Crime Increase

I wrote the following article on local crime and gun-use for one of my classes at USF. Rich Nugent, Rick Hankins and Pete Resnick were a tremendous help to me with their input and I justed wanted to say thanks!

In this stagnant economy, local law enforcement officials have reported an increase in crime, without a significant climb in gun-related incidents.

Even though the local gun shop in Brooksville reported an increase in gun sales, city police and the sheriff’s uniform crime report do not indicate an increase in firearm incidents during this recession. The sheriff’s department noted a rise in construction-related thefts, with a dramatic increase in burglaries and theft, related to local pharmacies. The primary cause of death in the county was related to prescription drug abuse, according to the medical examiner. Records show an increase in suicide-attempts during this economic slump, with a noted decrease in domestic violence.

The Hernando County Sheriff’s Department and the city of Brooksville annually complete uniform crime reports, or UCR that contain data on unlawful activity in the community. The International Association of Chiefs of Police began the process of “uniform crime reporting” in 1929. According the FBI, these reports provide a similar way of gathering statistical documentation for annual publications. The national reports have input by over 17,000 law enforcement agencies across the United States, including those in Hernando County.

“Based on our UCR report, there was a 10 percent increase in robberies but aggravated assault, stalking and manslaughter decreased,” said Hernando County Sheriff Richard Nugent when asked if their department had seen an increase in crimes related to guns. “We did have one more murder in 2008 but it did not involve a firearm.”

Brooksville Police reports show a similar crime trend in the city that has evolved from the slow economy. Thefts and burglaries have increased within the city while violent crimes, involving the use of firearms have decreased, according to police.

“Historically, city crime statistics are fairly balanced from year to year but violent crime has decreased in this recession while theft and burglaries have increased approximately 20 percent.” said Brooksville Detective Rick Hankins. “Gun crimes are not an issue for us in the city but thefts of guns during burglaries are up.”

The Hernando County Sheriff’s office released statistical data, related to a class of crime they have labeled “unique to the economy” which involves theft of construction materials that can be sold for scrap metal. During this current economic climate, officials have seen an increase in theft reports of copper and air conditioner parts. An increase in gasoline thefts of approximately $4,000 has also been reported to officials. The sheriff’s department estimated a combined-loss for construction related thefts and gasoline to be $259,703.90 for a 7-month period.

Domestic battery and domestic violence reports peaked during 2005, with a combined total of 2,341 incidents, according to the county uniform crime report. In 2008, Hernando County experienced a combined 25.5 percent decline in domestic violence and domestic battery complaints compared to 2005, according to the UCR.

Pete Resnick, owner of Bull’s Eye Gun Shop in downtown Brooksville has seen an increase in handgun sales. Resnick attributes this spike in sales to the rise in property crimes, associated with the poor economy and the high unemployment in the county.

“The average law-abiding citizen has less faith in law enforcement’s ability to prevent property crime.” Resnick said. “Home invasion is a crime feared by most homeowners and small business owners.”

Resnick said that his customer base is a cross-section of upper middle-class individuals who are largely defined by the economics of guns. “I do not sell inexpensive, personal-protection weapons,” Resnick said.

Resnick has noticed an increase in female customers in his shop whom he says are often seen as easy targets by criminals. “Women have started to buy more guns as function of fear, or just wanting to be prepared,” Resnick said.

“Ammunition and small personal guns, together with assault rifles, are in short supply because the demand has skyrocketed,” Resnick said. “Every time the Democrats are in power, many people think their right to gun-ownership will be impaired.” Resnick described his increase in gun and ammunition sales as a “better get it while I can” syndrome.

In the last four years, suicide attempts in Hernando County increased 32 percent, according to public records. In 2005, Hernando County reported 112 suicide attempts, compared to 157 in 2008. Officials also reported a four percent increase in Baker Act incarcerations. The “Baker Act” is used by law enforcement to detain individuals temporarily to complete mental-health evaluations of suspects.

Pharmacies in the county have seen the sharpest increase in crime during this recession. The sheriff’s department reported that burglaries at local pharmacies jumped 300 percent in 2008. Robberies at pharmacies have been reported to have increased 33 percent since 2005. The sheriff’s department also reported a 300 percent increase in prescription-fraud from 2005 to 2008.

