Congratulations And Thanks To Dunbar City Council For Moving Ahead With Anti-Tethering Law

The City of Dunbar is not using lack of home rule as an excuse not to enact city ordinances that protect animals. In their Monday night council meeting they had a second reading of an ordinance that would require people who tether dogs to provide them with food and water. 

Yeah, I know, you'd think there wouldn't be a need to make such a law. You'd think the state code's prohibition against "cruelly" tethering a dog would mandate giving the dog food and water, but if you have ever called animal control or the humane officer or the police to report cruelty to an animal you've seen humane officers and police allow pet owners to force their animals to live in deplorable conditions because the state code doesn't define cruelty. Dunbar's proposed ordinance is a small step in the right direction.

About a year ago animal activists in St. Albans tried to take a longer step. We circulated a petition asking St. Albans City Council to adopt the Huntington ban on tethering (see below)  but St. Albans City attorney, Charles "Chuck" Riffee, nullified our efforts by telling city council that, without home rule, we lack the authority to enact animal protection laws. 

St. Albans' application for home rule was rejected because St. Albans missed the filing deadline. Dunbar, Nitro and 21 other cities managed to turn  in their homework on time so they get to compete to be one of the 16 cities which will join the elite home rule club.

So, again, Dunbar City Council, thank you for not using lack of home rule as an excuse to delay animal protection progress.




The Huntington ordinance says “It shall be unlawful for any owner or other person controlling or possessing any dog to tether a dog outdoors without direct supervision of the animal’s guardian.”

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Higginbotham At Large does not read or publish pseudonymous or anonymous comments. When you click the "submit" button your comment is not yet published it is merely sent to me for my approval or deletion. Commenters who hide behind "handles", nicknames or other pseudonyms will not see their comments published here. If readers won't know who you are, I will delete your comment. No Ring of Gyges for you. I like email addresses that include the submitter's actual name like mine does: JosephHigginbotham@gmail.com.

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2015 West Virginia Legislature: Take Dog Racing Off Legislative Life Support

It's not often that legislatures have a chance to protect animals from cruelty while also providing businesses with something they've been requesting but West Virginia's 2015 legislature will have the chance to do exactly that. All the 2015 legislature has to do to make dog racing go away in Wests Virginia is to "de-couple" off-track betting from live racing. 

You see, dog racing is a money loser, has been for years, and dog tracks will stop offering live racing if legislatures will simply "de-couple" live racing from off-track betting. In other words, if the 2015 West Virginia legislature will let casinos like the Mardi-Gras in Nitro have their profitable off-track betting without the live racing requirement, they will exit the dog racing business voluntarily. Gleefully. Not only does dog racing lose money but the industry's poor treatment of the dogs creates a public relations problem for dog track owners. 

De-coupling live racing from off-track betting may be the only thing animal activists and the dog racing industry agree on. Give both sides what they want: let the dog racing business die. Take the cruel, money-losing dog racing industry off legislative life support and give track owners what they want: let them have off-track betting without the live racing. Then adopt a "retired" greyhound. 

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Higginbotham At Large does not read or publish pseudonymous or anonymous comments. When you click the "submit" button your comment is not yet published it is merely sent to me for my approval or deletion. Commenters who hide behind "handles", nicknames or other pseudonyms will not see their comments published here. If readers won't know who you are, I will delete your comment. No Ring of Gyges for you. I like email addresses that include the submitter's actual name like mine does: JosephHigginbotham@gmail.com.

West Virginia, Saint Albans, St. Albans, Dunbar, Charleston, Kanawha, Speaker bureau, speakers bureau, speaker's bureau, speakers' bureau, guest speaker, 25177, 25143, 25303, 25309, 25301, 25302, 25305, 25311, 25314, 25304, neighborhood watch, animal rights, animal welfare, no-kill, shelters, crime watch, neighborhood crime watch, ward 4,vegan, vegetarian, liberal, liberalism, progressive, branding, naming, home rule

Can You Imagine A Better St. Albans? Would You Be Willing To Share Those Thoughts At A Public Meeting?

Wanted: 

Residents of St. Albans with the ability to imagine a better St. Albans who would be willing to share your thoughts with others who are sharing their thoughts with you.

