Blunt analysis

I just finished reading Bernard Goldberg's new book titled, 'Crazies to the Left of Me, Wimps to the Right'. Mr. Goldberg's book was about his interpretation of current politics in Washington DC. His frank discussion spoke for many of us that have been scratching our heads and wondering if the entire world has gone mad. Mr. Goldberg's book explains the shortcomings in both political parties, describing his interpretation of what he calls the far left lunatics to gutless wonders called republicans.

Bernard Goldberg was equally as critical about democrats as he was for the republicans. He describes liberals as hating George W. Bush for standing up for values and principals they grew up hating. He even listed a name for this condition, which is called Bush derangement syndrome. This 'BDS syndrome' was named by Charles Krauthammer, as "the acute onset of paranoia in otherwise normal people in reaction to policies, and the very existence of George W. Bush". Mr. Goldberg goes on to state that Mr. Krauthammer trained at Harvard to be psychiatrist before becoming a Pulitzer Prize winning columnist.

Mr. Goldberg's view of republicans was as equally unflattering, with him calling them gutless wonders in Washington who sold out their principals for power. He said he's had it with hypocritical republicans who say they are for small government but then spend our hard-earned tax money like Imelda Marcos in a shoe store. He stated that he has had it with weak and timid republicans who will not stand up and fight for conservative principals.

The descriptions of party politics, from the far left to the far right, in Mr. Goldberg's book were very blunt but necessary in today's climate. Even though Bernard Goldberg's book was a littler redundant it has become the feeling of many of us. The only major drawback of reading Mr. Goldberg's critical analysis of today's politics was it offered no positive feedback on how we should get back on track, politically speaking...

Art reception...

Last night, I was privileged to the Spring/Summer Art Exhibit and receptionist Brooksville City Hall. Elaine Carnette gave a presentation on her collection of African art from Nigeria. I must say, Ms. Carnette has an impressive collection.

Poetry readings were given by Rosa Leah Addington, Rosalie Lo Curcio and Piero Braggiotti. A duet poem was read with Mr. Braggiotti giving his version in French, as Ms. Lo Curcio read the piece in English.

The city clerk, Karen Phillips, then introduced each artist. She gave a virtual walk through city hall, listing all the artworks on display for the audience. Each audience member was then invited to stroll the halls and enjoy the refreshments provided by Hernando County Fine Arts Council.

I encourage anyone interested in the arts to visit Brooksville City Hall to casually view the current collection on display. There is something there for everyone from wood carvings, to quilts, to paintings and poetry. We have some really talented individuals in our community. Check it out for yourself!

Where' all the money...

The Hernando County Commissioners have really taken a beating lately on the issue of lowering taxes. To be completely fair to the commissioners, the Ad Valorem has not risen dramatically in the past 15 years for those of us that fall under the protection of Save Our Homes. Yes, we have newcomers to the county that were unaware of the property tax structure in Florida and are now feeling the pinch of taxes because of higher property values. We have individuals that jumped into the housing bubble over the last several years that lost their protection under Save Our Homes and are extremely upset because they cannot afford the taxes on their higher assessed properties. Thank goodness the Florida Legislature got the last minute message from those of us that insisted on retaining Save Our Homes in their special session.

Getting back to the local level on tax relief, is it necessary to keep the pressure on the county commissioners during upcoming public hearings on the budget? You bet it is, after reviewing the last seven years of General Fund budgets for the county. The General Fund budget increased a whopping 74% since 2001, with a 27% increase in the population base. How do they justify this increase of expenditures without the citizens asking questions. One question that begs to be asked is what have you gained, personally, from any this new influx of county money in your neighborhood? If the answer was, nothing new, it was the same as my answer.

For those of us that remained in our homes under the protection of "Save Our Homes", the major increases on our personal property tax bill has come in the way of increased fees, not increased millage rates. What we have endured for the last seven years is increased fees for fire service, increased fees for emergency medical services, and increased fees at every turn in the road. The county commissioners have been relentless in approving fee increases even when those on fixed incomes cry out for relief.

The 74% increase in General Funds, along with fee increases, over the past seven years, is not justified with a 27% increase in population in this county over the past seven years. All we want to know is, Where has all this money gone...