The Hernando County Medical Examiner’s office has recorded a 21 percent increase in drug-related deaths from prescription drug overdose. In 2008, 47 drug-related deaths were recorded by the medical examiner in the county. Forty-five of these drug-related deaths were ruled accidental while 2 were deemed to be suicide by county medical examiner records. The highest number of drug-related deaths occurred in white males, with an average age of 45-years old, according to records. Oxycodone overdose, along with a combined drug toxicity mix, was cited in this report as the major cause of death.

In response to the misuse of prescription drugs, the Hernando County sheriff’s office conducted “Operation Medicine Cabinet” in March to collect expired, unused, or unwanted prescription medications. According to their reports, 376 people dropped off 3,904 bottles of prescription drugs. Sheriff’s spokesman said this operation was a method for citizens to properly dispose of unused portions of prescription medications.

Public safety, and the safety of Hernando County deputies, was cited by the sheriff as his primary concern, as he faces the possibility of additional reductions to his budget in this recession. “In the last 3 budget cycles, we have not increased the number of employees even though the population of the county continues to increase,” Nugent said. “As you can see, our crime rate is up and we believe it is directly related to the economy.”

Highly Offensive

The following is a press release from Congresswoman Ginny Brown-Waite's office:

Brown-Waite: DHS Report Highly Offensive

Obama Administration Report labels veterans “potential terrorists”

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) – U.S. Representative Ginny Brown-Waite (FL-05) today demanded an explanation from the Department of Homeland Security regarding their labeling of our nation’s veterans as potential “terrorists.” The report also labeled many commonly held views as “radical,” such as opposition to illegal immigration, the belief in the right of the State to conduct its own affairs, and the fear of communist regimes.

“I am astonished and offended that this Administration would label the men and women who so bravely wore our nation’s uniform as possible terrorists,” Rep. Brown-Waite said today. “The lumping of these members of the Armed Forces in with mad-men like Timothy McVeigh is not only morally reproachable, but intellectually disingenuous.”

The report titled “Rightwing Extremism: Current Economic and Political Climate Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment” was released last week by DHS’ Office of Intelligence and Analysis. It suggested acts of violence could come from unnamed “rightwing extremists” concerned about illegal immigration, increasing federal power, and restrictions on firearms. It singled out returning war veterans as susceptible to recruitment.

Rep. Brown-Waite authored a letter to Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano demanding clarification on how and why her department came to these offensive conclusions.

"Blazing the Base"

Bob Haa, talk show host for WWJB radio, announced on the air this morning that Blaise Ingoglia was elected last night as the new chairman for the Hernando County Republican Executive Committee. Bets are already coming in from party insiders on the committee who are already placing odds on this arrangement. They are giving it about 6 months before the executive committee implodes from within the walls of the REC.

The handwriting was on the wall for this election when Trinque was re-elected in January. She just kept the seat warm for Ingoglia until he was voted in as a new member at the HCREC this spring. This new membership positioning gave Ingoglia the opportunity to be placed in the driver seat of chairman. Apparently REC members were duped by their board of directors who manipulated this election to seat Ingoglia as chairman.

"Building up the base" was the slogan during Trinque's term to entice new members to the HCREC. Maybe the new chair of the REC will use a slogan like "Blazing the Base" as they continue to alienate party members across Hernando County. Too bad they didn't learn anything at their own Unity Rally last fall...

Editorial response to the Times

The following letter was sent to the Hernando Times in response to their editorial column on THE Bus this morning:

Re: Editorial –Inadequate mass transit

Let me see if I have this correct. It appears that I am now the villain of the discussion on the failed mass transit system in this county, according to the Hernando Times.

The lead to C.T. Bowen’s editorial column attempted to give everyone the impression that “I just don’t get it” when it comes to the importance of TBARTA and the continuation of mass transit in Hernando County.

This obvious misrepresentation of the truth by the Hernando Times editorial staff could only be explained in one way. It is obvious they are truly looking for a villain to crucify by intentionally misrepresenting the facts brought out in our meeting.

Here are a few facts that the Hernando Times side-stepped in their original reporting of this meeting.

· I specifically stated at the beginning of this meeting that saving the bus system was vital to mass transit dollars, from the state and the federal government, for our local transportation needs in the county.

