It will be very, very interesting to see how the “Government Free Lite Zone” of Colorado Springs, CO plays out. The Denver Post via Sadly, No!:
More than a third of the streetlights in Colorado Springs will go dark Monday. The police helicopters are for sale on the Internet. The city is dumping firefighting jobs, a vice team, burglary investigators, beat cops — dozens of police and fire positions will go unfilled.
I have a lot of conflicting feelings over the lawsuit (complaint here as PDF) against Domelights, an internet forum run by an active-duty Philadelphia Police Department Sergeant and allegedly moderated by on-duty police officers over City-owned resources.
It took longer than I expected, but someone has finally sued Domelights, the unofficial Philadelphia Police Department messageboard. The Daily News reports the site’s owner, who posts under the username McQ, is “believed to be Fred McQuiggan, a Philadelphia police sergeant. McQuiggan, 47, of Torresdale, joined the force in March 1986.” The site is currently bursting at the seams.
I’ve been saying this for a few weeks now, but here it is, officially:
POLICE and fire layoffs, bimonthly trash pickup and up to 30 library closures were among the grim scenarios presented yesterday as Mayor Nutter briefed City Council on possible budget cuts.
I have no idea whether they will be successful or not, but Carbon Motors has an interesting take and re-imagining of the business model for sales to law enforcement.
Federal, state, local, and private security and law enforcement entities had for generations been solid and steady consumers of Detroit’s legacy body-on-frame automobiles, up until recently purchasing rear-wheel drive Ford Crown Victorias and Dodge Chargers. Other models included Chevrolet Tahoes, Dodge Magnums, and a handful of front-wheel drive Chevrolet Impalas. The imminent demise of the Crown Vic, the only model with no relevant consumer market, leaves a quandary for the institutional consumer but an opportunity for entrepreneurism.
Enter Carbon Motors.
In states won by President-elect Barack Obama, turnout was more than five percentage points higher than in states won by Republican John McCain, according to a Globe analysis of data compiled by a pair of researchers who study voting patterns in US elections.
