Yesterday, the Hernando County Commission voted to impose a spending cap on themselves at the suggestion of Commissioner Kingsley. This might have been a stellar moment in Hernando County's history to reign in out of control spending if it had not been for the last minute comment of Mr. Kingsley. He suggested that this self-imposed spending cap might pave the way for the future approval of the 1/2 cent sales tax for Hernando County capital improvements projects...
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Fitting tribute
Thanks go out to Joe Johnston, Jr. for his guest columns in both newspapers this week. His column was a very fitting tribute to the former Brooksville city manager, Richard Anderson.
Top ten reasons...
Richard A. Viquerie, a conservative fundraiser from Manassas, Virginia has been running on online poll to judge the reasons for demise of many national republicans during the 2006 election season. Mr. Viquere is the author of Conservatives Betrayed: How George W. Bush and Other Big government Republicans Hijacked the Conservative Cause. Richard A. Viquerie's website is located at http://www.conservativesbetrayed.com/ The top ten reasons for the failure of national Republicans in Mr. Viquere's poll are:
- Conservative leaders who kept silent when the GOP became the party of Big Government
- Illegal corruption, such as Mark Foley, Robert Ney, and Jack Abramoff
- Legal corruption, such as spending on special interest groups to “buy” their votes, including earmarks
- Mainstream media that may have influenced the voters to throw out the Republicans
- President George W. Bush
- Conservative media that kept silent while the GOP became the party of Big Government
- Senator Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), former President ProTempore-Senate /$223 m Bridge to Nowhere
- Blunders and misstatements by Republican candidates
- Former Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN)
- Congressman Dennis Hastert (R-IL), former Speaker of the House
Nationwide gun ban legislation
I received this information in a weekly newsletter from Safari Club International. As a member of this organization, I find their legislative news quite interesting and thought you might like to read this information on a proposed nationwide gun ban legislation:
Nationwide Gun Ban Legislation Proposed “On Feb. 14, 2007, Representative Carolyn McCarthy (D-N.Y.) introduced H.R. 1022, a bill with the stated purpose, ‘to reauthorize the assault weapons ban, and for other purposes.’" The assault weapons ban is the Clinton Gun Ban of 1994. “H.R. 1022 would ban every gun banned by the Clinton ban, plus millions more guns, including: guns exempted by the Clinton ban. (Ruger Mini-14s and -30s and Ranch Rifles; .30 cal. carbines; and fixed-magazine, semi-automatic, center-fire rifles that hold more than 10 rounds.); all semi-automatic shotguns. (e.g., Remington, Winchester, Beretta and Benelli, used for hunting, sport shooting, and self-defense; all detachable-magazine semi-automatic rifles-including, for example, the ubiquitous Ruger 10/22 .22 rimfire; target shooting rifles. (E.g., the three centerfire rifles most popular for marksmanship competitions: the Colt AR-15, the Springfield M1A and the M1 "Garand."); 65 named guns ; semi-auto fixed-magazine pistols of over 10 rounds capacity; and frames, receivers and parts used to repair or refurbish guns. H.R. 1022 would also ban the importation of magazines exempted by the Clinton ban, ban the sale of a legally-owned "assault weapon" with a magazine of over 10 rounds capacity, and begin backdoor registration of guns, by requiring private sales of banned guns, frames, receivers and parts to be conducted through licensed dealers. Finally, whereas the Clinton Gun Ban was imposed for a 10-year trial period, H.R. 1022 would be a permanent ban.”
To voice your opinion on this pending legislation, contact our Congresswoman Ginny Brown-Waite at http://brown-waite.house.gov/
Friday, February 23, 2007
Good Luck...
The city of Brooksville has lost one of the most influential members of the local art world with the retirement of Mary Alice Querros several weeks ago. Mary Alice has been the driving force to promote art within the community for the last decade. She organized the Mural Society within the community that exploded into many fine murals throughout the city under her guidance. Besides the downtown mural art, Mary Alice's claim to fame is the art museum within the Brooksville city hall. The walls with city hall have boasted artwork from many local craftsman for years at the direction of Mary Alice Querros. Although age and health have taken a toll on Mary Alice, she will never loose her love of the art and her heart will always lie with the city of Brooksville. We will all miss this petite little woman in the city of Brooksville who educated us all on the love of art in our community. Good Luck on your retirement, Mary Alice!
