Clean Up City of St. Augustine, Florida

Thursday, July 09, 2009

Bill Moyers' Journal airs health care whistleblower interview

by: Bill Moyers Journal, t r u t h o u t | Programming Note

PBS Airtime: Friday July 10, 2009, at 9:00 p.m. EST on PBS (check local listings here).

With almost 20 years inside the health insurance industry, Wendell Potter saw for-profit insurers hijack our health care system and put profits before patients. Now, he speaks with Bill Moyers about how those companies are standing in the way of health care reform. Potter spoke out against the industry for the first time last month. Testifying before the Senate Commerce Committee, he said, "Recently it became abundantly clear to me that the industry's charm offensive, which is the most visible part of a duplicitous and well-financed PR and lobbying campaign, may well shape reform in a way that benefits Wall Street far more than average Americans." Wendell Potter is a senior fellow on health care for the nonpartisan watchdog group Center for Media and Democracy, for which he writes a blog on health care r

Is Seventh Congressional District A "Marked" District?

Have Democratic party leaders made a deal not to try hard enough to defeat Rep. JOHN LUIGI MICA?

Is that why Rep. MICA's vigorous 2008 Democratic challenger, Faye Armitage, got so little help from Democrats?

Is it because MICA is owned by Big Oil and the Highway Lobby, generous campaign contributors?

Is it part of a larger deal whereby Republicans and Democrats agree not to fund strong candidates to run against one another, trading Congressional seats like baseball cards?

If so, does that type of "old politics" deal amount to a civil rights violation?

A fraudulent breach of trust?

A betrayal of American ideals by political parties (which our Founders called "factions" and warned about as dangerous in the Federalist Papers)?

Every Republican Congressional seat requires a strong, vigorous, well-funded Democratic candidate. We need a 50 state strategy (as Howard Dean urged) and a 435 Congressional District strategy.

We need to reject the advice of the "nattering nabobs of negativism," who don't understand yet that this is as a Democratic era in our State and Nation.

Democrats and Republicans do the American people a disservice by allowing party hacks to "mark" Congressional Districts and make backroom deals.

If it were commerce, it would be indictable as an antitrust conspiracy.

Since it's government and politics, it might just be considered a civil and criminal civil rights violation. What do you reckon?

Inquiring minds will be watching and waiting.

So, no more "marked" Districts, please.

WIRED MAGAZINE: Upside to the Economic Downturn: Less Traffic * By Tony Borroz Email Author * July 8, 2009

Upside to the Economic Downturn: Less Traffic

* By Tony Borroz * July 8, 2009 |

The economy [five-letter vulgarity deleted], but at least we’re spending less time in traffic.

People are driving less because of high fuel prices and as a result spent an average of 36.1 hours creeping through traffic in 2007, according to a biannual study released today by the Texas Transportation Institute at Texas A&M University. That’s down from a peak of 37.5 hours recorded in 2005 and it marks the first time traffic congestion has fallen since 1991.

The institute’s Urban Mobility Report comes as Congress contemplates the $500 billion transportation spending bill written by Rep. Jim Oberstar, D.-Minn., and Rep. John Mica, R-Fla. That bill calls for $337 billion in funding for highway construction, $100 billion for public transit and $50 billion to build a nationwide high-speed rail system. The rest of the money is set aside for a variety of other projects.

The report draws on the most recent data available and notes that although the decline started before the recession started, the bad economic climate could prolong the trend as riders embrace carpooling and mass transit to save money. “As goes the American economy, so goes the traffic,” the researchers said.

Still, it isn’t a pretty picture. According to the study, traffic congestion remains a Herculean problem that drains $78 billion from the economy in the form of 4.2 billion lost hours and 2.9 billion gallons of wasted fuel.

“That’s 105 million weeks of vacation time and 58 fully loaded supertankers,” the report notes.

The decline makes sense. The less money people have to spend, the less driving they will do and the more likely they are to use public transportation. Ergo, traffic congestion goes down. But there’s a downside to this upside to the economic downturn: It won’t last. Sooner or later the economy will pick up and Americans will be back in their cars, yakking on their cell phones, eating their burgers and clogging up the roads the way they clog up their arteries.

Also, it is worth realizing that the improvement is slight and only blunts the trend of our roads growing ever busier.

“This is a very small change. No one should expect to be driving the speed limit on their way to work because of this,” says David Schrank, one of two researchers who compiled the report.

Researchers examined state and federal transportation data for 439 urban areas nationwide. The Los Angeles area still topped the list of most hellish commutes with an average of 70 hours spent in traffic, but residents there shaved two hours off the time spent creeping along. Washington, D.C., displaced Atlanta to take second place on the list. D.C. residents spent 62 hours in traffic in 2007, according to the report.

Atlanta, Houston and the San Francisco-Oakland area rounded out the top five worst commutes. Of the 90 largest urban areas in the study, Buffalo, N.Y. fared the best with people there spending an average of 10 hours in traffic. (See the full list here in .pdf form.)

Other highlights from the report demonstrate the effects of the nation’s traffic woes:

* The overall cost (based on wasted fuel and lost productivity) reached $87.2 billion in 2007 — more than $750 for every U.S. traveler.
* The amount of wasted fuel topped 2.8 billion gallons — three weeks’ worth of gas for every traveler.
* The amount of wasted time totaled 4.2 billion hours — nearly one full work week (or vacation week) for every traveler.

OK, it’s bad. But do they have any solutions? Actually, they do. The researchers recommend a “fair and expanded approach” to reducing traffic congestion, essentially saying we need more of everything. The strategies include:

* Get as much use as possible out of the transportation system we have.
* Add roadway and public transportation capacity in the places where it is needed most.
* Change our patterns, employing ideas like ridesharing and flexible work times to avoid traditional “rush hours.”
* Provide more choices, such as alternate routes, telecommuting and toll lanes for faster and more reliable trips.
* Diversify land development patterns to make walking, biking and mass transit more practical.
* Adopt realistic expectations, recognizing for instance that large urban areas are going to be congested, but they don’t have to stay that way all day.

It sounds straightforward, but nothing about our transportation system is easily addressed. The researchers urge policymakers to act swiftly to address highway and mass transit issues because such projects typically take 10 to 15 years to complete. But they say we can’t rely on the government alone to fix this mess.

“The best solutions are going to be those in which actions by transportation agencies are complemented by businesses, manufacturers and commuters,” says Tim Lomax, who worked with Schrank to compile the report. “There’s a mindset that says that this is a city government’s job or a state DOT’s job, but the problem is far too big for transportation agencies alone to address it adequately.”

And we need not necessarily think big. Jim Corless, director of Transportation for America, says offering more mass transit and incentives to telecommute, bike or walk could yield big benefits.

“There is ample evidence that shows reducing peak hour traffic by just a small percentage will dramatically reduce congestion and all of the costs associated with traffic,” he said in a statement....
.

FLORIDA POLITICS: Race against Mica getting mighty crowded

Race against Mica getting mighty crowded

"Nine-term Republican U.S. Rep. John Mica has additional company in his 2010 reelection bid."

Palm Coast Democrat Heather Beaven, a Navy veteran and chief executive of an education foundation, entered the race this week. Beaven, 40, had campaign kickoff events scheduled Tuesday in Flagler County. ...

The race for the congressional 7th District appears to be a crowded one. Also in it are Faye Armitage, a Fruit Cove Democrat who lost to Mica of Winter Park last fall; Peter Silva, a St. Augustine Democrat; and no-party-affiliated Stephen Bacon of DeBary.

Palm Coast Democrat to challenge Rep. Mica -- Nine-term Republican U.S. Rep. John Mica has additional company in his 2010 re-election bid

Daytona Beach News-Journal
July 08, 2009

Palm Coast Democrat to challenge Rep. Mica

Staff Report

Nine-term Republican U.S. Rep. John Mica has additional company in his 2010 reelection bid.

Palm Coast Democrat Heather Beaven, a Navy veteran and chief executive of an education foundation, entered the race this week. Beaven, 40, had campaign kickoff events scheduled Tuesday in Flagler County.

She listed education, job creation and treatment of military veterans as priorities.

"I really have spent the last 20 years in one, all three, or some combination of those categories," Beaven said on Tuesday.

The organization she leads -- Florida Endowment Foundation for Florida's Graduates -- works with about 5,000 children in the state, helping them "understand relevance between what they're learning and what they'll be doing after graduation," Beaven said.

The race for the congressional 7th District appears to be a crowded one. Also in it are Faye Armitage, a Fruit Cove Democrat who lost to Mica of Winter Park last fall; Peter Silva, a St. Augustine Democrat; and no-party-affiliated Stephen Bacon of DeBary.

The 7th District stretches from St. Johns to Seminole counties.

Monument Policy Group Clients -- "Monument Policy provides strategic counsel to a wide range of clients, including Fortune 100 corporations"

Monument Policy Group Clients

Monument Policy provides strategic counsel to a wide range of clients, including Fortune 100 corporations, privately-held companies, trade associations and coalitions, and non-profits.

SELECT CURRENT CLIENTS

* Appalachian Trail Conservancy
* Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO)
* EADS North America
* Eli Lilly and Company
* Entertainment Software Association
* Flightwatch Systems
* General Dynamics
* Group Health Cooperative
* L-1 Identity Solutions
* Logical Properties
* Microsoft Corporation
* Mount Holly Fire Department
* National Business Travel Association
* National Center for Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation
* Netflix
* Northrop Grumman
* PhRMA
* REI
* Sabre Holdings
* U.S. Olympic Committee
* U.S. Travel Association
* USIS
* Weyerhaeuser
* Zillow.com

SELECT FORMER CLIENTS

* American Agip
* American Immigration Lawyers Association
* Cross Match Technologies Inc.
* Digimarc Corporation
* Discover America Partnership
* DTC Engineers and Constructors
* Electronic Data Systems Corporation
* Essential Worker Immigration Coalition
* IBM Corporation
* Metor S.A. Petrochemical and Industrial Complex
* Nanosys
* Retail Industry Leaders Association
* Sybase Inc.
* Synosia Therapeutics
* Thai Gem & Jewelry Traders Association
* Travel Business Roundtable
* Verified Identity Pass
* XM Satellite Radio Inc.
* Xytis

National Journal's "Under the Influence": Ex-Aide to Rep. JOHN LUIGI MICA Joins Lobbying Firm, "Monument Policy Group"

Wednesday, July 8, 2009 12:05 PM
Monument Policy Group Adds Republican

By Bara Vaida

Lobbying firm Monument Policy Group hired Jane Alonso, former legislative director to Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine., as vice president of government relations.

Alonso worked for Collins for seven years, where she handled a range of issues including, health care, energy, defense, foreign policy, trade, and taxes. She also served as a professional staff member for two committees, Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.

Prior to Collins, Alonso, who is a native of Miami, Fla., worked for Sen. Bob Graham, D-Fla., and Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla. and Rep. John Mica, R-Fla. She also twice served as an Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe election supervisor in Bosnia.

Monument Policy Group stressed Alonso's bipartisan ties, noting that she was co-founder of the Senate Bipartisan Legislative Directors Group, a program that brings together senior Hill aides to foster bipartisanship.

TOXIC TORTS?: Mosquito Control Districts Must Not Commit Toxic Torts By Aerial Spraying of Neurotoxins: Public Notice, Hearings Peer Review Needed

Dear Dr. Xue:

Thank you for your years of working to protect public health. As the son of a malaria survivor (my late father), I sincerely appreciate the hard work that AMCD does to protect public health.

We understand that more than twenty inches of rain created a massive mosquito infestation. We understand there was a crisis. Every crisis provides an opportunity to do our best -- the Chinese character for "crisis" also means "opportunity."

Unfortunately, AMCD did not tell the public that AMCD was spraying Dibrom. This could be construed as one or more torts, including assault, battery, nuisance, trespass, negligence, fraud and misrepresentation.

Unfortunately, AMCD never tested our AMCD employees' blood for cholinesterase during six decades of organophosphate OP) spraying. This is now being remedied, I understand. I first raised the issue of cholinesterase testing with AMCD's then-Chair Board Chair Barbara Bosanko in 2006- 2007. She was flummoxed, apparently did not know what cholinesterase was, and hung up the telephone. Thank you for your providing cholinesterase testing for AMCD and contractor employees now.

AMCD must work smarter with the community to solve the pesticide conundrum, eliminating use of OPs as soon as possible.

We urgently need to schedule public hearings and independent scientific peer review on OP use by AMCD. That is what is required by AMCD's Mission Statement.

Were OPs sprayed over a wide area, without checking for sensitive areas? Questions have gone unanswered. Please see prior E-mails.

This is not about just AMCD. This is a generic concern that afflicts mosquito control throughout our State and Nation.

There has never been a programmatic environmental impact study of mosquito control in the State of Florida.

Why not?

The Florida Mosquito Control Association and the American Mosquito Control Association and their members are in bed with the petrochemical industry. The petrochemical industry funds its conferences and research. FMCA and AMCA "leaders" have made bone-headed remarks to AMCD about environmental issues.

The petrochemical industry spends vast sums to continue selling its carcinogenic, teratogenic and neurotoxic products, dosing our natural environment with poisons for profit. Meanwhile, cancer remains a national scourge despite billions spent onc cancer research since President Nixon announced our government would find a cure.

EPA and the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (DACS) are like little 'ole rowboats in the wake of the Armada of the chemical merchants.

EPA and DACS rely on petrochemical neurotoxin merchants' data, advice, lobbying, lawyers and influence. To say that EPA and DACS "regulate" pesticides is like saying that King Canute "regulated" the sea by telling it to recede. As Rachel Carson documented in "Silent Spring," pesticides kill people, bald eagles and other "non-target organisms."

We elected AMCD Commissioners to be leaders, not to be followers of the petrochemical cartel. This is the same cartel whose leader, I.G. Farben, manufactured Zyklon B, an organophosphate that was used to exterminate millions of people in Nazi concentration camps.

Standing up to the chemical merchants takes courage. That's why we elect Mosquito Control Commissioners.

Starting today, we should all expect AMCD's Director and Commissioners to begin the dialogue that will end OP spraying. Every natural and less toxic alternative must be explored by our Commissioners, in open public hearings, with scientific peer review by independent scientists not funded by the petrochemical industry.

No one should ever again be sprayed with OPs from aircraft, without warning, without public hearings, and without adequate protection of employees of AMCD, who were never tested for cholinesterase for 60 years (tests are being arranged now).

Mosquito control must not be a "toxic tort."

AMCD must more vigorously implement all-natural means of controlling disease-breeding mosquitoes. A regulatory program to eliminate standing water is required. Natural mosquito predators (including Gambusia fish, bats and Bti) must be implemented vigorously, pursuant to AMCD's five-year plan.

AMCD and other Florida mosquito control districts must do a better job of protecting people, eagles and other endangered species. I know that you and everyone else at AMCD agrees. I look forward to working with y'all to make AMCD the best in Florida at protecting both public health and our environment. A citizens' advisory committee is urgently required.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

ED SLAVIN
Clean Up City of St. Augustine, Florida
www.cleanupcityofstaugustine.blogspot.com
P.O. Box 3084
St. Augustine, Florida 32085-3084
904-829-3877 (o)
904-471-9918 (fax)

AMCD Director's Response on Aerial Organophosphate (OP) Pesticide Spraying (Dibrom/Naled) on 103,000 Acres of St. Johns County, Florida Xue\

Dear Ed:
Thank you very much for your message. We have arranged the related employees for the test already. Kay told me she sent the spraying map and some data to you by fax. District Attorney told me that he would like to answer your questions.
We do have the same goal/mission to reduce and limit the pesticide usage. I DO NOT like/want to use any kind of pesticides for mosquito and mosquito-borne disease control if I can do it. I have used my last 31 years to search for the pesticide alternative methods like biocontrol (8-10 years), natural or botanic insecticides/repellents, control traps, source reduction, and have done my best efforts to reduce/limit pesticide use, such as toxic baits and bait stations, barrier treatments (spots & target treatments), mosquito magnets, promoting public education for personal and community protection, natural repellents and larvicides. But it was very difficult to control the mosquito situation when the mosquito peaks occur and disease threats. I have to consider to use the powerful pesticides like other districts to quickly control the situation and to protect majority of the citizens after I failed with other methods/pesticides. Since I joined the AMCD, the pesticide application has been greatly reduced and the pesticide application has more standards/justification for use. The district arranged the spraying after receiving any kind of service requests before. I have requested the inspectors/sprayers to visit/inspect the residential area and make the justification and conduct education first, empty any breeding containers, checking the landing rate counts after we received the service requests for spraying. Use of any kind of pesticides is the last choice after other methods failed. Our employees get more education about how to use pesticides and use pesticides properly.
I am really appreciate your support and help. If you have any good suggestion, please let me know. Let us work together to make the St. Johns County more safe for living.
Best regards,
Rudy

Wednesday, July 08, 2009

Aerial Neurotoxin Spraying: Anastasia Mosquito Control District of St. Johns County Ducks Questions on Employee, Public, Environmental Safety, Health

Dear Dr. Xue:
1. You promised answers. I still don't have your answers, only obfuscation. Why? Will you provide answers again at the last minute, just before tomorrow night's AMCD meeting (6 PM)? Or will you show me the courtesy and respect to get me something by Noon tomorrow?
2. It appears that sensitive areas in St. Johns County have not been protected, as AMCD improperly sprayed neurotoxiins, (Dibrom/Naled), an oranophosphate (OP) without observing restrictions. Worse, a Board member was apparently present as this assault on our environment was carried out.
3. This spraying of OPs was without prior public notice. The St. Augustine Record reported AMCD's news about the aerial spraying, but was not told OPs were being sprayed.
4. This spraying of OPs covered over 103,000 acres of St. Johns County -- possibly violating Board policy and state and federal laws regarding sensitive areas.
5. The lack of detailed maps and the long delays are inculpatory.
6. Will AMCD be held accountable for OP spraying without justification or excuse?.
Sincerely,
Ed Slavin

-----Original Message-----
From: easlavin@aol.com
To: xueamcd@bellsouth.net
Sent: Wed, Jul 1, 2009 5:55 pm
Subject: Re: Cholinesterase testing and the legal, moral and ethical duties of AMCD to its employees and contractors -- we must meet or exceed the standard of care

Dear Dr. Xue:
1. Here is a url for the MSDS for Dibrom,
http://www.amvac-chemical.com/media/pdf/products/msds/DIBROM_Concentrate_260_10.pdf
2. Please share it with Board members and our counsel, and be prepared to discuss "cholinesterase depression" and other acute and chronic sequelae of Dibrom exposure.
3. Reading the MSDS again makes it all the more unreasonable that we have not been testing our emplyees in AMCD over decades of organophosphate use (and abuse).
Thank you.
Ed Slavin

-----Original Message-----
From: easlavin@aol.com
To: xueamcd@bellsouth.net

Dear Dr. Xue:
Aerial OP spraying with Dibrom was one month ago. We still have no maps and no answers to key questions. Please note:
1. The standard of care is cholinsterase testing. Please check label requirements and EPA.
2. I met with a DACS investigator earlier today on another subject, and he mentioned that Walt Disney Co. required him and other entomologists to have cholinesterase testing when he worked there circa 2000, years after it ceased using organophosphates. Walt Disney was concerned about potential liablity, and did not honor requests not to be tested.
3. I am mystified by the District's Boulwareism in refusing to provide cholinesterase testing. If we have employees exposed to organophosphates, it is necessary and proper that they have cholinesterase testing. It protects the District, the helicopter company, the manufacturer, and most importantly, our employees. We should have had it decades ago. It is shocking to me that it was never requested or required in 60 years. Let us learn from our mistakes, please.
4. It is right and just to order cholinesterase testing. Anything less is willful, wanton recklessness.
5. It was wrong to deny cholinesterase testing to employees when the issue was raised in 2007.
6. It was wrong to pressure employees not to request cholinesterase testing in 2007.
7. It was wrong to deny cholinesterase testing to the the two employees who asked for it.
8. This issue has been badly managed by the District.
9. I appreciate, Dr. Xue, that you rightly stood up for AMCD employees' safety by insisting on meeting PPE requirements.Please show them the same respect on cholinesterase testing.
I don't understand why you would never administer the simple cholinesterase test for the biomarker for neurotoxic poisoning. Do Mr. Dobson and Mrs. Bosanko assume that there has been neurological damage to employees from spraying neurotoxins?
10. More than 2.5 years of avoiding testing weakens your case for any organophosphate spraying, in my opinion. What does our District have to hide? When will you start testing?
11. I still have received nothing on the IGR research contract, not even an MSDS or information on the company in quo.
12. Please provide me with all maps and answers before the weekend.
Thank you.
SIncerely,
Ed Slavin
829-3877

-----Original Message-----
From: ruide xue
To: John Sundeman
Sent: Wed, Jul 1, 2009 4:59 pm
Subject: Re: Ed Salvin

The district attorney will provide the answers related to many legal issues. I am working on other answers related to my part. It takes a lot of time to do this. Mr. Mike Page from the DACS told me that the chapter 388 does not require for the cholinesterase testing. Thanks, Rudy

----- Original Message -----
From: John Sundeman
To: Rui-De Xue
Cc: Ed Slavin
Sent: Wednesday, July 01, 2009 2:45 PM
Subject: Ed Salvin

Mr. Slavin called and indicated that he has not received a response from you to his questions.

Please respond to his questions and cc me.

Thank you, John Sundeman

Dear Dr. Xue:
May I please have the answers? Please see below I have not yet received maps or complete answers, e.g., on the bald eagle nest maps. Please see below.
It appears that any spraying of organophosphates on or around bald or golden eagle nests (or other threatened/endangered species) could constitute a felony. It must be avoided in the future.
Would you please invite Dr. Michael Shirley of GTM-NERR (or his designee) to speak at the July 9th meeting on non-target organism effects? We need true scientific peer review and a public hearing, as required by AMCD's Mission Statement..
Thank you!
Sincerely,
Ed Slavin
829-3877
819-5817 (fax)

-----Original Message-----
From: easlavin@aol.com
To: xueamcd@bellsouth.net
Sent: Fri, Jun 26, 2009 4:20 pm
Subject: Re: Cholinesterase testing, answer to questions on organophosphates

Dear Dr. Xue:
May I please have the answers? Please see below. Also, do you have maps of bald eagle nests and were they considered in targeting.
Thank you!
Sincerely,
Ed Slavin
829-3877
819-5817 (fax)

-----Original Message-----
From: easlavin@aol.com
To: xueamcd@bellsouth.net
Sent: Thu, Jun 25, 2009 12:44 pm
Subject: Re: Cholinesterase testing, answer to questions on organophosphates

Dear Dr. Xue:
May I please have the answers? Please see below.
Thank you!
Sincerely,
Ed Slavin
829-3877
819-5817 (fax)

-----Original Message-----
From: easlavin@aol.com
To: xueamcd@bellsouth.net
Sent: Wed, Jun 24, 2009 2:00 pm
Subject: Re: Cholinesterase testing, answer to questions on organophosphates

Dear Dr. Xue:
Thank you very much for your very prompt reply. I appreciate the District's tough tasks following the recent huge rainfall. I appreciate your commitment to reduction/elimination of neurotoxin use.
My further questions follow.
Sincerely,
Ed Slavin
829-3877
819-5817 (fax)

-----Original Message-----
From: ruide xue
To: easlavin@aol.com
Sent: Wed, Jun 24, 2009 11:08 am
Subject: Re: Cholinesterase testing, answer to questions on organophosphates

Dear Mr. Slavin:
Thank you very much for your questions and concerning about AMCD's operation. My answers are following your each question.
Sincerely,
Rudy Xue, Ph.D.
Director / Entomologist

----- Original Message -----

From: easlavin@aol.com
To: xueamcd@bellsouth.net ; pgreeneamcd@bellsouth.net
Sent: Tuesday, June 23, 2009 3:36 PM
Subject: Cholinesterase testing, answer to questions on organophosphates

Dear Dr. Xue and Ms. Greene:
1. Will you please E-mail me all records on cholinesterase testing of AMCD and contractor employees, including every single one of the AMCD and contractor employees who were involved in spraying Dibrom all over St. Johns County? In 2007, I asked then-Chair Barbara Bosanko about cholinesterase testing and she hung up the telephone on me. I was later told that employees were asked by Mr. Boone if they wanted it and that they did not want it. (No supporting records or legal opinion was ever provided).

THE ANSWER: The records show that 93% employees did not want to take the test on February 14, 2007. Two employees wanted to have the test, but they did not make it due to stopping use of malathion.

CDC/DOH did the study about the aerial spraying Dibrom at St. Johns and other Counties in Florida, 2004, and published the result (They found no impacts on humans by the spraying).

AMCD had Clarke Mosquito Control sprayed Dibrom by aerial application in 2005. No any AMCD employees had the opportunity to contact the Dibrom.

AMCD had Clarke Mosquito Control sprayed ANVIL in 2007 by aerial application, but the result was not good.

AMCD had the Southern Helicopter sprayed ANVIL in late 2008. The result was better than the result in 2007.

AMCD had the Southern Helicopter sprayed ANVIL and Dibrom from June 2 to June 11, 2009. ANVIL did not work very well. The sopts (sic) sprayed by ANVIL had the 2nd spraying by using Diborm.
There was only one AMCD employee who helped the Southern Helicopter to load Dibrom for a few times. All process/other loading were done by one person from the Southern Helicopter.

FOLLOWUP QUESTIONS:
A. Do I understand that there are no records and no testing was ever done? If not, will you please provide baseline and post-application cholinesterse testing data for these two people? (You can redact their names/identifiers in the event of privacy concerns).
B. Do you acknowledge that baseline and post-application cholinsterase testing is both desired/required to protect employees?
C. Do you agree that the cholinesterase testing requirement was/is mandatory, and may not be negated by any effort to pressure employees into claiming they don't want it? If not, do you contend that employees may opt out of anything else? (Personal Protective Equipment? Mandatory drug testing? Income tax withholding? Obeying speed limit laws)
D. Do DACS, EPA and/or our insurance carriers know we handled organophosphates without cholinerstse testing?
E. Are AMCD employees trained on what cholinesterase testing means? Please provide training records.
F. Are there any documents relating to the putative effort to obtain "consent" to no cholinesterase testing? Please provide records.
G. Did Mr. Dobson provide any form or legal advice for the putative "consent?" Please provide records.
H. Does our current counsel agree that asking for such "consent" was illegal and should never hapen again?
I. Do our Commissioners and managers now appreciate the dangerous implications of managers sua sponte "manufacturing consent" from employees not to provide those employees with health protection and monitoring?
J. Are our Commissioners and managers now familiiar with the history of deception and deadly industrial exposures -- colossal mistakes by management that result in huge liability -- mistakes that begin with deception and "consent" that is not worthy of the name?
K. Please provide the CDC/DOH study and explain AMCD's role in it if any.
L. Do you agree that the CDC/DOH study method was defective?
M. Do you agree that the CDC/DOH study excluded non-human non-target organisms?
N. Do you agree that this is pregnant with the admission that dogs, cats, horses, cows, chickens, frogs, butterlies and other-beloved and beneficial critters are needlessly killed by neurotoxins applied from the air? Do you agree that we must reduce and eliminate neurotoxins?
O. Do you agree that the pesticide industry -- like tobacco, asbestos, nuclear weapons and other malefactors of great wealth -- has specialized for decades in creating phony "doubt" about the deadliness of its products to workers and neighbors?
P. Do you agree that EPA relies on industry data?
Q. Have you examined the scientific data from EU countries that have banned Dibrom? Please provide documents.
R. If not, why not and will you agree to do so and report back to us before the next large rain event?
S. The two employees who requested cholinesterase testing -- why were they denied it? Please provide documents.
T. Who denied it? Please provide documents.
U. Did any of the AMCD's counsel opine on that denial? Please provide documents.

2. Will the management staff please assist the Commissioners to provide a Public Hearing and Scientific Peer Review for the purpose of complying with the District's Mission Statement regarding the spraying of more than 103,000 acres with tons of organoposphate neurotoxins, in apparent violation of the District's policies and the Sunshine Law?

THE ANSWER: Yes, we are glad to assist any Commissioners to provide the public hearing. The scientific peer review has been done recently by an independent contractor. The aerial spraying with Dibrom for spot/hot area was approved by AMCD Board in 2008 and recommended by the peer reviewing contractors this year.

Dibrom is registred (sic) for aerial spraying by the EPA and Florida's DEP & DACS. Dibrom is the best adulticide for aerial spraying and quickly breakdown after spraying. The residum (sic) is very short (about 1day) in the field and kills flying mosquitoes very efficiently & quickly. The price of Dibrom is cheaper than ANVIL. The application rate at 0.5/0.6 o.z. per acre and spraying at night and early morning did not have any big impacts on nontargets (butterfly & honey bees did not activity at these time). That is the reason why most of mosquito control districts/program use Dibrom for aerial spraying.

ANVIL & permethrin have not been registred (sic) for aerial spraying in Florida due to less efficacy and impacts on fish. We have to get the DACS's permission (we get it) for spraying ANVIL by aerial application.

FOLLOWUP QUESTIONS:
A. Do you contend that the contractor provided scientific peer review in a paper unadorned by any citation to the scientific literature, replete with indicia of incompetence and unscholarliness (e.g., "mosquito fish" instead of Gambusia and assumptions that were never explained or justified by date)?
B. Pleae provide data on non-target species.
C. Under what weather conditions is ANVIL 10 + 10 effective for mosquito control?
D. Under what weather conditions is ANVIL 10 + 10 ineffective for mosquito control?
E. Is Dibrom indicated for aerial spraying in helicopters or fixed wing aircraft?
F. What are the statistics on infected mosquitos in traps after the recent inundation?
G. Do you agree that there was neer any Public Hearing before resuming the promiscuous consumption of organophosptate pesticide poisons by AMCD, contrary to the public's expectation in electing our Commissioners?
H. What plan exists to eiminate the use of neurotoxins for mosquito control in St. Johns County?
I. Please provide statistics and graphs on use of bat houses, Gambusia, and Bti.

3. Was there a Commissioner or Commissioners present at AMCD when aerial spraying decisions were made? On what dates? Does this violate the Sunshine Law? Does it violate the principle that elected board members are policymakers, not to be directing managers?

THE ANSWER: Yes, the Commissioner who is the Chair of the operation committee joined the MapVision meeting and had the opportunity to join/learn the aerial spraying justification and operation on June 1, 2009. The Director and his staff made the decision for aerial spraying based on the service requests & Landing Rate Counts. Nothing was related with any violating Sunshine law & policy.

FOLLOWUP QUESTIONS:
A. Does the Commissioner in quo now understand that he is a policymaker and not a manager?
B. Does the Commissioner in quo now understand that he may not purport to speak for the Board or direct staff?
C. Does the Commissioner in quo agree that micromanaging is unethical and that he he has no more business telling staff where to spray than President Lyndon Baines Johnson had in poring over maps, ordering the Air Force where to drop bomb in Southeast Asia?
D. Does the Commissioner in quo appreciate that his appearing at the office regularly and appearing to direct staff would be improper and subject the District and himself to possible liability not covered by the District's or personal insurance policies (e.g., in the event of negligent targeting of locations where non-target organisms are poisoned or killed, including schools, hospitals, nursing homes, etc.)?
E. What training has the Commissioner in quo had in pesticide application?
F. Does the Commissioner in quo have any DACS certfication?
G. Is DACS aware of the role of the Commissioner in quo in AMCD's program as a de facto manager?
H. Was our counsel or DACS asked about the advisability or legality of the role of the Comissioner in quo?

4. Will you please provide the maps and data that I requested last week on aerial spraying?

THE ANSWER: We will send it to you soon after combined with the data. We are still waiting for whole spraying pattern files from the contractor due to their busy service at other State.

FOLLOWUP QUESTIONS:
A. Will you please state what date you plan to provide the requested documents?
B. Can you please explain why they were not provided as you promised last week?
C. Should our contract be amended so they can't make this excuse again?
D. Please provide me whatever you have today, to inform the Commissioners and the public.

5. Will you please send me a list of all A&E firms that were provided a solicitation regarding the new building and the data they were provided on AMCD's needs?
THE AMNSWER (sic): Ms. Greene will provide the list to you. It is under study and process.

FOLLOWUP QUESTION:
A. Do you agree that it was a violation of the Sunshine Law for staff to evaluate A&E contractors without notice?
B. Do you agree that any contract with the A&E firms would be a contract violation of public policy?

