When a Republican homophobe gets fined $99,000 for campaign law violations and leaves the U.S. Senate, I want to stand up and sing the Star Spangled Banner and the Battle Hymb of the Republic.
Thanks to a public interest group (CREW), Mel Martinez is leaving the U.S. Senate.
Good riddance! Let justice be done though the heathens ululate.
Friday, December 05, 2008
FEDERAL ELECTIONS COMMISSION FINES SENATOR MEL MARTINEZ $99,000FOR FEDERAL ELECTIONS CAMPAIGN ACT VIOLATIONS
Published on Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (http://www.citizensforethics.org)
FEC fines Senator Mel Martinez for violations outlined by CREW's 2007 FEC complaint, but the FEC failed to mention CREW
By crew
Created 29 Oct 2008 - 10:44am
In May of 2007, CREW filed an FEC complaint [0] against Senator Mel Martinez (R-FL) alleging multiple egregious violations of the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA) and FEC regulations:
The complaint is based primarily upon the Commission’s recent audit on April 17, 2007 of Martinez for Senate, which revealed that the campaign committee failed to comply with the most basic disclosure provisions of FECA and FEC regulations. During the course of the ten-month campaign, Martinez for Senate received no fewer than three written warnings from the Commission.
Today, we learned that the FEC fined Martinez $99,000 for the same violations mentioned in CREW's complaint -- without referencing or mentioning CREW's FEC complaint. We wrote a letter to the FEC, which can be found here. [0]
More on the FEC action against Martinez from the Orlando Sentinel [1]:
Sen. Mel Martinez of Florida has agreed to pay $99,000 in fines for breaking several federal election laws -- including accepting $313,000 in excessive contributions -- during his 2004 campaign, according to newly-released records [2].
The penalty ends years of investigation of the Republican senator by the Federal Election Commission, which announced several violations last year after an audit of his campaign. His other violations include not filing information about big donors about two-dozen times and improperly reporting proceeds from joint fundraisers he held with other political committees -- to a tune of almost $320,000.
He’ll also have to pay $11,500 to the U.S. Treasury for “unresolved excessive contributions,” which Martinez was not able to return in what the FEC calls “a reasonable amount of time.”
FEC fines Senator Mel Martinez for violations outlined by CREW's 2007 FEC complaint, but the FEC failed to mention CREW
By crew
Created 29 Oct 2008 - 10:44am
In May of 2007, CREW filed an FEC complaint [0] against Senator Mel Martinez (R-FL) alleging multiple egregious violations of the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA) and FEC regulations:
The complaint is based primarily upon the Commission’s recent audit on April 17, 2007 of Martinez for Senate, which revealed that the campaign committee failed to comply with the most basic disclosure provisions of FECA and FEC regulations. During the course of the ten-month campaign, Martinez for Senate received no fewer than three written warnings from the Commission.
Today, we learned that the FEC fined Martinez $99,000 for the same violations mentioned in CREW's complaint -- without referencing or mentioning CREW's FEC complaint. We wrote a letter to the FEC, which can be found here. [0]
More on the FEC action against Martinez from the Orlando Sentinel [1]:
Sen. Mel Martinez of Florida has agreed to pay $99,000 in fines for breaking several federal election laws -- including accepting $313,000 in excessive contributions -- during his 2004 campaign, according to newly-released records [2].
The penalty ends years of investigation of the Republican senator by the Federal Election Commission, which announced several violations last year after an audit of his campaign. His other violations include not filing information about big donors about two-dozen times and improperly reporting proceeds from joint fundraisers he held with other political committees -- to a tune of almost $320,000.
He’ll also have to pay $11,500 to the U.S. Treasury for “unresolved excessive contributions,” which Martinez was not able to return in what the FEC calls “a reasonable amount of time.”
Many eye Senate race after Martinez says he won't run for re-election
orlandosentinel.com/news/local/state/orl-whosenext0308dec03,0,2066368.story
OrlandoSentinel.com
Many eye Senate race after Martinez says he won't run for re-election
Aaron Deslatte and Josh Hafenbrack
Tallahassee Bureau
December 3, 2008
TALLAHASSEE
U.S. Sen. Mel Martinez's announcement that he won't run for re-election in 2010 caught some of Florida's top politicos flat-footed Tuesday, and would-be candidates for the powerful post began instantly testing the waters.
On the Republican side, former Gov. Jeb Bush initially said he wasn't interested -- but then began spreading word he was "seriously considering" a run.
A Republican operative who spoke Tuesday with Bush and asked not to be named said there had been "an outpouring of support" from Republicans urging the two-term governor, who left office last year, to run.
"The decision will probably be driven by the potential impact on his family of another campaign," the source said, "and by whether or not he thinks he can make a difference from the Senate on the issues he cares about, like education and immigration."
Bush was expected to make a decision sometime after the holiday season.
Other Republicans
Attorney General Bill McCollum, who lost to Martinez in 2004 after a blistering GOP primary, said he would "seriously consider and discuss with my family" making the race. McCollum was elected as attorney general in 2006.
Former state House Speakers Marco Rubio, a Cuban-American considered a prot�g� of Bush, and Allan Bense both expressed interest, as did Orange County Mayor Rich Crotty.
Bense, a Panama City road builder who left the Legislature in 2006, was urged to run against U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson that year by GOP political operative Karl Rove. But Bense opted not to challenge Katherine Harris in the primary.
Rubio, a West Miami lawyer, just finished eight years in his Legislature tenure and was widely seen as a future statewide candidate.
However, Crotty -- echoing others -- conceded Bush's entry would be a game-changer.
"Jeb Bush would be an instant favorite," said Crotty, whose term as mayor runs out in 2010. "He would probably clear the field if he ran."
In the Florida congressional delegation, U.S. Reps. John Mica of Winter Park and Connie Mack IV of Fort Myers both indicated interest.
Mica just won a ninth term in Congress, but his chief of staff said he would be considering a bid. Mack is the son of two-term former Florida U.S. Sen. Connie Mack III.
One Republican was not angling for the job: Gov. Charlie Crist, who has his eyes set on re-election and then a potential 2012 White House bid.
From the Democrats
On the Democratic side, Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink had planned to announce Tuesday that she was running for re-election. But those plans got scrapped after Martinez bowed out, and she now tops a list of at least seven Democrats giving serious thought to the race.
Sink would be the clear front-runner in a crowded Democratic field, given her 2006 election to statewide office. No other interested Democrat has run statewide.
Among them are newly elected state Sen. Dan Gelber of Miami Beach, who as a four-term member of the Florida House was considered one of the most well-respected legislators in Tallahassee; and U.S. Rep. Ron Klein, who just won a second term in his coastal district in Broward and Palm Beach counties.
At least two other congressional Democrats also could be in the mix. U.S. Rep. Allen Boyd of Monticello has already financed a test-the-waters poll, while U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek of Miami is also said to be interested.
Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio and Miami businessman/Hillary Clinton fundraiser Chris Korge also expressed interest, though either would be a long shot.
Ruling out a race were U.S. Reps. Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Weston and Robert Wexler of Boca Raton.
Mark K. Matthews and David Damron of the Sentinel staff contributed to this report. Aaron Deslatte can be reached at adeslatte@orlandosentinel.com or 850-222-5564. Josh Hafenbrack can be reached at 850-224-6214 or jhafenbrack@sunsentinel.com.
Copyright © 2008, Orlando Sentinel
OrlandoSentinel.com
Many eye Senate race after Martinez says he won't run for re-election
Aaron Deslatte and Josh Hafenbrack
Tallahassee Bureau
December 3, 2008
TALLAHASSEE
U.S. Sen. Mel Martinez's announcement that he won't run for re-election in 2010 caught some of Florida's top politicos flat-footed Tuesday, and would-be candidates for the powerful post began instantly testing the waters.
On the Republican side, former Gov. Jeb Bush initially said he wasn't interested -- but then began spreading word he was "seriously considering" a run.
A Republican operative who spoke Tuesday with Bush and asked not to be named said there had been "an outpouring of support" from Republicans urging the two-term governor, who left office last year, to run.
"The decision will probably be driven by the potential impact on his family of another campaign," the source said, "and by whether or not he thinks he can make a difference from the Senate on the issues he cares about, like education and immigration."
Bush was expected to make a decision sometime after the holiday season.
Other Republicans
Attorney General Bill McCollum, who lost to Martinez in 2004 after a blistering GOP primary, said he would "seriously consider and discuss with my family" making the race. McCollum was elected as attorney general in 2006.
Former state House Speakers Marco Rubio, a Cuban-American considered a prot�g� of Bush, and Allan Bense both expressed interest, as did Orange County Mayor Rich Crotty.
Bense, a Panama City road builder who left the Legislature in 2006, was urged to run against U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson that year by GOP political operative Karl Rove. But Bense opted not to challenge Katherine Harris in the primary.
Rubio, a West Miami lawyer, just finished eight years in his Legislature tenure and was widely seen as a future statewide candidate.
However, Crotty -- echoing others -- conceded Bush's entry would be a game-changer.
"Jeb Bush would be an instant favorite," said Crotty, whose term as mayor runs out in 2010. "He would probably clear the field if he ran."
In the Florida congressional delegation, U.S. Reps. John Mica of Winter Park and Connie Mack IV of Fort Myers both indicated interest.
Mica just won a ninth term in Congress, but his chief of staff said he would be considering a bid. Mack is the son of two-term former Florida U.S. Sen. Connie Mack III.
One Republican was not angling for the job: Gov. Charlie Crist, who has his eyes set on re-election and then a potential 2012 White House bid.
From the Democrats
On the Democratic side, Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink had planned to announce Tuesday that she was running for re-election. But those plans got scrapped after Martinez bowed out, and she now tops a list of at least seven Democrats giving serious thought to the race.
Sink would be the clear front-runner in a crowded Democratic field, given her 2006 election to statewide office. No other interested Democrat has run statewide.
Among them are newly elected state Sen. Dan Gelber of Miami Beach, who as a four-term member of the Florida House was considered one of the most well-respected legislators in Tallahassee; and U.S. Rep. Ron Klein, who just won a second term in his coastal district in Broward and Palm Beach counties.
At least two other congressional Democrats also could be in the mix. U.S. Rep. Allen Boyd of Monticello has already financed a test-the-waters poll, while U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek of Miami is also said to be interested.
Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio and Miami businessman/Hillary Clinton fundraiser Chris Korge also expressed interest, though either would be a long shot.
Ruling out a race were U.S. Reps. Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Weston and Robert Wexler of Boca Raton.
Mark K. Matthews and David Damron of the Sentinel staff contributed to this report. Aaron Deslatte can be reached at adeslatte@orlandosentinel.com or 850-222-5564. Josh Hafenbrack can be reached at 850-224-6214 or jhafenbrack@sunsentinel.com.
Copyright © 2008, Orlando Sentinel
Orlando Sentinel: JOHN LUIGI MICA considering race for MARTINEZ' U.S. Senate Seat
WASHINGTON -- Add U.S. Rep. John Mica to the list of potential replacements to outgoing U.S. Sen. Mel Martinez, who announced today that he would not seek a second term.
An aide to Mica, who just won a ninth term, said the Winter Park Republican was considering a Senate bid but would not decide before January.
"He is someone who has stature in the state and has a lot of name recognition outside his district," said Rusty Roberts, his chief-of-staff. A key asset? Mica's post as top Republican on the transportation committee -- the largest in Congress -- which Roberts said gives him "a huge statewide impact."
An aide to Mica, who just won a ninth term, said the Winter Park Republican was considering a Senate bid but would not decide before January.
"He is someone who has stature in the state and has a lot of name recognition outside his district," said Rusty Roberts, his chief-of-staff. A key asset? Mica's post as top Republican on the transportation committee -- the largest in Congress -- which Roberts said gives him "a huge statewide impact."
Crist: 'No jitters' about wedding
Crist: 'No jitters' about wedding
The Tampa Tribune
Publication Date: 12/05/08
TALLAHASSEE (AP) -- Gov. Charlie Crist, a week away from his wedding, says he has "no jitters" about the big day.
In an interview published in Thursday's Tampa Tribune, the longtime bachelor says: "I'm ready."
Gay rights activists are planning to demonstrate outside the St. Petersburg wedding against the gay marriage ban that Florida voters passed last month. Crist said the protesters have a First Amendment right to do so.
On other topics, the Republican governor spoke glowingly about his meeting with President-elect Barack Obama earlier this week. Crist said Obama was in tune with Florida issues, and called the Democrat a "very gracious guy."
In response to news that former Gov. Jeb Bush is considering a run for the Senate, Crist dubbed him a "great Floridian."
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The Tampa Tribune
Publication Date: 12/05/08
TALLAHASSEE (AP) -- Gov. Charlie Crist, a week away from his wedding, says he has "no jitters" about the big day.
In an interview published in Thursday's Tampa Tribune, the longtime bachelor says: "I'm ready."
Gay rights activists are planning to demonstrate outside the St. Petersburg wedding against the gay marriage ban that Florida voters passed last month. Crist said the protesters have a First Amendment right to do so.
On other topics, the Republican governor spoke glowingly about his meeting with President-elect Barack Obama earlier this week. Crist said Obama was in tune with Florida issues, and called the Democrat a "very gracious guy."
In response to news that former Gov. Jeb Bush is considering a run for the Senate, Crist dubbed him a "great Floridian."
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Good riddance to bad rubbish (1)
Good riddance to bad rubbish -- our estimable United States Senator MEL MERTINEZ is leaving before he's run out of town on a rail.
This crook took illegal campaign contributions and arrived at settlements with the Federal Election Commission.
He will always be remembered as a great big bubba homophobe in the spirit of PAULA HAWKINS, ANITA BRYANT and the PURPLE PAMPHLET.
MARTINEZ blasted William McCollum (now our Attorney General) in the Republican Primary four years ago for backing "the Gay Agenda," with angry TV commercials that would make KARL ROVE blush.
Why?
McCollum supported a hate crimes bill.
To Senator Martinez, let us say in unison, "Go on, git! Leave now. Don't let the Senate Cloakroom doors hit you in the butt. You didn't quit to spend more time with your family, you quit before being further disgraced, indicted and defeated at the polls like Senator Ted Stevens."
This crook took illegal campaign contributions and arrived at settlements with the Federal Election Commission.
He will always be remembered as a great big bubba homophobe in the spirit of PAULA HAWKINS, ANITA BRYANT and the PURPLE PAMPHLET.
MARTINEZ blasted William McCollum (now our Attorney General) in the Republican Primary four years ago for backing "the Gay Agenda," with angry TV commercials that would make KARL ROVE blush.
Why?
McCollum supported a hate crimes bill.
To Senator Martinez, let us say in unison, "Go on, git! Leave now. Don't let the Senate Cloakroom doors hit you in the butt. You didn't quit to spend more time with your family, you quit before being further disgraced, indicted and defeated at the polls like Senator Ted Stevens."
Mel Martinez will not seek re-election in '10
Mel Martinez will not seek re-election in '10
By Beth Reinhard
McClatchy Newspapers
Publication Date: 12/03/08
U.S. Sen. Mel Martinez's announcement Tuesday that he will not run for re-election set off a political free-for-all throughout Florida, as a slew of would-be successors began jockeying for position in the state's marquee race in 2010.
Martinez's retirement will force the Republican party, already weakened by recent election defeats, to defend another seat in Congress and to court the Hispanic community without one of its most prominent voices. Martinez arrived in the U.S. at 15 years old wielding a suitcase and not a word of English and rose to become the first Cuban-born U.S. senator in 2004.
His slumping poll numbers and lackluster re-election fundraising have fueled speculation for months that he would not seek another term. But Martinez, a reluctant Washington insider recruited by President Bush, insisted that he wasn't deterred by the prospect of a tough race. He added that he announced his retirement early to give potential candidates enough time to build campaigns.
"The inescapable truth, for me, is that the call to public service is strong, but the call to home, family and lifelong friends is even stronger," the 62-year-old Martinez said at a press conference in Orlando, which he called "my only true home since I left Cuba."
The absence of an heir apparent creates the prospect of a costly partisan brawl. A spokeswoman for former Gov. Jeb Bush said he had not seriously considered a Senate campaign, but hours later a close ally said Bush was thinking about the race. His entry would immediately clear the Republican field.
Gov. Charlie Crist is unlikely to give up his perch for the back of a Senate controlled by the Democratic party. Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum said Tuesday that he is considering the job, but he has lost two previous bids for the Senate. That leaves a number of younger and lesser-known Republicans in the mix, including Florida House Speaker Marco Rubio, U.S. Reps. Connie Mack and Adam Putnam, and Senate President Jeff Atwater.
"This is a wide open seat on both sides of the equation," said Al Cardenas, a former chairman of the Republican Party of Florida. "I think it behooves the party leadership to try to narrow this race down."
On the Democratic side, Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink is considered the most formidable candidate. She was expected to rule out a Senate bid, but Martinez's decision appears to have moved her to reconsider. U.S. Reps. Allen Boyd, Ron Klein and Kendrick Meek, and state Sen. Dan Gelber are among the likely candidates if Sink stays in Tallahassee.
"Martinez's announcement ensures that Florida will be a central battleground in the 2010 election," said a statement from Karen Thurman, chairwoman of the Florida Democratic Party.
Martinez, a lawyer, was elected mayor of Orange County in 1998. President Bush tapped him to serve as Secretary of the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development in 2001 and urged him to run for the Senate in 2004. Martinez answered the call, and did so again when Bush asked him to be chairman of the Republican National Committee in November 2006, when the GOP lost control of Congress amid declining Hispanic support.
But he stepped down from the political post less than one year later, battered by the fierce fight in Congress over immigration reform and weary of juggling his responsibilities to his party and constituents.
In contrast to the rigors of a statewide campaign that could cost more than $20 million, Martinez can look forward to parlaying his extensive network of contacts into a successful legal or consulting practice. He and his wife, Kitty, have three children and two grandchildren.
Martinez's retirement means the Republican party will have to defend at least two open seats in 2010. Sen. Sam Brownback of Kansas is expected to run for governor, exacerbating anxiety in the Republican party over losing seats in Congress to Democrats and the White House to Barack Obama.
Martinez's departure will also mean the loss of one of the strongest proponents of the trade embargo with Cuba and other sanctions aimed at squeezing the communist regime. President-elect Obama favors allowing Cuban-Americans to freely travel and send money to the island.
"He's been one of our shining lights, a good example of a Cuban-American success story," said U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Miami. "They don't get much bigger than Mel Martinez."
------
(Miami Herald staff writers Adam Beasley, Mary Ellen Klas and Hannah Sampson contributed to this report.)
------
(c) 2008, The Miami Herald.
Visit The Miami Herald Web edition on the World Wide Web at http://www.herald.com/
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
----------
ARCHIVE PHOTOS on MCT Direct (from MCT Photo Service, 202-383-6099):
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Jeb Bush a Senate possibility
Jeb Bush a Senate possibility
Bid could clear field of GOP hopefuls
By BRENDAN FARRINGTON
AP Political Writer
Publication Date: 12/04/08
TALLAHASSEE -- Still popular in Florida, former Gov. Jeb Bush said Wednesday that he's interested in the seat Sen. Mel Martinez is giving up, and the field of possible candidates could quickly narrow to make way for the president's younger brother.
Bush, 55, won praise from Democrats and Republicans alike for leading the state through eight hurricanes over a two-year period. He used standardized testing to overhaul the education system, was credited with making government more efficient and lowered taxes to make Florida more business-friendly.
