Thursday, May 22, 2014

It's All About The Water

"It's all about the water."
First, our St. Johns County Commissioners (SJC BOCC) rightly stood up to the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT). SJC BOCC opposed a road project that would have destroyed the source of St. Augustine's water -- Twelve Mile Swamp, currently under the suzerainty of the St. Johns River Water Management District, and proposed as part of the St. Augustine National Historical Park and National Seashore.
Three cheers!
Second, those same St. Johns County Commissioners have been unhelpful and unresponsive with efforts to provide equal water and sewer service to West Augustine, refusing to pay fair market value for St. Augustine water utilities as part of the deal to stop violating the Fourteenth Amendment when it comes to West Augustine utilities. West Augustine residents west of the railroad tracks have paid more than twice what others in Florida pay for water. They, like other residential customers of St. Augustine utilities, pay twice as much as other residential customers, PLUS another 25% extra for living outside the city limits (racist city burghers refused to annex West Augustine, and punished it for 1963-64 civil rights activism).
City and County County Commissioners must treat West Augustine fairly, at last. Otherwise, the Justice Department must sue them for civil rights violations.
Third, our City must no longer cut off water to residential customers, having treated us shabbily, charging us too much, while undercharging Whetstone Chocolates, Flagler College, Flagler Hospital, Northrop Grumman, hotels, motels, bars and restaurants -- the 99% are subsidizing the 1% in our water rates.
Commercial buildings with automatic water sprinklers cannot have their water cutoff without a court order, pursuant to a 1995 legal opinion procured from the State Attorney General by then-City Attorney Geoffrey Dobson, law partner of current City Attorney Ronald Wayne Brown.
Thus, it violates Equal Protection and Due Process to use water shutoffs to kick poor people in the teeth, while rich people and their commercial properties are exempt from cutoff.
No more illegal, discriminatory water cutoffs, please. There needs to be an administrative order barring barbaric water shutoffs of anyone without a court order. Otherwise, poor people should sue them in a class action lawsuit by pro bono counsel.
When the $35,000 water rate study is complete, our bills should all be cut in half, while those of the Whetstones, Flagler College, Flagler Hospital, Northrop Grumman, hotels, motels, restaurants and bars will reflect the value they have received all of these years, subsidized by the 99%.
There should be pro rata rebates for longtime customers.
And an apology from our City Government, which never had a water rate study before.
It's time for healing.
"It's all about the water."
Fourth and finally, St. Johns County Commissioners need to speak out about the Titanic Trio -- County Administrator, MICHAEL PATRICK WANCHICK, County Attorney, PATRICK McCORMACK, and the County Utilities Director, WILLIAM YOUNG -- "standing in the courthouse door" like the late crabby Alabama Governor George Corley Wallace.
I reckon that Messrs. WANCHICK, McCORMACK and YOUNG are guilty, guilty, guilty.
I reckon they are part of a one-party political machine, presided over by Sheriff DAVID BERNARD SHOAR, and five captive County Commissioners.
That political machine is unlawfully refusing to provide a simple one-page document located on a backup tape -- the Septamber 2, 2010 twenty four hour water usage record for 4700 Sherlock Place.
That's the time and the place where Michelle O'Connell was martyred, shot with a Sheriff deputy's gun in a Sheriff deputy's home, without proper investigation.
There was no rain that night, the Weather Service reveals.
Yet there was water both seen and photographed on Deputy JEREMY BANKS' take-home Sheriff's car, and a pair of gloves, photographed but not taken into evidence by the Sheriff.
Why?
Deputy JEREMY BANKS said he did not take a shower, and said so in videotaped interview with FDLE Agent Rusty Ray Rodgers.
Fortunately, there is data to confirm or deny or contradict the no-shower claim of Deputy JEREMY BANKS.
In 2006, St. Johns County contracted with Johnson Controls, Inc. (JCI), spending millions on a contract of adhesion, for some 35,000 "smart meters." Thanks to the JCI contract, our County has the data, but like cognitive misers, they don't want us to know.
Wonder why?
Because Sheriff DAVID BERNARD SHOAR's inept non-investigation never asked for the data, which he evidently know would be inculpatory.
Justice for Michelle O'Connell.
The 4700 Sherlock Place water bill must be obtained from the backup tape and released by close of business tomorrow, May 23, 2014.
Otherwise, the world will know that every single elected St. Johns County Commissioner is in bed with, in cahoots with and in pari delictu with the County Administrator, County Attorney, and SHERIFF DAVID BERNARD SHOAR..
You don't need an evidence professor (mine was the world class Robert C. Banks, Jr. at Memphis State University) to know the JEREMY BANKS water bill is important. ]
You don't even need a three-time Pulitzer Prize winner (Walt Bogdanich of the New York Times) or even the fictional Lt. Colombo.
Anyone seeing Deputy JEREMY BANKS say he didn't take a shower knows that the water consumption information for that house is materially relevant.
Where's the data?
I asked for it on May 18, 2014
Today is May 22, 2014.
Sheriff SHOAR should have obtained the data on September 3, 2010.
Why not?
The long delay is unreasonable, illegal, immoral and inculpatory.
The denial that the backup tapes exist is childish.
We know they have it on backup tapes.
We're going to get it.
It is beyond cavil.
It is irrefragable.
Does anyone still think the people of St. Johns County are stupid?
Do they still think they can fool us again?
Do they think the Justice Department is not watching them?
Do they think, period, or just emote by rote?
Get to work, Messrs. WANHCICK, McCORMACK, and YOUNG.
Now!
We have a Right to Know -- affirmed by our Founding Fathers, and voted on by 3.8 million Florida residents in 1992, adopting Article I, Section 24 as an amendment to our Florida Constitution.
It's the controlling legal authority.
It's our money.
It's our government.
It works for us.
It is us.
That's what Jefferson, Madison and the Founding Fathers wrote in 1776 and 1787.
Our county government must get us the information. today.
How much water was used in JEREMY BANKS' residence when he and Michelle O'Connell returned from the Parramore concert that night?
Is that water usage consistent with JEREMY BANKS' story that he did not take a shower that night (even though Sgt. Debbie Maynard said he smelled like a fresh shower?")
There are now more than 153,188 signatures on the Michelle O'Connell inquest petition to Florida Governor RICHARd SCOTT.
The whole world is watching.
As JFK said, "Here on Earth, God's work must truly be our own!"
Get to work, Messrs. WANCHICK, McCORMACK and YOUNG.
Get our data, please, from the backup tape.
You will be glad that you did, and we will thank you.
Rise and shine.
This is your day to shine.
What do you reckon?
And again, "it's all about the water. "
See below.

No comments: