STREET TALK

No wonder it’s so hard to get good help these days: the benefits are lousy. While the City Council was discussing whether to privatize health insurance for city employees (they decided not to). Al Lipscomb raised the question of health insurance for council members. City Attorney Analeslie Muncy said that the city could not provide health benefits to council members because it would be considered compensation under (he law and the City Charter limits compensation for council members to $50 per meeting. Council members weren’t happy with that opinion. John Evans said, “That’s a very narrow view of that, Ms. Muncy…”



Die-hard Democrats may have thought they were in the Twilight Zone for a few days in December. Hanging from the Convention Center was a huge banner that read “Miami Beach Welcomes the 1972 Republican National Convention.” Turns out that it was just Oliver Stone shooting the new Tom Cruise movie, “Born On The 4th of July” and recreating the fear, loathing, and demonstrations of the Miami convention. . .



In another bizarre twist in city-employee relations, former zoo director Larry O. Calvin is suing former Park and Recreation director Jack Robinson and the city of Dallas because, he says, he was discriminated against because he is not gay. The suit was slated to go to court at the end of January. Hetero-phobia rears its ugly head again…



A recent City Council meeting topic was the closed executive sessions at which members discuss private city matters-lawsuits, personnel matters, etc. It was suggested the sessions be tape recorded to encourage council members to not let the conversation drift to topics that by law must be publicly discussed. Jerry Bartos said. “We can always erase them.” He was joking (we hope). . .