Hi, kids!

It’s time once again to turn a jaundiced eye toward the news and newsmakers of the day who, in my cynical opinion, either contributed to our quality of life or detracted from it in some significant way…

Florida Department of Environmental Destruction

“Now, of course, having failed in every attempt to subdue the Glades by frontal attack, we are slowly killing it off by tapping the River of Grass. In the questionable name of progress, the state in its vast wisdom lets every two-bit developer divert the flow into drag-lined canals that give him “waterfront” lots to sell. As far north as Corkscrew Swamp, virgin stands of ancient bald cypress are dying. All the area north of Copeland had been logged out, and will never come back. As the glades dry, the big fires come with increasing frequency. The ecology is changing with egret colonies dwindling, mullet getting scarce, mangrove dying of new diseases born of dryness.”

–Travis McGee, Bright Orange for the Shroud, by John D. MacDonald (1965)

You can’t make this shit up, folks….  

In a conspiratorial plot that would have made for a good John D. MacDonald novel – a bizarre mystery that could only play out amidst the insider intrigue and political machinations of the Sunshine State – the Florida Department of Environmental Protection recently proposed developing golf courses, pickleball courts, disc golf, and a 350 room “lodge” at eight state parks – including a disastrous plan that would have seen the addition of three golf courses across 1,000 acres of natural habitat at Jonathan Dixion State Park in Hobe Sound.

You read that right.

Last week, FDEP issued a strange media release announcing the “2024-25 Great Outdoors Initiative” – an enigmatic program with the stated aim of “…public access, increase outdoor activities and provide new lodging options across Florida’s state parks—reinforcing the state’s dedication to conservation, the outdoor recreation economy and a high quality of life for Floridians.”

I hate to sound like a conspiracy theorist, but one could assume this absurd plan was cobbled together for the sole purpose of allowing Florida lawmakers to cloak themselves as “environmentalists” in opposing the preposterous proposal without doing anything of substance beyond crowing in the newspaper, “I strongly oppose bulldozing pristine conservation lands in state parks for commercial development – and I like ice cream!”

At least that would make a modicum of sense. 

What defies logic is dropping this steaming pile on an unsuspecting public with no prior notice or discussion, an official announcement that galvanized citizens and politicians alike, resulting in widespread outrage with few details or explanation.     

In fact, FDEP has done what no one thought possible in uniting Republicans and Democrats in bipartisan opposition as poleaxed lawmakers on both sides of the aisle joined forces to determine the who, what, when, where, and why of this wrongheaded initiative.

Initially, Florida residents were told FDEP would be holding a series of “question and answer” sessions across the state to address building concerns about the Great Outdoors Initiative.  Oddly, each of the public meetings was scheduled for the same inconvenient time – 3:00pm on Tuesday (?) 

The ill-conceived plot thickened when it was reported that none of the FDEP decision makers would appear at the meetings, listen to citizen concerns, or answer questions.  Instead, state officials substituted a “subject matter expert” in their place.    

Hummm… 

Then, The Florida Times Union reported on a leaked FDEP memorandum, explaining “…the Office of Park Planning was instructed to play pre-recorded presentations at these meetings, receive feedback and not answer questions — setting the stage for it to roll to approval next month.”

Caught with their pants firmly around their ankles, late last week FDEP officials postponed the meetings claiming, “due to the overwhelming interest” it was looking for new venues to accommodate the public.”

Sure.

In my view, Congressman Brian Mast of Florida’s 21^st District in Fort Pierce – a proponent of land conservation and protecting our water quality – said it best:

“I’m demanding that the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) and its Acquisition and Restoration Council (ARC) hold an open and transparent public forum on this proposal. EVERY member of the ARC, who will be responsible for approving the proposal, needs to be in attendance. They need to hear from ALL OF US about why this asinine idea cannot move forward.

Right now, only a “subject matter” is slated to speak. I think that’s a huge middle finger to our community. Think about that? The ARC has the power to decide the fate of our park, but they don’t have the courage to meet eye-to-eye with the people who will actually be impacted.

I think that’s bullshit and I know YOU agree. That’s also why I’m urging you to email the ARC members directly and let them know how you feel.”

On Monday, as the bruhaha continued to build, a mysterious website appeared out of the ether representing something called the Tuskegee Dunes Foundation – an obscure organization whose stark black page explained “Serving God and Country is our daily goal. That was the spirit for the idea to bring world class public golf to south east (sic) Florida, and donate all proceeds to support military and first responders’ families” – before announcing they are scrapping the plan to develop golf courses at Jonathan Dixion State Park (described by the foundation as “a dilapidated military facility”). 

According to a report in The Palm Beach Post, “The Delaware-registered foundation said in a statement sent to The Palm Beach Post late Friday that the golf courses and other facilities would have told the “inspirational story of the Tuskegee Airmen, a group of African American military pilots and airmen who fought in World War II.”       

Wait.  What?

By Wednesday, Gov. DeSantis was back peddling, feebly attempting to paint the controversy as a partisan conspiracy, calling the idea “half-baked,” and claiming he “never saw” the plans before they were “…leaked to a left-wing group to try to create a narrative.”

“Here’s the thing, I’d rather not spend any money on this, right?” DeSantis said on Tuesday. “If people don’t want improvements, then don’t do it.”

Improvements? 

Really?

It seems the more Gov. DeSantis attempted to distance himself from the shitstorm, the more he became inextricably mired in it… 

Look, the practice of shadowy string pullers forcing self-serving ideas through the ‘halls of power’ in Tallahassee is nothing new, or particularly shocking, for calloused Florida residents who have learned through aversive conditioning to expect the worst whenever our sensitive environment is part of the equation. 

But this is different. 

Rarely is a state agency charged with protecting our threatened environment – in apparent collusion with Gov. Ron DeSantis – caught in flagrante delicto, actively engaging in such scandalous subterfuge in a brazen attempt to ramrod commercial development in pristine parks and conservation areas – places we were promised would be held, preserved, and protected in perpetuity.   

How can the Florida Department of Environmental Destruction ever be trusted again? 

My hope is with Florida lawmakers firmly united in their collective outrage, the legislature will assert its independence and ensure that those inside the DeSantis administration responsible for this travesty are identified and ultimately held to account for their reprehensible conduct. 

City of Flagler Beach and The Compass by Margaritaville Hotel

“Now most of the people who retire in Florida

are wrinkled and they lean on a crutch.

And mobile homes are smotherin’ the Keys;

Well I hate those bastards so much.

I wish a summer squall would blow them

all the way up to fantasyland.

They’re ugly and square, they don’t belong here.

They look a lot better as beer cans…”

–Jimmy Buffett, “Migration”

By official act of the Florida Legislature, today is “Jimmy Buffett Day” in Florida. 

A time to celebrate the singer/songwriter, author, and astronomically successful entrepreneur’s “free-spirited lifestyle” and significant contributions to our “state culture.” 

Whatever that ‘culture’ has become since Buffett’s company partnered with developers to sell those same retirees’ he once lamented cookie cutter zero lot line cracker boxes in faux “lifestyle” communities “starting in the 300’s…”

Genius.

Having grown up on the mystique, I find it sad that Jimmy Buffett’s “boats, beaches, bars, and ballads” legacy of escapism, coastal preservation, and environmental advocacy – a carefully crafted, and incredibly lucrative, image dedicated to the laidback way of life once embraced by Old Florida vestiges like Flagler Beach – has transmogrified into a series of high impact developments under license from the multi-billion-dollar global lifestyle brand Margaritaville Holdings – which, in my view, threaten the very way of life the hotels, resorts, and sprawling communities seek to replicate. 

In 2021, environmentalists in South Carolina asked local governments to enact stricter regulations after the developer of Latitude Margaritaville Hilton Head destroyed trees and churned more land to make room for 218 additional homesites.

Earlier this year, residents, biologists, and animal advocates in Galveston, Texas sought protection for the endangered ‘ghost wolf’ and other native species whose habitat is threatened by a Margaritaville Resort planned for the island.

In Flagler Beach, the Compass by Margaritaville Hotel, now coming to completion literally in the center of the once quaint beach community, was somehow permitted to rise beyond building height limits set by city charter. 

Huh.  Wonder how that happened?

According to recent reports, Flagler Beach City Manager Dale Martin, who came onboard after the project was approved, described the series of missteps that led to the oversight as a “mistake.”

Adding to the confusion were exceptions for certain protuberances, fixtures, and features that could allow buildings to exceed the height limit.

Apparently, an “error in oversight or interpretation” and “oversight collaboration issues or coordination issues” – administrative blunders that were signed off by staff and later approved by the City Commission – allowed the hotel to top out well beyond set height limits.   

Residents demanded answers – and assurance from their elected officials that this “mistake” could never happen again.

Last week, the Flagler Beach City Commission, meeting literally in the shadow of the hotel, put the kibosh on a weird recommendation that, rather than prevent a recurrence, would have memorialized what amounts to four story behemoths. 

In an informative article in FlaglerLive! this week, the City Commission rejected a “…recommendation by its own Planning and Architectural Review Board to approve an ordinance that would have allowed some features on buildings to go as high as 49 feet.”  

According to the report, “This isn’t anti business. This is anti Miami,” said Commissioner Eric Cooley, who led the charge against the planning board’s recommendation. “This is, let’s hold on to what we are, and let’s keep what we’ve done being consistent to avoid that. Because basically there’s no in between.”

Unfortunately, I think that “hold on to what we are” swayback nag has left the barn and is galloping headlong into turning Flagler Beach into just another homogenized version of some developer’s sick definition of “progress.”

Let’s hope I’m wrong. 

Seemingly shocked that city staff and the review board would seek to perpetuate the mistake that allowed the hotel to violate building standards, Mayor Patti King asked, “How did we create a new document or new language that’s going to prevent this from ever happening again?  I don’t understand what we’ve just done, other than make some pretty language.”

According to FlaglerLive!, next week a revised ordinance will return before the commission with regulations many hope solve the problem by prohibiting “…rooftop bars, dance floors, lounges, or any other public uses on 35-foot-high buildings in Flagler Beach, with the notable exception of the Margaritaville Hotel’s rooftop lounge, whose height city officials permitted by mistake even though it exceeds limits set out in the city charter.” 

According to a wise sage writing under the nom de plume “Flagler Frank” opined in FlaglerLive!:

“Commercial properties, especially those smack in the middle of town, should be scrutinized under a microscope, not given a free pass. These projects, which so drastically and carelessly alter the character and essence of our unique town, are a disgrace. It’s infuriating that not a single person bothered to carry out a proper assessment. This kind of negligence reeks of incompetence or, worse, deliberate disregard. What’s the point of preserving our town’s identity if it’s going to be sold out to the highest bidder without a second thought?”

I encourage everyone who cares about maintaining what remains of the unique character of Flagler Beach and beyond to read the FlaglerLive! piece here: https://tinyurl.com/4u5see9r

In my view, this is important local journalism – and a breathtaking insight into how things can go terribly wrong in a small-town government – a once quaint community which seems intent on sacrificing what makes it special on the altar of “progress.”

Political Campaign Encampments  

The week before the primary election, I took advantage of early voting at the Ormond Beach Public Library. 

In my experience, once inside the relative calm of the polling place, the mechanics of casting a ballot are comfortable and well-organized – it’s getting there that can be a problem…   

Walking through the parking lot always involves the uncomfortable hassle of juking and stiff-arming political firebrands who are maniacally waving signs in my face or jamming some skewed and unsolicited “voters’ guide” in my hand.     

Add to that the ill-tempered pushing, shoving, and profane verbal skirmishes between political camps and true believers on all sides and it can be a less-than-ideal environment, especially for the 80% of disenfranchised voters who already consider the process an aggravating annoyance.

Sound familiar?

I try to be polite, but courtesy and kindness never seem to work in this setting – an asphalt Thunderdome where candidates and their supporters in battledress t-shirts, fangs out, stake their ground and make ready to do hand-to-hand combat with the competition.

The parking area awash in cheap plastic tents and campaign signs, each blending into the other, forming a kaleidoscope of bright colors, names, and shapes that encircle the polling place like an impenetrable blockade – all based on a weird belief that their very proximity to the threshold could sway a vote or two.

Unfortunately, voters who are forced to navigate the gauntlet seem to be collateral damage… 

So, I screw on my best unapproachable scowl, pull my hat down low, and beeline it for the door.   

Let’s face it, politics is not without drama.  In fact, the system thrives on conflict.  

I’m convinced that many candidates enter the pressure cooker that is our political process not because of a fire in the belly to serve – but because they love the theatre of it all – the interpersonal clashes and contrived controversies, all fueled by a strange compulsion for shameless self-promotion, that makes it attractive. 

Admittedly, as a degenerate political voyeur, I can report the stilted process of governance can be bone crushingly boring – but it’s the farcical showmanship and abject narcissism that keeps me coming back for more…   

Recently, the Flagler County Commission tabled a discussion of a proposed year-round limitation on the use of chairs, tables, tents, coolers, and sound amplifiers on any county-owned property – a move that would include the circuslike atmosphere outside of polling stations during elections. 

Yeah, I know.  Pandora’s Box…

At the time, Flagler County Commissioner Andy Dance, who won re-election earlier this month in a decisive victory over Fernando Melendez, felt it inappropriate to consider the resolution during the heat of the election season.

