Senior Viewpoint
Dick Steinberg has resided in the city of Brookfield for 35 years. He served 34 years as municipal judge and has been an attorney for 50 years. He enjoys tennis, golf, biking and creative writing, which includes legal issues, sports, government and people.
He'd love to hear from you. Click here to send him an e-mail.
Brewers rally falls short in 1st playoff game
Today,Wednesday, October 1, 2008, was the first Brewers post season game in 26 years. The Brewers late rally in the 9th inning fell short as the Phillies starting pitcher was almost flawless, and the Brewer bullpen was solid.
But again the Brewers lack of ability to drive in runs was very costly. Watch their new manager make some changes in the batting order to get back to "small ball", and not hope against hope for home runs.
BREWERS COME HOME
The Brewers come home Saturday and the celebration begins to welcome the first playoff team in 26 years. Although, the home team is 2 games down the atmosphere will be much different for them. Many players return to their homes and families and will get the support they need from their loved ones and friends. The extra day off, today, will give the players a chance to get some rest and relaxation before they head for Miller Park on Saturday.
Let the game begin and let the hunger for the taste of victory dominate the desire to win once more.
Brewers are Winners
The 2008 edition of the Milwaukee Brewers are winners. A playoff berth, 90 victories and record attendance tells the story. Only 2 teams go to the world series. The other teams end their season early, like our Brewers and our neighbors, the Cubs and the White Sox.
We can be proud of having a great owner, great management and a great ballpark.
CITY OF BROOKFIELD 2008 BUDGET
It is budget time again the city department heads have been busy formulating their 2008 budget requests, having meetings with city leaders and preparing to make their presentations to the Finance Committee.
The proposed budget has been published for public consumption and it is a voluminous document which will take time for me to review.
CITY OF BROOKFIELD 2009 BUDGET PART 2
In the past few days I have called 4 aldermen about the budget and the elimination of the DARE program, including the President of the Common Council and the Finance Committee Chair, and only one has returned the call which resulted in a good discussion. This alderman was not one of the above.
Since the citizens have been invited to research the budget and make suggestions I am doing just that.
We Will Survive
Because the American people are innovative they will survive the many issues and challenges facing them now and in the future.
The Local Budget and Love Thy Neighbor
All 256 pages of the proposed city budget do not give a clue of what the line items are for or are about. That , in part, is because nobody ever asked. Line items are the nitty gritty of what goes into a budget, like paper, pencils and personal computer use. The computer in most industries is used partly for business and partly for monkey business. That is not meant to be funny. It is at times a wasteful form of communication. Let's assume that the city hall leaders carefully studied every line item in the budget. The result is that it becomes their person viewpoint of what is needed.
A prudent alternative is to have a group of local residents take a look at the budget and render an independent viewpoint of what is needed and what they will pay for.
Traffic Tickets
The recent website on AOL, "HOW TO FIGHT A SPEEDING TICKET" is a commercial that is misleading.
There is nothing to "fight" just because a police officer issued to you a speeding ticket. Under the law you have the right to defend yourself and state your case in a court of law.
Forgotten Campaign Issues
Now that the Presidential election and other elections for legislative offices, both federal and local, are suddenly upon us, it is time to look at the forgotten campaign issues.
1. Crime. In past elections crime was at the top of the list and now the issue has slipped towards the bottom as an important problem in our society. It is a legitimate issue wide open for discussion and solutions. Yet, there has been very little or no discussion by the presidential candidates, and the local candidates. Do these people believe or want us to believe that crime does not exist ? Some carefully prepared statistics may conclude that crime is decreasing. Every day on our local television stations there are numerous reports of criminal acts at or near our vicinity. Arrests are made and the jails are overcrowded leaving convicted criminals at large. There certainly are solutions but politicians do not present any. The press has done nothing to pursue crime as a legitimate issue and almost never ask candidates for their viewpoints. We deserve more.
