Author Archives: ron.bonlender

I would suppose the city council private executive sessions would no longer be needed if the strong mayor is voted in? That would mean Bruce Smith wouldn’t have his “sources” (Bill Lover and Rick Ensey) report to him the behind … Continue reading →

It’s time to take a look at the Citizens for Safer Streets & Lower Taxes committee and contributors. It can be found by clicking here for PDC reports. The committee co chair, Ben Shoval has kicked in $10,000. Yep $10,000. … Continue reading →

Featured guest on The Other Side on TV is retired Yakima Police Chief, Sam Granato. The show was taped on January 5, 2011. The schedule for this week is as follows: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Jan 10, 11, 12 at 9:30PM … Continue reading →

Wow! The words mandatory and recycling used in the same sentence by conservatives! Change is really in the air! I thought for sure that Yakima would be the last city on the planet to have mandatory curbside recycling. But two … Continue reading →

The January 4, 2011 Yakima City Council meeting was notable for their consistency in being inconsistent! By a 4-3 vote they tabled a resolution to put Voting by District Only on a special election April 26, 2011 ballot. The 4 … Continue reading →

Let’s do a little thinking out loud here. The Citizens for Safer Streets and Lower Taxes committee, (also known here as Special Interests Extraordinaire), want voters to believe that an elected Mayor with the powers they have bestowed on him … Continue reading →

The Citizens for Safer Streets & Lower Taxes have been spending a lot of money lately with Bruce Smith and his newspapers – The Yakima Valley Business Times and the Central Washington Senior Times. Who is this committee and how … Continue reading →

The latest (Dec 17-31 issue) B. S. editorial has got to be his lamest ever. Click and follow the link to complete editorial; When it comes to hitting below the belt and taking cheap shots Bruce Smith has no equal. … Continue reading →

The Yakima City Council operates under a Charter, much as the US Government operates under the Constitution. As in any document the language used makes an attempt to cover as much ground as possible. Many times the “intent” of the … Continue reading →

The Yakima City Council held a special two-minute meeting on Friday, Dec 10th at 9:00 AM because they screwed up and in their haste to vote on the language and format of their Strong Mayor proposal they inadvertently forgot to … Continue reading →