Hi, kids!

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

Let’s look at who tried to screw us – and who tried to save us – during the week that was:

Asshole           Volusia Citizens for Better Roads and Clean Water

Hey, Barker!

How can you call hard-working Volusia County residents who want nothing more than better roads and clean water assholes? 

The fact is, I can’t.

Because that’s what we all want.

But I can damn sure call bullshit on a registered Political Action Committee by that dubious name  – formed and administered by uber-wealthy political insiders – many with direct ties to the mysterious Star Chamber over at the Volusia CEO Business Alliance – who are investing thousands of dollars in flogging Volusia County’s proposed half-cent sales tax increase.

Take a moment and ask yourself the following:

Why do you think millionaires, who use massive campaign contributions to maintain their spot in the suckling order at the public tit, are working and spending to convince Volusia County residents that taking more money out of our pockets and putting it into government coffers is a good idea? 

Suddenly, many of our ‘movers & shakers’ – luminaries like J. Hyatt Brown, the Forbes listed France family, Sir John Albright at the good old boys investment club over at Consolidated Tomoka Land Company, mega-insider Glenn Ritchey (whose daughter-in-law, Cyndi Ritchey, has been tapped to run the PAC) and P$S Paving – have established a war chest of nearly $200K ostensibly to augment this weird public/private money grab.

According to the intrepid reporter Dustin Wyatt writing in The Daytona Beach News-Journal, “Of the $190,948 raised through Feb. 11, $24,660 has been spent, according to campaign finance records. Steve Vancore, president of Clearview Research, has been paid $12,026 to offer consulting during the education and marketing campaign. Records show that $10,000 has gone to Cyndi Ritchey for “administrative services” in her role as committee chair. A few hundred dollars has been spent on marketing supplies.”

($10,000?  For “administrative services”?  Jesus, these vultures even feed off each other. . .)

In my view, this full-court-press by members of the CEO Business Alliance has everything to do with the abject greed that has defined this process since it was revealed that our elected officials in DeLand refused to raise transportation impact fees on their cronies in the real estate development community for nearly two-decades – ensuring untold profits as they continued to approve massive development along the spine of east Volusia County from Farmton to the Flagler County line.

Then, when the stress on our inadequate infrastructure and utilities could no longer be ignored – many of those same bought-and-paid-for politicians created a faux emergency – which we are told can only be resolved when We, The People agree to self-inflict a higher sales tax in one of the already overtaxed county’s in the state.

Bullshit.

I believe that P&S Paving, and the other multi-million-dollar corporations who have been tapped for the secret society over at the Volusia CEO Business Alliance, are banking that the $42 million generated annually by this piggish duty on goods and services will simply pass through – from our wallets to theirs – in terms of government contracts, infrastructure improvements for corporate projects and other shadowy “public/private partnerships” which use tax dollars to underwrite for-profit schemes.

Given the fact that each election cycle we are forced to watch while all the right last names populate local elected bodies with hand-select candidates by skewing the process with hundreds-of-thousands of dollars in campaign contributions as a means of recouping massive returns on investment – do you really think these corporate honchos have your families best interests at heart? 

According to our “new” County Manager George Recktenwald, Volusia County taxpayers will pick-up the $490,000 cost for a first-of-its-kind “mail-in” referendum – a tactic specifically orchestrated by our ‘powers that be’ and their privately funded political consultants to ensure maximum probability of passage – while the funds generated by the Volusia Citizens for Better Roads and Clean Water PAC will be used to “handle the advertising.”

I find that murky confederation of government officials and political insiders who stand to benefit most incredibly disturbing.

Now, the mouthpiece for this shameless scam – the totally unaccountable former South Daytona City Manager Joe Yarbrough – wants us to believe that the PAC serves to symbolize that the “private sector is behind it.”

My ass.

Speaking in the News-Journal, Mr. Yarbrough said, “The PAC is essentially running this campaign by doing things the public sector can’t do.”

“The private sector can say, ‘You need to support this half-cent sales tax and let me tell you why.’ All we can do from the public sector is tell you where we intend to put the money.”

Really?

Because our doddering fool of a County Chair, Ed Kelley – and his whippy co-conspirators on the dais of power in DeLand – have done little more than gnash their teeth and rend their garments over the impending death of our very way of life if we fail to tax our own eyeballs out at the point-of-sale. . .

The nightmarish yarns and sense of utter doom – such as “There is nothing else!  This is it! – No Plan B . .” has become their rallying cry – and, trust me, its only going to get worse until these greedy bastards get their way.

Never mind the fact that all we’ve seen in terms of where our money will ultimately be spent is a hodgepodge of pie-in-the-sky vagaries – like “widen LPGA Boulevard” or “pave dirt roads at 80 sites” – with accompanying price tags clearly designed more for the shock value than actual repair and replacement costs.

Or the fact we can’t get a hard answer on the as yet to be identified oversight committee who, we are now told, will remain nameless until after the referendum passes. . .

Word to the wise:  Beware when uber-wealthy political insiders with demonstrably self-serving interests begin pooling their own money in a push to get more of yours.

The fact is, these people don’t give two-shits about our collective quality of life.

In my view, we stand at yet another crossroads here on Florida’s fabled Fun Coast.

We can either listen to our inner-voice – the one that warns us when shiftless grifters in expensive suits attempt to convince us that paying more for goods and services is the only way to avoid an infrastructure Armageddon of their own creation – or stand firm to our core conviction that  elected and appointed officials have a moral and ethical obligation to work in the public interest – not use our hard-earned tax dollars to pad the pockets of their political benefactors.

Angel              Daytona Beach Regional Chamber of Commerce

Look, I admit it – I give the “Chamber of Commerce set” a hard time.

Most of it well-deserved. . .

But birthdays are special times, and it is my pleasure to bestow a very special Barker’s View “Angel Status” on the Daytona Beach Regional Chamber of Commerce as they celebrate their 100^th Anniversary serving the Halifax area’s business community!

From humble beginnings, ‘The Chamber’ has developed into an influential local powerhouse, a strong advocate for our community – resolute in good times and bad – always serving as the consummate cheerleader for the World’s Most Famous Beach.

God knows, we need one from time-to-time. . .

When I take the chamber to task, it’s normally because of their near-constant pap-and-fluff – always attempting to make a silk purse out of this sow’s ear that continues to struggle with entrenched economic issues that add to an overwhelming sense of hopelessness for many – but, I never lose sight of the fact that is why the Chamber of Commerce exists.

If they don’t defend and promote our area – and work tirelessly to encourage entrepreneurial investment, promote sound economic development and create jobs – who will?

Trust me – I gave up a long time ago.

Nay-saying, hypercritical assholes like me are a dime-a-dozen, and it doesn’t take any special talent or innate intelligence to launch these fey rants or point out the faults and foibles of those actually in the arena.

I recently read an interesting piece in The Daytona Beach News-Journal written by Nancy Keefer, President and CEO of the Regional Chamber, on how the group will position itself to promote economic prosperity in the next 100 years:

“The chamber of the future will continue to work towards bringing all sides of government towards the center.”

“We will do this boldly without apology as long as the end game is movement forward on very complex issues.”

“We will not be fearful of tough issues like homelessness, blight, the economic stratification of our community, or the needs of those who are working pay check to pay check.”

“We will, however, be the cheerleaders for all that’s right with our community while dealing with the less positive issues intentionally, often times behind the scenes, while providing solutions.”

“We believe that our image in the community with our stakeholders — our members, elected officials, future members and partners, is paramount to the success of the organization and our region, and will abide by our core values of advocacy, collaboration, engagement, leadership and professionalism.”

Well said, Ms. Keefer.

Now that’s something we can all get behind.

Asshole           Flagler County Interim Administrator Jerry Cameron

In professional sports, they say you’re only as good as your last game.

It’s also important to know when its time to retire from the field while you’re still on top.

That adage holds true for public administrators as well.

Earlier this week, newly minted Interim Flagler County Administrator Jerry Cameron – a governmental jack-of-all-trades who parlayed his extensive prior service as everything from Chief of Police to Chief Dog Catcher (and all points in between) into a retirement gig as a “community consultant” – learned the hard lesson that sometimes it’s better to stay on the sidelines. . .

Look, by all accounts, Mr. Cameron has an impressive resume – and he wowed the Flagler County Commission in February with his depth of knowledge of all thing’s government.

In fact, according to reports, Cameron wrote that during his service as assistant county administrator for community services in St. John’s County, “…he was responsible for the successful launch of the St. Augustine Amphitheater and planned, negotiated and implemented a $25 million public safety radio system.”

That’s quite an accomplishment.

As a result, the Flagler County Commission agreed to pay Mr. Cameron over $13,000 a month to steer the ship of government following the resignation of Craig Coffey in January.

During the interview and selection process, when asked his views on homelessness, Mr. Cameron gave all the right answers.

When Flagler County’s library director Holly Albanese – who is currently dealing with a massive dystopian homeless encampment in the scrub near the Flagler County Library in Palm Coast – asked Mr. Cameron how he planned to deal with the issue, his response cogently explained the realities of dealing with the homeless population in a country where we all have a right to exist, regardless of socio-economic status.

According to a report in FlaglerLive.com, Cameron advised:

“The homeless issue is an enigma,” Cameron said. “Unfortunately you are limited in the way of legislation on what you can do with those,” he continued, with other complications adding to the challenge when it comes to housing. With camps, “the only solution we really found that relieved the pressure was two-fold. We filtered the computers, so that cut down on the demand for computers, and we hired a security guard. That made things a lot more pleasant for people that worked at the library.” (The county library computers are filtered.)”

So, what made this ostensibly bright and experienced public administrator suddenly change tack and decide to round-up homeless people and involuntarily truck them to a rural internment camp?

Because that’s what he planned to do. . .

When county workers posted ‘Notice to Vacate’ signs around the homeless camp last weekend, it inflamed emotions on both sides of the issue, with people taking to social media to plan protests or applaud the measure (I assume, depending upon how close one lives to the Flagler County Library. . .)

On Tuesday, a Flagler County mouthpiece distributed a press release claiming the plan would, “. . .improve a difficult living situation for the homeless.”

Say what?

According to Cameron, the county issued the release after pesky media outlets began asking the hard questions. . .

Then, by Wednesday afternoon, a “new” plan was set in motion that will only uproot the camp temporarily, shifting things to the north end of the property while crews clean the underbrush of trash and omnipresent human excrement, you know, to tidy things up. . .

So, at the end of the day, a couple of things happened as a result of this ham-handed attempt to play a shell game with the hoards of homeless currently occupying the Flagler County Library property – rather than effectively deal with the incredibly expensive social, civic and legislative issues that surround the issue of suburban homelessness.

Now – Mr. Cameron and his bosses on the Flagler County Commission – are left looking like a troop of buffoons who couldn’t pour piss out of a boot with the instructions on the heel – and area residents are left to deal with the drugs, crime and human carnage inherent to an entrenched tent city that serves as the only viable alternative in the absence of a modern homeless shelter.

It was embarrassing and disturbing to watch as Cameron’s once-proud legacy took the form of a dotty old man who just dribbled his soup.

He sputtered and fumed in the newspaper, “Quite frankly, when the media called us — because my policy is total transparency — we were still in the planning phases,’ he said. ‘And the only information we had to give you was what we had identified as what was possible at the time. But that was always a solution of last resort.”

(A word of advice to senior public administrators:  There is a reason you employ public information specialists – use them. . .)

How terribly sad.

In my view, Mr. Cameron was right the first time – the “homeless problem” is an enigma.

It is also one of the most intractable humanitarian issues of our time – and one that isn’t going away anytime soon.  Perhaps Mr. Cameron should have spoken that truth to whichever power goaded him into this knee-jerk busing scheme?

Asshole           Volusia County Council

With Volusia County officials currently touring the countryside with their weird medicine show touting the benefits of a sales tax increase – they are finding that many of their constituents still have serious “trust issues.”

In fact, many say their confidence in county government is just south of whale shit. . .

Here in the Real World, residents are shocked at the stunning lack of self-awareness exhibited by sitting politicians who seem oblivious to the fact that – despite what their benefactors and sycophantic bureaucrats tell them – John and Jane Q. Public no longer believe a damn thing they say.

Nor should they.

At Tuesday’s County Council meeting, the impressive freshman Councilwoman Barbara Girtman mentioned the almost impossible process of rebuilding public trust during her closing remarks.

According to Ms. Girtman, following a recent infomercial to promote the proposed sales tax increase in DeLand, she met with several concerned citizens – described as “young people” – who expressed concerns about the citizen oversight committee that (we are told) will review project funding and prevent the gross fraud and cronyism that would naturally follow if Volusia County elected officials were left to their own devices. . .

According to Ms. Girtman, the residents wanted to know what “teeth” the regulators will have.

That’s a legitimate question.

“To have people that young not trusting local government, I think we have a little work to do,” Girtman said.

In turn, our doddering fool of a County Chair, Ed Kelley, apparently acted unilaterally – literally off-the-cuff – when he single-handedly established the composition of the non-existent review committee by Royal Edict, announcing that the board will be made up of one person appointed by each municipality. . .

Really? 

So, we’re going to have a good, old-fashioned Thundercage Match consisting of 16 to 20 highly opinionated citizens all arguing the fine points of infrastructure improvement projects – a no-holds-barred “Eastside vs. Westside Battle Royale” every month? 

Sounds interesting. . .with that level of efficiency, we should see the group agree on the first utilities project around the return of the Comet Kouhoutek. . .

Then, like the cowardly shitheel he is, Old Ed insulted the collective intelligence of everyone who calls this salty piece of land home when he crowed that the County Council was only putting the half-cent sales tax initiative on the ballot at the request of all 16 municipalities.

“It’s not a County Council-driven initiative,” Kelley said.

My God.

