Our tatterdemalion Reichwing Republican lobbyist-State Senator, JOHN THRASHER, owns five homes, the smallest of which I reckon is here in St. Augustine, a smallish condo, much smaller than his nearly 6000 square foot house with private dock and pool.
JOHN THRASHER founded a lobbying company called "Southern Strategy," named after President RICHARD MILHOUS NIXON's appeal to segregationist voters.
JOHN THRASHER started his political career as a Clay County School Board member, where homophobia was used as an instrument of social control to euchre voters. See “Farenheight 4.51: Clay County’s Culture Wars,” Out in the City (January 2009)(cover story)(history of anti-Gay discrimination by school system, which long barred any discussion of Gays except in the "context of sexually-transmitted diseases").
Under Paraprosdokians (below), number 27, it states, "A diplomat is someone who tells you to go to hell in such a way that you look forward to the trip." I trained as a diplomat at Georgetown's School of Foreign Service. Let me tell JOHN THRASHER that, if he runs for re-election, he will likely be defeated in 2012, hopefully by former broadcast news journalist Debra Gianoulis. We are all looking forward to the this trip of a State Senator being retired to his five houses.
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Do you Reckon that Upchurch, Bailey & Upchurch Clients Should Ask DON WALLIS TO RETURN THE $100,000 Wasted by FIrst America Foundation?
A. D. Davis Construction Company, Inc.American Culinary Federation, Inc.
Atlantic Dodge Chrysler Jeep, Inc.
Bank of St. Augustine
Barnacle Bills, Inc.
Bozard Ford Co.
Camachee Cove Yacht Harbour
DiMare Construction Company
First Federal Bank of North Florida
Flagler College, Inc. (General Counsel)
Flagler Hospital, Inc.
Hastings Drainage District
Lightner Museum
Maguire Land Corp.
Marine Supply & Oil Company, Inc.
Prosperity Bank (General Counsel)
Ring Power Corporation
Sleiman Development Group
Southeast Aero Services, Inc.
St. Augustine Alligator Farm, Inc.
St. Johns County School Board (General Counsel)
St. Johns County Tax Collector
St. Johns County Welfare Federation, Inc.
The Bailey Group
ThompsonBaker Agency, Inc.
University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences (General Counsel)
Wiles Family of Companies, Inc.
Approved Agents for:
Attorneys’ Title Insurance Fund, Inc.Chicago Title Insurance Company
Commonwealth Land Title Insurance Company
Old Republic National Title Insurance Company
Write to DON WALLIS, UPCHURCH, BAILEY & UPCHURCH re: RETURN OF $100,000 SPENT ON FIRST AMERICA FOUNDATION, WITHOUT ANY RESULT -- IT'S OUR MONEY!
Don Wallis, right, speaks to St. Augustine City Commission August 9, 2011 at 8:23 PM,
as St. Augustine Record reporter Peter Guinta and audience look skeptically
You can write DON WALLIS and partners at:
Upchurch, Bailey & Upchurch, P.A.
780 North Ponce de Leon Boulevard
Post Office Drawer 3007
St. Augustine, Florida 32085-3007
Telephone: (904) 829-9066
Facsimile: (904) 825-4862
info@ubulaw.com
St. Augustine Record re: return of (some) of the $275,000 City Gave Secretive First America Foundation on No-Bid COntract
First America Foundation to give remaining money to city
Group to disband, drop plans for 450th anniversary
Posted: June 20, 2011 - 9:48pm
By 
First America Foundation Inc., the group set up to lead commemorative efforts for St. Augustine's 450th anniversary, will cease operations on June 30 and give the money it has left to the city, according to foundation officials.
The foundation's executive committee met Monday with City Manager John Regan and other city officials to formally terminate the contract for services for the 450th commemoration initiative.
"We had a very positive meeting with the city. We really shared with them so that they can move forward," said Christine Chapman, vice chair of the foundation who took over as chairwoman two weeks ago. "We want to do everything we can to advance planning for the ongoing commemoration. It's our city as well."
By the end of business today, the foundation will transfer $150,000 to the city of St. Augustine, and any remaining balance will be transferred to the city within 30 days of the June 30 closing, she said.
The foundation started up with $275,000 from the city plus another $25,000 given the City by Tidewater Skanska, the company that renovated the Bridge of Lions.
Chapman said the foundation's treasurer Matt Baker is working with its CPA firm to compile final figures.
She called the $150,000 a "conservative figure" and said final bills will be paid out of the remaining money with whatever is left over being returned to the city.
The foundation also is turning over files, project and sponsor data, forms and plans, institutional knowledge and programs already in development, such as the Youth Ambassador Program.
(1 vote)
Comments (6)
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$$$ GET THOSE INDICTMENTS READY FOR SERVICE
By yathink | 06/21/11 - 04:35 am
they pissed away half of 300 k and did nothing !!! now that is criminal !!! what,, if anything,, besides spending our money,,, did they do since inception ???and whoever approved this waste of taxpayer dollars,,, should be fired a.s.a.p. !!!!>>>>yathink
Absolutely appalling on so many levels!
By rc partners | 06/21/11 - 05:59 am
Absolutely appalling on so many levels!
They are going to GIVE the remaining money to the city? You mean give the city back what is left of the money they wasted?
City of St. Augustine residents pay one of the highest tax rates in the country and, instead of using our tax money to maintain the city whose streets are flooding and crumbling and filthy, they write a huge check to a sham organization.
This group was formed specifically so that they did not have to operate in the "Sunshine" so city residents would not know what was going on. The majority of these people are NOT residents of the city, including Ms. Chapman. Yet they are charged with spending our money and spend it they did.
How can anyone expect the residents to support this?
Supposedly set up to raise money, they have lost over $100,000 dollars of OUR money. This must be criminal! I really think we need an Unbiased investigation into this and other city matters.
I would like a detailed accounting of every penny!
better check your facts RC Partners,
By VilanoCares | 06/21/11 - 07:58 am
Yes, they probably wasted money. ...and it is unfortunate they are quitting while not having completed the job. However, We are nowhere even close to the highest tax rates in the country
http://moneywatch.bnet.com/economic-news/blog/daily-money/counties-in-th...
Keep checking, and you will find Florida has some of the lowest taxes anywhere with services that rank mid to upper mid level nationwide. This means that our state does more work with less money.
For that, I want to thank all the county, state, and local workers as well as those in our number 1 school district. Great job folks! Keep it up and I will gladly keep paying my taxes on time.
Thank you sir, may I have another?
By EFEX | 06/21/11 - 08:02 am
The dust hasn’t even settled from this fiasco and one of the founding partners is already back with “great ideas.” Why didn’t he put these ideas through his own foundation? Could it be that he might not have personally benefitted if it went through FAF? or did he know that the organization was doomed to fail from the start and waited until it collapsed to bring these things forward? No matter what the real reason, the city is welcoming him and his ideas with open arms. It doesn’t appear that the City is interested in investigating anything but rather they will give the founders a pat on the back and ask them how else they can spend more money.
http://www.historiccity.com/2011/staugustine/news/florida/ideas-stimulat...
Were either of the two founders (Don Wallis and Colin Bingham) at this meeting to “give back” the money? Who is on the executive committee negotiating the money return since the Chairman, Don Wallis, and Secretary, Leslee Keys, have stepped down from those positions?
Pretty sad reporting considering an organization just squandered more than $100,000 of tax payer money. Just a recap of a press release?
Sweet gig. Promise to do a
By astralweeks | 06/21/11 - 09:50 am
Sweet gig. Promise to do a job, sit on your backside for a few months, return a little money and keep six figures. Only in St. Augustine.
