the Snow Devils (Hill Climb) and PAWS (Dog Park) cough up their fees and exactions.

“I don’t think this is going to ding any of the vendors too much. We need to be even-handed,” Barron said.

Only Greg Miles seemed willing to cut the farmers slack on account of their upcoming 10th year anniversary of providing what he called a “huge community benefit.”

In the end, the Council grabbed Darwiche by the ankles and shook him ‘til $200 in Expo fees fell out. Darwiche asked if he could pass the hat among his 30 vendors and was told that seemed all right.

Block party bust
This might be a first. A party gets raided before it even starts.

The GaperGuide’s proposed block party on the Fourth of July got blown up by the Council once Bob Lenz heard they wanted to close part of Aspen Drive. Mark Obringer said it wasn’t prudent and Barron called it a safety issue so it was a no-go for the patriotic street fete.

Tunnel to nowhere
When Dave Taylor was pitching the Pine Glades woo for his shadowy Snow King project, he performed the song and dance himself. Now, with the development passed but stalled by construction suits and microscopic interest in the units, Taylor sends his lawyers.

Brenda Wiley acknowledged the neighbors had reached a boiling point over the lack of progress on returning Spruce Drive to its original state. In fact, Wiley said she was going to approach the Council last meeting to discuss a delay until next spring when her client realized that was likely to go as well as a blind date with Joran Van der Sloot.

“We have all kind of scrambled to figure out how to get the work done with the least amount of impact to the neighbors,” Wiley said. “We are hopeful that the Oct. 15 deadline will work.”

Wiley promised the neighbors and the Council that they would get busy fixing the streets in their staging area immediately following Labor Day. If not, the Town threatened to cash their million dollar bond and do it themselves next spring. JHW

 


PERMALINK:
Merry Christmas, Washington | Planet JH News Article: Council Chronicles

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Wednesday, February 08
TODAY'S EVENTS
Music
Karaoke
9:00 PM
at the Virginian Saloon.
Music
Jackson Hole Jazz Foundation
7:00 PM to 9:00 PM
rehearsal at the Center for the Arts.
Community
Volunteer Day at Habitatv
9:00 AM to 4:30 PM
at Hall Street job site in east Jackson.
Classes & Lectures
Free Weekly Knitting Help!
11:30 AM
Knit on Pearl in Jackson, WY
Community
Teton County Roundtable Program
11:45 AM to 1:00 PM
at the First Interstate Bank’s training room, located at 802 West Broadway.
Music
Liatt Potter & Dan Mihlfeith
5:00 PM to 8:00 PM
in the Lobby Lounge of Four Seasons Resort.
Classes & Lectures
Foreign Policy Series: Cybersecurity
6:00 PM
at County Commissioners Chamber, 200 S. Willow Street.
Music
Plum Tuckered Out
6:30 PM
at Cafe Genevieve.
Music
Plum Tuckered Out
6:30 PM
at Cafe Genevieve.
Music
Live in the Hole: Off Square Theatre
6:30 PM to 7:00 PM
on 89.1 FM, KHOL.
Music
Buol Heslin
7:00 PM to 9:00 PM
at Alpine Wines in Driggs.
Outdoors
Wyoming Native Plant Society Presents
7:00 PM
at Wyoming Game and Fish, 420 N. Cache.
Music
Sweethogs and Swinehearts Ball
9:00 PM
at the Mangy Moose in Teton Village.
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