gdp's Comments

GazetteOnline.com : Kirkwood won’t allow humane society to run shelter on campus

Thu, 8 Jul 2010 03:09:30 +0000

Brent Oleson works for county government, yet he wants to turn everything over to non-profit organizations. Lu Barron feels the same way. If they think government is so bad, why don't they do everyone a big favor, quit their government jobs, take Oleson's own advice and "pursue the non-profit option", as he says above, and go work for a non-profit?

GazetteOnline.com : Barron announces Linn supervisor re-election bid

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 04:53:13 +0000

Wonder if her rich friends know that she only has a high school education? She doesn't list that on the Linn County website.

GazetteOnline.com : Johnson Democrats are taxing, spending

Fri, 8 Jan 2010 15:33:33 +0000

Lori Cardella has no credibility. I cannot believe that she is running for the Johnson County Board of Supervisors. Take a look at these two videos posted on YouTube. She is the person in the very short plaid skirt and black tights: "School Girls" Sing Praises to Obama: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8W7Z8sz2jc Iowa City City Council Franchise Fee: http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=iowa+...

GazetteOnline.com : Johnson County Republican convention Saturday

Fri, 8 Jan 2010 15:33:01 +0000

GazetteOnline.com : Yard signs stolen in Johnson supervisor race?

Fri, 8 Jan 2010 15:31:58 +0000

GazetteOnline.com : Cardella makes sense on county spending

Fri, 8 Jan 2010 15:31:22 +0000

GazetteOnline.com : Supervisor candidates discuss gay marriage

Fri, 8 Jan 2010 15:29:57 +0000

GazetteOnline.com : Johnson County Supervisor candidates tell different views on jail

Fri, 8 Jan 2010 15:28:49 +0000

GazetteOnline.com : Plans for new Linn County Juvenile Courthouse all over budget

Tue, 1 Dec 2009 05:12:51 +0000

The Board of Supervisors don't rely on experts for anything. They blindly forge ahead with guesses, personal biases, fiscal mismanagement, and doing whatever they think will get them re-elected or elected to higher office. Each one of them will be very disappointed the next time they run for anything.

GazetteOnline.com : Cedar Rapids’ most neglected rental properties in same area

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 03:18:10 +0000

Slum landlord? I am shocked that Tim Terry, founder and partner at Terry, Lockridge & Dunn, an accounting and financial consulting firm with offices in Cedar Rapids and Iowa City is a slum landlord. He certainly doesn't need the money. He presents himself as a compassionate global citizen, yet he does this right in his own backyard? I'm shocked!

GazetteOnline.com : Cedar Rapids’ most neglected rental properties in same area

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 17:21:59 +0000

So Tim Terry, founder and partner at Terry, Lockridge & Dunn, an accounting and financial consulting firm with offices in Cedar Rapids and Iowa City is a slum landlord? I am shocked! He certainly doesn't need the money, and he presents himself as a compassionate global citizen.

GazetteOnline.com : Some agency heads unsure about pay cuts

Sun, 25 Oct 2009 05:55:20 +0000

Let's hope the entire story is printed in the Sunday Gazette, like it was in the Des Moines Register, because it is important. I can't get the link to post correctly. Just go to www.desmoinesregister.com then click on "Two state directors say they won't cut their pay". All of the directors' names and salaries are listed in the article.

GazetteOnline.com : CNN to feature piece on Cedar Rapids flood recovery today

Sun, 18 Oct 2009 15:16:18 +0000

I saw this story on CNN yesterday. It was nicely done.

GazetteOnline.com : Why not Linn County at Westdale?

Tue, 18 Aug 2009 10:01:03 +0000

But just how smart is the board? There is no comprehensive analysis on how much — exactly — it would cost to make Linn West into Linn Permanent. Instead, officials keep applying a $100 per-square-foot AOB renovation cost to Linn West. But what does that tell us? Not much, but it provides a big price tag and a quick excuse for option dismissal. Supervisor Brent Oleson has, correctly, questioned the accuracy of this fast and fuzzy estimate. You may remember that supervisors also were careful not to mention Westdale in a citizen survey on county buildings. And it’s this game of keep-away that is really why Westdale won’t die. People know when they’re getting the brush off. They don’t like it.

GazetteOnline.com : Why not Linn County at Westdale?

Mon, 17 Aug 2009 11:45:53 +0000

You need to go back and read the BOS minutes. The third floor that they want to spend millions of dollars on (instead of just repairing the building) is for the offices of the Superivisors and their attorneys. Like I said, they made up their minds PRIOR to research/facts being gathered. Ask Joel Miller, if you don't believe me.

GazetteOnline.com : Why not Linn County at Westdale?

Sun, 16 Aug 2009 23:41:32 +0000

The 5 people on the Linn County Board of Supervisors have delusions of grandeur. They believe that they deserve to have fancy offices on a yet-to-be-built third floor of the flooded AOB. Their belief that they are better than everyone else will guarantee that each one of them will be voted out of office. Arrogant and uninformed people cannot lead. They made up their minds about this issue before all the facts were gathered. A couple of them are too lazy or too intimidated to buck the others. And for the supervisors who view their current position as a stepping stone to higher office, their mind-boggling stupidity guarantees the end of their political careers.

GazetteOnline.com : Do better than detaining frightened children

Sat, 8 Aug 2009 04:23:34 +0000

Bravo! Well said, Ms. Dahle.

GazetteOnline.com : County building decision all about location

Mon, 3 Aug 2009 01:09:14 +0000

FEMA committed $2.2 million last fall to repair the Administrative Office Building. The supervisors appointed a committee which came up with two options: The cheaper option - put the Supervisors in the basement. The more expensive option - put the Supervisors on a new floor to be built on TOP of the existing building. It is no surprise to taxpayers that the supervisors voted for the more expensive option, even though the cost will soar to $12 million. To finance their new penthouse suite of offices, they took the $964,000 that FEMA had allocated to rebuild the Linn County Youth Shelter, even though they knew that they would lose 20% of the money ($184,000). They are also trying to get $8.8 million in state economic stimulus money (I-JOBS). Apparently, the Supervisors feel that they are too important to be relegated to a basement. Kids in crisis can just fend for themselves, right? How much more self-serving can the Board get? Stay tuned. We haven't seen anything yet.

GazetteOnline.com : County building decision all about location

Sun, 2 Aug 2009 12:27:50 +0000

Moving back to the Administrative Office Building is the pet project of Lu Barron, and she does not care how many millions of dollars it takes, or what programs she has to rob to do it. Apparently, the other four Superivsors don't have the guts to stand up to her. Vote them all out of office for their financial inepttitude, as well as their other glaring shortcomings. They certainly do not represent the best interests of Linn County voters!

GazetteOnline.com : Linn County Youth Shelter faces uncertain future

Thu, 30 Jul 2009 20:44:50 +0000

People who attend the Board of Supervisors meetings are usually shocked to witness the unprofessional conduct of the 5 supervisors. They are rude, they argue with each other over petty things, they check their Blackberries while others are speaking, they walk in and out of the room with no explanations, etc. Lu Barron is the ring leader of this dysfunctional group. Her decisions are based on her personal beliefs and politics, rather than on the needs of young people and families in Linn County. She is short-sighted, cold-hearted, and close-minded. She is the next Supervisor up for re-election. Vote NO in November, 2010. Let's be sure that she does not benefit from snatching the FEMA money away from children in need to build a suite of offices on the soon-to-be-constructed third floor of the Administrative Office Building.