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:

Beyond the “Great Debate”: Robins v. White in Volusia County’s District 3 Race

Last week, Volusia County Council District 3 incumbent Danny Robins and his opponent, citizen advocate and political newcomer Byron White, faced off in a moderated debate held at The Magnolia at NSB.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t make it.

I wash my beard on Wednesday nights…

The fact is I don’t give a tinker’s damn what a sitting politician has to say – especially one with the well-documented track record of “Gaslight” Robins – who received his fitting moniker in this space for repeatedly doing just that to his constituents.

In politics, past is prelude, and previous votes are the best predictor of future performance.

In my experience, politicians rarely change their innate character or propensity for deception, quibbling, and outright lies, and when Mr. Robins took office six-years ago, it quickly became evident who (and what) he served.

It had nothing to do with protecting the interests of Volusia County residents.

In my view, the best example came during a grassroots push to mitigate countywide flooding concerns by mandating that developers incorporate low-impact practices in regional projects.

Commonsense (and the scientific study of hydrology) tells us that “fill and build” construction –including the proliferation of impervious surfaces that alter the natural drainage, retention, and percolation of stormwater – adversely impacts natural processes and increases the damaging effects of runoff, making adjacent areas prone to flooding.

It doesn’t take a civil engineer to understand the concept.

Simply invert a bowl on your counter and pour a glass of water over it. The results are easy to understand – and hard to argue…

Yet, in the face of recurrent flooding and unprecedented suffering, those rent-a-representatives on the Volusia County Council concluded that not only should one of the most flood prone counties in Florida make best practices optional, but they also agreed to provide lucrative incentives for their puppeteers in the development community who volunteer to apply accepted industry standards.

In perhaps the most profoundly stupid (and telling) statement ever uttered from that gilded dais of power in DeLand, Councilman Robins said:

“If there was data that would show mandatory LID practices would solve the county’s flooding concerns, Robins said, “there wouldn’t be any question up here.”

We have to pay attention to the data and the facts, and I think it’s very important,” he said. “We’ve been down this road several times and I’m ready to vote.”

Per usual, Mr. Robins conveniently ignored (to his political benefactor’s benefit) the fact that low-impact practices were designed by environmental scientists, hydrologists, and building industry experts to preserve natural drainage processes, reduce stormwater runoff, and help retain more rainfall onsite. 

The practice is widely supported by “data and facts” vetted by the United States Department of Environmental Protection who confirmed the practice “decreases costly flooding and property damage.“

In August 2025, Chairman Jeff Brower appeared before the Edgewater City Council to champion the waterlogged community’s opposition to the state’s preemption of growth management regulations in SB 180.

In one of his scripted harangues, Councilman Robins accused Mr. Brower of having “diarrhea of the mouth” and claimed the Chairman’s address to the Edgewater City Council undermined the intent of his fellow Caspar Milquetoasts (“the man who speaks softly and gets hit with a big stick”) on the Volusia County Council.

Instead of standing firm against the state’s aggression and joining with other local governments across the state who were considering a lawsuit against the attack on Home Rule, Councilman Robins and his “colleagues” opted to pule and beg on bended knee for amendments to SB 180.

In a shocking demonstration of what obsequious cowards Robins and the others have become – Mr. Robins mewled that, rather than defend local control and vehemently oppose the overreach of SB 180 – council members should be “…walking on eggshells and kissing their (legislators) butts to get this through for our citizens, not campaigning on the dais with this much at stake.”

Read that again…

As a political voyeur who spends an inordinate amount of time watching and commenting on local politics and governance, I could spend the rest of this essay itemizing the myriad ways Mr. Robins has manipulated facts to ingratiate himself with Volusia’s stagnant “Old Guard” and further the wants of his political benefactors.

From painting himself as the hero of conservation efforts, blocking any environmental/civic initiative brought by Chairman Brower or area environmentalists, ignoring citizen input, running interference for developers, kowtowing to state preemptions that threaten home rule, eliminating investment in the arts by callously reversing approved grant funding from local nonprofit organizations at the eleventh-hour, and repeatedly gaslighting his constituents to further the mercenary wants of special interests, Mr. Robins has proven who, and what, he represents.

In my view, Danny Robins – and his cowardly confederates currently defending their seats on the Volusia County Council – represent everything wrong with the “Fun Coast’s” warped version of “governance.”

