On Local Politics

At some point I wrote about the local high school controversy -- the board has voted to begin a ~$100M construction project, and a local organization is fighting it pretty fiercely. The level of the debate from an observer's point of view is low -- it seems like every article in the local paper details some shouting match, and the on-line comments are what you would expect to be written by UM or OSU fans about the UM / OSU football game.

I will say right here that I am *firmly* on the side of the board -- I think they should go ahead with the construction, even though it means my already high property taxes will increase. The opposition group is a who's who of State College bigwigs, and so my stance on this issue puts me at odds with the Paterno family. That doesn't concern me too much -- even if they are proxies for Joe (and I don't get the impression that they are), they aren't speaking on behalf of Joe's employer, Penn State. However, a number of the other folks identified in this article as funding the opposition group are business people, and their businesses are named. That bothers me a bit, because it implies that not only does the person endorse this particular side of a political argument, but their business does.

I've been a *big* advocate for the bank I use here in town, because I think they are great. I love the personal service. Now I find out that the chairman of the bank is part of "Citizens for Better Solutions". I have to say, this changes my opinion -- I get the sense that Nittany Bank holds political opinions, and isn't just a bank. For now, I think I'll stick with them, but if the name of the bank keeps getting linked with this particular issue, I think I'll consider switching to the credit union.