Friday, October 31, 2014
Warren Anderson, RIP
God forgive Warren Anderson, CEO of Union Carbide, responsible for thousands of worker and resident deaths from a chemical plant in Bhopal, India to nuclear weapons installations in Oak Ridge, Tennessee to Paducah, Kentucky to Portsmouth, Ohio. He died at a nursing home in Vero Beach this week. God forgive this abominable CEO.
Rebarbative Republicans Unhinged, Spending Madly; Prediction: Democrats Keep the Senate, Lose Florida Governor's Race
Panicked the Republican National Committee (RNC) is distributing messages asking for get out the vote money -- $24 to "turn out" one (1) voter.
That's about what KAREN STERN paid per vote to lose her election for St. Johns County Commission in 2006.
Venceremos! We shall overcome!
That's about what KAREN STERN paid per vote to lose her election for St. Johns County Commission in 2006.
Venceremos! We shall overcome!
"Radical Hospitality" Unhinged: Hate Mail From Dr. Sue Ann Weber, PhD, LMHC, LMFT, St. Cyprian's Episcopal Church "Radical Hospitality" Program
Here's an icebreaker from a local "Marriage and Family Therapist" with extreme anger issues, an energumen who is badly in need of both therapy and manners, one associated with the board of St. Cyprian's Episcopal Church and its "Compassionate St. Augustine," which I've written about, below:
Mr. Slavin,
I have asked to be removed from your email rantings before - and you had complied for a time.Why you have chosen to once again include me in your bizarre take on what you perceive to be an issue is beyond me. I do not know you and do not agree with whatever your agenda is.
I do not want my name associated with you or your persistent paranoia.
Sue Ann Weber
My response to hate mail:
-----Original Message-----
From: easlavin
To: sueannstaug; StCypriansTed
Sent: Fri, Oct 31, 2014 3:12 pm
Subject: Re: "To sin by silence, when we should protest, makes cowards of men." Ella Wheeler Wilcox
Pastor Ted asked me to share copies of correspondence relating to the board on which you serve, that's why.
(earlier): Who are you?
----
More on Sue Ann Weber:
Dr. Sue Ann Weber
Marriage & Family Therapist , PhD , LMHC , LMFT
(904) 567-5949
About
verified by Psychology Today
My ideal client is one who is self-driven toward change, is open to constructive feedback, and ready to work as hard on themselves as I am to work with them. I am quite familiar with the struggles associated with relationships in general, and with those particularly, who feel conflicted about their situation. Relationships can include -- spousal, parent/child, siblings.
I specialize in working with challenging family cases and families of any compilation - intact, blended or growing through adoption. I meet individuals where they are - whether they are trying to avoid divorce, already within the divorce process or coping with complex post-divorce issues (such as co-parenting).
I approach the therapeutic process with respect for all people and the belief in the resiliency of the human spirit.
Take the first step to help. Call or Email Dr. Sue Ann Weber now - (904) 567-5949
Qualifications
Years in Practice: 20+ Years
School: Southern Illinois University - Carbondale
Year Graduated: 1994
License No. and State: MT2652 Florida
Finances
Avg Cost (per session): up to $130
Sliding Scale: No
Accepted Payment Methods: Cash, Check
Accepted Insurance Plans:
ValueOptions
Out of Network
Verify your health insurance coverage when you arrange your first visit .
Additional Credentials
License No. and State: MH8614 Florida
Membership: AAMFT/Clinical Member
Member Since: 2012
Certificate: nbcc/National Certified Counselor
Certificate Date: 1994
Mr. Slavin,
I have asked to be removed from your email rantings before - and you had complied for a time.Why you have chosen to once again include me in your bizarre take on what you perceive to be an issue is beyond me. I do not know you and do not agree with whatever your agenda is.
I do not want my name associated with you or your persistent paranoia.
Sue Ann Weber
My response to hate mail:
-----Original Message-----
From: easlavin
To: sueannstaug
Sent: Fri, Oct 31, 2014 3:12 pm
Subject: Re: "To sin by silence, when we should protest, makes cowards of men." Ella Wheeler Wilcox
Pastor Ted asked me to share copies of correspondence relating to the board on which you serve, that's why.
(earlier): Who are you?
----
More on Sue Ann Weber:
Dr. Sue Ann Weber
Marriage & Family Therapist , PhD , LMHC , LMFT
(904) 567-5949
About
verified by Psychology Today
My ideal client is one who is self-driven toward change, is open to constructive feedback, and ready to work as hard on themselves as I am to work with them. I am quite familiar with the struggles associated with relationships in general, and with those particularly, who feel conflicted about their situation. Relationships can include -- spousal, parent/child, siblings.
I specialize in working with challenging family cases and families of any compilation - intact, blended or growing through adoption. I meet individuals where they are - whether they are trying to avoid divorce, already within the divorce process or coping with complex post-divorce issues (such as co-parenting).
I approach the therapeutic process with respect for all people and the belief in the resiliency of the human spirit.
Take the first step to help. Call or Email Dr. Sue Ann Weber now - (904) 567-5949
Qualifications
Years in Practice: 20+ Years
School: Southern Illinois University - Carbondale
Year Graduated: 1994
License No. and State: MT2652 Florida
Finances
Avg Cost (per session): up to $130
Sliding Scale: No
Accepted Payment Methods: Cash, Check
Accepted Insurance Plans:
ValueOptions
Out of Network
Verify your health insurance coverage when you arrange your first visit .
Additional Credentials
License No. and State: MH8614 Florida
Membership: AAMFT/Clinical Member
Member Since: 2012
Certificate: nbcc/National Certified Counselor
Certificate Date: 1994
"Why Does Baloney Reject the Grinder?"
Waiting on response to questions of MAYOR JOSEPH LESTER BOLES, JR., more than an Open Records requests to our City and County, and questions for "COMPASSIONATE ST. AUGUSTINE." See below. In the immortal words of William F. Buckley, Jr., "Why does baloney reject the grinder?"
Ed's Epistle to the Episcopalians (re: Obelisk Art 450 and the Michelle O'Connell Case)
-----Original Message-----
From: easlavin
To: StCypriansTed
Sent: Fri, Oct 31, 2014 10:18 am
Subject: "To sin by silence, when we should protest, makes cowards of men." Ella Wheeler Wilcox
Dear Ted:
1. "Boundaries?" You've crossed several. I've lost count. What does Caren mean by "OUR values? What are those, exactly? Please list, describe and explain. "Demands?" Your e-mail is full of them.
2. You operate an IRS-regulated 501c3 non-profit corporation. OA 450 "demands" government support -- property, permits, staff time, tax exemption, public relations, resolutions -- for what Caren calls "[Y]OUR values."