· I suggested the county look into a private-public partnership with local business to increase bus-ridership. With this method, I proposed a “Park & Ride” system with local business to move workers to and from work, stationed at central locations throughout the county. I was not given credit for these suggestions by the reporter in the original article on the issue.

· I suggested the county reduce its current fixed-rate schedule to running the buses ever two hours. This would save the county $420,000 annually.

· With this reduction in service over the next year, I suggested the county partner with business to make the bus system work more efficiently for everyone.

· Yes, I strongly opposed taking 5 buses through the federal economic stimulus package. The funding for these five buses would put our county in a 10 year, 350,000 mile commitment per bus.

· I also strongly opposed using federal dollars to rehabilitate the existing fleet of buses which would put our county into another 7 year commitment to the federal government. By the way, the average mileage on the current bus fleet is 150,000 mile which is a long way from being on the endangered species list for derelict buses.

· I suggested the county apply dollars from the $420,000 for the rehabilitation of the current bus fleet and work on resolving issues of ridership that have plagued the system since 2001. The county could rehab all the buses, using local money, and still save dollars over the next year, without being encumbered by a 7 to 10-year federal commitment.

I believe the majority of citizens in this county agree the current system does not work effectively in its current condition. On that premise, why would anyone consider giving the county officials another 10 years to practice making the THE Bus work on the taxpayer’s dime?

In closing, I would like to highlight to the Hernando Times staff that I am a volunteer committee member in this county, not an elected official. The photograph you chose to run by my comment was not only unnecessary, but I believe it was done intentionally to crucify me, the messenger. Let me remind each of you there is a fine line between printing the truth and having an outright slanderous attack on a private citizen in this community.

I shouldn’t be surprised by your yellow journalism tactics since your paper didn’t even bother to properly attribute the facts in the original article. Maybe this is why the print media in this country is failing because readers are tired of being politically manipulated by editorial-writer opinions on the front page.

Anna Liisa Covell

Congressional art winners

REP. BROWN-WAITE ANNOUNCES WINNERS OF 2009 CONGRESSIONAL ART COMPETITION
WASHINGTON, D.C. –

U.S. Representative Ginny Brown-Waite (FL-5) today announced the winner of the 2009 5th District Congressional Art Competition. The awards ceremony was held last Friday evening, March 27th, 2009.

1st Place: The 2009 winner is Anastasia Magloire. Her winning digital piece is entitled “Reflection.” She is the student at Land O’ Lakes High School and is in the 10th grade.

2nd place:
Kristina Armstrong. Kristina is a senior at Lecanto School of Art at Lecanto High School and her photographic work is entitled “Missing Piece.”

3rd place:
Karissa Yob. She is a 10th grader at Land O’ Lakes High School, her piece is entitled “’Bear’ Your Soul.”

Honorable Mention:

Tiffany Richards is an 11th grader at Citrus High School and her entry is in black and white prismacolor pencils and is entitled “Fabric Study.”

Jenna Haller is an 11th grader at Hudson High School and her composition is entitled “Trail of Tears Memoir.”

Obama's tax & spend budget

The following is from Congresswoman Ginny Brown-Waite's office:

OBAMA ADMINISTRATION HIDING OUTRAGEOUS TAXES & SPENDING IN NEW BUDGET

Weeks after President Obama released his outline for the federal budget for 2010, the House of Representatives is set to vote on the budget in a few days. If passed, this budget resolution serves as a framework from which Congress will work for the next five years. The White House and my Democratic colleagues in Congress claim this budget will reduce deficits and won’t increase taxes, but that is a mirage created by gimmicks. Obama’s budget dramatically increases the size and role of the federal government while failing to address the trillions of dollars in future spending our government already knows it will not be able to fund. There is only one way to pay for all this spending: higher taxes on you.

I have been hearing absolute infuriation from folks across the Fifth District over the irresponsible spending and the debt we will leave our next generations. “If the average person is expected to tighten their belt, why isn’t Washington? I am very worried,” I hear time and time again.

The President’s budget uses a number of gimmicks to give the appearance of a reduction in future deficits. For example, they use so-called “reserve funds,” which just gives Democratic budget leaders the ability to ask for additional funds later. Reserve funds are basically a commitment to tax and spend.

