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Former foe Fallon swipes at governor; Culver snaps back

April 16, 2009 By

One of Chet Culver’s former foes raised a ruckus earlier today — and the governor snapped back. 

Ed Fallon, a Democrat from Des Moines, ran for governor back in 2006 and lost to Culver in the Democratic primary. Fallon ran for congress in 2008 and lost to Democratic Congressman Leonard Boswell.

Fallon sent an email yesterday to his network of supporters and like-minded political activists. In it, Fallon complaining that Governor Culver and his staff are unresponsive and don’t return phone calls. Fallon’s wife went on to say Culver had turned his back on Fallon.

Culver’s deputy chief of staff responded, revealing that Fallon had been asking the governor for a full-time, paid position in the governor’s office. In a terse sentence, Culver spokesman Phil Roeder said: "The position Mr. Fallon seeks does not exist and will not be created."

Read more about this on The Blog .

 

 

Filed Under: Politics & Government Tagged With: ,

Grassley: let’s build a bipartisan coalition to fight same-sex marriage

April 16, 2009 By

Senator Chuck Grassley says he wants to help develop a longterm plan to respond to this month’s Iowa Supreme Court ruling which legalized gay marriage in the state.

"I would like to consult with Republican leaders…in the legislature. I’d like to consult with bipartisan groups outside the legislature," Grassley says. "…An issue like this has a great deal of bipartisan concern."

Grassley has supported an amendment to the federal constitution which would ban gay marriage. Grassley came under fire last week for saying he wanted to take a month to consider the issue before making a public statement as to whether he backed an amendment to the state constitution which would ban same-sex marriage.

"You probably know one time when I came to the Iowa legislature and demanded that the Republican leaders make ethanol (fuel use) a mandate. I have adopted recently since then — when they told me to go back to Washington and worry about my own business — of consulting with Republican leaders and so I’m in a position to consult with them and find out where I can be helpful," Grassley says. "I think we have to do it in very much a consensus way."

According to Grassley, it will be important to build a "bipartisan coalition" of Iowans who will pursue action at the state level. "And I don’t think it should be planned just for this year or next year because this legislature’s about over," Grassley says. "I think you ought to plan what you’re going to do now; what are you going to do for the next legislature and then assuming you’re successful there…afterwards, are you going to have the normal general election or a special election?"

If legislators approve a resolution which places the constitutional amendment before voters, that issue could be placed on the general election ballot in November of 2012; or a special election could be scheduled earlier that year solely on that issue.

Some conservative Republicans were angry with Grassley’s reluctance to immediately state his support for an anti-gay marriage amendment to the state constitution, suggesting it’s proof Grassley’s drifting away from conservative causes. Grassley rejects that.

"Nothing’s changed in the years I’ve been in the United States Senate. I’ve always been a spokesman for conservatism," Grassley says. "…I voted for the Defense of Marriage Act. I’m on the record strongly for traditional marriage, so where might the differences come with social conservatives, as an example?"

Grassley made his comments tonight during taping of the Iowa Public Television program, "Iowa Press." The program will be broadcast statewide Friday night at 7:30.


 

Filed Under: Crime & Courts, Politics & Government Tagged With: , , , ,

Heated debate over convenience stores and alcohol sales

April 16, 2009 By

The Iowa Senate has rejected the idea of streamlining the process for convenience stores to sell liquor.

Beer and wine can be sold in convenience stores today, but stores which sell "distilled spirits" must install a second entry door and a separate cash register for the sale of that liquor. The idea of getting rid of that second door and second cash register was debated late this afternoon in the state senate.

Senator Bill Dotzler, a Democrat from Waterloo, talked at length about his youthful drinking expeditions and his adulthood tradition of a morning coffee with a dash of the alcoholic "Bailey’s Irish Cream." There was a good bit of chuckling and clapping at this point.

But then Senator Nancy Boettger, a Republican from Harlan, lectured her colleagues, arguing the proposed change would make it easier for kids to pull into a convenience store, get a bottle of liquor, and drive away.