6. Having you and the Commissioners seen the County Administrator's presentation on tax and budget issues?
THE ANSWER: Not yet.
FOLLOWUP QUESTION:
A. Will you please review the County Administrator' sPower Point presentation before or during our meeting today?
B. Do you agree that this is a good time to obtain more reliable economic data to make decisions about future fax revenues? (Better late than never. Carpe diem).

7. Do you and the Commissioners now agree that the people of St. Johns County can't afford a new building now in light of declining tax revenue estimates from the Tax Collector's and Property Appraiser's offices)?
THE ANSWER: AMCD planned for the new build (sic) since 2005 and saved/reserved enough money for it. AMCD will not increase any milage (sic) rate and tax for the building. The project & centralization direction will save more tax money from long term view. Also, the project in next 2 years will provide more jobs and help the local economy.

FOLLOWUP QUESTION:
A. Please provide supporting data.
B. Don't you reckon that we'd rather have a St. Augustine National Historical Park, National Seashore and National Scenic Coastal Parkway to "provide more jobs and help the local economy" than another Taj Mahal (like the County keeps on building)?
C. Do you agree that the argument that the new building "will provide more jobs and help the local economy" is nothing more than a "make-weight argument," is no substitute for thought and does not provide an answer for the AMCD's woeful lack of a needs analysis for a new building?
D. Do you agree that a new building would be a financial and public relations disaster for a District that is only now recovering from the sequelae of serious lawbreaking -- illegal AMCD purchase of a $2 million helicopter without competitive bidding, from which we only recovered due to the public's will and our new counsel's skill (Mr. Doug Wyckoff)?

Thank you.
Sincerely,
Ed Slavin
www.cleanupcityofstaugustine.blogspot.com
P.O. Box 3084
St. Augustine, Florida 32085-3084
829-3877

Banning Boat Sewage in Sensitive Areas -- A Good Idea

EPA is proposing to ban boat sewage in sensitive areas in New York. It's a good idea and it should be extended here, to the Guana-Tolomato-Matanzas National Estuarine Research Reserve (and eventually to the St. Augustine National Historical Park, National Seashore and National Scenic Coastal Parkway).

EPA Press Release: EPA Seeks Public Comment on Proposal to Ban Boat Sewage in South Shore Estuary Reserve

EPA Seeks Public Comment on Proposal to Ban Boat Sewage
in South Shore Estuary Reserve

Contact: Sophia Kelley (212) 637-3670, kelley.sophia@epa.gov

(New York, N.Y. – July 8, 2009) Taking action that will improve water quality and protect wildlife and natural resources, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has given its preliminary approval to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s (DEC) proposal to prohibit vessel waste discharges in the South Shore Estuary Reserve. EPA is asking the public to comment on the plan.

“This proposal would help protect water quality, marine life, and ecosystems along the entire south shore of Long Island,” said George Pavlou, Acting EPA Regional Administrator. “The South Shore Estuary Reserve includes one of New York State’s most diverse estuaries. Establishing a “No Discharge Zone is an essential step toward preserving this valuable and beautiful habitat.”

The South Shore Estuary Reserve includes more than 110,000 acres of open water and intertidal areas from East Rockaway Inlet to Shinnecock Bay. Extending from the Queens/Nassau County line east to the Village of Southampton in Suffolk County, the reserve encompasses the homes of 1.5 million people. Under national marine sanitation standards, vessels operating in the reserve are permitted to discharge treated sewage from approved marine sanitation devices. Establishing a No Discharge Zone will require vessels to discharge all sewage, treated or not, only at equipped pump-out facilities. The relatively calm waters of the South Shore Estuary support many commercial and recreational activities including boating, fishing and tourism. Boat sewage discharge increases levels of potentially harmful coliform bacteria and chemicals in treated sewage, such as formaldehyde, phenols and chlorine effect water quality and harm wildlife habitat.

EPA has reviewed the petition prepared by the Peconic Baykeeper and along with DEC tentatively determined that it meets the criterion established by the Clean Vessel Act for establishing a No Discharge Zone. EPA has identified sufficient numbers of pump-out facilities for the safe and sanitary removal of sewage in the area. The Clean Vessel Act stipulates the adequate number of pump-outs per vessel population as one pump-out per 300 – 600 vessels. Taking into account all reasonably accessible pump-outs in the vicinity, EPA has found that the areas of the reserve meet or exceed this criterion.

The public comment period will begin July 6, 2009 and extend for 30 days. EPA will review and respond to any comments received. If no substantive issues are raised, a final affirmative determination will be made. Written comments must be postmarked no later than August 5, 2009 and should be addressed to: Jeffrey F. Gratz, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 2, Clean Water Regulatory Branch, 290 Broadway, 24th Floor, New York, New York, 10007-1866. Telephone: (212) 637-3873.

For more information about No Discharge Zones, visit http://www.epa.gov/owow/oceans/regulatory/vessel_sewage/.

For a Google Earth aerial view of the South Shore Estuary, go to:
http://www.epa.gov/region2/kml/long_island_south_shore_estuary_no_discharge_zone.kmz. (You must have Google Earth installed on your computer to view the map. To download Google Earth, visit http://earth.google.com/download-earth.html.)

# # #

THE MICA FAMILY: Is National Conference of State Legislators considering J. CLARK MICA, Congressman JOHN LUIGI MICA's Son, As Lobbyist?

Is the National Conference of State Legislators considering hiring CONGRESSMAN JOHN LUIGI MICA's son, J. CLARK MICA, as a lobbyist?

Formerly a $100,000/year HUD Schedule C Political Patronage employee under President G.W. Bush, J. CLARK MICA is looking for private sector opportunities that are his because of his surname.

16-year right-wing Congressman MICA's son J. CLARK MICA is scion of a father who was top aide to controversial homophobic U.S. Senator PAULA HAWKINS (JOHN LUIGI MICA).

J. CLARK MICA has two uncles who are lobbyists in Tallahassee (Republican DAVID MICA lobbies for Big Oil) and Washington, D.C. (Democrat DAN MICA lobbies for Credit Union National Association).

J. CLARK MICA's sister, D'ANNE MICA, lobbies for people who want influence with her father, including the SANFORD AIRPORT AUTHORITY, where she was introduced in sexist fashion as "CONGRESSMAN MICA's daughter," waltzing off with the first of a line of no-bid contracts.

For whom will J. CLARK MICA lobby next?

Some rich guys, no doubt. Stay tuned.

From MetroJax.com == rail component of St. Augustine National Historical Park, Seashore and Scenic Coastal Parkway

Re: Folio Weekly Backpage Editorial: SAVING ST. AUGUSTINE

« Reply #1 on: June 29, 2009, 11:37:01 PM »

Quote

Located just 30 minutes north of Boston, the Lowell National Historic Park (LNHP) uses three replica and one restored original trolley to circulate visitors within this large National Park site. The park electrified a portion of the existing rail trackage in this former mill complex, and now operates 1.2 miles of trackage in a "T" configuration connecting the key visitor areas in the park.

Development: By the 1970s, Lowell had lost much of its industrial economic base. The water-powered mills which had once made it America's number one textile producing town had been abandoned. Partnering with the National Park Service, a plan was created to use tourism as the base to generate new uses for 1.5 million square feet of vacant 19th-Century mill space. Beginning in 1978, NPS created an industrial heritage park which preserves and interprets the history of the American Industrial Revolution in Lowell. The largely intact historic district includes an array of restored buildings, including an operating textile mill, and 5.6 miles of power canals, now converted for use in transporting visitors. The trolley line began operation in 1984, and is used in conjunction with the canals to provide tours at the site. The park currently receives over 500,000 annual visitors.

Equipment: The three replica cars at Lowell represent Gomaco's entry into the replica trolley field. The first two cars are patterned after a classic New England open car, or "breezer", and were delivered in 1984. A third car was built in 1987 to another New England design, that of a Brill "Semi-convertible" car which is better suited to all-weather operation. All three of the cars utilize running gear and other mechanical components from Melbourne W-2 cars. In addition to the three Gomaco replicas, a New Orleans Perley Thomas car from the Seashore Trolley Museum also operates at the site.

St. Augustine and South Beach Railway, and the St. Augustine and North Beach Railway, became THE ST. JOHNS ELECTRIC RAILWAY. It connected both beaches, downtown, west St. Augustine and the neighborhoods. As were most small town systems, it was a very early victim of the auto era. A most interesting sidebar to it's abandonment in the mid 1920's was a visionary resident who burst on the scene, and laid out a vision of a historic tourist mecca. The streetcars according to the plan would become famous, a calling card, known around the world. They laughed him out of town. NPS? What better spot?

OCKLAWAHA


	Logged

MOST MAJOR WORLD CITIES AGE LIKE A FINE WINE - JACKSONVILLE HAS AGED LIKE MILK

FOR INFORMATION ON MASS TRANSIT SEE:
ALL TRANSIT:
http://jacksonvilletransit.blogspot.com/
LRT TRANSIT:
http://www.freewebs.com/lightrailjacksonville/

Guest Column: St. Augustine must have a national historical park, seashore and scenic coastal parkway --- check out www.staugustgreen.com

Guest Column: St. Augustine should have a national historical park

ED SLAVIN
St. Augustine
Publication Date: 03/26/07

Real estate speculators (some foreign-funded) continue to destroy our local wildlife, habitat, nature and history. Roads are clogged. Noise abounds. Our way of life is being destroyed. Unfeeling, uncaring Philistines are turning St. Johns County into an uglier, unreasonable facsimile of South Florida. Unjust county government stewards allowed an asphalt plant near homes. Another plant reportedly emits 50 tons/year of volatile organic compounds into residents' and workers' lungs and brains.

Speculators are even trying to build homes on top of unremediated septic tanks/fields, while vacationing boaters pollute our Bay front with untreated sewage (the only boat-pumpout-station is at Conch House Marina). Our Bay front (which lacks a harbormaster) had an oil spill Jan. 15. Developers demand to build docks over city-owned State Road 312 area marshes for boat-owners' pleasure. Enough.

Let's invite environmental tourism by preserving an "emerald necklace of parks," including the city-owned marsh.

Ask Congress to hold hearings to map our "St. Augustine National Historical Park and National Seashore" (SANHPNS), using 1928-style trolleycars to save gasoline, uniting the Castillo and Fort Matanzas National Monuments, "slave market park," downtown streets, Government House, Red House Bluff indigenous village (next to historical society), marshes, forests, National Cemetery, GTM NERR, Anastasia State Park, Fort Mose and other city, county, state and St. Johns River Water Management District lands.

Let's cancel future shock/schlock/sprawl/ugliness/skyscrapers and eliminate temptations to abuse/neglect/misuse state parks and historic buildings for golf courses and rote, rube commercialism.

In December, State Sen. Jim King suggested Florida donate "deed and title" of state buildings to our city. I suggested that we deed them to the National Park Service (NPS), with St. George Street visitor center in restored buildings, saving millions (as in the New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park).

St. Augustine needs a national civil rights and indigenous history museum, celebrating local residents and national leaders, whose courage helped win passage of 1964's Civil Rights Act. Why not put the museum in the old Woolworth's building, restored to its former glory, with wood floors, lunch-counter and exhibits on the civil rights struggles that changed history (well- documented in Jeremy Dean's documentary, "Dare Not Walk Alone"), with "footsoldiers monument" across the street ?

Why not (finally) implement the 2003 National Trust for Historic Preservation and Flagler College study on how to protect our history? Let's tax tourists more to fund historic preservation, as in Charleston/elsewhere.

Let's preserve/protect the quality of our lives and visitors' experience (and property values) by preserving forever what speculators haven't destroyed (yet).

Let's adopt a three-year moratorium on growth, while we work to adopt truly comprehensive plans worthy of the name.

Colonial National Historical Park (NHP), Philadelphia's Independence NHP and NHPs in Boston, New Bedford, Valley Forge, San Francisco and Saratoga.

There's a Martin Luther King historical site in Atlanta, NHPs for "Rosie the Riveter" (California) and the "War in the Pacific" (Guam), and new parks slated for ten Japanese internment camps.

Florida hosts Everglades, Dry Tortugas and Biscayne National Parks and Canaveral National Seashore. Let's add St. Augustine to the list.

From sea to shining sea, America's coastal areas enjoy national parks. Where's ours?

Let's make parts of State Road A1A a National Parkway and hiking/biking trail, like the Colonial National Historical Parkway and the Baltimore Washington, George Washington, Rock Creek and John D. Rockefeller (Wyoming) Parkways and the Appalachian Trial and C&O Canal.

Let's add St. Augustine to the list of our nation's most beloved national parks, joining Zion, Yosemite, Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon and the Great Smoky Mountains.

Florida's 500th and St. Augustine's 450th anniversaries are only six and eight years away (2013 and 2015). Enacting a national park and seashore will forever preserve the treasures that we love. It will halt the sprawl we hate, increase tourism and reduce local taxes, paying speculators to stop.

Mayor Joe Boles' mother graciously thanked me for speaking out on these issues after the Jan. 22 City Commission meeting -- issues that Mrs. Boles has been outspoken about for "30 years." Let's honor/heed Mrs. Boles' wisdom -- and those who proposed a national park before World War II. Let's save St. Augustine and our environment forever.

Ed Slavin lives in St. Augustine.

Click here to return to story:
http://staugustine.com/stories/032607/opinions_4479465.shtml

© The St. Augustine Record

Folio Weekly: Backpage Editorial by Faye Armitage -- "SAVING ST. AUGUSTINE"

Backpage Editorial
Faye Armitage
Saving St. Augustine
St. Augustine’s small-town Spanish Colonial charm is in
danger of being ruined by schlock. We love St. Augustine
and must preserve the beauty of endangered Matanzas Inlet
sunsets, Anastasia Island beach mice, nesting leatherback
turtles, soaring families of bald eagles and frolicking schools
of manatees and whales. Florida’s First Coast deserves a first
class National Park for the 500th anniversary of Spanish
Florida (in 2013) and 450th anniversary of St. Augustine
(in 2015).
The late U.S. Speaker of the House
Thomas P. “Tip” O’Neill and Edward
Boland of Massachusetts made history in
1958, courageously working to protect
Cape Cod’s charm forever. Boland returned
in 1958 from a trip to Cape Hatteras
National Seashore. Within a fortnight, the
two Massachusetts Democrats introduced
the Cape Cod National Seashore Act
(backed by John F. Kennedy only after he
became president).
Commercial interests thought that a
national seashore would be bad for business.
They were wrong. Today we scoff at
the quaint story of O’Neill and Boland
being hung in effigy and booed in the Cape
Cod towns of Wellfleet and Truro, where
citizens, in their annual town meetings,
voted against the bill.
Even JFK, the Pulitzer Prize-winning
author of “Profiles in Courage,” feared local
commercial interests in Massachusetts
when it came to proposing a national
seashore. JFK later came aboard as president,
to consider the National Seashore the
best thing he ever did for Massachusetts.
Today’s visitors to Cape Cod come from
around the world to partake of its charm,
marshes, woodlands, beaches and towns
that were saved thanks to the vision of
Congressmen O’Neill and Boland.
A St. Augustine National Park was first
proposed before World War II. The idea is
five years older than President Harry S Truman’s
national health insurance proposal.
And as with national health care, Congress
too often resembles a herd of turtles trying
to write a symphony. It’s somewhat understandable
that our two busy U.S. Senators
(and Representative John Luigi Mica)
haven’t introduced a National Historical
Park, Seashore and Scenic Coastal Parkway.
Legislation moves glacially, except in emergencies.
We have one now.
Our local economy is in a state of emergency.
Businesses are dying. We’re ready for
Congress to stimulate our economy and
preserve our way of life by enacting a St.
Augustine National Historical Park,
Seashore and Scenic Coastal Parkway Act,
supported by a diverse group of citizens,
from octogenarian environmental activist
Robin Nadeau to former Republican
County Commission Chairperson John
Sundeman to St. Augustine Democratic
Club Chairperson Jeanne Moeller, among a
growing group of people concerned about
the declining quality of the tourist experience
in St. Johns County.
A National Historical Park would preserve
and protect St. Augustine’s historic
downtown with the dignity and experience
of the National Park Service, just as parts of
Boston, New Bedford, Philadelphia and
other historic cities are preserved. It would
step into the breach left by the Florida legislature,
Secretary of State, University of
Florida and city of St. Augustine, all of
whom have been unable to repair crumbling
buildings and historic monuments. A
national historical park would preserve
downtown streets and reduce congestion,
improving the tourist experience and making
it one that longer-staying (and biggerspending)
historic and environmental
tourists will enjoy.
A national historic park managed by the
National Park Service would portray history
and nature accurately, as done in Virginia’s
Colonial Williamsburg and the
Colonial National Historical Parkway.
There could also be a National Civil Rights
and Indigenous History Museum, aimed at
telling the region’s story of 11,000 years of
human history, honoring Native Americans,
African-Americans and the Civil
Rights movement here, which helped win
adoption of national antidiscrimination
laws in 1964. The struggles on St. Augustine’s
streets and beaches, including the
arrest of Massachusetts Governor Endicott
Peabody’s mother and Dr. Martin Luther
King Jr., need to be retold and told well.
soldiers monument in St. Augustine’s Plaza
de la Constitucion, paying tribute to Civil
Rights Era activists whose efforts helped
break the Senate logjam and enact basic
nondiscrimination laws.
A national seashore and coastal parkway
designation would protect the coast from
uglification, as at other national seashores.
We have 61 miles of coast here, and the
transfer from county to federal jurisdiction
would save local tax monies and make environmental
protection a priority on beaches
where turtles land to give birth, and where
beach mice and other critters scamper.
In September, watch Ken Burns’ PBS
documentary “Our National Parks: America’s
Best Idea.” Think of how uplifting it
will be to be able to drive from Ponte Vedra
to Marineland as a tourist or resident,
secure in the knowledge that the beaches
will survive and not be turned into some
unreasonable facsimile of Miami.
Think of the economic efficiency and
environmental benefits of entrusting city
and county parks, seashore water management
district land and at least five state
parks (including Anastasia and Guana-
Tolomato-Matanzas National Estuarine
Reserve) to one world-class organization
(the National Park Service) to protect, preserve
and interpret, rather than allowing
the land to be ripped apart by greed.
Think of the good jobs that will encourage
young people to stay here, working as
National Park Service employees and contractors.
Think of historic interpreters and
environmental tour guides who are
rewarded with a federal showcase, inviting
the world to a world-class destination.
Let’s enlist Congress and the president
to help us tell our region’s rich history —
including the story of the Indians, African-
American slaves and Minorcan and Greek
indentured servants (who escaped to St.
Augustine from New Smyrna Beach, “voting
with their feet” against slavery by contract.
Indentured servitude was outlawed
along with regular slavery with the 13th
Amendment in 1865.
Think of how our tourist economy will
be stimulated and jobs created and preserved
by preserving the stunning vistas
that draw people here, not uglifying them
with massive high-rises, suburban sprawl
and unsafe homes built in wetlands.
Think of how fourth-graders now and
in the future, from all over Florida, will be
rewarded for their studies of Florida history
by helping preserve “the real Florida” — St.
Augustine and St. Johns County — forever.
It is up to us to learn from the young
and to protect Northeast Florida for families,
flora, fauna and the future. Visit
staugustgreen.com for more information
and let your neighbors and national and
local leaders know what you think. 

Faye Armitage lives in Fruit Cove. In 2008,
she ran against nine-term Congressional
incumbent John Mica, receiving nearly 150,000 votes.

A National Historical Park would preserve and protect
St. Augustine’s historic downtown with the dignity
and experience of the National Park Service, just as
parts of Boston, New Bedford, Philadelphia and
other historic cities are preserved.

Turtles, Eagles, People Deserve A St. Augustine National Historical Park, Seashore and Scenic Coastal Parkway

See article below. What are we waiting for? www.staugustgreen.com

Turtle nests begin to hatch

Turtle nests begin to hatch

LORRAINE THOMPSON
Special to The Record
Publication Date: 07/08/09

Sea turtle nests along St. Johns County beaches are expected to begin hatching this week, according to Tara Dodson, St. Johns County Habitat Conservation Coordinator.

There were 144 nests along the county beaches earlier in the week. Volunteer turtle patrol members are monitoring 101 nests on the north beaches and 43 nests on the south beaches. Loggerheads account for the majority with 101 nests.

There are 18 leatherback and five green turtle nests. All are considered endangered species and are protected under federal law.

There also have been 78 false crawl reports. A false crawl is when a sea turtle comes ashore to nest and returns to the ocean without nesting because she was scared off or the sand conditions were not right.

Dodson is calling on beachgoers for assistance during this, the busiest time of the year for the turtles and their nests. While hatchlings begin to head for the open sea, nesting turtles continue to arrive to establish nests and lay eggs.

This season turns out to be a bit tricky for estimating the incubation time, however.

"Our first round of sea turtle nests that are set to hatch may have extended incubation periods because of the lengthy rains and cooler temperatures we had at the beginning of the season," Dodson said.

As the nests do begin to emerge, Dodson said, a rut-raking program prepares the way for the hatchlings. Vehicle tire ruts and large holes left by beach visitors can trap or impede the hatchlings as they crawl to the ocean from their nests.

As many as 100 or more turtles may emerge from each nest. As the nests near maturity, county employees hand rake the areas between the dune nests and the ocean to remove the indents and holes.

Dodson is concerned about other beach obstructions, particularly chairs, tents and objects that are left on the beaches overnight.

Beachgoers are reminded that the beaches are not private areas, but are all public beaches. The Habitat Conservation Plan, a 20-year agreement with the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, prohibits leaving impediments behind.

A St. Johns County Ordinance covers "any personal property including but not limited to tents, shelters, chairs, catamarans, trailers, towels, shoes, and other such items that is left on the beach overnight is hereby declared a public nuisance and shall be subject to removal from the beach with other beach trash and debris."

County and City of St. Augustine Beach law enforcement officers are authorized to remove the items.

Dodson said sand castles and holes dug in the sand are dangerous for people as well as turtles. Most castles and other sand sculptures are not restored to the beach's normal surface when visitors depart.

The turtle nesting season runs from May 1 through Oct. 31.

Click here to return to story:
http://www.staugustine.com/stories/070809/news_1720620.shtml

© The St. Augustine Record

County: Higher millage saves us --- OMB suggests higher property tax

County: Higher millage saves us --- OMB suggests higher property tax

PETER GUINTA
peter.guinta@staugustine.com
Publication Date: 07/08/09

The Office of Management and Budget submitted a tentative 2010 budget to the St. Johns County Commission Tuesday afternoon that recommends an increase in property taxes to the county that would result in the owner of a $200,000 home paying about $150 more per year.

The commission plans another meeting at 9 a.m. Thursday to exclusively focus on the budget.

Chairwoman Cyndi Stevenson said county administration and OMB staff had done "good solid work" on the document.

"It's been a long slog," Stevenson said. "We have a bit more work ahead of us that's really critical."

The commission plans to take public input Thursday, then follow Florida law and set the tentative rates by July 21. Public hearings are set for Sept. 15 and Sept. 22.

Doug Timms, director of OMB, said that the value of taxable property in St. Johns County dropped $3 billion this year to an estimated $20.5 billion for 2010 and $19.67 billion for 2011.

A drop in property value means a corresponding drop in property tax collections. The 12 percent drop in St. Johns -- worse than in surrounding counties -- means a $35 million budget shortfall over the next two years.

Despite the extreme budget, the county still plans to put money into budgeted reserves.

The county has tried to save money, mandating no step or cost-of-living wage increases, a continued hiring chill, a 50 reduction in county travel budgets, a 20 percent reduction in county gas budgets and a 7 percent reduction in all other operating expenses.

In addition, about 150 staff positions were eliminated. Early retirement was implemented for 38 employees, debt was reduced and restructured, and insurance contracts were renegotiated.

The capital improvement plan was cut by $10 million to $67 million. Timms called it "a major way to re-invest into the community."

His projections show that capital improvement will continue to drop. For 2011, it will go as low as $25 million and only a fraction of that in later years.

In an irony of sorts, Timms said the millage rate increase will actually mean a net decrease in taxes. Fiscal year 2009 collected $134.7 million in property taxes. For 2010, that will be closer to $131.7, precisely $3 million less.

If the millage had not been raised, however, only $117.4 million would have been collected.

A $200,000 taxable value home paid $1,219 this year, which will rise to $1,369 in 2010.

On top of that the tax collector will add millage from the School Board, water management districts, airport, mosquito control and other entities.

Stevenson said the county's taxpayers, small businesses and large businesses were all facing the same budget decisions the county is facing.

"Change is going to be part of our lives and how we operate for the next couple of years," she said.

Click here to return to story:
http://www.staugustine.com/stories/070809/news_1720518.shtml

© The St. Augustine Record

Monday, July 06, 2009

Bravo, St. Augustine Record -- now Fish Island needs to be part of a National Park, Seashore and Scenic Coastal Parkway! See www.staugustgreen.com

The St. Augustine Record editorial (below) is in the highest tradition of newspaper public service.

We agree. Fish Island must be saved.

With one nuance -- Fish Island will make a fine component of the proposed St. Augustine National Historical Park, National Seashore and National Scenic Coastal Parkway. What do you reckon?

See www.staugustgreen.com

Editorial: Fish Island dock: End the debate

Editorial: Fish Island dock: End the debate

Publication Date: 07/05/09

A proposed settlement between the city of St. Augustine and Fish Island Development LLC over the size of a dock/marina on the Intracoastal Waterway is still on the table. The St. Augustine City Commission has pledged to make a decision one way or the other on July 13.

At issue is whether or not the developer will be allowed to build a 1,300-foot dock/marina for 75 boats. Should the city agree to the settlement or, in effect, lose a lawsuit in court over property rights and pay the developer not to build it? Either way the city pays out dearly.

Agreeing to a settlement puts the city in court against the opponents. They're already vocal about environmental impacts on the waterway and the damage to the scenic vista and have an attorney on board.

The city loses either way. It's time to end the debate.

The developer first asked for a 1,300-foot-long dock with a 10-foot-wide walkway and 100 slips for boats of 50 feet in length or longer. The proposed settlement is for an eight-foot walkway with 70 slips for residents and five public slips, and a see-through dock so that light can filter to the fragile underwater environment. The settlement also requires that the dock move closer to the Mickler-O'Connell Bridge over State Road 312, presumably to remove some of the complaints about a spoiled vista, and that no fuel be sold on site. It sounds reasonable only because the developer is already allowed a dock/marina under the property's 1998 rezoning.

The settlement proposal is sought to end a $9 million lawsuit against the city filed under the Bert J. Harris Act, a state private property rights law. If the settlement is reached, the presumption by the city is that the lawsuit will be dropped and both sides will pay their own attorneys' fees.

We hate it that the city is putting its shrinking tax revenues into court fights. We also don't like a vista being destroyed and the environment being harmed. If any mistakes were made by the city, it was in approving a marina/dock there 11 years ago. That's literally water under the bridge.

In 2007, a Record editorial said the city's decision must be based on facts, not emotions. That's still our view with a new twist. It's time for the city to consider buying the property.

We don't know how much it will cost; likely more than the $9 million to make the dock go away. But, the city's strong bond rating and bonding capacity should be enough to start the conversation and the exploration of how to pay it back.

Instead of throwing more money away on lawsuits, the city would gain valuable land. Above all, historic and environmentally rich Fish Island would be saved from development and serve the highest purpose: The public good.

Click here to return to story:
http://www.staugustine.com/stories/070509/opinions_1710520.shtml

© The St. Augustine Record

A conversation with St. Augustine -- Concerning art and entertainment

A conversation with St. Augustine -- Concerning art and entertainment

BILL LEARY
St. Augustine
Publication Date: 07/05/09

U.S. News and World report is the latest to declare St. Augustine a great place to live. They found us to be affordable, with a strong economy, a highly educated workforce, and fun things to do. While some may quibble with those conclusions, most people I talk to love living here. Yet, many others remain dissatisfied.

In earlier columns we've talked about two sources of dissatisfaction: parking and absence of beauty. Based upon my e-mail traffic, beauty trumps parking, but just by a meter. Cha-ching.

I probably have a conversation a week with people who have just returned from a place like Charleston, Savannah or Asheville, N.C., and lament, "Why can't we be more like them?" I'm told Asheville is clean, has colorful flowers everywhere downtown, outdoor café tables, strolling musicians and sellers of art. The shops mostly sell antiques, art, and nice clothing, instead of tacky tourist merchandise.

Years ago the St. George Street merchants convinced city leaders to ban street entertainers because they clogged up the street, interfered with their busi-nesses and allegedly annoyed tourists and locals. Artists and others were also banned from selling their goods in the historic districts, including the Plaza de Constitution, to avoid unfair competition with shops that pay rent and insurance, and the unsightly appearance of a flea market on historically important grounds.

The city now finds itself caught between conflicting court opinions regarding the sale of art. A federal judge recently ruled the city must allow "visual artists" to sell their work in the historic districts though a county judge earlier told the city it could not distinguish between the sale of art and other stuff. The county court ruling led the city to ban everything rather than allow everything. Presumably the city wants one of the courts, or the court of public opinion, to give it some guidance or help it define "art."

Art is too personal to define. It's like the modern art exhibit visitor who said, "This is not art to me, all these squares and things. Real art has, you know, like a madonna in it."

It's time to stop trying, given that the city might have repaired several of the 33 state-owned historic buildings in need of restoration with what it has spent on costs and attorneys fees on this issue.

The city doesn't want to revisit banning street entertainment on St. George Street, or café tables for that matter, in part, because that ban has been upheld in court.

But many locals miss the entertainers and the fun they generated and question the wisdom of that policy in this economy.

Given that these same merchants also did not want the responsibility of maintaining flowers in the past, I find myself wondering if we shouldn't direct more attention to improving other downtown commercial areas.

Several merchants on San Marco Avenue, King Street and the area south of the Plaza correctly remind me that they are not chopped liver and deserve more of the city's attention.

Perhaps the city should work with those merchants to encourage development, street entertainment, outdoor café tables, flowers, trees, colorful banners, better lighting and parking.

Speaking of encouraging improvements, the city should build upon the restoration of the Flagler-era fountains by several resourceful and generous citizens.

I'm pleased the city may soon act on the recommendation to publish a list of other specific large and small improvement projects and their individual cost. People and groups could adopt them and contribute to their completion. Checking even small ones off the list would feel good and encourage more success.

Next time, let's talk about what to do with vacant and abandoned properties.

Bill Leary is a member of the Planning and Zoning Board of the City of St. Augustine. He is writing these Conversations with St. Augustine at the request of The St. Augustine Record. He invites your thoughts and comments to the Record at letters@staugustine.com or at bill.leary4@yahoo.com.

Click here to return to story:
http://www.staugustine.com/stories/070509/opinions_1705689.shtml

© The St. Augustine Record

Wednesday, July 01, 2009

Crist's bill takes power from water management -- Directors in Fla.'s districts now will issue use permits

Crist's bill takes power from water management -- Directors in Fla.'s districts now will issue use permits

BILL KACZOR
Associated Press Writer
Publication Date: 07/01/09

TALLAHASSEE -- Gov. Charlie Crist again disappointed environmentalists Tuesday by signing a wide-ranging law that takes permit-issuing authority away from the boards of water management districts.

Instead, it gives the executive director in each of Florida's five water management districts the power to issue surface water and consumptive use permits.

Environmentalists had urged Crist to veto the bill (SB 2080), saying the measure would shut the public out of the permitting process and make it more difficult to challenge permit applications.

Crist turned aside their objections, just as he did with a growth management bill a month ago.

In a signing letter, Crist wrote that other provisions would enhance water conservation, but he urged the boards to keep putting the permits on their meeting agendas "for discussion and transparency purposes" even though they no longer have decision-making authority.

"We're very disappointed," said Audubon of Florida deputy director Eric Draper. "The Legislature argues the public doesn't care about this, but they do."

Draper, also a Democratic candidate for state agriculture commissioner, acknowledged permit disputes don't come up often, but he said when they do there's plenty of public interest.

He cited an April meeting of the St. Johns River Water Management District that drew hundreds to oppose a permit that would let municipal water systems pump millions of gallons a day from the St. Johns. The board voted to issue the permit but a legal challenge is pending.

Draper said the new law's sponsors told him they'd be receptive to changing the provision next year.

"I'm certainly not married to the language," said Rep. Denise Grimsley, a Lake Placid Republican who sponsored the measure in the House. "There's certainly no ill intent."

Other groups that joined Audubon in urging Crist to veto the bill included 1000 Friends of Florida and the Florida Chapter of the Sierra Club.