The House budget resolution contains seventeen such funds ranging from a further expansion of unemployment benefits to President Obama’s cap and tax initiative. The cap and tax proposal will tax anyone who uses electricity in the United States. President Obama’s economic advisors have admitted that just when they expect the economy to recover, President Obama plans on instituting a $1 trillion tax on all Americans who use electricity.

Even worse, buried in a footnote on page 127 the Obama budget calls for the largest increase in the death tax in U.S history beginning in 2010. Under his plan, estates will be taxed at an outrageous 45 percent. The Congressional Budget Office estimates the long-term impact of maintaining such a tax will result in $1.6 trillion less invested in small businesses and 1.5 million fewer jobs created. As the Wall Street Journal noted this week, “Obama won’t merely bring back from the dead one of the most despised of all federal taxes, and not merely splinter many family owned businesses. He will also forfeit half the jobs he hopes to gain from the $787 billion stimulus bill.”

A recent letter sent to me from a constituent in Hernando said, “It seems no one is listening to the people. We can’t spend our way out of this. I recognized this when I reviewed my own budget and bills. I no longer overextend myself.” Rest assured; I am listening.

An alternative plan is available and Republicans have tried to offer commonsense amendments to Obama’s budget, but unfortunately those were struck down in committee on party line votes. The budget resolution is a further example of the Democrats’ plans to increase taxes on every American and dramatically increase the size and scope of the federal government. Republicans have alternatives that rely on the strengths of the American people not the size of the federal government. For all of these reasons, I will oppose this budget when it comes for a vote on the House floor later this week.

Thank you,

Congresswoman Ginny Brown-Waite

Good first step

Remember in the Wizard of Oz when the good witch, Glenda, coaxed out the Munchkins saying, "Come out, come, where every you are." Well, that's the kind of elation some are feeling in the local Republican party with the resignation of their chairwoman, Ana Trinque.

Apparently, last week an emergency meeting was called at the HCREC. During this meeting, the chairwoman tendered her resignation with an excuse that she wanted more time to spend with her family. It is quite apparent that this position is very time consuming but why in the world did she accept the party nomination in January to carry on as chair for two more years and then resign in two months?

Everyone is being a good Republican, and not breathing a word of the reason for this resignation, but the speculation is rampant and the whispers are just below a roar. Could it be the poor attendance at this year's Lincoln Day Dinner after local party officials black-balled a prominent member of our business community? Who knows, and who really cares what the reason for the resignation except that she has stepped down as chairwoman. One down, and two more need to go, in the HCREC party structure. They are state committee man, and woman. They need to retire from their positions from the local party hierarchy before the county Republicans will see any significant change in the way they do business.

It's kind of ironic that the party leaders have asked former chairman, Frank Coletti, to head up the team to find a new chair for the party. Frank was the same person that put the party back together in the late 1990's when they had an similar internal squabble. He held the position of chair until 2002 and served with distinction to rebuild the base of the party. Hopefully, Frank will be able to find a replacement that is suitable to the majority of Republicans in this county. His integrity in impeccable and his decision-making process in the past was always fair and impartial to everyone in the party.

So, this resignation of the chairman could serve as a good first-step in rebuilding the trust within the local Republican party. Time will tell if the two state committee people will continue to manipulate their small ideas within the party structure or if they, too, will retire for the sake of the local party in Hernando County.

The Munchkins in the Wizard of Oz said it best with their rendition of the tune "Ding, Dong, the Witch's Dead."

Primary Industry

Last week I attended the Hernando Summit at Silverthorn Country Club. I wrote this article for my journalism class:

Primary Industry

The lack of primary industry in the county is cited as a major cause for the local economic downturn.

The biennial Hernando County Community Summit took on a somber tone Thursday as business and community leaders brainstormed issues surrounding the state of the economy with government officials. The positive community reports were overshadowed by the dire predictions of their guest speaker from an independent economics research firm. In his opinion, the chief reason for the local economic woes of the county stem from the deficiency in primary industry that serves to import money into a community.

“Primary industries are what cause economies to grow or fail,” said Policom Corporation President William H. Fruth who was the guest speaker. “The condition of your economy determines everything else.”