Even when he is handed an A+ prime opportunity to demonstrate leadership and build consensus on perhaps the most pressing issue of our time – Chairman Kelley trips over his own bollocks and seeks political insulation over statesmanship with his “we’re just doing this because they asked us to” horseshit.

Congratulations, Chairman Kelley.

Once again, you cement your grim reputation for having the brightest yellow streak in a crowded field of base political cowards. . .

Not to be outdone, during the discussion, The Very Reverend Fred Lowry, also took the low road and used the discussion to belittle his frustrated constituents who seek understanding from any available source as an alternative to the lies and obfuscation that form the informational black hole of Volusia County government.

Despite all best evidence, the completely tone-deaf Rev. Lowry still finds it necessary to defend the “system” over the concerns of his long-suffering constituents when he says, “Trust is a two-way street.”

According to Councilman Lowry, residents can’t expect to get information from social media and possibly expect to grasp the nuances of county government.

“You can’t get your information off of Facebook and understand what’s going on,” he said. “People today need to look into things. There’s a little bit on the citizens to always look into things and not always look at social media.”

I agree.

Because when it comes to the utterly bizarre machinations at the Thomas C. Kelly Administration Building – reality is invariably stranger than fiction.

In other news, without much fanfare, on Tuesday we learned that it will cost us $215,000 annually (plus bennies) to take a ride on the “Georgie-Go-Round” as our “new” County Manager George Recktenwald – a stalwart veteran of what passes for governance in Volusia County – accepted a lucrative contract which includes the use of a publicly-owned vehicle and massively expensive Golden Parachute clause for when it comes time to flee the building. . .

Of course, the agreement was handcrafted by Mr. Recktenwald’s friend, County Attorney Dan “Cujo” Eckert – who has consistently proven his worth as the best lawyer this oligarchical shit-show ever had.

Call me old-fashioned – but I take these cushy employment agreements personally.

Why?  Because I help pay for them – that’s why.

At various times in over 31-years in public service, I was assigned a dedicated vehicle for my use at work.  As Chief of Police, I was permitted to use that vehicle for personal transportation between my home and office – and for certain ancillary travel within Volusia County.

I never drove the car home.   Not once.

I could never reconcile the fact that there were people in the community I served who couldn’t afford to adequately feed their families – let alone own and maintain a family car.

The thought of using a public asset for my private gain was abhorrent to me – and while I didn’t begrudge my colleagues the use of their assigned vehicle to respond to after-hours emergencies – I simply could not bring myself to do it.

So, I drove my own car to-and-from work each day.

Not a great sacrifice – most people do it every day – and it served as a reminder of the importance of humility and avoiding even the appearance of impropriety.

It was also the right thing to do.

I suppose those quaint notions of service to a cause greater than one’s own self-interests have become antiquated relics in an era where Volusia County executives command a quarter-million-dollars annually, plus all the trappings and perquisites normally reserved for private sector poohbahs who, unlike the County Manager position, are actually required to prove their worth to the organization periodically. . .

But who the hell am I to begrudge Mr. Recktenwald his just reward for putting up with this bad Hee Haw episode for 20-years? 

Just don’t expect Good ol’ George to be the effective change agent many of us were hoping for. . .

After all, take a look around Volusia County in 2019:

The critical transportation infrastructure “emergency” that is threatening our very quality of life – the out-of-control blight, dilapidation and sense of hopelessness – the intentional concealment of publicly-funded studies – the continuing giveaway of unique public amenities to speculative developers and political insiders – a County Council with all the stability and vision of a rudderless ship of fools – our wholly compromised beach management plan – unresolved questions from Sheriff Michael Chitwood’s 2018 mention of “Pay to Play” politics – the “public policy by ambush” tactics – the malignant sprawl – the open quid pro quo favoritism – a dangerous emergency medical service quagmire requiring an immediate $1.4 million in cash to patch – the nightmare of political intrigue and mismanagement recently exposed by former Volusia County lobbyist Jamie Pericola – and the complete lack of public confidence in their government – it’s going to be a tough gig.

But, I’m sure after being a cog in the wheel for over 20-years, Mr. Recktenwald is up to the task.

Right?

Right.

Quote of the Week

“Not so fast my friends in Latitude Margaritaville; that bridge on LGPA Boulevard has to get in line. The people that have lived here for a longer time have other plans before money is spent on the newcomers, on something that should have been taken care of before letting the subdivision even be built.”

–Charlie Thompson, Port Orange, The Daytona Beach News-Journal Letters to the Editor, “Many roads need fixing before LPGA,” Monday, March 4, 2019

And, so it begins. . .

As Volusia County politicians continue their headlong rush to relieve you and I of even more of our hard-earned money – the jockeying for “what comes first” has started, even before the tax initiative has come for a vote.

The “I’ll support the tax increase if my street is fixed first – but not if your road is ahead of mine” mindset is taking hold as frustrated residents become frightened and confused by the inflammatory rhetoric of their elected “leadership.”

Sad.

In many ways, the half-cent sales tax increase currently being ramrodded by greed-crazed millionaires and their hired chattel on the dais of power is a leap of faith.

By all accounts, even if the tax increase passes, any substantive improvement to our transportation infrastructure will take millions of dollars and “decades” to complete – which means those of us who comb grey hair won’t be around to see our contribution to the collective good become a reality.

That’s okay – everyone wants to leave the place better than they found it for future generations.

However, rather than rollover to the demands of an entrenched power base set on forcing this slimy cash grab at all costs – I believe it is better to teach future generations, by our example,  the inherent benefit of questioning power, demanding accountability and screaming “Hell No!” to the pernicious cycle of government gluttony that is destroying our quality of life quicker than traffic gridlock ever will.

And Another Thing!

 I’m fond of saying that if you care about good governance in your own hometown, you should care about good governance everywhere.

It’s just one reason I enjoy pointing out the myriad examples of the political egotism and the abject stupidity of some local and regional elected officials – many of whom no longer even pretend to serve in the public interest.

In my view, Ormond Beach City Commissioner Troy Kent sets the ne plus ultra example of the perennial politician who became everything he hated – a terribly conflicted, power-hungry churl – totally consumed by his own sense of self-importance and utterly compromised by the wealthy masters he now openly serves.

During a recent workshop to update the community’s strategic plan following the conclusion of the OB Life civic engagement project, the moderator, Marilyn Crotty, asked city officials how they ultimately faded the heat in the aftermath of the environmental atrocity (literally in the center of the city) when 2,061 specimen oaks and old-growth hardwoods were churned into a splintery black muck to make way for another godforsaken WaWa. . .

In typical fashion, Mr. Kent pissed away another opportunity to make good on his promise to rebuild unity in a community still galvanized by the suburban slash-and-burn deforestation when he scorched constituents still rightfully concerned about unchecked growth and the insidious influence of real estate developers on public policy.

According to a report by the Ormond Beach Observer, “Crotty asked the commission how it was dealing with “uproar” over the clear-cutting at Granada Pointe in regard to future development in the city.”

“City Commissioner Troy Kent answered her with a question — which uproar? Granada Pointe or Ormond Crossings where he said twice as many trees were cut.”

“Oh that’s right, there was no uproar for that one,” Kent said.”

For the uninitiated, Ormond Crossings is a long-planned residential and commercial development set in the pine scrub along I-95 south of US-1 that has been on the city’s drawing board for nearly two-decades.

Jesus.  What a mean-spirited shithead. . .

It should now be clear to my neighbors here in God’s Country that our elected public servant, Commissioner Kent – who squeaked back into office like a fat rat with less than 50% of the vote – has no intention of mending fences or demonstrating the common human decency to represent the interest of all Ormond Beach residents.

This abject arrogance is the earmark of the petty tyrant – and a trenchant reminder why any suggestion of extending the terms of elected officials in Ormond Beach should be ignored by anyone who cares about our democratic principles.

That’s all for me – have a great weekend, everyone!

 

 

 

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

In its purest form, most would agree that the right to self-determination – the ability of citizens in counties and municipalities to govern themselves – free of outside interference from the state in the pursuit of their communities economic, social and civic development, is critical to representative forms of governance where supreme power is held by the people.

Unfortunately, in Volusia County, our ‘powers that be’ consistently use the self-governance provisions established by charter to protect the status quo and maintain the patency of the flow of public funds to private interests in this bastardized oligarchy – where control of our elected representatives and processes have been compromised by uber-wealthy special interests who inject astronomical amounts of cash into the campaign coffers of hand-select candidates for local office – setting the stage for massive returns on their investment.

For instance, look no further than the recent hyper-dramatic and incredibly expensive legal challenge by Volusia County officials to the passage of Amendment 10 – which will return constitutional authority to the sheriff, property appraiser and elections supervisor – each of which currently serve as little more than elected department heads, firmly under the yoke of an unelected, unaccountable and almost supernaturally omnipotent county manager.

Although Sheriff Michael Chitwood was elected by the people to oversee law enforcement and public safety services, he is still forced to navigate a bloated bureaucracy and  grovel before our co-opted county council for approval of how he administrates his department’s budget, assets and resources.

One thing is certain, here on Florida’s fabled Fun Coast – any threat to the “system” will be met with a no-holds-barred challenge by our weaponized County Attorney, Dan “Cujo” Eckert – who has made a cottage industry out of suing his own constituents (with our own money) and rabidly defending the Sovereignty of the Monarchy in DeLand against all internal and external threats.

Preeminent insiders – who ferociously preserve and protect the sanctity of their charter by strategically populating the once per decade review commissions with many who stand to directly benefit – crow that Volusia County residents voted for home-rule and cite the fact it has worked well (for all the right last names, anyway) for nearly a half-century.

Our doddering fool of a County Chair, Ed Kelley – a perennial politician who hasn’t had an original thought since he accepted his first campaign contribution – is fond of telling scary stories about the Pandora’s Box that Amendment 10 represents for Volusia County if (God forbid) We, The People are actually given the ability to use our sacred vote to make decisions and balance power.

Now, Volusia County government, and those who stand to benefit from a proposed half-cent sales tax initiative, are circling the wagons and trotting out the “Home Rule” argument yet again as state legislators appear ready to protect Floridian’s from these predatory money grabs.

Bills currently moving through the legislature in Tallahassee just might derail the rushed half-cent sales tax referendum currently being ramrodded by a weird confederation of the Volusia CEO Business Alliance, the County Council and their lap dogs in the municipalities – under the guise that taxing our own eyeballs out is the only thing standing between us and complete traffic gridlock and drinking our own recycled sewerage.

With the potential for an estimated $42 million annual windfall ostensibly earmarked for transportation infrastructure and utilities projects to bailout those same politicians who continue to approve massive sprawl in “New Daytona” west of I-95 – all while spinning yarns about what our lives and livelihoods will look like if we fail to take even more money out of our pockets and place in government coffers – expect this to be a Battle Royale.

According to reports, Florida lawmakers want to end special elections – like the highly choreographed, incredibly expensive, first-of-its-kind mail-in ballot scheme set just weeks from now – requiring that these questions be asked only during general elections when voter turnout is highest.

If approved by the legislature, the regulations would take effect immediately – jeopardizing Volusia’s shim-sham referendum this spring.

According to our “new/old” County Manager George Recktenwald, “We ought to be able to decide what our residents do.  We take any threat to our home rule seriously.”

Which was, perhaps, a Freudian slip – as what I think Mr. Recktenwald meant to say was “residents should be able to decide the issue for themselves” – instead, he may have unintentionally called it like it is.

Had he told the full truth, Mr. Recktenwald should have said, “We will decide what our residents will do, and what they will not do, and if anyone doesn’t like it, we will “re-educate them,” we will threaten their quality of life, or we will crush them under our iron boot – and use the full might and treasure of Volusia County government to preserve our vice-like grip on power, force our will, and preserve our supreme right to lord over our tax strapped constituents.”

The abject arrogance and haughty sense of superiority of these shitheels that pass for “public servants” should frighten every man, woman and child in Volusia County.

Here’s hoping against hope that our state representatives do what our local elected officials refuse to and protect long-suffering taxpayers from the machinations of millionaires, and their bought-and-paid-for minions on the dais of power, who have orchestrated an infrastructure emergency for the sole purpose of establishing yet another revenue stream to feed the insatiable appetite of Volusia County government and the special interests who feed greedily at the public trough.

 

 

 

Hi, kids!

Welcome to the weekend!

I think we can all agree – living on Florida’s fabled Fun Coast can be a downright strange experience – and everyday provides more of those “WTF?” moments that leave us shaking our heads.

This week, an excellent article by the intrepid Eileen Zaffiro-Kean on the front page of The Daytona Beach News-Journal announced an uber-weird new program designed (I think) to make it easier for those wishing to donate to homeless assistance groups in east Volusia County by erecting parking meter-style stations that accept  charitable contributions by coin or credit card.

Call it philanthropy-on-the-go – or, as I refer to it, the “Silent Panhandler” – but at least ten of these kiosks will soon be gracing tourist and shopping areas throughout Daytona Beach.

Some have speculated the program is simply another facet of the city’s push to rid high-incidence areas of aggressive panhandlers by giving donors a way to “do good” without directly subsidizing the alcohol intake of ambulatory drunks.

Others say it’s a damnable waste of precious staff time and resources that should well be spent developing a laser-focused revitalization effort for our languishing beachside – a strategic vision that encourages entrepreneurial investment, streamlines a process for small business starts and reverses malignant blight in our core tourist area.

Regardless, according to reports, the idea is the apparent brainchild of Mike Stallworth, the city of Daytona Beach’s Business Enterprise Department manager (whatever that is), who advised that a California company, IPS Group, Inc., “donated” the devices and “has not asked for a cut of collections in return.”

I find that weird.

Because – I dunno – how ultimately does IPS Group, Inc. remain in business by giving its product away with no strings attached?

