Let's tie up this loose end

For completeness reasons, I may as well post the ending to the fire department story I've been writing about, so those readers not living in the Minneapolis/St.Paul area can find out what ultimately happened. Minneapolis Fire Chief Bonnie "Caligula" Bleskachek has accepted a demotion to a make-work, dead-end administrative position, with no hope of advancement or supervising other firefighters, or even fighting fires, ever again. Additionally, the Minneapolis Fire Department has come up with a novel new policy - the Chief may no longer have personal relationships with anyone in the department, and battalion chiefs (comparable to district managers?) may no longer have relationships with anyone who is in the district that they supervise.

This may come under the heading of "blindingly obvious" to most of us, but of course the firefighters union opposes this new rule:

"They think it's strict and over-the-top," said Tom Thornberg, president of Local 82. "I think it's an attempt to make a difference, but I have expressed some strong reservations about it."

Remember, the union and its members were the ones that complained in the first place about Ms. Bleskachek's ham-handed attempts to establish her own personal harem in the department. It's more than an "attempt" to make a difference, Mr. Thornberg, it's only what just about every private business in the country has set as policy as a matter of course. Welcome to Accountability Land, sir, population - you.

"Bleskachek said last week that she would sign the settlement agreement that would demote her to a staff captain with no supervisory role, no fighting fires, no severance and no hope of advancement."

Sounds like what companies do in Japan to executives that they want to get rid of. Instead of firing them, they assign them to an office with no phone, no computer, and no duties. They just sit there and look at the walls for 8 hours a day, until they are shamed into resigning. Since Ms Bleskachek apparently has no shame, I expect her to remain in this position for the next 20 years or so, until she finally retires and goes away.