A memorable day
Yesterday was a wonderful day. A combination of three things make the day memorable for me. First, my husband spoiled me on my birthday with a beautiful gift and a late dinner out at Carrabba's Restaurant.
Secondly, the new electrical inspector for the city of Brooksville paid me a visit at our business. He said he stopped in to introduce himself to me because he wanted to meet a woman master electrician. During his nice visit he took the opportunity to compliment me and my husband on our son who works in our company. The electrical inspector said our son was one of the most courteous and polite young men that he had the pleasure of dealing with in quite some time. As a mom, (and a boss) this swelled my heart with pride.
And last but not least, I had the privilege of attending a retirement party for former city manager, Richard Anderson at Johnny Carrino's. The crowd ranged of 50-60 people which included three former council members Ernie Weaver, Mary Staib and Joe Johnston. Four city department heads were also included in the crowd, along with many rank and file employees, to wish Dick well as he moves into retirement. A large number of friends and family were also on hand to hug and kiss our favorite city manager. A short presentation took place and a very nice plaque was presented to Dick by City Councilman Richard Lewis on his years of service with the city. We had all chipped in earlier to purchase Dick a large barbecue grill which was impossible to bring to the restaurant so a nice framed photo (of the grill) was presented to him last night. Dick was truly pleased that all his friends and family threw him this special party to mark his retirement from the city of Brooksville. The smiles on every one's face last night was a fitting closure to say thank you for many years of superb service provided by Richard Anderson for the city of Brooksville...
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Pressure from parents...
This morning I heard on the news that Senator Fasano has distanced himself from the legislation to force mandatory inoculation of young girls for the HPV to prevent cervical cancer. This may have been foresight on his part or pressure from parents incensed with the suggestion the state of Florida would force their daughters to have this HPV inoculation.
Conscientious parents should have the choice to inoculate their daughters without mandates from the government. Given that choice, parents will take the appropriate actions to protect the health of their children.
Running with scissors...
When we were kids our mothers used to warn us by saying, don't run with those scissors or you will put your eye out. We did it anyway, always thinking our moms knew nothing about the world around us.
Now that we are older, and hopefully wiser, we have the government officials to warn us. I'm sure everyone has read, or heard, a government official warn us about hiring unlicensed contractors. Even though this message has been very clear for years, we occasionally read in the newspaper how some trustworthy individual is taken to the cleaners by an unscrupulous person they assumed was an honest business person.
After illustrating the good intentions of our moms and conscientious government officials, it is hard to believe any government official would choose to ignore their own advice about hiring unlicensed contractors. Yes, the city of Brooksville hired Mr. James Farley to investigate the perceived problems within the city and he doesn't even have an occupational to operate an investigative firm within the city. When questioned, the city clerk equated the lack of a license for Mr. Farley to a taxi driver coming into the city to drop off a fare and not needing a license.
It is not very comforting to know that the results of this drive-by city investigation will foretell the future the chief of police and the human resource director for the city of Brooksville. Too bad we couldn't be children for just one day and stop running with those scissors...
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Right direction?
On February 6, 2007, the Hernando County Board of Commissioners agreed to sell the old Brooksville Regional Hospital. I thought it was rather odd that the name of the company winning the hearts of the county commissioners was the mirror image of the address of the old hospital site. The newspaper listed the company as 55 Ponce de Leon, LLC which is oddly enough the address of the old Brooksville Regional Hospital. Curiosity got the best of me so I looked up this 55 Ponce de Leon, LLC at the Florida Department of State, Division of Corporations to see who were the principals in this business.
Guess what? There was no listing for this limited liability corporation when this deal was brokered with our county commissioners. This 55 Ponce de Leon, LLC submitted a contract for review on February 8, 2007 and still no indication of valid corporation at the Florida Department of State.
Today, nine days after the deal was brokered between 55 Ponce de Leon, LLC and the Hernando County Commissioners a document was filed with the Florida Department of Corporations. Guess what? This filing by Holland & Knight for 55 Ponce de Leon, LLC was a rejected filing.
