Branstad addresses questions at Rotary and to The Gazette Editorial Board on Monday

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Terry Branstad was the program this Noon at the Rotary Club of Cedar Rapids, then visited with The Gazette's editorial board at 1:30 p.m. Some of the topics discussed at both venues ...

• Commercial Property Tax reform


• Reducing the size of state government


• Flood Mitigation for the City of Cedar Rapids


• Education


• Improving Iowa's business climate


• Environmental concerns


• Local concerns and past Economic Development

It was a good program and Branstad was very open to a Q&A with Rotarians today, who asked a variety of questions.

peace

State of Iowa Legislature begins 2010 Legislative Session

The challenges facing the State of Iowa will fall on the shoulders of the Iowa Legislature and Governor Chet Culver as they began the 2010 Legislative Session on Monday, January 11, 2010 at 10 a.m. The Iowa Legislature plans to cut off business two weeks early in 2010.

Iowa Legislature opens 2010 session facing budget challenges - The Gazette

Iowa Legislature Opens Shortened Session on Budget - ABC News
AP The Iowa Legislature convened Monday for a shortened session with legislative leaders promising to make deep cuts needed to ...

Iowa Legislature set to start brief session focusing on big budget problems - WQAD
Culver stands to gain from shortened legislative session - DesMoinesRegister.com
LAWMAKERS RETURN: Legislators are getting back to work Monday and their focus ... -WHO-TV

Iowa Legislature: New session, old tactics - DesMoinesRegister.com (blog)
Iowa could get as much as $175 million, which looks mighty appealing in such a tight budget year. But there are significant strings attached, ...

In Cedar Rapids, Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA) meets with the Chamber of Commerce, speaks at the Rotary Club of Cedar Rapids at a Noon luncheon, then heads to Anamosa for a Town Meeting.

Businesses tell Grassley that failures will accelerate - The Gazette
CEDAR RAPIDS — Business failures from the June 2008 flood in Cedar Rapids will be higher than necessary because of the slow and ...

peace

So, we have 17 candidates for 6 Council positions in Cedar Rapids for November?

Three for Mayor, five for two At-Large positions, choices in District 1 and 3, but District 5 incumbent stands unopposed as Cedar Rapids prepares for 11/3/09 City Election.

17 hopefuls file for 6 C.R. Council seats - The Gazette

http://www.neighborhoodnetworknews.com/ doesn't list all candidates, but interviews are found on Robin Kash's web site. As of today, web site only lists 15 of 17 candidates for City Council.

Cedar Rapids mayoral candidates’ first impression - The Gazette

Who's on the Ballot in Cedar Rapids? - KCRG ‎
Incumbent Kay Halloran is not running for re-election due to health concerns. City Council district 1 is between incumbent Kris Gulick, Ryan Russell, ...
Cedar Rapids Mayoral Candidates' First Impression - KCRG

Other News of Interest ...

Grassley believes Obama distorted his comments on health care - The Gazette

Sen. Chuck Grassley said Thursday President Obama distorted his comments this summer about the Democrats’ health care reform proposals and that he resents it. Grassley, R-Iowa, recalled that he was asked at a town hall meeting in August about the draft bill, including whether it would insert a bureaucrat in place of a physician in advising a patient about end-of-life planning. Grassley said he merely commented that the draft bill should not “determine whether you’re going to pull the plug on grandma.” Then-Gov. ...

Iowa Department of Economic Development Director resigns - The Gazette

The surprise resignation the state’s economic development director apparently stemmed from questions about the use of tax incentives lawmakers approved to stimulate the film industry in Iowa. The resignation of Mike Tramontina as director of the Department of Economic Development (DED) was announced by Gov. Chet Culver’s office late Friday afternoon ...

Republican Party of Iowa: Governor misleads Iowans about state ... - IowaPolitics.com (press release) - Danielle Plogmann
Governor Culver's statement is deceptive and misleading. Due to the receipt and expenditure of one-time federal stimulus money to backfill shortfalls in ...

peace

State Spending outpaces State Revenues in most States

No sooner had state lawmakers around the country gone home after spending
months plugging ...

The Monday, August 31, 2009 edition of The Washington Times features a story titled, State, local services hit as revenues fall. For more on the importance of cutting taxes to raise revenue, read Public Interest Institutes's brief titled, Historical success of tax cuts.

Other reviews of state spending vs. state revenues across the USA.

Conn. and Pa. state budgets still in limbo -The Associated Press
Erik Arneson, a spokesman for the Senate Republicans in Pennsylvania, frames the debate as a choice between cutting spending to match revenues, ...
What Now for State Budget? - Industrial Laser Solutions
Pennsylvania lawmakers begin to make concessions to pass budget ... - The Patriot-News

Mo. cuts $7 million from tourism budget -Bizjournals.com

Missouri has had to cut spending and lay off workers as tax revenue dropped and shoppers pulled back on spending. The state expects nearly $7.4 billion in ...
Your letters, Aug. 30, 2009 - St. Joseph News-Press

It's time to bring back the virtue of limited spending.

peace

Negative Advertising: Local Races

So, I tune in on the TV and I hear a political advertisement taking down a local candidate for Iowa State House District 37, on issues that relate to Federal government and Federal public policy and their apparent support for our President, George W. Bush.

I guess all is fair in love and way; and competing in two-party political races?

The local candidate sent me an e-mail stating the following:

The first one went up on Sunday. There was no truth to it. The ad tried to
connect me to Bush's "failed economic plans" and accused me of shipping jobs
overseas, causing the mortgage crisis, Prititizing social
security," etc. The attack was so bad that Senator Grassley called
out the Democrats on O Kay Henderson's blog http://learfield.typepad.com/radioiowa/2008/10/raising-social.html and
even Todd Dorman of the Gazette commented http://24hourdorman.wordpress.com/2008/10/21/grassley-and-i-confused/.

While the candidate is not in my Iowa House District, I have to agree that political campaigns have gotten negative and clearly have resorted to issues and scare tactics that have no relationship to Iowa House district that she is running in.

The candidate in the e-mail went on to say the following:

If anyone questions my positions, have them call me at 431-6150 or to to my
website http://www.reneeschulte.org/ where there is a link on the front page
with the truth.

We need to find a way to bring back the Douglas-Lincoln public conversations. While the Al Smith Foundation Dinner was great humor, it would have been interesting to watch Mr. McCain and Mr. Obama meet in Town Meetings through out the Presidential campaigns, rather than the media driven Presidential Debates.

Of course, lets make sure that we get out and vote. Where do I go to Vote in the State of Iowa on Election Day: November 4, 2008?

We encourage you to gather the information about the candidate and to Vote in the General Election on November 4th!

peace