Amid the trial of former Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich, we may reflexively equate government with skulduggery. But government can be far more benign, even if at times confounding, as the Federal Register reminds daily — in ways sure to drive libertarians bonkers.
The register is where you can find all the new rules, proposed rules and announcements of federal agencies, as well as presidential orders. The current entries are testament to the pervasive nature of government, whether it’s Fourth of July fireworks on Lake Michigan, permit applications to capture Northern flying squirrels in Illinois or the apparent craving to help the state’s popcorn industry.
There’s the Department of Homeland Security’s proposal to establish a “safety zone on Lake Michigan near Chicago, Illinois” for the city’s Fourth of July celebration. It’s a routine precaution involving the Coast Guard. “The Captain of the Port, Sector Lake Michigan, has determined that the City of Chicago’s July 4th Celebration presents significant risks to public safety and property. The likely combination of congested waterways and multiple firework displays could easily result in serious injuries or fatalities.”
It details the safety zones, including “all waters of Lake Michigan within the arc of a circle with a 1,000-foot radius from a fireworks launch site located on a barge in positions 41 degrees, 58’17” N, 087 degrees 38’25” W.” The proposal is then analyzed for compliance with the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995; Executive Order 12630, Governmental Actions and Interference with Constitutionally Protected Property Rights; another executive order meant to minimize litigation; a third executive order, Protection of Children from Environmental Health Risks and Safety Risk; a fourth executive order, Consultation and Coordination with Indian Tribal Governments; and, finally, various energy, environmental and technical standards rules. It passes muster. Whew.
Elsewhere, the Fish and Wildlife Service at the Department of the Interior discloses a permit application from the Field Museum. It desires “to salvage dead threatened and endangered species for scientific museum collections and public education/display.” It wants to salvage in Illinois, Florida, Indiana, Minnesota and Wisconsin.
Then there’s Rod D. McClanahan of Anna, Ill., who “requests a permit renewal to take (capture and release) Indiana bats, gray bats, Virginia big-eared bats (Corynorhinus townsendii virginianus), Ozark big-eared bats (Corynorhinus townsendii ingens) and Northern flying squirrels (Glaucomys sabrinus)” throughout Illinois and 24 other states. “Proposed activities are to document presence/absence and distribution of the species and to conduct habitat use assessments.”
The Department of Transpotation is preparing an environmental impact statement for the 75th Street Corridor Improvement Project, involving building new railroad tracks, rail flyover bridges and a new rail/roadway grade separation structure within existing rail corridors in the cities of Chicago and Hometown.
The reasonable-sounding aim is to “reduce rail congestion and delays by eliminating conflicts between four freight railroads and two passenger railroads operating in the corridor, improve roadway safety by eliminating an existing at-grade roadway crossing, and allowing passenger rail access from the Metra Southwest Service to the LaSalle Street station, thereby reducing congestion at Union Station.” I say let’s have an E.I.S.!
Now, most importantly, there’s popcorn.
Did you know that the five top popcorn-producing states are Nebraska, Indiana, Illinois, Ohio and Iowa? Or that there has been a change since last year, when Indiana, Kansas, Michigan and Ohio decreased the acreage planted for popcorn, while Kentucky, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri and Nebraska had increases in acreage planted and harvested in 2008? Over all, 2009 acreages planted rose by 1 percent and acreage harvested went up by 4 percent.
I write authoritatively after perusing a proposed rule from the Agricultural Marketing Service at the Department of Agriculture. For those who crave leaner government, there’s wonderful news: Officials want to “reduce the Popcorn Board membership from nine to five members to reflect the consolidation of the popcorn industry and therefore fewer popcorn processors in the industry.”
Since 1997, the board, which sadly does not include an Illinois member, oversees a coordinated program of promotion and research intended to strengthen the industry. It is financed by an assessment on processors.
It reflects the unavoidable potency of the Blago trial that I’m unavoidably left with an unsettling vision: a government wiretap catching the governor somehow promising the late Hoosier, Orville Redenbacher, a spot on the board if only he’d kick in to his campaign. A testament to the pervasive nature of government.
by JAMES WARREN | Jun 12, 2010
Amid the trial of former Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich, we may reflexively equate government with skulduggery. But government can be far more benign, even if at times confounding, as the Federal Register reminds daily — in ways sure to drive libertarians bonkers.
