As the tortured scribe of an alternative opinion blog, I often receive angry calls and messages from sitting politicians, and others in positions of high power and influence, who take me to task for having come down on the wrong side of one issue or the other – and I admit – I’m certainly not infallible.

But when I’m right – I’m right.

For instance, I harbor a sneaking suspicion that our elected and appointed officials in Volusia County government have dissolved into a weird clown alley of ill-informed lockstep conformists who do exactly what they are told to do – when they are told to do it.

And when they don’t get their way on an issue important to their uber-wealthy campaign donors – or in matters where their ineptitude may be exposed – they lash out like recalcitrant children, using the county attorney’s office as an offensive weapon, or simply becoming obstructionist assholes (a la “Sleepy” Pat Patterson, clenching his little hands, puffing up like a toad, and vowing to vote “no” on every issue coming before the SunRail Commission until his issues get resolved).

The fact is, evidence continues to mount that these dolts we have elected to represent our interests have the situational and political awareness of wallpaper paste.

Unless they are told exactly how to think, and what to do, by County Manager Jim Dinneen or some courtier from the camarilla of “Rich & Powerful” insiders who actually control our lives and livelihoods – our council members sits there like slack-jawed dementia victims fascinated by specks of dust floating in the air.

Clueless doesn’t come close to describing this level of blunted detachment.

For almost two-years, the laser focus of Volusia County government – when they weren’t busy approving “incentives” for speculative developers, closing off beach access or funneling massive amounts of public funds to private interests – has been set on developing a strategy to place a half-cent sales tax increase on the November ballot.

Why?

Like any parasitic worm that burrows itself deep into the public tit – government needs increasing sources of tax revenue to keep the cycle of government spending, insane compensation and benefits packages for senior managers and corporate welfare projects – spinning along without interruption.

Now it appears our ‘powers that be’ became so distracted by the dollar signs dancing in their pointy little heads that they failed to keep an eye on happenings in Tallahassee – or maybe they truly are just a troop of ill-informed buffoons – regardless, they missed some important legislation that just may derail their sleazy money grab.

Back in February, State Representative Matt Caldwell, a Republican from North Fort Meyers, began formulating a plan to block a local option sales tax proposed by the Lee County School Board – a levy Rep. Caldwell vehemently disagreed with.

According to Caldwell, imposing a tax on every man, woman and child in Lee County was “avoidable and unwise,” and he linked the school boards financial difficulties to irresponsible spending and poor strategic planning.

Sound familiar?

So, during the waning days of the 2018 legislative session, Rep. Caldwell filed an amendment requiring county governments and school districts seeking to place a local option sales tax before voters to submit to an outside performance audit, which must be completed and posted for public inspection sixty days before the election.

Governor Rick Scott signed the measure into law on March 23^rd.

Clearly the terms “outside” and “audit” brought peristaltic tremors to our elected and appointed officials in DeLand.

Frankly, I couldn’t be more tickled if I had a feather in my shorts.

Among other provisions, the Caldwell amendment requires that the audit explore alternative methods for providing county services and products, ensures the accuracy of public documents, examines the “structure or design” of the county government to accomplish its objectives and requires compliance with appropriate policies, rules and laws.

In short, the legislation ensures that government has explored all possible alternatives before siphoning even more cash from their tax-strapped constituents by imposing or increasing duties on goods and services.

It’s called basic accountability – and that is anathema to our current administration.

Now do you see why this important legislation – which is clearly designed to protect the public interest – has sent convulsing shivers down the spine of Volusia County government? 

I thought you might.

Clearly, our elected and appointed officials were once again caught totally flatfooted – completely unaware of the Caldwell amendment and its potential ramifications – and now those on the dais of power are falling all over themselves to affix blame to anyone but themselves.

Our doddering fool of a County Chair, Ed Kelley – who suffers from a rare form of selective memory which makes him oblivious to anything other than the personal whims of his wealthy campaign donors – blames Volusia County’s lobbying firm, GrayRobinson, Tallahassee insiders who receive $50,000 of our money annually to, well, keep our council members apprised of legislative happenings.

According to the Daytona Beach News-Journal, Old Ed said, “I thought our (lobbyist) would have let us know.  My guess is that the lobbyist should have told us that,” he said.  “Someone should have told us before today that that was there.  I’m a little miffed that I wasn’t made aware of this.”

Miffed?

Get your head out of your ass, Ed.

How many times can our senior elected official feign cognitive ignorance?

Anyone remember back in May 2017, when Chairman Kelley and the others we elected to represent our interests got caught with their heads on the desk, snoozing in a pile of their own drool, when the state moved to limit local government’s ability to pass ordinances that impact private property rights, specifically as it relates to customary use of public beaches?

I do.

But in typical fashion – no one is ever held accountable in the Dinneen administration.

Not GrayRobinson, and especially not Mr. Dinneen.

I mean, where exactly does the buck stop in this shitstorm of abject mismanagement and ineptitude?

Certainly not with the hyper-arrogant Councilwoman Deb Denys.

In her typical haughty delivery, Denys deflected any responsibility, fuming with indignant criticism, “It’s bad law (?), bad legislation.  We are regulating empty.  There’s nothing there.” 

You mean, except exposing out-of-control government spending, the open giveaway of public assets and the mysteriously opaque planning and spending policies coming out of the county manager’s office?

My God.

Folks, I may not get it right all the time – but I’m right when I opine that we are being “governed” by the most grossly out-of-touch gaggle of half-bright dimwits in the history of Volusia County.

And given our dismal history, that’s saying something. . .

In my view, there truly is no one awake in the wheelhouse – and this ship of fools is hopelessly adrift.

Based on the evidence at hand – am I wrong?

 

 

In January, a loyal member of the Barker’s View tribe and an astute observer of the political landscape in Volusia County sent me a photograph of a placard posted at One Daytona announcing the implementation of an “Enhanced Amenity Fee.”

The fee represents a one-percent before sales tax levy on all goods and services purchased at the “symbiotic” entertainment and shopping complex developed by the Forbes listed France family’s International Speedway Corporation – and subsidized by you and me.

Like many of you, this tax by any other name struck me as usurious – given that taxpayers in Volusia County, and the City of Daytona Beach, collectively bankrolled the project to the tune of $40 million in public funds.

The fee isn’t limited to One Daytona – you will experience similar money grabs at the Port Orange Pavilion – and the tax-supported Tanger Outlets.  As I understand it, the fees could remain in place for the next 100 years.

Apparently, it’s the ‘new normal.’   Get used to being screwed to the wall.

In an essay entitled, “Does it ever end?” – I posed the question, “When does a “public/private partnership” turn into a victimization – a parasitic exsanguination of the very people who were previously tapped to fund a private project with hard-earned tax dollars?”  

While I have a sideways opinion on just about everything, I’m the first to admit that I don’t have all the answers.

Not by a long shot.

In fact, I’m a guy with a solid 8^th grade education (while I graduated from Seabreeze High School, my formative years are a blur of malted hops and barleycorn) – not to mention the fact that I am, at my core, an East Tennessee hillbilly – born in the shadow of the Appalachian Mountains – which means I am too stupid to take money, and too prideful to shut up when getting along and going along would serve me better.

If you haven’t already, I encourage you to read Seth Robbins’ outstanding exposé, “Fee Frenzy – Customers pay the price as private fees pop up at 3 Volusia shopping complexes,” frontpage news today in the Daytona Beach News-Journal.    

In my view, Seth is one of the finest young reporters in the business – bright, instinctive and bulldog tenacious in the spirit of Old School investigative journalists.  He’s the real deal.

In this enlightening piece, Robbins has gotten to the kernel of an incredibly intricate issue, and crafted an important story into an informative vehicle even I can understand.