3. Yet OA 450 eschews accountability, logic and scrutiny. Why?
4. OA 450, after "years" of "work," excluded GLBTQ people, scholarly research and meaningful public participation from your OA 450 scheme. Why? This is invidiously discriminatory. It shows no "compassion." It does not promote "healing." The Founder of Our Nation's Oldest City, Adelantado Pedro Menendez de Aviles, ordered the first anti-Gay hate crime in North American history, the garroting of a Gay French interpreter of the Guale Indian language in 1566 -- he called him a "Sodomite and a Lutheran" and his brother-in-law wrote it down. The unnamed victim was garroted in secret -- murdered on orders of Florida's First Spanish Governor. There was no trial. This event was in the record before the federal court in ordering Rainbow flags on our Bridge of Lions. Jensen v. City of St. Augustine, Florida, 3:2005cv00504 (M.D.Fla., June 7, 2005). When I tried to tell you about this yesterday on the telephone, you hung up on me. You seem to have a lot of hangups and prejudices, Ted.
5. Please send me the minutes of all of your meetings; kindly share any evidence or indicia of inviting scholarly research or GLBTQ and other public participation.
6. These are our streets and our governments and our properties where you wish to erect "Compassionate St. Augustine" obelisks -- totemic phallic symbols that resemble stylized KKK hoods, in the opinion of Warren Celli, artist, blogger and former publisher of the St. Aug Dog, who won a jury verdict against the City of St. Augustine for First Amendment violations. Celli v. City of St. Augustine, 214 F. Supp. 2d 1255 (M.D. Fla. 2000); see my letter to our City officials, below. I reckon we'll have to resolve the First Amendment and anti-Gay bigotry issues before City Commission and possibly a federal judge.
7. Yesterday afternoon, you repeatedly interrupted me, hurled insults and hung up the telephone. In response, I "turned the other cheek." In fact, believing in your mission of a "Compassionate St. Augustine," I kept my promise. I telephoned the National Park Service and helped open the grounds of the Castillo de San Marco National Monument to one of your obelisks, calling Superintendent Gordon Wilson for you. You claimed the Castillo (which you repeatedly mispronounced "Castillio") was unavailable for legal reasons because it is "federal property," which was entirely untrue. You did not thank me for helping you. Why? Have you called the Chief Ranger yet?
8. King Henry VIII founded your church (Church of England) in 1534. King Henry VIII executed Saint Thomas More in 1535 by beheading him at the Tower of London. The gruesome decapitation execution was the English King's retaliation for Catholic lawyer Thomas More's unwillingness to support state creation of your church. Saint Thomas More had been Lord Chancellor of England and a respected lawyer, judge and Catholic laymen. All of England was silent, as you clergymen here are on Michelle O'Connell's case. Saint Thomas More is the patron Saint of Roman Catholic lawyers (and whistleblowers everywhere). Those who love justice will not be bullied. As Thomas More said at his show trial, the ancient equitable maxim says: "Silence gives consent."
9. Do you think that Michelle O'Connell committed suicide? Your inculpatory silence on the Michelle O'Connell case is a disgrace to the human race. Your "silence gives consent." Will you and your fellow clergymen show some courage and compassion? Healing? It starts here. Kindly speak out on the Michelle O'Connell case or be known as a poltroon and a phony. Stop acting like an anti-literate energumen, a cognitive miser and an authoritarian, insensitive to our community, our history and our values. You will find that you learn more when you stop preaching and start listening. For more on the O'Connell case watch "Andrew Young Presents on ABC-25 at 5 PM on December 6th and watch "Dr. Phil" on Fox-30 at 3:30 pm on Monday, November 3, 2014 and read and view The New York Times investigation and the PBS Frontline and NBC Dateline investigations at:
http://www.nytimes.com/projects/2013/two-gunshots/ "Two Gunshots on a Summer Night," by Walt Bogdanich and Glenn Silber
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/death-in-st-augustine/ PBS Frontline documentary, "A Death in St. Augustine"
http://www.nbcnews.com/dateline/full-episode-two-shots-fired-n84816 NBC News Dateline documentary, "Two Shots Fired"
For more on your "Compassionate Saint Augustine" publicity "partner," Sheriff DAVID BERNARD SHOAR and his record of violating citizens' constitutional rights, please consult the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals decision in the Gennusa v. Canova case: and read about it here
As Senator Robert F. Kennedy once wrote (inscribing a book) to segregationist Senator James O. Eastland (D-Miss.): "Repent now, there's still time."
10. But As Pope Francis said, "Who am I to judge?"
Cordially,
Ed
Art by Warren Celli, prevailing plaintiff in Celli v. City of St. Augustine, 214 F. Supp. 2d 1255 (M.D. Fla. 2000)
Art by Warren Celli
Poet Ella Wheeler Wilcox said it best in "Protest"
Protest
Ella Wheeler Wilcox (from Poems of Purpose, 1916)
To sin by silence, when we should protest,
Makes cowards out of men. The human race
Has climbed on protest. Had no voice been raised
Against injustice, ignorance and lust,
The Inquisition yet would serve the law,
And guillotines decide our least disputes.
The few who dare, must speak and speak again
To right the wrongs of many. Speech, thank God,
No vested power in this great day and land
Can gag or throttle. Press and voice may cry
Loud disapproval of existing ills,
May criticise oppression and condemn
The lawlessness of wealth-protecting laws
That let the children and child-bearers toil
To purchase ease for idle millionaires.
Therefore do I protest against the boast
Of independence in this mighty land.
Call no chain strong which holds one rusted link,
Call no land free that holds one fettered slave.
Until the manacled, slim wrists of babes
Are loosed to toss in childish sport and glee,
Until the Mother bears no burden save
The precious one beneath her heart, until
God’s soil is rescued from the clutch of greed
And given back to labor, let no man
Call this the land of freedom.
Ella Wheeler Wilcox (from Poems of Purpose, 1916)
To sin by silence, when we should protest,
Makes cowards out of men. The human race
Has climbed on protest. Had no voice been raised
Against injustice, ignorance and lust,
The Inquisition yet would serve the law,
And guillotines decide our least disputes.
The few who dare, must speak and speak again
To right the wrongs of many. Speech, thank God,
No vested power in this great day and land
Can gag or throttle. Press and voice may cry
Loud disapproval of existing ills,
May criticise oppression and condemn
The lawlessness of wealth-protecting laws
That let the children and child-bearers toil
To purchase ease for idle millionaires.
Therefore do I protest against the boast
Of independence in this mighty land.
Call no chain strong which holds one rusted link,
Call no land free that holds one fettered slave.
