In secret, behind locked gates, our Nation's Oldest City dumped a landfill in a lake (Old City Reservoir), while emitting sewage in our rivers and salt marsh. Organized citizens exposed and defeated pollution, racism and cronyism. We elected a new Mayor. We're transforming our City -- advanced citizenship. Ask questions. Make disclosures. Demand answers. Be involved. Expect democracy. Report and expose corruption. Smile! Help enact a St. Augustine National Park and Seashore. We shall overcome!
Federal judge sets new limits on Trump ballroom construction
Judge Richard Leon clarified that some national security work can continue while the overall project is halted, prompting a scathing attack from Trump on social media.
A federal judge set new limits on President Donald Trump’s planned White House ballroom, saying construction could proceed only on an underground portion of theproject deemed necessary by the military, and not on the 90,000-square-foot aboveground addition that Trump has eyed to entertain VIP guests.
“National security is not a blank check to proceed with otherwise unlawful activity,” U.S. District Judge Richard Leon wrote Thursday. He said the Trump administration could also take steps to secure the construction site to make it safe for people on the White House grounds, to protect the structural integrity of the building and to shield the underground work.
eon chastised the Trump administration for its “incredible, if not disingenuous” interpretation of his order last month to halt work on Trump’s planned $400 million project until the president obtains authorization from Congress.
The judge’s original orderallowed the White House to do further construction to ensure “the safety and security of the White House” after officials said work on an underground emergency bunker was necessary to protect the president, his family and his staff.
Trump, who had mischaracterized Leon’s earlier rulings as victories for the White House, attacked the judge Thursday on social media, calling him “a man who has gone out of his way to undermine National Security, and to make sure that this Great Gift to America gets delayed.”
“No Judge can be allowed to stop this Historic and Militarily Imperative Project,” the president wrote in a lengthy post on his Truth Social platform.
The president had previouslyargued that Leon’s order allowed him to keep building the ballroom, citing his plans to add bulletproof glass, bomb shelters and other security features to the building.
“This is positive for us,” Trump told reporters last month, insisting that work could continue — a claim echoed by Justice Department lawyers who swiftly appealed Leon’s ruling. A three-judge panel at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit last week asked Leon to clarify what parts of the project were paused before it rules on the case.
Leon, an appointee of President George W. Bush, rebuffed Trump’s argument, saying administration lawyers until recently had repeatedly told the court that the “above-ground and below-ground portions of the project were ‘independent of’ one another.”
“The fact that the ballroom is planned to include security features such as bulletproof windows and a drone-proof roof … may well be beneficial,” the judge wrote. But the administration has “not provided any national security justification for why these features must be installed immediately.”
The judge also wrote that he does not want to be continually consulted on whether aspects of the project can proceed.
“I have no desire or intention to be dragooned into the role of construction manager,” he wrote in his opinion.
He gave the Trump administration until April 23 to wrap up work before his pause takes effect. The administration has said it may appeal to the Supreme Court in a bid to continue construction.
Trump has said that the military is building a “massive complex” under the ballroom, but the administration has declined to offer details about the work. It has long been known that the area underneath the former East Wing contained secure facilities that the president and staff members could use in an emergency.
The National Trust for Historic Preservation, the organization that sued to block the ballroom construction last year, disputed Trump’s interpretation and asked Leon to explicitly bar any aboveground construction on the ballroom until it received authorization from federal panels and Congress. It also questioned the administration’s claim that pausing the project puts the president at risk.
“No matter how much the Defendants insist otherwise, the lack of a massive ballroom on the White House grounds is not a national-security emergency,” lawyers for the National Trust wrote in a filing Tuesday. They noted that Trump continues to live at the White House and entertain foreign dignitaries, despite the administration’s claim that the current situation poses a security risk.
The National Trust’s lawyers also called attention to the Justice Department’s shifting arguments over the project’s scope.
From Facebook page of former Anastasia Mosquito Control Commissioner Martha Gleason, followed by e-mail revealing AMCD's lawlessness on Auditor Selection Committee:
I want to bring to your attention some ongoing concerns with the Anastasia Mosquito Control District. In February, during my time on the Board, we made changes to the resolution establishing the Independent Auditor Selection Committee to comply with state requirements. However, when I resigned in March, this committee had not yet been formed.
It is important to note that this committee is meant to be independent from District management. It should be led by a Board member but comprised of county citizens with relevant experience. Despite this, the District issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) on April 14th without following the process outlined in the approved resolution.
Furthermore, a meeting of the committee is scheduled for today, June 2nd, to review the RFPs. Unfortunately, this meeting was not properly announced, and there is still uncertainty about who was involved in the RFP consultation and who sits on the committee.