Vilano Cares...........
By rc partners | 06/21/11 - 03:01 pm
First of all I said "One of" the highest tax rates. Compared to numbers in the link that you posted we are still near the top. You may want to consider also that most of the cities with the higher rates have top notch maintenance services and expensive public transportation. You must not live within the city limits if you do not think 21.7603 mills is a high tax(As compared to Vilano at 15.3 mills).
Also, if you think that wasting over $100,000 and accomplishing nothing is just "unfortunate", I would guess that you are probably employed by the government in some capacity.
Instead of hiring someone qualified to do this job they set up a sham organization of "PROFESSIONAL BOARD MEMBERS" who sit on practically every board in town. They should return every penny of the $300k.
PARAPROSDOKIANS
(From an E-mail list)
PARAPROSDOKIANS
I had to look up "paraprosdokian." Here is the definition: "Figure of speech in which the latter part of a sentence or phrase is surprising or unexpected; frequently used in a humorous situation."
1. Do not argue with an idiot. He will drag you down to his level and beat you with experience.
2. The last thing I want to do is hurt you. But it's still on my list.
3. Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.
4. If I agreed with you, we'd both be wrong.
5. We never really grow up, we only learn how to act in public.
6. War does not determine who is right - only who is left.
7. Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
8. Evening news is where they begin with 'Good Evening,' and then proceed to tell you why it isn't.
9. To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism. To steal from many is research.
10. A bus station is where a bus stops. A train station is where a train stops. On my desk, I have a work station.
11. I thought I wanted a career. Turns out I just wanted paychecks.
12. Whenever I fill out an application, in the part that says, 'In case of emergency, notify:' I put 'DOCTOR.'
13. I didn't say it was your fault, I said I was blaming you.
14. Women will never be equal to men until they can walk down the street with a bald head and a beer gut, and still think they are sexy.
15. Behind every successful man is his woman. Behind the fall of a successful man is usually another woman.
16. A clear conscience is the sign of a fuzzy memory.
17. I asked God for a bike, but I know God doesn't work that way. So I stole a bike and asked for forgiveness.
18. You do not need a parachute to skydive. You only need a parachute to skydive twice.
19. Money can't buy happiness, but it sure makes misery easier to live with.
20. There's a fine line between cuddling and holding someone down so they can't get away.
21. I used to be indecisive. Now I'm not so sure.
22. You're never too old to learn something stupid.
23. To be sure of hitting the target, shoot first and call whatever you hit the target.
24. Nostalgia isn't what it used to be.
25. Change is inevitable, except from a vending machine.
26. Going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than standing in a garage makes you a car.
27. A diplomat is someone who tells you to go to hell in such a way that you look forward to the trip.
28. Hospitality is making your guests feel at home even when you wish they were.
29. I always take life with a grain of salt. Plus a slice of lemon, and a shot of tequila.
30. When tempted to fight fire with fire, remember that the Fire Department usually uses water.
Words of Wisdom
"The early bird may get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese."
No virus found in this incoming message
PARAPROSDOKIANS
I had to look up "paraprosdokian.
1. Do not argue with an idiot. He will drag you down to his level and beat you with experience.
2. The last thing I want to do is hurt you. But it's still on my list.
3. Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.
4. If I agreed with you, we'd both be wrong.
5. We never really grow up, we only learn how to act in public.
6. War does not determine who is right - only who is left.
7. Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
8. Evening news is where they begin with 'Good Evening,' and then proceed to tell you why it isn't.
9. To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism. To steal from many is research.
10. A bus station is where a bus stops. A train station is where a train stops. On my desk, I have a work station.
11. I thought I wanted a career. Turns out I just wanted paychecks.
12. Whenever I fill out an application, in the part that says, 'In case of emergency, notify:' I put 'DOCTOR.'
13. I didn't say it was your fault, I said I was blaming you.
14. Women will never be equal to men until they can walk down the street with a bald head and a beer gut, and still think they are sexy.
15. Behind every successful man is his woman. Behind the fall of a successful man is usually another woman.
16. A clear conscience is the sign of a fuzzy memory.
17. I asked God for a bike, but I know God doesn't work that way. So I stole a bike and asked for forgiveness.
18. You do not need a parachute to skydive. You only need a parachute to skydive twice.
19. Money can't buy happiness, but it sure makes misery easier to live with.
20. There's a fine line between cuddling and holding someone down so they can't get away.
21. I used to be indecisive. Now I'm not so sure.
22. You're never too old to learn something stupid.
23. To be sure of hitting the target, shoot first and call whatever you hit the target.
24. Nostalgia isn't what it used to be.
25. Change is inevitable, except from a vending machine.
26. Going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than standing in a garage makes you a car.
27. A diplomat is someone who tells you to go to hell in such a way that you look forward to the trip.
28. Hospitality is making your guests feel at home even when you wish they were.
29. I always take life with a grain of salt. Plus a slice of lemon, and a shot of tequila.
30. When tempted to fight fire with fire, remember that the Fire Department usually uses water.
Words of Wisdom
"The early bird may get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese."
No virus found in this incoming message
Thursday, June 16, 2011
St. Augustine, Florida -- Government Reinventing Itself, Increasingly Hearing and Heeding Public Opinion
Thankfully, at long last, St. Augustine’s city government is reinventing itself, which augurs well for the 450th celebration and creating a St. Augustine National Park and Seashore.
Folio Weekly editor Anne Schindler rightly skewered and smoked our City of St. Augustine (June 14) for being snookered by the notion of Don Wallis’ secretive First America Foundation to run our 450th Commemoration. “Secrecy is for losers,” as Daniel Patrick Moynihan said.
St. Augustine officials deserve credit – and a bouquet -- for candidly admitting they made a mistake by contracting with an inexperienced entity to privatize four historic celebrations. It takes courage to admit you’re wrong. I salute our City Manager, Mayor and Commissioners. I’ve lived in St. Augustine since 1999 and I see healing in our local government. We appreciate City Manager John Regan, who has worked to heal our City’s divisions.
A group of diverse local residents prepared to sue the First America Foundation for Sunshine and Open Records violations. We were also prepared to sue our City over a planned Sunshine-violating trip to Spain, but it was cancelled last year when our lawyers asked for public records.
We didn’t sue. Why? Our City officials saw the merits of our arguments. Democracy worked. Our elected officials have now vindicated our constitutional rights to Government-in-the-Sunshine and Open Records.
Finally, St. Augustine residents are being heard and heeded, and our government is reforming itself.
Gandhi said, “Be the change you want to see in the world.” Under City Manager Regan, St. Augustine’s Environmental Racism is ending. Our City learned its lessons from illegal dumping and emissions of solid waste, and semi-treated sewage effluent and raw sewage, which rendered Lincolnville “the pollution peninsula.” Our City and County are working to bring water and sewer service to West Augustine. The scourge of racism is being healed and longstanding discrimination is being ended.
Two new civil rights monuments now grace the Slave Market Square, one to the Civil Rights Foot soldiers and one to Rev. Andrew Young, our former United Nations Ambassador and aide to Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who was savagely beaten here on June 9, 1964. A National Civil Rights Museum is planned here.
The City’s “Lift Up Lincolnville” plan promises to provide equal services and respect for the historic African-American community, whose residents marched with Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
The worst street in our county, Lincolnville’s long-neglected Riberia Street is being rebuilt properly, complete with paving, sidewalks and drainage -- an $11 million project.
