Red-Tide RICK SCOTT will become a Senator next in January 2019.
Yes, the State of Florida has followed in the wake of the Roman Emperor Caligula. Caligula famously named his horse (Incitatus) a Roman Senator. Florida voters sent their state's horse's ass to the United States Senate, once called by Gladstone "the world's greatest deliberative body."
To Rick Scott: in the words of the Tom Hanks character at the end of the movie, Saving Private Ryan, "Earn this."
From Florida Phoenix:
Yes, this really is Rick Scott, Adam Putnam and Pam Bondi’s fault
Citizens pleading for help in 2011. Scott was elected in 2010.
As horrified people watch dead manatees, marine mammals, fish and hundreds of sea turtles wash up on Florida’s southwest coast, politicians are tripping over one another to express concern.
But a look back eight years ago shows that three key state leaders – Gov. Rick Scott, Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam, and Attorney General Pam Bondi – fought bitterly against stricter limits for the very pollution now sliming South Florida. And they started with a letter written just 10 days after they were elected.
Their opposition was ideological; In the November 2010 letter of objection to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson, they complained that setting pollution limits for sewage, manure and fertilizer runoff would be an “onerous regulation” by an “overbearing federal government.”
It would also, they argued, interfere with the ability to squeeze every last dollar out of the cash cow that is the Sunshine State.
“We are very concerned about the cost of this onerous regulation to Floridians,” the letter said. “Businesses across Florida are struggling and our unemployment rate is nearly 12%.”
It’s not clear how they thought keeping poop out of the public’s water would make unemployment worse, but whatever. They whined on:
“We each ran on the platform of fiscal responsibility and heard from numerous constituents about concerns of an overbearing federal government that’s placing burdensome regulations on Florida’s families and employers.”
It makes one wonder what their Republican supporters living on waterfront estates fouled by the rotting stench of dead fish think about pollution regulation now. Red tide is a natural occurrence, but the polluted agriculture runoff the government is pumping to the coasts from Lake Okeechobee super-charges it.
In 2010, Scott, Putnam, and Bondi even claimed that pollution limits could “increase the price of utilities, food and other necessities for Floridians.”
In fact, the “burdensome regulations” the EPA was proposing were modest, because monied interest groups like home builders, industrial agriculture, and utilities were already applying heavy pressure in Washington to get the EPA to back off.
The EPA’s proposed pollution limits were lame, but at least they were a start. In fact, Florida was to be the first state in America to set limits for sewage, manure, and fertilizer runoff. It was a solution a long time coming. Rather than let polluted runoff foul public waters, the reasoning went, why not require it to be cleaned up at the source? We have the technology.
Everyone could see at the time that runoff from America’s industrial agricultural operations was a plague across America, spawning a massive dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico, turning lakes and rivers fluorescent green with toxic algae from coast to coast, making people sick, and even killing pets and livestock. In regulatory circles, they prefer to call sewage, manure and fertilizer “nutrients” – it sounds like it’s actually good for you.
The polluters hired Tallahassee PR man Ron Sachs’ firm to puff up the narrative that setting pollution limits would Cost Too Much, and they trotted out various loyalists in the Legislature and state government put lipstick on that pig. A fake “clean water” coalition sprung up, made up of the very industries opposing the pollution safeguards.
Even the Southwest Florida Chamber of Commerce – whose members include the beachfront businesses and hotels now screwed by green slime and rotting grouper – toed the polluter line.
“The Chamber is concerned,” reads a 2010 release, “that many of the proposed regulations will impose additional economic hardship to an already struggling Florida economy.”
In the end, Gov. Scott got his Department of Environmental Protection to convince the EPA that Florida should set its own regulations for sewage, manure and fertilizer. This, in a state where Scott had eviscerated environmental agencies with cutbacks that slashed enforcement and tossed aside many state scientists with long experience.
Documents uncovered in a court case later showed that Florida polluter lobbyists wrote the DEP’s rules, which are the “limits” we have today. We can all see how well that’s working.
In one of the most brazen moves, Bondi and Scott filed legal action in 2014 to block cleanup of Chesapeake Bay. If you’re thinking WTF, I’ll let Florida author and Miami Herald columnist Carl Hiaasen explain it:
“Why would the state of Florida try to obstruct the cleanup of public waters hundreds of miles away from our own?” Hiaasen wrote, “Because Bondi and Gov. Rick Scott are complete tools.
They aren’t suing on behalf of the citizens of Florida; they’re suing on behalf of big agricultural and development interests that don’t want the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency enforcing clean-water laws anywhere.
Among the lobby groups trying to dismantle the Chesapeake Bay Clean Water Blueprint are the American Farm Bureau Federation, the National Home Builders and those famously civic-minded folks at the Fertilizer Institute. They want us to trust them to regulate their own pollution, and to hell with the EPA.”
This might all be just a stroll through the Wayback Machine if not for the fact that Putnam is running for governor and Scott is running for U.S. Senate. Scott recently declared a State of Emergency over the algae outbreak (because waterfront-dwelling Republicans might vote.) Among other things, it kindly provides loans to counties struggling with toxic green slime.
Maybe Sarasota County could use the money. They had workers and tractors on the beach yesterday, scooping up thousands of pounds of deceased marine creatures.
“Tourists weren’t scattered on Venice Beach Wednesday morning, but hundreds of dead fish were,” reported the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. “Visitors piled into the parking lot, got out of their cars, started hacking, coughing and sneezing, and then quickly left the beach, which had become a tableau of death.”
Excellent editorial in the St. Augustine Record. Due to insensitivity on the part of the Florida Supreme Court Judicial Nominating Commission, whose members were appointed by Governor RICHARD LYNN SCOTT, "For the first time in 36 years, Florida will not have a black Supreme Court Justice on the bench." That's what happens when you vote for racists, darlings.
This stinks. To the 100,000 African-American women (18%) who reportedly voted against Andrew Gillum and for Ron DeSantis, you were wrong.
From The St. Augustine Record:
RECORD EDITORIAL: Rick Scott lost the battle, but won the war
Posted Dec 4, 2018 at 6:17 AM Updated Dec 4, 2018 at 6:17 AM
Just prior to the Nov. 6 election, The Record editorialized on what we saw as a greater significance to the governor’s race — than the governor’s race.
It was that either Andrew Gillum or Ron DeSantis would be selecting three new state Supreme Court Justices as one of their first official acts.
The current court is considered to be a little left-leaning with a majority of 4 to 3. Although partisan politics is supposed to be above any of the seven, their consciences generally are not.
The point turned out to be fairly moot. You may remember Gov. Rick Scott had desperately tried to cheat the system by naming the three judges himself on his final hour as Governor. He was overruled by the court he sought to stack, when it decided the incoming governor would, by law, select the new justices.
However, Scott had already seated a judicial nominating commission which, not surprisingly, he stacked with his right-thinkers.
The commission was originally established to have the governor select three members, the Florida Bar Association select three and, between them, the final three would be named. So much for that ...
What was not expected in the end was the ruling that, although Rick Scott would not select the new justices, the short list from the nominating commission would stick. So, had Gillum won the race, he’d still be drawing from a Republican deck. Now DeSantis has that list.
That’s the backstory.
Last week, “it” hit the fan when the short-list of 11 applicants was released. There are no African-Americans included.
For the first time in 36 years, Florida will not have a black Supreme Court Justice on the bench.
Opposition has been loud, according to the News Service of Florida. We are the nation’s third largest state with more than 3.5 million black residents. “What message are we sending our kids? That it’s a complete reversal of going back to the days of segregation?” said former state Sen. Arthenia Joyner.
Scott’s spokesman told the press the Governor has no control over whose names come out of elections commission deliberations.
We doubt that. Scott rarely leaves any political charade to chance. And he did appoint every member of the commission.
While his office denies any bias, the numbers seem to dispute that. In Florida 84 percent of judges are white, 9 percent Hispanic and 6.6 percent are black.
That’s not all Scott’s doing. But this is: Gov. Rick Scott put Justice Alan Lawson on the Supreme Court in 2016. He is white. And of the 32 judicial appointments to the state’s five District Courts of Appeal named by Scott, none involved a black judge, according to a brief filed as part of the lawsuit challenging the process of appointment.
Retired Supreme Court Justice James Perry, who is black (and it’s a shame we need to keep making that type of distinction), said “I’m appalled, but not surprised. ... Obviously we are retrogressing instead of progressing.” He continued, “We’re talking about building a wall. We need to build a mirror so we can look in the mirror. The message is clear.”
Governor-elect DeSantis has no fingerprints on this. That should be made clear.
But don’t expect the kinder, gentler Rick Scott you saw portrayed in TV spots in the closing weeks of the election to magically appear in Washington, D.C. He’s a two-faced and calculating politician.
Washington will give him federal dollars, not state, to put his friends to work and put contributors toward the front of the corporate welfare line. He’s not changing his spots. They just got bigger.
Reminiscent of the attack by St. Johns County Sheriff DAVID SHOAR, accusing the grieving Michelle O'Connell family of "molesting" her body by ordering an autopsy. Reminds me of the U.S. Department of Energy accusing sick workers and residents of being "the crazies" in the days before the Secretary of Energy apologized to 600,000 nuclear weapons workers poisoned by their government and its contractors.
Here's the Sun Sentinel story on this haughty hater:
School shooting PR consultant apologizes after calling critics 'crazies' and reporter 'skanky'
A crisis public relations consultant created a crisis of her own for the Broward school district, after a video came to light in which she dismissed the district’s critics in the Parkland massacre as “crazies” and called a reporter a “skanky” “jerk” who “smells bad.”
Sara Brady, who was paid nearly $75,000 to assist the district after the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, told an audience of public relations professionals last July that critics of the school district’s controversial Promise program, which allowed students who commit minor crimes to avoid jail, were “crazies.”
She criticized South Florida Sun Sentinel reporter Scott Travis, although she didn’t name him, as “just a jerk,” and then she got more personal.
“He is sloppy, he’s reckless, he’s mean, and he smells bad,” she said, laughing along with the audience.
At the point, Broward school district spokeswoman Tracy Clark can be heard calling out, “Sour milk!” That provoked more laughter.
At another point in the video Brady describes him as “that nasty, skanky reporter.”
Her statement about “crazies” concerned what happened after a state commission concluded that the Promise program had not been a factor in the shooting. The district put out a tweet about that conclusion, prompting criticism from the district’s detractors.
“And sure enough, all the crazies kind of came out,” Brady told an audience in California, in a video revealed by the South Florida Sun Sentinel in a recent story about the school district’s public relations damage control after the shooting. “The district knows who the crazies are and who the opposition is, and so certainly they seized on it and started putting stuff out there.”
The Promise program had been seized upon nationwide by conservative critics who were happy to lay part of the blame for the shooting on a program supported by President Obama. But the program had also been criticized by many family members of the victims in the massacre.
