"We will never run out of water!"

The spotlight on the Corpus Christi water crisis is intensifying after the governor suggested the state could take the city over to solve the problem. A Michigan mayor has been censured by the council for malicious attacks on the city manager — but he is unrepentant. A bat crashed a council meeting and the city’s social media team had a little fun with it. And a miracle weight loss drug is spiking health insurance costs for one of the largest cities in America.

All that and more news after the job postings.

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Things are reaching a boiling point in Corpus Christi as they attempt to navigate through a rapidly shrinking supply of water. Last week, Governor Greg Abbot suggested the state may need to takeover the city, or at a minimum, micromanage it all while inaccurately claiming that the city had squandered $750 million in state funding. He has ordered agencies to suspend normal procedures in an effort to buy the city more time

Just a day or so later, City Manager Peter Zanoni emphatically sought to tamp down the concerns at a 67-minute press conference.

"We will never run out of water. Could it be a situation where for a period of time the supply doesn't meet the demand? That's possible," Zanoni said.

Earlier this week, five scenarios were shared with the public and two of those modeled a Level 1 water emergency. This designation signals that the city has just 180 days of water supply available to meet total demand. It does not mean that they are running out of water in 180 days.

“If we get to the point where we have to declare a level one water emergency, we need to be ready for that and we have no precedent to follow and we have no there’s no manual, there’s no video, there’s no, ‘This is how we did it the last time,’ Zanoni told the council, adding that a curtailment plan could take weeks or months to finalize and implement.

The Menominee City Council has voted to formally censure Mayor Casey Hoffman following a tense special meeting tied to an ongoing dispute over cannabis licensing and allegations he has leveled against their city manager, Brett Botbyl.

The censure resolution, which passed 6-1, accuses Hoffman of harassing, defaming, slandering, and discriminating against Botbyl, including the use of social media posts.

“I feel no greater honor than to be censured by the Menominee City Council. I intend to frame the censure resolution, place it in a position of honor inside the mayor's office, and let it serve as a constant reminder that my ethics are rock solid," said Mayor Hoffman.

Another elected official’s attack on his city manager was rebuked by his colleagues on the governing body. This time, Houghton Councilor Brian Irizarry slammed City Manager Eric Waara for thwarting his effort to add an item to the agenda.

“It’s not the manager’s place to tell the council what to do,” Irizarry said. “Not only was I dismissed, but he (Waara) disenfranchised the voters.”

Councilor Mike Needham addressed Irizarry’s concerns saying: ”There certainly wasn’t a conspiracy against anyone.”

Mayor Pro-tem Philip Buck Foltz said the suggestion that the council look for a new manager is “crazy talk” and that Irizarry’s comments were an “unnecessary attack and I’m ashamed.”

The Lowell social media team had a little fun after they received an unexpected visitor from a bat during a contentious discussion about data centers. CiviSocial’s Sam Toles would applaud this effort.

In more serious news, Lowell passed a 360-day moratorium on data centers. It is the first city to do so in Massachusetts.

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