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Last week, a city manager in California attracted national attention when a story in the Los Angeles Times revealed he was making nearly $800,000 a year while working for a small city in the L.A. area.  Lest anyone think the manager was greedy and selfish, the Times also reported that the deputy manager was making around $375,000, the police chief $475,000, and at least some of the councilors about $100,000 apiece for part-time work.  The high-priced employees have all resigned, and the councilors are being threatened with a recall election if they don’t step down voluntarily.  Many people who have … Continue Reading

I recently read a series of articles in The New York Times entitled “The Anosognosic’s Dilemma.”  The condition is so obscure even spell-check cannot handle anosognosia.  The word describes an affliction characterized by the sufferer’s inability to recognize his or her own disability.  An anosognosic who no longer had the use of an arm, for example, showed no awareness that the arm didn’t work and in some cases failed to acknowledge that the useless arm even belonged to him or her.

My fascination with these articles has something to do with a phenomenon I routinely observe in the course of my … Continue Reading

There is no column this week.

Several weeks ago, I wrote about a prospective trip to the Oregon Coast with a group of Scouts.  As the photos below document, the trip was a success; and I think everyone involved learned something and had a good time.

Albany Scouts at Beachside State Park (only a teenager or a lunatic would swim in that water.)

I am also happy to report that all the bunnies mentioned in last week’s blog now have good homes … Continue Reading

I believe it’s reasonable to assume that I will be the only city manager in the United States taking along six bunnies as I travel to a Fourth of July celebration in Gateway, Oregon, today.  Traveling to Gateway is a little unusual because not very many people know where it is and even fewer find reasons to visit there.  Taking along bunnies is just odd, but there is an almost rational explanation.

Several months ago, two small domestic rabbits started visiting our yard on an almost daily basis.  They would hop onto our property and eat the luxuriant clover that has … Continue Reading