If you are in your twenties or thirties, can you imagine a St. Albans where you want to raise your kids, start a business, invent something?

Can you imagine a St. Albans with a Mayor and City Council members who want to make St. Albans the kind of town where young couples want to buy a house, start a business, start a career and raise a family?

If you can imagine a better St. Albans would you be willing to attend a public meeting were you would stand up and share your ideas with council members, council hopefuls  others who have come to stand up and share their ideas, too?

This visioning effort should include all races, all ages, all ethnicities, all sexual orientations and all religious and political persuasions. 20-somethings and 30-somethings strongly encouraged to reply.

Contact: JosephHigginbotham@gmail.com or (304) 550-6710.  
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Higginbotham At Large does not read or publish pseudonymous or anonymous comments. When you click the "submit" button your comment is not yet published it is merely sent to me for my approval or deletion. Commenters who hide behind "handles", nicknames or other pseudonyms will not see their comments published here. If readers won't know who you are, I will delete your comment. No Ring of Gyges for you. I like email addresses that include the submitter's actual name like mine does: JosephHigginbotham@gmail.com.

West Virginia, Saint Albans, St. Albans, Dunbar, Charleston, Kanawha, Speaker bureau, speakers bureau, speaker's bureau, speakers' bureau, guest speaker, 25177, 25143, 25303, 25309, 25301, 25302, 25305, 25311, 25314, 25304, neighborhood watch, animal rights, animal welfare, no-kill, shelters, crime watch, neighborhood crime watch, ward 4,vegan, vegetarian, liberal, liberalism, progressive, branding, naming, 

Beware The So-Called "Marketing Expert" Who Has Never Read A Book On Marketing Or Branding

A client once asked me to find them a new Marketing Director. This search assignment was one of the most eye-opening and memorable of my headhunting career because, while I received resumes from and interviewed dozens of so-called "marketing experts", people who were earning salaries as high as $150,000, I was absolutely astounded that almost none of them actually knew much about marketing even though they were currently being paid to know about marketing at other companies. 

Almost none of them knew anything at all about branding, which is one reason I wrote about it in my July 21 and July 23 posts. See archives.

I asked every candidate to tell me about a marketing book that had influenced them. I expected to hear about books by Reis  Trout, David Aaker, Rivkin & Sutherland, Scott Bedbury and Marty Neumeier. Oddly, two people mentioned the 80s bestseller, Iacocca - which isn't a marketing book  - but most of them hadn't read a marketing book or any other business book since college when they were required to read one if they majored in business. 

Of the few candidates who had read a marketing book since college none had read a book on branding , which was a pity since my client had a major branding problem. My client's "elephant in the room" branding issue was so obvious that I was surprised when none of my so-called "marketing experts" could see it. 

If these these highly-paid "marketing experts" had read a book on marketing perhaps they would have known things you'd expect every marketing expert to know like the fact that a trademark isn't a logo unless it has letters in it (since the word "logo" comes from the Greek word for word.) 

Oh, by the way, my college Marketing book (circa 1980) didn't say anything about branding so even if your "marketing expert" majored in marketing, don't assume they know anything about branding.

Beware the charismatic, smiling "marketing expert" who can't name you a single book they've read on marketing or branding. And if your company, organization or cause has a branding problem that you can see, make sure your "expert" can see it, without being told,  within minutes of meeting with you. You might be surprised how many can't.

If your company or cause or organization isn't getting the marketing traction you'd expect, maybe it's time you considered the possibility that your marketing expert is a fraud. 


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Higginbotham At Large no longer reads or publishes pseudonymous or anonymous comments. When you click the "submit" button your comment is not yet published it is merely sent to me for my approval or deletion. If readers will not know who you are, I delete the comment without reading it.  No Ring of Gyges for you.

West Virginia, Saint Albans, St. Albans, Dunbar, Charleston, Kanawha, Speaker bureau, speakers bureau, speaker's bureau, speakers' bureau, guest speaker, 25177, 25143, 25303, 25309, 25301, 25302, 25305, 25311, 25314, 25304, neighborhood watch, animal rights, animal welfare, no-kill, shelters, crime watch, neighborhood crime watch, ward 4,vegan, vegetarian, liberal, liberalism, progressive, branding, naming,