Good government, West Palm Beach style

So the federal government is offering a total of $30 million in grants to support "green initiatives" in 10 U.S. cities. Potential applicants need to get their city's blessing in order to apply for the money. Last week the West Palm Beach city commission joined a number of other South Florida communities in choosing as our official representative a company called Down to Earth Global Sustainability Initiative, Inc. This is no small thing, as it means a potential payout of $3 million to Down to Earth. However, the Palm Beach Post reports that the commissioners -- wise solons, fastidious stewards of the public fisc, and exemplars of good government that they are -- were not concerned overmuch with Down to Earth's background or experience:

The firm's energy efficiency credentials consist of a training certificate received two months ago. Its chief financial officer did hard time on a drug conviction

Its president, having emerged from a personal bankruptcy filed in 1998, has worked as a community organizer, a nurse, a lobbyist for a public hospital and education committee chairwoman for the Miami-Dade NAACP. Her website bio also highlights experience as a rapper for a company called Cell Block Records, but nothing along the lines of the green initiative for which her firm is seeking a $3 million federal grant.

But with little vetting by city staff, city commissioners on May 24 voted 4-1 to draft a memorandum of understanding to support the effort by Down to Earth Global Sustainability Initiative Inc.

And the organization's plans for the money count have been drawn from the entry in Roget's thesaurus for "government boondoggle."

Having the city's imprimatur allows the company to apply for the money, which it would use to weatherize homes in low income areas of West Palm Beach. It plans to hire installers, while also helping unemployed and urban youths get certified to teach homeowners and others about green technology.

Ah yes, because how else will the rest of us hear about green technology? I mean, green technology gets absolutely no publicity from newspapers, magazines, television, movies, big business, or schools. Hiring "youths" to fill this information gap is an excellent use of resources, and I am confident that homeowners will be lining up to hear what they have to say.

Kudos to the Post, a paper not inclined to be skeptical of environmentalist initiatives, for reporting on this.