Many City and regional problems will be solved by building a St. Augustine National Historical Park, National Seashore and Scenic Coastal Parkway, with a world-class National Civil Rights Museum and Native American Indian Cultural Center.
America’s newest National Park -- comprised of current state parks and forests and water management district lands -- will create jobs, making historic and environmental tourism the engine to revive our tourist economy on a sustainable basis, sharing St. Augustine’s 11,000 years of history with the world.
We will prepare for disasters, preserve wetlands and watersheds, preventing erosion and flooding. We will protect threatened and endangered species, from whales to bald eagles to beach mice to bears. We will solve transportation bottlenecks with battery-powered trolleys.
We will teach history and nature to future generations with a National Civil Rights Museum here in St. Augustine. Only 2% of high school seniors know about Brown v. Board of Education.
We will inspire students with all of our history — Native American, African-American, Spanish, Minorcan, French, English, Civil War, Roman Catholic, Greek, Jewish, Protestant, nautical, military, Flagler-era and Civil Rights history.
We all know that St. Augustine is the home of the first seat of government in the United States (Government House), the first Catholic Mass, the first Catholic missionaries, and the first system of weights and measures and the first public market. These stories about our Hispanic and Roman Catholic historic heritage will be shared, deepening students’ appreciation of American history in all of its rich diversity.
St. Augustine’s National Civil Rights Museum will tell the story of slavery (which began in what is now the United States on the day of St. Augustine’s founding on September 8, 1565). We will tell the story of the end of slavery, the beginning -- and the end -- of Jim Crow segregation, by federal laws enacted in 1964 in response to St. Augustine’s racist bullies’ violent response to peaceful civil rights protests led by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Andrew Young.
In St. Augustine, the end of Jim Crow segregation was accompanied by beatings, brickbats, shootings, death threats, attempted immolation, intimidation, blacklisting in response to peaceful picketing and non-violent persuasion, aimed at ending “Jim Crow” laws, which resulted in the daily humiliation of St. Augustine’s African-American residents forbidden to go to church, buy groceries, eat in a restaurant or go swimming with “white” people” in the ocean (yes, the ocean was segregated too).
These harsh “Jim Crow” rules were enforced on pain of harsh incarceration under unjust criminal laws adopted by Florida’s legislature and harshly enforced by Florida courts.
“An unjust law is no law at all,” as Saint Augustine himself wrote. Thurgood Marshall and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People’s (NAACP’s( lawyers, strategists and funders worked for decades to undo these “unjust [Jim Crow] laws.”
Nowhere were unjust Jim Crow laws enforced with such a vengeance as in St. Augustine, Florida which led Dr. King to call it “the most lawless” city in America. This is where courageous civil rights “foot soldiers” marched into the face of their oppressors and shared the love that led Jim Crow to crumble, under the television cameras, which never blinked, showing acid poured into a swimming pool where African-Americans were swimming, people beaten for swimming in the segregated ocean at St. Augustine Beach, and the mother of the Governor of Massachusetts and hundreds of others were arrested for seeking restaurant service or peaceful picketing.
A large, world-class Civil Rights Museum here will tell the arc of our African-American history, including the first slaves brought to what is now the United States of America (on September 8, 1565, the day St. Augustine was founded); the establishment of the first free black settlement in America (1740 at Fort Mosé); hundreds of MInorcan indentured servants’ heroic trek from New Smyrna Beach, voting with their feet in 1777; the end of slavery; Jim Crow segregation and the end of Jim Crow segregation, brought about when President Lyndon B. Johnson broke a Senate filibuster based upon what happened here in St. Augustine – the first time in American history that a Senate filibuster against a civil rights law was ever broken.
I reckon that Anne Schindler’s concluding paragraphs about St. Augustine’s future were overly pessimistic. Our City of St. Augustine was long the butt of dozens of deserved “brickbats” from Folio Weekly. Our City is now healing. It gets better.
Citizens have the power to make St. Augustine more like a “shining city on a hill”, in John Winthrop’s words. Let’s make our 450th birthday a transformational event, a gift of America’s newest National Park to our grandchildren and their grandchildren. www.staugustreen.com
Yes, we can!
Excellent St. Augustine Record editorial re: students' lack of knowlwedge of American history
Our view: National history test results are poor
Created 06/15/2011 - 7:57pm
Summary:
It is alarming when we hear that American students are not well-versed in American history. The story of how our country came to be is an important one because "if you don't know your history, you are bound to repeat it."
It is alarming when we hear that American students are not well-versed in American history. The story of how our country came to be is an important one because "if you don't know your history, you are bound to repeat it."
That often-repeated quote has merit when we talk about the lack of knowledge of American history by U.S. students today.
The Nation's Report Card, which details the results of the 2010 National Assessment of Educational Progress, shows on the history portion that only 13 percent of high school seniors were proficient and only 20 percent of U.S. fourth-graders and 17 percent of eighth-graders were proficient or advanced. Being proficient means, in testing language, "solid understanding" of questions on the test.
The worst part of this is that according to NAEP, the results are unchanged from the last time students in those grade levels were tested in 2006. Across the nation, NAEP tested in 2010, a representative sampling of students in public and private schools, 7,000 fourth-graders, 11,800 eighth-graders and 12,400 high school seniors.
While it was not clear Wednesday if any St. Johns County students were tested, NAEP strives to test students nationwide to come up with its national report card.
We asked Ted Banton, St. Johns County's program specialist for advanced academics and social studies programs, to relate his views on the low scores on the NAEP history tests. Banton also is president of Florida's Social Studies Supervisors Association and on the Board of the Florida Council for Social Studies.
"It's sad," he said, explaining that social studies courses teach students responsibility and citizenship. In the history courses they learn how the nation began, the influence of various cultures and other nations on America's government, and culture through to present day. That's important as today's youth will be tomorrow leaders.
We believe it is sad, too, for any student to not know their American history, whether they are going to be a teacher, a historian or a politician. How can they appreciate the nation's past without knowing about it through classroom learning?
We are encouraged that our students in St. Johns County are versed on Florida history with a special course in fourth grade and a special section of the middle school U.S. history course.
Starting in 2012 in Florida, a high school end-of-course exam in U.S. history will count for 30 percent of the course grade.
We also are encouraged that Florida is becoming a national leader to ensure students have a strong base in history, which will give them a stronger sense of place as adults.
RWednesday, June 15, 2011
Click on Green Link for Video re: "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Rev. Ralph David Abernathy jailed in St. Augustine, Florida in St. Johns County Sheriff's Jail on June 11, 1964
Watch the You Tube video dramatization Dr. King rebuts those misguided souls who were against activism and mocked "outside agitators." Dr. King spoke of "non-violent gadflies" as helping to create social change. "Justice too long delayed is justice denied." Dr. King agreed with Saint Augustine, who wrote "An unjust law is no law at all." As Dr. King said, "Let justice roll down like waters."
IN HAEC VERBA: HATE SITE OPERATOR MICHAEL GOLD (SHERIFF DAVID SHOAR'S POLITICAL OPERATIVE) OPPOSED HONORING REV. ANDREW YOUNG
"And, what are we making of this man, Andrew Young, who has recently produced a commercial documentary for sale on the Internet for $19.95? A documentary, in my opinion, that plays up his attack forty-seven years ago when he disobeyed orders from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., to shut down local demonstrators who, King feared could jeopardize passage of the Civil Rights Act. Instead, Young chose to cross into the path of an obviously hostile group of St. Augustine residents who resented out-of-town agitators."
--- MICHAEL GOLD, f/k/a "MICHAEL TOBIN," recipient of some $700,000 in no-bid contracts from SJCSO & SAPD, who raised $250,000 for SHERIFF DAVID SHOAR's 2004 campaign, and who operates several local hate websites intended to chill, coerce, restrain, intimidate and retaliate against free speech rights of St. Augustine residents. Here's the full text of GOLD's hate speech from a website that AMTRAK once mistook for actual journalism:
Historic City News will be watching tonight when agenda item 6-B(3) comes before the St. Augustine City Commission; a presentation by Jeremy Marquis, principal, Halback Design Group, Inc., relevant to the Andrew Young Crossing Monument design.
As editor, I have taken time to educate myself on the very recent attention being paid to Andrew Young; by the mayor, by city staff, and some commissioners.
Informally I asked a number of pedestrians in the Plaza this weekend what, if anything, they knew about Andrew Young. I was there for about 30 or 45 minutes, just after lunch. Respondents ranged in age from about 22 to 60. Responses were all over the board. I can tell you what happened; even though I don’t consider the results to be “scientific proof” of anything.
Much more than half of the people I asked, either said they “didn’t know”, or, they could not correctly identify him as either a Civil Rights leader, supporter of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., former Mayor, former Congressman, former Ambassador, pastor — I would have accepted a lot of answers.
Just for fun, I asked a few of them if they knew founded the city in 1565 — of the one’s that guessed, “Ponce de Leon” was the popular answer, so, there you go.
I am telling our readers this because in the 56 years of knowledge that I have of my home town, I have witnessed a lot of “revisionist history”. If you say something long enough to enough people who either are not affected, have their own personal or political agenda to advance, or simply don’t care one way or the other, it becomes something resembling truth. Save and except, of course, that it is not truth at all.
I believe that there is more to celebrate in St. Augustine than just our Spanish heritage. We also have a colorful French and British heritage as well as other nations across Europe. There is an unmistakable Cuban and Caribbean culture originating from Haiti, Puerto Rico, Jamaica and the barrier islands. We are truly a multi-cultural destination and should be promoting ourselves as such.
The Civil Rights movement also has a hook in the timeline of our history — a very minor one compared to the locations recognized by the National Park Service and many people’s memory. Can anyone knowledgeable of the movement argue that St. Augustine’s Plaza played a more significant role in the advancement of Civil Rights than either Selma, or Montgomery, or Birmingham?
Of course, these locations, although better known than St. Augustine, do not represent all of the sites important in the Civil Rights movement.
And, what are we making of this man, Andrew Young, who has recently produced a commercial documentary for sale on the Internet for $19.95? A documentary, in my opinion, that plays up his attack forty-seven years ago when he disobeyed orders from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., to shut down local demonstrators who, King feared could jeopardize passage of the Civil Rights Act. Instead, Young chose to cross into the path of an obviously hostile group of St. Augustine residents who resented out-of-town agitators. Andrew Young had no standing in St. Augustine, no family here; he has never lived in our city. While he was in the limelight, he pushed the envelope. As expected, the “envelope” pushed back. When he lost the limelight, he left.
Does that one incident make Andrew Young’s participation in the modern day Civil Rights movement more significant than the contribution of Ralph Abernathy, who was reportedly Dr. King’s closest associate, or Medgar Evers, or even Dr. King himself? If the City is paying to create a monument recognizing the significance of Andrew Young, who is still alive, why are they stepping over the graves of Evers, Abernathy or Dr. King?
The Civil Rights Act of 1964, which required equal access to public places and outlawed discrimination in employment, admittedly was a major victory of the black freedom struggle — but it was the Voting Rights Act of 1965 that was truly its crowning achievement.
The Selma-to-Montgomery March route is a National Historic Trail and is not listed in the National Register of Historic Places. The Lincolnville community, once known as “Little Africa”, is, and as such, receives recognition by the National Park Service as a significant location in the Civil Rights movement — not the Plaza de la Constitución.
I applaud the citizen’s (sic) who raised over $70,000 of private funds to donate the “Foot Soldiers” monument in the Plaza. The busts are nameless — representative of both black and white participants, old and young, who participated in furthering the cause of Civil Rights, including Mr. Young. What an appropriate recognition from a community who obviously made the effort for this recognition to occur.
The mayor’s well known and previously reported “new friendship” with Andrew Young, followed by the renaming of the intersection of two public streets to the name of Young’s commercial documentary, and now the use of public funds to memorialize a man who isn’t dead yet, is bad policy, sets a wrong precedent and is so outrageous as to be laughable — and yet the City Commission will likely approve it at tonight’s meeting.
(end of Sheriff's political operative MICHAEL GOLD's hate posting re: Andrew Young monument)
--- MICHAEL GOLD, f/k/a "MICHAEL TOBIN," recipient of some $700,000 in no-bid contracts from SJCSO & SAPD, who raised $250,000 for SHERIFF DAVID SHOAR's 2004 campaign, and who operates several local hate websites intended to chill, coerce, restrain, intimidate and retaliate against free speech rights of St. Augustine residents. Here's the full text of GOLD's hate speech from a website that AMTRAK once mistook for actual journalism:
Historic City News will be watching tonight when agenda item 6-B(3) comes before the St. Augustine City Commission; a presentation by Jeremy Marquis, principal, Halback Design Group, Inc., relevant to the Andrew Young Crossing Monument design.
As editor, I have taken time to educate myself on the very recent attention being paid to Andrew Young; by the mayor, by city staff, and some commissioners.
Informally I asked a number of pedestrians in the Plaza this weekend what, if anything, they knew about Andrew Young. I was there for about 30 or 45 minutes, just after lunch. Respondents ranged in age from about 22 to 60. Responses were all over the board. I can tell you what happened; even though I don’t consider the results to be “scientific proof” of anything.
Much more than half of the people I asked, either said they “didn’t know”, or, they could not correctly identify him as either a Civil Rights leader, supporter of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., former Mayor, former Congressman, former Ambassador, pastor — I would have accepted a lot of answers.
Just for fun, I asked a few of them if they knew founded the city in 1565 — of the one’s that guessed, “Ponce de Leon” was the popular answer, so, there you go.
I am telling our readers this because in the 56 years of knowledge that I have of my home town, I have witnessed a lot of “revisionist history”. If you say something long enough to enough people who either are not affected, have their own personal or political agenda to advance, or simply don’t care one way or the other, it becomes something resembling truth. Save and except, of course, that it is not truth at all.
I believe that there is more to celebrate in St. Augustine than just our Spanish heritage. We also have a colorful French and British heritage as well as other nations across Europe. There is an unmistakable Cuban and Caribbean culture originating from Haiti, Puerto Rico, Jamaica and the barrier islands. We are truly a multi-cultural destination and should be promoting ourselves as such.
The Civil Rights movement also has a hook in the timeline of our history — a very minor one compared to the locations recognized by the National Park Service and many people’s memory. Can anyone knowledgeable of the movement argue that St. Augustine’s Plaza played a more significant role in the advancement of Civil Rights than either Selma, or Montgomery, or Birmingham?
Of course, these locations, although better known than St. Augustine, do not represent all of the sites important in the Civil Rights movement.
And, what are we making of this man, Andrew Young, who has recently produced a commercial documentary for sale on the Internet for $19.95? A documentary, in my opinion, that plays up his attack forty-seven years ago when he disobeyed orders from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., to shut down local demonstrators who, King feared could jeopardize passage of the Civil Rights Act. Instead, Young chose to cross into the path of an obviously hostile group of St. Augustine residents who resented out-of-town agitators. Andrew Young had no standing in St. Augustine, no family here; he has never lived in our city. While he was in the limelight, he pushed the envelope. As expected, the “envelope” pushed back. When he lost the limelight, he left.