A check of the IPS Group’s informative website finds that that the company is an industry leader in the design and manufacture of parking meters, payment collection solutions and parking management software – holding various patents on single-space meters and multi-space pay stations. . .

Apparently, the City of Orlando wasn’t so lucky.

According to the News-Journal, Central Florida’s largest metropolitan area did it the old-fashioned way and actually purchased the homeless donation stations in their community.

So far, reports indicate Orlando collects around $10,000 annually, and after two-years, the city is just reaching the break-even point.

The Rev. L. Ron Durham, Daytona Beach’s community relations manager, said any proceeds derived from the donations will be split by some yet-to-be-determined formula between First Step Shelter, Halifax Urban Ministries and Hope Place.

If you haven’t heard about this automated charity before – that’s okay – those who stand to benefit from it are just as clueless as the rest of us. . .

“Buck James, executive director of Halifax Urban Ministries, said on Monday he hadn’t heard a word about the meters. But it was a pleasant surprise when the news was shared with him.”

Okay.  I give.  What’s up?

Apparently, the program has been in beta mode for the past two-months – and functional for about four-weeks – with the first ‘Silent Panhandler’ standing its post near Breakers Oceanfront Park.

City officials explained they “wanted to get comfortable using it before spreading the word to the public.”

Whatever.

The next time one of Daytona Beach’s ‘movers & shakers’ gets all morally indignant over accusations that their systems and processes – even ones designed to encourage compassionate giving –  are less than transparent to those they are designed to serve – please feel free to trot out this mysterious ‘donation station’ program as a prime example of why citizens have lost faith and trust in their government.

Now, with that debacle known as the First Step Shelter still languishing – with nothing but an astronomical external cashflow to show for itself – we learned that expenses have created a recurring deficit of $7,600.00 – each month.

According to Executive Director Mark Gaellis, the phantom shelter is currently hemorrhaging some $15,000 monthly – on donations totaling approximately $6,000 to $7,000.

Look, I don’t have a Harvard MBA – but that sounds unsustainable to me. . .

Apparently, some $7,500 of the shelter’s monthly nut is allocated to Catholic Charities of Central Florida, who, apparently, have done little more than sit on their ass and cash checks.

In my view, that’s unconscionable.

Who said there isn’t money to be made warehousing the homeless?

According to First Step Board member and South Daytona Mayor Bill Hall, he doesn’t want to go back to the well with Volusia County or the municipalities to make up the shortfall unless and until the shelter actually gets built, “I’ll feel better when I see the walls standing up, and even better when the roof is up.  There’s a whole lot of money going out, and all I see is pretty pictures.” 

I agree.

Perhaps the City of Daytona Beach should consider allocating every last nickel from their new “Silent Panhandler” program to feed the First Step money pit – hoping against hope that if we just throw more cash at it maybe everything will fall into place?

After all – by bizarre government standards – that strategy has worked well so far.

Just ask P&S Paving. . .

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

Let’s look at who tried to screw us – and who tried to save us – during the week that was:

Angel:             Daytona Beach Housing Authority

 In government, good things often happen simply because good people who care are willing to think for themselves – to demonstrate personal leadership at all levels of the organization – and do whatever it takes to ensure essential services are delivered to the community in an effective, efficient and compassionate way despite bureaucratic barriers.

Many times during my three-decades of public service, I watched as colleagues went into their own pocket to meet an emergency – or went above and beyond what would normally be expected to ensure that the immediate needs of citizens were met by cutting through the bureaucratic red tape and the ‘not my job’ organizational stagnation that can have such a detrimental impact on operational efficiency.

Such was the case last fall when Terril Bates, the new executive director of the Daytona Beach Housing Authority, realized a program designed to provide subsidized housing for up to 50 homeless people every year had never been initiated.

Say what?

With just weeks to spare before a December 31 deadline, Ms. Bates determined that federal funding remained available for some 68 housing assistance vouchers which could be used to provide a roof over the heads of deserving homeless families and individuals in the Halifax area.

Most of these individuals are trapped in the vicious Halifax area Catch 22 – the muddy void between safe, affordable housing and low-wage service industry jobs – that continues to plague many hard-working families in Volusia County.

In the true spirit of community service, Ms. Bates mobilized the collective resources of the United Way, Salvation Army, Family Renew Community, Halifax Urban Ministries, Stewart-Marchman and the Neighborhood Center of West Volusia.

Within just six-weeks, some 72 homeless people – including 31 children – were placed in suitable homes.

We can debate the sustainability of housing assistance programs later – and why our First Step Shelter remains under preliminary construction in March 2019 – but thanks to the outstanding work, dedication and unselfish collaboration of Halifax area social service agencies there are less people living on the streets, in cars, or in those omnipresent predatory fleabag motels than there were last year.

Kudos to Executive Director Bates, and the extraordinary work of the various social service organizations, that saw a need, developed a solution, and worked ‘outside the box’ to provide vital housing and other services to deserving families.

Asshole:          Florida Governor Ron DeSantis

Let’s just say that what started as a banner week in freshman Governor Ron DeSantis’ new term ended on a sour note.

Or, I could tell the truth and call it what it was – a raging shit-show of epic proportions the likes of which only the highest echelons of Sunshine State governance are capable of producing . .

At best, the Governor’s attempt to return public confidence to the St. John’s River Water Management District’s governing board – a regulatory agency that had become akin to a Turkish Bazaar for real estate developers and land rapists – turned into a ham-handed, bumbling embarrassment.

At worst, he knowingly returned the suspect to the scene of the crime.

Earlier this week, it was reported that Governor Ron DeSantis had finally put the kibosh on one of the longest running scams in our states history when he unceremoniously retracted the appointment of Long John Miklos, six-time Chairman of the powerful St. John’s River Water Management District and president of Bio-Tech Consulting, an environmental consultancy that advocates for private clients before the very regulatory agency he oversees. . .

You remember Long John’s little side gig?

Bio-Tech Consulting’s adventures in Volusia County include representing the interests of GeoSam Capital – which last year paid a $75,000 fine for wetlands violations at its Coastal Woods project in New Smyrna Beach – and Consolidated Tomoka Land Company – who paid a $187,500 fine to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to resolve allegations that the company illegally dredged and filled 163 acres of wetlands near what is now Jimmy Buffett’s faux beach community in the pine scrub off LPGA Boulevard several years ago. . .

Late in the week – with little explanation from the Governor’s office (or anyone else) – we learned that John Miklos, and two other cronies of Slick Rick Scott whose appointments were rescinded by DeSantis, aren’t going anywhere soon.

Apparently, Long John will remain snout-deep in the trough at least through the end of the current legislative session – and reports suggest he and the others may be allowed to “reapply” for their positions. . .

Say what?  

You’re telling us the bombshell announcement that perhaps the most controversial figure in modern Florida history was finally being forcibly detached from the public tit was premature?

Now, We, The People – the long-suffering citizens who cheered the Governor’s decision to protect our environment and restore trust in one of the state’s most important regulatory agencies – are left to speculate about what, or who, influenced his decision to reverse course?

Look, I’m not totally surprised.

Something smelled funny when then Governor-elect DeSantis appointed Long John to his transition team to advise him on “environmental issues, natural resources and the agriculture industry.” 

Why? 

I guess the more things change, the more they stay the same in Tallahassee.

Last week, we learned that the second ethics complaint in three years was filed against Mr. Miklos alleging “a pattern of concealing ‘conflicts’ which appear to have been completed in a deliberate purposeful manner.”

Something News-Journal environmental reporter Dinah Voyles-Pulver has been courageously writing about since 2016 – with Miklos refusing to answer questions from the News-Journal in nearly three-years – and little explanation from former Governor Scott’s office on how this on-going conflict of interest could be allowed to continue.

It was institutionalized corruption in its base form – yet, no one who should seemed to care.

In my view, the tenure of John Miklos as the longest serving chairman of the St. John’s River Water Management District best exemplified just how dysfunctional Scott’s ‘Fox in the Henhouse’ strategy of allowing industry insiders to control state regulatory agencies – a system tailormade for quid pro quo corruption – had become.

I wholeheartedly agree with the summation of an editorial that appeared in The Daytona Beach News-Journal earlier this week, “It’s a good thing that DeSantis has shown Miklos the door — and once Miklos is out of public service, that door should slam shut and never open again.”

With Chairman Miklos poised to take another bite at the apple – and Florida’s neutered ethics apparatus going through the motions on yet another credible complaint – perhaps it’s time that the strange saga of Long John Miklos was properly investigated by federal law enforcement as a means of protecting the public trust – and exposing the true of extent potential conflicts at the SJRWMD.

In my view, its time for Governor DeSantis to call a meeting and instruct his senior staff to get their heads out of their ass and back in the game.

It’s far too early in his tenure for this level of buffoonery.

At the very least, Chairman Miklos should make good on his promise to step down as he said he would do in the immediate aftermath of Governor DeSantis’ bait-and-switch maneuver earlier in the week:

“As a few of you already know, my time with the Board was coming to an end regardless,” he wrote. “After 9 years I am ready to move on and try other challenges.  Miklos said he had not submitted his name for Senate confirmation and had intended only to serve until he was replaced or “it was necessary to resign.”

Trust me, John – it’s necessary.

Get the fuck out.

Your victims deserve better.

Angel              Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly

As many continue to demand answers in the tragic in-custody death of Anthony Fennick, a 23-year old inmate of the Flagler County Jail, Sheriff Rick Staly took the bold move this week to terminate his agency’s association with Miami-based Armor Correctional Health Services.

According to increasingly disturbing reports, Armor employees were “inattentive and dismissive” as Fennick’s health seriously deteriorated over the course of five agonizing days in early February.

Unfortunately, other inmates who witnessed the interaction – and rendered rudimentary aid in the absence of professional intervention – also report that some of the Sheriff’s own correctional staff may have made light of the situation, somehow convinced the inmate was “faking” a high fever and delirium(?)

Something went horribly wrong.

Unfortunately, it appears the Florida Department of Law Enforcement continues to avoid its responsibility to independently investigate in-custody deaths – claiming that since Mr. Fennick died at AdventHealth, the precipitating events at Flagler’s “Green Roof Inn” apparently don’t factor in.

I find that odd.

Given the wide disparity in the accounts offered by Fennick’s fellow inmates – and those of Armor executives and correctional personnel – in my view, an independent investigation into the facts and circumstances surrounding this incident is paramount to maintaining the public’s trust in our judicial system.

In my view, Sheriff Staly took quick and appropriate action in both requesting an independent review – and terminating the county’s reliance on Armor Correctional Health Services.

By acknowledging the gravity of the problem – and taking definitive steps to ensure this horror never repeats – it cements his reputation for transparency, accountability and fair dealing.

I respect that.

Those responsible for the operation and administration of correctional facilities have an awesome personal and professional responsibility to provide a safe and secure environment for staff and those remanded to their custody – and anyone who shirks that high responsibility rightly risks ending up behind bars themselves.

Now, the State of Florida should determine how a short stint in the Flagler County Jail for a relatively minor probation violation became a death sentence for Anthony Fennick.

Quote of the Week

“I believe for every action there is a reaction, and in this case the reaction of increased impact fees and a half-cent sales tax increase will only be a provisional aid; there will be far more impact down the road that equations and studies did not predict.”

–Barry du Moulin, Ormond Beach, writing in The Daytona Beach News-Journal Letters to the Editor, “Studies vs. the real impact of growth,” Thursday, February 28, 2019

As unchecked expansion continues in “New Daytona” west of I-95 – so will the demand on transportation infrastructure, utilities, public safety, emergency medical and other essential services – even as the blight and dilapidation of “Old Daytona” continues its corrosive crawl – with no apparent way to buy our way clear of it, or ask those responsible to help.

As the valiant Halifax area civic activist Ann Ruby recently said,  “If we’re going to change our zoning to allow private sector developers to develop for their profit, there needs to be a real benefit that accrues to the public beyond the mere existence of their developments.” 

Unfortunately, you can bet your bippy that so long as Sir John Albright and the good old boys investment club over at Consolidated Tomoka Land Company have acreage in inventory – the sprawl will continue unabated. . .

(Get back to me when those conceptual panacea projects Consolidate Tomoka hypothetically mentioned last week for Downtrodden Downtown and what remains of our core tourist area firm up beyond the lukewarm Jell-O stage. . .)

Last week, District 4 Councilwoman Heather Post gave a very informative presentation on transportation needs along “Boomtown Boulevard” in the LPGA corridor.  There was discussion of widening Williamson Boulevard, extending Tymber Creek and Dunn Avenues, broadening LPGA and replacing the narrow pinch point at the Tomoka River bridge.

In total, Ms. Post detailed a “multi-phased” process that will take some $90 million dollars and decades to complete.

I briefly listened to Ms. Post’s presentation online, but had to turn it off.

Not because Ms. Post isn’t an engaging speaker – she is – but due to the fact I have a visceral reaction to these things that drives me to strong drink and maniacal raving.

From my previous life in local government, I developed a raging case of what I call PPMTS – Post Public Meeting Trauma Syndrome – an affliction that causes horrific flashbacks of all the hours of my life I will never get back spent listening to politicians and “experts” drone-on about the nuances of sewage treatment plant upgrades, permeable vs. non-permeable pavers, pie-in-the-sky infrastructure projects and the always riveting nuances of overlay districts. . .

My only criticism is that Ms. Post seemed to cover the “what” of the myriad issues surrounding congestion and gridlock – but I’m more interested in the “why.”

Nobody who is anybody in government seems to want to have the unpleasant “why” discussion. . .

For instance – with a referendum pending on the half-cent sales tax money grab that has mesmerized our elected officials like demented children in a candy store – a massive revenue stream we are told will fund the almost overwhelming process of correcting the sins of the past, this tsunami of unchecked growth that was allowed to outpace infrastructure and utilities while impact fees were purposely kept at historic lows to ensure maximum profits for all the right last names – I want to know “why” this was allowed to happen in the first place?

