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:

Something Stinks in the City of Bunnell  

How did the strange trajectory of a 6,100-home monstrosity – perversely named the Reserve at Haw Creek – go from righteous rejection in June to majority approval earlier this week? 

If you live anywhere in Flagler County or the northern reaches of Volusia, that’s a damn good question for Bunnell’s long-serving Mayor Catherine Robinson, who mysteriously began resurrecting the project just two-weeks after the vote to reject the development’s life-altering consequences for existing residents…

According to a disturbing report in FlaglerLive! this week, “It was a startling reversal from the commission’s 4-1 vote in June to kill the development. The reversal had taken on the shade of a done deal the moment Mayor Catherine Robinson revived the proposal two weeks later, after the developer, JM Properties of Jacksonville, led by Chad Grimm, lobbied certain commissioners, Commissioner Pete Young especially, and reduced the proposed build-out from 8,000 to 6,100 houses.

Robinson’s move at the June 23 meeting was not on the agenda. The lobbying of Young was effective…”

I’ll say…

In keeping with whatever sweetener was used to revive the development, Mayor Robinson joined Commissioners Pete Young and Dean Sechrist in voting to approve the rezoning and development agreement.  Commissioners John Rogers and David Atkinson voted against upending the lives of their constituents rightly concerned about the myriad impacts of overdevelopment.  

According to FlaglerLive!, the gravity of the situation wasn’t lost on the righteously angry residents in attendance:

“Audience members angrily, noisily left the room immediately after the first vote, briefly delaying the second vote. The two measures passed on first reading, with a second reading likely in two weeks.

The reduction was somewhat deceptive: when the developer first unveiled the proposal at a public meeting in May 2024, it did so on a projection of up to 6,000 homes, not 8,000. Somewhere along the line over the next few months, the number crept up to 8,000. In effect, Monday’s approval was for an increase of 100 homes over the original 2024 proposal.”

Ah, the old density switcheroo…  

In perhaps the most damning display of that “I know what’s best for the rest of you” preachy pomposity that often overtakes long-playing Tiny Town politicians when entranced by a developer’s shiny baubles, Mayor Robinson tut-tutted, “I know that you’re not happy about this, but Bunnell does need to grow.  Growth is a double-edged sword. I’ve said that for many, many years. And this is where we want to go to see how this project works based on the expertise of what is looking at this.”

Whatever that means.

In my view, relying on the projections, prognostications, and promises of some developer’s “experts” – those who stand to enrich themselves from ‘bigger is better’ malignant sprawl, then crossing your fingers to see how things work out – isn’t a “double-edged sword.”

That’s playing a dangerous game of Russian Roulette with Flagler County’s quality of life…   

To add insult, this week, the greed-crazed Flagler Homebuilders Association filed notice of its intent to sue the City of Palm Coast for having the gall to increase impact fees during a period of unprecedented growth and substantial increases in infrastructure costs to keep up with demand.

Remember the FHBA’s mercenary motivations the next time a developer tells you growth pays for itself…

Regardless, the largest planned unit development since ITT’s Palm Coast is now coming to 2,800 acres between SR-100 and SR-11.  Among many other adverse impacts, the Reserve at Haw Creek is expected to increase traffic from the current 8,817 daily trips to an obscene 81,943 trips per day on area roadways at build out… 

Add concerns about increased congestion, density, schools, flooding, utilities infrastructure, environmental impacts, added staff, increased operational costs, public safety, and the wholesale destruction of bucolic rural areas, and you begin to see that the far-reaching effects will extend well beyond the threatened residents of Bunnell. 

Something tells me the once quaint community of Bunnell is about to learn the hard and fast lesson that growth at all costs never pays for itself – and the outsized ambitions of small-town politicians will have life-altering consequences for those residents whose fervent voices fell on suddenly deaf ears…

Volusia County Council – Growing the Bureaucracy Six-Figures at a Time

“Volusia County has hired an assistant county manager, one of the top positions in county government leadership, who will focus on special projects.

Gus Zambrano, 61, is coming to Volusia from the post of assistant city manager of Hollywood, Florida. The Volusia County Council voted 7-0 on Tuesday, Aug. 19, to approve him for the assistant county manager role. His salary is $185,000.

It’s not the first time the county has had an assistant county manager, but the position has been vacant for a while, County Manager George Recktenwald said.

“It’s going to fill a need that we’ve had for a while for special projects,” Recktenwald said.”

–Volusia County Manager George “The Wreck” Recktenwald, as quoted by reporter Sheldon Gardner writing in The Daytona Beach News-Journal, “Volusia County Council hire new assistant county manager tasked with special projects,” Thursday, August 21, 2025

Who saw that coming? 

What “Special Projects”?

Why Now? 

And what does this odd addition foretell for Volusia County’s senior leadership in the haunted halls of the Thomas C. Kelly Administration Building?

With little fanfare (and even less public vetting), last week, the Volusia County Council voted unanimously to welcome another level of bureaucracy to the Ivory Tower of Power in DeLand.

It appears Gus Zambrano, 61 – formerly an Assistant City Manager in Hollywood, Florida – comprised the entire shortlist for what many see as an incredibly redundant role in Volusia County’s bloated senior coterie of managers, deputy managers, directors, department heads, assistants, et cetera…

By my calculations, with the addition of Mr. Zambrano, the top echelon of the horribly distended tax funded organization – to include Deputy County Manager Susan Konchon – command an extraordinary $1.4 million in annual salary collectively (before perquisites, benefits, and lucrative bonuses).   

The shocking reality is, according to GovSalaries.com, the first 180 positions in Volusia County government are earning six-figure salaries before benefits (2024).

Most recently, Mr. Zambrano was a finalist for the City Manager role in Venice, Florida. 

His past experience in South Florida includes overseeing development services, public works, utilities, parks, and design/construction management, with a focus on the de rigueur buzzwords “sustainability and resiliency.”

In June, during a candidate presentation before the Venice City Council, Mr. Zambrano explained the importance of “building trust and involving residents in decision-making processes” as a means of garnering citizen support for tax initiatives.

Interesting…

According to reports, Mr. Zambrano was earning $223,621 in Hollywood. 

According to the News-Journal’s report, in wooing our easily wooed elected dullards at the Volusia County Council’s August 19 meeting, Mr. Zambrano described his hiring as similar to Aesop’s ‘Town Mouse comes to the Country’ fable:

“I’ve grown up in urban areas all my life, so to see the special nature and the special place that Volusia is, is something that really needs to be preserved,” he said.

Zambrano said his love of nature and skillset, which includes a background in economic development, bring a balance to the role. That sentiment received support from councilmen.

“The balance between those two are critical because the economy needs to flow in order to be able to do everything else,” he said.”

No doubt delivered with a subtle wink-wink-nudge-nudge to our pro-development shills on the dais that says, “Don’t worry. I know which side my bread is buttered on, fellas…”   

I guess as the fable taught, Mr. Zambrano would rather “gnaw a bean” here in Hooterville than spend one more second in the increasingly claustrophobic sprawl that is Broward County – and something tells me he will learn soon enough that, here on the “Fun Coast,” the “economic flow” he mentioned is controlled by the same five people passing the same nickel around.

In other developments (literally), at the same meeting, County Manager Recktenwald announced Raymond Tyner will become Volusia’s new Director of Growth and Resource Mismanagement.

According to reports, Mr. Tyner, 59, will start at $181,000 annually. 

Both Zambrano and Tyner have similar skillsets with civic planning backgrounds.  

According to reports, Mr. Tyner brings a wealth of experience from 23-years of clawing his way to middle-management with the City of Palm Coast – that bastion of political stability, planning, and smart development – where he rose from planning and zoning responsibilities to Deputy Director of Community Development…

In that role, Mr. Tyner served as a public sector representative to the powerful development lobby at the Volusia County Association for Responsible (Sorry, I just upchucked in my mouth a little) Development and its Flagler County Chapter. 

In addition, his self-described achievements include successfully approving “hundreds” of site and master plan applications, “initiating and managing public-private partnerships that advanced major development and infrastructure initiatives,” negotiating developments of regional impact, and creating a “special assessment district to fund roadway improvements…” 

Wait.  What?  

I’m sure Messrs. Tyner and Zambrano will be the perfect fit.   

Something tells me seismic changes are coming to the internal power structure at Volusia County government.  In my jaded view, it appears all the dominos are beginning to line up for what should be a barnburner of an internal struggle for control when it happens…   

Stay tuned.

Quote of the Week

“Something went terribly wrong in the spring 2025 legislative session, with the passage of a bill known as SB 180. The bill looked technical, but its impacts were major: In the name of storm recovery, Florida legislators made it far more difficult for communities to recover from storms — and, more importantly, to plan for sustainable, healthy growth.

If this was a mistake, it should be fixed. If it was deliberate — which is where the evidence is pointing — Floridians also need to take a good look at who they’re electing to the state Legislature. They should question any disconnect between campaign promises and actual votes, and make it clear that they are paying attention to who lawmakers are really serving.

Several nonprofit organizations are speaking up about this. One of the loudest: 1000 Friends of Florida, a respected smart-growth advocate that has earned respect from business leaders and environmentalists alike. This month, the group released a thorough legal analysis suggesting that SB 180 might be even worse than originally feared — and a clarion call to fix this very bad legislation.”

–Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board, as excerpted from the op/ed “A deceptive bill could strip Floridians of a sustainable future,” Sunday, August 24, 2025  

“If it was deliberate…”

Imagine the political ramifications for Florida legislators if their stunned constituents determined with reasonable certainty that they conspired to surreptitiously pave the way for their campaign donors in the development industry to indiscriminately pave over our already flood-prone communities?

If it were deliberate, that would be a gross insult to the public’s trust in the malicious motivations of a wholly owned state government…

How would voters react if they discovered a sick quid pro quo that cloaked a devastating attack on Home Rule authority? 

Suddenly realizing our lawmakers covertly camouflaged the preemption of local control and self-determination in favor of gifting real estate developer’s carte blanche to build what they want, where they want as an “emergency” measure ostensibly designed to help homeowners rebuild after a natural disaster?   

Well, guess what? 

Rational human beings with two synapses firing – to include normally detached local elected officials from across the width and breadth of Florida – are coming to the undeniable realization that state lawmakers premeditatedly perpetrated the most outrageous assault on local governments ability to control when, where, and how we grow our communities in our state’s history.

Why? 

Because that’s what their wealthy overseers in the development community told them to do…

To add insult, our elected representatives in Tallahassee went as far as allowing the wolves to police the henhouse – providing an enforcement mechanism that permits developers to file crippling lawsuits against any city or county who they believe have “restrictive or burdensome” development regulations – retroactive to August 2024. 

For the record, that date just happens to coincide with the sacred vote of Orange County residents to establish a protective “rural boundary” around undeveloped countryside and agricultural areas…

Imagine what would happen if Floridians of all political persuasions stopped the “left/right” division and discord perpetrated by partisan operatives and special interests and came together in our shared rage to protect our hometowns from this gross overreach?

What if we pointed our collective finger at the abject corruption that permeates the anterooms, hallowed chambers, and tony cocktail lounges of our state capitol – and said “listen you greedy two-faced bastards, enough is enough…” – then voted our conscience?

Maybe that’s something “We, The Little People” might want to consider come election time – before there’s nothing left to worry about…

And Another Thing!

It’s that strange time of the year again in local governments – the “Silly Season” – when we watch the annual bureaucratic bunraku play out in three dramatic acts; a hyper-dramatic edge-of-your-seat production that ultimately establishes an annual budget and sets a millage rate to pay for it all. 

It begins when councils and commissions set an astronomical “tentative” millage rate, so that any downward adjustment can later be ridiculously described as a “reduction” in the pain they could have caused…    

During the staged hearings (usually humdrum PowerPoint presentations too tedious for anyone to follow, let alone understand) – someone with a title like “Assistant,” “Director,” “Deputy Director,” etc., with a base salary somewhere around $180,000 (before bennies) – stands before the butcher, the baker, and the candlestick maker seated on the dais, puts a flashlight under their chin, and begins spinning scary stories about the apocalyptic ramifications of reducing the tax burden on their strapped constituents. 

In keeping with the well-choreographed script, those we elect to represent our interests get a pensive look on their faces – that contemplative gaze that masks the fact they don’t have a clue how “staff” keeps all the moving parts of a complex infrastructure synched and lubricated – and lament how difficult it is to make the “tough decisions” that invariably lead to a tax increase for their neighbors.

Once the mournful “For the love of God, we’ve cut all we can (gasp) now it’s a matter of…dare I say…reducing services” threats are laid on the table, the increase is couched in terms of just how little the tax hike will cost in real dollars, i.e., “homesteaded residents with a taxable property value of $250,000 will see an increase of just $X a year…” – and everyone goes home feeling good about themselves.

Then Ma and Pa Joad sit down and figure out what they’re going to cut out of their meager lives so they can scrape together $X out of their Social Security check…

Unfortunately, those increases in taxes and fees relate to tough choices for struggling residents living on a fixed income.  Our less fortunate neighbors who watch helplessly as the steady rise in property insurance, utilities, taxes, groceries, healthcare – those ever-expanding “costs of living” on this salty piece of land we call home – inexorably converge with their limited family budget. 

Despite all the hype and horseshit we hear from our globetrotting “economic development” gurus who crow about the “high-paying jobs” the latest “logistics center” will bring, some 36% of Volusia County households are considered Asset Limited/Income Constrained – families who earn more than the Federal Poverty Level but less than the basic cost of living here on the “Fun Coast.”

Earlier this month, the Ormond Beach City Commission engaged in one of its internecine contretemps when Mayor Jason Leslie questioned how anyone could parse each line of the proposed budget in the time provided – which resulted in the typical histrionics one expects whenever an elected official calls out The Untouchables on the senior staff.

According to a report by Jarleene Almenas writing in the Ormond Beach Observer last week:

“In a rare show of frustration, (City Manager) Shanahan said the commission had a month to go through the budget; the City Commission received it on July 9.

“I don’t think it’s fair to staff to put them on the spot at the last minute,” Sargent said. “… Where do you want this budget to go? Do you want to go to rollback, and how do we get there? Mayors previously, yes, they did vote no for it, but they had ideas, and I think we need those ideas to hash this out for the residents of Ormond Beach.”

Leslie said they were all part of the same legislative body.

“Out of five people here, nobody has an idea?” Leslie asked.”

In keeping with the playscript, the elected officials heard a theatrical soliloquy, played to perfection by Finance Director Kelly McGuire, as she delivered the coup de grâce – the grim bureaucratic reality that ended any further substantive debate by those with the political liability for keeping costs in check:

“If you want to go beyond this particular millage rate that we’re proposing, then you have to enter the world of reducing service,” McGuire said, adding that would lead to cuts in parks and recreation. “… And when we talk about that, to get to almost another $2 million for where we’re at right now, we’re talking about not just eliminating services, but possibly having to actually close the facility, because those facilities in and of themselves are expensive.”

For his part, Mayor Leslie has been publicly pointing to the staggering increase in municipal spending year-to-year – although his numbers for 2025-26 run the confusing gamut from $161 million in an “X” post last Saturday, to $170 million in his response to a scathing op/ed by former Commissioner David Schecter the Ormond Beach Observer this week. 

In my view, his heart is in the right place.  I know that because he’s been taking a savage beating for having the temerity to ask the tough questions and saying the quiet part aloud…

(For the record, next month, the Ormond Beach City Commission will vote on an operating budget for fiscal year 2025-26 of $143 million.) 

According to reports, Mayor Leslie’s protestations caught the attention of Florida’s Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia – who holds the leash on Gov. Ron DeSantis’ fearsome attack dog, the Florida Department of Government Efficiency. 

In response, CFO Ingoglia said on X, “The City of Ormond Beach should give money back to the taxpayers in the form of a substantial property tax cut.  Let’s not pretend to cut spending when spending is increasing year-over-year.”

According to the Observer’s report, “The new rate — 4.4797 mills, or $4.4797 per $1,000 in taxable property value — is 7.66% higher than the current tax rate…”

Ceterum censeo:  Something needs to drastically change in the manner and means by which county and municipal governments liberate We, The Little People from our hard-earned tax dollars – then perpetually increase bureaucratic spending, salaries, perquisites, Taj Mahal facilities, et cetera – while we are forced to live within our increasingly meager means.

If not, something tells me Gov. Ron DeSantis is going to change it for them. 

And not necessarily for the best…

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

Hi, kids!

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

Daytona “International” Airport – The Triumphant Return of JetBlue…

In 2018, just three years after Volusia County economic development types ponied up some $2.3 million in public incentives to lure JetBlue to Daytona “International” Airport – the low-cost carrier gave area residents the slip – moving on to more lucrative markets while consolidating “underperforming” routes.

In their patented “throw more money at it” strategy to coax discount airlines to Daytona Beach, our “movers & shakers” went so far as to develop a “travel bank” among local companies – to include Brown & Brown, the former Consolidated-Tomoka Land Company, International Speedway Corporation, and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University – which collectively promised to spend a quarter-million dollars with JetBlue if they agreed to grace us with one flight per day to New York’s JFK.

Add to that some $25,000 in free upgrades to the airlines gate location at DIA (paid for with public funds) and it was a pretty good deal – for JetBlue anyway…

Considering the lavish financial “incentives” offered, the departure of JetBlue was a demoralizing blow to a down-at-the-heels resort area that was repeatedly duped by hospitality statisticians who told us were drawing more visitors annually than we actually were.

Remember?  I do.  

In May, the Daytona Beach Convention and Visitors Bureau sheepishly explained a more than 50% drop in the annual visitor count in 2024 (4.5 million down from 10.1 million in 2023) after a fresh marketing and research firm began tallying the actual number of people who intentionally spent time here, as opposed to “pass-through” travelers.

Yeah.  I know…   

Last week, everyone who is anyone was busy firing up the Halifax Area All-Star Goodtime Band for another refrain of “Happy Days are Here Again, Again!” as JetBlue announced its triumphant return to Daytona “International” Airport!

This time around, routes include daily service to Boston and New York City.

So, did Volusia County economic development officials learn anything from our incredibly expensive jilting by JetBlue seven years ago? 

Hardly…

According to an article by business editor Clayton Park writing in The Daytona Beach News-Journal last week:  

“When JetBlue Airways resumes daily flights here on Dec. 4 after a nearly seven-year absence, it will do so with a little economic incentive help from its friends at Daytona Beach International Airport.