"This has effects on the lives of people in this state and we are just laughing about it," she said. "…Kids drive around in cars and drink in cars. You ask kids where they’re drinking, they’re drinking in cars. This is going to facilitate that. Do you want to be a part of that? I don’t."

All 18 Republicans and seven Democrats voted to keep the status quo. But Senate Democratic Leader Mike Gronstal of Council Bluffs argues the status quo makes it easier for underage kids to sneak in the side entrance and steal the hooch.

"It’s easier for…10 kids to come in, wander around the store, some of them getting chips and one of them to wander over there and grab two quart bottles of vodka and run out of the store," Gronstal says.

Gronstal maintains a single entrance and a single cash register would help convenience shop clerks keep a closer eye on the liquor.

"It’s a little, tiny change and Republicans decided to play political games," Gronstal says. "It’s that simple."

Gronstal, however, does not expect the senate to revisit this issue in the last week of the 2009 legislative session.  According to the state Alcoholic Beverages Division, there are 34 convenience stores in Iowa which have a separate entrance and a separate cash register for the sale of distilled spirits, like vodka.

Boettger, the Republican leading the opposition, claimed a powerful "entity" had asked for the change, but she would not reveal the name of the company. 

"It’s very clear that this entity stands to make money from it," Boettger told reporters. A check of lobbyist records provided by a Republican staffer indicates three lobbyists for the Kum ‘N Go convenience store chain had registered in favor of the bill.

Filed Under: Politics & Government Tagged With: , , ,

Dozen horses seized from Cedar County property

April 16, 2009 By

Authorities in eastern Iowa seized a dozen horses from a rural property near Lisbon today. Cedar County Attorney Sterling Benz says the property is owned by Janie Lloyd.

Benz did not release many details about the case, but says a criminal complaint of Animal Neglect was filed. "There’s a hearing to determine whether the horses were neglected set for next Thursday at 2 p.m. at the Cedar County Courthouse," Benz said. Neighbors apparently expressed concern about the animals.

Sheriff’s deputies, the Iowa State Patrol and a veterinarian corralled the horses into a trailer this morning. Benz declined to discuss the horses’ conditions. "For ethical considerations, including fair trials and so forth, I think I’d rather not comment on any other specifics," Benz told Radio Iowa.

A call placed to the Iowa Equine Rescue and Awareness League in Cedar Rapids has not been returned.  

Filed Under: Agriculture, Crime & Courts

State liquor sales remain strong despite economy

April 16, 2009 By

State liquor sales continue to remain up despite the slower economy. Alcoholic Beverages Division administrator, Lynn Walding, says nearly nine months into the fiscal year, sales have seen some impact from the economy.

Walding says liquor sales in dollars for the year so far are up eight percent, which he says is down from last year when the state saw double digit increases. He says the market is responding as the premium brands aren’t doing as well in the past. Walding says Iowa’s liquor sales are doing better than surrounding states.

Walding says it appears more people are enjoying their favorite alcoholic beverage at home to save money. He says there appears to be a trend of people buying more alcohol to drink at home and holding private parties so they can avoid paying the markup on the alcohol from retailers.

Walding says there’s more of the stay at home drinking than there is people buying cheaper alcohol brands to save money. Walding says alcohol sales from month to month have been all over.

Walding says they’ve been on a rollercoaster ride in sales with sales up double digits one month and then down the next throughout the year. Walding says the up and down nature of sales could be due to suppliers offering sales to retailers to generate business. Walding says alcohol companies are taking some of the same steps as car makers in offering rebates to try and spur sales of their product.

Walding says several of the premium alcohol suppliers are trying to keep loyal customers. He says they will go so far as to offer one case deals — where buyers for example — could get a $25 rebate for buying just one case of their product. Walding says they are apparently trying to keep loyal customers with their brand through the down economic times.

State liquor sales hit a record $188-million last fiscal year, and state figures show sales so far this fiscal year are up about $11.4 million. The flooding last year forced many businesses that sell alcohol to close in the final month of the fiscal year — so if the current trend continues — alcohol sales could hit the 200-million dollar mark. 