Fruth’s firm specializes in studying the dynamics of local economies. He has evaluated data for over 600 communities, in 32 states, over the past 10 years. In his presentation, he compared Hernando County to 363 metropolitan areas by population, annual wages, personal income, per capita Medicare and retirement transfers. Fruth’s hand-outs included a summary of the current economic climate in the county, along with his predictions for what lies ahead, and how Hernando County can best cope in the future.

“With the collapse of the local building industry, retirement is virtually the only primary industry in Hernando County,” Fruth said. “This will not cause economic growth in the future.” Fruth explained that there is no growth with a retirement based economy because the money just circulates within the system. Policom Corporation documents indicate that the quality of Hernando County’s economy declined due to disproportionate low-wage, service jobs created as a direct result of the increase in retirement population to the community.

“Local government and the community should make every effort to prevent this situation from every occurring again,” Fruth said when describing what to do in the future. “Hernando County needs to focus all activities on economic diversification, causing primary industries to grow in the county.” He finished his presentation by emphasizing that the community needs to invest $3 to $4 million dollars in future economic development to pull the economy out of the current quagmire.

Hernando County Business and Development Director Mike McHugh believes that a change in mindset with large, primary employers will need to occur to convince them to move their businesses from urban areas to where the workforce is located in Hernando County. “Businesses seek talent and the major conduit for this is the educational system,” McHugh said. “The new campus of Pasco-Hernando Community College, with the expanded 4-year programs, will be a significant business attraction.”

McHugh said “Our community must embrace business at every opportunity and provide what it needs to be competitive with other comparable communities,” when asked what it would take to attract light industry to the county.

“Incentives can play an important role in attracting new companies and should be viewed as a tool,” McHugh said. “They symbolize a community’s desire to attract business with their willingness to compete and can play a role in helping to restart the economy.”

BJH Construction President Dudley Hampton gave a community report about growth management within the county at this summit. In his opinion, Hernando County needs to market its opportunities to bring responsible industry into county.

“We need to match economic incentives to bring clean industry into Hernando County,” Hampton said. “If you look at our county, we are in close proximity to major urban areas like Tampa and Orlando.” In his presentation, Hampton said, “With major shipping points in Tampa, products from Hernando County can be marketed to the world.”

“In the short term there is nothing the local government can do and the federal stimulus will do nothing to revive the economy.” William H. Fruth said in his final comments. “We will get through this cycle regardless of what government does to us and business will crawl out in spite of government intervention.”

Ostracized

After reading Dan DeWitt's column in the Hernando Times it looks like the local Hernando County Republican Executive Committee has hit an all time low by black-balling local realtor Gary Schraut. Mr. Schraut has been a loyal party member and does not deserve the venom and hate spewed upon him by party insiders.

What happened to the "big umbrella" of the Republican Party?

Do all registered Republicans in the county need to fall into lock-step with the state committeeman and chairwoman or face being ostracized from the party?

Apparently, the HCREC has a revised motto. It must say "do what I say, not what I do" because they certainly have swayed from conservative principals with their poster-boy Jim Adkins. Adkins wants to pass out gift cards purchased with taxpayer money in a scheme to pad a few pockets in the community. If anyone is keeping score on local Republican activities, you must know that your head will be handed to you on a platter if you speak ill of their boot-licking lackey, Jim Adkins.

Dan DeWitt's column alluded to the split in the Republican party. While I agree that it appears that way, he is certainly on the wrong path. This split isn't anything new with the HCREC. Some members of the HCREC have even resorted to becoming physical with Republicans that do not follow blindly like lemmings. It has become common place for a certain member of the HCREC to physically shove fellow Republicans that do not agree with his warped sense of party loyalty.

So while DeWitt may think this trend is following some national format, I respectfully disagree with him. This hate and venom has been brewing locally behind closed doors for a good, number of years. This is either a power-trip by some on the executive committee, or maybe a few are just loosing their facilities, going nuts so to speak, with age and senility. The perceived loss of power by some in the REC could be the underlying factor in their bizarre behavior of late...

Bang

According to the Hernando Today, Commissioner Jim Adkins will not be attending the inaugural meeting if the economic and development standing committee next week. He has decided to lobby on behalf of the Hernando County Farm Bureau in Tallahassee instead of attending to his local duties as county commissioner. He said that he will be representing small business and taxpayer concerns while in Tallahassee. When did the Hernando County Commission vote to send Adkins to speak on their behalf, or on behalf of the taxpayers, as a lobbyist for the Farm Bureau?