I want to know why our elected and appointed officials in county and municipal governments allowed this desperate situation to befall their long-suffering constituents – even as they blindly approved massive residential and commercial development from Farmton to the Flagler County line?

I want to know why there is absolutely no personal, professional or political accountability for those officials who stand at the nexus of public funds and for-profit projects and sell taxpayers out every time – those pencil-necks with the massive authority to influence the allocation of tax dollars – but without a commensurate level of accountability and responsibility – the checks-and-balances that ensure all constituencies are represented.

(Hell, our “new/old” County Manager George Recktenwald is about to assume the permanent preeminent leadership role in Volusia County and our elected officials still can’t agree on an objective mechanism to evaluate his performance?)

Why?

Look, I’ll make a deal with the Volusia County Council:

I will support saddling our children and grandchildren with a half-cent sales tax for whatever you want to spend it on (because that’s what you’re going to do anyway) if you agree to summarily terminate any senior manager currently on-staff who failed to maintain an adequate repair and replacement program for public utilities, refused to sound the klaxon on this escalating infrastructure emergency, hid publicly-funded impact fee studies from policymakers, failed to recognize that putting thousands of homes and large commercial centers west of an inadequate two-lane bridge was potentially disastrous and stood idle while developers exploited and impacted our aquifer recharge area for the sole purpose of hauling untold profits out of the pine scrub.

After all, why would We, The People consider handing these same bungling shrubs even more of our hard-earned tax dollars when they have proven so woefully incompetent with the hundreds-of-millions already entrusted to them?

Whatever.

And Another Thing!

In a pivotal scene of the 2015 motion picture Sicario, a shadowy intelligence operative exquisitely played by Benicio Del Toro threatens the protagonist, an idealistic FBI agent, then tells her – “You should move to a small town, somewhere the rule of law still exists. You will not survive here. You are not a wolf, and this is a land of wolves now.” 

I understand the dramatic and contextual significance of what the screenwriter was trying to impart in that scene – I also found a not-so-subtle relevance to the murky machinations of these bastardized oligarchy’s that pass for local governance.

In my view, We, The People, are hopelessly trapped in a situation we can neither escape or comprehend – where hand-select candidates for high office are groomed and financed by a handful of incredibly wealthy individuals and the corporations they control – who seek a lucrative return on their investment in local political campaigns and enjoy unprecedented influence on the decisions that effect our lives and livelihoods.

A cruel system that preys on struggling taxpayers eking out a living in an artificial economy in one of the most highly taxed counties in the State of Florida.

As a result, there is a growing cynicism in our community – a sense that what we are being told does not comport with what we see – and the resulting confusion is quickly giving way to a gnawing suspicion that things are not as they seem.

We see a sales tax referendum forced upon us with little more than a one night “infomercial” to explain the need – a carefully crafted dog-and-pony show where those we have elected to represent our interests will attempt to convince us why we should take even more hard-earned money out of the mouths of our children and place it in the already burgeoning coffers they control.

We see a public school system that has allowed a campus to dissolve into a dystopian scene out of a bad Mad Max movie – with hoards of students locked in weeks of violent conflict – while administrators address it by issuing lanyards – then return to wringing their hands over the minutia of school start times and haggle about purchasing textbooks and other educational materials our long-suffering teachers have been literally begging for.

In Ormond Beach, we watched helplessly while 2,061 old growth trees and specimen hardwoods were savagely churned into a black muck on Granada Boulevard to make way for a developer’s payday – then stood aghast as our elected representatives went against their own advisory committee, planning staff and the protestations of concerned citizens to plop an automated car wash in the backyard of an adjacent long-established neighborhood.

We do live in a land of wolves – now evolved into bipedal sleazebags in cheap suits with broad smiles – who slap our backs every election cycle and tell us exactly what they want us to hear.

But a small group of Ormond Beach residents are hoping to change the way we interact with one another when debating the divisive issues that threaten our very quality of life.

Concerned about the rising incivility in local discourse, Linda Williams, Bill Denny and Ann Long are holding moderated discussions of local issues based upon the model set by the National Institute for Civil Discourse at the University of Arizona.

The group hopes to “change the tone of current politics” by making suggestions for how residents can engage in civil group dialogues between themselves and elected officials.

According to a recent report on the project in the Ormond Beach Observer, “The group will employ five practices for their discussions: Humility, solidarity with conversation partners, leading with what you stand for, and avoiding binary thinking and dismissive words and phrases.”

Clearly, Barker’s View misses the mark on all best practices for civility – and dismissive words and phrases make up my stock vernacular. . .

Now, I don’t have a clue what “binary thinking” is – but if it means knowing the difference between right and wrong and standing up for the ethical principles and values you hold dear – and demand from your government – guilty as charged.

Look, I’m a lost cause – a half-drunk rabble rouser, a dissident with an axe to grind and little redeeming social grace – but I have proudly, and unashamedly, lived my life as a sheepdog.

And given the predatory self-interests of those who control key elected officials throughout Volusia County, and the threat their unbridled greed poses to our very quality of life, I have no inclination to stop alerting the flock of danger.

But if you still believe we, as a people, can be better than what we have become – then I encourage you to join with your neighbors at the next civil discourse meeting on Tuesday, March 5, 2019, beginning at 5:30pm, at the Ormond Beach Library.

For more information, contact Williams at linda@bluegreenalgae.com

Also, regular readers know that I don’t normally advertise for area businesses on this blog – but I have a very big place in my beat-up old heart for the City of Holly Hill – and I really like good local beer!

So, if you’re looking for something cool to do on Saturday, join me at the new Red Pig Brewery at The Market, located at the corner of Second Street and Riverside Drive in Holly Hill.

If you haven’t been to this historic location, I encourage you to attend the grand opening of the Halifax areas newest craft brewery.  In my view, the courtyard, with its majestic oaks set against the incredible coquina architecture, is one of the most beautiful venues in Volusia County.

Music starts at 3:00pm with amazing food available for purchase from Vitamina-T!

Come on out and help support the City with a Heart’s newest addition.  You’ll be glad you did.

Hope to see you there!

That’s all for me.  Have a wonderful weekend, friends.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Many people in government (who still have the chutzpah to speak with me) describe District 4 Volusia County Councilwoman Heather Post in glowing terms – bright, informed, an active listener, focused on the issues – someone who works tirelessly to learn all she can about the civic, social and economic concerns of her constituents.

By all accounts, she emerged from relative obscurity during a highly contentious – and incredibly expensive – 2016 run for public office to become one of the most important voices in Volusia County politics.

Yet, in many ways, Ms. Post remains terribly ineffectual – and a lightening rod for conflict.

In my view, one unfortunate flaw in Ms. Post’s professional and political development has been her seemingly pathological need for self-inflicted controversies.

Clearly, Heather Post’s tenure on the dais has been a classic example of the Square Peg syndrome – best described as an individualist who refuses to conform to the lock-step conformity of an established system.

All elected officials go through an assimilation period.

The natural process of learning what the policymaker’s role is – and isn’t – and dialing back the natural urge to become involved in the day-to-day operations of government.  It’s experiential learning, akin to touching a hot stove, and the neophyte politician tends to learn quickly how they can be most effective within the confines of the rules, regulations and information black hole inherent to most bureaucracies.

Add to that the politician’s instinctual compulsion for shameless self-promotion and the new commissioner or council member’s rookie year can be a painfully embarrassing experience (for those who still possess the common human emotion of shame after the campaign season. . .)

Unfortunately, from the outset, Ms. Post’s experience was something different – something darker –  a near constant, mean-spirited effort by her haughty “colleagues” on the dais of power and former County Manager Jim Dinneen to blunt her curiosity and suppress any fresh perspective in favor of enforcing a paralytic fealty to the ‘system.’

In fact, regardless of circumstance, Ms. Post was painted as an out-of-control mutineer, an outsider mistakenly allowed access to the inner-sanctum, someone who the ‘powers that be’ needed to marginalize before she exposed Volusia’s ‘shadow government’ – the long-standing process by which public resources are used to underwrite the for-profit projects of uber-wealthy political benefactors.

Of course, Councilwoman Post could also be her own worst enemy.

In spite of her desire to position herself as a maverick, time-and-again Post voted in lock-step with her detractors on controversial issues, then entered a self-imposed media blackout – preferring to communicate with her constituents exclusively through a contrived Facebook page – where she could control all aspects of her oddly crafted message.

Truly cringe-worthy.

But these rookie mistakes pale in comparison to the bitter personal attacks she endured from entrenched insiders – a clearly choreographed effort to discredit Ms. Post and paint her as some vainglorious, ego-maniacal  nut-job – more interested in feathering her own nest and positioning herself for higher office than working collaboratively with her fellow council members.

It has been painful to watch.

To her credit, Ms. Post remained focused on the issues and persistently asked the difficult questions during the contentious periods when the abject ineptitude, cronyism and compromised service delivery inherent to Volusia County government was finally exposed.

As a result of her tenacity, Councilwoman Post was instrumental in driving former County Manager Jim Dinneen from his comfy perch at the apex of power.

Unfortunately – like some mutant flatworm that can regrow its own head from the severed stump of the old one – the ‘system’ found a way to survive the loss of Dinneen – moving forward, business as usual, like nothing ever happened. . .

For her determination in ferreting out answers for her long-suffering constituents, Ms. Post gained the respect of faithful followers who see her as a refreshing change from the status quo and the answer to breaking the cycle of insider control as she works to return a voice to disenfranchised taxpayers.

It seemed Councilwoman Post had finally come into her own.

Then, several weeks ago, the “old” Heather came back for a visit. . .

For reasons known only to her – Ms. Post and her attorney resurrected an ancient manuscript detailing a tumultuous time in her past when she was repeatedly investigated and ultimately terminated from the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office.

Through her attorney, in a January letter to county officials, Ms. Post demanded a public apology from Volusia County, along with specific changes to her decade old personnel file to clarify that her separation was a voluntary resignation and threatening a lawsuit to force the issue.

But why?

In a statement, Ms. Post explained, “If the County acts in such a manner ‘because they can get away with it’ and they will do this to one of seven highest government officials in the County, then how many other settlement agreements are they not abiding by and in fact blatantly disregarding?”

So, if I understand this correctly (and I’m not sure I do) Councilwoman Post is championing the rights of the ‘former county employees who entered into separation agreements then were later elected to the County Council’ constituency?

Of course, in taking what amounts to a routine personnel issue public, Ms. Post drew fire from her normal critics – namely those she shares the dais of power with.

For example, in a subsequent statement, our doddering fool of a County Chair, Ed Kelley, trotted out his usual anti-Post theme, publicly describing her demands as “. . .total political rhetoric.  She’s setting the stage for her next run for office.”

Then, our weaponized county attorney, Dan “Cujo” Eckert, (naturally) denied any wrongdoing by Volusia County bureaucrats as he prepares to spar with Ms. Post’s attorney over the fine points of employment law – after all, it’s not his money, and ol’ Dan gets paid win or lose. . .

At the very least, Ms. Post has succeeded in getting her face on the front page of the News-Journal – twice this month – but at what cost?

After all, many of her constituents were completely unaware of her unfortunate career trajectory at the Sheriff’s Office – and exhuming a nearly ten-year-old controversy for an apology seems self-absorbed.

In my view, if Ms. Post truly wants to cement her reputation as a defender of the voiceless in some David and Goliath struggle with Volusia County – there are plenty of more productive ways to do that.

With so many serious issues effecting the lives and livelihoods of Volusia County residents, who is ultimately served by this non-issue playing out on the front page of the News-Journal?

As Volusia County continues to navigate one of the most contentious periods in our history, perhaps its time for Ms. Post to return her focus to real issues faced by her long-suffering, overtaxed and increasingly frustrated constituency.

In my view, these goofy diversions that serve a constituency of one only divert attention away from the opaque machinations of county government – and the political insiders who control it – true intrigues that will have long-term impacts on our collective quality of life for years to come.

 

 

The news out of Tallahassee yesterday was extraordinary. 

At long last, Governor Ron DeSantis finally put the kibosh on one of the longest running scams in our states history when he unceremoniously retracted the appointment of Long John Miklos, Chairman of the powerful St. John’s River Water Management District and president of Bio-Tech Consulting, an environmental consultancy that advocates for private clients before the very regulatory agency he oversees. . . 

The move comes after the second ethics complaint in three years was filed against Mr. Miklos alleging “a pattern of concealing ‘conflicts’ which appear to have been completed in a deliberate purposeful manner.”

No kidding. . .

This is good news for anyone who values our sensitive ecology, clean water or the ethical, fair and impartial administration of government regulatory agencies.  

As we digest the Governor’s decision, it is also important to recognize the incredible persistence and journalist integrity of The Daytona Beach News-Journal’s environmental reporter Dinah Voyles-Pulver – who, in my view, deserves a Pulitzer for her dogged pursuit of the truth in the curious case of Long John Miklos.  

When this alternative opinion blog was in it’s infancy, Mr. Miklos came on the Barker’s View radar in early 2016 with his weird involvement in “The Debacle in DeBary,” a period when city officials hired Mr. Miklos and Bio-Tech to ramrod a highly controversial transportation oriented development on sensitive wetlands known as the Gemini Springs annex. 

It was ugly and dark, but it perfectly exemplified how “things” work here in the Sunshine State – the biggest whorehouse in the world.

May 31, 2016 – “The Debacle in DeBary – The Temptation of John Miklos”  

My wife and I enjoy the company of two wonderful dogs, Diamond and Nola, both of whom are very affectionate and have become the center of our household.  I often remark that we don’t so much keep a home as an elaborate support system for our dogs.

Our youngest, Nola, is just two years old and she can be very precocious.