“Our leaders don’t care about Parkland families!” Hunter Pollack, whose sister Meadow was killed in the attack, said in a Twitter postthat went viral. “Broward’s Superintendent and his PR person called grieving families “crazies,” “the opposition,” and call hardworking reporters “skanks” for exposing the truth. Retweet and expose them all!”
Brady, of Winter Park in suburban Orlando, apologized, saying her comments had not been aimed at the bereaved families.
“Mr. Pollack … my remarks were intended to poke at the media in general,” she wrote in response. “I offer my profound apology for my lapse in judgment and display of disrespect.”
On her own Twitter page, she said, “My comments about ‘crazies’ were part of an overall presentation for communication practitioners and were in reference to the anonymous trolls and bots who seemingly always appear after these hideous tragedies.”
In an interview, she said she was not dismissing all critics of the district as “crazies,” just the more extreme, troll-like commenters on social media who sought to find fault with every statement or action.
She acknowledged her insults to the reporter as a “poor choice of words” in a conference intended to help school communication professionals know what to do when confronted by a crisis and a media storm.
“I probably went a little overboard in my comments about the reporter,” said Brady,a former police reporter at the Orlando Sentinel. “It’s just kind of shop talk. I acknowledge that.”
But her biggest regret, she said, is that families of victims may have thought she was talking about them, when she was not.
“My bigger concern is that anyone who lost a loved one thinks I was referring to them,” she said. “And I was not, in any way, shape or form.”
Broward school superintendent Robert Runcie, who watched the video the previous night, called Travis to apologize, saying said the comments were “inexcusable and don’t reflect the values of the district.”
Although he said he knows he’s had a tense relationship at times with the Sun Sentinel, Brady shouldn’t have used that kind of language or engaged in personal attacks. He said the district had canceled her contract before this came up.
“We may have had our differences, but never have I been in a situation where that kind of language was used,” he said in an interview. “It’s hurtful. It’s wrong. And it doesn’t represent my views or the views of the leadership of the school district.”
There are social media trolls spreading false information and sending abusive, threatening and racists messages to him and his family members, and that’s who Brady was apparently speaking of, he said. But he said that’s not the fault of the victims’ families, and no one in the district speaks critically of the families.
“We try to do our best to support the families,” he said. “They’ve lost a child and can’t get them back. I feel for the parents and families every day.”
Regarding Brady, he said, “She doesn’t work for us anymore, nor will that person ever be working for us again.”
School board member Robin Bartleman forwarded a link of the video to Runcie, saying it reflected poorly on the district. Using the term “crazies” to describe the district’s critics was unfair, she said.
“FYI, many of those people asking questions were the victims’ families,” she wrote.
“She also speaks derogatorily about the Sun Sentinel and Scott Travis,” she wrote. “Criticizing the media and his questions are fair game; however, she certainly did not model our character traits and went way overboard including telling the audience how he smells terrible and Tracy Clark shouts out from the audience “like sour milk.”
Clark, asked for a comment, said in an email, “I was out of line.”
Broward County Commissioner Michael Udine, who represents Parkland, said the school district might have been better served by a different public relations firm.
“First rule of crisis PR. Dont let your crisis PR person cause you additional crisis PR,” he wrote on Twitter. “So sad. This is so wrong on so many levels. We have local PR people with love and compassion that would have served all of us with more dignity and professionalism!”
Staff writer Scott Travis contributed to this report.
RPOF Chair Blaise Ingoglia rightly fired SJC REC Chair WILLIAM KORACH for his series of indecent, illegal and unseemly actions, including sexual harassment and taking an unauthorized public stand against a transgender student's right to go to the bathroom, insulting Drew Adams and his parents. WILLIAM KORACH, the racist, sexist, misogynist, homophobic, transphobic bigot was rightly complained about by his colleagues. Blaise Ingoglia held a hearing and fired the mendacious malignant malefactor of SJC REC, WILLIAM KORACH. Finis! For that, the people of St. Johns County -- Republicans, Democrats and NPAs -- appreciate the firing of WILLIAM KORACH. Thank you, Blaise. I salute you. From Tampa Bay Times:
Blaise Ingoglia stepping down as Florida GOP Chairman
Ingoglia led the state party as its influence waned
OCTAVIO JONES | Times Republican Party of Florida Chairman Blaise Ingoglia gives the opening speech at the Sunshine Summit held at the Rosen Shingle Creek Hotel in Orlando, Florida on Friday, November 13, 2015. Republican Presidential candidates give their campaign speeches at the Republican Party of Florida's Sunshine Summit.
Four years after he was elected Florida GOP chairman against the wishes of Gov. Rick Scott, State Rep. Blaise Ingoglia is stepping down in January.
"Many people dream of going out on top, and with the unprecedented and undeniable success the Republican Party of Florida has had over the past four years, this is my opportunity. We won back-to-back Super Bowls when the 'chattering class and pundits' were picking us last in our division," the Spring Hill Republican said in a statement.
While he can celebrate President Trump's Florida win in 2016 and Ron DeSantis's and Scott wins this year, Ingoglia was the weakest Florida Republican chairman in modern history.
Not only did independent political committee usurp much of the financial importance of the state GOP, but Gov. Scott shunned the party to concentrate on his own committee after the election of Ingoglia in 2015 over his preferred candidate.
"As a big proponent of term limits for RPOF members, it's time for me to step aside to allow fresh ideas and new energy to lead the committee into another crucial election," Ingoglia said.
Among the prospective successors to Ingoglia: Palm Beach GOP chairman Mike Barnett; Escambia state committeeman Jeremy Evans; National Committeeman Peter Feaman; Lobbyist and Leon County GOP Chairman Evan Power; Sarasota state committeeman Christian Ziegler.
Only county chairs and state committeemen and state committeewomen are eligible to be state chairman, so other prospects could emerge as county parties elect their officers in coming weeks.
A new chairman will be elected Jan. 12 in Orlando.
Horrible inarticulate Volusia County Sheriff MICHAEL CHITWOOD is a bumptious bully. Who does Sheriff CHITWOOD think he is -- St. Johns County Sheriff DAVID SHOAR? So Sheriff CHITWOOD disagreed with the Volusia County Council's defense of its 1970 Charter, and 6-1 vote to challenge Amendment 10, which embraces four (4) subjects, including whether Volusia County must elect its Tax Collector. CHITWOOD's not an expert on Florida's Constitution, and neither am I. But CHITWOOD's lack of civility on a matter of constitutional law shows a depraved heart, like President DONALD JOHN TRUMP. TRUMP, SHOAR and CHITWOOD resemble the Three Stooges on Steroids, attempt to chill, coerce, restrain, intimidate and browbeat anyone who disagrees with them. CHITWOOD may be right -- Volusia County and its political bosses may be corrupt. But calling the Volusia County Council members "scumbags" for litigating Amendment 10 is a sign of a spoiled brat. Let the grownups in the room -- judges and lawyers -- speak on the merits. Pray for CHITWOOD and his ilk to find humility and humanity.
Volusia sheriff calls council members 'scumbags' in dispute
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Updated: 8:13 PM EST Dec 5, 2018
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VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. —
Volusia County’s sheriff is calling county council members "scumbags" for voting to challenge a state constitutional amendment that granted five county-level offices, including sheriff, more power by having them directly elected.
In a Facebook post on Tuesday, Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood called six members of the council who voted to challenge the amendment in court "our scumbags of the week in Volusia County."
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Chitwood posted the insult immediately after the council voted 6-1 to challenge the amendment which Florida voters approved last month.
The amendment gives sheriffs, tax collectors, elections supervisors, clerks of court and property appraisers more control of their budget and personnel by making them constitutional officers.
Florida counties affected by the amendment included Volusia, home to Daytona Beach, and Broward and Miami-Dade counties in South Florida.
------------------ Explanation of Amendment 10 portion concerning constitutional officers (League of Women Voters website):
Florida’s counties are divided into charter and non-charter counties. County charters are voter-approved documents that act much like local constitutions in that they outline how the county is governed. Twenty of the state’s counties, including its largest – Miami-Dade, Broward, Pinellas, Orange and Duval, to name a few – operate under charters. Some of those counties have stopped holding elections for offices such as tax collector, instead transferring those duties to county departments. In other instances those offices are elected but some of their duties have been removed or altered. This part of the amendment would apply to those 20 charter counties by requiring them to let voters elect someone to all five of the county offices in the state Constitution – sheriff, property appraiser, tax collector, supervisor of elections and clerk of circuit court. According to a CRC analysis, voters in eight counties have approved charters that changed or eliminated at least one constitutional office. Miami-Dade, for example, does not elect a sheriff. Volusia and Broward counties don’t have elected tax collectors. These offices would have to be restored if this amendment passes, and voters allowed to elect someone to those offices every four years. The amendment is silent on whether charter counties could make those races non-partisan, as Orange County voters have attempted to do, and it’s not clear whether those counties could impose term limits. For most counties, this amendment would take effect on Jan. 5, 2021, if it passes, but counties would be required to hold elections for those offices in 2020. For Miami-Dade and Broward counties, it takes effect on Jan. 2, 2025, but those two counties have to hold elections for the constitutional offices in 2024.
On climate change, did you read a dupey editorial the St. Augustine Record printed this morning, from another GateHouse newspaper editorial writer from an inland paper?
Fewer people read the St. Augustine Record, as a percentage of total county residents, as its annual USPS reports show. Circulation numbers are stagnant, and declining as a percentage of the population of growing St. Johns County. Not addressing our concerns is why.
Increasingly irrelevant to elections and public policy debates, scrunching its coverage small enough to close the paper without notice, the Record often reminds me of what Sir Winston Spencer Churchill said of the government of Great Britain in 1936: "So they go on in strange paradox, decided only to be undecided, resolved to be irresolute, adamant for drift, solid for fluidity, all-powerful to be impotent."
The Record's website omitted the name of the inland Lakelsnd Ledger editorial writer, who apparently doesn't know peaturkey about a durn thing about ocean level rise. Who is this unnamed cognitive miser with a journalism degree perhaps, another hick hack employed to provide "content" between the diminishing number of advertisements? Why stick his emetic editorial in the Record, in lieu of local commentary?
We look forward to rebuttals to the cant opinions of an unnamed nincompoop.
We in this reality-based coastal community are focused on and dumbfounded by the implications of this article from today's New York Times:
Greenhouse Gas Emissions Accelerate Like a ‘Speeding Freight Train’ in 2018
Daytime traffic amid smog in Beijing on Sunday. China produces 27 percent of global carbon emissions, the most of any country.CreditWu Hong/EPA, via Shutterstock
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Daytime traffic amid smog in Beijing on Sunday. China produces 27 percent of global carbon emissions, the most of any country.CreditCreditWu Hong/EPA, via Shutterstock
Greenhouse gas emissions worldwide are growing at an accelerating pace this year, researchers said Wednesday, putting the world on track to face some of the most severe consequences of global warming sooner than expected.