I only ask that you read the article critically, then form your own educated conclusions as to the true motivations of the players involved – especially the quibbling “I know no-thing!” Sergeant Shultz-like explanation of our factually challenged County Manager Jim Dinneen.

Look, I don’t take issue with the extremely skillful attorneys who work hard in the best interest of their clients.  I understand the need of publicly traded companies to use available legislation to craft these weird hybrids, euphemistically known as “P-3’s,” and facilitate other quasi-public financing schemes – measures which can salve the concerns of stockholders by ensuring high returns with low risk.

I get it. That’s the job a good lawyer is paid well to accomplish.

However, I still believe that just because something is legal, doesn’t necessarily make it right.

In fact, under Rick Scott’s administration, most of the environmental and pro-development “regulations” and incentives coming out of Tallahassee would curl your hair. . .

My problem remains with the issue of local government’s continued meddling in what should be a free, open and fair marketplace – time-after-time providing millions in public funds to underwrite the private endeavors of those uber-wealthy members of the Donor Class seeking a return on investment for massive campaign contributions to the avaricious politicians who ultimately approve these lucrative subsidies.

I was proud to contribute my thoughts to the News-Journal as they expose this increasingly prevalent scheme – often without the knowledge of shoppers who patronize these venues.

I still believe that commercial, for-profit developments that are underwritten by massive infusions of public funds, tax breaks and infrastructure subsidies create a lopsided playing field in a very tight market – providing an unfair advantage that most small businesses and entrepreneurs who form the backbone of an economy do not have equal access to.

In my view, that’s wrong.

As the Canadian comic and politician Greg Malone put it, P3’s should be called “P-12’s” – “Public-Private Partnerships to Plunder the Public Purse to Pursue Policies of Peril to People and the Planet for all Posterity.”

 Please find Seth Robbins’ excellent piece here:

http://www.news-journalonline.com/news/20180331/customers-pay-price-as-private-fees-pop-up-at-3-volusia-shopping-complexes

 My full interview can be found here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NtJ4C1VZG54&feature=youtu.be

Here’s wishing all members of the loyal and intrepid Barker’s View tribe a very joyous Easter and Passover.

May God bless your home and family with peace and happiness, today and always.

 

 

 

 

 

Hi, Kids!

You know what time it is?

That’s right – it’s Friday Funday here at Barker’s View HQ!

Time to play our little game I like to call, “What the Hell?”

As always, our friends at the Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Regional Chamber of Commerce and our “Rich & Powerful” upper crust ensconced high atop their gated ivory tower over at the CEO Business Alliance are welcome to play along!

Come on, it’ll be Wide. Open. Fun!

For those who haven’t played with us before, the rules are simple – study the photograph below and take a wild-ass guess if the scene depicted is: A. The Kolomoyskyi Wall separating Ukraine and Russia?  B. The Joint Security Area at Panmunjom? or C. The World’s Most Famous Beach?

Take your time. . .

(Cue the final Jeopardy theme music.)

If you selected the horrific phalanx of chemically-treated utility poles that Volusia County officials jetted into the sand this week, making good on their promise to create a semi-private beach behind the Hard Rock Hotel – further ruining the natural aesthetics of OUR beach and forever removing OUR century-old tradition of beach driving from another 410 linear feet of the strand – give yourself a Gold Star!

Yep – our elected and appointed corporate shills on the dais of power in DeLand concluded the pernicious pact with their cronies at Summit Hospitality and shut down the beach on Monday, despite the fact that renovation of the notorious former Desert Inn wasn’t nearly complete on February 28^th as required by ordinance.

Does ignoring the obvious unfinished construction and operational deficiencies, then accepting Hard Rock International’s quibbling “certification” that, “. . .upon opening the operation of the hotel, will meet Hard Rock International’s” brand standards, rather than confirming the legal requirement that all conditions set forth in the performance guarantee have been met, with the specific intent to ensure the special benefit of a traffic free beach for the developer, meet the statutory definition of official misconduct?

I don’t know.  I’m asking.

Yet, our state’s ethics apparatus stands idle – with it’s thumb firmly planted in its ass – while the foul smell of corrupt intent wafts on the sea breeze.

Go figure.

Thanks for playing along!

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 see who tried to screw us – and who tried to save us – during the week that was:

Angel:            Don Gaetz

Former Senate president Don Gaetz, who is now a member of Florida’s Constitution Revision Commission, recently sponsored an amendment that would strengthen what currently passes for government “ethics” rules in Florida’s morally bankrupt Halls of Power.

If passed by voters, the new rules would bar legislators, the governor and Cabinet members from lobbying any state agency for six years after leaving office.  The ban would also regulate local officials – to include a measure barring them from using their office to obtain a “disproportionate benefit” for themselves, their business, family members and friends.

Sound familiar?

My hope is that the new rules include governor appointees, public university trustees and anyone else who wheedles their way into positions of power based upon their ability to pay – or demonstrates an ethical flexibility many of our political insiders find so attractive, and lucrative.

Now, there’s a constitutional amendment we can all support!

Asshole:          County of Volusia

A decade after signing agreements creating a commuter rail service – contracts which were excruciatingly short on specifics (like how we were going to pay for it over time?) and long on financial obligations for the citizens of Volusia County – our elected and appointed dullards in DeLand are scrambling to have those commitments amended before they get caught out.

Unfortunately, Volusia County officials command about as much respect from the Florida Department of Transportation and members of the SunRail Commission as they do from their own constituents.

Zilch.

Back in those heady days when Congressman John Mica was sitting on top of the world in Washington, and federal transportation funding for east Central Florida was almost a foregone conclusion, county officials were swooning over all the wonderful “possibilities” SunRail would bring countywide.

Damn the consequences, “We want one!”

There was big talk of ultimately connecting Daytona Beach with the Orlando International Airport, and a scheme was devised to backdoor a transportation oriented development near the Debary station – that is, until smart residents pointed out that the depot was built near the Gemini Springs annex, an environmentally sensitive wetland that is now protected in perpetuity.

Now, John Mica is out-to-pasture, plans for extending rail service to DeLand have derailed (pun intended), state and federal transportation funds have evaporated into the ether and Volusia County’s portion of the multi-million dollar bill is coming home to roost in three short years.

In my view, it’s just one reason our elected officials are falling all over themselves in a desperate attempt to ramrod the proposed half-cent sales tax increase least all their rotten eggs hatch at once, leaving them short on funds for transportation infrastructure improvements to meet rapidly increasing demands in east Volusia – on top of the SunRail nut they are contractually obligated to pay.

It’s a sticky wicket, as they say – kind of like County Manager Jim Dinneen’s pathetic lack of strategic planning has once again painted us all into the corner of a very large room.

Last week, our own elected Rip Van Winkle, County Councilman “Sleepy” Pat Patterson – our representative to the SunRail Commission – got his knickers in a twist when it became clear that he is being openly ignored and snickered at by everyone who is anyone in Florida’s transportation apparatus.

According to the Daytona Beach News-Journal, in late January, Sleepy Pat traveled to Tallahassee to give Florida Secretary of Transportation, Mike Dew, a piece of his feeble mind – only to find out that the Secretary intentionally blew him off and was a no-show at the meeting.

Apparently, Secretary Dew had other pressing issues to deal with – like washing his hair. . .

During the “meeting,” Mr. Dew’s toadies at FDOT brushed Patterson off like the inconsequential gnat he is – telling him to take his silly-ass problems to someone who cares – like the commuter rail commission.

Still deluding himself that Volusia County is relevant to the discussion between the real players – like Orange County and the City of Orlando – Councilman Patterson whined the blues last week in the News-Journal lamenting his dyspepsia over Volusia’s inability to crawfish on the original agreements:

“I went to Tallahassee and came back unhappy and ill at the same time,” Patterson said later. He suggested sending a letter “requesting, asking, begging” that the amendments to its contract, approved by the council in February 2017, be on the agenda for the SunRail Commission’s meeting. . .”