While his older brother, soon-to-be former President George W. Bush is so unpopular and has been a liability to many Republicans candidates -- and was one undoing for Martinez -- Jeb Bush remains a popular figure here.
"I hope that Gov. Bush gets in the race. In my personal opinion, he understands public policy better than any other potential candidate looking at that race, by far," said former state House Speaker Allan Bense, who was contemplating his own bid. Bense said he would not run if Bush entered. "It would clear the Republican field, I'm sure."
Martinez, who served in President Bush's Cabinet and supported an immigration proposal unpopular with Republicans, has struggled to boost his approval ratings because of his close ties to the president. He said Tuesday he was not seeking a second term because he wanted to spend more time with his family.
The Cuban native who fled to America when he was 15 made his announcement early to give other Republicans time to mount their campaigns -- and a list of potential candidates immediately exploded. Several Florida congressman indicated they were considering a bid, along with about a half dozen other former or current state officials.
The former Florida governor said Wednesday in an e-mail: "I am considering running," but didn't elaborate. A separate statement from spokeswoman Kristy Campbell sounded like the former governor was ready to get back into politics. "He will give it thoughtful consideration in the coming weeks and months," the statement said. "Governor Bush hopes to play a constructive role in the future of the party, advocating ideas and policies to get the conservative cause back on track."
The statement means the former governor is all but certain to get in the race, said a person familiar with senior Republicans in Washington who spoke on condition of anonymity so they could talk more freely about the former governor's approach. Bush's consideration -- even if tentative in public -- is a strategic one, to discourage other Republicans from jumping in, the person said.
By doing this, the former governor, for whom raising money and building an operation will not be hard, doesn't need to get started campaigning for some time, the person said.
Democrats said they planned to put up a strong candidate.
"Jeb Bush will not clear both fields," said Screven Watson, a former state Democratic Party executive director. "If a Bush is on the ticket ... a lot of money will be coming in against him."
But the former governor has remained popular in Florida even as his brother's approval ratings declined.
A Quinnipiac University poll taken December 2006 during Jeb Bush's final month in office found 57 percent of Florida voters thought Bush was a great or good governor. Only 10 percent said he was a bad governor. That poll also showed 59 percent of voters disapproved of the job President Bush was doing, compared with 38 percent who approved.
"Florida voters have always been able to distinguish between Jeb Bush and George Bush. It's that simple. They thought he was a good governor, they thought his brother was a lousy president," said Peter Brown, assistant director of Quinnipiac's polling institute. "The things that made president Bush unpopular were not things that Gov. Bush had to deal with -- the national economy and the war."
The former governor has spent much of his time since leaving office promoting education policy as the founder and president of the Foundation for Excellence in Education. As governor, he put a strong emphasis on standardized testing to keep teachers and schools accountable and passed a voucher program that allowed students in failing public schools to attend provide schools at taxpayer expense. That program was later ruled unconstitutional.
While President-elect Barack Obama won Florida, the state's politics are more purple than red or blue. In 2006, Republican Gov. Charlie Crist won by a large margin, as did Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson, and Florida Republicans continued their control of the state Legislature after last month's election.
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Bid could clear field of GOP hopefuls
By BRENDAN FARRINGTON
AP Political Writer
Publication Date: 12/04/08
TALLAHASSEE -- Still popular in Florida, former Gov. Jeb Bush said Wednesday that he's interested in the seat Sen. Mel Martinez is giving up, and the field of possible candidates could quickly narrow to make way for the president's younger brother.
Bush, 55, won praise from Democrats and Republicans alike for leading the state through eight hurricanes over a two-year period. He used standardized testing to overhaul the education system, was credited with making government more efficient and lowered taxes to make Florida more business-friendly.
While his older brother, soon-to-be former President George W. Bush is so unpopular and has been a liability to many Republicans candidates -- and was one undoing for Martinez -- Jeb Bush remains a popular figure here.
"I hope that Gov. Bush gets in the race. In my personal opinion, he understands public policy better than any other potential candidate looking at that race, by far," said former state House Speaker Allan Bense, who was contemplating his own bid. Bense said he would not run if Bush entered. "It would clear the Republican field, I'm sure."
Martinez, who served in President Bush's Cabinet and supported an immigration proposal unpopular with Republicans, has struggled to boost his approval ratings because of his close ties to the president. He said Tuesday he was not seeking a second term because he wanted to spend more time with his family.
The Cuban native who fled to America when he was 15 made his announcement early to give other Republicans time to mount their campaigns -- and a list of potential candidates immediately exploded. Several Florida congressman indicated they were considering a bid, along with about a half dozen other former or current state officials.
The former Florida governor said Wednesday in an e-mail: "I am considering running," but didn't elaborate. A separate statement from spokeswoman Kristy Campbell sounded like the former governor was ready to get back into politics. "He will give it thoughtful consideration in the coming weeks and months," the statement said. "Governor Bush hopes to play a constructive role in the future of the party, advocating ideas and policies to get the conservative cause back on track."
The statement means the former governor is all but certain to get in the race, said a person familiar with senior Republicans in Washington who spoke on condition of anonymity so they could talk more freely about the former governor's approach. Bush's consideration -- even if tentative in public -- is a strategic one, to discourage other Republicans from jumping in, the person said.
By doing this, the former governor, for whom raising money and building an operation will not be hard, doesn't need to get started campaigning for some time, the person said.
Democrats said they planned to put up a strong candidate.
"Jeb Bush will not clear both fields," said Screven Watson, a former state Democratic Party executive director. "If a Bush is on the ticket ... a lot of money will be coming in against him."
But the former governor has remained popular in Florida even as his brother's approval ratings declined.
A Quinnipiac University poll taken December 2006 during Jeb Bush's final month in office found 57 percent of Florida voters thought Bush was a great or good governor. Only 10 percent said he was a bad governor. That poll also showed 59 percent of voters disapproved of the job President Bush was doing, compared with 38 percent who approved.
"Florida voters have always been able to distinguish between Jeb Bush and George Bush. It's that simple. They thought he was a good governor, they thought his brother was a lousy president," said Peter Brown, assistant director of Quinnipiac's polling institute. "The things that made president Bush unpopular were not things that Gov. Bush had to deal with -- the national economy and the war."
The former governor has spent much of his time since leaving office promoting education policy as the founder and president of the Foundation for Excellence in Education. As governor, he put a strong emphasis on standardized testing to keep teachers and schools accountable and passed a voucher program that allowed students in failing public schools to attend provide schools at taxpayer expense. That program was later ruled unconstitutional.
While President-elect Barack Obama won Florida, the state's politics are more purple than red or blue. In 2006, Republican Gov. Charlie Crist won by a large margin, as did Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson, and Florida Republicans continued their control of the state Legislature after last month's election.
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2 Jax officers resign after lewd e-mail investigation
2 Jax officers resign after lewd e-mail investigation
By DANA TREEN
Morris News Service
Publication Date: 12/04/08
JACKSONVILLE -- Complaints of a lewd e-mail to a Nassau County Sheriff's Office dispatcher opened an investigation that led to her arrest on a grand theft charge, accusations of sex on the job and resignations of two other officers.
Melissa Leigh Sharkey, 28, of Tidal Wave Lane in Jacksonville, was charged Monday with doctoring time sheets and collecting nearly $2,000 in bogus overtime, according to the Sheriff's Office. Sharkey worked at the agency for two years and seven months and was recently promoted to supervisor, Sheriff Tommy Seagraves said.
Sharkey has not been charged with any other crime. A woman who said she was Sharkey's mother and spoke to the Times-Union outside the Tidal Wave Lane property said her daughter had been advised not to discuss the case.
The questionable overtime was discovered in an investigation that began when a photo of a corrections officer's barbell-pierced genitals was e-mailed to Sharkey and seen by a dispatcher who found the image distasteful, Seagraves said.
The corrections officer who sent the photo was on duty and in uniform when the photo was taken, Seagraves said.
He said the corrections officer, Daniel Scott Dover, 34, resigned last week after admitting he was on duty when the photo was taken.
After the e-mail was reported to administrators, others employees came forward with complaints that workers Sharkey supervised were allowed to go grocery shopping on duty and take lengthy lunch breaks.
Seagraves said investigators also found Sharkey allowed a pajama-clad sailor onto Sheriff's Office grounds that are not open to the public and that she took a break to meet an off-duty deputy at a state driver's license bureau parking lot in Yulee at 2 a.m. on Oct. 16. Seagraves said Sharkey engaged in a sexual act with the deputy, which she also confirmed in the internal investigation summary. Richard C. Baldwin, 38, the off-duty officer, was in uniform and leaving an off-duty job in his patrol car, Seagraves said.
Baldwin resigned after being questioned, the sheriff said.
"These weren't people behind a door at a motel room on their day off," Seagraves said. "I dealt with it when it was brought to my attention."
Seagraves said what was found in the investigation was an embarrassment to the agency.
"What if someone had pulled in there?" he said.
Seagraves would not discuss specifics but said he expects to make management changes in the dispatch center. "I feel this is my problem that I will have to deal with deeper," he said.
Seagraves said Sharkey was a civilian employee and not held to the same standards as a sworn officer but was still held to a standard of respectability.
The Nassau County Sheriff's Office said it completed an internal investigation reviewing Sharkey's signed time sheets against her actual computer-generated log-in and log-out times for the last year. The review found 42 discrepancies resulting in $1,872 in unearned pay.
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By DANA TREEN
Morris News Service
Publication Date: 12/04/08
JACKSONVILLE -- Complaints of a lewd e-mail to a Nassau County Sheriff's Office dispatcher opened an investigation that led to her arrest on a grand theft charge, accusations of sex on the job and resignations of two other officers.
Melissa Leigh Sharkey, 28, of Tidal Wave Lane in Jacksonville, was charged Monday with doctoring time sheets and collecting nearly $2,000 in bogus overtime, according to the Sheriff's Office. Sharkey worked at the agency for two years and seven months and was recently promoted to supervisor, Sheriff Tommy Seagraves said.
Sharkey has not been charged with any other crime. A woman who said she was Sharkey's mother and spoke to the Times-Union outside the Tidal Wave Lane property said her daughter had been advised not to discuss the case.
The questionable overtime was discovered in an investigation that began when a photo of a corrections officer's barbell-pierced genitals was e-mailed to Sharkey and seen by a dispatcher who found the image distasteful, Seagraves said.
The corrections officer who sent the photo was on duty and in uniform when the photo was taken, Seagraves said.
He said the corrections officer, Daniel Scott Dover, 34, resigned last week after admitting he was on duty when the photo was taken.
After the e-mail was reported to administrators, others employees came forward with complaints that workers Sharkey supervised were allowed to go grocery shopping on duty and take lengthy lunch breaks.
Seagraves said investigators also found Sharkey allowed a pajama-clad sailor onto Sheriff's Office grounds that are not open to the public and that she took a break to meet an off-duty deputy at a state driver's license bureau parking lot in Yulee at 2 a.m. on Oct. 16. Seagraves said Sharkey engaged in a sexual act with the deputy, which she also confirmed in the internal investigation summary. Richard C. Baldwin, 38, the off-duty officer, was in uniform and leaving an off-duty job in his patrol car, Seagraves said.
Baldwin resigned after being questioned, the sheriff said.
"These weren't people behind a door at a motel room on their day off," Seagraves said. "I dealt with it when it was brought to my attention."
Seagraves said what was found in the investigation was an embarrassment to the agency.
"What if someone had pulled in there?" he said.
Seagraves would not discuss specifics but said he expects to make management changes in the dispatch center. "I feel this is my problem that I will have to deal with deeper," he said.
Seagraves said Sharkey was a civilian employee and not held to the same standards as a sworn officer but was still held to a standard of respectability.
The Nassau County Sheriff's Office said it completed an internal investigation reviewing Sharkey's signed time sheets against her actual computer-generated log-in and log-out times for the last year. The review found 42 discrepancies resulting in $1,872 in unearned pay.
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Crist's fiancee to wear silk wedding gown
Crist's fiancee to wear silk wedding gown
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Publication Date: 12/03/08
ST. PETERSBURG -- Gov. Charlie Crist's fiancee is set to walk down the aisle in a floor-length classic silk gown by a Spanish designer and train-length veil.
That's according to Carrie Hung, who owns Wedding Atelier in Manhattan, where bride Carole Rome bought the duds. The 39-year-old will be teetering on 3-inch heels by British designer Filippa Scott and accessorize with items from her mother. Hung wouldn't reveal the gown's designer.
Hung's salon is also altering cream-colored, floor-length dresses for Rome's young daughters from a previous marriage. The flower girl dresses were bought elsewhere.
The governor and Rome plan to marry on Dec. 12 at the First United Methodist Church in St. Petersburg.
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South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Publication Date: 12/03/08
ST. PETERSBURG -- Gov. Charlie Crist's fiancee is set to walk down the aisle in a floor-length classic silk gown by a Spanish designer and train-length veil.
That's according to Carrie Hung, who owns Wedding Atelier in Manhattan, where bride Carole Rome bought the duds. The 39-year-old will be teetering on 3-inch heels by British designer Filippa Scott and accessorize with items from her mother. Hung wouldn't reveal the gown's designer.
Hung's salon is also altering cream-colored, floor-length dresses for Rome's young daughters from a previous marriage. The flower girl dresses were bought elsewhere.
The governor and Rome plan to marry on Dec. 12 at the First United Methodist Church in St. Petersburg.
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Palin was unqualitied
I agree with my friend David Thundershield Queen, below, about Palin.
Seeing few McCain-Palin signs in St. Augustine, I gather that even dyed-in-tbe-woold Republicans weren't enthusiastic about having a humorless hubristic harridan political hack only one cheeseburger away one from the Oval Office!
Speaking of hacks, Jeb Bush might run for Senator (see above).
Seeing few McCain-Palin signs in St. Augustine, I gather that even dyed-in-tbe-woold Republicans weren't enthusiastic about having a humorless hubristic harridan political hack only one cheeseburger away one from the Oval Office!
Speaking of hacks, Jeb Bush might run for Senator (see above).
Letter: Palin wasn't ready for VP
Letter: Palin wasn't ready for VP
David Thundershield Queen
St. Augustine
Publication Date: 12/05/08
Editor: Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's continued political appearances show why a substantial majority of Americans wisely chose Obama-Biden. The twin GOP mantras of absolute-deregulation and "trickle down" failed miserably and have brought America to a deep depression.
Palin continues to show that she -- even ignoring her and husband Todd's far right-wing pals (secessionists, neo-Rebels and John Birchers) in the Alaskan Independence Party -- wasn't anywhere near ready to be a vice president.
Palin should study national-international affairs, history and civics (at the high school level) and stay out of the media spotlight for awhile.
Even in Palin's illusionary, more-patriotic, "real-America" -- Guilford County, N.C. -- Obama defeated McCain, 59 to 41 percent.
The post-election McCain camp wishes to blame Palin -- a woman who McCain held in high regard and said he confided in for advice.
The McCain-Palin campaign of fear, smear and race-baiting didn't wash with a substantial majority of thinking Americans. McCain also did some "paling around," as late as 1998, with a terrorist-extremist in "shockjock" G. Gordon Liddy of Watergate-infamy.
Liddy, besides frequently hosting McCain on his radio-show -- including donating to the McCain campaign and holding a fundraiser at his house -- told his listeners how to shoot ATF-agents and even drew up plans to bomb the Brookings Institution. Two weeks before the election, McCain said that he was proud to know Liddy. (Source: MSNBC- Olbermann broadcast 10/23/08).
McCain's pick of Palin spoke volumes about his lack of judgement.
Fortunately a substantial majority of Americans saw through McCain and Palin. They decided that a vote for the centrist uniter -- Barack Obama -- made far more sense and represented their (95 percent of taxpayers) best economic interests.
A victorious Obama-Biden team will serve America's best interests while helping dig us out of the eight-long-year Bush-Cheney nightmare that no incoming president should be forced to inherit.
David Thundershield Queen
St. Augustine
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© The St. Augustine Record
David Thundershield Queen
St. Augustine
Publication Date: 12/05/08
Editor: Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's continued political appearances show why a substantial majority of Americans wisely chose Obama-Biden. The twin GOP mantras of absolute-deregulation and "trickle down" failed miserably and have brought America to a deep depression.
Palin continues to show that she -- even ignoring her and husband Todd's far right-wing pals (secessionists, neo-Rebels and John Birchers) in the Alaskan Independence Party -- wasn't anywhere near ready to be a vice president.
Palin should study national-international affairs, history and civics (at the high school level) and stay out of the media spotlight for awhile.
Even in Palin's illusionary, more-patriotic, "real-America" -- Guilford County, N.C. -- Obama defeated McCain, 59 to 41 percent.
The post-election McCain camp wishes to blame Palin -- a woman who McCain held in high regard and said he confided in for advice.
The McCain-Palin campaign of fear, smear and race-baiting didn't wash with a substantial majority of thinking Americans. McCain also did some "paling around," as late as 1998, with a terrorist-extremist in "shockjock" G. Gordon Liddy of Watergate-infamy.
Liddy, besides frequently hosting McCain on his radio-show -- including donating to the McCain campaign and holding a fundraiser at his house -- told his listeners how to shoot ATF-agents and even drew up plans to bomb the Brookings Institution. Two weeks before the election, McCain said that he was proud to know Liddy. (Source: MSNBC- Olbermann broadcast 10/23/08).
McCain's pick of Palin spoke volumes about his lack of judgement.
Fortunately a substantial majority of Americans saw through McCain and Palin. They decided that a vote for the centrist uniter -- Barack Obama -- made far more sense and represented their (95 percent of taxpayers) best economic interests.
A victorious Obama-Biden team will serve America's best interests while helping dig us out of the eight-long-year Bush-Cheney nightmare that no incoming president should be forced to inherit.
David Thundershield Queen
St. Augustine
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Letter: Support one-day trash pickup
Letter: Support one-day trash pickup
James E. Newman
St. Augustine
Publication Date: 12/05/08
Editor: Thursday's letter to the editor, "Two trash pickups not cost effective," suggesting a one-day garbage pickup seems a capital idea.
It cost the consumer nothing to implement, In the long run consumers are the overall winners, as is the city of St. Augustine. Such a program could begin immediately along with the recurrent savings from reduced manpower, fuel, and maintenance to city vehicles.
James E. Newman
St. Augustine
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James E. Newman
St. Augustine
Publication Date: 12/05/08
Editor: Thursday's letter to the editor, "Two trash pickups not cost effective," suggesting a one-day garbage pickup seems a capital idea.
It cost the consumer nothing to implement, In the long run consumers are the overall winners, as is the city of St. Augustine. Such a program could begin immediately along with the recurrent savings from reduced manpower, fuel, and maintenance to city vehicles.
James E. Newman
St. Augustine
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Letter: Two trash pickups not cost effective
Letter: Two trash pickups not cost effective
Richard Burgio
St. Augustine
Publication Date: 12/04/08
Editor: With the emphasis on "cost effectiveness,'' is it necessary to have two house trash pick-ups every week?
The city of St. Augustine spent a lot of money on "giant'' garbage cans for everyone. These certainly will accommodate a week's worth of trash.
We have trash pick-up on Monday, yard trash on Wednesday, and trash (again) along with recycling on Thursday -- two days later.
Why not better utilize our manpower, conserve fuel, and have less maintenance on vehicle usage by going to once a week?
For example:
Wednesday -- yard trash.
