Hmmmm. Maybe Isaac can let me know how I would go about creating a Municipal Court.

When I read the article, I was actually very shocked and I was about to fire off a rant. Then I thought, "Well, I would be embarrassed if I reacted on the fly without checking the story...surely this is a spoof of some sort." Would a municipality really spend over a thousand dollars to prosecute someone for not filing a $1.15 tax deficiency? The fact that the paper's name is The Enquirer made me even more suspicious.

So, I clicked on the home page of the paper. The lead article? Goat jumping on a trampoline helps a kid with the ADHD. There are even pictures of the jumping goat and the happy boy.

Now I am convinced this paper is a spoof but then I notice it is the Cincinnati Enquirer. I lived in Louisville KY just down the road a bit from Cin and I recognize the paper as being legit, despite the happily jumping goat.

Then I see the following article and I remember why I moved back to Portland despite all that Jack laments about and which I tend to agree:

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051104/NEWS01/511040412

Shooting in downtown Portland, sure, but very sporadic compared to cities of like size around the country. At least Portland didn't have a 84 yr old man getting two rounds in the chest when 3 kids are upset the old man ran out of dimes that he was giving out as Halloween treats.

This takes me to my original rant: sometimes I wonder if my three deployments to the Middle East really "protects freedoms and liberties in America" and that old chestnut when I read about unemployed citizens potentially having a criminal conviction and fines stemming from a $1.15 tax liability, 84 yr old men being gunned down over a dime Halloween treat, and the lead article in the paper being about jumping goats curing ADHD.

I got the article at the link, and it starts like this:
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BATAVIA – A Loveland woman pleaded not guilty this morning to four criminal charges stemming from her failure to file city tax returns and not paying late fees on her $1.16 tax bill.

Deborah Combs appeared in Clermont County Municipal Court with her attorneys, and entered the pleas before Judge James A. Shriver.
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Commissioner Leonard, the city of Portland could establish a municipal court under ORS 221.336, which authorizes any city in the state to do so. The city used to have a municipal court in a bygone era, but transferred that function to Multnomah County some years ago.