Generation X
Our generation does not want to be told to go shopping right now. We are ready to sacrifice as our parents and grandparents did. We want to do nation building but we want to start at home by playing our part in creating the next prosperous American century. But somebody has got to call on us to do this by defining this as a test of our American character. Much as Lincoln, and Franklin Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy and other great leaders did in their time. And we need it clearly articulated as a national priority and we need the bar set very high, much higher than it has been because timidity is going to squander our generation’s resolve and resourcefulness.
-Edward Norton, addressing the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming Hearing: “Building Green, Saving Green: Constructing Sustainable and Energy-Efficient Buildings.”
May 2008
http://globalwarming.house.gov/pubs/?id=0041
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At 2am on January 31st, I discovered my sinus cold was actually the Norovirus. Noro indeed! I’ve named it the Death-is-Almost-Certain virus, a slightly different take on misery than last year's Kiss-of-Death flu, which I had as well. Despite the unyielding horror of that morning, the children and I attended the Monroe County Library’s Chinese Lunar New Year celebration, sponsored by Indiana University’s Asian Culture Center. 2009 is the year of the Ox.
The Ox is the sign of prosperity through fortitude and hard work.
Monroe County Auditing has been hard at work with its various duties and deadlines. At the February 3rd County Council work session, our Harris Open Windows Financial Representative, Jan Emig, gave a presentation regarding the many ways our software can better benefit the county. This includes: budget preparation, purchase orders, revenue and expense projections and financial analysis. I am personally transcribing the minutes from that portion of the work session and will make them available to county departments and the public as soon as they are completed. Council Members Geoff McKim and Vic Kelson said it was the exact sort of budgeting software they were seeking. Our Harris system can even assist the many non-profits who work with county departments in their budgetary management. The best part is: it’s already paid for!
As County Auditor, I extended the 2008 Over 65 Property Tax Deduction and the Over 65 Circuit Breaker Credit until January 31, 2009. The State of Indiana gave each county the authority to extend the deadline to any day in January. I chose to extend it for the entire month.
To build a better city is to work at the heart of a civilization.
-James Rouse