Thursday -- house trash and recycle.
Come on people -- make the giant cans do what they are designed to do; cost effective/environmental effort/wiser utilization of manpower.
Richard Burgio
St. Augustine
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Richard Burgio
St. Augustine
Publication Date: 12/04/08
Editor: With the emphasis on "cost effectiveness,'' is it necessary to have two house trash pick-ups every week?
The city of St. Augustine spent a lot of money on "giant'' garbage cans for everyone. These certainly will accommodate a week's worth of trash.
We have trash pick-up on Monday, yard trash on Wednesday, and trash (again) along with recycling on Thursday -- two days later.
Why not better utilize our manpower, conserve fuel, and have less maintenance on vehicle usage by going to once a week?
For example:
Wednesday -- yard trash.
Thursday -- house trash and recycle.
Come on people -- make the giant cans do what they are designed to do; cost effective/environmental effort/wiser utilization of manpower.
Richard Burgio
St. Augustine
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Editorial: St. Augustine's City Commission has a new look
Editorial: St. Augustine's City Commission has a new look
Publication Date: 12/03/08
The St. Augustine City Commission has a new look -- the first time that more than one commissioner seat has changed at the same time in six years.
We congratulate new commissioners, Leanna Freeman and Nancy Sikes-Kline, and returning commissioners, Mayor Joe Boles and Vice Mayor Errol Jones.
We thank outgoing commissioners Susan Burk and George Gardner for their leadership. Burk was on the commission for 12 consecutive years, including a term as vice mayor. Gardner was on for six years, four as mayor.
Monday's night reorganization meeting saw Boles sworn in for another two-year term as mayor but in the new mayoral seat; Jones, for a new four-year term and Sikes-Kline, for a two-year term. Freeman will be sworn in next Monday for a four-year term as she was out of the city. Commissioner Don Crichlow observed the ceremony as his second four-year term does not end until 2010.
These last six years have seen much movement in St. Augustine, attributed to a commission committed to listening better to the public. In 2002, when Crichlow, Gardner, and Jones were elected, public dissatisfaction over a planned parking garage behind the Lightner Museum led to two incumbents being voted out. Crichlow and Gardner won those seats. Jones won an open seat with no incumbent.
Gardner recognized the importance of visible citizen input when he pursued and won commission acceptance of his idea for neighborhood associations and a neighborhood council. These associations' members provide strong public comment at meetings; pros and cons to proposed city commission actions. They've made a difference
The parking garage at the Visitor Information Center and the newly operational parking system has had much public comment, for and against. The commission, with the help of its citizen-appointed Parking and Traffic Committee and staff, has held steadfast to the goal of managing traffic downtown.
This group of commissioners, too, launched the long-range planning for the city's anticipated world-class celebration of its 450th birthday in 2015.
What kind of difference this new commission will make remains to be seen. It will depend on alliances forged among the five members -- in public meetings, of course -- and their ability to reach agreements that benefit the city's quality of life.
Given the players, we foresee fresh ideas and lively discussions with extensive citizen input.
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© The St. Augustine Record
Publication Date: 12/03/08
The St. Augustine City Commission has a new look -- the first time that more than one commissioner seat has changed at the same time in six years.
We congratulate new commissioners, Leanna Freeman and Nancy Sikes-Kline, and returning commissioners, Mayor Joe Boles and Vice Mayor Errol Jones.
We thank outgoing commissioners Susan Burk and George Gardner for their leadership. Burk was on the commission for 12 consecutive years, including a term as vice mayor. Gardner was on for six years, four as mayor.
Monday's night reorganization meeting saw Boles sworn in for another two-year term as mayor but in the new mayoral seat; Jones, for a new four-year term and Sikes-Kline, for a two-year term. Freeman will be sworn in next Monday for a four-year term as she was out of the city. Commissioner Don Crichlow observed the ceremony as his second four-year term does not end until 2010.
These last six years have seen much movement in St. Augustine, attributed to a commission committed to listening better to the public. In 2002, when Crichlow, Gardner, and Jones were elected, public dissatisfaction over a planned parking garage behind the Lightner Museum led to two incumbents being voted out. Crichlow and Gardner won those seats. Jones won an open seat with no incumbent.
Gardner recognized the importance of visible citizen input when he pursued and won commission acceptance of his idea for neighborhood associations and a neighborhood council. These associations' members provide strong public comment at meetings; pros and cons to proposed city commission actions. They've made a difference
The parking garage at the Visitor Information Center and the newly operational parking system has had much public comment, for and against. The commission, with the help of its citizen-appointed Parking and Traffic Committee and staff, has held steadfast to the goal of managing traffic downtown.
This group of commissioners, too, launched the long-range planning for the city's anticipated world-class celebration of its 450th birthday in 2015.
What kind of difference this new commission will make remains to be seen. It will depend on alliances forged among the five members -- in public meetings, of course -- and their ability to reach agreements that benefit the city's quality of life.
Given the players, we foresee fresh ideas and lively discussions with extensive citizen input.
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© The St. Augustine Record
Editorial: County's financial picture upbeat
Editorial: County's financial picture upbeat
Publication Date: 12/05/08
The first item on Tuesday's agenda for the St. Johns County Commission was a report from its investment firm, PFM Asset Management LLC.
It was upbeat. At a time when Florida's government sector is struggling with budget deficits due to statewide property tax reform, declining sales tax revenue and other funding cuts, St. Johns County is ahead of that curve. Its investments are making money.
The third-quarter report was for April to June 2008. The market value of the county's investment portfolio was $169.4 million, an increase of about $1.3 million from the same time in 2007. The good news was delivered by Steven Alexander, PFM Asset Management's managing director.
Alexander told the commission that the past year and especially the last few months were "probably the most troubling we've seen" in recent times. But he added that the county's investments had not been exposed to the subprime mortgage market that fueled a nationwide financial crisis in mortgage and banking industries.
Alexander said PFM's strategy is conservative and the county's portfolio is "well-diversified." It includes U.S. Treasury bonds, he said.
County Administrator Michael Wanchick gave PFM's investment strategy high marks. "I wish I had them managing my (personal) money," he said.
The county's only major exposure was in the State Board of Administration's Local Government Investment Pool in 2007. That money is not under PFM's management. The majority of county money was pulled from the SBA fund before the state imposed a freeze on withdrawals, Wanchick said.
Part of SBA's problems was its exposure to the subprime market through its heavy investment in mortgage-related securities, according to state officials.
PFM has been managing the county's investments for years, a sign of confidence by the County Commission and the Clerk of Courts, the county's chief financial officer.
The county trusts PFM to get the best bang for its bucks.
In addition to PFM, Wanchick spread the credit for the financial success to Clerk of Courts Cheryl Strickland; Finance Director Allen MacDonald; Doug Timms, director of the county's Office of Management and Budget, and his staff; and the County Commission.
"It's a team of individuals that work very well together to protect the public's assets," Wanchick said.
It should always be a team effort when our tax dollars are at stake. It's obvious the county's team members treat every dollar invested with great care, perhaps even better than their own money.
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Publication Date: 12/05/08
The first item on Tuesday's agenda for the St. Johns County Commission was a report from its investment firm, PFM Asset Management LLC.
It was upbeat. At a time when Florida's government sector is struggling with budget deficits due to statewide property tax reform, declining sales tax revenue and other funding cuts, St. Johns County is ahead of that curve. Its investments are making money.
The third-quarter report was for April to June 2008. The market value of the county's investment portfolio was $169.4 million, an increase of about $1.3 million from the same time in 2007. The good news was delivered by Steven Alexander, PFM Asset Management's managing director.
Alexander told the commission that the past year and especially the last few months were "probably the most troubling we've seen" in recent times. But he added that the county's investments had not been exposed to the subprime mortgage market that fueled a nationwide financial crisis in mortgage and banking industries.
Alexander said PFM's strategy is conservative and the county's portfolio is "well-diversified." It includes U.S. Treasury bonds, he said.
County Administrator Michael Wanchick gave PFM's investment strategy high marks. "I wish I had them managing my (personal) money," he said.
The county's only major exposure was in the State Board of Administration's Local Government Investment Pool in 2007. That money is not under PFM's management. The majority of county money was pulled from the SBA fund before the state imposed a freeze on withdrawals, Wanchick said.
Part of SBA's problems was its exposure to the subprime market through its heavy investment in mortgage-related securities, according to state officials.
PFM has been managing the county's investments for years, a sign of confidence by the County Commission and the Clerk of Courts, the county's chief financial officer.
The county trusts PFM to get the best bang for its bucks.
In addition to PFM, Wanchick spread the credit for the financial success to Clerk of Courts Cheryl Strickland; Finance Director Allen MacDonald; Doug Timms, director of the county's Office of Management and Budget, and his staff; and the County Commission.
"It's a team of individuals that work very well together to protect the public's assets," Wanchick said.
It should always be a team effort when our tax dollars are at stake. It's obvious the county's team members treat every dollar invested with great care, perhaps even better than their own money.
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San Sebastian in foreclosure
San Sebastian in foreclosure
The Devlin Group owes $22M on project
By KATI BEXLEY
kati.bexley@staugustine.com
Publication Date: 12/05/08
San Sebastian Harbor Resort's owners, The Devlin Group Inc., are in foreclosure with Wachovia Bank after owing about $22 million in the $200-million project located in downtown St. Augustine.
Wachovia Bank, National Association, filed the suit on Nov. 17, but The Devlin Group CEO Wally Devlin has not yet been served, according to court documents. From the date the suit is filed, there is an 120-day deadline for the other party to be notified.
Devlin is out of the country on his boat and told The Record he still has plans for the project. He's working on getting funding from sources in other countries because United States' banks aren't lending money right now, he said. He's trying to replace the funding he received from Wachovia. He said Wachovia is passing his debt to another bank because it was sold to Citigroup after financial troubles. Devlin was adamant his project is not in foreclosure.
"If they try to foreclose I will not legally go down without a fight," he said.
City Attorney Ron Brown reviewed the court documents and said, "This is definitely a foreclosure."
"If Wachovia sold the note on the place, then the new party could decide to continue with the foreclosure suit or cancel it," he said. "But that doesn't change the fact a foreclosure has been filed. That's just a possible solution."
Two other companies who own portions of the property, who are not in foreclosure, also now cannot move forward with the project. Matt Merritt started the San Sebastian development with his partner Rich Newton about four years ago and sold most of the property to The Devlin Group. Merritt and Newton kept a piece of the site to build a retail loft building and the company Grunthal and Schueth Properties, Inc., planned to build retail shops. However, they were both waiting for Devlin to put in the site's infrastructure.
"We're ready to build it," Merritt said. "We just can't move forward now. I don't know how long the project will be on hold."
The Devlin Group was to build a Westin hotel on the 13-acre site along the San Sebastian River. The hotel would have included a luxury spa and retail shops. Also on the site was to be upscale condominiums called The Residences at The Westin St. Augustine, and a 65-slip marina with a boardwalk promenade.
Downtown merchants, city staff and City Commissioners had thought the upscale project would enhance that area of King Street and revitalize the western corridor to the city from Ponce de Leon Boulevard, a main thoroughfare.
Mark Knight, city planning and building department director, said he was "disappointed" to hear about the foreclosure.
"(The site has) been sitting there so long as a potential project," he said. "I hope the project will still go forward eventually."
The city bought the property in 1986, Knight said, and sold it to Merritt and Newton in May 2004 for $3.6 million.
Merritt pointed out that Devlin already completed the marina and had always been "good partners." He said Devlin put about $22 million into the site, about four times what he paid for it. And Devlin especially spent a large amount of time and money on cleaning the property.
The land was originally used as the St. Augustine Gas Site, a manufactured gas plant, from 1885 to the late 1950s. As a result, it was contaminated with coal tar, a by-product of the gas production process. Several federal agencies, including the Environmental Protection Agency -- helped clean up the Superfund site,
Merritt said he was "frustrated" the project is stalled, but that he will do "whatever I can to make sure this project is completed." Westin is still signed on to do the project, but they provide no financial backing, Merritt said.
"(Devlin) did everything first-rate, first-class. They got Westin to sign on to the project. I hope they can somehow pull out of this," Merritt said. "We are determined to see (the project) through no matter what."
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The Devlin Group owes $22M on project
By KATI BEXLEY
kati.bexley@staugustine.com
Publication Date: 12/05/08
San Sebastian Harbor Resort's owners, The Devlin Group Inc., are in foreclosure with Wachovia Bank after owing about $22 million in the $200-million project located in downtown St. Augustine.
Wachovia Bank, National Association, filed the suit on Nov. 17, but The Devlin Group CEO Wally Devlin has not yet been served, according to court documents. From the date the suit is filed, there is an 120-day deadline for the other party to be notified.
Devlin is out of the country on his boat and told The Record he still has plans for the project. He's working on getting funding from sources in other countries because United States' banks aren't lending money right now, he said. He's trying to replace the funding he received from Wachovia. He said Wachovia is passing his debt to another bank because it was sold to Citigroup after financial troubles. Devlin was adamant his project is not in foreclosure.
"If they try to foreclose I will not legally go down without a fight," he said.
City Attorney Ron Brown reviewed the court documents and said, "This is definitely a foreclosure."
"If Wachovia sold the note on the place, then the new party could decide to continue with the foreclosure suit or cancel it," he said. "But that doesn't change the fact a foreclosure has been filed. That's just a possible solution."
Two other companies who own portions of the property, who are not in foreclosure, also now cannot move forward with the project. Matt Merritt started the San Sebastian development with his partner Rich Newton about four years ago and sold most of the property to The Devlin Group. Merritt and Newton kept a piece of the site to build a retail loft building and the company Grunthal and Schueth Properties, Inc., planned to build retail shops. However, they were both waiting for Devlin to put in the site's infrastructure.
"We're ready to build it," Merritt said. "We just can't move forward now. I don't know how long the project will be on hold."
The Devlin Group was to build a Westin hotel on the 13-acre site along the San Sebastian River. The hotel would have included a luxury spa and retail shops. Also on the site was to be upscale condominiums called The Residences at The Westin St. Augustine, and a 65-slip marina with a boardwalk promenade.
Downtown merchants, city staff and City Commissioners had thought the upscale project would enhance that area of King Street and revitalize the western corridor to the city from Ponce de Leon Boulevard, a main thoroughfare.
Mark Knight, city planning and building department director, said he was "disappointed" to hear about the foreclosure.
"(The site has) been sitting there so long as a potential project," he said. "I hope the project will still go forward eventually."
The city bought the property in 1986, Knight said, and sold it to Merritt and Newton in May 2004 for $3.6 million.
Merritt pointed out that Devlin already completed the marina and had always been "good partners." He said Devlin put about $22 million into the site, about four times what he paid for it. And Devlin especially spent a large amount of time and money on cleaning the property.
The land was originally used as the St. Augustine Gas Site, a manufactured gas plant, from 1885 to the late 1950s. As a result, it was contaminated with coal tar, a by-product of the gas production process. Several federal agencies, including the Environmental Protection Agency -- helped clean up the Superfund site,
Merritt said he was "frustrated" the project is stalled, but that he will do "whatever I can to make sure this project is completed." Westin is still signed on to do the project, but they provide no financial backing, Merritt said.
"(Devlin) did everything first-rate, first-class. They got Westin to sign on to the project. I hope they can somehow pull out of this," Merritt said. "We are determined to see (the project) through no matter what."
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Woman charged in fraud scheme
Woman charged in fraud scheme
By CHAD SMITH
chad.smith@staugustine.com
Publication Date: 12/05/08
A woman who had been a housekeeper at a Ponte Vedra Beach retirement community for nearly a decade is facing charges of stealing more than $20,000 from a 98-year-old resident there.
The son and daughter of the resident, Devere Sheesley Sr., told police in late October that they thought someone had been taking money from their father's account. Investigators started looking at his bank statements and checking into who had access to his money.
The head of security at the community, Vicar's Landing near the Sawgrass Village Center, told detectives that a housekeeper, Carnetha Verna Gordon, 57, of Jacksonville Beach, and a health care provider had access to the Sheesley's home.
According to a St. Johns County Sheriff's Office report, Gordon told investigators that she had been taking the money, about $900 a month since the middle of 2007, to help pay her rent and electricity bill, which totaled about $850 a month. However, an estimated $24,000 was missing from Sheesley's accounts, according to the report.
Gordon was arrested Nov. 26 and is facing a charge of exploitation of an elderly person, a second-degree felony.
She was released from the St. Johns County jail on $2,500 bond on Nov. 27. Court records show she will be represented by a public defender.
Sheriff's Office spokesman Sgt. Chuck Mulligan said it was not likely that she would face other charges, and it appeared that Sheesley was the only resident who was targeted.
Raymond Johnson, the president and CEO of Vicar's Landing and the Glenmoor retirement community at World Golf Village, said that if the allegations are true, Gordon betrayed not only his trust, but also that of the residents.
"We were shocked and disappointed, and, quite candidly, I'm very angry," Johnson said Thursday.
He said in the nearly 10 years Gordon was an employee at Vicar's Landing, she had an unblemished record. There was no sign that she would do what she has been charged with, he added.
"Overall our employees are very caring, very committed, and they're very upset because it casts a negative light on all of them, and that's not deserved," Johnson said.
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© The St. Augustine Record
By CHAD SMITH
chad.smith@staugustine.com
Publication Date: 12/05/08
A woman who had been a housekeeper at a Ponte Vedra Beach retirement community for nearly a decade is facing charges of stealing more than $20,000 from a 98-year-old resident there.
The son and daughter of the resident, Devere Sheesley Sr., told police in late October that they thought someone had been taking money from their father's account. Investigators started looking at his bank statements and checking into who had access to his money.
The head of security at the community, Vicar's Landing near the Sawgrass Village Center, told detectives that a housekeeper, Carnetha Verna Gordon, 57, of Jacksonville Beach, and a health care provider had access to the Sheesley's home.
According to a St. Johns County Sheriff's Office report, Gordon told investigators that she had been taking the money, about $900 a month since the middle of 2007, to help pay her rent and electricity bill, which totaled about $850 a month. However, an estimated $24,000 was missing from Sheesley's accounts, according to the report.
Gordon was arrested Nov. 26 and is facing a charge of exploitation of an elderly person, a second-degree felony.
She was released from the St. Johns County jail on $2,500 bond on Nov. 27. Court records show she will be represented by a public defender.
Sheriff's Office spokesman Sgt. Chuck Mulligan said it was not likely that she would face other charges, and it appeared that Sheesley was the only resident who was targeted.
Raymond Johnson, the president and CEO of Vicar's Landing and the Glenmoor retirement community at World Golf Village, said that if the allegations are true, Gordon betrayed not only his trust, but also that of the residents.
"We were shocked and disappointed, and, quite candidly, I'm very angry," Johnson said Thursday.
He said in the nearly 10 years Gordon was an employee at Vicar's Landing, she had an unblemished record. There was no sign that she would do what she has been charged with, he added.
"Overall our employees are very caring, very committed, and they're very upset because it casts a negative light on all of them, and that's not deserved," Johnson said.
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Amphitheatre up for award
Amphitheatre up for award
From Staff
Publication Date: 12/03/08
Entertainment industry professionals nominated The St. Augustine Amphitheatre for a prestigious award given to the country's best small outdoor venue.
The announcement was made Tuesday by Pollstar, a prominent concert-industry resource that gives the award.
Amphitheatre officials will find out next month if they won the Red Rocks award for small outdoor venue.
