By Samuel Strait, Reporter at Large – March 6, 2021 It has been a while since Rikuzentakata, Japan was news worthy in the local area, so when it was recently a topic of conversation, the first thing that came to mind is that Chris Howard and Blake Inscore must be home sick for a bit of international travel. Likely at taxpayer expense. It has been over seven years since a small boat washed up on the sandy shores of South Beach and became a high school project, the intent was to return the boat to its owners. The project was almost immediately hijacked by our local government officials primarily to allow them at taxpayer expense to vacation in Japan and hobnob with other future vacationing officials from Japan. Along the way, other "special friends" of local officials were allowed to tag along to bask in reflected glory. One would think when no real value to the exchange, subsequent "sister city resolution" and formation that this painful exhibit of fawning rhetoric and exchange would die a merciful death, but no, it must be reprised, dusted off at regular intervals, and regurgitated in hope that magically it will bring something of actual value to this circus. At least other than a new Ale and cheese. Sounds like an awkward TV commercial that will have a mercifully short life span. The usual suspect, Chris Howard, has resurrected this monument to futility, likely to determine if new life can be injected into this lame duck, in the form of a "panel discussion" of " the Sister City relationships and the future" what ever that is meant to convey. I am sure there will be the continued call for more resources and "cultural exchanges" to occur, as a visit by Mr. Howard and company was likely stymied by the Covid Pandemic for the past year. I am not sure where the Olympic Games money went, as it may be boycotted or cancelled, but I'm quite sure NBC's exposure in their video will hardly measure up to any kind of success in value to the local economy or benefit any but the few government vacationers that were blessed with what most residents will never experience. In fact one might check the County and City's budget lines to see if a budget line item has been included for future government vacations. Needless to say, pomp and ceremony will likely go forward as neither Chris Howard nor Blake Inscore have the slightest notion of how inappropriate this whole business has become in a County that struggles from a laundry list of problems that will not be solved by attention to far off places. It is this kind of tunnel vision that has plagued local government for years. More attention is paid to its trappings than real issues.