SULLIVAN'S SALVOS
February 6, 2015
Sullivan’s
Salvos 2/10/15
In this edition:
*DVIP Souper Bowl
*School Busing
*Shelter House Celebration
*Injustice On Our Plates
*A Friend Of The Show
*Real Tax Info
*Did You Know?
*DVIP Souper Bowl
The annual DVIP Souper Bowl is Thursday,
February 19 from 5:30-7:30 at the Clarion Highlander. With each $25 ticket, you
get to pick one soup bowl, which is donated by community members, antique
stores, and Fired Up through out the year. Many groups and organization collect
the very unique and fun bowls.
You can use your bowl to eat soups that are
also donated by famous restaurants around town, all while you are listening to
the live music!
Tickets are available at Hills Bank, Fired Up
Iowa City, or by calling Missie at DVIP at 319-356-9863. You can also purchase
tickets online at:
*School Busing
I recently heard
some disconcerting news… it sounds as though the ICCSD is going to eliminate
discretionary busing. In other words, there will be no more busses for kids who
live under 2 miles from their assigned school.
Look, I understand
that the Republicans in the Iowa Legislature have put the ICCSD in a bind. We
should all be angry with Governor Branstad and those Legislators, and we should
let them hear it. The ICCSD Board is going to be forced to make some cuts, and
cuts are never easy.
Still,
must the cuts come from things that benefit our poorest students? I think this
discretionary busing disproportionately affects children from lower income
families. Busing would be eliminated for kids that go from Pheasant Ridge to
Weber. Busing would be eliminated for kids that go from Forest View to Horace
Mann. These are pretty critical services for poor families, many of whom lack
cars.
Isn’t
there something that can be cut that affects wealthy kids? That isn’t great,
either, but at least their parents can make adjustments. So, ICCSD – are there
other options?
*Shelter House Celebration
Shelter
House will be holding a celebration to honor contributors to the Temporary
Winter Emergency Shelter.
The
event is Sunday, February 15 from 2-4pm at the former Aldi’s location, which
served as the temporary shelter. Please RSVP by February 14 to Sarah Fletcher
at sarah@shelterhouseiowa.org.
*Injustice On Our Plates
The
UI Labor Center is holding “Injustice On Our Plates” a discussion on how the
working conditions for food workers affect us all.
Topics
include the challenges food workers face, how workers are coming together to
address these challenges, and what is happening in Iowa.
The
event is Saturday, February 28 from 9-3 on the second floor of the Old Capitol
Mall. Lunch is provided for people who register by February 23. To register,
call the Labor Center at 335-4144.
*A Friend Of The Show!
Have
you ever been watching a talk show or a pundit and heard them refer to someone
as a “friend of the show”? You know the type – regular guest, regular caller? Well,
if Salvos has such a thing as a “friend of the show”, it would definitely be
Sherman Johnson.
And
that is interesting, because Sherman doesn’t even LIVE here – he lives in
Maryland! Trust me – this will make sense in a moment.
Sherman
is the son of Nick Johnson and stepson of Mary Vasey, two prominent longtime
residents of Johnson County. Sherman’s brother Greg has been involved in all
sorts of interesting efforts in our community. And the apple did not fall far
from the tree!
Depending
upon the topic, I typically get 10-12 responses to each edition of Salvos. Some
have been as short as two words, including “Go, Rod!” and “F--- You!”
But
every two or three weeks, Sherman writes. (The guy is an excellent writer.)
Sherman will challenge me, congratulate me, and everything in between. He’ll
cite sources, and offer gut feelings. He puts a lot of thought, heart, and
effort into our exchanges.
And
once, after realizing it was midnight on a Tuesday and I was online arguing
local tax policy with a guy I had never actually met who lived in Maryland, I
uttered a sigh of frustration and typed, “Sherman – WHY do you care so much?”
His
response was quick and simple: “I care because my family lives there.”
Yes.
Exactly. I had asked precisely the wrong question to precisely the wrong
person. The question should have been to everyone else, and it should have
been, “Why don’t you care as much as Sherman?”
Since
we began emailing back and forth, I have had the opportunity to actually meet
Sherman three or so times. And I have only grown in my appreciation for his
emails.
I
wish more people cared more deeply about the issues of the day. I wish more
people were willing to discuss things. I’m glad I have my friend Sherman to
serve as an inspiration.
*Real Tax Info
“Friend
of the Show” Sherman Johnson just sent me this handy report on taxes across the
country. It is from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, and contains
lots of data and charts:
http://www.itep.org/pdf/whopaysreport.pdf
Quote: "Not that this should be entirely shocking but this
should end the debate about how is getting fleeced and who carries the burden
in society. And it's useful to have this handy to dispatch to the usual class
warfare deniers."
*DID YOU KNOW?
Hallmark has over 1330 different cards specifically for Valentine's Day.
Anyone
interested in learning more about County government should take a look at the
County website-
"Sullivan’s
Salvos" is sent once per week to any interested party. It will give a
brief update on issues of interest to Johnson County residents.
These messages
come solely from Rod Sullivan, and neither represents the viewpoints of the
whole Board of Supervisors nor those of groups or individuals otherwise
mentioned.
If you do NOT
want the weekly E-mail, simply reply to this message, and type
"unsubscribe" in the subject line.
If you know
anyone else who might be interested, just forward this message. They can E-mail
me at rodsullivan@mchsi.com with "subscribe" in the subject line.
As always,
feel free to contact me at 354-7199 or rodsullivan@mchsi.com. I look forward to
serving you!
---Rod
posted by Rod Sullivan @ 4:21 PM
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