Letters to the editor & Op-Ed
2014–2009
•
2016–2015
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Dec. 31, 2014 06:10 am | Op-Ed
AG Bondi has the chutzpah to pretend, for the
sake of politics, that Florida’s Clerks of Court
are exempt from obeying the United States
Constitution. She tried to stop gay marriage in
Florida, but couldn’t do it, and she doesn’t
have the political courage to admit it.
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Dec. 30, 2014 04:30 am | Op-Ed
If only the
Rick Scott we got to know during this past
election year had been the one who first entered
the Governor’s Mansion in 2011. Remember that
guy? The former health-care exec with a chip on
his shoulder who bragged he was a Tea Partier
before the Tea Party was cool.
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Posted
December 26, 2014 02:30 am | Op-Ed
Instead of the throwing of cash by those who
know little about transportation, citizens
should be asking their County Commissions to put
back in place those experts who successfully
transformed the SVTA from its catastrophic
financial state to the successfully running,
fully compliant, debt free, highly praised
transit authority it was as recently as April
2014.
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Posted December 23, 2014 06:10 am
Whether candidates or elected officials want to
acknowledge it’s true: the environment always is
important in Florida. From a statewide
perspective, here are my top 10 environmental
stories from 2014.
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Dec. 22, 2014 06:10 am | Op-Ed
As much as we would like to think otherwise, in
politics not everyone can be a winner. To put it another way, as Judge Smails did in the
eminently quotable Caddyshack: “The world needs ditch
diggers, too.” Few will disagree that 2014 was a
particularly fertile political year
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Dec. 15, 2014 06:35 am | Op-Ed
It did not come as news this week that the CIA
had tortured terrorism suspects. Americans
already knew that. So did our enemies. The
conclusion that agency officials deceived the
Bush administration and Congress into believing
that the practices were successful — and into
defaulting on their duty to oversee what should
never have been done on America’s behalf...
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Dec.11, 2014 06:35 am | Op-Ed
And now the backlash: “Jackie,” the young woman
at the center of the notorious Rolling Stone
piece on rape at the University of Virginia,
can’t keep her story straight. Jameis Winston’s
accuser is a gold-digger aiming to shake him
down in a civil suit... Women lie. That’s the
takeaway. Men are the real victims here.
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Dec. 10, 2014 08:50 am | Op-Ed
Are you up for more war – a really, really lot
of it? More invasions of sovereign nations like
Iraq? More “Mission Accomplished” banners? More
Americans maimed and killed, for what, in places
like Afghanistan? More trillions spent to
protect Halliburton’s bottom line?
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Posted Dec. 8, 2014 08:00 am | Op-Ed
And now the corruption begins. For average
Floridians, the November election is over, but
for those major contributors who bought it, it’s
payback time. The political game is played
between elections when the public isn’t looking.
It’s all about the money, honey. And there’s
nothing pretty to say about it.
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Posted Dec. 8, 2014 06:25 am
Your article indicates that you have more
knowledge of Robert’s Rules than members of the County
5. And, you’ve paid attention to the charter. That may
make you the only person involved that has a clue as to
how the rules actually apply to this assembly. I’m
a professional parliamentarian, and I read
stories about local public governing body antics
almost every day. This one inspired me to write
with hopes that the County 5 will consider
getting some education in parliamentary
procedure, and maybe even adopting Robert's as
their parliamentary authority.
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Posted Dec. 8, 2014 06:25 am
Your article on the County Commission that mentioned
Robert’s Rules appeared in the news articles on my
parliamentary procedure site.
In the event they may be of use for future articles, I
wanted to share information on my two recently released
books on Robert’s Rules of Order.
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Posted November 30, 2014 08:15 am | Op-Ed
Human beings are complex. Some of the most
creative, curious, intelligent and sensitive
individuals also bear the most risk for
spiraling into deadly neuro-behavioral
disorders. And so it was with Sensitive
Joe. “Sensitive Joe” was the college fraternity
nickname given years ago to Myron May, the young
attorney who shot three people at the Florida
State University library. Two of the victims are
healing; one remains in critical condition at
this writing.