I have reached out to the district to request this information, and I am hopeful for a response. Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Warm regards,
FORMER Commissioner Gleason
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On Tuesday, June 3, 2025 at 08:35:15 AM EDT, Martha Gleason <marthagl62@gmail.com> wrote:
Dear Dr. Xue,
Thank you for your prompt response. I am disappointed to learn that the District has chosen to disregard the Auditor Selection Committee Resolution that was amended in February, as well as the state requirements. It is a conflict of interest for the Board to serve as its own auditor selection committee. Additionally, none of the individuals selected have the necessary experience to serve on this committee, and the lack of financial oversight demonstrated by at least two members over the years is sufficient grounds for disqualification.
Furthermore, the District issued the Request for Proposal (RFP) before selecting this invalid committee, the same committee that was supposed to draft the RFP. I request the names of the individuals involved in developing the RFP, as well as the date on which the RFP was provided to the Board for review and approval before issuance. If staff or the current audit firm were involved in developing the RFP, it would once again violate the Board resolution and state requirements.
If the District had difficulty finding citizen volunteers with the required experience for the committee, it could have utilized its reserves to provide a stipend to experienced and independent individuals. This would have ensured compliance with both the spirit and letter of the independent auditor selection committee resolution.
The District's actions seem to circumvent procedures meant to protect taxpayers and comply with the law. The District appears to assume that citizens do not care or will not notice these actions. This continued bad behavior is unacceptable and was one of the primary reasons for my resignation.
I will be filing an official complaint with the state and will encourage other concerned citizens to do the same. I am committed to holding the District accountable, using my voice and connections to ensure that District Management and the Board are held responsible.
Respectfully,
Former Commissioner Gleason
On Tue, Jun 3, 2025 at 6:16 AM Dr. Rui-De Xue <rxue@amcdfl.org> wrote:
Dear Former Commissioner Mrs. Gleason,
How are you doing? I am glad to hear from you and thank you very much for your message and
consideration. The auditor selection committee members are Ms. Gayle Gardner as the committee chair, Mr. T.J. Mazzotta and Mrs. Trish Becker they were elected during May 8’s Board meeting due to no any application from public.
Yes, we published and started to solicit the proposals based on the RFP approved by the former Committee of whole board members due to no new committee at that time and time sensitive. The Board waived the requirement and elected or appointed the new committee at May 8 board meeting. We just had the Selection committee meeting yesterday after rescheduled and published in St. Augustine records and our website. The committee amended the RFP and we need to inform the interest partners about some changes.
The RFP is still opening and if you know some firms who are interested, please encourage them to submit their proposals asap.
Best wishes and welcome you and your family visiting the DVEC which has been completely finished and there are many differences as your family visited a couple of years ago.
I hope this email finds you well. I am writing to you on behalf of the residents of Hammock Cove in Sawgrass Players Club. We are interested in obtaining information regarding the members of the AMCD Auditor Selection Committee.
Could you please provide me with a list of the members of the committee? Additionally, I would like to know if these members were in place when the District issued the Independent Auditor Request for Proposal (RFP).
Thank you for your attention to this matter. I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Sincerely,
Martha Gleason
All government correspondence is subject to the public records law.
John Oliver on special tax districts. FYI: I am running for a seat on the Anastasia Mosquito Control District of St. Johns County in the nonpartisan election on November 3, 2026. It is an independent special taxing district. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3saU5racsGE
Saw an odd article in WaPo May 12, 2025, and responded:
1. There were some 41% cost overruns on the $4.5 million Mosquito Museum. Why? Lax management. Anastasia Mosquito Control District Commission (AMCD) of St. Johns Commissioner Martha Gleason recently resigned in protest over financial mismanagement (41% cost overruns), but there was no mention in this article. AMCD has had the same auditor for some twelve (12) years.
2. I filed to run in November 3, 2026 nonpartisan race, to help control wasteful spending, ask questions, and demand answers.
3. As an 82nd ABN DIVN paratrooper (F. Co., 505th P.I.R.), my late Father was bitten by a mosquito in Sicily in 1943, contracted malaria, was awarded three (3) Bronze Stars, and helped liberate the first French town from Nazis on D-Day, before the sun even rose that day.
4. The South Jersey Chapter of the 82nd ABN DIVN ASSN is named for my Dad, the "CPL Edward A. Slavin Chapter." I saw my Father's lifetime of suffering post-malaria. Possibly due to his being infected with malaria, it took my parents some twelve (12) years to have their only child. They prayed to St. Jude (patron Saint of hopeless causes).