Filed Under: Business, Politics & Government, Recreation & Entertainment Tagged With:

Author warns students about presenting bad image on-line

April 16, 2009 By

That picture of you doing double-fisted whiskey shots may seem funny on the website facebook, but it might not be so amusing if your would-be boss sees it prior to a job interview.

Students in central Iowa will hear from author and attorney C.L. Lindsay this weekend in a talk called, "What You Do Online Can Come Back to Haunt You.""Students, both college and high school, are getting themselves into all sorts of trouble online and what this program will cover is bascially how to stay out of that trouble," Lindsay says.

Three main topics will be covered: downloading music, online plagarism, and online privacy — which includes postings to websites like facebook and MySpace, and the new issue of sexting, or sending explicit pictures via cell phone.

Lindsay says high schoolers might appreciate knowing about one in ten college admissions offices do background checks of prospective students by mining social networking websites. "Seventy-five percent of recruiting firms say they look at a potential candidate on MySpace or facebook before they engage them and help them to get a job," he says.

"Forty-percent of employers say they do and 45-percent of both say they’ve refused somebody just by something they’ve found online." Lindsay says people are wrong to think the pictures, videos or comments they put online will only be read by their friends. "You just have to assume that one of the first things somebody might know about you is something they found out about you online," he says.

"Think of the offline equivalent and if you wouldn’t do it offline, don’t do it online and that’s no where more true than in an interview. You wouldn’t print an eight-by-ten glossy of yourself doing something really stupid and hold it out doing the interview, but by putting stuff up online, that’s essentially what you’re doing." Lindsay is director of the Philadelphia-based Coalition for Student and Academic Rights, or CO-STAR and he’s the author of "The College Student’s Guide to the Law."

He’ll speak Sunday at 2 P.M. at Webster City High School.

Filed Under: Education Tagged With:

Legislators ponder change in sex offender laws

April 16, 2009 By

Legislators may vote this year to change the Iowa law restricting where paroled sex offenders may live and instead, make it illegal for sex offenders to be in places where kids congregate — in parks, schools, day care centers.

A nearly decade-old state law bars sex offenders from living within 2000 feet of a school, but law enforcement officials say it’s hard to police and many choose not to register their whereabouts with local authorities because of that restriction.

House Republican Leader Kraig Paulsen of Hiawatha says making schools, parks and day center centers "safe zones" that are off-limits to convicted sex offenders seems to be sensible.

"I think the 2000 foot rule has some significant challenges," Paulsen says. "…The safe zones appear in other states to be something we need to seriously look at because I think they do protect our kids."

County prosecutors as well as sheriffs and police chiefs have favored these kind of "safe zones" for a few years. Senate Republican Leader Paul McKinley of Chariton questions the secrecy surrounding the proposal, which was developed in private by a "working group" that included legislators and which has not yet been formally released to the public.

"We think the public should have been involved in this sooner, or at least there should have been more transparency," McKinley says. "But that said, we will give a very, very hard look at this and if it’s good for Iowa families and Iowa children, we will be supportive of that."

House Speaker Pat Murphy, a Democrat from Dubuque, isn’t ready to publicly discuss the details of the proposal.

"We’re not going to comment on that," Murphy said at a news conference this morning, "but there’s no question that if the legislature deals with any of those issues we’re going to be creating a law that’s stronger, tougher and safer for our communities and for our families."

If a bill on this subject emerges, Murphy plans to hold a public hearing on the proposal. "If we have a bill, there will be openness to it," Murphy told reporters. "We will have a public hearing and we will get public input."

Murphy hints the bill has been kept under wraps – and away from public scrutiny — in order to get bipartisan support for doing away with that sex offender residency restriction and replace it with a law that creates those "safe zones" in public places where kids congregate.

Click on the audio link below to listen to the news conference featuring Republican leaders Paulsen and McKinley, followed by the news conference featuring Democratic leaders Murphy, Senate President Jack Kibbie and Senate Democartic Leader Mike Gronstal.

AUDIO: GOP and Democratic leaders speak to press…MP3 42 min

Filed Under: Crime & Courts, Politics & Government Tagged With: , , ,
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