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 Schools – Lack of District Transparency Hits Home

“Knowledge will forever govern ignorance; and a people who mean to be their own governors must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives.“

–James Madison

I always get a chuckle when insiders tell me how this blog is received in the gilded Ivory Tower of Power of local government organizations.

Admittedly, I take perverse pleasure in hearing about the overwhelming angst these screeds evoke in some thin-skinned senior executives – all commanding six-figure salaries, with astronomical benefit packages and golden parachutes to cushion the inevitable fall – who dramatically overreact to the criticism of some guy up in north Ormond sitting around in his boxer shorts banging out his civic frustrations…

Elected officials and appointed administrators are quick to point out that not everything you read on blogs or social media is true – and that’s correct. 

This is just one man’s opinion. Nothing more.

Unfortunately, like repeatedly touching a hot stove, Volusia County taxpayers have learned the hard way that not everything coming out of the bureaucratic spin machine in local governments and taxing authorities is based in fact either. 

That leads to speculation and distrust.   

They can’t have it both ways…

Last week, someone in the know told me that Barker’s View has been blocked on all Volusia County School electronic devices.  A means (I suppose) of ensuring staff and “stakeholders” are prevented from hearing any alternative to the all-encompassing optimism and bureaucratic spin of Superintendent Carmen Balgobin’s tightlipped administration.   

ACHTUNG! The All-Knowing, Benevolent, and Imperial Leader has compassionately saved you from unwitting exposure to the swill of lies and discontent disgorging from that fetid sewer that is Barker’s View!  Return to your toil, Dalits!  Never mind those little people behind the velvet curtain!

I don’t know whether to be angry, amused, or proud of the accomplishment…  

As a horribly uneducated rube, I haven’t studied social studies or comparative government in any formal way since my habitually truant days of high school. So, I found a dogeared textbook and turned to an explanation of authoritarian leadership and consolidation of power through the suppression of dissent:

“The control of information is another crucial lever of power for authoritarian leaders. By monopolizing the media landscape or heavily censoring internet access, regimes can drown out dissent and promote favorable narratives. Media channels under the regime’s thumb are used to propagate ideology, reinforce the leader’s image, and broadcast messages that deter mobilization of anti-regime sentiments. Coupled with this, state authorities often restrict access to independent news sources or block foreign media perceived as hostile.”

That’s when the District’s suppression of alternative opinions all made perfect sense.

Regardless, the censorship thing had a weird feel to it, but what I learned next borders on the pathological.

It recently came to my attention that Superintendent Balgobin is requiring that senior district employees sign non-disclosure agreements, a legally binding document effectively insulating what should be the “public” record by effectively silencing those with direct knowledge of district administrative practices.

At present, no one seems to know how far down the chain of command “Carmen’s Cloak of Secrecy” extends…

I cannot think of anything more corrosive to the idea of government in the sunshine – or more chilling to our sacred right of free speech – than demanding silence (and fealty) from recipients of public funds.   

After reviewing the agreement, it classifies “Confidential Information” as student records, legal matters, IT credentials, security plans, certain personnel information, disabilities, and health records – information already specifically protected by both Florida and Federal law.    

Then, things cross into the realm of persecutory paranoia, delusional mistrust, and a potential violation of Florida’s open records law…

Inconceivably, the NDA specifically prohibits the disclosure of “Information regarding the District’s financial operations, including budgets, funding sources, and allocation of resources,” including “Strategic planning documents and information.”  Further, the confidentiality pact expands to “Non-public communications between and among District personnel, the Department of Education, parents, students, and community stakeholders.” 

So, are all “community stakeholders” equal? 

Or are some more equal than others, authorized to receive “confidential information” from senior staff that lesser “stakeholders” (like me and you) may not be entitled to?

Then, as an all-inclusive (and highly subjective) blanket protection, the Balgobin NDA bars public employees from disclosing “Other information specifically designated as confidential by the District during the Employee’s tenure.”

“That’s Top Secret!” 

“Why?”

“Because I said so, that’s why!”

Frightening… 

Now, the overriding question of silenced employees inside Balgobin’s cloistered clique – and those of us who pay the bills – is why this cult of secrecy exists in a tax supported public entity?   

More disturbing, why are our elected representatives on the School Board allowing it?

Especially when the state of Florida has enacted serious civil and criminal penalties for violations of our venerated Sunshine Law.  Statutory regulations which allow citizens unfettered access to public meetings, the ability to receive and review records, speak truth to power, seek answers, and hold government leaders accountable for their actions.

For example, Florida law governing the fiscal transparency required of school districts specifically speaks to the importance of openness to ensuring the public’s understanding, and trust:

“It is important for school districts to provide budgetary transparency to enable taxpayers, parents, and education advocates to obtain school district budget and related information in a manner that is simply explained and easily understandable. Budgetary transparency leads to more responsible spending, more citizen involvement, and improved accountability. A budget that is not transparent, accessible, and accurate cannot be properly analyzed, its implementation thoroughly monitored, or its outcomes evaluated.”

That said, why would Superintendent Balgobin explicitly suppress the discussion of “Information regarding the District’s financial operations, including budgets?”

On Tuesday, the Volusia County School Board approved the tentative budget for 2025-26 at $1.175 Billion…

Last week in this space I wrote my jumbled thoughts on a shocking revelation by Volusia County School Board member Donna Brosemer that suggests the not-easily-explained manipulation of performance metrics by the Balgobin administration that reclassifies low-performing students to increase school grades and “improve” graduation rates. 

Is this covenant of secrecy designed to insulate District administrators and their “experts” who engage in the strategic pencil whipping of student performance data under the “Other information specifically designated as confidential” clause? 

Is there something more sinister afoot? 

Again, that’s the problem with nonsensical secrecy – it breeds speculation. 

And distrust…  

In my view, Volusia County taxpayers should have the ability to speak with senior school administrators about issues of community concern, seek answers to how our tax dollars are being allocated, and obtain information at its source. 

As a recipient of public funds, Dr. Balgobin should understand that she is duty bound to serve in the public interest – obey Florida’s open records laws – and conform to the ethical standards of her profession.

Here’s an irrefutable fact from up here in the cheap seats: Secrecy and intentional concealment in public organizations always comes with consequences…

Cui Bono?  Who Benefits from Palm Coast Mayor Mike Norris’ Downfall?   

I’ve said this before, but trite childishness driven by an overweening need for the spotlight of political drama and turmoil have become the hallmark of the Palm Coast City Council.  An ongoing embarrassment to residents who deserve better, and a testament to how far development interests will go to maintain power and control.

That trait isn’t unique to Palm Coast…

To keep the rancor and roil going, last week, the majority of the Palm Coast City Council (two of whom are unelected appointees) made good on their threat to ask Gov. Ron DeSantis to overturn the will (and sacred vote) of Palm Coast voters by ousting Mayor Mike Norris from his duly elected office.

Why? 

In my view, because “special interests” in the all-powerful real estate development community want Norris’ political head on a pike after he had the temerity to utter the “M” word. 

As you may remember, in March, Mayor Norris called for a moratorium on growth until the city’s already overstressed utilities infrastructure and flooding concerns can be adequately addressed.  At present, the city’s inadequate facilities (currently under a Florida Department of Environmental Destruction consent decree) have resulted in existing Palm Coast residents suffering some of the most onerous water and sewer rates in the state to pay for $512 million in needed upgrades.      

The mere mention of the word resulted in a telling ‘show of force’ as described by FlaglerLive.com:

“Mobilized like an army by the Flagler County Home Builders Association, the dump truck and trailers and semi cabs and pick-ups lined City Place and spilled onto Lake Avenue by City Hall this morning, their crews clustered in groups against the morning chill, a large “SAVE OUR CITY” banner stretched across the flank of a truck, with a red circle-backlash symbol painted over the head of Mayor Mike Norris.”  

The intent of that “demonstration” was clearly not lost of the other four members of the Palm Coast City Council, and Norris’ motion unceremoniously died for lack of a second.

The silence was deafening.

Undeterred by the input of angry residents demanding substantive relief from malignant overdevelopment, those developer shills on the dais of power launched an unrelenting barrage of “investigations,” allegations, insinuation, censures, alienation, and marginalization against Mayor Norris – including a half-baked complaint to the Florida Commission on Ethics…    

The brutality of the attacks wasn’t particularly skillful (or original), a cheap adaptation of the political Meidung employed by pliable elected tools set on destroying the personal and political credibility of independent freethinkers to ensure lockstep conformity in service to their political benefactors.

This week, the Florida Commission on Ethics dismissed the City Commission’s “complaint” against Mayor Norris citing “legal insufficiency.” 

Citing a laundry list of embroidered “outrageous conduct” – including “malfeasance, misfeasance, neglect of duty and incompetence,” along with Norris’ failed lawsuit challenging the appointment of Councilman Charles Gambaro – the remainder of the city’s compromised council members wrote a letter last week asking Gov. DeSantis to use the power of his office to suspend Mayor Norris and appoint a “temporary replacement” to fulfill the duties of mayor.

If Gov. DeSantis acts to remove Mayor Norris, the majority of the Palm Coast City Council would be comprised of unelected appointees sympathetic to development interests…  

How tragic.  How terribly Un-American.

On Monday, Mayor Norris hosted a town hall independent of city government which drew a supportive crowd of 150+ residents. 

According to a report in the Palm Coast Observer, “Many asked him (Norris) how they could help him. One man encouraged others to write to Gov. Ron DeSantis to support Norris and prevent him from being removed from office — and to sign a petition to remove Gambaro.

Norris thanked the crowd.

“It does my heart good to know I’ve got people that support me,” he said. “I’ve been beat down since May, and I’m just trying to do the right thing.”

Where does it end? 

Who ultimately benefits from Mayor Norris’ downfall?

In my view, this is a clear example of how greed-crazed special interests will shit on our freedoms, destroy our quality of life, and use their elected (appointed) shills to manipulate the system – including wholly ignoring the fundamental concepts of a representative democracy – anything to serve the mercenary interests of a few at the expense of many.  

In Volusia County: “Progress” > The “Tree of Life”  

“Commissioner (Brian) Ashley said it is a “really difficult” decision to approve cutting down historic trees, “because these trees are fantastic creatures, and no one likes to see a tree destroyed.

“In the course of the growth of New Smyrna Beach, we are going to run into situation where, for the greater good, a tree has to go, or a couple of trees have to go,” Ashley said. “I love trees, but when we have people who are making a very, very strong effort to preserve whatever they can while providing a community service, I think that’s kind of noble.”

–New Smyrna Beach City Commissioner Brian Ashley, as quoted by reporter Brenno Carillo in The Daytona Beach News-Journal, “NSB approves new medical office project on SR 44 at cost of historic trees,” Monday, July 28, 2025

Last weekend, my wife and I had dinner with friends in New Smyrna Beach, a once quaint beach community and the embodiment of the now lost ‘Old Florida’ lifestyle.  A unique vibe many areas of our increasingly claustrophobic state are trying (and spending) desperately to recreate.  

Unfortunately, nothing screams phony quite like a faux-beach town crafted around a contrived Jimmy Buffett lyric…   

Too late for all that now.

Like the rest of those inimitable places that laid their natural amenities and laidback quality of life on the altar of greed – then watched helplessly as some compromised schlubs they elected sold paradise for a false version of “progress” – around the dinner table we all agreed that New Smyrna isn’t what it used to be.

And the specter of Deering Park will sadly be the region’s coup de grâce…

On July 22, the New Smyrna Beach City Commission voted 3-2 to allow the destruction of three historic trees to (literally) pave the way for a two-story medical office and “wellness” complex on State Road 44. 

Mayor Fred Cleveland and Vice Mayor Lisa Martin voted against the removal. 

Once the damage was done, Commissioner Martin held her ground during the subsequent vote to greenlight the project, while Mayor Cleveland figured “If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em,” and the vote was 4-1 to approve the development…

In an eerily similar move, last month, the DeLand City Commission rubber stamped the wholesale destruction of 62 historic trees – mostly beautiful live oaks – which have stood for decades along the community “gateway” that is Cassadaga Road, to accommodate another “combination of warehouse and commercial space.”