It appears no matter how much our weaponized county attorney, Dan Eckert, huffs-n-puffs or rattles his saber – the heavy hitters in Central Florida’s mass transit scene can’t be bullied – or bothered – by this ant on the elephant’s ass.

As Committee Chair Bob Dallari put it, “It’s just not all about Volusia.”

In my view, the long-suffering taxpayers of Volusia County are getting yet another behind-the-curtain view of just how inept and ineffectual our compromised county government has become.

It seems to me, when it comes to strategic planning, future budget allocations and building cooperative relationships with funding and regulatory agencies – you know, the very role of an effective county administrator – Volusia County continues to fail miserably.

Consistently, We, The People, get the short shrift.

If it doesn’t involve the direct transfer of public funds to the private projects of political insiders, our elected officials and senior staff are like a rudderless ship of fools – utterly clueless to the needs of their constituents – even as they continue to rubber stamp massive growth and spending without any reasonable way to pay for it – beyond shackling every man, woman and child with an even greater tax burden.

Clearly, it’s time to put Sleepy Pat to bed.

Let him get some much needed rest from his desperate attempts to pull us all from the financial quagmire he helped create and elect a replacement who can restore a sense of mutual respect and collegiality between Volusia County and our regional transportation partners.

In the meantime, I’m just glad to see our elected and appointed officials on the dais of power in DeLand getting a touch of the maddening frustration their constituents feel every time they are forced to deal with their obstinate and indifferent county government.

Asshole:          Geosam Capital U.S. & The State of Florida

In a scene that repeats itself all too often, developers are conducting something akin to slash-and-burn operations in Southeast Volusia – a dreadful process whereby forested land is clear-cut, and the resulting waste burned in large piles.

Why?

Because the State of Florida allows this dangerous and environmentally questionable practice which permits developers to turn massive tracts of land into a moonscape in a very short period of time.

Apparently, incinerating the spoils on-site is the most efficient method of clearing our quickly diminishing pine scrub, timberland and wildlife habitat to make way for even more cookie cutter homes and half-empty strip centers.

And because those corporate shills in the Halls of Power throughout the Sunshine State never seem to learn from the mistakes of the past.

To the contrary, rather than control growth, ensure that housing inventory does not exceed demand and enact strong regulations to protect our sensitive wetlands and water recharge areas, our elected and appointed officials are blinded by dollar signs dancing around their pointy heads – the potential taxes generated from a growth spurt not seen since the Great Recession – and, trust me, they intend to make hay while the sun shines.

If that requires clear cutting and burning the entire spine of east Volusia County – so be it.

On Wednesday, contractors clearing land for Geosam Capital’s “Coastal Woods” development allowed a brush pile they were burning to get away from them.

The Coastal Woods project (an oxymoronic name, given that the woods are actively being deforested) is a residential and commercial development near Pioneer Trail and Interstate 95 in New Smyrna – another “planned” community which will ultimately bring some 1,250+ homes and a “major shopping venue” as New Smyrna quickly transmogrifies from a successfully quaint seaside community into a morass of sprawl and unchecked western growth.

The resulting wildfire ultimately burned over 200 surrounding acres and closed I-95 to an estimated 40,000 vehicles, diverting commerce and travel for nearly 18-hours.

Of course, fingers were pointing in all directions as Geosam apologized to terrified residents from New Smyrna to Port Orange who were threatened by the blaze – all while reminding everyone that it was the Forest Service who issued the burn permit.

Why a government entity would issue a burn authorization on one of the windiest days of Florida’s Spring Wildfire Season is yet to be answered – but I think I know why a contractor would ignore the extremely dry conditions and set a fire anyway:  Because clearing land is what Geosam paid them to do – and, after all, time is money. 

I applaud the City of New Smyrna for having what Mayor Jim Hathaway described in the Daytona Beach News-Journal as a “Come to Jesus meeting” with Geosam Capital – I hope it results in positive change – but I doubt it.

In my view, once developers get their hands on a piece of property – wild horses couldn’t stop them from leveling it, filling it and building even more hideous zero lot line cracker boxes designed to wring maximum profit from the least expensive materials and construction methods possible.

It is what’s become of the American Dream in coastal Central Florida.

Welcome to Volusia County – now, get comfortable drinking your own sewerage.

Angel:             Volusia County Collegiate Women’s Basketball Teams

From the Barker’s View Sports Desk – let’s take a minute to recognize the combined 85-40 record of all four local women’s college basketball teams – Stetson, Bethune-Cookman University, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and Daytona State College!

This season, ERAU made the NCAA Division II tournament for the first time in program history, while Bethune-Cookman’s Lady Wildcats won their third regular season MEAC title and made the Women’s National Invitation Tournament.

Stetson made post-season play for the 8^th straight year while Daytona State College went 20-10 for the season.

Congratulations, ladies!  You make us all very proud!

Quote of the Week:

“I’m not in favor of how they look at all.  There is no way we are going to have a 10-foot tide.  I’m not happy.  I’m going to be questioning staff on the height.”

–Volusia County Councilwoman Billie Wheeler, yammering in the Daytona Beach News-Journal regarding the horrific appearance of the utility poles county contractors placed to block traffic and create a semi-private beach behind the Hard Rock Hotel in Daytona Beach.

Hey, Billie – save your mealy-mouthed indignation over the height and aesthetics of this hideous barrier you voted to erect as a backhanded incentive to Summit Hospitality – while ignoring the needs and wants of your constituents and the visitors we spend mightily to attract.

No one wants to hear your faux-outrage – or more of your damnable bald-faced lies that anyone in Volusia County government will ever be held accountable for their acts and omissions.

We, The People, know better.

You are a shameless shill for corporate interests and those of your political benefactors – nothing more – and you should be ashamed of yourself.

It’s high time that you, and your fellow conniving chattel on the council, come to the sobering realization that you have forever lost the faith and trust of those you were elected to represent.

And Another Thing!

“I think the entire community is so well served by having a Hard Rock, we should be happy and supportive of having it here. . .”

Our doddering fool of a County Chair, Ed Kelley, trying his level best to convince himself – and his astonished constituents – that eliminating our century-old heritage of beach driving from more of the strand in exchange for a goofy “theme” hotel is something we should be “happy and supportive” of.

Really?

Who needs a corporate marketing department when you have this addle-brained shithead – who accepts public funds to serve in the public interest – sitting in the county chairman’s seat openly flogging the Hard Rock brand.

Old Ed is like some pathetic victim of a perseverative disorder, maundering the same thoughts and phrases over-and-over again – all while stuck on stupid – oblivious to the true needs and wants of Volusia’s long-suffering residents.

How tragic.

That’s all for me.

Have a Happy Easter, everyone!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Another piece of our heritage died today.

Our “Rich & Powerful” political insiders – the paymasters who shamelessly purchase the souls of cheap political whores with malleable ethics and massive egos, and strategically ignore the base ineptitude of an out-of-control county administrator, to further their own self-serving goals – have taken away another 410 linear feet of beach driving in their horribly failed strategy of “incentivizing” the one amenity that made the Daytona Beach Resort Area unique.

This morning at 5:00am, under cover of darkness and the personal supervision of Beach Chief Ray Manchester, a series of hideous chemically-treated poles were driven into the sand behind the slapdash Hard Rock Hotel – completing the pernicious pact between Summit Hospitality, Hard Rock International and their elected corporate shills in DeLand.

I am often asked by well-meaning people “how does this happen, Barker?”