According to a report by Sierra Williams writing in the Palm Coast Observer, “It could be interpreted to either counter people or activity. And I just prefer to be outside of those bounds,” Dance said.

The Flagler County Commission first reviewed the resolution on July 15. The original resolution included restrictions on “disruptive behavior” and some of the commissioners had concerns the language describing those restrictions was too subjective.”

The commission later agreed to remove the language governing behavior from the resolution.

Ultimately, the discussion devolved into all the reasons why regulations on political encampments outside polling places is not possible, to include First Amendment considerations and the safety of elderly campaigners who need respite from the Florida heat, etc.

I get it.  Perhaps that’s why I’m so terribly conflicted on the subject.   

Sweeping prohibitions to limit a few days of campaign chaos comes with myriad unintended consequences – all of which are counter to our freedom of assembly and expression – or ability to enjoy a family picnic on county-owned property…    

At the end of the day, the health of our American democracy depends upon productive conflict – the robust debate of issues and the fierce competition of ideas – tempered by our shared goals and ideals.

Yeah.  I know…

That’s an antiquated concept, now replaced by glossy mailers, vicious mudslinging, and “F**K You!” fights between petty politicians and their overzealous supporters in a steaming parking lot as civic-minded citizens make their way toward the sanctity of the ballot box and consider the damnable dilemma of electing these yahoos to high office…    

Quote of the Week

“County Councilman Don Dempsey — who was in favor of the Halifax Area and Southeast Volusia Advertising Authorities upping their budgeted funds for the airport, particularly to ensure Avelo continues to service DAB, in light of its departure from Melbourne Orlando International Airport — hoped that the council would support West Volusia’s budget remaining as presented. It’s the authority with the smallest budget.

“The airport’s an east side thing,” he said.

The budgets will come back to the council for review at its meeting on Sept. 17. They need to be approved prior to Oct. 1.”

–Volusia County Councilman Don Dempsey, as quoted by Jarleene Almenas writing in the Ormond Beach Observer, “Volusia County Council pushes for increased marketing efforts for Daytona Beach International Airport,” Thursday, August 22, 2024

I often think Councilman Don Dempsey blurts out this nonsensical gibberish just to infuriate those of us living east of the Palmetto Curtain…    

Is there another explanation? 

Several years ago, I pondered aloud in this space if our neighbors in West Volusia – quiet places like DeLand, with its award-winning downtown, university vibe, and hometown charm; or quaint communities like Pierson, Seville, Orange City, DeBary, Cassadaga, and Lake Helen, the bucolic DeLeon Springs, or even that flaming dumpster that is the Lost City of Deltona’s municipal government – feel burdened being lashed to the stagnation and strategic blight that blankets the core tourist area of Daytona Beach, the boom/bust cycle of invasive eastside “special events,” and the increasingly crowded “theme” communities and accompanying bumper-to-bumper gridlock along Boomtown Boulevard? 

I facetiously speculated if now is the time to cleave Volusia County into separate entities – using the traditional “Palmetto Curtain” as a line of demarcation, bisecting into two autonomous counties in some weird amoebozoan mitosis – rather than remain incestuous cousins, struggling under the thumb of that dysfunctional behemoth that is the ever-expanding Volusia County bureaucracy.   

Whatever.  Just my strange musings…               

But it seems every time either of the two West Volusia representatives on the Volusia County Council weigh in on an issue of collective importance, they preface it with “…that’s an east side problem,” or “…my constituents in Deltona don’t care what happens in Ormond Beach…”

Perhaps Councilmen Don Dempsey and David “No Show” Santiago have already seceded in their own minds?   

Or is it possible that Mr. Dempsey is so tragically obtuse that he believes Daytona Beach International Airport is exclusively an “east side thing”? 

I realize Councilman Dempsey is a single-issue politician – only interested in forcing a self-serving multi-million-dollar motocross track down the throats of every taxpayer in Volusia County regardless of which side of the divide you live on – but I find it difficult to believe that he could be that imperceptive and unaware? 

Not possible. 

Or is it? 

Look, I realize there are probably better uses for our fluctuating bed tax dollars than underwriting the marketing budget for those start-up carriers we keep attracting to DAB like blow-flies on a turd using “risk mitigation” incentives and corporate giveaways – but to suggest the other advertising authorities allocate a larger portion of their budgets to promoting the airport as a regional asset while exempting West Volusia doesn’t seem fair or equitable.

Afterall, we are repeatedly told, ad nauseum, how much Daytona “International” Airport benefits all of us – and even “No Show” Santiago agreed it should be an across-the-board assist, lecturing our hospitality experts, “We need all hands on deck with real, serious commitments to this airport,” County Councilman David Santiago said. “… We’re making significant investments as a council and I want to make sure that our partners are doing the same thing.”

In turn, Santiago essentially held the advertising authority’s hostage – moving to table the approval of their budgets in the last-minute – forcing the agencies to huddle and determine how to get more blood out of the turnip to increase allocations for the airport.

Although the motion passed unanimously, Chairman Jeff Brower said he was concerned about sending the authorities away without budget approvals with the new fiscal year looming, suggesting the council could have shown a “level of trust” by approving the budgets on a promise the advertising organizations would return with increased allocations for DAB.

“The concern I have (is) that we’re knocking on the door of Oct. 1” when the new fiscal year begins,” Brower said.

Believe me, Chairman Brower – there has never been a “level of trust” between Volusia County government and its residents, municipalities, or other tax supported agencies and districts.

And there never will be… 

Because, while Volusia County takes in enough of our hard-earned money annually to buy or build just about anything it desires – trust cannot be bought, it must be earned. 

And Another Thing!           

“We have to start tackling our infrastructure issues before we end up collapsing.”

–At-Large Volusia County Councilman Jake “Rip Van Winkle” Johansson, mumbling frightening truths apparently upon awakening from his long, insentient slumber, Tuesday, August 20, 2024

You’ve got to hand it to Councilman Johansson. 

Better late than never, I suppose…

I find it interesting that the Volusia County Council is quick to strongarm the various advertising agencies on how their life’s blood is allocated, all while taking a much more freewheeling view of how our ad valorum taxes are pissed away. 

Always wailing the “Poormouth Blues” when it comes to prioritizing critical infrastructure – the utilities, streets, water, sewage, and essential services they are responsible for – then pulling the Henny Penny routine – crying total “collapse!” – sounding the tocsin, and provoking panic long after their strategic neglect and inattention has allowed the problem to exceed critical mass.   

Each budget cycle, transportation, flood control, and other woefully inadequate civic necessities are considered extravagances – while Taj Mahal administrative facilities, bathroom renovations that cost more than my house, fee increases, luxury furnishings, bureaucratic bloat, and those clockwork salary and benefit increases for senior county officials seem mandated by ancient rite.

Last week, Councilman Danny Robins dropped his suggestion to raise our property tax rate to address emergent transportation infrastructure issues – a move that would have brought about $5 million into county coffers for roads – which, according to a previous estimate by County Manager George “The Wreck” Recktenwald, would equate to about one-mile of new roadway… 

You read that right.

Instead, after being named among the most dangerous places in the known universe for traffic crashes and pedestrian deaths, Volusia County will now allocate a paltry $3.9 million in left over one-time federal covid relief funds toward “road safety and pedestrian safety projects.”

Whatever that means. (Other than the American Rescue Plan Act will go down as the greatest boondoggle in our nation’s history…) 

Take comfort, my fellow pissants.  We’ve been assured that the Volusia County Council will hold another hot-air generator, er, “transportation workshop,” in January (after the election…) where you can bet your bottom tax dollar the specter of another shameless money-grab in the form of a panacea sales tax increase will be trotted out… 

The last arrow in their quiver of incompetence, neglect, and procrastination.

Now that our ‘powers that be’ have allowed unchecked sprawl across the width and breadth of Volusia County – the increased density turning our streets and roadways into a Gordian knot –We, The Little People are left with an unaddressed and intractable problem that has been ignored by our elected officials and those who command enormous salaries to trifle with “Growth and Resource Management” – resulting in a traffic-clogged quagmire that serves as a frustrating monument to mediocrity and continuing lack of accountability.

Don’t take my word for it.  Or theirs.   

Look around.  Better yet, take a drive, and form your own opinion.   

Ask yourself where the money goes? 

And why that insatiable behemoth in DeLand can’t seem to properly allocate the $1.3 billion of our hard-earned dollars they now command annually?    

Then vote like your quality of life depends upon it…

That’s all for me.  Have a happy and safe Labor Day weekend, y’all!

Hi, kids!

It’s time once again to turn a jaundiced eye toward the news and newsmakers of the day who, in my cynical opinion, either contributed to our quality of life or detracted from it in some significant way.

Volusia County Voters

“Politics is the art of controlling your environment.”

–Dr. Hunter S. Thompson

To the ~20% of Volusia County voters who cast your sacred vote during the primary, I salute you!

Thank you for participating in our democratic process, a civic responsibility that reaffirms our commitment to freedom and the idea of government “…of the people, by the people, and for the people.”  A time when, for one brief shining moment, the balance of power swings to We, The Little People. 

The sad reality is some eight out of ten registered voters in Volusia County couldn’t be bothered to cast a ballot… 

Depressing.

The basic right and responsibility of our representative democracy is voting in free and fair elections.  In my view, as this apathy and indifference continue to erode our foundational principles, and individual civic virtues continue to decline, the influential oligarchy (or technology?) will eventually govern us all by default.

Maybe they already do? 

Here on Florida’s fabled “Fun Coast” we repeatedly see the outsized weight of extremely wealthy insiders who long-ago purchased a chip in the game – those who contribute massive sums of money, both individually and through myriad corporate entities under their control, to the campaigns of hand-select candidates – while their political puppets on the dais try and convince us that their benefactors don’t expect a return on investment. 

I always get a perverse chuckle whenever I hear that… 

Now the die is cast and the field whittled down to the true players; the Big Dogs who are moving to the general.  Like Dr. Thompson so eloquently said, “That is the nature of professional politics.  Many are called, but few survive the nut-cutting hour…”

The “also-rans” – the fringe candidates, retread politicians, ringers, and political dilettantes whose tired message rang hollow will soon be laughed at and forgotten, their excuses ignored – because in politics, winning is all that matters, and quaint notions of “issue-focused campaigns,” “sportsmanship” and ‘how the game is played’ are for losers. 

Now, the gloves really come off… 

Trample the weak, hurdle the dead is the new political ethos.  

For instance, do you think Volusia County’s ‘movers and shakers’ literally poured cash into “Car Guy” Randy Dye’s groaning $336,000 war chest so he could garner just 28% of the vote against current Volusia County Chair Jeff Brower? 

Or was it so he could crush his competition like crippled insects early in the game?

That’s why every vote matters.  Because votes beat money every time.    

When Jeff Brower, a gentleman farmer from Deleon Springs and the political pariah of Volusia’s stagnant “Old Guard,” emerged on top of a field dominated by well-known, well-financed, and experienced political sharks, that told me his message of limiting unchecked sprawl, flood mitigation, and opposition to a massive fuel farm proposed for Ormond Beach are the issues resonating with John and Jane Q. Public.    

In Flagler County, where about 30% of eligible voters turned out, that self-serving champion of malignant growth, Palm Coast Mayor/Realtor David Alfin, was denied a second term, coming in third behind challengers Mike Norris and Cornelia Manfre who will continue to a runoff in November’s general election. 

According to reports, Alfin received just 18% of the vote.

In a post primary interview with The Daytona Beach News-Journal’s Frank Fernandez, Mayor/Realtor Alfin lamented:

“I think an older community facing growth is confused by the inevitability of the future. And I think that they may have listened to folks who told them that they would stop growth, reduce taxes,” Alfin said “Those are the kinds of pandering’s that I’ve heard and I think that an older community wants to be believe those kinds of things.”

Since when did limiting growth, requiring ecologically smart and sustainable building practices, trimming bureaucratic bloat, mitigating flooding, and reducing onerous taxes and fees become fairytale political pandering? 

Perhaps the remaining contestants in local races will learn something from the success of smart growth and environmental advocates in Tuesday’s primary – grassroots candidates willing to take a stand and protect their neighbors from the pernicious greed of those who trade our quality of life for more, more, more development – including the threat of a bulk fuel facility proposed for the worst possible location on the eastern seaboard. 

Time will tell, eh?    

In my view, political accountability is just one reason it is vitally important to let your voice be heard at the ballot box in November.    

Geosam Capital & Venetian Bay’s Town Center

Two things are certain each lunar day here on the “Fun Coast” – the Atlantic tides will ebb and flow like clockwork – and more area restaurants and small businesses will close their doors forever.

The quiet death of these establishments is usually proclaimed with a blurb in the newspaper and a heartbreaking statement to loyal customers, “It is with a heavy heart that we announce…”

Considering all the “Good times are here again, again!” bilge being spewed by redundant “economic development” shills – and the enormous incentives, tax breaks, and public subsidies being handed out to lure and prop up big corporations – I find these small business failures, and the personal toll on owners and employees, terribly demoralizing.  

