City, Town, and Village Bureaucracy

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Unpacking the last decision: Egregious is as egregious does

If Franz Kafka and Lewis Carroll had provided the raw materials for the fantastical creation of a government office, their results would probably look very much like the Office of Professional Regulation in the Vermont Secretary of State’s Office. Last week I posted the latest and last decision in my Kafkaesque journey through the Looking Glass world of the OPR. This week I unpack that decision.

6Jul2008 | Deborah Alicen | 0 comments | Continued
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“A rising tide raises all boats.”

Every community needs a Jayme Wilson. He’s being honored tonight as Humanitarian of the Year in San Pedro, CA. Mr. Wilson went from attorney to business man and community leader, and has demonstrated top notch leadership in the San Pedro area.
Consider this from today’s DailyBreeze.com story:
Navigating sometimes rough waters between community factions and city [...]

21May2008 | Deborah Alicen | 0 comments | Continued
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Thumbs Up to Oak Lawn Bureaucrats, Thumbs Down to Illinois State Bureaucrats

This is just too typical, funny and sad all at the same time.
Town ends comical ‘Stop’ signs like ‘Stop! In the Name of Love’
1 day ago
OAK LAWN, Ill. (AP) — Oak Lawn has removed comical remarks in octagonal shapes it placed under stop signs in an effort to get motorists to obey the law.
Mayor Dave [...]

3May2008 | Deborah Alicen | 0 comments | Continued
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Fresh from Portland, OR: What rhymes with “antlers”? (Jack Bog’s Blog)

From a blogger in Portland, Oregon:
What rhymes with “antlers”? (Jack Bog’s Blog)
We’re on the mailing lists for all sorts of communiques from the City of Portland. Lately we got two city bureau newsletters — one from the Bureau of Development Services (which I think is what they used to call the building permit office), and [...]

3Mar2008 | Deborah Alicen | 0 comments | Continued
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Porn viewing runs amok at DC agencies - AP Story on Charlotte.com

Now here’s one to inspire confidence in bureaucracies!

Porn viewing runs amok at DC agencies

The Associated Press
WASHINGTON –
An investigation of city computers found that dozens of employees frequented pornographic Web sites at work and clicked on thousands of images, the mayor said Wednesday.

The D.C. powers-that-be are to be commended for taking immediate remedial action after discovering [...]

24Jan2008 | Deborah Alicen | 0 comments | Continued
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How to Stop a For-Profit Prison

I’ve just added, as a more permanent page, an email I just received from friend Si Kahn, founder and executive director of Grassroots Leadership. In it he details just what Grassroots Leadership is doing to stop plans for a 1500 “bed” for-profit prison to house undocumented Latinos.

18Dec2007 | Deborah Alicen | 0 comments | Continued
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Fickle Bureaucratic Accountability

Here’s a piece from Mark Green today that illustrates the fickleness of bureaucratic accountability:
Mark Green: Rudy Watch IV: When “Transparency” Means Secrecy and Deception - Politics on The Huffington Post Three City Officials got police security and city cars over eight years — Rudy, me and Comptroller Alan Hevesi. Tragically, Hevesi years later as the [...]

14Dec2007 | Deborah Alicen | 0 comments | Continued

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