Infomerrcial...

This morning, Ray Neilson spoke for approximately 20 minutes on his local business, Green World Path, Inc. at the Hernando County Board of Commissioners meeting. This was a regular agenda item to discuss Mr. Neilson's business interest with organic products in the green movement. Do I think everyone should be conscientious about our environment? You bet, I do but I don't think 20 minutes of free, public air time for a local business was the appropriate use of our tax dollars.

So the next time a business needs a plug on public television, just call Commissioner Chris Kingsley to see if you can be added to the county agenda for your Infomerrcial...

Bravo, John Druzbick!

John Druzbick hit a home run at the Hernando County Commission this morning with an incentive package to put our community back to work. Mr. Druzbick's presentation laid out the current job market crisis in our county, relating it back to the local business industry. On-going commercial projects in our county are being performed by contractors from out of county and state. These contractors buy all their materials out of county, bring in their labor force, and actively push local contractors out of the market.

John Druzbick's economic incentive package is simple. Temporary impact fee credits should be given to property owners who exclusively use local contractors for their projects. These impact fee credits would entice property owners to hire locally to put our work force back to work. Local contractors will hire locally. People will spend money locally. Businesses will benefit locally. This incentive package will impact everyone in our community from the grocery stores, to the gas stations, to realtors, to the local movie theaters.

"Bravo, John Druzbick, Bravo!"

Hernando County government is already seeing the negative effects of this job crisis in our county by collection of lower sales taxes, lost jobs and home foreclosures. This economic incentive package of Mr. Druzbick's will put people back to work. With this incentive package, local businesses will buy material locally which generates the lion's share of sales tax revenue for Hernando County government. This sales tax revenue is a portion of the General Fund necessary to operate government.

The St. Petersburg Times ran a lead article on Sunday morning outlining the job crisis in Hernando County and Mr. Druzbick has created the solution necessary "to re-ignite our local economy". Now all he has to do is convince the county commissioners that his economic stimulus package will be the jump start our community needs to put it back on the right track for a rewarding future.

What a brilliant plan, John Druzbick!

Here we go again

Here we go again! It looks like the founder of the Hernando County Taxpayer Alliance has ginned up another superficial endorsement from her political action committee. This time it is for Wayne Dukes, county commission candidate, district 3. Are we suppose to be impressed by this hollow endorsement? Well, we aren't, and we should all stand up in unison and say so what, again.

Just to set the record straight, the Hernando County Taxpayer Alliance did not interview all the county commission candidates in district 3, or for district 5 race, for that matter. Any legitimate organization would have interviewed all candidates to weigh the data equally before endorsements were ever made on a candidate or race.

The Hernando County Taxpayers Alliance finally complied with the regulations for operating a political action committee. Well, they sort of complied, by filing a treasurer's report with the supervisor of elections office on March 31, 2008. The contributions reported for this organization are $425.00 for the first quarter of 2008. Linda A. Hayward is listed as the treasurer along with five contributors. There are no expenditures for the bus trips to Tallahassee organized by the Hernando county Taxpayer alliance or any other related expenses listed in this report. There is no record of in-kind contributions prior to January 1, 2008 for a website that has been operation since 2007 for this political action committee.

This superficial endorsement of Mr. Dukes did not include some pertinent facts about his background in Hernando County. He is a retired federal government worker on a pension. Mr. Dukes was a registered democrat when he entered the district 3 race before switching his party affiliation to republican. Even though Mr. Dukes is running in district 3, he resides in district 1 in Hernando Beach. In fact, Mr. Dukes ran unsuccessfully for county commissioner in district 1 as a democrat, finishing last in a field of three in his democrat primary in 2006.

Very flexible

Last Friday night, I finally got the opportunity to ask Billy Healis, Hernando County Commission candidate, district 5, a question that came up while talking local politics with an elderly friend of mine. This friend really likes Billy Healis but had concerns about his ability to do the job as county commissioner while being employed at Wal Mart. I explained to her that the county commission position is classified as a part time job but told her I would ask Mr. Healis to clarify his position. I asked Mr. Healis how he intended to juggle two jobs if he was successful in his bid for county commission and here is his response.