Scientists described the quickening rate of carbon dioxide emissions in stark terms, comparing it to a “speeding freight train” and laying part of the blame on an unexpected surge in the appetite for oil as people around the world not only buy more cars but also drive them farther than in the past — more than offsetting any gains from the spread of electric vehicles.
“We’ve seen oil use go up five years in a row,” said Rob Jackson, a professor of earth system science at Stanford and an author of one of two studies published Wednesday. “That’s really surprising.”
Worldwide, carbon emissions are expected to increase by 2.7 percent in 2018, according to the new research, which was published by the Global Carbon Project, a group of 100 scientists from more than 50 academic and research institutions and one of the few organizations to comprehensively examine global emissions numbers. Emissions rose 1.6 percent last year, the researchers said, ending a three-year plateau.
Reducing carbon emissions is central to stopping global warming. Three years ago nearly 200 nations hammered out the Paris Agreement with a goal of holding warming below 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit (two degrees Celsius) over preindustrial levels.
Avoiding that threshold — already considered challenging — is viewed as a way to stave off some of the worst effects of climate change, like melting polar ice caps and rising sea levels. For the Paris goals to be met, scientists say, global emissions from power plants, factories, cars and trucks, as well as those from deforestation, would need to swiftly begin declining to zero.
President Trump, however, has vowed to pull the United States out of the accord and has moved to roll back Obama-era regulations designed to limit emissions from vehicle tailpipes and power-plant smokestacks. On Tuesday he wrote on Twitter that the Paris Agreement was “fatally flawed” because its system of voluntary pledges let other countries off the hook, adding that “American taxpayers — and American workers — shouldn’t pay to clean up others countries’ pollution.”
An American withdrawal would represent a serious blow to the pact. The United States, one of the wealthiest nations in the world, is responsible for a third of all human-caused carbon emissions to date, more than any other country. China is now the largest emitter of heat-trapping gases.
The new report comes as delegates from nearly 200 countries are meeting in Poland to debate their next steps under the Paris climate agreement. Many nations haven’t been meeting their self-imposed targets.
The new assessment is the third major scientific report in recent months to send a message that the world is failing to make sufficient progress to avoid the worst effects of climate change.
Last month the White House published findings by 13 federal agenciespredicting that global warming could knock hundreds of billions of dollars off the size of the American economy by century’s end, particularly by disrupting trade and agriculture. And in October, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a United Nations scientific group, issued an alarming report warning that emissions are rising at a rate that will open the door to widespread food shortages, wildfires, coastal flooding and population displacement by 2040.
As part of the latest report, scientists wrote Wednesday in the journal Nature that the recent rise in global emissions, combined with other factors such as natural temperature fluctuations, could bring those dire consequences a decade sooner, by 2030.
“For those of us that work in this space, seeing the rates of emissions accelerate is deeply dismaying, and it confirms the very clear lack of systemic action and change that we’re seeing across many lines of state, national and global organization,” said Sarah E. Myhre, a research associate at the University of Washington who was not involved in the studies.
“It just means that the problem will be harder to fix down the line,” she said. “We’re continuing to buck-pass this problem to our kids and our future selves.”
The analysis found that the world is on pace to release a record 37.1 gigatons of planet-warming emissions in 2018, led in large part by China, the United States and India. That is roughly 100,000 times the weight of the Empire State Building.
Even as coal has fallen out of favor in some markets, the rise in emissions has been driven by stronger demand for natural gas and oil, scientists said. And even as the use of renewable energy like solar and wind power has expanded exponentially, it has not been enough to offset the increased use of fossil fuels.
“We thought oil use had peaked in the U.S. and Europe 15 years ago,” Dr. Jackson said. “The cheap gasoline prices, bigger cars and people driving more miles are boosting oil use at rates that none of us expected.”
More investment will be needed in the transportation sector to cut pollution, said Corinne Le Quéré, a professor of climate change science and policy at the University of East Anglia and lead author of one of the new studies. “We have electric cars, but we need charging points, we need to lower the costs of electric vehicles,” she said.
Video
1:18Why Trump Is Taking On Car Emission Rules
President Trump and the E.P.A. are scaling back Obama-era rules for U.S. automakers on greenhouse gas emissions. Here’s the breakdown.Published OnCreditCreditMark Ralston/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
China produces 27 percent of global emissions, according to the report. The United States accounts for 15 percent of emissions, the European Union 10 percent and India 7 percent.
China’s emissions are projected to rise 4.7 percent in 2018, the report said. The country is stimulating manufacturing to counterbalance its slowing economy, allowing more coal-based manufacturing that it had avoided in the past, Dr. Jackson said.
China is investing heavily in renewable energy, but it is also building new coal-fired power plants at home and planning others in new markets such as sub-Saharan Africa.
United States emissions are expected to rise 2.5 percent this year after several years of declines, and despite a shift away from coal toward cleaner sources of energy. Dr. Jackson attributed part of the increase this year to a colder-than-normal winter in some parts of the country and a hotter summer in other parts, which inflated demand for heating and cooling.
In India, a projected emissions increase of 6.3 percent is linked to the country’s effort to provide electricity to 300 million people who currently lack it.
Last year, extreme weather disasters cost the United States a record $306 billion.
Dr. Jackson said the new report was “not good news,” but added that it still contained “some glimmers of hope,” particularly about air pollution associated with the burning of coal for fuel. “Coal use has dropped 40 percent in the United States, replaced by natural gas and renewables,” he said. “That’s saving lives as well as helping the climate problem.”
The courts will review this Tinpot Napoleon's naked power grab, appointing his longtime fixer, former General Counsel, former Rogers Towers and GrayRobinson lawyer PETER ANTONACCI, as Broward County Election Supervisor.
Slick RICK SCOTT suspended BRENDA SNIPES, an incompetent Jeb Bush appointee, an ineffectual Democrat, who had already resigned. When SCOTT suspended SNIPES, he un-resigned. The suspension affects her pension. Not only is SCOTT unprincipled, he's cruel, just like his idol, DONALD JOHN TRUMP.
More Tallahassee follies follow -- from the Miami Herald and CFO's website:
In waning days as governor, ‘red tide Rick’ sets stage for a 2020 Trump win in Florida
When he claimed victory over incumbent Sen. Bill Nelson, the first person Rick Scott thanked was President Donald Trump.
Now, the lame duck governor is spending his final days in office a) waging a vindictive battle against Broward Supervisor of Elections Brenda Snipes for keeping his win in doubt for 12 days, and b) setting the electoral stage to ensure that Trump wins Florida in 2020.
And so it follows that Scott won’t be leaving the Governor’s Mansion early to be sworn in with all the new senators on Jan. 3, as the U.S. Constitution mandates, but will take a remote oath from Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
The reason Scott’s spokesman gave for Scott staying until Ron DeSantis becomes governor on Jan. 8 is laughable and demagogic: Scott, he said, “promised to fight for Florida families every single day of his term.”
The real reason is that Florida is too important for Republicans to leave in the hands of anyone but crafty Scott, who has proven he can pull off one slim victory after another with the most dreadful of résumés — and in a year whenhe really blew itfor Floridians.
That he was dubbed “red tide Rick” for his role in Florida’s algae bloom and red tide environmental debacles made him break into a sweat this election time around, as the vote margins were so close the race triggered a manual count.
But he pulled it off.
His last act will be to battle for control of Florida’s largest Democratic county — Broward. To that end, he has suspended Snipes, who had resigned in the aftermath of Broward’s vote-counting spectacle, and replaced her with his fixer, Pete Antonacci, last Friday night.
In addition to his nearly two years at the water management district, Pete Antonacci’s background includes two years as Gov. Rick Scott’s general counsel.
Enter the name into any database and Antonacci, Scott’s counsel, will appear playing a role in most of Scott’s big controversies: the multimillionaire governor’s not-so-blind blind trust; the wasteful and beleaguered Enterprise Florida; the private-prison abuse scandal; and as executive director of the South Florida Water Management District. The former lobbyist was sent there to fire water specialists and replace them with cronies and yes-men and to enforce Scott’s multimillion-dollar budget cuts. The weakened agency put Florida’s clean water in jeopardy and led to the mismanagement of toxic releases into beaches and waterways.
It should be no surprise that now Scott wants to assign Antonacci, a Republican, to manhandle Broward’s department of elections.
In the country’s largest swing state, Antonacci would have control over the voting system of the largest Democratic stronghold in Florida. That’s one heck of an advantage for Republicans going into the 2020 presidential election.
He would have the power to decide issues that could promote or repress voting. Things like level of staffing at precincts, how many days of early voting to have and where the voting sites are located, all would be in his hands.
If Scott gets his way and the office stays in the hands of Antonacci, Broward will need international election watchers — or an army of journalists — assigned to keep tabs on his power.
The Florida Senate’s Ethics Committee, which gets to review the Snipes suspension and has a final say on the move to replace her, should seriously consider the lack of trust such an overtly partisan appointment will engender in Florida voters.
There was no reason for this last-minute intrusion by Scott. The problem of accountability for the midterm election failures had already been addressed. Snipes had resigned. Now as a result of his underhanded move, she has rescinded her resignation, and is fighting back because the suspension could cost her the $71,000 annual pension she has earned in the 15 years she has been in the position.
Duration 1:45
Brenda Snipes rescinds her resignation a day after Rick Scott suspended her
Former Broward elections supervisor, Brenda C. Snipes, attends a press conference in Fort Lauderdale on Saturday, December 1, 2018. Snipes announced she is rescinding her resignation after Gov. Rick Scott suspended her Friday.
Worse yet, Scott’s manipulation leaves the real voting problems unaddressed.
“Rick Scott should not, on his waning days, be concerned with Brenda Snipes, but that our election process work appropriately, making sure voting is standardized across the state, not having 60 voting systems,” Melba Pearson, deputy director of the ACLU of Florida and former Miami-Dade prosecutor, tells me.
“The dust-up with Broward County is really detracting attention from the bigger problem: all of the things that went on in a variety of counties during this election,” Pearson says. “One of the biggest things we’re concerned about at the ACLU of Florida is the standardization of vote-by-mail. There is no standard procedure to see if a signature matches. Every county has its own procedure. This resulted in ballots getting rejected. ... We need to make sure every ballot counts.”
Indeed.
The state’s focus should be on all voters’ rights, not on partisanship or vengeance.
Spare us the last-minute antics, Sen. Scott, and leave the campaign trail behind.
Get to work in Washington! We can hardly wait for that chapter.
Follow Fabiola Santiago on Twitter, @fabiolasantiago
In addition to his nearly two years at the water management district, Pete Antonacci’s background includes two years as Gov. Rick Scott’s general counsel.