Adkins apparently joked with the reporter who wrote the story, saying that taxpayers would get more "bang for their buck" with him going to Tallahassee. What "bang" would that be Mr. Adkins, the "personal bang" of using local taxpayers money for your salary while you promote the interests of the Farm Bureau? The Farm Bureau can surely do without his participation since it has a board that includes 13 members.

It would seem a little more fiscally prudent for Adkins to attend the economic and development standing committee meeting next week instead of gallivanting off to Tallahassee.

Leisure-time

The following is a paper I submitted for my journalism class. I just wanted to say thanks to Sue Rupe, Greg Myers and Jeanette Soto for their input.

In what has been termed the worst economic time in years, many are searching for creative ways to stretch leisure-time, vacation money.

The Hernando County tourism industry is thinking outside the box to compete for travel dollars in today’s slow economic climate. Market projections by experts have listed specialized package-tours as their primary growth segment of tourism, followed by staycations, or stay at-home vacations, to save money. Local business owners and industry experts are adjusting to lower revenue figures in tourism, with a stepped-up approach to customer service.

“To compete in today’s economy, businesses are forming partnerships for marketing purposes,” Hernando County Director of Tourism Sue Rupe said. “These businesses are putting together vacation packages, promoting staycations and even offering coupons to attract consumers.”

As the director of tourism, Rupe is responsible for attracting tourism dollars to the county. One of her primary job functions is the oversight of statistics related to Hernando County’s local option tourism tax. This tax provides an economic indicator of the volume of local tourism dollars spent within the county. The collection of this tax has seen a significant decline over the last 3 years and has affected many local businesses, as reported in county records. Low hotel occupancy, event attendance, and a decline in restaurant business is sign of this decline in tourism tax, according to officials.

ACBS Travel Agency President, Greg Myers has noticed a slowdown in some bookings but remains optimistic because he is still selling travel packages. Some of his client have shifted their travel plans to cruise bookings. Myers believes this trend indicates a need for his clients to find the most economical way to travel in the current financial climate.

“We have noticed our clients are more aware of how far their dollar will go,” Myers said. “We have seen changes in destinations, such as going Mexico or South America, verses going to Europe, where their dollars go farther, with the varying exchange rates.”

When comparing staycations to cruises, Myers said, “Staycations are good but most of our clients want to get out of town, even if it is just for a few days.”

ACBS Travel Agency credits their longevity in Hernando County on their individualized customer service. Even though records indicate the county has a 10.4 percent unemployment rate, ACBS has been fortunate they have not had to lay off any employees within their organization.

Jeanette Soto, retired administrative aide from Hernando County Public Works, agrees that the economy has affected all aspects of life, especially vacations. “Our family learned a long time ago to live within our ‘needs’ list instead of our ‘want’ list,” Soto said. “The necessities always take priority.”

“We haven’t taken a vacation in 3 years because of being care-givers for my 92 year-old mother,” Soto said. “She is very ill and should she not make it, we will take a vacation, no matter the economy, maybe to Puerto Rico.”

Randall Travel Marketing, which focuses on strategic planning and market research, is predicting that consumers will limit their spending and stay closer to home on vacation in 2009. The primary growth segment in tourism, according to Randall Travel, is booking specialized package-tours that are customized by operators to meet the expectation of the individuals in the group. To compete with the changing needs of their clients in this economic climate, Randall believes the industry is reinventing itself to meet traveler’s expectations.

“In the travel industry, you have to have excellent service,” said Greg Myers, president of ACBS Travel Agency. “Our agency takes pride in excellent customer service where we take the hassle out of travel.”

Award

Congratulations go out to John Pizzo! John won the Frist Humanitarian Award at Bayonet Point Hospital last week. He won by facing a stiff opposition of over 900 employees. John is now under consideration for the Frist Award on the nation level at all HCA hospitals. He & his Laurie should find out if he made it to the final 5 in early April.

Here an explanation of the Frist Humanitarian Award that I borrowed from the Bayonet Point Hospital website:

The Frist Humanitarian Award was created in 1971 to honor individuals for their humanitarian and volunteer activities. Named in honor of Dr. Thomas F. Frist, Sr., this award recognizes individuals whose daily dedication and care giving epitomize the highest standards of quality and personal commitment.