Until the manacled, slim wrists of babes
Are loosed to toss in childish sport and glee,
Until the Mother bears no burden save
The precious one beneath her heart, until
God’s soil is rescued from the clutch of greed
And given back to labor, let no man
Call this the land of freedom.
Thursday, October 30, 2014
NO DIVERSITY: GLBTQ People Excluded From Compassionate St. Augustine's "Obelisk Art 450" List (Along WIth Meaningful Public Participation) -- IN HAEC VERBA
Art by Warren Celli, prevailing plaintiff in Celli v. City of St. Augustine, 214 F. Supp. 2d 1255 (M.D. Fla. 2000)
Art by Warren Celli
-----Original Message-----
From: easlavin
To: dbirchim
Cc: compassionstaugustine
Sent: Fri, Oct 31, 2014 12:42 am
Subject: NO DIVERSITY: GLBTQ People Excluded From Compassionate St. Augustine's "Obelisk Art 450" List (Along WIth Meaningful Public Participation)
Dear David, John, Isabelle, Mayor, Vice Mayor and Commissioners, et al.:
1. I have reviewed the tentative list of 25 obelisk locations and subjects presented to Commission at 10/27 meeting, belatedly and reluctantly provided to me by Compassionate St. Augustine a few hours ago.
2. It lacks scholarship, respect and appreciation for our City's history -- nothing on GLBTQ history. Why?
3. If not substantially altered, public interest litigants could easily challenge this exclusionary list in federal court and win, based on the public forum doctrine. See Chief Judge Henry Lee Adam's Order Granting Injunctive relief re: City discrimination against Rainbow flags in Jensen v. City of St. Augustine, Florida, 3:2005cv00504 (M.D.Fla., June 7, 2005).
4. Please review the half-baked, half-hearted, unbalanced Obelisk Art 450 (OA 450) proposal with a gimlet eye, e.g., for conformity with our First Amendment, our values, and our Comprehensive Plan.
5. Pendente such agonizing reappraisal of the OA 450 proposal and its secretive etiology, please grant no permits to this secretive, exclusionary, privately-run group, which has recently given the cold shoulder to creativity and First Amendment protected activity, disrespecting GLBTQ rights in its idiocyncratic list of obelisk subjects.
6. Is this a community project, a private club or a cult? What does it mean by its angry statement to me about "OUR values?"
7. Please require openness, transparency and diversity in any use of our City property, streets and permits by OA 450. Otherwise, please advise me of any permits being granted so that we may consider an appeal to City Commission for review of Comprehensive Plan conformity. F.S. 163.3215; Homosassa River Alliance v. Citrus County, 2 So. 3d 329 (Fla. 5th Dist. App. 2009), rev. denied, 16 So. 3d 132 (Fla. 2009); 10/27 City Commission vote on standing re: 100 MLK demolition permit sought by St. Paul A.M.E. Church.
Thank you.
With kindest regards, I am,
Sincerely yours,
Ed Slavin
www.cleanupcityofstaugustine.blogspot.com
904-377-4998
FEDERAL 450th COMMISSION MEETS November 15, 2014, 12:30 At Casa Monica -- Support St. Augustine National Historical Park and National Seashore. Now!
Our federal 450th Commission will hold a public meeting on November 15, 2014 at 12:30 pm at Casa Monica Hotel, located at King and Cordova Streets in St. Augustine, our Nation's Oldest City,
Come join us in welcoming the Commission and supporting a St. Augustine National Historical Park and National Seashore, first proposed in 1939. Yes we can! www.staugustgreen.com
YOUR CHURCH WON'T SPEAK OUT AGAINST OPPRESSION IN ST. JOHNS COUNTY
JUSTICE FOR MICHELLE O'CONNELL
NOW.
Yes, El Galeon Has a Last Name (ANDALUCIA) -- "All Hacks Off The Stage"
Mayor JOE BOLES' hick hacks and 450th PR sad sacks keep calling it "El Galeon" (the boat).
How indescribably dull.
The name of the boat is "ANDALUCIA." They get it right in Savannah advertising. Why not here? Repeat after me, JOE, DANA: ANDALUCIA.
Anything else is just a sign of hick hackery.
Let's also pronounce Spanish names correctly, starting with "CASTILLO!"
"All hacks off the stage!" See The West Wing excerpt with this quote, here.
Letter: Sikes-Kline works hard for all residents
Letter: Sikes-Kline works hard for all residents
Posted: October 30, 2014 - 12:50am
By Janis V. Williams
Editor: Let’s stop a moment to examine the anti-incumbent sentiment swirling about our city. It is a mistake to assume that every incumbent is undeserving of re-election.
Nancy Sikes-Kline has a track record, and has delivered beneficial results that everyone can see clearly. She has worked hard to be an informed and responsive commissioner for all areas of St. Augustine. She has voted independently when she saw the need, and has raised hard questions about some tough issues. She has supported all our neighborhoods and broad community well-being. She has been recognized by her peers in the transportation world, and is now in a position to use her TPO chairmanship to tackle some persistent problems with our traffic. Not least, she is the only candidate with a long history of commitment to historic preservation, that fascinating attribute of our city which deserves more than lip service.
It is crystal clear that Nancy Sikes-Kline deserves to be re-elected to the city commission, to continue the work she has done for all of us.
St. Augustine Record
Posted: October 30, 2014 - 12:50am
By Janis V. Williams
Editor: Let’s stop a moment to examine the anti-incumbent sentiment swirling about our city. It is a mistake to assume that every incumbent is undeserving of re-election.
Nancy Sikes-Kline has a track record, and has delivered beneficial results that everyone can see clearly. She has worked hard to be an informed and responsive commissioner for all areas of St. Augustine. She has voted independently when she saw the need, and has raised hard questions about some tough issues. She has supported all our neighborhoods and broad community well-being. She has been recognized by her peers in the transportation world, and is now in a position to use her TPO chairmanship to tackle some persistent problems with our traffic. Not least, she is the only candidate with a long history of commitment to historic preservation, that fascinating attribute of our city which deserves more than lip service.
It is crystal clear that Nancy Sikes-Kline deserves to be re-elected to the city commission, to continue the work she has done for all of us.
St. Augustine Record
Mayor JOE BOLES STILL MUM on Non-Profit Founded With Two City Staffers in 2010 -- St. Augustine Trust for Historic Preservation, Inc. -- IN HAEC VERBA
From: easlavin
To: mayorboles
Sent: Thu, Oct 30, 2014 7:28 am
Subject: Re: The St Augustine Trust for Historic Preservation, Inc. (nonprofit incorporated by Messrs. Boles, Regan and Ste. Claire on 4/14/2010)
Dear Mayor Boles:
1. It has been two weeks with no response from you, sir. Did you ever file 990s for this "non-profit?"
2. Messrs. John Regan and Dana Ste. Claire are this morning still listed as directors on Sunbiz.org. Why?
3. Didn't they tell you to take off their names?
4. Please respond.
5. Your silence is, at best, inculpatory, Mayor Boles.
6. You have the right to remain silent, but we wish you wouldn't. Are you relying upon your Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination?
