The St. Augustine Record is still written, edited and published by the usual gang of DONALD TRUMP endorsing developer toadies, bullies and liars for Sheriff DAVID B. SHOAR, who legally changed his name from "HOAR" in 1994.
1. HB 7301 should be vetoed by Governor Ronald DeSantis. It's British rule "loser pays" rule is unnecessary because existing laws and rules deter frivolous litigation. HB 7301 would make citizens opposed to clearcutting wildlife destroying wetland killing developments" bet their lifetime future income and property if they wanted to go to court to challenge a violation of the Comprehensive Plan, and would render comprehensive plans meainngess. Below is a perfectly dull and uninformative article by St. Augustine Record "development" beat reporter, developer fanboy STUART KORFHAGE. As FBI whistleblower Mark Felt told Washington. Post reporter Bob Woodward in the movie All The President's Men, "I hate shallowness."
2. The worst "chilling effect" on developer opponent in recent years was this very reporter's biased story about DAVID BARTON CORNEAL's Bolesian-backed demand to destroy the DOW MUSEUM OF HISTORIC HOME and convert it into the dull hotel for swells now known as "The Collector," after illegally destroying Carpenter's House.
3. STUART KORFHAGE quoted CORNEAL accusing Old City South residents of damaging the vehicle of CORNEAL's painter -- a painter who was shortly thereafter incarcerated for being a child molester.
4. STUART KORFHAGE should have been disciplined, fired or sent back to covering sports after he maliciously.
5. The Record should have apologized for STUART KORFHAGE's libel. It did not do so. So does being The St. Augustine Record mean "never having to say you're sorry?" Watching STUART KORFHAGE run away from me and not follow up on my concerns about the DOW PUD, then openly, publicly and notoriously kiss up to CORNEAL, I detected unusual behavior reminiscent of the notorious Philadelphia Inquirer reporter Harry Karafin, exposed by investigative reporters Gaeton Fonzi and Gregory Walter in Philadelphia Magazine.
6. Instead of being fired like Harry Karafin, developer fanboy and Sheriff DAVID SHOAR fanboy, reporter STUART KORFHAGE has been promoted since that tort, crime and sin -- incredibly, he is now the "news room lead, the de facto deputy Editor under absentee editor Craig Richardson, who once promised to move to St. Augustine after being named after "Director of Audience and Editor" Kathy Nelson. was fired for incompetence during the sad last days of the tatterdemalion regime of Morris Communications empire.
7. The fact that developer dupe STUART KORFHAGE kissed up to CORNEAL and falsely implying that opponents of a developer project were saboteurs is in pari delicto with the St. Augustine Record's ruinous record of malicious falsehoods and bad reporting over the years, a stench in the nostrils of the Nation which makes it a joke in real newsrooms. That stench has included
- attacking New York Times reporter Walt Bogdanich, a three-time Pulitzer Prize winner in retaliation for his stories about Sherif Shoar's coverup of the September 2, 2010 homicide of Michelle O'Connell in the home of Deputy Jeremy Banks, saying he "parachuted in" to St. Augustine, had "no regrets" and "made no friends" in Shoar's office
- publishing KKK rally locations,
- publishing the names and addresses of children desegregating local schools, and
- printing the fatwas of Mayor Shelley, including threats to arrest and blacklist forever the students protesting against Jim Crow segregation in 196r.
8. "You cannot hope to bribe or twist thank God! The British journalist. But, seeing what the man will do unbribed, there's no occasion to." - Humbert Wolfe
9. Producer Charles C. Thompson, II of ABC News 20/20 told me back in the 1970s that coal companies paid off Birmingham newspaper reporters not to cover their crimes. If certain Flori-DUH "news" reporters are not paid off by developers, perhaps they're expecting what Ralph Nader calls "the deferred bribe," post-employment employment, like when the U.S. Tennessee Valley Authority's 40 person stable of whores on the 12th Floor of TVA Tower in Knoxville consisted of a sordid assortment of former "journalists."