Dr. Thomas Frist, Sr. was one of the founders of HCA and served as its president until the mid-70’s, as well as, serving his community in a variety of ways. He was often heard saying, “good people beget good people” in reference to the quality of personnel that worked for HCA. The Frist Award is the highest honor our company bestows on its most important resource, our people.

Way to go, John!

GBW response to Obama

Rep. Brown-Waite Statement on President Obama’s Address to a Joint Session of Congress

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) – U.S. Representative Ginny Brown-Waite (FL-05) issued the following statement this evening regarding President Barack Obama’s address to a Joint Session of Congress:

“I applaud the President’s intent to put forward a comprehensive plan to combat our nation’s economic woes. Intentions, however, do not equal results and a “plan” totally lacking in detail is about as helpful as putting a band-aid on bullet hole.
“We cannot borrow and spend our way out of this mess. We must control spending and end the spiraling debt. The financial industry, small businesses and families across the nation are balking at each dollar being shoveled out the door.

“I support the President’s commitment to responsible budgeting by requiring a way to pay for new programs. My colleagues across the aisle promised to govern by this principle, but the PAYGO obligation has been waived in all but a few cases. As one of only a handful of Republican members who supported this in 2007, I hope the President can force his party leaders to govern by it. We must apply it consistently and forcefully to prevent our future generations from being saddled with crushing debt.

“The President spoke of the right goals tonight: addressing the current crisis, getting our economy back on track and putting our nation on a path of growth. I will work with him and this Congress to attempt to accomplish those goals in a responsible, successful way.”

No clue

In yesterday's Hernando Today, Commission Adkins makes a rambling attempt to sell his "CPR" stimulus plan to the public, again. He made factually incorrect statements on many points but these two came screaming off the editorial page. Here are his statements:

• "We are all to blame. At the end of the day, we have to deal with the reality of the boom and the bust."
• "We are using money sitting there in reserves, not doing anything for the taxpayers of Hernando County". (He is referring to the $2.5 million he wants to use from county reserves for his CPR program.)

First of all, let's be perfectly clear. We are NOT all to blame for the economic woes facing our country. In fact, the majority of us pay our bills on time, in full, and are now being asked to bail-out deadbeats that defaulted on their mortgages. Frankly, Adkins' mentality on the economy is what got the country into this predicament in the first place. Adkins looks like he belongs on the mantle with Barney Frank and Christopher Dodd.

Secondly, it is really apparent that Adkins has no clue on the structure of Hernando County finances. He wants to rob the money from the reserve funds, like his buddy Governor Crist has done at the state level. Apparently he is unaware that some of these reserve funds are necessary to back up the bonds within the county. Hernando County has a triple A bond rating because of the reserves on hand in the county coffers. If these reserves are depleted, it will increase the interest on the bonds. Is Adkins going to then say we need to raise taxes to cover the increase in interest to float his cock-a-mamie bail-out?

If there is a surplus in reserve funds, then the entire county should benefit from a millage rate reduction and not just a few with a get-rich scheme cooked up behind the doors at the local Hernando County Republican Executive Committee...

Think twice

I sent the following email to the attention of Govenor Charlie Crist this morning:

Governor Crist,
Please think twice before indebting our state with the Obama's Democrat Stimulus plan. Our children's children will be paying this debt for decades to come with this pork-laden piece of legislation.

It is quite obvious that this bill is opening the door to socialism in our country. Please use our 10th Amendment right to refuse this outrageous assault on our economy in Florida. Governors Jindal, Barbour, Otter, Perry and Palin are all considering saying No to the Obama administration to federalize their states, Please follow the lead of our Congresswoman Ginny Brown-Waite that said no to all bail-out programs on the floor of Congress.

In closing, Ronald Reagan said it best in his address to Congress in 1984 when speaking on the economy:

"This isn't a Keynesian Recovery produced by big-spending bureaucrats tinkering with aggregate demand...Instead, this recovery was created by the incentives of tax-rate reductions, which shifted resources away from the government back to American producers, savers and investors."

Respectfully,
Anna Liisa Covell
A.L. Covell Electric, Inc.