My best answer is – the uber-rich power brokers who have seized control of our government accomplish this by appearing before their elected Muppets on the dais of power in DeLand – as J. Hyatt Brown did when this sinister scheme was hatched way back in the spring of 2015 – or funnel secret directions through their utterly compromised bag man, County Manager Jim Dinneen – instructing their chattel to hand over more of our limited beach access in exchange for dubious promises from the speculative developer du jour.

Then, when grassroots advocates like Sons of the Beach, attempt to challenge these despotic edicts from on high – they are blocked by lawsuits filed by weaponized county attorneys (using our own money) to silence any opposition or legal arguments.

Invariably, a jumbled appellate court process determines that the long-suffering taxpayers of Volusia County, who are increasingly asked to pay-up and shut-up, have no “standing.”

As I have written before, under this bastardized oligarchy we call governance in Volusia County, We, The People, no longer have standing in much of anything – except, of course, when it comes to footing the bill for a new “synergistic” shopping center for ISC or subsidizing a ten-story phallic monument to Hyatt Brown’s self-importance – oh, and to serve the dual purpose as headquarters for his billionaire insurance company.

Our elected officials have given tens-of-millions in tax incentives, infrastructure improvements and other inducements to these slimy puppet masters and a slew of itinerant developers – and this morning, they made good on their “inducement” to a gaudy “theme” hotel built on the bones of the haunted Desert Inn Hotel – a place that will forever remain notorious for the atrocities against children that were committed within – when they drove a phalanx of ugly utility poles into the sand and blocked vehicular access forever.

In May 2015, in a piece entitled “A sad day for Volusia County,” I wrote a prophetic line has finally come home to roost:

“We are now at the cold mercy of these goddamned grifters – smug shitheels in expensive suits and Gucci loafers who play with other people’s money and openly fuck with our beachside lifestyle.  And when they go belly-up – as they always do (just ask Bray & Gillespie, remember them?) – we are left holding the bag as they trot back to South Florida, Canada or Russia.” 

It’s cold comfort to say I told you so – but, welcome to our future.

The fact is, we are in the grip of a system so abominably corrupt that it may well be impossible to correct without outside intervention.

Apparently, those who are paid to monitor, detect and investigate the conduct, integrity and ethics of sitting public officials are asleep at the switch – or have been equally co-opted by those with a permanent place at the public tit – despicably complicit by their inaction in a ruse to monetize our public beach, manipulate our system of governance and alienate the many to feed the ravenous greed of a few.

That “ill wind” I talked about so many months ago continues to blow across Volusia County – and on it is the foul stench of quid pro quo public corruption and corporate gluttony.

I still believe in my heart that we are better than this – that we fundamentally deserve fair and equal treatment under the law and basic representation by those we elect to protect our interests.

I also believe that there remains one fundamental mechanism which, if used properly, will allow us to prevail over the self-serving insiders and well-heeled Donor Class that seem intent on shitting on our century-old heritage and handing the right to the traditional use of OUR beach to outside interests and speculators for backdoor personal enrichment:

It is the ultimate power of the ballot box.

 I like to humor myself into believing that we still have some fragments of a democratic process remaining – like the sacred tradition that permits one person, one vote.

I believe that if enough like-minded citizens hold firm to the basic belief that we can control our destiny by electing strong, ethical and visionary members of our community to high office – servant/leaders who will tell powerful self-interests to go fuck themselves, and stand firm in defense of the rights, responsibilities and privileges of taxpaying residents who work hard to carve out a life here on Florida’s Fun Coast – we can once again balance political power and restore transparency, fairness and the spirit of democracy in Volusia County government.

 

 

 

“Oh, somewhere in the favored land the sun is shining bright;

 The band is playing somewhere, and somewhere hearts are light,

 And somewhere men are laughing, and somewhere children shout;

 But there is no joy in Mudville – mighty Casey has struck out.” 

–Earnest Lawrence Thayer

 

I wanted to be wrong.  I really did.

Last summer, when what became known as the “Grippa Committee” was charged by the Volusia County Council with developing a comprehensive revitalization strategy for the Halifax area’s struggling beachside, I wrote an unfortunate prediction about the group’s ultimate efficacy:

“Set your watch – I’m going on the record right now:  The much ballyhooed “Tony Grippa Beachside Redevelopment Committee” will have absolutely no substantive impact on the future stability and revitalization of our long-suffering beachside and core tourist areas.”

Look, I hate to say I told you so.

As I’ve previously written, part of the fallout from the Daytona Beach News-Journal’s embarrassingly accurate exposé, “Tarnished Jewel” – an outstanding investigative series which examined decades of government ineptitude, blight and stagnation on Daytona’s beachside – was that our elected and appointed officials in Volusia County formed the Beachside Redevelopment Committee, comprised of our “best and brightest” minds from the public and private sectors, with a clear mandate to formulate a workable solution to the festering squalor that is our core tourist area.

The group – lead by the very capable former Brown & Brown senior executive Tony Grippa – was, in my view, a bit unwieldy in its composition, but I suppose that was necessary to accommodate all the right last names and give at least the visual impression that all local interests were covered.

They were heavy-hitters – people like Consolidated Tomoka’s John Albright, Dr. Kent Sharples of the CEO Business Alliance and, perhaps the most powerfully connected of all, Ms. Maryam Ghyabi, representing the House of Hossieni – among other notables.

Real ‘Movers & Shakers.’

I felt the most important members of this committee – the only ones with institutional knowledge of the serious issues facing our most precious natural amenity – were long-time beach advocate Paul Zimmerman, and Dave LaMotte, a businessman who has carved out a living on the beachside for many years.

Unfortunately, at the group’s introductory meeting, Mr. Grippa put Zimmerman and LaMotte in their place by explaining the committee’s mandate required that they “steer away from beach issues.” 

Specifically, Mr. Grippa announced, “Beach management is not within the purview of the committee.  Certain issues have kept the community from developing.  Let’s start with things that can bring the community together,” as a choir softly sang Kumbaya in the background.

Once those words were uttered, many of us saw the handwriting on the wall.

The fact is, one simply cannot separate Volusia County’s horribly failed beach management policy from the deteriorating social, economic and physical conditions on the peninsula.

We have arrived at a place where locals and visitors are required to pay a duty of $20.00 per day for vehicular access to our public beach, the areas century-old draw of beach driving is under direct attack by speculative developers with a profit motive, and our power brokers refuse to acknowledge their failed strategy of a “panacea project” while some 213 beachside properties sit vacant or dilapidated.

It has dissolved into a weird, totally opaque and secretive policy, with whispers of a mysterious “Boardwalk extension,” and scary stories of expiring federal permits and environmental conditions which will conspire to finally remove cars and turn the strand into a semi-private amenity for even more gaudy “theme” hotels.

Given the make-up and mandate of the Grippa Group, like many of you, I came to have high hopes that – if any group could affect positive change, provide effective leadership and identify specific solutions – it was this impressive assembly of strength and power.

Then – Superman, meet bureaucratic Kryptonite.

In my view, things hit the skids for the committee when Volusia County’s Director of Growth & Resource Management, Clay Ervin, was tapped to compile the report.

The fact is, when dealing with government – “staff” can make you, or break you.

As a former shameless government bureaucrat, I suspect Mr. Ervin’s overriding concern from the inception of this committee was in crafting the final report in a manner that avoided any possible responsibility and sidestepped all accountability for himself, his department or the elected and appointed officials who provide what passes for oversight in Volusia County government.  Period.

Of course, that requires the masterful use of vagaries and non-substantive governmentese – jargon such as, “expanding opportunities,” and “determining feasibility” – malleable, nonsensical terms that say nothing and mean nothing.