Read more here: https://www.miamiherald.com/latest-news/article222582205.html#storylink=cpy
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From Florida CFO's website:
PETER ANTONACCI Peter Antonacci began his legal career in the Tallahassee office of Rogers, Towers, Bailey, Jones and Gay. He was later appointed as an Assistant State Attorney in the Second Circuit. Over the next eight years, Antonacci prosecuted numerous cases across North Florida, was twice appointed Special Assistant United States Attorney, and was appointed by Governor Graham as a specially assigned prosecutor throughout the State. During this period, Antonacci served on the Supreme Court’s Rules of Criminal Procedure Committee and chaired the Forfeiture Law Committee of the Florida Bar. In 1988, Antonacci was appointed Florida’s Statewide Prosecutor. Over the next three years, Antonacci focused the newly created Office of Statewide Prosecution on complex white collar crimes including securities and insurance fraud, ponzi schemes and pyramid marketing schemes. Under Antonacci’s leadership, Florida was the only state to successfully extradite Columbian citizens to face drug smuggling charges in a state court. From 1991 to 1997, Antonacci served under Attorney General Bob Butterworth as Deputy Attorney General of Florida. In that role, Antonacci directed and supervised over 300 lawyers, implementing the Attorney General’s Cabinet, Legislative and other policy initiatives. Florida’s Attorney General represents virtually every state agency in their day-to-day litigation. Antonacci also managed and coordinated major state litigation involving, among other things, state lands, gaming issues generally, antitrust and economic crime cases, health care fraud, elections litigation, and the landmark case against tobacco companies. Antonacci was responsible for coordinating the State’s legal representation with the Governor’s Office, the Florida Legislature, and Cabinet officers. In 1987 and 2004, Antonacci represented Governors Graham and Bush respectively, as special prosecuting counsel in the Senate impeachment trials of Supervisors of Elections. From 2001 – 2005, Antonacci was a member of the Florida Commission on Ethics. In 2005, Governor Bush appointed Antonacci to the Second Circuit Judicial Nominating Commission. In 2006, Governor Bush appointed Antonacci to the Governing Board of the Northwest Florida Water Management District and Antonacci was reappointed in 2008 by Governor Crist. In 2008, Governor Crist appointed Antonacci to the First District Court of Appeals Judicial Nominating Commission. From 2000 until 2012, Antonacci was a shareholder in the GrayRobinson law firm. In March 2012, Governor Scott appointed Antonacci State Attorney of the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit to serve the unexpired term of Michael McAuliffe who resigned in favor of a private practice. BACKGROUND Antonacci was raised in Hialeah, Florida attending Roman Catholic schools and received a B.S. in 1970, an M.S. in Health Planning in 1973, and a J.D. in 1979 from Florida State University. Antonacci was a public school teacher in Newton, Georgia; a health planner for the Health Planning Council of South Florida; while in law school, interned with the Tourism and Economic Development Committee of the Florida House of Representatives, and clerked for a state trial court judge.
Who among us would disagree -- several South Florida Supervisors of Elections are notoriously inept. Would someone with a gavel make Palm Beach County get new tabulating machines between now and 2020?
Canvassing board member Irwin Jacobowitz, Judge August Bonavita, and Supervisor of Elections Susan Bucher go over questionable ballots in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Nov. 16.
Dozens of election workers are still sequestered in a South Florida warehouse recounting thousands of ballots, even though the state’s election was certified last month. The new tallies will never be considered and they can’t possibly change the outcome.
Palm Beach County’s elections supervisor, Susan Bucher, whose Democratic-leaning jurisdiction has an electorate of nearly 1 million people, spoke to BuzzFeed News on Tuesday from the facility where state law requires the canvassing board to complete a manual recount — which could take another two and a half weeks.
“I get to count ballots that will be ignored,” Bucher sighed. “Hopefully it will be done by Christmas.”
The county couldn’t finish its recount by a Nov. 18 deadline — which was required by law because initial results were so tight — since its old equipment wasn’t fast enough.
“If the canvassing board is unable to complete the recount prescribed in this subsection by the deadline,” says a state law, then preliminary figures must be used in the final certification statewide — which happened Nov 20.
But local election workers cannot stop, the law continues, stating that “the canvassing board shall complete the recount prescribed in this subsection, along with any manual recount prescribed.”
The new figures will never be factored into the state’s final election results, and yet, Bucher said, “We have to continue the manual recount even if we missed the deadline.”
Florida roiled the country last month with its contested midterm election, attracting a blizzard of lawsuits and allegations of disenfranchisement, fraud, and unconstitutional enforcement of state deadlines that were impossible to meet.
But weeks after candidates made concession phone calls and partisan lawyers flew home, county workers plod into the holidays.
Seventeen staffers now work five days a week operating the tabulating machines, which identify ballots with so-called undervotes and overvotes — in which a voter skipped a race or voted twice in a race. Those ballots must be inspected by human eyes to asses the voter’s intent, such as seeing marks that a machine missed.
Since four statewide races were close enough to require recounts, and the county’s equipment can only tabulate one race at a time, the paper must be run through machines over and over. That wears down the ballots — and sometimes they become so damaged that they need to be duplicated by hand, Bucher said. So 11 more staffers do that. At least two members of the canvassing board are required to be present throughout, while a sheriff’s deputy watches over the process.
“The only way I don’t have to do these recounts is if the losing candidate says they don’t want a recount,” Bucher said.
That leaves two remaining races on Bucher’s plate, because the US Senate race and a state House race were done on time.
Even though Democrat Andrew Gillum conceded to Gov.-elect Ron DeSantis after trailing by more than 32,000 votes statewide in the race for governor, Bucher said they still have to continue recounting that race. Gillum’s campaign did not reply to a question from BuzzFeed News about calling off the recount.
Republican Matt Caldwell also conceded to Democrat Nikki Fried in the race for agricultural commissioner, but Caldwell told BuzzFeed News he wants the recount to march ahead.
“We expect all 67 Supervisors to complete their duty under the law and provide finality to the voters of Florida,” he said in an email. “Taxpayers in Palm Beach County should absolutely be enraged that their county government failed to conduct their most fundamental responsibilities.”
Bucher added that state officials also haven’t signaled that she should stop.
Sarah Revell, a spokesperson for the Florida Division of Elections, didn’t answer questions from BuzzFeed News about whether the recount must continue or how the figures would be recorded. She said Bucher and the canvassing board “have made their own determination on how to proceed.”
Palm Beach County has found about 9,000 undervotes and overvotes in the governor’s race, according to the preliminary count, raising a hope that Gillum could close some of his gap. But they wouldn’t make up the difference, even if they could be considered.
“If Mr. Gillum got 100% of those undervotes, which isn’t likely, it wouldn’t change the race,” Bucher said.
Meeting deadlines to recount so many races was simply impossible with the old equipment used by the county, Bucher said. “We have told the State of Florida for 10 years there is a conflict with the deadlines, but they have not changed it. They certify equipment and made a deadline that doesn’t work.”
Bucher said she has $11 million for new, faster ballot-tabulating machines in her budget for 2019, when the office will need to purchase equipment that meets new standards for voters with disabilities in the 2020 election.
On December 15, 2018, historic re-enactors will celebrate the Spanish New World tradition of commemorating Mary and Joseph's search for lodgings in Bethlehem on th First Christmas Eve some 2000+ years ago.
If they've not already been cast, here's an opportunity for certain lousy louche local Establishment energumens to holler at baby Jesus' parents in Spanish: "THERE's NO ROOM AT THE INN!"
That's the role that St. Augustine's cavalier capitalists daily play with working poor and homeless people, as they gentrify, banish demolish or eradicate history and affordable housing, enact unjust laws on panhandling, eject artists and musicians from St. George Street. They reckon themselves Republican Lords of All They Survey. This is a job tailor-made for hick hacks like disgraced ex-Mayors JOSEPH LESTER BOLES, JR., a/k/a "JOE BOLES" and CLAUDE LEONARD WEEKS, a/k/a "LEN WEEK$."
Here's the news release from Florida Living History:
ST. AUGUSTINE, FL – December 6, 2018 – For over 400 years, the colonial Hispanic Christmas tradition of Las Posadas has been celebrated by processions throughout the New World. The event is a re-enactment of Mary and Joseph’s search for lodgings (Spanish: “posadas”) in Bethlehem on the first Christmas Eve.
On Saturday, December 15th, 2018, Florida Living History, Inc.’s (FLH’s - www.floridalivinghistory.org ) volunteers will present this night-time, candle-lit heritage Event, set in the year 1580. From 7PM to 8PM, citizens and visitors are invited to join FLH as we process by candlelight along St. George Street in historic downtown St. Augustine, Florida, the oldest continuously occupied, European city, port, and parish in the continental United States.
FLH’s Las Posadas procession will form at 6:30PM by the City Gates, near the north end of St. George Street – the public is encouraged to join in the procession. The processioneers will march down St. George Street, stopping at several designated locations to “ask for lodgings,” as is traditional. The Las Posadas procession will conclude at the end of St. George Street, in the Plaza de la Constitución, where FLH’s Theater with a Mission group, from Tallahassee, will present a centuries-old scene from Lope de Vega‘s Cristo Nuestro Bien (A Shepherds & Angels Play), under the direction of FLH Director, Dr. Ben Gunter.
Admission to this 16th-century heritage Event is freeof charge to the public.
Support for this Event is provided, in part, by the Florida Humanities Council ( www.flahum.org/ ), the state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities, and by the continued generosity of FLH’s donors.
Founded in St. Augustine, Florida, in 2009, Florida Living History, Inc. (FLH), is a community based, non-profit 501(c)(3) organization of volunteers dedicated to educating the public about Florida's colonial and territorial history, using living-history programs, demonstrations, and recreated portrayals of significant historical events. FLH's numerous heritage Events are funded solely through corporate/private donations, FLH fund-raising, and state/national grants.
FLH supports educational initiatives that promote a greater understanding and appreciation of Florida's, and America’s, rich and diverse heritage. For more information on Florida Living History, Inc., please contact us via e-mail at info@floridalivinghistory.org !
Press Images & Logos – For “Las Posadas del Viejo San Agustín 2018” photos, logos, and additional background information, please contact Florida Living History, Inc., at info@floridalivinghistory.org.
Florida Living History, Inc.,
is a 501(c)(3) non-profit, educational organization dedicated to the support of
living history activities, events, and portrayals related to the history of colonial Florida.
President Obama also met with Beto O'Rourke. How about an O'Rourke-Gillum ticket for the Democrats for 2020? What do you reckon?
Andrew Gillum meets with Barack Obama; silence adds to speculation about presidential bid
James Call, Tallahassee DemocratPublished 4:16 p.m. ET Dec. 5, 2018 | Updated 4:24 p.m. ET Dec. 5, 2018
Former President Barack Obama honed in on health care during a campaign rally in Florida for Sen. Bill Nelson and gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum (Nov. 2) AP
The former Mayor meets with former President Barack Obama and neither will say what was discussed.