It is really amazing that the Hernando County Office of Business Development did not check out the documents of this limited liability corporation with the Florida Department of State before this presentation was made to the commissioners. It was really odd that this 55 Ponce de Leon, LLC had time to have artist renderings made for their presentation to the commissioners but failed to make themselves legal with the Florida Division of Corporations.
It was said by Commissioner Rocco after the deal was brokered, "It's not how fast or slow but that we moved in the right direction." Is brokering a deal a group that has yet to file proper corporate documents the right direction? It looks like the county commissioners moved just a wee bit too fast on this deal and swerved off course...
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Are"they" in charge...
How many more will it take to satisfy the vindictive appetite of the three Brooksville city council members Pugh, Bernardini and Bradburn? Just when everyone thought a little sanity was returning to the city council, two individuals were placed on administrative leave this afternoon. Chief Tincher and the human resource director were shown the door this afternoon when acting city manager, Steve Baumgartner, placed them on administrative leave again.
What was the reason for this leave? Mr. Baumgartner did not inform Chief Tincher of the reason for the leave other than to say he wanted them out of the way of the investigation. When asked what the scope of the investigation was, the acting city manager stated the investigation was confidential. A letter was sent out to all employees giving them immunity to speak at free will to the "hired investigator". This immunity was probably needed to prod employees because the city does not have the power to make people talk without having any evidence of a crime.
Rick Hankins has been been placed in charge of the Brooksville Police department in the absence of Chief Tincher. Steve Baumgartner is insisting that this current administrative leave is all his idea even though he stated that "they" also wanted Lt. Hankins on leave but he refused to comply with "their" wishes. Who is really in charge? Are "they" in charge or is the acting city manager?
Needless to say, the moral within the city is low. Is this really the "new direction" we envision for the city of Brooksville?
Saturday, February 10, 2007
Saturday, February 03, 2007
Kudos to Mr. Kuhl
Imagine that, service with a smile, for your county government representative! Hernando County administrator, Gary Kuhl, has made it his top priority to have all (county) employees complete customer service classes at PHCC within the next two years. This customer service program was set up by department representatives to underscore the responsibility of excellent service by all county employees, correct weak areas of service, and establish uniform service patterns for all departments. This concept of excellent service is usually only seen in private business practices, not county government, and it is a very refreshing change of pace. Mr. Kuhl should be commended for promoting good service from our county civil servants. The only downside to this program is the cost to send all the county employees to Pasco-Hernando Community College. An in-house educational program should be implemented in the event that taxpayers will be asked to pick up to the tab for this customer service program at PHCC. Kudos go out to Mr. Kuhl for his initiative to promote good government practices here in Hernando County.
Golf tournament
The Kiwanis Club of Ridge Manor is having a golf tournament on March 31, 2007 at the Whispering Oaks Golf Club. This golf tournament is to raise funds for their annual scholarship program. Entry fees are $50.00 which includes lunch and prizes. If you are interested in sponsoring, or playing in this worthwhile event, please contact James Nico at 352-799-0901
Tax break for veterans...
A friend of mine named Jeff Johnston drops of a copy of the Veterans Post to me once a month. Jeff is seen all over the county volunteering on behalf of veterans and I, for one, am glad that he includes me in his route. This month's edition has a special notice of a tax break for Florida veterans. Florida's disabled veterans, or surviving spouses, are eligible to for a credit on their property taxes. The amount of this discount is equal to the percentage of the permanent "combat-wounded" service connected disability. Several rules apply for this tax break which are:
- You had to be a Florida resident when you entered the military
- You currently receive Homestead Exemption
- You are at least 65 years old by January 1, 2007
- Have a minimum of a 10% "combat-related" disability
- Have an honorable discharge, DD-214
- Must meet the March 1, 2007 deadline to apply.
If you meet all of these requirements, contact the Hernando County Property Appraisers office for an application before the March 1st deadline.
Capital credits
Several weeks ago Withlacoochee River Electric Cooperative, Inc. had a notice in the local newspaper to notify many former members of the cooperative of unclaimed capital credits. Withlacoochee River Electric will assign any these unclaimed credits to the WREC Educational Foundation, Inc. after 5:00 p.m. on April 9, 2007. Contact Withlacoochee River Electric for more details if you think you may be qualify for these capital credit refunds.
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