All three organizations also had asked him to veto the growth management bill that lifted requirements to have roads and other transportation in place before development projects could be built in urban areas. The environmentalists argued the definition of urban areas was too broad and would encourage sprawl.

The Republian governor sided with development interests and signed the measure (SB 360). Crist said it will boost Florida's sagging construction industry and create new jobs by making it easier to build in urban areas and extending the life of existing development permits for two years.

Click here to return to story:
http://www.staugustine.com/stories/070109/state_1696583.shtml

© The St. Augustine Record

Crist's bill takes power from water management -- Directors in Fla.'s districts now will issue use permits

North City closer to National Registry

North City closer to National Registry

PETER GUINTA
peter.guinta@staugustine.com
Publication Date: 07/01/09

A state committee on Tuesday approved a National Historic District application for St. Augustine's own North City -- where Uptown Saturday Night's magic happens.

The approval came Tuesday from the five-member Florida National Registration Review Board in Tallahassee, which examines applications and packs them up to send to Washington, D.C., for final confirmation.

City Commissioner Nancy Sikes-Kline accompanied the application Tuesday and sat through the voting.

"The committee was very complimentary (about the application)," she said. "They liked the district and the area, and they clearly understood the district was cohesive in the historical sense."

The district stretches from West Castillo Drive north to Old Mission Avenue. On the west is Ponce de Leon Boulevard and on the east is San Marco Avenue.

Other National Historic Districts in St. Johns County include:

* The Abbott Tract, added 1983.

* St. Augustine, added 1970.

* Lincolnville, added 1991.

* Model Land Company, added 1983.

* Castillo de San Marcos, added 1966.

* Fort Matanzas National Monument, added 1966.

* St. Augustine Alligator Farm, added 1992.

Sikes-Kline said two additional St. Augustine neighborhoods, Nelmar Terrace and Fullerwood, are also seeking National Historic District designation.

"I hope (North City) will be approved by the end of the year, when the new tax period will begin," she said.

The City Commission, with Sikes-Kline making the motion, recently approved extending the tax exemption time on historic properties from five years to 10 years.

"The county needs to match that 10," she said. "I hope it is possible to have all districts (approved) and eligible for tax abatement."

Paul Weaver, a historic preservation consultant, said he'd canvassed homes in that area in the early 1980s with St. Augustine historians Bill Adams and David Nolan.

"We saw the neighborhood had potential for being a historic district. Now, we're glad to see, after all that time, that it passed," Weaver said.

He said the national designation gives North City a measure of protection, such as being spared from losing property to any expansion of U.S. 1, for example. And it could offer federal tax incentives for businesses, he said.

"It gives the neighborhood recognition and credibility as a historic area," Weaver said. "(Residents of North City are) aware of this process and are pretty excited about it.

"This is an area that in the last 20 years has come alive."

Dan Sullivan of Water Street said the designation "gives (North City) some bragging rights. It helps community spirit and makes you feel good to live here."

City officials estimated that home owners in North City who make $200,000 worth of renovations can save $1,000 per year in taxes for 10 years on those improvements.

Sidebar

The National Register of Historic Places, authorized by the National Park Service in 1966, is the nation's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects that are significant in history, architecture, archeology, engineering, and culture worthy of preservation.

Click here to return to story:
http://staugustine.com/stories/070109/news_1696129.shtml

© The St. Augustine Record

Riverkeeper receives state award

Riverkeeper receives state award

From Staff
Publication Date: 07/01/09

St. Johns Riverkeeper has received the 2009 Water Conservationist of the Year award from the Florida Wildlife Federation.

The Florida Wildlife Federation's annual selection of conservation award winners is one of the oldest in the state. Award winners are chosen from nominations made to the federation's board of directors based on their accomplishments on behalf of Florida's fish, wildlife and native habitats.

The presentation was made at the federation's 72nd Annual Conservation Awards Banquet and Benefit held June 20 at Renaissance Resort at World Golf Village.

"This award is an important recognition of our organization, our loyal supporters, and our hard work to restore the health of the St. Johns River," said Jimmy Orth, executive director of St. Johns Riverkeeper. "We are honored to receive such a prestigious award and to be recognized by such a venerable conservation organization as the Florida Wildlife Federation."

Neil Armingeon, the St. Johns Riverkeeper, said, "The statewide recognition provided by the Florida Wildlife Federation award will help St. Johns Riverkeeper reach many more concerned citizens who share a common interest in protecting Florida's precious water resources."

St. Johns Riverkeeper is a membership-based organization established in 2000 as an "independent voice for the river."

For information, go to www.stjohnsriverkeeper.org.

For information about Florida Wildlife Federation, go to www.fwfonline.org.

Click here to return to story:
http://staugustine.com/stories/070109/news_1697015.shtml

© The St. Augustine Record

40th ACCORD honors Civil Rights Act's 45th anniversary

40th ACCORD honors Civil Rights Act's 45th anniversary

Publication Date: 07/01/09

St. Augustine's 40th Anniversary to Commemorate the Civil Rights Demonstrations Inc. -- the local civil rights commemorative organization -- joins the nation Thursday in honoring the 45th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act. St. Augustine played a pivotal role in its passage and signing into law on July 2, 1964. That role is highly visible today thanks to the nonprofit known as 40th ACCORD and to Northrop Grumman Corp., St. Johns County's largest private employer.

They created The ACCORD Freedom Trail presented by Northrop Grumman Corp. With 21 markers already on the trail, 20 by Northrop Grumman and one by Beth Levenbach -- a 40th ACCORD member from Lansdowne, Pa. -- the next 10 are to be installed by September.

The trail was a longtime vision of David Nolan, St. Augustine historian, author and co-chair of the Freedom Trail. Some 30 years ago he began putting together the city's civil rights key sites through interviews with people who participated in the demonstrations here.

Who knew when Grumman arrived in St. Augustine more than 25 years ago to revive the area's aircraft manufacturing industry that the merged corporation of Northrop Grumman would be a leader in the preservation of civil rights history? The company has long been the standard bearer of business partnerships with St. Johns County's public schools.

In three years the Freedom Trail has leapt from documeted historical research, primarily by Nolan, to permanent markers. ACCORD presented the plan to Northrop Grumman, and Suzanne McQuiston, a company executive, took charge of the project. ACCORD President Gwendolyn Duncan says McQuiston is her "angel." Indeed she was. Northrop Grumman's committment is priceless to telling the civil rights story.

At last year's Freedom Trail luncheon, Rick Matthews, a Northrop Grumman vice president and St. Augustine plant manager, said, "It is an honor that we are able to support (Freedom Trail) more than just with our money, but with our heart and with our soul."

In the past year, as the national economy worsened and Northrop Grumman came close to losing a federal contract and more than 100 jobs in St. Augustine, the company stood fast in completing its commitment.

Duncan is hopeful that the Freedom Trail will expand through the generosity of other businesses and personal contributions.

St. Augustine's Civil Rights era was an ugly one for the entire community. Some on both sides still harbor resentment. We hope the ACCORD Freedom Trail presented by Northrop Grumman Corp. helps heal some of the bitterness as it recognizes the proud place St. Augustine has in the nation's civil rights history.

We share Duncan's belief that the community will follow Northrop Grumman's fine example by expanding the Freedom Trail.

*

For information, go to http://accordfreedomtrail.org or e-mail contact@accordfreedomtrail.org.

*

The 40th Anniversary to Commemorate the Civil Rights Demonstrations Inc. (40th ACCORD) is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization established in 2003 and incorporated in 2004. The mission is "Remembering, recognizing, and honoring all those who risked their lives to attain civil rights for all and celebrating St. Augustine's pivotal role in the Civil Rights Act of 1964."

Click here to return to story:
http://www.staugustine.com/stories/070109/opinions_1696833.shtml

© The St. Augustine Record

Don't build new visitor center, make adaptive re-use of St. George Street buildings

The Bedford Whaling National Historical Park made use of existing buildings for its visitor center. Likewise, we don't need a new NPS building here. See below.

The proposed St. Augustine National Historical Park, National Seashore and National Scenic Coastal Parkway should have a building or buildings on St. George Street as a visitor center. This will allow adaptive re-use of historic and restored buildings.

Don't waste funds on new visitor center

Don't waste funds on new visitor center

Publication Date: 07/01/09

Editor: I was taken aback by the front page article in this past Sunday's RECORD on the $500,000 initial funding obtained by U.S. Rep. John Mica for a "'world class visitors' center' planned to be across the street from the Castillo de San Marcos."

The information in the article came as a total surprise to me. What are "the powers that be" thinking? There already is a visitor's information center across the street from the Castillo, attached to the city's parking garage and only a short walk from the planned new "world class visitors' center."

The St. Augustine and St. Johns County Visitor Information Center is in a unique building that has its own real history (built as a federal WPA project in the 1930s). It is spacious and has been beautifully renovated to serve and provide information about our beautiful city to visitors. It seems to me to be a terrible waste of funding and duplication of purpose; now I have grave concerns over the fate of the current VIC building.

Anne Kraft

St. Augustine

Legistorm.com: "No name-calling"

Shennigans

June 17, 2009
Categories: Antics
No name-calling

If you want to score a meeting with Rep. Jim McDermott (D-Wash.), know this: His scheduler/office manager, Elizabeth Becton, is to be addressed by her full name — not Liz or any other variant.

An executive assistant at McBee Strategic recently learned this the hard way. A few weeks ago, the assistant e-mailed Becton seeking a meeting with McDermott and a client, JPMorgan Chase. Days later, the assistant checked back in and unfortunately began the e-mail with “Hi Liz.”

Becton curtly replied, “Who is Liz?”

When the assistant wrote back with an apology, Becton turned up the heat. “I do not go by Liz. Where did you get your information?” she asked.

The back-and-forth went on for 19 e-mails, with the assistant apologizing six times if she had “offended” Becton, while Becton lectured about name-calling.

Becton told the assistant that if someone said using “Liz” was acceptable, then “they are not your friend”, and “If I wanted you to call me by any other name, I would have offered that to you.” Plus, it’s “rude when people don’t even ask permission and take all sorts of liberties with your name,” she said, adding: “Please do not ever call me by a nickname again.”

But the tirade didn’t end there. Becton continued her riff — responding that the assistant “got played” by someone who was trying to “tick” Becton off. Becton’s final, searing missive stated: “In the future, you should be VERY careful about such things. People like to brag about their connections in D.C. It’s a pastime for some. It’s also dangerous to eavesdrop, as you have just found out. Quit apologizing and never call me anything but Elizabeth again. Also, make sure you correct anyone who attempts to call me by any other name but Elizabeth. Are we clear on this? Like I said, it’s a hot button for me. And please don’t call the office and not leave a message. My colleague told me you called while I was away. ... I do sometimes leave my desk.”

McDermott spokesman Mike DeCesare told us Tuesday, “An apology is being issued as we speak,” adding, “This isn’t reflective of the way we do business in this office.”

Read the saucy email exchange after the jump:
» Continue reading No name-calling

Here’s a redacted version of the exchange:

From: XXX
Sent: Friday, May 22, 2009 11:38 AM
To: Becton, Elizabeth
Subject: JPMC Meeting Request

Elizabeth,

Attached is a meeting request for JP Morgan Chase who will be in DC June 3rd-4th and would like to request a brief meeting with the Congressman.

Let me know if you need any additional information.

Thank you!

Best,
XXX

________________________________

From: XXX
Sent: Wednesday, May 27, 2009 5:05 PM
To: Becton, Elizabeth
Subject: RE: JPMC Meeting Request

Hi Liz,

just checking in on whether the Congressman is available next week. [REDACTED] can confirm a meeting time for you - she is available at [REDACTED].

Thank you!

Best,
XXX

________________________________

From: Becton, Elizabeth
Sent: Wednesday, May 27, 2009 5:07 PM
To: XXX
Subject: RE: JPMC Meeting Request
Importance: High

Who is Liz?

Elizabeth Becton
Executive Assistant/Office Manager
Office of Congressman Jim McDermott
XXXX Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
XXX phone
XXX fax
________________________________

From: XXX
Sent: Wednesday, May 27, 2009 5:07 PM
To: Becton, Elizabeth
Subject: RE: JPMC Meeting Request

Hi Elizabeth, I thought you went by Liz - apologies if that is incorrect. Best, XXX

________________________________

From: Becton, Elizabeth
Sent: Wednesday, May 27, 2009 5:08 PM
To: XXX
Subject: RE: JPMC Meeting Request

I do not go by Liz. Where did you get your information?
________________________________

Sent: Wednesday, May 27, 2009 5:10 PM
To: Becton, Elizabeth
Subject: RE: JPMC Meeting Request

Hi Elizabeth, I'm so sorry if I offended you! I thought you had gone by Liz at Potlatch, this was my mistake. Best, XXX

________________________________
From: Becton, Elizabeth
Sent: Wednesday, May 27, 2009 5:11 PM
To: XXX
Subject: RE: JPMC Meeting Request

NEVER. I hate that name.

________________________________

From: XXX
Sent: Wednesday, May 27, 2009 5:13 PM
To: Becton, Elizabeth
Subject: RE: JPMC Meeting Request

Hi Elizabeth, I'm so sorry if I offended you! I must have mis-heard. My mistake! Best, XX

________________________________

From: Becton, Elizabeth
Sent: Wednesday, May 27, 2009 5:20 PM
To: XXX
Subject: RE: JPMC Meeting Request
Importance: High

XXX:

If I wanted you to call me by any other name, I would have offered that to you. I think it's rude when people don't even ask permission and take all sorts of liberties with your name. This is a real sore spot with me. My name has a lot of "nicknames" which I don't use. I use either my first name or my last name because I row with a lot of other women who share the same first name. Now, please do not ever call me by a nickname again.

As for your meeting request, who is the point of contact for this meeting? If it's not you, then I need to know who because it's very time-consuming to deal with a lot of people for one meeting.

Thanks,

________________________________

From: XXX
Sent: Wednesday, May 27, 2009 5:23 PM
To: Becton, Elizabeth
Subject: RE: JPMC Meeting Request

Hi Elizabeth, I'm so sorry I offended you! My mistake!

XXX can confirm a meeting time for you - she is available at XXX XXXX.

Thank you!

Best, XXX

________________________________
[UNRELATED EMAILS REDACTED]

From: XXX
Sent: Wednesday, May 27, 2009 5:33 PM
To: Becton, Elizabeth
Subject: RE: JPMC Meeting Request

Of course! Again, I am sincerely sorry for offending you. I must have mis-heard and it was in no way my intention to make you upset. I always enjoy working with you and seeing you at the WSS events J

Best,
XXX

________________________________

From: Becton, Elizabeth
Sent: Wednesday, May 27, 2009 5:37 PM
To: XXX
Subject: RE: JPMC Meeting Request

Sounds like you got played by someone who KNOWS I hate that name and that it's a fast way to TICK me off. Who told you that I go by that name? They are not your friend...

________________________________

From: XXX
Sent: Wednesday, May 27, 2009 5:38 PM
To: Becton, Elizabeth
Subject: RE: JPMC Meeting Request

Hi Elizabeth,

Again, I am sincerely sorry for offending you. I don't want to cause trouble as I clearly must have mis-heard the person at Potlatch. It was in no way my intention to make you upset.

Best,
XXX

________________________________

From: Becton, Elizabeth
Sent: Wednesday, May 27, 2009 5:41 PM
To: XXX
Subject: RE: JPMC Meeting Request
Importance: High

I REALLY want to know who told you to call me that.

________________________________

From:XXX
Sent: Wednesday, May 27, 2009 5:44 PM
To: Becton, Elizabeth
Subject: RE: JPMC Meeting Request

Hi Elizabeth,
Again, I am sincerely sorry for offending you. I don't recall who I overheard. It was in no way my intention to make you upset.
Best,
XXX

________________________________
From: Becton, Elizabeth
Sent: Wednesday, May 27, 2009 6:04 PM
To: XXX
Subject: RE: JPMC Meeting Request

Let me put it this way, they don't know me and perhaps they were PRETENDING to know me better than they do and pretended that I go by Liz. They did YOU a disservice.

In the future, you should be VERY careful about such things. People like to brag about their connections in DC. It's a past time for some. It's also dangerous to eaves drop, as you have just found out.

Quit apologizing and never call me anything but Elizabeth again. Also, make sure you correct anyone who attempts to call me by any other name but Elizabeth. Are we clear on this? Like I said, it's a hot button for me.

And please don't call the office and not leave a message. My colleague told me you called while I was away at the Ladies' room. I do sometimes leave my desk.

By Anne Schroeder Mullins 04:00 AM

Daytona Beach News Journal: State attorney making good on campaign promises

State attorney making good on campaign promises
By JAY STAPLETON
Staff writer

DAYTONA BEACH -- As "a treat," State Attorney R.J. Larizza introduced the men and women working in his office with handshakes, smiles and words of encouragement.

"Did you learn something?" he asked Eric Huszar, a summer intern from Richmond, Va., who stood up from his research of a pending case. "Yes sir," the intern replied.

At the tail end of an hourlong interview focusing on his first 150 days in office, Larizza took a visiting reporter through the maze-like aisles of the third-floor offices at the Justice Center last week, making informal introductions to attorneys, support staffers and interns.

"You work with me, you don't work for me," Larizza said. "It's only one word, but it carries a lot of weight if you really mean it."

Among his goals as top prosecutor for the four-county area that includes Volusia and Flagler, he said, is an openness with the media, police agencies and a collegial vibe among staffers.

"We have a wonderful staff," Larizza said. "They care about their jobs. They do their work in a very noble and very admirable manner."

Six months into the job he took over with the defeat of incumbent John Tanner, Larizza has already started to make good on campaign promises he made to law enforcement. While he has kept most veteran prosecutors on board, and promoted many, he has taken a conscious departure from Tanner's management style.

He's created a liaison program in Flagler, St. Johns and Putnam counties, which puts law enforcement officers and prosecutors together. That program is expected to be expanded to Volusia soon.

He's brought back a career criminal unit to strive for the stiffest possible sentences for repeat offenders.

"Since R.J took office, he has been very amenable to law enforcement," Daytona Beach Police Chief Mike Chitwood said. "It's been a Glasnost-like approach. The windows have been opened."

Assistant State Attorney Chris Kelly, the spokesman for the office who doubles as an attorney who determines how cases will be handled, said Larizza ran for the office in part because he saw a need for greater communication between prosecutors and law enforcement. "That promise is being fulfilled," Kelly said.

That's not to say arresting officers and prosecutors see criminal cases the same, or that every arrested person will face conviction.

"We're not in lockstep with every single case," Kelly said, referring to the relationships between prosecutors and police. "But the biggest thing is now we're communicating better."

The new administration faces the challenge of more work with less resources. While the circuit has avoided layoffs, furloughs and pay cuts so far, the office of 208 employees is down 34 positions because of budget cuts.

With crime numbers increasing in a tough economy, the office is expanding its volunteer programs.

Larizza's approach to be hands-on and visible has helped keep morale high.

"It takes innovation," Larizza said. "And we're not afraid of doing innovative things."

Those innovations, he said, include "casual Fridays," and lunches with Chief Assistant State Attorney Luis Bustamante.

"We call it Lunch with Luis," Larizza said. "He goes out to lunch with two prosecutors at a time. You can be a supervisor, and still have a personal interaction with your employees."

Larizza has also reached across the aisle to defense lawyers, a group he was a member of in St. Augustine before he was elected.

"Everything seems pretty smooth," said defense lawyer Rob Sanders, who is president of both the Volusia County Bar Association and the local chapter of the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.

While Sanders said it is "still a little too soon to tell" how the new administration might differ from Tanner's in prosecuting cases, he said he was thankful for Larizza's openness to the defense bar.

Public Defender Jim Purdy said positive morale and increased openness is an advantage to all, because in a congenial working atmosphere attorneys can work to resolve cases without fear of "criticism from their supervisors."

As he led the tour of the office, Larizza paused at the office of felony prosecutor Serena Baldacchino. A picture of actor Erik Estrada, dressed as a police officer from his role on the 1970s and '80s television show "CHiPs," was taped to the wall. Another attorney had put it there, Baldacchino explained.

"Oh, I thought that was your boyfriend," Larizza teased. And there was laughter.

Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Forgive EPA Employees

When they view stripmining protesters as a "threat." See below.

When they refuse to enforce criminal laws against the City of St. Augustine.

When they harass whistleblowers.

Like Saul of Tarsus, they're capable of change. Forgive them but expect better.

Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility: EPA Afraid of Mountain Justice Summer Protesters, Consides Them A "Threat"

Last week, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency declared a "national alert to all EPA facilities" due to "demonstrations directed toward EPA offices by an activist group known as Mountain Justice Summer" protesting the agency's anemic posture on mountain top removal coal mining. The all-employee alert warns that these activists "should be considered a potential threat".

Actress Daryl Hannah was among the protestors, so the concern was understandable.

Unfortunately, a pattern of defensiveness may have already sunk in with the new leaders at EPA. Instead of inviting the protesters in to talk, the agency simply retreats to the bunker. Meanwhile, to tout its supposed transparency, EPA posts the most opaque calendars designed not to reveal what is going on. Here's a sample:
Senior Managers Schedules
* Senior Manager Schedules
* 06/29/2009: Lisa P. Jackson
Lisa P. Jackson
Administrator, Environmental Protection Agency
Working Schedule for: 06/29/2009
TIME EVENT
12:15-12:25 PM Meeting with Administration Officials
EPA Headquarters
Closed Press
5:15-6:00 PM Meeting with Administration Officials
EPA Headquarters
Closed Press

Help PEER press for the change we need - but have yet to see.

Sincerely,

Jeff Ruch
Executive Director

P.S. Read a critique of the Waxman-Markey bill by EPA specialists who will be charged with enforcing it.

P.P.S. Big victory in the Chambers case: In a unanimous ruling, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia upheld the claim of former U.S. Park Police Chief Teresa Chambers that records exonerating her may have been illegally destroyed by Bush administration officials. The ruling also sets a precedent for using the Privacy Act to redress improper shredding of personnel files and other record. Take a look at the decision.

Forgive Government Employees When They Write Hate Speech About First Amendment Protected Activity on "Anonymice" Websites.

But be not afraid of them! Their bark is worse than their bite.

TORQUEMADA "TORTURED?": City of St. Augustine managers ' angst-ridden exhibition of hatred of Open Record requests posted on KKK-Style hate website

Inquisition water torture, circa 1556 (year after our City's founding)

WILLIAM B. HARRISS, ST. AUGUSTINE CITY MANAGER, chief violator of First Amendment rights in St. Augustine, Florida, he ordered dumping of solid waste in our Old City Reservoir and ir and coverup of sewage effluent dumped in saltwater marsh

Tomás de Torquemada, first Inquisitor General of Spain

Who but top-level apparatchiks would be so hateful about the Public's Right to Know as to obsess about a single Open Records website it on a KKK-style hate website, on New Years' Eve?

From www.shamefulpeople.com:

In a recent exchange between Slavin and the City which was published by Slavin on his own blog, Slavin reveals his obsession with torturing the processes of local government.

At the apparent instigation of Dwight Hines, Slavin finds a reference on a public Internet website that erroneously indicated a late filing of a quarterly report concerning the city waste water treatment plant.

Slavin contacts John Regan and Martha Campbell to find out why the report has not been filed with the Environmental Protection Agency …. but he is not content to stop there.

Before he receives a response or takes the time to gather the facts, he “shotguns” his initial request for an answer to several media outlets. From the e-mail that Slavin published, it appears that in addition to contacting Regan and Campbell for an answer, he “carbon copied” the following:

kati.bexley@staugustinerecord.com;
margo.pope@staugustine.com;
peter.ellis@staugustine.com;
peter.guinta@staugustinerecord.com;
judith@globalwrap.com;
1011@concentric.net;
stetsonkennedy@earthlink.net;
themail@folioweekly.com;
sceastman@folioweekly.com;
anne.schindler@folioweekly.com;
dhines@se.rr.com;
ladydi.01@comcast.net;
bryan4744@bellsouth.net;
EASlavin@aol.com

It turns out that the city had filed the report for the July-September quarter as required. After taking time to search the local records, the city located certified mail receipts signed by the agency showing receipt of the
reports.

The city took additional time to contact the Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s Compliance representative, Karen Girard, who concurred that the DMR’s are on file as required.

There was no need for alarm. The sky is not falling.

We have witnessed this shameful behavior by Slavin in the past. Wave the red flag! Alert the media! The city has done something wrong! Scoop! Only to find out later that there was absolutely nothing wrong except more time and taxpayer money wasted chasing one of Ed Slavin’s tall tales and hysterical allegations.

I find it interesting that Slavin has shameful Commissioner Ken Bryan on his e-mail distribution. Birds of a feather …..
This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 31st, 2008 at 5:53 PM and is filed under Ed Slavin, Ken Bryan . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

6 Responses to “Slavin tactics reveal shameful agenda”

*
BabbleOn Says:
January 1st, 2009 at 9:53 AM

The text of Slavin’s letters posted on his shameful site reveal a ‘reply to’ fax number (904-819-5817) belonging to Global Wrap, owned by Judith Seraphin. Is Global Wrap and Judith Seraphin to be held accountable for Slavin’s ill-intentioned damage?

As far as Ken Bryan being on the email list- no wonder there. Both Democrats, both deceptive, both self serving opportunists who offer nothing, in the end. Anywhere you find false allegations, Slavin and Ken Bryan will be there.
*
BabbleOn Says:
January 3rd, 2009 at 1:08 PM

I think Slavin may be unhappy about his appearance on ShamefulPeople.com. Could it be that it’s hit too close to home, and his paychecks at GlobalWrap? Or can he just dish out lies about others and not take the truth about himself? Is he really surprised that nobody wants to shake his hand or willfully speak to him?
Get used to it, Mr. Slavin. We see you for the deranged, unhinged, delusional, unbalanced, social outcast, decrepit, useless maligner, falsifier, perjurer, malicious self serving scurrilous rodent in our midst. Your slime will not cling to anyone except for those who pay you to act this way, and those who use you to serve themselves.
*
Taxed2Death Says:
January 5th, 2009 at 7:14 PM

Frankly, I don’t care if Ed Slavin is “happy” or “unhappy”.

I DO CARE about the money he makes our government waste responding to his ridiculous, self-serving snipe hunts.

THAT’S OUR GOD DAMNED TAX MONEY YOU ARE WASTING, JACKASS!
*
acereporter Says:
January 6th, 2009 at 6:13 AM

Slavin only has one obviously self-serving agenda — force government employees to waste time by taking time away from their official responsibilities just to play with him.

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH.

Slavin sent an e-mail to the city on 12/30/08 at 4:39 p.m. because, based on an e-mail he received from troublemaker Dwight Hines, he thought that he caught them filing a late report; .

The city researched Slavin’s question and John Regan responded, by e-mail, on 12/31/08 at 1:25 p.m. informing Slavin that they had located the documents showing that the three pertinent reports had each been filed when due.

Slavin, in his own inimitable way, can not be satisfied that he has just wasted a day of city administrators time on the phone and in e-mail just to find out that nothing was wrong — now he demands copies of the proof be faxed to him and copies of all the related documents.

AT THIS POINT, SLAVIN IS WAY OUTSIDE OF THE SCOPE OF ACCESS TO PUBLIC RECORDS THAT IS PROVIDED IN FLORIDA LAW.

Under the law, Slavin has the right to go to the custodian of the records and inspect them, in person, at reasonable times and upon reasonable notice, without charge.

The city office is under no obligation to respond immediately to Slavin’s questions by producing copies of documents, either by e-mail or fax, without collecting a reasonable fee for that service. The City of St. Augustine offered to provide access to the records at City Hall - as required. The city is under NO OBLIGATION to be Ed Slavin’s personal secretarial service.

Regan’s e-mail response to Slavin was a courtesy offered to reassure him that there had been no wrongdoing on the part of the city PRIMARILY because of the fact that Slavin had abusively copied in several media contacts implying that he had accomplished some earth-shattering discovery — which he hadn’t.

In Regan;s response, he says:

The City’s Public Records Policy provides that copies of public records are available for a statutory fee of $0.15 per page. The return receipts total three pages, and the associated documents total an additional 48 pages. At $0.15 per page, copying costs total $7.65. You may review the records or obtain copies at the Office of the City Manager, 75 King Street, Fourth Floor, St. Augustine.

Instead of paying the $7.65 for copies of the requested records, it is ONCE AGAIN clear that Slavin has no intention, or possibly no capacity, to pay the minimal fee required for their production.

Slavin did the same thing recently in requesting records from State Representative Bill Proctor’s office - records which were gathered at Slavin’s request — but for which Slavin refused to pay.

Slavin claims to make the Governor’s office provide copies of public records without charge but their is no evidence of that.

PAY THE $7.65 YOU FREELOADING BASTARD or quit wasting our government employee’s time.

Instead of paying the fees for the work he has ordered, this deadbeat elects to bully and ridicule the city SIMPLY BECAUSE THEY WONT FAX COPIES of documents to him on demand for free.

Excerpts from Slavin’s published comments:

Rather Than Fax Copies of Three (3) Return Receipt Cards, City of St. Augustine Would Rather Fight Than Switch

Arrogance is as arrogance does — see the latest time-waster from City Attorney RONALD W. BROWN (below). Rather than fax the cards upon which the City relies to claim it sent information to EPA timely — rather than waive fees, as the Governor’s office routinely does — RON BROWN would rather show his (ample) behind.

Your running interference for the City on the simplest of requests –occasioned by EPA’s database reporting you in violation — is pettifoggery, plain and simple.

WILLIAM B. HARRISS’ officiousness and pettiness is again on display — having his minions waste their time by writing pointless letters instead of faxing the cards, which would have taken 30 seconds.

Pettifogging city of St. Augustine city attorney Ronald Brown would rather write ukaeses about illegal “policy” than fax return receipt cards.

SHAMEFUL! SHAMEFUL! SHAMEFUL!
*
Red Ruffansore Says:
January 7th, 2009 at 8:28 PM

“running interference for the City on the simplest of requests –occasioned by EPA’s database reporting you in violation — is pettifoggery, plain and simple.”

Dictionary.com defines ‘pettifog’:

1. to bicker or quibble over trifles or unimportant matters.
2. to carry on a petty, shifty, or unethical law business.
3. to practice chicanery of any sort.

Someone needs to take a quick peek in the mirror.

At least that’s the way Old Red sees it.
*
JustWink Says:
January 15th, 2009 at 4:53 PM

“Goes around, comes around.”

“Turn about is fair play.”

Not quoting any of Ed Slavin’s illustrious sources, but they make the point.

It’s about time Slavin and his many equally as demented cohorts were singled out for the constant pettifoggery they have perpetrated–and continue to perpetrate–upon the City and its employees over the past few years.

Slavin’s blitzkreigs on the City Commission and City Administration are nightmares for taxpayers in this town of 14,000.

Waste staff time = waste money.

Picturing Slavin as Heath Ledger’s “The Joker” in “The Dark Knight,” I’d like to say to Slavin: STOP WASTING OUR TIME, MONEY AND RESOURCES.

Salacious and vituperative language is okay for Slavin to spew, but when someone dares call him out for continuing his attacks and lies there is always a high-pitched squeal of “My First Amendment rights!”

Shameful People needs to add Betty J. (a/k/a “BJ”) Kalaidy to its cast of disgruntled, misled, useless characters. And Dr. Dwight Hines.

(End of hateful rant by City of St. Augustine managers and their hangars-on)

Commentary: They named their website well -- these are "Shameful people" who put 40,000 cubic yards of solid waste in our Old City Reservoir.

Is aerial spraying of organophosphates on protected species and their nests a taking under federal criminal laws?

What do you reckon?

April 2009 environmental report on NC Turnpike states at – 31-32

Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act. The bald eagle was adopted as a national symbol in 1782. During the next century and a half, the bald eagle was heavily hunted. This led Congress to pass the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act in 1940 to prevent the species from becoming extinct. In 1962, Congress adopted the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act (BGEPA) to protect golden eagles, which also strengthened protection of bald eagles since they were often killed by
people mistaking them for golden eagles. The BGEPA prohibits the "take, possession, sale, or purchase" of the bald eagle as well as the "offer to sell, purchase, export or import" the bald eagle "at any time or in any manner (16 USC 668-668d)." (USFWS Web site: www.fws.gov/permits/mbpermits/ActSummaries.html).
The BGEPA defines the ‘‘take'' of an eagle to include a broad range of actions: ‘‘pursue, shoot, shoot at, poison, wound, kill, capture, trap, collect, or molest or disturb''; the broadest of these terms is ‘‘disturb.'' ‘‘Disturb'' has been defined by the USFWS in regulations (50 CFR 22.3) as: ‘‘to agitate or bother a bald or golden eagle to a degree that causes, or is likely to cause, based on the best scientific information available, (1) injury to an eagle, (2) a decrease in its productivity, by substantially interfering with normal breeding, feeding, or sheltering behavior, or (3) nest abandonment, by substantially interfering with normal breeding, feeding, or sheltering behavior.''