Andrew Gillum’s post city hall plans have some people seeing a presidential bid. The former Tallahassee Mayor and Democratic candidate for Florida governor was in Washington Tuesday and had a meeting with former President Barack Obama.
That led CNN to report that sources are speculating Gillum may be considering a challenge to President Donald J. Trump in 2020.
Neither the Obama nor Gillum camp would say what the two had discussed.
Gillum was in the nation's capital to speak at a Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights. CNN reported he punted on the question of what the future may hold.
“I plan on being married to my wife,” said Gillum. “That is all I am planning.”
Obama had endorsed Gillum’s bid to be governor and campaigned with him in the closing days of the race. And although he narrowly lost to Trump-endorsed Ron DeSantis, Gillum became something of a national celebrity.
President Obama also met with Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum. How about an O'Rourke-Gillum ticket for the Democrats for 2020? Both Messrs. O'Rourke and Gillum share our values and speak from the heart. They would promote healing and unite our Nation. What do y'all reckon?
Beto O’Rourke, who’s pondering a 2020 presidential bid, met with Barack Obama
Watch Beto O’Rourke's full concession speech
Texas Democratic Senate candidate Beto O’Rourke conceded to Ted Cruz in an El Paso speech on Nov. 6.(Reuters)
Beto O’Rourke, weighing whether to mount a 2020 presidential bid, met recently with Barack Obama at his post- presidency offices in Washington.
The meeting, which was held Nov. 16 at the former president’s offices in Foggy Bottom, came as former Obama aides have encouraged the Democratic House member to run, seeing him as capable of the same kind of inspirational campaign that caught fire in the 2008 presidential election.
The meeting was the first sign of Obama getting personally involved in conversations with O’Rourke, who, despite his November loss in a U.S. Senate race in Texas, has triggered more recent discussion and speculation than any other candidate in the burgeoning 2020 field.
TMZ, the Hollywood-based entertainment website, is now trailing O’Rourke; he is being swamped by calls from Democratic operatives eager to work for him, and other campaigns-in-the-making are eyeing his moves closely for any signs of his intentions. O’Rourke said at an El Paso town hall last week that he was considering a run, pending discussions with his family.
His meeting with Obama came amid cross-pressures on O’Rourke to forgo a run for president to mount another bid for U.S. Senate, challenging Sen. John Cornyn (R-Tex.) in 2020.
A spokeswoman for Obama declined to comment on the meeting. O’Rourke’s spokesman also declined to comment.
The former president has reportedly met with several potential 2020 candidates, including Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and former New Orleans mayor Mitch Landrieu (D).
He is in the awkward position of trying to ensure his party wins back the White House, but without weighing in too aggressively in a primary that could consist of his former vice president (Joe Biden), a longtime friend (former Massachusettsgovernor Deval Patrick) and some of his former Cabinet officials (Eric H. Holder Jr., his attorney general, and Julián Castro, his housing secretary).
Obama’s stated mission has been to build a new generation of Democratic leaders, and two weeks ago he said that O’Rourke, who is 46, reminded him of himself. The three-term congressman, he said, was one of the rare politicians who can connect with a wide swath of the electorate in an increasingly siloed country.
“The reason I was able to make a connection with a sizable portion of the country was because people had a sense that I said what I meant,” Obama said in an interview for “The Axe Files,” a podcast hosted by his former top strategist David Axelrod. “What I oftentimes am looking for first and foremost is, do you seem to mean it? Are you in this thing because you have a strong set of convictions that you are willing to risk things for?”
“What I liked most about his race was that it didn’t feel constantly poll-tested,” Obama added of O’Rourke. “It felt as if he based his statements and his positions on what he believed. And that, you’d like to think, is normally how things work. Sadly it’s not.”
Beto O'Rourke takes the stage during a rally in Houston on Nov. 5, 2018. (Michael Robinson Chavez/The Washington Post)
O’Rourke last month finished 2.6 percentage points behind Republican Sen. Ted Cruz. Even in defeat, however, he was able to build a deep fundraising base, bringing in more money than any other candidate in the nation, and had a knack for creating moments that went viral online.
He vowed repeatedly not to run in 2020 during his Senate campaign buthas been reevaluating those plans over the last few weeks. One of the major factors weighing on him is the strain placed on his family. He was away for long stretches during the Senate race, which was particularly hard on his kids.
Some of his closest friends still expect him to run, with one of them putting 60-40 odds on his getting into the race.
O’Rourke has enlisted his longtime aide, David Wysong, to handle the barrage of incoming calls. But he has not made any commitments and has largely ignored requests coming from groups in the early-voting states of Iowa and New Hampshire eager to have him visit.
O’Rourke was not among the slate of candidates that Obama endorsed during the midterm elections, but that came in part at O’Rourke’s request.
Obama offered several times to help O’Rourke’s campaign, includingto come to Texas for a rally or to record robo-calls offering his endorsement, according to a source close to the O’Rourke campaign. Obama even recorded a video that O’Rourke’s campaign never utilized; it remained a subject of internal debate.
O’Rourke rarely used surrogates during his campaign and did not like the idea of having outside voices tell Texans how to vote. He also hasn’t forgotten his 2012 congressional campaign, when Obama — as well as another former president, Bill Clinton — endorsed his opponent, eight-term Democratic congressman Silvestre Reyes.
“I don’t think we’re interested,” O’Rourke said in October about an Obama endorsement. “I am so grateful to him for his service; he’s going to go down as one of the greatest presidents. And yet, this is on Texas.”
He also referred to the 2012 campaign, in which the top Democrats worked against him.
“Bill Clinton fills up the county coliseum, and a screaming El Paso Times front-page headline [said] ‘President urges El Paso to stick with Reyes,’ ” he said. “And we won. And what that drove home for me is that someone else’s popularity is not transferrable to a given candidate.”
Americans need a new generation of leaders tethered to truth, justice and science. At a time when the future of our Nation is threatened by greed, we need leaders, not followers. I think that an O'Rourke-Gillum ticket for the Presidency in 2020 would unite Democrats, independents and thinking Republicans -- all who love our country. Out with the demagogic dotard in the White House. In with reformers. It's our town and our country.
Could Beto O’ Rourke Or Andrew Gillum Beat Trump In A Presidential Election?
Andrew Gillum and Beto O’Rourke lost their races by thin margins and now there is talk of them running for President of the United States to defeat Donald Trump in 2020. Reportedly, they both met with our 44th, and deeply missed, President Barack Obama.
According to CNN, Gillum recently met with Obama, who was campaigning for him in Florida. On Tuesday, Gillum was in Washington, D.C. to speak at the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, and while there he met with Obama. There aren’t details about their conversation, but is safe to assume there was a discussion about the presidency. When Gillum was asked about running for president in 2020, he said, “I plan on being married to my wife. That is all I am planning. What I am committed to doing between now and 2020 is doing everything I can to make the state of Florida available and winnable for the democratic nominee for president.”
The Washington Post reports O’Rourke met with Obama last month, “The meeting, which was held Nov. 16 at the former president’s offices in Foggy Bottom, came as former Obama aides have encouraged the Democratic House member to run, seeing him as capable of the same kind of inspirational campaign that caught fire in the 2008 presidential election.”
While O’Rourke and Gillum garnered public enthusiasm around their campaigns, it may be a tough sell to run for president considering they both lost. Obama, after all, was the senator of Illinois. In addition, with the possibility of Joe Biden running, this may not be their time. That said, stranger things have happened: Trump is president.
Florida Governor-elect Ronald DeSantis has recommended Speaker Richard Corcoran for Education Commissioner, a bow to charter schools and their political influence in Florida's Republican Party. Mr. DeSantis named Coral Springs Democratic State Rep. Jared Moskowitz, "general counsel to AshBritt Environmental, a disaster management company that contracts for debris cleanup and other emergency response services after disasters." What could possibly go wrong? From Orlando Sentinel:
DeSantis picks Corcoran for education commissioner, Democrat for emergency post
TALLAHASSEE – Gov.-elect Ron DeSantis made two major hires to his incoming administration, tapping former House Speaker Richard Corcoran for Education commissioner and Jared Moskowitz, a Democratic state representative from South Florida, as director of the state’s emergency response agency.
“Richard is known as a no-nonsense reformer whose sole focus has been how best to support students, parents and teachers,” DeSantis said. “This issue is very personal to me. (My wife) Casey and I believe that the future of our children and the future of all Florida’s children depend on our education system.”
The Corcoran move is formally a recommendation to the state Board of Education, which will make the final decision on the hire, but it is presumed that the board – a seven-member panel appointed by the governor – will adopt DeSantis’ pick.
Marva Johnson, chair of the board and a transition team advisor to DeSantis, said Corcoran “has the knowledge and experience to ensure continued success at the Department of Education and to protect Florida’s legacy as a national leader in education.”
Corcoran is a Land O’Lakes attorney who was term-limited this year after serving eight years in the House, the last two as House Speaker and doesn’t have a background in education. His wife, Anne, however, is a founder of a Pasco County charter school.
He has supported major school choice policies, such as a program allowing charter school companies to compete directly against failing traditional public schools and a new voucher program allowing bullied students to attend a school of their parents’ choice.
Those programs are opposed by teachers unions and some school administrators who argue they deprive traditional school systems of authority and operating funds.
“(Richard Corcoran) oversaw the passage of some of the most destructive education legislation in recent memory,” the Florida Education Association, the state’s largest teachers union posted on Twitter. “We owe it to our students to conduct a national search for a highly qualified education professional as commissioner of education. #StopCorcoran.”
Besides the policies Corcoran pushed, critics objected to his zeal for expanding voucher programs and making it easier for charter schools to operate. Upon taking over the House in 2016, he called the FEA’s lawsuit against a voucher program “downright evil.”
Pam Stewart resigned as education commissioner Tuesday, paving the way for Corcoran. She made $276,000 per year in the role.
Moskowitz is a Coral Springs Democrat who works as general counsel to AshBritt Environmental, a disaster management company that contracts for debris cleanup and other emergency response services after disasters.
“Representative Moskowitz will be a great leader for the future of the Florida Division of Emergency Management, preparing our state for situations that need rapid response and real-time execution in the face of crisis,” DeSantis said.
The current DEM director, Wes Maul, had already announced his resignation effective next month. Maul earned $141,000 in the position.
Our St. Johns County Florida legislative delegation meets today, December 7, 2018.
I will present on the proposed St. Augustine National Historical Park and National Seashore Study Amendment.
