The main purpose of these hearings is to get an idea on where the budget missed the boat with the community. No budget will ever please everybody. The City Council tries to address the concerns they hear about most. Sometimes, if the city does not get any strong message from these hearings, no changes are made.

Things began to turn around about a year ago, but it was late in the year.

Actively addressing the pre-kindergarten piece of our educational puzzle is critical to our overall success. Studies have proven that for every pre-kindergarten dollar that is spent on our children, we save up to $17 over time in areas such as special education, health care and welfare payments. I can't begin to thank everyone for their generosity at Mountains of Hope. The have started the wheels turning, both literally and figuratively.

Research into school success shows a direct link to the preparation that young children receive form the time they are born until they enter kindergarten. Young children who have the opportunity to engage in stimulating cognitive activities and nurturing social-emotional relationships are already ahead of their peers when they enter kindergarten.

Humanitarianism consists in never sacrificing a human being to a purpose

The purpose of this bill is to protect my private property owners, ... and to make them willing participants in protecting species and their habitat.