Since 1984, Pollstar, which tracks concert ticket sales and publishes a concert industry magazine, has annually given out concert-related awards, such as best major tour of the year and nightclub of the year.
The winners of this year's 32 categories will be announced Jan. 30 in Los Angeles.
The award, named for Colorado's Red Rocks Amphitheatre, which won the award 11 straight times starting in 1989, is given to the best outdoor venue with a seating capacity less than 10,000.
The St. Augustine Amphitheatre was built in 1965 and today seats about 3,500 people.
The other nominees, listed with seating capacities, are:
* Chastain Park Amphitheater, Atlanta, 6,900
* Filene Center at Wolf Trap, Vienna, Va., 7,028
* Greek Theatre, Los Angeles, 5,801
* Hearst Greek Theatre, Berkeley, Calif., 8,500
The Greek Theatre in Los Angeles won the award last year.
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© The St. Augustine Record
From Staff
Publication Date: 12/03/08
Entertainment industry professionals nominated The St. Augustine Amphitheatre for a prestigious award given to the country's best small outdoor venue.
The announcement was made Tuesday by Pollstar, a prominent concert-industry resource that gives the award.
Amphitheatre officials will find out next month if they won the Red Rocks award for small outdoor venue.
Since 1984, Pollstar, which tracks concert ticket sales and publishes a concert industry magazine, has annually given out concert-related awards, such as best major tour of the year and nightclub of the year.
The winners of this year's 32 categories will be announced Jan. 30 in Los Angeles.
The award, named for Colorado's Red Rocks Amphitheatre, which won the award 11 straight times starting in 1989, is given to the best outdoor venue with a seating capacity less than 10,000.
The St. Augustine Amphitheatre was built in 1965 and today seats about 3,500 people.
The other nominees, listed with seating capacities, are:
* Chastain Park Amphitheater, Atlanta, 6,900
* Filene Center at Wolf Trap, Vienna, Va., 7,028
* Greek Theatre, Los Angeles, 5,801
* Hearst Greek Theatre, Berkeley, Calif., 8,500
The Greek Theatre in Los Angeles won the award last year.
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© The St. Augustine Record
Conch House wins round
Conch House wins round
Owners on target with expansion plans
By KATI BEXLEY
kati.bexley@staugustine.com
Publication Date: 12/02/08
Conch House owners won their case in federal bankruptcy court against a New York bank that wanted the business shut down and its assets sold off.
But this isn't the last time Conch House owners will step into a courthouse, Conch House attorney Jason Burnett said Monday. They'll be back in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of Florida, in Jacksonville, in January to show a judge the owners' plan to pay off their debts and get the property out of bankruptcy.
David Ponce, Conch House owner, has already said he plans to expand on the site with a hotel and condominiums as well as sell some of the property's boat slips along Salt Run. The Conch House already has a restaurant and marina.
Intervest National Bank of New York requested the Conch House case be converted from Chapter 11 Bankruptcy to Chapter 7, which would have allowed the bank to close the business and sell off the assets.
Intervest's attorney John MacDonald, of Akerman Senterfitt in Jacksonville, presented his case to Federal Judge Jerry Funk on Nov. 17. Funk made no decision then and asked that the hearing be moved to Dec. 1, when he had more time to hear the Conch House's side.
Late last week, Funk denied Intervest's motion and canceled Monday's hearing.
MacDonald spent about half an hour presenting Intervest's case in the November hearing. He said Conch House owners owe hundreds of thousands in property taxes from 2007 and 2008, and the owners could not show they could pull themselves out of bankruptcy.
Funk "did not find merit" in these arguments, according to court documents. He said Conch House filed for bankruptcy Aug. 8, 2007, and property taxes were incurred on Jan. 1, 2007. Therefore, the Conch House is allowed more time to pay off the taxes under bankruptcy rules. And they are not overdue on their 2008 property taxes.
Funk also said Intervest did not show evidence that the Conch House won't be able to climb out of bankruptcy, according to court documents.
Ponce said the ruling made his Thanksgiving.
"It was definitely a nice gift," he said. "It gave us something to be thankful for."
MacDonald, Intervest's attorney, was not able to be reached for comment late Monday.
Conch House owners filed for bankruptcy after their deal with investors they sold the company to fell through. Conch House attorneys believe the bank wants the current owners gone because they're countersuing Intervest.
They say the bank gave Thomas Coghill, an investor who bought the Conch House, a $17 million loan while he was awaiting trial for fraud.
Intervest claims it had no knowledge of his criminal background, according to court documents.
The Ponce family claims that the investors negotiated the $17 million loan to buy the property and covered the rest of the $27 million price tag by allowing the Ponces to be a part of the investor group. The idea was that the Ponces would eventually be bought out of the deal.
Instead, the $17 million loan was closed without the family's knowledge, according to the countersuit.
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© The St. Augustine Record
Owners on target with expansion plans
By KATI BEXLEY
kati.bexley@staugustine.com
Publication Date: 12/02/08
Conch House owners won their case in federal bankruptcy court against a New York bank that wanted the business shut down and its assets sold off.
But this isn't the last time Conch House owners will step into a courthouse, Conch House attorney Jason Burnett said Monday. They'll be back in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of Florida, in Jacksonville, in January to show a judge the owners' plan to pay off their debts and get the property out of bankruptcy.
David Ponce, Conch House owner, has already said he plans to expand on the site with a hotel and condominiums as well as sell some of the property's boat slips along Salt Run. The Conch House already has a restaurant and marina.
Intervest National Bank of New York requested the Conch House case be converted from Chapter 11 Bankruptcy to Chapter 7, which would have allowed the bank to close the business and sell off the assets.
Intervest's attorney John MacDonald, of Akerman Senterfitt in Jacksonville, presented his case to Federal Judge Jerry Funk on Nov. 17. Funk made no decision then and asked that the hearing be moved to Dec. 1, when he had more time to hear the Conch House's side.
Late last week, Funk denied Intervest's motion and canceled Monday's hearing.
MacDonald spent about half an hour presenting Intervest's case in the November hearing. He said Conch House owners owe hundreds of thousands in property taxes from 2007 and 2008, and the owners could not show they could pull themselves out of bankruptcy.
Funk "did not find merit" in these arguments, according to court documents. He said Conch House filed for bankruptcy Aug. 8, 2007, and property taxes were incurred on Jan. 1, 2007. Therefore, the Conch House is allowed more time to pay off the taxes under bankruptcy rules. And they are not overdue on their 2008 property taxes.
Funk also said Intervest did not show evidence that the Conch House won't be able to climb out of bankruptcy, according to court documents.
Ponce said the ruling made his Thanksgiving.
"It was definitely a nice gift," he said. "It gave us something to be thankful for."
MacDonald, Intervest's attorney, was not able to be reached for comment late Monday.
Conch House owners filed for bankruptcy after their deal with investors they sold the company to fell through. Conch House attorneys believe the bank wants the current owners gone because they're countersuing Intervest.
They say the bank gave Thomas Coghill, an investor who bought the Conch House, a $17 million loan while he was awaiting trial for fraud.
Intervest claims it had no knowledge of his criminal background, according to court documents.
The Ponce family claims that the investors negotiated the $17 million loan to buy the property and covered the rest of the $27 million price tag by allowing the Ponces to be a part of the investor group. The idea was that the Ponces would eventually be bought out of the deal.
Instead, the $17 million loan was closed without the family's knowledge, according to the countersuit.
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© The St. Augustine Record
Good riddance to bad rubbish (2)
Without SUSAN BURK in the City Commission, there will be one quite like her to roll her eyes and sneer at citizens concerned about government waste, fraud, abuse, misfeasance, malfeasance and nonfeasance, or to patronize neighborhoods, or to praise the City Manager.
ROBERT MICHAEL GRAUBARD's ex-paramour kissed him on the lips in City COmmission chamber and has repeatedly sought city favors for him and her other buds.
BURK was wonderful fighting for the First Amendment rights of St. George Street artists and entertainers. I voted for her for mayor and commissioner. I regret the errors. BURK was skilled at manipulating a progressive image to conceal the soul of a Republican motelier, someone who had an exaggerated sense of entitlement while doing little for our city.
I say good riddance to bad rubbish -- she was a phony wannabe liberal who did little for the people of our city, for whom she gave not a fig, stating last year that she no longer met with citizens. What an arrogant varmint -- what a barnacle on the underbelly of the ship of life -- she never did anything for the City of St. Augustine except take money to travel to NYC, Germany and Spain.
BURK never had any ideas, but she was a nuisance.
In contrast, GEORGE GARDNER had ideas and meant well, but he was also co-opted by City Manager WILLIAM B. HARRISS' politics of fear and smear.
So under the thumb of HARRISS and PHIL McDANIEL was GARDNER that he read a prepared script attacking me as his mayoral swan song on NOvember 13, 2006, leading to a wonderful St. Augustine Record editorial defending me from his efforts to chill free speech rights.
GARDNER learned from being used by HARRISS and McDANIEL and grew up in the job.
As a commissioner for the past two years, GARDNER's made efforts to hold the city accountable, but was still overly deferential to the City staff that polluted our City Reservoir and aquifer. In private life, expect GARDNER to be more outspoken, now that he is no longer being intimidated by HARRISS and pettyfogging City Attorney RONALD BROWN.
Both GARDNER and BURK were absent on November 13, 2007 when City Commissioners voted to approve the deal to bring contaminated solid waste back to Lincolnville. They were there earlier during the meeting and did not say they were leaving. I reckon the reason they weren't at the November 13, 2007 meeting was because in their hearts, they disapproved of the City's deal to repatriate solid waste to Lincolnville.
The months later, after we defeated them in the court of public opinion and were about to do so before a a Department of Administrative Hearings Administrative Law Judge) BURK and GARDNER voted with their colleagues when community organizers exposed the City-State scheme and the waste is being sent to a Class I Landfill as the state had ordered in the first place, after my February 2006 complaint to the National Response Center.
Speaking of good riddance to bad rubbish, earlier this week there was a contractor's meeting at the Old City Reservoir, where several dozens of questions were asked about the scope of work and when it will be completed.
It seems that the City of St. Augustine delayed putting the project out for bids for months and now expects the contractors to make up for its poor planning.
Touring the grounds of the Old City Reservoir I was reminded that when Americans fight tyranny, we always win.
ROBERT MICHAEL GRAUBARD's ex-paramour kissed him on the lips in City COmmission chamber and has repeatedly sought city favors for him and her other buds.
BURK was wonderful fighting for the First Amendment rights of St. George Street artists and entertainers. I voted for her for mayor and commissioner. I regret the errors. BURK was skilled at manipulating a progressive image to conceal the soul of a Republican motelier, someone who had an exaggerated sense of entitlement while doing little for our city.
I say good riddance to bad rubbish -- she was a phony wannabe liberal who did little for the people of our city, for whom she gave not a fig, stating last year that she no longer met with citizens. What an arrogant varmint -- what a barnacle on the underbelly of the ship of life -- she never did anything for the City of St. Augustine except take money to travel to NYC, Germany and Spain.
BURK never had any ideas, but she was a nuisance.
In contrast, GEORGE GARDNER had ideas and meant well, but he was also co-opted by City Manager WILLIAM B. HARRISS' politics of fear and smear.
So under the thumb of HARRISS and PHIL McDANIEL was GARDNER that he read a prepared script attacking me as his mayoral swan song on NOvember 13, 2006, leading to a wonderful St. Augustine Record editorial defending me from his efforts to chill free speech rights.
GARDNER learned from being used by HARRISS and McDANIEL and grew up in the job.
As a commissioner for the past two years, GARDNER's made efforts to hold the city accountable, but was still overly deferential to the City staff that polluted our City Reservoir and aquifer. In private life, expect GARDNER to be more outspoken, now that he is no longer being intimidated by HARRISS and pettyfogging City Attorney RONALD BROWN.
Both GARDNER and BURK were absent on November 13, 2007 when City Commissioners voted to approve the deal to bring contaminated solid waste back to Lincolnville. They were there earlier during the meeting and did not say they were leaving. I reckon the reason they weren't at the November 13, 2007 meeting was because in their hearts, they disapproved of the City's deal to repatriate solid waste to Lincolnville.
The months later, after we defeated them in the court of public opinion and were about to do so before a a Department of Administrative Hearings Administrative Law Judge) BURK and GARDNER voted with their colleagues when community organizers exposed the City-State scheme and the waste is being sent to a Class I Landfill as the state had ordered in the first place, after my February 2006 complaint to the National Response Center.
Speaking of good riddance to bad rubbish, earlier this week there was a contractor's meeting at the Old City Reservoir, where several dozens of questions were asked about the scope of work and when it will be completed.
It seems that the City of St. Augustine delayed putting the project out for bids for months and now expects the contractors to make up for its poor planning.
Touring the grounds of the Old City Reservoir I was reminded that when Americans fight tyranny, we always win.
City Commission says goodbye to 2 members
City Commission says goodbye to 2 members
By KATI BEXLEY
kati.bexley@staugustine.com
Publication Date: 12/02/08
City Commissioner Susan Burk gave an emotional goodbye Monday when she stepped down from her position after 12 years.
The St. Augustine City Commission held its reorganization meeting Monday, where Burk and George Gardner resigned from their positions as commissioners. Both decided to leave the board before this re-election season.
City Manager Bill Harriss said Burk was the longest-serving commissioner that he could remember.
Burk thanked the residents who voted for her and supported her, and she especially acknowledged her fiance, Pat, for standing by her.
She became a little choked up when she also thanked citizens for their kindnesses.
"There's something that always made me smile that I didn't realize was so important," she said. "That's when people would come up to me and thank me. So, I thank them."
Also at the meeting, Nancy Sikes-Kline, a newly elected commissioner, was sworn into her position.
And Vice Mayor Don Crichlow said he would like to see his position rotated among the commissioners every two years.
He then nominated Commissioner Errol Jones to become the vice mayor and the other commissioners agreed.
Burk decided to leave her position when her former law partner, Leanna Freeman, agreed to run for her seat, and Freeman won.
During her time as commissioner, Burk oversaw numerous projects such as the $20 million Visitor Information Center and parking garage and the rehabilitation of the Bridge of Lions.
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© The St. Augustine Record
By KATI BEXLEY
kati.bexley@staugustine.com
Publication Date: 12/02/08
City Commissioner Susan Burk gave an emotional goodbye Monday when she stepped down from her position after 12 years.
The St. Augustine City Commission held its reorganization meeting Monday, where Burk and George Gardner resigned from their positions as commissioners. Both decided to leave the board before this re-election season.
City Manager Bill Harriss said Burk was the longest-serving commissioner that he could remember.
Burk thanked the residents who voted for her and supported her, and she especially acknowledged her fiance, Pat, for standing by her.
She became a little choked up when she also thanked citizens for their kindnesses.
"There's something that always made me smile that I didn't realize was so important," she said. "That's when people would come up to me and thank me. So, I thank them."
Also at the meeting, Nancy Sikes-Kline, a newly elected commissioner, was sworn into her position.
And Vice Mayor Don Crichlow said he would like to see his position rotated among the commissioners every two years.
He then nominated Commissioner Errol Jones to become the vice mayor and the other commissioners agreed.
Burk decided to leave her position when her former law partner, Leanna Freeman, agreed to run for her seat, and Freeman won.
During her time as commissioner, Burk oversaw numerous projects such as the $20 million Visitor Information Center and parking garage and the rehabilitation of the Bridge of Lions.
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© The St. Augustine Record
Thursday, December 04, 2008
TVA INSPECTOR GENERAL: Case Highlights Importance of Truthful Reporting
http://oig.tva.gov/Connection/March08.html
Case Highlights Importance of Truthful Reporting
If the possibility existed that deadly E-coli bacteria were lurking in a nearby waterway, wouldn’t you want to know that testing was being done to ensure that it wasn’t?
That’s exactly what didn’t happen for the citizens of Rockwood when one of the city’s sewage treatment plant operators Paul William Perkins falsified reports on emissions testing to wastewater that was dumped into Roane County’s Black Creek for nine months in 2004. Perkins claimed the water had been tested when, in fact, it had not been because the testing equipment was inoperable at the time.
TVA has designated Black Creek as part of its protected watershed area. TVA’s watershed program, established in 1992, was designed to protect waterways in the Tennessee Valley from pollutants in order to maintain clean drinking water for people and wildlife. TVA OIG, along with the Environmental Protection Agency’s Criminal Investigation Division and its OIG conducted the collaborative investigation that led to Perkins' sentencing on Monday, March 10.
U.S. District Judge Thomas Phillips sentenced Perkins, 28, to two years' probation and community service for making a false statement on a document required by the Clean Water Act, which prohibits the discharge of pollutants into any U.S. water without a permit from the EPA. “I hope you understand the reason for all of this taking place,” Phillips told Perkins. “That law was designed to protect the public.” Perkins, who reported monthly that the water being discharged into Black Creek had been tested, knew in fact that it had not been because the testing equipment was broken at the time.
“This case highlights the importance of waste water emissions testing,” said OIG Special Agent Nikki Young who worked on the case. “The Clean Water Act is designed to protect the public from potential hazards such as E-coli which has been linked to infection and death.” Later testing did not reveal the presence of E coli in the plant’s water
Case Highlights Importance of Truthful Reporting
If the possibility existed that deadly E-coli bacteria were lurking in a nearby waterway, wouldn’t you want to know that testing was being done to ensure that it wasn’t?
That’s exactly what didn’t happen for the citizens of Rockwood when one of the city’s sewage treatment plant operators Paul William Perkins falsified reports on emissions testing to wastewater that was dumped into Roane County’s Black Creek for nine months in 2004. Perkins claimed the water had been tested when, in fact, it had not been because the testing equipment was inoperable at the time.
TVA has designated Black Creek as part of its protected watershed area. TVA’s watershed program, established in 1992, was designed to protect waterways in the Tennessee Valley from pollutants in order to maintain clean drinking water for people and wildlife. TVA OIG, along with the Environmental Protection Agency’s Criminal Investigation Division and its OIG conducted the collaborative investigation that led to Perkins' sentencing on Monday, March 10.
U.S. District Judge Thomas Phillips sentenced Perkins, 28, to two years' probation and community service for making a false statement on a document required by the Clean Water Act, which prohibits the discharge of pollutants into any U.S. water without a permit from the EPA. “I hope you understand the reason for all of this taking place,” Phillips told Perkins. “That law was designed to protect the public.” Perkins, who reported monthly that the water being discharged into Black Creek had been tested, knew in fact that it had not been because the testing equipment was broken at the time.