Public's servants

Well, it looks like Commissioner Jeff Stabins is the only one that understands the meaning of public servant. The reduction of citizen input time at the county commission meetings from 2 hours a month, to just 1/2 hour stretched over two meetings, does not serve the public's interest with local government. "It is all about openness and citizen access," Stabins said in the Hernando Today.

Citizens use this time to address their public officials on numerous issues, some of which are not related to the commissioner's agenda. Sometimes individuals have no where else to turn and end up in the county commission chambers pleading their cases at the podium to commissioners.

In case the county administrator and commissioners have forgotten, they hold well-paid public service jobs. This 15 minutes may not seem much to them but to someone with a critical issue, this time is a life-line to them.

Snake oil...

Do you remember when snake oil salesman used outlandish techniques to peddle their products in western movies?

Well, it looks like we now have a new medicine man in town by the name of James Atkins. Commissioner James Atkins, that is, who rode into town wearing a white hat, promising lower taxes and smaller government to the electorate last fall. This charlatan preached a mantra of “ax the taxes” to the masses and now wants $2.5 million of taxpayer money to bail-out an industry that was involved in many home foreclosures in Hernando County.

It seems Atkins has engaged the services of the founder of the Government Gone Wild seminars to hawk a local stimulus plan that would be financed with $2.5 million of taxpayer’s money. This air of enthusiasm by Atkins to sell this local stimulus plan in Hernando County would make a "western shill" blush with envy.

What part of smaller government don’t you understand Mr. Atkins? Responsible taxpayers in Hernando County do not want their hard-earned dollars used for any type of bail-out, locally, or on a federal level.

Responsible folks in our community are already grappling with the notion that we will be forced to cover the bad debt of some consumers in this nation. Are you now telling us that you want another $2.5 million from the local general fund to reward bad debt, Mr. Atkins? When did it become the taxpayers’ responsibility to bail-out homeowners in the foreclosure crisis?

There is no “silver bullet” to fix this economic solution, Mr. Atkins, other than pure grit and determination by the private sector to put people back to work. We don’t need any more government spending to create an even larger deficit in our lives.

Staff-only?

Hernando County Administrator was right to tell Commissioner Rocco that she was not welcome at the staff-only leadership meetings. Staff-only gatherings are meant to be just that, staff-only. Rocco's obligation, as a commissioner, is for oversight of David Hamilton's job performance, not that of his entire staff.

Rocco was quoted as saying, "We employ him, he doesn't employ me" in this morning's Hernando Today article. She's right on this point but needs to bow out of the staff meetings. These is where the free flow of ideas comes from in any organization.

Leadership involves hiring the person most suited to accomplish your goals as commissioner. These staff level functions are the responsibility of Hamilton. The attendance of staff-level meetings, without an invitation, is simply micromanagement of this administrator by Commissioner Rocco.

***It looks like the administrator has worked out the problem with Commissioner Rocco, according to this morning's Hernando Today.

Myopic viewpoint

Tunnel vision is the simplest way to describe Commission James Atkins view of Hernando County. Atkins' myopic viewpoint of taking the keys out of the THE bus only serves to illustrate his poor understanding of the funding the county receives from the state of Florida, and the federal government.

Atkins answer to everything is throwing out sarcastic one-liners to make a point. His reference to THE Bus ridership and that of the Space Shuttle is really wearing on the public patience. Maybe its time he educates himself to how our local government really works, in conjunction with the state, and the federal government. His lack of intelligence on the issues becomes more apparent with each commission meeting. Maybe if he had spend a little time attending MPO meetings, and regional planning meetings, before he ran for office he would understand the scope of the problems Hernando County faces with "just parking THE bus".

Atkins indicated that he had positive response for his statements concerning THE Bus. He attributed them to 28 to 30 emails about the topic. Someone should ask him if these emails were from the dwindling membership of the HCREC.

Thank goodness Commissioner David Russell is so astute on transportation funding from his days in the Florida Legislature. Russell stood up to the plate, and asked for help, from TBARTA and the FDOT, for the THE bus system in Hernando County. He knows that millions of dollars of transportation funds are at stake with the survival of the THE Bus. Russell also knows that the bus system needs to be radically changed in our tough economic times.

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Congratulations go out the RNC for electing Michael Steele as the new chairman of the Republican Party!