That includes shameless political prostitutes like District 5 Councilman David “No Show” Santiago, shills who long-ago sold their civic souls to those who fund their self-serving ambitions (and work them like a finger-puppet), while callously ignoring the needs, wants, and quality of life of their long-suffering constituents.

Given the short memory of some voters – especially those well-meaning few trying to turn non-partisan local races into a show of party loyalty regardless of past performance (?) – I feel recent history should be remembered before we are doomed to repeat it…

When a sitting politician repeatedly shows you who they are: Believe them.

Trust is defined as a cumulative expectation of good faith based on experience; a reliance on the character, ability, strength, or truth of someone or something.  Lies and deceptions – even minor ones – erode that expectation.

In my view, it is time Councilman “Gaslight” Robins and politicians like him learn that lesson at the ballot box.

“We, The Little People” deserve better.

Ormond Beach: Requiem for a Small Business

“I understand that Ormond Beach is growing, and I’m not asking Ormond Beach not to grow,” Ormond Farm Supply owner Renee Ruckert said. “What concerns me is what we may lose while we’re growing. It feels like some of the old way is disappearing. The local stores, the places with history.”

— Renee Ruckert, owner of Ormond Farm Supply, as quoted by reporter Jarleene Almenas writing in the Ormond Beach Observer, “Ormond officials vote 4-1 to approve amendment that will pave way for new Tractor Supply store,” Thursday, September 24, 2026

The homogenization of Ormond Beach continues…

When I was growing up around these parts, back when the Halifax area was a much different place, Florida communities enjoyed unique civic identities – aesthetic, cultural, and environmental differences that set them apart and made them distinctive, even inimitable.

My hometown of Ormond Beach – “The Birthplace of Speed” – was once a standout.

Now the place where John D. Rockefeller, once the richest man in the universe, chose for his winter home citing it’s scenic setting and exceptional community virtues has slowly been transformed into a generic every place.

Across the state, large swaths of our sensitive environment, forests, wetlands, and aquifer recharge areas have been slashed and burned to make way for massive “developments of regional impact.” Always accompanied by those uniform chain stores and half-empty strip centers that sell new transplants more things to put in those ubiquitous “storage centers” that keep popping up like suppurating ulcers.

Slowly, ‘local charm’ has given way to a standardized (read: easy to replicate) “sameness,” full of cookie cutter 3/2 wood-frame cracker box tract homes crammed onto identical zero lot line postage stamp parcels.

The result is an impervious and visually monotonous concrete moonscape – now perversely known as the “Florida Model” – marked by unchecked sprawl in the form of large-scale suburban development without adequate civic infrastructure, a cart-before-the-horse “cram ten-pounds of shit into a five-pound bag” money grab that has destroyed what made us special.

This incredibly lucrative corporate model relies on malleable politicians who run interference in state and local governments by actively suppressing, perverting, and preempting commonsense land use regulations…

Sound familiar?

According to a recent article in the Ormond Beach Observer, “A Tractor Supply Company store will be coming to 890 N. U.S. 1 in Ormond Beach. The City Commission approved an amendment to a development order for the Tomoka Commerce Park project in a 4-1 vote on Wednesday, Sept. 23.”

The “commerce park” is being built on a 12.5-acre parcel located at 890 North U.S. 1., and is “…slated to have 56,108 square feet of office, warehouse and industrial space and a 21,901-square-foot Tractor Supply. The City Commission approved the project’s development order in February, but the amendment reduced the approved density of Tomoka Commerce Park, according to a city staff report. The number of buildings was lowered from 11 to six, reducing projected traffic impacts and impervious surface area.”

That’s how sitting officials feel better about themselves…

Unfortunately, a long-established small business located just two-blocks north – Ormond Farm Supply – will be summarily sacrificed on the altar of “progress,” a thirty-year community staple unable to complete with the larger corporate retailer, as the “McDonaldization” of Ormond Beach continues…

Of course, Ormond Beach elected officials lamented the pending death of another otherwise successful business with the standard, “Oh, well.  Nuttin’ we can do, y’all. Hands are tied.  Progress and all. We don’t get to pick what businesses come to town – best of luck, out with the old, in with the new!”

To his credit, lame duck Mayor Jason Leslie was the lone “No” vote – a largely symbolic gesture of support – as the shroud is slowly pulled on the latest commercial casualty of the homogenization of Ormond Beach.

