Our town

Kevin Leininger had a good column last night about Paul "Mike" Burns, the former mayor and city councilman who made contrariness an art form. I love this quote:

As State Rep. and former City Councilman and Mayor Win Moses said, “Because he voted

The long heralded downtown baseball-stadium plan is finally here, and it's a doozy. We should probably call it the stadium-plus plan, since it also includes a hotel, condos, shopping and a little bit of everything else.

The mayor proposes a 30 percent raise for his office and ends up with a 15 percent one. Boy, couldn't see that one coming, huh? I hope this means the mayor will do a 15 percent better job in watching out for MY money.

Wow, Jan. 27. Seems like the library has been closed for renovations forever and that it never would re-open. With Parkview moving most of its operations north, and Elmhurst High School targeted for closing no matter which school plan is adopted, it's nice to know that at least one thing is staying where it was. The older I get, the more I'm like my cats: Quit moving my stuff around! And listen to Library Director Jeff Krull talking about the new place:

Boy, oh, boy:

Between $25 million and $995 million — that's what taxpayers could foot for Fort Wayne Community Schools' districtwide building renovation project.

Schmidt Associates, an Indianapolis-based firm hired by the district, on Tuesday also recommended closing Elmhurst High School and Ward Education Center, an alternative school for sixth- through 12th-graders.

My colleague Bob Caylor wrote a good editorial for last night's paper looking at both the seductive appeal and flaws of the "do the deluxe version now to save money in the long run" argument for government projects:

I'm not ready for an "upscale McDonald's." Don't think the world is, either:

At 4:30 a.m. Thursday, McDonald's will open its first Fort Wayne restaurant that comes complete with four 42-inch plasma-screen televisions, two drive-through ordering windows, an upscale décor and free wireless Internet access. The store is located at 1103 Goshen Ave.

Isn't it interesting that just as there are becoming fewer places to smoke, there are more places to drink?

A lot has changed since 1982, including restrictions on where residents can drink alcohol. Three parks facilities — the Community Center, Fort Wayne Children's Zoo and Foellinger-Freimann Botanical Conservatory — all allow alcohol at private events.

Some people in Fort Wayne seem disinclined to agonize over the private lives of public figures. Steve Shine is, to some, a reviled Republican cheerleader, so any dirt that can be dished on him is a good thing, and any of us worry about the erosion of privacy are apologists for privilege, never mind the nuances. But if any want an example of legitimate reporting of someone's private life, here it is, a police officer accused of domestic abuse:

Veterans came out in force to support keeping inpatient services for the local VA hospital: