EX ALDERMAN NEWSLETTER 129 May 19, 2014
Transcription
EX ALDERMAN NEWSLETTER 129 May 19, 2014
EX ALDERMAN NEWSLETTER 129 May 19, 2014 MAJOR CASE SQUAD CALLED IN ON THRONHILL ESTATES CASE...WITH AN ARREST A WEEK LATER: A severe beating, first degree burglary (now robbery after the beating) with the theft of electronics and a Ford Explorer at 2951 Thornhill Drive on May 8th or 9th. Was this a random violent act or was the victim Thomas R. Ruzicka the intended target? Simply judging from past court documents one has to think this was likely an attack specifically targeting Ruzicka. In other words just from court records the suspect list appears to be long. However if it was a random act as investigators claim, Ruzicka has to be concerned about ever moving back into the 54-year-old ranch house, now that the local media has told all those he has cheated and stolen from over the years where he lives. It really starts back in 1986 when Ruzicka didn't pay routine bills and local courts issued judgments against him. Then in 2010 Thomas R. Ruzicka pled guilty in Federal Court to stealing more than $100,000 from his employees' 401-K retirement funds. In November of 2013 the Post-Dispatch ran a story on how St. Louis Police Officer Association members were protesting that a spinoff of Ruzicka's last company, Ruzicka and Sons, RE Contracting was doing the electrical work on the new police headquarters building. 1 Plus Ruzicka pled guilty in State Court in January of 2014 for stealing employee's tax withholding money. This was four years after he was indicted by a Grand Jury. He got probation after pleading guilty to both charges. Of course this assault and theft could never had happened if only some judge had put Ruzicka in jail. But instead he has been renting a house that is for sale as a tear-down in Town and Country. At the time he pled guilty in 2014 He had already been convicted in Federal Court for stealing between $100,000 and $120,000 of employee retirement funds. But Judge Michael Burton thought was a good candidate for another probation term. It is hard to be shocked to find out that someone had beaten up a guy convicted of stealing employees' retirement money and their money that was supposed to go toward taxes. My question was what took so long? But then it turns out his past is probably not related to the case. Here is a list of State Court Actions against the victim, Ruzicka. 08/12/11 07/09/10 05/03/10 04/13/10 12/31/09 09/22/09 04/22/09 02/02/09 12/30/09 12/23/08 01/15/08 03/17/07 08/23/05 07/19/05 04/23/03 12/29/98 St. Louis Bank v Thomas R. Ruzicka Enterprise Bank & Trust v Thomas Ruzicka Department of Revenue v Thomas Ruzicka Settled prior to trial judgment $22,908 $36,122 judgment (not yet satisfied) State v Thomas Ruzicka 2 cts Fail to withhold employees Pled Guilty 01/27/14 taxes felony 5 years probation Capital One Bank v Thomas R. Ruzicka Settled prior to trial Western Extralite Co v Thomas Ruzicka & Ruzicka & Sons $360,543 judgment (not yet satisfied) David Kingen v Thomas Ruzicka $5,184 judgment (not yet satisfied) Capital One Bank v Thomas R. Ruzicka Settled prior to trial 1st Source Bank v Thomas Ruzicka & Discovery Aviation $177,247 judgment against Ruzicka and possession of 1978 Cessna Capital One Bank v Thomas Ruzicka $3,755 default judgment (not yet satisfied) Wells Fargo Equip Finance v Thomas Ruzicka & Ruzicka & Sons $75,667 judgment (not yet satisfied) Speeding 19mph over Limit reduced to Illegal parking $150 fine +$61.50 court costs Pers injury Virginia Desantis v Thomas Ruzicka settled out of court on 1/16/08 Kaplan Associates v Thomas Ruzicka & Ruzicka Electr $285,281 judgment on 10/16/06 (not yet satisfied) Thomas Ruzicka v Department of Revenue (breath test ) 4/23/04 DOR petition is confessed American Family Ins v Thomas Ruzicka & Ruzicka & Sons $9,653 judgment 2 06/04/98 06/03/97 02/11/97 01/28/97 09/05/96 06/17/96 06/23/95 10/19/94 10/29/92 10/09/92 10/11/90 05/01/90 12/11/89 07/21/89 05/23/88 04/26/88 02/18/88 01/28/88 04/06/86 12/31/87 06/12/87 01/21/87 06/24/86 06/05/86 04/16/86 03/18/86 02/19/86 State of Missouri Div of Employment Sec v Thomas $16,084 judgment Thomas Ruzicka and Ruzicka & Sons Elect. Yellow Pages v Thomas Ruzicka & Ruzicka & Sons $23,404 judgment SW Bell Yellow Pages v Thomas Ruzicka & Ruzicka & Sons uncontested judgment Southwestern Bell Yellow Pages v Thomas Ruzicka & Ruzicka & Sons $29,255 judgment SW Bell Yellow Pages v Thomas Ruzicka uncontested judgment amt not listed OSL, Inc. v Thomas Ruzicka $3,380 judgment Cape Electrical Supply v Thomas Ruzicka & Ruzicka Elec out of court settlement Popin and Stern Law Partnership v Thomas Ruzicka $772.53 judgment Ronald Henges v Thomas Ruzicka settled out of court on 8/18/93 Starbeam Supply Co v Thomas Ruzicka $1,360.90 judgment Speeding Guilty cash fine Ruzicka and his wife named defendants suited filed by Integon Indemnity No Disposition available Francis Telle v Thomas R. Ruzicka $14,468 judgment Rainworld Supply Co v Thomas Ruzicka $1,117 judgment Kelly Services v Thomas Ruzicka settled out of court Follman Properties v Thomas Ruzicka $1,000.31 judgment Sieveking v Thomas Ruzicka out of court settlement St. John's Bank v Thomas Ruzicka default judgment amt not listed Frost Electrical Supply v Thomas Ruzicka default judgment on 9/21/87 Frost Elect Supply v Marc Electric & Thomas Ruzicka settled out of court La Marche Manufacturing Co V Thomas Ruzicka Default Judgment no amt given John Aselage v Thomas Ruzicka $6,699 judgment Anixter Bros Inc v Thomas Ruzicka $3,950 judgment Kelly Services, Inc v Thomas Ruzicka $542 judgment W.W. Grainger V Thomas Ruzicka & Mars Electric settled out of court Seton Name Plate Corp v Thomas Ruzicka $761 judgment Manpower Services Inc. Marc Elec & Thomas Ruzicka $2,492 judgment Ruzicka & Sons Electrical owes $5,981 in back vehicle taxes to St. Louis County. He had the 2005 Ford Explorer registered to himself at the 17717 Chaistain Ct address in Chesterfield in 2007. However, I cannot find where he has the vehicle registered now. The police recovered the stolen vehicle on Friday May 9 in St. Louis. Here are some links to Post-Dispatch articles on Ruzicka: http://www.stltoday.com/business/columns/jim-gallagher/gallagher-k-needs-watching-forfraud/article_f1ae39ae-58ef-5729-ab06-9d41edf6a850.html 3 http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/electricians-union-protesting-felon-s-linkto-work-on-new/article_1be0cc83-a77b-51c6-b2e4-7ccef64f968d.html POLICE HOLDING THE CRIME SCENE FOR OVER 32 HOURS: The crimes scene at 12951 Thornhill Drive was held for a very long time. In fact the Town and Country Police were paying officers overtime to hold crime scene. The crime was reported at 11:30am on Friday May 9 when the victim's son found his father beaten and unconscious. On Friday I was doing the public address announcing for a college baseball tournament in Illinois. At 3:15 there were two T&C police marked units, a detective unit and two County Crime Scene vans at the house. Plus a news truck from every St. Louis TV station with a news department. When I returned home close to midnight, there were three County Police Crime Scene vehicles there, plus a detective car and a marked T&C Police car. On Saturday when I headed back to the baseball tournament at 11:15am the County Crime Scene Unit, a detective car and a marked T&C Police Unit were still there. On my return at 7:00pm there was still a marked T&C car and a crime scene unit at the house. The scene was released later on Saturday night. 4 Holding a scene that long indicates to me there was an unusual amount of evidence from the original crime or officers found evidence of other offenses. The fact that a 3-D television and a 60-inch flat screen TV were reported to have been stolen was troubling since Thomas Ruzicka owed over a half-million in court ordered judgments starting with employees' retirement funds and employees' withheld taxes...plus hundreds of thousands of dollars in unpaid bills. But he had the scratch to buy some very expensive televisions. BY LATE MONDAY NIGHT: The Major Case Squad released a surveillance photo of a person of interest in the crime taken at a gas station convenience near where the Ford Explorer stolen from the house that was let in St. Louis near the Jennings City Limit. l Frankly if I had to guess about the employees who had their retirement funds stolen by Ruzicka, I would think they were union electricians, mostly white living in South County or Jefferson County. I would doubt if any of them (union electricians) white or black would have dreadlocks down to the middle of their backs. However by late Monday I have to remember that people who steal employees' retirement money and tax withholdings are often well known by employees at casinos...forcing me to wonder if Ruzicka was followed home after having a winning afternoon on a gaming floor? TUESDAY: I learned the "follow the winner home from the casino" scenario had been eliminated. 5 WEDNESDAY: Major Case Squad call outs are for five days and can be extend if there are promising leads. On Wednesday the squad was extended one-and-a-half days to noon on Thursday. THURSDAY: 1:00pm The Major Case Squad receives another extension. This makes one think an arrest is near. 4:20pm: Detectives with the Major Case Squad arrested a suspect: Daniel D. Martin Black Male Age 20 Resides in the 3400 block of Elmhurst in Bel Ridge, MO The St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney's Office issued warrants against Martin for Assault First Degree, Armed Criminal Action, Burglary First Degree, Stealing a motor vehicle, and Stealing over $500. Daniel Denzel Martin Martin's past record are convictions for Peace Disturbance, Inteferring with Police and Resisting Arrest on January 31, 2013 in Bel Ridge. THE HOUSE: the house at 12951 Thornhill has been for sale on and off since 2008. It was purchased by Muehlmann Design & Building in 2007. Zillow.com claims the purchase price in 2007 was $415,000. In 2013 it was listed with Caldwell-Banker as a tear-down with a new home to be constructed at $1,500,000. 6 Planned new home for 12951 Thornhill. It was taken off the market at the end of 2013, but went back on the market simply as a house for sale for $500,000 in the spring of 2014. The assessed valuation by the County Assessor dropped 17% in 2013. A VIOLENT CRIME...UNMASKS OUR NEWEST MEMBER OF THE GANGS OF TOWN AND COUNTRY. Stealing hundreds of thousands of employees retirement money and money meant as payroll tax withholding certainly makes Thomas R. Ruzicka a perfect member of our Gangs of Town and Country and he was living in the perfect location, Ward-2 of Town Country where the subdivisions of Mason Valley and Thornhill Estates are loaded with Gang members. It was unfortunate he was badly beaten. You can see all the other members of the Gangs of Town and Country by going to our website http://johnhoffmann.net and clicking on the "Gangs of Town and Country." EXCELLENT CHOICE! BOARD OF ALDERMEN VOTES AND PUTS TWO ETHICS VIOLATORS IN CHARGE OF CITY: Alderman Tim Welby, a man who admitted committing 10 ethics violations and received a $1,000 fine ($900 was stayed for a two year probation term) was elected on Monday May 12 to be President of the Board of Aldermen. Who better to fill-in when Mayor/Cigarette Lobbyist Jon Dalton is absent? Dalton was recently found guilty of 27 Ethics violations by the Missouri Ethics Commission. In Welby's case he failed to file 10 campaign finance reports over a two year period despite having received a written warning from the St. Louis County Board of Elections. (It was actually more, but the ethics Commission only investigates allegations two years 7 from the date of the complaint.) Dalton was filing the reports, he just refused to fully identify contributors. Dalton claimed he was confused. He is a lobbyist who has filed monthly ethics reports for close to 20-years and is listed on his last two law firms' website as an expert in "Government Regulation." These guys are perfectly matched. They are both phonies and they both have midlife crisis style expensive foreign sport cars. Just who you want leading a city with repeated deficit budgets. Plus Dalton in a private move used eminent domain in the City of St. Louis to steal the business and property of a widow for an underfunded nightclub district that never got built. Dalton Welby Welby replaces Lynn Wright who for one year was the President of the BOA. The times when she filled in for Dalton she was so confused it was as if she was never paying attention on how meetings are run during her eight years as an alderwoman. Fred Meyland-Smith has had the position in the past and everyone on the BOA knows if Meyland-Smith ran a meeting in the Dalton's absence it would mean an extra 20minutes at City Hall as the world class windbag droned on. Skip Mange is a former mayor and at times still thinks he is mayor. He makes a terrible candidate because if Dalton was absent Mange would try and convince the aldermen to buy another log cabin and take up some more open park space. COMMISSION ASSIGNMENTS SOME NEW, SOME OLD: Mayor Dalton announced his appointments of alderpersons for commission chairs. 8 OLD: Lynn Wright stays with Parks and Arts Commissions. For the sakes of the parks it would be nice to see someone new who would fight for the parks and stand up to Skip Mange wanting to create a grossly inferior log cabin village when the excellent tax supported one is located in the nearby County Faust Park. Skip Mange keeps his one chair on the Conservation Commission. This was stupid. It just encourages Skip to try and buy more and more houses in disrepair built 55 years ago using a Frank Lloyd Wright blueprint or more log cabins. The Community Relations Commission would be good for Skip...it doesn't have much of a budget and maybe he could keep Mayor Dalton to just two pages instead of five or six in every newsletter when he tells residents what a good mayor he is. Public Works Commission stays with Tim Welby which is good because Public Works Director Craig Wilde actually runs the whole thing. There are several members on the commission who understand construction, contract bids and infrastructure issues...however Welby is not one of them. The Green Team chair remains Jon Benigas. The Green Team is another commission with lots of vacancies. It would be perfect for elimination as city staff is very good at making environmentally correct moves. This has always been a commission for Mayor Dalton to appointment a couple of the city's very few Democrats and keep a board coalition when he runs for reelection. All this said, Benigas is perfect for this spot because he is a greenie. The Community Relations Commission head remains Gussie Crawford. I know she was hoping to unload this useless commission, that always has numerous vacancies as members realize they are wasting their time and resign. I have a feeling she made a compromise with Dalton that she would stay as the Commission head if he appointed her to something else. He did and she was appointed as the city representative on the West County EMS & Fire Protection District Board of Directors. NEW: Finance and Insurance & Benefits: Linda Rallo beat Phil Behnen and she got his commission chairs. Rallo has a journalism degree, has worked on some blogs/websites that cover Missouri politics so she has an active "bullshit meter." Without a finance or accounting degree she ought to be able to spot some unnecessary budget items that have been coated in sugar. 9 Police Commission: There is exactly one member of the police commission who has a clue about police operations. His background has been emergency medicine and he has been on the County Police Reserves for a number of years. This is the top commission people want on. I am guessing too much Batman and Police Commissioner Gordon as kids. The police department has always spooned fed this group and has always gotten what it wanted. So the fact that Dalton appointed Amy Anderson with absolutely no background in first responders or law enforcement is not a big deal. In fact it will probably just make things easier for the police department command staff. Architectural Review Board: The chair for his board is vacant after Phil Behen was defeated. Alderman Jon Benigas was missing for this Aldermanic meeting and I have a feeling Dalton was learning toward putting Benigas on as the chair. One problem is that Benigas is a marriage and anger management counselor (who oddly enough has a temper) and has a tough time showing up for meetings that start before 6:30 or 7 o'clock. REVIEW OF EXSISTING COMMISSIONS: Considering that Gussie Crawford wants off the Community Relations Commission and prior to her recent election Linda Rallo was on the CR Commission and quit along with a number of others. There is plenty of evidence that some of the city commissions are not needed. Apparently Dalton, just entering his second year of a four year term is also aware that his expansion of the city commissions has not been a huge success. He announced he will be forming a "Blue Ribbon" committee of alderpersons to review this issue. It might be a hard task, as I do not know of anyone who has awarded any of the alderpersons a Blue Ribbon. MANGE ADMITS SCREWING UP: As we reported last week, the estimates to complete Skip Manges' Log Cabin rebuild and building a fake log cabin foundation and a wall came in just about $150,000 higher than what was budgeted. "I screwed up. We underestimated the masonry costs," said Mange, who was at one time a engineer. Mange at the agenda meeting with Gussie Crawford and Linda Rallo. 10 DEER VERSUS VEHICLE INCIDENTS DOWN IN APRIL: There were only four deer-vehicle accidents reported in April. That compares with seven accidents in April 2013. Year-to-date there have been 14 deer-vehicle accidents compared to 20 in the first four months of 2013. The four deer related accidents in April were at Topping Road and Topping Estates (04/06/14 10:32am), WB I-64 at Maryville Exit (04/18/14 2:32am), EB I-64 at Hwy 141 (04/22/14 6:22am) and EB Clayton Road east of I-270 (04/25/14 4:24pm). Here are where the accidents have happened so far this year: SB I-270 Between I-64 and south City Limits 2 (Ward 1) EB Clayton Road east of I-270 1 (Ward 1) Topping Road and Topping Estates 1 (Ward 2) E Mason Road South of Clayton Road 2 (Ward 2) Clayton Road east of Mason Road 1 (Ward 2) I-64 at Mason Road 1 (Ward 3) SB Hwy 141 at Clayton Road 1 (Ward 3) I-64 at Maryville Exit 1 (Ward 4) I-64 at Hwy 141 1 (Ward 4) Ladue Road at Hwy 141 1 (Ward 4) Old Woods Mill and I-64 Overpass 1 (Ward 4) Conway Road at Babler Road 1 (Ward 4) AFTER ELECTION CONTRIBUTION REPORTS: There are two types campaign reports that have been filed since our last newsletter that listed the "8-day Before Election Report." Those are the "April 15 Quarterly Report" and the "30-Day After Election Report. Last year we discovered in the "30-Day After report" how Cole McNary received over $20,000 from firefighter unions in his losing race against Jane Cunningham. 11 TOWN AND COUNTRY WARD 2 Amy Anderson: The winner in the Ward 2 race received $550 in money on March 31. $250 from her neighbor Daniel Brewer at 6 Rutherford Lane and $300 from Tracy Switzer 12906 Topping Estates. Her "30-Day Report" showed that she gave herself $39 and she spent $1,164 on stamps and printing costs. She has $125 left in her campaign bank account. Chuck Lenz: The incumbent who basically financed his campaign out of pocket, accepted no contributions immediately before the election. He spent $16 for wire sign holders. After the election the only money Chuck accepted was a $500 contribution from former alderman Kevin Beckman. He also paid $1,437 in bills for printing and mailing costs. He finished with $48.02 in his campaign bank account. TOWN AND COUNTRY WARD 4 Phil Behnen: The losing incumbent's "8-Day Before Report" showed no contributions and Behnen only spending $130 on printing. In the "30-Day After Election Report" there was an interesting $150 contribution from the Healthcare Leadership Committee Political Action Committee in Jefferson City. We checked the last three years of contributions by Healthcare Leadership and found that other than Behnen the only other person running in a municipal race to get a contribution was St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay. Before the $150 to Behnen and two contributions to Slay...all the 148 other contributions went to people running for statewide office or to the Missouri House or Senate. However back in 2009 Healthcare Leadership gave another municipal candidate a $500 contribution. That went to Town and Country Mayor/Cigarette Lobbyist Jon Dalton on April 5, 2009 when I was running against Dalton. It turns out Dalton was using a client's money to give himself a campaign donation. (see below) Who is behind Healthcare Leadership? None other than Town and Country Mayor/Lobbyist Jon Dalton and his secretary Shannon Hawk, who has followed Dalton from law firm to law firm (Bryan Cave, Lewis-Rice and now Armstrong-Teasdale). Hawk became the treasurer of the PAC in 2005. Dalton will hide much of his possible conflicts by listing them under Hawk's name. The Healthcare PAC gave Dalton's buddy, John 12 Diehl $1,000 on March 24, $2,500 on October 28, 2013, $5,000 on October 24, 2013, $1,000 on September 10, 2013 and $500 on July 15, 2013. Linda Rallo, who defeated Behnen, despite having been assigned to sit next to Dalton on the Aldermanic Dais, should try and keep her distance from a guy who hid his contribution to her opponent. Linda Rallo: Between March 28 and March 30th Rallo accepted four contributions totaling $700. Two were at ground zero of the rezoning battle with Maryville University from residents on Hampshire Hill Lane. Despite supporting the city's lethal deer control policy Rallo got a $200 contribution from Susan Feigenbaum of Templeton Place in Ward 3. Feigenbaum, an economics professor at UMSL, has long opposed lethal deer management. Finally Rallo got another $200 from attorney Brian McGovern of Creve Coeur, whose office is in Ward 4. She spent $1,419 in the last days of the campaign on mailers. CHESTRERFIELD CANDIDATES: Ward 1: Barry Flachsbart: The guy did not receive one contribution just before the election or immediately afterwards. He did spent $239.54 on a mailing. Ben Keathley: The only funds received by Keathley immediately before the election or after the election was the $60.42 he leant his campaign. Perhaps this is a reason why he only got 26-percent of the vote. Ward 2: Elliot Grissom: Immediately before the election Grissom accepted $200. A $100 from a Manchester resident and $100 from his wife. After the election Grissom gave his campaign $860. Grissom gave his campaign a total of $5,060 to pay for getting 79-percent of the vote. Tom Northcutt: The biggest loser in the Chesterfield races gave himself $854.44 just before the election. Ward 3: Mike Casey: Casey accepted $100 from C. Donald Ainsworth of Chesterfield a week before the election. Casey gave his campaign $1,020 after the election which he won with 73-percent of the vote. 13 Andy Kazen: I accidently did not pull Andy's file at the BOE. I figured I gave him enough grief running a photo of James Garner as Brett Maverick next to his week after week. Ward 4: Connie Fults: Fults accepted $800 immediately before the election. I always have reported that Fults was a lap dog of developers just on the way she voted. If you consider this late $800 in funds it proves my point as the money is all connected to one big West County developer. $300 is from Jeff Schlindler, the president of McBride and Sons. The $500 contribution is from a group which is hard to decipher thanks' to Connie's penmanship, but appears to be "Builders Bloc" They have the same business address of McBride and Sons. John Gazzoli: John violated Missouri Ethics Commission law by not providing the dates of the $2,125 he received eight days before the election or the city and state of the contributor. However since Gazzoli is a lawyer the fact he did not follow instructions and violated Ethics Commission rules came as no surprise. Here is the list: Hannilof Bagby 721 Fairfield Lake (Town and Country) C. Hannell 4051 Rendon Rd (no city listed) Farrier Mike Pratl 68 Picardy Hill Chesterfield retired Johnson 15792 Sanic Green (no city listed) Steve Stetz 16009 Aston Ct Bob Safron 408 Hunter Hill Safron Group Gundaker 2458 Old Dorsett Real Estate Joan Hill 62 Picardy Hill retired C. Payne 9 Picardy Hill retired "anonomous" (sp) Chesterfield A. Poliozzo 1776 Schoettler Valley Tailor Brandon Chisom 1933 Alfred Ave Retired Carl Greenberg 1776 Schoettler Valley Edward Haynie retired Doris Frazier retired 14 $200 50 $200 $100 $200 $100 $200 $200 $100 $100 $25 $25 $25 $50 $50 Borrego Fernando 2052 Tramore Ct Martial Arts Instr Bob Strothkamp 14390 Manchester Hardware retailer Jermal Streward 2923 Allen financial Advisor $100 $200 $200 UNAPPROVED CHESTERFIELD NEWSLETTER 74 May 19, 2014 By John Hoffmann CITY FILES LAWSUIT AGAINST INSURANCE COMPANY: On March 14, 2014 the City of Chesterfield filed suit against the Travelers' Insurance Company. In 2006 Travelers sold a surety bond to Gunhay, LLC to that guaranteed the installation of landscaping at the Reserve at Chesterfield Village if Gunhay did not perform the job. The city claims Gunhay as a developer of the Reserve at Chesterfield Village failed to install required landscaping. The city wanted $511,576 from Travelers to complete the require landscaping. The City in 2011 rolled that demand back to $142,100 after a portion of the development was sold and a new developer completed some of the work. Apparently in 2012 Travelers claimed that mere letters filed with the insurance company were not a formal claim. On May 24, 2013 Travelers offered to pay the city $60,000 instead of the $142,100 that Chesterfield claims it was due. The city refused to accept $60,000 and filed suit in march of 2014. There is no court date set at this time. THIRD OR IS IT FOURTH RESTAURANT IN FOUR YEARS AT 16125 CHESTERFIELD PARKWAY WEST: Let's see if I can list them all or how many I missed. Restaurants that have been in the building at 16125 Chesterfield Parkway West: There was The Crazy Fish, Yen Ching, Aqua Vin, Andria's Steakhouse followed by Oceano. Now the Chesterfield City Council has issued a new liquor license for Bishop's Post, which promises to be a "comfort food" dining establishment. I used to go out to Andria's and listen to Anita Rosamond along with a very good young guitar player perform in the bar. I had two meals in the restaurant during that time. Both were overpriced and not nearly as tasty as what I get at Tucker's for 40% less. I never tried Oceano, fearing it would be similar to Andria's only with seafood instead of steaks. I think I will have to see the Bishop's Post menu before I head out to give it a 15 try. If the chicken fried steak costs more than at Annie Gunn's for lunch...I might have to skip it. Do you think six places in 18 years might indicate it is a bad location or did the six places just have either bad food or bad service or bad prices? COUNCILMAN REBUTTAL: Chesterfield City Councilman Bruce DeGroot called us and said that he thought our portrayal of him being a tree hugger in our last newsletter when he was the only councilperson to vote against adding Sweet Gum trees to the list of trees to be considered for immediate removal was unfair. DeGroot said to remove all 2,000 Sweet Gum trees on city property would cost more than $2-million and that was why he voted against it. However, I remember and took a note of him saying he was against killing a healthy tree. 16 Of course the $2,000,000 price tag was brought up in the agenda meeting and the director of public services said only those Sweet Guns requested to be removed would be considered and only within annual budget restrictions. He said it would take well over 10 years to remove all the sweet gums from city right of ways. MONARCH MEETING: I was away doing the public address announcing for 27 innings of college baseball in a conference tournament when the last Monarch Board meeting was held on Thursday May 8. I did have an anonymous stringer attend the meeting and here is their report: Increase in Security: Attendance at the Monarch Open Board Meeting was sparse, with the exception of police officers. Apparently someone thought there would be a need for an unprecedented three off-duty St. Louis County cops and they were there in force. FIRE CHIEF MISSES FINAL MEETING: But during the entire meeting only five citizens and one Union member were present, in addition to the District staff. This did not include Tom Vineyard, who chose to skip his final meeting. CITIZEN COMMENTS HAVE A FAMILIAR SOUND: Citizen comments started with David Winchell, who asked the Board to do a better job than last time in selecting a new Chief and pretty much let Director Swyers have it for his participation in hiring soon-to-be-former Chief Tom Vineyard. Winchell finished by asking Swyers to "step down" as a Director and Swyers decided to spar with Winchell by responding with a resounding "no" and disputing what he and former Union influenced Board member Kim Evans spent on a search firm when Vineyard was hired (Swyers and Vineyard ignored the search firm's recommendations and hired Vineyard, who many feel was selected by the Union). Marlyn Flauter followed Winchell and thanked Vineyard for his service to the District. She went on to scold Directors Harris and Cunningham for interfering with Vineyard as he brought the District to new heights in terms of service and morale. It has been noted in the past that Flauter ran a failed campaign as a Union backed candidate and her son is a Union firefighter. Finally Rick Gans addressed the Board about selfinsured health insurance and the Union's constant effort to paint the District and Board in a negative light. Mr. Gans described what happened when the District went with a self-insured plan a decade ago and it was not good. Gans also took the Union to task for trying to scare residents into thinking Vineyard's departure would put them in some sort of new danger. SELF-INUSRANCE Robin Harris brought up the topic of the self-insured health plan and before he could express an opinion, Steve Swyers surprised everyone by announcing that he sees no reason to switch to it. Swyers said it doesn't look like it will save the District any money and its cost volatility was not worth the risk. This is a surprise in light of the fact that the Union has pushed for a self-insured plan for years and Swyers usually does what the Union asks. Harris and Cunningham went on to agree and they decided to table the discussion and decision making on this topic to a future meeting. The Board then proceeded to formally adopt its new drug and alcohol testing programs and it passed unanimously. 17 Then in an even bigger surprise, Director Harris told the other Board members that he had been approached by Assistant Chief Spiegel about his proposal last month to reduce the Pension Fund tax rate (which would automatically lead to a reduction in how much each employee receives annually in his/her pension account). Spiegel convinced him to defer any action indefinitely. Harris said that Spiegel pointed out some factors that Harris had not considered and that time was needed to study and work on this proposal. Harris gave the impression this will not come up prior to September, when the Board next sets the tax rates. ACTING CHIEF ANNOUNCED: It came as no surprise to me or anyone else that the Board voted to make Assistant Chief Cary Spiegel the "Acting Fire Chief." I guess the biggest surprise was that Director Steven Swyers voted for Spiegel to be acting chief after he had voted against rehiring him as the assistant fire chief. WHAT HAPPENED TO THE REPUBLICAN WAY: Let's go back to the 1980s when Ronald Reagan managed to capture the independent and conservative Democratic vote. That was in the day when Reagan was selling Republicanism with quotes like, "Government is not a solution to our problems, government is the problem." or "Government's first duty is to protect people, not run their lives." Ronald Reagan was apparently a different sort of Republican than what we have today. But if you look at the Republicans in the Missouri Statehouse you get a completely different view. With them "more government" is fine as long as someone pays them. Smithfield Farms of Virginia and now owned by a Chinese group gave large amounts of campaign contributions to suburban Republican lawmakers who in turned passed a bill that restricted the legal rights of small Missouri farmers whose land was damaged due to hog waste runoff from Smithfield's two huge Missouri hog farms. 18 Now it is the Missouri Auto Dealers Association's Political Action committee, "Dealers Interested in Government" who are funneling money to Republican lawmakers to make sure Missourians cannot buy a Tesla. The electric cars that cost between $60,000 and $100,000 and are sold online by Tesla. Tesla offers regional service centers for the cars, but there are no dealers. The Missouri Auto Dealers Association thinks you should be forced to buy a new car from only a dealer. Sen. Jay Wasson (R Springfield) added to a ATV regulation bill that all new cars must be sold through a dealer, which would make it impossible to buy a Tesla in Missouri. The bill passed the house and went back to the Senate for the final five days of the session. Wasson received $3,000 in contributions from the Auto Dealers Association in the last half of 2013. (He also got $1,000 from the Chinese run Smithfield Farms people.) Sen Jay Wasson doesn't want you to buy a Tesla and he was happy to take $3,000 to keep you out of the drivers' seat. LOBBYISTS AND CAR DEALERS ARE TRYING TO KEEP YOU FROM SPENDING $100,000 FOR A TESLA. "Dealers Interested In Government" gave John Diehl $300 on March 24, 2014, $1,000 on October 29, 2013, $1,000 on June 10, 2013 and $500 on February 25, 2013. They gave State Rep. Sue Allen $200 in 2011, however the Auto Dealers lobbyist John Bardgett gave Sue Allen $1,000 on June 19, 2013. Diehl apparently wised up and realized all the rich people in his district from Ladue to Frontenac to Town and Country to Chesterfield don't like to be restricted from buying a $100,000 sports car. John Diehl took $2,800 in a year from the people who don't want you driving a Tesla . Speaking of lobbyists both sides geared up for the "battle of the last week of the session" in Jefferson City. Here are the lobbyists now working for the Auto Dealers: John Bardgett of Chesterfield one of the biggest lobbyists in Jefferson City was hired and joined the Auto 19 Dealer team of lobbyists that include Phillip Schnieders and Doug Smith of the association, Andy Blunt and Jay Reischard of Schreimann, Rackers, Francka & Blunt; and Bill Gamble, Jorgen Schlemeier, Sarah Topp, and Jeffery Brooks of Gamble & Schlemeier lobbyist firm. Tesla is not to be outdone in the lobbyist wars. They hired former House Speaker Steve Tilley; Danny Pfeifer, Greg Porter, and Alex Eaton of the Catalyst Group; Scott Penman and David Winton of Penman & Winton Consulting Group; Brent Hemphill and Kristian Starner of Hemphill and Associates; Heath Clarkston, and Michael Grote. We are waiting for the May lobbyists report due in July. I have a feeling no lawmaker or at least no Republican lawmaker will have to use their per diem to buy lunch or dinner the last week of the session. By Tuesday Tesla had won the war when the bill restricting the sale of cars by the internet died unable to get onto the floor for a vote. Here is a list from 2012 through March of 2014 of politicians who received money from the Missouri Auto Dealers PAC (Dealers Interested in Government). City Stat e Friends of Caleb Rowden Columbia MO Friends of Caleb Jones California MO Missourians for Mike Cierpiot Lees Summit MO Citizens for Hoskins MO Friends of Diehl Warrensburg Town and Country Scott Sifton for State Senate St Louis MO Citizens for Vicki Lorenz Englund St Louis MO Missourians for Koster Jefferson City MO Missourians for Tim Jones Eureka MO Committee Addres s2 20 MO Amoun Date t 3/24/2014 0:00 300 3/24/2014 0:00 300 3/24/2014 0:00 300 3/24/2014 0:00 300 3/24/2014 0:00 300 3/14/2014 0:00 500 3/14/2014 0:00 300 3/14/2014 0:00 5000 3/14/2014 0:00 3500 Citizens for Riddle Holts Summit MO Friends of Jeremy Lafaver Kansas City MO Citizens for Gary Cross Lees Summit MO Committee to Elect Jeff Roorda Barnhart MO Friends of Lincoln Hough Springfield MO Citizens for Will Kraus Lees Summit MO Dr. Dan Brown for Senate Rolla MO Citizens for Black Missouri Senate Campaign Committee Desloge MO Jefferson City MO Citizens for Riddle Fulton MO Citizens to Elect Mike Kehoe Jefferson City MO Citizens to Elect Mike Kehoe Jefferson City MO Scott Sifton for State Senate St Louis MO Friends of Ryan McKenna MO Friends of Kathy Swan Crystal City Cape Girardeau Citizens for Riddle Fulton MO Scott Rupp for Missouri Wentzville MO Citizens to elect Mike Kehoe Jefferson City MO Citizens for Jay Wasson Nixa MO Committee to Elect Ron Richard Joplin MO Dempsey for Missouri St Charles MO Citizens for Conway St Charles MO 21 MO 3/4/2014 0:00 2/18/2014 0:00 1/2/2014 0:00 12/19/201 3 0:00 12/17/201 3 0:00 12/17/201 3 0:00 12/17/201 3 0:00 11/7/2013 0:00 11/7/2013 0:00 10/29/201 3 0:00 10/29/201 3 0:00 10/29/201 3 0:00 9/30/2013 0:00 9/30/2013 0:00 8/29/2013 0:00 8/29/2013 0:00 8/29/2013 0:00 8/29/2013 0:00 8/29/2013 0:00 8/29/2013 0:00 8/29/2013 0:00 8/29/2013 0:00 500 300 1000 1000 5000 1000 500 250 5000 500 500 1000 500 1000 600 1000 750 1000 500 500 500 100 Citizens for Marsha Haefner St Louis MO Friends for Diane Franklin Camdenton MO People for Solon MO Friends of Diehl Blue Springs Town and Country Citizens for Mccaherty High Ridge MO Friends of Sandy Crawford Buffalo MO Friends of Mike Cunningham 16 Rogersville MO Committee to elect Lyndall Fraker Marshfield MO Friends of Duggar Hartville MO Entlicher for Election Bolivar MO Missourians for Tim Jones MO House Democratic Campaign Committee Eureka MO Jefferson City MO Citizens for Gary Cross Lees Summit MO Citizens for Hoskins House Republican Campaign Committee Warrensburg MO Jefferson City MO Redmon for State Representative Genise Montecillo for State Representative Monticello MO St Louis MO Gatschenberger 4 MO Lake St Louis MO Friends of Todd Richardson Poplar Bluff MO Friends of Rick Stream Kirkwood MO Romine for Senate Farmington MO Friends of Holly Rehder Sikeston MO 22 MO 8/29/2013 0:00 8/29/2013 0:00 8/29/2013 0:00 8/29/2013 0:00 8/29/2013 0:00 8/29/2013 0:00 8/29/2013 0:00 8/29/2013 0:00 8/29/2013 0:00 8/29/2013 0:00 8/29/2013 0:00 8/23/2013 0:00 7/30/2013 0:00 7/30/2013 0:00 7/30/2013 0:00 7/30/2013 0:00 7/30/2013 0:00 7/22/2013 0:00 7/22/2013 0:00 7/22/2013 0:00 7/22/2013 0:00 7/22/2013 0:00 100 100 100 1000 250 100 1000 300 300 100 5000 2500 500 500 15000 500 500 1000 1000 1000 1000 250 Citizens for Torpey Independence MO Sater for Senate Cassville MO Friends of Jeremy Lafever Kansas City MO Citizens for Jay Wasson Nixa MO Committee to Elect Ron Richard Joplin MO Silvey for Missouri Gladstone MO Parson for State Senate Bolivar MO Citizens for Timothy W. Jones Missouri Senate Campaign Committee Eureka MO MO Meys Nichols for State Rep Jefferson City Maryland Heights Citizens to Elect Kurt Schaefer Columbia MO Friends of Caleb Jones MO Friends of Diehl California Town and Country Friends of Kevin McManus Kansas City MO Citizens to Elect Mike Kehoe Jefferson City MO Citizens to Elect Rocky Miller MO Friends of Wayne Wallingford Osage Beach Cape Girardeau Committee to Elect Jeff Roorda Barnhart MO Dempsey for Missouri Jefferson City MO Citizens for Hinson Jefferson City MO Gumbo Bottoms Lohman MO Missourians for Koster Jefferson City MO 23 MO MO MO 7/2/2013 0:00 7/2/2013 0:00 7/2/2013 0:00 7/2/2013 0:00 7/2/2013 0:00 7/2/2013 0:00 7/2/2013 0:00 6/26/2013 0:00 6/26/2013 0:00 6/26/2013 0:00 6/10/2013 0:00 6/10/2013 0:00 6/10/2013 0:00 6/10/2013 0:00 6/10/2013 0:00 6/10/2013 0:00 6/10/2013 0:00 6/10/2013 0:00 6/10/2013 0:00 5/24/2013 0:00 5/9/2013 0:00 3/28/2013 0:00 1000 1000 300 2500 2500 2500 2500 1000 5000 250 2500 1000 1000 300 5000 1500 500 500 2500 1000 323.5 5000 Mo Senate Democratic Campaign Committee Columbia MO Friends of Todd Richardson Poplar Bluff MO Friends of Lincoln Hough Springfield MO Citizens for Hinson St Clair MO Friends for Elijah Harhr Springfield MO Citizens for Rocky Miller Osage Beach MO Citizens for Gary Cross Lees Summit MO Friends for Gina Walsh St Louis MO Citizens for Colona St Louis MO Friends of Holly Rehder Sikeston MO Friends of Caleb Rowden Columbia MO Citizens for Torpey MO Citizens for Diehl Independence Town and Country Citizens for Vicki Englund St Louis MO Citizens for Ryan Silvey Gladstone MO Dempsey For Senate St Charles MO Citizens for Timothy W. Jones Eureka MO Citizens to Elect Mike Kehoe Jefferson City MO Committee to Elect Ron Richards Jefferson City MO Citizens for Mike Thomson Maryville MO Friends of Lincoln Hough Springfield MO Spence for Governor St Louis MO 24 MO 3/26/2013 0:00 3/26/2013 0:00 3/26/2013 0:00 3/26/2013 0:00 3/26/2013 0:00 3/26/2013 0:00 3/26/2013 0:00 3/26/2013 0:00 3/25/2013 0:00 3/11/2013 0:00 3/11/2013 0:00 3/11/2013 0:00 2/25/2013 0:00 2/25/2013 0:00 2/25/2013 0:00 1/7/2013 0:00 1/7/2013 0:00 1/7/2013 0:00 1/7/2013 0:00 1/7/2013 0:00 10/31/201 2 0:00 10/31/201 2 0:00 1000 500 500 500 300 300 300 500 500 300 300 300 500 300 500 1000 500 1000 1000 250 1000 5000 JEFFERSON CITY MO KIRKSVILLE MO Friends of Jay Barnes Jefferson City MO CITIZENS FOR TIM MEADOWS IMPERIAL MO ROMINE FOR SENATE MO FRIENDS OF MIKE BERNSKOETTER FARMINGTON JEFFERSON CITY DEMPSEY FOR SENATE ST CHARLES MO ENGLER FOR MISSOURI FARMINGTON MO GATSCHENBERGER 4 REP COMMITTEE TO ELECT KENT HAMPTON LAKE ST LOUIS MO MALDEN MO HOLSMAN FOR MISSOURI KANSAS CITY MO FRIENDS OF LINCOLN HOUGH MO CITIZENS TO ELECT MIKE KEHOE SPRINGFIELD JEFFERSON CITY FRIENDS OF RYAN MCKENNA CRYSTAL CITY MO GENISE MONTECILLO FOR STATE REP ST LOUIS MO CITIZENS FOR RIDDLE FULTON MO CITIZENS FOR RYAN SILVEY GLADSTONE MO SMITH FOR MISSOURI NORMANDY MO CITIZENS FOR STEVE WEBBER COLUMBIA MO ANN ZERR FOR STATE REP MISSOURI SENATE CAMPAIGN COMMITTEE ST CHARLES JEFFERSON CITY JEFFERSON CITY MO CITIZENS TO ELECT MIKE KEHOE FRIENDS OF NATE WALKER COMMITTEE MISSOURIANS FOR KOSTER 25 MO MO MO MO 10/16/201 2 0:00 10/16/201 2 0:00 10/10/201 2 0:00 10/10/201 2 0:00 10/10/201 2 0:00 9/17/2012 0:00 9/17/2012 0:00 9/17/2012 0:00 9/17/2012 0:00 9/17/2012 0:00 9/17/2012 0:00 9/17/2012 0:00 9/17/2012 0:00 9/17/2012 0:00 9/17/2012 0:00 9/17/2012 0:00 9/17/2012 0:00 9/17/2012 0:00 9/17/2012 