larger view larger view

Don't envy me just 'cuz I get to write a story about tax revenues.

Consider instead the entertaining ironies of the job.

After meeting with the city manager and a couple finance folks to pore over the most recent Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (don't ask), Mr. Tandy kindly took me on a quick tour of the fifth floor of the city's new building, City Hall North, the former Borton Petrini offices. (Tandy has George Martin's former digs, btw.) One suite even had a fireplace.

The stately brick building is a parking lot away from our own shorter but still historic-and-elegant brick building on Eye Street.

It turns out Tandy's north-facing windows take in a beautiful civic vista...including The Californian's south wall.

And the third-floor office of Lois Henry.

Lois and Tandy aren't exactly BFFs at the moment.

What an odd world, that of all the views in all the offices in the world, the windows of those two would face off within a stone's throw.

Lois' office is behind the tree on the upper right, so I guess some trimming would have to go on before they could lob spit wads.

Out of fairness I'll include an interior shot of Lois' office as well, one taken just this morning.

The bullet patterns are hers, though the beer-brand markup was my doing.

-- Gretchen Wenner, staff writer