“This case highlights the importance of waste water emissions testing,” said OIG Special Agent Nikki Young who worked on the case. “The Clean Water Act is designed to protect the public from potential hazards such as E-coli which has been linked to infection and death.” Later testing did not reveal the presence of E coli in the plant’s water
USDOJ Press Release: FIFTEEN SOUTH SUBURBAN CHICAGO LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS AMONG 17 DEFENDANTS CHARGED IN FBI UNDERCOVER PROBE FOR
U.S. Department of Justice
United States Attorney
Northern District of Illinois
S)))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))Q
Patrick J. Fitzgerald Federal Building
United States Attorney 219 South Dearborn Street, 5th Floor
Chicago, Illinois 60604
(312) 353-5300
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE PRESS CONTACTS: TUESDAY DECEMBER 2, 2008 AUSA M. David Weisman (312) 353-2119 www.usdoj.gov/usao/iln AUSA April Perry (312) 886-5966
Randall Samborn (312) 353-5318
FIFTEEN SOUTH SUBURBAN LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS AMONG 17 DEFENDANTS CHARGED IN FBI UNDERCOVER PROBE FOR ALLEGEDLY PROVIDING ARMED SECURITY FOR PURPORTED LARGE-SCALE DRUG DEALS
CHICAGO – A six-passenger, twin propeller engine aircraft flew on May 13 this year into west suburban DuPage Airport where three men awaited its arrival. Two of them – Ahyetoro A. Taylor and Raphael Manuel, both Cook County Sheriff’s Office Correctional Officers – accompanied an individual whom they believed brokered large-scale drug transactions but, in fact, was an undercover FBI agent. They boarded the aircraft, which was operated by two other undercover agents, and began counting packages of what was purported to be at least 80 kilograms of cocaine stashed inside four duffel bags. Taylor, Manuel and the undercover agent they accompanied removed the duffels from the plane and took them through the airport lobby to the trunk of the agent’s car in the parking lot. Taylor and Manuel, in a separate car, followed the agent to a nearby retail parking lot, where the agent parked and got into the officers’ vehicle. Together, the trio watched as yet another undercover agent arrived, removed the duffels from the trunk of the parked car, placed them in a Mercedes and drove away. The FBI agent posing as the drug broker then paid
Taylor and Manuel $4,000 each - allegedly their most profitable payday in the corrupt relationship they began with the undercover agent at least a year earlier.
The undercover agent, while posing as an employee of a business in south suburban Harvey, was the hub in multiple spokes of police corruption in which Taylor and Manuel – often together with other officers they recruited – allegedly provided armed security for purported cocaine and heroin transactions throughout the south suburbs in 2007 and 2008. The investigation resulted in the unsealing today of federal charges against 17 defendants – 15 of them sworn law enforcement officers, including 10 Cook County Sheriff’s Office Correctional Officers , 4 Village of Harvey police officers and a Chicago police officer. The defendants allegedly accepted between $400 and $4,000 each on one or more occasions to serve as lookouts and be ready to intervene in the event real police or rival drug dealers attempted to interfere with any of a dozen different purported transfers of kilogram quantities of cocaine and heroin.
Today’s arrests and charges were announced by Patrick J. Fitzgerald, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Robert D. Grant, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. They commended the assistance of the Cook County Sheriff’s Office in the investigation.
All 17 defendants were charged with conspiracy to possess and distribute kilogram quantities of cocaine and/or heroin in eight separate criminal complaints that were unsealed following arrests early today. Seven of the eight complaints were supported by a single, 61-page FBI affidavit that tells the story of an undercover investigation that involved such activity as police officers allegedly protecting a purported high-stakes poker game, protecting transportation of large amounts of cash and
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two law enforcement officers actually selling powder cocaine, in addition to the routine activity of providing security for purported narcotics transactions.
Fourteen of the defendants were either arrested or surrendered today and were expected to appear at 3 p.m. before U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael Mason in U.S. District Court. Arrest warrants were issued for Taylor, 28, of Joliet, and Jermaine E. Bell, 37, of Lynwood, also a Cook County Sheriff’s officer, both of who are on active military duty with Army National Guard units in Afghanistan. Another defendant, Archie Stallworth, 36, of Harvey and a Harvey police officer, was arrested on Nov. 19 but the charges remained under seal until today. He was released on bond and a preliminary hearing was scheduled for Dec. 4.
Stallworth was accused of also accompanying the undercover agent to the DuPage Airport in a second, separate sting that occurred there on Aug. 11 this year. Armed with a Smith and Wesson handgun, Stallworth allegedly accepted $1,000 after assisting the undercover agent obtain three duffels purportedly containing 30 kilograms of cocaine from a second undercover agent who was waiting in the airport lobby. After placing the duffels in the first undercover agent’s car, Stallworth and the agent drove separately to a nearby retail lot and then sat together in Stallworth’s car as they watched yet another undercover agent remove the duffels and drive away, according to the charges.
While sitting in the car with their conversation being recorded, Stallworth allegedly said: “It’s kinda suspect, you walk in, he come in with three bags, you walk out with three bags. He go this way, you go that way. In an airport, that’s probably cause. It arouses suspicion.”
About two weeks earlier, in another recorded conversation, Stallworth allegedly told the undercover agent: “The best spot for ya’ll to do that, believe it or not, is the train station. Fast food
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places, that’s where we (law enforcement) be looking. Sit there all day or they set up surveillance cameras,” according to a separate affidavit that was attached to the complaint against him.
“Ideally, it should be hard to find one corrupt police officer and it should never be easy to find 15 who allegedly used their guns and badges to protect people they believed were dealing drugs instead of arresting them,” Mr. Fitzgerald said. “And the involvement of some in off-loading and delivering what they thought were large shipments of drugs flown in by plane is particularly shocking,” he added.
Mr. Grant said: “The almost systemic corruption that this investigation uncovered is quite troubling, especially given that most of those charged are sworn law enforcement officers. One would have hoped that the many public corruption investigations that have previously been announced would have served to deter this type of conduct. Apparently, that is not the case.”
According to the common affidavit, the undercover agent paid a total of $44,000 to 16 of the defendants, not including an additional $1,000 to Stallworth. The largest shares allegedly were paid to Taylor ($15,000) and Manuel ($14,500), respectively, for providing security during alleged drug transactions. The “deals” involving the agent’s purported drug sources and customers – all of whom were undercover FBI agents – typically occurred in retail and hotel parking lots in the south suburbs of Homewood, Tinley Park, Oak Lawn, Matteson and Bolingbrook and were captured on audio and video recordings by the undercover and surveillance agents.
In each instance, the undercover agent allegedly would determine that each officer was carrying a firearm and advised them that they were providing protection for transfers of narcotics, providing the specific amount of purported cocaine and/or heroin that was involved. The undercover agent would then pay each defendant after each transaction was completed. After establishing an
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allegedly corrupt relationship with Taylor and Manuel, the agent typically contacted them and asked them to recruit a specific number of other officers to work each security detail, the charges allege. The undercover agent also would meet with the members of each crew beforehand to discuss the quantity and type of drugs that were purportedly being transferred.
The escalating series of 12 purported drug transactions occurred between Aug. 1, 2007 and Aug. 11, 2008, with one additional staged deal that was planned but cancelled. After Taylor alone allegedly provided the undercover agent with security for the first transaction, Taylor and Manuel teamed up with another defendant, Tavis Ramsey, 31, of Chicago, who is not a law enforcement officer, to provide security for the second staged deal on Aug. 22, 2007. Discussing his close relationship with Taylor, Manuel allegedly told the undercover agent during a recorded conversation a week earlier that he and Taylor could intercede with local law enforcement if needed. “We know how to politic with the local authorities in case they try to stick their noses in that stuff like that. Then that way it gives everybody else a chance to split,” Manuel said.
Manuel, 32,of Glenwood, allegedly sold an ounce of cocaine to the undercover agent on Dec. 5, 2007, and Manuel and Taylor allegedly sold the agent two ounces of cocaine on April 18, 2008.
In the third staged deal, on Aug. 29, 2007, the undercover agent allegedly paid $400 to each of two Harvey police officers – Dwayne Williams, 42, of Country Club Hills, and Antoine D. Dudley, 28, of Harvey – for providing security. According to the affidavit, in late May 2007 before the security stings began, Williams had accepted $400 for providing security for a purported $100,000 poker game being staged by undercover FBI agents, and Dudley had received $400 for providing the undercover agent with a security escort to a local business.
5
Williams and Dudley allegedly teamed-up again – this time with fellow Harvey police officer James Engram, Jr., 41, of Calumet City – in providing protection for a purported deal involving 25 kilograms of cocaine on Feb. 29, 2008. During a recorded conversation preceding the deal, Engram allegedly discussed his background with the undercover agent, saying: “I ain’t always been in law enforcement .... So I know about other dealers watching. I use my street knowledge as well as what they taught me on the force to watch and learn body language, cars and we can do things on an as to know basis.”
The following lists the eight separate cases and defendants charged in each complaint:
United States v. Manuel and Bell
Manuel allegedly accepted a total of $14,500 for providing security for eight separate staged drug transactions, including one on Sept. 14, 2007, with Taylor and Bell, who allegedly accepted $500 for working a single staged deal on that date.
United States v. Ramsey and Kyle T. Wilson
Ramsey allegedly accepted a total of $1,900 for providing security for four separate purported drug transactions, including one on Oct. 24, 2007, with Taylor, Manuel and Wilson, 31, of Chicago and a Chicago police officer, who allegedly accepted $500 for working a single staged deal.
United States v. Timothy Funches, Jr., and Diallo S. Mingo
Timothy Funches, 26, of Bellwood and Mingo, 34, of Calumet City, both of the Cook County Sheriff’s Office, allegedly accepted $1,000 each for providing security with Taylor and Manuel for a single purported transaction involving 50 kilograms of cocaine and 2 kilograms of heroin on Nov. 16, 2007.
United States v. Taylor, Antwon Funches and Antonio B. McCaskill
Taylor allegedly accepted a total of $15,000 for providing security for nine separate staged drug transactions, including one on Nov. 30, 2007, with Manuel, Antwon Funches, 34, of Chicago, a Cook County Sheriff’s officer, and McCaskill, 30, of Harvey, who is not a law enforcement officer, with the latter two allegedly accepting $1,000 each for working a single staged deal.
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United States v. Daniel L. Lee and Julius L. Scott, Jr.
Lee, 31, of Chicago, and Scott, 34, of Richton Park, both of Cook County Sheriff’s Office, allegedly accepted $1,000 each for providing security with Taylor and Manuel for a single purported transaction involving two kilograms of heroin on Dec. 10, 2007.
United States v. Richard O. Hall, Jr., and Robert L. Kelly, Jr.
Hall, 35, of Chicago, and Kelly, 32, of Glenwood, both of the Cook County Sheriff’s Office, allegedly accepted $1,000 each for providing security with Taylor and Manuel for a single purported transaction involving two kilograms of heroin on Dec. 17, 2007.
United States v. Dudley, Engram and Williams
In events described above, Williams allegedly received a total of $1,400, including $400 for a May 2007 security escort, and Williams and Engram received $1,000 each, and Dudley accepted $1,200, the charges allege, for providing security for a purported transaction involving 25 kilograms of cocaine on Feb. 29, 2008.
United States v. Stallworth
As described above, Stallworth allegedly received $1,000 for providing security for the purported transfer of 30 kilograms of cocaine at the DuPage Airport on Aug. 11, 2008. The Government is being represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys April Perry and M. David Weisman. If convicted of conspiracy to possess and distribute more than five kilograms of cocaine and/or one kilogram of heroin, faces a mandatory minium sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum of life in prison and a maximum fine of $4 million. The Court, however, would determine the appropriate sentence to be imposed under the advisory United States Sentencing Guidelines. The public is reminded that complaints contain only charges and are not evidence of guilt. The defendants are presumed innocent and are entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. # # # #
7
United States Attorney
Northern District of Illinois
S)))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))Q
Patrick J. Fitzgerald Federal Building
United States Attorney 219 South Dearborn Street, 5th Floor
Chicago, Illinois 60604
(312) 353-5300
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE PRESS CONTACTS: TUESDAY DECEMBER 2, 2008 AUSA M. David Weisman (312) 353-2119 www.usdoj.gov/usao/iln AUSA April Perry (312) 886-5966
Randall Samborn (312) 353-5318
FIFTEEN SOUTH SUBURBAN LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS AMONG 17 DEFENDANTS CHARGED IN FBI UNDERCOVER PROBE FOR ALLEGEDLY PROVIDING ARMED SECURITY FOR PURPORTED LARGE-SCALE DRUG DEALS
CHICAGO – A six-passenger, twin propeller engine aircraft flew on May 13 this year into west suburban DuPage Airport where three men awaited its arrival. Two of them – Ahyetoro A. Taylor and Raphael Manuel, both Cook County Sheriff’s Office Correctional Officers – accompanied an individual whom they believed brokered large-scale drug transactions but, in fact, was an undercover FBI agent. They boarded the aircraft, which was operated by two other undercover agents, and began counting packages of what was purported to be at least 80 kilograms of cocaine stashed inside four duffel bags. Taylor, Manuel and the undercover agent they accompanied removed the duffels from the plane and took them through the airport lobby to the trunk of the agent’s car in the parking lot. Taylor and Manuel, in a separate car, followed the agent to a nearby retail parking lot, where the agent parked and got into the officers’ vehicle. Together, the trio watched as yet another undercover agent arrived, removed the duffels from the trunk of the parked car, placed them in a Mercedes and drove away. The FBI agent posing as the drug broker then paid
Taylor and Manuel $4,000 each - allegedly their most profitable payday in the corrupt relationship they began with the undercover agent at least a year earlier.
The undercover agent, while posing as an employee of a business in south suburban Harvey, was the hub in multiple spokes of police corruption in which Taylor and Manuel – often together with other officers they recruited – allegedly provided armed security for purported cocaine and heroin transactions throughout the south suburbs in 2007 and 2008. The investigation resulted in the unsealing today of federal charges against 17 defendants – 15 of them sworn law enforcement officers, including 10 Cook County Sheriff’s Office Correctional Officers , 4 Village of Harvey police officers and a Chicago police officer. The defendants allegedly accepted between $400 and $4,000 each on one or more occasions to serve as lookouts and be ready to intervene in the event real police or rival drug dealers attempted to interfere with any of a dozen different purported transfers of kilogram quantities of cocaine and heroin.
Today’s arrests and charges were announced by Patrick J. Fitzgerald, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Robert D. Grant, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. They commended the assistance of the Cook County Sheriff’s Office in the investigation.
All 17 defendants were charged with conspiracy to possess and distribute kilogram quantities of cocaine and/or heroin in eight separate criminal complaints that were unsealed following arrests early today. Seven of the eight complaints were supported by a single, 61-page FBI affidavit that tells the story of an undercover investigation that involved such activity as police officers allegedly protecting a purported high-stakes poker game, protecting transportation of large amounts of cash and
2
two law enforcement officers actually selling powder cocaine, in addition to the routine activity of providing security for purported narcotics transactions.
Fourteen of the defendants were either arrested or surrendered today and were expected to appear at 3 p.m. before U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael Mason in U.S. District Court. Arrest warrants were issued for Taylor, 28, of Joliet, and Jermaine E. Bell, 37, of Lynwood, also a Cook County Sheriff’s officer, both of who are on active military duty with Army National Guard units in Afghanistan. Another defendant, Archie Stallworth, 36, of Harvey and a Harvey police officer, was arrested on Nov. 19 but the charges remained under seal until today. He was released on bond and a preliminary hearing was scheduled for Dec. 4.
Stallworth was accused of also accompanying the undercover agent to the DuPage Airport in a second, separate sting that occurred there on Aug. 11 this year. Armed with a Smith and Wesson handgun, Stallworth allegedly accepted $1,000 after assisting the undercover agent obtain three duffels purportedly containing 30 kilograms of cocaine from a second undercover agent who was waiting in the airport lobby. After placing the duffels in the first undercover agent’s car, Stallworth and the agent drove separately to a nearby retail lot and then sat together in Stallworth’s car as they watched yet another undercover agent remove the duffels and drive away, according to the charges.
While sitting in the car with their conversation being recorded, Stallworth allegedly said: “It’s kinda suspect, you walk in, he come in with three bags, you walk out with three bags. He go this way, you go that way. In an airport, that’s probably cause. It arouses suspicion.”
About two weeks earlier, in another recorded conversation, Stallworth allegedly told the undercover agent: “The best spot for ya’ll to do that, believe it or not, is the train station. Fast food
3
places, that’s where we (law enforcement) be looking. Sit there all day or they set up surveillance cameras,” according to a separate affidavit that was attached to the complaint against him.
“Ideally, it should be hard to find one corrupt police officer and it should never be easy to find 15 who allegedly used their guns and badges to protect people they believed were dealing drugs instead of arresting them,” Mr. Fitzgerald said. “And the involvement of some in off-loading and delivering what they thought were large shipments of drugs flown in by plane is particularly shocking,” he added.
Mr. Grant said: “The almost systemic corruption that this investigation uncovered is quite troubling, especially given that most of those charged are sworn law enforcement officers. One would have hoped that the many public corruption investigations that have previously been announced would have served to deter this type of conduct. Apparently, that is not the case.”
According to the common affidavit, the undercover agent paid a total of $44,000 to 16 of the defendants, not including an additional $1,000 to Stallworth. The largest shares allegedly were paid to Taylor ($15,000) and Manuel ($14,500), respectively, for providing security during alleged drug transactions. The “deals” involving the agent’s purported drug sources and customers – all of whom were undercover FBI agents – typically occurred in retail and hotel parking lots in the south suburbs of Homewood, Tinley Park, Oak Lawn, Matteson and Bolingbrook and were captured on audio and video recordings by the undercover and surveillance agents.
In each instance, the undercover agent allegedly would determine that each officer was carrying a firearm and advised them that they were providing protection for transfers of narcotics, providing the specific amount of purported cocaine and/or heroin that was involved. The undercover agent would then pay each defendant after each transaction was completed. After establishing an
4
allegedly corrupt relationship with Taylor and Manuel, the agent typically contacted them and asked them to recruit a specific number of other officers to work each security detail, the charges allege. The undercover agent also would meet with the members of each crew beforehand to discuss the quantity and type of drugs that were purportedly being transferred.
The escalating series of 12 purported drug transactions occurred between Aug. 1, 2007 and Aug. 11, 2008, with one additional staged deal that was planned but cancelled. After Taylor alone allegedly provided the undercover agent with security for the first transaction, Taylor and Manuel teamed up with another defendant, Tavis Ramsey, 31, of Chicago, who is not a law enforcement officer, to provide security for the second staged deal on Aug. 22, 2007. Discussing his close relationship with Taylor, Manuel allegedly told the undercover agent during a recorded conversation a week earlier that he and Taylor could intercede with local law enforcement if needed. “We know how to politic with the local authorities in case they try to stick their noses in that stuff like that. Then that way it gives everybody else a chance to split,” Manuel said.
Manuel, 32,of Glenwood, allegedly sold an ounce of cocaine to the undercover agent on Dec. 5, 2007, and Manuel and Taylor allegedly sold the agent two ounces of cocaine on April 18, 2008.
In the third staged deal, on Aug. 29, 2007, the undercover agent allegedly paid $400 to each of two Harvey police officers – Dwayne Williams, 42, of Country Club Hills, and Antoine D. Dudley, 28, of Harvey – for providing security. According to the affidavit, in late May 2007 before the security stings began, Williams had accepted $400 for providing security for a purported $100,000 poker game being staged by undercover FBI agents, and Dudley had received $400 for providing the undercover agent with a security escort to a local business.
5
Williams and Dudley allegedly teamed-up again – this time with fellow Harvey police officer James Engram, Jr., 41, of Calumet City – in providing protection for a purported deal involving 25 kilograms of cocaine on Feb. 29, 2008. During a recorded conversation preceding the deal, Engram allegedly discussed his background with the undercover agent, saying: “I ain’t always been in law enforcement .... So I know about other dealers watching. I use my street knowledge as well as what they taught me on the force to watch and learn body language, cars and we can do things on an as to know basis.”