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Nov. 26, 2014 08:55 am | Op-Ed
After years of race riots in major cities,
President Lyndon Johnson in 1967 established the
Kerner Commission. He wanted to know their
causes and how to prevent them. Nearly 50 years
after Kerner, little has changed, too much has
not. Electing our first biracial president has
only stoked racial tension. And nowhere are we
more “separate and unequal” than in Florida.
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Nov. 25, 2014 07:29 am | Op-Ed
And again, the ignorant or just plain vicious
people who think the answer to gun violence is
more guns squeal that if every Florida State
University student, professor, groundskeeper...
and rat-catcher packed heat, then everything
would be grand. Jesus would smile down from
heaven and carry on polishing the barrel of his
Thompson M192.
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Posted November 21, 2014 12:50 pm | Op-Ed
Earthjustice holds as a foundational principle
that every human being has a fundamental right
to a clean and healthy environment. Inherent in
that right is the ability to participate in
democratic decision-making. We applaud the
President for taking steps last night to
eliminate the threat of deportation for millions
of immigrants.
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Nov. 19, 2014 05:10 am | Letter to the Editor
As I see the Blanche decay I think of similar
failures in public policy and urban planning
when government intervenes. Private owners of
property have to put their properties on the
market. Is the Blanche $14 million in
sentimental value?
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Nov.
17, 2014 02:25 pm | OP-ED
Pipes vs. Parks. Could
that become the focus of debate over Amendment 1, the
conservation lands amendment approved by 75 percent of voters on Nov. 4? Amendment 1 would dedicate more than $10 billion over
20 years toward state purchases that could involve more
than just state parks and forests. That’s probably what
most people envision when they think about conservation...
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Posted November 10, 2014 07:20 am | Op-Ed | (1
comment)
The most popular lines on the ballot belonged to
medical marijuana and the environment. Weed drew
nearly the 60 percent needed to pass (it’ll get
there in two years), while earmarking 33 percent
of the documentary stamp tax for buying critical
habitat, wetlands and other environmentally
sensitive properties, got 1.4 million more
voters than Scott.
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Nov. 07, 2014 08:35 am | Op-Ed
It can no longer be said that the country is
going to hell. We have arrived. Florida’s $345
million in reported spending on state offices
and issues was both the state’s costliest and
the most expensive in the nation.
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Nov. 4, 2014 07:55 am | Op-Ed
Scott defends dirty water like a dung beetle
defends his manure stash, fighting numeric
nutrient standards for Florida waters, turning
Florida’s DEP into developer pimps, destroying
the agency charged with growth management,
ignoring Floridians’ demands that he address
toxic algae in our rivers, lakes and springs,
and awarding sweetheart-deal leases on state
land to the very people who befouled the
Everglades in the first place, so they can carry
on dumping filthy gunk into the Everglades.
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Posted November 03, 2014 10:50 am | Op-Ed
In the past, Florida was hailed nationally as a
model system for appointment of fair and
impartial judges based solely on merit. It was
perhaps the greatest legacy of the late Gov.
Reubin Askew, who voluntarily gave up his sole
authority to appoint judges in favor of a
nonpartisan merit selection system based on his
belief that "the judiciary is too important to
be left to partisan patronage."...
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Posted November 02, 2014 01:30 pm | Op-Ed
Crony capitalists have control over the
government, stock market, mass media and
communications with their big money influence.
Crony capitalists have been unjustly justifying
their crony capitalism. As a result of crony
capitalism, the majority of laws are passed to
favor big businesses and corporations. This
system has benefited a few while creating misery
for many. In the long run, crony capitalism is
not beneficial to anybody. If you are sick of
crony capitalism, vote out the politicians who
do not support reforming our democratic process
to eliminate political corruption.
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Posted October 28, 2014 07:15 am | Op-Ed
I don’t
know about you, but this latest epidemic is
really freaking me out. The experts say it’s
hard to catch — you can’t get it merely by
living in the same state as infected people or
being exposed to toxic campaign ads. But what if
they’re wrong? What if stupidity is airborne?
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Posted October 27, 2014 07:45 am | Op-Ed
Those paid to control crime — the police – often
have good intentions. They have their own ideas
about how to make the world a better place. They
can be dead wrong — over and over and over
again.