“We have our standard airport marketing package that we do for every airline when they start service here,” said Joanne Magley, director of air service, marketing and customer experience at the Volusia County-run airport also known as DAB. “They’ll receive $200,000 in marketing support per route, and a waiver of certain airport fees (for the first two years of service),” she said.”

So, how much is the total “incentive package” worth beyond the $400,000 in “marketing support”? 

Who knows?

According to the News-Journal, “Magley did not say how much the incentives will be worth in total, but indicated it will be far less than the $2.3 million in incentives that JetBlue received its first time around here…” 

Shhhhhhhh.  Just a ‘standard package.’  That’s all ye know, and all ye need to know… 

Great.

Is this a “Huge Win-Win” for DAB or another expensive disappointment in the making as past experience would suggest?   

Time will tell… 

Rewarding the Unjustifiable: More Questions at Volusia County Schools

“It truly takes a village, and this work is fully realized through the engagement of our students, parents, all staff, community partners, volunteers, mentors, School Board, and stakeholders. Through collaborative partnerships and servant leadership, we’ve achieved remarkable progress with our first ‘A’ rating in 16 years. This recognition reinforces my commitment to the collective work we do to transform public education for every student we serve.”

Dr. Balgobin’s leadership is marked by her commitment to collaboration and knowledge sharing. She regularly shares scalable frameworks for instructional improvement, strategic alignment, and sustainable district transformation with other districts. Under her guidance, initiatives such as “Synergy Walks” and clear instructional “look-fors” have strengthened instructional capacity and fostered a culture of shared accountability across more than 70 schools.”

–Volusia County School Superintendent Carmen Balgobin, as conjured by those magicians at Volusia County Schools Community Information Services, “Dr. Carmen Balgobin Named Finalist for NASS 2025 Superintendent of the Year,” Wednesday, August 13, 2025

Want to have a little fun? 

Let’s play a game.

On the honor system, take all the time you need to decipher the meaning and definition of the following jabberwocky without throwing your hands-up in utter exasperation and turning to Google, Grammarly, or ChatGPT:

1. “Scalable framework for instructional improvement”
2. “Strategic alignment”
3. “Sustainable district transformation”
4. “Synergy walk”
5. “Clear instructional “Look Fors”

Now, put your right hand on a 2025 printing of Funk & Wagnall’s Encyclopedia of Inane Corporate-Speak and repeat after me:

“I affirm that I will not give or receive any unauthorized help on this just-for-fun exam, and that all hair I pull out in frustration will be my own.”

You may begin…  

Not as easy as it looks, eh? 

Don’t feel bad.   No one else understands it, either.

That’s because the only people who speak that nonsensical pseudo babble are eggheads and assholes – people who surround themselves with sycophantic minions who nod enthusiastically and act like they understand that gobbledygook – lest they expose themselves as being just as clueless as the rest of us.

It is the preferred vernacular of Dr. Carmen Balgobin, a cloistered senior official doubling-down on a still unproven accomplishment with her nomination for National Superintendent of the Year…   

You read that right.

This week, US News and World Report ranked Volusia’s Spruce Creek High School as 130^th in Florida with a graduation rate of 99% – yet only 44% of students were proficient in math and just 55% demonstrated reading proficiency… 

What are we graduating? 

Well-rounded young adults with the life and academic skills to succeed?  Or victims of a pernicious system designed to give economic development shills (and senior administrators) something to crow about?

I hate to be the proverbial turd in the celebratory punchbowl, but did the district really earn an “A” grade, or is it the contrived result of manipulating enrollment data by transferring lower performing students so they didn’t count against their assigned school’s graduation rate?

It’s a valid question.

This week, District 4 School Board Member Donna Brosemer continued to educate her constituents (and challenge the stagnant status quo) with a barnburner op/ed published in the Ormond Beach Observer. 

(Please find Ms. Brosemer’s editorial here: https://tinyurl.com/4j74v4tz )

In her cogent piece, Ms. Brosemer explained the board’s obligation to provide budgetary oversight in a place that has historically been less than forthcoming…

For instance, when discussing what passes for preliminary budget hearings, Ms. Brosemer wrote, “The process was equally sanitized this time too. There were numerous declarations of the evils of social media, and indignant demands that only “experts” should be trusted.”

In turn, Ms. Brosemer dropped another shocking allegation regarding the possible artificial manipulation of grades and graduation rates…

“My experts, as I have said many times, are my teachers and school administrators. They are on the ground, doing the heavy lifting, figuring out what works and what doesn’t.

They are the ones required to move kids around to produce the desired graduation rates. Or administering the same tests multiple times and eliminating the hard questions so the test grade is higher. Or who describe their ESE classes with 3 grade levels, multiple special needs, and 30 students, all in the same class, with just one para to help them.

Does the current budget reflect the needs of those experts? It’s hard to tell, because they are never candidly discussed. We’re too busy making everything pretty.”

That’s disturbing.  

So, what is the truth behind the “A grade” graduation rates and school scores for which Dr. Balgobin is receiving this national recognition? 

Is that the reason for the forced organizational silence at Volusia County Schools?

If not, why was it necessary for Superintendent Balgobin to demand over 100 public employees sign a chilling Nondisclosure Agreement limiting their ability to discuss matters specifically covered by Florida’s Public Records Law at the risk of having their careers destroyed?

Why would it be necessary to prevent administrators from speaking about where and how public funds are spent, i.e., “Information regarding the District’s financial operations, including budgets, funding sources, and allocation of resources”?

What about “Strategic planning documents and information,” or “Non-public communications between and among District personnel, the Department of Education, parents, students, and community stakeholders” is so top-secret staffers need to be officially gagged?  

When will those of us who pay the bills get answers to these important questions from Dr. Balgobin or our elected representatives on the School Board? 

In my view, haughty awards and individual recognition for senior administrators is admirable – so long as the basis for them is verifiable – not the result of restricting information to control the narrative regarding how these remarkable graduation rates were obtained…

Anything less is unconscionable – and further erodes the public’s trust.

As Ms. Brosemer so aptly said, “So many questions no one asks. So few answers no one wants. Does the board’s apathy mirror that of the public, or vice versa?”

Quote of the Week

“All over the state, local governments are pushing ahead on common-sense changes to their growth plans, wetlands protection, and impact fees. They’re doing so despite warnings from big, bad opponents that what they have in mind will violate a new pro-developer state law that limits city and county governments’ authority on new land-use or development regulations.

It’s happening in big counties like Orange and small cities like Edgewater. And everywhere it’s happening, it’s bad news for Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Legislature, because it shows that local governments are tired of being pushed around by developers and their toadies and are ready to push back.

“This is one of those tipping points,” Manatee County Commission Chairman George Kruse told me.

As my colleague Mitch Perry reported last week, the law they’re challenging has “become the most controversial new measure” of the 2025 legislative session.

People are now realizing what this law really demonstrates: Tallahassee is tightly controlled by campaign donors who don’t care about what’s best for Florida’s people, only what boosts their private profits, Kruse said. That’s why they wanted to handcuff the local officials who might object.

The bill was passed on the pretext of providing emergency help for hurricane victims. But it contained a poison pill benefiting no one but big developers.

“It’s important to realize that this was described as an emergency bill that goes far beyond an emergency to actually attack the basis of democracy,” said Kim Dinkins, planning and policy director for the smart growth group 1000 Friends of Florida. “It allows a popular vote to be overturned.”

With so many people lining up to resist, I’m thinking we should change our state song from “Old Folks at Home” (yawn!) to the far more appropriate “Fight the Power” by the Isley Brothers.”

–Reporter Craig Pittman, writing in the Florida Phoenix, as excerpted from his op/ed, “Florida cities and counties line up to defy new pro-developer state law,” Thursday, August 14, 2025

Courage takes many forms.  

Mostly it means having the moral strength to simply do the right thing…

On Monday evening, in a bold move, the majority of the Underwater City Commission voted 3-2 to keep development moratoriums in place to protect waterlogged residents from recurrent development-induced flooding by defying the pernicious tenets of SB-180. 

Edgewater Mayor Diezel DePew and Councilmembers Eric Rainbird and Charlotte Gillis voted to keep the protections in place, while Councilmembers Mike Thomas and Debbie Dolbow were opposed.

According to a report by Brenno Carillo writing in The Daytona Beach News-Journal, “City Council members who supported keeping the city’s moratoriums echoed the vast majority of Edgewater residents’ opposition to the new state law. Rainbird and Gillis made emphatic and emotional statements about protecting residents, even if it means challenges could be on the way for the city.

Several Edgewater residents and some from surrounding cities spoke in near unison against the new state law and urged council members to keep the moratoriums.”

In Deltona, the City Commission voted 4-3 to join a growing coalition of cities and counties seeking a legal challenge to the overreach of SB 180.

Commissioners Maritza Avila-Vasquez, Stephen Cowell, Dori Howington, and Nick Lulli stood firm for their constituents – while Mayor Santiago Avila Jr, Vice Mayor Davison Heriot, and Commissioner Emma Santiago evidenced their cowardice in the face of this legislative attack on the right of Florida’s charter governments to self-determination.

Later, Santiago said she was merely following the spineless lead of the Florida League of Cities which, she claims, counseled her to “Spend time developing relationships with your legislators and stay out of the political fray.”