No truth to it...

After listening to the term "failed road program" on local talk radio for the past week, I decided to make several inquiries at the Hernando County Department of Public Works. The local talk radio show host stated on Tuesday that the money for the expensive computer system had been wasted and not spent on its intended purpose of road maintenance. Even though I knew that this statement had no truth to it, I decided to contact the county to verify the program was implemented, as promised by the county engineer.

My question was, "Did the computer system ever get implemented into a viable maintenance reporting tool for the county road system? "

This morning I received a very informative email from Pavement Management Coordinator, William Busch. Here is a portion of the text from his email:

The county's Pavement Management System, was implemented in 2000 and has been used to complete the task of repaving and repairing 695 miles of neglected roadway. This was accomplished on time and within budget. A remarkable feat considering the funding ($.03 gas tax) increased 28% between 1999 and 2007, and the price of asphalt increased 129% during the same time period.
A little about our system; PAVER™ is a pavement management system beneficial to all organizations responsible for managing their pavement network. It provides easy access to pavement inventory and inspection information, accurate analysis of current and future conditions, graphical presentations of reports through GIS, and optimization of work planning even with budget restraints.
Funding for Micro PAVER™ is provided by the U.S. Army, U.S. Air Force, U.S. Navy, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). The American Public Works Association (APWA) and the University of Illinois have contributed significantly to the further development of Micro PAVER™, constituting its worldwide use by cities, counties, airports, planning commissions and universities.

Nobleton was one of the first areas to benefit from the residential road paving management system in Hernando County. Our tiny little community had our roads completely repaved in 2000. Even though Nobleton only has 13 paved streets, counting the intersections, this repaving effort by the county really improved our property values as a community. The residents in Nobleton were so impressed because our roads had not been repaved since 1956.

The Hernando County Board of Commissioners will vote on the extension of the $0.03 gas tax for the Road Paving and Maintenance System for the residential road system. Although I dread paying any increases at the gas pump, the use of gas tax money over the last seven years has dramatically improved our county to increase our property values as homeowners. Everyone paid this tax, including visitors to our county. By including the collector roadway network into the Road Paving and Maintenance System, it would enable the continued free flow of traffic, from the residential communities, for work, shop and leisure activities. I urge the commissioners to vote in favor of the continuation of this gas tax, with the inclusion of the collector roadway network, on Tuesday.

*****Please note that I received an email from the radio talk show host this morning (6-18-07) requesting clarification to this post for accuracy. The following is a portion of the text of that email from the talk show host:

I know your concern for accuracy, so therefore I hope you'll correct your blog entry, "No truth To It..." While a listener did make such a statement on my show, I made no such assertion. And, in fact, made a statement concerning how I didn't even know they had such a thing as he and you describe. In fact, I'm not completely sure you and he are talking about the same thing, but regardless, please let your readers know that the statement was by a listener, not the host.

Retain the decorum...

Hernando County Administrator, Gary Kuhl, should be commended for directing all questions about upcoming budget concerns with their Community Relations Director, Brenda Frazier. Budget Director, George Zoettlein will be extremely pressed to meet the one week schedule to implement state-mandated tax cuts from the Florida Legislature's new property tax bill into the county budget for the county commission meeting on June 26, 2007.

Curbing the tide of incomplete information, or just plain misinformation, during this critical period is just common sense. The public is already extremely concerned with the budget process but does not need inflammatory articles in the newspaper, driven by anti-tax crusaders. In that same token, the public would be much better served if the Clerk of Court, Karen Nicolai and County Commissioner David Russell went through the proper chain of command to request information be placed on county commission agendas instead of upstaging the county administrator and Jeff Stabins, our county commission chairman in the media.

Funneling budget information through the Community Relations Director will allow Gary Kuhl the ability to retain the decorum necessary for the budget director to complete his work by next Tuesday. Pray that the decisions made by the Hernando County Board of Commissioners will be in the best interest of all of us that live in this community.

Name recognition alone...

Bless Commissioner Jeff Stabins heart! Mr. Stabins said we need a sponsor for Hernando County Government's tax woes, like Coca Cola or Wal Mart. He estimates that $10 to $12 million "cuts" will be necessary to make up for the state's property tax package.