Billy Healis said, "When elected, the Hernando County Commission will be my top priority. The citizens of Hernando County can be assured that my position at Wal Mart is very flexible so I will be able to take on any task which will be required of me as your next county commissioner. Wal Mart is what I do, it is not who I am. When elected as your next commissioner for district 5, I pledge to make decisions based on what is right for the entire county. Decisions, I may add, that come down to quality of life issues for every one's future, for your family, as well as mine. I truly am running to make Hernando County a better place to live."

A little more heat

The Republican Chili Cook-off on Friday night was a well attended event. Every Republican running in this year's election was there from Congresswoman Ginny Brown-Waite to Hernando County Commission, District 5 candidate, William "Billy" Healis. There were only two no-shows for this event. Sheriff Nugent's opponent did not attend and Ginny's opposition chose instead to have a stunt double to dish up chili.

It was nice to see a lot of old friends and talk to a few new ones, too. Every table had crock pots full of chili, hand made by the candidates, along with a long table of sweets for dessert. Flo Boles and Susan Wahl served as cashiers at the door while former county commissioner, Paul Sullivan was the master of ceremonies for the event. The beverage bar was manned by the state Republican committee people, Gail Samples and Tom Hogan. Frank Colletti was also serving soft drinks for anyone that bellied up to the bar.

John Druzbick, candidate for district 3 county commission was being assisted by several lovely ladies who included his wife Debbie, and his supporter, and friend Laurie Pizzo. Ginny shared a table with Shirley Anderson who is a candidate for supervisor of elections. Don't tell anyone but my husband thought Shirley's chili was the best in the place. He should know because he taste-tested just about every one's there. Billy Healis and Alvin Mazourek looked like they were having a great time visiting with their supporters, along with Jeff Stabins who had a crowd around his crock pot clamoring for more chili.

Some candidates had bowl of crackers and jalapenos for those daring to have a little more heat with their chili. From the satisfied look of the crowd, it appeared that they all had enough to eat at this affair. The only item missing was a bowl of Tums!

House radio address

What a coo for our congresswoman! Ginny Brown-Waite was privileged to deliver the House Republicans' weekly radio address for her firm stance on relaxing the rules on offshore drilling to help all of us. See below:

Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite of Brooksville is delivering the House Republicans' weekly radio address, and she uses the air time to call for more oil and gas exploration. The party's presidential candidate, John McCain, this week called for lifting the moratorium on drilling off the coast of Florida and most other states, which Gov. Charlie Crist and many other Republicans quickly supported.Here's a snippet: "Watching gas prices rise from $2.32 a gallon in January 2007 to $4.08 this week, I am firmly convinced that Americans today face a new hostage crisis. Instead of a 1970s style OPEC embargo, however, American families and the United States economy are being held hostage by a Democrat Congress that refuses to explore for more oil and natural gas. Sadly out of step with the wishes of the American public, the majority does not get it; two new polls this week show that a clear majority of the American people wants to explore for oil, but Democrats have so far said nothing but No, No, No."The House Republican Conference weekly radio address is sent out to hundreds of radio stations and other media outlets nationwide.

Hot air

Boy, it has really been a hectic week but at least I don't have to cook dinner tonight. My husband and I have tickets to the Republican Chili Cook-off in Masaryktown at 6 p.m. tonight. The Republican candidates will be bringing chili for this event which should prove to be an interesting affair. Hot air from the candidates and heartburn from the chili, "what more could you ask for?"

Bistro

Several days ago my husband and I ate dinner at the new restaurant in downtown Brooksville called the Bistro. It is located directly across from the old courthouse on Broad Street. It is nice to finally have a restaurant that stays open in the downtown district after the sidewalks are rolled up.

Our dinner of blackened grouper was quite pleasant except for the vegetable served with the meal. Even though I love broccoli I found theirs undercooked and very woody in texture. The fish was seasoned nicely and cooked to perfection, as was the baked potato. Each meal cost $15.99 and was served with a house salad. The owner made her way around the table to introduce herself to welcome everyone to the Bistro which was a very nice touch. I can't say enough about the wait staff who were very attentive throughout the meal, as well as being very courteous to the diners.

The only drawback in the Bistro is the noise level in the restaurant. The high ceilings and tile floor made it difficult to carry on a conversation without distraction from the other diners. Even though it is a little loud, and the broccoli was a little tough, I recommend everyone stop in to enjoy our newest restaurant in Brooksville to try the cuisine for yourself.