While well-mannered in most respects, Nola’s one intractable failing is her complete inability to resist the temptation of food.  If Patti or I let our guard down and leave the slightest opening – Nola will seize the moment.

As good natured as Nola is, she simply can’t help herself.

Last Christmas I had just taken a beautiful Honey Baked ham out of the oven and placed it carefully on the counter to rest.  The family was gathered in the other room, all the trimmings were carefully cooked, prepped and baked and that incredible store-bought ham was as shining and resplendent as a $50-dollar piece of processed meat can be.  Just gorgeous.

As I walked into the living room to call the assembled extended family to dinner, I detected a weird shuffling sound behind me.  Imagine if you will my abject horror when I next heard what sounded like an Atomic bomb detonating in the kitchen.

Nothing – and I mean nothing – sounds quite like a ten-pound ham and its Pyrex baking dish smashing onto a tile floor from counter-height.  It’s a shock to the system.  My worst fear was instantly realized with the immediate recognition that Nola had helped herself to the centerpiece of our family’s Holiday dinner.

Now, as I stood there gazing at that wonderful, mahogany-colored, warm dark sugar encrusted beauty laying in a glittering debris field of broken tempered glass I immediately realized – it was not Nola’s fault, it was mine.

I had left the ham too close to the edge knowing full-well that our poor dog is pitifully incapable of any reasonable self-restraint in these matters.  So, we all tried to laugh and even took a picture for posterity.

Then Patti mixed a strong eggnog. . .

Leaving Nola alone in the kitchen and asking her to mind the lunch meat is like asking a big boar raccoon to watch your hen house – after a while, the poor bugger just won’t be able to help himself.

It’s in the genes, and at the end of the day, you know deep down that you have no one to blame but yourself.

Which brings me to the continuing saga of Long John Miklos and the curious case of the “DeBary Land Deal.”

It seems that John has a small environmental consultancy in Orlando, Bio Tech Consultants, Inc., that has had the most incredible run of success in ensuring his clients – generally big time land developers – get what they damn well want from the St. John’s River Water Management District.

I mean, it’s uncanny.

Did I mention that the same John Miklos also happens to be Chairman of the St. John’s River Water Management District’s Governing Board?

Because he is.

Now, I’m just spit-balling here, but in most places promoting the interests of personal customers coming before the very same regulatory board that you chair would be considered a colossal conflict of interest – if not a criminal misuse of public office.

In most places, a person that engaged in that level of open thievery would be slapped in irons and publicly humiliated for high crimes against the environment and massive public corruption.

But this is Florida.  The rules are different here.

Since his gubernatorial appointment to the board, Miklos’ environmental record is, well, one for the record books – and an interesting confirmation of the old adage, “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know.”

In 2012, in order to facilitate a development near Vero Beach, Bio Tech received a permit to remove a tree which contained an osprey’s nest.  Turns out it was a bald eagles nest – but they took the tree down anyway.  In my experience, you mess with a bald eagle – or its nest – and the Federal government will tack what’s left of your hide to a barn door.

Not if your John Miklos.

Apparently, records of an investigation into the incident show that Bio Tech had a financial relationship with the chairman of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission – the very agency conducting the investigation.

It seems Miklos and then FWC Chairman Kenneth Wright were business partners in two Florida corporations.  No prosecution was ever brought and Federal authorities gave the whole matter a wide berth.

Naturally, Miklos explained his relationship with Wright away as a mere partnership in a Polk County hunting camp.

He has a convenient answer for everything.

Then, last summer a subcontractor working for Bio Tech destroyed nearly 30 acres of restored conservation land in Osceola County.  Of course, John Miklos had a perfectly logical excuse – it was the tractor operators fault.

In an unfortunate turn of events, the gentleman operating the tractor said he was simply following a map personally given to him by John Miklos.

Again, regulatory officials investigating the incident found no violation.

Miklos also happens to be the longest serving chairman of the SJRWMD Governing Board, having first been appointed by Charlie Crist in 2010, then reappointed by Rick Scott to an additional four-year term in March 2014.  The Governing Board first elected Miklos as Chairman in 2013, and re-elected him in both 2014 and 2015.  His current term runs through November 2016.

Let’s just say Governor Scott must have a lot – and I mean A LOT – of confidence in ol’ John.

I mean, most folks would look at his environmental track record and glaring professional conflict of interest and say, “maybe not the best guy to be regulating our drinking water supply,” but not Rick.  In fact, the Governor cleaned house of any real environmental regulators at SJRWMD and allowed Miklos to essentially cherry pick the new executive director.

And that’s a big deal.

Conveniently, in 2009 the rules were changed so that only the biggest permits are decided by the Governing Board – the rest are administered by the Executive Director.  A good person to have on your side if you are an environmental consultant. . .

The Daytona Beach News-Journal recently reported that an analysis of records obtained from the St. John’s River Water Management District shows that Miklos’ company has represented clients in permitted activities 117 times since he was appointed to the board in 2010 – and Bio Tech’s permitting activity before the district has more than doubled since he became chairman in 2013.

Life was good at Bio Tech.

Unfortunately, it looks like John Miklos and his co-conspirators at the City of DeBary dropped the ball.  Or, like all habitual criminals, they just got complacent.

The News-Journal’s Dinah Pulver hasn’t just peeled the onion on this slimy land deal in DeBary – she ripped that sucker open like one of those greasy “Bloomin’ Vidalia’s” at a chain steakhouse.

Of course, these cheap bastards have an answer for everything, and they’ve told themselves the same lies so many times that they are actually beginning to believe their own line of bullshit – and that’s the fatal mistake of the professional grifter.

Never fall victim to your own con.  That’s how you end up in a 6’x6’ cell like Bernie Madoff.

Trust me, at the end of the day this debacle will lead all the way to the Governor’s Office.

When asked for comment on the deepening scandal at the St. Johns River Water Management District, Slick Rick repeatedly responds through his media liaison with the same rehearsed yammering about how he expects his appointee’s to conduct themselves in an ethical manner, blah, blah, blah.  But I think some folks are getting nervous in Tallahassee.

Scott knows full well that he put the fox in charge of the hen house and everyone associated with Miklos got rich on the double-dip.  Much like my Nola – John Miklos just couldn’t help himself when tempted.

In my view, Governor Scott either knew or should have known that John Miklos is a congenital liar and a pathological sneak thief with no morals and a personal disdain for transactional ethics.

Hell, he’s been engaged in the basest form of quid pro quo corruption for so long that he actually thinks its normal.

We are the victims of John Miklos’ crimes, and his exploitation of our sensitive conservation areas – the very wild places he was charged with protecting – will have repercussions for our children.

Damn these scum.

Fortunately, it appears the worm is beginning to turn, and thanks to the leadership of Governor DeSantis, the focus is returning to ensuring that those who occupy positions of high power serve the citizens of the State of Florida – and not their own self-interests.   

 

Hi, kids!

It’s been a hell of week and I’m in a dark mood today.

Perhaps it’s the throbbing pain in my knee – or the strange appearance of the ‘Super Snow Moon’ a few days ago?

According to astronomers, “The Snow Moon is the first full moon in February, named after the snow on the ground.  Some North American tribes named it the Hunger Moon due to scarce food sources and hard hunting conditions,” others believe these celestial occurrences are a personal sign from the gods and portend impending doom.

Perhaps they’re right. . .

Earlier this week, after thoroughly enjoying several rye whiskeys, helped down with several high ABV craft milk stouts, I took a header – ass-over-teakettle, baby – while walking home from the bar (which, according to the other drunks who witnessed it, would have placed me in medal contention for artistry, technique and execution had it been in International competition).

The concrete nosedive left me with a suppurating gash on my left patella – and a discernable limp to my gait – something I now blame on the pull of this eerie full moon’s powerful gravity field. . .

(Am I the only one who still treats wounds from an old brown glass bottle of Tincture of Merthiolate from Rexall Drugs circa 1963?  A little goes a long way, and you get that nice orange stain that lets you know it’s working. . .) 

My inebriated gymnastics aside – some intergalactic spookiness is clearly afoot – and it has not been a good week for us seaside denizens of Florida’s Fun Coast.

For instance, my alma mater, Daytona Beach’s Seabreeze High School, has dissolved into a bizarre scene from Children of the Corn – with frightening videos of violent brawls between student factions now regularly spilling onto social media – a deteriorating situation that apparently went unanswered by our “security experts” at Volusia County Schools for weeks – necessitating law enforcement intervention to secure the peace.

In Ormond Beach this week, the real estate development community received their first substantive return on investment when their hired hands on the dais of power voted in the majority to approve an automated car wash – literally in the backyards of Woodgrove and Tomoka Avenue residents – ignoring the recommendations of their own advisory board, planning staff and the heartfelt pleas of their bewildered citizens.

Then, on Tuesday, those dullards on the Volusia County Council announced plans to launch a ham-handed public re-education campaign designed to ‘get our minds right’ and convince an already overtaxed constituency why it’s a good idea to transfer even more money from their own pockets into government coffers controlled by the very same politicians who got us into this mess in the first place.

In my view, this whole political indoctrination scheme to inculcate the idea that higher sales taxes are somehow a “good thing” for our collective future seems overly forced – with hastily contrived narratives, colorful maps and storyboards, each with a whiff of propagandized flim-flam to them (as evidenced by the word “DRAFT” prominently displayed on their face – allowing, I assume, plausible deniability when project’s and priorities mysteriously “change” after the referendum passes. . .)

In fact, rather than wait until the Knights of the Round Table can huddle next week to finalize a formal marketing strategy, earlier this week, our doddering fool of a County Chair, Old Ed Kelley, lit out on his own with a presentation before the Republican Club of Daytona Beach – who, by all accounts, embraced him – and his goofy tax-and-spend message – like dear old friends.

I found that interesting.

There was a time, back when I was a registered republican, that if a half-wit politician showed up asking a group of fiscal conservatives for more of their hard-earned tax dollars, he would have been sent packing with his PowerPoint presentation lodged where the sun don’t shine.

My, how things change. . .

Sadly, on Sunday, we received word that Dr. Oswald Bronson, the esteemed 4^th President of Bethune-Cookman University, passed away at his Port Orange home.  He was 91.

During his impressive 29-year tenure, Dr. Bronson proved, by word and deed, to be a true leader – both on campus  and in our community – and his personal dedication to the highest principles of honor and excellence in higher education, and in life, served as a shining example to thousands of successful B-CU alumni.

Under Dr. Bronson’s thoughtful stewardship, the university increased its budget from $6.2 million annually in 1975 to $51.4 million in 2003 – and B-CU’s endowment grew from $1.2 million to $26.5 million in the same period.

His passing only worsens the unfathomable tragedy that now threatens the very survival of this once proud institution.

Where are men and women of Dr. Bronson’s inner-strength, personal character and moral conviction when we need them most?   

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

Let’s look at who tried to screw us – and who tried to save us – during the week that was:

Asshole           Ormond Beach City Commission

On Tuesday, we learned why elections matter.

We also learned – in clear and convincing terms – just how horrifically compromised the bought-and-paid-for chattel on the Ormond Beach City Commission have become.

In a majority vote, these dull tools ignored the recommendation of their own advisory board and planning staff – then circumvented the will of the people – when they voted to approve a zoning change which will bring a car wash to Granada Pointe.

Why?

Because real estate developer and political benefactor, Paul Holub, wanted it, that’s why.

In my view, the appointed members of the Ormond Beach Planning Board, the planning director and his staff should resign, en masse, before their good names and professional reputations are further sullied by this ill-disguised charade.

Last year, the community was galvanized by the horror of an environmental slaughterhouse at the Granada Pointe site when men on heavy equipment methodically churned 2,061 old-growth hardwoods and specimen oaks into muddy splinters – destroyed suburban wildlife habitat – and eradicated the only natural barrier between the bustle of Granada Boulevard and long-established neighborhoods to the south.

This latest cowardly concession by Mr. Holub’s minions on the dais means that, in addition to the amplified speakers, delivery trucks and near-constant clamor of a busy WaWa and adjacent grocery store – area residents will now be bombarded with the scream of jet dryers and the mechanized roar of pressurized water and scrubbers emanating from a car wash.

Look, I know that Sparkle-n-Shine is just a few blocks away.  I also know that there is an automated car wash on the corner of Ridgewood Avenue and Granada Boulevard – and another self-serve wash several hundred yards south of that.  But none of that matters.

In Ormond Beach, real estate developers get what they want – when they want it.

Don’t like it?  Then out bid them at the next election.

Now, money rules the day, and our quality of life and sacred right to self-determination through the representative process, are victims of a mercenary system that solidifies power in the hands of perennial politicians who haven’t had an original thought since they accepted their first campaign contribution.

Is there another explanation? 

I’m asking, because in most civilized places, spineless shitheels like Mayor Bill Partington and Commissioner Troy Kent couldn’t get elected dog catcher.  But in Ormond Beach – with the right application of campaign financing – anything appears possible.

In coming weeks, the Ormond Beach City Commission will begin advocating for longer terms in office – with staggered elections to ensure political insiders maintain a viable majority – and demanding other concessions designed to consolidate power and protect their hard-fought position at the apex of municipal power.

In my view, smart voters should look to the events of Tuesday evening for all the reasons why that insidious power grab should be rejected.

Asshole           Volusia County School District

In the latest disturbing twist in the dissolving shit show that has become Volusia County public schools, earlier this week a headline in The Daytona Beach News-Journal blared, “700 students stay home from Daytona’s Seabreeze High amid threat to bring gun to school.”

According to reports, nearly half of the student body was absent on Tuesday following a “series” of brawls that the News-Journal described as “possibly motivated by race” between students at locations near the campus.

Within hours, multiple cell phone videos captured by bystanders (which are now obligatory during any public donnybrook) began to appear on social media showing violent melees involving multiple students – many wildly running about, while exchanging verbal and physical swipes.