The register is where you can find all the new rules, proposed rules and announcements of federal agencies, as well as presidential orders. The current entries are testament to the pervasive nature of government, whether it’s Fourth of July fireworks on Lake Michigan, permit applications to capture Northern flying squirrels in Illinois or the apparent craving to help the state’s popcorn industry.
There’s the Department of Homeland Security’s proposal to establish a “safety zone on Lake Michigan near Chicago, Illinois” for the city’s Fourth of July celebration. It’s a routine precaution involving the Coast Guard. “The Captain of the Port, Sector Lake Michigan, has determined that the City of Chicago’s July 4th Celebration presents significant risks to public safety and property. The likely combination of congested waterways and multiple firework displays could easily result in serious injuries or fatalities.”
It details the safety zones, including “all waters of Lake Michigan within the arc of a circle with a 1,000-foot radius from a fireworks launch site located on a barge in positions 41 degrees, 58’17” N, 087 degrees 38’25” W.” The proposal is then analyzed for compliance with the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995; Executive Order 12630, Governmental Actions and Interference with Constitutionally Protected Property Rights; another executive order meant to minimize litigation; a third executive order, Protection of Children from Environmental Health Risks and Safety Risk; a fourth executive order, Consultation and Coordination with Indian Tribal Governments; and, finally, various energy, environmental and technical standards rules. It passes muster. Whew.
Elsewhere, the Fish and Wildlife Service at the Department of the Interior discloses a permit application from the Field Museum. It desires “to salvage dead threatened and endangered species for scientific museum collections and public education/display.” It wants to salvage in Illinois, Florida, Indiana, Minnesota and Wisconsin.
Then there’s Rod D. McClanahan of Anna, Ill., who “requests a permit renewal to take (capture and release) Indiana bats, gray bats, Virginia big-eared bats (Corynorhinus townsendii virginianus), Ozark big-eared bats (Corynorhinus townsendii ingens) and Northern flying squirrels (Glaucomys sabrinus)” throughout Illinois and 24 other states. “Proposed activities are to document presence/absence and distribution of the species and to conduct habitat use assessments.”
The Department of Transpotation is preparing an environmental impact statement for the 75th Street Corridor Improvement Project, involving building new railroad tracks, rail flyover bridges and a new rail/roadway grade separation structure within existing rail corridors in the cities of Chicago and Hometown.
The reasonable-sounding aim is to “reduce rail congestion and delays by eliminating conflicts between four freight railroads and two passenger railroads operating in the corridor, improve roadway safety by eliminating an existing at-grade roadway crossing, and allowing passenger rail access from the Metra Southwest Service to the LaSalle Street station, thereby reducing congestion at Union Station.” I say let’s have an E.I.S.!
Now, most importantly, there’s popcorn.
Did you know that the five top popcorn-producing states are Nebraska, Indiana, Illinois, Ohio and Iowa? Or that there has been a change since last year, when Indiana, Kansas, Michigan and Ohio decreased the acreage planted for popcorn, while Kentucky, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri and Nebraska had increases in acreage planted and harvested in 2008? Over all, 2009 acreages planted rose by 1 percent and acreage harvested went up by 4 percent.
I write authoritatively after perusing a proposed rule from the Agricultural Marketing Service at the Department of Agriculture. For those who crave leaner government, there’s wonderful news: Officials want to “reduce the Popcorn Board membership from nine to five members to reflect the consolidation of the popcorn industry and therefore fewer popcorn processors in the industry.”
Since 1997, the board, which sadly does not include an Illinois member, oversees a coordinated program of promotion and research intended to strengthen the industry. It is financed by an assessment on processors.
It reflects the unavoidable potency of the Blago trial that I’m unavoidably left with an unsettling vision: a government wiretap catching the governor somehow promising the late Hoosier, Orville Redenbacher, a spot on the board if only he’d kick in to his campaign. A testament to the pervasive nature of government.