Projects located in proximity to a bald eagle nest may have the potential to "disturb" the species and thus could result in an incidental take. The USFWS has proposed regulations that would provide a basis for authorizing incidental takes of bald eagles under the BGEPA (72 FR 31,141, June 7, 2007). That rulemaking has not yet been finalized. Since the bald eagle was declared recovered and removed from the

Federal List of Threatened and Endangered Species in July 2007, the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act (BGEPA)is the primary law protecting bald eagles. The bald eagle also continues to be protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA),

http://www.ncturnpike.org/pdf/06_DEISGaston_Ch6_NaturalEnv.pdf

Whetstone chocolate factory to build on King Street?

Whetstone chocolate factory returning

PETER GUINTA
peter.guinta@staugustine.com
Publication Date: 06/30/09

A 10,080-square-foot Whetstone chocolate factory and retail store might soon sweeten up the former Cooper Tires property at 149 King St., according to zoning documents filed Monday with St. Augustine Planning and Building Department.

The applicant, Henry "Hank" Whetstone Jr., is asking for a "use by exception" to build a candy factory on that site.

The board meets at 2 p.m. July 7 in the Alcazar Room at City Hall.

Whetstone declined to be interviewed for this story, but the city's Planning Department recommended "that the Planning & Zoning Board can approve (that request)."

Mark Knight, director of planning and building, said he saw only one hurdle that this applicant must conquer -- meeting Federal Emergency Management Agency flood guidelines.

"Those must be addressed," Knight said. "A change in use from motor vehicles to a manufacturing plant means they will have to flood-proof the building."

The federal flood height is nine feet, but the building must be sealed to 10 feet, Knight said.

"The only problem is at the openings," he said.

With normal doors, drop-down plates can be installed to create a flood seal, he said. But the building also has four service bays that could be difficult to seal unless bricked over.

At one time, the property was owned by the Florida East Coast Railway. Now, it has 30 striped parking spaces.

City records indicate that India Pezzi of DeLand owns the $480,000 property, and $193,960 building. She did not return phone calls asking if she sold or leased the property to the Whetstones.

The family's business began in the kitchen of Esther and Henry Whetstone Sr., in the 1960s. In the 1970s, they moved the business to Cordova Street. It moved to a 10,000-square-foot facility on State Road 312 in 1984 but closed a few years ago to make room for their state-of-the-art office building, Whetstone Place.

The public believed for the past years that the old Hardees property at King Street and U.S. 1 was to be the future site of the Whetstones' new two-story factory. But that was not to be.

Knight said he'd heard those plans.

"But (the Whetstones) haven't included any reference to us about that (property) at this point," he said.

Knight said the old Cooper Tires garage had "passed its time" in that location and "this (new site) is much more conducive to tourists than their (Whetstone's) location (off S.R. 312)."

#

Use by exception

According to St. Augustine City Code, a "use by exception" means "a use that would not be appropriate generally through the zoning district, but which if controlled as to the number, area, location or relation to the neighborhood, would promote the public health, safety, morals, order, comfort, convenience, appearance, prosperity or general welfare."

Click here to return to story:
http://staugustine.com/stories/063009/news_1691977.shtml

© The St. Augustine Record

Developer-driven entourage abuses outstanding environmental attorney Ralf Brookes on KKK-style website

Cap worn by one of the Anonymice hate site posters in St. Augustine, Florida.

Ralf Brookes, a lawyer for Florida environmentalists and local governments, was personally attacked in late June on a KKK-type website closely associated with the City of St. Augustine and its tatterdemalion City Manager, WILLIAM B. HARRISS.

The KKK-style www.disgracefulpeople.com and www.plazabum.com websites' jejune attacks on attorney Ralf Brookes typify the genre of mean-spirited attacks by anonymous posters ("the Anonymice") -- attacks in the spirit of "The Control Game" (below) and the Republican hitman's textbook, "Damage Control." (below)

The Anonymice's snotty, snooty personal attacks on attorney Ralf Brookes and County Commissioner J. Kenneth Bryan are ultimately as boring predictable as the animus-ridden energumen who write them, practicing:
1. Guilt by association (card-carrying member of the Sierra Club).
2. Personal appearance.
3. He's not from around here.
4. He wasn't "invited" by the government to criticize it.

How trite. Sounds like the PR department of a tobacco company on autopilot. One of the most frequent posters on the Plazabum.comhate site is NANCY SIKES-KLINE a/k/a "bullg8rlady," who has since May 31, 2007 posted 528 times on Plazabum.com, some 1.47% of total or an average of 0.69 posts per day].

COMMISSIONER NANCY SIKES-KLINE's "Anonmymice" handle (bullg8rlady) is the same one that she used on the now-closed St. Augustine Record board, "Talk of the Town."

At the June 22, 2009 City Commission meeting, she made funny faces at Commissioner Leeanna Freeman, while stating that she (SIKES-KLINE a/k/a bullg8rlady) was "ready to vote": because she had "done [her] homework."

How? By listening to City Attorney RONALD WAYNE BROWN, another Plazabummer, about the urgent need to settle the Fish Island lawsuit, benefiting BROWN's former client, PIERRE THOMPSON, grandson of the founder of the St. Augustine Record, whose real estate company pled guilty in federal court last year to molesting a bald eagle nest tree on October 8, 2001.

Commissioner NANCY SIKES-KLINE is employed by land planner KAREN TAYLOR, who will say nearly anything for developers.

In 1776, British loyalists in St. Augustine burned the Declaration of Independence and (in effigy) John Hancock and John Adams. In their spirit today, local KKK-style hate site perpetrators attack any progressive voice.

They're not going to steal our joy today.

Why do these Anonymice hitmen rage?

Because again and again for years they've been defeated in court, exposed in administrative agencies, and proven to be the vacuous, vile, vicious vampires who would put solid waste in our Old City Reservoir and allow sewage effluent to contaminate our saltwater marsh, with a pipe missing hundreds of feet of metal uncorrected for years.

Because we've stood up to them when they perpetrate environmental racism, misfeasance, malfeasance, nonfeasance, waste, fraud and abuse.

Because they are no longer avoiding questions about their subjecting a small town of only 13,000 people to a bloated city government satrapy with 350 full-time equivalent (FTE) employees (only a few dozen of whom live here),

Because people are asking questions with persistence and panache about an incredibly bloated $50 million annual budget and a City Manager who thinks it is his job to run artists off our streets and otherwise violate the First Amendment every day in every way.

Why do the developers and their entourage rage? Why do the emit anonymous defamation, disinformation and baloney?

Because St. Augustine has the most progressive populations in America (according to a former County Commission Chair).

Because we're guiding and changing our local governments from the grass roots, with Commissioners increasingly enlightened about development decisions, to their everlasting credit.

From last year's 5-0 vote stopping the Fish Island schemers from taking our city-owned bottomlands, to this year's 4-0 vote rejecting the effort to inflict an ugly building across the street from the Cathedral, Government House and the Slave Market Square (Plaza de la Constitución, our City Commissioners are increasing their scrutiny of our City Manager's works and pomps.

That's a good thing.

Let the spoiled brat foreign investors and developers and their entourages rage – they can't handle the truth.

Their control over civic life in Our Nation's Oldest City is ending.

The people are winning.

And we see right through the "Control Game" and their "Damage Control" and the vices of the "Anonymice."

Monday, June 29, 2009

CHAIN GANG's ALL HERE AT THE ST. AUGUSTINE ROD & GUN CLUB

Above is a recent photo by St. Johns County Sheriff DAVID SHOAR's bagman, MICHAEL GOLD f/k/a MICHAEL TOBIN, who raised some $250,000 for SHOAR, who allegedly won election in 2004 by promising to bash First Amendment protected activity of environmentalists, bragging on arrests of persons engaged in protected activity with a poster of a newspaper headline and photograph of an illegal arrest.

The revealing photo (above) was taken by MICHAEL GOLD f/k/a MICHAEL TOBIN at a gathering at the controversial ROD & GUN CLUB, shows what appears to be disappointing STATE'S ATTORNEY R.J. LARIZZA and disappointed office-seeker RANDY BRUNSON. BRUNSON escaped Election Commission charges prosecution despite his sweetheart HQ deal with KANTI PATEL,the hotelier.

Politics makes strange bedfellows, eh, MR. LARIZZA? Here you are consorting with cronies and alleged crooks, instead of investigating and prosecuting them. Sounds like a case of "the new boss is the same as the old boss, eh Mr. LARIZZA?

Et tu, R.J.? Say it ain't so, dude, and that you will really prosecute white collar crime and corruption, including Sunshine and Open Records violations.

R.J. LARIZZA, States' Attorney for the 7th Judicial District

Plazabum and Disgraceful People Anonymice" NIC PosterMICHAEL GOLD f/k/a MICHAEL TOBIN AND ST. JOHNS COUNTY SHERIFF DAVID SHOAR, f/k/a "DAVID HOAR"

Rabid City of St. Augustine Officials Reading Book By Consumer Group Hater ERIC DENZENHALL

Eric is co-founder, of one of the most aggressive groups of Industry advocates known as the pit bull of PR he'll destroy consumer groups to advance industry agenda, for a fee.

Eric Dezenhall co-founded the company that is now Dezenhall Resources, one of the nation’s leading crisis management firms, in 1987. His areas of focus include hard news media relations, crises, and marketplace defense. He manages clients in industries including food, consumer products, entertainment, law enforcement, health care, petroleum, and pharmaceuticals.

Eric has developed a model for how media-hyped attacks on businesses and public figures are “packaged” to include Villains, Victims and Vindicators that fit a pre-cast entertainment format. He frequently lectures in academic and business circles about modern-day witch hunts and the techniques employed to preempt and defuse disparaging media coverage. Eric Dezenhall regularly appears as a damage control expert in the international media, including network television and radio, NPR, CNN, Fox, CNBC, C-SPAN, MSNBC, Hardball with Chris Matthews, Geraldo, USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, and The Washington Post. He is a contributing writer to Ethical Corporation magazine, and has also written for the New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times and New Republic.

Eric Dezenhall is the author of Nail 'Em! Confronting High Profile Attacks on Celebrities and Businesses, a widely cited new text in business, media and academic circles. Damage Control: Why Everything You Know About Crisis Management is Wrong, will be released in 2007. He is also the author of five damage control novels, Money Wanders, Jackie Disaster, Shakedown Beach, Turnpike Flameout, and Spinning Dixie.

Eric also served on a televised panel discussion in the Senate Caucus Room with Judge Robert Bork and historian Gertrude Himmelfarb examining the role of spin control on the American legal system and culture.

Before forming Dezenhall Resources, Eric Dezenhall was an account executive at Porter Novelli, one of the nation’s largest communications firms (1984-1987). Prior to joining Porter Novelli, Eric served in the White House Office of Communications and Presidential Personnel (1982, 1983) during the Reagan Presidency. He was also on the staff of ICG, Inc., political consultants (1982).

Eric serves on the Board of Directors of the National Ovarian Cancer Coalition. A student of the American presidency, Eric collects books and political memorabilia, including campaign songs employed by Martin Van Buren’s opponents in the 1836 presidential election.

Eric Dezenhall was born in Camden, New Jersey, and is a graduate of Dartmouth College, where he studied political science and the news media.

Friday, June 26, 2009

CITY OF ST. AUGUSTINE'S "CONTROL GAME" EXPOSED

JOHN REGAN, Assistant City Manager of the City of St. Augusdtine, with sewage "pipe" allowed to rot for years in Lincolnville, one of two environmental racism sites in the City of St. Augustine neglected for years in violation of the 14th Amendment.

The City of St. Augustine's control game is in full swing this Summer, with the deeply conflicted City Attorney, RONALD WAYNE BROWN, attempting to euchre us into settling with developers, including PIERRE THOMPSON, and allowing Fish Island to be destroyed.

City managers are busily reading a book called "Damage Control." It won't help.

This is the same tired old tactic that the Department of Energy and its nuclear weapons plant contractors used. See THE CONTROL GAME, below, with thanks to Paula Elofson and EIN.

What do you reckon?

Environmental Information Network: THE CONTROL GAME === PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT OR PUBLIC RELATIONS: WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

THE CONTROL GAME

By E I N

PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT OR PUBLIC RELATIONS: WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

Originally Published 5/94, converted to HTML 7/97.

A REFERENCE GUIDE FOR RECOGNIZING POLITICAL/SOCIAL CONTROL TACTICS BY POWER BROKERS, LARGE CORPORATIONS, PUBLIC RELATIONS FIRMS, AND GOVERNMENT ENTITIES.

Environmental Information Network (EIN), Inc.TM
P.O. Box 280087, Lakewood, CO 80228-0087 -- pjelofson@aol.com
Paula Elofson-Gardine, Executive Director/Susan Hurst, Publications Director

Tactic 1 -- Make it impossible for people to be involved: These typical control tactics set things up so that it's difficult and inconvenient for interested parties such as the affected public to participate.

Examples:

* Meetings are scheduled at inappropriate locations or times; i.e., during regular working hours, highway rush hours, dinner times, or deliberately conflicting times with similar interest meetings. Strict meeting "guidelines" and use of question cards discourages real dialogue and keeps attendees under control.

Variations:

* Schedule lengthy one-way presentations that will not allow give and take exchange. This precludes the public (including the press) from asking questions or clarifications.
* Conveners may insist that all questions be held until the end, by which time people are tired, the meeting area must be vacated, and the press has had to leave to meet deadlines.
* Allow the public limited time, and a limited number of questions that must pertain to their predetermined set of allowable topics; while the conveners drag out their answers, essentially filibustering away the rest of the time for the meeting -- and coincidentally time for open discussion of issues and answers that many attendees showed up for.
* Staff may be trained to be nice, while having been trained to handle the public by using subtle harassment or baiting techniques, which also discourages public involvement.

These tactics are used to fulfill requirements for public outreach in order to legitimize the process. If attendance is sparse it will be blamed on public apathy, rather than a deliberate effort to exclude public participation. Reject this pretense for public involvement. Short circuit this tactic by standing up as a group and announcing an immediate press conference that will give the press the real story from the citizens outside of the meeting room or across the street from the building, then get up and leave as a group. If this is not immediately possible, let the conveners know that your group will hold its own meeting, protest, and/or press conference the next morning and will continue to inform the media of their non-cooperation on these issues.

Tactic 2 -- Divide and Conquer: This is a well-established tactic that effectively places similar interest groups at odds against each other, when they would otherwise be a formidable force for bureaucratic responsiveness and accountability. This tactic uses existing tensions and divisions between organizations. Name this tactic as soon as you recognize it to short circuit its effectiveness. Make sure that everyone understands what interests they share in common, and why it is in their best interest to continue to work together. A few favorite tactics are described below.

Examples:

* Divide a large issue into many small ones. This forces people and/or organizations to fight many small battles, dispersing their energies. Small groups working in isolation of each other may not be as effective as coordinating efforts to maximize through solid communication and networking.
* Provide enough resources to cover only part of the problem. This can include preparing only a few copies of handouts or important documents so that self-imposed constraints prevent them from being able to provide x, y, or z service -- while it is obvious that there is plenty of budgetary allowance for gratuities, amenities, or items that fulfill their bias or agenda.
* Appoint a committee using key members of the public -- including appointees with views similar to the convener, funder, or directing agency to maintain their control of the committee. Their involvement is then publicly highlighted -- whether or not they attend or participate. Their names will be used strategically (sometimes in absentia), or photos are used to imply consent, agreement, or consensus with the committee -- although they may object or disagree with the viewpoint or findings of the committee. Citizens (token) used in this manner may or may not be aware of their names or pictures being used to artificially lend credibility to the committee or findings in question. In some cases, they may be unaware that they are considered to be a member of the committee.
* Many separate tables are used in large banquet or meeting rooms to break a meeting up into small discussion groups. This effectively keeps valuable information that would otherwise be revealed in the general discussion from being heard by the larger group, which would have enhanced communal brainstorming and questioning of the process or problem at hand. These small group discussions may then be summarized and reported back to the larger group. Carefully placed shills or committee members may serve as group leaders to control group feedback. This suppresses any controversial discussions that don't fit the convener's agenda, and inhibits networking or brainstorming on the issue.
* Seating arranged in "audience fashion" delegates you to a passive role in these meetings. Short-circuit this by playing Musical Chairs. Insist that the tables and/or chairs be moved (circle or horseshoe shape) so that everyone can be an active participant with the conveners or presenters. Put yourselves at the same level and/or table with the power brokers so there is no distance to allow them to feel comfortably in control (no shield). Convert their agenda to your agenda.
* Public relations campaigns (blitzes) into the community will seek out homeowners associations, service groups, schools, and so on, to present biased, incomplete, or misleading information to sidestep opposition to mould and win over public opinion about key issues.

Variations:

* Conduct private (behind closed-door or impromptu) meetings with civic groups, government, or public officials (i.e. city council, county commissioners, etc.) of similar political or philosophical leanings -- without informing citizens or organizations with opposing viewpoints of these meetings.
* Wrong information regarding time and location is provided -- too late to be corrected (The scavenger hunt). This ensures that their message will be presented without all sides of an issue being recognized or openly discussed.

The Government in the Sunshine Act legislation was passed by the U.S. Congress to discourage clandestine or private meetings of government bodies or officials for the purposes of excluding general public or interested parties.

Tactic 3 -- Pack the Meeting: The power brokers will encourage employees to attend x, y, or z meeting. They may also establish telephone trees (which we should be doing) to get employees and supporters to pack a meeting to simulate public support for their position on an issue, and to set the tone of the meeting.

Variation:

* Comment or question cards are used in place of a communal microphone for participants to go to, so everyone can hear and participate in the discussion. Their supporters will stack the deck of comment cards with time wasters, and may continue filling out more cards throughout the meeting to defuse opposition discussion (see tactic 1 -- filibustering).

Short circuit this by meeting with your neighbors, colleagues, or constituents for a pre-meeting conference to discuss opposition tactics and strategy that are barriers to getting your views aired. Come up with your own list of strategy and critical points, then divide them up among yourselves. Go to the meeting prepared with fact sheets, questions, and comments that support your views. Brainstorm with your colleagues, refine the information, then pass it around the neighborhood, or the target audience for and after the meeting. Call the tactics as you see them occur in the meeting to defuse them. Insist on a fair airing of the issues, within everyone's hearing.

Tactic 4 -- Economic Blackmail: When dealing with politically heated issues, especially "company town" polluters, the first threat may be that massive layoffs will occur if they have to: change a process, stop polluting, fix safety problems, clean up contamination, and so on. This is a Red Herring scare tactic that should be immediately brought to everyone's attention.

* In 1988, the Rocky Flats Nuclear Weapons Facility (RFP) was faced with changes that included decommissioning, the contractor threatened massive layoffs. Economic developers and chambers of commerce predicted local devastation. To the contrary, the cleanup has been a huge economical boost for subcontractors and RFP personnel, who have nearly doubled the numbers of employees that were needed for full production and chemical recovery of plutonium pits for nuclear warheads.
* Retraining and educational programs have blossomed at local colleges. The people to watch are the Developers and Chambers, who will attempt to create new projects, while "dumbing down the workforce" by bringing in minimum wage workers for cleanup jobs, lay off union people, and funnel profits to special interest chums. Stay united, call that tactic, and make them accountable.

No one likes to be picketed, boycotted, or pictured negatively in the press -- these citizen tactics are relatively easy to implement.

Tactic 5 -- Give the appearance of action without doing anything: When faced with an obvious need for change, bureaucrats may try to give the appearance of taking action without actually doing anything. These tactics may sound like this:

* "We have decided to appoint an advisory, special, sub-committee, or commission to study or handle the problem. We want (or need) members of our group to volunteer assistance because we do not have money for staff."
* "Your knowledge, input, or time is so valuable (and so on), we would like you to help us with x, y, or z to work out solutions" (but they will fail to assimilate your information, suggestions, or concerns).
* "We would like to help you by doing x, y, or z for you" -- but the reciprocal help never appears (carrot on the stick).
* "We plan to issue a policy or statement regarding that problem next week, month, year..., so that everyone will know what to do in the future..." Beware of bureaucrats stealing your uncompensated time to tie you up, keeping you out of circulation in the community. Volunteerism can be abused, becoming a time quicksand.

Don't accept inconsequential actions, excuses, and "donothingitis". Set a reasonable amount of time for genuine action, and then tell everyone that you expect action by that date. Think twice before joining "study committees or advisory groups" that are not policy-changing bodies that have no real power to do anything about the issue or problem in question, are funded and directed by your adversary, or by those that represent the other side of your issue. There may not be an accurate record of what has happened from the beginning, during, or at the end of these efforts. Refusal to allow the recording of meetings, or have an accurate paper trail to document important meetings and proceedings is a serious red flag of cover-ups and problems.

Tactic 6 -- Give them a Red Herring, or Get them to Chase the Wrong Bunny: This is an issue or information offered to belittle, patronize, or confound and derail your efforts. When a bureaucrat tries to change the subject from what you are concerned about to what they want you to focus on, they are using a "Bait and Switch" routine.

Examples:

* "I don't know what you're talking about; You don't know your facts; That issue is not important; Why are you interested in that issue?; You have not done enough research; You aren't an expert; Your issue is beside the point, irrational, emotional, or not practical; Why don't you check into, or work on x, y, or z, instead?"
* Engaging attendees in detailed explanations or debates that are intended to sidetrack the issue of concern, hoping that in the heat of debate, you will: Give up, get tired, go home, and forget the key issue.

Be aware of time wasters that will eat up meeting time, and are designed to wear you down. When confronted with this tactic, don't get side tracked. You don't have to be an expert to ask questions, ask for information, or to have legitimate concerns.

Write notes throughout the meeting -- this will help keep you on track. Stick to the issues you want to discuss, while making a special note to follow up, or address the other person's issue later, if they genuinely desire to do so.

Tactic 7 -- Refuse to give out information, or make it impossible to get it: Bureaucrats plan that this tactic will discourage you, so that you will give up and go away. The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) format may have to be invoked to get cooperation. You must know what information you need, what agency to request it from, and what to look for. The "Key and Lock" buzzwords and descriptions must be included, or the very information you seek may be withheld from you.

Examples:

* Bureaucracies protecting damaging information may try to charge exorbitant fees for information to be searched, copied, and sent to you. Request fee waivers based upon public interest needs and public right-to-know laws.
* The requestor may be flooded with huge amounts of useless information that is out of order and out of date. This is called a data dump in legal circles. This is a common tactic used by legal rivals on cases to eat up valuable pre-trial discovery time. It takes a critical eye, speed reading, and some research or historical knowledge to be able to weed through the useless information to find what you want.

To deal with the system effectively, you need the facts. If you have the facts, the system has to deal with you more openly. Democracy depends on people having the information needed to allow meaningful input and interaction with the system. The refusal to give out information may sound like this:

* "We don't have that information; x, y, or z is not in today, and I'm not authorized to fulfill this request; We can only give out a summary (They decide what is meaningful, included, excluded, or redacted); Why do you think that's important?; Justify your interest, or legitimize your need; We don't think you need that information."

Recognize these tactical phrases meant to put you off the track of the information you need to level the playing field with your opponent, and don't accept lame excuses for non-performance or non-compliance.

STRATEGIES TO SHORT CIRCUIT THE CONTROL GAME

* AS SOON AS A TACTIC HAS BECOME APPARENT, LABEL IT: When you name that tactic publicly, it loses its power. You can counter these tactics with a minimum of wasted effort by keeping the lines of communication open with your colleagues and other similar interest organizations.
* BE OBSERVANT OF INTERACTIONS, TACTICS, AND WHO MAY BE CALLING THE SHOTS BEHIND THE SCENES: Recognize that although individuals make up the bureaucracy, they should not be the targets of your efforts. Evaluate where strategic counter-tactics would be the most effective. Good mottoes to keep in mind. Always go to the top, and the squeaky wheel gets fixed.
* DO NOT ALLOW BUREAUCRATIC FIGUREHEADS TO LABEL YOU as a troublemaker, or as someone with emotional or personal problems (i.e.: "Psychiatrically" linked to a site or set of issues, don't have a life because you volunteer a lot of your time, are a paid staffer or knowledgeable citizen, so your opinion doesn't count, or don't have "x" number of constituents behind you.) to legitimize side stepping serious issues and/or your concerns. Be alert to the evaluative patronizing concern look. This is contrived to give the appearance of questioning your mental or emotional stability to elicit a reaction. Keep cool and don't give them the reaction they want from you. Any person might become dedicated to seeking solutions, and become angry or frustrated over the distancing treatment bureaucracies and corporations use to keep the public at arm's length over difficult issues.
* MAKE YOUR ISSUE OR ADVERSARY AN OBJECT OF INTENSE STUDY: Never stop questioning your previous conclusions about them. Get all the information you can and keep getting it. Put this information to productive and meaningful use, then network it around.
* NEVER RELAX AFTER A VICTORY, and don't underestimate the power of determination.
* RENEW YOUR OWN OUTREACH REGULARLY by having current concerns and information prepared and ready to distribute at every opportunity. Use their meetings for opportunities to pass out your own targeted information. Use several people to see that all attendees end up with copies of your information. Ask local copiers or businesses to help duplicate materials.

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has." -- Margaret Mead, Anthropologist

"Ignorance is compounded by the sins of omission." -- Dr. Edward A. Martell, Radiochemist

"Reports based on faulty foundations of inconsistent, missing, or biased data are meaningless, misleading, and worthless. To deliberately present bad data as if it were meaningful is scientifically invalid and immoral." -- Environmental Information Network (EIN), Inc.

EIN -- A think-tank involved in researching and analyzing hazardous waste and radiotoxic environmental information and issues in order to disseminate technical information for public education.

Environmental Information Network
P.O. Box 280087
Lakewood, CO 80228-0087
pjelofson@aol.com

Paula Elofson-Gardine, Executive Director
Susan Hurst, Publications Director

PLEASE NOTE: EIN is a 501(C)(3) non-profit public education and networking organization that accepts contributions. Permission is granted for copying or transfer of this publication, so long as contact information for EIN is kept intact. The EIN logo is a unique trademark that belongs exclusively to EIN. The EIN logo may not be copied or isolated from EIN publications for use by other organizations or individuals, without specific written permission from the trademark owner, Paula Elofson-Gardine.

This page coded by the ACTION Center. Direct any web-related inquiries to catalyst@actionpa.org.

What Book Are City of St. Augustine, Florida Officials Reading This Summer?

Is it because they have so much to explain to so many? Ask Commissioner NANCY SIKES-KLINE, who allegedly ordered the book. It's our money.

It was Commissioner NANCY SIKES-KLINE who so chauvinistically and flakily backed City Attorney RONALD WAYNE BROWN's fishy efforts Monday night to jump into a settlement that would benefit PIERRE THOMPSON (BROWN's former client) and help destroy city-owned bottomonlands and destroy Fish Island, which belongs in the St. Augustine National Historical Park, National Seashore and National Scenic Coastal Parkway.

Commissioners have a lot to coverup. They apparently spent $25 for a book they could have bought on Amazon.com for $5.00.

Thursday, June 25, 2009

Another beautiful day in a beautiful place

Bridge of Lions gains center span -- New concrete surface will be more effecient, offer cars better traction

A sailboat passes by the newly installed east span of the Bridge of Lions following a two-day channel closure Wednesday morning, June 24, 2009. More channel closures are scheduled for June 29 at 8 a.m. until July 1 at 8 a.m. and July 7 at 8 a.m. until July 9 at 8 a.m. The new bridge will have poured concrete spans instead of the former open grading system. According to Florida Department of Transportation's spokeswoman Laurie Sanderson, this will improve traction for motorists and is better for the environment. BY DARON DEAN, daron.dean@staugustine.com

Bridge of Lions gains center span --- New concrete surface will be more effecient, offer cars better traction

By EDEN TAYLOR
t.eden.taylor@staugustine.com
Publication Date: 06/25/09

The Bridge of Lions reached a new milestone early Wednesday morning when workers fitted the new east-side center span, a visible sign that completion of the bridge is nearing.

Unlike the old center span, the new center span will feature a more efficient and environmentally friendly concrete filling.

"The original Bridge of Lions used an open-steel grating," said Laurie Sanderson, Bridge of Lions information officer. "The rehabilitated Bridge of Lions will have a lightweight concrete, which will allow for better traction for cars."

While the original open-steel grating center span allowed motor oils and polluted water to leak into the inlet, the new center span will have a treatment system to collect and clean polluted liquids before they are released into the Matanzas River, Sanderson said.

To accommodate the installation of the west-side center span, officials will close the channel from July 7 to July 9 to all boat traffic.

The restoration process is on schedule, according to Sanderson. Workers this week are laying the red clay roofing on the octagonal towers, and they will place the remaining steel girders as construction progresses.

The bridge is scheduled to reopen later this year, probably in December, Sanderson said.

Click here to return to story:
http://staugustine.com/stories/062509/news_062509_026.shtml

© The St. Augustine Record

Mosquito board: Spraying was safe -- Many question use of Dibrom

Mosquito board: Spraying was safe -- Many question use of Dibrom

By PETER GUINTA
peter.guinta@staugusine.com
Publication Date: 06/25/09

After 20 inches of rain in late May, Anastasia Mosquito Control District used helicopters during the first two weeks of June to spray an adulticide called Dibrom over 100,000 acres of St. Johns County.

District officials said Wednesday that the organophosphate did the job well.

However, they were questioned by a handful of county residents concerned that the 470 gallons of the pesticide used would cause environmental and health problems -- that Dibrom in high doses can cause respiratory paralysis and death.

St. Augustine resident Robin Nadeau said she believed scientific reports citing Dibrom's safety had been corrupted by political interests.

"We heard from Monsanto about how safe Agent Orange was," she said. "Today, the residue of Agent Orange is wreaking a dreadful effect on people in Vietnam."

Faye Armitage of Fruit Cove said she, too, "didn't trust (the EPA's) findings. We need to be more careful about doing this."

But District Director Rui-de Xue said Dibrom was only used on "hot spots," places where landing counts and light traps indicated that the little bloodsuckers had concentrated there.

"(Dibrom) breaks down very quickly. In one day, it's gone," he said.

The district had tried another pesticide first, Anvil 10+10, which is less toxic. But it didn't work.

Board member Jeanne Moeller said Anvil "seems to work better in open fields but does not work in heavy vegetation. And it breaks down quickly in the heat.

"We have 631 square miles in St. Johns County, and there are 640 acres to the mile. We sprayed Dibrom on less than 3 percent of the county. I can live with that."

After the rains ended, the district fielded 1,845 service calls in 10 days, according to Base Station Supervisor Kay Gaines. Traps were catching 16 per minute.

"After the spraying, service requests dropped 60 percent the first week," she said.

Board member John Sundeman disagrees with the other board members and criticized the use of Dibrom and the need for the aerial program at all.

"We've had numerous rains over the past 50 years without aerial spraying," he said. "In all of 2008 we spent $202,000 on chemicals. In the two weeks of spraying, we spent $128,000. (Dibrom) is dangerous stuff."

Board member Ron Radford, a retired Air Force colonel, said that the city of Savannah "almost exclusively use aerial spraying and is getting away from ground spraying. We had the idea that Anvil would work, but it did not protect the people. Even Dibrom was having trouble in the Northwest. The helicopter flew lower and slower. Our first and foremost responsibility was protecting the people."

Activist Ed Slavin asked the board to consider holding a public hearing on the issue.

"Dibrom is banned in Europe. It's a neurotoxin," he said. "There are 74 pairs of nesting eagles in the county and any harm to them is a federal felony.

"It's important that we look at public health issues of our workers. This is the same stuff they used to kill people in Nazi concentration camps."

Board member Vivian Browning tried to give the discussion some perspective.

"They sprayed less than one-tenth of an ounce per acre," she said.

Click here to return to story:
http://staugustine.com/stories/062509/news_062509_025.shtml

© The St. Augustine Record

Grand Ol' Bigots

Grand Ol' Bigots

Leonard Pitts, Jr.
Syndicated Columnist
Publication Date: 06/24/09

The modern GOP was created in 1965 with a stroke of Lyndon Johnson's pen.

