Vote on Lodging Tax Election.

The City Council is scheduled to vote at this evening’s regular meeting on Council bill 00-105 calling for an election April 3rd to ask for an increase in the lodging tax from 2% to 4%. The current tax generates approximately $60,000 a year and is earmarked for the promotion of tourism. The tax is collected for overnight stays in motels and bed and breakfasts in the City.

The Council will hear the first reading of a Council bill to expand the hours allowed to sell packaged liquor on Sundays by an hour. The State allows Sunday sales from 11 a.m. until midnight. The City currently allows sales from 1 p.m. until midnight and the proposed change would allow sales beginning at noon.

Also on the agenda is a change order extending the completion date for the Street Department Maintenance Building, a request from the Public Services Committee for the approval of Bank Requisition No. 20 in the amount of $30,624.90 for the Fair Acres Expansion project, and the first reading of Council bill 01-01 authorizing an agreement with Midwest Fibre Sales for recycling containers.

Commentary

Martin "Bubs" Hohulin
State Representative, District 126

Depending on your interpretation of the calender, this week we either started the first Legislative Session or the second Legislative Session of the new millenium.

All in all, it was pretty uneventful. There had been some rumors that Rep. Jim Kreider (D-Nixa) didn’t have the votes to be elected Speaker, but in the end, he was elected with all democrats voting for him and all republicans voting for Rep. Catherine Hannaway (R-Warson Woods). As they have been for the last 48 years, democrats are the majority party in the House of Representatives. This year the margin is 87-76. Last year it was 86-76 with one independent. That changed when the independent switched to the democrat party. That was particularly galling due to the fact that many republicans had contributed to his campaign and helped him get elected when he ran as an independent against a democrat several years ago.

Rules are currently being negotiated between the two parties that will lay the groundwork for this, as well as the next, Session. This is very important as it affects committee assignments, floor debate, which bills will be allowed to be voted on, etc. In the past, the rules have been construed to shut out any republican involvement. This was especially true under the leadership of Speakers Bob Griffin and Steve Gaw. It will be interesting to see if Speaker Kreider is willing to open the process up, or close it down even further.

Speaking of Bob Griffin, one of the last things President Clinton has done before he leaves office is pardon him and release him from federal prison. You remember that he was sentenced to prison for taking bribes from special interest groups. It is fitting that a man of President Clinton’s low integrity would take a final shot at Missouri’s citizens by releasing a man from prison that had done more harm to them than any politician in history. Oh well, birds of a feather and however that saying goes.

As usual, I can be reached at House Post Office, State Capitol, Jefferson City, MO 65101, or 1-800-878-7126, or mhohulin@services.state.mo.us for your questions, comments, or advice.

The remainin’ snow makes it easy ta spot the shady side of the street. It’s odd ta see the various patterns of unmelted white in spots you’d figure get plenty of sunlight. With the sun ridin’ low, shadows occur in odd spots. One side of the street dry and the other still piled up along the curb.

I suppose it all evens out. The folks that get the shade in the hot summer months get to deal with more snow in the winter.

That’s an intriguin’ thought, a hot summer day. Wishin’ for a cool breeze. I’ve got some faith that it’ll happen, just not able to muster much warmth in the thought.

A friend a mine used to always put things in perspective by sayin’ in a hunderd years nobody will remember anyway. But the winter of double aught will linger for a while.

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin’.

by

McCune- Brooks Hospital

Health Notes

Health & Nutrition by Judith Sheldon

PATIENTS RIGHTS: I recently had a procedure done in the ambulatory surgical department of one of our New York teaching hospitals. The anesthesiologist came by to check over my chart and to ask me a few questions about allergies and any other problems I might have. He then started to describe what he was going to do as his part of the surgical team’s work. I asked several questions. He answered them. I disputed one part of his course of action, giving my reasons why I thought it was unnecessary. He gave me his reasons for why he felt he should go ahead with it, and I accepted them.

Later, in the recovery room, a woman I’d met while we were all waiting to be summoned to our respective O.R.’s (operating rooms) said she was shocked that I had the nerve to question and even argue with the doctor. She could never have done it.

Aha! This was my chance to enlighten her. I told her that it’s because I didn’t know as much as he did that I had a right to ask questions, since I don’t like gaps in my knowledge about me. As for disputing him on a point, why not, if I felt I was right? After all, who knows my body better than I do after (ahem) all these years of living with it? He won that round. But my question alerted him to something he hadn’t known about me and in an emergency, that extra bit of lore could have been crucial.