Atlas Shrugged is here

[Pat K]

Don't Fence Me In

[KBCraig]

Pat K, the Oak Ridge Boys might do that by request if you show up. 

Food.
Beer.
Bands.

And, some of your favorite people. 

[Pat K]

It be during a little thing called Porc Fest so
not possible.

[Russell Kanning]

A former employee told me that Dart (who makes cups and such) was not allowed to have too much market share so they propped up 2 competitors in years past: sweetheart in paper cups and styroform in foam cups. I guess the ministry of equalization is happy.

[Kat Kanning]

Unable to pay bill, Mich. city turns off lights

HIGHLAND PARK, Mich. (AP) -- As the sun dips below the rooftops each evening, parts of this Detroit enclave turn to pitch black, the only illumination coming from a few streetlights at the end of the block or from glowing yellow yard globes.

It wasn't always this way. But when the debt-ridden community could no longer afford its monthly electric bill, elected officials not only turned off 1,000 streetlights. They had them ripped out -- bulbs, poles and all. Now nightfall cloaks most neighborhoods in inky darkness.

"How can you darken any city?" asked Victoria Dowdell, standing in the halo of a light in her front yard. "I think that was a disgrace. She said the decision endangers everyone, especially people who have to walk around at night or catch the bus.

Highland Park's decision is one of the nation's most extreme austerity measures, even among the scores of communities that can no longer afford to provide basic services.

Other towns have postponed roadwork, cut back on trash collection and closed libraries, for example. But to people left in the dark night after night, removing streetlights seems more drastic. And unlike many other cutbacks that can easily be reversed, this one appears to be permanent.

The city is $58 million in debt and has many more people than jobs, plus dozens of burned-out or vacant houses and buildings. With fewer than 12,000 residents, its population has dwindled to half the level from 20 years ago.

Faced with a $4 million electric bill that required $60,000 monthly payments, Mayor Hubert Yopp asked the City Council to consider reducing lighting. Council members reluctantly approved it, even in an election year.

"We knew it was going to hurt," Councilman Christopher Woodard said. "We're all hurting."

In late August, contractors from DTE Energy Co. began rolling through the streets, taking out two-thirds of the light poles.

"It is a winning proposition, but that doesn't make it a winner with the citizens who find themselves in the dark," Woodard added. "We had to watch our backs when we got out of our cars before. Now we have to watch them even more closely."

Unless the government gets an unexpected infusion of cash or sees an uptick in its dying tax base, many parts of Highland Park will remain beneath a shroud every night.

The city's monthly electric bill has been cut by 80 percent. The amount owed DTE Energy goes back about a decade, but utility executives hesitated to turn off the juice.

"We are extremely concerned with public safety," said Trevor Lauer, vice president of marketing and renewables for the Detroit-based utility. "We recognize that street lighting is something that contributes to public safety."

Now, he said, the company has "a municipal lighting customer I'm confident can pay its monthly bill."

Most of the 500 streetlights still shining in Highland Park are along major streets and on corners in residential areas. DTE Energy has listed the city's overdue bill as an uncollectable expense.

The leader of a nonprofit group that works to reduce energy costs for low-income families said he's not heard of any other communities becoming so desperate to save money that they turned off streetlights. It might be a sign of things to come.

"If it works in Highland Park, I could not imagine other cities not looking at that as one option," said David Fox, executive director of the National Low Income Energy Consortium in Alexandria, Va.

In its heyday, Highland Park was one of Michigan's urban jewels, with large yards, spacious homes and tree-lined streets.

Henry Ford put his first moving assembly line here, and his factory eventually churned out a car every minute. By 1930, the city had grown to 50,000 people.

Ford later moved his primary manufacturing operations to River Rouge, southwest of Detroit, in search of room to expand. Highland Park survived that loss. But it never recovered from Chrysler's decision in the 1990s to move its world headquarters 50 miles north to Oakland County.

"That took away $6 million" in taxes, Woodard said. "That was a lot of money to not have anymore. It was a major industrial operation moving out of here. When Chrysler moved out, things started to happen."

Small businesses catering to Chrysler workers began to fail, and the city struggled to pay its bills. And like Detroit, which lost 250,000 residents from 2000 to 2010, people moved out, leaving hundreds of abandoned houses.

In 1980, the census counted 27,000 people living in Highland Park. By 2010, that number had fallen to 11,776.

The median household income is $18,700, compared with $48,700 statewide. And 42 percent of the city's residents live in poverty.

"It's pretty ghetto," Cassandra Cabil said from her front yard. Voices drift in the darkness from down the street, but the speakers can't be seen.