At the time, Commissioner Richard Paiva whimpered about the weighty decision that had befallen the elected body, “These types of decisions are a little challenging for us because I get reminded by people who object that we are Tree City USA.”

“This is not easy,” Paiva said, “but in this case, if we say yes to trees, we’re kind of saying no to business and to jobs.”

Bullshit. 

Anyone else sick and tired of the disingenuous puling of complicit elected officials who turn every environmental decision into a handwringing moral conundrum – then invariably vote to facilitate more, more, more development while thousands of square feet of commercial space remain vacant throughout the region?

All at the cost of more trees, greenspace, wetlands, wildlife habitat, etcetera…

I find that sanctimonious horseshit infuriating.   

Year after year, Florida loses thousands of acres of old growth natural forest and tree canopy through the deforestation inherent to destructive slash-and-burn land clearing for residential and commercial development. The malignant sprawl results in habitat loss and fragmentation, threats to biodiversity, increased competition for water, and more stress on our now overwhelmed utilities and infrastructure.  

Our patronizing ‘powers that be’ should understand their constituents are smart enough to see that this rapid erosion of what we hold dear happens one tree at a time…

Quote of the Week

“These officials, including those on the Deltona City Commission, knew there would be issues with any new land development regulations they sought to pass, including the moratorium proposed by the City. Commissioner Howington stated in a letter to the governor that, “SB 180 would restrict municipalities from enacting certain types of ordinances” as she knew it would directly impact her push for a moratorium in Deltona.

Even though SB 180 was likely to be signed by the governor because of the overwhelming legislative support, some commissioners in Deltona doubled down to pass an ordinance that would be in direct defiance of state legislation. On June 30, 2025, after SB 180 had been signed and was in full effect, Deltona passed an ordinance to institute a moratorium in Deltona. Being unable to locate the economic impact report on the city’s website (as required prior to approving a moratorium), it is hard to say what economic impact this moratorium will have on the city and what type of funds will need to be made up by the residents. What is quite clear is that four of Deltona’s commissioners have said that building a new home in a community in Deltona is good for me, but not for thee.”

–Volusia Building Industry Association Executive Director Allison Root, as excerpted from her op/ed in the West Volusia Beacon, “Deltona’s moratorium: a lesson in neglecting the law,” Tuesday, July 22, 2025  

“I find it outrageous that Allison Root, executive officer of the Volusia Building Industry Association and longtime Deltona resident, is standing up for developers instead of her neighbors. Deltona should have a moratorium on development. Our city needs to fix the infrastructure before another major rain event. Allowing development to continue while this problem isn’t addressed is dumb. But, I don’t have a financial interest in allowing development like Allison Root does.

When I cannot get out of Deltona because all the roads are flooded with pumps running 24-7 to get to my job, it costs me money on my paycheck. When Louise Lake is overflowing onto Courtland Boulevard, it is a problem that allowing more development will not fix. Volusia County is currently taking steps to fix the county infrastructure; why shouldn’t Deltona do the same?”

–Deltona Resident Terry Desjardins, as excerpted from the West Volusia Beacon editorial “Deltona needs its development moratorium,” Tuesday, July 29, 2025

The debate between waterlogged residents across the width and breadth of Volusia County and development interests continues – while the bulldozers roar…

And Another Thing!

For years, municipal and county governments in Volusia County have chosen to deal with the “homeless problem” by not dealing with it. 

I know. I helped perpetuate the problem for years.

For good or ill, President Donald Trump just changed all that…

Last Week, President Trump signed an executive order to “…restore order to American cities and remove vagrant individuals from our streets, redirecting federal resources toward programs that tackle substance abuse and returning to the acute necessity of civil commitment.”

That means big changes are coming to the way communities deal with homelessness, and it won’t be pretty to watch…  

The order redirects federal funding to ensure that individuals living on the streets – often people suffering from serious mental illness and addiction – are moved into “treatment centers, assisted outpatient treatment, or other facilities.”

The unfortunate reality is residential treatment centers are few and far between around these parts, and something tells me the idea of the involuntary internment of homeless persons for the “crime” of not having a roof over their heads, won’t be well received by homeless advocacies and service providers at the tip of the spear.      

But one thing is clear, doing the same thing over and over while expecting a different result is no longer an option…  

In my view, for too long, Volusia County and its municipalities have put the bulk of scarce homeless assistance funds into that enigmatic housing assistance program misleadingly known as First Step Shelter. 

In turn, the First Step Board of Directors (when not defending the “shelter’s” executive director) run interference for politicians who supply its lifeblood by touting the number of people moved into their definition of “permanent housing.”

That concept was recently explained by a verbose board member on social media as a “complex network of programs including VA vouchers, transitional housing, recovery facilities, private landlords willing to work with case-managed clients, and partnerships with Changing Homelessness.”   

Whatever that means…  

The unfortunate reality is that every community in Volusia County still experience a very noticeable homeless population – the drunk, drugged, lame, and crazy – those who are physically or mentally incapable of maintaining a safe place to live and obviously don’t meet the “criteria” for acceptance onto First Step’s “path to housing.”   

I live in Ormond Beach – a beachside community with an overly high opinion of itself – that currently gifts First Step $82,000 of our tax dollars annually.  Despite the fact many of our elected officials use that money as false evidence they are “doing something,” the visible reality is we have a growing number of homeless people inhabiting commercial areas and neighborhoods.    

For instance, one morning last week, I counted five obviously homeless people – all their worldly belongings in bindles, on bicycles, or stuffed into trash bags – ambling along the tony main thoroughfare of Granada Boulevard between Nova Road and Beach Street.

In a recent editorial in the Ormond Beach Observer, a concerned resident urged city officials to do something to help homeless persons living the area of a proposed Walmart Supercenter expansion on SR-40, citing “…there’s still a big issue with homelessness that won’t just go away.”

Unfortunately, the majority of Ormond Beach elected officials go to great lengths to convince anyone watching that everything’s fine (because what else are they going to say?).

In May, as a means of publicly embarrassing Mayor Jason Leslie for having the temerity to question the effectiveness of Ormond Beach’s sizeable contribution to First Step, the remainder of the City Commission scoffed at him before firing off a nonsensical letter of support to the First Step board…    

For what?

This ‘head in the sand’ approach by elected officials across Volusia County is both heartbreaking and infinitely frustrating – and “success stories” don’t mean shit so long as there is a sizeable population suffering withering heat, desperate cold, thunderstorms, and indignities on the streets without a viable alternative.

Tragically, in other parts of the country, the problem is infinitely worse – with massive homeless encampments encroaching on city streets, bridges and overpasses turned into tent cities, with open drug use, rampant street crime, victimization, and exploitation – an apocalyptic disintegration of good order that has destroyed the economic viability of some of America’s largest cities.

According to President Trump’s directive, shifting homeless persons “into long-term institutional settings for humane treatment is the most proven way to restore public order.”  Rest assured that using law enforcement and involuntary institutionalization to combat a social/health/economic problem is going to receive very vocal pushback from social service providers.

Almost immediately, something called the National Homeless Law Center fired the first salvo saying, in part, “Today’s executive order, combined with MAGA’s budget cuts for housing and healthcare, will increase the number of people forced to live in tents, in their cars, and on the streets. This order does nothing to lower the cost of housing or help people make ends meet. The safest communities are those with the most housing and resources, not those that make it a crime to be poor or sick. Forced treatment is unethical, ineffective, and illegal.”

So, it appears we are going from a hands-off approach to involuntary incarcerating homeless people – without any currently available options for confining or treating those less fortunate in Volusia County – beyond a few underfunded non-profits and an incredibly expensive “housing program” recently put on a short leash by those government entities who pay for it.

Perhaps now Volusia County will finally get the come as you are homeless shelter we were promised in the first place?

In my view, as we face this quantum change in the way we address homelessness, now is the time to determine the when, where, why, and how scarce public funds can be used to serve the largest number of people in need within growing budget and resource constraints.    

We’ll see…

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 Schools – Cause for Concern

“Volusia County Schools is now an A district for the first time since the 2008-2009 school year. What were some of the strategies that the district implemented to help achieve this?

There is still a disconnect between our proficiency rates and our graduation rates.

I know that the teachers work very hard to get their kids over the finish line. There are other strategies that the district uses that are a little harder to explain, and that includes transferring out the lower performing students who they know are not likely to graduate, so that they are in either online school or alternative schools or charter schools, and they don’t count against their assigned school’s graduation rate.  

I’m still trying to find out exactly how that works and see what we can do to make our numbers between proficiency and graduation come closer together.”

–As excerpted from the Ormond Beach Observer, “Policies for proficiency: Q+A with Volusia County School Board member Donna Brosemer,” Wednesday, July 16, 2025

I admire Volusia County School Board member Donna Brosemer. 

In an atmosphere where toxic positivity conceals the ugly truth, it takes courage to say the quiet part out loud, and speak truth to powerful appointed bureaucrats with no political liability and little external oversight…   

As a longtime observer of Volusia County politics, I knew from the moment Ms. Brosmer challenged the entrenched Carl Persis for the District 4 seat her road ahead would be craggy and fraught with impediments to progress.

For the first time in a long time, Volusia County District Schools was getting a true conservative voice – not another obsequious bobble-head doing the bidding of influential insiders or a whackadoodle comedienne still haunted by her oddball performance at an out-of-town confab – but a thoughtful leader with strategic vision in service to stakeholders.    

In my view, Ms. Brosemer brings a refreshing competence to a board in desperate need of independent thought, openness, and a sense that those elected to represent the interest of taxpayers should do just that.

Last week, Ms. Brosemer sat for an interview with the Ormond Beach Observer – an exchange which provided insight into her priorities for Volusia County schools – and a shocking revelation that seemed to mirror the manipulation of student enrollments in other districts around the state as a means of artificially bolstering graduation rates…

Most notably, in June, Fox 35 Orlando reported that a Florida Office of Inspector General investigation found credible evidence of misconduct by the former superintendent and assistant superintendent of Sumpter County Schools.  The investigation determined the administration, “…engaged in systemic falsification of student data by establishing so-called “shell schools” at various campuses across the county dating back to 2016.”

According to Fox 35, the OIA found that low-performing students were withdrawn from their assigned schools and enrolled — without their knowledge or parental consent — in a district-run virtual school under a separate school code to inflate “performance metrics.”

Sounds eerily familiar to what Ms. Brosemer described at Volusia County Schools…

Earlier this month, Superintendent Balgobin said in a press release published in the Observer:

“This A is more than a measure of academic success; it is a reflection of a district and a community that chose to come together — with purpose and with heart — to ignite a passion for learning in all students. When our School Board, families, staff, and community partners stand together and work hard, our students and community excel.” 

In a video address, Dr. Balgobin described the districts success as a “special moment more than 15 years in the making.”

“An achievement of this magnitude didn’t happen by accident,” she said. “It truly happened by design. It took a lot of heart, hard work, intentionality and a strong belief in our mission of igniting a passion for learning in all students.”

According to Balgobin’s gushing “July News Bites,” 100% of Volusia County schools scored an A, B, or C – “No Ds or Fs,” the 94% graduation rate is the second highest in Central Florida, with all high schools rated A or B “for the first time in district history.”

Excuse my skepticism…

In my view, the reign of Superintendent Carmen Balgobin and her top-heavy administration has been marked by a lack of transparency.  A pathological need to sugarcoat and keep what happens in the Ivory Tower of Power in DeLand a secret from both the School Board and those of us who pay the bills.

Time, and time, and time again…

When you add the School Board’s standard practice of allowing the tail to wag the dog – serving as a virtual rubber stamp for the administration rather than our elected oversight – in my view, the environment is ripe for abuse and manipulation.

If you have children still enrolled in Volusia County public schools or pay taxes to support them, this revelation is truly cause for concern.

If this magical transformation is less “purpose and heart” and more systemic manipulation to skew graduation rates as described, then it will be incumbent upon the Inspector General – and the Volusia County School Board – to take swift action to preserve the public trust and save students, teachers, and staff from the lasting stigma of manufactured “success.”  

City of Daytona Beach – A New “Watchdog” at City Hall 

“For decades, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has been unaccountable to taxpayers as it funnels massive sums of money to the ridiculous — and, in many cases, malicious — pet projects of entrenched bureaucrats, with next-to-no oversight.”