The newspaper report said, “According to police, the students reported that the fighting has been going on for about a month between black and white students. Some of the fights were captured on video.”

“The students also reported that they saw a video and text messages that an unidentified student was going to bring a gun to the high school Tuesday, and that would “be the end,” police said.”

A month?

Then, according to a report by the Ormond Beach Observer, “DBPD arrested one student for bringing a knife to Seabreeze. According to the report, there had been a major altercation off campus during lunch on Friday, February 15 and a video that surfaced showed a 15-year-old student pulling out a knife.”

A knife? 

Almost inconceivably, on Thursday observant staff members discovered that an 18-year old man wearing a Volusia County School’s Campus Advisor identification jacket had penetrated the campus before being spotted and reported to a Daytona Beach Police School Resource Officer.

The creepy impostor was later found standing outside the north gates to the campus and placed under arrest.

(Oddly, we didn’t learn about this major breech until it was reported in today’s News-Journal – page C-3. . .)

According to reports, “The male seen on campus Thursday was the same person who had been seen on campus in September 2018 posing as a student, even though he had never attended a class there. He was ordered then to stay away from the school.” 

Ordered to stay away from the school?

A Volusia County Campus Advisor jacket?

Unbelievably – despite escalating violence – school officials admitted on Tuesday that parents were not notified of the fracas on Thursday.  Apparently, district officials wanted to handle the matter “in-house” and waited until Monday – the President’s Day holiday – to send an automated message to parents notifying them of the threat.

On Wednesday, another skirmish occurred between students and a group of construction workers near the school.

To their credit, the Daytona Beach Police Department immediately intervened, made at least one arrest, and initiated an investigation into the mounting hostilities that have been simmering for weeks.

Earlier this week, Chief Craig Capri assuaged the fears of nervous parents with an enhanced police presence on the Seabreeze campus and a promise to meet with student factions and bring an end to the conflict.

Clearly, upon being made aware of the deteriorating situation, Chief Capri and his officers acted quickly and decisively to ensure school safety – then worked to calm the fears of the community with straight talk.

Apparently, besieged Volusia County School Superintendent Tom Russell and his clearly indifferent “cabinet” were taking more of a “wait-and-see” strategy. . .

What gives? 

Last September, local attorney Jason Harr boldly filed suit against the Volusia County School Board citing a December 2017 beating at Seabreeze High School wherein a young man was allegedly pummeled and verbally humiliated because of his Jewish faith.

At that time, the victim’s mother reported that when she notified school authorities of the attack, administrators responded, “You’re getting all worked up over nothing. . .”

I guess “see something, say something” only applies to at-risk students and vulnerable staff members – not apathetic Volusia County administrators.

Look, this isn’t a “police problem” – in my view, it’s an acute symptom of the crippling lack of effective leadership at the Volusia County School District.

In my view, district officials have an ethical obligation to engage law enforcement and community resources – or at the very least notify families of potential threats – such as raging off-campus free-for-alls – without hesitation before tragedy strikes.

Unfortunately, I’m not surprised.

I’ve written about this before – but under these deteriorating circumstances – it bears repeating, both for the uninitiated, and anyone with a child under the care, custody and control of Volusia County Schools:

Last summer, in the aftermath of the atrocity at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas and the lead-up to Florida’s School Guardian program, I made a formal public records request for information regarding the administration and oversight of district security protocols and personnel assigned to protect our precious children from harm.

In response to my credible concerns, I received the following uber-arrogant response from Greg Aiken, the district’s Chief Operating Officer, which read, in part:

“I have 22.5 years of military experience and 15 years in the School District where 14 of those years has been building and managing the safety and security program for the district.  I am a certified FEMA and TEEX Adjunct Instructor  for the past 10 years teaching all facets of emergency management all over the US. 

I am right now working with the current classes of school guardians to bring that program up and running by August 13th.  Mr. Craig Pender was appointed by the board to take over the day-to-day responsibilities of the Safety and Security program and comes to the department with school-based emergency management experience.  That position is a level 9.  Ms. Rosalyn Velasquez-Morales, has FBI experience and has been working the safety and security program for over a year now.  She is a level 6.

We have identified three (3) employees that will have the duties as the School Safety Specialist to ensure we have back-ups when the others are on vacation or out sick.  Mr. Pender is the primary with Rosalyn and myself as the back-ups.”

When I finally received Aiken’s sketchy claims – being the suspicious asshole that I am – I did a little checking around. . .

I discovered that Mr. Pender – our “school safety and security expert” – began his career in 1994 as a Band Director at Southwestern Middle School – and most recently served as an ESE supervisor and Assistant Principal at University High School in Orange City.

However, he does have one very important credential – at the time of his promotion, Mr. Pender was married to the School Districts Chief Human Resources Officer. . .

As I’ve previously written, that’s an impressive career track for an academic middle-manager – but, in my view, it doesn’t qualify Mr. Pender to assume the massive, almost unprecedented, responsibility for physically securing and providing close personal protection for 63,000 children and an untold number of teachers, staff and visitors.

Oh, remember Ms. Rosalyn Velasquez-Morales?  The one with the highly-touted “FBI experience”?

Well, much to my dismay, she served as an “administrative secretary” in the FBI’s New York Field Office. . .

Again, Ms. Velasquez-Morales has an impressive career trajectory, I’m just not sure her secretarial duties at the FBI equate to the terribly important job she is being paid to perform.

Now, I don’t know shit about playing the clarinet in a marching band – and I know even less about collating and filing 302 forms – but I know a little about the investigation and intervention of on-campus violence and techniques for deescalating incendiary situations that threaten the safety and security of children, teachers and staff.

I wonder if at anytime during Mr. Aiken’s impressive “14 years building and managing the safety and security program for the district,” he ever once considered the disastrous ramifications of failing to immediately engage law enforcement and community resources at the first sign of trouble, sealing the porosity of school campuses, or promptly notifying parents of a clear and present threat to their children from seething tensions that have been allowed to fester – for weeks –  to the point some 731 students avoided school as a means of self-protection?

Good question, eh? 

Just don’t expect the right people to ask it – that’s not the way it works in the bureaucratic maze of the Volusia County School District – where the idea of accountability commensurate with great responsibility is anathema – and protecting the status quo is the operative ethic.

I’m sorry.  In my view, this transcends “business as usual.”

What’s at stake here is far too important.

In my jaded opinion, it’s time these lethargic buffoons in high district office suites are exposed for what they are – and what they are not – before organizational incompetence results in catastrophe.

Asshole           Volusia County Council

Councilwoman Deb Denys crowed at Tuesday’s Volusia County Council meeting, “I have never been more encouraged, especially when I saw the water quality projects,” as she and her “colleagues” voted to accept a laundry list of “potential” infrastructure improvement projects as our elected officials begin trotting out all the wonderful things we can have if we just agree to saddle ourselves, our aging parents and the next generation of Volusia County residents with a sales tax increase in a few short weeks.

I found this tone-deaf statement by the always arrogant Ms. Denys interesting – because my neighbors and I over here in the Real World have never been more dejected, disappointed or dissatisfied by this sorry state of affairs that has led us to a self-inflicted tax increase as the only viable alternative to utter traffic gridlock and the specter of ‘toilet-to-tap.’

In fact, in most enlightened societies, those responsible for creating an infrastructure and utilities emergency – then foisting a shameless money grab on their already overtaxed constituents to pay for it – would have the common human decency to confess their sins and resign to the ash heap where political hacks go when finally exposed for who, and what, they truly are.

Now, our quasi-new County Manager, George Recktenwald – and those salivating municipal officials who are all squirming in an onanistic delirium over the very thought of feeding off the crumbs from this windfall thrown to them by the incestuous Monarchy in DeLand – are having a confab next week (fittingly, over a lunch you and I will pay for) to discuss how best to “educate” us bumpkins on the benefits of increasing taxes on all goods and services sold in Volusia County.

After all – there ain’t no “Plan B” (of course there isn’t, because strategic repair and replacement planning and best management practices for public utilities are foreign concepts to these inept twits) – only the prospect of a continued death spiral of doom and degradation should We, The People decide to keep more of our hard-earned money in our own pocket – rather than willingly hand it off to the same elected officials who created this godforsaken mess.

Trust me, boys and girls – that’s going to be difficult to sell when these money-sucking, out-of-touch politicos get bad-breath-to-bad-breath with their long-suffering constituents. . .

In coming weeks, we can expect a series of dog-and-pony shows covering all quadrants of Volusia County, presented by men and women with pencil-necks and expensive suits, who will attempt to “govsplain” the dire importance of this tax hike to our very survival here on Florida’s fabled Fun Coast.

If the utter clusterfuck that has marred this Theater of the Absurd since its inception is any indication of what’s to come during the “official” roll-out – I can’t wait to get a big ol’ tub of buttered popcorn and watch this slapstick farce unfold from the cheap seats.

It’s bound to be entertaining. . .

Just don’t expect any of them to start their cheap marketing presentation by saying, “I’m sorry for getting us into the mess. . .”

But they damn well should.

Word to the wise, Mr. Recktenwald: If I were you, I’d keep that chattering victim of Political Sundowners Syndrome, Ed Kelley, in his cage as you and the smart boys over at the Volusia CEO Business Alliance try to get the ball across the goal line.

Otherwise, that walking example of the Dunning-Kruger effect run amok, will continue his disjointed soliloquies and nonsensical lectures on important issues that are clearly outside his feeble cognition as you watch your gravy train continue to circle the bowl.

By any measure, this entire convoluted process is becoming a personal and professional embarrassment to anyone in public office who still possesses the capacity for that emotion – and what happens over the next few weeks will make, or break, the political and professional careers of many.

Stay tuned, kids – things are about to get interesting. . .

Quote of the Week

“I realize it’s an expensive venture and we don’t take it lightly, it could be the center point of downtown for the next several generations. I don’t know how we could afford to not do it. There’s no opportunity like this we’ll ever have again. We could never do this as a city without this type of benefactor.”

–Daytona Beach Mayor Derrick Henry, speaking at a workshop to discuss obligating residents to an estimated $40-$50 million over time to maintain a single riverfront park in downtown, following a “request” by J. Hyatt and CiCi Brown on Wednesday, February 20, 2019

In my view, the restoration of Riverfront Park in Downtrodden Downtown Daytona is key to the social, civic and economic renaissance we all want.  Unfortunately, our ‘powers that be’ are approaching this special opportunity like everything else – with total irresponsibility and a horribly mixed message.

On one hand, county and municipal “leaders” are busy painting a terrifying picture of what our lives will look like if We, The People fail to saddle ourselves with a half-cent sales tax increase to pay for utilities and transportation infrastructure improvements, due in no small part, to the unchecked growth now occurring in “New Daytona” off LPGA Boulevard.

If approved, Daytona Beach’s slice of the estimated $42 million annual pie will be around $3.7 million – cash, we are told, that is the only thing standing between us and drinking our own recycled urine.

So why are Daytona Beach City Commissioner’s so willing to shackle a community facing these desperate and unprecedented threats to a 50-year commitment of between $800,000 and $1-million annually to maintain a single semi-public park?

Is John and Jane Q. Public so detached from current events they fail to see that their elected officials are simultaneously giving massive amounts of their hard-earned tax dollars to improve the aesthetics (and eradicating vagrants) near the already publicly underwritten, and soon to be built, Brown & Brown headquarters campus – all while demanding more from them under the guise of an infrastructure emergency?

My God.   

Look, I think everyone appreciates what Mr. and Mrs. Brown are proposing – and their generous (if not slightly self-serving) financial assistance and willingness to start a nonprofit foundation to oversee maintenance and operations.

But I question the sensibility of spending $1-million a year in public funds on a “Triple A” luxury park at a time when we’re being told our very quality of life is at stake?

But now the die is cast.

Without taking a final vote, Commissioners have clearly telegraphed their intentions.

When J. Hyatt Brown speaks, politicians listen.

And Another Thing! 

On Saturday evening, those wonderful souls at Sophie’s Circle Dog Rescue will host the fifth-annual Rainbow Bridge Walk to honor the cherished memory of furry family members we have lost beginning at 6:00pm in beautiful Fortunato Park in Ormond Beach.

The walk will depart the park shortly afterward and proceed across the Granada Bridge.

Participants are encouraged to bring pictures of beloved pets who have passed on to place on a memorial, and all walkers will receive a light-up necklace, a bottle of water and a “goodie bag.”

Food, vendors, commemorative shirts and other mementos of this very special occasion will be available for purchase – and the group will have adoptable pets on site for you to meet.

As always, your pets are welcome to join in the fun!

Walkers are asked to make a $10 donation to further the important mission of Sophie’s Circle to help homeless and abused dogs find a loving forever home.

That’s it for me.

As always, thanks so much for reading – and have a wonderful weekend.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Any local government who needs a primer on how not to push a sales tax referendum need look no further than Volusia County, Florida.

Damnedest thing I’ve ever seen. . .

Born in the greed-crazed minds of area corporate big wigs who developed a two-pronged attack on public coffers by financially supporting candidates for high office who, in turn, approved massive real estate development in the pine scrub west of Daytona Beach, all while keeping transportation infrastructure fees frozen in time – they created a perfect profit machine for the privileged few.

In doing so, they knowingly manufactured an infrastructure emergency when sprawl outpaced the capacity of existing roads, bridges, public utilities – and the ability of current residents to pay for improvements – then developed a plan that requires every man, woman and child in Volusia County to saddle themselves with a half-cent sales tax increase which will generate an estimated $42 million in annual revenue for the same politicians who have already proven they cannot manage public assets under their stewardship.

In classic Fun Coast form, our Camera Stellata over at the Volusia CEO Business Alliance recognized the limitations of our Brain Trust on the Volusia County Council and took on most of the heavy lifting themselves.

