Etiquette lessons for Colton, but what of Riverside?
The situation with the Colton's city council manners is so bad, the city's hired a consultant to teach it how to behave at its public meetings. Cassie MacDuff, a Press Enterprise columnist laid it all out and what will happen next. Some folks reading her column will experience what is commonly known as deja' vu. And not just in Colton.
Here were some observations made by the hired consultant after observing several meetings and some suggestions for fixing things.
(excerpt, Press Enterprise)
After helping the council identify leadership traits -- respect, trust, honesty -- Mathis spelled out ways the council sabotages itself.
First is going off on tangents when discussing action items -- the way spouses unload laundry grievances when discussing whose turn it is to make dinner.
"Trading insults -- you guys are really good at that one," Mathis said.
Second is a habit of eye-rolling, exchanging looks, passing notes and other behaviors that show they're not listening. "Quite often it's when the public is talking to you," Mathis said.
Council members agreed they could do a better job of keeping poker faces.
Third is not allowing others to finish their ideas.
Council members seem afraid they'll forget what they want to say if they don't blurt it out immediately, Mathis said. He suggested jotting notes of points they want to make rather than interrupting colleagues.
Treating each other with respect will improve the way the public treats the council, Mathis suggested. He also suggested it's counterproductive trying to answer every criticism leveled by the public during meetings.
He asked council members to show an improvement before his next workshop in March.
Wait just a minute there. Aren't the examples of the counterproductive and dysfunctional behavior that this consultant noted from the Colton City Council awfully similar to the behavior exhibited by some individuals in Riverside's own governmental body?
Let's go through each of the observations one by one.
Trading insults at each other. That has happened in Riverside although it's gotten a bit quieter on that front.
Eye rolling, exchanging looks and other behaviors that make it clear that the city council is not listening. Not surprisingly, the consultant noted that most often this behavior by elected officials was noticeable when members of the public are speaking. Does this happen in Riverside? Yes it does. Some roll eyes, sigh and sink back into their chairs if they don't like what a person is saying or .
Not allowing other elected officials to finish their thoughts before jumping in was another behavior noted. Yes, this occurs often in Riverside and with some elected officials more than others on the dais.
And last but not least, the observation was made that it's counterproductive to answer every criticism leveled by a member of the public. This is definitely true in Riverside even and maybe especially during an election cycle.
Yes, all this has happened in Riverside as well as Colton, much of it on a regular basis. The one difference is that the elected body in Colton apparently had some sense that its own behavior was both counterproductive and dysfunctional hence its decision to hire the consultant to fix it. In Riverside, the same behavior's simply seen as business as usual and some individuals on the dais apparently believe that behaving in the way that Colton's consultant believed was counterproductive and dysfunction, simply shows what effective leaders they are to members of the public, television viewers and voters in whatever seat is up for election at any given time.
There's no reason why Riverside's elected officials are any less intelligent or less capable than those of Colton to see what an outsider hired by the latter city saw so clearly. But whereas Colton's working to find ways to improve how it both communicates and just as importantly listens to the public which after all elects these politicians, Riverside's doing the opposite once again letting another city set the mark for the Inland Empire.
The library and museum in downtown Riverside must be partners in the proposed renovation of both of them. So wrote Metropolitan Museum Board member Norton Younglove, who supports the city's proposal to combine the two projects into one, a move that's ran into a lot of opposition from city residents.
(excerpt, Press Enterprise)
Since the initial presentation by the project architects in January, the museum and library board members have not had the opportunity to sit together and roll up our sleeves to discuss what services, programs, exhibits, activities and operations are needed at each institution. Since both share similar core objectives, have distinctive and prominent locations downtown and are needed to educate the public, it only stands to reason that we should explore how we can leverage the best that both have to offer.
Should the need arise for a capital campaign to raise funds, each institution has a better chance of achieving a set financial goal by working with the other. As partners, the possibility of success increases and the community then wins.
