Category — Florida

Shannon Colavecchio, Times/Herald Tallahassee Bureau, says that the GOP agenda loses traction in Florida Senate. Given that the GOP has 65% of the Senate seats, and 65% of the seats in the Florida House, the reality is that this is the agenda of the Christianists, and the GOP has been stringing them along to maintain power. There is nothing preventing the Republicans from doing anything they want – they “own” the legislature and the governor’s chair, so if it isn’t getting done, the Republicans just don’t want to do it.

This is what the GOP doesn’t want to do:

Conservative legislation going nowhere

SB 2396: Evolution — Requires that public school instructors teach a “thorough presentation and critical analysis of the scientific theory of evolution.”

SB 1360/HB 533: Inspirational messages — Gives school districts authority to allow for an “inspirational message,” including prayer or invocation, at noncompulsory high school events as long as a majority of students participating request the message and select a student to deliver it.

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Obviously County Commissioner Campbell has heard from his constituents over his statement that a fellow commissioner would “starve to death” on a salary of $67K. Unfortunately, he tried to explain what he “really meant” to the NWF Daily News: Okaloosa County commissioner says quote was taken out of larger context

When James Campbell said fellow Okaloosa County Commissioner Don Amunds could “starve to death” if he was limited to a commissioner’s salary, he didn’t mean it as an insult to everyone who makes less, he said Thursday.

“I didn’t mean it as a slur to the people that aren’t making $67,000,” Campbell said. “What I want to do is apologize … If it’s my mistake, I apologize. I didn’t mean it that way.”

Mr. Campbell doesn’t understand that all he is doing is making it obvious that he and his fellow commissioners are not very good with their own money, which is why they need to make more than twice the median income of a man in Okaloosa County. If they are this careless with their own money, why would the taxpayers trust them with their money? There are a lot of people in the county who manage to cover the cost of raising kids and making mortgage payments on a lot less than $67K. They may not live in exclusive enclaves on a golf course like Charlie Morris, but they have decent homes in nice neighborhoods.

In tough times, the county needs to have people who know how to live on less, not people who are apparently struggling to live on more.

The NWF Daily News reports on a County Commissioner involved:

In the two years since he rejoined the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office for his second job, County Commissioner Don Amunds has received two raises and three months of adjusted leave – and before that, $4,000 in allowances.

He never questioned it.
…

Commissioner James Campbell called Amunds “one of the most honest people you’ll ever meet,” dismissed any conflict and said a second job is essential. Commissioners make about $67,000 per year under the county’s budget, up 1.2 percent from 2008.

“He’d starve to death on just a commissioner’s salary,” Campbell said. “I’m glad he’s got a job now.”

Mr. Campbell, bless his Republican heart, is an idiot if he isn’t being sarcastic in his statements. First off, before being arrested in Las Vegas Charlie Morris was the most honest person in the county, everyone who was a Republican said so.

As for “starve to death” – a full-time minimum wage [$7.21/hour] job in Florida yields just under $15K. The median income for a male in Okaloosa County is just under $31K. If you can’t live well in this county, and most of the United States, on $67K plus benefits, you are in need of some serious financial counseling.

No wonder Charlie got away with it so long, the county commission don’t know how to live on $67K, so they think huge bonuses are normal. There are only about 180,000 people in the county, so salaries paid to public officials is a significant cost.

[Added Note: The median income for males in the US is just over $45K.]

Wow, things are really getting nasty down here as Republicans and Good Ol’ Boys are out for blood – each others.

The Northwest Florida Daily News is actually starting to commit some journalism, which is a little scary after 8 years as a Hedgemony lap dog.

First up, Sheriff’s Office audit reveals $1.4 million in bonuses and a lot of other financial wheeling in dealing. Not only are rocks being turned over, but the local CPAs have broken the omertà pledge on not speaking ill of each other over previous audits.

In additions to the kick-backs, good-time Charlie had a thing for cars, getting himself about 4 a year. I didn’t drive 4 different vehicles in the 10 years I was in law enforcement. Our Sheriff was definitely a high-roller.

Then we have Okaloosa to sue Valparaiso over F-35 dispute. The county commission voted unanimously to file a law suit against the Valparaiso city commission for attempting to block the F-35 training mission. Eglin AFB is the largest single reason for an economy in Okaloosa County. Tourism is a distant second and it is really on the skids. Anything that threatens the missions at the Base is definitely a threat to the economy of the county. Giving the current economic conditions and the recent actions by Bay County, the county is not going to take any chances.

Pass the popcorn.

The NWF Daily News [Local Puppy Trainer] has an article that shows what motivates these people: NWF to receive $88 million in stimulus

State Sen. Don Gaetz announced Friday afternoon that Northwest Florida will receive $88 million for transportation and infrastructure projects as part of the federal stimulus program. Although the funding still must be approved by the state legislative Budget Committee on April 16, Gaetz said that action basically is a formality.

“I would have voted against the stimulus package as presented by the Obama administration if I had been a U.S. Senator and not a state Senator, and I have a number of reasons why,” Gaetz said. “But since the dollars are appropriated and going to be coming to Florida, I wanted to make sure Northwest Florida was not forgotten. I was pleased we were able to get our key priorities funded. But obviously, there are other projects further down the priority list we still hope we’ll have a chance at.”
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This is the headline from the Local Puppy Trainer: Vandal corrects spelling on anti-Obama sign.

There were a few papers I’ve had returned with red marks on then, but somehow I never thought of correction as criminal mischief, nor assigned the act to the same level of destruction as the sacking of Rome, but then, as a Prussian, the Vandals were neighbors, who, while a bit boisterous at parties, weren’t really as bad as many think. I don’t remember that spelling was particularly important to their culture, probably because they didn’t have a written language.

I would guess that this was someone on Spring Break, because they signed their work and they knew how to spell Hussein.

The Morris Massacre continues: Two fired at Sheriff’s Office

Michael Coup, chief deputy of the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office under Sheriff Charlie Morris, was terminated Thursday.

So was David Yacks, the sheriff’s chief assistant of information technology.

Interim Sheriff Ed Spooner announced that both men had been fired following an internal investigation into their conduct during the time they worked for Morris, who is presently suspended and facing federal criminal charges.

Yacks received $89K in performance bonuses his first year, and most of what he did was buy first class airline tickets to Las Vegas using his American Express card so he could rack up bonus points. For investment bankers $89K may not seem like a lot, but that’s better than twice the median household income for the county. It looks like Charlie had a serious gambling problem, among other things.

FYI: the county only reimburses for coach, not first class.

So, the Local Puppy Trainer says State: Flooded Emerald Coast should qualify for federal aid.

The total rainfall in the past week varies by location, but some parts of Okaloosa County have received more than 20 inches.

There was a lot of rain, but the guy quoted who thinks it was worse than a hurricane obviously doesn’t remember my old friend Georges who dumped 48 inches of rain on us in 4 days. The frogs were wearing little orange life jackets for that one.

The best part of the article was the poll down on the sidebar: “Are recent actions by our government officials leading the United States toward socialism, as some critics contend?”, to which 73% said “Yes”.

Understand that most of the damage was to unpaved, red clay roads that turn into a slippery, slimy mess in the rain. We still have them in the county because they won’t raise taxes enough to pave them. These roads are cheap to pave because the only thing really missing is the asphalt top.

This county will take FEMA money as its due, and not worry that its inaction is the real cause of the problem.

Tornado Watch until 8PM.

Severe Thunderstorm Warning until 2:45PM.

Flood Warnings for the Shoal River, Coldwater Creek, and Blackwater River. [I didn’t want to go North anyway.]

[Watches mean it could happen. Warnings mean it is happening.]

A couple more inches of rain, a tornado or two, the frogs are singing, and there’s mold developing on the mildew on the toadstools. Only one more day to go, and then it will be clear for a couple of days.

The beaches are covered with an invasion of the Portuguese man-of-war [stinging jellyfish] and the surf is too choppy for safe swimming. I’m sure the kids on Spring Break are thrilled. There hasn’t been enough sun for a beige, much less a tan. I don’t think pasty white prune skin from the rain was what they had in mind when they decided to head for the beach.

They say that if March comes in like a lion it will go out like a lamb. This year it came and left like a flounder.

The Local Puppy Trainer reports that Val-P man sues city; Okaloosa takes first step: [Val-P is the local abbreviation for Valparaiso, used because it is hard to spell.]

Valparaiso filed a new lawsuit against the Air Force on Monday opposing the Record of Decision to bring 59 F-35 jets to Eglin. The lawsuit includes a preliminary injunction that could halt construction on the training school campus and a permanent injunction to keep the Air Force from completing its plans. Valparaiso also has asked for the Air Force to pay for damages caused to the city and attorney fees.

While the Valparaiso city commissioners are suing the Air Force, a local Valparaiso resident is suing the city commissioners for violating of the “Sunshine Law” [open meetings law in Florida], and the Okaloosa county commission has unanimously voted to begin to the process to sue the city after the latest move. Apparently the local stimulus package involves full employment for trial lawyers.

Instead of suing, the county should see if the Air Force would be amenable to building a concrete noise barrier between Valparaiso and the base. The Department of Homeland Security could use the project as a test bed for border fence designs.

It look like our drought of three days will end tomorrow with three more days of thunderstorms.

The local rivers are all above flood stage, but were slowly receding, so this will prevent people from removing the mullet from the front lawn and ‘gators from the swimming pool.

The average annual rain for this area is just under 70 inches. We usually get the bulk of that rain during hurricane season from tropical events.

We are getting mildew on the toadstools.

Apparently it takes an economic disaster for people to start looking at what the local government has been up to with tax money. The Local Puppy Trainer is filled with the stories.

I’ve talked about the Sheriff’s problem which led to this dig by a crime victim, Cash Moore: “‘The main thing is … try to help me see whether they’ll give me my 800 back,’ he said. ‘If I don’t hurry up and get my 800 back, they’ll give it out as a bonus.'”

Cash [that’s his real, legal, first name] owns most of the liquor stores, and a good number of the strip clubs [male, as well as female] in the county. He had gone after a guy who had robbed one of his stores of $800, and nearly got his head shot off in the effort. The $800 is being held as evidence by the Sheriff’s Department.

In the Clerk of Courts office a Fired county clerk arrested over missing funds. The individual was performing marriages at the Clerk’s office, but not recording or turning in the $30 when the happy couple paid in cash. No one has suggested that the marriages performed aren’t legal because they were part of a crime. [Just causing trouble because no one married in the Okaloosa Clerk of the Courts office is going to have their divorce featured on Court TV.]

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In local flood news, the Puppy Trainer has a list of roads under water, which includes all of the major North-South roads in the County.

To get to I-10 will require driving up to 35 miles East, or even further West to find a road that is passable. The county received about 9 inches of rain from these systems and the local rivers are still rising.