I am guessing propitiousness came about the time they busted the employee for “ebaying” off thousands of dollars of skating equipment purchased at the City’s expense…twice? Funny how you can go from seeing red to seeing black when the holes get plugged.

I keep hearing that kids, and all people, are reading fewer books in 2006 than they did in, say, 1956. Of course, the library-bond cheerleaders declare it’s because books are no longer available at a nearby, taxpayer-funded neighborhood library. And unless something’s done, we’re on a slippery slope toward the abyss of illiteracy.

My perspective might be skewed by my easily-accessible web access, but it seems to me the way people gather information has changed dramatically, particularly in the last 10 years or so. And momentum is picking up… even at the public library, it’s likely more people are staring at computer screens than printed pages. Google has lofty plans to put millions and millions of books online; it’s mostly being held up by negotiations over copyright issues and such.

The network TV outlets lost their monopoly with the advent of cable TV, and later VCRs. (I can remember as a kid planning my life around the annual showing of “The Wizard of Oz” on broadcast TV, because that was the only chance I’d have to watch it for a whole year!) Now the neighborhood (NON-taxpayer-funded) video rental outlets are struggling, because you can order a movie, either to rent or buy, via the web or mail. (Thank goodness those aren’t “Public Video Outlets,” or we taxpayers would be propping ’em up financially.)

Could it be that the walk-in, taxpayer-funded public library is destined to go the way of the blacksmith shop, the livery stable, and the video store? If they build new neighborhood libraries, will they look like the one in Towne Square (usually only occupied by the lady at the counter)? Not a very propitious scenario, I admit.

We don’t need 3 libraries at a time on a 38 million dollar bond that with interest comes to over 70 million in 30 years. there will be a 93 million dollar school bond on march 14 ( figure the interest on that) – the taxpayers are going to have to pay all of this in increased property taxe’s which are already sky high! Our state and county,city, politicians have alraedy refused to grant any REAL property tax relief.