In other words, “play nice, keep your mouth shut, and do as you’re told…”

Which sums up why the Florida League of Cities has become a nonentity in the fight against repeat legislative bullying – cowering in the corner and kissing the rings of Florida lawmakers’ intent on destroying the ability of cities and counties to determine how, when, and where they grow.

For his part, Vice Mayor Heriot (and “others”?) has been unctuously pleading with Volusia legislators behind the scenes, asking pretty-please for “amendments” to SB 180; changes that are never coming.  This week he explained his vote as not wanting to kick his oppressors “in the face” with a lawsuit, just when his “discussions” are becoming “productive.”

Sure they are. 

Keep kowtowing, Mr. Heriot.  That always works…      

I get it.  It’s rarely easy for mealy-mouth politicians controlled by influential special interests to stand up and do the right thing – especially when it comes to challenging legislative aggression, intimidation, and political pressure from on high.  

In my view, these cold and timid elected officials should take a lesson from those brave souls throughout American history who taught that it is a moral obligation of citizenship to righteously oppose patently unfair laws.   

As Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. so eloquently said in his Letter from Birmingham Jail, “One has not only a legal but a moral responsibility to obey just laws. Conversely, one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws.”

In my view, it is time the flood-prone and claustrophobic residents of Volusia County let our aloof, dictatorial, and wholly compromised legislative delegation know there is some shit we won’t eat…

And Another Thing!

“Holding our elected officials to a higher standard.

Today I picked up my lunch at an establishment that I frequent often.  As I was leaving, Ormond Beach Zone 3 Commissioner Kristen Deaton walked in.

I was walking towards the door to leave and Commissioner Deaton yelled “They should call it Protect Jason Leslie” (referring to Protect Volusia and Ormond Mayor Jason Leslie). Is this the type of behavior “WE” the residents of Ormond Beach should have to endure from our elected officials out in public?

Do residents of Ormond Beach now need to be concerned about being confronted in public or fear retaliation from their elected officials?

Elected Officials should be held to a higher standard as are police/fire employees.  Out of respect for the business owner I did not turn around and reply to her. I continued walking and left the establishment.

Protect Volusia has been assisting residents for over two years. We stand by them and we put out information that we feel the public needs to be aware of. We fight for the residents and always will.

This behavior was unprofessional and I expect more from an elected official.”

–Ormond Beach Activist Robin Magleora, co-founder of Protect Volusia, writing on Ormond Beach Citizens: Protect Ormond Beach Facebook page, Friday, August 15, 2025

Last week in this space, I discussed the pox of pettiness that has descended on local governance. 

From the contentious selection of the 2026 Volusia County Charter Commission, to the on-going shitshow of nastiness and infighting that is the Ormond Beach City Commission, the Lost City of Deltona, Palm Coast, etc. – it seems vindictiveness and spite rule the day – and the ‘people’s business’ takes a backseat to paltry one-upmanship…  

In my view, civic activist Robin Magleora’s self-described encounter with Ormond Beach City Commissioner Kristin Deaton last week exemplifies the “Us v. Them” divisions that continue to separate “We, The Little People” from our “political elite” – that self-anointed clique of arrogant elected dullards who have become convinced of their own infallibility by their political puppeteers.

It also exposed the Ormond “in-crowd’s” utter distain for Mayor Jason Leslie, a political outsider with the courage to speak his mind.  

In response to Mayor Leslie’s commitment to exercising his right to speak and keep his constituents informed on issues of community concern, earlier this year, Commissioner Deaton proposed a cockamamie ordinance to ensure the mayor – and any other elected official who dares to demonstrate independent thought – will be pounded into the round hole of conformity with the force of law…

According to a social media post by Protect Volusia’s Elena Kraft, it appears Ormond Beach City Attorney Randy Hayes has rightfully decided to put Deaton’s cheap attempt at oppressive censorship in the round file of bad ideas.   

In response to a recent inquiry by Ms. Kraft, Hayes explained “I have not addressed the matter further as other matters have taken priority. At this point, I do not intend to take further action without further direction by the commission.”

I find it interesting that Ms. Deaton’s nasty swipe at Protect Volusia comes during the brewing controversy over the oddly postponed selection of Ormond Beach’s city employee benefits provider after Brown & Brown’s bid for services came in some $50,000 less than their competitor, Foundation Risk Partners.  

Although Commissioners Travis Sergeant (who works for FRP) and Lori Tolland (whose son works for FRP) abstained from the vote in keeping with Florida’ ethics laws – I found it weird both were allowed to actively lobby their voting colleagues during the discussion…

During the back-and-forth that ensued, Mayor Leslie had the good sense to suggest the obvious – selecting the lowest cost option as identified by the city’s selection committee (Brown & Brown was ranked 100 while FRP scored 78). 

“I think it’s just suicide for me to say, ‘Yeah, I’m going to spend more money for a broker that’s going to provide almost similar services to what we currently are going to have, or going to get,” Leslie said.

Ignoring staff’s objective scoring and the clear difference in cost, Commissioner Deaton arrogantly suggested that Mayor Leslie couldn’t possibly understand the underlying nuances of the selection because “You haven’t lived here, and haven’t worked with all of these people in this room, and that’s what makes it hard,” – openly insinuating that the selection should be weighted more toward insider relationships – rather than an impartial analysis of the services and costs contained in the proposals.  

Bullshit.

When it comes to the rules governing municipal appropriations and the allocation of public funds for apples-to-apples goods and services, ignoring a 50% difference in bid price is hard to explain.

Unfortunately, the Ormond Beach City Commission’s selection of a benefits provider is now forever tainted by the lobbying of members who are by law prohibited from voting, resulting in the highly suspicious move of tabling the decision until September 3. 

In my view, these ham-handed shenanigans open the door for Ormond Beach taxpayers – and the company who loses the bid – to speculate if the delay is to allow time for backroom maneuverings.     

That is an insult to the integrity of both of these venerated local insurance intermediaries – and an incredibly irresponsible process for an elected body. 

Sadly, with one snide remark, Commissioner Deaton exposed her distain for civic activists and organizations working hard for the betterment of their community – an embarrassing and confrontational comment that served no purpose – other than to prove Deaton’s lofty opinion of herself has cauterized the human emotion of shame from her outsized ego.

In my view, the remainder of the now compromised Ormond Beach City Commission should publicly condemn Commissioner Deaton’s conduct toward Ms. Magleora (and denounce her open animosity toward Mayor Leslie) as counter to the concept of ethical behavior and good governance.  

In the increasingly upside-down world of Ormond Beach politics, one thing is certain; this abhorrent arrogance of power will continue as long as voters permit it…

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:

David v. Goliath – Small Town Values Run Deep in West Volusia

During a standing room only special meeting of the Lake Helen City Commission Monday evening, citizens of the small West Volusia community packed the chambers to support their police department.  The public outpouring came following a move to disband the agency and contract law enforcement services with the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office as a cost-cutting measure.  

As one 25-year resident said, “I wanted to show our local Lake Helen Police Department that we all do care and it’s very important that we also as a community have our words considered and that it’s not just up to the commissioners and all of them.”

Let me repeat that: Citizens turned out because they wanted the town’s police officers to know their service and sacrifice is valued.    

That doesn’t happen everywhere in this day and age…

I’m a small town guy. 

In my view, when it comes to government, the closer to those it serves the better. More accessible, accountable, and responsive – neighbors serving neighbors – the embodiment of our foundational democratic principle “…of the people, by the people, for the people.”

In small communities the butcher, the baker, and the candlestick maker – average citizens with a willingness to serve – throw their hat in the ring, stand for election, and work hard for little compensation to make a positive difference in their own hometown.   

Relatively speaking, the decisions they make are no less consequential than those of larger government entities – although civic issues, good and bad, are often amplified in the politically charged atmosphere of a small community.   

I spent the bulk of my life serving as a police officer with the City of Holly Hill, a wonderfully eccentric small community on the banks of the beautiful Halifax river, a place that graciously adopted me as one their own during a career that spanned three-decades.   

It was the quintessence of community-oriented policing – and resulted in lifelong friendships with those I served – and a sense of pride and personal satisfaction that only comes from a commitment to something greater than one’s own self-interests.

By the very nature of small town politics, elected and appointed officials must look their constituents in the eye, discuss civic issues face-to-face, calm fears, actually listen to the needs and suggestions of taxpayers, and wear a variety of hats to meet challenges with limited resources.

The result is a true sense of community – where folks look after one another – needs are met collectively and accomplishments celebrated communally. 

That collaborative approach to governance and service delivery results in a creative and cooperative dynamic.  Through up-close and personalized service, small town residents know that bigger isn’t necessarily better, especially during emergencies when they have the comfort of knowing their community’s first responders are standing watch.  

In fact, the unique culture and identity of each community in the mosaic of municipalities here on the “Fun Coast” is what sets them apart from the others, offering different civic and natural amenities, a quaint charm, and perhaps a slower pace of life from the homogenized “sameness” of large consolidated metropolitan areas like Jacksonville and Metro Dade and their often indifferent centralized governments.      

Look, I’m not knocking larger local, state, and federal agencies – I have dear friends and former colleagues across the spectrum.  Through those associations, I’ve learned that first responders everywhere are personally committed to those they serve with willingness, dedication, and selflessness – true professionals with the universal trait of putting their lives on the line for people they don’t even know.   