If that is an exaggeration, it is not much of one. When Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act, he made a prediction: In committing the unpardonable sin of guaranteeing the ballot to all citizens regardless of race, he said, he would cause his party to lose the South "for a generation."

And indeed Southern Democrats, who for a century had bombed schools, lynched innocents, perverted justice and terrorized millions in the name of intolerance, responded by leaving their ancestral party in droves. They formed the base of a new GOP, a reality acknowledged by Ronald Reagan when he opened his 1980 campaign at a segregationist fair in a town where three civil rights workers were infamously martyred, by declaring, "I believe in state's rights."

In embracing its new southern base, the Republican Party became the Repugnant Party on matters of race, a distinction it has done little to shed. So some of us were disappointed but not surprised last week when Sherri Goforth, an aide to Tennessee state Sen. Diane Black, came under fire for an e-mail she sent out. It depicted the 44 U.S. presidents, showing the first 43 in dignified, statesmanlike poses. By contrast, the 44th, the first African-American, is seen as a pair of cartoon spook eyes against a black backdrop. Goforth's explanation: the e-mail, which went to GOP staffers, was sent "to the wrong list of people."

You may wish to let that one marinate for a moment.

And please, don't bother reminding me of Democrat Robert Byrd's onetime membership in the Ku Klux Klan; I make no argument that the Democrats are untainted by bigotry. Rather, my argument is that the GOP is consumed by it, riddled with it, that it has shown, sown, shaped and been shaped by it, to an abhorrent degree.

You think that's unfair? Well, after Goforth's e-mail, after "Barack the Magic Negro," and John McCain's campaign worker blaming a fictional black man for a fictional mugging, and a party official in Texas renaming the executive mansion "the black house," and an official in Virginia claiming Obama's presidency would see free drugs and "mandatory black liberation theology," and a Republican activist in South Carolina calling an escaped ape one of Michelle Obama's "ancestors," it seems wholly fair to me. Indeed, overdue.

And keep in mind: all that is just from the last year or so. I could draw up a much longer list but space is limited and there is a final point to make.

Which is that, yes, I am cognizant of the danger of painting with too broad a brush and no, I am not saying membership in the GOP is synonymous with membership in the KKK. I know there are Republicans of racial enlightenment and common decency. Indeed, I am counting on it, counting on them to search conscience and demand their party find ways of winning elections that do not depend on lazy appeals to the basest emotions of the hateful and the unreconstructed.

Do it because it's the right thing. And do it because it is in the party's long-term interest.

As a 2008 Gallup poll indicates, black people are "more" religious than Republicans as a whole and just as conservative on some key moral issues. Yet only 5 percent identify with the party of religion and conservatism. The GOP's ongoing inability to win over such a natural constituency speaks volumes.

I keep waiting for somebody to do something about it. I mean, I can hear Republicans of racial enlightenment and common decency yelling at me from here. They want me to know there is nothing honorable, much less inherently Republican, in the hatred expressed by these weasels in elephant's clothes. In response, I would give them this advice:

Don't tell me. Tell them.

#

Leonard Pitts Jr., winner of the 2004 Pulitzer Prize for commentary, is a columnist for the Miami Herald, 1 Herald Plaza, Miami, Fla. 33132. Readers may write to him via e-mail at lpitts@miamiherald.com.

Leonard Pitts will be chatting with readers every Wednesday from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. EDT on www.MiamiHerald.com.

Click here to return to story:
http://www.staugustine.com/stories/062409/opinions_062409_035.shtml

© The St. Augustine Record

Objects to tax dollars saving private property

Objects to tax dollars saving private property

Publication Date: 06/25/09

Editor: This is in regard to Monday's story, "Holding back the sea," about houses built on Old A1A.

I remember a story from my childhood of a foolish man who built his house on the sand. The winds blew and the sea rose and beat upon that house and it fell.

Today we have a different story. People build million-dollar houses on the sand. The winds blow and the sea rises and threaten those houses.

But, not once but three times, all the other taxpayers of St. Johns County pay many millions of dollars to protect those houses. And here is the irony, at least 90 percent of these taxpayers could not afford to even think of building a million-dollar house.

To make it even worse, the owner, who tries to protect his own property, is threatened with a citation.

I am not sure which is worse, that our leaders will take the money earned by the rich and give it to the non-working poor, or that they will take the money earned by the common person and give it to protect the property of the rich.

Wayne Curtis

St. Augustine

Click here to return to story:
http://www.staugustine.com/stories/062509/opinions_062509_054.shtml

© The St. Augustine Record

Thank you, Governor Crist, I

Thank you, Governor Charles Crist, for vetoing St. Augustine's out-of-touch corporativist Republican State Representative WILLIAM L. PROCTOR's special interest bill, written at the behest of a constitutent, which benefit only State Farm Insurance Company, while threatening higher rates.

Thank you, Governor Crist.

Crist vetoes insurance bill -- Future of State Farm in Florida still unknown

Crist vetoes insurance bill -- Future of State Farm in Florida still unknown

By BILL KACZOR
Associated Press Writer
Publication Date: 06/25/09

TALLAHASSEE -- A much debated bill that would have deregulated rates on some residential property insurance policies fell victim Wednesday to Gov. Charlie Crist's veto pen.

The bill (HB 1171) would have let willing homeowners buy higher-priced, unregulated coverage for hurricanes, fires and other property hazards but only from highly capitalized national companies.

In his veto message, Crist wrote that the "Consumer Choice" bill, instead, would have given the choice to those big insurers.

"These select property insurance companies will be able to cherry-pick, or sell only to profitable policyholder risks, while at the same time offloading their undesirable policyholders that are higher risk to their competitors and Citizens Property Insurance Corp.," Crist wrote.

Citizens was created by the state to offer coverage to consumers who couldn't get it on the private market.

With private companies bailing out of coastal areas and increasing their rates, Citizens has grown to become Florida's largest property insurer, with more than 1 million policies.

The bill's advocates included State Farm Florida, the state's largest private property insurer, which called the legislation "a positive step for Florida residents who expect and deserve their insurer to be there following a major disaster."

The subsidiary of Bloomington, Ill.-based State Farm Insurance has announced plans to pull out of the state after Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty rejected a 47 percent rate increase. Company officials said without higher premiums they face the prospect of being unable to pay claims.

Crist has said Floridians will be "much better off without" State Farm.

The bill's supporters, including the business lobby Associated Industries of Florida, had hoped it would keep State Farm and other big companies from abandoning the Florida market.

"When they leave, they take their claims-paying capital with them," said Rep. Bill Proctor, a St. Augustine Republican who sponsored the bill. "I don't think the issue's dead."

He said he hoped legislative leaders will try to override the veto, which requires a two-thirds vote in each chamber. That's at least 27 votes in the Senate, which passed the bill 27-9 with four senators not voting. The House vote was a lopsided 105-13.

House Speaker Larry Cretul, R-Ocala, was among those disappointed by the veto.

"Florida has demonstrated that over-regulating the insurance industry can actually make things worse for consumers -- not better," Cretul said in a statement. "It seems reasonable to give homeowners as many choices as possible."

The Florida Property & Casualty Association comprised of smaller, Florida-based insurers opposed the bill and in a statement echoed Crist's argument that big national companies would have an unfair advantage by offering regulated premiums in low-risk areas and unregulated rates in high-risk communities.

Proctor responded that no one knows if that would happen because unregulated premiums have never been tried before.

Crist also wrote that the bill would have disrupted efforts to make Florida's insurance market more competitive by spinning off Citizens policies to private companies, most of them relatively small and new to the state.

He wrote that if the highly capitalized national companies "are allowed to 'redline' areas of the state they do not wish to write, this will harm consumers and investors who have worked in good faith to create a competitive marketplace."

The governor added that the bill also would not have prevented companies from collecting unregulated premiums and then leaving the state with "hardworking families' earnings."

Supporters argued the bill would have given consumers the ability to get policies with better financial backing if they were willing to pay for it.

They also said attracting or keeping more robust insurers could reduce reliance on the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund, which provides backup coverage for insurers.

If the fund has insufficient resources to cover losses, the difference would be made up through assessments on nearly all types of property insurance, including auto.

Click here to return to story:
http://www.staugustine.com/stories/062509/state_062509_023.shtml

© The St. Augustine Record

Proctor to seek veto override

Proctor to seek veto override

From Staff
Publication Date: 06/25/09

State Rep. Bill Proctor (R-St. Augustine), sponsor of the "consumer choice" insurance bill in the House, said he plans to refile the measure soon and hopes his fellow legislators will join him in overriding Gov. Charlie Crist's veto.

"I'm hoping the leadership (in the Legislature) will give careful consideration to an override," he said.

Crist's veto of House Bill 1171 leaves "no long-range plans for adequate coverage in Florida," said Proctor.

Returning from Tallahassee on Wednesday afternoon, Proctor said he didn't have "any idea" if State Farm intended to go ahead with its threatened pull-out from the state.

"I'm hoping that they'll slow down their exit from the state, because I think this is going to put a lot of policyholders in a bad situation," he said.

State Sen. Michael S. Bennett (R-Bradenton) was the bill's sponsor in the Senate.

Proctor and Bennett said in an open letter Wednesday that they were "deeply disappointed" in Crist's decision.

The bill was supported by 85 percent of House and Senate members as well as 60 percent of Floridians, they said.

With the veto, Proctor and Bennett said, Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarthy needs to explain how Citizens Property Insurance Corp. and 40 small insurers will provide "an adequate homeowners' insurance program in our hurricane-prone state."

"If some of the policies are picked up by the smaller companies, and they go bankrupt after a major storm, that becomes the responsibility of the state," Proctor said. "It will all have to be paid by assessments.

"The average person has no idea of the magnitude of the assessments we could all be liable for."

Click here to return to story:
http://www.staugustine.com/stories/062509/state_062509_024.shtml

© The St. Augustine Record

Thank you, Governor Crist, II

Thank you, Governor Charles Crist, for vetoing two dumb 'ole exemptions to Florida's Open Records Law. Thanks also, to attorney Patricia Gleason, Crist's top aide, who has been working to protect Florida's "Right to Know" for more than 30 years. (On New Years' Day 2005, the day before Crist was inaugurated, Ms. Gleason was on the job in the Attorney General's office and I have the E-mail to prove it).

Crist vetoes public records exemptions

Crist vetoes public records exemptions

The Associated Press
Publication Date: 06/25/09

TALLAHASSEE -- Gov. Charlie Crist on Wednesday vetoed two bills that would have created new public record exemptions.

One measure (HB 7093) would have exempted "proprietary business information" obtained from a telecommunications or broadband company by the Department of Management Services.

Crist wrote in his veto message the term used was overly broad and suggested that lawmakers try again next year to craft language that protects business interests "while still respecting the state's strong public policy for open and transparent government."

The other bill (SB 166) would have exempted information that identified a donor or prospective donor to a publicly owned building or facility who wants to remain anonymous.

Crist noted a similar federal law includes reporting requirements that provide public oversight without compromising donor confidentiality. The Florida bill lacks that kind of mechanism, he wrote.

The governor signed a bill (HB 7051) making changes in a law that allows commercial entities, including the news media, to obtain access to Social Security numbers on file with state and local government agencies.

One change, taking effect Oct. 1, would permit access to entire Social Security numbers instead of just the last four digits. The numbers would only be provided to businesses to verify a person's identity.

Under the new law, they no longer will be allowed to obtain Social Security numbers simply to provide "a lawful product or service."

Crist also signed new laws allowing state universities to erect columbariums to hold the ashes of deceased alumni (SB 926) and require school children to pay the full cost of lost or missing textbooks (SB 1248).

Existing law requires reimbursements of 50 to 75 percent. Both of those laws are effective July 1.

Click here to return to story:
http://www.staugustine.com/stories/062509/state_062509_045.shtml

© The St. Augustine Record

Manuel's health delays his trial -- Doctors say body rejecting transplant

Manuel's health delays his trial -- Doctors say body rejecting transplant

By PETER GUINTA
peter.guinta@staugustine.com
Publication Date: 06/23/09

JACKSONVILLE -- U.S. District Judge Marcia Morales Howard agreed Monday to move the bribery trial of former St. Johns County Commission Chairman Tom Manuel, 64, to the August trial schedule.

This would be the fourth time the trial date has been moved.

At a scheduled status conference Monday at the U.S. Courthouse in Jacksonville, Manuel's attorney, D. Gray Thomas of Sheppard, White, Thomas & Kachergus, Jacksonville, told Judge Howard that his client was having physical problems.

He said his client had required a heart transplant years ago "which predated this case," he said.

But now, Thomas said, "His body is rejecting the organ. The doctors are still trying to ascertain what it is, so they can deal with it."

Manuel, free on $50,000 bond, is accused of accepting two cash payments totaling $60,000 from confidential informants Bruce Robbins, a Jacksonville developer, and George McClure, a prominent St. Augustine land attorney.

An FBI investigation into his business affairs began in April 2007, four months after he was seated as a county commissioner, and ended after 14 months.

Manuel was arrested in Jacksonville Beach, leaving an upscale restaurant with a bag of money.

Since then, Manuel has vigorously declared his innocence and called the charges "a political hatchet job."

After his indictment Oct. 16, 2008, he was suspended from his commission seat by Gov. Charlie Crist.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Julie Hackenberry Savell had no objection to this delay. But she noted that Manuel has had at least three previous continuances.

His first motion, filed in November 2008, was granted, moving the trial to December 2008.

A second motion, filed in early December, asked for a six-month continuance. That was denied. But another motion later that month succeeded in getting the case moved to the April 2009 schedule.

A third continuance request, filed in February 2009, was granted and moved the trial date to June.

"It's getting to the point that we're going to have to do something, one way or the other," Savell said.

Thomas' said his motion to continue the trial to August was based on his client's health and apparent lack of ability to assist in his own defense.

Judge Howard hinted that she may not grant any more lengthy trial continuances.

"I do believe now that we are at a point where we should fish or cut bait," she said.

Click here to return to story:
http://www.staugustine.com/stories/062309/news_062309_059.shtml

© The St. Augustine Record

Planning amendment makes Fla. 2010 ballot -- City, county plans would then require local referendums

Planning amendment makes Fla. 2010 ballot -- City, county plans would then require local referendums

By BILL KACZOR
Associated Press Writer
Publication Date: 06/23/09

TALLAHASSEE -- A proposed Florida constitutional amendment that would give voters a say on how their communities grow, including such decisions as where shopping centers, homes and roads are built, will be on the 2010 ballot.

Secretary of State Kurt Browning on Monday declared that Florida Hometown Democracy had collected the required number of signatures. He designated it Amendment 4.

That culminated a four-year petition drive, which began after the Florida Supreme Court blocked an earlier version in 2005. The justices, though, cleared the way for getting on the 2010 ballot by striking down a law that would have let voters revoke their signatures on citizen initiative petitions.

"It's been a lot of sweat and tears," said Palm Beach lawyer Lesley Blackner, who co-founded Hometown Democracy with Tallahassee attorney Ross Burnaman. "It's been a crusade to get to this point."

If the proposal gets 60 percent approval at the polls, Hometown Democracy would require local referendums on changes to city and county comprehensive plans.

Business and development interests that opposed the petition drive will shift their focus to defeating the amendment at the polls. They say Hometown Democracy would slow growth and be a drag on Florida's already sagging economy.

Opponents also have included local government officials and the environmental group 1000 Friends of Florida, although it is planning to reconsider its position.

"The 'Vote on Everything' amendment could mean a permanent recession for Florida's economy," said Florida Chamber of Commerce president Mark Wilson. "This amendment will hopelessly complicate the planning process."

Advocates argue that developers who get their way at every step of the process have dragged down Florida's economy through overbuilding and unchecked growth.

"They control the politics of Florida from the governor on down," Blackner said.

Opponents have used a variety of tactics, but the first setback came in the Supreme Court, which voted 4-3 in 2005 that the proposal's initial ballot summary was too emotional.

The high court, though, approved the current language and last week removed a final roadblock with a 4-2 ruling that the signature revocation law is unconstitutional.

A spokeswoman for Browning said he certified the amendment due to the high court's expedited decision. Any further delay and the petition would have begun losing signatures because they expire after four years.

Even without about 13,000 revoked signatures, the petition had enough -- 698,562 -- to meet a the requirement for 676,811 signatures.

Opponents also have begun their own petition drive for a competing amendment known as Smarter Growth with a provision saying it would prevail if voters approve both.

Smarter Growth would require referendums on planning changes only if 10 percent of registered voters sign a petition within 60 days -- and they'd be able to sign only at the supervisor of elections office.

Those are impossible requirements, Burnaman said.

"People are going to realize that it's a Trojan Horse," he said.

Floridians for Smarter Growth executive director Ryan Houck said the group hasn't yet decided whether to continue its petition campaign or just focus on opposing Hometown Democracy. It has obtained 443,510 signatures.

Click here to return to story:
http://www.staugustine.com/stories/062309/news_062309_060.shtml

© The St. Augustine Record

Highway to become scenic drive -- Input sought for State Road 13 improvements

Highway to become scenic drive -- Input sought for State Road 13 improvements

By KATIE SANDERS
t.katie.sanders@staugustine.com
Publication Date: 06/24/09

Naturalist or not, you're invited.

The William Bartram Scenic & Historic Highway Corridor Management Council will host a workshop today to collect public opinion on plans for beautifying the 17-mile stretch of State Road 13.

The highway curves along the northwest portion of the county, edging the St. Johns River and cutting through Orangedale, Switzerland and Julington Creek. The section stretches from the St. Johns-Duval county line south to the intersection of State Roads 13 and 16.

Management council members hope new signs and logos will serve as an informational tour of the area, enticing drivers to pull over their cars and become pedestrians-turned-explorers.

Back in January, the citizen-led council, St. Johns County and Glatting Jackson held a design workshop to solicit ideas from the public about the highway.

This follow-up design workshop allows the public to review the master plan, discuss logo and signage ideas and bring any new ideas to the table, said Albert Abbatiello, chairman of the Corridor Management Council.

The workshop consists of four sessions examining corridor architecture, Shands Pier developments, logo and signage design and plans for a newsletter and brochure.

Other areas up for discussion include improvements at Alpine Groves Park, Bartram Trails Library, Beluthahatchee Park and Trout Creek Park.

The William Bartram Scenic & Historic Highway was designated as a Florida Scenic Highway in 2005. The highway received a National Scenic Byways grant of $600,000 in 2006 to complete its master plan.

The plan requires approval by the St. Johns County Commission, he said.

Once finalized -- hopefully by early October -- the council will begin to prioritize projects and then try to locate grants, said Debrah Miller, Florida Department of Transportation's District 2 scenic highway coordinator.

"The master plan is really just a big picture over a big time frame of what could be accomplished," she said.

Abbatiello estimates the council will be ready to go forward with some projects by mid-2010. The library is one of the priorities, he said.

The most ambitious project, he said, is the restoration of a community center near Alpine Groves Park, which would cost around $300,000 to $400,000.

Abbatiello said several projects should be completed by 2015 -- the year of St. Augustine's 450th birthday -- to allow international tourists to "tap into another experience" while in town.

"We would like to tie in all the things that we're doing as a scenic byway," he said.

Interest in the corridor project has been "spotty" for several years, he said, but has picked up with the influx of advertising associated with developing a master plan.

Sarah Bailey, a management council member, said ensuring safety for travelers on S.R. 13 is important, especially given recent fatal accidents on the road.

Glatting Jackson consultants have proposed adding several roundabouts as "traffic calming" measures, but more discussion is needed as they may not meet FDOT standards in certain areas, Abbatiello said.

Officials want the corridor to be accessible to visitors traveling by cars, bicycles, boats, horseback or on foot.

Another member of the council, Frank Baltes, said he hopes the bicycle lanes will be widened from about 3 feet to 6 feet to accommodate more cyclists and give them space from passing cars.

Councilman Don Beattie said interest in preserving the scenic highway started about 15 years ago, when fear of strip malls being developed along the road spurred several residents in the northwest region of St. Johns County to protect the region from commercial development.

"The whole point was to keep State Road 13 as close to original as we could," Beattie said.

Click here to return to story:
http://www.staugustine.com/stories/062409/news_062409_060.shtml

© The St. Augustine Record

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Folio Weekly: Backpage Editorial by Faye Armitage -- "SAVING ST. AUGUSTINE"

Dock decision delayed -- More info wanted on Fish Island case

Dock decision delayed -- More info wanted on Fish Island case

By MARCIA LANE
marcia.lane@staugustine.com
Publication Date: 06/23/09

St. Augustine City Commissioners want more information before deciding how to proceed in the Fish Island dock and marina case.

"I have some concerns. ... I want a little more time to investigate," Vice Mayor Errol Jones said at Monday's city commission meeting before making a motion to delay a vote on a settlement offer by Fish Island Development LLC.

The developer has filed a $9 million lawsuit against the city in an ongoing dispute regarding a dock and marina. The structures are part of an upscale development planned for Anastasia Island south of Mickler-O'Connell Bridge on State Road 312.

Jones quickly got a second for his motion from Commissioner Leanna Freeman. She earlier attempted to get fellow commissioners to go to a judge with the issue but that motion failed on a 2-3 vote.

All five commissioners agreed to hold off on a decision until they could hear a presentation at the next commission meeting from Lewis, Longman and Walker, the Tallahassee law firm that represented the city in a hearing before Circuit Judge Michael Traynor in 2008. Traynor ruled the St. Augustine Planning and Zoning Board's and the City Commission's denial of the dock was legally sufficient.

The city won that round, but officials are concerned what could happen in the $9 million lawsuit.

The lawsuit was filed under the Bert J. Harris Act, a private property rights protection law which requires that both the city and the developer first show they attempted to find a compromise before a lawsuit is filed.

Under the act if a property owner can demonstrate that a governmental action "inordinately burdens" their property, they would be entitled to some form of compensation.

The decision to wait came after a lengthy presentation by City Attorney Ron Brown on the city's options regarding a settlement offer from the developers. He and attorneys for developer Jim Young of Jacksonville have been negotiating a deal for several months.

The developer agreed to go from a 10-foot-wide walkway and 100 slips to an 8-foot-wide walkway with 70 slips for residents and five for the public.

At one point Monday night most commissioners seemed to lean in the direction of settlement as Brown cited legal cases where municipalities lost cases filed by developers using the Bert J. Harris Act. He also set out the monetary consequences for the city if they lost. Brown pointed out there was no guarantee the city would be able to settle if they lost.

That was before attorney Ralf Brookes from Cape Coral spoke. Brookes was hired by a group of local opponents. He told commissioners on Monday he filed a motion to intervene on behalf of his clients. That gives them the right to be heard.

"You're skipping too many steps," Brookes told the commission as he offered counter arguments to many of Brown's points and cited additional cases.

Brookes warned them accepting the offer now could open up the city for future lawsuits from anyone who was ever denied a project approval "even if there is no evidence."

Click here to return to story:
http://staugustine.com/stories/062309/news_062309_057.shtml

© The St. Augustine Record

Monday, June 22, 2009

Fish Island Developers Back on Tonight's City Commission Agenda -- Calling All of St. Augustine's Paul Reveres

Sent: Sunday, June 21, 2009 7:51 AM
Subject: FW: Fish Island Developers Back on Monday's City Commission Agenda

Dear Friends,

Last year concerned city residents joined with other concerned people to defeat Fish Island, LLC's application to build a 1,000 foot dock for 50 foot yachts over city-owned bottom lands. (See brief history below). We pooled our money and paid for expert witness, Paul Johnson from Tallahassee, and we also hired an attorney. And we won......we thought. Both the planning and Zoning board and the city commissioners denied the application and when the developers sued, Judge Traynor upheld the city's denial in court. (See the brief history of this case below).

But city residents and other interested parties need to get together again. The developers have sued the city under the Bert Harris Act which requires compensation for the "taking" of property rights. And the city attorney is urging commissioners to settle with developers because a loss would be quite expensive.

Mike and I are consulting Land Use Attorney Ralf Brookes for this first round on Monday night, June 22 at St. Augustine City Hall. PLEASE plan to attend the city commission meeting Monday, e-mail or call the commissioners whose numbers appear below.

Urge the commissioners NOT to settle this issue without public input or because of legal threats from developers. (It's OUR - the people's - property rights that are being violated - we own those bottom lands not developers).

Let's keep our Matanzas River clean and not knuckle under to developers!

Thank you! Becky and Mike Greenberg
3 St. Andrews Court
St. Augustine, FL 32084
829-9689
nolanbecky@hotmail.com

HISTORY, DETAIL AND LATEST STATUS

The Fish Island developer first applied for a permit to build a 100-slip dock for 50-foot yachts in the fall of 2006. The City’s Planning and Zoning Board (PZB) rejected the application and the City Commission returned the issue to the PZB for more public hearings.

In the spring of 2007, the PZB held hearings over two days and took testimony from five experts and dozens of citizens expressing concern about environmental harm and adverse impact to the public scenic vista as protected in the City's comprehensive plan.

The PZB also expressed concern over the size of the proposed dock, including the length and width of the boardwalk.

The PZB voted against the application 6-0.

On appeal the City Commission affirmed the PZB by a vote of 5-0.

The applicant filed suit alleging procedural violations and the decision of the City Commission was upheld by the court.

The applicant then filed a law suit under the Bert Harris Act alleging that the City must compensate him for the denial of their permit.

The City Commission directed its attorney to begin negotiations with the applicant.

Apparently the City Commission will vote on the results of that negotiation Monday evening.

From what we can gather, the concern of the city is that they may lose the Bert Harris lawsuit which exposes them to paying the applicant's attorneys fees and possible compensation of millions of dollars.

It is unclear what the proposed compromise consists of, but it is likely similar to the original application. (Possibly fewer slips, possibly closer to the bridge, possibly over slightly less marsh, possibly a shorter and/or narrower boardwalk (i.e., 8 instead of 10 feet wide).

There may be something different about the public area of the island development.

Issues include:

1. Is there anything in the compromise that addresses the environmental concerns expressed by four experts? How does it address impact to sawgrass, oyster beds, turbidity from props, possible impact to bridge itself?

2. How does the compromise lessen the impact on the scenic vista as addressed by dozens of citizens who, under state law, can give expert testimony on the subject of scenic vista?

3. What has really changed here to cause reversal of the prior unanimous votes if the concerns have not been adequately addressed?

PLEASE ATTEND THIS MONDAY'S MEETING ( June 22) AND CALL YOUR CITY COMMISSIONERS TO ASK THEM TO UPHOLD PREVIOUS PROTECTION OF THIS IMPORTANT AND ENVIRONMENTALLY SENSITIVE AREA ON OUR CITY'S INTERCOASTAL WATERWAY. URGE THEM NOT TO GIVE INTO DEVELOPER'S THREAT OF A LAWSUIT. WE HAVE A STRONG LEGAL CASE AND SHOULD DEFEND IT IN THE COURTS, RATHER THEN GIVING IN TO DEVELOPER'S PRESSURE FOR A DEAL UNDER THE THREAT OF LEGAL ACTION.

Joseph L. Boles - Mayor/Commissioner
904.824.4278 or josephboles@comcast.net

Errol D. Jones - Vice-Mayor/Commissioner
jones2002@erroldjones.com or Call 904.825.1006

Leanna Freeman - Commissioner
cityfreeman@yahoo.com or 904.829.1960

Nancy Sikes-Kline - Commissioner
904.806.6203 or NancySikesKline@aol.com

Don Crichlow - Commissioner
crich@aug.com or 904.824.5785

Bill Harriss - City Manager
904.825.1006 or cosa@ci.st-augustine.fl.us

Friday, June 19, 2009

Letter: City needs greater protection of resources and a national historical park, seashore and scenic coastal parkway: check out www.staugustreen.com

Letter: City needs greater protection of resources

Judith Seraphin
St. Augustine
Publication Date: 02/11/07

Editor: Let's adopt a moratorium on development of our local St. Augustine area and the history, wetlands, forests, seashores and wildlife, at least until our 110th Congress holds hearings about preservation.

The alternative is developers who propose to develop housing on arsenic-contaminated lands, sewage-polluted lands and pesticide-contaminated lands that is undisclosed to buyers. The alternative to what should be a National Seashore, is daily turned into a "national sacrifice area" for developers, who systematically destroy all the reasons so many of us chose to move here in the first place.

The "alternative" is rubberstamping the short-sighted plans of those who are euchred to sell their generations-old birthright to foreign developers, destroying our region's nature for short-term profits, while refusing to disclose the owners of the sell-out organizations.

Let's follow the examples of my native Philadelphia's Independence National Historical Park, and of the Cape Cod National Seashore, and our nation's other national parks and national seashores.

Let's just say "no" to the secretive, other-directed, undisclosed, environmentally-insensitive (and foreign-funded) developers and investors who have no respect for our history, culture, wildlife and experience.

What's good enough for Boston, Philadelphia, New Bedford, Cape Cod, Washington, D.C., Guam, San Francisco and other national parklands is good enough for St. Augustine, Florida. Working with city, county and state elected representatives, the people of St. Augustine and St. Johns County must work to preserve our local/regional history and wildlife habitats inviolate, forever. I strongly support Ed Slavin's proposal for a "St. Augustine National Historical Park and National Seashore," now.

Who among us could possibly disagree?

Click here to return to story:
http://staugustine.com/stories/021107/opinions_439181b.shtml

© The St. Augustine Record

Judith Seraphin
St. Augustine
Publication Date: 02/11/07

Editor: Let's adopt a moratorium on development of our local St. Augustine area and the history, wetlands, forests, seashores and wildlife, at least until our 110th Congress holds hearings about preservation.

The alternative is developers who propose to develop housing on arsenic-contaminated lands, sewage-polluted lands and pesticide-contaminated lands that is undisclosed to buyers. The alternative to what should be a National Seashore, is daily turned into a "national sacrifice area" for developers, who systematically destroy all the reasons so many of us chose to move here in the first place.

The "alternative" is rubberstamping the short-sighted plans of those who are euchred to sell their generations-old birthright to foreign developers, destroying our region's nature for short-term profits, while refusing to disclose the owners of the sell-out organizations.

Let's follow the examples of my native Philadelphia's Independence National Historical Park, and of the Cape Cod National Seashore, and our nation's other national parks and national seashores.

Let's just say "no" to the secretive, other-directed, undisclosed, environmentally-insensitive (and foreign-funded) developers and investors who have no respect for our history, culture, wildlife and experience.

What's good enough for Boston, Philadelphia, New Bedford, Cape Cod, Washington, D.C., Guam, San Francisco and other national parklands is good enough for St. Augustine, Florida. Working with city, county and state elected representatives, the people of St. Augustine and St. Johns County must work to preserve our local/regional history and wildlife habitats inviolate, forever. I strongly support Ed Slavin's proposal for a "St. Augustine National Historical Park and National Seashore," now.

Who among us could possibly disagree?

Click here to return to story:
http://staugustine.com/stories/021107/opinions_439181b.shtml

© The St. Augustine Record

Local residents should offer to buy the St. Augustine Record

Morris Publishing just got a seventh extension on its $9.7 million debt. See below.
We wish them well. We wish they'd stop covering up for those for whom coverups are a way of life. We wish they'd print the news without fear or favor. We wish they'd afflict the comfortable and comfort the afflicted (instead of the other way around).

We need a local newspaper that will print the news without fear or favor.

We have Folio Weekly (progressive Jacksonville weekly) and the Collective Press (progressive St. Augustine less-frequently-than-monthly newspaper).

But we need a daily newspaper with the resources to employ more than two (2) Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) news reporters and investigate what needs investigating hereabouts.

Will the New York Times Company kindly please buy the St. Augustine Record and Jacksonville Times-Union, as it should have done in 1982?

Failing that, will local progressive residents put their money where their mouth is and buy the St. Augustine Record? You will be glad you did -- President John F. Kennedy looked forward to being a newspaper publisher after his presidency. It would be fun!

Informed observers believe that as little as $5 million (or less) could rescue the St. Augustine Record from the Morris Communications empire, allowing us to have a local newspaper that is worthy of the name.

What do you reckon?

Atlanta Business Chronicle: Morris Publishing gets 7th payment extension -- Publisher of St. Augustine Record, Jacksonville Times-Union

Monday, June 15, 2009, 4:27pm EDT | Modified: Monday, June 15, 2009, 4:29pm
Morris Publishing gets 7th payment extension
Atlanta Business Chronicle

Morris Publishing Group LLC has landed a seventh extension from its lenders on a long overdue $9.7 million interest payment on its senior subordinate notes, it reported Monday.