Just a few loose ends need to be cleared up before the county marches out into the corporate world looking for sponsorship for the county. What criteria will be used to choose a corporate sponsor and who will be in charge of negotiating the deal? Maybe we could have a contest, with the winner being chosen from by citizens. Would the winning sponsor be chosen from the highest bidder or on name recognition alone?

Just imagine if the World Wrestling Federation were chosen as the county sponsor. We could blend this corporate sponsor's slogan into the framework of our county government with a snappy phrase like, "The World Wrestling Federation proudly sponsors Hernando County Government where politics are locally known as a contact sport!"

If you are not excited with a sports aspect, possibly an over the counter medication, with national name recognition, is more to your liking for county sponsorship. This slogan should ease everyone's mind, "Preparation H proudly presents the Board of County Commissioners, where they hope to sooth and cool your approach to local government."

The possibilities are endless for corporate sponsorship and so are the outlandish slogans. Do we really need to sell our county to the highest corporate sponsor when the answer is sitting right in the commissioner's backyard?

One suggestion to save $4 million right now would be to freeze all expenditures for new county vehicles for one year. Try dusting off a copy of the 2002-03 budget to refresh your memories of how it was before the county was flush with all this "new money" from the building boom, commissioners...

Entergetic voice

Ernie Holzhauer, the energetic voice of Withlacoochee River Electric Cooperative, has retired after 37 years on the job. Ernie has been the long time spokesman of WREC as their director of Public Relations. He will be missed by all of us for his conscientious approach during hurricane season, with his reassuring voice on the radio, during disasters to guide us through the darkness.

Ernie Holzhauer will be missed by many of us. His positive, upbeat attitude has been an inspiration to many of us in the community over the years. Good wishes go out to Ernie as he pursues that dream of finishing his master degree. Enjoy your retirement, you deserved it, Ernie!

Breathtaking views...

Our safari to South Africa was a thrilling and exhilarating experience, from the safari to the sightseeing in Cape Town. The 22 hour airline flight to reach South Africa is always grueling but well worth the experience of visiting this gorgeous country. The area where we hunted on safari vaguely resembled the state of Arizona, with its mountains and cactus. It was really amazing to see Aloe Vera plants, with brilliant orange blossoms, growing 8 to 10 feet high on the mountain side.

Our safari was action packed with my husband darting a White Rhino from about 20 yards, while I bagged a Black Wildebeest, Kudu, Impala, Gemsbuck and a white Spring Buck. Our great room at home has long since been re-named as our game room. Needless to say, our taxidermist also looks forward to our vacations!

The Kudu has been nicknamed the gray ghost for a reason. This large animal hides in treed areas, with only the tips of its horns peeking over the tree tops. My hunt for the Kudu could only be described as spiritual in nature. While hunting Kudu, it was necessary to climb down a mountainside in pursuit of this magnificent creature, only to have it allude us early in the day. This was a frightening experience since I am not particularly keen on climbing anything higher that a step ladder. Later in the afternoon, I was able to sight-in another Kudu with success. This animal weighed approximately 1,000 pounds and had 46 inch horns.

Each hunt required running, and climbing the landscape but was well worth the experience. It was eerie to stand on rocky elevations, listening to baboons bark like dogs, and see the rhinos roam the countryside. The impression of this countryside, from its wild animals to its uncomplicated people, is like taking a step back in time.

Our sightseeing trip to Cape Town was well worth the trip even though the weather was less that perfect. We visited a nature preserve to see the beautiful penguin population. These birds mate for life so it was interesting to see the family structures from mom and pop, to the babies in their nests. We were even fortunate to observe a seal doing the back stroke in the harbor near our hotel.

One of the most spectacular sights was seeing the Indian Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean, simultaneously, as we stood on a cliff of Cape Point. This view of the Cape of Good Hope took our breath away while the cold winter wind blew in our face.

The most reassuring feeling came when we touched down at Tampa International Airport. In the words of Dorothy, from the Wizard of Oz, "There's No Place Like Home!"

Brief note

Just a brief note to let everyone know that I have temporarily disconnected the comment portion on my blog due to actions of a few individuals. Although I welcome all comments, pro and con, there is no place on this blog where profanity will be permitted...