But divided each may fall short of expectations and the community would lose. With the continued support of our mayor and council, active participation by both boards and community involvement, we could create something unique that would be an example to the nation of community collaboration and pride.
Let's take advantage of this opportunity to step out of the box and be visionaries. Let's take the time to amicably discuss the services, programs and activities each institution has to offer and work together with city leaders to create a cultural destination that will inspire future generations.
For those following this situation, it's important to keep doing so, attending meetings of the Board of Library Trustees and the Metropolitan Museum Board and keep contacting the elected officials in Riverside.
The San Bernardino Police Officers' Association has started its youth program in that city. The Police Activities League began operating in three community centers.
(excerpt)
Saturday morning, it meant that off-duty officers were in the same gym as city children, playfully boxing and wrestling with each other.
"The officers are having fun, and when they get tired they need a drink of water just like the kids," said Terrance Stone, president and chief executive officer of the Young Visionaries Youth Leadership Academy. "The kids are seeing the officers as people who have a job to do. They're seeing each other's human side."
The police department, union and community are hoping that these programs will build better ties between all three entities. The city provided $75,000 in funding to institute it.
Gil Navarro, who's run for quite a few elected positions in Riverside including city council is running for state assembly in Rialto. His comments on race have created some controversy.
In New York City, the trial of three officers charged in the onduty shooting of Sean Bell is set to begin on Monday.
It will be a trial by judge after the officers failed to get the trial moved out of Queens.
(excerpt, Associated Press)
"I feel like I need to know. I need to know why this happened," said Paultre Bell, who had her name legally changed after her fiance's death. "I wake up one day and my world is turned upside down. I have to know why this happened; my family deserves to know."
Police union officials and defense lawyers have said the detectives believed Bell and his friends were going to get a gun, though no weapon was found. The officers opened fire after the car the three men were in lurched forward, bumped Isnora and slammed into an unmarked police minivan, authorities said.
Bell's fiancee is expected to be the first witness to testify for the prosecution.
More coverage here.
Newsday
New York Daily News
In the New York Times
Focus might be on first two of 50 bullets fired
A precinct's hard road back
Trial judge has seen it all before
City Room: What to look for in the trial
Here were some observations made by the hired consultant after observing several meetings and some suggestions for fixing things.
(excerpt, Press Enterprise)
After helping the council identify leadership traits -- respect, trust, honesty -- Mathis spelled out ways the council sabotages itself.
First is going off on tangents when discussing action items -- the way spouses unload laundry grievances when discussing whose turn it is to make dinner.
"Trading insults -- you guys are really good at that one," Mathis said.
Second is a habit of eye-rolling, exchanging looks, passing notes and other behaviors that show they're not listening. "Quite often it's when the public is talking to you," Mathis said.
Council members agreed they could do a better job of keeping poker faces.
Third is not allowing others to finish their ideas.
Council members seem afraid they'll forget what they want to say if they don't blurt it out immediately, Mathis said. He suggested jotting notes of points they want to make rather than interrupting colleagues.
Treating each other with respect will improve the way the public treats the council, Mathis suggested. He also suggested it's counterproductive trying to answer every criticism leveled by the public during meetings.
He asked council members to show an improvement before his next workshop in March.
Wait just a minute there. Aren't the examples of the counterproductive and dysfunctional behavior that this consultant noted from the Colton City Council awfully similar to the behavior exhibited by some individuals in Riverside's own governmental body?
Let's go through each of the observations one by one.
Trading insults at each other. That has happened in Riverside although it's gotten a bit quieter on that front.
Eye rolling, exchanging looks and other behaviors that make it clear that the city council is not listening. Not surprisingly, the consultant noted that most often this behavior by elected officials was noticeable when members of the public are speaking. Does this happen in Riverside? Yes it does. Some roll eyes, sigh and sink back into their chairs if they don't like what a person is saying or .
Not allowing other elected officials to finish their thoughts before jumping in was another behavior noted. Yes, this occurs often in Riverside and with some elected officials more than others on the dais.