10. Here's the latest predictable tedious story by developer fanboy STUART R. KORFHAGE.
From The St. Augustine Record:
HB 7301 could ‘chill’ citizen opposition but fuel affordable housing development By Stuart Korfhage
Posted at 6:10 PM
Updated at 6:10 PM
St. Augustine Record
A far-reaching development bill that’s sitting on the desk of Gov. Ron DeSantis has interested parties all over the state wondering what its impact will be.
Locally, there is both support and skepticism for HB 7301 — sometimes by the same people.
The bill, which some say was rushed through the approval process, affects many facets of the development process.
Those in the conservation community are furious at its passage by the state Legislature. But some affordable housing advocates are excited about the potential it brings.
St. Johns County is a good example of why those mixed feelings exist. The St. Johns County Commission, at least overall, likes the provision that would allow local government to waive impact fees for affordable/workforce housing. That is something many here say is an essential component to getting that type of development instigated.
On the other hand, officials are concerned enough about the bill taking away some local controls that the administration suggested sending the governor a letter of concern or opposition. That idea was rejected by the commissioners.
“This bill is, I think, another example ... why put a bunch of various things in the same bill where it’s difficult to knock out a poor portion when there may be a good portion in there,” County Attorney Patrick McCormack said at Tuesday’s Commission meeting. “I’m concerned about this pattern, perhaps if not for this bill itself, at the appropriate point at least meeting with our legislative delegation to try to avoid this.
“The counties are subdivisions of the state. Why isn’t the Florida legislature using the subdivisions of the state to assist it in its role of protecting the public health, safety and welfare? It doesn’t seem like that’s adequately being done.”
So what are the potential positive consequences from this bill?
From the perspective of local government, it’s the impact fee issue.
Less than a year ago, nonprofit leaders in the county came to the Commission with a proposal for building a small development for low-income workers. But for it to be feasible, the group needed a break on impact fees, which are between $8,840 and $13,237 for homes up to 1,800 square feet.
Without relief from the Legislature, commissioners doubted it would be legal to waive the fees for certain projects and leaving them intact for others.
“I think that solves our problem from last August,” Commissioner Henry Dean said at Tuesday’s meeting. “It would be costly to waive the impact fees, but it’s doable now with the legislation. We had questions about that last summer.”
Bill Lazar, executive director of the St. Johns Housing Partnership, was part of the Continuum of Care group pushing for the new development last year. He said Tuesday the only way to solve the affordable housing shortage is to encourage building.
“Affordable housing is really the linchpin for family financial security,” he said. “We really need to do more in new construction.”
As for the concerns, they are many.
McCormack talked about one of the issues Tuesday. He’s concerned that local government will lose more control over the inspection process.
According to staff analysis of HB 7103, it “expands the scope of services of private providers by allowing them to approve plans and perform inspections for portions of a project that are not part of the building structure, such as services involving the review of site plans and site work engineering plans.”
As part of this expansion, the bill “allows private providers to review applications and inspect work related to all aspects of development from site plan approval through vertical building construction.”
From McCormack’s perspective, that could be too far-reaching. He said he’s concerned the bill limits “those audit opportunities” by county inspectors.
Of bigger concern to others is the provision that puts a possible burden on those who unsuccessfully oppose developments. Opponents could end up being forced to pay attorney fees if they lose a challenge.
Why is that important? As environmental group 1000 Friends of Florida says: “The risk of getting hit with a six-figure bill for attorney fees would deter all but the wealthiest citizens from exercising this legal right.”
Local attorney Jane West, who currently works for some local groups who oppose certain developments, agreed. She said citizens might be scared to oppose anything if 7103 is enacted. On the other hand, developers of multi-million-dollar projects still have the resources to challenge unfavorable rulings to their side.
“There are already existing statutes for attorney fees if there is frivolous litigation,” West said. “It’s a mechanism that would have a chilling affect on public engagement.”
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