I simply believe that small communities providing their own essential services – and the sense of identity they garner – is something worth preserving.  Something that transcends the sterile and dispassionate ebb and flow of the budget process.

Like many of you, last week, I followed the unfortunate disagreement between Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood and the Town of Pierson – “Fern Capitol of the World” – a quaint community of ~1,500 in West Volusia that has been reliant on the Sheriff’s Office for many years.

For the past several years, the town contracted for “enhanced” law enforcement services from the Sheriff’s Office.   As I understand it, the agreement essentially amounted to one deputy dedicated to the town limits 12-hours each day, with normal services provided by zone deputies outside the contracted hours of service.

According to reports, under the current agreement, the town pays the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office $319,650 annually.  In addition, property owners in Pierson pay ad valorem taxes, some of which are also allocated to county law enforcement operations.

In fact, every property owner in the county pays into the “Law Enforcement Trust Fund,” regardless of whether they are served by a municipal police department, ostensibly to pay for countywide services like SWAT, advanced crime scene processing, etc.

Citing an increase in healthcare, pay raises, vehicles, pension, and other operational expenses, Sheriff Chitwood announced a 10% increase in his agency’s contract with Pierson beginning in November, bringing the town’s annual cost for enhanced services to $345,000. 

The Town of Pierson has a bare-bones annual budget of around $1.1 million, and town officials have suggested the increase is “excessive and well above inflation.”   The controversy seemed to explode suddenly and took Pierson Mayor Gray Leonhard – and many of the town’s residents – by surprise.

According to the News-Journal, on May 1, the town council had an open discussion regarding the possibility of negotiating a better price with the Sheriff’s Office. 

That’s when things took an adversarial turn:  

“Shortly after they started discussing the sheriff’s office policing contract, “in the middle of the meeting,” a deputy walked to the stage where the mayor was and asked him to check his messages, Leonhard said.

It appears that Chitwood had been informed about the town council’s discussion and sent a message to the mayor threatening to end policing quicker in Pierson, Leonhard said.

In the text message sent at 8:10 p.m. on May 1, a copy of which was provided to the News-Journal, Chitwood wrote: “Hey Mayor, thanks for the heads up on what you were about to do tonight. I don’t need 180 days. I’ll terminate the contract in 30.”

Chitwood also told the mayor in the text message that he will have to figure out what to do with all the property and evidence being held for the town of Pierson because “I’m not storing it without charging you.”

Wow.

Maybe things have changed since I retired, but I’m not sure dumping bags of evidence taken by sheriff deputies in criminal cases on the front steps of Pierson City Hall if they don’t pony up is legally, procedurally, or ethically an option – but that’s a question for State Attorney R. J. Larizza…

Sheriff Chitwood then dropped his parting words to the Town of Pierson: “Feel free to give me a call and discuss this but as far as I’m concerned, relationship is over. Good luck,” Chitwood wrote.”

In turn, Sheriff Chitwood followed up with a letter to residents of northwest Volusia which said, in part:

“Unfortunately, we have reached the point in our 34-year relationship where the Town Council has chosen to sever our contract and seek a lower level of law enforcement service instead.  The current contract for enhanced law enforcement services ends Nov. 12, 2025. It will be up to your Town Council to determine your course of action after that date.”

For his part, Mayor Leonhard countered that Sheriff Chitwood’s letter created undo “fear and confusion” in the small community. Now, both Sheriff Chitwood and Mayor Leonhard are accusing each other of failing to negotiate in good faith…

According to reports, during a press conference last month, Sheriff Chitwood slighted the Pierson Town Council as “inept,” and suggested the town was “defunding” law enforcement protection completely. 

According to an article by reporter Patricio Balona writing in the News-Journal last week, Mayor Leonhard pushed back against Sheriff Chitwood’s remarks:

“I am kind of upset about this because he’s told a bunch of lies. He sent letters to everybody in northwest Volusia County,” Leonhard said. “It was a letter that caused hate and discontent and caused confusion in the community as far as I am concerned.”

Many across Volusia County are wondering why Sheriff Chitwood, an incredibly powerful political personality, would find it necessary to take a ‘scorched earth’ approach to a relatively inconsequential “enhanced” service contract with a tiny community trying hard to be fiscally responsible?

It had a David v. Goliath quality that left some residents of Pierson feeling bullied by the very entity that should be looking out for them…

In Florida, it seems elected sheriffs have developed a friendly competition for who can be the ‘rootinist-tootinist tough guy’ around – some have taken to wearing ten-gallon hats, cowboy boots, six shooters, and hold tough talking press conferences – then use that well-crafted persona to build political popularity – and massive budgets.

It’s no secret that Sheriff Chitwood has carefully developed a reputation for berating “scumbags,” staging “perp walks” with criminal suspects, squaring up with his detractors, and cultivating a hardnosed image.   

I get it.  That’s politics, and few do it better than Mike Chitwood.

In my view, that acerbic approach should be reserved for the criminal element, not strapped small town officials trying hard to live up to their fiduciary responsibility and make ends meet without the massive and ever-expanding budget that Volusia County enjoys… 

That said, something incredibly special happened in Lake Helen on Monday.

Following a contentious meeting where residents made their feelings known, the Lake Helen City Commission listened to the fervent pleas of their residents and voted to keep their police department.  After hearing from their constituents, the elected officials realized that those on both sides of the badge care passionately about the tightknit community – and want to preserve those civic attributes that are most important to them.

Here’s hoping Sheriff Chitwood and Pierson officials can gain a mutual understanding, and work cooperatively to find common ground that permits residents to sleep comfortably knowing their community is adequately protected at a price they can afford.

Volusia County Council – Machiavellianism on Parade

By all accounts Niccolò Machiavelli was a piece of work – a Florentine politician, diplomat, early political scientist, and author of The Prince – and clearly a role model for many modern day bureaucrats and politicians…  

Most remember Machiavelli for his adaptation of the tactics necessary for a ruler to survive in politics, and his belief that those who were most successful engaged in deception, treachery, and criminal acts.

As a result, Machiavellianism refers to “…a personality trait characterized by manipulativeness, deceitfulness, high levels of self-interest, and a tendency to see other people as means to an end.”

Look, I may be a rube, but I’m not naïve.   

Neither are you.  

Spitefulness has become a requisite trait for politicians at all levels of government.  The instinctive ability to employ vindictive and mean-spirited strategies in slash-and-parry style to gain the political advantage by any means necessary.  The capacity to justify the means, however unscrupulous, when required to achieve and hold power.

Sound familiar?

Political might make’s it right.  Power with impunity.  Decisions without repercussions.  

Whoever has the gold makes the rules…

Last week, the Volusia County Council undertook the decennial task of selecting the 2026 Charter Review Commission – fifteen registered voters selected from a list of those who took the time to volunteer – a chance to influence substantive changes to our governing document and make county government more effective, efficient, and responsive to those who pay the bills.

At least that’s the noble concept behind it. 

The reality is far different…   

Every decade, the charter commission is carefully stacked with special interests, heavily weighted toward Volusia’s “Old Guard,” those backslapping representatives of the “good ole’ boys club,” to include former elected officials, business and insurance executives, real estate interests, and a small minority of us hoi polloi to keep up appearances.   

By imperial design, nothing changes.

(You can review the Volusia County’s Charter here: https://tinyurl.com/mpeandrc )

Last week, the selection process devolved into another dysfunctional shit show of abject pettiness when our squabbling elected dullards set about besmirching the motivations of residents who volunteered, stacking the deck, with (per usual) the majority ensuring that Chairman Jeff Brower was publicly humiliated like the castrated cur they portray him to be.

(Maybe if Chairman Brower keeps voting with them, acquiescing to their pet projects, and making nice-nice they’ll let him be part of the “clique” before he rides off into political obscurity?)  

In an article by Sheldon Gardner writing in The Daytona Beach News-Journal, we learned that Florida Senate candidate Jason Voelz is exposing the process for what it is after his nomination was rejected (by his political opponent) last week:

“A man who was rejected for a spot on the Volusia County Charter Review Commission is claiming he was the victim of a conflict of interest, and the Volusia County Council may have violated state ethics laws.

Jason Voelz is a candidate for the 2026 Florida Senate District 8 race. And so is Council member Jake Johansson, who voted against appointing him along with four other members of the seven-member Council on Tuesday, Aug. 5.

“He (Johansson) should have just stepped aside and said, ‘I’m not participating in that one,'” Voelz said.

Three of the councilmen who voted against Voelz have donated to Johansson’s campaign, according to records. County Council Chairman Jeff Brower and District 4 Councilman Troy Kent voted for him. Brower nominated Voelz for the role.

“The involvement of a political opponent in the nomination process, coupled with public statements indicating political motivations, raises serious questions about adherence to these ethical standards (in Florida law),” he stated in a letter to the Council and the News-Journal.”

I guess some people just can’t accept, “That’s the way we do it here, boy.”

For his part, Councilman David “No Show” Santiago also put the boots to Voelz, claiming “I don’t think his commentary reflects the values that this Council necessarily would support in strategies on how to effectively communicate and get things done.”