–The White House, February 3, 2025  

“At their Wednesday July 16 meeting, (Daytona Beach) commissioners voted to hire Abinet Belachew, a seasoned auditing and financial management professional with over two decades of experience, to be their new city auditor.

Belachew has most recently served as director of the Office of Financial Management for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). In his role, which is being eliminated as part of federal government cuts under the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency, he managed a $1.2 billion budget and led a team responsible for financial reporting, internal controls and compliance in high-risk international environments…”

–Reporter Eileen Zaffiro-Kean, The Daytona Beach News-Journal, “Daytona Beach’s new internal auditor will keep a close eye on tax dollars,” Tuesday, July 22, 2025

Earlier this week, the City of Daytona Beach hired Abinet Belachew to serve as its new internal auditor. Reporting directly to the City Commission, Mr. Belachew will be responsible for “…financial, fiscal compliance, financial procedure, legal and administrative audits of all city departments, offices, agencies and programs.”

The position was authorized by voters in 2014 and placed in the City Charter. 

According to the report, Mr. Belachew’s ancillary duties will include establishing an annual oversight plan prior to the start of each fiscal year, conducting “special audits and investigations” as directed by the commission, performing quarterly payroll audits, unannounced cash counts in all departments, and verifying pension and payroll data.

One would assume those measures were already being undertaken by the city’s Chief Financial Officer, but adding an additional set of eyes with a sole focus on ensuring fiscal accountability is a good thing – especially in a governmental organization with a budget now reaching $350 million – that continues to expand into commercial real estate, the restaurant industry, and retail grocery business…   

In my view, if the Daytona Beach City Commission sicced Mr. Belachew on ferreting out how $120+ million in public funds from the Main Street Redevelopment Area evaporated over the last 30-years – or finally determine exactly what is going on out at that enigma wrapped in a conundrum that is the First Step Shelter – he will more than earn his $163,271 annual salary… 

According to the News-Journal article, Mr. Belachew clearly has the credentials and experience for this important job; including an impressive career as director of internal audit for the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, controller at the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, controller for the Washington, D.C., government, and senior manager with two public accounting firms.

Unfortunately, his previous employer, USAID, where Mr. Belachew served from 2013 until the international aid organization was unceremoniously dismantled by the Trump administration earlier this year, is now widely associated with gross government waste, fraud, abuse, and a complete lack of fiscal accountability.

Having your organizations ‘financial irregularities’ spread across the front page of every newspaper in the world isn’t exactly a ‘key attribute’ for the old résumé, eh?

Oh, well. I’ll bet there is little in the way of fiscal shenanigans Mr. Belachew hasn’t seen.

Some would say having served as director of the Office of Financial Management of an agency once described as a “black hole” of taxpayer dollars – now identified with reckless spending, rewarding failure, throwing away good money after bad, funding corruption, etc. – will be a hard association for Mr. Belachew to overcome.

Others would say that it is the best preparation he could possibly have had for his new role in a municipal government in Volusia County…

Protect Volusia – A Grassroots Advocacy We Need Now, More Than Ever

Margaret Mead was right. 

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”

Last week, three committed citizens – Elena Krafft, Robin Magleora and Britney Álamo – announced the formation of the nonprofit (and non-partisan) Protect Volusia.  The goal of the organization is advocating “…for responsible growth, government transparency and environmental preservation” throughout Volusia County. 

The notion is not lost on me that while it is one thing to mawkishly complain about problems (I do it religiously), it is quite another to put one’s time, talents, and effort into finding fundamental solutions to the seemingly intractable problems we collectively face here on Florida’s “Fun Coast.”

According to a report by Jarleene Almenas writing in the Ormond Beach Observer this week, the tree founders of Protect Volusia began their journey in civic advocacy by fighting the proposed Belvedere Fuel Terminal, an environmental and public safety abomination, that was once (and perhaps still) slated for the most inappropriate spot on the Eastern Seaboard near the Ormond Beach Municipal Airport and sports facility. 

“With the fuel terminal, we all came together to try to protect our community,” Krafft said. “We got to meet such wonderful people. I couldn’t believe the amount of people that were just, absolutely ready to fight, ready to protect the place.”

Throughout the course of the next two years, they developed a good relationship with others in the community — and that stayed with them, Krafft said. It organically grew into advocating for other issues people were facing, like flooding, development concerns and feeling unheard by their elected officials.”

In my view, the group’s well-thought mission statement is a primer for good citizenship and community advocacy:

“Our mission is to protect the health, safety, and quality of life of Volusia County residents by advocating for responsible growth, government transparency, and environmental preservation. We amplify community voices, demand accountability from elected officials, and stand up for the values that make Volusia a place worth protecting.”

That’s something we can all get behind.

Kudos to Elena Krafft, Robin Magleora and Britney Álamo – and all the environmental, growth management, and government watchdogs, activists, and advocacies in Volusia and Flagler Counties – for having the courage to stand tall and protect the wonderful attributes that make this such a special place. 

For more information, please find the Protect Volusia website at: https://protectvolusia.org/

Quote of the Week

“At the July 16 Wednesday night meeting, Mayor Derrick Henry and city commissioners Monica Paris and Quanita May didn’t share their opinions about beach driving. Henry did indicate he’d probably be fine with dogs on the beach from Seabreeze Boulevard to Williams Avenue, which is just south of Bellair Plaza.

But the mayor said beach driving is “another matter.”

“We have to talk about it,” Henry said, referring to beach driving. “It’s not quite that cut and dry for me.”

The county is hoping for a resolution of support from the city saying it wants beach driving in the stretch that includes the Main Street and Boardwalk area. But it’s not clear yet if there will be at least four commission votes to make that happen.

One solid yes vote will come from City Commissioner Stacy Cantu.

“I grew up here. I remember driving on the beach even at nighttime,” Cantu said. “I’m in total support of beach driving.”

“So am I,” said City Commissioner Paula Reed, who also grew up in Daytona Beach. “That’s what makes us the world’s most famous beach.”

City Commissioner Ken Strickland said he supports beach driving “wholeheartedly.”

The city manager said he’ll have commissioners vote on the beach driving expansion at a future meeting.

Cantu, Reed, Strickland and Henry all said they’re OK with allowing dogs on the 1.73-mile stretch from Seabreeze Boulevard to Williams Avenue.

City and county attorneys will talk now and decide how to proceed.”

–Reporter Eileen Zaffiro-Kean, writing in The Daytona Beach News-Journal, “Daytona Beach considering beach driving from International Speedway Blvd. to Ocean Center,” Thursday, July 17, 2025

The beleaguered Main Street Merchants Association, along with what remains of Boardwalk businesses, have suffered mightily from the devastating economic impacts of removing beach driving between East International Speedway Boulevard and Auditorium Boulevard.

Last year, they approached Volusia County Council Chair Jeff Brower for help.  

According to estimates, Main Street businesses suffered a 50% decrease in revenue in 2000, the first summer cars were taken off the beach. 

Because the matter was brought forward by Chairman Brower, the ossified “Old Guard” on the Volusia County Council hemmed and hawed, doing everything possible to postpone and procrastinate on the issue.

Then, in an incredibly smart parliamentary chess move, Councilman Troy Kent was able to get the all-but-dead issue resurrected.  

Trust me, our ‘powers that be’ – both on the dais and those puppeteers who manipulate the rods and strings behind the scenes – aren’t accustomed to changing course, even when the results of their self-serving ideas have resulted in civic and fiscal disaster for the rest of us.

Just once, I wish those we elect to represent our interests would try something new. 

Something fun.  Something different.    

A forward-thinking strategy, one different from the stagnant status quo, that would return prosperity to the beachside by improving access to our most important economic asset. 

The return to a time when beach driving set The World’s Most Famous Beach apart, a time of vibrance, prominence, and pride – when Daytona Beach was a nationally recognized destination – before the greed factor saw politicians trade away our traditions as a cheap spiff for the next “game changing” panacea project…

In my view, Commissioners Stacy Cantu, Ken Strickland, and Paula Reed deserve thanks for their staunch support of beleaguered Main Street merchants and those Halifax area residents pushing hard to return beach driving and access.  

Smart people understand that the best way to correct a mistake is to listen to those effected, acknowledge the error, then change tack – return to what was successful – try again with the wisdom of hindsight, and stop blundering down the same path expecting a different result.

In my view, there is no shame in returning to what “worked” by restoring the amenities, draw, and access that once brought people, and prosperity, to our core tourist area.

And Another Thing!

One year ago, those self-described “fiscal conservatives” on the Volusia County Council dipped into voter approved ECHO funds – bureaucratically commandeering approximately $10 million in a scheme known as “direct county expenditures” – to include $3.5 million for Councilman Don Dempsey’s self-indulgent motocross facility to be built on property paid for with Volusia Forever conservation funds… 

You read that right.

This week, without any substantive discussion, explanation (or a second thought), they again dipped into their tax supported slush fund for an additional $5 million to cover nine new projects. 

The vote was unanimous (with Councilman Johansson absent) based on little more than a CYA staff memo and cursory “review” by the ECHO advisory committee.

According to the agenda item, since 2007, Volusia County has taken $37,633,718 through the DCE shim-sham…

Per usual, senior staff justified this sneak thievery through their construal of “ballot language” – along with a 2020 resolution permitting county government to fund projects by “direct county expenditures” – which means they take what they want, when they want in order to fund projects that should be budgeted as recurring repair and replacement expenses for existing facilities. 

For instance, in the latest grab, $400,000 has been allocated to make repairs to the dome, paint bricks, and refinish floors at the Historic Court House in DeLand (?).   

Other expenditures include paving projects in county parks, “lighting, sound equipment and power distribution upgrades” at the Ocean Center (will that place ever support its own existence?), ADA compliance upgrades at restroom facilities, relocating air conditioning units at the Fairgrounds, and other projects one would typically associate with budgeted expenses or those covered (one would hope) by parks and recreation impact fees. 

Public tax dollars allocated with little more than the wave of a wand…

Last year, Volusia County’s internal audit of the ECHO program determined the need for a “written handbook” clarifying the Direct County Expenditure scam. Written protocols and explanations that would “strengthen controls” for DCE projects – to include eligibility and evaluation criteria, the analysis of ongoing costs, and reporting/monitoring requirements – to educate advisory committee members and “stakeholders” (read: We, The Little People).  

It’s now July 2025, and I’ll be dipped in doo-doo if I can find that explanatory “handbook” the audit team suggested on the Volusia County website…   

Unfortunately, the idea of acquiring and preserving environmental, cultural, historic, and outdoor recreation amenities through competitive application, committee review, eligibility evaluation, scoring, and the myriad other hoops required during the award process is only for non-profits, municipal governments and us peons, piss-ants, and little people who pay the bills.

Not County government. 

It is that arrogance and sense of entitlement that perpetuates the malignant “trust issue” that continues to erode public confidence.  A greed factor that will forever cloud any tax-supported initiative Volusia County government can get their fingers in.

In my view, most responsible government entities (without a tax supported piggybank at their disposal) properly budget for capital asset repair, replacement, and upgrade obligations each year.

That is accomplished by prioritizing needs, following protocols for the allocation of public funds, and living within their means.

They don’t quibble resolutions, interpret ballot language, and stretch programmatic intent to shoehorn anything and everything – including the pet personal projects of sitting politicians – into a slimy slush fund where our tax dollars are regularly looted to cover the ongoing mismanagement of preventive maintenance, repair, and replacement of existing public assets. 

In a disturbing development, the discussion of how to proceed with Dempsey’s Folly – the publicly funded motorcross training facility ramrodded through the ECHO and Forever funding process for the oxymoronic purpose of “conservation and outdoor motorized recreation” – has been pushed to August 5, 2025.

At present, the three possible scenarios being considered include forcing Volusia County taxpayers into the motorsports industry with a county built and operated facility that you and I would equip, maintain, staff, and manage. 

(What?  You don’t know squat about the motorcross industry? Or how to perform a peg-standing cliff hanger off a whoop-de-doo, or the first thing about operating a racetrack?  That’s okay.  Neither does Volusia County government, but Mr. Dempsey gets what Mr. Dempsey wants.)