And last but not least, the observation was made that it's counterproductive to answer every criticism leveled by a member of the public. This is definitely true in Riverside even and maybe especially during an election cycle.
Yes, all this has happened in Riverside as well as Colton, much of it on a regular basis. The one difference is that the elected body in Colton apparently had some sense that its own behavior was both counterproductive and dysfunctional hence its decision to hire the consultant to fix it. In Riverside, the same behavior's simply seen as business as usual and some individuals on the dais apparently believe that behaving in the way that Colton's consultant believed was counterproductive and dysfunction, simply shows what effective leaders they are to members of the public, television viewers and voters in whatever seat is up for election at any given time.
There's no reason why Riverside's elected officials are any less intelligent or less capable than those of Colton to see what an outsider hired by the latter city saw so clearly. But whereas Colton's working to find ways to improve how it both communicates and just as importantly listens to the public which after all elects these politicians, Riverside's doing the opposite once again letting another city set the mark for the Inland Empire.
The library and museum in downtown Riverside must be partners in the proposed renovation of both of them. So wrote Metropolitan Museum Board member Norton Younglove, who supports the city's proposal to combine the two projects into one, a move that's ran into a lot of opposition from city residents.
(excerpt, Press Enterprise)
Since the initial presentation by the project architects in January, the museum and library board members have not had the opportunity to sit together and roll up our sleeves to discuss what services, programs, exhibits, activities and operations are needed at each institution. Since both share similar core objectives, have distinctive and prominent locations downtown and are needed to educate the public, it only stands to reason that we should explore how we can leverage the best that both have to offer.
Should the need arise for a capital campaign to raise funds, each institution has a better chance of achieving a set financial goal by working with the other. As partners, the possibility of success increases and the community then wins.
But divided each may fall short of expectations and the community would lose. With the continued support of our mayor and council, active participation by both boards and community involvement, we could create something unique that would be an example to the nation of community collaboration and pride.
Let's take advantage of this opportunity to step out of the box and be visionaries. Let's take the time to amicably discuss the services, programs and activities each institution has to offer and work together with city leaders to create a cultural destination that will inspire future generations.
For those following this situation, it's important to keep doing so, attending meetings of the Board of Library Trustees and the Metropolitan Museum Board and keep contacting the elected officials in Riverside.
The San Bernardino Police Officers' Association has started its youth program in that city. The Police Activities League began operating in three community centers.
(excerpt)
Saturday morning, it meant that off-duty officers were in the same gym as city children, playfully boxing and wrestling with each other.
"The officers are having fun, and when they get tired they need a drink of water just like the kids," said Terrance Stone, president and chief executive officer of the Young Visionaries Youth Leadership Academy. "The kids are seeing the officers as people who have a job to do. They're seeing each other's human side."
The police department, union and community are hoping that these programs will build better ties between all three entities. The city provided $75,000 in funding to institute it.
Gil Navarro, who's run for quite a few elected positions in Riverside including city council is running for state assembly in Rialto. His comments on race have created some controversy.
In New York City, the trial of three officers charged in the onduty shooting of Sean Bell is set to begin on Monday.
It will be a trial by judge after the officers failed to get the trial moved out of Queens.
(excerpt, Associated Press)
"I feel like I need to know. I need to know why this happened," said Paultre Bell, who had her name legally changed after her fiance's death. "I wake up one day and my world is turned upside down. I have to know why this happened; my family deserves to know."
Police union officials and defense lawyers have said the detectives believed Bell and his friends were going to get a gun, though no weapon was found. The officers opened fire after the car the three men were in lurched forward, bumped Isnora and slammed into an unmarked police minivan, authorities said.
Bell's fiancee is expected to be the first witness to testify for the prosecution.
More coverage here.
Newsday
New York Daily News
In the New York Times
Focus might be on first two of 50 bullets fired
A precinct's hard road back
Trial judge has seen it all before
City Room: What to look for in the trial
Labels: business as usual, City Hall blues, officer-involved shootings
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