Which is rich coming from Mr. Santiago – in my view the most self-serving, disingenuous, and manipulative marionette in that gross bimonthly political puppet show that passes for a public meeting…

In another caustic exchange quoted by the News-Journal, we see the outsized role insider politics plays in the selection process, and why residents of Volusia County who value their reputation volunteer for appointment to advisory positions at their own risk:

“Another nominee of Brower’s failed to gain enough support: Joel Paige, a New Smyrna Beach resident and retired fireman. District 3 Councilman Danny Robins said Paige isn’t qualified for the role, and Robins got into a back-and-forth exchange with Brower over the issue.

“Imagine Elon Musk just hiring anybody to send rockets into space … you know what I mean?” Robins said.

“This is just totally unfair to this man,” Brower said.

Paige called councilmembers “a bunch of clowns” who do the bidding of developers.

“Brower’s the only serious person on the Council,” Paige said.

Amy Munizzi, who made it onto the Charter Review Commission after Johannsson suggested her as the collective appointee, received criticism from Brower.

“If there’s anybody that’s argumentative and radical, it’s her,” Brower said, adding that he believed she and her husband are developers.

Munizzi said in a phone interview that her husband is a general contractor, but she is not involved in the business.

“I think it’s unfortunate that the word developer is being used as a dirty word,” she said.

Munizzi is president of the DeLeon Springs Community Association. She supported Dye, Brower’s opponent, in the 2024 race for county chairman.”

Welp.  There you have it, folks.  

I don’t know anything about Jason Voelz or his candidacy for the Florida Senate – but it appears he just got an up-close-and-personal look at the way ones jelly bread lands when he dares challenge the stagnant status quo in Volusia County.  

It shouldn’t be this way.  But it is. 

Here’s hoping Mr. Voelz makes good on his threat to explore “…all legal options to address this matter, including filing a formal complaint with the Florida Commission on Ethics and pursuing any other remedies available under Florida law.”

In my view, it is high time someone steps forward with the courage to stand tall for the needs of Volusia County taxpayers over the greed and influence of controlling special interests.

Quote of the Week

“The construction on Granada Boulevard in Ormond Beach from U.S. 1 east to A1A has caused dangerous and hazardous risks for every driver,” Miller said. “Six-inch concrete obstructions on Granada Boulevard probably there to slow down traffic by moving vehicles, weaving left and right, and driving lanes that have been reduced in size, have caused accidents and damage to many vehicles. … Every bit of this Granada Boulevard project has to be one of the worst ever conceived by FDOT.”

–Ormond Resident Marvin Miller, as excerpted from the Ormond Beach Observer, “FDOT to remove some curb extensions, chicanes in Ormond Beach’s downtown,” Tuesday, August 12, 2025

The Florida Department of Transportation has done something area activists and politicians have been attempting for decades – harnessing the anger and angst of Halifax area residents with a common focus of demanding better.  

They succeeded. 

Residents and business owners are unified in their utter distain for the $20.5 million abomination that is FDOT’s A-1-A roadway project – and the $9.2 million “obstacle course” that is now east/west Granada Boulevard – ostensibly engineered to “encourage safer driving speeds and enhance pedestrian safety.”

Bullshit.

This one’s a whopper of a five-alarm foul-up – one of those “only in government” fiascos – where bureaucrats analyze what works, conduct expensive engineering studies, investigate ways to expedite traffic, alleviate congestion, and enhance pedestrian safety – then do the exact opposite.

In recent weeks, motorists have noticed some ‘modifications’ to the new slalom course on A-1-A and Granada Boulevard – marked with oddly placed “bulb-outs,” chicanes, and concrete curb extensions along the shoulder (which in several spots resulted a trash-collecting gutter between the curb and the impediment?) – some of which have now been removed and replaced with temporary orange traffic barrels.  

Having travelled A-1-A for most of my life, what FDOT has done to the traffic lanes both north and south of Granada Boulevard boggles the mind. 

In fact, most residents who use A-1-A for daily transportation have been left scratching their heads – that slack-jawed “WTF?” moment we’ve all had – especially at a time when our area is experiencing increased traffic congestion from all points of the compass.

According to a report in The Daytona Beach News-Journal last week, “Some business owners say the roadwork is steering customers away from them, particularly with new medians that force motorists to drive beyond their intended target and then do U-turns to reach their destination.”

To their credit, unlike many government projects where unanticipated consequences are ignored and work continues regardless of negative outcomes, in this case, due to the frequency of complaints fielded by FDOT, changes are now being made to correct mistakes.

For instance, Daytona Beach restauranteur Christos Mavronas recently told WFTV-9 that the modifications made it difficult for customers to access his business:

“About 50 percent of our business disappeared because of this median,” said Christos Mavronas. Owner Christos Mavronas initially expressed concerns about the work with us in February and again in June. Two months later, his efforts for change have been successful.

“They approved my request to give me my access back. This is huge news for the entire community of Daytona Beach. We are getting our traffic access back,” said Mavronas.”

According to reports, at present, the changes are in the “design phase,” and FDOT doesn’t yet have an estimate for the cost of necessary construction revisions. 

Hey, maybe the third time’s a charm, right?  

As Mr. Mavronas explained to WFTV, “It’s very important that we speak up for our rights and for what we want.” 

Damn straight, Mr. Mavronas.  Well said.  

And Another Thing!

“In Volusia County, council members this week voted to request changes (to SB-180) for next year’s legislative session.

Deltona City Commissioner Dori Howington doesn’t want to wait until next year to have Tallahassee work on the issue.

“What’s happening is, we’re seeing lawyers lining up to basically attack ordinances that developers have not liked seeing implemented, and as a result, the lawsuits are stacking up against us,” she said. “Anything that you do regarding land use, building codes — anything can be challenged.”

–Deltona City Commissioner Dori Howington, as quoted by reporter Mitch Perry writing in the Florida Phoenix, “Opposition grows to Florida law designed to improve disaster recovery,” Friday, August 8, 2025

Despite whining from some handwringing shills on elected councils and commissions across the state – mealy-mouth crybabies spreading fear over which cudgel Gov. Ron DeSantis will use to punish their city or county if they refuse to sellout their residents – an increasing number of Florida cities and counties are finding the courage to righteously fight back against the sneakily intended effects of SB-180. 

The law, camouflaged as a disaster recovery measure, gives real estate developers carte blanche to challenge any reasonable local growth management regulations, circumvent planning processes, and retroactively hold local governments hostage with statutorily authorized lawsuits.   

With several Florida cities and counties now considering a lawsuit to challenge the expansive provisions of the law, even its sponsor, Florida Senator Nick DiCeglie, has admitted the language is “very broad.”

As no doubt intended…

In my view, business editor Clayton Park of The Daytona Beach News-Journal recently brought our collective predicament into stark perspective when he published a poignant photograph depicting the opening gashes of the I-95/Pioneer Trail interchange this week.   

One image depicted a lone cattle egret literally staring down a bulldozer as it churned the landscape into a black muck to make way for one very wealthy and influential man’s vision of “progress.”

Not much moves me anymore, but that single photograph summed up what many claustrophobic residents of Volusia County feel each time they see more malignant sprawl inching ever closer to irreplaceable natural places like Doris Leeper Preserve…

Environmental activists valiantly opposed the controversial transportation project – which was mysteriously “expedited by more than a decade” – to accommodate large-scale residential development in the Port Orange/New Smyrna Beach area.  Once complete, many experts believe that foul polluted runoff from the interchange will result in the slow destruction of the endangered Spruce Creek watershed and its incredibly biodiverse habitat.

With the permits now rubber stamped by state and federal environmental “regulators” and the roar of site preparation underway, there is no going back now…

In my view, the Pioneer Trail interchange will stand as a monument to everything that is wrong with Florida’s pernicious pay-to-play system, where the “rich and powerful” get what they want – when they want it – and the prioritization of infrastructure, environmental protections, and the very real fears of existing residents mean nothing when the big money moves.

That’s the way it is here in the Biggest Whorehouse in the World… 

Vote like your quality of life depends upon it.

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 District Schools – The Consequence of Silence

In an informative article by reporter Gabriel Velasquez Neira writing in The Daytona Beach News-Journal, we learned about the recent $160,000 settlement of a disturbing lawsuit involving the serious consequences of institutionalized silence for a former student of Volusia County Schools.

We also learned that Superintendent Carmen Balgobin has “compelled” more than 100 public employees to sign secretive non-disclosure agreements…

According to the report, “Employees are being compelled to keep certain information, including “the district’s financial operations, including budgets, funding sources and allocation of resources,” confidential.”

The shocking confirmation of the rumored NDA was part of an alarming report regarding a former New Smyrna Beach Middle School student who was diagnosed with “severe adolescent idiopathic scoliosis” while at school in 2019. 

Unfortunately, the District failed to notify the child’s parents of her serious medical condition.

According to the News-Journal’s report, the student’s “…cheer coach noticed a curve in her back two years later, and she was again diagnosed with scoliosis. During those two years, her back went from having a 10-degree right curvature in her spine to an approximately 65-degree top curve and a 56-degree bottom curve.”

As a result of the delay, the child was forced to undergo extensive spinal surgery, to include “spinal fusion and hardware replacement,” according to a lawsuit later filed by the family. 

To literally add insult to injury, as the lawsuit progressed, the child was moved to Spruce Creek due to “severe bullying and harassment that she was facing in New Smyrna.”  The child has since moved out of state.   

Tragic. 