By using private funds to exempt most of their machinations from the purview of Florida’s public records laws – a sinister “public/private” confederation wholly designed to keep We, The People out of the loop – they met side-by-side with elected officials from the county and municipalities, providing advice and direction, then commissioned dubious “studies” wherein a sampling of a few hundred likely voters spoke for the other 538,292 of us.

Concurrent to the behind-the-scenes maneuverings of the CEO Business Alliance – in perhaps the most dangerous internal scandal in recent memory – career civil servants in Volusia County government were caught red-handed intentionally suppressing a publicly-funded study from citizens and policymakers that clearly recommended immediate massive impact fee increases.

As a result, in 2018, the politically unaccountable fathers of this shameless money grab pulled it from the ballot in the eleventh-hour – strategically retiring from the battlefield until after sympathetic candidates could be returned to office by the usual method.

Trust me.  It’s been a continuing shit show of gaffs, howlers, missteps and mini-moves that has telegraphed the fact our “best and brightest” in government and industry can’t organize a one-car parade.

Scary stuff.

Now, just days after being called out in the newspaper for their lack of a prioritized schedule of identified projects for public review – our ‘powers that be’ have cobbled together another hodge-podge preliminary laundry list of road and utilities projects – a smorgasbord of transportation infrastructure needs that remains painfully short on specifics – such as, “Pave dirt roads at more than 80 sites through the county ($19 million),”  or “Widen sections of Williamson and LPGA boulevards”?

What in the hell does that mean?

Since many smaller municipalities – whose residents are being asked to pay the same sales tax increase as everyone else, but who will see just 2% of the revenue respectively – won’t have the same flow of money as Volusia County (who will receive nearly half of the windfall), when the list was ham-handedly released, our doddering fool of a County Chair, Old Ed Kelley, crowed that county government will partner with the municipalities to assist them with infrastructure repair and improvement.

Right. . .

Because if Volusia County is known for anything – it’s their impressive track record of “working” with the cities in the spirit of cooperation and collegiality. . .

My ass.

Interestingly, on the very same day Volusia County and it’s lock-step marionettes in the 16 municipalities rolled out their project list – which, interestingly, had been pared down from the shocking original estimate of $1.4 billion to the more palatable visual of $762 million – our friends over at the good old boys investment club at Consolidated Tomoka Land Company announced obscure plans to build two panacea projects designed to stimulate Daytona’s downtrodden downtown and blighted beachside.

Don’t get me wrong – we desperately need entrepreneurial investment in both locations – in fact, I am convinced it is the only thing that will have a substantive impact on the death spiral of economic stagnation, blight and dilapidation that threatens the continued viability of the Halifax area.

But this was something different.  Something slick, overly bold, floating in the ether – too far off for specifics.

It had the taint of a classic diversionary tactic about it – tall tales supported by shadowy renderings of high-rise buildings linked to mysterious code names like “Project Delta,” hyped for maximum effect, but (like the infrastructure project list) without any hard specifics.

“Conceptual plans.”

“Potential projects.”

“Can, and most likely, will change depending on many factors.”

“No guarantees either project will be built. . .”

It’s all too clean – too conveniently timed – with ample plausible deniability built in.

A classic Volusia County bait-and-switch in the making.

Then came the kick in the groin local taxpayers knew was coming:

Towards the end of Clayton Park’s article in The Daytona Beach News-Journal announcing Consolidated Tomoka’s red herring, Daytona Beach City Manager Jim Chisholm was quoted, “Project Delta and the Main Street mixed-use project will require “a partnership” effort of the city, Volusia County and private-sector developers.”

“It only works if we’re all working together,” he told the chamber gathering.”

Wow.

Yep!

Even as our ‘powers that be’ are busy trying to sell us on all the reasons why we should tax our own eyeballs out – the pernicious cycle of taxing those who can least afford it then underwriting the private, for-profit projects of billionaires continues unabated.

My God.  Are you as tired of having your intelligence insulted by these dullards as I am?

Ladies and gentlemen – keep your eyes and ears open over the next few weeks.

If you listen carefully, you won’t need nay-saying assholes like me to explain all the reasons why we need to vote “No” on this shameless money grab of a half-cent sales tax –  and break the tax and spend cycle that maintains the patency of the public tit for all the right last names.

 

Photo Credit: The Daytona Beach News-Journal

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hi, kids!

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

Let’s look at who tried to screw us – and who tried to save us – during the week that was:

Angel              Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly

I can’t imagine a more difficult, or more important, role in any public protection organization charged with administering and securing a correctional facility than providing quality health care to inmates.

Imagine the immense responsibility of providing essential medical services to incarcerated persons – many with preexisting medical conditions, communicable diseases, addictions, infections, mental and physical infirmities – within the confines and security restrictions of a correctional facility.

But that is the moral imperative that jurisdictions accept when carrying out their societal and public safety mandate to incarcerate, rehabilitate and reintegrate convicted criminal offenders.

After all, when a citizen is legally deprived of their freedom and ability to access medical care, their health and safety become a public responsibility.

Because our tax dollars directly fund the operations of jails and prison facilities, We, The People have a right to expect that inmates will be treated firmly but fairly, and held in a safe and secure environment where their basic needs, and human rights, are respected and protected in the most effective and cost-efficient manner possible.

Last week, Anthony Fennick, a 23-year old inmate of the Flagler County Jail, died under shadowy circumstances from an apparent acute medical condition that many believe may have been the result of negligence on the part of contract medical services provided by Armor Correctional Health Services and county corrections staff.

To his credit, Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly, whose office has direct responsibility for the jail, responded to the tragedy immediately – contacting the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to request an outside criminal investigation of the circumstances surrounding Fennick’s death to supplement his agency’s own internal review.

In my view, Sheriff Staly’s response was ahead of the curve, appropriate and transparent – totally consistent with how a strong, ethical law enforcement executive should react under these difficult circumstances.

So far, FDLE has refused to accept Sheriff Staly’s request, citing the fact that Mr. Fennick’s death occurred at the hospital and not while he was in custody at the Flagler County Jail.

Given that the precipitating events clearly occurred during his incarceration, I find that excuse disingenuous.

No agency has more experience working at the nexus of politics and the law than FDLE, and they have maintained a very high-level of professional integrity by sorting the wheat from the chaff and refusing cases which are clearly political issues requiring a political solution.

This is different.

With the public trust and a grieving family hanging in the balance – the untimely death of a young man remanded by the judicial system to the care, custody and control of Flagler County deserves hard answers.

Unfortunately, Armor Correctional Health Services is already circling the wagons – refusing to place those staff members who provided medical services to Mr. Fennick on administrative leave while the matter is reviewed (unless Flagler County agrees to pay them during the suspension) – then denying wrongdoing before the cause of death has even been established.

According to reports, Armor no longer provides contract services for Volusia County after four wrongful death suits were filed against the Miami-based company alleging medical neglect in that facility.

In my view, that’s a warning sign that deserves state scrutiny.

While I have no doubt that Sheriff Staly’s experienced investigators are capable of conducting a fair and impartial collection of the facts – findings that will ultimately be vetted by the Office of the State Attorney – it is in keeping with accepted best practice to have serious internal issues (especially an in-custody death) impartially and dispassionately investigated by an independent outside authority.

Given Sheriff Staly’s impressive record of complete transparency in the conduct and administration of his office – and his proven respect for the highest standards and traditions of law enforcement – I sincerely hope FDLE will rethink their difficult decision in this matter and provide the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office with the assistance they so desperately need in this highly sensitive – and incredibly tragic – circumstance.

This evening, Mr. Fennick’s family and friends will gather to memorialize his young life.

Let’s hope the truth doesn’t go to the grave with him.

Asshole           Ormond Beach City Commission

I’m not a “joiner.”  Never have been.

I live by certain rules, and one of those follows the old Groucho Marx adage, ‘I would never join a club that would have me as a member. . .’ 

But it appears at least one social/civic club in Ormond Beach is having a great influence on Mayor Bill Partington – and his long-suffering constituents.

Just when you thought these brazen opportunists couldn’t sink any lower, the power-crazed megalomania running amok on the Ormond Beach City Commission may have finally reached bedrock as officials kick off a shim-sham campaign to increase term lengths and stagger elections.

The reason?  “Stability.”

Bullshit.

According to Mayor Partington, his cronies over at the all-male fraternity known as the Ormond Beach Rotary Club, a traditional sausage fest that (mysteriously) rarely accepts new members and refuses to admit women, recently asked Hizzoner how they can best protect the status quo.

I’m sorry, I had a sudden pang of conscience – that’s a lie.

According to published reports, what they actually asked Mr. Partington is why the city risks losing all existing institutional knowledge if the council were to be kicked to the curb, en masse, during a future election.

Right.

Oddly, we’re told this faux crisis has brought us so dangerously close to the precipice of total chaos that residents of Ormond Beach are going to be asked to vote on this slickly packaged non-issue in a few short months. . .

To the complete astonishment of everyone paying attention (including, I’m sure, the puppeteers over at the Volusia CEO Business Alliance) – our elected chattel in Ormond Beach want to pin this turd to the recently called special election to decide, once and for all, the half-cent sales tax debacle – a mail-in ballot that will cost Volusia County taxpayers nearly a half-million dollars.

Trust me.  The last thing the smart boys over at The Alliance want is their handiwork sullied by five power-hungry stooges in Ormond Beach muddying the waters with a controversial term limit issue on the same ballot containing their hard-fought tax levy.

Let’s call this barefaced power grab what it is.

After fighting a pitched battle in perhaps the most contentious election cycle in memory –  meanspirited and wholly lopsided contests that exposed the depth of special interest control over the municipal government – now, these shameless quacks want to cement their grip on the reins of power and fortify their position with term extensions and staggered elections.

When you add the fact that Ormond Beach is one of just two municipalities that still refuse to require candidates to file qualifying and campaign finance reports electronically – requiring anyone interested in knowing which special interests are bankrolling a particular candidate to jump through hoops for this tell-tale public information – one comes to the inescapable conclusion incumbents and their handlers are working hard to stack the deck.

In my view, Mayor Partington’s explanation for this rushed ballot question is pure horseshit, and as a perennial politician, he should know better.

In many places, things happen in spite of the elected body, not because of them.

In others – like Ormond Beach – the civic process has become so compromised by outside influences (read: massive campaign contributions) that a large segment of the population no longer trusts local government to serve their interests.

Regardless, essential service delivery is provided by career civil servants under a strict system of command and control that is specifically insulated from petty political influence.  The role of our elected officials is to act as policymakers and set a strategic vision for the future, allocate public funds, legislate ordinances and stay the hell out of the way.

I’m almost certain the City of Ormond Beach Charter specifically prohibits elected officials from meddling in the operations of government at all – so where’s the grave threat to continuity should the citizens decide to return honor and sanity to the dais of power?

The fate of Ormond Beach doesn’t hinge on the “institutional knowledge” of the butcher, the baker and the candlestick maker on the City Commission – in fact, many argue that a periodic purge of entrenched politicians to make way for fresh eyes and ideas has the same beneficial effects as a good laxative.

Just vote no.  Twice.

Asshole           Knights of the Round Table

 Earlier this week, the political insulation committee formally known as the “Elected Officials Round Table” – a weird consortium of elected and appointed officials from Volusia County and the municipalities – met to get their stories together on how best to “re-educate” us bumpkins on the importance of increasing the sale tax to pay for their cowardly failure to raise transportation impact fees on their cronies and political benefactors in the real estate development community.

The problem is – this shameless cash grab has a lot of moving parts – and now they’ve painted themselves into a corner by setting a special election just three short months from now.

Tick-tock-tick-tock. . .

As time marches on, it becomes increasingly apparent that the “Knights of the Round Table” couldn’t organize a one-car parade – let alone put together a convincing argument why we should self-inflict a tax increase in one of the already highest taxed counties in the State of Florida.

By any measure, the requisite selling point for the tax hike begins and ends with a prioritized list of transportation and utilities improvement projects to be funded with the estimated $42 million in annual revenue that our elected officials are salivating over.

After all, people have a right to know how their money will be spent, don’t they?

Right. . .

According to our doddering fool of a County Chair, Ed Kelley, he’s perfectly content to rely on a slap-dash compilation of projects that was hurriedly thrown together by the municipalities in the lead-up to last years failed attempt to ram this increase down our throats – a $1.4 billion hodge-podge of pseudo “priorities” that was long on shock value and short on specifics – intended to ensure our lock-step compliance with their greed-crazed plan before we are all drinking our own sewerage and watching our quality of life ebb away while trapped in gridlocked traffic somewhere on West Granada Boulevard. . .

My ass.

Look, I love South Daytona Mayor Bill Hall like a brother.

In fact, he is one of the most honorable men I know as evidenced by his lifetime of extraordinary public service.

We came up together in local law enforcement and I consider Mayor Hall one of my closest confidants and trusted friends – but we are going to have to agree to disagree on his recent characterization of this tax increase.

According to The Daytona Beach News-Journal, “In pitching the sales tax, South Daytona Mayor Bill Hall noted that a half-cent increase is equal to paying an extra 25 cents on a $50 tab at Outback Steakhouse.”

 With some 17% of the county’s population living at or below the poverty line – and thousands more struggling mightily just to make ends meet in this artificial, service-based economy – most can’t afford a $50 steak – let alone an across-the-board sales tax increase on goods and services that most legitimate economists will tell you hurts those who can least afford it the most.

I’m sorry, Mayor Hall – but that addled dunce, Ed Kelley, and his goofy handlers are forcing good public servants like you, and others I respect, to put the cart before the horse and commit us to a referendum without so much as a project priority list or a citizen oversight committee identified.

In my view, given the long-term impact of this price increase on families and small businesses in our area – and the horrific transparency and trust issues that continue to afflict Volusia County government – that’s wrong.