The second suggests that you and I (read: Volusia County taxpayers) build the facility, underwrite the cost of construction, giftwrap it in cash, then hand it over to a private entity that would operate and maintain the track, then pay the county a portion of their “profits.”

The final suggestion includes requesting proposals from independent contractors who would construct, maintain, assume liability, and operate the motorcross facility – with you and I sweetening the pot by funding “…site readiness improvements to make the parcel more attractive to a private developer.”

According to the agenda item, one of the problems with the third option is the same idea has already been unsuccessfully tried in other areas of the state, and there is a “high probability of not receiving bids.” 

So why are we considering spending public funds on a demonstrably failed idea?

You may disagree with me (most do) – but I’m not a fan of any of the staff suggestions offered.

In my view, if a private motorcross operator wants to purchase property and construct a state-of-the-art facility in Volusia County, they should do so on a fair and level playing field, based on due diligence, getting government (and public funds) out of the mix, instead of putting an expensive nice-to-have on the shoulders of already strapped taxpayers.   

Most Volusia County taxpayers would agree – we were led to believe that the ECHO and Forever programs were designed to secure passive outdoor recreation and conservation opportunities for the widest possible public use – not underwrite expensive playgrounds for elected officials’ intent on using public funds to further their private interests.

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:

Florida League of Cities – Unmerited Trophies Destroy Public Confidence  

As a longtime observer of all-things government, I’ve come to accept the contradictions, sensationalized misinformation, and petty backstabbing inherent to that cloistered (and horribly corrupted) political biome, now predominantly inhabited by egotistical dullards suffering delusions of grandeur. 

Despite having gained some hard bark over the years, I still cannot stomach the stench of lies – “pay to play” schemes, legalized quid pro quo corruption, and gross self-aggrandizement by mealy-mouth schlubs holding high office – a deleterious trend that is destroying public confidence in government.

That includes the pernicious practice of undeserved rewards and accolades – not for merit or genuine achievement in the public interest – but to foster cheap influence by providing cover and concealment for compromised politicians.   

For instance, the DeLand City Commission recently authorized the wholesale destruction of 62 historic trees to accommodate another “combination of warehouse and commercial space,” yet the city somehow retained its distinction as a “Tree City USA” bestowed by the Arbor Day Foundation.

As a result, the once coveted recognition is now meaningless to residents who will watch in disgust as those historic trees are ground to splinters to accommodate more development.

Last week, the Ormond Beach Observer reported that the Florida League of Cities awarded State Rep. Bill Partington it’s “…Legislative Appreciation Award for his work during the 2025 Legislative Session to protect local decision making of Florida’s municipalities.”

Which is complete horseshit… 

On April 29, 2025, Mr. Partington sold his political soul to his political benefactors in the real estate development community when he voted for SB 180 – legislation which eviscerated the home rule right to self-determination of every city and county in Florida – and virtually eliminated any impediment to continued malignant sprawl under the guise of expediting post disaster restoration efforts.

The bill, which was signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis last month, has been widely denounced by local governments around the state trying desperately to bring common sense regulations or temporarily pause growth until infrastructure, utilities, and stormwater management can catch up to current demands.

Not anymore.

Under the new law, which was supported by major real estate developers (read: our legislators sugar daddies) local governments are prohibited from making land use and development changes – retroactive to August 2024 – and allows developers to file suit seeking injunctive relief, including attorney fees, for any building or land use regulation they find “restrictive or burdensome.”    

Acting like the cat that ate the canary, Rep. Partington was quoted, “Thank you to the Florida League of Cities for this incredible honor,” Partington said. “I’m deeply grateful to be recognized with the 2025 Legislative Appreciation Award for defending local decision making and empowering municipal leadership across our great state.”

In my view, to undeservedly offer an award recognizing Mr. Partington for “defending local decision-making” after he voted for the most sweeping anti-home rule legislation in recent history is one thing – but shamelessly accepting an honor he must know is wholly unmerited is quite another. 

Who does that?

Unfortunately, with these undeserved awards going to those who so willingly preempted local control, the Florida League of Cities has become an irrelevant fraternity – a neutered watchdog taken to handing out plaques rather than effectively lobbying for its members – no longer pertinent to the cause of preserving charter government and protecting the sacred concept of self-determination enshrined in their slogan, “local voices making local choices.”

I no longer expect much from those perennial politicians who ingratiate themselves with special interests then climb the ladder – their self-serving motives are easy to discern. 

However, in my view, advocacies like the Florida League of Cities have an obligation to stand with those local elected officials who truly champion the right of communities to control their destiny and strive to represent their desperate constituents over the for-profit motives of developers.

Palm Coast City Council vs. Mayor Mike Norris – Enough is Enough  

By its nature, politics is confrontational. 

A battle of ideologies and vision – a war to win ‘hearts and minds’ – a hard-fought contest to convince voters of the superiority of a candidate’s ideas and ultimately prevail at the ballot box.  Unfortunately, here in the Sunshine State, most political contests have become a means for mercenary special interests to control their environment by stacking the deck.    

When the ballots are counted and the election night parties wind down, that’s when the real contest begins – the struggle for power and dominance – the ability to control a majority vote on councils and commissions by crushing any impediment to the profit motives of those well-heeled contributors who brought them to the dance.  

Don’t take my word for it. 

Ask Volusia County Council Chair Jeff Brower what happens when you become the square peg that refuses to be beaten into the round hole of conformity?

In the City of Palm Coast, Mayor Mike Norris is being taught a tough lesson in what it means to stand against the interests of real estate developers intent on a massive “westward expansion” – despite the fact growth has long overtaken the capacity of the city’s utilities.  

When you add the fact Norris is somewhat rough around the edges when dealing with those delicate flowers (read: senior city officials) who inhabit Palm Coast City Hall, it becomes easy to paint him as an iconoclastic cad, a sharp-elbowed rogue physiologically incapable of reason or compromise.

In April, the City Council commissioned an outside “investigation” of Mayor Norris which ended in one of those weird Kangaroo Kourts where his “colleagues” served as judge, jury, and executioner.  For his refusal to play nice with others, Norris was publicly embarrassed – handed a meaningless “vote of no confidence” – and referred to the Florida Commission on Ethics for reasons that remain unclear.

In May, the Battle Royale continued with Norris filing a lawsuit challenging the council’s October 2024 appointment of Charles Gambaro, a brigadier general with the U.S. Army Reserve, who many rightfully saw as an attaché of former Mayor/Palm Coast Realtor David Alfin. 

At the time, Gambaro was administratively selected for the seat without standing for election following the resignation of former council member Cathy Heighter.    

According to a report in the Palm Coast Observer last week, “Circuit Court Judge Christopher France found Norris had no legal standing to file the law. France also said, “Although the result is flawed, the charter was complied with to fill the vacancy.” 

In addition, “In the City Council meeting on July 8, Gambaro asked the council to consider going after Norris for the city’s attorney fees used in the lawsuit, an estimated $30,000. Norris said the council could take him to court for those fees and that he didn’t “care if it costs the city a million dollars,” he would continue “defending our residents right to pick their representative.”    

Then, last Friday, Palm Coast residents got a glimpse of just how petty-minded things can get when internecine spats take precedence over the ‘people’s business.’

According to reports, David Ayers, the host of WNZF radio’s “Free for All Fridays,” was joined by Gambaro, Palm Coast Economic Manager Craig McKinney, and co-host Brian McMillan (who also serves as publisher of the Palm Coast Observer) who were “…all surprised when Ayres proposed giving out the mayor’s work cell phone number for an informal “poll” for residents.”

“We text the mayor and say, ‘Hey, Mayor Mike, I love you. You’re doing a great job. Keep it up.’ Or we text him and say, ‘You need to go, please resign,’” Ayres said. “So it’d be kind of an A or B, yes, we support you, [or] no, we don’t.”

In turn, Mayor Norris, also a retired Army officer who has proven he can take a punch and give one, responded by posting Gambaro’s personal cell phone number on Facebook – calling Gambaro “the epitome of a DEI (Didn’t Earn It) Hire.” 

The mayor suggested his supporter’s text “NO DEI” to Gambaro. 

It was childish.  A tit-for-tat retaliation, and (one would hope) everyone understood that.   

Then, Gambaro took things to the extreme – accusing Mayor Norris of violating a law that went into effect July 1 which apparently makes it a crime to release a sitting public official’s personal telephone number or home address (say what?), further insulating our elected officials from those they took an oath to serve.   

On Saturday, Norris edited his social media post changing the number to Gambaro’s city issued cell phone.

It didn’t end there.

In a self-aggrandizing “statement” published in the Palm Coast Observer, the easily intimidated Gambaro appeared to be shaking in his boots – clearly traumatized by the fact his constituents were given access to his personal cell phone number – while disavowing any prior knowledge of Mr. Ayers “survey” using Mayor Norris’ city cell phone, then listing his military résumé for effect.  

In my view, that’s when Gen. Gambaro jumped the shark…

“The release of my personal phone number to the public on Mayor Norris’ Facebook page was intentionally done to intimidate my family and I. This reckless action violates the spirit of the recent Senate Bill 268, that was enacted into law on July 1, 2025.

This law was established to protect the private information of public officials and their families as they choose to serve in public office. This is truly the action of a reckless man that does not care about the safety of the residents he was elected to serve.”

Really? 

The Council/Norris feud hit its nadir on Tuesday when, for the second time in three months, the council voted 4-1 to censure Mayor Norris – this time agreeing to request that Gov. Ron DeSantis overturn the will of 63% of Palm Coast voters and remove Norris from office.

According to a report in FlaglerLive.com this week, “The vote followed a brief statement by Council member Charles Gambaro describing Norris as exhibiting a “pattern of toxic behavior,” and whose “fear and intimidation represent a clear and present danger to the citizens of Palm Coast” and city employees.”

Clearly Councilman “Thin-skinned” Gambaro’s penchant for dramatic overreaction knows no bounds…  

During the meeting, Vice Mayor Theresa Pontieri cited her belief the mayor has given “recurring misstatements, contradictions and misrepresentations” regarding legal advice from city attorneys who claim Norris was advised he had no chance of prevailing in his lawsuit challenging the Gambaro appointment.

For his part, Norris denies receiving counsel from the legal staff that he lacked standing. 

Now, Pontieri wants Norris to pay all or part of the $30,000 the city paid an outside hired gun to defend the lawsuit.

In my experience, pettiness and cheap manipulation are counter to an accessible and responsive local government – and reflect poorly on the character of those melodramatic mavens holding high office who perpetuate the timewasting roil.   

In the sad case of Palm Coast, I have a fairly good idea what the stakes are – so do those who stand to benefit.  

More important, I understand the motivations of those behind the constant Sturm und Drang at City Hall.  If you live, pay taxes, and experience the claustrophobic effects of overdevelopment on your quality of life anywhere in Flagler County, I suspect you do too…  

Perhaps now is the time for Palm Coast residents to say, “enough is enough.”             

All sides should know that bullying, frivolous controversy, and headline grabbing revenge for every perceived slight is distracting from the significant issues facing Palm Coast residents, and those who indulge in these self-serving histrionics should face the consequences at the ballot box.  

Volusia County’s Iconic Tourism Advocate Bob Davis – Requiescat in Pace

I didn’t always agree with Bob Davis, the longtime President and CEO of the Lodging & Hospitality Association of Volusia County, but I always admired his tireless advocacy for the Daytona Beach Resort Area and the economic engine that is our tourism industry.   

By any metric, Bob Davis was sui generis. 

The self-proclaimed “Mouth of the South” – a true force of nature – with a visceral devotion to the betterment of his community. 

Writing on social media this week, Volusia County Council member Matt Reinhart, who serves as chair of the county’s Tourist Development Council, expressed the thoughts of many area civic leaders when he eloquently recalled Mr. Davis’s love for promoting Volusia County to the world:

“Bob Davis was more than just Volusia County’s most passionate advocate for the hospitality industry—he was one of the most sincere, generous, and dedicated individuals I’ve ever had the privilege to know.

A mentor, a philanthropist, and a true believer in the power of community, Bob didn’t just love the hospitality industry—he cared deeply about our schools, our students, and their future. He believed in education, in opportunity, and in the importance of lifting others up, especially through literacy and learning.