Like watching government use our tax dollars to skew the playing field, and callously determine who will thrive, and who will be allowed to die… 

Admittedly, it takes a lot to shock my gin cauterized conscience, but I shook my head in utter disbelief last week with the news that Canadian developer Geosam Capital – the owner/developer of the sprawling Venetian Bay “master-planned community” off State Road 44 in New Smyrna Beach – has announced plans to charge customers $2.50 an hour to park and patronize the development’s struggling retail, dining, and shopping locations in Town Center.

You read that right.

According to a disturbing story first reported by WFTV’s Demie Johnson last week:  

“Dozens of people packed into the Happy Deli on Wednesday with signs to push back against the new parking plan.

Homeowner Carl Scharwath was bothered by the notice from the developer called Geosam, encouraging neighbors to walk instead of drive if they don’t want to pay to park where the shops and restaurants are located.

“We live in Florida! There is rain, there is heat. That is ridiculous,” said Scharwath.

Business owners have already lost a large chunk of customer parking because of the construction of the new apartments. They claim, people often call and cancel orders or reservations because they can’t find a place to park.”

According to Venetian Bay’s elegant website – one of those typically over-the-top adverts uniquely crafted by a developer’s marketing apparatus – the contrived “active lifestyle community” (aren’t they all?) promises:  

“Residents a sense a feeling of belonging. Whether it’s visiting the shops and restaurants at the Town Center, spending a family day at the Beach and Swim Club, playing a round of golf at our Championship Course or taking an evening walk along our miles of Nature Trails.  Children can be seen enjoying Venetian Bay’s Parks and Playgrounds. There is something for everyone at Venetian Bay!”

Except, it would appear, when Geosam wants to shoehorn more apartments into a space without adequate parking – then the almighty law of supply and demand rules the day – and that sense of “belonging” residents were sold is quickly replaced by the feeling of being gouged… 

Because they are.

In a cruel twist, Geosam’s announcement explained that Town Center merchants can opt to validate parking for customers, placing an additional burden totaling thousands of dollars annually on already strapped small businesses.

According to WFTV’s report, “We’ve got nine businesses and all of us live and work here, and we all have to share this space and it is difficult,” said owner of Happy Deli, Thomas Greiner.

“To ask people to pay more or our businesses to pay more when our food cost is up, our labor cost is up, I mean I don’t really know how we are supposed to survive off that,” said Bistro 424 employee Jenna Hawkins.”

Admittedly, I’m not a fan of these ubiquitous “master-planned” faux ‘lifestyle’ communities that our elected and appointed officials continue to rubber stamp on demand – homogenized, zero-lot-line cookie cutter subdivisions, wholly controlled by the developer, that now blanket much of Florida like an ugly patchwork quilt, dull places that offer the illusion of community in exchange for dues, fees, and fealty to the covenants – however; in my view, given the current retail climate this cash grab seems shortsighted.

In Venetian Bay, welcome to the new reality of $2.50 an hour to park when enjoying the “…wide variety of community events, activities, restaurants,” you were promised when you signed on the dotted line…

Will an “amenity fee” be next? 

Good luck, residents and merchants of Venetian Bay. 

You’re going to need it.

Quote of the Week

“Volusia County is hosting public meetings this month to generate community feedback on the proposed Road Priority List. One meeting will be held in each of the four impact fee zones to give residents the opportunity to comment and provide input into upcoming transportation and safety improvements.

Proposed capacity projects include widening roads, improving intersections, building new roads, and extending existing roads. Potential safety projects include adding paved shoulders, widening narrow lanes, and installing turn lanes. The information and presentations will be identical at all four meetings.

The meetings are scheduled from 6 to 7 p.m. on the following dates and locations:

Thursday, Aug. 22, at the Brannon Center, 105 S. Riverside Drive, New Smyrna Beach

Monday, Aug. 26, at the Deltona Regional Library, 2150 Eustace Ave.

Wednesday, Aug. 28, at the Ormond Beach Regional Library, 30 S. Beach St.

Thursday, Aug. 29, at the Thomas C. Kelly Administration Center, 123 W. Indiana Ave., DeLand”

— Clayton Jackson, Volusia County Community Information, “Volusia County Road Improvements and Capacity Community Meetings,” Tuesday, August 13, 2024

Something stinks…

Five-years ago, Volusia County government – in concert with their friends and political benefactors at the CEO Business Alliance – pushed hard for a half-cent sales tax ostensibly to fund our now insurmountable transportation infrastructure needs.   

Given the pernicious modus operandi of many area politicians, most Volusia County voters were rightfully convinced the sales tax would become another slush fund for rewarding political favors, rather than a means of improving desperately needed transportation infrastructure. 

Does anyone remember state priority funding for the Pioneer Trail interchange with Interstate 95, while that Monument to Mediocrity that is the two-lane pinch point at the LPGA/Tomoka River bridge remains unaddressed? 

Me neither…   

Those “loyalties” remain a legitimate fear in a place where the legally mandated concept of concurrency – having roads, sanitary sewer systems, stormwater facilities, emergency services, schools and other public infrastructure and utilities in place to support increased demand – have been wholly ignored by elected officials beholden to their political benefactors in the development industry. 

Is there another reason?

It didn’t help when our ‘powers that be’ ignored the concerns of residents who repeatedly pointed out that growth doesn’t pay for itself – and the claustrophobic effects of this “shove ten-pounds of shit in a five-pound bag” growth management strategy that has allowed developers to haul untold millions out of clear-cut pine scrub across the width and breadth of Volusia County.   

Don’t get me started on the “secret impact fee study” of 2018…    

As the bulldozers continue to roar, it is becoming increasingly clear that Volusia County officials are getting anxious, fidgeting nervously, and staring at their shoes each time we ask how they plan to get us out of the gridlock and congestion resulting from unchecked growth that far exceeds our frighteningly inadequate infrastructure, while they continue to feed that monstrously bloated bureaucracy in DeLand? 

Now, they want us – the already strapped taxpayers – to list our transportation priorities so they can turn the table and ask, “We see your Christmas list, how do you plan to pay for it?”

The fact is, we already pay for it – in exorbitant taxes and fees – and we should expect a reasonable return in the form of civic infrastructure that keeps pace with growth…

Earlier this week we learned that Volusia County is currently considering a budget totaling an astronomical $1.3 Billion.  In a county with an unincorporated population of 117,000?

Really?

So, where does that money go?   

I’m asking, because whenever “answers” to legitimate budgetary questions ooze from the inner sanctum in DeLand, they are convoluted and strategically mired in cryptic acronyms, cloaked in mind-numbing PowerPoint presentations, and spoken in obfuscating bureaucratese, so no one can figure out just how horribly overtaxed we truly are. 

Just pay the bills and keep your pieholes shut, okay?   

My ass…

For those with a short memory, a similar tactic was employed in 2019, during Volusia County’s second ill-fated bite at the sales tax, when officials asked the municipalities to cobble together a massive “priority list” of road construction, water quality, and flood control projects that, we were told, would be funded over the next 20-years or so. 

Anyone paying attention could see the wish list was another failed attempt to generate “buy in” from taxpayers – much like the laundry list of “needs” Volusia County District Schools used 25-years earlier when it persuaded voters a sales tax was needed to fund new schools.   

Fortunately, Volusia County voters recognized this shameless shim sham for what it was and rejected the “transportation” sales tax.  Twice.      

However, both the 2019 road priority inventory, and our collective “trust issues,” are still perfectly valid today – and growing by the minute…   

Which begs the question, why are Volusia County officials seeking “resident input” on another “priority” list of transportation projects now? 

More to the point, why would anyone in their right mind believe our elected officials will give two-shits what we think when the “…collected public feedback and the Road Priority List will be presented to the Volusia County Council at a future meeting”? 

Trust me.  This latest bait-and-switch bears watching. 

I could be wrong (I’m not) but it smells like the rotting corpse of the twice failed transportation sales tax initiative is being slowly resurrected from Volusia County’s ash heap of bad ideas…    

And Another Thing!

Once upon a time ago, my wife and I took the family to one of those professional haunted houses, where theatrically trained and costumed actors leap from hidden spaces, scenes of contrived carnage and gore unfold around each turn, and the suspense builds the deeper you move through the frightening maze.    

One of the downsides of being a career law enforcement officer is, once you’ve seen real houses of horror, the staged variety don’t hold much excitement; but I agreed to accompany my young nephew as we toured through the shocks and shrieks, bloody chainsaws blaring, ghouls clawing out in the dark, disorienting lights flashing through the smoke and mirrors.

The giddy screams from our fellow visitors continued to build as we entered the final scene, I looked down and the boy was taking it all in stride, no more unnerved by the sights and sounds than I was. 

The fact he had been raised in this crazy family of mine told me it would take a lot more than an imitation spook house to shake him, but the child was completely unfazed by it all.    

When we reached the end, I asked him if he was scared and he explained, “No.  I’m brave.” 

“Yes, you are,” I assured him – and he responded, “You have to be brave to look at scary things.” 

It showed wisdom far beyond his years… 

I was reminded of that last week when the cowardly First Step Shelter Board refused to pursue an incomplete investigation into serious allegations of fraudulent practices, financial irregularities, rule violations that created a dangerous environment for staff and clients, discrimination, and workplace harassment that originated from three former senior officials of the facility. 

I guess the board members lack the courage to look at scary things… 

Now, many concerned taxpayers are questioning why the First Step board engaged in such blatant blame deflection and victim shaming before the investigative report was made public?

Orchestrated defamation that destroyed the character and reputation of three brave whistleblowers – contemptuous condemnation that sent a chilling message to any other First Step employee having knowledge of malfeasance or misconduct who would dare to come forward. 

Perhaps most disturbing, several prominent local elected officials and community leaders populate the First Step Board – to include Ormond Beach City Commissioner and mayoral candidate Susan Persis, Port Orange Mayor Don Burnette, board president Daytona Beach Mayor Derrick Henry, and their stroppy spokesperson Mike Panaggio – supposedly responsible public officials who should understand the potential ramifications (and optics) of maligning whistleblowers while shutting down an investigation with so many unanswered questions remaining.

Now, citizen suspicion has rightfully turned to the motivations of the First Step Board of Directors…    

The Daytona Beach City Commission appoints the board members, who are charged with “…being advocates and champions throughout the community, ensuring the establishment and implementation of appropriate policies and procedures, actively participating in resource development, and exercising stewardship and oversight.”  

That “stewardship and oversight” includes fiduciary responsibility for safeguarding some $4 million in essential public funds that are gifted by the citizens of Daytona Beach and Volusia County taxpayers every five years – to include contributions from other cities, individuals, and faith-based organizations.

Regardless, the First Step Shelter is most strongly associated with the City of Daytona Beach – who owns and leases the incredibly expensive building which sits on city owned land off US-92 – a city administration inextricably linked to the enigmatic program since former City Manager Jim “The Chisler” Chisholm schemed it into existence.

A program never fully explained to the community and fraught with divisive issues from its inception, not the least of which was the incredibly lucrative no-bid arrangement that Chisholm hammered out in effective darkness that allows P$S Paving, a private for-profit company, to haul publicly owned fill dirt off city property during the most prolific period of growth in our region’s history.

Given the ugly questions still swirling around the board’s response to serious accusations brought against First Step executive director Victoria Fahlberg – earlier this month, Daytona Beach City Commissioners Stacy Cantu and Ken Strickland rightly moved to table consideration of continued funding for the program and a lease renewal with First Step until more is known. 

It was the fiscally responsible thing to do. 

That’s why many found it odd when earlier this week the First Step lease renewal was placed on the City Commission’s consent agenda – a sparse explanation, devoid of any substance beyond City Manager Derek Feacher’s recommendation for renewal – without benefit of a fiscal impact statement, or even the estimated value of the lease as donated by Daytona Beach taxpayers?

Yet, inexplicably, the Daytona Beach City Commission threw caution to the wind and voted unanimously to renew the lease and extend funding for the First Step program for another five-years – with the same administration that is currently under suspicion still firmly at the helm…    

To add insult, on Sunday evening, prior to the City Commission’s vote, and apparently speaking as a member of the board, Mr. Panaggio went on one of his nonsensical afterhours raves on Facebook’s Volusia Issues – a grammatical nightmare that left stunned onlookers in absolute disbelief – when he launched with a double-entendre, calling the whistleblowers “disturbed,” explaining, “Disturbed can mean many things, and in this meaning it means they were upset by management.”

Sure.

Then Panaggio claimed the board “investigated” the whistleblower complaints but “got no where (sic).” 

Bullshit.

“We wasted money badly needed by the shelter residents. Mr Simpson did the best he could but was the wrong person got the job.”

What the hell is he blathering about?

Apparently, this is how wary Volusia County taxpayers are going to be advised of the secretive results of the board’s publicly funded partial investigation – in subjective midnight dribs-and-drabs by Mike Panaggio?    

Unbelievable.  And horribly irresponsible.    

In my view, this time Mr. Panaggio’s late-night nattering has crossed a very bright line and created an intractable mess for the City of Daytona Beach, the First Step’s beleaguered administration, and its compromised Board of Directors – a nasty quagmire of mounting questions and potential civil liability that cannot be tidied up with more of his egomaniacal hubris, blame shifting, and absurd counteraccusations.     

Now, the damage is complete. 