According to the Observer, Mayor Leslie “…said he originally liked the project because of its concept to provide warehouse and office space to small businesses. These are still in the development plans, but the number of buildings were reduced.

Leslie said he opposed the Tractor Supply due to its impact on small businesses.

“I just don’t want to be in the business of putting people out of work and closing businesses,” he said.”

Requiescat in pace, Ormond Beach…

Quote of the Week

“All of this comes down to Mr. Jackson, who doesn’t live within the city,” Steve Wood, a Railroad Street resident in Bunnell, said from the podium, pointing at Jackson, “and has led us down the path to turning our city to shit, okay? You are the problem.” He called Jackson a “spineless jellyfish” for declining to appear on WNZF’s Free For All Friday with David Ayres (Jackson cancelled moments before the show last week), opting instead for the flattering infomercial Jearlyn Dennie pays for.

“If there was any more backside kissing that was going on in that interview, it was disgusting,” Wood told the city manager and the commission. “And for you to sit there and smirk and then be up and down and show these citizens the level of disrespect and contempt that you have for these people that live here, is disgusting. You are a fraud. You have committed fraud. The way you have done this is horrendous.” He accused Jackson of turning Bunnell “into a whorehouse” for money’s sake.”

–Bunnell resident Steve Wood, as quoted by FlaglerLive.com, “City Manager Alvin Jackson Called a ‘Fraud’ Turning Bunnell to ‘S***’ as Landfill Fouls Commission Meeting,” Tuesday, September 29, 2026

I publish this blog on the premise that if you care about good governance in your own backyard, you should care about openness and transparency everywhere.

That’s why in recent weeks I’ve followed the building public outcry to the revelation that Bunnell’s mysterious “Project Butterfly” was in fact a Class 1 landfill to be situated on 610-acres in the heart of rural Flagler County’s historic agriculture area.

The civic controversy began when Bunnell City Manager Alvin Jackson entered a non-disclosure agreement with a private company ostensibly to protect the site selection and planning stage of what was later disclosed to be a solid waste management facility.

The revelation came just hours before the city’s Planning and Zoning Board met to discuss the first/final approval of the landfill. The discovery came far too late for residents to mount an effective defense to their quality of life.

It didn’t matter anyway.

In the view of many, it seemed the planning apparatus had already rubber stamped the dump, with many blindsided residents feeling the meeting was a rushed formality by a board whose sitting majority seemed intent on approving the landfill without considering the potential catastrophic consequences of their decision.

According to FlaglerLive.com, the board members who pushed the project were “…Cory Romaniuk, Francena Koch and Gary Gardner. Chelsea Herbert, a member of the board, alone opposed the proposal and deconstructed the applicant’s rationales during the Sept. 1 planning board meeting. Lyn Lafferty, who is among the landowners of the proposed landfill site and who sits on the planning board, absented herself, as did Gary Matsen.”

As I understand it, Ms. Lafferty has since resigned from the city’s planning board…

In my view, it was the manner and means by which Mr. Jackson orchestrated the clandestine negotiations in effective darkness – pledging an oath of secrecy to keep critical information from his constituents until the last minute – that has galvanized the community and started a full-scale citizen revolt.

Good for Bunnell residents who are making their voices heard in easy-to-understand language.

In my view, longsuffering citizens have every right to demand answers, appeal the suspicious approval of a life altering solid waste facility located near homes and working farms – to include the potential for offensive odors, contaminated runoff, and the myriad health, safety, environmental, noise, and traffic concerns.

They also deserve to be told where the waste destined for the landfill will originate?

According to FlaglerLive.com:

“The owner of 141 acres in Bunnell, whose family owns about 900 acres in the city, said she and her family are “within a rock’s throw of the landfill. It is going to contaminate our pastures. It’s going to contaminate our property that we lease to farmers. It’s going to bankrupt the farmers,” she said. She described severe water issues now, before the landfill goes in, and called its opening “catastrophic,” if it were to happen. “My great grandparents came over in a buckboard wagon. They built this town. They didn’t build it for this. They didn’t build for their legacy to go down into a dump.”

Some 15 more people spoke likewise, among them Denise Calderwood, who called out Jackson for his secrecy, calling it “horseshit” (and drawing applause for it), some who spoke their concern about groundwater, about the “stink,” about dump trucks dropping garbage along the way, and some who called out Jackson personally.”