So, after 10-months of wasted time and motion, I have listed here the (proposed) recommendations expected from our Blue Ribbon committee:

1. Expand the opportunities to make the beach a year-round destination for all visitors.
2. Utilize prior redevelopment efforts to determine the feasibility and viability of new efforts to attract the type of redevelopment targeted by the individual cities (Daytona Beach, Daytona Beach Shores and Ormond Beach).
3. Improve the coordination among the cities and Volusia County in order to efficiently and effectively maximize revenue opportunities that benefit the entire county.
4. Improve the perception of the entire region, with a focus on a variety of residential, recreational, cultural and entertainment opportunities in the area.
5. Protect and enhance the existing residential neighborhoods that make Volusia County unique.
6. Provide for effective use of grants, fund transfers and other funding sources to install and update critical infrastructure at the right time and at the right place, in order to spur targeted redevelopment.
7. Create the vital link between the mainland and the beachside so that a “live-work-play” sense of place can be used to attract quality targeted industries to the area.

Well, there you have it.

You can read the rest of the pap and fluff Mr. Ervin whipped into the mix – bureaucratic bullshit that is completely devoid of depth, substance or specifics on the Volusia County website.

Transformative?  Hardly.

Visionary?  My ass.

Where are the funding sources and entrepreneurial investment strategies?

Where are the names of the planners, developers and investors identified by the committee who have successfully turned around other similarly situated resort areas?

Where are the management priorities for the specific, targeted projects we were expecting?

At the end of the day – I am truly saddened to say – absolutely nothing was accomplished, with the exception that poor Tony Grippa has now become the face of one more miserably failed attempt to revitalize our core tourist area and save us from ourselves.

Instead, our fervent hope for substantive change has been replaced with another worthless “See, we did something” political insulation report that will collect dust in County Manager Jim Dinneen’s already groaning library of consultant reports, master plans and “recommendations.”

Perhaps the Grippa Report can bookend the 2011 tourism study wherein the Volusia County Council paid $100,000 to an out-of-state consultant to conduct a review which concluded that our beachside “tourism product” was a serious impediment to attracting visitors and economic development, “…there is no “plan” for who is leading the effort and how these challenges can be improved.”

 “Without resources – leadership and economic – the overall tourism experience in Volusia County will decline.  An overall collaborative strategy is needed.”   

 Ah, there’s that “Leadership and Vision” thing again. . .

 Sorry, guys – we’re doomed.

The Mighty Grippa has struck out.

 

(Photo Credit: The Daytona Beach News-Journal)

 

 

 

Hi, Kids!

Thanks for joining me once again as we end our week with a bumpy hayride through this sandy political wilderness we call home here on Florida’s Fun Coast.

I thought we might have some Wide. Open. Fun. with a quick round of a little game I like to call, “What the Hell?”

For those who haven’t played with us before, the rules are relatively simple – study the photograph below and take a wild-ass guess if the scene depicted is:  A. The desolate surface of the Comet Kohoutek, B. A criminal logging camp in the deforested Amazon basin, or C. Granada Boulevard in Ormond Beach?

Take your time. . .

If you recognized the environmental abattoir at Granada Boulevard and Tomoka Avenue – a muddy moonscape where developers have churned old-growth forest into a barren wasteland to make way for a brand new WaWa – give yourself a Gold Star!

Now that our powers-that-be have approved residential and commercial developments spanning the entire spine of east Volusia County – and continue to relax environmental protections allowing speculative developers to pave over sensitive lands (what the State of Florida callously calls “unavoidable wetland impacts”) by purchasing credits in a help-here-hurt-there “mitigation bank” scheme – you’ll be seeing more of this wholesale destruction as our limited greenspace is turned into green dollars for all the right last names.

Thanks for playing along!

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 see who tried to screw us – and who tried to save us – during the week that was:

Asshole:          Volusia County Council

Fear can make people do funny things.

When politicians find themselves on the wrong side a thorny issue – such as attempting to force a dubious sales tax increase down the throats of a constituency who just watched in frozen horror as those same politicians gifted nearly $15.5 million in public funds to a billionaire insurance intermediary to subsidize a new office building – they get nervous.

And they should.

In a representative democracy, there should be a political cost for squandering public funds and acting contrary to the needs, wants and rights of the electorate.

So, they begin looking for insulation from the voter backlash they know is coming.

Now that our elected officials in each of Volusia’s 16 municipalities have followed the edict of those self-serving quadrillionaire’s over at the CEO Business Alliance and resolved to support the county’s half-cent money grab – the majority of our elected marionettes on the County Council are demanding that the cities grovel before the Dais of Power in DeLand and formally beg the Monarchs to put the initiative on the ballot this fall.

Say what?

During a recent meeting, the incomparably arrogant Councilwoman Deb Denys said, “I don’t think it’s asking too much to ask those entities who have skin in the game to appear before the council and make the request as a unified group.  Without a unified approach – we do not send a unified message.  I’m expecting to see a full chamber – I won’t do it without everybody.” 

My ass you won’t.

Trust me, nothing – and I mean nothing – could keep this tax increase from being sent to the voters in November.

I know it.  You know it.  And Deb knows it.

Let the record show that I, for one – as a long-suffering, tax-strapped resident of Volusia County – openly Double-Dog-Dare Deb Denys to make good on her promise to vote “No” on the half-cent sales tax increase if the cities refuse to crawl before her, and the other bought-and-paid-for tools she shares the dais with, in some bizarre display of “unity.”

Just when you thought these supercilious, morally bankrupt assholes couldn’t sink any lower – they reach whale turd depths by demanding that a representative from each municipality bow their heads and parade before them, hat in hand, like the slavish vassals they have become, to demonstrate lock-step support for further shackling every resident and visitor of the third highest taxed county in Florida.

I also find it troubling that South Daytona City Manager Joe Yarborough – the longest serving manager in Volusia County – who coordinated this tax sham with the other municipalities –  acquiesced to this bullshit and agreed to debase his city council, and the residents of his community, by supporting this repugnant pageant of fealty to Volusia County?

According to Mr. Yarborough, while he does not believe an envoy from every city needs to prostrate themselves before their Emperors – he does think it important that the county council know there is “solidarity” among the cities.

Wait?  Isn’t that what the resolutions were for?

Perhaps Joe got caught off-guard by the brazenness of the demand – or maybe he doesn’t have the testicular fortitude to speak truth to power – but Mr. Yarborough missed a golden opportunity to put county council members on notice that the municipalities don’t intend to curtsy and beg.

As a former municipal mayor, even our doddering fool of a County Chair, Ed Kelley, found this one difficult to swallow – murmuring that he didn’t see the need for a cringingly long boot-licking session where city officials will be required to bow their heads, kneel and beseech, “Please raise the sales tax on every man, woman and child in my community!  I beg you my liege!   

According to Old Ed, “. . .to tell them if they don’t show up and beg us to put it on (the ballot), we aren’t going to put it on — I think that’s just a little overboard.”

More than that – it’s a damnable lie.

To show how much respect Ed Kelley commands from his fellow elected officials, term-limited Councilwoman Joyce Cusack coldly told the addled old bugger to stay in his lane, and “pick his battles.” 

I’m sure Chairman Kelley promptly stuck his thumb in his mouth and did as he was told.

My hope is that our municipal officials will search around the dusty corners of their various City Hall’s and find what’s left of their dignity – then reject this garish display of sycophantic groveling before their masters in DeLand.

In the past few days I have spoken with several elected officials from cities around Volusia County, each of whom find the Volusia County Council’s directive ordering them to sit-up and beg like a cur dog whimpering for a table scrap to be wholly inappropriate – and disrespectful to the citizens of the independently incorporated communities they serve.

My hope is that on the appointed day, not one elected or appointed municipal official appears before the county council – sending a unified message that under no circumstances will they kiss the collective ass of those arrogant shitheads sitting smugly on the Dais of Power in DeLand.