The struggling Augusta, Ga.-based publisher said the latest extension gives it until July 14 to make the payment, which was originally due on Feb. 1.

Morris Publishing's senior bank group also agreed to extend until July 14 the waiver of the cross default from the overdue interest payment on the senior subordinated notes.

On May 14, Morris Publishing acknowledged in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing that if it could not make the payment or buy more time, creditors could force Morris Publishing, or its guarantor Morris Communications, to repay the balance of bonds, interest and a revolving line of credit totaling $419 million.

Morris Publishing is the parent of 13 daily newspapers including The Augusta Chronicle, The Savannah Morning News and The Athens Banner-Herald. The company also owns numerous non-dailies, city magazines and free publications.

In its May 14 earnings statement, Morris Publishing said “several factors relating to the company’s outstanding debt raise significant uncertainty about its liquidity and ability to continue as a going concern. Specifically, the company’s debt far exceeds the current value of its assets, and the company’s creditors may have the right to accelerate the maturity of the debt before the end of May 2009.”

In the first quarter ended March 31, Morris Publishing lost $12.6 million compared to a $5.6 million profit in the first quarter of 2008. Quarterly revenues plummeted 22.4 percent year-over-year from $82.7 million to $64.2 million. Advertising revenue fell 29.2 percent for the quarter. The company had about $171 million in assets at the end of the first quarter.

Morris Publishing spent $2.8 million on advisers in the first quarter seeking to refinance its debt, according to the SEC filing.

Slumping advertising revenues caused by the recession and changing media appetites have hurt Morris Publishing and other newspaper companies throughout the United States.

On May 14, Morris Publishing said even if the company is able to make its latest payment, the company is at risk of being in non-compliance with financial covenants, which have been relaxed by the creditors. The company is also “unlikely to meet the financial covenants under the Credit Agreement when the Company and Morris Communications deliver their consolidated financial statements for the second quarter of 2009, no later than August 29, 2009,” when its relaxed financial covenants terminate.

If the company cannot amend or refinance the debt before then, Morris Publishing would be prevented from borrowing on its revolving credit line and “may be required to prepay the entire principal due under the Credit Agreement” at that time.

All contents of this site © American City Business Journals Inc. All rights reserved.

Sending Billionaires to Prison for Their Crimes Against Americans -- Fiat justitia ruat caelum

The long arm of the law reached out and indicted billionaire fraudfeasors in Texas yesterday. See below. As the ancient equitable maxim states, "let justice be done though the heavens fall." (Fiat justitia ruat caelum).

Here's the Wikipedia entry:

Fiat justitia ruat caelum
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Fiat justitia ruat caelum is a Latin legal phrase, translating to "Do justice, let the sky fall." The maxim signifies the belief that justice must be realized regardless of consequences. According to the 19th century abolitionist politician Charles Sumner, it does not come from any classical source. [1] However, it has also been ascribed to Lucius Calpurnius Piso Caesoninus (d. 43 B.C.).
Contents
[hide]

* 1 Classical forms
o 1.1 The ancient metaphor of the falling sky
o 1.2 Seneca: "Piso's justice"
* 2 Modern origins
o 2.1 Alternative form: Fiat justitia et pereat mundus
* 3 Famous modern uses
* 4 References
* 5 See also

[edit] Classical forms

[edit] The ancient metaphor of the falling sky

The falling sky clause occurs in the passage of Terence, suggesting that it was a common saying in his time, “Quid si redeo ad illos qui aiunt, ‘Quid si nunc cœlum ruat?’” — “What if I have recourse to those who say, ‘What now if the sky were to fall?’”[2]

This concern recalls a passage in Arrian’s Campaigns of Alexander, Book I, 4, where ambassadors of the Celtae from the Adriatic sea, tall men of haughty demeanor, upon being asked by Alexander what in the world they feared most, answered that their worst fear was that the sky might fall on their heads. Alexander, who hoped to hear himself named, was disappointed by an answer that implied that nothing within human power could hurt them, short of a total destruction of nature.

In a similar vein, Theognis of Megara urges “May the great broad sky of bronze fall on my head / (That fear of earth-born men) if I am not / A friend to those who love me, and a pain / And irritation to my enemies.” [3] Whereas Aristotle asserts in his Physics, B. IV, that it was the early notion of ignorant nations that the sky was supported on the shoulders of Atlas, and that when he let go of it, it would fall.

On the other hand, Horace opens one of his odes with a depiction of a Stoic hero who will submit to the ruin of the universe around him: "Si fractus illabatur orbis, / impavidum ferient ruinae" — "Should the whole frame of Nature round him break, / In ruin and confusion hurled, / He, unconcerned, would hear the mighty crack, / And stand secure amidst a falling world." (Odes 3.3.7-8, translated by Joseph Addison.)

[edit] Seneca: "Piso's justice"

In De Ira (On Anger), Book I, Chapter XVIII, Seneca tells of Gnaeus Piso, a Roman governor and lawmaker, when he was angry, ordering the execution of a soldier who had returned from leave of absence without his comrade, on the ground that if the man did not produce his companion, he had killed him. As the condemned man was presenting his neck to the executioner's sword, there suddenly appeared the very comrade who was supposed to have been murdered. The centurion in charge of the execution halted the proceedings and led the condemned man back to Piso, expecting a reprieve. But Piso mounted the tribunal in a rage, and ordered three soldiers to be led to execution. He ordered the death of the man who was to have been executed, because the sentence had already been passed; he also ordered the death of the centurion who was charged with the original execution, for failing to perform his duty; finally, he ordered the death of the man who had been supposed to have been murdered, because he had been the cause of death of two innocent men.

In subsequent retellings of this legend, this principle became known as “Piso’s justice”, which is when sentences made or carried out of retaliation intentions are technically correct, but morally wrong, as could be a negative interpretation of the meaning for Fiat justitita ruat caelum.

However, no form of the phrase fiat justitia appears in De Ira, though Brewer's incorrectly states that it does.[4] The phrase is sometimes attributed to a different Piso, Lucius Calpurnius Piso Caesoninus, possibly a confusion with this case.

[edit] Modern origins

The exact phrase as used for approval of justice at all cost – usually seen in a positive sense – appears to originate in modern jurisprudence. In English law, William Watson in “Ten Quodlibetical Quotations Concerning Religion and State” (1601) “You go against that general maxim in the laws, which is ‘Fiat justitia et ruant coeli.’” This is its first known appearance in English literature.

The maxim was used by William Prynne in “Fresh Discovery of Prodigious Wandering New-Blazing Stars” (1646), by Nathaniel Ward in “Simple Cobbler of Agawam” (1647), and frequently thereafter, but it was given its widest celebrity by William Murray, 1st Baron Mansfield's decision in 1770 on the case concerning the outlawry of John Wilkes.

The maxim is given in various forms:

* “Fiat justitia et ruant coeli” (Watson);
* “Fiat justitia et coelum ruat” (John Manningham, Diary, 11 April, 1603);
* “Justitia fiat, ruat coelum” (Lord Mansfield).

[edit] Alternative form: Fiat justitia et pereat mundus
Main article: Fiat justitia et pereat mundus

On the European continent, and especially in Germany, the maxim has another common form, “Fiat justitia et pereat mundus”, which, being the official motto of Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor, and probably originating from Philipp Melanchthon's 1521 book Loci communes, is actually about half a century older than its first documented use in English literature.

A famous use is by Immanuel Kant, in his 1795 Perpetual Peace (Zum ewigen Frieden. Ein philosophischer Entwurf.), in the form Fiat justitia, pereat mundus, which he translates loosely as "Let justice reign even if all the rascals in the world should perish from it".[5][6][7]

[edit] Famous modern uses

More recently, Judge James Edwin Horton referred to the maxim when he recalled his decision to overturn the conviction of Haywood Patterson in the infamous Scottsboro Boys trial. In 1933, Judge Horton set aside the death sentence of Haywood Patterson, one of nine black men who were wrongfully convicted of raping two white women in Alabama. Judge Horton quoted the phrase when explaining why he made his decision, even though he knew it would mean the end of his judicial career. [8]

Similarly, Lord Mansfield, in reversing the outlawry of John Wilkes in 1770, used the phrase to reflect upon the duty of the Court.

The phrase is engraved on the wall behind the bench in the Supreme Court of Georgia and over the lintel of the Bridewell Garda station in Dublin. "Fiat Justitia" appears at the bottom of the portrait of the Great Chief Justice John Marshall by Rembrandt Peale. Peale's 1835 portrait of Marshall hangs in a conference room at the United States Supreme Court.

The Tennessee Supreme Court uses the phrase as its motto; it appears in the seal of the Court and is inlaid into the floor of the lobby of the court's building in Nashville.

This is also the motto of the United Kingdom Royal Air Force Police and it is displayed on the RAF Police Crest.[9]

The phrase "Fiat Justitia" appears in gray block letters as an epitaph to Chief Justice John Marshall in Rembrandt Peale's 1835 portrait of the Great Chief Justice of the United States. The portrait hangs in the East Conference Room of the United States Supreme Court.

The character of Mr Brooke attempts to quote the phrase ("fiat justitia, ruat ... something or other"), attributing it to Horace, in chapter 38 of the novel Middlemarch, published in 1874.

During World War II, the 447th Bomb Group of the Eighth Air Force used the phrase as its motto, which appeared on the group's official unit markings.

[edit] References

1. ^ “The Position and Duties of the Merchant: Address Before the Mercantile Library Association of Boston, Nov. 13, 1854." in The Works of Charles Sumner, Volume III, Boston: Lee and Shephard, 1875, p. 507.

2. ^ Heautontimorumenos, Act IV, scene 3, 719

3. ^ (Elegies 869-872

, translated by Dorothea Wender.)
4. ^ Brewer's 1898: Piso’s Justice.

5. ^ Perpetual Peace: A Philosophical Sketch: Appendix 1

6. ^ Project for a Perpetual Peace, p. 61

7. ^ Immanuel Kant's Werke, revidirte Gesammtausg, p. 456

8. ^ Profile of Judge James Horton. Jr., Scottsboro Judge

9. ^ See also the RAF Police Association web site www.rafpa.com

USDOJ Press Release: Stanford Financial Group Executives and Former Chairman of Antiguan Bank Regulator Indicted for Fraud and Obstruction Charges

For Immediate Release
June 19, 2009 United States Attorney's Office
Southern District of Texas
Contact: (713) 567-9000

Stanford Financial Group Executives and Former Chairman of Antiguan Bank Regulator Indicted for Fraud and Obstruction Charges Related to $7 Billion Dollar Scheme to Defraud Investors

WASHINGTON—Robert Allen Stanford, 59, chairman of the Houston-based Stanford Financial Group (SFG), three SFG executives and the former chief executive officer of the Antiguan bank regulatory agency have been indicted on fraud and obstruction charges related to a $7 billion scheme to defraud investors, announced Lanny A. Breuer, Assistant Attorney General of the Criminal Division; Tim Johnson, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Texas; Kevin Perkins, Assistant Director of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division; Eileen Mayer, Chief of Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation; and Greg Campbell, Deputy Chief Inspector, U.S. Postal Inspection Service.

Also charged in an indictment returned in Houston yesterday and unsealed today was Laura Pendergest-Holt, 35, SFG’s chief investment officer; Gilberto Lopez, 66, SFG’s chief accounting officer; Mark Kuhrt, 37, SFG’s global controller; and Leroy King, 63, the former administrator and CEO of Antigua’s Financial Services Regulatory Commission. Stanford was arrested in Virginia last night, and is scheduled to make an initial appearance today in Richmond. Lopez and Kuhrt were arrested this morning and will make initial appearances in Houston this afternoon. Pendergest-Holt, who previously was indicted on obstruction-related charges, will make her initial appearance on the charges unsealed today in Houston in the near future.
From left to right: Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division Lanny A. Breuer, Director of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Division of Enforcement Robert Khuzami, Assistant Director of the FBI Criminal Investigative Division Kevin Perkins and Deputy Chief of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service Greg Campbell
From left to right: Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division Lanny A. Breuer, Director of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Division of Enforcement Robert Khuzami, Assistant Director of the FBI Criminal Investigative Division Kevin Perkins and Deputy Chief of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service Greg Campbell

“The Department of Justice will vigorously root out and expose financial crimes that wreak havoc on innocent investors,” said Lanny A. Breuer, Assistant Attorney General of the Criminal Division. “Investors need access to accurate and truthful financial information in order to make decisions about how to invest their hard-earned savings. Their savings, and indeed the integrity of our capital markets, are jeopardized when investors are deceived. These difficult economic times make the mission of the Department all the more important.”

“The investing public needs to be assured that it is protected from those who would corruptly deprive them of their financial security,” said U.S. Attorney Tim Johnson of the Southern District of Texas. “When individuals or business entities engage in fraudulent activity designed to deprive investors of their assets, we will devote whatever resources necessary to bring them to justice.”

“Economic crime schemes such as those alleged here today are unfortunately all too commonplace,” said Assistant Director Kevin Perkins, FBI Criminal Investigative Division. “These crimes strike at the heart of our economy and our quality of life.”

“The IRS is united with the federal law enforcement community in our resolve to put out of business those financial schemes that defraud investors and the U.S. government,” said Eileen Mayer, Chief, IRS Criminal Investigation. “This is particularly true as it relates to international financial fraud, and we will continue to follow the money in order to bring those responsible to justice.”

“Robert Stanford’s investors trusted him and his associates, in many instances, with their life savings,” said Gregory Campbell, Deputy Chief Inspector, U.S. Postal Inspection Service. “When allegations are made that the U.S. Mail has been used to violate such a trust, it’s our job as Postal Inspectors to restore America’s confidence in the integrity of its postal system and help to bring the violators to justice.”

According to the indictment, Stanford and his co-defendants engaged in a scheme to defraud investors who purchased approximately $7 billion in certificates of deposit administered by Stanford International Bank Ltd. (SIBL), an offshore bank controlled by Stanford and located on the island of Antigua. Stanford and his co-defendants allegedly misused and misappropriated most of those investor assets, including diverting more than $1.6 billion into undisclosed personal loans to Stanford himself, while misrepresenting to investors SIBL’s financial condition, its investment strategy and the extent of its regulatory oversight by Antiguan authorities. For example, the indictment alleges the following:

* That the defendants allegedly falsely claimed that SIBL’s assets grew from approximately $1.2 billion in 2001 to approximately $8.5 billion in December of 2008. The indictment alleges that, in fact, approximately $5 billion of SIBL’s reported assets consisted of notes on loans to Stanford and grossly overstated interests in “island properties,” including more than $2 billion added to the books in 2008 from an allegedly artificial real estate deal that Stanford and his co-conspirators conceived to inflate the bank’s reported assets;
* That Stanford and his co-defendants allegedly falsely represented to investors that SIBL’s investment strategy was to “minimize risk and achieve liquidity” and promised rates of return on CDs that in the end were simply too good to be true in light of the bank’s actual investments and assets; and
* That Stanford and his co-defendants allegedly made false and misleading representations about the regulatory scrutiny of the bank by Antiguan authorities, when, in fact, Stanford was making corrupt payments of more than $100,000 to King to ensure that the Antiguan bank regulatory authority that he headed did not accurately audit, or verify the assets reported in the bank’s financial statements.

Also according to the indictment, Stanford, Pendergest-Holt and King conspired to conceal the fraud from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in order to fend off an SEC investigation. King allegedly provided Stanford and others with confidential information that he had received from an official SEC inquiry into a possible fraud on investors by SIBL so that additional false representations concerning SIBL’s financial health and Antiguan regulatory oversight could be made. In addition, Stanford, Pendergest-Holt and others allegedly agreed that Pendergest-Holt would provide false information to the SEC about the true value of SIBL’s investment portfolio.

The defendants are charged with one count of conspiracy to commit mail, wire and securities fraud; seven counts of wire fraud; ten counts of mail fraud; and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. The indictment also charges Stanford, Pendergest-Holt, and King with conspiracy to obstruct an SEC proceeding. The indictment seeks forfeiture of the proceeds of the fraud from all defendants, including forfeiture of specific foreign bank accounts controlled by Stanford, Davis and Pendergest-Holt.

Also unsealed today was a criminal information charging James M. Davis, 60, SFG’s chief financial officer, with conspiracy to commit mail, wire and securities fraud; mail fraud; and conspiracy to obstruct an SEC investigation. The information seeks forfeiture of up to $1 billion in fraud proceeds. Davis will make his initial appearance on these charges in Houston in the near future.

Additionally, also unsealed today was an indictment returned in the Southern District of Florida charging Bruce Perraud, 42, a former SFG Global Security Specialist, with destruction of records related to a federal investigation. Perraud allegedly ordered and supervised the destruction of numerous SFG documents housed at SFG’s Fort Lauderdale, Fla., office after he was put on notice that a federal court had ordered the preservation of SFG documents in connection with an SEC investigation and lawsuit. Perraud was arrested in the area of Naples, Fla., this morning and will make his initial appearance in the near future.

An indictment is merely an accusation and defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty at trial beyond a reasonable doubt.

The case is being investigated by the FBI’s Houston Field Office, Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. The case is being prosecuted by individuals from the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section, including Paul E. Pelletier, Principal Deputy Chief; Jack Patrick, Senior Litigation Counsel; Matthew Klecka, Trial Attorney; and Allan Medina, Law Clerk of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section, as well as Gregg Costa, Assistant U.S. Attorney, Southern District of Texas.

The Criminal Division’s Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section assisted the trial team by working with our foreign counterparts to facilitate the freezing of more than $300 million of Stanford’s assets in the United Kingdom, Canada and other countries. The Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida also provided assistance in this matter.

Happy Juneteenth -- But Senate Concurrent Resolution Apologizing for Slavery Is Flawed

The United States Senate, my former employer during the mid-1970s, apologized for slavery yesterday. See below.

That's a good idea.

But the apology said it was not intended to support reparations. We can do better.

The amendment is not unlike the amendment that City of St. Augustine City Commissioners inflicted upon Commissioner Errol Jones' resolution apologizing for the mistreatment of African-Americans here in 1964 during Civil Rights demonstrations.

The statute of limitations has presumably run on both counts. Inclusion of such language is contrary to the dignity of a free people.

As President Clinton said in his Second Inaugural Address, "Nothing great was ever accomplished by being small."

Let's apologize for slavery to African-Americans without sounding small.

The House of Representatives passed a similar resolution last year, without such language.

I hope the House-Senate conference committee deletes the offending language.

Also, perhaps one day we'll also apologize for indentured servitude (also outlawed by the Thirteenth Amendment), which affected non-African-Americans, like the Mincorans who settled in St. Augustine in 1777, leaving the British colony of New Smyrna Beach, "voting with their feet" like other refugees throughout world history.

Text of United States Senate Resolution Apologizing For Enslaverment of African-Americans

Whereas during the history of the Nation, the United States has grown into a symbol of democracy and freedom around the world;

(Engrossed as Agreed to or Passed by Senate)
SCON 26 ES
111th CONGRESS

1st Session

S. CON. RES. 26

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

Whereas during the history of the Nation, the United States has grown into a symbol of democracy and freedom around the world;

Whereas the legacy of African-Americans is interwoven with the very fabric of the democracy and freedom of the United States;

Whereas millions of Africans and their descendants were enslaved in the United States and the 13 American colonies from 1619 through 1865;

Whereas Africans forced into slavery were brutalized, humiliated, dehumanized, and subjected to the indignity of being stripped of their names and heritage;

Whereas many enslaved families were torn apart after family members were sold separately;

Whereas the system of slavery and the visceral racism against people of African descent upon which it depended became enmeshed in the social fabric of the United States;

Whereas slavery was not officially abolished until the ratification of the 13th amendment to the Constitution of the United States in 1865, after the end of the Civil War;

Whereas after emancipation from 246 years of slavery, African-Americans soon saw the fleeting political, social, and economic gains they made during Reconstruction eviscerated by virulent racism, lynchings, disenfranchisement, Black Codes, and racial segregation laws that imposed a rigid system of officially sanctioned racial segregation in virtually all areas of life;

Whereas the system of de jure racial segregation known as 'Jim Crow', which arose in certain parts of the United States after the Civil War to create separate and unequal societies for Whites and African-Americans, was a direct result of the racism against people of African descent that was engendered by slavery;

Whereas the system of Jim Crow laws officially existed until the 1960s--a century after the official end of slavery in the United States--until Congress took action to end it, but the vestiges of Jim Crow continue to this day;

Whereas African-Americans continue to suffer from the consequences of slavery and Jim Crow laws--long after both systems were formally abolished--through enormous damage and loss, both tangible and intangible, including the loss of human dignity and liberty;

Whereas the story of the enslavement and de jure segregation of African-Americans and the dehumanizing atrocities committed against them should not be purged from or minimized in the telling of the history of the United States;

Whereas those African-Americans who suffered under slavery and Jim Crow laws, and their descendants, exemplify the strength of the human character and provide a model of courage, commitment, and perseverance;

Whereas on July 8, 2003, during a trip to Goree Island, Senegal, a former slave port, President George W. Bush acknowledged the continuing legacy of slavery in life in the United States and the need to confront that legacy, when he stated that slavery 'was... one of the greatest crimes of history.... The racial bigotry fed by slavery did not end with slavery or with segregation. And many of the issues that still trouble America have roots in the bitter experience of other times. But however long the journey, our destiny is set: liberty and justice for all.';

Whereas President Bill Clinton also acknowledged the deep-seated problems caused by the continuing legacy of racism against African-Americans that began with slavery, when he initiated a national dialogue about race;

Whereas an apology for centuries of brutal dehumanization and injustices cannot erase the past, but confession of the wrongs committed and a formal apology to African-Americans will help bind the wounds of the Nation that are rooted in slavery and can speed racial healing and reconciliation and help the people of the United States understand the past and honor the history of all people of the United States;

Whereas the legislatures of the Commonwealth of Virginia and the States of Alabama, Florida, Maryland, and North Carolina have taken the lead in adopting resolutions officially expressing appropriate remorse for slavery, and other State legislatures are considering similar resolutions; and

Whereas it is important for the people of the United States, who legally recognized slavery through the Constitution and the laws of the United States, to make a formal apology for slavery and for its successor, Jim Crow, so they can move forward and seek reconciliation, justice, and harmony for all people of the United States: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives concurring), That the sense of the Congress is the following:

(1) APOLOGY FOR THE ENSLAVEMENT AND SEGREGATION OF AFRICAN-AMERICANS-

The Congress--
(A) acknowledges the fundamental injustice, cruelty, brutality, and inhumanity of slavery and Jim Crow laws;
(B) apologizes to African-Americans on behalf of the people of the United States, for the wrongs committed against them and their ancestors who suffered under slavery and Jim Crow laws; and
(C) expresses its recommitment to the principle that all people are created equal and endowed with inalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, and calls on all people of the United States to work toward eliminating racial prejudices, injustices, and discrimination from our society.

(2) DISCLAIMER- Nothing in this resolution--
(A) authorizes or supports any claim against the United States; or
(B) serves as a settlement of any claim against the United States.

Passed the Senate June 18, 2009.

Calling Paul Revere.....

Leading the way into a better future for our economy, community and our environment, bipartisan support is building for a St. Augustine National Historical Park, National Seashore and National Scenic Coastal Parkway.

Meanwhile, our deeply conflicted St. Augustine City Attorney, RONALD WAYNE BROWN, will present to St. Augustine City Commissioners Monday, June 22nd a controversial proposed compromise on the Fish Island Marina, a project that would destroy the glorious view of the City-owned marshes and bottomlands from the SR 312 Bridge.

St. Augustine City Commissioners rightly rejected the proposal this time last year, by a vote of 5-0. Commissioners should reject it again on Monday night. Commissioners meet at 5 PM in the Alcazar Room, 75 King Street (Lightner Museum and City Hall).

St. Augustine Commissioners ten days ago rejected 4-0 the proposed ugly building that would have destroyed the view from our Cathedral and Government House. Commissioners deserve a hymn of praise when they preserve our history, our environment and our precious cultural heritage.

Monday night St. Augustine City Commissioners again have an opportunity to preserve our history, environment and precious cultural heritage once again, protecting our City property (the bottomlands). Our St. Augustine City-owned marshes and bottomlands are not for sale.

Calling St. Augustine's many Paul Reveres -- please come out and help halt the latest effort by the City Attorney to betray the public interest.

Help protect a view that is as worthy of protection as Nauset Marsh in Cape Cod National Seashore.

Help prevent a dock as big as an aircraft carrier from being built even closer the SR 312 Bridge, which could. destroy island access in a Category 3, 4 or 5 hurricane.

Help protect our wildlife from destruction.

Help halt the developer (and his business associate PIERRE THOMPSON, former client of City Attorney RONALD WAYNE BROWN) from again destroying wetlands for private gain.

Grandson of the founder of the St. Augustine Record, rapacious developer PIERRE THOMPSON is a sworn enemy of the environment. On October 8, 2001, PIERRE THOMPSON ordered the cutting down of an eagle nest tree not far from the site of the Fish Island Marina project. Last year, THOMPSON BROTHERS REALTY pled guilty to federal crimes for cutting down the eagle nest tree. THOMPSON sold the developer the land for the Fish Island Marina Project. Has the land been fully paid for? Is there a mortgage? Is there a right of reverter? Whatever the City decides will be a precedent for development of other land owned by THOMPSON.

There is a conflict of interest and loyalty on the part of our St. Augustine City ATTORNEY RONALD WAYNE BROWN, the longtime law partner of GEOFFREY DOBSON (also former City Attorney). BROWN once recused himself. He then un-recused himself. How odd.

When the City Commissioners vote on Monday night, they should again tell the developer they are not afraid. The Commissioners' prior 5-0 vote was upheld by the Circuit Court. No one should fear the Bert J. Harris J. Private Property Protection Act (often cited by developers as a way of blackmailing public officials). Nothing in the Bert J. Harris Act requires us to turn over city-owned bottomlands to rapacious developers, or to destroy a view that should be preserved forever in the St. Augustine National Historical Park, National Seashore and National Scenic Coastal Parkway. Future generations of Floridians will thank City Commissioners for rejecting the fishy Fish Island Marina project (and all of the developers' works and pomps)..

The St. Augustine Record (below) is right on target about our 450th anniversary (and Florida's 500th). Let's preserve the beauty that brought us all here.

City of St. Augustine Newsletter: Fish Island dock settlement on City agenda

Fish Island dock settlement on City agenda
A proposed settlement of the Fish Island dock lawsuit is on Monday night's City Commission agenda, providing for a narrower walkway, smaller dock, closer to the SR 312 bridge, and including five public boat slips.
The proposed settlement will be presented to commissioners on an agenda which also includes consideration of support for an AMTRAK rail corridor from Jacksonville to Miami - with a potential station in St. Augustine; a presentation on the Gullah-Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor, and a proclamation thanking the State of Florida for "its long-term contribution and dedication to protecting and preserving" our city's historic assets.

Fish Island dock settlement
City Atty. Ron Brown will present the proposal to settle a lawsuit by Fish Island Development, LLC, filed for damages after commission denial of a permit for a 1,200-foot walkway and 100-slip dock.
The settlement would reduce the dock from 100 to 70 slips, add five public slips, move the dock closer to the SR 312 bridge, narrow the walkway from ten to eight feet and use light-penetrating materials, and restrict further dock creation along Fish Island Development's Matanzas River frontage. The developer would also provide a portable pump-out facility, and would not be allowed a fueling facility.
If commissioners and developer come to agreement, the modifications will have to be approved by state and federal agencies.

COSA Press Release: Frederick Douglass historic marker to be dedicated on Saturday, June 20 @ 9:30am

For Immediate Release June 16, 2009

Frederick Douglass historic marker to be dedicated on Saturday, June 20 @ 9:30am

Members of the St. Augustine City Commission will hold a brief ceremony this Saturday, June 20, to dedicate a marker commemorating the visit to St. Augustine by Frederick Douglass, 19th Century American abolitionist, author and statesmen. The ceremony, to be held at the marker located on St. George St. just north of Treasury St., will start at 9:30am.
Douglass spoke to the residents of St. Augustine on Sunday, April 7, 1889 in the Genovar Opera House which was located in that vicinity. During Saturday’s dedication, Gerald Eubanks, a well know local actor and lifelong resident of St. Augustine, will portray Douglass and offer a few remarks in that role as part of Saturday’s ceremony.
Born into slavery in 1818, Douglass rose in the pre-Civil War years to become a leader in the abolitionist cause and in the late nineteenth century a tireless advocate for the African-American community and civil liberties. Douglass played a vital role in persuading President Lincoln to issue the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863.
Douglass’ visit to St. Augustine included a reception attended by an estimated 700 people, which the Florida Times-Union described as “including prominent people of both races.” St. Augustine’s mayor welcomed Douglass on behalf of the Governor of Florida after which Douglass spoke about the continuing struggle of African Americans to achieve civil rights in the post-Emancipation Era.
The marker is the seventh in a series of city produced historical informational markers. The others are located at: the Plaza de la Constitución; City Hall, formerly the Alcazar Hotel; Twine Park, recognizing the contributions of Henry and Kat Twine; on St. George St. near the Arrivas House, commemorating the city’s Minorcan heritage; at the Visitor Information Center describing the Caños de San Francisco, or Fountains of San Francisco; and on Tremerton St. noting the location of the 18th century mission community of Nuestra Senora de Rosario de la Punta.
-- end --

Setting the turtles free

Jade Dupuis, Environmental Specialist with the St. Johns County Environmental Department gets ready to release a juvenile endangered green sea turtle into the intercoastal waterway after being rescued from the pond at the Mission of Nombre de Dios in St. Augustine, FL on Wednesday, June 17, 2009. Photo by Jennifer Perez
One of the three juvenile green sea turtles that was rescued from the pond at the Mission of Nombre de Dios in St. Augustine, FL on Wednesday, June 17, 2008. The sea turtles were later released after being recorded, measured and tagged into the intercoastal waterway by the State Biologist for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Dr. Allen Foley, Coordinator Karrie Minch and St. Johns County Recreation and Parks and Environmental Division Habitat Conservation Coordinator, Tara Dodson, Beach Manager Billy Zeits, Field Assistant, Sharon Evans, Field Surveyor, Kim Maldanado and Environmental Specialist, Jade Dupuis. Not sure exactly when or how long these sea turtles have been in the pond, the scientists speculate that there is a good possibility that it's been since tropical storm Fay in September when the area flooded and made it easy for the sea turtles to enter the pond from the intercoastal waterway. Photo by Jennifer Perez

Jade Dupuis, Environmental Specialist with the St. Johns County Environmental Department gets ready to release a juvenile endangered green sea turtle into the intercoastal waterway after being rescued from the pond at the Mission of Nombre de Dios in St. Augustine, FL on Wednesday, June 17, 2009. Photo by Jennifer Perez

Publication Date: 06/18/09

Three juvenile green sea turtles were rescued from the pond at the Mission of Nombre de Dios. The turtles were tagged, measured and recorded and then released into the Intracoastal Waterway by officials with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission -- Allen Foley and Karrie Minch -- and St. Johns County -- Tara Dodson, Billy Zeits, Sharon Evans, Kim Maldanado and Environmental specialist Jade Dupuis.

Photos by Jennifer Perez, Special to The Record

Click here to return to story:
http://www.staugustine.com/stories/061809/news_061809_030.shtml

© The St. Augustine Record

Setting our minds free -- be not afraid

"Be not afraid."
-- The first words of the first homily spoken by Pope John Paul II (1979).

In this economy, we need to keep our calm and not be gulled, cullied and diddled around by authoritarians.

Last night, I saw the County Administrator make a presentation to Northwest St. Johns County residents on the county budget. On the one hand, we appreciate the work and detail. But on the other hand, we need creativity and challenges to shibboleths.

We need an Inspector General to root out waste, fraud, abuse, misfeasance, malfeasance and nonfeasance. One fraud investigator is not enough.

We need to stop spending money on flubdubs, Taj Mahals and Republicans' "Edifice Complex," swuch as the new $16 County Administration palace.

We need to rein in the Sheriff's obscenely bloated budget, including his take-home deputy cars.

We need to work together to help grow our economy and protect our environment. This requires raising tourist revenue by adopting a St. Augustine National Historical Park, Historical Park, National Seashore and National Scenic Coastal Parkway.

As the architect of Union Station, Daniel Burnham said, "make no little plans, for they do not inspire people to follow them."