In my view, this unfolding catastrophe should be a wake-up call for all “Fun Coast” residents – what happens elsewhere can (and will) happen in your own backyard.

Vote like your quality of life depends upon it.

And Another Thing!

Earlier this month, the City of Daytona Beach’s internal auditor Abinet Belachew announced he is leaving the fray effective October 15.

In my view, Mr. Belachew’s efforts were incredibly effective, and the citizens of Daytona Beach have lost a true advocate in their fight for transparency, accountability, and good governance.

As a confirmed cynic, when Mr. Belachew’s appointment was announced last year, I didn’t hold out much hope for positive change.  He came to Daytona Beach from a similar role with the former United States Agency for International Development – the now dismantled relief organization that became the poster child for government waste, fraud, abuse.

Although many expressed doubt, it became readily apparent that the financial shitshow of USAID was the best preparation Mr. Belachew could have had for his new role in Daytona Beach government…

During his short tenure with the troubled municipality, Mr. Belachew proved to be a hard-charging watchdog – an exceptionally dedicated bean counter with a penchant for uncovering misspending – while upholding ethical and fiduciary standards that ensure the ethical stewardship of public funds.

He didn’t pull any punches when delivering the results.

In fact, Mr. Belachew’s plain talk caught some of his elected bosses and appointed colleagues by surprise as he uncovered a lack of effective fiscal policies, questionable long-term practices, and an initial lack of cooperation by some senior officials unaccustomed to independent oversight.

In effect, Mr. Belachew kicked down long closed doors inside Daytona’s historically cloistered City Hall and aired the dirty laundry for all to see…

During one of his first audits of city purchasing cards, Mr. Belachew uncovered travel irregularities, a lack of receipts and documentation, outdated and ignored policies, along with salacious allegations of an interdepartmental liaison possibly involving a supervisor and subordinate that may have compromised spending policies.

His approachability and professionalism seemed like fresh air and prompted several Daytona Beach employees to come forward.  Some assisted Mr. Belachew in ferreting out longstanding issues, while others utilized an anonymous hotline to report potential issues.

The resulting churn and roil led to a tumultuous period for the City of Daytona Beach, to include the rise of vocal citizen activists and struggling businessowners who, as my alter ego Howard Beale famously said, “…are mad as hell, and aren’t going to take it anymore…”

In April, Mr. Belachew publicly reported on his review of the city’s take-home vehicle program, along with an examination of the questionable spending habits of the Daytona Beach Fire Department over the last five-years.

In the wake of these internal audits – and a concurrent financial review by Florida’s Auditor General and an active criminal investigation by state law enforcement authorities – Assistant City Manager Andy Holmes, Chief Building Official Glenn Urquhart, and Fire Chief Dru Driscoll all resigned their positions.

Tumultuous indeed…

In keeping with how I think the system is supposed to work, Mr. Belachew’s good work was both prompted and championed by WFTV-9’s impressive investigative journalist Demie Johnson who courageously broke the story of Daytona Beach’s purchasing and oversight issues last year, then reported the audit findings to concerned residents.

As attention turns to the November election and the looming disaster of the real estate/development industry endorsed Amendment 3 tax shift – an utter sham which is being used to consolidate power in Tallahassee by exsanguinating our hometowns under the guise of “reducing” property taxes – perhaps instead we should be mandating aggressive boots-on-the-ground independent auditors in every municipal, county, and state agency in Florida?

These reviews should be accompanied by public presentations, like those Mr. Belachew became famous for, which explain the analytical findings in a practical, clear, and easy to understand manner, rather than presenting cold and indecipherable figures on an Excel spreadsheet parroted by the monotonic drone of some half-bright bureaucrat.

In fact, every local government should establish an anonymous waste, fraud, and abuse hotline – a confidential and independent outlet for whistleblowers beyond the State Auditor or Inspector General – both of which have stood idle during a period of rampant quid pro quo corruption and pay-to-play transactional politics in the Lupanare Grande of Tallahassee for far too long…

This independent internal oversight should go beyond the required annual financial audit and reporting to include active and ongoing divisional reviews of operational policies, spending, and internal compliance as a means of improving public trust, support, and cooperation.

In my view, Abinet Belachew set a high bar for the City of Daytona Beach and other local and state government entities who care about transparency and accountability. A standard I hope public officials will seek to emulate as our local governments face an uncertain financial future.

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