State & Local News Vol. 22, No. 1, Fall 1998 Chair's Message By Larry C. Ethridge It is with no small degree of trepidation that I take dictaphone in hand to create my initial "Chair's Message.' I say this armed with the knowledge that, in a recent poll of our readership, approximately 3.4 percent of you found this space to be the least bit relevant or useful! Accordingly, and in a valiant effort to stem this tide of apathy, I pledge to announce the topics to be addressed in each column at the outset, address each issue succinctly, and inject a bit of humor at the conclusion to see if you get there. So, let's get rolling with: (1) BERMUDA, (2) the Local Government Law Weekly, and (3) Section committees. Bermuda Please make plans now for your Spring Break with the Section next March 25B28 in Bermuda, where we have obtained a most favorable rate at the Sonesta Beach Resort Hotel. You will have the opportunity to obtain eight hours of CLE credits, including two hours of ethics credit in an interactive session to be led by our Ethics Guru, Patty Salkin. There will be a welcome reception on Thursday evening and a beach party Saturday night, and families are always welcome at our gatherings. If you've never been to one of our Spring Meetings, please make plans now to join us in Bermuda for professional stimulation, networking, and active pursuit of the Section's Goal IX ("To Have Fun")! Local Government Law Weekly Elsewhere in this issue, you will see the announcement of our new publication partnership with Rita and Chuck Carlson for the dissemination of a most useful publication. Described as a required "Weekly Reader" for those in local government service or in governmental related law practices, the Local Government Law Weekly provides a comprehensive survey of late-breaking cases of interest on a regular basis. Section members will provide "Hot Topic" and case-related articles through the good offices of Council member and Co-Editor Bob Baker, a public finance practitioner in the Chicago office of Jones, Day, Reavis & Pogue. Please review these materials thoroughly and give serious consideration to a subscription for your firm library or governmental law office. Section Committees Often referred to as the "lifeblood of the Section," our committees offer any interested individual the opportunity to become actively involved in the Section's substantive work and leadership from the minute they become a member. Just ask David Caylor, former city attorney of El Paso (Texas), who attended the Annual Meeting in Toronto-where he expressed his interest in addressing the unique ethical issues facing our membership-and now serves as co-chair of our newly established Ethics Committee. You will find a list of our substantive committee chairs in this issue of the News, so please give them a call to express your interest and they will take it from there. We encourage and welcome your participation in all of our activities. Finally, the humor injection for this column is an excerpt from a list of bizarre questions actually posed by lawyers to witnesses in depositions or in court proceedings: Q. Doctor, before you performed the autopsy, did you check for a pulse? A. No. Q. Did you check for blood pressure? A. No. Q. Did you check for breathing? A. No. Q. So, then is it possible that the patient was alive when you began the autopsy? A. No. Q. How can you be so sure, Doctor? A. Because his brain was sitting on my desk in a jar. Q. But could the patient have still been alive nevertheless? A. It is possible that he could have been alive and practicing law somewhere. Have a good fall and make your reservations now for BERMUDA! Larry C. Ethridge is Chair of the Section and practices law with Ackerson, Mosley & Yann in Louisville, Kentucky. State & Local Law News home page | Table of Contents