On a related topic, here's the February 18, 2010 letter of unanimous support from the St. Augustine, Ponte Vedra & The Beaches Visitors and Convention Bureau: February 18, 2010
Leslie White
Heritage Area Coordinator
St. Augustine Lighthouse and Museum, Inc and
the Proposed Nation’s Oldest Port National Heritage Area Working group
81 Lighthouse Avenue
St. Augustine, FL 32080
Dear Ms. White:
The St. Augustine, Ponte Vedra & The Beaches VCB Board of Directors unanimously supports the proposal to designate a Nation’s Oldest Port National Heritage Area. This national designation will be an important and appropriate recognition of the unique and valuable assets within St. Johns and Flagler Counties’ coastal area and along our waterways.
Designation as a National Heritage Area will complement our many local efforts to preserve and promote the historic, cultural, natural, recreational and scenic resources that make up our region’s maritime story, cultural diversity and traditions. Designation will help this community continue to improve its coordination with other organizations and jurisdictions, including maritime and heritage organizations, environmental groups, local governments, and economic development and tourism promotion entities, leading to the enhanced preservation, richer interpretation, and greater promotion of these resources. An increase in heritage tourism related to these resources will bring long-term economic opportunities for local business while honoring and enriching our heritage.
We look forward to recognition of our Nation’s oldest port and surrounding coastal region as a National Heritage Area and the benefits this recognition will bring to our communities.
Never again. This monstrosity is a tribute to the power of Big Money from Miami to corrupt our village. St. Augustine Beach residents were snookered by unjust stewards in their City government. It's time for a change. No more massive hotels on our beach.
HIDE CAPTION
The new Embassy Suites by Hilton St. Augustine Beach Oceanfront Resort opened its doors to customers on Friday. [PETER WILLOTT/THE RECORD]
Posted Dec 7, 2018 at 8:49 PMUpdated Dec 7, 2018 at 8:49 PM
After years of planning and construction, and not without some controversy, the county’s most luxurious beachfront hotel south of Ponte Vedra Beach is now open, but its importance will go beyond the fact that it will put some tourists right on the sandy shore.
What the new Embassy Suites in St. Augustine Beach has that other area hotels don’t is event space. Yes, there will be plenty of weddings, but with beach view meeting rooms as large as 5,000 square feet and as cozy as a board room, the hotel has the potential to become a hub of corporate meetings and events.
The 175-room hotel, owned and developed by Key International, officially opened Friday.
Those associated with the hotel and those just in the tourism industry acknowledge the importance of having the ability to host so many events.
“On the beach, there aren’t a lot of options for that,” said Jason Kern, the general manager of the new Embassy Suites.
In the non-traditional travel season, corporate events can keep the rooms filled and expose the hotel to potential clients who might come back during the more popular vacation times.
Kern said it’s unusual to have such a great location that works for both business and leisure. And with the economy booming in the entire Jacksonville metro area, Kern expects many opportunities to work with corporate clients in Jacksonville, Orlando and other regional business hubs.
“We’re in that window where we’re far enough away where you can have a meeting and people will stay overnight and you kind of get the experience you’re looking for,” he said. “Or you can make it a day meeting where people can come here and meet and go back to the office. You get them off site, get them out work environment, get things done.”
For the county, adding more business travelers expands the appeal and knowledge of the destination, according to Richard Goldman, president and CEO of the county visitors and convention bureau.
“Groups are important to us for a couple of reasons,” Goldman said. “One is that they are typically fairly significant pieces of business at any given time. When they are at events, they have spouses (who are just visitors). That means when they are in their functions, another portion of the group is out enjoying the rest of the destination.
“It also exposes the attendees to the destination as potential leisure guests.”
While Kern and his staff are confident the new hotel will make a great impression on guests, they’re also working to win over locals.
Despite the fact that the Embassy Suites replaces a rundown hotel that was harshly criticized by customers in its final years, there is still some animosity among residents about the size of the new structure as well as its aims to build a water park on the property and a pending lawsuit.
“As we welcome this new business into our tiny City, let’s keep in mind that one of their more welcoming first acts was to sue us,” wrote attorney Jane West of Jane West Law in a Facebook post on Friday. “Remember when the City denied their application to build a giant tacky splash park? Their response was to file a lawsuit. And you, as taxpayers, are paying for the defense of that ongoing litigation.
“So enjoy the grand opening, but if you have time, feel free to also watch the oral argument of this case. It’s scheduled for [Jan. 17 at 10 a.m.] before Judge Traynor in courtroom 305 ... Open to the public. Better yet, perhaps as a gesture of being a good community partner, Embassy should withdraw their case so we can truly celebrate?”
Litigation aside, Kern said there are efforts being made to assimilate into the neighborhood. Open houses are planned as early as this month.
He also points out that the hotel employees about 100 people who live in the area and likely will add 10-20 more seasonal workers during the busiest months. Hiring in the hospitality industry has been very competitive, but Kern said they’ve been pretty successful so far, even in a county with one of the lowest unemployment rates in the state.
“We want to be the employer of choice in town,” Kern said. “We want to create the right culture for people who want to work here, so we’ll have a fun, beach culture here.
“We think we did a great job in our hiring, but we still have more positions, so word will get out that this is a great place to work.”
1. Why doesn't County Government TV (GTV) televise these annual legislative delegation meetings? They're part of our democracy -- like Lincoln's daily "public opinion baths." 2. Why doesn't the Record do what it used to do -- advance coverage, listing speakers on the agenda and encouraging public participation and attendance? 3. Why did Record's 701 word article omit ANY coverage of DOUGLAS NELSON BURNETT's latest dingbat idea -- renaming our St. Augustine Airport as "Northeast Florida Regional Airport," done without legislative approval? No marketing or branding studies. For several years, conflicted developer and Airport lawyer BURNETT has fumbled efforts at a local law approved by the legislature, violating procedural requirements. Like watching a duck make love to a football. Uncandid corporate mouthpiece had NO defenses to my critique of his scheme in public comment. Is Record covering for this secrecy? As Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan said, "Secrecy is for losers." 4. America's Best Idea -- our National Park Service -- promises to provide some of the answer to pressing problems discussed by legislative delegation meeting witnesses, including development pressure on our history and nature (like Fish Island) and beach erosion. Once again, the Record's bored reporter ignored StAugustGreen's unrebutted testimony on the need for the proposed St. Augustine National Historical Park and National Seashore, first proposed by Mayor Walter Fraser in 1939. 5. 701 word story -- are y'all kidding me? Not nearly enough information for readers about the annual legislative delegation meeting 6. No video coverage by SJC GTV. Why? Ask your St. Johns County Administrator, MICHAEL DAVID WANCHICK. 7. Pitiful. St. Johns County residents deserve better from SJC and SAR!! 8. Citizens are being kept in the dark by those "Billion Dollar Babies" in our local governments and the Incredible Shrinking St. Augustine Record's greedy owner-investors, GateHouse Media. 9. The ghosts of our Founding Fathers are watching us. 10. It's time for a change. 11. On affordable housing, the answers include Living Wage Ordinances for government employees, franchisee and government contractor employees; raising wages for workers; unionizing local workplaces, and requiring developers to dedicate land to affordable housing. 12. I first spoke out in favor of a local Living Wage Ordinance in 2005; those concerns fell on uncaring ears. 13. Unfortunately, the all-white, all-male, all-Republican BoCC is guilty of Housing Apartheid. County Administrator MICHAEL DAVID WANCHICK is a Tinpot Napoleon who brandishes arrogant insipid insouciance to basic human needs, to which the corrupt political machine of Sheriff DAVID SHOAR barely pays lip service. 14. No Democrat has run for County Commission or any countywide office since 2006 -- 1/8 of a century ago. Why? 15. SJC BoCC has repeatedly allowed devious developers to delete affordable housing from their Planned Unit Development ordinances, at the drop of a campaign contribution, as with the recent deletion of Nocatee's 40 acres. 16. The County's affordable housing advisory committee is moribund. 17. As RFK once said, "Government belongs wherever evil needs an adversary or there are people in distress who cannot help themselves."
Affordable housing a top focus at St. Johns County Legislative Delegation meeting
State Senator Travis Hutson and state Representatives Cyndi Stevenson and Paul Renner meet with members of the public during the annual St. Johns County Legislative Delegation held in the county administration building in St. Augustine on Friday. [PETER WILLOTT/THE RECORD]
By Sheldon Gardner Posted Dec 7, 2018 at 6:31 PM Updated Dec 7, 2018 at 8:49 PM
Members of the St. Johns County Legislative Delegation heard from about 30 speakers on Friday morning, most of whom asked for funding or other legislative help.
The delegation — made up of state Sen. Travis Hutson and state Reps. Cyndi Stevenson and Paul Renner — met at the St. Johns County Auditorium. The forum offered local leaders and the public a chance to voice their concerns and make requests of the delegation before the upcoming legislative session, which will begin in March.
Among the most common topics Friday were affordable housing, mental health, substance abuse and natural resources.
Affordable housing
St. Augustine Mayor Nancy Shaver, while addressing the panel, said most renters in St. Johns County, including the city, are economically stressed because of how much they pay for housing.
“That’s our teachers and firefighters,” she said. “They can’t afford to live in the communities they serve.”
The vacation-rental industry has also cut down on workforce housing, she said. A lack of affordable housing makes it harder for people to get out of homelessness, she said.
“Without affordable housing, we just can’t get these folks back on their feet so they are productive members of our community,” Shaver said.
Hutson said he’d like to work with the city on ways to better regulate vacation rentals under existing laws.
Mental health, substance abuse
Leaders in behavioral health care, which includes mental health and substance abuse treatment, in the region requested more state help in providing services.
Ivan Cosimi, CEO of SMA Healthcare, a behavioral health provider in the region, asked for legislators to support the state’s investment in a community mental health system. He also asked for continued support of the Florida Assertive Community Treatment team, a group of medical professionals and case managers who serve the most profoundly mentally ill people in St. Johns and Putnam counties.
Patti Greenough, of the St. Johns County Behavioral Health Consortium, asked for the delegation’s support in getting recurring funding for the FACT team so officials wouldn’t have to continually request it. She echoed Cosimi’s request for funding for a community mental health system.
Greenough is also CEO of EPIC Behavioral Healthcare, and she said the organization’s detox center is at capacity all the time and needs funding to expand.
Hutson asked Greenough to provide an estimated cost of expanding the detox facility, adding that the delegation might be able to get a one-time capital expense in the state budget.
Natural resources
Several people supported continued investment in various parts of the county’s coastline through beach renourishment.
Lori Moffett, of the nonprofit Save Ponte Vedra Beach, asked for the delegation’s support in getting state funding for a beach renourishment in Ponte Vedra Beach. She said residents in the area have already agreed to help pay for it through added taxes on their properties.
Hutson, Renner and Stevenson said they would be willing to help Moffett with the effort.
Maureen Long, of the advocacy group Friends of Fish Island, asked for help in preserving the land overlooking the Matanzas River about southeast of the State Road 312 bridge. D.R. Horton recently attempted to rezone the land for a residential development, but St. Augustine’s Planning and Zoning Board turned down the request. The land has existing development rights.
