Thanking the City of St. Augustine, the Jacksonville Jaguars and Local Residents for Galimore Center Restoration

"Here we right a wrong."

That is carved in marble on the Japanese interment monument in Washington, D.C.

It might have been the lead in the St. Augustine WRecKord today, had the viewspaper bothered to send a reporter.  While busily kissing up to developers, printing racist Ann Coulter columns and censoring or rejecting local news and opinions, the Morris Communications empire's local mossbacks couldn't be bothered to cover the opening of the Willie Galimore Center Pool yesterday.  Yes, there are photos, and a cut line, on page one, but no story.

Here's what the WRecKord missed:

1. This is one of only four pools being opneed or rehabilitated by a city government in Florida.   It replaces the decreit pool that Environmental Racism allowed to fall apart. Under City Manager WILLIAM B. HARRISS (a/k/a WILL HARASS), the County Administrator called to ask if it was okay to let the pool not be maintained.  Republican Lord of All He Surveyed, WILLIAM B. HARRISS never bothered checking with City Commissioners.  This violated the public trust.

2. Enter City Manager John Regan, who worked with legal counsel to get St. Johns County to write a check for $400,000 as a remedy for its breach of contract to maintain the pool.

3. Architect Jerry Dixon, a pool contractor and city staff are responsible for the wonderful look of the pool, which has five lap lanes, a learn to swim and play area.  The pool will be run by the YMCA.

4. Best of all, thanks to a last-moment pitch by City Manager John Regan -- in response to residents' concerns about fees -- the Jacksonville Jaguars football team is donating the cost of learn to swim ("waterproofitng") classes for 100 local residents, and writing a check to provide for free admission to the pool for everyone, 365 days a year.  Thank you!

5. All of this is from a city that does not have a recreation department, but innovated because of the callous indifference of the county government and our former City Manager, WILLIAM B. HARRISS.

6. A city once called "the most lawless" city in America by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is now on the mend, listening to citizens, respecting rights, affirming human dignity, and firmly committed to providing equal services to its citizens, as exemplified by Riberia Street construction and the Willie Galimore Center Pool.

7.  A city that once literally dumped on Lincolnville has shown its respect for the Fourteenth Amendment, whihc requires equal protecton of the law. 

8. What's next?  We need to persuade the mendacious mediocrities at multinational travel advertsing consultant MMGY and oleaginous Richard Goldman at the St. Johns County Visitor and Convention Bureau to end their snobby, racist advertising policies, which refuse to market our town and our 450th and 500th to people in Miami, African-Americans, youth and GLBT people.  It's our money.  $4.6 million a year, swathed in secrecy and smarminess. The story of the photos in the tourist brochure says it all! See below.

Yes we can!