The following lists the eight separate cases and defendants charged in each complaint:
United States v. Manuel and Bell
Manuel allegedly accepted a total of $14,500 for providing security for eight separate staged drug transactions, including one on Sept. 14, 2007, with Taylor and Bell, who allegedly accepted $500 for working a single staged deal on that date.
United States v. Ramsey and Kyle T. Wilson
Ramsey allegedly accepted a total of $1,900 for providing security for four separate purported drug transactions, including one on Oct. 24, 2007, with Taylor, Manuel and Wilson, 31, of Chicago and a Chicago police officer, who allegedly accepted $500 for working a single staged deal.
United States v. Timothy Funches, Jr., and Diallo S. Mingo
Timothy Funches, 26, of Bellwood and Mingo, 34, of Calumet City, both of the Cook County Sheriff’s Office, allegedly accepted $1,000 each for providing security with Taylor and Manuel for a single purported transaction involving 50 kilograms of cocaine and 2 kilograms of heroin on Nov. 16, 2007.
United States v. Taylor, Antwon Funches and Antonio B. McCaskill
Taylor allegedly accepted a total of $15,000 for providing security for nine separate staged drug transactions, including one on Nov. 30, 2007, with Manuel, Antwon Funches, 34, of Chicago, a Cook County Sheriff’s officer, and McCaskill, 30, of Harvey, who is not a law enforcement officer, with the latter two allegedly accepting $1,000 each for working a single staged deal.
6
United States v. Daniel L. Lee and Julius L. Scott, Jr.
Lee, 31, of Chicago, and Scott, 34, of Richton Park, both of Cook County Sheriff’s Office, allegedly accepted $1,000 each for providing security with Taylor and Manuel for a single purported transaction involving two kilograms of heroin on Dec. 10, 2007.
United States v. Richard O. Hall, Jr., and Robert L. Kelly, Jr.
Hall, 35, of Chicago, and Kelly, 32, of Glenwood, both of the Cook County Sheriff’s Office, allegedly accepted $1,000 each for providing security with Taylor and Manuel for a single purported transaction involving two kilograms of heroin on Dec. 17, 2007.
United States v. Dudley, Engram and Williams
In events described above, Williams allegedly received a total of $1,400, including $400 for a May 2007 security escort, and Williams and Engram received $1,000 each, and Dudley accepted $1,200, the charges allege, for providing security for a purported transaction involving 25 kilograms of cocaine on Feb. 29, 2008.
United States v. Stallworth
As described above, Stallworth allegedly received $1,000 for providing security for the purported transfer of 30 kilograms of cocaine at the DuPage Airport on Aug. 11, 2008. The Government is being represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys April Perry and M. David Weisman. If convicted of conspiracy to possess and distribute more than five kilograms of cocaine and/or one kilogram of heroin, faces a mandatory minium sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum of life in prison and a maximum fine of $4 million. The Court, however, would determine the appropriate sentence to be imposed under the advisory United States Sentencing Guidelines. The public is reminded that complaints contain only charges and are not evidence of guilt. The defendants are presumed innocent and are entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. # # # #
7
TVA INSPECTOR GENERAL ON SPOTTING GOVERNMENT CONTRACT FRAUD
Fraud--It's Easier to Spot if You Know What to Look For
Business-related fraud losses in this country are reported to total more than a trillion dollars a year with four out of five companies being victimized in the past year. In a recent global survey, risk consultant Kroll, Inc., found that one in ten large business enterprises lose more than $100 million annually due to fraud with larger companies losing six times more money than smaller ones.
Federal agencies are also at a high level of risk for fraud with the United States Department of Justice reporting that in 2006 alone it recovered $43.1 billion in connection with fraud and false claims against the government. In a 2003 survey involving only U.S. companies, KPMG found that three out of four of the companies surveyed reported they had experienced an instance of fraud. Some 72 percent of U.S. organizations reported that in 2006 they experienced attempted or actual payment fraud involving corporate purchasing cards. Past convictions for purchasing card misuse demonstrates TVA’s vulnerability to this particular type of crime.
With billions of dollars a year in procurement and voluminous activity in the high risk area of construction, TVA has significant exposure to the potential of fraud and waste.
“Fraud is defined as any intentional or deliberate act to deprive another of property or money by deception or other unfair means,” said Nancy Holloway, OIG Senior Special Agent. “Waste has more to do with an exorbitant overuse of TVA resources, such as unnecessary or excessive spending on supplies, equipment, or other business necessities. Waste does not always involve intentional deception that personally benefits someone the way fraud does.”
“Fraud costs companies a tremendous amount, but with some notable exceptions, the companies can often survive the loss,” Holloway added. “It’s the people who commit the fraud that usually end up losing everything financially, reputation-wise and often relationally too. It’s not uncommon for spouses to leave their husband or wife after they have been charged with or convicted of fraud.”
But despite the risks, people still gamble they won’t be caught. “They live double lives,” Holloway said. “It’s often hard to tell, much less believe, your friend or family member is involved in any kind of crime whatsoever, but about 88 percent of people who commit fraud have no criminal background.”
“Sometimes the problem in spotting fraud involves our own beliefs especially around authority, Holloway explained. “Many of us have been taught to respect and trust people in authoritative roles. What we need to realize is that the people in those roles are susceptible to temptation just as any of us would be and they too need to be held accountable for their actions.”
Because fraud is often something employees don’t know how to look for, Holloway teaches the possible signs of fraud including:
Billing rates or prices in excess of contract terms
Estimates presented in an unclear way
Costs billed that were not incurred or allowed on the contract such as freight, taxes, or fees
An unusual number of credits or adjustments
A lack of documentation for services rendered or products delivered
Duplicate billings for the same service
Altered documents
Frequent complaints by users of suppliers or services
Complaints by other vendors
Vendors offering gratuities, gifts, or bribes
Verbal agreements outside of contract terms
Holloway detailed some of the fraud cases at TVA that included people in authoritative roles. One involved a Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant custodial supervisor who was sentenced for fraud because he was receiving kickbacks from a telemarketer for purchasing supplies at five to ten times the normal cost.
Another involved a TVA line foreman sentenced to six months in federal prison for using a TVA gas card to purchase about $45,000 in gas for others. The foreman would provide gas to others at TVA’s expense in exchange for cash. For example, if someone wanted $10 in gas, the foreman would offer to provide $20 in TVA-purchased gas in exchange for the $10 in cash.
Holloway cautions that almost anybody, whether in a role of authority or not, can succumb to fraud if the right circumstances exist. Some circumstances that make companies vulnerable to fraud include: geographical distribution, a large number of employees, recent downsizing, a transient work force, extensive use of contract employees, complex IT arrangements, complicated processes, and time pressure.
“Two fraud schemes we see repeatedly at TVA,” Holloway explained, “involve incorrect cost charging and product substitution." One example involved a vendor charging for emptying industrial-sized garbage containers at a TVA facility. Suspicions were raised when TVA employees realized the vendor was charging for emptying every container every time they were on site. Based on employee tips, the OIG opened an investigation, and TVA recovered more than $500,000.
“Another scheme involved purchasing coal from a company that mixed substitute product called ‘petcoke’ with actual coal,” Holloway added. TVA employees were the first to discover the substitute product, and several companies have been convicted as a result of this scheme.
“Without the help of TVA employees in that and other cases,” Holloway said, “we would never have known about the fraud and TVA would not have recovered millions.”
What YOU Need to Know and Do
Fraud can be very subtle--often looks like a mistake.
YOU are the eyes for detection (Frontline).
Be skeptical (Trust but Verify).
Know the contract terms and conditions.
Review supporting documentation.
Don’t “rubber stamp” approvals.
Look for fraud Red Flags, trends, and outliers.
Report any POTENTIAL fraud.
Business-related fraud losses in this country are reported to total more than a trillion dollars a year with four out of five companies being victimized in the past year. In a recent global survey, risk consultant Kroll, Inc., found that one in ten large business enterprises lose more than $100 million annually due to fraud with larger companies losing six times more money than smaller ones.
Federal agencies are also at a high level of risk for fraud with the United States Department of Justice reporting that in 2006 alone it recovered $43.1 billion in connection with fraud and false claims against the government. In a 2003 survey involving only U.S. companies, KPMG found that three out of four of the companies surveyed reported they had experienced an instance of fraud. Some 72 percent of U.S. organizations reported that in 2006 they experienced attempted or actual payment fraud involving corporate purchasing cards. Past convictions for purchasing card misuse demonstrates TVA’s vulnerability to this particular type of crime.
With billions of dollars a year in procurement and voluminous activity in the high risk area of construction, TVA has significant exposure to the potential of fraud and waste.
“Fraud is defined as any intentional or deliberate act to deprive another of property or money by deception or other unfair means,” said Nancy Holloway, OIG Senior Special Agent. “Waste has more to do with an exorbitant overuse of TVA resources, such as unnecessary or excessive spending on supplies, equipment, or other business necessities. Waste does not always involve intentional deception that personally benefits someone the way fraud does.”
“Fraud costs companies a tremendous amount, but with some notable exceptions, the companies can often survive the loss,” Holloway added. “It’s the people who commit the fraud that usually end up losing everything financially, reputation-wise and often relationally too. It’s not uncommon for spouses to leave their husband or wife after they have been charged with or convicted of fraud.”
But despite the risks, people still gamble they won’t be caught. “They live double lives,” Holloway said. “It’s often hard to tell, much less believe, your friend or family member is involved in any kind of crime whatsoever, but about 88 percent of people who commit fraud have no criminal background.”
“Sometimes the problem in spotting fraud involves our own beliefs especially around authority, Holloway explained. “Many of us have been taught to respect and trust people in authoritative roles. What we need to realize is that the people in those roles are susceptible to temptation just as any of us would be and they too need to be held accountable for their actions.”
Because fraud is often something employees don’t know how to look for, Holloway teaches the possible signs of fraud including:
Billing rates or prices in excess of contract terms
Estimates presented in an unclear way
Costs billed that were not incurred or allowed on the contract such as freight, taxes, or fees
An unusual number of credits or adjustments
A lack of documentation for services rendered or products delivered
Duplicate billings for the same service
Altered documents
Frequent complaints by users of suppliers or services
Complaints by other vendors
Vendors offering gratuities, gifts, or bribes
Verbal agreements outside of contract terms
Holloway detailed some of the fraud cases at TVA that included people in authoritative roles. One involved a Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant custodial supervisor who was sentenced for fraud because he was receiving kickbacks from a telemarketer for purchasing supplies at five to ten times the normal cost.
Another involved a TVA line foreman sentenced to six months in federal prison for using a TVA gas card to purchase about $45,000 in gas for others. The foreman would provide gas to others at TVA’s expense in exchange for cash. For example, if someone wanted $10 in gas, the foreman would offer to provide $20 in TVA-purchased gas in exchange for the $10 in cash.
Holloway cautions that almost anybody, whether in a role of authority or not, can succumb to fraud if the right circumstances exist. Some circumstances that make companies vulnerable to fraud include: geographical distribution, a large number of employees, recent downsizing, a transient work force, extensive use of contract employees, complex IT arrangements, complicated processes, and time pressure.
“Two fraud schemes we see repeatedly at TVA,” Holloway explained, “involve incorrect cost charging and product substitution." One example involved a vendor charging for emptying industrial-sized garbage containers at a TVA facility. Suspicions were raised when TVA employees realized the vendor was charging for emptying every container every time they were on site. Based on employee tips, the OIG opened an investigation, and TVA recovered more than $500,000.
“Another scheme involved purchasing coal from a company that mixed substitute product called ‘petcoke’ with actual coal,” Holloway added. TVA employees were the first to discover the substitute product, and several companies have been convicted as a result of this scheme.
“Without the help of TVA employees in that and other cases,” Holloway said, “we would never have known about the fraud and TVA would not have recovered millions.”
What YOU Need to Know and Do
Fraud can be very subtle--often looks like a mistake.
YOU are the eyes for detection (Frontline).
Be skeptical (Trust but Verify).
Know the contract terms and conditions.
Review supporting documentation.
Don’t “rubber stamp” approvals.
Look for fraud Red Flags, trends, and outliers.
Report any POTENTIAL fraud.
Joyner named superintendent of year for Fla.
Joyner named superintendent of year for Fla.
Fla. School Boards Assoc. salutes his 5-year career
By Staff
Publication Date: 12/04/08
St. Johns County Superintendent Joseph Joyner was named Florida's Superintendent of the Year in ceremonies Wednesday in Tampa.
"Dr. Joyner is an outstanding educator and is greatly respected and admired by everyone," said Bill Montford, chief executive officer of the Florida Association of District School Superintendents.
"He is truly a champion for all children. This recognition is one way to acknowledge his dedication, hard work and quality service to public education in Florida."
Joyner got the award at a meeting of the Florida School Boards Association and the superintendents group.
Joyner became superintendent in 2003. Since then, the district has added five elementary schools, a middle school, a K-8 school and two new high schools.
The district is one of 10 out of 67 districts in the state to earn an "A" rating for the past seven years. The district's most recent FCAT scores were among the third highest in the state.
Also, the district continually ranks in the top 14 percent of the nation in "What Parents Want" in public schools, and high school graduates rank second in the state for readiness for college.
Also during Joyner's tenure, the district has creating high school academies, which have earned national recognition for their success.
Joyner just finished a term as president of the Florida Association of District School Superintendents.
Joyner was a safety on the Florida State University football team under Coach Bobby Bowden. Joyner has in his office a big poster of Bowden, a sign of his admiration for him. He earned his master's and his doctorate degrees from the University of Central Florida. He was named a UCF Alumnus of the Decade in 2007.
His wife Susan is a teacher at South Woods Elementary and the couple have two daughters.
In February, Joyner will be recognized as the Florida representative of high-quality superintendents at the American Association of School Administrators at their national conference in San Francisco.
Click here to return to story:
http://staugustine.com/stories/120408/news_1204_024.shtml
© The St. Augustine Record
Fla. School Boards Assoc. salutes his 5-year career
By Staff
Publication Date: 12/04/08
St. Johns County Superintendent Joseph Joyner was named Florida's Superintendent of the Year in ceremonies Wednesday in Tampa.
"Dr. Joyner is an outstanding educator and is greatly respected and admired by everyone," said Bill Montford, chief executive officer of the Florida Association of District School Superintendents.
"He is truly a champion for all children. This recognition is one way to acknowledge his dedication, hard work and quality service to public education in Florida."
Joyner got the award at a meeting of the Florida School Boards Association and the superintendents group.
Joyner became superintendent in 2003. Since then, the district has added five elementary schools, a middle school, a K-8 school and two new high schools.
The district is one of 10 out of 67 districts in the state to earn an "A" rating for the past seven years. The district's most recent FCAT scores were among the third highest in the state.
Also, the district continually ranks in the top 14 percent of the nation in "What Parents Want" in public schools, and high school graduates rank second in the state for readiness for college.
Also during Joyner's tenure, the district has creating high school academies, which have earned national recognition for their success.
Joyner just finished a term as president of the Florida Association of District School Superintendents.
Joyner was a safety on the Florida State University football team under Coach Bobby Bowden. Joyner has in his office a big poster of Bowden, a sign of his admiration for him. He earned his master's and his doctorate degrees from the University of Central Florida. He was named a UCF Alumnus of the Decade in 2007.
His wife Susan is a teacher at South Woods Elementary and the couple have two daughters.
In February, Joyner will be recognized as the Florida representative of high-quality superintendents at the American Association of School Administrators at their national conference in San Francisco.
Click here to return to story:
http://staugustine.com/stories/120408/news_1204_024.shtml
© The St. Augustine Record
Wednesday, December 03, 2008
The same newspaper that defends ANN COULTER has fired ED HALL -- what's wrong with this rag?
The same newspaper that defends ANN COULTER and pays her our money weekly has just fired cartoonist ED HALL. Apparently freedom of the press belongs only to fascists, or rich Republicans who own a failing chain of newspapers (Morris Communications).
Rather than listen to vox populi, the Record has listened to vox rex -- it's time to picket the ST. JOHNS COUNTY CULTURAL COUNCIL office on San Marco, the home of dull Republican corporate oligarch (retired) PHILIP A. MCDANIEL on Water Street, and the offices of the St. Augustine Record and the St. Johns County School Board.
All of those organizations could benefit from a unionization drive.
I for one won't be giving one dime to the ST. JOHNS COUNTY CULTURAL COUNCIL.
I see no reason why a COUNCIL dominated by corporate oligarchs should be given any tax money, or recognized as anything other than a part of the political machine.
PHILIP A. McDANIEL should be indicted for impersonating a human being. While School Supt. JOSEPH JOYNER at least had the dignity and class to call back and try to explain his actions (he indicates he is overly sensitive, as are some school administrators), McDANIEL offered no excuse at all.
The St. Augustine Record and Morris Communications must reinstate Ed Hall, or be regarded as no newspaper at all -- simply a collection of ads separated by random news stories of no particular importance, without any investigative reporting, accepting handouts from large organizations and overcharging the bereaved for obituaries. (Ever notice how whenever someone famous dies and their obituary in the New York Times shows they lived in St. Augustine or had kinfolk here, the Record doesn't cover it unless it is paid? This was even true when Doc Severinson's jazz pianist died here -- not a word from the Record. See NY Times obituary of Ross Tompkins (below).
The Record still owes bigtime apologies for its bigotry in the 1960s. While other SOuthern newspapers that were bullets in the KKK's gun have self-reported their errors in recent years (including the Lexington, Ky News-Leader), the Record still has yet to apologize. Even our City of St. Augustine made a water-down apology. The St. Augustine Record remains unrepentant, an apologist for the varmints who want to control our minds by cutting off the news at its source -- even firing a cartoonist who offended one of the good friends of the St. Augustine Record's publisher, School Superintendent JOE JOYNER.
Perhaps PHIL McDANIEL and his City-subsidized spouse would now like to draw cartoons.
Brandishing emotional problems with First Amendment protected activity, furious fatuous reckless feckless thug PHIL McDANIEL is lower than whale droppings at the bottom of the Marianas Trench. I hereby challenge PHIL McDANIEL to a debate on artistic freedom of expression.
Rather than listen to vox populi, the Record has listened to vox rex -- it's time to picket the ST. JOHNS COUNTY CULTURAL COUNCIL office on San Marco, the home of dull Republican corporate oligarch (retired) PHILIP A. MCDANIEL on Water Street, and the offices of the St. Augustine Record and the St. Johns County School Board.
All of those organizations could benefit from a unionization drive.
I for one won't be giving one dime to the ST. JOHNS COUNTY CULTURAL COUNCIL.
I see no reason why a COUNCIL dominated by corporate oligarchs should be given any tax money, or recognized as anything other than a part of the political machine.
PHILIP A. McDANIEL should be indicted for impersonating a human being. While School Supt. JOSEPH JOYNER at least had the dignity and class to call back and try to explain his actions (he indicates he is overly sensitive, as are some school administrators), McDANIEL offered no excuse at all.
The St. Augustine Record and Morris Communications must reinstate Ed Hall, or be regarded as no newspaper at all -- simply a collection of ads separated by random news stories of no particular importance, without any investigative reporting, accepting handouts from large organizations and overcharging the bereaved for obituaries. (Ever notice how whenever someone famous dies and their obituary in the New York Times shows they lived in St. Augustine or had kinfolk here, the Record doesn't cover it unless it is paid? This was even true when Doc Severinson's jazz pianist died here -- not a word from the Record. See NY Times obituary of Ross Tompkins (below).