I’ll never forget when I was first campaigning—Bob was the first to take me under his wing and teach me everything I needed to know about our vital tourism and hospitality sectors. He wanted everyone to understand how much these industries meant to our region, and he did it with unmatched passion and warmth.

Bob was widely loved, deeply respected, and will be sorely missed. There will truly never be another like him. There will only ever be one Bob Davis.”

Sadly, Bob Davis passed away on Sunday following a courageous battle with cancer. 

He was 87.

To honor Mr. Davis’s legacy, please consider a donation to the “Bob Davis Culinary and Hospitality Endowed Scholarship” at Daytona State College. 

Donations may be made here: https://tinyurl.com/6uxju7up

Quote of the Week

“Volusia County Councilman Jake Johansson has raised more than $140,000 for his campaign to succeed Sen. Tommy Wright.

The Port Orange Republican’s official campaign account reported almost $45,000 in new fundraising in the second quarter, bringing his candidate haul to more than $113,000 since his December campaign launch.

Additionally, the Johansson-chaired Pathway to Prosperity committee reported another $10,000 in donations, bringing its total contributions north of $30,000.

With Johansson also tossing in a $10,000 candidate loan, he closed the quarter with almost $117,000 in cash on hand between both accounts.

Meanwhile, former Rep. Elizabeth Fetterhoff, a DeLand Republican, has reported no new fundraising this year and closed the quarter with just over $7,000 in her candidate account. Her United for Florida’s Future committee has more than $49,000, thanks to $50,000 given in December. But that committee also hasn’t reported new contributions all year.

Two other Republicans in the race, Heather Bendl and Jason Voelz, have yet to report any contributions, and both failed to turn in second-quarter reports on time Thursday.

To date, only Republicans have filed in Senate District 8, where Wright cannot seek another term because of term limits.

As for Johansson’s source of support, his committee reported $2,500 donations in April from lobbyist Ron Book (who also gave $1,000 to the candidate account) and Tallahassee consulting firm SKD Consulting Group, as well as from the Florida Beer Wholesalers Good Government Committee. A Wine and Spirits Distributors committee also gave $1,500, along with $1,000 to the campaign account. Interior designer Chris Roy gave $1,000.

In Johansson’s official campaign account, he also reported $1,000 donations from Robin Turnbull & Associates (sic), Heffley & Associates, Associated Industries of Florida, the Committee of Automotive Retailers and the committee Floridians Solving Problems.

Duff Underwriters, FTBA Transportation and Synergy Billing also gave maximum donations, as did Indigo Development and the Ormond Riverside Limited Partnership.”

–Political Analyst Jacob Ogles, writing in Florida Politics, “Jake Johansson clears 6-figure mark in campaign to succeed Tommy Wright in SD 8,” Friday, July 11, 2025

With apologies to the late Charlie Daniels, it looks like “Jake the Snake” is raking in chips like Grant took Richmond… 

Thanks to Mr. Ogles for this eye-opening look at how Florida senate campaigns are underwritten here in The Biggest Whorehouse in the World…

Now, where do you think Mr. Johansson’s loyalty lies? 

With the residents of Senate District 8 – or with his well-heeled political benefactors in the Tallahassee lobbying industry?

And Another Thing!

For someone who considers themselves relatively well-informed on the issues of the day, its hard to admit, but I’m seriously confused…  

More questions than answers, a “lotta ins, lotta outs, lotta what-have-you’s running around old Duder’s head,” a weird feeling of uncertainty that always sends my Mittyesque imagination into overdrive, that nagging feeling, “Can this really be true?”

“Is it what I think it is, or is there another explanation that I’m too dumb to grasp?”

Seriously, I’m at a loss this week…

While I typically focus on the absurdities of “Fun Coast” governance, (and you may find this hard to believe), but I have a pollyannaish need to trust those institutions and individuals who guide our future – to believe that the reportage I read in the media is based in fair-minded fact – and that those we elect to high office have our best interests at heart.

But this week the salacious headlines, rumors, and conjecture oozing out of Washington and Tallahassee gave me pause.     

For instance, it was reported that United States Rep. Cory Mills (who represents portions of Volusia County) is being evicted from a $21,000 a month penthouse near the National Mall after owing some $85,000 in back rent. That’s in addition to an active ethics investigation into allegations he personally benefitted from government contracts, along with scandalous reports of the Congressman’s February domestic skirmish that were later retracted… 

For his part, Rep. Mills – who reportedly has a net worth north of $24 million – has emphatically denied any wrongdoing on all fronts and suggests his attempts to pay rent were stymied by an “error code” on a billpaying service.

Well, okay.  I guess…  

All I know with certainty is my wife and I (who have a net worth substantially lower than Rep. Mills) have this “arrangement” with our finicky mortgage company – we send our monthly payment, and they let us stay in this arrogantly shabby cracker box another 30-days.

How’s by you?  

Something else bothered me this week when I read a disturbing exposé in the Orlando Sentinel which raised more questions regarding the still simmering Hope Florida debacle.  

Once considered the “next-big-thing” in national politics until a premature run for White House put him at odds with President Donald Trump.  Gov. Ron DeSantis has struggled to rehabilitate his image and return to relevancy ever since.

During the unmitigated shit-show that was the 2025 Florida Legislative Session – when the Republican dominated legislature righteously flexed their independence for the first time in a long time – things took a telling turn when the ugly details of the Hope Florida fiasco were trotted out for all to see by House Chair Rep. Alex Andrade (R-Pensacola).

The high-profile state House probe into allegations of “money laundering and wire fraud” involving the highest levels of state government abruptly ended in April.   One month later, media outlets confirmed that Leon County State Attorney Jack Campbell was opening a criminal investigation into the matter.

Now, the speculation continues, and answers are hard to come by… 

As I understand it, Hope Florida was originally touted as a means of utilizing trained “navigators” and community non-profits to get people off government assistance.  The program was intimately associated with First Lady Casey DeSantis and seen by many as a launch point for her potential gubernatorial run in 2026.   

That all changed when the non-profit’s bizarre spending patterns, bonuses for state employees, hazy recordkeeping, and its foundation’s disturbing involvement in funneling $10 million from a state legal settlement to defeat a constitutional amendment legalizing recreational marijuana became a serious embarrassment for the Governor and First Lady.  

The questions continue to mount…

This week, the Orlando Sentinel released its report “Hope Florida: Odd, unexplained payments raise more questions,” by investigative reporter Jeffrey Schweers, which took a deep dive into the organizations “haphazard” charitable giving and incomplete record-keeping.

Find the Orland Sentinel’s report here: https://tinyurl.com/ykkzw696  

Now, I’m beginning to question if Gov. DeSantis’ recent efforts to establish a state/federal hybrid immigration detention facility in South Florida is a subliminal attempt to deflect attention from the growing scrutiny of Hope Florida?

Last month, Gov. DeSantis used his expanded powers under an emergency immigration declaration signed in 2023 to seize property from Dade County, then authorized controversial no-bid contracts to build the slap-dash “federal” immigration detention facility in the Everglades in just eight-days… 

At present, the tents and chain-link “temporary” facility has reportedly left Florida taxpayers holding a $450 million bill for construction and annual operations, and it appears no one in Tallahassee has gotten around to submitting a reimbursement request to the Federal Emergency Management Agency. 

According to reports, FEMA was expected to reimburse Floridians for the cost of the facility from funds taken from the Biden administrations asinine and disastrously irresponsible plan to house migrants in New York City hotels… 

Here’s the point of my confusion:

In response to a recent lawsuit filed by environmental groups seeking to stop construction of the facility in an ecologically sensitive area of the glades, attorneys representing the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and FEMA claim the agencies should be removed from the suit as the federal government has not “implemented, authorized, directed, or funded Florida’s temporary detention center.” 

“Florida has received no federal funds, nor has it applied for federal funds related to the temporary detention center.  Courts cannot adjudicate hypothetical future funding decisions or render advisory opinions on contingent scenarios that may never materialize.”

Last weekend, Jeff Brandes, the former Republican lawmaker who served in both the Florida House of Representatives and Senate, questioned the facilities inflated cost of operation in a post on “X”:

“Had to run down to Miami tonight — scored a $117 rate at the Marriott. Driving Alligator Alley, I couldn’t help but think about Alligator Alcatraz and its nightly cost per detainee: At 5,000 detainees: $246.58 At 3,000: $410.96 At current 750: $1,643.84 That’s based on $450M in annual operating costs — compared to $75/night for the average Florida inmate in prison.”

As you might expect, Democrats have reacted to the facility with typical mock outrage (the same hypocrites who pissed away an unconscionable $22.6 Billion in federal funds (read: our tax dollars) on assistance to illegal immigrants in just four years). 

To compound the controversy, this week the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida asked to join the federal lawsuit to stop construction and operation of the detention facility, citing the fact it is being built in a place tribal members consider “sacred ancestral homelands.”  

(I thought it was being built on an abandoned jetport?)

Your views may differ, but I happen to support the vigorous enforcement of federal immigration laws as an important part of protecting our national security (and sovereignty). I am less accepting of grandiose stunts that deflect attention – and our tax dollars – to rehabilitate the flagging public image of politicians with their ass in a sling…

I don’t know about you, but I found it disturbing that while Gov. DeSantis was vetoing some $5 million in appropriations for desperately needed stormwater and flood control projects in Volusia County, he was building a multi-million-dollar ersatz “federal” detention facility with the made-for-media moniker “Alligator Alcatraz.” 

Given the scare many flood-frightened area residents received earlier this week when water started to rise, that bothers me…  

Perhaps I spend too much time ruminating on intractable issues with no good answers – but now I question if “Alligator Alcatraz” was ever about strengthening immigration enforcement efforts in Florida or elsewhere?  Or was it thrown together with little planning or purpose simply to ensure Gov. DeSantis got the 15-minutes on the national stage he needed to flex after a very public fall from grace that has eroded his legislative influence and hamstrung his wife’s political ambitions?    

Last month, Mr. Brandes, who now heads a think tank known as the Florida Policy Project, questioned “Is it a federal facility, or is it a state facility that is leased to the feds?” and pondered how “Alligator Alcatraz” will ultimately be staffed?

Again, more questions than answers. 

Now, if you’ll excuse me, Bonanza’s coming on and I never miss it. At least I can still tell the good guys from the bad guys…

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 Finally Gets the Scrutiny We Deserve

Last month, the Daytona Beach City Commission and Volusia County Council authorized an agreement with First Step Shelter which calls for taxpayers to continue underwriting the enigmatic program to the tune of $2.6 million over the next five years.

The good news? 

This time there are solid strings attached.  

For the first time in First Step’s existence, We, The Little People who pay for it will have some assurance that what we are told by the less-than-transparent board of directors is honest, accurate, and verifiable.  

According to a report by Eileen Zaffiro-Kean and Sheldon Gardner writing in The Daytona Beach News-Journal, “The new agreement also includes specific language addressing County Council members’ concerns about government dollars being used for administrative overhead and not direct service provision. It explicitly prohibits the use of county funds for executive salaries, bonuses, administrative overhead costs unrelated to program operations, unauthorized capital expenditures, and indirect costs not directly tied to shelter operations.”

Good.  In my view, those municipalities currently spending the bulk of their social services budget on First Step while our regional homeless population surges should demand the same.

In addition, Volusia County has specified which operating expenses will be covered and requires that shelter officials submit monthly requests for reimbursement with the stipulation “…no money will be released until those amounts are approved.”

Other requirements include monthly, quarterly, and annual reviews to ensure conditions set forth in the agreement are being met, to include an annual audit of the shelter’s “files” and a site visit by county staff.

“The county also has the right to terminate its role in the agreement with 60 days written notice if First Step officials fail to meet at least 50% of the annual performance metrics in the agreement, they fail to submit any required report or they misuse funds.”

Perhaps now Volusia County taxpayers can learn exactly where First Step alumni are being housed (something the program recently touted at 1,000 people) and who is paying for it long-term? 

A cursory check of several Volusia County housing authorities found very few (if any) opportunities for low-income housing.  For instance, according to a stern notice on the Housing Daytona Beach website, “Interested persons can ONLY apply for housing when a notice appears to the public to do so. At this time, ALL WAITING LIST ARE CLOSED.”