7. Please call me to discuss.
Ed Slavin
904-377-4998
Wednesday, October 29, 2014
AMBASSADOR ANDREW YOUNG AND DR. PHIL SKEWER SHERIFF SHOAR ON COVERUP IN MICHELLE O'CONNELL CASE
See below for dates and times. Three cheers!
As Senator Al Gore, Sr. said on Election Night 1970, "The truth shall rise again."
As Senator Al Gore, Sr. said on Election Night 1970, "The truth shall rise again."
DECEMBER 6th: AMBASSADOR ANDREW YOUNG TAKES ON ST. JOHNS COUNTY SHERIFF DAVID SHOAR AND MICHELLE O'CONNELL CASE COVERUP
The documentary "After the Storm," which is about St. Augustine and includes one segment about the Michelle O'Connell case, is scheduled to air as an episode of "Andrew Young Presents" on WJXX (ABC 25) in Jacksonville on Saturday, December 6, at 5 p.m. The program is already being seen across the country. Thank you Ambassador Young and CB Hackworth for telling the truth to power once again.
NOVEMBER 3RD: DR. PHIL TAKES ON ST. JOHNS COUNTY SHERIFF AND MICHELLE O'CONNELL COVERUP
WATCH DR. PHIL WITH THE O'CONNELL FAMILY FOX-30 AT 3:30 PM MONDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2014
"SUICIDE … I DON'T SEE IT THAT WAY." DR. PHIL TO SCOTT O'CONNELL, WITH MOUTHPIECE MAC MCLEOD IN AUDIENCE.
PROMO:
"SUICIDE … I DON'T SEE IT THAT WAY." DR. PHIL TO SCOTT O'CONNELL, WITH MOUTHPIECE MAC MCLEOD IN AUDIENCE.
PROMO:
Firing for Hatch Act Violations: Arachnid Apparatchik CHARLIE SERAPHIN FIRED
CHARLIE SERAPHIN GIVEN 30 DAYS NOTICE OF CONTRACT TERMINATION FOR HATCH ACT VIOLATIONS
Thank you, City Manager John Regan for doing the right thing for the taxpayers and our City, while respecting Seraphin's contractual rights under Section 6 of his contract.
Thank you, Michael Gold and Historic City News for reporting the news.
Two true blue public services by Messrs. Regan and Gold.
Thank you both. I am proud to live here. Read all about it, here.
Echo House Demolition Appeal 12/8: GROUND RULES
No response from Rev. RONALD RAWLS, who made before HARB in June, July and August improper race-based and religious arguments, backed by his own and other's idle threats that his church might leave Lincolnville, parishioner threats to "throw a bomb" or start a riot, all accompanied by heckling, hooting, hollering, threats of violence and at least one assault (church treasurer brandishing cane at me, caught on-camera and preserved on videotape). We shall overcome.
-----Original Message-----
From: easlavin
To: pastor
Cc: ilopez
Sent: Wed, Oct 29, 2014 1:44 pm
Subject: Re: echo house appeal
Please call to discuss civility and ground rules. Thank you.
-----Original Message-----
From: easlavin
To: ilopez
Cc: pastor
Sent: Wed, Oct 29, 2014 11:55 am
Subject: Re: echo house appeal
Thank you. Audience was outrageous 6/19 and since. Weeks and Boles said not a word. We shall overcome!
-----Original Message-----
From: Isabelle Lopez
To: easlavin
Cc: pastor
Sent: Wed, Oct 29, 2014 11:20 am
Subject: RE: echo house appeal
Mr. Slavin,
As you know, the clock does not stop at oral argument, so yes, do not count on restarting the clock. It is what it is.
The standing issue has been ruled on, therefore it will not come up again. Please focus on an appellate argument, which does not include objections but simply legal argument on what is in the record of the hearing below. Again, I ask both of you to stick to the one issue, which is consistency with the comp plan, the HARB order rendered and what evidence was in the record at the HARB hearing on that one issue. That is it. It would behoove everyone to keep this simple and not ‘overlawyer’ this. You will have your say, Rev. Rawls will have his, and then a decision to uphold the HARB order or not will be rendered.
From: easlavin@aol.com [mailto:easlavin@aol.com]
Sent: Wednesday, October 29, 2014 11:05 AM
To: Isabelle Lopez
Cc: pastor@saintpaulfamily.com; flournoy@law.ufl.edu; hamann@law.ufl.edu; ankersen@law.ufl.edu; John Regan; David Birchim; Jennifer Wolfe; Paul Williamson; Tim Burchfield; Jim Piggott; Mark Litzinger; Martha Graham; judgelitt10@gmail.com
Subject: Re: echo house appeal
Dear Isabelle:
1. Will the clock stop for questions, or will they be included in our 20 minutes as customary in appellate courts?
2. The archived City Commission video of Rev. Rawls' arguments on standing from 10/27 is incomplete. Please ask our city contractor to remedy.
3. At the 12/8 appeal argument, may you or I object and ask for a ruling by the Commission to any:
a. extralegal arguments?
b. factual statements not contained in the record on appeal?
c. threats to move the church out of the City?
d. appeals to the Almighty?
e. photos of school children presented to City on live tv in violation of their FERPA and other privacy rights?
f. claims to have been divinely inspired in seeking to demolish a 1926 Spanish Mediterranean Revival Building?
g. unsworn assertions of "hardship" in wanting to raze Echo House to build a parking lot?
h. pejorative aesthetic opinions that the legally protected historic building is "old and ugly?"
i. hooting, hollering, catcalls, assaults and opprobrium from people in the audience, as on 6/19?
j. false, defamatory Lashon hara imputations of racism directed against our City's sworn administrative-judicial hearing decisionmakers, as at 6/19 and later HARB hearings, e.g., that "this is all about race" or that Commissioners are somehow "racist" if demolition permit is not granted hesto presto?
k. other examples of sophistry, casuistry, flummery and non sequiturs?
4. Rev. Rawls is invited to meet with me to discuss procedure and civility before the appeal argument.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
Ed
904-377-4998
-----Original Message-----
From: Isabelle Lopez
To: easlavin; pastor
Sent: Wed, Oct 29, 2014 9:41 am
Subject: echo house appeal
Mr. Slavin, Rev. Rawls;
The city commission hearing on Dec. 8 will be handled like an appeal on the record in an appellate court. It is limited to an appeal on the record of what was raised at HARB and legal argument by the parties. It is the responsibility of the party appealing the order to provide a complete record of the hearing or hearings below for the City Commission’s review. Typically, we encourage the parties to handle the procedures of the hearing in the same way that they would oral argument at an appellate court. The parties typically each have 20 minutes each. Again, typically the appellant can ask to reserve some of their time for rebuttal (for instance 10min for their presentation, reserve the remainder to rebut the other side). As this is quasi-judicial and not strictly speaking judicial, the city commission does try to be somewhat flexible. The key is to keep it brief and to the point based on the only issue allowed to proceed (the consistency with the comp plan), and not to try to bring in new evidence or new testimony that was not part of the record of the HARB hearings. Sometimes the commissioners will interrupt to ask questions for clarification, so do not be surprised if that occurs. Again, this happens at oral argument in court as well. Although we are required to allow public comment, unless it is to remind the city commission of something in the existing record of the HARB hearings or to make a legal argument, it really serves no purpose as no new evidence is allowed in for an appeal to the City Commission of a HARB order.
I hope that this brief clarification is helpful to your both and assists all of us in having a clear and concise hearing. Many thanks.
Isabelle C. Lopez
City Attorney
City of St. Augustine
Description: Description: Description: Coat of Arms
75 King St.
P.O. Box 210
St. Augustine, FL 32085
(904) 825-1052 (office)
(904) 825-1096 (facsimile)
ilopez@citystaug.com
Board Certified in City, County & Local Government Law
Florida Supreme Court Qualified Arbitrator and Certified County & Circuit Civil Mediator
Rated AV Preeminent® by Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review
Please Note: Florida has a very broad Public Records Law. Unless specifically exempt by state law, written communications to city officials or staff regarding official city business are public records available to the public and media upon request. If your email communication is related to official government business, it may therefore be subject to public disclosure.
-----Original Message-----
From: easlavin
To: pastor
Cc: ilopez
Sent: Wed, Oct 29, 2014 1:44 pm
Subject: Re: echo house appeal
Please call to discuss civility and ground rules. Thank you.
-----Original Message-----
From: easlavin
To: ilopez
Cc: pastor
Sent: Wed, Oct 29, 2014 11:55 am
Subject: Re: echo house appeal
Thank you. Audience was outrageous 6/19 and since. Weeks and Boles said not a word. We shall overcome!
-----Original Message-----
From: Isabelle Lopez
To: easlavin
Cc: pastor
Sent: Wed, Oct 29, 2014 11:20 am
Subject: RE: echo house appeal
Mr. Slavin,
As you know, the clock does not stop at oral argument, so yes, do not count on restarting the clock. It is what it is.
The standing issue has been ruled on, therefore it will not come up again. Please focus on an appellate argument, which does not include objections but simply legal argument on what is in the record of the hearing below. Again, I ask both of you to stick to the one issue, which is consistency with the comp plan, the HARB order rendered and what evidence was in the record at the HARB hearing on that one issue. That is it. It would behoove everyone to keep this simple and not ‘overlawyer’ this. You will have your say, Rev. Rawls will have his, and then a decision to uphold the HARB order or not will be rendered.
From: easlavin@aol.com [mailto:easlavin@aol.com]
Sent: Wednesday, October 29, 2014 11:05 AM
To: Isabelle Lopez
Cc: pastor@saintpaulfamily.com; flournoy@law.ufl.edu; hamann@law.ufl.edu; ankersen@law.ufl.edu; John Regan; David Birchim; Jennifer Wolfe; Paul Williamson; Tim Burchfield; Jim Piggott; Mark Litzinger; Martha Graham; judgelitt10@gmail.com
Subject: Re: echo house appeal
Dear Isabelle:
1. Will the clock stop for questions, or will they be included in our 20 minutes as customary in appellate courts?
2. The archived City Commission video of Rev. Rawls' arguments on standing from 10/27 is incomplete. Please ask our city contractor to remedy.
3. At the 12/8 appeal argument, may you or I object and ask for a ruling by the Commission to any:
a. extralegal arguments?
b. factual statements not contained in the record on appeal?
c. threats to move the church out of the City?
d. appeals to the Almighty?
e. photos of school children presented to City on live tv in violation of their FERPA and other privacy rights?
f. claims to have been divinely inspired in seeking to demolish a 1926 Spanish Mediterranean Revival Building?
g. unsworn assertions of "hardship" in wanting to raze Echo House to build a parking lot?
h. pejorative aesthetic opinions that the legally protected historic building is "old and ugly?"
i. hooting, hollering, catcalls, assaults and opprobrium from people in the audience, as on 6/19?
j. false, defamatory Lashon hara imputations of racism directed against our City's sworn administrative-judicial hearing decisionmakers, as at 6/19 and later HARB hearings, e.g., that "this is all about race" or that Commissioners are somehow "racist" if demolition permit is not granted hesto presto?
k. other examples of sophistry, casuistry, flummery and non sequiturs?
4. Rev. Rawls is invited to meet with me to discuss procedure and civility before the appeal argument.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
Ed
904-377-4998
-----Original Message-----
From: Isabelle Lopez
To: easlavin
Sent: Wed, Oct 29, 2014 9:41 am
Subject: echo house appeal
Mr. Slavin, Rev. Rawls;
The city commission hearing on Dec. 8 will be handled like an appeal on the record in an appellate court. It is limited to an appeal on the record of what was raised at HARB and legal argument by the parties. It is the responsibility of the party appealing the order to provide a complete record of the hearing or hearings below for the City Commission’s review. Typically, we encourage the parties to handle the procedures of the hearing in the same way that they would oral argument at an appellate court. The parties typically each have 20 minutes each. Again, typically the appellant can ask to reserve some of their time for rebuttal (for instance 10min for their presentation, reserve the remainder to rebut the other side). As this is quasi-judicial and not strictly speaking judicial, the city commission does try to be somewhat flexible. The key is to keep it brief and to the point based on the only issue allowed to proceed (the consistency with the comp plan), and not to try to bring in new evidence or new testimony that was not part of the record of the HARB hearings. Sometimes the commissioners will interrupt to ask questions for clarification, so do not be surprised if that occurs. Again, this happens at oral argument in court as well. Although we are required to allow public comment, unless it is to remind the city commission of something in the existing record of the HARB hearings or to make a legal argument, it really serves no purpose as no new evidence is allowed in for an appeal to the City Commission of a HARB order.
I hope that this brief clarification is helpful to your both and assists all of us in having a clear and concise hearing. Many thanks.
