A Marsh With A Village

The best comic relief out of Jefferson City is once again provided by outgoing Springfield Rep. B.J. Marsh.

After making a round of calls to the Capitol Tuesday, two separate sources told me that during the "Village Law" debate, Rep. Marsh drafted an amendment to designate his own property on the corner of Sunshine and National in Springfield "a village."

While I was unable to reach Marsh directly, I'm told that Marsh's intention was to make a point to supporters of the current law. It allows a single developer or property owner to control land without government oversight. Southwest Missouri lawmakers are vigorously pushing for a repeal, but with time running down on the session, frustration is running high.

Marsh's "village" on National and Sunshine has raised eyebrows before -- usually during election time when it boasts numerous Marsh campaign signs (or more recently McCain campaign paraphernalia).

"You can never really tell if B.J. is kidding or not," said Springfield lobbyist Scott Marrs. "You know B.J. You just can't predict him. That's why we're going to miss him," he said, with a laugh.