Perhaps our ‘powers that be’ and those who stand to benefit most – the behind-the-scenes manipulators over at the Volusia CEO Business Alliance – should wait until the legally mandated audit of Volusia County’s financial practices is complete, and a comprehensive list of essential projects can be analyzed, agreed upon, and logically presented for public review.

Only then will We, The People have some reasonable idea of actual demand – and how our hard-earned money will ultimately be allocated – before foisting this money-grubbing scam on an already overtaxed constituency.

Quote of the Week

Don’t take my word for it, here’s what the experts are saying about Volusia County’s assbackwards strategy of setting a referendum for the proposed half-cent sales tax grab without a prioritized list of potential projects in place:

 “How is it we are still sitting here in February, and Daytona Beach (the county’s second-largest city) still doesn’t have a priority list?  Every day that passes they are losing the opportunity to influence the outcome of the vote.”

–Mike Scudiero, Ormond Beach political consultant, as quoted by The Daytona Beach News-Journal, “Volusia County, cities work to develop projects for sales tax pitch,” February 11, 2019

“They are burning time.  They’ve passed the resolution (to put it on the ballot), but they don’t say what they are going to spend the money on. This has to be very specific.  They have been talking about this for months. … They are not ready to go.”

 –Former Volusia County Councilwoman Pat Northey

I don’t make this shit up, folks. . .

And Another Thing!

Angel – In Memoriam

 Volusia County Republican Party Chairman Tony Ledbetter was a lot of things to a lot of people.

To many, he was a conservative firebrand – an expert strategist and bold patriot – whose intense love of country, extraordinary work ethic and strong leadership literally changed the political landscape of our region.

To others, he was an old school ward-heeler, a controversial provocateur and inflammatory rabble-rouser whose rhetoric was designed to stir the passions of the fringe – a dogmatist who would do anything – in bounds or out – to promote the party cause or win an election.

For instance, former Orange City Mayor and 2016 Volusia County Council candidate Tom Laputka was once quoted as saying, “Some people are born assholes.  There are others who try really hard to be one.  Ledbetter is both.”     

 Regular readers of these screeds know that I rarely agreed with Chairman Ledbetter’s brand of incendiary politics – and he made more than one appearance on the other side of this weekly opinion column for his no-holds-barred tactics in service to his beloved Republican Party.

A badge I’m certain he wore with unabashed pride. . .

I have always considered myself an independent thinker within the confines of my limited intellect.  As such, I abjure partisanship – convinced that neither of the two predominate political parties represent my best interests – as evidenced by the utter gridlock and bitter partisan rivalry that has paralyzed Washington.

In my view, both parties have morphed into little more than warring tribes of self-serving fringe players, whose blind anger and total self-absorption have left them oblivious to the fact that, at the end of the day, both serve the same uber-wealthy masters.

But there is no denying that Mr. Ledbetter was a force of nature – a true believer and a fierce warrior who fought tooth-and-nail to advance the policies of the ultra-conservative wing of his party – and ensure victory at all costs for Republican candidates and causes.

A committed patriot in the classic sense, Mr. Ledbetter dedicated himself in thought, word and deed to promoting the principles and values that he felt exemplified the promise of America and projected our inherent strength and stability to an increasingly hostile world.

I always admired that.

As a matter of personal policy, I tend to hold political zealots of all stripes at arm’s length – regardless of their persuasion – but I never questioned Mr. Ledbetter’s passion or willingness to stand tall in the furnace of modern political contests, courageously advocating for that which he thought right and important to protecting and defending our Constitutional government.

I recognize and revere the warrior spirit when I see it, and Tony Ledbetter was most assuredly a bombastic brawler with the heart of a lion.

With his indomitable will and strength of personality, he almost single-handedly changed the political allegiance in the region and helped make the Florida Republican Party a force to be reckoned with on the national stage.

Volusia Republican Communications Chair Vic Baker, said it best in The Daytona Beach News-Journal this week,  “Tony Ledbetter was a fearless leader.  I will say this: There were people who disagreed with him. There were people who didn’t like him. But there were very few people who didn’t respect Tony.”

I agree with Mr. Baker.  I also happen to agree with Mr. Laputka – but that is the dichotomy of the modern political operative who must be many things to many factions in this winner take all environment.

No one advocated more fervently for the republican virtues he dedicated the bulk of his life to advancing – and his beloved party has lost a valiant and colorful soldier on the bloody battlefield that passes for modern politics in this distressing age.

Clearly, Tony Lebetter was sui generis.

Unfortunately, we will not see his kind on the local scene again.

Chairman Ledbetter reluctantly left the fray this week after a brief battle with cancer.  He was 71.

Barker’s View joins the many in our community, on both sides of the political spectrum, who mourn his passing.

As always, thank you for reading – and have a wonderful weekend.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The American Civil Liberties Union has weighed in on the City of Daytona Beach’s efforts to rid our besieged intersections and public spaces of aggressive panhandling and return a sense of sanity to our community.

Once again, the organization sides with a proven social corrosive – as detrimental to the health and vitality of communities as any criminal enterprise – under the guise of defending the constitutional rights of the oppressed.

I don’t buy it.  And neither should you.

In Sunday’s Daytona Beach News-Journal’s Community Voices column, “Crackdown is overly harsh and probably unconstitutional,” the ACLU’s George Griffin and Cary Ragsdale make the argument that panhandling represents constitutionally protected free speech – akin to Girl Scouts selling cookies in front of a grocery, or neighbors greeting each other on the street – and that those set upon by belligerent beggars also have the right to ignore the solicitation, say “No,” and simply walk away.

Anyone who has ever been verbally and physically accosted by a persistent, wildly intoxicated bindlestiff knows that simply walking away isn’t as easy as Griffin and Ragsdale suggest.

The civil libertarians also took an undeserved swipe at Daytona Beach Police Chief Craig Capri, claiming that he is using the new trespass and panhandling prohibitions to “gleefully arrest and sweep human beings away as if he were cleaning out a rat infestation.”

 Bullshit.

Look, I respect the tenets of defending and preserving the individual rights and liberties guaranteed by the Constitution and laws of the United States – in fact, I took an oath to do just that when I enlisted in the military and later served over thirty-years in law enforcement.

Unfortunately, over the past 100 years, the ACLU has gone so far into the weeds on issues from the serious to the patently ridiculous that it has lost all credibility in the eyes of most Americans.

Anyone who lives or works in the Halifax area has seen the deleterious effect of hordes of tattered mendicants occupying every quadrant of every major intersection in Daytona Beach.

These weren’t starving indigent’s struggling for their very survival – to the contrary.

Most were ambulatory drunks holding hand-scrawled signs screaming, “Why lie, I need a beer!” making a mockery of those at the nadir of life who must beg to physically survive.

This period of our local history was different.  It was predatory, organized and insidious – their numbers growing weekly like a malignancy – which added to the sense of blight, dilapidation and hopelessness that pervades many areas of our community.

Using sympathy-inducing props, like wheelchairs and the ephemera of the poor, scores of these professional grifters set upon our community and fleeced those whose giving spirit and sensitivity to the human condition refused to let them pass another being ostensibly in need.

When offered work or a hand up, many of these career scroungers scoffed at the very idea of actually “earning” a wage – smug in the knowledge they will make more in a few hours of panhandling than the hapless sap offering them gainful employment would in a day of hard labor.

Contrary to what the ACLU would have us believe, in my view, Chief Capri showed remarkable compassion and restraint in the many months before the ordinances took effect.

In fact, he stood strong and followed the law, even as his department suffered the withering criticism of many residents and business owners who demanded a law enforcement resolution to one of the most perplexing problems of our time, even as stories emerged of intimidating tactics that were having a corrosive effect on distressed areas – such as downtown and the Boardwalk – where already struggling establishments can ill afford to have paying customers discouraged by bands of roving drunks.

Clearly, the Daytona Beach Police Department’s measured implementation of this wide-ranging legislation has been geared toward education and compliance – tempered with fairness, firmness and a respect for the rights of all citizens.

Our area stands at a crossroads – beset by myriad social, civic and economic issues that have resulted in years of stagnation and turned much of our core tourist areas into a wasteland.  In my view, which path we choose now will determine the long-term viability of our community’s hospitality-based economy – and shape our collective quality of life for years to come.

In many ways, it’s now – or never – and this predacious activity simply cannot be allowed to continue.

I join the thousands of Halifax area residents in applauding the visionary ordinance recently passed by the Daytona Beach City Commission which provides our law enforcement officers with the tools necessary to eliminate organized mendicancy and remove the criminal element who prey on the good will of area residents while draining precious resources from those who truly need our help.

 

Photo Credit: The Daytona Beach News-Journal

 

Earlier this week I wrote a piece about mega-developer Minto Communities pulling out of a $26.5 million deal to purchase an additional 1,614 acres from the good old boy’s investment club over at Consolidated Tomoka Land Company, effectively putting the kibosh on Phase II of Latitudes Margaritaville in an apparent knee jerk to impact fee increases designed to help our transportation infrastructure and public utilities keep up with the demands of unchecked growth.

An old friend of mine called to say he enjoyed the piece – and admired the fact that, even at my age, I never fell victim to the curse of apathy and indifference to our collective plight here on Florida’s fabled Fun Coast.

I appreciate the sentiment, but the truth is, not much excites me anymore.

After retiring from a life-long career in law enforcement, a dynamic and always interesting pursuit, I no longer experience the ‘adrenaline rush’ one gets from encountering dangerous situations – and I haven’t been to a good old-fashioned orgy since the late ‘80’s. . .

I tell everyone who will listen that retirement is great for about six-weeks.

After decelerating from a hundred-miles-an-hour with your hair on fire to zero – you spend a lot of time alone, and its easy to allow the “Groundhog Day” syndrome to take hold.

Perhaps it’s why we frequently read of retired public officials getting themselves in stupid predicaments – like the former Fire Chief recently accused of soliciting an undercover police officer posing as a prostitute.

Look, maybe the guy’s plan was to bang hookers in retirement, I don’t judge (I considered that strategy myself, but my wife told me I had to clean out the garage, finish the laundry and change the light bulbs in the kitchen first – then I got tired and took a nap instead. . .) but I think it’s more a side effect of the crippling boredom and monotonous days that come when we lose a sense of purpose in our lives.

Now, I putter.

I get up early, put the coffee on before Patti gets up and mosey around the house.

Most mornings I  “work” at my part-time hobby job, then fall asleep early with a good book on my chest.  Some evenings I gather with old friends at our local watering hole for whiskey and good conversation, discussing the issues of the day, listening to songs on the jukebox that haven’t been popular since the Nixon administration and sharing pictures of the grand kids.

Like Willie said, it ain’t no good life, but its my life. . .

Following my retirement – after three-decades of job-induced silence – I began to write down my jumbled thoughts and goofy opinions on the news and newsmakers of the day.

No longer gagged by the policies and professional considerations that help perpetuate a “wall of silence” that pervades all government edifices to one degree or another, I found a true catharsis in sharing a former insider’s view.

It was akin to breaking the magicians code – a cognoscenti’s guide to the inner-sanctum of local government – which I hoped would stimulate a wider discussion of the issues in a region that has, for years, been trapped in a cycle of apathy – wholly controlled by a few uber-wealthy oligarchs who manipulate our lives and livelihoods while deftly maintaining their place at the public trough.

Given the fact that there have now been over 282,000 views of this boutique opinion blog – Barker’s View has clearly found a niche with those seeking an alternative to the happy talk and pixie dust we’ve come to expect from our elected and appointed officials.

While I don’t find excitement in the daily adventures I once had – now, a seething rage burns inside me when I see good people – struggling families and our vulnerable elderly, small business owners and school children, working men and women stuck in dead-end service jobs supporting a dying tourist-based economy – trapped in a pernicious system they can neither understand nor escape .

Well-meaning “leaders” in the Chamber of Commerce set confuse western sprawl with progress – and pin our collective hope for a brighter future on a glass and steel insurance office or another “panacea” theme hotel – all while doing their level best to paint a pretty face on the fetid corpse of a once thriving beach community with perhaps the most recognizable brand name in the world.

The result is a grotesque façade that breeds a sense of confusion and suspicion that occurs when what we see doesn’t comport with what we are told.

I have never forgotten the fact that it is you – the loyal members of the Barker’s View tribe – who make this such a fulfilling endeavor – and I will be forever grateful that you indulge my weird views and debate the issues with such incredible passion, clarity and intelligence.

When you respond to these screeds on social media – or reach out to discuss items of mutual concern with friends and neighbors – you influence a larger dialog that is a healthy part of a vibrant community.

When you look at the Halifax area like a box of Tinker Toys, you see that all the pieces, connectors and parts necessary for success are here – a beautiful riverfront and world-class beach, a quaint downtown, a research university collocated with a tech business incubator and a thriving state college with active vocational programs, craft breweries and bistros, a small but growing arts community and a core cadre of very vocal, civically active citizens who are well-organized and intent on restoring community pride while protecting the natural amenities and traditions that make our area unique.

In addition, the incredible success of Wild West Volusia is self-evident – with the beautiful City of DeLand setting the gold standard for civic reinvention and revitalization.

Despite my often-grim predictions – we have a lot going for us.

Now, it’s time for our politicians and ‘powers that be’ to recognize our collective desire for a strategic vision that puts all these wonderful attributes together while respecting the needs, wants and dreams of their constituents – not just those of their political benefactors.

Stop the mini-moves, cronyism and abusive tax schemes and giveaways.

Restore trust in government, accept public input in public decisions, and let’s work collaboratively while there is still something worth worrying about.

Together, I believe we can defeat the malignancy of apathy and mediocrity that threatens the viability of our hometown, our public schools and our government institutions and allows those with a greed motive to run rampant over our economy, our environment – and in the halls of power throughout Volusia County.

Thank you for reading – and for being part of the solution.