Isabelle C. Lopez
City Attorney
City of St. Augustine
Description: Description: Description: Coat of Arms
75 King St.
P.O. Box 210
St. Augustine, FL 32085
(904) 825-1052 (office)
(904) 825-1096 (facsimile)
ilopez@citystaug.com
Board Certified in City, County & Local Government Law
Florida Supreme Court Qualified Arbitrator and Certified County & Circuit Civil Mediator
Rated AV Preeminent® by Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review
Please Note: Florida has a very broad Public Records Law. Unless specifically exempt by state law, written communications to city officials or staff regarding official city business are public records available to the public and media upon request. If your email communication is related to official government business, it may therefore be subject to public disclosure.
Chump change
Mayor JOSEPH LESTER BOLES, JR. and his Mayor's Holiday Lighting gala has raised the grand amount of $145,000 for "the homeless population of St. Augustine" in seven years. So reports City PR deputy Wanda Bray, interviewed by her boss, PAUL WILLIAMSON, City Public Affairs Director, 2000-2014 on the City's "The Breakroom" broadcast on WFCF, Flagler College Radio.
BOLES and his wealthy friends raise only $20,000/year, but manage to generate much bogus PR.
So much for pseudo-liberals here in the City of St. Augustine.
"COMPASSIONATE ST. AUGUSTINE" CONDESCENDS, AND I ASK FOR ITS 990 FORMS
Art by Warren Celli, prevailing First Amendment plaintiff in Celli v. City of St. Augustine
-----Original Message-----
From: Ed Slavin
To: Caren Goldman
Cc: Ted Voorhees
Sent: Wed, Oct 29, 2014 2:03 pm
Subject: Re: Complete list of contemplated compassion obelisk locations and topics...
Please send 990s. Thanks
On Oct 29, 2014, at 2:00 PM, Caren Goldman
Complete list of contemplated compassion obelisk locations and topics...
Ed,
This is a one-time reply to your email. We appreciate your interest in the OA450 project. The OA 450 project is an initiative of Compassionate St. Augustine (aka St. Augustine Initiative for Compassion, Inc.).
We have considered a large number of sites in St. Augustine that are consistent with OUR values, and we have spent considerable time vetting them. We are a privately-funded 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation and have received gifts, grants, and pledges to date for the project. We appreciate your interest, but not your demands. Additionally, I am sure you know that any information we have given to the City of St. Augustine, e.g. the Powerpoint, is a matter of public record and you can obtain copies at City Hall.
If you would like to discuss this I encourage you to contact the Rev. Ted Voorhees at 904-501-9455.
Yours truly,
Caren
Caren Goldman
Executive Director
Compassionate St. Augustine
"COMPASSIONATE ST. AUGUSTINE" OBELISKS MUST BE INCLUSIVE -- IN HAEC VERBA
-----Original Message-----
From: easlavin
To: stcyprianschurch
Sent: Wed, Oct 29, 2014 11:49 am
Subject: Re: Complete list of contemplated compassion obelisk locations and topics and and all documents on goals, funders and past and planned public participation opportunities; workshop on public art
1. Please respond to e-mails and phone message.
2. I suggest the urgent need for "compassion" obelisks for:
a. genocide,
b. slavery,
c. indentured servitude,
d. lynchings and other unsolved homicides,
e. segregation and domestic terrorism (KKK, Rod & Gun Club and John Birch Society),
f. election fraud,
g. wage theft,
h. civil rights violations,
i. government corruption,
j. environmental racism,
k. officer-involved domestic violence,
l. union-busting,
m. rampant First Amendment violations, and
n. anti-GLBT discrimination (Article I, Section 27 of our Florida Constitution enacted by 62% banning Gay marriage), and
o. harassment of the poor or homeless.
3. I notice Sheriff David Bernard Shoar is a "partner."
4. What does that entail?
5. Any $ from him or the St. Johns County Sheriff's Department Four Star Association, Inc. or Willliam Bruce Harriss or others associated with the Sheriff and his political machine?
6. Will any of your "partnerships" influence selection of public art on "compassion," and how?
-----Original Message-----
From: easlavin
To: stcyprianschurch
Sent: Tue, Oct 28, 2014 4:33 pm
Subject: Fwd: Complete list of contemplated compassion obelisk locations and topics and and all documents on goals, funders and past and planned public participation opportunities; workshop on public art
Please respond. Thank you.
-----Original Message-----
From: easlavin
To: ilopez
Cc: mayorboles
Sent: Tue, Oct 28, 2014 1:32 pm
Subject: Complete list of contemplated compassion obelisk locations and topics and and all documents on goals, funders and past and planned public participation opportunities; workshop on public art
Dear John, Isabel, et al.
1. Please send.
2. I request the City convene an open public Sunshine workshop to discuss proposed locations, themes and artists to comply with reasonable expectations of probity and with Article I, Section 24 of our Florida Constitution and the First Amendment, since this is to be a First Amendment public forum with art to be displayed in public places. We must assure that all artists interested know of the opportunity, and that our history be told accurately and fully.
3. Please call to discuss.
Thank you.
With kindest regards, I am,
Sincerely yours,
Ed Slavin
Clean Up City of St. Augustine, Florida
www.cleanupcityofstaugustine.blogspot.com
904-377-4998
FL State Rep. Ronald Renuart, D.O. a/k/a "DOC RENUART" Must Cease and Desist Using National Cemetery In Partisan Political Advertising -- IN HAEC VERBA
Dear Rep: Renuart:
1. Please cease and desist from using video of you walking among graves of our veterans in our St. Augustine National Cemetery in your TV ads for your re-election campaign to the Florida State House of Representatives. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EdaBQZo90LQ "Political activities, including filming of campaign ads, are not permitted on cemetery grounds." http://www.cem.va.gov/cem/docs/factsheets/filming.pdf
2. The South Jersey Chapter of the 82nd Airborne Divn. Assn., Inc. is named the "Corporal Edward A. Slavin Chapter" after my late father: my dad was a machine-gunner paratrooper, a wounded, thrice-decorated veteran of three World War II campaigns (North Africa, Sicily and Normandy). My father is buried in another national cemetery.
3. Our war veterans who are buried at St. Augustine National Cemetery include veterans of every single American war since the 1830s, including the Seminole Wars and the Civil War. Some are former slaves, whose graves are identified on gravestones as "U.S.C.T." (U.S. Colored Troops).
