A story in your Tuesday Business section announced that free parking downtown has become virtually non-existent, which is timed with an increase in all parking rates by $1 an hour. Another negative impact to the small-business owner, whom the City Council claims to support. There’s no reference to a response from the city, but who did you think was going to help pay for the $636 million Badlands fiasco? Not the irresponsible council members.

Look for more sneaky schemes to come. To paraphrase the late Sen. Everett Dirksen, a dollar here, a dollar there and pretty soon it adds up to some real money.