On the Volusia County’s Community Assistance site, those seeking housing vouchers (Section 8) are told, “Volusia County’s Housing Choice Voucher Program is not accepting applications at this time.”

In West Volusia, a notice on the DeLand Housing Authority’s website grimly explained, “The DeLand Housing Authority (DHA) last accepted Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher waiting list applications from June 11, 2024, until 1,000 applications have been received. This is the first time the waiting list has been open since it closed in January, 2022.”

Clearly the need for subsidized housing is far outpacing supply here on the “Fun Coast.”  

With low-income Volusia County families currently languishing on waiting lists, where did First Step house 1,000 people over the past five years? 

Perhaps now Volusia County taxpayers will receive the answers – and basic accountability – we deserve.  

So long, Fresh Market – Hope it wasn’t something I said?

“Turns out The Fresh Market isn’t coming here after all.

The Greensboro, North Carolina-based chain scrapped its plans to expand to the World’s Most Famous Beach after determining that Daytona Beach lacks the demographics to support upscale grocery stores.

Meanwhile, construction is well underway for two of its biggest competitors across the street from where it would have gone: Trader Joe’s and Sprouts Farmers Markets.

“Fresh Market declined the site. I was shocked by the reasoning,” said Jason Kaiser, leasing agent for the planned shopping center called The Cays where the grocery chain had signed a letter-of-intent earlier this year to become a tenant.”

–Business Editor Clayton Park, writing in The Daytona Beach News-Journal, “Fresh Market not expanding to Daytona Beach. Here’s the surprising reason why,” Thursday, July 3, 2025

Welp.  Darn the luck…

Just when everyone who is anyone here on the “Fun Coast” was touting the arrival of three specialty grocery chains and a Tesla dealership as a preternatural prodigium that we are on the cusp of a regional economic renaissance, it appears Fresh Market took a powder…

For years, Trader Joe’s added to our civic identity crisis when they told us the Halifax area may have the “demographics” to schlep boxes around a Trader Joe’s warehouse, but we simply didn’t have the social credit rating required for one of their tony grocery stores. 

Apparently, Daytona Beach just didn’t meet the mark on whatever sophistication scale Trader Joe’s uses to determine who it will grace, and who it won’t…

That all changed after some crack investigative work by the News-Journal’s Clayton Park and Hometown News sleuth Charles Guarria determined that an honest-to-goodness Trader Joe’s would one day grace the Tomoka Town Center off Boomtown Boulevard.     

We also learned that both Fresh Market and Sprouts Famers Market planned to open outlets across the street (?) near a new Tesla electric-car dealership – a sure sign that our chaunts and fervent prayers to the Specialty Grocery God’s had (finally) been heard – a biblical prophecy of economic resurgence fulfilled. 

I’m not a marketing guru – just another rube wandering the wilderness, like you – but while our ‘powers that be’ were in a frenzy of exuberation, I harbored serious concerns that the close proximity of three competing niche stores would oversaturate the market. As usual, our gushing “movers-and-shakers” didn’t seem to share my fears.

Look, I get it.   

Every retailer wants to be close to Margaritaville – the faux beach community west of I-95 that truly has the “demographic” to support specialty grocers and Tesla dealerships. As a result, developers are working overtime to pave over every square inch of greenspace off LPGA, Williamson, Clyde Morris, etc., to accommodate more of the same.  

Not to worry, according to the News-Journal article, leasing agent Jason Keiser said he’s “trading paper” with several prospects at The Cay’s – to include another “big box” retailer (that he refused to identify) and several restaurants that are considering space in the complex.

Keep your fingers crossed, and I’ll do the same.

Here’s hoping Trader Joe and Farmer Sprout hold firm to their promise and give us bumpkins a chance to prove ourselves.

Volusia’s Legislative Delegation – Who Works for Whom? 

This week, three members of Volusia’s state legislative delegation gathered on a gilded stage in Deltona to answer questions from their confused (and increasingly claustrophobic) constituents about why they voted the way they did during that flaming shit-show that passed for a legislative session this year.

Of specific concern to waterlogged Volusia County residents was SB 180 – the new law cleverly labeled “emergencies” that blatantly strips municipal and county governments of their right to self-determination under home rule charter – and gives greed-crazed developers carte blanche to build when, where, and what they want. 

The environment, water quality and quantity, and the threat of development-induced flooding be damned…

I have to admit, I was curious how legislators who so unashamedly sold out their local governments to the benefit of their campaign benefactors could possibly explain themselves in a place where out-of-control growth has now surpassed our antiquated transportation infrastructure, utilities, and patience? 

According to a summary by reporter Mark Harper writing in The Daytona Beach News-Journal, Rep. Chase Tramont (Port Orange) described the bill as “complicated” (which means he’s caught between a rock and his political donors), and explained it’s more about him than us:

In Mr. Tramont’s view, local government protections for existing homeowners facing devastating repeat flooding due to the tremendous growth that has altered the topography of the land takes second fiddle to the “”American dream” of homeownership,” (which, I think, means the ability to screw your inundated neighbor if it benefits the right last names?)

On the idea of local governments taking a commonsense tap of the brakes on growth until infrastructure and stormwater control can catch up to current demands:

“I fundamentally don’t agree with moratoriums,” Tramont said. “The idea of a moratorium… you’re not sticking it to the developer. You’re sticking it to the construction worker… You’re taking away the ability for people to work. You’re taking away from their ability to provide housing.” 

Bullshit.

For his part, it appears Rep. Webster Barnaby (Deltona) chose the monolog from “Animal House” to explain himself.  According to the report, Mr. Barnaby “…cited the U.S. Constitution in defending his vote: “These are the United States of America. We’re not the United Cities and we’re not the United Counties.”

Say what?

The only thing missing was Mr. Barnaby dramatically leading his colleagues off the dais humming the Star-Spangled Banner, screaming “Well, you can do what you want to us, but we’re not going to sit here and listen to you badmouth the United States of America. Gentlemen!”

According to Rep. Barnaby, “The bill was passed to make sure people can rebuild faster and better,” Barnaby said, later adding: “I don’t want you living in a tent in a park.”

Whatever.

To add insult, the News-Journal is reporting a paltry $1 million in state appropriations to improve the City of Underwater’s antiquated and overgrown canal drainage system.  Now, Edgewater’s manchild Mayor Diezel Depew is calling the chump-change that survived Gov. Ron DeSantis’ rapierlike veto pen “a turning point for our community…”

Really?

“It’s a history-making moment in our community.”

If you say so.

Unfortunately, some flooded residents of Edgewater have a different view – and they want a more modern system of stormwater management than overgrown ditches and trash strewn canals.

In my view, Volusia’s legislative delegation knows exactly why SB 180 was written the way it was – and it has nothing to do with protecting the rights of property owners to rebuild following hurricanes – and everything to do with getting the speedbumps of local building regulations and the threat of temporary moratoriums out the way of real estate developers who have purchased a very lucrative chip in the game.

Don’t take my word for it – check the extensive list of campaign contributors who underwrite our state and local decision-makers political ambitions – time, after time, after time…

If you live in Volusia County and suffer under the notion your concerns should be the concerns of your legislative delegation – rather than their personal views, wants, and motivations – then make yourself known at the ballot box. 

I fear that’s the only hope for substantive change we have left… 

Quote of the Week

“We in Volusia County are blessed. We have the best county-council members that money can buy. And, as a bonus, we have a planning department staffed with mental midgets, divinely chosen for their expertise. With perhaps the exception of Jeff Brower, these folks revel riding in the hip pocket of real estate developers. Like obedient robots, they rubber-stamp zoning changes, building plans, impact fee waivers and sundry requests made by their campaign contributors. The developers get what they pay for.

Years of citizens’ concerns about chronic flooding and unbridled growth go unheeded. As more bulldozers are unleashed daily on our shrinking woodlands, nary a scrub is left standing when construction begins. Destruction always precedes construction.

When completed, the projects are given quaint names like Hidden Creek, Whispering Pines, or Golden Oaks. More often than not, the name reflects what used to be on the property and no longer is. When construction is completed, a few small saplings are planted, a chunk of sod laid down, and this is called landscaping.

Little concern is paid to environmental impact or water retention. Drainage is simply an afterthought. If rainwater is pushed onto your neighbor’s property, so be it. This “build, baby, build” policy is a financial windfall for developers, who often are not local, and have no stake in a project when finished.

A short tour of the Interstate 95 area of Daytona Beach and New Smyrna Beach is a fine example of raped landscape now covered with ticky-tacky apartment construction. More mega-projects are soon to come. Responsible growth, with an emphasis on a healthy green environment, should be a mandatory policy, both at a state and county level. Quality of life should supersede quantity of construction.

The claim that we have a housing shortage, partly due to the influx of new Florida residents, is valid. But the quality of construction should take precedence over quantity of construction.

A moratorium on new development is long overdue. We are now building future slums, barren of any greenery or pedestrian amenities. Density, setbacks and infrastructure needs have to be planned responsibly. Unfortunately, corporate developers have been let loose by our governor, and the plunder of our resources and neighborhoods continues unabated.

After the next storm, we can cry again about high insurance rates, flooding, and traffic congestion. And our “bought and paid for” commissioners can go home to their gated communities and schedule another workshop to discuss and delay any meaningful action.”

–Chuck Oakwood, DeLand, writing in The West Volusia Beacon, Letters to the Editor, “Quality should take precedence over quantity,” Tuesday, July 1, 2025

What he said…  

And Another Thing!

The Daytona Beach News-Journal’s outstanding investigative reporter Eileen Zaffiro-Kean recently penned one of those feel-good “Top Ten” lists – signs that let us denizens of the Daytona Beach Resort Area know we’re “real locals” – or as Eileen so aptly put it, “…if you stick around long enough the Daytona-ness of it all finds its way into your psyche.”

I’ll say…

The News-Journal’s inventory included common experiences like our righteous preoccupation with the Atlantic Hurricane Season, and shared connection to the Daytona International Speedway, Flea Market, what remains of the Daytona Beach Boardwalk, and the venerable “Who’s Who of Daytona Beach,” which includes Matthias Day; Charles Burgoyne; Bill France Sr., and his descendants; Mary McLeod Bethune; J. Hyatt Brown; Mori Hosseini; and Glenn Ritchey.

As a lifelong resident of the Halifax area, I’ve developed my own list of the universal familiarities that form the communal bond between us hardy souls who eke out a living, raise families, educate our kids, and (as the Chamber of Commerce set likes to say) “live, work, play, and learn” here on this salty piece of land we call home:

10.       You expect to be hit in the ass by an uninsured motorist driving a “car” held together with bailing wire and bubblegum, towing a utility trailer with no taillights, (who may or may not be fleeing from the police).  But that’s okay, because if you live anywhere in East Central Florida, you know the name, telephone number, and recent client settlements of at least three personal injury attorney’s – including their spouse, kids, and dog.     

9.         As a savvy “local” you know better than to walk.  Anywhere. 

For years, the Deltona-Daytona-Ormond “metro” has received the dubious distinction of being among the most dangerous areas in the nation for pedestrian fatalities.

By a lot…

Of course, our hospitality gurus in Tallahassee used this grim statistic to do what they do best and put some polish on the turd, claiming with a straight face, “Florida is a state with weather warm enough to invite walking outdoors nearly the entire year, as opposed to, say, Provo, Utah, or Madison, Wisconsin, or Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota, the three safest places to walk.”

Seriously.  I don’t make this shit up, folks…

8.         We are forced to accept that our collective civic vision, and that of our ‘powers that be,’ are not the same.  Not even close…   

For instance, although we live in the most dangerous place in the known universe for pedestrians, experiential learning – that weird pain/habituation “nocebo” effect – has taught us to get comfortable with waiting through three cycles of a traffic light at (enter any intersection east or west of the Palmetto Curtain here).

As veterans of the Volusia County soft-shoe, when it comes to transportation infrastructure, we expect gaseous lip service from our elected officials and regional transportation planning organization (who is big on “policy positions” and light on actually improving our near-gridlocked streets and roadways). 

Regardless, hard-earned experience has taught we never ask the Florida Department of Transportation to “fix” a traffic problem. 

Ever. 