A national park, seashore and scenic coastal parkway will make for permanent preservation of our history and environment and one whale of a celebration of Florida's 500th anniversary of Spanish conquest (and St. Augustine's 450th birthday) in 2013 and 2015.

It will help grow our economy with historical and environmental tourists, while preserving what we love about St. Augustine from destruction.

What do you reckon?

Editorial: County should consider pay cuts, furloughs

Editorial: County should consider pay cuts, furloughs

Staff
Publication Date: 06/14/09

As St. Johns County Administrator Michael Wanchick makes the rounds giving taxpayers an inside look at the state-of-the-county finances, he's asking their help deciding how to spend future tax dollars.

Do residents want to pay more in taxes or cut services? He says he is not advocating one position or the other. But, with a projected $55 million property tax revenue shortfall over two years, the projected deficits are: $20 million in Fiscal Year 2010 and $35 million Fiscal Year 2011. This year's total county budget is $654 million. For 2010, it is projected at $623 million and for 2011, $577 million.

The shortfall has resulted from a decline in property tax revenues because of decreased property values. Wanchick says the county is reducing expenses, including not giving raises and not filling vacant positions unless he personally approves them.

The choices he's giving taxpayers are all too familiar in public sector budgeting.

But, in our view, they are not enough.

We in the private sector have already taken many more steps than the county has, including salary cuts, furloughs and shortened work weeks. None are desirable to employers or employees.

Now we are being asked to pay more taxes if we want the same level of services.

In St. Johns County, for example, the county's general budget covers 1,638 employees. Not included are those whose departments have separate funding outside of property tax; county utilities, solid waste and special revenue funds.

A 5 percent cut in county government's overall salary budget of $78 million would equal $3.9 million annually. That's a good-sized savings. In some cases, private sector companies have decided it's better to keep valued employees working for less pay than lay off 5 percent of its work force.

County Commissioners and Wanchick say they are running the county like a business.

They're doing a good job in some regards like re-bidding contracts that haven't been re-bid in maybe 10 years. But they, along with the constitutional officers, are not doing all they can unless they seriously consider pay cuts, furloughs, and four-day work weeks.

Tax increases and cuts in services should be the last, not first, options on the table.

Click here to return to story:
http://www.staugustine.com/stories/061409/opinions_061409_064.shtml

© The St. Augustine Record

Calling Neil Armstrong .....

Yes, it was a "baby step" taken by the City of St. Augustine yesterday. See below. We're waiting for s a "giant leap" for humankind. That will be the St. Augustine National Historical Park, National Seashore and National Scenic Coastal Parkway. See www.staugustgreen.com!

450th Commission takes first baby step Thursday

450th Commission takes first baby step Thursday

By PETER GUINTA
peter.guinta@staugustine.com
Publication Date: 06/19/09

The 14-member St. Augustine 450th Commemoration Commission learned Thursday that it must first seek the "bones" of an internal structure before it begins to flesh out the myriad details required to present the city's largest birthday celebration ever.

Dana Ste. Claire, the commission's executive director, said the 2015 event is "a celebration of who we are. We're the only city in the United States that can celebrate 450 years of continuous occupation."

The 2015 commemoration will feature significant events, festivals, re-enactments and exchanges and displays of Native American, African American and European cultures.

"Our history is truly unique. We want the whole world to know about us," Ste. Claire said.

But to have a flawless event, both city and county need to carefully plan every aspect of infrastructure: Parking, transportation, rest rooms, way-finding signs, hotel rooms, meeting rooms, museums, economic development, natural resources among other necessities.

Unity of history

The commission's first meeting, held at Flagler College's Ringhaver Center, drew significant public attendance.

Mayor Joe Boles said the celebration's connection with Spain will be close, with the mayors of Aviles and Cartegena both expressing interest in participating.

"Participation means financial backing," Boles said. "There are 46 million Hispanic residents in the United States (who may want to experience their cultural heritage) and we're working with the Seminole Tribe of Florida, which will have a permanent place to showcase that story."

Ste. Claire said that before the 2015 birthday bash, the city in 2013 will celebrate the 500th anniversary of Don Ponce de Leon's discovery of Florida in 1513.

"And at the same time, the Spanish will be celebrating the 200th anniversary of their constitution," he said. "We have a monument marking an earlier anniversary on our Plaza, which may be the only one in existence."

Boles said this area's history includes many milestones, such as being the birthplace of Christianity in the New World so the Catholic Church should be involved.

"The first Mass was celebrated right here, and we'll be inviting the (Spanish) Royal Family and the Pope and perhaps Queen Elizabeth II of England," he said. "And 100 years before the Emancipation Proclamation, there were free blacks here fighting to protect their homes."

Virginia's experience

Mayor Jeanne Zeidler of Williamsburg, who also headed the 400th anniversary celebration for Jamestown, Williamsburg and Yorktown in 2007, has been hired by the city as a consultant to help with planning the 450th.

Zeidler said a big hit there was the re-creation of three ships used by English colonists to come to America: "Susan Constant," "Godspeed" and "Discovery."

Nearly everyone wanted a tour. "They became an icon of the commemoration," Ziedler said.

Jamestown served as Virginia's capitol for most of the 1600s, Williamsburg from 1699 to 1780. Yorktown was the scene of a vital American and French victory over the English Army during the Revolutionary War.

"Our region is a long-standing tourist destination," Zeidler said.

Overall, that region enjoyed a total investment in public and private funds of $400 million. After the celebration, visits to both cities were up 40-50 percent.

On the anniversary day, there were 4,000 performers, 2,00 volunteers, 63,000 guests, six stages an 100 exhibits.

"It was a huge task," she said. "Don't underestimate the task before you."

Impact: Sales of $1.2 billion; 20,621 jobs; 12 billion media hits.

The city's situation

Dana Ste. Claire said the commission was looking for ideas. One entrepreneur, he said, has already minted unauthorized commemorative coins and planned to sell them.

"We have the same compelling history as Jamestown," he said. "We have the theme. We have to find the structure."

The city has already been making infrastructure improvements, such as restoring the three original Flagler fountains. It plans others, such as the seawall, when there's enough money.

Boles said a federal commission is forming that will eventually mean $500,000 per year to the city for the event.

"Though that won't come until 2010," he said. "We don't have a big budget for this because we don't have a game plan yet. We're not ready to put the flesh on the bones. We're looking to get the bones in place."

But, he said, this could be the biggest celebration this country could see, short of the Olympics or a World's Fair.

"Big jobs start with small jobs, small steps," he said.

Click here to return to story:
http://staugustine.com/stories/061909/news_061909_057.shtml

© The St. Augustine Record

Guest Column: St. Augustine must have a national historical park, seashore and scenic coastal parkway --- check out www.staugustgreen.com

ED SLAVIN
St. Augustine
Publication Date: 03/26/07

Real estate speculators (some foreign-funded) continue to destroy our local wildlife, habitat, nature and history. Roads are clogged. Noise abounds. Our way of life is being destroyed. Unfeeling, uncaring Philistines are turning St. Johns County into an uglier, unreasonable facsimile of South Florida. Unjust county government stewards allowed an asphalt plant near homes. Another plant reportedly emits 50 tons/year of volatile organic compounds into residents' and workers' lungs and brains.

Speculators are even trying to build homes on top of unremediated septic tanks/fields, while vacationing boaters pollute our Bay front with untreated sewage (the only boat-pumpout-station is at Conch House Marina). Our Bay front (which lacks a harbormaster) had an oil spill Jan. 15. Developers demand to build docks over city-owned State Road 312 area marshes for boat-owners' pleasure. Enough.

Let's invite environmental tourism by preserving an "emerald necklace of parks," including the city-owned marsh.

Ask Congress to hold hearings to map our "St. Augustine National Historical Park and National Seashore" (SANHPNS), using 1928-style trolleycars to save gasoline, uniting the Castillo and Fort Matanzas National Monuments, "slave market park," downtown streets, Government House, Red House Bluff indigenous village (next to historical society), marshes, forests, National Cemetery, GTM NERR, Anastasia State Park, Fort Mose and other city, county, state and St. Johns River Water Management District lands.

Let's cancel future shock/schlock/sprawl/ugliness/skyscrapers and eliminate temptations to abuse/neglect/misuse state parks and historic buildings for golf courses and rote, rube commercialism.

In December, State Sen. Jim King suggested Florida donate "deed and title" of state buildings to our city. I suggested that we deed them to the National Park Service (NPS), with St. George Street visitor center in restored buildings, saving millions (as in the New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park).

St. Augustine needs a national civil rights and indigenous history museum, celebrating local residents and national leaders, whose courage helped win passage of 1964's Civil Rights Act. Why not put the museum in the old Woolworth's building, restored to its former glory, with wood floors, lunch-counter and exhibits on the civil rights struggles that changed history (well- documented in Jeremy Dean's documentary, "Dare Not Walk Alone"), with "footsoldiers monument" across the street ?

Why not (finally) implement the 2003 National Trust for Historic Preservation and Flagler College study on how to protect our history? Let's tax tourists more to fund historic preservation, as in Charleston/elsewhere.

Let's preserve/protect the quality of our lives and visitors' experience (and property values) by preserving forever what speculators haven't destroyed (yet).

Let's adopt a three-year moratorium on growth, while we work to adopt truly comprehensive plans worthy of the name.

Colonial National Historical Park (NHP), Philadelphia's Independence NHP and NHPs in Boston, New Bedford, Valley Forge, San Francisco and Saratoga.

There's a Martin Luther King historical site in Atlanta, NHPs for "Rosie the Riveter" (California) and the "War in the Pacific" (Guam), and new parks slated for ten Japanese internment camps.

Florida hosts Everglades, Dry Tortugas and Biscayne National Parks and Canaveral National Seashore. Let's add St. Augustine to the list.

From sea to shining sea, America's coastal areas enjoy national parks. Where's ours?

Let's make parts of State Road A1A a National Parkway and hiking/biking trail, like the Colonial National Historical Parkway and the Baltimore Washington, George Washington, Rock Creek and John D. Rockefeller (Wyoming) Parkways and the Appalachian Trial and C&O Canal.

Let's add St. Augustine to the list of our nation's most beloved national parks, joining Zion, Yosemite, Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon and the Great Smoky Mountains.

Florida's 500th and St. Augustine's 450th anniversaries are only six and eight years away (2013 and 2015). Enacting a national park and seashore will forever preserve the treasures that we love. It will halt the sprawl we hate, increase tourism and reduce local taxes, paying speculators to stop.

Mayor Joe Boles' mother graciously thanked me for speaking out on these issues after the Jan. 22 City Commission meeting -- issues that Mrs. Boles has been outspoken about for "30 years." Let's honor/heed Mrs. Boles' wisdom -- and those who proposed a national park before World War II. Let's save St. Augustine and our environment forever.

Ed Slavin lives in St. Augustine.

Click here to return to story:
http://staugustine.com/stories/032607/opinions_4479465.shtml

© The St. Augustine Record

City's 450th planning can't start too soon

City's 450th planning can't start too soon

Publication Date: 06/17/09

St. Augustine officially begins planning for its 450th birthday Thursday when a select committee goes to work -- finally.

We're glad the St. Augustine 450th Commemoration Steering Committee is about to convene. It's been six months since the members were appointed by the city commission. After so much buildup over the past year, the community wants to see things start to happen.

There's so much work to be done in coordinating and planning, which this important committee is expected to do. Before anything gets started, a greater understanding of the roles of the steering committee and the federal commission are necessary.

It's too bad that the federal commission is still only on paper in Public Law 111-11, enacted March 30. The feds have to appoint a commission by summer's end. Then, there are more months to organize, hire an executive director and get moving.

The city is 3 1/2 years out from its expected January 2013 start of the celebration's three-plus years. If one of the federal commission's major roles is fundraising, how soon can we expect to see big money, especially corporate sponsorships?

St. Augustine Mayor Joe Boles pushed hard for the St. Johns County Commission to hire Mayor Jeanne Zeidler of Williamsburg, Va., who was the executive director of Jamestown's successful international 400th anniversary celebration in 2007. Jamestown was the nation's first English settlement in 1607, 42 years after St. Augustine's founding by the Spanish.

Zeidler's hiring was a wise move. The $20,000 from bed-tax dollars will be well-spent.

After reviewing city documents that outline the celebration's goals, we wish both groups were functioning.

The three principal goals demand cooperation. They are national and international awareness of St. Augustine, economic development, and tourism enhancement. That means public education programs, national and international communications, community redevelopment opportunities, infrastructure, destination master planning, marketing and signature events. The biggie, of course, is laying the foundation for sustainable tourism.

So who is the boss?

Is it the first one in the arena, the steering committee, or the higher-level 14-member federal commission yet to be appointed?

Dana Ste. Claire, the city's 450th executive director, says, "It will be the community that will build this event for the community."

The steering committee has firepower. We don't know yet who will be on the federal commission other than the mayor, who gets an appointment. That is a smart move.

We're concerned that there might be some unintended confusion and overlap with the two groups working separately toward the same goals and starting at different times.

Our suggestion: Divide the goals to ensure there's no confusion over event planning, marketing and, most importantly, the cost to bring the 450th celebration to life with no surprise bills at the end.
*

Click here to return to story:
http://www.staugustine.com/stories/061709/opinions_061709_043.shtml

© The St. Augustine Record

Livin' here and lovin' it

Livin' here and lovin' it

Publication Date: 06/18/09

We who live in this paradise don't need U.S. News & World Report to tell us that St. Augustine is one the 10 best places to live in the United States.

We know it every day, rain or shine.

But we'll take the magazine's recognition. There's something about outsiders looking in and finding enough good points to lift the Nation's Oldest City to the top 10 from a database of 2,000 cities that have at least 10,000 people and crime at or below the national level. St. Augustine also had to pass through other filters the magazine used to whittle the list to 200, including a measure of the cost of living.

The magazine's ranking is a good way for communities to see how they stack up nationally.

The report pegged the city as the one we know: Writer Luke Mullins said, "With a highly educated workforce, world-class golfing nearby, and that refreshing Atlantic breeze, St. Augustine, Fla., offers enough activities to satisfy even the most fanatical outdoor sports enthusiast."

Some key points, though, need correction:

* The eight schools in the St. Johns County School District within the city include four elementary schools, not three, and two middle schools, not three. There are two high schools. The generalization that scores were lower in math and reading is not exactly correct. Three schools of the eight had scores lower than the state averages.

* The "no hospital in location" comment is not exactly right. Nationally accredited Flagler Hospital is just outside the city limits. In fact, U.S. News recently ranked Flagler one of the top 50 hospitals in cardiac care nationally.

Credit U.S. News, too, in responding to several commenters who read that Flagler College was incorrectly identified in a photo caption. As of June 9, the day after the story appeared, the magazine corrected itself.

If you haven't read the "Best Places to Live" story, go to www.usnews.com and follow the links. Also scroll through the comments. Of those posted about St. Augustine, most were favorable, noting lower taxes, miles of beaches, golfing, name entertainment, a beautiful downtown and no snow in the last six years.

One candid posting was the couple who said they came here often as visitors for years and now regret having moved here. They found it more interesting as a vacation than a permanent address. That's OK. Everyone is entitled to their opinion.

Former residents choose to return. They join newcomers in giving back to the community and enjoying its benefits. We welcome all with their new and renewed voices and fresh eyes.

We've said enough.

We'll end with this online posting from a Pat Smith of St. Augustine: "If you're bored in this town, it's your own darn fault."

On the Web

http://www.usnews.com/articles/business/real-estate/2009/06/08/best-places-to-live-2009.html

Click here to return to story:
http://www.staugustine.com/stories/061809/opinions_061809_050.shtml

© The St. Augustine Record

Best wishes to Senator Jim King on recovery from cancer

Godspeed to Senator Jim King -- wishing him speedy recovery! See below.

King: I'm cancer-free

King: I'm cancer-free

By BRANDON LARRABEE
Morris News Service
Publication Date: 06/19/09

TALLAHASSEE--Sen. Jim King announced a landmark in his battle against pancreatic cancer Thursday, saying recent tests had shown him free of the disease, and he would now begin a lengthy recovery.

"A recent CAT scan tells me I will be leaving the hospital to go to a rehabilitation facility today CANCER FREE," wrote King, R-Jacksonville, in a letter to friends and supporters.

"I consider myself one of the luckiest individuals in the medical world. ...

"We faced crisis after crisis, we had setbacks with enough disappointments to last most people a life time, but we said we would fight and as of this moment we are winning."

King, a long-serving lawmaker and former Senate president, was diagnosed last month with pancreatic cancer, one of the most aggressive forms of the disease. He underwent surgery June 4 at Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville.

King still faces a physical recovery that could take a year. A family spokeswoman said he could spend between one and three weeks in an undisclosed rehabilitation facility in Jacksonville.

"Does this mean that the fight is over? Not by a long shot," he wrote in the note. "I am one of the 5 percent of survivors to make it this far and I am not so naive to think that things could not change ugly quickly, but I know I have a fighting chance and I am thankful to be in a rare and unique group."

In the note, King thanked God, hospital workers, and friends and family for helping him pull through. He also showcased a touch of humor when he noted the diet-conscious, alcohol-free lifestyle that his recovery would require.

"I can just visualize some of you reading this and thinking, 'Boy, is Jim ever going to be boring,'" he wrote.

The announcement last month of King's cancer surprised colleagues because the senator showed few signs of slowing down during the legislative session that ended early last month.

He pushed through the Senate a bill that would have required private utilities to generate at least 20 percent of their power from renewable and nuclear sources, though the measure died in the House, and gave an impassioned speech believed to sway some Democrats considering voting against the final budget compromise.

King, who will be forced out by term limits in 2010, said he intends to serve out the rest of his term. However, he withdrew his name from consideration for the chancellor position at the State University System.

brandon.larrabee@jacksonville.com,

(678) 977-3709

Click here to return to story:
http://staugustine.com/stories/061909/news_061909_058.shtml

© The St. Augustine Record

Viva Stetson Kennedy!

Local civil rights leader Stetson Kennedy infiltrated the Ku Klux Klan and helped expose and prosecute it after World War II,preventing the Klan from having the resurgence it had after World War I. He is a true hero. Watch the Smithsonian Channel documentary September 6th in which Stetson Kennedy and his late friend, Studs Turkel, are interviewed. See below.

St. Augustine CIvil Rights Hero Stetson Kennedy Featured in Smithsonian Channel(TM) Documentary Starting September 6,th

Soul of a People: Writing America's Story to Premiere Labor Day on Smithsonian Channel(TM)

By: PR Newswire
Jun. 18, 2009 11:00 AM

Two part documentary tells the story of the Federal Writer's Project of 1930's to premiere Sunday, September 6 at 8 pm

WASHINGTON, June 18 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- It was a time of unparalleled national crisis; as millions of Americans faced unemployment, vanishing life savings, banks foreclosing on homes and feeling a general loss of hope, Americans turned to a newly elected President to lead them out of this turbulent time.

It sounds eerily like today's current events. But as viewers of a powerful new two part documentary, "Soul of a People: Writing America's Story," will see when it premieres on Smithsonian Channel this coming Labor Day Weekend, September 6 at 8 pm, the Great Depression also created a unique opportunity to capture the essence of America. "Soul of a People" explores one of the most controversial public assistance programs of the Great Depression.

The Federal Writers Project was one of four arts programs under the Works Progress Administration (WPA) of newly elected President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The Project employed thousands of unemployed writers, including Richard Wright, Saul Bellow and John Cheever, to fan out across America, interview its citizens, and produce a portrait of the USA from the ground up in a series of state travel guides. They captured a unique portrait of 1930's Americana. But what began as a program to create guidebooks for every state ended up igniting a storm of controversy when writers sought out not only the triumphs of America, but also its tragedies.

At its peak, the Project employed over 6,600 people in all 48 states. They included a handful of published authors, old newspaper reporters, former school teachers and others. Two of its better-known workers, Studs Terkel (in one of his last interviews before passing away in October 2008) and Stetson Kennedy, are interviewed for the documentary.

In addition to Kennedy and Terkel, the documentary features interviews with a diverse group of leading authors, poets, and historians, including Douglas Brinkley and David Bradley, who provide witty and heartbreaking insights into the Project.

Filmed entirely in high definition, "Soul of a People: Writing America's Story" is a Spark Media Production produced for Smithsonian Networks(TM) with a major funding grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. It is produced and directed by Andrea Kalin and based on the book, "Soul of a People," by David A. Taylor. Taylor also serves as co-producer and co-writer for the documentary. Award winning actress Patricia Clarkson is the narrator.

"Soul of a People" will be the subject of a series of organized exhibits, lectures and panels at over thirty libraries throughout the United States. Each library will work with a local scholar of the era to help present and plan and promote these programs. These exhibits will continue through the Fall of 2009 and are sponsored by the American Library Association and supported by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

"This is the perfect show for Smithsonian Channel," said David Royle, Executive Vice President of Programming and Production. "It defines our mission of telling America's stories with our distinctive voice. This is a story that speaks to our times and we feel is ideally timed for a Labor Day airing."

"Soul of a People" will air exclusively on Smithsonian Channel on Sunday, September 6 at 8 pm.

ABOUT SMITHSONIAN NETWORKS

Smithsonian Networks (SN) is a joint venture between Showtime Networks Inc. and the Smithsonian Institution. It was formed to create new channels to showcase scientific, cultural and historical programming based largely upon the assets of the Smithsonian Institution, the world's largest museum complex. Smithsonian Channel features original documentaries, short-subject explorations and innovative and groundbreaking programs highlighting America's historical, cultural and scientific heritage. Visit Smithsonian Networks on the Internet at www.smithsonianchannel.com

SOURCE Smithsonian Networks
Published Jun. 18, 2009
Copyright © 2009 SYS-CON Media, Inc. — All Rights Reserved.
Syndicated stories and blog feeds, all rights reserved by the author.

Congratulations, St. Johns Schools!

Congratulations, St. Johns Schools! *See below.

Now let's make our schools the best in the state in educating students to think for themselves, to question authority, to be good citizens.

Let's subject St. Johns County school children to any more First Amendment violations, whether Establishment Clause (inflicting sectarian religion on our kids) or Petition Clause (the right to speak one's mind and enjoy freedom of association).

Our Founders and successive generations of Americans fought and died for First Amendment rights. Character counts. The Founding Fathers are watching us! We can and will do better.

Editorial: Excellent showing, St. Johns Schools

Editorial: Excellent showing, St. Johns Schools

Staff
Publication Date: 06/19/09

.f you run into Joe Joyner, St. Johns County superintendent of schools, don't be surprised if he greets you with, "No. 1 in the state."

There's no exaggeration there. And certainly considering the stress the district has had with state funding cuts, we'll allow Joyner, the School Board and the staff some leeway for bragging rights.

After all the scores were evaluated by the state and points awarded, the St. Johns County School District is not only an A district again, it is the state's No. 1 A district.

You heard that right: No. 1 A district in the state.

And if that is not enough to make you excited about the county's public schools, this is the eighth year St. Johns has received a district letter grade of A, one of only 10 statewide to make A's for eight consecutive years.

It's rare air when you get to the top of the A list. "It's just great news," Joyner said Thursday.

School districts, as well as schools and students, are graded by the state of Florida. All those scores add up to the district grade. This year, St. Johns had 589 points against a state average district point count of 524.

When individual school grades came out Thursday, 27 schools had As, four had Bs, one had a D and one had an F. Last year, the county had fewer schools but 22 had As and five had Bs.

Three of the county's high schools, Bartram Trail, Creekside and St. Augustine earned A grades. Nease and Ponte Vedra high schools got Bs and Pedro Menendez dropped from a B to a D. St. Johns Technical High School, an alternative school, got an F on its first go round for grading.

Joyner and staff are already on top of the problems with new strategies to improve academic achievement next year.

Overall, St. Johns County public schools had a stellar year.

No. 1 district in the state. How do you top that?

Click here to return to story:
http://www.staugustine.com/stories/061909/opinions_061909_003.shtml

© The St. Augustine Record

Rating agency downgrades State Farm

Rating agency downgrades State Farm

By BRENT KALLESTAD
Associated Press Writer
Publication Date: 06/19/09

TALLAHASSEE--State Farm Florida's financial strength rating has been downgraded.

The A.M. Best Co. said Thursday that it reduced its rating on State Farm based on the company's significant deterioration in earnings in Florida and the expectation that the downturn will continue.

State Farm's outlook in Florida was revised to negative by the New Jersey-based rating agency.

State Farm spokesman Justin Glover called the newest rating unfortunate but understandable considering the challenges facing the state's property insurance marketplace.

"From our standpoint, our claims, losses and expenses continue to outpace our premiums and we have not received any regulatory or rate relief," Glover said.

State Farm Florida filed a plan in January to stop writing property insurance in Florida where it has more than 1 million property insurance policyholders.

Although its A.M. Best rating was downgraded, State Farm Florida remains in compliance with minimum surplus requirements of Florida law based on its most recent filings with the state's Office of Insurance Regulation, OIR spokesman Ed Domansky said Thursday.

"It is important to point out that since 1992, State Farm has received nearly 530 percent in approved rate increases," Domansky said. "Most recently, an increase of more than 52 percent in late 2006."

State Farm Florida was established in 1998 as a subsidiary of State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company to underwrite the state's high-risk property market.

And while it plans to leave the property insurance market, State Farm will continue to sell auto, healthy and other lines of insurance in Florida, where the Bloomington, Ill.-based company employs more than 5,000 people in Florida, including 800 agents.

Click here to return to story:
http://staugustine.com/stories/061909/state_061909_049.shtml

© The St. Augustine Record

Governor Should Veto Proctor's Special Interest Bill

Governor Charles Crist should veto Representative Proctor's special interest bill. Proctor has admitted it was at the behest of a constituent. Which one? We deserve answers. Governor Crist, please use your veto pen now.

Thursday, June 18, 2009

Proctor pushes for insurance changes

Proctor pushes for insurance changes

By BRANDON LARRABEE
Morris News Service
Publication Date: 06/18/09

TALLAHASSEE -- Both supporters and opponents of a bill that would partially deregulate Florida's property insurance market are fiercely lobbying Gov. Charlie Crist as he nears a decision about whether to sign the bill or follow his apparent instinct to veto it.

Crist formally received the bill late last week and has until June 27 to decide. But he has for weeks signaled his distaste for House Bill 1171, sponsored by Rep. Bill Proctor, R-St. Augustine.

"One of the things that I don't want to see happen is an unfettered opportunity to raise property insurance rates," Crist said earlier this month. " ... I'm looking at it with a jaundiced eye."

Crist has long been wary of higher rates.

State Farm announced earlier this year that it intended to pull out of the property insurance market following state regulators' decision to deny it a rate increase that would have averaged 47 percent statewide.

The governor then suggested Floridians "would be much better off" without the company.

Despite those signals, Proctor said Wednesday that he's optimistic the governor will approve the measure. He pointed to widespread endorsements of the bill from the Legislative Black Caucus, Senate Democratic Leader Al Lawson, Florida Chamber of Commerce, Florida Bankers Association and other groups.

"I think we've mustered all the support you can muster, and I hope the governor will consider this," Proctor said.

The measure would allow insurance companies with large reserves to charge rates that would be all but free of rate controls by the Office of Insurance Regulation. The agency could only order a rate change if it believes the rates are too low to keep the company financially healthy.

Proctor said the bill simply gives property owners a choice of whether to pay higher, unregulated rates for what he said is more reliable insurance or lower rates with companies who might not be able to cover their claims if a major storm hits.

"Nobody's required to buy it," he said. "If the rates are too high, they can go somewhere else."

The idea of stripping some of OIR's powers gained steam in the wake of State Farm's announcement that it would exit the state within two years. Lawmakers sharply questioned Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty and other officials from his department about the decision to reject State Farm's request.

In a letter to Crist dated May 14, McCarty urged the governor to veto the measure.

"The result will likely be significant and unpredictable rate increases that, during these difficult economic times, people can simply not afford," McCarty wrote.

He also said the bill would put smaller, Florida-based companies -- who also oppose the bill -- at a disadvantage.

"Moreover, State Farm is overexposed in the homeowners market and will likely not offer coverage to many of its policyholders irrespective of its freedom to charge an excessive rate," he wrote. "In fact, State Farm and other companies may actually use excessive rates to effectively non-renew policyholders under the ruse of consumer choice."

Michael Grimes, a spokesman for State Farm's Florida subsidiary, said it's too early to tell whether the company would decide to stay in the state if Crist signs the measure.

"The bill is clearly a step in the right direction," he said. "Obviously, if the bill is allowed to become law, how the new law is implemented and interpreted would be critical."

Click here to return to story:
http://staugustine.com/stories/061809/state_061809_029.shtml

© The St. Augustine Record

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Opinion: David Thundershield Queen stood against oppression by the City of St. Augustine and other wrongdoers

Opinion: David Thundershield Queen stood against the mainstream

Stetson Kennedy
Fruit Cove
Publication Date: 06/16/09

David Thundershield Queen is no longer in this world. Hepassed away June 13, 2009, after a long brave bout with cancer, against which neither native American herbs nor modern medicine were of any avail.

Many of us knew David, in a variety of ways.

Some were personal friends and neighbors, who rallied around and tookcare during his long days and nights of need.

Others knew David for his healing hands.

A popular and skillful masseuse, he was often to be seen practicinghis profession at St. Augustine's Saturday farmers market.

Still others, in official circles, were on the receiving endof David's highly literary and incisive polemics, with which he bombarded public servants for things they did or did not do. A familiar figure at public hearings, he also fired away on the web,through the mails and in letters-the-editor.

That was the essence of David's life. He was a warrior who fought ceaselessly and unflinchingly for the rights ofpeople and against predatory privilege.

For example, he was there when Mavynne Betch, "the BeachLady" took her stand before a zoning commission, trying to save herbeloved American Beach (up on Amelia Island -- the only oceanfront stretch owned by African-Americans on the continent) from being gobbled up byposh Plantation developers, David stood by her side.

The zoning commissioners ordered him to sit down and shut up, butDavid kept standing and talking, so they dragged him off to jail -- still talking.

David was not just a warrior for justice -- he was also a manof peace. Many of you may have seen him at one of those monthly peace rallies in St. Augustine Square. Along with another of his comrades-in-arms,the late Peg McIntire, who at age 95, was still sporting her"Grandmothers for Peace" sign.

Even after he lost his voice, he kept on, writing strongwords with strong hand, mind and heart.

The legacy left to the living and yet unborn by David is not only that of an indefatigable champion of the people, but as a kind of person, selfless and caring.

The future, if any, is going to be needing a lot more people like David Thundershield Queen. I want to pass on to him a tribute which someone once paid to me: "Didn't make much money, but he made a difference."
*

Stetson Kennedy is an author, human rights activist and environmentalist. He has been honored on many occasions for his writings, his contributions to arts and popular culture,and his work in human rights.

Click here to return to story:
http://www.staugustine.com/stories/061609/opinions_061609_022.shtml

© The St. Augustine Record

Friday, June 12, 2009

The Bose McKinney Managing Partner's Name is "Crook" (see below)

See below.

Bose McKinney & Evans Sanctioned for Acts of ‘Chameleon’ Lawyers

Bose McKinney & Evans Sanctioned for Acts of ‘Chameleon’ Lawyers

Posted Jun 11, 2009, 12:31 pm CDT
By Debra Cassens Weiss

A federal judge has sanctioned Bose McKinney & Evans, saying the Indianapolis law firm “skated the edge of its responsibility” by behaving as a chameleon and becoming indistinguishable from a client that withheld information in discovery.

U.S. District Judge Larry McKinney ordered Bose McKinney and the client, Red Spot Paint & Varnish Co., to split the costs of attorney fees and discovery related to the discovery litigation, according to a June 5 opinion (PDF) posted by the Indiana Law Blog. He also found that Red Spot had forfeited its defense to the suit by a property owner seeking environmental cleanup costs.

The law firm had pressed on with a litigation strategy that Red Spot had never used two dangerous chemicals despite indications to the contrary, according to the opinion. The firm failed to guide Red Spot managers to make a complete disclosure and never inventoried 68 boxes and two filing cabinets of documents in Red Spot’s basement.

Bose McKinney had also obtained relevant documents about contamination from the Environmental Protection Agency that weren’t disclosed to its litigation opponent, according to the opinion. Partner Richard VanRheenen reviewed the documents, but he later spent some time in the hospital, and the documents “fell into a black hole,” according to testimony by partner Amy Cueller.

The law firm “skated the edge of its responsibility” to disclose relevant information, McKinney said. “BME also failed in its responsibility to be candid with the court by making statements in court filings that it knew were misrepresentations at best and false at worst.”