New hostage crisis

I received this email a few minutes ago and thought you might like to tune in to hear Ginny discuss our oil crisis on Neil Cavuto on Fox or on Todd Schnitt on AM970 this afternoon:

Dear Anna Liisa,

I will be appearing TODAY, Wednesday, June 18, 2008, on FOX NEWS "Your World with Neil Cavuto" from 4:28 to 4:40 p.m. It will be a live broadcast from the US Capitol where I will be talking about America's new hostage crisis. Neil and I will be discussing how the Democrats are holding our families and our domestic energy reserves hostage to their liberal energy agenda. Later this afternoon, I will be on the Todd Schnitt Show from 5:15 - 5:20 pm Broadcast on AM 970. We will be talking about opening our vast domestic energy reserves for production now. Please tune in.

Thank you,

Ginny

Rising gas prices

Congresswoman Ginny Brown-Waite's remarks from the floor of the House of Representatives on rising gas prices last night.

Approximately 7:17 – 7:19 pm, Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Brown-Waite, G. (R-FL): “To address the House for one minute. Be able to revise and extend my remarks.”

THE SPEAKER PRO TEMP ORE: “Without objection.”

Brown-Waite, G. (R-FL): “Thank you, Madam Speaker. I rise today to share the absolute disgust that my constituents have with the inability of this Majority to do anything about rising gas prices. Today I received this letter from a constituent in Wesley Chapel. His name is Benjamin and he's more than ready to drill for oil and natural gas here in the United States and certainly off the coast of Florida. His message is, “it's time to drill our own oil now.” That’s very clear. But in case you don't get the message, he was also kind enough to include a drill bit in his envelope so he thought we should start drilling right away. Madam Speaker, if Benjamin gets the need for increased domestic production, why doesn't this congress? We need to promote efforts to drill in ANWR, drill in the non-protected areas of the Outer Continental Shelf, support new refineries, and promote nuclear power. Instead the Democrat Majority wants to raise your gas tax by as much as 50 cents a gallon as the Chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee recently suggested. Madam speaker, we need to listen to Benjamin and to our other constituents who don't want our taxes raised. Thank you, I yield back the balance of my time.”

Lost moment

The photo in this morning's Hernando Times of the crying mother, standing behind a fence, really says it all. As a mom, this photo really tore at my heart. I can't imagine the pain these parents felt last night after being locked out of their children's graduation ceremony at Hernando High. The administration of Hernando High needs to answer one fairly simple question which is, "why did you hand out approximately 1,800 tickets for this ceremony without having an adequate facility to hold the expected crowd?"

It doesn't matter how it was done in past years at Hernando High, this year was important to these graduates and their families. Lames excuses can never give back this lost moment for these parents. Shame on Principal Betty Harper for proceeding with this ceremony without finding a way to have all parents view the ceremony first hand!

SOE election

As this year's local campaigns kick into high gear, one more familiar face will be present with the fall line-up. Next week, Gus Guadignino will be filing all the necessary documents to make a second run for Hernando County Supervisor of Election position. He made an unsuccessful run for this position in 2000 as a republican. Now running as a no-party candidate, Mr. Guadignino will join Annie Williams (D) and Shirley Anderson (R) on the General Election ballot in November.

GBW signs on

Yesterday, I received the following text Charlie Keller who is a staff member of Congresswoman Ginny Brown-Waite's office in Washington, DC. I pasted the entire text of this House floor speech of Congresswoman Brown-Waite. This text from Mr. Brown-Waite's House floor speech speaks for itself:

Rep. Brown-Waite (R-FL): “I thank the gentleman. Mr. Speaker I rise today on behalf of H. Con. Res. 336, a common sense resolution that expresses support for one of the greatest segments of the American population, the disabled American veteran. Back home in Florida, I represent nearly 110,000 veterans, the second highest number of any Member of Congress. As you might guess, many of these brave men and women are disabled; either injured in battle or in the course of their service in the United States military. Disabled veterans are cared for by the military professionals at the VA. They also band together in veteran organizations like the Disabled American Veterans, Paralyzed Veterans of America, or Blinded Veterans Association. However, there is no federal recognition in place for Americans specifically to remember the deeds and heroism of disabled veterans. The concurrent resolution before us today calls for the establishment of a Disabled American Veterans week and shows all disabled veterans that Congress does not forget their bravery and actions in service to our great nation. You know, every weekend I return home to Florida to meet with my constituents and hear their needs and concerns. And what I can do to serve the men and women in the fifth congressional district. I often hear words of thanks for voting to drill for oil in ANWR and in the Outer Continental Shelf, or I get asked what Congress is going do to stop the outrageous increase in the cost of gasoline that we’ve seen since our colleagues across the aisle took over in the House and Senate. However, the most poignant stories I hear are oftentimes from veterans. As you might expect, I attend dozens of veterans' events throughout the eight counties in my district. It is indeed at these events I hear stories of courageous deeds, heroic actions, and lives forever changed by the ravages of war. Disabled veterans have given so much to this nation with their blood, sweat, and tears lying on the battlefield, from Germany to Korea to Vietnam to Iraq and Afghanistan. This resolution calling for a Disabled American Veterans week shows the thousands of men and women who served with honor and distinction that Congress will see that their memories and deeds are never forgotten. I thank my colleague, Mr. Altmire, for introducing this resolution and I would hope that all Members of this body can support such a worthy passage for disabled veterans. Thank you and I yield back me the balance of my time.”

Surprise...

As Gomer Pyle used to say, Surprise, Surprise, Surprise! Looks like the Hernando Today got scooped with a real news article by the Hernando Times while focusing on their stories being fed to them by the local civic activist about the Hernando County legal department. Yes, the Hernando Times hit a home run this morning with their headline article about the newest blogger in town, assistant county attorney, Kent Weissinger. Both, Barbara Behrendt and Shirl Kennedy, should get the employee of the week award from the Hernando Times for their investigative journalism.

Mr. Garth Collar was quoted in this article, calling Mr. Weissinger's ethics "A-List" and to that I will add he's a very nice person, too.

Mr. Weissinger indicated that his blog was an alternative to the "two dead-tree media sources" in the Times article. Although I do not agree with Mr. Weissinger's analogy of the two local media sources, I will say that their "tanker loads of ink" are drying slightly on the rural highway, as the internet super-highway provides a more main stream approach to instant information.

"Welcome to the Blogoshere, Mr. Weissinger!"

Integral piece

Yesterday, I attended the TBARTA meeting at Silverthorn. The Florida Legislature mandated that a comprehensive, regional master plan be formulated July 1, 2009. TBARTA was created on July 1, 2007, to carry out these mandates, with representatives from Citrus, Hernando, Pasco, Pinellas, Hillsborough, Manatee and Sarasota counties.

Hernando County presenters at this workshop including Ron Pianta and Dennis Dix from the Planning Department . Mike McHugh also gave a detailed presentation of the economy development impact, relating to transportation.

Although much of the information was already public record but it was interesting to hear the interaction between the panel participants which included Commissioners Rocco and Russell, along with many other guests. Pam Iorio, mayor of Tampa, was present along with Ronnie Duncan, Pinellas County Commissioner. Sonnie Vegara, citizen member representing Hernando County on the TBARTA board was also in attendance at this meeting.

This presentation was meant to highlight Hernando County's ability to link to the 7 county, TBARTA district in future, with a mass transit program. The panel listened to Mr. Dix's presentation about THE Bus which included routes, funding and tentative future plans. Mr. Pianta gave an overall view of the growth which included our comprehensive land use map and Mr. McHugh gave a detailed report of business development with the county

Just a hint to anyone who has not attended a local MPO meeting or workshop, THE Bus is an integral piece of the puzzle for the future Regional Master Plan which has been mandated by Florida Legislature, with TBARTA at the helm.

Omitted to inflame

This morning's editorial in the Hernando Today, "County needs to drasticallly cut the attorney budget" is a complete distortion of the facts. Several articles have been written about the county legal department in the Hernando Today and it quite apparent that much, fact-based information has been omitted to inflame the public.

First of all, utility rate payers are not "footing" the entire salary on the assistant county attorney, Kent Weissinger. His salary is being justified by a cost sharing method which supplies other necessary legal services for the utility department, like human resources and litigation. These cost-sharing services, which use other county attorneys, have been estimated to be 50%. This method frees up Mr. Weissinger's time by 50% to allow him to work in other areas, like his participation in the Planning and Zoning Commission meetings. This method of sharing legal services also eliminates the cost of administrative services by the clerk of court's office.

Does the legal department need to pull in their belts in this lean economy. You bet they do, but necessary reductions should not be formulated by news articles fabricated by a self-proclaimed civic activist who is quickly becoming a public nuisance in our community...