Don’t take my word for it.  When someone at the City of Ormond Beach asked:

“How could we possibly f*&K up Granada Boulevard and A-1-A more than it already is, you know, a real abomination that makes it almost impossible to navigate – while doing maximum damage to tires, bumpers, and undercarriages – requiring motorists have the skills of Joie Chitwood to get east, west, north, or south?” 

FDOT responded: “Hold my beer…”

7.         You remember when a trip around the Ormond Scenic Loop was, well, “scenic.” 

A time before massive development was shoehorned between US-1 and Old Dixie Highway – slash-n-burn land clearing that left a thin veneer of trees that only partially obscure the ugly zero lot line cracker boxes to the west – along with the near-constant stream of stormwater flowing over the pavement due to the drastic change in topography we were all promised would not occur…

6.         We are governed by a wacky Clown Troupe – a strange “Political Fun House” – where truth is always stranger than fiction. 

A weird Theater of the Absurd where our elected officials make pacts that require they completely ignore the presence of any constituent who comes before them.

For instance, whenever a Volusia County taxpayer takes time away from their “good paying job,” drive to DeLand, find parking, and approach the Monarchy – we are met with a catatonic gaze from our elected gargoyles – a bureaucratic aphasia that lets us know those we elect to represent our interests don’t give two-shits about our piddly-problems.

From flood victims demanding relief, to environmentalists asking the tough questions about overdevelopment, and exsanguinated taxpayers questioning a $1.3 billion+ annual budget, the eerie silence from the dais is deafening.

A one-way conversation where enquiries, anecdotal information, requests for assistance, and good old-fashioned public input into policy decisions, flow into a communication black hole, one so dense that when a disgusting racist diatribe was recently launched from the podium, it was met with stone-faced silence (later buffered by ridiculous claims of acute deafness) from our detached Council members…    

Of course, things change each election cycle when those same perennial politicians seeking reelection invite us to campaign launches – “get-togethers” and stilted “hob nobs” – where they shake our hand, slap our backs, call us neighbors, and tell us how much they enjoy “serving” our needs.  

Right.

A bizarre form of political gaslighting to distract from the fact they are accepting massive campaign contributions from all the right last names to ensure their personal and professional “needs” outpace ours every time.

Look, Volusia County taxpayers may be rubes, but we are not dumb.

Increasingly, our elected dullards are having a difficult time convincing us they care about the myriad issues we face when they are constantly sending subliminal signals that they don’t…

5.         We’ve become calloused to the latest “game-changer.”

When a speculative developer completes a project which invariably involves some government handout – such as a massive influx of our tax dollars in the form of “economic incentives” or “public/private partnerships” – schemes which use public funds to increase private profits – our elected and appointed officials soil themselves with excitement-induced urinary incontinence.    

In turn, everyone who is anyone catches the fever and fawns to the point of nausea for days on end, while the rest of us – the long-suffering taxpayers who either footed the bill or gave up a public amenity – are left feeling like an afterthought.

A necessary nuisance who pays the bills.  A means to an end who ask too many questions.  

Each and every time, We, The Little People who hand over our hard-earned tax dollars to underwrite the for-profit motives of our “Rich & Powerful,” are considered ingrateful bastards for not blindly accepting the latest panacea project as a miracle cure for everything from our social, civic, and economically depleted beachside to swimmer’s itch…

Heck yeah!  Excited!  Catalyst!  Difference!

Whoop-Whoop!

4.         You’re still sore about giving up beach driving to accommodate someone’s idea of “progress” in our disastrously distressed core tourist area.

Anyone remember standing at the gilded barrier like grubby Dickensian urchins – looking on as our political elite rubbed elbows, enjoyed cocktails, and were lavishly entertained by a private firework spectacular and staged concert (on the first evening of sea turtle nesting season?) – at an “invitation only” VIP soiree as the politicians who traded away our beach access for a row of poison poles celebrated the grand opening of Hard Rock Daytona?

Me neither…  

3.         You are no longer shocked by News-Journal articles with the headline, “Is that an algae bloom or raw sewage in the Indian River?  How to tell the difference…”

Note to newcomers to the region: Don’t taste it.

For the uninitiated, according to a recent report, “Sewage and algae blooms can be difficult to distinguish visually, especially during warmer months.  Sewage typically contains debris like toilet paper and has a foul odor, while algae has an earthier smell.”

Cleared that up. You’re welcome.

2.         Despite the threat of hurricanes, wildfires, and recurrent flooding, our greatest collective terror remains losing the air conditioner…   

I know, I know – don’t even think about it. 

The News-Journal’s list of ten signs you’re a local included, “No tolerance for cold temperatures.”  I would submit that we’re not big on the hellish heat of a Central Florida summer either…

Having lived in Florida for nearly 65 summers now, I have a weird theory that refrigeration is the only thing that separates us from the Great Apes.

Remember the 1986 movie The Mosquito Coast?

It was an excellent sociological study of an increasingly insane inventor who set out with his family to build a utopia in the jungles of Central America.  In a pivotal scene, as the cheese slowly slips off his cracker in the heat and humidity, the mad man – expertly portrayed by actor Harrison Ford – screams at the indifferent natives, “Ice is civilization!”

Dude was right.  We’ve all been there. 

While most Floridian’s don’t have a clue who their mayor is, they can immediately tell you the name of their HVAC repair tech…   

1. We share a growing political apathy – a “ho-hum” acceptance that our politicians are wholly owned by “special interests” with a very lucrative chip in the game – and many of us have become so disillusioned we don’t care anymore… 

We “Fun Coasters” are a strange group – victims of a long line of pirates; swashbuckling thieves who traded tri-corn hats and cutlasses for Armani suits and Montblanc pens.  As a result, we have become conditioned to endure a lot from those who claim to be looking out for our interests…   

Author John Gunther accurately said in his 1947 work on the United States and our unique politics, Inside U.S.A., that Florida’s “freakishness in everything from architecture to social behavior [is] unmatched in any American state.”

That’s still true today.

I call Tallahassee “The Biggest Whorehouse in the World.” 

Because it is.

A skewed unmeritocratic system where hand-select candidates for political office – typically dimwitted egoists who are chosen by local party “kingmakers” for their Gumby-like malleability and individual talent, accomplishment, or intelligence be damned – wade into the fetid shitpit of modern Volusia County political contests.

Then we watch as the “Rich & Powerful” (i.e., the same five people who pass the same nickel around in this artificial economy) steam shovel large sums of money into the groaning war chests of the ‘chosen ones.”

The subliminal ‘return on investment’ it buys is important as their political benefactors are not used to being told “No” – especially at the nexus of public funds and private projects…

In turn, local campaigns now resemble a back-alley knife fight, underwritten by these massive contributions flowing from powerful forces, cash that skews the battlefield, as special interests cut-and-thrust using ominous television advertisements and exaggerated glossy mailers touting scandalous claims to gain an advantage.  

In the clamor and din of the political warfare, it becomes increasingly difficult to know who we can trust.  

I think that’s the plan.   

Through hard-earned experience, claustrophobic Volusia County residents are beginning to reject the empty promises of perennial politicians seeking reelection – those who say one thing at election time, then do the exact opposite once assuming power.   

(I don’t know about you, but I identify their horseshit by its earthy smell…)

Unfortunately, far too many area residents have fallen victim to the curse of political apathy – that feeling of frustrated indifference born of having the rug pulled out from underneath them one too many times.

The sense that participation in their local government doesn’t count now that their voice is increasingly muted by compromised elected officials (and the entrenched insiders they serve) who seek to suppress citizen input at every turn.

So, where do we go from here?

In my view, “Fun Coast” residents are slowly coming to the waterlogged realization that business as usual cannot continue.  We’ve reached the point where malignant sprawl is having profound consequences that impact our quality of life. 

We truly are in this together.  A shared experience. One totally foreign to our marionettes in Tallahassee and many ensconced on our local councils and commissions.

Despite the divisions and differences of opinion we face, we are stronger when we work together to set goals, find common ground, take a stand for our neighbors, and determine our civic destiny by setting a shared vision for the future.

I think that’s what ‘community’ means.    

At the end of the day, returning a local government of, by, and for the people is our responsibility. 

Vote like our lives and livelihoods depend upon it.

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

Hi, kids!

Happy Thursday, to all who celebrate…

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:

Courage and Cowardice in the Lost City of Deltona

I was recently on an airplane enroute to Orlando International Airport from LAX.  To avoid building thunderstorms over the Gulf Coast, the flight deviated along the Florida-Georgia border before turning south and traversing the spine of Florida just east of Lake City, Gainesville, Ocala, and Leesburg.

Slumped in 21-F, I gazed out the window, noting the striking difference between established neighborhoods – treelined streets and large verdant lots – and the sheer number of massive developments that are metastasizing across the width and breadth of the state.

The new subdivisions clearly differentiated from existing homes by the mitochondria-like matrix of zero lot line cracker boxes swirled in a way that shoehorns the maximum number of structures onto every denuded acre.

Equally prominent were the large black gashes in the barren landscape where heavy equipment is taking large bites from the margins of unspoiled greenspace – slash-and-burn land clearing that churns the earth to muck.  Once the land is stripped of trees and vegetation, fill dirt is trucked in to elevate homesites – forever changing the topography of the land – and destroying what environmentalists call the “natural infrastructure” that helps control flooding, provides wildlife habitat, and recharges our water supply.

From the literal 30,000’ view, it is disturbingly clear that the Sunshine State is screwed…

Last week, in yet another sneak attack (this time camouflaged as hurricane recovery legislation) on charter government and the home rule right of Florida counties and municipalities to determine their destiny, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed SB 180, a law that literally handed greed-crazed developers the keys to the kingdom.

Inconceivably, this overreaching special interest preemption limits changes to virtually all local comprehensive plans, land development regulations, procedures for the review, approval, or issuance of site plans, development orders, or building moratoriums, retroactive to August 1, 2024.

For an added kick in the crotch to local governments, the law empowers developers to file civil actions to obtain declaratory and injunctive relief – along with recovery of attorneys’ fees – if a city or county fails to announce its intent to repeal any lawfully enacted ordinance the developer finds subjectively “restrictive or burdensome” within 14 days of receiving written demand and then repeals the ordinance within 30 days.

The local impacts were immediate.

Within hours of Gov. DeSantis’ signature, the City of Deltona received notice of intent to file suit under the terms of Senate Bill 180 from an Orlando law firm representing a multi-unit developer challenging an ordinance unanimously passed by the City Commission last December. 

Trust me, that’s just the beginning…

To their credit, on Monday, a majority of the Deltona City Commission courageously passed a temporary building moratorium on a 4-3 vote – a bold move that has nothing to do with rebuilding after recent hurricanes – as city officials attempt to do the will of their constituents and tap the brakes on growth while determining solutions to persistent stormwater and flooding issues.

Following passage of the nine-month pause on applications for new residential construction, the city’s schlub of a mayor, Santiago Avila Jr. – who joined Vice Mayor Davison Heriot and Commissioner Emma “No Show II” Santiago in attempting to defeat the measure – wrung his hands and mewled to reporters that he’s afraid state legislators won’t like him anymore.

During his tone-deaf virtue signaling, Mayor Avila had the stones to talk about his “oath,” (an inconvenience he’s repeatedly ignored to the financial detriment of Deltona taxpayers) while moralizing to his fellow elected officials:

“I took an oath of office, to vote the way I am supposed to as far as abiding by the law.  What we just did right now, in my opinion, is malfeasance, and it’s dereliction of duty. It’s unconstitutional, and it’s wrong. It’s a lot of political play. Instead of playing these games, we should concentrate on our impact fees, getting them fast-tracked.”

That’s rich coming from Mayor Avila…    

Then, a clearly rattled Avila tried his best to capitulate to those in Tallahassee who are actively trying to crush Deltona’s ability to control their destiny, “We are literally touting that we have just passed an unconstitutional resolution, ordinance, whatever you want to call it, and we’re kind of saying, ‘Hey, Governor, we’re here, and we want to pick a fight with you.’ Ask the speaker of the House on that one.”

A day later, Avila hyper-dramatically announced on Facebook (?) he will refuse to sign the ordinance passed by majority vote of the Deltona City Commission – saying it would constitute malfeasance and invite a legal challenge – and suggests the “Commission designate another official, should they choose to proceed.”  