Three of the firm’s partners—Cueller, VanRheenen and, to a lesser extent, Kathleen Lucas—“had opportunities to steer Red Spot … on a different path and it never did,” McKinney said.

“The court concludes that Red Spot’s conduct can only be described as contumacious, willful, and egregious. BME compounded the problem by, like a chameleon, becoming indistinguishable from its client and allowing Red Spot ... to evade the truth.”

Bose McKinney managing partner Kendall Crook issued this statement to the ABA Journal: “This remains a pending matter, and we intend to work diligently to seek an appropriate resolution. We have taken this matter extremely seriously and took prompt action to address the issues described in the court order. The two principal litigators involved in this case are no longer associated with the firm.”

The blog First Impressions noted the ruling. “Do you remember back in school when a couple students in class would act up and the teacher would punish the entire class to make a point that type of behavior isn’t allowed?” the blog wrote. “That’s pretty much what happened Friday to Bose McKinney & Evans when U.S. District Judge Larry McKinney sanctioned the firm for the actions of a few of its attorneys and staff."

Conceptual Script for Activists to Request Commissioners' Recusal in Light of Caperton

City Commissioner so-and-so, you've received large campaign contributions from developers like [insert names] and consistently voted for their interests and against the public interest.

This violates Due Process.

Pursuant to the United States Supreme Court's decision in Caperton v. A.T. Massey Coal Company on June 8, 2009, will you please recuse yourself from discussion and voting on this application so that you don't violate my Due Process rights to a fair administrative-judicial determination on the application? Thank you.

You might wish to imply that if the learned Commissioner does not recuse himself, you will then proceed to open up a proverbial "can of whoopass."

American Bar Association Journal:Court Watchers Predict ‘Deluge’ of Recusal Requests in Light of Caperton v. At. Massey Coal Company

Court Watchers Predict ‘Deluge’ of Recusal Requests in Light of Caperton

Posted Jun 11, 2009, 10:57 am CDT
By Molly McDonough

This week's U.S. Supreme Court ruling that a West Virginia Supreme Court justice should have recused himself from a case involving a party that helped fund his campaign has lawyers across the country predicting a "deluge" of recusal requests.

But judges told the New York Times that few situations would involve conflicts serious enough to result in actual recusals.

On Monday, the Supreme Court held 5-4 that Justice Brent Benjamin should not have participated in a case involving a coal mining executive from Massey Coal Co. Justice Anthony M. Kennedy wrote in the Caperton v. A. T. Massey Coal Company majority opinion that due process required recusal. Benjamin had twice voted with a 3-2 majority to overturn a $50 million verdict against Massey Energy, despite the large judicial campaign contributions made by CEO Don Blankenship.

One thing is for certain, scrutiny of conflicts will increase.

"You're going to see a much greater analysis put to the campaign contributions that elected judges get," ABA President H. Thomas Wells Jr., told the Times.

Because such large campaign donations are rare, Bradley A. Smith, chair of the Center for Competitive Politics, which opposes campaign regulations for First Amendment reasons, said "I wouldn’t think you would find judges panicking" and saying "Whoo! I’d better go over my docket!"

But lawyers told the Times that they see opportunity in the high court's ruling.

John Wesley Hall Jr. of Little Rock, Ark., said the Caperton ruling gives lawyers who file recusal motions "an issue to argue" on constitutional grounds.

Meanwhile, some states have already started to review where lines should be drawn. Wisconsin will hold rule-making hearings in the coming fall focusing on the influence of political contributions to judges.

Tuesday, June 09, 2009

BAD DAY FOR GEORGE McCLURE I: Yesterday's Supreme Court Decision in Caperton v. A.T. Massey Coal. Co. and County Commission

Yesterday's Supreme Court decision in Caperton v. A.T. Massey Coal Co. (more) was a game-changer. Pity GEORGE McCLURE and the once-formidable forces who pressure courthouses, city commissioners, county commissioners and other offices with big-spending campaign contributions.

From this day forward, citizens will not only ask bought-and-paid for judges to recuse themselves (a prospect unnerving to the bought-and-paid-for judge community).

I reckon that citizens will also ask bought-and-paid-for Sheriffs and County Commissioners and Congressmen to recuse themselves, as when someone raises $250,000 for a little 'ole County Commission seat or Sheriff's job.

But Justice Antonin Scalia said yesterday's decision would promote disrespect for the law. And there was generally a-wailin' and a gnashin' of teeth in the bought-and-paid-for judge and politician community.

St. Augustine developer shill-lawyer GEORGE McCLURE now has two reasons to cry in his champagne - one supplied by SCOTUS and one supplied by COSA. (That's Supreme Court of the United States and City of St. Augustine to you, GEORGE.)

See below.

SCOTUS (Supreme Court of the United States) Decision in Caperton v. A.T. Massey Coal Co.

Justice Kennedy, Opinion of the Court

NOTICE: This opinion is subject to formal revision before publication in the preliminary print of the United States Reports. Readers are requested to notify the Reporter of Decisions, Supreme Court of the United States, Washington, D. C. 20543, of any typographical or other formal errors, in order that corrections may be made before the preliminary print goes to press.
SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES

HUGH M. CAPERTON, et al., PETITIONERS v.
A. T. MASSEY COAL COMPANY, INC., et al.
on writ of certiorari to the supreme court ofappeals of west virginia
[June 8, 2009]

Justice Kennedy delivered the opinion of the Court.

In this case the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia reversed a trial court judgment, which had entered a jury verdict of $50 million. Five justices heard the case, and the vote to reverse was 3 to 2. The question presented is whether the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment was violated when one of the justices in the majority denied a recusal motion. The basis for the motion was that the justice had received campaign contributions in an extraordinary amount from, and through the efforts of, the board chairman and principal officer of the corporation found liable for the damages.

Under our precedents there are objective standards that require recusal when “the probability of actual bias on the part of the judge or decisionmaker is too high to be constitutionally tolerable.” Withrow v. Larkin, 421 U. S. 35, 47 (1975) . Applying those precedents, we find that, in all the circumstances of this case, due process requires recusal.

I

In August 2002 a West Virginia jury returned a verdict that found respondents A. T. Massey Coal Co. and its affiliates (hereinafter Massey) liable for fraudulent misrepresentation, concealment, and tortious interference with existing contractual relations. The jury awarded petitioners Hugh Caperton, Harman Development Corp., Harman Mining Corp., and Sovereign Coal Sales (hereinafter Caperton) the sum of $50 million in compensatory and punitive damages.

In June 2004 the state trial court denied Massey’s post-trial motions challenging the verdict and the damages award, finding that Massey “intentionally acted in utter disregard of [Caperton’s] rights and ultimately destroyed [Caperton’s] businesses because, after conducting cost-benefit analyses, [Massey] concluded it was in its financial interest to do so.” App. 32a, ¶10(p). In March 2005 the trial court denied Massey’s motion for judgment as a matter of law.

Don Blankenship is Massey’s chairman, chief executive officer, and president. After the verdict but before the appeal, West Virginia held its 2004 judicial elections. Knowing the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia would consider the appeal in the case, Blankenship decided to support an attorney who sought to replace Justice McGraw. Justice McGraw was a candidate for reelection to that court. The attorney who sought to replace him was Brent Benjamin.

In addition to contributing the $1,000 statutory maximum to Benjamin’s campaign committee, Blankenship donated almost $2.5 million to “And For The Sake Of The Kids,” a political organization formed under 26 U. S. C. §527. The §527 organization opposed McGraw and supported Benjamin. App. 672a–673a. Blankenship’s donations accounted for more than two-thirds of the total funds it raised. Id., at 150a. This was not all. Blankenship spent, in addition, just over $500,000 on independent expenditures—for direct mailings and letters soliciting donations as well as television and newspaper advertisements—“ ‘to support … Brent Benjamin.’ ” Id., at 184a, 186a, 200a (bold typeface omitted) (quoting Blankenship’s state campaign financial disclosure filings).

To provide some perspective, Blankenship’s $3 million in contributions were more than the total amount spent by all other Benjamin supporters and three times the amount spent by Benjamin’s own committee. Id., at 288a. Caperton contends that Blankenship spent $1 million more than the total amount spent by the campaign committees of both candidates combined. Brief for Petitioners 28.

Benjamin won. He received 382,036 votes (53.3%), and McGraw received 334,301 votes (46.7%). App. 677a.

In October 2005, before Massey filed its petition for appeal in West Virginia’s highest court, Caperton moved to disqualify now-Justice Benjamin under the Due Process Clause and the West Virginia Code of Judicial Conduct, based on the conflict caused by Blankenship’s campaign involvement. Justice Benjamin denied the motion in April 2006. He indicated that he “carefully considered the bases and accompanying exhibits proffered by the movants.” But he found “no objective information … to show that this Justice has a bias for or against any litigant, that this Justice has prejudged the matters which comprise this litigation, or that this Justice will be anything but fair and impartial.” Id., at 336a–337a. In December 2006 Massey filed its petition for appeal to challenge the adverse jury verdict. The West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals granted review.

In November 2007 that court reversed the $50 million verdict against Massey. The majority opinion, authored by then-Chief Justice Davis and joined by Justices Benjamin and Maynard, found that “Massey’s conduct warranted the type of judgment rendered in this case.” Id., at 357a. It reversed, nevertheless, based on two independent grounds—first, that a forum-selection clause contained in a contract to which Massey was not a party barred the suit in West Virginia, and, second, that res judicata barred the suit due to an out-of-state judgment to which Massey was not a party. Id., at 345a. Justice Starcher dissented, stating that the “majority’s opinion is morally and legally wrong.” Id., at 420a–422a. Justice Albright also dissented, accusing the majority of “misapplying the law and introducing sweeping ‘new law’ into our jurisprudence that may well come back to haunt us.” Id., at 430a–431a.

Caperton sought rehearing, and the parties moved for disqualification of three of the five justices who decided the appeal. Photos had surfaced of Justice Maynard vacationing with Blankenship in the French Riviera while the case was pending. Id., at 440a–441a, 456a. Justice Maynard granted Caperton’s recusal motion. On the other side Justice Starcher granted Massey’s recusal motion, apparently based on his public criticism of Blankenship’s role in the 2004 elections. In his recusal memorandum Justice Starcher urged Justice Benjamin to recuse himself as well. He noted that “Blankenship’s bestowal of his personal wealth, political tactics, and ‘friendship’ have created a cancer in the affairs of this Court.” Id., at 459a–460a. Justice Benjamin declined Justice Starcher’s suggestion and denied Caperton’s recusal motion.

The court granted rehearing. Justice Benjamin, now in the capacity of acting chief justice, selected Judges Cookman and Fox to replace the recused justices. Caperton moved a third time for disqualification, arguing that Justice Benjamin had failed to apply the correct standard under West Virginia law—i.e., whether “a reasonable and prudent person, knowing these objective facts, would harbor doubts about Justice Benjamin’s ability to be fair and impartial.” Id., at 466a, ¶8. Caperton also included the results of a public opinion poll, which indicated that over 67% of West Virginians doubted Justice Benjamin would be fair and impartial. Justice Benjamin again refused to withdraw, noting that the “push poll” was “neither credible nor sufficiently reliable to serve as the basis for an elected judge’s disqualification.” Id., at 483a.

In April 2008 a divided court again reversed the jury verdict, and again it was a 3-to-2 decision. Justice Davis filed a modified version of his prior opinion, repeating the two earlier holdings. She was joined by Justice Benjamin and Judge Fox. Justice Albright, joined by Judge Cookman, dissented: “Not only is the majority opinion unsupported by the facts and existing case law, but it is also fundamentally unfair. Sadly, justice was neither honored nor served by the majority.” ___ W. Va. ___, ___, ___ S. E. 2d ___, ___; App. 633a. The dissent also noted “genuine due process implications arising under federal law” with respect to Justice Benjamin’s failure to recuse himself. ___ W. Va., at ___, n. 16, ___ S. E. 2d, at ___, n. 16; App. 634a, n. 16 (citing Aetna Life Ins. Co. v. Lavoie, 475 U. S. 813 (1986) ; In re Murchison, 349 U. S. 133, 136 (1955) ).

Four months later—a month after the petition for writ of certiorari was filed in this Court—Justice Benjamin filed a concurring opinion. He defended the merits of the majority opinion as well as his decision not to recuse. He rejected Caperton’s challenge to his participation in the case under both the Due Process Clause and West Virginia law. Justice Benjamin reiterated that he had no “ ‘ direct, personal, substantial, pecuniary interest’ in this case.’ ” ___ W. Va., at ___, ___ S. E. 2d, at ___; App. 677a (quoting Lavoie, supra, at 822). Adopting “a standard merely of ‘appearances,’ ” he concluded, “seems little more than an invitation to subject West Virginia’s justice system to the vagaries of the day—a framework in which predictability and stability yield to supposition, innuendo, half-truths, and partisan manipulations.” ___ W. Va., at ___, ___ S. E. 2d, at ___; App. 692a.

We granted certiorari. 555 U. S. ___ (2008).

II

It is axiomatic that “[a] fair trial in a fair tribunal is a basic requirement of due process.” Murchison, supra, at 136. As the Court has recognized, however, “most matters relating to judicial disqualification [do] not rise to a constitutional level.” FTC v. Cement Institute, 333 U. S. 683, 702 (1948) . The early and leading case on the subject is Tumey v. Ohio, 273 U. S. 510 (1927) . There, the Court stated that “matters of kinship, personal bias, state policy, remoteness of interest, would seem generally to be matters merely of legislative discretion.” Id., at 523.

The Tumey Court concluded that the Due Process Clause incorporated the common-law rule that a judge must recuse himself when he has “a direct, personal, substantial, pecuniary interest” in a case. Ibid. This rule reflects the maxim that “[n]o man is allowed to be a judge in his own cause; because his interest would certainly bias his judgment, and, not improbably, corrupt his integrity.” The Federalist No. 10, p. 59 (J. Cooke ed. 1961) (J. Madison); see Frank, Disqualification of Judges, 56 Yale L. J. 605, 611–612 (1947) (same). Under this rule, “disqualification for bias or prejudice was not permitted”; those matters were left to statutes and judicial codes. Lavoie, supra, at 820; see also Part IV, infra (discussing judicial codes). Personal bias or prejudice “alone would not be sufficient basis for imposing a constitutional requirement under the Due Process Clause.” Lavoie, supra, at 820.

As new problems have emerged that were not discussed at common law, however, the Court has identified additional instances which, as an objective matter, require recusal. These are circumstances “in which experience teaches that the probability of actual bias on the part of the judge or decisionmaker is too high to be constitutionally tolerable.” Withrow, 421 U. S., at 47. To place the present case in proper context, two instances where the Court has required recusal merit further discussion.

A

The first involved the emergence of local tribunals where a judge had a financial interest in the outcome of a case, although the interest was less than what would have been considered personal or direct at common law.

This was the problem addressed in Tumey. There, the mayor of a village had the authority to sit as a judge (with no jury) to try those accused of violating a state law prohibiting the possession of alcoholic beverages. Inherent in this structure were two potential conflicts. First, the mayor received a salary supplement for performing judicial duties, and the funds for that compensation derived from the fines assessed in a case. No fines were assessed upon acquittal. The mayor-judge thus received a salary supplement only if he convicted the defendant. 273 U. S., at 520. Second, sums from the criminal fines were deposited to the village’s general treasury fund for village improvements and repairs. Id., at 522.

The Court held that the Due Process Clause required disqualification “both because of [the mayor-judge’s] direct pecuniary interest in the outcome, and because of his official motive to convict and to graduate the fine to help the financial needs of the village.” Id., at 535. It so held despite observing that “[t]here are doubtless mayors who would not allow such a consideration as $12 costs in each case to affect their judgment in it.” Id., at 532. The Court articulated the controlling principle:

“Every procedure which would offer a possible temptation to the average man as a judge to forget the burden of proof required to convict the defendant, or which might lead him not to hold the balance nice, clear and true between the State and the accused, denies the latter due process of law.” Ibid.

The Court was thus concerned with more than the traditional common-law prohibition on direct pecuniary interest. It was also concerned with a more general concept of interests that tempt adjudicators to disregard neutrality.

This concern with conflicts resulting from financial incentives was elaborated in Ward v. Monroeville, 409 U. S. 57 (1972) , which invalidated a conviction in another mayor’s court. In Monroeville, unlike in Tumey, the mayor received no money; instead, the fines the mayor assessed went to the town’s general fisc. The Court held that “[t]he fact that the mayor [in Tumey] shared directly in the fees and costs did not define the limits of the principle.” 409 U. S., at 60. The principle, instead, turned on the “ ‘possible temptation’ ” the mayor might face; the mayor’s “executive responsibilities for village finances may make him partisan to maintain the high level of contribution [to those finances] from the mayor’s court.” Ibid. As the Court reiterated in another case that Term, “the [judge’s] financial stake need not be as direct or positive as it appeared to be in Tumey.” Gibson v. Berryhill, 411 U. S. 564, 579 (1973) (an administrative board composed of optometrists had a pecuniary interest of “sufficient substance” so that it could not preside over a hearing against competing optometrists).

The Court in Lavoie further clarified the reach of the Due Process Clause regarding a judge’s financial interest in a case. There, a justice had cast the deciding vote on the Alabama Supreme Court to uphold a punitive damages award against an insurance company for bad-faith refusal to pay a claim. At the time of his vote, the justice was the lead plaintiff in a nearly identical lawsuit pending in Alabama’s lower courts. His deciding vote, this Court surmised, “undoubtedly ‘raised the stakes’ ” for the insurance defendant in the justice’s suit. 475 U. S., at 823–824.

The Court stressed that it was “not required to decide whether in fact [the justice] was influenced.” Id., at 825. The proper constitutional inquiry is “whether sitting on the case then before the Supreme Court of Alabama ‘ “would offer a possible temptation to the average … judge to … lead him not to hold the balance nice, clear and true.” ’ ” Ibid. (quoting Monroeville, supra, at 60, in turn quoting Tumey, supra, at 532). The Court underscored that “what degree or kind of interest is sufficient to disqualify a judge from sitting ‘cannot be defined with precision.’ ” 475 U. S., at 822 (quoting Murchison, 349 U. S., at 136). In the Court’s view, however, it was important that the test have an objective component.

The Lavoie Court proceeded to distinguish the state court justice’s particular interest in the case, which required recusal, from interests that were not a constitutional concern. For instance, “while [the other] justices might conceivably have had a slight pecuniary interest” due to their potential membership in a class-action suit against their own insurance companies, that interest is “ ‘too remote and insubstantial to violate the constitutional constraints.’ ” 475 U. S., at 825–826 (quoting Marshall v. Jerrico, Inc., 446 U. S. 238, 243 (1980) ).

B

The second instance requiring recusal that was not discussed at common law emerged in the criminal contempt context, where a judge had no pecuniary interest in the case but was challenged because of a conflict arising from his participation in an earlier proceeding. This Court characterized that first proceeding (perhaps pejoratively) as a “ ‘one-man grand jury.’ ” Murchison, 349 U. S., at 133.

In that first proceeding, and as provided by state law, a judge examined witnesses to determine whether criminal charges should be brought. The judge called the two petitioners before him. One petitioner answered questions, but the judge found him untruthful and charged him with perjury. The second declined to answer on the ground that he did not have counsel with him, as state law seemed to permit. The judge charged him with contempt. The judge proceeded to try and convict both petitioners. Id., at 134–135.

This Court set aside the convictions on grounds that the judge had a conflict of interest at the trial stage because of his earlier participation followed by his decision to charge them. The Due Process Clause required disqualification. The Court recited the general rule that “no man can be a judge in his own case,” adding that “no man is permitted to try cases where he has an interest in the outcome.” Id., at 136. It noted that the disqualifying criteria “cannot be defined with precision. Circumstances and relationships must be considered.” Ibid. These circumstances and the prior relationship required recusal: “Having been a part of [the one-man grand jury] process a judge cannot be, in the very nature of things, wholly disinterested in the conviction or acquittal of those accused.” Id., at 137. That is because “[a]s a practical matter it is difficult if not impossible for a judge to free himself from the influence of what took place in his ‘grand-jury’ secret session.” Id., at 138.

The Murchison Court was careful to distinguish the circumstances and the relationship from those where the Constitution would not require recusal. It noted that the single-judge grand jury is “more a part of the accusatory process than an ordinary lay grand juror,” and that “adjudication by a trial judge of a contempt committed in [a judge’s] presence in open court cannot be likened to the proceedings here.” Id., at 137. The judge’s prior relationship with the defendant, as well as the information acquired from the prior proceeding, was of critical import.

Following Murchison the Court held in Mayberry v. Pennsylvania, 400 U. S. 455, 466 (1971) , “that by reason of the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment a defendant in criminal contempt proceedings should be given a public trial before a judge other than the one reviled by the contemnor.” The Court reiterated that this rule rests on the relationship between the judge and the defendant: “[A] judge, vilified as was this Pennsylvania judge, necessarily becomes embroiled in a running, bitter controversy. No one so cruelly slandered is likely to maintain that calm detachment necessary for fair adjudication.” Id., at 465.

Again, the Court considered the specific circumstances presented by the case. It noted that “not every attack on a judge … disqualifies him from sitting.” Ibid. The Court distinguished the case from Ungar v. Sarafite, 376 U. S. 575 (1964) , in which the Court had “ruled that a lawyer’s challenge, though ‘disruptive, recalcitrant and disagreeable commentary,’ was still not ‘an insulting attack upon the integrity of the judge carrying such potential for bias as to require disqualification.’ ” Mayberry, supra, at 465–466 (quoting Ungar, supra, at 584). The inquiry is an objective one. The Court asks not whether the judge is actually, subjectively biased, but whether the average judge in his position is “likely” to be neutral, or whether there is an unconstitutional “potential for bias.”

III

Based on the principles described in these cases we turn to the issue before us. This problem arises in the context of judicial elections, a framework not presented in the precedents we have reviewed and discussed.

Caperton contends that Blankenship’s pivotal role in getting Justice Benjamin elected created a constitutionally intolerable probability of actual bias. Though not a bribe or criminal influence, Justice Benjamin would nevertheless feel a debt of gratitude to Blankenship for his extraordinary efforts to get him elected. That temptation, Caperton claims, is as strong and inherent in human nature as was the conflict the Court confronted in Tumey and Monroeville when a mayor-judge (or the city) benefited financially from a defendant’s conviction, as well as the conflict identified in Murchison and Mayberry when a judge was the object of a defendant’s contempt.

Justice Benjamin was careful to address the recusal motions and explain his reasons why, on his view of the controlling standard, disqualification was not in order. In four separate opinions issued during the course of the appeal, he explained why no actual bias had been established. He found no basis for recusal because Caperton failed to provide “objective evidence” or “objective information,” but merely “subjective belief” of bias. ___ W. Va., at ___, ___–___, ___ S. E. 2d, at ___, ___–___; App. 336a, 337a–338a, 444a–445a. Nor could anyone “point to any actual conduct or activity on [his] part which could be termed ‘improper.’ ” ___ W. Va., at ___–___, ___ S. E. 2d, at ___–___; App. 655a–656a. In other words, based on the facts presented by Caperton, Justice Benjamin conducted a probing search into his actual motives and inclinations; and he found none to be improper. We do not question his subjective findings of impartiality and propriety. Nor do we determine whether there was actual bias.

Following accepted principles of our legal tradition respecting the proper performance of judicial functions, judges often inquire into their subjective motives and purposes in the ordinary course of deciding a case. This does not mean the inquiry is a simple one. “The work of deciding cases goes on every day in hundreds of courts throughout the land. Any judge, one might suppose, would find it easy to describe the process which he had followed a thousand times and more. Nothing could be farther from the truth.” B. Cardozo, The Nature of the Judicial Process 9 (1921).

The judge inquires into reasons that seem to be leading to a particular result. Precedent and stare decisis and the text and purpose of the law and the Constitution; logic and scholarship and experience and common sense; and fairness and disinterest and neutrality are among the factors at work. To bring coherence to the process, and to seek respect for the resulting judgment, judges often explain the reasons for their conclusions and rulings. There are instances when the introspection that often attends this process may reveal that what the judge had assumed to be a proper, controlling factor is not the real one at work. If the judge discovers that some personal bias or improper consideration seems to be the actuating cause of the decision or to be an influence so difficult to dispel that there is a real possibility of undermining neutrality, the judge may think it necessary to consider withdrawing from the case.

The difficulties of inquiring into actual bias, and the fact that the inquiry is often a private one, simply underscore the need for objective rules. Otherwise there may be no adequate protection against a judge who simply misreads or misapprehends the real motives at work in deciding the case. The judge’s own inquiry into actual bias, then, is not one that the law can easily superintend or review, though actual bias, if disclosed, no doubt would be grounds for appropriate relief. In lieu of exclusive reliance on that personal inquiry, or on appellate review of the judge’s determination respecting actual bias, the Due Process Clause has been implemented by objective standards that do not require proof of actual bias. See Tumey, 273 U. S., at 532; Mayberry, 400 U. S., at 465–466; Lavoie, 475 U. S., at 825. In defining these standards the Court has asked whether, “under a realistic appraisal of psychological tendencies and human weakness,” the interest “poses such a risk of actual bias or prejudgment that the practice must be forbidden if the guarantee of due process is to be adequately implemented.” Withrow, 421 U. S., at 47.

We turn to the influence at issue in this case. Not every campaign contribution by a litigant or attorney creates a probability of bias that requires a judge’s recusal, but this is an exceptional case. Cf. Mayberry, supra, at 465 (“It is, of course, not every attack on a judge that disqualifies him from sitting”); Lavoie, supra, at 825–826 (some pecuniary interests are “ ‘too remote and insubstantial’ ”). We conclude that there is a serious risk of actual bias—based on objective and reasonable perceptions—when a person with a personal stake in a particular case had a significant and disproportionate influence in placing the judge on the case by raising funds or directing the judge’s election campaign when the case was pending or imminent. The inquiry centers on the contribution’s relative size in comparison to the total amount of money contributed to the campaign, the total amount spent in the election, and the apparent effect such contribution had on the outcome of the election.

Applying this principle, we conclude that Blankenship’s campaign efforts had a significant and disproportionate influence in placing Justice Benjamin on the case. Blankenship contributed some $3 million to unseat the incumbent and replace him with Benjamin. His contributions eclipsed the total amount spent by all other Benjamin supporters and exceeded by 300% the a

Clean Up City of St. Augustine, Florida

Thursday, July 09, 2009

Bill Moyers' Journal airs health care whistleblower interview

Is Seventh Congressional District A "Marked" District?

WIRED MAGAZINE: Upside to the Economic Downturn: Less Traffic * By Tony Borroz Email Author * July 8, 2009

FLORIDA POLITICS: Race against Mica getting mighty crowded

Palm Coast Democrat to challenge Rep. Mica -- Nine-term Republican U.S. Rep. John Mica has additional company in his 2010 re-election bid

Monument Policy Group Clients -- "Monument Policy provides strategic counsel to a wide range of clients, including Fortune 100 corporations"

National Journal's "Under the Influence": Ex-Aide to Rep. JOHN LUIGI MICA Joins Lobbying Firm, "Monument Policy Group"

TOXIC TORTS?: Mosquito Control Districts Must Not Commit Toxic Torts By Aerial Spraying of Neurotoxins: Public Notice, Hearings Peer Review Needed

AMCD Director's Response on Aerial Organophosphate (OP) Pesticide Spraying (Dibrom/Naled) on 103,000 Acres of St. Johns County, Florida Xue\

Wednesday, July 08, 2009

Aerial Neurotoxin Spraying: Anastasia Mosquito Control District of St. Johns County Ducks Questions on Employee, Public, Environmental Safety, Health

Banning Boat Sewage in Sensitive Areas -- A Good Idea

EPA Press Release: EPA Seeks Public Comment on Proposal to Ban Boat Sewage in South Shore Estuary Reserve

THE MICA FAMILY: Is National Conference of State Legislators considering J. CLARK MICA, Congressman JOHN LUIGI MICA's Son, As Lobbyist?

THE MICA FAMILY: Is National Conference of State Legislators considering J. CLARK MICA, Congressman JOHN LUIGI MICA's Son, As Lobbyist?

From MetroJax.com == rail component of St. Augustine National Historical Park, Seashore and Scenic Coastal Parkway

Guest Column: St. Augustine must have a national historical park, seashore and scenic coastal parkway --- check out www.staugustgreen.com

Folio Weekly: Backpage Editorial by Faye Armitage -- "SAVING ST. AUGUSTINE"

Turtles, Eagles, People Deserve A St. Augustine National Historical Park, Seashore and Scenic Coastal Parkway

Turtle nests begin to hatch

Top 10 solutions to county budget deficit

County: Higher millage saves us --- OMB suggests higher property tax

Monday, July 06, 2009

Bravo, St. Augustine Record -- now Fish Island needs to be part of a National Park, Seashore and Scenic Coastal Parkway! See www.staugustgreen.com

Editorial: Fish Island dock: End the debate

A conversation with St. Augustine -- Concerning art and entertainment

Wednesday, July 01, 2009

Crist's bill takes power from water management -- Directors in Fla.'s districts now will issue use permits

Crist's bill takes power from water management -- Directors in Fla.'s districts now will issue use permits

North City closer to National Registry

Riverkeeper receives state award

40th ACCORD honors Civil Rights Act's 45th anniversary

Don't build new visitor center, make adaptive re-use of St. George Street buildings

Don't waste funds on new visitor center

Legistorm.com: "No name-calling"

Daytona Beach News Journal: State attorney making good on campaign promises

Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Forgive EPA Employees

Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility: EPA Afraid of Mountain Justice Summer Protesters, Consides Them A "Threat"

Forgive Government Employees When They Write Hate Speech About First Amendment Protected Activity on "Anonymice" Websites.

TORQUEMADA "TORTURED?": City of St. Augustine managers ' angst-ridden exhibition of hatred of Open Record requests posted on KKK-Style hate website

Is aerial spraying of organophosphates on protected species and their nests a taking under federal criminal laws?

Whetstone chocolate factory to build on King Street?

Developer-driven entourage abuses outstanding environmental attorney Ralf Brookes on KKK-style website

Monday, June 29, 2009

CHAIN GANG's ALL HERE AT THE ST. AUGUSTINE ROD & GUN CLUB

Rabid City of St. Augustine Officials Reading Book By Consumer Group Hater ERIC DENZENHALL

Friday, June 26, 2009

CITY OF ST. AUGUSTINE'S "CONTROL GAME" EXPOSED

Environmental Information Network: THE CONTROL GAME === PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT OR PUBLIC RELATIONS: WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

What Book Are City of St. Augustine, Florida Officials Reading This Summer?

Thursday, June 25, 2009

Another beautiful day in a beautiful place

Bridge of Lions gains center span -- New concrete surface will be more effecient, offer cars better traction

Mosquito board: Spraying was safe -- Many question use of Dibrom

Grand Ol' Bigots

Objects to tax dollars saving private property

Thank you, Governor Crist, I

Crist vetoes insurance bill -- Future of State Farm in Florida still unknown

Proctor to seek veto override

Thank you, Governor Crist, II

Crist vetoes public records exemptions

Manuel's health delays his trial -- Doctors say body rejecting transplant

Planning amendment makes Fla. 2010 ballot -- City, county plans would then require local referendums

Highway to become scenic drive -- Input sought for State Road 13 improvements

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Folio Weekly: Backpage Editorial by Faye Armitage -- "SAVING ST. AUGUSTINE"

Dock decision delayed -- More info wanted on Fish Island case

Monday, June 22, 2009

Fish Island Developers Back on Tonight's City Commission Agenda -- Calling All of St. Augustine's Paul Reveres

Friday, June 19, 2009

Letter: City needs greater protection of resources and a national historical park, seashore and scenic coastal parkway: check out www.staugustreen.com

Local residents should offer to buy the St. Augustine Record

Atlanta Business Chronicle: Morris Publishing gets 7th payment extension -- Publisher of St. Augustine Record, Jacksonville Times-Union

Sending Billionaires to Prison for Their Crimes Against Americans -- Fiat justitia ruat caelum

USDOJ Press Release: Stanford Financial Group Executives and Former Chairman of Antiguan Bank Regulator Indicted for Fraud and Obstruction Charges

Happy Juneteenth -- But Senate Concurrent Resolution Apologizing for Slavery Is Flawed

Text of United States Senate Resolution Apologizing For Enslaverment of African-Americans