Does that one incident make Andrew Young’s participation in the modern day Civil Rights movement more significant than the contribution of Ralph Abernathy, who was reportedly Dr. King’s closest associate, or Medgar Evers, or even Dr. King himself? If the City is paying to create a monument recognizing the significance of Andrew Young, who is still alive, why are they stepping over the graves of Evers, Abernathy or Dr. King?
The Civil Rights Act of 1964, which required equal access to public places and outlawed discrimination in employment, admittedly was a major victory of the black freedom struggle — but it was the Voting Rights Act of 1965 that was truly its crowning achievement.
The Selma-to-Montgomery March route is a National Historic Trail and is not listed in the National Register of Historic Places. The Lincolnville community, once known as “Little Africa”, is, and as such, receives recognition by the National Park Service as a significant location in the Civil Rights movement — not the Plaza de la Constitución.
I applaud the citizen’s (sic) who raised over $70,000 of private funds to donate the “Foot Soldiers” monument in the Plaza. The busts are nameless — representative of both black and white participants, old and young, who participated in furthering the cause of Civil Rights, including Mr. Young. What an appropriate recognition from a community who obviously made the effort for this recognition to occur.
The mayor’s well known and previously reported “new friendship” with Andrew Young, followed by the renaming of the intersection of two public streets to the name of Young’s commercial documentary, and now the use of public funds to memorialize a man who isn’t dead yet, is bad policy, sets a wrong precedent and is so outrageous as to be laughable — and yet the City Commission will likely approve it at tonight’s meeting.
(end of Sheriff's political operative MICHAEL GOLD's hate posting re: Andrew Young monument)
Hate Site Operator MICHAEL GOLD Hates People Who Participate In Government and Seek to Make St. Augustine A Better Place --- Pray for Him!
Historic City News, www.plazabum.com and www.shamefulpeople.com are hate websites.
Hate site operator MICHAEL GOLD hates people who want to make St. Augustine a better place. GOLD mocked the memorial to Ambassador Andrew Young, calling him an "outside agitator." GOLD cyber-stalks and mocks people who speak out in favor of the St. Augustine National Historical Park, National Seashore and Scenic Coastal Parkway.
Pray for him.
See below.
IN HAEC VERBA: SHERIFF SHOAR'S NO-BID CONTRACTOR-FUNDRAISER OPPOSED APPOINTMENT OF STATEWIDE GRAND JURY IN HATE SITE POSTING
MICHAEL GOLD AND SHERIFF DAVID SHOAR
Once upon a time in America, there was a mocking post on a local hate site, www.plazabum.com operated by controversial local hater MICHAEL GOLD f/k/a "MICHAEL TOBIN," who was/is the bagman/fundraiser for controversial SHERIFF DAVID SHOAR f/k/a "HOAR." See below.
That mocking post (foremost among many, complete with trite tropes) actually mocked Judith Seraphin for opposing corruption and supporting Governor Crist. Well, it turns out that this mocker, MICHAEL GOLD received more than $683,000 in no-bid contracts from our last two SHERIFFS (more than $606,000) and from our CITY OF ST. AUGUSTINE (more than $77,000). Could that be why he is so angry about efforts to report possible crimes, e.g., by ousted former City Manager WILLIAM B. HARRISS?
Mendacious mocker MICHAEL GOLD was soundly trounced by William Leary (former counsel for the U.S. Department of the Interior, Council on Environmental Quality and Florida State Legislature). GOLD received less than 1/3 of the vote in a campaign that was supported only by the WHETSTONE-MAGUIRE family (the only GOLD signs I ever saw were on WHETSTONE-MAGUIRE commercial properties).
So here is what MICHAEL GOLD wrote in opposition to investigating corruption:
mike
Freeloader
Joined: 24 Dec 2006
Posts: 1624
Location: St. Johns
PostPosted: 12/19/2009 23:21 Post subject: Reply with quote
This is why the court system is so slow and unnecessarily expensive to operate.
Our tax dollars are pissed (sic) away by people with too much time on their hands. If we started collecting a fee from them to process their complaints, they'd stop making them until something really happens.
Was their (sic) any doubt as to what would be the outcome of this frivolous (sic) complaint?
(full text of Judith Seraphin's amicus curiae brief, below):
IN HAEC VERBA: Judith Seraphin Supported Governor Crist's Request for Statewide Grand Jury, Based on Local SJC Corruption
Filed 10/19/2009 10:51 AM
Thomas D. Hall, Clerk, Supreme Court
IN THE SUPREME COURT OF FLORIDA
STATEWIDE GRAND JURY
AMICUS CURIAE BRIEF OF JUDITH SERAPHIN
CEO, GLOBAL WRAP® LLC
1. Your amicus is CEO and owner of Global Wrap® LLC, a small, woman-owned specialty construction service business with customers nationwide, located in historic Lincolnville in St. Augustine. Our website is www.globalwrap.com.
2. Your amicus heartily agrees with Florida Governor Charles Crist and his well-founded October 14, 2009 request for a Statewide Grand Jury. Amicus respectfully requests that the Statewide Grand Jury scrutinize local corruption in St. Augustine, Florida and St. Johns County, where our former County Commission Chairman, THOMAS G. MANUEL, awaits sentencing on federal bribery charges.
3. Your amicus and her office have since 2005 reported environmental lawbreaking by the City of St. Augustine that was never prosecuted by anyone, including:
a. Habitual Sunshine and Open Records violations,
b. 40,000 cubic yards of solid waste deposited in our Old City Reservoir;
c. Semi-treated sewage effluent deposited in our saltwater marsh.
These criminal law violations involve environmental racism by our Nation's Oldest City, which Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. called the "most lawless" city in America. City of St. Augustine lawbreaking has for years been blithely ignored by the State's Attorney, EPA, FBI, FDLE, FDEP and other law enforcement agencies. As Representative David Perley Lowe of Kansas said in 1871, during debate on the 1871 Civil Rights Act (a/k/a Ku Klux Klan Act): Combinations, darker than the night that hides them... have gone unwhipped of justice. Immunity is given to crime, and the records of the public tribunals are searched in vain for any evidence of effective redress.
Monroe v. Pape, 365 U.S. 167, 175 (1961) (Douglas,J.), quoting Rep. Lowe, Congressional Globe 42nd Cong., 1st Sess., App. 166-167.
4. Your amicus has also reported six felonies by two former employees, which our State's Attorney for the 7th Judicial Circuit refuses to prosecute, even though St. Augustine Police detectives presented him with a strong case, including theft by trick of $20,000. The State's Attorney refuses to meet with me, even after I presented him with legal research at his office's request. My correspondence to the Grand Jury foreperson was never acknowledged. Our State's Attorney winks at white collar crime and corruption.
5. I respectfully request that the Statewide Grand Jury meet in the 7th Judicial Circuit and hear citizen concerns about waste, fraud, abuse, misfeasance, malfeasance, nonfeasance, obstruction of justice, Sunshine and Open Records violations by local elected and appointed public officials.
6. I respectfully request that the Statewide Grand Jury be empowered to issue indictments and presentments regarding environmental violations, waste, fraud, abuse, misfeasance, malfeasance, nonfeasance, Sunshine and Open Records violations, obstruction of justice - including the refusal of the State's Attorney's Office for the 7th Judicial Circuit to enforce laws against white collar crimes, without fear or favor.