4. Thus, your 30 second TV political ad -- filmed at St. Augustine National Cemetery -- dishonors our deceased American veterans' memories. In the ad, you brag brazenly walking among graves about how you supposedly help veterans -- while oddly bragging about violating your Hippocratic Oath as a licensed medical doctor ("do no harm") by your voting against accepting federal funds to expand Medicaid to many of their family members under what you call "Obamacare." Your TV ad stinks. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EdaBQZo90LQ
5. Political ads filmed in national cemeteries are a stench in the nostrils of our Nation. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EdaBQZo90LQ
6. How much did your campaign spend on filming and airing the St. Augustine National Cemetery ad? Why?
7. How many times will it air? Why? Please provide invoices.
8. Who wrote and produced the ad and why? Please provide documents on script approval.
9. Did St. Augustine National Cemetery management ever give you permission for filming a political ad? Please provide any documentary evidence for any such assertion.
10. Please provide all documents on the St. Augustine National Cemetery ad pursuant to Florida Open Records Law and Article I, Section 24 of our Florida Constitution and be prepared to answer questions later today.
11. You must stop your illegal, immoral political abuse and misuse of our honored war dead -- and images of St. Augustine National Cemetery -- for political purposes. You must cease and desist. Now. "VA regulations prohibit unauthorized distribution of pamphlets or handbills, posting or display of placards, taking photographs for advertising purposes, and demonstrations, orations or partisan activities on VA premises. 38 C.F.R. §§ 1.218(a)(9), (10) and (14) cover VHA facilities and NCA cemeteries, 17.111 also covers VHA facilities)." http://www.wichita.va.gov/WICHITA/features/Politics_and_VA.asp#sthash.113pA8Of.dpuf
12. Both U.S. Senator John McCain and U.S. Congressman Kevin Cramer wisely cancelled their own mendacious, meretricious political ads, filmed in two national cemeteries at Arlington, Virginia and in North Dakota.
http://www.wichita.va.gov/WICHITA/features/Politics_and_VA.asp
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/10/07/kevin-cramer-congress_n_5946474.htm
13. Thus, your airing TV ads filmed in St. Augustine National Cemetery is intrusive, aggressive and deeply insensitive. It shows an utter unwillingness to learn from the partisan political misconduct of both Senator McCain and Congressman Cramer in filming TV ads at other national cemeteries. As the old song says, "When will they ever learn?"
14. Please cancel your political ads in quo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EdaBQZo90LQ
15. Kindly reimburse your campaign for the ads filmed in St. Augustine National Cemetery
16. Please apologize publicly for your ad filmed in St. Augustine National Cemetery. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EdaBQZo90LQ
17. Your taking these proactive steps today may possibly avoid any need for veterans, their families and other constituents filling formal Inspector General complaints, or for civil criminal and administrative investigations, or for federal court litigation.
18. I look forward to meeting with and discussing with you how we might work together to obtain federal funds for the enhanced protection and historic interpretation for St. Augustine National Cemetery, and other cherished St. Augustine historic sites, through adoption of the proposed St. Augustine National Historical Park and National Seashore Act. www.staugustgreen.com
19. Please call to discuss.
Thank you.
With kindest regards, I am,
Sincerely yours,
Ed Slavin
Clean Up City of St. Augustine, Florida
www.cleanupcityofstaugustine.blogspot.com
Box 3084
St. Augustine, Florida 32085-3084
904-377-4998
Tuesday, October 28, 2014
Churchill: "Entering a Period of Consequences"
As former Governor and U.S. Senator Bob Graham (a member of the 450th Commission) eloquently writes in his book, America: The Owner’s Manual – Making Government Work For You (2010), citizens have a right to be heard and heeded. That is what America’s Founders intended.
It is right and just that action on the St. Augustine National Historical Park and Seashore be “fast tracked,” in Capitol Hill argot. At last our St. Augustine history and nature must be protected, and not neglected by our federal government, as first proposed by Mayor Walter Fraser and Senator Claude Pepper in 1939.
Our former Vice President and Oscar® and Nobel Prize winner Albert Gore, Jr. has rightly compared Americans to a dysfunctional family in dealing with environmental issues, quoting Sir Winston Spencer Churchill, who said:
Our former Vice President and Oscar® and Nobel Prize winner Albert Gore, Jr. has rightly compared Americans to a dysfunctional family in dealing with environmental issues, quoting Sir Winston Spencer Churchill, who said:
The Government simply cannot make up their minds, or they cannot get the Prime Minister to make up his mind. So they go on in strange paradox, decided only to be undecided, resolved to be irresolute, adamant for drift, solid for fluidity, all-powerful to be impotent.... The era of procrastination, of half-measures, of soothing and baffling expedients, of delays, is coming to its close. In its place we are entering a period of consequences.
[Winston Churchill before the House of Commons, November 12, 1936 regarding appeasement of Nazis, quoted in Albert Gore, Jr., Earth in the Balance (1992) at 196 in context of desuetude and indecision in U.S. environmental policy.]
Response to ex-Mayor LEN WEEKS et ux re: Unsafe, Illegal Destruction of 210-Year Old Spanish Colonial Don Pedro Fornell Home by ex-Mayor of St. Augustine; HARB members must file financial disclosure (Including ex-Mayor CLAUDE LEONARD WEEKS, JR.)
-----Original Message-----
From: easlavin
To: kristy
Sent: Tue, Oct 28, 2014 3:49 pm
Subject: Re: Unsafe, Illegal Destruction of 210-Year Old Spanish Colonial Don Pedro Fornell Home by ex-Mayor of St. Augustine; HARB members must file financial disclosure (Including ex-Mayor CLAUDE LEONARD WEEKS, JR.)
Dear Kristy and Len:
1. In the immortal words of the late, great Managing Editor Benjamin Crowninshield Bradlee of the Washington Post during Watergate, "That's a non-denial denial."
2. Or as one of Shakespeare's characters once said, "the lady doth protest too much."
3. Len Weeks faces more than $10,000 in code enforcement fines and has resigned as Chair of the Historic Architectural Review Board.
4. Len Weeks must resign from two more City boards -- Visioning and Parking and Traffic (Chair).
5. OSHA must investigate and fine Len Weeks.
6. The State of Florida must investigate.
7. As Sir Winston Spencer Churchill said, "We are entering a period of consequences."
Cordially,
Ed Slavin
-----Original Message-----
From: Kristy Weeks
To: easlavin
Sent: Sat, Sep 27, 2014 7:30 pm
Subject: RE: Unsafe, Illegal Destruction of 210-Year Old Spanish Colonial Don Pedro Fornell Home by ex-Mayor of St. Augustine; HARB members must file financial disclosure (Including ex-Mayor CLAUDE LEONARD WEEKS, JR.)
Mr. Slavin,
You are an inaccurate man filled with hostility, anger and the desire to hurt others.
If you knew my husband, Len Weeks, in the slightest degree you would realize that he has lived his life for preserving St Augustine.
You need to get a real0 job where you can actually make a positive difference in your community rather than slandering others with inaccurate accusations.