The Volusia County School Board unanimously approved the $160,000 settlement last week.

Somehow, that doesn’t seem like fair and just compensation for a victim who could have avoided severe pain and suffering had someone in the District simply spoken up and notified the child’s parents…

Although the initial failure to notify the child’s parents predated Dr. Balgobin’s initial tenure as Deputy Superintendent, this appalling situation – and the life-altering result – underscores the long-term transparency and communication problems at Volusia County Schools. 

A weird pall of secrecy and obfuscation that has baffled parents, staff, educators, and stakeholders for years.

Now, some of those who were required to sign Balgobin’s NDA are rightly worried about internal reprisals should they speak about otherwise publicly available information – and many question whether the agreement violates the letter and spirit of Florida’s open records law. 

In a social media post on Sunday morning, Volusia County School Board member Donna Brosemer wrote, “Only the state and federal governments may add to the definition of what public documents are “confidential.” WHAT IS THE DISTRICT TRYING TO HIDE?”

Damn good question. 

And the rumors and speculation surrounding Carmen’s Cult of Secrecy continue to mount.

On Monday, reporter Molly Reed of News-6 met Balgobin’s wall of silence when she asked Volusia County District Schools for information regarding the non-disclosure agreement after receiving a copy from Elizabeth Albert, president of Volusia United Educators. 

“The district has not responded to requests for clarification.”

According to the News-6 report, “Albert said the union first learned about the NDA about a month ago and shared the copy they received with News 6.

“We’re very concerned, especially because we’re heading into the season of negotiations, which of course impacts salaries and benefits,” Albert said.

Despite repeated requests, Albert said the union has not been given a list of employees required to sign the agreement.

“We’re a public entity. We are funded with taxpayer money. So anything less than full financial transparency is suspicious,” she added.”

A day later, a canned press release to News 6 – signed “Volusia County Schools” – oozed out of the Ivory Tower of Power in DeLand:  

“Certain Volusia County School District Employees who work in departments or roles with access to sensitive or confidential information have been asked to sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement. This is to ensure that sensitive information, regarding students and staff, safety plans, legal proceedings, discussions, and proprietary software is not compromised.

Moreover, all the District’s budgetary and financial information are available on the VCS’s website and through the Florida Department of Education. Individuals may make public records request for this information, also.

Confidential information does not include information that is required to be disclosed by law, regulation, or court order, as expressly written in the Non-Disclosure Agreement. Volusia County Schools will always comply with the law.”

Except, the NDA specifically covers “Information regarding the District’s financial operations, including budgets, funding sources, and allocation of resources“?

And why would administrators need to enter a SCIF to discuss the educational goals of the District’s strategic plan, as explicitly listed in the NDA? 

“Nothing to see here, folks.  Keep moving.  Just ensuring nothings “compromised.”  Don’t read more into it.  We always comply with the law, except when we don’t.  Loose lips sink ships.  Shhhhhhh.  Keep moving…”

For her part, Ms. Brosemer said she plans to discuss the issue during the board’s August 12 meeting, explaining “Legally, public agencies do not have the authority to add to the definitions of what is a confidential document, so by doing that about the budget, but also about a couple of other categories, we have grossly overstepped our bounds.”

Remember when Superintendent Balgobin arrogantly accused Ms. Brosemer of “irresponsible behavior” when she demonstrated the courage to request public confirmation of internal whispers (because that’s the only way people can effectively communicate in this environment) that Ormond Beach Elementary was on the chopping block?

I can’t think of anything more patently irresponsible than demanding that public employees remain silent on budget, allocations, and strategic educational goals when Volusia County taxpayers deserve answers.

In the interest of openness and accountability, it is time for the Volusia County School Board to stop their saccharine lovefest with Balgobin and demonstrate leadership. 

That means providing oversight and accountability, demanding answers, and clearing the air with a comprehensive investigation into the stench of suspicions, rumors, and speculation that continues to waft from the Ivory Tower of Power in DeLand.  

Volusia County Council of Cowards – The Politics of Appeasement

Remember reading comic books as a kid? 

One of the highlights for me was the advertisements in the back featuring gimcracks and gewgaws tailored to young readers – Sea Monkeys, Whoopie Cushions, and “X-Ray” Specs – along with self-improvement “courses” like the Charles Atlas Fitness Program, guaranteed to turn weaklings into confident tough guys with the beef to back it up.   

The ad was laid out in cartoon cells, with the headline “The Insult That Made a Man Out of Mac.” 

The scene opens with “Mac” and his best girl laying on the beach under an umbrella when a burly bully kicks sand on them. 

“Hey, quit kicking sand on us!” Mac mewls.   

In response, Mac’s brawny tormentor grabs him by a scrawny arm and warns, “Listen here.  I’d smash your face…. only you’re so skinny you might dry up and blow away.”

Horribly emasculated in front of his disgusted girlfriend, Mac decides to order the Atlas bodybuilding course and is “later” transformed into a strapping strongman who takes the big bully out with one punch.

Now, the self-assured Mac is the envy of all the girls on the strand – hailed by all as the “Hero of the Beach!”

I was reminded of that old come-on this week as the Volusia County Council acted for all the world like that timid soul Caspar Milquetoast, “The man who speaks softly and gets hit with a big stick,” when they chose to ask “pretty please” in the face of rank aggression by those craven “rent-a-representatives” in Tallahassee…   

With the emphasis on tucking into a hot catered lunch, our elected dullards on the dais of power in DeLand rushed to clear the deck of how to address SB-180.  The new law was couched by the developer-controlled Florida legislature as a means of cutting red tape for property owners attempting to rebuild their homes and lives in the aftermath of a hurricane.

In reality, the law is a ruthless assault on Home Rule charter government by a wholly owned state government intent on destroying the concept of local democracy and self-determination to expedite the greed-crazed profit motives of their political benefactors.   

The legislature’s blatant end-run paves the way (literally) for even more unchecked development across the state, and represents a frightening beatdown of local elected officials, preempting virtually all municipal and county comprehensive plans, land development regulations, procedures for the review, approval, or issuance of site plans, development orders, and moratoriums retroactive to August 1, 2024.

In some cases the law overturns the will of Florida voters in favor of special interests by invalidating voter approved protections, such as Orange County’s rural boundary charter amendment (which passed with 73% of the vote), and the City of Deltona’s recent attempt to enact a moratorium on new development until serious flooding and utilities concerns can be addressed.

In fact, many local governments across the state have been forced to sheepishly repeal growth management measures – including much needed enhanced stormwater regulations – in the face of legal threats and saber-rattling by emboldened development interests.

Last month, rather than aggressively pushback against this historic threat to local decision-making – such as supporting the City of Deltona’s efforts to defy state overreach, demanding a special legislative session to overturn the law, or taking the lead in organizing other cities and counties considering a combined statewide legal challenge – the Volusia County Council faint-heartedly directed the county attorney to prepare a “discussion item” to consider suggestions for amending SB-180…

This week, the council shoehorned their tepid “discussion” of the most clear and present threat to our collective quality of life before their lunch got cold… 

During the public participation portion of the agenda item, environmental activist Cathrine Pante rightfully suggested that going to Tallahassee during next year’s legislative session – hat-in-hand – to ask for amendments to the law is a “weak” approach.

According to Pante, the timing of the process would prevent Volusia’s proposed rural boundary amendment from making it on the 2026 ballot, and accurately explained the well camouflaged purpose of the law to our slack-jawed “representatives” on the dais:

“Let’s call SB 180 what it truly is: A calculated move by the Legislature, aided by our local delegation, to strip away local authority and eliminate Home Rule.  It was designed not to be amended, but to serve powerful development interests that now dominate the legislative process.”

Well said.

With lunch waiting in the back, council members voted unanimously to direct the county’s lobbyist to make entreaty to our powerful state overseers seeking modest amendments to the law that narrow the focus to exempt properties damaged by hurricanes from local regulations.

In other words, correct the language to better represent the stated purpose of the law.

Does anyone think mealy-mouth groveling is going to work with that bunch in Tallahassee?   

In my view, Councilman (and current Florida Senate candidate) Jake Johansson epitomized the council’s kowtowing to the state’s abject thuggery when he whimpered:

“I still think the best way to move forward is to work collaboratively to try to get these changes in there without stirring the pot.  We’ve seen a couple counties stir the pot and they’re not in a good place right now compared to us, and I want to protect what we have from being preempted in the future as well.”

Really? 

How “collaborative” were those aloof members of Volusia’s legislative delegation when they voted to gut our sacred right to self-determination?

Did anyone get the impression our legislators were willing to compromise and cooperate with threatened local communities when they defended their vote on SB-180 at the West Volusia town hall last month? 

In my experience, trying to appease bullies never works. 

Pleading with those who intentionally misuse the legislative process (by hiding the true purpose of laws that benefit their political benefactors) is cowardly – and counter to the concept of self-governance, and the right of We, The Little People to control our destiny and preserve our quality of life.   

The more power and control you surrender to an aggressor – the more you dance to their tune, capitulate to demands, and rollover in the face of belligerence – the more dominance they will assert.   

Because power, ascendency, and control are the nature of the relationship between a subjugator and their victim…  

Quote of the Week

“There were lots of times he had somebody meet him at the house … to bring him cash,” Langston claimed, noting that she did not know who the person was.

“People would come with money bags, and he would get cash,” she added.