Tom Rivers, a commissioner of the St. Augustine Port, Waterway, and Beach District, asked for support in allowing the special taxing district to expand to bring in more revenue. The district levies a millage rate of 0.0638. Hutson suggested that the district present specific funding requests to the delegation instead of expanding the taxing district.
John Pilecki, representing St. Johns County’s Democratic Environmental Caucus, supported a fracking ban at all government levels.
Jim McCarthy, president of the North Florida Land Trust, touted the benefits of land conservation such as flood prevention and the tourism draw of natural beauty. He asked for the delegation to push for land conservation funds through Amendment 1 to be used as voters intended. The amendment passed in 2014 to use a portion of tax revenue from real-estate documentary stamps for the Land Acquisition Trust Fund, but the issue of how the money should be used has been debated in court, according to the Tampa Bay Times.
Comments Edward Adelbert Slavin 1. Why doesn't County Government TV (GTV) televise these annual legislative delegation meetings? They're part of our democracy -- like Lincoln's daily "public opinion baths." 2. Why doesn't the Record do what it used to do -- advance coverage, listing speakers on the agenda and encouraging public participation and attendance? 3. Why did Record's 701 word article omit ANY coverage of DOUGLAS NELSON BURNETT's latest dingbat idea -- renaming our St. Augustine Airport as "Northeast Florida Regional Airport," done without legislative approval? No marketing or branding studies. For several years, conflicted developer and Airport lawyer BURNETT has fumbled efforts at a local law approved by the legislature, violating procedural requirements. Like watching a duck make love to a football. Uncandid corporate mouthpiece had NO defenses to my critique of his scheme in public comment. Is Record covering for this secrecy? As Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan said, "Secrecy is for losers." 4. America's Best Idea -- our National Park Service -- promises to provide some of the answer to pressing problems discussed by legislative delegation meeting witnesses, including development pressure on our history and nature (like Fish Island) and beach erosion. Once again, the Record's bored reporter ignored StAugustGreen's unrebutted testimony on the need for the proposed St. Augustine National Historical Park and National Seashore, first proposed by Mayor Walter Fraser in 1939. 5. 701 word story -- are y'all kidding me? Not nearly enough information for readers about the annual legislative delegation meeting 6. No video coverage by SJC GTV. Why? Ask your St. Johns County Administrator, MICHAEL DAVID WANCHICK. 7. Pitiful. St. Johns County residents deserve better from SJC and SAR!! 8. Citizens are being kept in the dark by those "Billion Dollar Babies" in our local governments and the Incredible Shrinking St. Augustine Record's greedy owner-investors, GateHouse Media. 9. The ghosts of our Founding Fathers are watching us. 10. It's time for a change. 11. On affordable housing, the answers include Living Wage Ordinances for government employees, franchisee and government contractor employees; raising wages for workers; unionizing local workplaces, and requiring developers to dedicate land to affordable housing. 12. I first spoke out in favor of a local Living Wage Ordinance in 2005; those concerns fell on uncaring ears. 13. Unfortunately, the all-white, all-male, all-Republican BoCC is guilty of Housing Apartheid. County Administrator MICHAEL DAVID WANCHICK is a Tinpot Napoleon who brandishes arrogant insipid insouciance to basic human needs, to which the corrupt political machine of Sheriff DAVID SHOAR barely pays lip service. 14. No Democrat has run for County Commission or any countywide office since 2006 -- 1/8 of a century ago. Why? 15. SJC BoCC has repeatedly allowed devious developers to delete affordable housing from their Planned Unit Development ordinances, at the drop of a campaign contribution, as with the recent deletion of Nocatee's 40 acres. 16. The County's affordable housing advisory committee is moribund. 17. As RFK once said, "Government belongs wherever evil needs an adversary or there are people in distress who cannot help themselves."
Our current Education Commissioner, former Assistant St. Johns County School Superintendent Pamela Stewart, is a qualified educator. She's resigned.
In her place, the State Board of Education needs to hire another educator and reject CORCORAN, who got his law degree at right-wing nut PAT ROBERTSON's Regent University.
Separation of Church and State is a priority.
Departing Florida House Speaker RICHARD CORCORAN thinks he's slick, but is he a hick hack looking to cramdown Charter Schools and destroy public education?
What do y'all reckon?
Qualifications for education commissioner should rise above politics Bill Cotterell, Capital Curmudgeon Published 3:06 p.m. ET Dec. 8, 2018 Tallahassee Democrat
The Florida Constitution provides:
“The education of children is a fundamental value of the people of the state of Florida. It is, therefore, a paramount duty of the state to make adequate provision for the education of all children residing within its borders.”
That article goes on to say there will be a kindergarten system and to spell out duties and responsibilities of the Department of Education. In a separate action, the Constitution Revision Commission in 1998 reorganized the Cabinet, removing the commissioner of education and making that important post an appointive job, but the Constitution doesn’t set qualifications for the commissioner.
Florida’s top education official is officially hired by the State Board of Education, upon nomination by the governor. If the 1998 CRC intended to get some politics out of public education, by switching from statewide election to gubernatorial appointment of commissioners, that hasn’t happened.
On paper, executive appointment affords an opportunity for a governor and State Board to do a nationwide search and, once they decide what they want in a commissioner, hire an expert in education policy, legislative relations and administrative management. The skills needed to win an election are not the same as the ability to run a big department.
Gov.-elect Ron DeSantis late last week announced his selection of Richard Corcoran, the immediate past speaker of the Florida House, to succeed Commissioner Pam Stewart as head the DOE. Board approval is expected, but Corcoran’s affection for what Republicans call “school choice” – and Democrats refer to “privatization” – has made his nomination more controversial than most.
That Corcoran enthusiastically shares the incoming governor’s conservative views of education is hardly surprising. If Andrew Gillum had won the election, don’t you think he’d be selecting a liberal commissioner deeply committed to everything the Democrats and the Florida Education Association believe?
What you see as politicizing education (or the lottery, the prison system, the courts or anything else controlled by a new governor) depends on whom you liked for governor. A look at recent DOE commissioners, elected or appointed, would indicate that politics has always figured more prominently than classroom experience.
About 50 years ago, there was Floyd Christian, a former Pinellas County educator who was skilled at winning election but wound up getting convicted of a federal tax rap. That allowed Gov. Reubin Askew in 1973 to appoint Gainesville Rep. Ralph Turlington – like Corcoran, a former House speaker – who won some re-elections and didn’t run again in 1986 so he could lead the constitutional amendment campaign for the state lottery.
Then there was Betty Castor, a Tampa legislator who went on to become president of the University of South Florida and ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate. She was replaced for about a year by former Rep. Doug Jamerson of St. Petersburg, who was appointed by Gov. Lawton Chiles. He was defeated by Frank Brogan, a former classroom teacher and county school superintendent – and Republican – in the Gingrich Revolution of 1994.
Jeb Bush picked Brogan for lieutenant governor in 1998, the year the CRC removed the education commissioner from the elected Cabinet and made post elective as of 2002. Tom Gallagher, a former legislator and insurance commissioner who’d run for governor, was elected in 1998 but switched back to insurance commissioner in 2000 and Charlie Crist became the last elected education commissioner.
Then again, what hasn’t Charlie Crist run for?
Jeb Bush made education the cornerstone of his administration, selecting former Sen. Jim Horne – like Corcoran, a legislative insider and former appropriations chairman – as the first appointed DOE chief.
It signaled a major philosophical shift toward charter schools, tuition vouchers and everything else anathema to Democrats. Experience in education or government administration was still nice, but an unyielding belief in taxpayer support of private schools was indispensable.
The common thread running through all these elected or appointed commissioners has been political favoritism. Turlington, Castor, Gallagher and Crist were all politicians, more than educators or executive administrators, and they ran their offices – ran for their offices – as opportunities presented themselves.
We have standard qualifying criteria for some executive appointees, in agencies with far smaller budgets and less impact on lives of Floridians than DOE has. It might be impossible to get politically motivated legislators to define what talents and experience we want for the most expensive and important function of state government.
But the criteria should be more than just sharing the governor’s opinions on charter schools and tuition vouchers.
Bill Cotterell is a retired Tallahassee Democrat reporter who writes a twice-weekly column. He can be reached at bcotterell@tallahassee.com
I agree with LWV. We need a national search for an Education Commission We need a proven educator, like Pamela Stewart. The Commissioner of Education must not be a payoff to right-wing extremists who want to cramdown Charter Schools. Outgoing term-limited lame duck Florida House Speaker RICHARD CORCORAN (R-Land-o-Lakes), a graduate of REGENT UNIVERSITY, founded by racist, sexist, homophobic TRUMP-loving televangelist PAT ROBERTSON, son of a segregationist U.S. Senator. Reactionary dotard "Rev." PAT ROBERTSON immodestly named his law school building and School of Government after himself. (Query: is violating the First Commandment?).
Regent University - Robertson Hall, home to the School of Law and Robertson School of Government
League of Women Voters of Florida: Not so fast on new FL Education Commissioner Florida Phoenix
By Diane Rado -December 7, 2018 The League of Women Voters of Florida is reminding the State Board of Education to do its job on selecting a new Education Commissioner.
Essentially, that means doing a national search for the best candidate rather than quickly choosing Governor-elect Ron DeSantis’s choice — former House Speaker Richard Corcoran.
“As members of the State Board of Education you not only have the opportunity, but a constitutional responsibility, to conduct a national search to find the person who is best suited to oversee Florida’s system of public education,” League president Patricia Brigham wrote in a letter Friday to State Board of Education chair Marva Johnson and other board members.
The letter also reminds the board that it has the responsibility to pick the new Education Commissioner — not the governor.
“At a minimum, Floridians expect you to carry out a due diligence process aimed at ensuring Florida’s students that an individual of the highest possible caliber oversees public education. We urge you to take this important duty seriously and not simply “rubber stamp” a politically motivated choice,” Brigham wrote. DeSantis on Thursday recommended Corcoran for the job. If approved, Corcoran would follow Pam Stewart, who has served since 2013. She announced earlier this week that she was stepping down and plans to retire. Corcoran, 53, has been one of the most powerful House Speakers in decades and has represented influential Pasco County in the state Legislature. An attorney, he graduated from a small law school at Regent University, a private Christian university. He’s been a champion of nontraditional charter schools and voucher programs that allow kids to go to private schools.
He’s a passionate supporter of school choice – the idea that students shouldn’t have to go to the school in their particular neighborhood.
But not all educators, union officials, lawmakers and even families may have the same views as Corcoran. In Florida, traditional public schools have been pitted against public charter schools run by private groups.
Thanks to government watchdog Thomas Reynolds for raising public consciousness of this issue. I've spoken out about it at Commission. The lack of transit is part of the hostile working environment for working people to exist in St. Johns County. Developer-driven government officials: repent now.