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Posted October 24, 2014 08:58 am | Op-Ed
It wasn’t the $2.15 million price tag for
President Thrasher’s five-year contract that
bothered me... Our public school teachers, with
their year-to-year contracts, are one step above
at-will employees. For President Thrasher to
accept a tenured professorship, without earning
that position through years of working in the
classroom, would be the height of hypocrisy.
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Posted October 17, 2014 06:40 am | Op-Ed
If you haven’t heard about “Fangate” and the
stunning early minutes of Wednesday’s
gubernatorial debate against Democratic
challenger Charlie Crist, words alone cannot
describe it.
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October
1, 2014 07:55 am
In this atmosphere, there really was no doubt
how the presidential “selection” process would
roll. Even the first hiring consultant brought
in by the board to hire Thrasher knew the score:
“To concoct a ‘competitive process’ from this
truly weak field of active candidates would now
be a sham … and would be roundly seen as such.”
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Posted
September 26, 2014 08:15 am | Op-Ed
Can Florida politics succeed where sports has failed? Given the objectification of women that our kids grow
up with in video games, music, movies and more, the fear
is that degrading (and worse) behavior may already be
accepted as the “new normal”. One can only hope all the talk of addressing the
issue, from college campuses to NFL boardrooms, leads to
rethinking what that new normal really ought to be. Allowing a bad societal trend to approach normalcy is
not limited to sports.
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Posted September 25, 2014 08:15 am | Op-Ed
And in Florida State University news: the
Heisman-winning quarterback is a clueless brat
with a million-dollar arm and a five-cent head;
the feds are investigating our handling of
sexual assault accusations; and the new
president-elect is a Koch-head political hack
known for ethics violations. The presidential
“search” was a farce. A spectacle of wide-eyed
pretense, bad faith, and cronyism of the baldest
kind.
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Posted September 1, 08:35 am | Op-Ed
Student loan debt is crushing the American Dream
for far too many Floridians and poses a
significant threat to our nation’s economy. More
than 40 million people across the country are
burdened by student loan debt, and many college
graduates will be hampered by this encumbrance
their entire lives. But there is a simple,
common sense solution to this problem:
refinancing.
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Posted August 27, 2014 12:05 am
I had the displeasure of having to ride SVTA
vans and buses for years until the new federally
mandated medical plans forced me to change
health care providers. I now have rides provided
by a better company, and I am no longer
confronted by the following SVTA events: rides
totally missed; late pickups; four hour waits;
riding around for hours; and riding in vehicles
not in proper repair.
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Posted August 25, 2014 12:05 am | Op-Ed | (1
comment)
Prior to August 2011 the SVTA was a debt-ridden,
out of compliance, poorly managed agency. From
August 2011 through May 2014, the SVTA turned
itself around, and became a sterling example of
how a government agency, when run and managed by
experienced and skilled experts is supposed to
operate. I never submitted a resignation at any
time. Commissioner Ronald Williams caved and
eliminated my position, Director of Operations,
with no regard to the damage that it would do to
SVTA.
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Posted August 20, 2014 11:55 am | Op-Ed | (1
comment)
Racing lobbyists want you to believe that
efforts to end greyhound racing are part of some
grand conspiracy to expand gambling. This is
categorically false. Humane groups are working
to phase out commercial greyhound racing because
it is cruel and inhumane.
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Posted August 5, 2014 09:05 am | Op-Ed
Over the past two years there has been a
concerted effort to expand gambling at greyhound
racetracks in Florida. This effort has
been promoted with a misinformation campaign
that would make any Minister of Propaganda
proud. Rather than openly push for the expansion
of gambling, many of those behind this effort
have pushed for the elimination of live
greyhound racing at greyhound racetracks in the
name of “dog safety.” The real goal is to
operate the tracks as mini-casinos with slot
machines despite the fact that the tracks were
approved only for operation as greyhound racing
facilities.
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17 initiatives to remake FL better
Posted July 30, 2014 06:55 am | Op-Ed
Among the country’s lower 48, Florida was a land
of almost unequaled promise. Surrounded by
navigable waters, the peninsula’s unique
geography and pristine natural beauty beckoned
all to visit and emigrate–and thrive. Mother
Nature shined on the state. If only there had
been enough mosquitoes and alligators — and no
air conditioning — to scare the most noxious
human invaders off! Today, by any objective
standard, Florida has become a man-made disaster
— a monument to greed, unquenched lust for
power, pervasive bad taste and stupidity.