Asshole:          Hard Rock International

Maybe you read my little ditty about this earlier in the week, maybe you didn’t – but effective next month, Hard Rock International will shutter its corporate headquarters in Orlando – a move marked by the layoffs of nearly 200 central Florida employees.

According to a statement issued in September, “Hard Rock International . . . will move staff headquarters from Orlando to South Florida, joining forces with ownership, the Seminole Tribe of Florida, and The Seminole Gaming organization.  The opportunity to combine the world-class talent of all three companies will create an even more powerful organization.” 

At the time, insiders reported that the real reason for the move is that Hard Rock intends to focus almost exclusively on the gaming side of the house, now that casino operations dominate.

Who knows.

Eventually, even a dull-normal rube like me understands that when it comes to corporate press releases and brand marketing in what passes for the “hospitality” industry – rarely is the truth considered or incorporated into the “spin” sold to the public.

They’re kind of like Volusia County government in that regard.

For instance, last month, when Hard Rock International was scrambling to certify their languishing Daytona franchise in time to secure the county-offered “incentive” of the complete removal of our heritage of beach driving behind the hotel, the company quibbled that the property, “…will meet Hard Rock International’s aforementioned brand standards and franchise requirements…”

Then, they pencil-whipped the legally required guarantee – and Volusia County officials accepted it – even though everyone could see the on-going construction, substandard condition of the external seawall, crumbling support posts and a forest of jack-stands in the parking garage.

Now, anecdotal reports are that the hotel is using nearly half of our “public” parking lot south of the property for employees and valet service – completely defeating the stated purpose of replacing vehicular access with “off-beach” parking – thus securing the semi-private strand we all knew was coming.

(Can’t say I blame them, I wouldn’t want to park in that rickety subterranean garage either. . .)

Within days a phalanx of ugly wooden utility poles will be driven into the sand behind the Hard Rock and adorned with officious signage notifying beach-goers of the traffic-free beach.

Once that happens, the pernicious pact between Summit Hospitality, Hard Rock International and their elected corporate shills will be complete.

We, The People, lost.  Get used to it.

If it’s any consolation, we never had a chance anyway.

When the rules are written, interpreted and enforced by the same corrupt system that ignores the needs and wants of taxpaying residents in favor of the speculative developer du jour – or the selfish whims of powerful political insiders – the outcome is a foregone conclusion.

Angel:             City of Daytona Beach

Kudos to the Daytona Beach City Commission for finally getting off their collective ass and expanding areas in which tattoo artists can set up shop – to include appropriate locations on our beleaguered beachside, a place in desperate need of new businesses and revitalization.

Only Ruth “Grandma” Trager voted to oppose the move.

In my view, this represents a progressive move by Daytona Beach officials – one that I hope will encourage entrepreneurial investment in places like North Ridgewood Avenue and the comatose Main Street Redevelopment Area.

In my experience, when bureaucrats step out of the way of commerce and permit the marketplace to naturally function as it was designed, incredible things can happen.

Government intrusion, regulation and the “public/private partnerships” (Read: Cronyism) that pick winners and losers through the infusion of public funds into private endeavors only serves to create an artificial economy, totally dependent on handouts and exorbitant fees/taxes to survive long-term.

As I’ve previously written, tattoo parlors have come a long way – with many artists transforming empty commercial spaces into beautifully appointed establishments serving a diverse client base.

In other business, this week the mayor and city commissioners discussed civic priorities – an exercise in utter futility that many local governments engage in each spring.

These lofty goals include opening the First Step shelter (yawn – excuse me), some semblance of code enforcement to combat the abject blight and squalor that continues to eat away at the very social and economic fabric of the beachside and finally doing something with East ISB (again, excuse me, I just shot coffee out of my nose, weird), and a few other ambitious objectives that I can’t recall right now. . .

Time will tell.

But I’ll bet anyone of reasonably sane mind a Donnie’s doughnut that the East ISB “gateway” will be in the exact same deplorable condition on March 24, 2019 as it is today.

Any takers?

Chicken.

Angel:             Sons of the Beach

I think many would be surprised by the diversity of views held by the people with whom I regularly correspond, or sit down with over a beer, to discuss the issues of the day.

Some are considered arch enemies of beach driving – even a few staunch advocates for rapid growth and development – many with viewpoints diametrically opposed to my own on subjects ranging from campaign finance to beach access and the abysmal state of Volusia County government.

Invariably, during our discussions we find many points where we vehemently disagree, but often we discover that there are other areas where we are of like mind – such as, we all want a better life for our children, our love for the many wonderful attributes of the Halifax area, or even shared personal and recreational interests that transcend the adversarial nature of politics.

In my view, we share the same space and environment, and it is important that we come together as neighbors and learn from one another – regardless of beliefs, opinions or affiliations.

As a member of the Barker’s View tribe, you already know that our century-old heritage of beach driving in Volusia County is under attack by speculative developers, entrenched political insiders and the elected representatives they control.

Within days, another 410 linear feet of the strand behind the Hard Rock Daytona will be closed to vehicular access.

Forever.

Since 1984, Sons of the Beach has been Florida’s premiere beach access advocacy, fighting hard to preserve our tradition of driving on the strand and the unique access it provides Volusia County residents and visitors.

Trust me – it’s not easy to stand nose-to-nose with a well-established power structure with the ability to influence public policy through financial relationships with hand-picked political candidates.

But there is a strange magic in numbers – especially when it comes to fighting for political change.

Are you a member of Sons of the Beach?

If you haven’t already, I encourage you to go to www.sonsofthebeach.org and sign up – its free (although donations are accepted through the website).  Once you’ve done that, simply print your membership card and know that your participation is helping to preserve beach access for generations to come.

It’s important.  Now, more than ever.

I’m asking everyone who reads Barker’s View – whether you agree with my goofy screeds or not – to please join me this Sunday, March 25^th, for the Sons of the Beach Fundraiser at Crabby Joe’s Deck and Grill, 3701 South Atlantic Avenue, Daytona Beach Shores – on the Sunglow Pier.

It will be great to meet everyone and enjoy a cold beverage together at one of the most scenic locations in the Halifax area.

Most important, it provides an opportunity to be with some nice, civic-minded people with a true passion for preserving our most precious natural amenity.

The event will be held from 1:00pm to 4:00pm and will feature live music by Jeff and the Sons of the Beach Band, legal updates on pending legislation and SOB suits and planning information on the upcoming Hard Rock protest challenging Volusia County’s giveaway of our tradition of beach driving behind the hotel.

While you’re there, please participate in raffles for awesome door prizes, the 50/50 drawing and grab a new SOB T-shirt and other cool swag just in time for summer!

All proceeds go to support the Sons of the Beach Legal Team as they work hard to protect OUR RIGHT to beach access in Volusia County.

I look forward to seeing everyone Sunday afternoon!

Quote of the Week:

“People tend to think that we override everyone. I think some of the council members are concerned that without that showing (of support), it looks like the council is taking on a council initiative to put this on.”  (Daytona Beach News-Journal, March 21, 2018)

–County Manager Jim Dinneen speaking to Chairman Ed Kelley in a weird attempt at reality orientation, describing to the confused Chair what others in the big room were doing – and gently explaining the meaning of the various sounds, shapes and events happening around him during the March 20^th Volusia County Council meeting in DeLand.

Hey, Jimmy – where would we get the idea that Volusia County government rides roughshod over anyone and everything that gets in their way – including their own constituents? 

That’s crazy talk. . .

I’m told Mr. Dinneen was later observed placing an Easter Bunny bib around Chairman Kelley’s neck and spoon-feeding him what appeared to be a foul-smelling bowl of steaming horse manure; however, Mr. Dinneen quickly assured repulsed onlookers it was merely a healthy lunch of “political Pablum.”

And Another Thing!

A sincere Happy Birthday to The Daytona Beach News-Journal on their 135^th anniversary!

Have a great weekend, kids!

Hope to see everyone at Crabby Joe’s this Sunday!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I think most people who are still paying attention have come to the realization that our elected officials on the Volusia County Council aren’t the “best and brightest” we have to offer.

Not by a long shot.

But they know how to take direction, and their malleable situational ethics combine with a high opinion of themselves to make them the perfect tools for the uber-wealthy political insiders who manipulate public policy through the infusion of massive campaign contributions into local elections – and by providing political protection for what passes for county management.

When I began this experiment in alternative opinion blogging, one of my first sorties into county politics was an aptly headed piece entitled, “Qui Bono?” (Who Benefits?) expressing my frustration with Volusia County for its apparent inability to recognize that the base problem with the proposed half-cent sales tax initiative isn’t so much the tariff itself – everyone sees the need for transportation infrastructure – it is the fact that our elected and appointed officials in the county seat have lost basic credibility with their constituents.

I later updated my original screed when it became apparent this money grubbing tax wasn’t going away.

(Find it here: https://barkersview.org/2017/04/11/on-volusia-qui-bono-redux/ )

The bottom line is, We, The People, simply don’t trust them anymore.

And why should we?

Name one damned thing this clique of bought-and-paid-for political Muppets have done that would engender the confidence of their long-suffering constituents?

Go ahead, I’ll wait. . .

The fact is, time-and-time again, the members of the Volusia County Council have proven what they are – a rubber stamp for massive “economic development” incentives paid like clockwork to their wealthy campaign donors – spineless politicians (in the loosest sense of the word) who have no qualms about pissing backwards on campaign promises (remember your emotional assurance to NEVER vote to remove vehicles from behind the Hard Rock, Ms. Denys?  I do.)

Add to that the countless instances where our doddering fool of a County Chair, Ed Kelley, and his fellow elected dullards, have bent over, en masse, to accommodate the needs, wants and whims of yet another flimsy speculative developer by giving away the people’s century-old heritage of beach driving and access in exchange for a parking lot and another tasteless theme hotel.

Now that elected officials in all of Volusia’s 16 municipalities have followed the strict edict of those self-serving quadrillionaire’s over at the CEO Business Alliance and resolved to support the county’s half-cent cash snatch – the majority of our elected marionettes on the County Council are demanding that they grovel before the Dais of Power in DeLand and formally beg the Monarchy to put the initiative on the ballot this fall.

No shit.

(As though wild horses could keep Little Jimmy Dinneen from getting his obscene tax plan before the voters, right?)

Just when you thought these arrogant, morally bankrupt assholes couldn’t sink lower – they reached whale turd depths when they demanded that a representative from each city bow their heads and parade before them, hat in hand, like the slavish vassals they have become, to demonstrate lock-step support for strapping every man, woman and child of the third highest taxed county in Florida with an even heavier burden.

Why?

Because they were told to.  That’s why.

You see, the High Panjandrums of Political Power that call the shots here on the Fun Coast don’t limit their campaign contributions to just county elections – and if the cities want their share of the crumbs left after Volusia County takes the lion’s share – they will do as they are told and prostrate themselves before their superiors in a pathetic display of “solidarity.”

In my view, the ultimate goal of this shameless scam of a tax increase is to ensure that all the right last names have an even larger pool of our hard-earned cash from which to fund private projects, provide access to their mega-developments, or perhaps erect another phallic symbol to their own self-importance in the form of a glass and steel office building with their name at the top.

Disgusting.

I mean, the backroom deals and cream skimming has gotten so out-of-hand in Volusia County that we now need something they’re calling a “sales tax oversight advisory committee” to ensure that our elected officials follow the rules and spend transportation infrastructure funds as they were intended.

Jesus.  What are we becoming?

I find it interesting that South Daytona City Manager Joe Yarborough – the longest serving manager in Volusia County – who coordinated this tax sham with the other municipalities –  acquiesced to this bullshit and agreed to debase his city council, and the residents of his community, by supporting this repugnant pageant of fealty to Volusia County?

My hope is that our municipal officials will search around the dusty corners of their various City Hall’s and find what’s left of their civic pride and dignity – then reject this lurid display of sycophantic groveling before their masters in DeLand.

My God.  Show some fucking backbone.

In my view, this orchestrated display of kneeling before the King’s Court sets the wrong tone and further weakens the independence of the municipalities and their right to self-determination.

To any city official within earshot:

Show some pride, dammit.

I guarantee the act of kissing the county council’s collective ass in an open public meeting won’t convince one more long-suffering citizen of Volusia County – you know, your cash-strapped constituents who work hard at the menial scullery jobs available in our artificial economy – to support the pilferage of one more nickel for our Rich & Powerful overseers.

 

 

“Grassroots advocacy itself has the power to sway hearts and minds of elected officials, regulators and the media, tapping into public sentiment to feed itself and refresh its ranks with new activists that are unafraid to participate and anxious to contribute both in time and treasure to a cause in which they believe.”

 –Joshua Habursky and Mike Fulton, “The Future of Politics is Grassroots,” The Hill, March 2017

As an intrepid member of the Barker’s View tribe, you already know that our century-old heritage of beach driving in Volusia County is under attack by speculative developers, entrenched political insiders and the elected representatives they openly control.

Within days, another 410 linear feet of the strand behind the Hard Rock Daytona will be closed to vehicular access.

Forever.

Since 1984, Sons of the Beach has been Florida’s premiere beach access advocacy, fighting hard to preserve our tradition of beach driving and the unique access it provides Volusia County residents and visitors.

Trust me – it’s not easy to challenge a well-established power structure with the ability to influence public policy through massive campaign donations and financial relationships with hand-picked political candidates.

But there is strength in numbers – especially when it comes to effecting political change.

Are you a member of Sons of the Beach?

If you haven’t already, I encourage you to go to www.sonsofthebeach.org and sign up – its free (although donations are accepted through the website).  Once you’ve done that, simply print your membership card and know that your participation is helping to preserve beach access for generations to come.

It’s important.  Now, more than ever.

I’m asking everyone who reads Barker’s View – whether you agree with my screeds or not – to please join me this Sunday, March 25^th, for the Sons of the Beach Fundraiser at Crabby Joe’s Deck and Grill, 3701 South Atlantic Avenue, Daytona Beach Shores – on the Sunglow Pier.

It will be great to come together and enjoy a cold beverage at one of the most scenic locations in the Halifax area – and your fellow SOB members are some of the nicest, most civic-minded people you’ll ever meet.

The event will be held from 1:00pm to 4:00pm and will feature live music by Jeff and the Sons of the Beach Band, legal updates on pending legislation and SOB suits and planning information on the upcoming Hard Rock protest in response to Volusia County’s wholesale giveaway of our tradition of beach driving behind the hotel.

Please participate in fun raffles for awesome door prizes, the 50/50 drawing and grab a new SOB T-shirt and other cool swag just in time for summer!

All proceeds go to support the Sons of the Beach Legal Team as they work hard to protect OUR RIGHT to beach access in Volusia County.

If I could ask a small favor – please share this on your social media pages to ensure widest possible dissemination.

Thank you!  I look forward to seeing everyone Sunday afternoon!

 

 

 

Don’t stop thinking about tomorrow
Don’t stop, it’ll soon be here
It’ll be better than before
Yesterday’s gone, yesterday’s gone. . .

–Fleetwood Mac, “Don’t Stop” 1977

If recent events are any indication, it appears to me that Hard Rock International cares even less about its employees than it does about the quality standards and guest experience at its franchise locations.

Effective next month, the company will shutter its corporate headquarters in Orlando – a move marked by the layoffs of nearly 200 central Florida employees.