The Record still owes bigtime apologies for its bigotry in the 1960s. While other SOuthern newspapers that were bullets in the KKK's gun have self-reported their errors in recent years (including the Lexington, Ky News-Leader), the Record still has yet to apologize. Even our City of St. Augustine made a water-down apology. The St. Augustine Record remains unrepentant, an apologist for the varmints who want to control our minds by cutting off the news at its source -- even firing a cartoonist who offended one of the good friends of the St. Augustine Record's publisher, School Superintendent JOE JOYNER.
Perhaps PHIL McDANIEL and his City-subsidized spouse would now like to draw cartoons.
Brandishing emotional problems with First Amendment protected activity, furious fatuous reckless feckless thug PHIL McDANIEL is lower than whale droppings at the bottom of the Marianas Trench. I hereby challenge PHIL McDANIEL to a debate on artistic freedom of expression.
NY TIMES OBITUARY: Ross Tompkins, 68, 'Tonight' Show Pianist, Is Dead
July 9, 2006
Ross Tompkins, 68, 'Tonight' Show Pianist, Is Dead
Ross Tompkins, a jazz pianist best known for his long tenure with Doc Severinsen's big band on the "Tonight" show, died on June 30 at his home in St. Augustine, Fla. He was 68.
His death was announced by his family, who did not specify the cause, although published reports said it was lung cancer.
He recorded several albums as a leader, but was best known as a sideman and did some of his most acclaimed work in support of other musicians.
Born in Detroit on May 13, 1938, he studied at the New England Conservatory of Music and began his career in 1960 in New York, where he worked with Benny Goodman, Wes Montgomery, Eric Dolphy, the Clark Terry & Bob Brookmeyer quintet and many others.
In 1971 he moved to Los Angeles, where he joined Mr. Severinsen's "Tonight" ensemble. He remained on the show until Johnny Carson retired as host in 1992, ending Mr. Severinsen's long run as its bandleader.
During his television years Mr. Tompkins also worked regularly in the Los Angeles area, in and out of the recording studios. His most notable and long-lasting association was with the drummer Louie Bellson's big band. In the mid-1980's he began working with the trumpeter and singer Jack Sheldon, and in recent years the two performed frequently as a duo.
He is survived by a brother, Rick; three daughters, Teri, Suzie and Janine; and five grandchildren.
There's not much of a tradition of free speech in St. Johns County and the Record's firing of cartoonist Ed Hall is an abomination
How insecure the people at the Record must be that they let PHIL McDANIEL and crew intimidate them into firing a cartoonist. How badly in need of a union are the St. Augustine Record, Flagler COllege, Flagler Hospital, the St. Johns COunty government and the City of St. Augustine, to name just a few.
Founded in 1565 by monarchists, St. Augustine did not get a newspaper until 1777.
Lacking free Democratic traditions, caudillos have run the place ever since.
From WILLIAM B. HARRISS (City Manager) to BEN ADAMS (County Administrator), local dictators have terrified employees, contractors, franchisees and others.
Until 1982, the St. Augustine Record and Florida Times-Union were owned by a railroad. Sadly, the New York Times did not buy the Record and T-U when it had the chance in 1982. Instead, Morris Communications bought the two properties for $200 million.
Morris Communications never sues for Open Records or Sunshine violations. Instead, Morris wasted some $500,000 on a bogus antitrust lawsuit against the PGA, seeking real time golf score information (scores within 15 minutes of a round) -- information of primary use to professional gamblers (like the Morris boys, who own the only English-speaking radio station in the principality of Monaco, a world capital of gambling).
The Morris family has gambled enough with our freedom of speech here in St. Augustine -- it's time for them to put the Record on the market and let professional journalists run it, instead of professional censors and bluenosers, who even defended Congressman JOHN LUIGI MICA's head-butting an ABC news cameraman (contradicting their own news story on the issue).
Pray for them. Forgive them, for they know not what they do.
JFK said he wanted to be a newspaper publisher when he was no longer President because publishers have more power than Presidents. It's time for the St. Augustine Record Publisher to get serious about his job and to reinstate Ed Hall, with full backpay. Otherwise, he and the REcord will be the laughingstock of journalists everywhere, and ho one will want to work there.
Founded in 1565 by monarchists, St. Augustine did not get a newspaper until 1777.
Lacking free Democratic traditions, caudillos have run the place ever since.
From WILLIAM B. HARRISS (City Manager) to BEN ADAMS (County Administrator), local dictators have terrified employees, contractors, franchisees and others.
Until 1982, the St. Augustine Record and Florida Times-Union were owned by a railroad. Sadly, the New York Times did not buy the Record and T-U when it had the chance in 1982. Instead, Morris Communications bought the two properties for $200 million.
Morris Communications never sues for Open Records or Sunshine violations. Instead, Morris wasted some $500,000 on a bogus antitrust lawsuit against the PGA, seeking real time golf score information (scores within 15 minutes of a round) -- information of primary use to professional gamblers (like the Morris boys, who own the only English-speaking radio station in the principality of Monaco, a world capital of gambling).
The Morris family has gambled enough with our freedom of speech here in St. Augustine -- it's time for them to put the Record on the market and let professional journalists run it, instead of professional censors and bluenosers, who even defended Congressman JOHN LUIGI MICA's head-butting an ABC news cameraman (contradicting their own news story on the issue).
Pray for them. Forgive them, for they know not what they do.
JFK said he wanted to be a newspaper publisher when he was no longer President because publishers have more power than Presidents. It's time for the St. Augustine Record Publisher to get serious about his job and to reinstate Ed Hall, with full backpay. Otherwise, he and the REcord will be the laughingstock of journalists everywhere, and ho one will want to work there.
RECORD EDITORIAL VAINLY TRIES TO DEFEND FIRING OF CARTOONIST ED HALL
Editorial: Record's support for public education is unwavering
Publication Date: 11/30/08
When it comes to public education in this state funding crisis, St. Johns County's public schools are lean and getting leaner.
The latest estimates on declining state revenue by the state's Revenue Estimating Conference will put St. Johns County public schools down another $9.3 million this year after last year's $11.3 million cut. An early estimate for 2009-2010 is for a $15 million cut, school officials said.
An editorial cartoon in The St. Augustine Record last Sunday carried the wrong message about the School District's response suggesting that the administration was enjoying paid leaves while teachers were being cut and school was cancelled. The cartoon was drawn by Ed Hall, long time freelance cartoonist to The St. Augustine Record. It is not the opinion of The Record but of the cartoonist.
Superintendent Joe Joyner said the cartoon was not factual. Facts presented by Joyner to The Record, based on local, state and national data, refute the cartoon.
* According to the U.S. Census Bureau figures for 2005-2006, Florida is 50th in the nation in dollars spent on public education and on school administration.
* St. Johns County ranks fifth from the bottom statewide in dollars spent on total district-level expenditures. That's a good thing.
* It ranks fifth from the top statewide in total school expenditures and eighth from the top statewide in instructional expenses. That's another plus because money is going into the schools and the classrooms
* While art, music and physical education classes may be in jeopardy elsewhere, St. Johns has not cut them. The county's 31 traditional schools all offer those courses. The state mandates PE in the elementary schools but provides no additional funds for it. Next year, the PE mandate is for middle schools, too, again without additional funding.
* Middle and high schools were all cut one dean and one media specialist this year. That means deans and media specialists not cut have more work to do.
* The only group with reduced salaries are district's administrators. The district also has had a hiring freeze on administrators for two years.
The School District has a power point presentation on its Web site -- Shining the Light on the Education Budget. It outlines the district's response to Florida's budget crisis and its impact. We suggest you look it over at www.stjohns.k12.fl.us/admin/supt/budget.
It is unfortunate the district was portrayed in a bad light in Hall's cartoon.
It does not reflect our editorial position which hasn't changed. We still say the district cannot afford to lose any more money. The state should do what it said last year when it was pushing property tax reform: Hold harmless public education. That didn't happen. The state should look elsewhere for its cuts. The education of our future leaders is at stake.
Click here to return to story:
http://staugustine.com/stories/113008/opinions_1130_038.shtml
© The St. Augustine Record
Publication Date: 11/30/08
When it comes to public education in this state funding crisis, St. Johns County's public schools are lean and getting leaner.
The latest estimates on declining state revenue by the state's Revenue Estimating Conference will put St. Johns County public schools down another $9.3 million this year after last year's $11.3 million cut. An early estimate for 2009-2010 is for a $15 million cut, school officials said.
An editorial cartoon in The St. Augustine Record last Sunday carried the wrong message about the School District's response suggesting that the administration was enjoying paid leaves while teachers were being cut and school was cancelled. The cartoon was drawn by Ed Hall, long time freelance cartoonist to The St. Augustine Record. It is not the opinion of The Record but of the cartoonist.
Superintendent Joe Joyner said the cartoon was not factual. Facts presented by Joyner to The Record, based on local, state and national data, refute the cartoon.
* According to the U.S. Census Bureau figures for 2005-2006, Florida is 50th in the nation in dollars spent on public education and on school administration.
* St. Johns County ranks fifth from the bottom statewide in dollars spent on total district-level expenditures. That's a good thing.
* It ranks fifth from the top statewide in total school expenditures and eighth from the top statewide in instructional expenses. That's another plus because money is going into the schools and the classrooms
* While art, music and physical education classes may be in jeopardy elsewhere, St. Johns has not cut them. The county's 31 traditional schools all offer those courses. The state mandates PE in the elementary schools but provides no additional funds for it. Next year, the PE mandate is for middle schools, too, again without additional funding.
* Middle and high schools were all cut one dean and one media specialist this year. That means deans and media specialists not cut have more work to do.
* The only group with reduced salaries are district's administrators. The district also has had a hiring freeze on administrators for two years.
The School District has a power point presentation on its Web site -- Shining the Light on the Education Budget. It outlines the district's response to Florida's budget crisis and its impact. We suggest you look it over at www.stjohns.k12.fl.us/admin/supt/budget.
It is unfortunate the district was portrayed in a bad light in Hall's cartoon.
It does not reflect our editorial position which hasn't changed. We still say the district cannot afford to lose any more money. The state should do what it said last year when it was pushing property tax reform: Hold harmless public education. That didn't happen. The state should look elsewhere for its cuts. The education of our future leaders is at stake.
Click here to return to story:
http://staugustine.com/stories/113008/opinions_1130_038.shtml
© The St. Augustine Record
DAILY CARTOONIST: ST. AUGUSTINE RECORD WRONGFULLY FIRES CARTOONIST ED HALL AFTER PRESSURES FROM CULTURAL COUNCIL'S REPUBLICAN CHAIRMAN, PHIL MCDAINEL
Ed Hall loses another client
By Alan Gardner
December 2, 2008
Ed Hall, who I reported last week as losing one of his client newspapers due to a cartoon that criticized the local school district, has lost St. Augustine Record permanently as a client (before the relationship was “temporarily” suspended). Ed reports on his blog that the paper ran a semi-apologetic letter to sooth the locals as well as a letter that condemned the cartoon as offensive.
Ed sums up the insanity of the situation.
At the same time, this weekend, a local online publication wrote a short column praising my work, and asking why I should be let go for doing my job. The irony here of course is that I’m not even a staffer at this paper. I provide them with INEXPENSIVE, quality local commentary that they can’t get from any syndicate.
In other Ed Hall news, he’s lost another paper - The Times Union due to budget cuts. Regarding this he writes,
This is as bad as I’ve ever seen things, and I know it’s not easy for my editors. They have to let go photographers, reporters, cartoonists, et al. My question is, who’s gonna put the paper together when everybody is gone? The janitor? The editor? Alone? There’s no one left. But they all say they’re going to do what they have to to keep the papers published.
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Community Comments
#1 Paul Fell
December/2/2008 @ 11:57 am
I was joking with a journalist friend about the continuing cutbacks in newspaper staff and observed that the bean counters who run newspapers these days won’t be happy until the entire staff consisted of 1 editor and 1 other guy who takes pictures.
My friend said that arrangement would only last until management figured out how to teach that editor to take pictures.
Its a pretty sad scene at most newspapers these days. Those who have survived the cutbacks thus far are now expected to assume the workload of those who have been let go.
#2 Turbulent Ted Dawson
December/2/2008 @ 8:57 pm
In order for media conglomerates to stop firing editorial cartoonists, there has to be a repercussion of some sort. When they think about letting a staff editorial cartoonist go, there has to be something that makes them pause for a moment, because they know X could happen. There is no X.
What X could be?
#3 Bill Hinds
December/2/2008 @ 11:05 pm
Do the corporations make the decision to layoff the editorial cartoonists, or do they make a decision to cut staff, and let the editors work it out how they want? They can cut the staff cartoonist job and still have plenty of editorial cartoons in the paper.
This is an area, like the lineup of comic strips, where the lack of newspaper competition in a town has affected the makeup of the paper. If one paper had an editorial cartoonist, the other paper, or papers, wanted one.
I think a popular motivation to hire an editorial cartoonist on the staff these days, is to try to win a Pulitzer prize for the paper.
I think Turbulent Ted may have it backward. X won’t happen if they don’t run local cartoons, but X (a different X) could happen if they DO run local cartoons. The truth is, people are pretty clueless about the politics in their own community. It’s easier to get a point across with a cartoon than it is with a series of articles.
I think a high profile award for local editorial cartooning might help. Maybe the Fischetti Award would fit that bill.
#4 Mike Peterson
December/3/2008 @ 5:10 am
The lack of cross-town competition is at the heart of the decline of editorial cartooning, as well as the issues on the comics page. It’s not even the arrogance of a monopoly — it’s not “So what if we have Ann Landers instead of Dear Abby? We’re the only paper in town!”
The days of slugging it out are so far behind us that today’s editors have no sense of that competition. The few places that have two papers are, for the most part, either locked in JOAs or so massive that they don’t really feel the competitive urge. And Boston and Washington aren’t competitive — they’re runaways.
Chuck Asay was a tremendous asset for the Colorado Springs Sun in the late 70s and early 80s, not just for his local cartoons but for the other illustrations he provided throughout the paper. Plus he was always willing to go to public events and sketch for people. He really branded the Sun. Which failed anyway, but that’s life — I think Chuck remained their greatest asset right to the end. Like the Boston Herald or the Washington Times, the Sun just never achieved traction against the Big Established Paper in town.
And that’s the problem — even with an asset like Chuck, the competitive advantage doesn’t kick in if you’re down by a 3-to-1 margin. Until you’re really toe-to-toe, there aren’t a lot of individual things you can do to shift the basic inequalities, which is what advertisers look at. (I’m not saying you shouldn’t try. Just stating how it works.)
#5 Ed Hall
December/3/2008 @ 7:46 am
This is all a mute point when they’re not just getting rid of the cartoonists, but the photographers, columnists, receptionists, et al. I was released with a photographer in one of these instances,and a columnist in another; and I asked the editor, point blank “who is going to put this thing together now?” And he said, quote, “I’ve kept our star reporter, we’ll manage; but we’re counting every penny that goes out the door.” Looks like advertising might be drying up now as well. And, that’ll kill it for sure.
I didn’t think that this would hapen so suddenly at the local level, but it has. Having been in the trenches of local editooning for 17 years, I’ve never seen things this bad.
#6 Turbulent Ted Dawson
December/3/2008 @ 9:13 am
Excellent points, Bill.
I would disagree about cartoons on local issues making a difference in saving one’s job, though. It’s almost like laying off editorial cartoonists is the trendy thing, and publishers get together and say, “Hey, dude, you fire your cartoonist yet? Everybody’s doing it!”
By X, I had in mind not repercussions from readers and the like, but something like an angry mob of united editorial cartoonists who go on Good Morning America… or by now there would probably be a bigger mob of laid-off editorial cartoonists. What about people who have professed themselves leaders of the group? There doesn’t seem to be much leadership.
In my view, this is a crisis situation. It’s not like we are wondering IF any more editorial cartoonists will lose their jobs, but WHEN… and how long till there are ONLY syndicated cartoonists? It seems like a time to take drastic measures.
What would the cartoonists who have been let go in the past two years have done, if they had known for sure? That’s what everybody who is currently an editorial cartoonist should do, as it seems likely another dozen or more will be gone soon.
All this carnage without a fight. I don’t understand it.
#7 Bill Hinds
December/3/2008 @ 9:46 am
I disagree. My points weren’t excellent–average, really. I will, however, stand by them.
I see no point in a cartoonist in a mid-size city newspaper, even some large city papers, making a comment about national politics unless it relates to that city somehow. An example of why can be seen at Daryl Cagle’s web site where he posts themes with the takes of editorial cartoonists from around the country. Sure, some are clever, but many are redundant. I doubt if the reader cares where the cartoonist lives who is making comments about national news and politics. Also, it’s easy to make comments about national politics. Local politics requires doing homework.
But I would like to watch that episode of Good Morning America. It has a sort of Judy Garland/Mickey Rooney, “Let’s put a on show in the barn, and raise the money to get our parents out of jail!” feel to it. Those were innocent times. Putting on a show in the barn sounds completely different today. Sigh
#8 Telegenic Ted Dawson
December/3/2008 @ 10:39 am
There was actually an editorial cartoonist who got in trouble for “putting on a show in the barn,” but we should let bygones be bygones…
For me, one of the things that is frustrating about the cartooning fields is that logic doesn’t apply much anymore. I would think that concentrating on local issues would be an important way to secure one’s job. Yet we’ve seen cartoonists who do just that, and they get fired just the same. The layoffs don’t have anything to do with job performance.
We all wonder if the specific decision is coming from corporate or the local editor. That bit of information seems paramount to dealing with this situation. Somebody should have figured that out by now.
Even newspaper carriers represent themselves better than cartoonists. Editorial cartoonists are generally very intelligent and creative people. They have strong opinions and stand behind their beliefs and their cartoons. But as long as I’ve been a cartoonist, I’ve never seen cartoonists pull together on any issue. The only thing that comes to mind at all, is Neal Adams standing up for poverty-stricken Seigel and Schuster, but that was mostly Adams and not the community of cartoonists.
Several years ago the NCS came up with the lovely idea of establishing Cartoonist Appreciation Day. That quickly bombed. But comic book cartoonists took it and turned it into something positive: Free Comic Book Day, which has been a very effective and expanding promotion. I think there’s something to learn from things like this.
#9 Bill Hinds
December/3/2008 @ 11:02 am
“Logic doesn’t apply much anymore.” That pretty much says it for everything in the world these days.
#10 Ed Hall
December/3/2008 @ 11:04 am
From my last post, I meant to say “moot” point (damn you spell checker!) But, since I’m here, I’ll also mention that regardless of everything else, when advertising revenue starts dropping, due to a soured economy, the axe is gonna swing on local papers. It’s inevitable and because we’ve got people with little or no experience making these decisions, it’s indiscriminate.
As for cartoonists putting up a fight - there’s no one left to fight. In one of these cases an editor was let go with me, and the paper was absorbed by another periodical. Who am I gonna complain to when the paper goes away? This thing is drying up before our eyes (and it’s in slow motion - which makes it worse).
#11 Ted "Diphthong" Dawson
December/3/2008 @ 11:14 am
We could sure use more Mute points around here! :^)
Ed, it seems to me the fight needs to take place on the corporate level, with the handful of companies that together own hundreds of periodicals. The scenario is different with different papers, to be sure. Some are actually hurting financially; some are independently owned and value cartoonists (like the Tulsa World); but many are owned by media conglomerates who can and do affect the entire newspaper industry.