0:00 9/17/2012 0:00 9/17/2012 0:00 9/17/2012 0:00 1000 500 500 250 1000 300 1300 800 500 350 1000 2500 1200 1500 1000 1000 5000 500 500 350 7500 9000 FRIENDS OF CALEB JONES CALIFORNIA MO Missouri Senate Campaign Comm Jefferson City MO House Republican Campaign Comm Jefferson City MO Citizens to Elect Mike Kehoe Jefferson City MO Citizens to Elect Mike Kehoe Jefferson City MO Missourians for Koster Jefferson City MO Citizens to Elect Mike Kehoe Jefferson City MO Citizens for Nieves Washington MO Bob Burns for State Rep St Louis MO Friends of Sandy Crawford Buffalo MO Engler for Missouri Farmington MO Friends of Steve Hodges East Prairie MO Penny Hubbard for State Rep St Louis MO Friends of Caleb Jones California MO Parson for State Senate Bolivar MO Committee to Elect Jeff Roorda Barnhart MO Citizens for Jay Wasson Nixa MO Friends of Todd Richardson Poplar Bluff MO Citizens for Sommer St Charles MO Citizens for Spreng Florissant MO PENNY HUBBARD FOR STATE REP ST LOUIS MO GENISE MONTECILLO FOR STATE REP ST LOUIS MO 26 9/17/2012 0:00 8/15/2012 0:00 8/8/2012 0:00 8/3/2012 0:00 8/3/2012 0:00 7/31/2012 0:00 7/31/2012 0:00 7/24/2012 0:00 7/16/2012 0:00 7/16/2012 0:00 7/16/2012 0:00 7/16/2012 0:00 7/16/2012 0:00 7/16/2012 0:00 7/16/2012 0:00 7/16/2012 0:00 7/16/2012 0:00 7/3/2012 0:00 7/3/2012 0:00 7/3/2012 0:00 6/29/2012 0:00 6/28/2012 0:00 1000 2500 15000 315.3 678 1000 1325 500 350 350 500 500 1250 2000 2000 350 2500 1000 350 350 200 350 DEMPSEY FOR SENATE ST CHARLES TOWN COUNTRY JEFFERSON CITY MO ST LOUIS WARRENSBUR G JEFFERSON CITY MO BLACK JACK MO FRIENDS OF STEVE WEBB FLORISSANT MO FRIENDS OF WARD FRANZ WEST PLAINS MO CITIZENS TO ELECT KURT SCHAEFER COLUMBIA MO COMMITTEE TO ELECT RON RICHARD JOPLIN MO CITIZENS FOR HINSON ST CLAIR MO CITIZENS FOR COLONA ST LOUIS MO Wells and Friends Missouri Senate Campaign Committee Cabool MO Jefferson City MO Missourians for Koster Jefferson City MO Citizens for Steve Stenger St Louis MO Citizens for Gary Cross Lees Summit MO Citizens to Elect Mike Kehoe Jefferson City MO Parson for State Senate Bolivar MO Committee to Elect Ron Richard Joplin MO Citizens to Elect Kurt Schaefer Columbia MO CITIZENS FOR DIEHL MO HOUSE DEMOCRATIC CAMPAIGN COMMITTEE COMMITTEE TO ELECT MIKE LEARA PEARCE FOR SENATE MISSOURI SENATE CAMPAIGN COMMITTEE FRIENDS TO ELECT SYLVESTER TAYLOR 27 MO MO MO MO 6/25/2012 0:00 6/25/2012 0:00 6/25/2012 0:00 6/25/2012 0:00 6/25/2012 0:00 6/25/2012 0:00 6/25/2012 0:00 6/25/2012 0:00 5/23/2012 0:00 5/23/2012 0:00 5/18/2012 0:00 5/18/2012 0:00 5/18/2012 0:00 4/23/2012 0:00 4/13/2012 0:00 3/7/2012 0:00 3/7/2012 0:00 3/7/2012 0:00 2/27/2012 0:00 2/27/2012 0:00 2/27/2012 0:00 2/27/2012 0:00 2500 1000 5000 500 500 10000 350 350 1000 500 2500 700 500 750 6300 5000 1000 586 250 250 250 250 Citizens for Jay Wasson MO JAY NIXON FOR MISSOURI REPUBLICAN SENATE CAMPAIGN COMMITTEE Nixa JEFFERSON CITY JEFFERSON CITY Citizens for Gary Cross Lees Summitt MO Friends of Thomas Long Dempsey for Senate MO Senate Campaign Committee Springfield Jefferson City Jefferson City MO MO MO MO MO 2/27/2012 0:00 2/2/2012 0:00 1/31/2012 0:00 1/9/2012 0:00 1/9/2012 0:00 1/3/2012 1/3/2012 250 5000 209 250 250 250 500 MEDIA WATCH...Baseball: For nine years I was paid to cover an American League baseball team, dealing mostly with their minor league teams. On Tuesday May 13 I thought that moving back to St. Louis and being in a National League town with extensive National League coverage I had lost how powerful the American League had become. In the St. Louis Post-Dispatch Sports Section they had stats titled "MLB Leaders" showing the leaders in the National League and in the American League after six weeks of play. Here is an example how the two leagues compared...at least in the PostDispatch: NL Home Runs AL Home Rumes Tulowitzki COL 11 Davis BAL 53 Stanton MIA 11 Cabrera DET 44 NL RBI Stanton MIA 40 Tulowitzki COL 33 AL RBI Davis BAL 138 Cabrera DET 137 Turns out the Post-Dispatch listed all the top players using current stats for the National League guys and the end of 2013 stats for the American Leaguers. MUSIC: If you weren't there you missed a lot of fun. I'll be missing from the next Rat Pack Monday at the One-19 in Kirkwood, as I'll be in Reykjavik. The next Rat Pack Monday with Dean Christopher at the One-19 will be Monday June 9 from 7:30 to 9:30. Here is what you missed last Monday. 28 The trio of Dean, Jim and Chris Valerie Tichacek making a guest appearance. Dean singing "What a Wonderful World" as Louie Armstrong Dean as Sammy Davis. He also had Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Paul Lynn all singing What a Wonderful World. Earlier in the evening while Jim Manley was playing an instrumental break on a song, Dean played maitre when two customers walked in, only to break into song. 29 Blues Jazz singer Wendy Gordon does a number. Teresa, the One-19 bartender who performs in local musicals gets the mic, but who is tending the bar? See below. Check out his shirt. LONG AND SHORT OF IT: I couldn't resist snapping this photo while I was doing the PA for the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Baseball Tournament. Greenville College made it to the championship round against Webster University, the #1 ranked small college baseball team in the Nation. Greenville was making a number of pitching changes in a 12-4 loss. This scene caught my eye with the very large first baseman 30 Jared Storment chatting with rather short third baseman Tommie Brown as another Greenville pitcher warmed up. Webster swept the tournament. After two straight years of reaching the D-3 College World Series, Webster hit a roadblock losing in NCAA regional action 2-1 and 3-2 in 12 innings to end their season. JAZZ IN THE PASTURE OR MORE COW BELL! My wife who grew up on a dairy farm thought this was no big deal as she claims cows are always curious and are checking things out, but it made me smile. From 2011 an American Dixieland jazz band stops along a pasture in rural France for a concert. Here is the link to hear it yourself. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQGyOnYWRTA 31 CARTOONS: 32 33 34