RIP (for now): Reforms To Save Dollars/Jobs

Turns out, Charlie Luken was right about the difficulty of trying to argue with those who print newspapers for a living, even when taxpayer dollars are at stake.

Today I learned that media lobbyists succeeded in killing (through a Governor veto) proposed County reforms (using the internet for some public notice requirements, and a pilot effort to explore online advertising) that would have saved both taxpayers dollars and County jobs. Given the tough budget news of this week, and work we are all doing to make the best of a difficult situation, the timing could not have been worse.

I appreciate the bipartisan effort that was made to get these reforms as far as they went in the legislature.

We'll see if we can bring these ideas back in a future legislative process.

UPDATE: Ironically, this just appeared on the Enquirer's website -- state will seek to pay for rail initiatives through . . . . advertisements on signs along the highway.