#12 Ed Hall
December/3/2008 @ 11:20 am
TDD wrote: “but many are owned by media conglomerates who can and do affect the entire newspaper industry.”
You think you’re gonna fight those guys, I’ve got some property to sell you. The days of The Hearsts are loooong gone. We’ve got to stop thinking like they’re here or that they are going to come back. The paradigm was changed completely with rise of the internet.
#13 Bill Hinds
December/3/2008 @ 11:54 am
Here’s a thought. Regional self-syndication. If an editorial cartoonist could resist showing how perceptive he is about national politics, and try to sell regional cartoons to a number of newspapers, they might buy them. Just because they can’t afford a staff cartoonist doesn’t mean they don’t want to run cartoons. And I think cartoons with a regional (state or multi-state depending on the size) focus would be attractive to an editor. I don’t think it would take long to figure out it wasn’t working.
And I honestly don’t think cartoonists would be hired because they went on TV and complained.
#14 Tongue-tied Ted Dawson
December/3/2008 @ 11:59 am
That’s the spirit!!
#15 Paul Fell
December/3/2008 @ 1:27 pm
Bill:
The idea of a cartoonist self-syndicating local/regional cartoons has been tried before, and indeed, some are doing this as we speak. However, if you think you’re going to make a living at it, think again. When I self-syndicated, I decided to peddle my cartoons on Nebraska subjects to papers around the state. I charged them $25 per month, regardless of circulation size and they received 3 cartoons each week.
Our state has something like 125 papers if you count all the weeklies, bi-weeklies, and dailies. The most I ever had was about 20 client papers, and that didn’t last more than a couple of years. Even $25 per month was way more than many of these guys were willing to spend for editorial cartoons. Many of the smaller papers don’t even bother to have an editorial page. Peddling the cartoons on a per-use basis just wasn’t worth the time and effort. I finally gave up and went on to other things that paid better.
#16 Bill Hinds
December/3/2008 @ 1:38 pm
Paul, I appreciate your experience, but when you were doing that had so many cartoonist jobs been eliminated? Maybe there are more potential clients now.
I’m glad you’ve found things that paid better.
#17 Ed Hall
December/3/2008 @ 2:02 pm
Bill wrote: “Maybe there are more potential clients now.”
There are less. And it’s shrinking as we speak. I can attest to this. I’m currently trying to fill the holes that were just opened up in my little self-syndicate, and there’s just nothing there. No budget, no money - anywhere.
BTW, I was making substantially more than $25 per toon. Paul, you were giving it away. Come to think of it, maybe that’s why they canned me. DOH!
#18 Telegenic Ted Dawson
December/3/2008 @ 2:28 pm
Bill, my point wasn’t that editorial cartoonists would be hired because they went on TV and complained, but that there are currently NO repurcussions felt by the media conglomerates when they let go editorial cartoonists. I’m saying there is currently no reason for them to have them think twice before axing cartoonists. There needs to be at least some reason, that makes sense to corporate board members, to reconsider firing cartoonists.
I have no idea what would cause them to do so. It could be public attention on national TV. It could be a study conducted by the AAEC showing real effects on newspaper readership by editorial cartoonists. Bags of flaming doggie poop on their porches after each firing. Cartoonists buying up shares of the media conglomerates. Throwing a barbeque for the stockholders and schmoozing them with malt liquor. I don’t know.
I’m sure editorial cartoonists have done many things to try to improve the situation. I just haven’t heard of any of them because I’m not in the loop. All I see is lots of editorial cartoonists being laid off with no end in sight.
#19 Paul Fell
December/3/2008 @ 2:48 pm
Ted, you keep saying that you haven’t heard of editorial cartoonists trying to do anything in the face of continuing job cuts. If you’ve got some great ideas as to what should be done, feel free to share them with the rest of us.
Part of why everyone in journalism, not just cartoonists, feels so powerless to fight these personnel reductions is that newspapers are no longer run by newspapermen. Now they are run by investors and “businessmen”. When they have finally sucked every drop of money from newspapers they will simply discard the husk and move on, as parasites do, to find another victim to feed on.
On a related note, in the online version of Editor and Publisher there’s a story about how it is expected that newspapers will continue to struggle with decreasing ad revenue in 2009 and then in 2010, some cities could start to see daily papers disappear altogether.
Finally, I just heard that longtime Des Moines Register cartoonist Brian Duffy has become the latest to join the ranks of ex-staff cartoonists.
#20 Mike Lester
December/3/2008 @ 2:50 pm
I’m uncomfortable w/ any artificial demand for any service and I can’t think of any occupation where it’s been successful. I’m all ears.
#21 Wiley Miller
December/3/2008 @ 3:41 pm
“Now they are run by investors and “businessmen”. ”
This is the problem in virtually every industry today, including the auto industry being discussed in the other thread. In a bygone era, CEO’s came from within the industry and in many cases had spent 20 or 30 years in the company. They had a vested, personal interest in the company and felt responsibility to the long term health of the company and the welfare of the employees. Not today. There is a detachment by today’s CEO’s who are only interested in garnering as much personal wealth as possible. They have little or no understanding of the industry they’re presiding over, only looking at the bottom line… their bottom line… giving themselves bonuses as the corporation they’re running goes bankrupt. Any wonder why all these industries are going down the tubes?
#22 Ed Hall
December/3/2008 @ 4:02 pm
I think Wiley just defined the apocalypse.
By Alan Gardner
December 2, 2008
Ed Hall, who I reported last week as losing one of his client newspapers due to a cartoon that criticized the local school district, has lost St. Augustine Record permanently as a client (before the relationship was “temporarily” suspended). Ed reports on his blog that the paper ran a semi-apologetic letter to sooth the locals as well as a letter that condemned the cartoon as offensive.
Ed sums up the insanity of the situation.
At the same time, this weekend, a local online publication wrote a short column praising my work, and asking why I should be let go for doing my job. The irony here of course is that I’m not even a staffer at this paper. I provide them with INEXPENSIVE, quality local commentary that they can’t get from any syndicate.
In other Ed Hall news, he’s lost another paper - The Times Union due to budget cuts. Regarding this he writes,
This is as bad as I’ve ever seen things, and I know it’s not easy for my editors. They have to let go photographers, reporters, cartoonists, et al. My question is, who’s gonna put the paper together when everybody is gone? The janitor? The editor? Alone? There’s no one left. But they all say they’re going to do what they have to to keep the papers published.
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Community Comments
#1 Paul Fell
December/2/2008 @ 11:57 am
I was joking with a journalist friend about the continuing cutbacks in newspaper staff and observed that the bean counters who run newspapers these days won’t be happy until the entire staff consisted of 1 editor and 1 other guy who takes pictures.
My friend said that arrangement would only last until management figured out how to teach that editor to take pictures.
Its a pretty sad scene at most newspapers these days. Those who have survived the cutbacks thus far are now expected to assume the workload of those who have been let go.
#2 Turbulent Ted Dawson
December/2/2008 @ 8:57 pm
In order for media conglomerates to stop firing editorial cartoonists, there has to be a repercussion of some sort. When they think about letting a staff editorial cartoonist go, there has to be something that makes them pause for a moment, because they know X could happen. There is no X.
What X could be?
#3 Bill Hinds
December/2/2008 @ 11:05 pm
Do the corporations make the decision to layoff the editorial cartoonists, or do they make a decision to cut staff, and let the editors work it out how they want? They can cut the staff cartoonist job and still have plenty of editorial cartoons in the paper.
This is an area, like the lineup of comic strips, where the lack of newspaper competition in a town has affected the makeup of the paper. If one paper had an editorial cartoonist, the other paper, or papers, wanted one.
I think a popular motivation to hire an editorial cartoonist on the staff these days, is to try to win a Pulitzer prize for the paper.
I think Turbulent Ted may have it backward. X won’t happen if they don’t run local cartoons, but X (a different X) could happen if they DO run local cartoons. The truth is, people are pretty clueless about the politics in their own community. It’s easier to get a point across with a cartoon than it is with a series of articles.
I think a high profile award for local editorial cartooning might help. Maybe the Fischetti Award would fit that bill.
#4 Mike Peterson
December/3/2008 @ 5:10 am
The lack of cross-town competition is at the heart of the decline of editorial cartooning, as well as the issues on the comics page. It’s not even the arrogance of a monopoly — it’s not “So what if we have Ann Landers instead of Dear Abby? We’re the only paper in town!”
The days of slugging it out are so far behind us that today’s editors have no sense of that competition. The few places that have two papers are, for the most part, either locked in JOAs or so massive that they don’t really feel the competitive urge. And Boston and Washington aren’t competitive — they’re runaways.
Chuck Asay was a tremendous asset for the Colorado Springs Sun in the late 70s and early 80s, not just for his local cartoons but for the other illustrations he provided throughout the paper. Plus he was always willing to go to public events and sketch for people. He really branded the Sun. Which failed anyway, but that’s life — I think Chuck remained their greatest asset right to the end. Like the Boston Herald or the Washington Times, the Sun just never achieved traction against the Big Established Paper in town.
And that’s the problem — even with an asset like Chuck, the competitive advantage doesn’t kick in if you’re down by a 3-to-1 margin. Until you’re really toe-to-toe, there aren’t a lot of individual things you can do to shift the basic inequalities, which is what advertisers look at. (I’m not saying you shouldn’t try. Just stating how it works.)
#5 Ed Hall
December/3/2008 @ 7:46 am
This is all a mute point when they’re not just getting rid of the cartoonists, but the photographers, columnists, receptionists, et al. I was released with a photographer in one of these instances,and a columnist in another; and I asked the editor, point blank “who is going to put this thing together now?” And he said, quote, “I’ve kept our star reporter, we’ll manage; but we’re counting every penny that goes out the door.” Looks like advertising might be drying up now as well. And, that’ll kill it for sure.
I didn’t think that this would hapen so suddenly at the local level, but it has. Having been in the trenches of local editooning for 17 years, I’ve never seen things this bad.
#6 Turbulent Ted Dawson
December/3/2008 @ 9:13 am
Excellent points, Bill.
I would disagree about cartoons on local issues making a difference in saving one’s job, though. It’s almost like laying off editorial cartoonists is the trendy thing, and publishers get together and say, “Hey, dude, you fire your cartoonist yet? Everybody’s doing it!”
By X, I had in mind not repercussions from readers and the like, but something like an angry mob of united editorial cartoonists who go on Good Morning America… or by now there would probably be a bigger mob of laid-off editorial cartoonists. What about people who have professed themselves leaders of the group? There doesn’t seem to be much leadership.
In my view, this is a crisis situation. It’s not like we are wondering IF any more editorial cartoonists will lose their jobs, but WHEN… and how long till there are ONLY syndicated cartoonists? It seems like a time to take drastic measures.
What would the cartoonists who have been let go in the past two years have done, if they had known for sure? That’s what everybody who is currently an editorial cartoonist should do, as it seems likely another dozen or more will be gone soon.
All this carnage without a fight. I don’t understand it.
#7 Bill Hinds
December/3/2008 @ 9:46 am
I disagree. My points weren’t excellent–average, really. I will, however, stand by them.
I see no point in a cartoonist in a mid-size city newspaper, even some large city papers, making a comment about national politics unless it relates to that city somehow. An example of why can be seen at Daryl Cagle’s web site where he posts themes with the takes of editorial cartoonists from around the country. Sure, some are clever, but many are redundant. I doubt if the reader cares where the cartoonist lives who is making comments about national news and politics. Also, it’s easy to make comments about national politics. Local politics requires doing homework.
But I would like to watch that episode of Good Morning America. It has a sort of Judy Garland/Mickey Rooney, “Let’s put a on show in the barn, and raise the money to get our parents out of jail!” feel to it. Those were innocent times. Putting on a show in the barn sounds completely different today. Sigh
#8 Telegenic Ted Dawson
December/3/2008 @ 10:39 am
There was actually an editorial cartoonist who got in trouble for “putting on a show in the barn,” but we should let bygones be bygones…
For me, one of the things that is frustrating about the cartooning fields is that logic doesn’t apply much anymore. I would think that concentrating on local issues would be an important way to secure one’s job. Yet we’ve seen cartoonists who do just that, and they get fired just the same. The layoffs don’t have anything to do with job performance.
We all wonder if the specific decision is coming from corporate or the local editor. That bit of information seems paramount to dealing with this situation. Somebody should have figured that out by now.
Even newspaper carriers represent themselves better than cartoonists. Editorial cartoonists are generally very intelligent and creative people. They have strong opinions and stand behind their beliefs and their cartoons. But as long as I’ve been a cartoonist, I’ve never seen cartoonists pull together on any issue. The only thing that comes to mind at all, is Neal Adams standing up for poverty-stricken Seigel and Schuster, but that was mostly Adams and not the community of cartoonists.
Several years ago the NCS came up with the lovely idea of establishing Cartoonist Appreciation Day. That quickly bombed. But comic book cartoonists took it and turned it into something positive: Free Comic Book Day, which has been a very effective and expanding promotion. I think there’s something to learn from things like this.
#9 Bill Hinds
December/3/2008 @ 11:02 am
“Logic doesn’t apply much anymore.” That pretty much says it for everything in the world these days.
#10 Ed Hall
December/3/2008 @ 11:04 am
From my last post, I meant to say “moot” point (damn you spell checker!) But, since I’m here, I’ll also mention that regardless of everything else, when advertising revenue starts dropping, due to a soured economy, the axe is gonna swing on local papers. It’s inevitable and because we’ve got people with little or no experience making these decisions, it’s indiscriminate.
As for cartoonists putting up a fight - there’s no one left to fight. In one of these cases an editor was let go with me, and the paper was absorbed by another periodical. Who am I gonna complain to when the paper goes away? This thing is drying up before our eyes (and it’s in slow motion - which makes it worse).
#11 Ted "Diphthong" Dawson
December/3/2008 @ 11:14 am
We could sure use more Mute points around here! :^)
Ed, it seems to me the fight needs to take place on the corporate level, with the handful of companies that together own hundreds of periodicals. The scenario is different with different papers, to be sure. Some are actually hurting financially; some are independently owned and value cartoonists (like the Tulsa World); but many are owned by media conglomerates who can and do affect the entire newspaper industry.
#12 Ed Hall
December/3/2008 @ 11:20 am
TDD wrote: “but many are owned by media conglomerates who can and do affect the entire newspaper industry.”
You think you’re gonna fight those guys, I’ve got some property to sell you. The days of The Hearsts are loooong gone. We’ve got to stop thinking like they’re here or that they are going to come back. The paradigm was changed completely with rise of the internet.
#13 Bill Hinds
December/3/2008 @ 11:54 am
Here’s a thought. Regional self-syndication. If an editorial cartoonist could resist showing how perceptive he is about national politics, and try to sell regional cartoons to a number of newspapers, they might buy them. Just because they can’t afford a staff cartoonist doesn’t mean they don’t want to run cartoons. And I think cartoons with a regional (state or multi-state depending on the size) focus would be attractive to an editor. I don’t think it would take long to figure out it wasn’t working.
And I honestly don’t think cartoonists would be hired because they went on TV and complained.
#14 Tongue-tied Ted Dawson
December/3/2008 @ 11:59 am
That’s the spirit!!
#15 Paul Fell
December/3/2008 @ 1:27 pm
Bill:
The idea of a cartoonist self-syndicating local/regional cartoons has been tried before, and indeed, some are doing this as we speak. However, if you think you’re going to make a living at it, think again. When I self-syndicated, I decided to peddle my cartoons on Nebraska subjects to papers around the state. I charged them $25 per month, regardless of circulation size and they received 3 cartoons each week.
Our state has something like 125 papers if you count all the weeklies, bi-weeklies, and dailies. The most I ever had was about 20 client papers, and that didn’t last more than a couple of years. Even $25 per month was way more than many of these guys were willing to spend for editorial cartoons. Many of the smaller papers don’t even bother to have an editorial page. Peddling the cartoons on a per-use basis just wasn’t worth the time and effort. I finally gave up and went on to other things that paid better.
#16 Bill Hinds
December/3/2008 @ 1:38 pm
Paul, I appreciate your experience, but when you were doing that had so many cartoonist jobs been eliminated? Maybe there are more potential clients now.
I’m glad you’ve found things that paid better.
#17 Ed Hall
December/3/2008 @ 2:02 pm
Bill wrote: “Maybe there are more potential clients now.”
There are less. And it’s shrinking as we speak. I can attest to this. I’m currently trying to fill the holes that were just opened up in my little self-syndicate, and there’s just nothing there. No budget, no money - anywhere.
BTW, I was making substantially more than $25 per toon. Paul, you were giving it away. Come to think of it, maybe that’s why they canned me. DOH!
#18 Telegenic Ted Dawson
December/3/2008 @ 2:28 pm
Bill, my point wasn’t that editorial cartoonists would be hired because they went on TV and complained, but that there are currently NO repurcussions felt by the media conglomerates when they let go editorial cartoonists. I’m saying there is currently no reason for them to have them think twice before axing cartoonists. There needs to be at least some reason, that makes sense to corporate board members, to reconsider firing cartoonists.
I have no idea what would cause them to do so. It could be public attention on national TV. It could be a study conducted by the AAEC showing real effects on newspaper readership by editorial cartoonists. Bags of flaming doggie poop on their porches after each firing. Cartoonists buying up shares of the media conglomerates. Throwing a barbeque for the stockholders and schmoozing them with malt liquor. I don’t know.
I’m sure editorial cartoonists have done many things to try to improve the situation. I just haven’t heard of any of them because I’m not in the loop. All I see is lots of editorial cartoonists being laid off with no end in sight.
#19 Paul Fell
December/3/2008 @ 2:48 pm
Ted, you keep saying that you haven’t heard of editorial cartoonists trying to do anything in the face of continuing job cuts. If you’ve got some great ideas as to what should be done, feel free to share them with the rest of us.
Part of why everyone in journalism, not just cartoonists, feels so powerless to fight these personnel reductions is that newspapers are no longer run by newspapermen. Now they are run by investors and “businessmen”. When they have finally sucked every drop of money from newspapers they will simply discard the husk and move on, as parasites do, to find another victim to feed on.
On a related note, in the online version of Editor and Publisher there’s a story about how it is expected that newspapers will continue to struggle with decreasing ad revenue in 2009 and then in 2010, some cities could start to see daily papers disappear altogether.
Finally, I just heard that longtime Des Moines Register cartoonist Brian Duffy has become the latest to join the ranks of ex-staff cartoonists.
#20 Mike Lester
December/3/2008 @ 2:50 pm
I’m uncomfortable w/ any artificial demand for any service and I can’t think of any occupation where it’s been successful. I’m all ears.
#21 Wiley Miller
December/3/2008 @ 3:41 pm
“Now they are run by investors and “businessmen”. ”
This is the problem in virtually every industry today, including the auto industry being discussed in the other thread. In a bygone era, CEO’s came from within the industry and in many cases had spent 20 or 30 years in the company. They had a vested, personal interest in the company and felt responsibility to the long term health of the company and the welfare of the employees. Not today. There is a detachment by today’s CEO’s who are only interested in garnering as much personal wealth as possible. They have little or no understanding of the industry they’re presiding over, only looking at the bottom line… their bottom line… giving themselves bonuses as the corporation they’re running goes bankrupt. Any wonder why all these industries are going down the tubes?
#22 Ed Hall
December/3/2008 @ 4:02 pm
I think Wiley just defined the apocalypse.
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