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Posted July 25, 2014 07:10 am | Op-Ed
Imagine a future where Florida’s soil and air
are contaminated, iconic endangered species like
the Florida panther are lost forever and our
drinking water is poisoned. Unfortunately it
could happen — if we don’t put a stop to new oil
and gas extraction process known as acid
fracking. Inexplicably, Gov. Rick Scott stated
in 2011 that he supports oil and gas drilling in
the Everglades. And just last month, he was
slapped with an ethics complaint alleging a
conflict of interest for his investment in a
company that is drilling near the Everglades.
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July 22, 2014 08:05 am | Op-Ed
With Florida Gov. Rick Scott’s endless evasions
of myriad legitimate questions from the press
garnering national coverage, not to mention
racking up more points in the ongoing “America’s
Worst Governor” competition, I thought I’d reach
across the aisle…to help out. So I came up with
some snappy new rap song lyrics for Slick Rick
to add a bangin’ beat of his choosing.
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Posted July 4, 2014 05:30 am | Op-Ed
My stomach turns every Fourth of July — and not
because I drink or eat too much. I’m fed up with
hypocritical displays of patriotism from the
overabundance of Americans who wouldn’t lift a
finger to save our republic if we needed them.
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Posted June 30, 2014 08:15 am | Op-Ed
If you think
anti-abortion activists swarming around clinics
are sweet, helpful Good Samaritans, you’ve
sniffed a snoot-full of cockamamie pixie dust.
Or you’re swooning over the perfectly coiffed
spokesmen (and, why is it they are almost always
men?) whose carefully modulated tones and
messages reassure that protesters are simple
caring folks handing out pamphlets and
alternative wisdom. What a crock.
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June 28, 2014 04:20 am | Op-Ed
Obama not born in the United States! Donald
Trump has indisputable proof. He produced
photos proving the President is an alien sent
here from the planet Krypton. Amid wild
cheers from fellow Republicans, Trump gave
credit to his investigative team who worked
tirelessly searching documents and old newspaper
clippings.
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Posted June 25, 2014 07:35 am | Op-Ed
It’s official.
Forty-five legislative districts in Florida will
feature coronations rather than elections come
November. All hail participatory democracy in
the Sunshine State! Actually, most of the
coronations came just in time for Happy Hour
last Friday, after the candidate-qualifying
period for 2014 had officially closed at high
noon. Ceremonies consisted mostly of email and
social media messages acknowledging that because
they were running unopposed, the 45 incumbents
in question had already won re-election and
wanted to say “Thank You!” to supporters.
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Posted June 20, 2014 07:55 am | Op-Ed
In George Orwell’s classic novel, Animal
Farm, the pigs who become tyrants of the
barnyard declare that although all animals
are equal, “some animals are more equal than
others.” He was satirizing communism, but
the point applies to our democracy as well.
It is a cherished belief that all Americans
are equal before the courts of justice. Gov.
Rick Scott demonstrated the hollowness of
that premise this week when he vetoed the
Florida Legislature’s modest $2 million
appropriation for Florida’s civil legal aid
agencies. He’s done that all four years.
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June 7, 2014 05:40 am | Op-Ed
Attorney General Pam Bondi’s attempt to explain
away the firestorm of criticism around her claim
that recognizing same-sex couples would “impose
significant public harm” doesn’t stand up to
scrutiny. Not even close.
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Posted June 2, 2014 04:45 pm | Op/Ed | by Mark
Ferrulo
Secret meetings. Deleted emails. Hiding
documents from the public. Perhaps nothing
exemplifies Florida’s “Government in the
Shadows” under Gov. Rick Scott and the
Republican Party of Florida more than the
ongoing legal battle over redistricting. last
week it was reported that Gov. Scott, unlike his
predecessors, does not make his travel schedule
available to the public. That means the people
he has pledged to serve do not even know in many
cases where, about what, and with whom our chief
executive is meeting.
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May 31, 2014 07:10 am
Op-Ed by YES! Magazine
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April 24, 2014 06:35 am | Op/Ed | By Mark Ferrulo
It was recently
revealed that Adam Hollingsworth, Scott’s
embattled Chief of Staff, frequently uses text
messages to discuss state business, which is
against official policy. This continues an
alarming pattern of the Scott administration
acting behind closed doors and out of view of
the public they are supposed to serve.
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Posted March 31, 2014 05:10 am | Op/Ed |
1 comment
By Mark Ferrulo
When you hear about a $2,000 dinner bill at a
barbeque restaurant, you might think Kim
Kardashian and Kanye West are in town. But if
you’ve been following how Florida’s “economic
development” agency, Enterprise Florida, has
been operating under Gov. Rick Scott’s
stewardship, you wouldn’t be surprised to find
that it was actually just another wasteful
expense paid for with your tax dollars.
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Posted Feb. 19, 2014 10:59 am | Op/Ed |
By Mark Ferrulo
Gov. Rick Scott has been doing everything in his
power to make it harder for voters since he took
office in 2010.
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Posted December 6, 2013 | Op/Ed
Atlanta GA -
President Nelson Mandela paid a heavy price to
stand against apartheid while campaigning for
human justice and human dignity. His message
still resonates though his weary, battle worn
body has gone the way of those gone before him.
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Posted September 18, 2013 09:35 am | (5
comments)
I am disappointed to discover that the Florida
State Parks department, as custodian of the
Olustee Park, has ceded to a politically correct
“tit for tat” “fair is fair” attitude in
approving a “Special” monument to Federal forces
in front of the State monument there.
(5
comments)
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Olustee
Descendant: Let their spirits rest. No new monuments
Posted September 17, 2013 07:55 am
I would ask you to please consider the Olustee "Park"
Battle Site a place of mourning for those of us who are
family members of soldiers who sacrificed all in that
field. It is hallowed ground. It should be respected as
such. It is not an ordinary park. It needs to be left
alone out of respect for the dead.
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Posted July 8, 2013 06:30 am | Letter to the
Editor
I am shocked to find
your publication. I was searching for something in
Columbia County, Florida on the net and found your
paper. It has an article about the Gulf Oil Spill. I can
only assume you live in a bunker or in another state.
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Posted July 2, 2013 | extended comment
Comments on Barbara Wiseman's article:
Gulf Cleanup: "Shrimp With No Eyes. Crabs With No Claws.
No Surprise and Predictable"
A Call For A Twenty-First-Century Solution In Oil Spill
Response
There certainly is a solution to the oil
spill scenario and the question that this article
poses... The answer to that problem has been there and
utilized by myself and my company in the Florida Keys
for over 26 years and before that for over 7 years in
New England. We have used live microbes to stop oil and
gasoline spills for over 33 years with great
environmental success.
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Posted April 21, 2012 09:55 am
By Sandra Caslow
On April 22,
2013, Girl Scouts will honor their volunteers on
Girl Scout Leader Appreciation Day during
National Volunteer Week. Our dedicated leaders
give of their time on a weekly basis to plan and
lead fun, educational Girl Scout troop meetings
and field trips. Girl Scout leaders teach the
girls about health and wellness. They take them
on a caving expeditions or to the stables to
learn to ride. They go to international fairs to
experience different cultures and teach them to
create a space rocket out of paper, a film
canister and
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Posted April 11, 2013 08:25 am |
By Mike Gordon
A taxing authority, flush with taxpayer
dollars, buys property with the people's
money then years later decides to give away
that property. A fairy tale – perhaps? Nope.
Sadly, business as usual in Columbia County.
Whether it's the Lake Shore Hospital
Authority suggesting that we now give away
property that was purchased with taxpayer
dollars, without so much as an apology for
gambling with our money, or that same
Authority eliminating the people's right to
speak out at its public meetings, the
arrogance continues
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Posted April 1, 2013 10:45 am
Guest Column by Dr. Anne Shortelle, Ex. Dir. SRWMD
A clean and dependable supply of water is vital
to our environment, economy and quality of life,
today and into the future. Water conservation
is the most important step that each of us can
take to meet our future water needs and sustain
our fragile water resources, such as our
springs. That is why I am committed to
fostering a water conservation ethic throughout
the Suwannee River Water Management District
(SRWMD). We can all be part of the solution by
doing our part to conserve our precious
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Posted December 17, 2012 10:50 | Letter to the
Editor
Thank you for
your mention of Greenville, SC in your article,
"Columbia
County Economic Development Meets Alachua County
Economic Development". Actually, there is
more to the city of Greenville than you
mentioned in your article. We also have thriving
theater and art from small to grand scale
rivaling New York City. What once was an eyesore
river running through our city is now a
beautiful park with waterfalls and a pedestrian
bridge
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Boondoggle in the Boondocks: Stop the Columbia
County Events Center Madness Now
Posted December 6, 2012 10:25 am | Op/Ed by Mike Gordon
Nick Patel, hotel entrepreneur and Tourist
Development Council member, was spot on in his recent
remarks regarding the Columbia County Events Center. We
simply cannot afford one. the only profitable events
center in Florida is the one near Disney.
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Posted November 19, 2012 11:5 | Letter to the
Editor
After attending last Thursday night's County
Commission meeting and the Events Center
presentation at the Fairgrounds, I am convinced
that the County Commission is going to ram it
through, Chicago style, no matter what. Some
people are set to make a fortune; some are
setting themselves up for a cushy County job and
the rest of their cronies are paving the way to
place the cost for their pet project on the
backs of Columbia County taxpayers. As the
saying goes: “Those that govern never run out of
things they can’t accomplish with someone else’s
money!”
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Posted November 1, 2012 06:50 am | Op/Ed
On the ballot
are four proposed amendments to the Columbia
County Charter. The Observer recommends a no
vote on each amendment. (1
comment)
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Posted September 17, 2012 02:00 am
Beverly Bell interviews Leslie Thatcher, content
relations editor at Truthout, one of a number of
independent, non-commercial news sites that
offer an alternative to corporate-controlled
media. In a world where corporations are
considered persons and a few individuals are
funding the lion’s share of the presidential
elections, independent media is critical to
keeping citizens informed and motivated
defenders of democracy.
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Agenda 21: Where is the tin foil hat? I may need
it.
Posted August 23, 2012 12:50 am
What is Agenda
21? If you’re like most of us, you’ve never
heard of it. If you have, you may have concluded
it’s simply too ridiculous to believe. A
conspiracy to establish a One World Government
reducing Americans to meaningless serfs who are
controlled by the wealthy elite…
(2
comments)
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Posted July 19, 2012 06:50 am | Op/Ed
There seems to be a misconception by some that
the privatization of Columbia County's Emergency
Medical Service was a good deal for the County.
Before anyone backs the County and Lifeguard,
let's go over some of the facts. While some
supporters of the EMS privatization may have
business knowledge, their knowledge of EMS is
severely lacking. Some claim that Lifeguard
better serves the County. Those that do are
mistaken. Columbia County Emergency Medical
Service response times were better than
Lifeguard's and as for Lifeguard having a higher
level of service; again the privatization...
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Posted June 25, 2012 06:45 am | Op/Ed
By Toby Witt
Until you know
all the facts and have a little knowledge about
the industry then the privatization Columbia
County's EMS may look like a great deal for the
county. What the press knows and reports
and what the commissioners and county
administration think they know isn't so black
and white. It is true that EMS ran at a 1.2
million dollar deficit. But the question you
should be asking is – Why?
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Time
to Cut Federal Spending: ATF, An Antiquated
Agency
Posted June 21, 2012 06:55 am
By State Senator Steve Oelrich (R-Gainesville)
As our federal government continues to grow and
the private sector scales back, we begin to
realize how critical it is for certain agencies
to cut their budgets drastically or be
eliminated entirely.
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Posted April 24, 2012 01:15 am
By Corydon B. Dunham
A proposed new plan for government control of
television news, and perhaps Internet news, is
now pending before the Federal Communications
Commission. It would enable the government to
suppress opposing points of view, reduce
diversity and chill speech.
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Columbia County, FL (Posted September 23, 2011 06:15 am)
I am not, nor ever have been a law enforcement
officer. Having watched the videos posted on
your site as well as several others on YouTube,
as a layperson I didn't see anything that I
would deem excessive. What I saw was a group of
LEOs surrounded by what looked to me like a
crowd about to riot. (Read the article:
Lake City Florida:
Police harking back to a bygone era - When will it change?)
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Columbia County, FL (Posted August 3, 2011 06:15 am)
Waste Pro committed to Columbia County that we
would exceed your expectations, if we were
permitted to be your solid waste collection
company. You trusted our commitment and we lived
up to our words... Gone also is the opportunity
for further job creation that may have resulted
from this contract continuing to be locally
held.
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WASHINGTON, D.C. (Posted July 16, 2011 01:45
pm)
On Friday, Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio)
spoke on the House floor about the decades long
transfer of wealth from everyday American people
into the hands of the few... He called it the
theft of Main Street by Wall Street. The result
has left millions out of work, underemployed and
in fear of their Social Security in order to pay
for continued tax cuts for the rich.
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(Posted July 14, 2011 08:20 am)
By
Marc Ferrulo | Exec Dir
Progress Florida
Gov. Rick Scott has a
plan for the health care of Florida’s children, seniors,
and disabled, and it’s not good. His plan is nothing
less than a corporate takeover of Medicaid, with HMOs
managing the care of our state’s most vulnerable. The
Legislature passed Gov. Scott’s plan, but it requires a
number of rules to be waived by the Obama Administration
(through the...
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(Posted April 4, 2011 04:45
am)
After
reading,
Columbia County Commissioner's pool remains a
death trap - State turns deaf ear, this
article it has really opened up my eyes. While I
was considering moving to northern Florida and
after reading what goes on in Columbia County, I
can honestly say Columbia County is not on my
lists of best places to live, but rather sounds
like a County to stay away from. ¶ ...you just
may be saving an innocent person from a tragedy
down the road.
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(Posted March 28, 2011 12:30 pm)
By KrisAnne Hall
This past week there was a media frenzy sparking
fear across the nation with headlines like,
“Florida Judge Orders Use of Sharia Law!” ¶ I am
not willing to trade liberty for any fear.
I am not willing to trade the ability for my
church to govern according to the dictates of my
conscience due to a fear of foreign Islamic
invasion. If we allow fear to dictate, the
enemies of Liberty have succeeded and tyranny is
already established.
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Columbia County, FL (Posted March 21, 2011 04:55
am)
I just read your Thursday, March 17th article:
County Commissioner DuPree's Pool-A back yard
death trap. I have friends, who had a fenced
yard, with "Private Property-No Trespassing"
signs properly placed and a locked gate. While
they were on vacation in 2006, their five year
old neighbor, who could not swim, climbed the
fence, got in the pool, could not get out and
drowned. Very tragic!
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Columbia County, FL (Posted March 11, 2011 01:05
am)
By "A Life In Lake City"
Excellent
commentary by Mr. Womer, who is objective about
Columbia County's economic realities. Only
those who have lived outside Lake City-Columbia
County area can see the true reality of life in
this community. This area has potential,
however... What is the next disaster?
Will it be emergency medical services?
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Special to the Observer (Posted Feb 07, 2011 06:50 am)
By Eben Fodor
The
“conventional wisdom” that growth generates
economic and employment benefits was not
supported by the data. The study found that
those metro areas that have fared the best had
the lowest growth rates. Even metro areas with
stable or declining populations tended to fare
better than fast-growing areas in terms of basic
measures of economic well-being.
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Columbia County, FL (Posted
Feb 03,
2011 07:45 am)
By Barbara Jeffords Lemley
The world is
reading about Lake City, as can be plainly seen
in the media and on the web. The feedback is not
positive. Time is of the essence to improve the
image. (2 comments)
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Columbia County, FL (Posted Jan 13, 2011 07:45 am)
By "A Life In Lake City"
People regardless of their age, race, sex, economic
status or occupation have choices they can make in their
daily routine... This situation did not occur over night
and it will take time to resolve. If you have concerns
make your voice known. Nothing will happen if you
remain quiet - there is strength in numbers.
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Columbia County, FL (Posted Oct 23, 2010 09:15 am)
By Judy Thacker
Cap and Trade is coming to Florida if we don’t stop
it! You are likely to be sending one of the men
who made that possible to our United State Senate seat.
Yes, I am talking about Marco Rubio and Charlie Crist..
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Columbia County, FL (Posted
August 5,
2010 03:55 am)
By Ever Vigilant
In Columbia County we see a
microcosm of this cancer... Closed meetings,
lack of transparency, the imposition of mandatory water
hookup, character assassination, back door
deals and the Good Old Boys that have thumbed
their noses at the voters of Columbia County for
the past 50 years are causing people, who have
never been involved in politics, to cry out for
change. (click title to read more)
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Columbia County, FL (Posted
July 26,
2010 04:00 am)
By Ron Buchner
In the tough economic times, you would
think the City of Lake City would at least attempt to
make their large purchases in the local area... This is
one time the city should take lessons from the county.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
City Manager
Wendell Johnson
I appreciate
your concerns and it amazes me how citizens will take
the "word on the street" and run with it...
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Columbia County, FL (Posted
July 18,
2010 06:30 am)
By Terry Rauch
Florida has very large problems. Our taxes are too
high, people are unemployed, property values are in the
tank. What has Tallahassee done for these problems? Not
a thing. ¶ The answer is very simple: Shrink the
government, deregulate and lower taxes. In other words,
"use common sense."
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Columbia County, FL (Posted
July 18,
2010 • at 05:30 am)
Dear Mr. Lilker:
I grew up in what you term “The Hood”,
and I am a member of New Bethel Missionary Baptist
Church. The latest initiative by my pastor and others is
a step in the right direction. Despite all of the
unanswered questions, it is a positive step. More than
what has been done in the past... Sincerely, Patricia A. Perry
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Columbia County, FL (Posted
April 9,
2010 • at 03:55 pm)
By Ever Vigilant
The behavior of the Columbia County
Board of County Commissioners and their zany antics has
been documented repeatedly... While Florida's Sunshine
Laws demand transparency in government, the clarity of
sunshine has yet to penetrate the opaque smoke screen
that surrounds the workings of Columbia County
government... The Columbia County legacy and legend is
spreading like a field fire: failure to respond to ...
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March 16, 2010 11:55
pm - from the NY Times - orig pub date March 13, 2010
SEAN WILENTZ
Princeton, N.J.
RONALD REAGAN deserves
posterity’s honor, But
the proposal to substitute
his image for
that of Ulysses S. Grant on the $50 bill is a
travesty that would dishonor the nation’s
bedrock principles of union freedom and equality
— and damage its historical identity.
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Columbia County, FL (posted March
16, 2010 11:55pm)
Oil is a diminishing and
expensive source of energy, and coal is dirty.
Alternative energy sources,
including solar and wind power, can only provide 10% to
20% of our energy requirements.
By Donald A. Moskowitz
Londonderry, NH
|
Published March 12, 2009
OP-ED CONTRIBUTER
Jessica Catherwood Natale
The County Commission has decided to withdraw
Columbia County from the interlocal agreement with
Florida Crown Workforce Board (FCWB) in favor of joining
with Region 9 Alachua/Bradford.
This is really perplexing considering their excellent
record of performance.
|
Published March 16, 2009
The Columbia County Board of County Commissioner’s
recently moved to sever ties with the Florida Crown
Workforce Board (FCWB). This was the wrong thing to do.
Two of the reasons the Board cited were an unwillingness
to recognize the role of the Consortium and a lack of
communication with the BOCC. This is completely
false and inaccurate.
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Lake Shore Hospital Authority
February 22, 2009
Can anyone please explain for me why the people
of Columbia County are exclusively responsible for the
funding of a regional asset--to wit the Lake Shore
Hospital Authority and its Shands hospital?
I don't care if you own a home or property or are
just renting, you are paying directly or indirectly a
significant annual tax to fund and support this
Authority if that property is in Columbia County.
If your property is in Suwannee, Hamilton, Baker, Union
or Alachua County you have this great resource available
to you thanks exclusively to the tax dollars of the
Columbia County property tax payers.
Why are we allowing this inequity to happen?
Why is the Lake City Reporter allowing this tax-eating
kingdom-building monster to fester and grow in relative
obscurity? I guarantee it is going to get bigger
and hungrier.
Robert C. Long
Lake City, FL
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