JUDITH SERAPHIN, CEO
GLOBAL WRAP® LLC
218 Riberia Street, Suite B
St. Augustine, Florida 32084
(904) 829-0808
(904) 819-5817 (fax)
CERTIFICATE OF COMPLIANCE
I HEREBY CERTIFY that this Amicus Curiae Brief complies with the font requirements of Florida Rule of Appellate Procedure 9.210 (a) (2).
JUDITH SERAPHIN
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
I HEREBY CERTIFY that this document was mailed October 15, 2009
to:
Florida Supreme Court
Attention: Clerk's Office
500 South Duval Street
Tallahassee, Florida 32399-1927
Honorable Charles Crist, Governor
Honorable Robert R. Wheeler, General Counsel
The Capitol, 400 South Monroe Street, Suite 209
Tallahassee, Florida 32309 via fax to 850-488-9810
Thomas D. Hall, Clerk, Supreme Court
IN THE SUPREME COURT OF FLORIDA
STATEWIDE GRAND JURY
AMICUS CURIAE BRIEF OF JUDITH SERAPHIN
CEO, GLOBAL WRAP® LLC
1. Your amicus is CEO and owner of Global Wrap® LLC, a small, woman-owned specialty construction service business with customers nationwide, located in historic Lincolnville in St. Augustine. Our website is www.globalwrap.com.
2. Your amicus heartily agrees with Florida Governor Charles Crist and his well-founded October 14, 2009 request for a Statewide Grand Jury. Amicus respectfully requests that the Statewide Grand Jury scrutinize local corruption in St. Augustine, Florida and St. Johns County, where our former County Commission Chairman, THOMAS G. MANUEL, awaits sentencing on federal bribery charges.
3. Your amicus and her office have since 2005 reported environmental lawbreaking by the City of St. Augustine that was never prosecuted by anyone, including:
a. Habitual Sunshine and Open Records violations,
b. 40,000 cubic yards of solid waste deposited in our Old City Reservoir;
c. Semi-treated sewage effluent deposited in our saltwater marsh.
These criminal law violations involve environmental racism by our Nation's Oldest City, which Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. called the "most lawless" city in America. City of St. Augustine lawbreaking has for years been blithely ignored by the State's Attorney, EPA, FBI, FDLE, FDEP and other law enforcement agencies. As Representative David Perley Lowe of Kansas said in 1871, during debate on the 1871 Civil Rights Act (a/k/a Ku Klux Klan Act): Combinations, darker than the night that hides them... have gone unwhipped of justice. Immunity is given to crime, and the records of the public tribunals are searched in vain for any evidence of effective redress.
Monroe v. Pape, 365 U.S. 167, 175 (1961) (Douglas,J.), quoting Rep. Lowe, Congressional Globe 42nd Cong., 1st Sess., App. 166-167.
4. Your amicus has also reported six felonies by two former employees, which our State's Attorney for the 7th Judicial Circuit refuses to prosecute, even though St. Augustine Police detectives presented him with a strong case, including theft by trick of $20,000. The State's Attorney refuses to meet with me, even after I presented him with legal research at his office's request. My correspondence to the Grand Jury foreperson was never acknowledged. Our State's Attorney winks at white collar crime and corruption.
5. I respectfully request that the Statewide Grand Jury meet in the 7th Judicial Circuit and hear citizen concerns about waste, fraud, abuse, misfeasance, malfeasance, nonfeasance, obstruction of justice, Sunshine and Open Records violations by local elected and appointed public officials.
6. I respectfully request that the Statewide Grand Jury be empowered to issue indictments and presentments regarding environmental violations, waste, fraud, abuse, misfeasance, malfeasance, nonfeasance, Sunshine and Open Records violations, obstruction of justice - including the refusal of the State's Attorney's Office for the 7th Judicial Circuit to enforce laws against white collar crimes, without fear or favor.
JUDITH SERAPHIN, CEO
GLOBAL WRAP® LLC
218 Riberia Street, Suite B
St. Augustine, Florida 32084
(904) 829-0808
(904) 819-5817 (fax)
CERTIFICATE OF COMPLIANCE
I HEREBY CERTIFY that this Amicus Curiae Brief complies with the font requirements of Florida Rule of Appellate Procedure 9.210 (a) (2).
JUDITH SERAPHIN
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
I HEREBY CERTIFY that this document was mailed October 15, 2009
to:
Florida Supreme Court
Attention: Clerk's Office
500 South Duval Street
Tallahassee, Florida 32399-1927
Honorable Charles Crist, Governor
Honorable Robert R. Wheeler, General Counsel
The Capitol, 400 South Monroe Street, Suite 209
Tallahassee, Florida 32309 via fax to 850-488-9810
Former County Commissioner Indicted for Bribery
By TBO.com
St Petersburg Times
Published: June 15, 2011
Updated: June 15, 2011 - 1:18 PM
St Petersburg Times
Published: June 15, 2011
Updated: June 15, 2011 - 1:18 PM
TAMPA --
Bail has been set at $25,000 for former Hillsborough County commissioner Kevin White, who was arrested by the FBI this morning on corruption charges.
The federal indictment unsealed this morning accuses White of trading his influence as chairman of the Public Transportation Commission for $10,000 in cash, several steak dinners and a 2003 Lincoln Navigator for his father.
White was arrested on multiple charges related to his tenure on the PTC, which is comprised of local government officials and regulates cab, limousine and ambulance companies. The charges accuse him of accepting money in exchange for his efforts to get a towing company on the county's rotational towing list.
Also indicted is George Hondrellis, who is accused of paying money to get a company on the towing list. Hondrellis owns a towing company in Tampa. His bail was set today at $50,000.
Both were in the process early this afternoon of posting bail.
White was indicted on 10 federal charges, including bribery, conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, and lying to an FBI agent. He is tentatively scheduled to appear before U.S. Magistrate Anthony Porcelli at 2 p.m. today.
White faces a maximum penalty of 80 years in prison.
Federal authorities alleged in the indictment that Hondrellis bribed White in exchange for a spot on the county's rotation of towing services. Towing companies on the rotation take turns in responding to calls from law enforcement agencies in the county when vehicles need to be towed.
The probe reached back to September 2009, when Hondrellis met with an undercover informant and talked about forming a towing company to get on the rotation, the indictment said. Two months later, Hondrellis told the informant he had made a $2,000 loan to Gerald White, Kevin White's father, to assist Kevin White's family, the indictment said. At the time, White was chairman of the transportation commission. Hondrellis told the confidential informant that Kevin White "was backing him," the indictment said.
After that, Hondrellis told the informant he had made the loan in exchange for White's influence in getting a spot on the rotation, the indictment said. Hondrellis asked the informant to chip in $1,000, or half the loan, the indictment said.
Over the course of the next several months, the confidential informant met frequently with White, his father and Hondrellis, authorities said. Thousands of dollars in cash had changed hands, and Gerald White received a Lincoln Navigator, the indictment said. Steak dinners and lunches were paid for by the informant and an undercover federal agent, according to authorities.
By January 2010, the towing company had been formed and Hondrellis told the informant that he had named a driver with his towing company as owner, the indictment said. White told the two their application to be placed on the rotation list "should fly through" the PTC, according to the indictment.
In April, 2010, the indictment said, the informant introduced an undercover FBI agent to White. The agent posed as a partner in the towing business company owned by the confidential informant.
The next month, Kevin White told the undercover agent that their towing business had been added to the rotation, the indictment said.
The indictment said that after that, the agent suggested adding another towing business to the rotation and was told by White that it would cost $10,000.
Gerald White, 64, died on May 23 of natural causes.
U.S. Attorney Robert O'Neill said he does not expect any more indictments from the investigation.
"This appears to be an isolated incident,'' O'Neill said.
Hondrellis has a long arrest record.
In April 2010, he was acquitted on a misdemeanor violation of municipal ordinance of wrecker regulations.
In April 2002, he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge involving towing rates. Hondrellas was convicted.
In April 1998, he was pleaded no contest to grand theft of a motor vehicle, attempted burglary, third-degree grand theft and having an improperly marked tow vehicle. He was found guilty and placed on probation.
Following his early morning interview with the FBI, White was turned over to the U.S. Marshal's Service which drove him, in handcuffs, to the federal courthouse in downtown Tampa to await his court hearing.
At White's Riverview home, his son answered the door this morning but declined to comment except to say his father was arrested about 6:45 a.m. White was not handcuffed at the time, his son said.
White's tenure in politics is dappled with controversy, ranging from losing a sexual harassment lawsuit filed by a former female aide to his lunchtime conversations with the county attorney that ultimately led to her dismissal.
Just last month, Florida's Commission on Ethics found probable cause to back a complaint that White, 46, used his authority to sexually harass the aide.
The complaint had been filed in October 2009, after a civil jury found White guilty of the allegations.
The aide had filed the lawsuit against White in May 2008, alleging the commissioner sexually harassed her while on the job and then firing her when she rebuffed his advances.
In August 2009, a jury awarded the aide $75,000 along with attorney fees. The judge held that the county was jointly liable because it had no harassment policies in place at the time. Hillsborough County spent about $425,000 in legal bills as a co-defendant in the case and the county's insurance company paid about $66,000 toward those expenses.
White has sued the county and the county's insurer to recoup legal bills, saying he was broke. His financial disclosure papers said his only income was the $98,000-a-year commission job.
But in the spring, White plunked down a down payment on a second home in Riverview, while he and his wife, Jennie, continued to own their southeast Seminole Heights home.
Public records showed that in December, the former commissioner bought the 2,238-square-foot Riverview home for $143,300.
Mortgage records show the Whites borrowed $91,100 to buy the Riverview house in the South Fork subdivision.
The mortgage for the home was from Moses Investment Holdings LLC, whose owner, Michael J. Moses, also owns cab, limousine and van companies. When he bought the companies, Moses had to get approval from the county transit commission. White was chairman at the time.
During the three years he served on the Tampa City Council and his four years on the county commission, White always made sure he secured a seat on the board.
White lost his re-election bid last year.
The Public Transportation Commissioner, created in 1983, had never hired a lobbyist until White suggested it needed one in October 2007. Although not legally obligated to bid out the lobbyist's job, the commission informally agreed in November 2007 to hire a lobbyist temporarily with the idea of putting a longer-term contract out to bid. That was never done.
In 2009, the lobbyist, Victor DiMaio, was about to be cut, as an interim director said budget cuts needed to be made and there was no need for the position.
DiMaio had a long-standing relationship with White, who at the time was the PTC chairman. DiMaio had earned more than $27,000 working as a consultant on White's campaigns for the Tampa City Council and county commission in 2003 and 2006.
Despite the move to cut the position, White said at a meeting that he and DiMaio had negotiated a new contract that would reduce DiMaio's salary from $60,000 to $36,000 a year. The board unanimously approved the contract over the objections of the administration.
White's case isn't the first time the Public Transportation Commission has been linked to scandal.
In October 1998, Tampa City Councilman Ronnie Mason and council attorney David Carr were indicted on extortion charges related to their entry into the local ambulance business, which is regulated by the PTC.
Prosecutors said they used their political muscle to make their way into the multimillion-dollar local ambulance market.
At the time, the U.S. Attorney's Office alleged that Mason and Carr obtained permits for their ambulance company by threatening a competitor with economic harm if it opposed them. Mason had just resigned from the Public Transportation Commission, which issues the permits, before he sought his own.
But the case never went to trial.
Prosecutors dropped the charges in March 2000, saying important questions had surfaced about the validity of their case.
But Mason, a longtime councilman, never surfaced again in local politics, and Carr was fired from his job as council attorney in the midst of the scandal.
Words to live by, from former United Nations Ambassador Andrew Young
"There can be no democracy without truth. There can be no truth without controversy, and there can be no change without freedom. And without freedom, there can be no progress.”
--- Andrew Jackson Young, our former UN Ambassdor
--- Andrew Jackson Young, our former UN Ambassdor
Write to DON WALLIS, UPCHURCH, BAILEY & UPCHURCH re: $100,000 SPENT ON FIRST AMERICA FOUNDATION, WITHOUT ANY RESULT -- IT'S OUR MONEY!
You can write DON WALLIS and partners at:
Upchurch, Bailey & Upchurch, P.A.
780 North Ponce de Leon Boulevard
Post Office Drawer 3007
St. Augustine, Florida 32085-3007
Telephone: (904) 829-9066
Facsimile: (904) 825-4862
info@ubulaw.com
Upchurch, Bailey & Upchurch, P.A.
780 North Ponce de Leon Boulevard
Post Office Drawer 3007
St. Augustine, Florida 32085-3007
Telephone: (904) 829-9066
Facsimile: (904) 825-4862
info@ubulaw.com
Showcasing St. Augustine's 11,000 Years of History Will Help Remedy History Knowledge Gap
See Times and AP articles, below. We need to adopt the St. Augustine National Historical Park, National Seashore and Scenic Coastal Parkway Act of 2011.
New York Times: American Students "Don't Know About History" -- Only 2% of High School Seniors Know About Brown v. Board of Education
U.S. Students Remain Poor at History, Tests Show
By SAM DILLON
American students are less proficient in their nation’s history than in any other subject, according to results of a nationwide test released on Tuesday, with most fourth graders unable to say why Abraham Lincoln was an important figure and few high school seniors able to identify China as the North Korean ally that fought American troops during the Korean War.
Over all, 20 percent of fourth graders, 17 percent of eighth graders and 12 percent of high school seniors demonstrated proficiency on the exam, the National Assessment of Educational Progress. Federal officials said they were encouraged by a slight increase in eighth-grade scores since the last history test, in 2006. But even those gains offered little to celebrate because, for example, fewer than a third of eighth graders could answer even a “seemingly easy question” asking them to identify an important advantage American forces had over the British during the Revolution, the government’s statement on the results said.
Diane Ravitch, an education historian who was invited by the national assessment’s governing board to review the results, said she was particularly disturbed by the fact that only 2 percent of 12th graders correctly answered a question concerning Brown v. Board of Education, which she called “very likely the most important decision” of the United States Supreme Court in the past seven decades.
Students were given an excerpt including the passage, “We conclude that in the field of public education, separate but equal has no place, separate educational facilities are inherently unequal,” and were asked what social problem the 1954 ruling was supposed to correct.
“The answer was right in front of them,” Ms. Ravitch said. “This is alarming.”
The tests were given last spring to a representative sample of 7,000 fourth graders, 11,800 eighth graders and 12,400 12th graders nationwide. History is one of eight subjects — the others are math, reading, science, writing, civics, geography and economics — covered by the assessment program, which is also known as the Nation’s Report Card. The board that oversees the program defines three achievement levels for each test: “basic” denotes partial mastery of a subject; “proficient” represents solid academic performance and a demonstration of competency over challenging subject matter; and “advanced” means superior performance.