The 31-year-old short-order cook works odd hours and sometimes makes it home late at night. She watched recently as crews removed the streetlight and pole from in front of her rented home.

"It's really dark unless people have their lights on," she said. "There's a lot of vandalism going on, people breaking into these houses."

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Unable-to-pay-bill-Mich-city-apf-2920161472.html?x=0

[littlehawk]

An open invitation for violence, robberies and the like.

Caution: Illuminati at work.

[Jim Johnson]

Sounds more the the Deilluminati at work.

[KBCraig]

Getting dark at night? Oh, the horror!

[Fluff and Stuff]

I recently got a whole bunch of free copies of this book so if you are going to be in the Keene area and want a copy of the book to give to someone, hit me up

[Kat Kanning]

Literally slap you?

[Kat Kanning]

2 thumbs up on Atlas Shrugged Part 2 

[Russell Kanning]

I liked it

[Kat Kanning]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2254565/Lights-turned-France-save-money-sobriety.html

Lights to be turned off in France to save money and show 'sobriety'

    Paris may go dark in the early hours of the morning if new plans go ahead
    Traders fears the blackout would negatively affect tourism and the economy

By Harriet Cooke

PUBLISHED: 10:31 EST, 29 December 2012 | UPDATED: 12:33 EST, 29 December 2012

    Comments (205)
    Share



Paris may lose its trademark glow next year after plans emerged to extinguish its street lighting at night to save money.

French President Francois Hollande and his energy minister Delphine Batho are considering turning out the lights in and outside public buildings, offices and shops in the early hours of the morning.

If the scheme goes ahead, late-night revellers in the city would be advised to carry torches if they venture out between the hours of 1 and 7am.
Lit up: Paris is at risk from losing its trademark glow if plans go ahead to turn off street light in the early hours of the morning

Lit up: Paris is at risk from losing its trademark glow if plans go ahead to turn off street light in the early hours of the morning

The rules will also apply to other French cities, villages, and towns.

Batho said the measure would save energy and money, and show 'sobriety', although the plan has proved unpopular with traders.

It follows on from a new rule last July which states businesses must turn off neon lights between 1 and 6am. The measure was introduced as part of the French government's bid to improve its energy efficiency by 20 percent by 2020.

More...

    French economy weaker than thought, while Hollande's flagship 75% top tax rate is overturned
    Where we flew in 2012: Dublin, Amsterdam and Dubai were the top UK destinations this year, and 47 million flew through Heathrow

But the proposal was not popular with businesses, who believe that it could kill trade and discourage tourists.

'Visitors and locals follow the light, from one spot to another, all night long,' French chef and culinary consultant Didier Quemener told Quartz.
Leader: Francois Hollande is considering a scheme to turn off the lights in France to save energy

Leader: Francois Hollande is considering a scheme to turn off the lights in France to save energy

'My clients don't want to be in the dark in the City of Light.'

France was visited by more than 81 million tourists in 2011 and the tourism industry employs some 900,000 people, according to government figures cited by Bloomberg.com.

Fearing for the impact on the economy, vice-president of France's Commerce Council, Sofy Mulle, told Bloomberg there must be a better way.

She said: 'Surely we can work out environmentally friendly solutions that have less impact on our society and economy.'

The plan is already in place at the city's more than 300 churches, bridges, and monuments, including the Eiffel Tower.

'One of our main objectives is to change the culture,' energy minister Batho told a French TV station.

'We need to end the cycle of producing more because we are consuming more. There should be sobriety in energy use.'

[MaineShark]

It follows on from a new rule last July which states businesses must turn off neon lights between 1 and 6am. The measure was introduced as part of the French government's bid to improve its energy efficiency by 20 percent by 2020.

How are businesses part of the French government?

Oh, wait, what they mean is that they - the French government - want to force businesses to reduce their energy usage.

[lildog]

Iron thieves steal fences.

http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2011/05/31/exclusive-nyc-thieves-with-a-taste-for-wrought-iron-fences/

I was just hit by similar thieves this past weekend.  I was in NY visiting family.  When I got back I found tire tracks in the snow.  They took an old snow plow I had and a cast iron tub.  Both were covered in snow so these guys knew exactly where to look and what they wanted in advance.

Really sad thing is I had the tub up in the barter section on Craigs list and I would have taken just about any offer anyone made for it.  Whoever took it could have gotten rid of some unwanted junk from their shed and gotten the tub without having to resulting to crime.  Good news is I had really good pictures of it so the police and the local scrap yards now know what to look for when the thieves try to cash it in.