Made worse by the Daytona Beach City Commission throwing good money after bad before all the facts are known – citing the irrational conclusion that propping up this puzzling “shelter” somehow takes precedence over the sacred fiduciary responsibility of elected officials…     

In my view, how the remainder of the First Step Shelter’s directors – and those elected officials charged with allocating additional public funds for the program – choose to deal with the Panaggio Problem will tell taxpayers and potential donors all they need to know about the culture and future of this terribly troubled program going forward.     

Scary things indeed…   

That’s all for me.  Have a great weekend, y’all!

Hi, kids!

It’s time once again to turn a jaundiced eye toward the news and newsmakers of the day who, in my cynical opinion, either contributed to our quality of life or detracted from it in some significant way.

First Step Shelter Board

When it comes to managing crisis and protecting the public’s confidence – most people can understand and forgive what they see themselves doing – that prism of principle, experience, ethics, integrity, and morality through which we view, and ultimately reconcile, those events that shock our conscience. 

There’s another old truism I’m fond of: “The cover-up is always worse than the crime…”  

Perhaps that’s why this week’s bombshell decision to block additional investigation into the serious allegations brought by three former employees of the First Step Shelter – accusations that include fiduciary maleficence, fraudulent activities, discriminatory bias, ongoing harassment, retaliation, breaches of confidentiality, unethical behavior, and fostering a toxic work environment – has left so many area residents (read: potential donors) in stunned disbelief. 

On Tuesday, before an investigative report has been made public, the First Step Board met to vehemently pooh-pooh the findings of a $5,000 inquiry – commissioned and paid for with First Step funds – and conducted by Ormond Beach attorney Scott Simpson, who offered to keep digging for an additional $3,000 (?) 

Which, to me, signals there may be more evidence and testimony to be uncovered… 

Inconceivably, despite a clearly incomplete investigation, the board voted unanimously to end any further probe into the serious allegations brought by three former senior officials at First Step, to include Patrick Smith, the director of philanthropy and engagement; Pamela Alexander, shelter housing coordinator; and Kim Kelly, a shelter nurse.

Not unexpectedly, only one of the complainants agreed to sit for an interview, while Ms. Kelly reportedly provided a sworn statement to Mr. Simpson.   

Look, call me crazy, but I don’t blame the whistleblowers for their reticence.  

If I were a First Step employee who came forward with credible allegations of fiduciary malfeasance, fraud, discrimination, and harassment in the publicly funded program – I might wait and cooperate with independent authorities responsible for conducting public integrity investigations – or heed the advice of my personal attorney – rather than sit down with an investigator/attorney hired by my former employer.    

I’m weird that way…

After digesting a disturbing article by Eileen Zaffiro-Kean writing in The Daytona Beach News-Journal, I found the board’s blame projection and victim shaming nothing short of bizarre: 

“I’m totally against spending one more ridiculous dollar on this,” said board member Mike Panaggio. “There’s nothing we’ll get out of continuing the investigation.”

He said the shelter’s executive director, Victoria Fahlberg, should have been allowed to handle the complaints.

“I think this is appalling and it’s ridiculous we’re going through this charade,” Panaggio said.

Board members Susan Persis and Rose Ann Tornatore echoed Panaggio’s comments, saying they also don’t want to spend more money on the probe.

Panaggio charged that the complaint was part of an attempted coup to take over management of the shelter.”

Whoa.  Exactly who does Mike Panaggio represent on the First Step Shelter Board? 

Because something tells me his vicious tirade isn’t going to age well when it comes time for settling massive lawsuits…     

“Nothing to see here, folks.  Keep moving.  Just a charade – nothing more than an attempted coup – appalling and ridiculous.  Should have let the subject of the complaints investigate herself…” 

Weird. 

In another chilling exchange, Ormond Beach City Commissioner Susan Persis, a member of the board and current mayoral candidate, exposed her complete lack of reasoning, experience, and judgement when she leveled a pointed accusation against the primary whistleblower, claiming he “just wanted to cause a ruckus.”

Based on what evidence?

In turn, Port Orange Mayor Don Burnette, also a board member, and current candidate for Volusia County Chair, landed a few low blows of his own, “He wants to make a complaint, but he doesn’t want to participate.”

As usual, for reasons known only to him, Mike Panaggio took things a reckless, meanspirited, and irresponsible step further… 

“This is a scam,” Panaggio said. “We know why he did it; because you (Fahlberg) wanted him to do his job and come into work. We have a mess from the last (shelter fundraising) gala.”

According to the News-Journal’s report, the subject of the whistleblower’s allegations, First Step’s executive director Dr. Victoria Fahlberg, pointed back at her accusers:  

“Everyone’s focused on me and not the whistleblowers,” she said. “I’m just so angry and frustrated.”

(Yeah.  That sensation you just experienced is normal.  I cringed too…) 

According to the report, Fahlberg said the complaints enlightened her to “what’s been going on behind my back for a year and a half.”

Say what? 

To her immense credit, the intrepid Daytona Beach civic activist Anne Ruby addressed the First Step Board and cautioned them to speak to the whistleblower’s attorney and conduct a forensic audit.

According to the News-Journal, “Something smells very badly,” Ruby said.

She said when the whistleblower complaint and report are available to the public, “you’re going to be sorry.”

But board members did not agree with her.”

Wow.  I agree with Ms. Ruby – something smells very badly… 

It is important to note – this is the same First Step Board that recently discussed how best to exempt their meetings from Florida’s Sunshine Law – apparently forgetting they rely on a combined $4 million in scarce public resources every five years just to remain in existence. 

In my view, this should signal the beginning of the end of the First Step Shelter Board.

Let me be the first to call for these shockingly irresponsible cowards to resign, en masse, and allow a proper, thorough, and completely independent investigation by law enforcement or other regulatory authority into the management and administration of the publicly funded shelter. 

In fact, the City of Daytona Beach and County of Volusia should demand it.

By any measure, this is now becoming a godawful embarrassment for the City of Daytona Beach – and the board’s actions on Tuesday have irreversibly undermined the public’s confidence in the troubled program.     

Regardless of how these serious allegations are ultimately vetted, the damage to the character and personal reputations of those who found the courage to come forward and bring their concerns to light is now complete – a frightening message to other potential whistleblowers of the terrible fate that awaits anyone who challenges what is apparently Mike Panaggio’s personal fiefdom… 

Most important, this blatant deflection and shameful self-protection by those with a fiduciary responsibility to protect public funds should give caution to any elected official who will be asked to appropriate millions in additional tax dollars to financially support this opaque and enigmatic program.

Save New Smyrna Beach

Regular readers of these weekly raves have probably gathered – I’m not a huge fan of what our civic ‘visionaries’ perceive as “progress.”  Especially when it comes to the mindless destruction of the natural attributes and inherent charm that make picturesque beach towns appealing to residents and visitors. 

For years, I pointed to Flagler Beach and New Smyrna Beach as two unique seaside spots that ‘got it right.’ 

In the past, both communities worked hard to retain their allure while similarly situated places raced headlong into the abyss of growth and sprawl – rapidly becoming a homogenized everyplace – devoid of the character, eccentricities, and unconventionalities that set them apart. 

In my view, when Flagler Beach officials allowed a “Margaritaville” hotel at the beautiful intersection of A-1-A and SR-100 – what was once a public greenspace for songwriter’s festivals, art shows, and farmers markets – is now dominated by another “theme” hotel, a faux reproduction of what was already there.

In my view, that shortsighted capitulation was the sad epitaph for Flagler Beach’s much sought-after laidback lifestyle.    

Then came the “voluntary annexation” of the contrived community of Veranda Bay – marketed as the “Last stretch of Intracoastal property on Florida’s East Coast” (how sad) – which will double the size of one of the last vestiges of Old Florida left on the east coast – in my view, a mistake that may signal the death knell for one of the most distinct beach communities in Florida.   

Unfortunately, the enticement of small-town politicians to a developer’s view of “progress” isn’t limited to Flagler Beach…

To their credit, concerned residents of New Smyrna Beach recently voiced their opposition to a proposed five-story mixed use monstrosity proposed for South Atlantic Avenue that would tower 60 to 65 feet above the surrounding area.   

According to reports, the project – which flies in the face of New Smyrna’s zoning laws and Land Development Regulations – was recommended for approval by the city’s planning and zoning board (?), and would include a 321-space parking garage, a rooftop bar, retail space, and a restaurant. 

In my view, this represents a textbook example of how developers rely on elected officials to change, amend, vary, ignore, and make exceptions to the very zoning and land use regulations that were enacted to protect the character of their community. 

Don’t take my word for it – look across the width and breadth of Volusia County for glaring scenes of how exceptions have been used to destroy pristine ecological areas, foul our sensitive water supply, outpace transportation and utilities infrastructure, and encroach on wildlife habitat, as developers and their handmaidens in public office sacrifice our quality of life on the altar of greed.  

According to reports, thanks to public opposition to the proposed parking garage, on Tuesday, the project’s applicant, NSB Capital Group, withdrew its agenda items from consideration by the New Smyrna Beach City Commission.

In a social media release this week, the City of New Smyrna Beach explained, “These ordinances, related to a proposed five-story restaurant and retail development with an attached 321-space parking garage, will not be considered for either approval or a previously requested continuance during tonight’s meeting.”

Some wary NSB residents are calling the postponement a “delay tactic” to allow time and space between upcoming municipal elections and what they fear will be another bite at the apple… 

Time will tell. 

There is a reason the citizens of New Smyrna Beach once said “No” to building heights of more than three stories in Neighborhood Business Districts.  My hope is that if this project returns, New Smyrna Beach officials will remember and respect those zoning regulations for what they represent.    

Kudos to the residents of this quaint beachside community for standing firm in their commitment to protecting the best attributes of New Smyrna Beach.    

Commercial Fisherman Jimmy Hull and Attorney Dennis Bayer

“The arrogance of man is thinking that nature is in their control and not the other way around.”

— Ichiro Serizawa, “Godzilla”

There is one constant in the universe:  In man’s futile quest to dominate and control natural processes and the environment – Mother Nature always wins… 

Yet, in our infernal arrogance, we blunder on – convinced we can violate physical laws we barely understand, crashing about, trying to “fix” what we perceive as environmental “problems.”

Small minds with important titles, using the force of heavy equipment and hydraulics – supported by massive amounts of money and advanced technology – refusing to consider adaptation to live in synergy with the forces of nature.

I recently read an article questioning the practice of beach renourishment which asked the question, “How many times can a public beach vanish?”

The disturbing answer appears to be: As many times as politicians are willing to use our tax dollars to rebuild it…  

Rather than consider the long-term environmental impacts and unintended consequences of dredging and pumping operations or, God forbid, limit further development along the natural erosion control provided by the dune line – we do the same thing over-and-over again, always expecting a different result – then stand slack-jawed when the inevitable storm takes artificially placed boulders, sand, and expensive riprap out to sea…    

Recently, Jimmy Hull, a longtime commercial fisherman and owner of Hull’s Seafood & Market in Ormond Beach, realized something the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers apparently forgot to consider – the potential ecological impacts of beach renourishment operations off Flagler Beach that are dangerously close to a living reef and several long-established fisheries. 

As I understand it, the project essentially vacuums sand (including mollusks and other small sea creatures) off the ocean’s living bottom, then transfers it to the beach where the sand is used to replenish sections of the beach lost to erosion, while the water returns to sea.

What about the mollusks, crustaceans, and other sea life?  They just die… 

According to an excellent article by reporter Frank Fernandez writing in The Daytona Beach News-Journal this week:

“The project calls for placing 1.31 million cubic yards of sand onto a stretch of Flagler Beach from about Gamble Rogers Memorial State Recreation Area to North Seventh Street for a total of 3.5 miles. The Army Corps project is 2.6 miles of that stretch. Weeks Marine was awarded the $27 million contract by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for the initial project area of 2.6 miles.”

To protect the living waters off Flagler Beach, Mr. Hull contacted Dennis Bayer, an attorney and trained zoologist with extensive knowledge of Florida’s coastline, who recently took the growing concerns of area residents to the Flagler Beach City Commission. 

In turn, Flagler Beach County Attorney Al Hadeed notified the Army Corps of Engineers who convinced him that dredging operations are being conducted some 2.5 miles away from the natural reef system, with the project manager assuring the dredging is “not impacting commercial fishing areas.”

According to the News-Journal, Mr. Bayer is concerned that agencies conducting the operation were unaware of the presence of the live bottom.

According to the report, “Hull said July 30 that the dredging should be farther from the reef.

“Don’t get your sand out here where you could jeopardize this living priceless reef,” Hull said in a phone interview. “It’s all live bottom. It’s full of small shrimp, small crabs. It’s the food chain. The web of life. “

But he said plans were unlikely to change now.

“This multi-million-dollar train has left the station a long time ago,” Hull said.”

In addition, Mr. Hadeed advised in the News-Journal that according to evaluations, the Corps understands “…there will be some morbidity,” which, I think, is legalese for the fact some sea life will be collateral damage… 

Look, I appreciate the reassurance from attorneys and engineers that things on the seafloor will eventually return to normal when the dredging is complete, but who – beyond concerned citizens and commercial fishermen who understand the importance of this natural resource – is independently overseeing this environmentally sensitive operation to ensure the living reef is not disturbed or buried in silt? 

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has a long history of beneficial public works projects, frequently taking on difficult problems in the spirit of the organization’s motto “Essayons!” — “Let Us Try!”

Unfortunately, they also have a grim reputation for colossal and incredibly expensive failures… 

I think reporter Tony Schick writing for Oregon Public Broadcasting said it best in a November 2023 article on an incredibly expensive remediation plan to save salmon trapped behind the Corps’ dams on the Willamette River:

“The Corps has plunged ahead time and again with billion-dollar construction projects based on assumptions that don’t exactly pan out. In some cases, the agency goes on to spend billions more restoring the natural environment it manipulated.”

Like many, I’m hoping for the best in Flagler Beach.    

That said, perhaps it is time we consider if these massively expensive artificial renourishment projects are the best way to resolve the issue of Florida’s rapidly eroding shoreline and begin the exploration of symbiotic strategies – including a moratorium on development and the possibility of a managed retreat in threatened areas – a plan to allow natural processes the ability to protect and restore beaches as Mother Nature intended…  

Quote of the Week

“Someone who purchases a tract of land doesn’t, and shouldn’t, have the right to ignore the zoning restrictions for that land. Likewise, when someone purchases land for which code requires a special exception for certain uses, the buyer understands (or should understand) that limitation at the time of purchase. Property rights are clearly not absolute. They are closely tied to the zoning and approval process in place when the property was purchased.

County Council has the right to remove some of those restrictions. However, there are several reasons that they should be very careful about doing so.

First, neighbors also have property rights. Removing restrictions for one tract of land can infringe on the property rights of neighbors. Say we have neighbors, A and B, and that when B purchased their land, code prevented A from putting a hog farm on their property, or at least required a special exception. It’s not fair to B (and their property rights) for council to later reduce or drop the requirements for establishing a hog farm, and even eliminate B’s right to offer input. (B might even consider a lawsuit.)

It’s good to champion property rights, but it’s essential to also consider the property (and other) rights of others who might also be affected.

Second, there are often unforeseen circumstances and unexpected consequences. Changing from “Special Exception Required” to “By Right” forfeits the ability to address unanticipated situations, sets the county up for problems similar to what it’s experiencing with the Belvedere Terminals fuel farm, and suggests that council hasn’t learned well from that experience.

Finally, County Council should be very slow to adopt any rule changes which reduce citizen involvement.”  

–Steve Wonderly, as excerpted from the Ormond Beach Observer, Letters to the Editor, “Removing zoning restrictions will need careful consideration,” Tuesday, August 6, 2024

The great Florida storyteller and editorialist Carl Hiaasen once explained, “The one thing a column does is it gives readers a sense that they’re not the only ones who feel a certain way: ‘Oh good, he not only agrees with me, but he’s putting it in writing.’ It strengthens the positions of those whose voices are not always heard, or not always listened to, as they should be…”

I agree.  With both Mr. Hiaasen – and Mr. Wonderly. 

Unfortunately, I don’t think anyone is listening in the cloistered Halls of Power in Tallahassee – or Deland… 

In the view of many, thanks to the unchecked gutting of land development restrictions and environmental protections, Florida has become a developer’s playground – a wide-open wasteland where anything goes, and growth at all costs (and I do mean ‘all costs’) moves at such an astounding pace that the old-fashioned concept of concurrency – ensuring adequate public infrastructure to support further development – no longer factors into the greed-crazed equation.

Perhaps most infuriating, those we have elected – and the senior administrators appointed to represent our interests, plan for growth, manage resources, and protect our sensitive natural places – continue to malleably yield to mercenary forces, rubber stamping malignant growth, changing the topography of the land, destroying wetlands, paving over recharge areas, then act surprised by widespread flooding each time it rains. 

In turn, those carefully choreographed “public hearings” on zoning and land use changes typically take the form of a senior staff member reading from a PowerPoint in robotic monotone, a bureaucratic apraxia, droning on, ad infinitum, while the decision-makers stare into space, lulled into a trance by the sheer tedium of the acronyms alone, waiting patiently for the opportunity to serve their masters…   

Oh, you wanted to provide input, John and Jane Q? 

Make a salient point, or explain how the project will directly affect your life, home, or livelihood? 

Good luck.  You’ve got three minutes, asshole…   

As a result of their abject arrogance, many communities are suffering the claustrophobic effects of critical density – with waiting times in local emergency rooms now exceeding five hours or more on any given day, traffic congestion on most major thoroughfares requires the patience of Job to get from point A to B in (enter any Volusia County city here), and the environmental impacts are evident everywhere you look – and, most disturbing, in places you cannot see – like our endangered aquifer. 

Now, election season is well underway – that time every two to four years when incumbent politicians emerge from their exalted perch in the Ivory Tower of Power and pretend to “listen to our concerns,” call us “neighbor,” and act like we’re old friends – while newcomers to the political scene try and convince us they have a different vision (while accepting massive campaign contributions from the very same developers and real estate interests that own the political paper on incumbents?).

Perhaps now is the time we should ask those seeking our sacred vote the tough questions about the tattered remnants of our quality of life – and hold those who have lied to us politically accountable for their self-serving deceit and acquiescence. 

In my jaded view, we now live in a place where our elected officials have become little more than chattel – beholden to those “Big Money” interests with a chip in the game.  Don’t take my word for it.  Follow the money. 

Cui Bono?

If not now, when?    

And Another Thing!

This week I took advantage of early voting at the Ormond Beach Public Library. 

As always, Volusia County’s outstanding Supervisor of Elections Lisa Lewis and her incredibly attentive staff made this sacred civic duty a friendly and efficient experience. 

As a confirmed No Party Affiliate, I was limited to just two non-partisan races in the primary (Volusia County Council and Volusia County School Board District 4) – but it was well worth the time spent – because those we elect will allocate our tax dollars and shape public policy, actions that will directly (and irreparably) impact our lives and livelihoods.    

I typically don’t make political endorsements on this blog site, that would be pompous and pretentious.  (Fact is, I’m both pompous and pretentious, but my guess is no more valid or informed that yours.) 

Like you, I do my homework, hold my nose, and roll the dice.   

I naturally assume if you are reading Barker’s View you are what many politicians fear the most – an “educated voter.” 

Someone who takes the time to gain insight into the collective issues we face here on Florida’s “Fun Coast” – an active and involved citizen capable of determining which candidate and platform best matches your personal vision for our future.

It can be difficult to sort the wheat from the political chaff this weird day and age – but it’s important. 

The bedrock principle of our democracy – that all power is derived from the consent of the governed – is rooted in the conduct of fair and trustworthy elections, the idea of “one citizen, one vote,” that purely American concept of political equality.

In Volusia County, we can thank Supervisor Lisa Lewis and her staff for maintaining public confidence in our electoral process.

Unfortunately, far too many area residents have fallen victim to the curse of political apathy – that feeling of indifference born of having the rug pulled out from underneath them one too many times – the sense that their participation doesn’t count now that their voice is increasingly muted by elected officials (and the entrenched insiders they serve) who seek to suppress citizen input in governance. 

I also believe that the abject ugliness of the modern blood-soaked political battlefield – a fetid slit-trench where anything goes – has turned many good people off, especially at a time when political polarity has turned elections into an ‘Us vs. Them’ brawl. 

Now, even local campaigns resemble a back-alley knife fight, underwritten by massive contributions flowing from powerful forces supporting hand-select candidates, cash that skews the battlefield, as special interests cut-and-thrust with ominous television advertisements and exaggerated glossy mailers.  (See the allegations, accusations, and insinuations flying in the Florida Senate District 7 for an excellent example).  

Then there are contests like the extremely creepy race between incumbent Volusia County Clerk of the Court Laura Roth and a mysterious newcomer named John Flemm that has left veteran watchers scratching their heads.

Flemm, a 22-year-old resident of DeBary, has published bizarre social media posts making outlandish allegations, and recently distributed a misleading mailer smearing Ms. Roth with baseless accusations regarding issues completely out of her control – like gun rights, being “weak on crime,” and insinuating Ms. Roth gave herself pay raises.  (She can’t.  Her salary is determined by state statute.) 

Initially, I thought the Flemm campaign was a bad piece of comedic performance art – a farcical act of political satire that would leave us laughing at the absurdity of it all.  But the antics of Flemm – who comes off like an AI generated caricature of the archetypal partisan ideologue – and his handful of “supporters” aren’t humorous at all. 

Just another desperate also-ran taking the low road of mudslinging, demonstrably false accusations, defamation, and confrontation.    

We’ll talk more about the equally enigmatic Mackenzie Quinn the lone Democrat in the Clerk’s race who appeared out-of-the-blue, someone even local Democratic leaders suspect may be a “ghost candidate,” after the primary is decided on Tuesday…    

This week, retired Circuit Court Judge James Clayton rightfully defended Ms. Roth in The Daytona Beach News-Journal, saying “Either he’s (Flemm) incredibly stupid or he’s banking on the voting public to be ignorant as to what the clerk does and what the clerk’s office functions are.”

I agree. 

Further, Judge Clayton explained, “The clerk of court has absolutely nothing to do with law enforcement or gun rights — period,” Clayton said. “That’s just an outright misrepresentation. Some people would call it a lie.”

As a longtime spectator of Volusia County politics, I’ve seen some peculiar strategies at play in local races, but – with apologies to John Randolph – something about the Flemm “campaign” stinks ”like a rotten mackerel in the moonlight…” 

In my view, these mysterious machinations best demonstrate the importance of studying the issues – and getting to know the candidates – to include their character, competency, vision, and basic understanding of the duties and responsibilities of the position they seek.

There.  I feel better for speaking out about that – and for supporting the re-election of Laura Roth.    

Other local races, like those incredibly important hometown city commission and county council contests are seen by many as a referendum for fundamental change – where maintaining the status quo often means continued bureaucratic bloat, rising taxes, and the civic stagnation that has made Volusia County a cautionary tale to the rest of Central Florida…   

Regardless of your views, your vote – and your voice – are important.  I hope you exercise both this election season.  

In Volusia County, early voting ends tomorrow, Saturday, August 17 at 6:00pm. The primary election will be held Tuesday, August 20, 2024.  

Vote like your family’s quality of life depends upon it.

Because it does.

For more information, please visit www.volusiaelections.gov

That’s all for me.  Have a great weekend, y’all!

Hi, kids!

It’s time once again to turn a jaundiced eye toward the news and newsmakers of the day who, in my cynical opinion either contributed to our quality of life or detracted from it in some significant way.

Volusia County Council

Let’s start this week’s vituperations on a positive note!

Kudos to the majority of our elected representatives on the Volusia County Council who, for one brief shining moment, put petty politics aside and voted to allow long-suffering taxpayers to access our beach without paying a separate onerous charge for the privilege. 

I’ll get to the callous minority who thought it best to keep sticking it to strapped Volusia County families in favor of protecting the conveyor-like cash flow to that massive and insatiable bureaucracy in Deland – that ravenous machine they serve like the indentured handmaidens they are – in a minute… 

Thanks to the tireless efforts of Councilman Troy Kent and Chairman Jeff Brower – both of whom made it a firm campaign promise to reduce or eliminate beach access fees – on Tuesday, the Volusia County Council voted 5-2 to eliminate beach driving tolls for residents, while increasing the fees for non-residents, effective October 1. 

In a social media post, Councilman Kent said, “The taxpayers spend millions of dollars to fund our great local beaches, and by a 5-2 vote of the council, Volusia residents will soon have the ability to drive on it, park on it, and enjoy it the same way generations prior to us did for nearly 100 years, without having to pay for a pass to do so.”

As I understand it, to take advantage of the program Volusia County residents, and full-time students at area universities, will be required to register their vehicles through an “online portal” that has yet to be established – while non-residents will be required to pay $30 per day for vehicular beach access or $150 for an annual pass. 

Whoa. 

According to an excellent report by Jarleene Almenas writing in the Ormond Beach Observer this week, “The beach toll changes came as the council approved a new five-year almost $4.2 million contract with PCI Municipal Services, LLC.  On July 16, the council previously awarded a $1.5 million contract to the Michigan-based company for off-beach automated paid parking services.”

Unfortunately, some are calling the fee elimination a “pilot program.  Free beach access for residents will expire on January 31, 2026, unless extended by the next council. 

According to the Observer, although Councilman Don Dempsey voted to waive fees, “I’m seeing this as a pilot program.  I would probably be against this if it wasn’t going to sunset … I’m hoping that this new structuring of fees will not result in an increased tax burden on the Volusia County taxpayers who don’t even use the beach.”

I found that interesting. 

Apparently, Councilman Dempsey doesn’t have the same reservations about using taxpayer dollars to build “Dempsey’s Folly” – a ludicrous “state-of-the-art” motocross facility to be constructed on public land that a consulting firm has estimated will cost a cool $10.2 million – something, I guarantee, most Volusia County residents will never use…  

In addition, Councilmembers Danny Robins and Matt Reinhart – both of whom represent beachside areas of Volusia County – inexplicably voted “No” to giving your family and mine a break on beach tolls, apparently fearing the budgetary impact to the bureaucracy. 

“Robins wanted to wait until after the elections to make a decision, citing unknowns in the economy. He also suggested waiting until the county has data on how much revenue the off-beach parking fees are bringing in after they’re implemented in January.

“I don’t think anyone of us, fiscally conservative as we are would risk our paychecks or our salaries to take that kind of gamble with our money, so my thought process is, ‘Why do it with the taxpayers?'” Robins said.”

(Sorry.  I just shot my fortified Café Bustelo out of my nose…  “Fiscally conservative”?  That’s a hoot!  Whew, got me with that one…)

According to the report, Mr. Reinhart played both sides of the field when saying he “wants the program to succeed.” 

Wait.  After he voted to quash the measure? 

Excuse me?

Whatever. 

I get it.  It’s a tough election cycle for Mr. Reinhart as he faces challenger Steve Miller for the District 2 seat.   

I’m not sure Mr. Robins – or Mr. Reinhart – understand the concept of residents being charged twice – once in our property taxes and again at the beach toll kiosk – or the importance of bringing much-needed relief to struggling Volusia County families in the form of reduced taxes and fees.

However, both Robins and Reinhart clearly understand their primal political instincts that tell them not to give their nemesis Chairman Brower a “win” when he’s facing re-election… 

Fortunately for the rest of us, Chairman Brower and Councilman Kent both champion the cause of giving our greatest natural resource back to the people of Volusia County:

“People are hurting and anything that we can do to make sure that they don’t get double-taxed and pay twice for the same service, I’m going to be for and support,” said Brower, who has been advocating for residents to drive on the beach at no extra cost since 2021.

During his closing comments at the meeting, Kent thanked the council to “take a leap” on eliminating beach toll fees for residents.

“I think that it’s going to pay dividends in the future and we did a wonderful thing for our residents,” Kent said.”

Me too. 

ReGrow the Loop

I hate to be the bearer of this tragic news, but the once majestic Ormond Scenic Loop – east Volusia’s pristine environmental treasure – is gone.  Now reduced to a paper-thin veneer of vegetation – a cheap façade buffering Old Dixie Highway from the perverse ecological atrocity that is sprawling development stretching west to I-95 and beyond.    

The damage is done, and it is not coming back in our lifetimes – sadly, not in our grandchildren’s lifetimes…  

To insinuate anything else is disingenuous and cheapens the damage that was done here.   

In my view, we can thank those “visionaries” at Volusia County, the City of Ormond Beach, and various greed-crazed developers who saw dollar signs where virgin forests, old growth canopy, and a vibrant and varied ecosystem stood for millennia for what has happened along the western edge of what was once the Ormond Scenic Loop. 

We also have our own collective apathy – whatever lethargy or indifference calls us to re-elect those useful idiots who reside in the deep pockets of developers who finance their political campaigns – to thank for the crushing demise of these special places we once held dear.   

Perversely, once the damage is forever done, real estate developers, the sutlers who eke out a living on the crumbs left behind, and their fixers in government have found a way of living with themselves. 

After slashing, burning, clear-cutting, and denuding the land of old growth trees and native vegetation, they host well-crafted public manipulation campaigns, complete with colorful PowerPoint presentations to “educate” residents – shamelessly touting how many trees have been replanted in the aftermath of the for-profit environmental destruction that churned thousands of historic hardwoods into splinters – essentially putting a cheap Band-Aid on the gaping wound they left on the land. 

In my jaded view, a prime example of this syndrome is ReGrow the Loop – “a 12-month pilot program aimed at enhancing environmental sustainability within the community” – which reported its “significant milestones” earlier this week:

“…123 trees were generously distributed to community members, symbolizing a tangible step towards fostering a greener landscape and regenerating plant coverage.

Complementing this effort were 21 educational programs, ranging from formal workshops to informal walk and talks, which collectively engaged 332 individuals. These programs served as vital platforms for raising environmental awareness and empowering residents to take action.

As a result, an impressive 221 pledges were secured from participants, reflecting a resounding commitment to adopting sustainable practices and nurturing the local ecosystem. The success of the “ReGrow the Loop” initiative underscores the power of community-driven initiatives in effecting positive change and lays a strong foundation for ongoing environmental stewardship within the region.”

That’s sick.

It’s also complete bullshit.

“Take the pledge, you rubes!” 

“Commit to adopting ‘sustainable practices’ in your own yard – while we continue to rape the land for massive profit!  Do as we say, not as we do, suckers!”

“But what about the torrent of water flowing across Old Dixie every time it rains?  What caused the flooding and standing water east of the massive subdivisions, the slaughter of wildlife on the roadway, traffic congestion, and the billowing clouds of dust blowing off the moonscape where virgin forest once stood?

“Shut your pieholes, you ungrateful assholes… 

“This is progress!  Bend over and accept it!  We ‘generously distributed’ replacement trees, walked and talked, served as a ‘vital platform, ‘underscored the power of community-driven initiatives,’ and ‘empowered residents to take action’ didn’t we?” 

“Just say ‘thank you’ for our “wildly successful” eyewash, you ungrateful schlubs…”

Screw it. 

Look, my hat is off to those intrepid environmentalists who partnered in this process and have worked hard to expand what they see as “success” to a larger countywide program designed to clean up the ecological nightmare left in the wake of unchecked development across the region.

You can label whatever “new” program that will expand the best efforts of some local environmentalist countywide whatever you want, but please don’t call it “ReGrow the Loop.”  In my view, that is a vicious kick in the teeth to everyone who remembers what “The Loop” once represented before the circus came to town…   

The next time a developer “partners” with government and attempts to hoodwink shellshocked existing residents into believing they are “here to help” – consider the source – follow the money and look beyond the thinly camouflaged whoopla and puffery that would have us ignore the insatiable greed that has irreparably destroyed much of our quality of life.

Volusia’s Transform386 Program

Cue the eerie intro music…

(Recite in your best Rod Serling voice.)

“There is a fifth dimension beyond that which is known to man. It is a dimension as vast as space and timeless as infinity. It is the middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition, and it lies between the pit of man’s fears and the summit of his knowledge. This is the dimension of imagination. It is an area we call the Twilight Zone…”

Imagine a bizarre episode where Volusia County government receives nearly $329 million from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development specifically to assist residents with repair and recovery expenses from Hurricane Ian, develops a program to distribute the funds, and gives the relief program the metamorphic name Transform386.

Then, in something that could only happen in the shadowy Twilight Zone of county government – bureaucrats refuse to assist a local condominium owner with much-needed repairs for damage to his single-family condominium caused by Hurricane Ian – the exact community need the public funds were intended to meet.

Why? 

Well, that’s intentionally complicated… 

Apparently, county officials say HUD guidelines exclude residential complexes having more than four units – of course, HUD officials say the exact opposite – assuring that Volusia County can use the funds to assist condo owners. 

Get it?  Me neither… 

In the meantime, a resident of a hurricane damaged condo at the Daytona Beach Golf & Country Club Condominiums is suffering the severe health effects of stress and mold due to unfinished repairs – along with the type of anxiety that only comes when dealing with a Catch-22 created by a faceless and indifferent bureaucracy that, one can assume, has already earmarked the millions in public funds for something (or someone?) else.

Is there another explanation? 

According to a disturbing article by reporter Sheldon Gardner writing in The Daytona Beach News-Journal last week, Daytona Beach resident Robert Arnold reports:

“I get some respiratory stuff that is just a lot of congestion stuff from it,” he said. “Main thing really is it brings on depression, depression and anxiety and stuff …. from the not knowing. But I looked up symptoms of the black mold and depression is one of the symptoms of living in that.”

According to the report, Mr. Arnold “… turned to the Volusia County government for help through its Transform386 Hurricane Ian recovery effort but was denied. The reason? He lives in a condo complex with more than four units, so his property isn’t considered a single-family home.

The Transform386 program is intended to help people recover from the storm, but the way it is set up has left Arnold out and could leave other condo owners out as well.”

Although federal officials confirmed that the funds are authorized for condominium complexes, a Volusia County mouthpiece spun the news that Transform386 “…was developed with a comprehensive approach to address the community’s most critical unmet needs.  The plan’s primary objective is to ensure that the resources are allocated in a manner that maximizes the impact on those most severely affected by the disaster.”

Is it?   

According to the report, single-family homes and duplexes made up 79% of FEMA registrants (27,061) following Hurricane Ian, while condominium owners made up 6% (2,080).

Now, as explained by a Volusia County spinmeister to the News-Journal, “here’s the rest of the story…” 

“The $200 million for housing in the Transform386 program is divided into the Single-Family Repair and Replacement Program ($145 million), the Rental Repair Program ($5 million) and the Multi-Family New Construction Program ($50 million).

Each program has eligibility requirements, and all programs focus on benefiting people with low-to-moderate incomes.

The Multi-family New Construction Program is for public housing authorities and both nonprofit and for-profit housing developers. It’s intended to provide funding that can be matched with other money to build new affordable multi-family housing such as apartments. It is not a rehab program for existing apartments or other multi-family units.”

Bingo!   

Welp.  There you have it, folks.   

It always amazes me the creativity and resourcefulness of our elected officials and appointed bureaucrats when turning a federal relief program into a sleazy pass-through to facilitate the smooth transfer of money from our pockets to the real estate development industry…

Something told me if we waited long enough there would be a provision in Transform386 to assist “for-profit housing developers,” using public funds appropriated for storm repair and stabilization to subsidize another sticks-and-glue apartment complex.

Sorry, Mr. Arnold – there are 50 million reasons you don’t qualify for this relief program – and none of them have to do with restoring your home after the devastating effects of Hurricane Ian…

Breeze Airways and Daytona Beach “International” Airport

“It’s nice to be nice…to the nice.”

–Maj. Frank Burns, M*A*S*H

This week, Volusia County elected officials – flanked by our always hyper-enthusiastic tourism and hospitality gurus – were falling all over themselves announcing another “big catch” for DAB – this time its discount carrier Breeze Airways – who announced non-stop service to four destinations beginning in November. 

According to a report by Clayton Park writing in The Daytona Beach News-Journal, Bob Davis, president for life and CEO of the Hotel & Lodging Association of Volusia County gushed “Four new destinations? My god.”

Exactly.  My God… 

In keeping with the theme, Lori Campbell-Baker, executive director of the Daytona Beach Area Convention & Visitors Bureau, labeled the arrival of the no-frills flights as nothing short of a “historic occasion.” 

According to the News-Journal report:

“The Utah-based low-cost airline will launch its service to Westchester County (White Plains), New York, on Thursdays and Sundays, beginning Nov. 14.

It will add flights on Thursdays and Sundays beginning Feb. 13, 2025, to and from Hartford, Connecticut, and to and from Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina.

Then it will add flights on Mondays and Fridays beginning Feb. 14, 2025, to and from Providence, Rhode Island.”

As I understand it, Breeze Airways operates on a sliding fare system, ranging from a “No Flex” cattle call, to their ‘Nice,’ ‘Nicer,’ or ‘Nicest’ fares, which offer various combinations of carry-ons, checked bags, extra leg room, priority boarding, in-flight snacks, etc.

As Brian McCormick, director of airport properties for Breeze explained in the News-Journal, “Our purpose at Breeze is simple: we’re nice people, flying nice people to nice places and we’re bringing our seriously nice form of air travel right here to Daytona Beach.”

How nice…

So, how did those nice folks at Daytona “International” Airport sweeten the pot? 

According to the report, Airport Director Karen Feaster said landing Breeze was “…the culmination of years of talks with the airline’s route planners to try to convince them to give Daytona Beach a shot.” 

Considering Breeze Airways launched in May 2021, it hasn’t been that many years, but if county officials can’t embroider things to puff-up a big roll out, when can they embellish the message, eh? 

(Don’t answer that…)

“The airport has agreed to provide Breeze with the standard incentives it offers to all airlines new to Daytona Beach: a two-year waiver of fees such as for landing and baggage handling as well as for rent.

In addition the airport and Convention & Visitors Bureau have both pledged to assist Breeze in marketing its new routes.”

Calm down, calm down…be nice.  It was just the “standard incentives…”    

I’m sure it’s the same incentives Volusia County offers your small business whenever you have trouble making payroll, paying rent on your building, or have nothing left to market your services… 

Besides, airport officials will be quick to point out that DAB operates as an “enterprise fund” with expenses covered by the revenue it generates “and from state and federal grants” – which apparently originate in fairytale places like Tallahassee and Washington – where raindrops are gumdrops, money grows on trees, and geese lay golden eggs to underwrite for-profit discount airlines… 

In addition, Campbell-Baker announced that the CVB will offer up a cool $150,000 from its budget to help market Breeze’s new routes… 

How nice. 

Even Volusia County Chair Jeff Brower got caught up in the excitement, pulling the number “$21 million” out of his backside before the first Breeze flight has landed when swooning over the possible annual economic impact of the four routes, “It’s a win-win all the way around, he said.”

That’s nice… 

Quote of the Week

“Volusia County Schools had to return almost $5 million in state funds due to decreased enrollment numbers for the 2023-2024 school year.

As the district proceeds with planning its $1.2 billion budget for the upcoming academic year, School Board Chair Jamie Haynes said those funds could have helped with teacher and faculty salary increases.

“There are consequences sometimes to the actions that we choose to have,” Haynes said at the board’s meeting on Tuesday, July 30. “There is not a single state, district, county, area … in this entire United States that is perfect, just as there’s not a business out there that’s perfect. Every day, there are great teachers here in Volusia County Schools teaching our kids.”

The pandemic brought about “keyboard warriors,” she said — people that are using social media to bash the district and administration. Haynes said she believes this has contributed to the student enrollment decline.

“What you’re doing is you’re actually saying to parents that are watching and listening, ‘That’s not where I should keep my child,'” Haynes said.

The school district ended the 2023-2024 school year with an enrollment of 57,172 students. Pre-pandemic, VCS had an enrollment county of about 64,000 students.

“Every child we lose to one of the other choices impacts our budget,” Haynes said.”

–Volusia County School Board Chair Jamie Haynes, as quoted by reporter Jarleene Almenas, Ormond Beach Observer, “Volusia County Schools returns almost $5 million in state funds due to decreased enrollment,” Thursday, August 1, 2024

As a longtime watcher of all-things government and an insufferable blowhard – I have seen the best of elected officials and career public servants who give freely of their time and talents in service to the greater good.  Those who work diligently despite withering criticism, using constituent concerns as a civic barometer rather than a personal insult, always accepting responsibility for their personal and organizational shortcomings, learning from mistakes.   

Unfortunately, I’ve also seen the worst instincts of petty politicians who defect blame, project their own inadequacies, shift guilt, gaslight, disparage others, vilify, avoid accountability, and engage in other egocentric defense mechanisms from their lofty perch on the dais of power.   

Sound familiar? 

I don’t know about you, but count me in the growing number of Volusia County taxpayers, parents, students, teachers, and staff and who are sick and tired of being condescendingly lectured by (insert Volusia County School Board member here) who refuse to take a long and introspective look at the district’s abysmal lack of leadership, effective communication, or strategic vision as they fritter away a massive $1.2 billion annual budget.

In my view, Chairwoman Haynes should realize those “keyboard warriors” she blames are citizens and taxpayers – many with growing concerns about the competency and direction of our elected officials and senior leadership in the Ivory Tower of Power in Deland – frightened by the disastrous unaddressed maladministration and angered by their arrogant refusal to listen to the needs of those in the classroom. 

Perhaps that is why students, teachers, and staff continue their disturbing exodus? 

Just once, I wish an elected representative on the Volusia County School Board would admonish Superintendent Carmen Balgobin and her coterie of incompetents in senior administration with the same ferocity and verve she musters when blasting those of us who pay the bills and are expected to suffer in silence. 

And Another Thing!

When I say my military service was nothing special – you can take that to the bank…

During the summer of 1979, after horribly failing every course I had enrolled in at Daytona Beach Community College, my best friend and I stopped throwing a Frisbee on the beach long enough to join the U. S. Army Reserve. A few long and hot months later we completed Basic Training and Military Police School at Fort McClellan, Alabama.   

It was some of the best law enforcement instruction I ever received.  It also turned a wayward boy into a reasonably self-reliant man and taught me to work cooperatively with a diverse group of people under difficult circumstances. 

I served the next six-years with the 345^th MP Company (Escort Guard) 81^st ARCOM, based in Melbourne, Florida, with first platoon located in Daytona Beach, a unit trained to transport prisoners of war by various modes.      

While I never deployed – and didn’t earn one ribbon (especially not the Good Conduct medal) – I drank a lot of beer, was reduced in rank twice, and served with many great individuals, some of whom became lifelong friends and great colleagues in law enforcement. 

After completing my enlistment obligation, the worst soldier the Army ever produced was incredibly proud to receive an Honorable Discharge.

As a Private E-2… 

Yeah.  I know.

I tell you the good, the bad, and the ugly of what passed for my military service in light of serious allegations that U.S. Representative Cory Mills may have fudged details of his military career as he runs for re-election in Florida’s 7th District that covers southern Volusia County and all of Seminole County.

According to an in-depth article by reporter Mark Harper in The Daytona Beach News-Journal this week, we learned:

“Mills, a first-term congressman representing Florida’s 7th District, is facing an Aug. 20 Republican primary challenge from Michael Johnson, a retired Department of Defense employee and Vietnam-era Army veteran from Altamonte Springs.

While campaigning, Johnson is handing voters flyers that ask: “Why does Mills lie about his military service? … He is committing Stolen Valor.”    

If true, those are serious allegations against a sitting United States Congressman.  (See Rep. Mills’ official biography here: https://mills.house.gov/about )

According to the report, Rep. Mills’ accusers have posted their “evidence” online at www.corymillswatch.com

(Find the rest of Harper’s disturbing exposé here: https://tinyurl.com/2kxyjey9 )

At issue is Rep. Mills’ claim to have been awarded the Bronze Star medal for heroism during combat in Iraq.  His detractors believe he may have conflated his military service with time spent as a security contractor in Iraq, which apparently occurred after his discharge from the Army.   

The Army recently completed a review of Rep. Mills’ awards and confirmed he received the Bronze Star and several other service-related medals in a July memorandum.

Then Mills provided the News-Journal with a Form 638 – the official written recommendation for the Bronze Star – signed by retired Brigadier General Arnold Gordon-Bray, who corroborated to the News-Journal that he signed the recommendation. 

“Bray himself told The News-Journal that he did sign a recommendation for Mills, but neither he nor Mills answered the question of when it was signed.” 

In the article, Mills detractors point out the form was dated 2021 – and Gen. Gordon-Bray retired in 2012… 

In his defense, Rep. Mills was quoted in the News-Journal report, “I’m tired of the slander and the defamation,” Mills said. “I ran for office to be able to serve the American people, not to defend something I did 20 years ago over and over and over.”

I’ll bet he’s tired of these grievous smears.      

Because if Rep. Mills is in fact a combat wounded veteran who was awarded the Bronze Star for valor in Iraq – he deserves an immediate apology from the Johnson campaign – right before Mr. Johnson removes himself from the race.

However, if the insinuations brought by Mr. Johnson and others are true – then Rep. Mills owes his constituents – and anyone who served honorably in the Global War on Terror – an immediate apology, right before he resigns from Congress, closes his campaign, and steps aside… 

In my view, it is that serious.

In my view, claiming false service accomplishments and unearned awards for valor steals from those brave souls who earned the respect they so richly deserve with blood, sweat, and tears – or made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom.

Having read the timeline and assorted items of “evidence” as posted by Mr. Johnson and his supporters, I must admit, some things in Rep. Mills’ official military records (as presented in the article and on the website) don’t add up to me.  

As a military veteran and Congressman, Rep. Mills must know how to file the proper form to correct his original DD-214 – something that would serve to quell the many questions swirling around these shocking claims and counterclaims.

If you live in Florida’s 7^th Congressional District – or are simply concerned about good governance, honesty, and personal integrity in high public office – I encourage you to peruse both sides of this disturbing debate then form your own conclusions. 

Because if this is a case of mudslinging gone horribly outside the bounds of ethical campaigning (a wide-open space in the scorched earth bloodbath that is modern politics) then it should be Exhibit A in the case to stop the personal destruction by and between candidates for elective office – something that has a chilling effect on good people considering a run for public service.  

While members of Congress – on both sides of the aisle – have set an extraordinarily low bar for what passes for “statesmanship” and elective service, in my view, sitting representatives like Mr. Mills have a moral and ethical obligation to tell the truth and conduct themselves in a manner that reflects creditably on the House of Representatives, their sworn office, and the district they serve. 

That means speaking the unvarnished truth to voters about their background and service.

In my view, these are moral imperatives for holding a position of public trust – and they should not be subject to quibbling, obfuscation, or false witness for cheap political gain on either side of a campaign. 

That’s all for me.  Have a great weekend, y’all!

Hi, kids!

It’s time once again to turn a jaundiced eye toward the news and newsmakers of the day who, in my cynical opinion, either contributed to our quality of life, or detracted from it, in some significant way.

ERAU Chairman Mori Hosseini, Boeing, and Aura Aero Inc.

Big news at our Harvard of the Sky last week when it was announced Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University will host French electric aircraft manufacturer Aura Aero Inc.’s new 10,000 square foot hangar facility.   

According to reports, the Big Enchilada remains the company’s planned 500,000-square-foot aircraft manufacturing plant, Aura Aero’s first in the United States.  As it stands, the ERAU hangar will employ 20 people – while the manufacturing facility would bring 1,030 jobs with an average annual wage of $73,895 to Daytona Beach – along with a capital investment of $172.5 million.

Although Aura Aero’s announcement stopped short of naming Embry-Riddle’s Research Park as the location for the production facility, it did mention that the plant will be built somewhere in the state. 

Regardless, the fact we are high in the running is outstanding news for long suffering Volusia County residents who have grown old and weary waiting on those elusive “high paying jobs” we’ve been promised (and shelled out publicly funded incentives to attract) for decades.  

Of course, I chuckled watching our myriad (and horribly redundant) “economic development” shills fall all over themselves taking credit for the Aura Aero hangar… 

In a recent article by Clayton Park writing in The Daytona Beach News-Journal, we heard from Keith Norden – the high-flying CEO of that public/private travel club over at Team Volusia Economic Development Corporation – who weighed in from his latest junket to the Farnborough International Air Show in the United Kingdom. 

Although none of the official announcements from Aura Aero CEO Jérémy Caussade, Embry-Riddle President P. Barry Butler, Governor Ron DeSantis, Lieutenant Governor Jeanette Nuñez, Florida Secretary of Commerce J. Alex Kelly, (whew, let me catch my breath…), FDOT Secretary Jared W. Perdue, Space Florida President and CEO Robert Long, etc., etc., mentioned Team Volusia by name – Mr. Norden “…confirmed that he spoke with Aura Aero officials on Monday.”

Okay…

I’m not sure if that means Mr. Norden ran into someone wearing an Aura Aero nametag exiting the ‘Loo,’ or if he single-handedly negotiated the deal to bring the aircraft manufacture to Daytona Beach last Monday?

But when Team Volusia’s “big gets” have essentially been limited to cobbling together a string of tax breaks and publicly funded incentives to lure the low hanging fruit of industrial warehouses, then using mysterious “code names” to force elected officials to approve the projects in the blind, while short selling the Daytona Beach area’s logistical brass ring that is the central nexus of I-4 and I-95, I suppose it is important to glom on to a trophy catch when and where you can, eh?   

By all appearances, the real rockstar in this deal – and last month’s equally impressive announcement that Boeing will locate a 400 strong research element at the Cici and Hyatt Brown Center for Aerospace Technology at Embry-Riddle this fall – is our own High Panjandrum of Political Power Mr. Mori Hosseini. 

Although Mr. Hosseini, as chairman of Embry-Riddle’s board of directors, gave credit to Gov. DeSantis for creating a “favorable business environment,” I’ll bet you a donut (croissant?) we have the Big Guy to thank for connecting the university with these innovative aerospace engineering and research opportunities. 

According to a News-Journal article announcing Boeing’s presence at the research park, “Embry-Riddle is at the tip of Florida’s Space Triangle, and Boeing selecting ERAU and Volusia County will redefine our university and our community,” Hosseini said. “With 400 new, high-paying jobs right here in our backyard, the future has never been brighter in Central Florida and Volusia County.”

Great news all around. 

Kudos to Chairman Hosseini and everyone involved in bringing these important economic engines to Volusia County.    

Raquel Levy and Water Quality Advocates of Victoria Commons

Anyone who still questions the devastating effects of regional overdevelopment and nutrient pollution – phosphorous and nitrogen from sewage and surface runoff – in area waterways need look no further than the ongoing decimation of fish, ducks, and other wildlife in Deland’s Victoria Park lake. 

While state agencies charged with protecting Florida’s threatened environment and wildlife continue to drag their bureaucratic heels in determining the cause, local attorney Raquel Levy and residents of the Victoria Commons section are standing up to bring public focus to this growing problem. 

According to an article by Frank Fernandez writing in The Daytona Beach News-Journal, Ms. Levy explained:

“We need clean water; everything in this lake has been dying. We have dead hawks, dead ibis, we have dozens of ducks that have died,” Levy said. “This lake is a selling point of this community. Most people have purchased a home here because of the beautiful lake and now what used to be a beautiful lake has become a death pond.”

According to the report, Ms. Levy and her equally ecologically conscious daughters recently collected signatures from area residents petitioning the Victoria Commons homeowners association to address the issue. 

Last week, the Levy’s organized a gathering of residents and area environmental advocates – including the intrepid Suzanne Scheiber of Dream Green Volusia – to call attention to water quality issues and encourage compassion for affected wildlife.  

Look, anyone who has spent time in the woods and on the waterways of Florida – or maintains a home aquarium, for that matter – understands the interconnected and symbiotic relationship of the systems and natural processes of rivers, lakes, and wetlands.   

Depending upon prevailing land uses, runoff from streets and roadways, residential fertilizer use, wastewater treatment, and certain agricultural operations can result in nutrient contamination of the watershed which leads to excessive algal growth.

Don’t take my word for it, read up on how overdevelopment around Lake Okeechobee and the Everglades – coupled with “Big Sugar’s” political manipulation of state environmental protections – is actively destroying South Florida’s fragile ecosystems… 

According to the News-Journal, a spokesman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said photographs of Victoria Lake sent to that agency indicate the cause as cyanobacteria, a blue-green algae bloom that can result from excess nutrients. 

Meanwhile, a paid mouthpiece for the Florida Department of Environmental Protection reported, “We will be collecting samples from Victoria Lake following a request from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Currently, DEP is coordinating with the property owner to gain site access…” 

Whatever.

Meanwhile, many of those we have elected to represent our interests in municipal, county, and state offices sit on the dais of power in their respective jurisdictions – playing their role as one of the Three Mystic Apes who “hear no evil, see no evil, and speak no evil” when it comes to accommodating the greed-crazed demands of their political benefactors in the real estate development community who pour massive sums of money into the campaigns of hand-select candidates in a bizarre quid pro quo that could only be legal in Florida – arguably the biggest whorehouse in the world…   

Volusia County Councilman David “No Show” Santiago

“Councilman David Santiago said he believes he’s been clear on where he stands on the issue: He’s not willing to accept the liability if the I-2 zoning is amended. He was in favor of providing an exemption for the properties zoned I-2.

Santiago said none of his constituents have expressed wanting to take on the liability. However, last year, the Deltona City Commission passed a resolution 4-0 supporting the Volusia League of Cities in its opposition of the fuel farm project.

Kent told Santiago that if the fuel farm project was in Santiago’s district, Kent would be the “guy you want next to you saying ‘heck no’ to it.”

In response, Santiago said that, when the project was first brought to the council’s attention, he supported Kent’s opposition to the fuel farm.

“Do I finish in the same location with you? It’s the details,” Santiago. “If this were in the center of Deltona, it would be a lot tougher decision for me, I agree with that.”

–Volusia County Councilman David “No Show” Santiago, as quoted by reporter Jarleene Almenas, Ormond Beach Observer, “Volusia County Council at odds over amending heavy industrial zoning district due to existing fuel farm proposal,” Thursday, July 25, 2024

In my view, Volusia County Councilman David “No Show” Santiago is the most “polished” parliamentarian on the dais.  He is also one of the most mercurial, self-serving, and undependable politicians I’ve ever seen.

That’s a pretty high (low?) bar, y’all.

Last week, during a farcical “workshop” to discuss amending Volusia County’s “wide open” Heavy Industrial I-2 zoning – something our incredibly well-compensated growth and resource mismanagement gurus only learned of after Belvedere Terminals submitted a proposal to construct a massive 24/7 bulk fuel terminal on Hull Road in Ormond Beach (?) – Mr. Santiago openly put the screws to his flummoxed “colleague” District 4 Councilman Troy Kent.

He also showed Volusia County residents how quickly he will turn on them (and shamelessly flip-flop) when it becomes politically expedient to do so… 

In February, the majority voted against a moratorium on the development of heavy industrial properties as it considered changes to the zoning ordinance, with Chairman Brower and Councilman Kent the only two elected officials supporting the temporary pause.

According to the Ormond Observer’s report, “During the workshop, the council appeared to be split 4-3: Council Chair Jeff Brower and Councilmen Troy Kent and Matt Reinhart were in favor of pursuing amendments to the I-2 zoning ordinance. The rest worried the change could bring legal challenges to the county or voiced not wanting to impede on the property rights on the impacted landowners.”

Now, anxious residents wait to see what fate the unnervingly quiet Belvedere Terminals – who now holds all the cards – will hand them in coming months. 

Will Belvedere seize the advantage presented by the abject weakness and divisiveness of Volusia County officials and push forward with the bulk fuel terminal on Hull Road?

Will the $10 million in public funds offered by the Florida legislature persuade Belvedere to move the terminal away from Ormond Beach and into the backyards of some unfortunate residents elsewhere?

Perhaps most ominous – how will the “not my district/not my problem” fallback used by “No Show” Santiago as a cowardly excuse for turning his back on an issue of regional concern ultimately effect the concept of the council collectively representing the interests of all residents – especially from potential countywide threats proposed by these “wide open” zoning and land use regulations? 

Daytona Beach Regional Chamber of Commerce

Like everyone who is anyone this election cycle, the Daytona Beach Area Chamber of Commerce is engaging in the controversial practice of endorsing candidates for Florida Representatives and Senate races, a process with potential benefits – and deep pitfalls – for what should be an apolitical pro-business organization. 

The Chamber’s “Voters Guide” also contains the canned responses of local candidates to a series of questions, no doubt formulated by a committee… 

Please find the Chamber’s guide here:  https://tinyurl.com/u434xtrm

Now, can we please get back to the urgent and unrelenting issues at hand? 

Time’s a wastin’…  

In my view, through the years, the denial, misplaced optimism, and ineffective response of the chamber set – along with their cohorts in our ossified tourism and hospitality apparatus – has done little (if anything) to change the trajectory of the Daytona Beach Resort Area’s core economic driver: Entrepreneurship and investment on our beleaguered beachside.     

Prove me wrong?

I’m not talking about “New Daytona” over on Boomtown Boulevard, the publicly subsidized One Daytona, industrial warehouses, malignant sprawl west of I-95, or the tedious, wearisome, and ass-dragging “improvements” to that house of horrors that remains the gateway to the World’s Most Famous Beach on East International Speedway Boulevard. (Is it being completed by two guys working on weekends?  I’m asking…)

In my view, the most recent visible insult was the broken-down chair that prominently sat on the southeast corner of the intersection of East ISB and Atlantic Avenue during the heart of our summer tourist season – a lovely visual amenity for visiting families who responded to the Halifax Area Advertising Authority’s incredibly expensive “Beach On” marketing campaign… 

Whatever.

Earlier this year, a group of long-suffering Main Street merchants – intrepid entrepreneurs with a personal investment in the success of our core tourist area – made the pilgrimage to Deland, properly genuflected, and beseeched the monarchical Volusia County Council to bring back driving on the beach from International Speedway Boulevard to Auditorium Boulevard – an important stretch of the strand where vehicular access has been prohibited by legislative edict for more than 20 years.   

The group appeared before their elected representatives with the support of the Main Street Merchants Association, along with more than 100 signatures representing area businessowners and residents seeking a return of beach driving – something many see as the key to turning things around on Daytona’s struggling beachside.

Per usual, the initiative failed on a 4-2 vote (not surprisingly, Councilman David “No Show” Santiago was absent that day…).

At the time, Councilman Kent explained that his no vote was a “chess move,” a parliamentary strategy that would allow the motion to be brought back at a future council meeting when all seven members are attendance. 

Good luck… 

Of course, Bob Davis, president for life and CEO of the Lodging & Hospitality Association of Volusia County, led the charge to maintain the tired status quo, rallying hoteliers seeking to retain a publicly inaccessible semi-private beach, and throwing up a phalanx of negativity to prevent progress for Main Street businesses. 

In turn, the Daytona Beach Regional Chamber of Commerce remained conspicuously silent on perhaps the most important question of our time – whether the restoration of our century-old tradition of beach driving and access can help invigorate and revitalize our core tourist area?

Why is that?

Rather than use their extensive membership to hold elected and appointed officials to account and demand substantive change to the decades-old stagnation and impediments on the beachside, the Daytona Beach Regional Chamber of Commerce continues to “consecrate the bonds of obedience” to the Halifax areas fossilized Ruling Elite by repeating our sad civic mantra in response to every self-serving blow, “Thank you, sir.  May I have another?”  

In my view, legislative lobbying for business-friendly public policy is a key responsibility of any Chamber of Commerce – but I draw the line at political cocktail parties and other time-wasting elbow-rubbing horseshit while entrepreneurial investment in places like Midtown, downtown, and our struggling beachside continues to be hamstrung by onerous hurdles and a refusal to move beyond demonstrably failed policies. 

Maybe it’s time for the DBRCC to get out of politics – and the organizational divisiveness and alienation that naturally results – and focus on its core mission of advocating for a strong economic and business environment for everyone.  

Just my two cents… 

Quote of the Week

“Gov. Ron DeSantis will not face a Florida Ethics Commission sanction over a golf simulator donated to the Governor’s Mansion.

The Ethics Commission announced that it found no probable cause to pursue further investigation of the simulator provided by Ormond Beach mega-donor Mori Hosseini in 2019, the year DeSantis − who previously represented the Daytona Beach area in Congress − took office in Tallahassee.

During a closed-door session Friday, the panel also found no probable cause that DeSantis failed to report as a gift free air travel provided by Hosseini. The Ethics Commission did not explain its findings.”

–Reporter Mark Harper, writing in The Daytona Beach News-Journal, “Ethics commission drops probe into Mori Hosseini’s donation of golf simulator to DeSantis,” Wednesday, July 31, 2024

In my jaded view, the barefaced quid pro quo practice of “I do nice things for you, you do nice things for me” has become the way things get accomplished in the cloistered halls of power here in the Sunshine State. 

Them’s the rules, folks. 

You either have the wherewithal to purchase a seat at the table, or you don’t – and any “outsider” who happens to mistakenly slink past the gilded gate will be dealt with.  Harshly. 

Don’t take my word for it.  Attend any of the candidate forums and stilted “hob nobs” that are de rigueur this election cycle and ask beleaguered Volusia County Chair Jeff Brower about his reception into the “inner sanctum” of political power once it became apparent he wouldn’t go along and get along? 

Or you could ask former Councilwoman Heather Post (Who? Exactly…) how Volusia’s “Old Guard” responded when she refused to be beaten into the round hole of conformity by her “colleagues” on the dais of power?    

Not much phases me anymore, but what came as a surprise with this week’s announcement that Florida’s ethics apparatus – who long ago became the paralyzed and impotent victim of a horribly botched political neutering – met in effective darkness, then refused to explain its findings to citizen’s concerned about the appearance of the most connected and powerful man in Florida “gifting” expensive toys and private air travel to Governor Ron DeSantis and his wife… 

In my view, that secretiveness by a state agency charged with protecting the public trust is ultimately worse than the ethical implications – and does more to harm government integrity than a transparent ‘let the chips fall where they may’ process. 

I don’t have a crystal ball, but I suspect each legislative session, our elected representatives will continue to whittle away at Florida’s feeble ethics apparatus – a toothless hodge-podge of political appointees who, on occasion, issue a fine or censure for the most unavoidably egregious violations. 

In June, Governor DeSantis signed legislation that puts onerous burdens on those reporting possible ethics violations – now requiring that citizens who file ethics complaints with state and local ethics commissions have “personal knowledge” of the alleged violation – among other chilling limitations.  

Yeah.  I know…    

As Caroline Klancke, executive director of the Florida Ethics Institute and former deputy executive director of the Florida Commission on Ethics, warned in a February 2024 open letter (and dire warning) to the citizens of Florida:

“Florida has long led the country in its legal protections of fairness and transparency. But this is not the time to take these safeguards for granted. It is once again necessary for Floridians to band together to reiterate our collective commitment to fairness in government as evidenced in our State Code of Ethics.

Do not let the tools of accountability slip so easily from society’s grasp.”

And Another Thing! 

“In the last two months, the Palm Coast Planning Board has approved almost 750 homes for the next two phases and applications for a development within the Palm Coast Park development.

The Palm Coast Park Development of Regional Impact is a massive 4,700-acre, phased development project in the northwest portion of Palm Coast along Highway U.S. 1 that was originally approved in 2004. It is broken down into multiple tracts, with smaller developments within those tracts, and is expected to have over 2,000 homes once it is finished.”

–Sierra Williams, writing in the Palm Coast Observer, “Over last two months, city planning board OKs 750 homes for Sawmill Branch development,” Wednesday, July 24, 2024  

They call them “Developments of Regional Impact” for a reason…

According to Florida statute, a DRI is “…any development which, because of its character, magnitude, or location, would have a substantial effect upon the health, safety or welfare of citizens of more than one county.”

Sound familiar? 

If you live anywhere in the increasingly claustrophobic Deltona–Daytona Beach–Ormond Beach Metropolitan Statistical Area (which includes Flagler County), it should. 

For years, the Florida legislature – populated by many perennial politicians with real estate interests – has worked diligently to fast-track development by eroding environmental protections, gutting review processes, eliminating local control – essentially setting the ball for developers so their counterparts in local and county governments can spike it down the throats of existing residents….

Across the region, municipal and county governments have exposed the shocking fact they have been caught flatfooted when it comes to growth management.  That realization usually hits existing residents when asking their representatives why their once high-and-dry homes and land are inundated with standing water each time it rains. 

It is increasingly clear that these elected and appointed incompetents are now totally incapacitated and overwhelmed by the monster they helped create – incapable of determining how to pay for necessary infrastructure and utilities improvements, protect our threatened water supply, and provide essential services, while kissing the sizeable asses of their “friends” in the development industry – always reverting to the one arrow in their quiver: Raising taxes and fees for existing residents. 

Always quibbling causality and disputing the facts – never admitting that their failed strategy of cramming ten-pounds of shit into a five-pound sack is destroying every region of the state – then continually procrastinating, kicking the can down that long political road, buying time while the bulldozers roar…   

Now, amid the most prolific period of explosive growth in our history – a time when every square inch of land, virgin forest, aquifer recharge area, wetland, and wildlife habitat is being churned into a foul black muck, filled, and elevated to shoehorn more, more, more zero lot line cracker boxes – many are dealing with the resultant impacts across both Volusia and Flagler Counties. 

So, how does the City of Palm Coast and other county and municipal governments on Florida’s “Fun Coast” respond to hundreds of reports of development-induced flooding, pollution, and density concerns? 

Reread the quote above for the abysmal answer to that troubling, and increasingly prevalent, question… 

Now, vote like your quality of life depends upon it. 

That’s all for me.  Have a great weekend, y’all!