According to a statement issued in September, “Hard Rock International . . . will move staff headquarters from Orlando to South Florida, joining forces with ownership, the Seminole Tribe of Florida, and The Seminole Gaming organization.  The opportunity to combine the world-class talent of all three companies will create an even more powerful organization.” 

At the time, insiders reported that Hard Rock intends to focus almost exclusively on the gaming side of the house, now that casino operations dominate.

Although Hard Rock International initially said Orlando-based employees would be provided pay increases, relocation assistance and professional outplacement for spouses making the move south – at the end of the day – only sixteen people were transferred, leaving 184 former Hard Rock employees out on their ass.

According to a report in the Orlando Sentinel (the Daytona Beach News-Journal hasn’t touched this story with a ten-foot pole), former Hard Rock corporate executive chef Russell Booth said only a few people were making the move to South Florida – and he wasn’t aware of the company paying severance.  Chef Booth resigned in November.

Eventually, even a dullard like me understands that when it comes to corporate press releases and brand marketing bullshit in what passes for the “hospitality” industry – rarely is the truth considered or incorporated into the “spin” sold to the public.

It’s kind of like Volusia County government in that regard.

For instance, last month, when Hard Rock International was scrambling to certify their languishing Daytona franchisee in time to secure the county-offered “incentive” of the complete removal of our heritage of beach driving behind the hotel, the company quibbled that the property, “…will meet Hard Rock International’s aforementioned brand standards and franchise requirements…”

Then, they pencil-whipped the certification – and Volusia County accepted it – even though everyone could see the on-going construction, substandard condition of the external seawall, crumbling support posts and a forest of jack-stands in the parking garage.

Yet our gutless politicians, the strategically gullible Chamber of Commerce set – and even our local newspaper of record – jumped on the bandwagon and cheered what County Manager Jim Dinneen had the shameless impudence to call the most “luxurious” hotel in a hundred-mile radius.

Jesus.  Sheriff Chitwood was right.

How does that lying sack of shit sleep at night?

Now, anecdotal reports are that the hotel is using nearly half of our “public” parking lot south of the Hard Rock for employees and valet service – completely defeating the stated purpose of replacing vehicular access with “off-beach” parking – thus securing the semi-private strand we all knew was coming.

(Can’t say I blame them, I wouldn’t want to park in that rickety subterranean garage either. . .)

Soon, a phalanx of ugly, chemically-treated wooden utility poles will be driven into the sand behind the Hard Rock – adorned with officious signage notifying beach-goers of the traffic-free strand – and the pernicious pact between Hard Rock and their elected corporate shills will be complete.

Folks, we live in an environment where honesty, government transparency and a sense of fair play has been replaced with the ethos “it’s only wrong if you get caught.”

The result is a dull, blighted place where tacky hotels and “theme” subdivisions become more important than our collective quality of life – and those we trust to protect our interests allow speculative developers to churn sensitive greenspace into an environmental abattoir for another fucking WaWa.

It’ll be better than before – yesterday’s gone, yesterday’s gone. . .

 

 

 

Down in the Mississippi Delta near Clarksdale stands the intersection of Highway 61 and US 49.

A story is told about the legendary bluesman, Robert Johnson, who grew up in abject poverty on a plantation in rural Coahoma County.  He is said to have stood at the crossroads one dark night and sold his very soul to the devil in exchange for mastery of the guitar and the incredible success and ultimate escape it would bring.

It’s a tale as old as time, really.

Throughout history – from St. Theophilus of Adana to Doctor Faustus – cautionary yarns have been spun of men and women who, in a misguided pursuit of personal riches and power, fall victim to temptation and sell out who and what they are for what they desperately hope to become.

But what happens when folklore becomes reality?

In my view, Volusia County has become a despicable example of just how pernicious crony capitalism, through the corruption of the campaign finance system, can be when uber-wealthy individuals and their corporate entities repeatedly secure a political quid pro quo from local office holders.

In fact, it represents a legal return on investment in a system that permits a privileged few to develop financial relationships with potential and current office holders, then obtain direct access to the public purse in the form of preferential tax breaks, infrastructure and even direct subsidies for their private projects.

In exchange for the all-important financial resources and political clout local candidates receive as an anointing from Volusia’s “Rich & Powerful,” our elected officials are expected to perform their role like the bought-and-paid-for chattel they are whenever an issue directly involving the self-interests and profit motives of their campaign benefactors presents itself before the dais of power.

The result is a slow erosion of the public’s trust in the legitimacy of their own government.

In Volusia County – a region with some 17% of the population living at or below the poverty level – we see the results of these so-called “public/private partnerships” – a concept that generally means the right last names will be granted public funds to reduce overhead on the development of a private enterprise.

It’s most obvious at places like One Daytona and the newest and bestest “Game Changer” on Beach Street – the super-hyped Brown & Brown headquarters campus.

Just these two projects have taken a collective $50-million in public funds – all facilitated by County Manager Jim Dinneen – a flimsy excuse for a public executive whose sole purpose is to direct the priorities of the elected body away from the broader public interest and keep them focused on the needs, wants and whims of well-heeled insiders.

Look, I know I sound like a broken record, but, in my view, nothing has had a more deleterious effect on our economic viability, equal access to government decision-makers, or compromised basic fairness in the local marketplace like this sinister disease of cronyism and the ensuing backroom deals that are routinely sprung – ambush-style – on an unsuspecting constituency.

It also manifests in insidious tariffs – such as sales-based “enhanced amenity fees” at places like the taxpayer subsidized One Daytona complex – and money-grubbing sales tax increases, ostensibly for transportation infrastructure, which our local governments are actively groveling for  (don’t worry, the flashlight-under-the-chin scary stories of what will happen if We, The People fail to cough-up the extra half-cent will be coming later this summer. . .).

Add to that the absolute refusal of our elected dullards on the dais of power in DeLand to even discuss increasing impact fees or requiring that mega-developers pay a smidgen of their fair share of the cost to the public posed by lucrative unchecked growth, and you begin to see the seriousness of the problem in Volusia County.

Unfortunately, our newspaper of record, The Daytona Beach News-Journal, far too often ignores the obvious and tacitly supports the goals of this oligarchical system by touting the potential benefits of a massive entertainment/shopping complex built with the assistance of $40-million in public funds by the billionaire International Speedway Corporation – or wailing about what a boon the complete removal of motorcycle special events, or handing over a public park, to accommodate the wants of super-insider and High Panjandrum of Political Power, J. Hyatt Brown, will be for long-suffering Beach Street merchants.

But what if all this rosy, “Happy Days are Here Again, again!” horseshit turns out not to be the case?

What happens if the highly-touted Brown & Brown building turns out to be just what it is – another glossy glass-and-steel insurance office, where corporate drones arrive at seven – eat lunch in their cubical – then hit the gate at five-o’clock and return to the relative comfort of a zero-lot-line, wood framed gated community in north Ormond?

What if a few years from now, One Daytona finds that people aren’t so willing to take even more hard-earned cash from their own pocket to pay ISC for dubious “enhanced amenities” as a requisite fee for patronizing a shopping center they financially subsidized with their tax dollars?

And what about the wholesale squandering of public access to our most precious natural amenity – and giveaways of our century-old heritage of beach driving – as a means of “incentivizing” the developer du jour (who just happens to be emerging as a major campaign donor in the 2018 County Council election)?

It’s out of control, folks – and it’s getting worse.

And only the electorate of Volusia County can change it.

I encourage all voters to carefully study the legally required public campaign contribution reports for all local candidates for public office during the important 2018 election cycle – I assure you they tell an interesting story.

Then form your own opinion on these continuing Faustian bargains that have been so detrimental to our social, environmental and economic progress.