5. My dad taught me, as JFK's father taught him, that "you must stand up to people with power, or else they walk all over you." In his honor, I make records requests, write a blog, go to meetings, ask questions, demand answers and expect democracy. AMCD Commissioners have given themselves illegal bonuses, exceeding the $4800 annual pay cap in Florida law. Read more on my blog, www.edslavin.com
6. AMCD Chair Pangiotta "Trish" Becker is resigning, leaving the Board and Florida. This is not my first environmental battle.
7. I was Editor of the Appalachian Observer newspaper at age 24. We won declassification of the largest mercury pollution event in world history (Oak Ridge, Tennessee, May 17. 1983), recommended for a Pulitzer Prize by the local DA, Jim Ramsey. May I please send the Post a proposed column on AMCD in response? St. Johns County government requires scrutiny.
No response from Jeff Bezos' Washington Post.
Wonder why?
----
From Washington Post, May 12, 2025:
Florida kids love this mosquito center. Just don’t call it a museum.
Standing water displays and artificial dog poop teach St. Johns County residents about mosquito control.
8 min
Mosquitoes feed in a contained area at the Disease Vector Education Center in St. Augustine, Florida. The center explores mosquito-related history and public health education. (Michael Rakim/For The Washington Post)
ST. AUGUSTINE, Florida — Of all the creatures associated with Florida — alligators, flamingos, manatees — possibly the most consequential doesn’t show up in tourism ads or on travel websites.
Did you know that the mosquito prompted the invention of air conditioning? For that reason alone, it deserves some kind of special recognition. A statue, maybe? A proclamation? How about a museum?
St. Johns County in northeast Florida has seen fit to acknowledge the noxious insect with all three.
And now an eight-foot tall bronze statue of a fierce looking Aedes aegypti stands watch at the entrance to the Disease Vector Education Center — a.k.a. the mosquito museum, the only one of its kind in the United States. The museum sparked some outcry about public funding, but the community has warmed to it.
Despite its ponderous official name, the museum is a colorful, trippy delight: Outside is a mosquito-themed playground, complete with a sliding board designed to look like oversize versions of common mosquito hiding spots — a barrel of water on a stack of old tires. There’s a climbing block made from a concrete culvert (prime mosquito breeding grounds), and a dragonfly-shaped riding toy with a sign that reads, “Dragonflies are good to have around because baby dragonflies eat baby mosquitoes.”
The education center is ostensibly aimed at children but also geared toward teaching adults a little more about the No. 1 insect killer of humankind.
“Florida has the distinction of being one of the most pestiferous places on the planet,” said Gordon M. Patterson, author of “The Mosquito Wars: A History of Mosquito Control in Florida.” “That museum is teaching us that we need to learn something about mosquitoes and viruses and plants and water and our place in that ecology.”
A mosquito specimen is viewed through a microscope at the center. (Michael Rakim/For The Washington Post)
A colorful signpost outside the center highlights local destinations. (Michael Rakim/For The Washington Post)
Preserved beetles and other insects are displayed at the center. (Michael Rakim/For The Washington Post)
Mosquito larvae are observed under magnification in petri dishes at the center. (Michael Rakim/For The Washington Post)
Inside are interactive displays that include a life-size rendition of the front porch of an old Florida cracker house. A lifelikemodelof a yellow Labrador retriever named Albo — short for the type of mosquito that transmits heartworm — sits in the front yard, near his water bowl. That’s another example of a mosquito attractant. So is a small but realistic pile of Albo’s droppings: a part of the exhibit that makes schoolkids squeal with delight, museum guides say.
Across from that is a realistic slice of swampland: dark green, shadowy and damp, representingidealmosquito habitat.
Both large displays have touch-screen computers set up that encourage visitors to try to spy mosquito hideouts. Push the right button, and a spotlight shines down on the water bowl, or the flower pot, or the birdbath and a half-dozen other common yard items. It makes the point that mosquitoes can lay eggs in even a teaspoon of water.
A helicopter takes up a big space indoors. Visitors can sit in the pilot’s seat and pretend to control the chopper on an aerial spraying mission as a video of the St. Augustine coastline plays in front of them.
There’s an insectary full of live elephant mosquitos, which are large and look slightly alarming but are actually harmless pollinators that don’t bite people or animals. They do feast on other mosquitos — an unusual bonus.
Those are Genhsy Monzon’s favorites.
“When people come in, the usual reaction is, ‘This is not what I expected,’ but in a good way,” said Monzon,an entomologist and the coordinator at the education center. “They’re just in awe as soon as they walk through the door, and honestly I love that, because that’s the same way I reacted.”