The headline for this story is weak in the print edition:
but spot on in the online edition, viz:
Sunshine Bus riders complain about service; system managers say funding is one problem By Sheldon Gardner Posted Dec 8, 2018 at 6:45 PM Updated Dec 8, 2018 at 6:45 PM
When asked what it’s like to ride the Sunshine Bus, the public transit system in St. Johns County, St. Augustine South resident Paul Katz launched into complaints.
“They’re never on time,” Katz said.
Katz said he relies on the bus system to get to work in Vilano Beach, and he wakes up a few hours early on work days to accommodate the bus schedule.
He recalled one time that he was left stranded on Vilano Beach when a bus didn’t show up. When he called the number to reach the Sunshine Bus, he couldn’t get an answer. He had to call a friend to get him, he said.
“I waited for five and a half hours,” he said. “The bus never came.”
A few other people who spoke with The Record shared similar comments about the service. Complaints included late buses or those that don’t show up, rude drivers, the time it takes to get from one place to another and not getting an answer when calling for help.
Operators of the bus system acknowledged there are some problems, but funding to correct those issues isn’t available.
Alicia Hanson rested at a bus stop near Flagler College on Monday. Like Katz, she relies on the Sunshine Bus to get to work.
“They’re always late,” she said, adding that she texts her boss when that happens. “I’ve got a good boss. She understands.”
Hanson said she’s complained a couple of times to Sunshine Bus management about the lateness, but nothing has changed.
She said some of the drivers and buses are good, but the route itself is a challenge. Her workplace is about a 10-minute drive away, yet returning home from work takes more than an hour, she said.
Similar complaints have come to the Council on Aging, which operates the Sunshine Bus.
Becky Yanni, executive director of the COA, and Sunshine Bus Manager George Hesson recently talked with The Record about the bus system and complaints.
Hesson said the target is for drivers to arrive no more than five minutes late, and Yanni said the only reason drivers would be late would be because of traffic or accidents. Hesson said that while the bus system’s organization has largely stayed the same in more than 10 years, the county’s population and traffic levels have grown.
Both Hesson and Yanni said that safety is the No. 1 priority, which means timeliness takes a backseat if need be. He said the traffic has increased in St. Johns County while the system has largely stayed the same.
“We try our best to maintain a schedule, and I think for the most part we do,” Yanni said.
When the Sunshine Bus began operating in 2,000, it provided about 400 rides a month, Yanni said. Now, the system provides 24,000-26,000 a month, Yanni said.
The system has 32 drivers, whose starting pay is $13.50, and eight routes, Hesson said, adding that its 15 buses are aging.
The budget for the system is $3.5 million from a mix of local, state and federal dollars, Yanni said. St. Johns County pays more than $270,000 of that, and the Council on Aging uses that money to draw the rest of the funding from other sources. The regular fare for the bus is $1 per one-way trip and $2 for a daily pass.
Yanni said the organization would like to increase the hours of operation and the number of times buses arrive at stops, but that depends on more funding becoming available.
She also said the organization is working at improving customer service at the office, including with how calls to the Sunshine Bus phone number are handled.
Because the call volume has “increased dramatically,” and because the organization can’t afford to hire more staff members, the Council on Aging is looking for volunteers to train who can help answer the calls.
Still, she said, “Most most of the challenges that we face we would be in a better position with better funding.”
1. Finally, a forensic audit? By whom? For whom? 2. No potential target or subject of a pending criminal investigation should EVER be allowed to hire and choose a forensic auditor -- that's a blatant conflict of interest. Any such an "audit" is not worth the paper it's printed on. 3. Whatever happened to the special prosecutor saying that HE was ordering a forensic audit? 4. Is there more than one forensic audit in process? 5. Or is SHOAR picking the ONLY forensic auditor and setting the parameters of the forensic audit? 6. This is a matter for the IRS and Federal Bureau of Investigation, involving federal crimes. 7. The alleged embezzler was entrusted with multiple duties that are ordinarily separated -- lax internal controls. SHOAR is responsible for the those lax internal controls. The buck stops with him. He must be held accountable 8. The alleged embezzler deposited stolen government money in a joint checking account shared with an FDLE supervisor, one of SHOAR's friends. 9. The alleged embezzlement was uncovered when Bank of America's Fraud Department reported the alleged embezzler's signature on a single check deposited directly into her account, instead of phony corporate accounts, for the first time in five years. 10. The alleged embezzler reported directly to controversial St. Johns County Sheriff DAVID SHOAR, who legally changed his name from "HOAR" in 1994. 11. Sheriff SHOAR/HOAR covered up and obstructed justice -- he should have recused himself on September 2, 2010 in the criminal investigation of Sheriff's Deputy JEREMY BANKS re: September 2, 2010 Michelle O'Connell homicide. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/film/death-in-st-augustine/ http://www.nytimes.com/projects/2013/two-gunshots/ 12. SHOAR/HOAR attacked Michelle's grieving family for "molesting" her body by order an exhumation and autopsy. 13. SHOAR/HOAR stirred up harassing civil litigation against Special Agent Rusty Ray Rodgers, trying to get him fired and prosecuted. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/17/us/michelle-oconnell-jeremy-banks.html 14. SHOAR/HOAR is a stench in the nostrils of our Nation. 15. Now amidst a financial scandal, SHOAR/HOAR attacks Commissioner Jeremiah Blocker for asking for an independent audit, with a snide remark about "making political hay." 16. Thank you, Commissioner Blocker, for speaking your mind. That's why the people elected you. 17. We in the reality-based community appreciate elected officials like you and Mayor Nancy Shaver: we expect data-based decisions. 18. Is SHOAR/HOAR is still mad because Blocker defeated his chosen candidate, who came in THIRD in the Republican Primary August 28, 2018? Or because Mr. Blocker replaces SHOAR's favorite Commissioner JAY MORRIS, who SHOAR persuaded to run for Commissioner, by MORRIS' own admission. 19. SHOAR/HOAR's megalomaniacal Tinpot Napoleon Trumpery, his hick hack effrontery, is like a honky tonk medley of the genre of crooked Southern Sheriff movies. 20. Is SHOAR/HOAR is obstructing justice, once again, just like President DONALD JOHN TRUMP? 21. Enough flummery, dupery and nincompoopery, waste,fraud and abuse, misfeasance, malfeasance and nonfeasance from St. Johns County. 22. Who does SHOAR/HOAR think he's talking to? The St. Johns County Republican Executive Committee? Will the elected leaders of some 250,000 St. Johns County residents look at SHOAR/HOAR's antics and say, "Enough?" 23. "To sin by silence, when we should protest, makes cowards of men." Ella Wheeler Wilcox 24. Like Neil Perry and L.O. David before him, ex officio, Sheriff SHOAR/HOAR once headed a political machine. Is that machine now in stinking ruins amidst an unresolved deputy homicide and pending embezzlement scandal? 25. Will St. Johns County Commissioners and the Florida Legislative Audit Committee do their jobs without fear or favor? 26. SHOAR/HOAR is in NO position to give orders to Commissioners, including Commissioner Blocker, or the Record.. 27. SHOAR/HOAR is only ONE constituent, with one vote and one opinion, just like any other voter. 28. To Commissioners, legislators, Governor and Cabinet: Ignore SHOAR/HOAR's ranting cant and self-serving attacks on truth-seekers and his self-serving solipsistic smirky turkey statement that, “I’m going to rely on the private sector over the public sector.” 29. Sounds incredibly arrogant, not unlike French King Louis XIV, who famously said, "L'etat c'est moi." ("I AM THE STATE.). 30. FBI and IRS need to investigate, with a federal grand jury. There is no substitute. 31. Time for SHOAR/HOAR to retire or be suspended from office by the Governor?
Sheriff’s Office to undergo forensic audit in wake of financial scandal
By Jared Keever Posted Dec 8, 2018 at 6:45 PM Updated Dec 8, 2018 at 6:45 PM
Just weeks after a firing and arrest at the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office amid allegations that the agency’s finance director stole more than $700,000 over a five-year period, Sheriff David Shoar says he has hired an independent auditing firm to conduct a forensic audit of his agency’s books.
“That process has already begun,” he said Friday, seated in his office. “They met with criminal investigators yesterday.”
Shoar called in those investigators from the Polk County Sheriff’s Office around Nov. 15 after he said two employees from the finance department approached him with concerns about a handful of vendor accounts that were being paid through the department.
Within days, the investigators had secured an arrest warrant for the agency’s finance director, Raye A. Brutnell, who is now facing more than 150 felony charges.
Shoar on Friday reiterated points he made in a news conference last month, a day after news of the arrest broke, including that it was important to note the swiftness with which action was taken and that it was two employees who eventually raised the concerns that led to the investigation.
He also dismissed any suggestion that the state Auditor General’s Office would need to come in and conduct its own forensic audit as political posturing, particularly given his having already called in an independent firm and outside investigators to look into the problem.
“This is not the time to make political hay,” Shoar said.
Such an audit by the state agency was raised when Allen MacDonald, chief financial officer of the St. Johns County Clerk of Court and Comptroller Office, appeared before the Board of County Commissioners at their meeting on Tuesday.
Newly elected commissioner Jeremiah Blocker asked MacDonald and a staff member of his about the use of a forensic audit — which is more specific and focused than a general audit — in the wake of such an event and whether one had ever been conducted at the county or at a constitutional office within the county in the last 20 years.
MacDonald said there had not given a history of “year after year after year of there not being any findings” at the conclusion of the general annual audits, or “any reason to believe that a forensic audit needed to be performed on those officials.”
MacDonald was before the board on Tuesday at the request of the commissioners to hear from St. Johns County Clerk of Court and Comptroller Hunter Conrad about the county’s “internal controls” and safeguards in light of the recent troubles at the Sheriff’s Office.
A scheduling conflict did not allow Conrad to be there, but in a letter he promised to “use each and every tool available to mitigate risk, foster transparency, and embrace accountability.”
MacDonald explained a little about the county’s annual auditing process which, by statute, is overseen by the Clerk’s Office and includes audits not only of County administrative offices, but of the constitutional offices — like the Clerk’s and and the Sheriff’s — as well.
In his presentation and in response to other questions from commissioners, MacDonald said it was his recommendation that any “material” coming out of the criminal investigation should be reviewed by county staff to “ensure, if there are any shortcomings within the Board’s internal controls, that the shortcomings be addressed.”
At that same meeting, County Attorney Patrick McCormack said in response to a question about the process from Commissioner Jeb Smith that the conclusion of the investigation would also be the appropriate time to review the county’s contract with Carr, Riggs & Ingram — the firm that conducts the annual audits — to determine if they had met their contractual obligations in recent years.
Shoar agreed Friday that there likely are things that need to be reviewed with the annual auditing process and said he welcomed that work, but held fast to the conviction that any deep audit of his agency was going to be done by an independent firm rather than the state agency.
“I’m going to rely on the private sector over the public sector,” he said.
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