She also recalled an incident at a steakhouse in Washington, D.C. She and Mills were having dinner with Shannon Doyle and Jeffrey Kroeker, Mills’ fellow corporate directors at PACEM North Canada Inc., according to a filing that was updated in December. “They did not speak about business at all, but Cory did leave with money,” Langston said.”

— Lindsey Langston, reigning Miss United States and Columbia County, Florida Republican State Committeewoman, as quoted by reporters Courtney Weil and Jill Savage in Blaze Media, “Miss United States accuses Rep. Cory Mills of sextortion, accepting ‘money bags,’” Monday, August 5, 2025

Welp, my fellow “Fun Coasters,” U.S. Representative Cory Mills was back in the news this week. 

Twice. 

And one of those revelations is a flippin’ doozy…   

It was recently reported that Congressman Mills, who represents Seminole County and parts of southern Volusia County, was being evicted from his luxury penthouse apartment in Washington D.C. after owing a reported $85,000 in back rent on the $20,833 a month lease.  In addition to his D.C. digs, it has been reported that Rep. Mills also rents a beach house in New Smyrna Beach.

For the record, Rep. Mills earns $170,000 a year as a member of Congress.  His estimated net worth fluctuates from the sublime to the ridiculous depending upon where you look… 

In March, it was reported that Mills is under investigation by the Office of Congressional Ethics for possibly “omitting or misrepresenting” information on financial disclosures, accepting excessive campaign contributions, and benefiting from government contracts while in office.

On Monday, we learned in a report by the News-Journal’s Mark Harper that Rep. Mills has apparently made good on the back rent fiasco and will not face eviction from his Washington penthouse next month. 

“The notice does not state how much Mills paid or whether he will remain a tenant of the luxury $20,833-per-month penthouse. But the congressman himself acknowledged the development in a text message to The News-Journal.

All is paid, sir,” Mills responded to an inquiry.”

That clears that up, I guess…

Then, the bizarre life and times of Rep. Cory Mills went completely off the rails on Monday when a shocking article appeared in Blaze Media. 

According to the incredibly disturbing report, Lindsey Langston, the reigning Miss United States and current Republican Committeewoman from Columbia County (who claims to have been in a personal relationship with Mills), has made horrific allegations of sexual extortion, physical threats, and possible financial irregularities by the sitting Congressman.

(Assuming a congressman having bags of cash delivered to his home can still be described as “out of the norm” at this point…)

According to the article, Ms. Langston’s accusations have been reported to both the Columbia County, Florida Sheriff’s Office, and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

Find the salacious details here: https://tinyurl.com/f5x66jyx

I’ll warn you in advance, the accusations are shocking to the conscience…  

(Assuming anything a member of congress does in their personal life could still be considered scandalous, outrageous, or disgusting…)

I found it interesting that Ms. Langston is represented by the one and only Anthony Sabatini – the Republican firebrand and Mount Dora attorney who has recently made a cottage industry of representing “Fun Coast” mayors – to include Deltona’s always controversial Santiago Avila, Jr and Palm Coast’s embattled Mike Norris.  

In 2022, Mr. Sabatini – a voracious critic of Rep. Mills – was one of eight Republicans who ran in the 7th District congressional primary against Mills, who won with 37.9%.

According to the News-Journal, Rep. Mills denies the allegations against him, and explained, “Anthony Sabatini is weaponizing the legal system to launch a political attack against the man who beat him in the primary, using his corporate legal office to push a narrative built on lies and flawed legal arguments −all to score political headlines,” Mills said.

“These claims are false and misrepresent the nature of my interactions. I have always conducted myself with integrity, both personally and in service to Florida’s 7th District,” Mills said.”

Jesus.  I hope so. 

In my view, if half of the coercive, manipulative, and frighteningly threatening text messages attributed to Rep. Mills are true – someone with a badge in the pocket of their suitcoat needs to get off their ass and take a hard look at Florida statutes prohibiting threats and extortion – along with federal prohibitions on publishing non-consensual intimate imagery, a protection which was signed into law by President Donald Trump earlier this year.

If Ms. Langston’s allegations are proven true, Mills should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, regardless of his powerful political influence in Washington.   

The acrid smoke surrounding Rep. Mills is getting too thick to ignore, and the repeatedly embarrassed residents of the 7^th District deserve better…

And Another Thing!

I’ll be honest, I know I don’t look a day over 80 – but I turn 65 today (trust me, no one is more perplexed than me, and my mystified personal physician…) 

65. The gateway to the confusing new reality of blotchy “old people skin” and navigating the labyrinth of Medicare Parts A, B, D & G

A symbolic milestone marking the disorienting transition into the gloaming of my life. 

To quote my hero Augustus McCrae, “It’s been a hell of a party…”

I feel incredibly fortunate and began the day quietly thanking God for another year, all the wonderful blessings in my life (which includes everyone who takes the time to read these screeds), and giving thanks for all the people who have been put in my path that had my best interest at heart – or taught me the tough lesson that not everyone does…  

As I age not-so-gracefully – a Gin-soaked geriatric with a pack-a-day habit and diminishing tolerance for douche-baggery in all its forms – I still enjoy working the Rubic’s Cube of local politics, figuring out the motives, machinations, and agendas of those we elect here on the “Fun Coast.” 

Keeps my mind limber.

Although I must admit, it is getting increasingly difficult for me to sit through hours of those well-choreographed kabuki’s that pass for local council and commission meetings, even fortified with a dram or three of Tullamore Dew and three-fingers of a strong antiemetic, it’s getting tough…  

This week, I watched a few snippets from the Volusia County Council meeting, lamenting the fact I won’t have Volusia’s Growth and Resource Management Director Clay Ervin to kick around anymore… 

According to reports, Mr. Ervin entered a well-deserved retirement from the roil and rumble of county government last week. 

I wish him all the best with what comes next.    

This week, our elected dullards appointed the decennial Volusia Charter Review Commission – a mixed bag of former politicians, business and insurance executives, a retired judge, a prominent land use attorney, an environmentalist, and retired city manager. 

 Not a lot of Joe & Jane Lunchpails trying to eke out a living in this artificial economy on the list… 

Being the infernal optimist that I am, my hope is the commission will prove to be a well-balanced group with diverse opinions who will meet with open minds, consider citizen input, and decide on potential changes to Volusia’s governing document for voter approval.

We’ll see…

The venerated former Volusia County Council member Pat Northey is back from the 2016 Charter Review Commission, along with Cobb Cole land use attorney Mark Watts – former Chair J. Hyatt Brown is conspicuously not…

The big question this week was how/if the Volusia County Council would tackle the increasingly awkward question of what to do with “Dempsey’s Folly,” now that so much of the public’s time and money have been invested in exploring a potential motorcross track on 356-acres of “conservation” land off State Road 44.

Admittedly, I got a chuckle out of what passed for deliberation of how to move forward…

For his part, Chairman Jeff Brower took a circuitous track (pun intended) to get to the point that the proposed motorcross facility (and the weird funding scheme that got us here) is considered by many to be Councilman Dempsey’s “pet project.”

Because it is…

According to an excellent report by reporter Sheldon Gardner writing in The Daytona Beach News-Journal this week, “(Brower) noted that Dempsey voted against the pilot program to allow dogs on Ormond Beach, which has since become a permanent feature. During that discussion, Dempsey said people could go to Flagler County instead.

Brower pointed out that Flagler County already has a track. Brower said he was concerned it would go out of business if a county built a motocross facility.”  

In listening to his concerns about the Flagler County track, I found it odd that the normally environmentally conscious Chairman Brower virtually cooed over the number and variety of wildlife – deer, sandhill cranes, and alligators – that, he suggests, are all raising their young nearby and “takeover” the track each evening when the roar is done for the day. 

Others suggested the same magnificent biodiversity would appear once the Volusia facility is built – right in the middle of a designated wildlife corridor. 

Does anyone think that’s a good idea?  

After listening to Chairman Brower’s fumbling’s, I thought – What the hell else does he expect these claustrophobic creatures to do?  Move?

Where?

Then, in a stunning reversal from his usual foot-dragging, parliamentary procrastination, and penchant for kicking the proverbial can down the dusty political trail – Councilman David “No Show” Santiago announced he was “proud” to support the motorcross facility – before making a motion to have their consultant explore a potential public/private partnership and bring the matter back for discussion in December.  

According to the News-Journal, “Santiago said he wants the Council to make a final decision on direction instead of a slow “drip” of decisions.”

“Let’s rip this Band-Aid off. Let’s get on with it,” he said.”

Really?

On serious issues that directly impact the lives, livelihoods, and quality of life of Volusia County residents, “No Show” Santiago invariably needs more time/information/discussion/studies/staff input/PowerPoints/workshops/ad nauseum but when it comes to Dempsey’s motorcross facility – paid for with millions-of-dollars in public funds earmarked for passive outdoor recreation and environmental conservation – “Let’s rip the Band-Aid off this Sucker and get on with it!”

I don’t make this shit up, folks…

Others who participate in the sport enthusiastically support the idea. 

Time will tell. 

The next discussion of “Dempsey’s Folly” is scheduled for the December 2nd Volusia County Council meeting in DeLand.

Just in time for Christmas…

That’s all for me.  School starts for Volusia County students on Monday – let’s drive carefully out there, y’all!