The Columbia Heart Beat

09/27/2025

This is kinda wild, like the existence of this group is suddenly news. The John Brown Club (JBGC) has been a staple of irony and various left-leaning fests for years (irony cuz JBGC is hard left and those guys generally don't like John & Jane Q Peeps owning guns). You'd see them around a lot.

"Oh wow. John Brown Gun Club. What up?" --
Earth Day, peeps wearing JBGC shirts & talking about a fi****ms safety class they were planning

"The Mid Mo chapter of the John Brown Gun Club is having a brake light repair workshop to reduce racial profiling during low-grade traffic stops." -- PrideFest and a couple press releases

"That dude running for City Council like directs the CoMo John Brown Gun Club chapter." -- voter forum from over a decade ago

Media: *Yawn* Then suddenly ...

More links in the comments, all from today, including Redditeers wondering if the whole thing isn't just "right wing rage bait."

A far-left gun club with ties to anti-ICE violence and federal charges posted recruitment materials on Georgetown University's campus this week.

09/26/2025

Oops. Almost forgot. Mayor.

09/26/2025

CoMoBuz reports: city manager De'Carlon Seewood discussed increasing either property or sales taxes during an appearance on 93.9 KSSZ radio

Seewood said a increase would likely be tied to the cost of fire and police protection.

He addressed the City Council’s reluctance to engage the public on the question of a tax increase.

When told the words “tax” and “increase” were never used together during this year’s city budget hearings, "You are absolutely correct," Seewood said.

Just this week, ABC-17 reported that Barbara Buffaloe told them the city was NOT looking at tax hikes to help generate more revenue.

Much has been made over the years of the city’s total cash reserves, which are “pooled” for investment purposes and totaled about $535 million at the end of June.

While ’s cash reserves are currently “healthy,” the annual gap between revenue and spending is growing. “That gap is going to grow," Seewood said.

READ ALL ABOUT IT! At CoMoBuz:

The City of Columbia’s budget math no longer works without dipping into cash reserves, and City Manager De’Carlon Seewood is only stating the obvious when he says the time is

09/26/2025

Evening edition

09/25/2025

Evening edition

Through a Glass Darkowly

09/25/2025

Evening edition

Why is so unaffordable? Veteran builder Rob Wolverton, in the business thirty years, cites these reasons in a recent post:

1) Labor and materials inflation

2) Increased standards, where every change over the past 30 years has increased the cost of construction.

3) Increased buyer expectations. Entry-level housing today has better finishes than high-end homes did 30 years ago.

4) Land cost inflation

5) Development (paperwork, administration, bureaucracy navigation, design) cost inflation

6) Interest rate mismanagement. From 2010-2020, rates were artificially low and should have been allowed to increase gradually. instead, they corrected all at once: interest rates quickly doubled. Interest is the largest cost in home-owner cost. Doubling rates are devastating.

7) Lagging wages. Home prices have grown at a much greater rate than .

9) Post-pandemic home price spike. Home values under-performed the broader real estate market from 2010-2020, then experienced one large upward correction.

10) Uncontrolled . Ten to twenty million people have entered the country in just a few years, with no plan for housing, schools, social services, healthcare, and food.

11) Far fewer entry level homes. People who bought homes before 2022 and have a 3% mortgage are not selling.

The has become more valuable than the home itself. In a normal market, the entry level buyer lives in their home 4-5 years then sells and moves up.

People are still moving up, but they are renting their existing home instead of selling it so they can keep their 3% fixed thirty year mortgage.

Boone County is over-stocked with homes in the $700k+ range and under-stocked with entry level homes.

Building entry-level homes profitably is extremely difficult. The small amount of new-construction homes under $300k is the exception, not the norm.

09/25/2025

Evening edition

Plenty of peeps miss the pioneering Roots and Blues music fest, most recently known as Treeline, and its original 2007 incarnation, Roots & Blues & BBQ (RBBBQ).

A new music and food fest, Biscuits, Beats, & Brews is picking up the mantle, and with plenty of ties to the original.

Held October 3-5 at Cooper's Landing with support and backing from Roots, Blues & BBQ founder Richard King, the FREE event features 11 bands/groups and the Betsy Farris Run, named for RBBBQ's longtime manager and organizer, who passed away in 2016. Betsy was a sweetheart who is much missed in mid-Mo's music and fitness communities. The story below explains why.

More info in comments.

Elizabeth "Betsy" Farris, 57, was the lead organizer of the Roots N Blues N BBQ Festival, a former general manager for KRCG TV and a beloved member of her community.

09/25/2025

The City Council this month again hiked utility bills, trying to sell the idea City Hall, which owns and controls water, electric, trash hauling, and sewer utilities (basically all but gas) needs more money from struggling ratepayers.

And once again, the city's financial numbers do NOT support that claim.

We've been posting about the $535 million cash reserves the city has on hand across all of its departments, when by Council mandate, that number should be around $120 million.

CoMoBuz wrote about how the $50 million reserve in the General Fund portion is $22.5 million more than required.

Of course, the same is true for the Utility Fund portions. As of 9/24, the last time City Hall published its an annual financial report, it had more than $113 million in its Water (W) and Electric (E) cash reserves, violating a City Charter mandate that such monies be kept in a special "Depreciation Fund" and used to LOWER utility rates!

Instead, City Hall just keeps hiking our utility bills, while complaining about the high cost of housing.

Below: City of Columbia water and electric department cash reserves, Click pix for close ups.

09/25/2025

From cash in a cup to cash on a chip: Carrot Top explains how can enter the age of debit and credit cards (PS: it will allow the donor to give much larger amounts now and pay later)

09/24/2025

Plenty of peeps miss the pioneering Roots and Blues music fest, most recently known as Treeline, and its original 2007 incarnation, Roots & Blues & BBQ (RBBBQ).

A new music and food fest, Biscuits, Beats, & Brews is picking up the mantle, and with plenty of ties to the original.

Held October 3-5 at Cooper's Landing with support and backing from Roots, Blues & BBQ founder Richard King, the FREE event features 11 bands/groups and the Betsy Farris Run, named for RBBBQ's longtime manager and organizer, who passed away in 2016. Betsy was a sweetheart who is much missed in mid-Mo's music and fitness communities. The story below explains why.

More info in comments.

Elizabeth "Betsy" Farris, 57, was the lead organizer of the Roots N Blues N BBQ Festival, a former general manager for KRCG TV and a beloved member of her community.

09/24/2025

FU (not MU) politics in our sister city, Seattle, Wa.

Look or feel familiar, oh ye who dare question the status quo?

Seattle Mayoral candidate Katie Wilson hustles out from an event with her handlers all trying to avoid, dismiss, discount or let’s just say evade Journalist Jonathan Choe, as he maintained his polite persistence in asking a couple of questions. But the most charming display of a response to him was that of former City Councilwoman Tammy Morales.
You can see her giving Choe the all new version of “ One Seattle “. What a gal !!!
Hey Tammy, keep almost trying your best.

Photo used from Jonathan Choe’s video.

09/23/2025

: "The Daily Lowdown" Downtown

Overheard: "It's getting to be like an ER around here."