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dotComments: Readers have beef with City Hall dining

Aspen, CO Colorado

Spending on meals by Aspen city government and its employees attracted plenty of comment this week from online readers of The Aspen Times.City Halls food budget and restaurant expenditures by city employees using the citys debit cards, or P-cards, were the focus of several articles, including Guess whos coming to dinner on Feb. 18.Wrote the reader who goes by the screen name Outnumbered:This doesnt suprise me a bit. People think they deserve hook ups because they are associated withAspen. It is well known that if anything is free in Aspen, half the town shows up. It seems to me the city Manager has been here too long and needs to be shown the door. It is irresponsible.Wrote fcg:Can we tax payers get city purchasing cards?How about free parking too.El Conquistador added:And the city manager doesn’t think this is a big deal. Clearly, Barwick needs to be shown the door – and hopefully wont be taken to lunch on his way out.A Feb. 20 editorial, Citys dining is hard to stomach, spurred this from mfitzgerald:City Hall owes the public an explanation for these hundreds of thousands of dollars in meal charges.Blame it on Helen Klanderud; thats worked pretty well in the past.And, in response to the Feb. 20 article Indigestion for some Aspen officials, 1978LivesOn wrote:Take the cards away…or establish a STRICT guideline that says, only x-amount per month.Typical govt attitude…Its not MY money…so why care?Ive seen it up close and personal in the Federal govt…so I dont know why anyone would expect THIS town to be any different.Responded Red Ant:1978,Shouldnt we expect this town to be different because there are only 2100 of us voters, generally, and with such a small group, shouldn’t we be able to have more influence, and more accountability than at the Federal government level?I hope that this story will help people get interested . I hope that they don’t continue with the attitude,thats what government does. Dont expect anything different.MarilynFlirting with the front linesThe Feb. 17 article about Aspen Skiing Co. executives as salaried workers handling duties like loading chairlifts and directing parking lot traffic left some readers more impressed than others.Wrote blueskies55:Applause to SkiCo! What a difference it would make if company executives would experience the front lines…..and why don’t we begin with the airline execs. Ah, customer service heads would roll.But Agua wrote:Really? I am sorry to break the news, but this guys spend 1 to 2 hours tops in the front lines to see and be seen. Bussing tables? Helping with traffic? ask the lifties, ask the restaurant servers, they will tell you the truth.And, there was this from crazy beautiful:One could use the progressive outline of the Aspen Ski Co as #1 example of the Dysfunctional cycle of corporate obviousness. It has devoured land people and the environment. Who do they think is fooled by this embarrassing schlock. The whole mental well being of this community is in ruins because of the unbridled greed of this disgusting dysfunctional unstoppable heartless criminal entity. Bringing desperate unhappy insecure workers in to work for a salary in the negative; after cost of living; has spread nothing but misery and dysfunction. Then to send in some smiling over paid goob to stand next to the peasant is insulting.A shoulder to cry onAs usual, Times columnist Addison Gardner stirred things up with his The lost boys of the Nancy state on Feb. 17, which took President Barack Obama and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi to task, among others.Responded KingKrabby:Addison Gardner, the Republican shoulder for all of you to cry on. So sorry that Obama has not solved a financial crisis in 3 weeks that Bush took 8 years to create. Where do you Right Wing Dings think you are, at some fast food restaurant?Offered jgately:Obama speaks. Markets listen. Markets sell off.There was also this excerpt from maquaqua:WE love Addison Gardners rants. They are fun, we are entertained and enlightened. He is a wordsmith and a very thoughtfull writer. I think you don’t like us who like him. Democrats crow about cheering European crowds and sidelined redneck rubes. This is great stuff. Read. Enjoy. Or just go underground with Beradine Dorne and stay there, Please!signed – a redneck rube