Joe D The Double Dipper is building himself a Cathouse and Elks Lodge on our dime

Double Dipping Essex County Executive Joe DiVincenzo is shameless. He's unapologetic about his fake retirement and not slowing down even a little in building more monuments to his own munificence.

His latest waste of our tax money continues his quest to one-up Teddy Roosevelt in the Big Game Hunter department. Hot on the heels of his $5 million Safari-themed Mini Golf extravaganza Joe D is building a Cathouse. For Big Cats. He's appropriated another $3 million dollars so Turtle Back Zoo can put jaguars and cougars on display. When it's completed in September Cougars driving Jaguars can take full advantage of some plush new environs for stalking their boy toys. 7500 square feet of Southwest hardscape beckoning the rough and ready adventurers of Essex County.

I must have missed that part of the Constitution which explains how the Founding Fathers fought and died so politicians could tax the citizenry to pay for zoos.

But wait, there's more! Joe D is gonna build an Elks Lodge, too. For elk. Four elk, imported from Canada, are set to be lavishly ensconced within a stone's throw of the marauding cougars and jaguars. That's another $3.2 million we can't afford. Oh, but it'll be part of the new Aerial Adventure Course, complete with zip lines and a suspension bridge! Kilimanjaro comes to West Orange? It's educational!

"Everything we do here … this is not just an amusement attraction … everything we do is about education," he said. "We will teach them about tree-top exploration, about the reservation, about how scientists study animals in the tree-top, in the midst of recreation."

What happened to film strips? Remember those? They were educational, and a whole lot cheaper too. But then again, the taxpayers are certainly getting an education. An education in wasteful government spending, not that we really needed it.

Next up on Joe D's radar? Elephants. He can't let the Go Daddy guy have all the fun, can he?

Posted at 11:01 by Chris Wysocki   [/democrats]   Comments | Perm Link |
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