This coming from the same debt-dodging hack who used Deltona resident’s hard-earned tax dollars to fund a political junket for him and his wife to Washington – then hired a high-priced mouthpiece (again at taxpayer expense) to claim Avila didn’t know the city had a travel policy…

Kudos to Commissioners Dori Howington, Maritza Avila-Vazquez, Stephen Colwell, and Nick Lulli for having the courage of their convictions and standing with citizens threatened by development-induced flooding, inadequate infrastructure, and spineless politicians like Mayor Avila (and others behind the scenes) who are more interested in feathering their political nests than protecting existing residents.   

Now it is time for We, The Little People to demand that these craven shills stop weakening the concept of home rule with heavy handed legislative tactics for the enrichment of their political benefactors and use the power of the ballot box to hold these bought-and-paid-for prostitutes at all levels of government politically accountable for their despicable actions.  

In my view, if we are to preserve local control of planning, development, and self-determination in accordance with a community’s vision and character, it is imperative those do-nothings at the Florida League of Cities, Florida Association of Counties, and our local elected officials get off their asses and let those marionettes in Tallahassee know that existing residents should have the basic right to regulate growth that will impact their lives and livelihoods. 

“High Paying Jobs” vs. Historic Trees.  Guess who won?

The lede typically reads, “Volusia County offered $500,000 in performance-based incentives the company would receive only if it makes good on its pledge to create 1,000 jobs,” or “The City of Deltona dangled a carrot of $2.5 million in performance-based incentives if Amazon were to make good on its pledge to create at least 500 jobs that paid at least $15 an hour plus benefits…”

The locations change but the story remains the same. 

A local government willingly concedes something of value – typically our hard-earned tax dollars – to a corporate entity on the subjective promise of “high paying jobs.” 

According to statewide economic studies, Volusia County has a high percentage of working households who are considered asset limited/income constrained, families who earn above the federal poverty level but are unable to afford basic living expenses.

That means keeping a roof over your head and putting food on the table is getting increasingly difficult, especially in an artificial economy where your local government picks winners and losers with lavish “incentives” that your struggling Mom & Pop business could only dream of.

As a result, We, The Little People willingly acquiesce to these corporate giveaways (what else are we going to do?) while our economic development guru’s lull us into a false sense of “progress” – a civic fallacy based upon toxic optimism that has gotten so far afield here on the “Fun Coast” that we are now led to believe a specialty grocery chain signals regional rebirth and prosperity for all…

As development spreads like wildfire across Florida, the “incentives” gifted to developers increasingly involve irreversible environmental sacrifices, ecological devastation that will ultimately cost each of us far more than another corporate welfare cash incentive…  

Last week, the “jobs” ruse was rolled out to devastating effect when the DeLand City Commission voted 4-0 (with Commissioner Dan Reed absent) to permit the wholesale destruction of 62 historic trees to make way for another industrial and commercial “park,” this one to be constructed near Cassadaga Road and the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Beltway. 

During the discussion, City Commissioner Richard Paiva whined about the weighty decision that had befallen the elected body, “These types of decisions are a little challenging for us because I get reminded by people who object that we are Tree City USA.”

“This is not easy,” Paiva said, “but in this case, if we say yes to trees, we’re kind of saying no to business and to jobs.”

Bullshit.

According to a report by Robin Mimna writing in The West Volusia Beacon last week:

“To move forward with the project, the developer, Longleaf Four LLC, (really?) proposed a mitigation package that includes a 1:1 replacement for each historic tree removed, thousands of additional inches of trees planted across the site, and the preservation of a 10-acre wooded parcel in unincorporated Volusia County — home to an estimated 562 live oaks, turkey oaks and longleaf pines, that will eventually be annexed into DeLand.

Because DeLand’s code does not typically allow preserved trees to count toward mitigation, the city previously amended the project’s Planned Unit Development to permit off-site preservation.”

In response, Dr. Wendy Anderson, professor and chair of environmental science and studies at Stetson University, a member of the Volusia County Soil and Water Conservation Board, and a candidate for the District 1 Volusia County Council seat, explained to city officials that the mitigation plan offered by the developer represents the bare minimum required under current regulations.

“The ‘solutions’ offered to the Tree Advisory Committee were presented as some big concession, but in reality, it’s just the bare minimum required under development regulations,” Anderson said.

“These trees provide shade and help capture stormwater,” she added. “We already have stormwater mitigation systems — why not integrate the existing natural infrastructure?”

Now that their elected officials have proven what’s important to them, and what is not, residents of DeLand can say goodbye to that which defines the character and charm of their community. We now live in a foul age where the shiny nugget of 1.5 million square feet of industrial warehouse space and some out-of-state developer’s notion of homogenized sameness beats historic hardwoods every damn time…

Quote of the Week

“Media reports document 90-100 seasonal lifeguard vacancies in 2022, 2023, and 2024. In the past year, County Councilman Troy Kent made numerous inquiries into Volusia’s ongoing lifeguard shortage. The Ormond Beach City Commission recently sent a letter to the county questioning unstaffed lifeguard stations.

Specifically, Neptune Avenue, with a large county-leased parking lot and an A1A traffic light for pedestrian crossings, has a lifeguard only on weekends and some Mondays. That means Ormond beachgoers north of Granada should never go into the water on weekdays. Yet many of them do, at Neptune, Amsden, and Standish approaches.

Deputy County Manager Suzanne Konchan has responded: The county is budgeted to staff all towers seven days a week, but there have been fewer numbers of seasonal lifeguards available during the spring/summer season. (Historically, lifeguards were staffed every half mile, within sight and sound of each other’s calls for emergency backup.)

Today, mobile units patrol extensive stretches of beach to cover the gaps.

The lifeguard shortage has been addressed with increased recruiting and training, increased salaries, benefits, and bonuses. Scheduling strategies have been updated. Proactive efforts now encourage the return of lifeguards from previous years.

Lifeguard deployments are based on data analysis of historical crowds and rescues, placing resources in areas of high beachgoer density with off-beach parking availability. A tiered priority system considers rescue history, environmental conditions, and swimmer density patterns.

But if fewer beachgoers go to unguarded beaches, low counts on those beaches become a self- fulfilling prophecy. And after years of high vacancies, new recruitment strategies are needed.”

–Former Ormond Beach City Commissioner & Civic Activist Jeff Boyle, as excerpted from his op/ed in The Ormond Beach Observer, “Lifeguard shortage still not addressed,” Tuesday, July 1, 2025

In his cogent piece in the Observer, Mr. Boyle noted the shocking fact that last year there were nine drownings on unguarded Volusia County beaches, 13 in 2023, and eight deaths in 2022.

Those grim statistics represent lives lost, and families destroyed, on Volusia County beaches.

That’s unacceptable.

“A study by Simmrin Law identified the 10 most dangerous beaches in America, factoring storms, lightning, shark attacks, and surf-related fatalities. Ranked: New Smyrna Beach (1), Daytona Beach (3), Ormond Beach (6), and Ponce Inlet (7).”

Damn.

In an equally stunning and short-sighted cost cutting measure, this week Flagler County Administrator Heidi Petito announced the county is considering ending its annual grant to Flagler Beach which pays half the cost of the city’s lifeguard program.

According to a report in FlaglerLive.com, the cost sharing agreement between the city and county has been in effect since 2017, and “Last year Flagler Beach’s 31 lifeguards conducted 241 rescues and took 1,800 preventive actions, with zero drownings…”

In addition, “Since 2017, when the city and the county signed a joint agreement ensuring that the county would contribute 50 percent of the funding, lifeguards have conducted 1,132 rescues, with zero drownings in the guarded portions of the beach.

There have been zero drownings along the guarded beaches since 2009, the earliest year of USLA data. In contrast, there have been seven drownings on unguarded portions of Flagler County beaches over that span. (The United States Lifeguard Association calculates the chance of a drowning off a protected beach at 1 in 18 million.)”

The $106,000 annual county contribution only covers lifeguard salaries, not equipment or other needs of the program.

Find the disturbing article here: https://tinyurl.com/28p8c4eb

According to reports, Petito’s unilateral decision to cancel an interlocal agreement – public policy approved by the Flagler Board of County Commissioners and Flagler Beach City Commission – came as a surprise to elected and administrative officials at both the city and county.   

Perhaps this is clapback from the BOCC’s recent rejection of Petito’s beach management plan which called for a half-cent sales tax increase. Last month, Commissioner Greg Hansen said that without the sales tax hike, Petito’s proposal would require a “…plan that cuts programs, cuts people, and eliminates jobs,” to generate the $12 million annually for beach management and preservation. 

For the record, this isn’t the first time County Administrator Petito has blindsided her bosses… 

In March 2024, she fired off a brusque missive to School Superintendent LaShakia Moore suggesting Flagler County would be reducing or eliminating its $1.4 million commitment to the School District as part of a decade old 50/50 cost-sharing plan, most of which funds the School Resource Deputy program.

Chaos ensued and the displeasure from both sides of the dais was immediate.

In my view, someone should give Ms. Petito a quick lesson in effective communication strategies – the ability to build trust with citizens, stakeholders, and other government entities – while increasing transparency and collaboration with those elected officials who are ultimately politically accountable for her actions.   

And Another Thing!

According to the Florida League of Cities, “The most precious powers a city in Florida has are its Home Rule powers. The ability to establish its form of government through its charter, and to then enact ordinances, codes, plans, and resolutions without prior state approval is a tremendous authority.”

In its purest form, most would agree that the fundamental right to self-determination – the ability of citizens in counties and municipalities to govern themselves – free of outside interference from the state in the pursuit of their community’s economic, social, and civic development, is critical to our representative form of governance where the ultimate power is derived from the people.

Increasingly, that sacred right to self-determination is under direct attack by state legislators’ intent on preempting local control – a process once narrowly focused on limiting inconsistencies in state and local laws – now used as a cudgel to crush local decisions as a means of running interference for their political benefactors.

Like their “friends” in the uber-powerful real estate development industry…

In my view, these blanket special interest preemptions represent a classic quid pro quo corruption of the system – with crafty legislators couching sweeping attacks on home rule as “hurricane recovery” laws and claims they are protecting Florida businesses from “burdensome local regulations” and interference in a free market (pa-lease…). 

Don’t take my word for it.  A cursory review of campaign finance reports from jurisdictions across the width and breadth of Florida show that real estate development interests make significant political contributions to hand-select candidates and political action committees who are favorable to their interests. 

I think that’s called a ‘return on investment,’ all perfectly legal under our skewed campaign finance laws.

In my view, the problem comes when an industry with massive impacts on the civic, economic, and environmental health of communities stack the deck with a slate of “rent a representatives” – then use tactics like preemption to wrest local control away from the most responsive (and politically accountable) level of government.

In a 2023 article in The Daytona Beach News-Journal, we learned that 42% of Florida lawmakers had personal ties to the real estate development industry. 

That disturbing fact concerned Ben Wilcox, research director for Integrity Florida, who said at the time, “There’s really been a concerted effort (in recent years) by the Legislature to hold down local government. It’s all part of the legal corruption that goes on in state government: legalized bribery. The corruption is not always illegal. Sometimes it’s legal corruption.”

Unfortunately, here on Florida’s “Fun Coast” it’s not much better at the local level, where each election cycle the same influential last names shower massive campaign contributions on their shills, ensuring at least a subliminal obligation that ensures issues effecting their bottom line goes their way. 

Every. Damn. Time…

The next time the Volusia County Council has a development-related issue on (or off) the agenda, I encourage everyone to watch for themselves the strategic foot-dragging, parliamentary procrastination, and outright hostility from those compromised lackeys who have helped facilitate overdevelopment at every opportunity.

Now we’ve reached the nadir of special interest preemptions – totally eliminating local control of growth and development – even as existing residents face the very real threat of persistent development-induced flooding in a state surrounded by water and increasingly covered with impervious surfaces. 

And the 2025 Atlantic Hurricane Season is just heating up… 

It’s true.  Here in the Biggest Whorehouse in the World, those with the gold make the rules.

With next year’s elections beginning to attract candidates – including some perennial pro-development political hacks seeking another bite at the apple – I encourage you to begin sorting the wheat from the chaff, do your homework, ask the tough questions, and prepare to use the power of the ballot box to take back local control of our civic destiny. 

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