Displays of live creatures — scorpions, ants, a huge honeybee observation hive — highlight arthropods, both the helpful (to humans) and the unhelpful. The exhibits walk visitors through the mosquito life cycle (“Wet, Bloody, and Brief”) and feature digital microscopes to take an even closer look.
A decommissioned mosquito control helicopter on display at the center. (Michael Rakim/For The Washington Post)
A lab technician prepares mosquito larvae samples inside the center’s lab. (Michael Rakim/For The Washington Post)
“The kids just hear, ‘Oh, there’s bugs!’ and they’re curious,” Monzon said. “And there’s a playground. … We make it fun for them. And that’s why they want to learn.”
Monzon points out that the museum informs visitors “about all kinds of disease vectors”: ticks, tsetse flies, sand flies, black flies, lice and fleas.
Some of the exhibits in the museum look like something from one of the big theme parks 100 miles south in Orlando: large, detailed and visually striking. They were designed by engineers and artists who have worked at Disney World and Universal Studios.
But in keeping with the St. Augustine vibe — the historic Castillo de San Marcos National Monument is about six miles away — the mosquito museum is less about theme-park fun and more about education.
“We’re not Disney World here in St. Augustine; we are history,” said Richard Weaver, the mosquito control district’s business manager. “And really our museum ties into that very well.”
Weaver, who helped to research and design many of the exhibits, stops himself before he says more.
“I said the word ‘museum,’ which is banned by us.”
That brings up a thorny subject involving disease vectors, politics and tax dollars.
Mosquito control is serious business in Florida. Most of the state’s 67 counties and many cities across the state have districts that work full time to contain the insects, some of them with elected officials who oversee multimillion-dollar budgets.
A mannequin wearing mosquito control gear holds a pesticide spray wand. (Michael Rakim/For The Washington Post)
A colorful 3D model of a virus structure. (Michael Rakim/For The Washington Post)
The outdoor water feature demonstrates common mosquito breeding habitats. (Michael Rakim/For The Washington Post)
The exhibit highlights mosquito biology through enlarged models, microscopes, and live insect displays. (Michael Rakim/For The Washington Post)
Mosquitoes are disease vectors, which means they can transmit diseases between species. Among them: malaria, dengue fever, West Nile virus, yellow fever, and Zika virus. More than 700,000 people die each year from vector-borne diseases, according to the World Health Organization.
Controlling them is key to keeping Florida survivable for 23 million residents and 143 million annual visitors. The Anastasia Mosquito Control District of St. Johns County, founded in 1948, is one of the best-known agencies dedicated to mosquito control. Researchers there work with universities and governments around the world, along with groups such as the World Health Organization.
Executive Director Rui-De Xue had the idea of a building a mosquito education center after visiting one in China several years ago. Supporters envisioned it as another tool in “understanding the tiny yet formidable mosquito,” as the center’s visitor guide puts it.
There was pushback from some residents and county commissioners about using tax dollars, but the mosquito district — which has an annual budget of about $9 million — forged onward. The district’s board said it makes sense to educate the public about things people can do to control mosquitoes: clean birdbaths every few days, empty the dog’s outdoor water bowl daily, dump out anything that holds standing water.
To get past the consternation over what critics called a bug museum, the name became the Disease Vector Education Center.
Monzon said more than 11,000 people visited in the first year, many of them part of school groups. The museum closes Mondays and Tuesdays to host school field trips. The rest of the week, it’s open to the public with free admission.
Sandra Gewehr visited when she was in town for the annual Arbovirus Surveillance and Mosquito Control Workshop last year. She recommends it, calling it a “smart and unusual choice” for tourists, especially families.
“While the subject matter is serious, the center does an admirable job of making it approachable and fun for children,” said Gewehr, who is director of research and development at the European Mosquito Control Association and based in Greece. “There are elements designed specifically to engage younger audiences — things they can touch, see up close, and interact with.”
Patterson, a history professor at the Florida Institute of Technology as well as a mosquito book author, gave the museum designers some tips and mosquito information. He likes the final results. There’s a historical timeline and exhibits that show the “epic battle” between humans and mosquitoes that was once mostly waged with chemicals — DDT used to be the insecticide of choice — and, more recently, with environmental controls.
The mosquito-rearing area at the center. (Michael Rakim/For The Washington Post)
He’s especially pleased with one display that lets visitors feed live mosquito larvae to a tank full of gambusia, also known as mosquitofish. The fish can consume up to 500 larvae a day and are seen as an environmentally friendly alternative to chemicals.
“I was knocked down at the level of expertise that they were able to deploy,” Patterson said. “We oftentimes think of history as just being driven by figures who stand on podiums and give talks, but sometimes something as small as a grape seed can cause more mischief and lead to more changes in the human population.”
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