If history is American students’ worst subject, economics is their best: 42 percent of high school seniors were deemed proficient in the 2006 economics test, a larger proportion than in any other subject over the last decade. But Jack Buckley, commissioner of the statistical center at the Department of Education that carries out the tests, said on Monday that because the assessments in each subject were prepared and administered independently, it was not really fair to compare results across subjects.
On the 2010 history test, the proportion of students scoring at or above proficiency rose among fourth graders to 20 percent from 18 percent in 2006, held at 17 percent among eighth graders, and fell to 12 percent from 13 percent among high school seniors.
On the test’s 500-point scale, average fourth- and eighth-grade scores each increased three points since 2006. But officials said only the eighth-grade increase, to 266 in 2010 from 263 in 2006, was statistically significant. Average 12th-grade scores dropped, to 288 in 2010 from 290 in 2006.
While changes in the overall averages were microscopic, there was significant upward movement among the lowest-performing students — those in the 10th percentile — in fourth and eighth grades and a narrowing of the racial achievement gap at all levels. On average, for instance, white eighth-grade students scored 274 on the latest test, 21 points higher than Hispanic students and 23 points above black students; in 2006, white students outperformed Hispanic students by 23 points and black students by 29 points.
History advocates contend that students’ poor showing on the tests underlines neglect shown to the subject by federal and state policy makers, especially since the 2002 No Child Left Behind act began requiring schools to raise scores in math and reading but in no other subject. The federal accountability law, the advocates say, has given schools and teachers an incentive to spend less time on history and other subjects.
“History is very much being shortchanged,” said Linda K. Salvucci, a history professor in San Antonio who is chairwoman-elect of the National Council for History Education.
Many teacher-education programs, Ms. Salvucci said, also contribute to the problem by encouraging aspiring teachers to seek certification in social studies, rather than in history. “They think they’ll be more versatile, that they can teach civics, government, whatever,” she said. “But they’re not prepared to teach history.”
Preserving Florida Forever With St. Augustine National Historical Park, National Seashore, Scenic Coastal Parkway
Clean Air.
Clean Water.
That’s why people come to Florida.
Currently, our air is filthy with forest fires. Hundreds of thousands of acres are burning.
Our water is threatened by development – crass, coarse development – ticky-tack development.
Our children don’t know very much about American history. See below.
The answer to our environmental problems -- and our student's history gap knowledge problem -- is the St. Augustine National Historical Park, National Seashore, Scenic Coastal Parkway, with a National Civil Rights Museum and Native American Indian Indigenous Cultural Center.
“Let us not perish as fools,” as Andrew Young said.
Let us not run out of clean air, clean water and informed citizens.
It’s time for Congress to adopt the St. Augustine National Historical Park, National Seashore, Scenic Coastal Parkway Act of 2011.
What do you reckon?
See below
Clean Water.
That’s why people come to Florida.
Currently, our air is filthy with forest fires. Hundreds of thousands of acres are burning.
Our water is threatened by development – crass, coarse development – ticky-tack development.
Our children don’t know very much about American history. See below.
The answer to our environmental problems -- and our student's history gap knowledge problem -- is the St. Augustine National Historical Park, National Seashore, Scenic Coastal Parkway, with a National Civil Rights Museum and Native American Indian Indigenous Cultural Center.
“Let us not perish as fools,” as Andrew Young said.
Let us not run out of clean air, clean water and informed citizens.
It’s time for Congress to adopt the St. Augustine National Historical Park, National Seashore, Scenic Coastal Parkway Act of 2011.
What do you reckon?
See below
U.S. News and World Report re: National Assessment Shows High School Students Lag in History Knowledge
High School Seniors’ U.S. History Scores Remain Flat
High school seniors' scores on a national history assessment remained flat between 2006 and 2010, according to a report released Tuesday by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a government organization.
The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) tests public and private school students in grades 4, 8, and 12 in mathematics, reading, science, writing, the arts, civics, economics, geography, and U.S. history. The history test was given in 1994, 2001, and 2006. History scores were lower than any other subject, though NCES Commissioner Jack Buckley cautioned against comparing tests.
"Trying to compare proficiency across subjects is problematic," he said during a conference call with reporters. "Tests are done independently across all subjects. While if you line them all up, history looks lower, it's not a fair comparison."
NCES divides the 500-point scale into three passing benchmarks—"basic," "proficient," and "advanced." Just 45 percent of 12th graders scored at or above "basic" on the history test. About 10 percent of seniors scored "proficient," and 1 percent are considered to have an "advanced" knowledge of U.S. history. A student is considered to have a "basic" knowledge of U.S. history if he or she scores at least a 294 on the 500-point scale. In 2010, the average score for seniors was 288, which was a slight improvement from 1994 scores, but not significantly different from scores in 2001 or 2006.
Younger students performed better: 73 percent of 4th graders and 69 percent of 8th graders scored at or above the "basic" level.
A racial and ethnic gap remained about the same. On average, white students scored 27 points higher than black students and 20 points higher than Hispanic students. Neither gap was significantly different than previous years. Males, on average, scored four points better than females.
The results aren't surprising for Cathy Gorn, executive director of the National History Day competition, a kind of science fair for history in which middle and high school students spend months doing original research about a single topic. She says a focus on science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) has left history an afterthought in many districts.
[Learn how companies are promoting STEM education.]
"We continue to leave history education behind the other subjects," she says. "It's a really serious problem in terms of our commitment to teaching all subjects effectively. History is often taught with a boring textbook, where students memorize names and dates."
Students who participate in National History Day outperform those who don't participate in her program on history, reading, writing, math, and science exams, according to a recent study. Gorn claims students who do original research and learn about some of history's interesting characters become more excited with the subject.
"We're not going to see any changes until we're teaching in a more effective and a more engaging way," she says.
[Learn how states can better evaluate teachers.]
William Gaudelli, an associate professor of social studies and education at Columbia University's Teachers College, says history education needs to be tailored to focus on past events that affect present-day life.
"We need to take issues that are salient today, like the healthcare debate, and try to understand it historically over time," he says. "These 'Bus Stop Tours' that we get involved with—teaching everything from native peoples to contemporary America—that's not possible in 180 days of teaching."
The test measured students' knowledge in eight different time periods, from the formation of the colonies to the present day. The questions were divided into four historical themes: democracy, culture, technology, and world role.
The report included several sample ideas and questions. At the "basic" level, students were expected to interpret a Cold War political cartoon. At the "proficient" level, students were expected to understand the U.S. entry into World War I. At the "advanced" level, students were expected to evaluate arguments about the use of atomic bombs.
Testing a vast area of knowledge in a one hour exam is one of NAEP's biggest flaws, according to Gaudelli, who taught high school history for 10 years before he began training teachers. It's important work, given that less than two thirds of high school history teachers hold a history degree, according to a government report released last week.
Gaudelli says the College Board's Advanced Placement U.S. history exam's longer length and substantial free response question section may make it a better assessment than the NAEP test, which he calls "broken."
[Learn why more students are taking AP science and math classes.]
The number of students who had access to an AP U.S. history course has risen over the past two decades. Eighty percent of high schoolers had that opportunity in 2009, compared to 51 percent in 1990. Even students who took that course scored low on the NAEP test, though they outperformed students who took normal history courses. The average score for students who had taken or were enrolled in an AP U.S. history course was 304, barely above the "basic" benchmark, while students who hadn't taken the course scored an average of 284.
Students fare better on the College Board's AP U.S. history exam—about 53 percent of the more than 380,000 students who took the exam in 2010 received a "passing" score of 3 or higher on a 5-point scale.
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