I decided to go straight to the source and ask City Attorney Randy Ray what the status is of the cable franchise agreement. He was kind enough to write me back this evening:
We have a meeting scheduled with Insight next week. We hope to have an agreement by April 15. Our biggest local concern is to end the payments by the City for televising Council meetings live. Thank you for the question.
One of the pitfalls of using sarcasm as I occasionally do is that you always have to qualify when you’re being serious. This is one of those times. So, seriously, thanks to Randy Ray for responding to my e-mail and providing this update. Some may complain it wasn’t that newsy, but I know there isn’t a lot he can share while the city and Insight are still negotiating. Hope the negotiations turn out well and in the city’s best interests.
I drove 45 tonight through East Peoria, across the bridge, and up to the University Street exit and never encountered a worker, a lane reduction, or a dangerous situation to me or others at any time. Why is the speed limit still 45? I don’t mind driving slow when workers are present or there is some other compelling reason — any compelling reason. But driving slow for no reason at all is frustrating for drivers.
Why can’t IDOT use speed limit signs that say “Speed Limit 45 when flashing” and have those yellow construction lights connected to them? I’ve seen these signs used in other places, so I know the technology exists. Then at night, or other times when there’s no reason to drive slowly, traffic can legally go the speed limit of 55. Seems like a win-win to me.
Maybe someone on the council can ask Mr. Joe Crowe, Regional Director of Highways for IDOT, when he gives his presentation on the I-74 expansion project tomorrow night.
Jason Fry of the Wall Street Journal Online gives his opinion about the future of blogging. He covers everything from the number of blogs to blog measurement, including these recent Gallup poll results:
Beyond flat to declining blog traffic, it found just 9% of Internet users read blogs frequently, 11% do so occasionally, 13% rarely bother, and 66% never do. And “reading blogs” ranked last in a list of 13 common Internet activities, below things like emailing, checking news and weather, and shopping.
His prediction for the future, in a nutshell:
Within a couple of years blogging will be a term thrown around loosely — and sometimes inaccurately — to describe a style and rhythm of writing, as well as the tools to publish that writing.
As opposed to a “revolution,” which is what some bloggers still hope for. If you have a couple minutes, read his whole article and tell me what you think of it.
News and Comment about Peoria, Illinois
