St. Johns County is "one of the last bastions of the Ku Klux Klan.”

So says former County Commission Chairman Ben Rich. See article below by Kara Pound, “Gentle Ken – County Commissioner Ken Bryan redefines what it means to be black in Republican in white – and red – St. Johns County,” Folio Weekly (Jacksonville, FL), July 21, 2009, quoting former Commissioner Ben Rich stating at p. 18: “This is one of the last bastions of the Ku Klux Klan.”

That makes it doubly delicious that reformers are triumphing over bigots.

From the Rainbow Flags victory in Federal Court (2005) to the artists' victories in federal court (2009) to the victories over environmental racism, including the City of St. Augustine's illegal dumping in the Old City Reservoir in West Augustine (and plans to repatriate 40,000 cubic yards of solid waste to the African-American community of Lincolnville) and over the City's illegal dumping of semi-treated sewage effluent in our saltwater marsh, we should be proud of our accomplishments.

There is nothing that our community cannot do, working together, and putting bigots, bullies, bashers and crooks in their place.

Now, if only there were enthusiastic federal and state prosecutors who knew their way around prosecuting hate crimes and government, corporate and white collar crime, we could rid ourselves of the tree-killing, wetland-destroying, influence-peddling "developers" whom Ben Rich said were "worse than any carpetbagger."

So, State's Attorney R.J. Larizza, whose side are you on? Will you prosecute lawbreaking by the City of St. Augustine, or are you just another JOHN TANNER, unable to find the courage to stand up to government and corporate wrongdoing?

Will you find the courage to prosecute officials in the City of St. Augustine when it breaks the law? How about a Grand Jury to investigate sewage pollution? The feds prosecuted the City of Venice, Florida for five criminal counts of water pollution for its sewage emissions. When will a St. Johns County or Federal Grand Jury be permitted to investigate the City of St. Augustine?

What do you reckon?