You are no better than Michael Gold with your incorrect information…..you just lack the pathetic disclaimer that nothing you write is true.
Kristy Weeks
From: easlavin@aol.com [mailto:easlavin@aol.com]
Sent: Saturday, September 27, 2014 5:02 PM
To: clweeks@aug.com
Subject: Unsafe, Illegal Destruction of 210-Year Old Spanish Colonial Don Pedro Fornell Home by ex-Mayor of St. Augustine; HARB members must file financial disclosure (Including ex-Mayor CLAUDE LEONARD WEEKS, JR.)
Dear Mr. Weeks:
1. Risking workers' lives, your reckless actions caused the collapse of a 210-year old Second Spanish Period building at 62 Spanish Street on September 25, 2014.
2. Your architect (Mr. Jerry Dixon) and engineer (Mr. Bill Freeman) both told you to perform the trenching and pour the concrete in five (5) foot segments at 62 Spanish Street, correct?
3. You evidently ignored their advice and excavated around the entire perimeter, causing the building to collapse. Why?
4. You worked without a permit from the City of St. Augustine. Why?
5. Your reckless endangerment of employees, residents and visitors -- and your destruction of a 210-year old building -- is a stench in the nostrils of Our Nation's Oldest City.
6. By copy of this E-mail, I am advising the Secretary of Labor and the OSHA Administrator of the need for a civil, criminal and administrative investigation, which I requested verbally on September 25 & 26 of the OSHA office in Jacksonville, Florida and on September 26 of the Atlanta Office of the DOL Inspector General.
7. Please preserve all business documents, paper and electronic, for examination by investigators from OSHA, FBI, the City of St. Augustine and the City's outside investigating law firm.
8. Please explain your selection of such a large construction crane (Caterpillar 320E, weighing 54,000 pounds) in proximity to the city's ongoing Spanish and Hypolita Street project and other historic structures. Please pay for immediate inspection of all surrounding structures to prevent further building collapses, including delicate historic buildings managed by the University of Florida, the City of St. Augustine, and other property owners..
9. Please provide full security, 24/7, as promised to our City Manager, Mr. John Patrick Regan, P.E., in order to prevent and deter anyone from entering the demolition site until it is cleared of debris. Children were seen entering the site yesterday, and could have been killed in a collapse of the remaining room.
10. A.Your partnership with your business lawyer, who is also the Mayor of St. Augustine, JOSEPH LESTER BOLES, Jr., in a no-bid lease from the City of St. Augustine (subleased without permission from the City as required by paragraph 9 of that lease) is unacceptable
10.B. So is your continuing refusal to file financial disclosure forms as Chairman of the Historic Architectural Review Board (HARB), which has suzerainty over historic buildings such as the one you wantonly destroyed (the Don Pedro Fornell House).
11. Please submit your resignation as Chairman of the Historic Architectural Review Board (HARB).
12. Please submit your resignation as Chairman of the Parking and Traffic Committee (P&T).
13. Please submit your resignation as member of the St. Augustine Visioning Committee.
14. Our City can no longer trust you to serve on any Boards or to believe your advice as a lobbyist on behalf of the Chamber of Commerce (e.g., for ordinances criminalizing First Amendment protected activity by artists and musicians).
15. Please refrain from further destruction of historic structures in St. Augustine, Florida from this day forward.
16. As Robert Kennedy said, "It is not enough to allow dissent, we must demand it for there is much to dissent from…. We dissent from the willful, heedless destruction of our natural beauty and pleasures."
17. The Don Pedro Fornell house was part of our community for 210 years. Your destruction of it is a crime against history. This is unacceptable, and we shall never let it happen again. To redeem yourself, and promote healing, I would appreciate your support -- and the Chamber of Commerce's support -- for a St. Augustine National Historical Park and National Seashore Act, first proposed by Mayor Walter Fraser, Senator Claude Pepper, et al. in June 1939, more than 75 years ago. www.staugustgreen.com. This will help preserve our history and nature forever, for your grandchildren, and their grandchildren. I look forward to hearing from you later today.
Thank you.
With kindest regards, I am,
Sincerely yours,
Ed Slavin
Clean Up City of St. Augustine, Florida
www.cleanupcityofstaugustine.blogspot.com
Box 3084
St. Augustine, Florida 32085-3084
904-377-4998
-----Original Message-----
From: Ed Slavin
To: clweeks
Cc: clweeks
Sent: Thu, Jul 24, 2014 12:38 pm
Subject: Re: HARB members must file financial disclosure. Now.
Please respond.
On Jul 23, 2014, at 2:12 PM, easlavin@aol.com wrote:
Dear Chairman Weeks:
1. Please respond.
2. I am prepared to file ethics complaints, starting with you, if there is not full compliance from each HARB member.
3. It is a two page form.
4. We have the right to see your form before your five-year lucrative lease from the City of St. Augustine for 81 St. George Street is renewed on July 25, 2014.
Thank you.
With kindest regards, I am,
Sincerely yours,
Ed Slavin
www.cleanupcityofstaugustine.blogspot.com
904-377-4998
-----Original Message-----
From: easlavin
To: clweeks
Subject: HARB members must file financial disclosure. Now.
Dear Chairman Weeks, Mayor Boles, Vice Mayor Sikes-Kline, City Commissioners and HARB members:
1. Upon consulting with our St. Johns County Election Supervisor, St. Augustine City Clerk and Florida Commission on Ethics, it appears that:
(a) Our City of St. Augustine, Florida Historical Architectural Review Board (HARB) members are not filing financial disclosures;
(b) It appears HARB members are required to file financial disclosures pursuant to F.S. 112.3145, as HARB is "A planning or zoning board, board of adjustment, board of appeals, community redevelopment agency board, or other board having the power to recommend, create, or modify land planning or zoning within the political subdivision, except for citizen advisory committees, technical coordinating committees, and such other groups who only have the power to make recommendations to planning or zoning boards." F.S. 112.3145(2)(d). Who among us would disagree?
2. Thus, I request that HARB members file financial disclosures instanter, nunc pro tunc, before close of business on July 23, 2014.
3. Disclosures were required to be filed on July 1, 2014.
4. Time is of the essence -- Chairman Weeks' no-bid lease for 81 St. George Street is set for five year renewal on July 25, 2014. See prior correspondence. Questions have been asked about his income stream from the City of St. Augustine, in partnership with Mayor Boles (some $2-3 million over 25 years on a property now being rented to the owners of Florida Cracker Cafe and Savannah Sweets) . Chairman' Weeks failure to file required disclosures as HARB Chair, and involvement in at least one proposed demolition (requiring his recusal), embarrass our City and its residents and contribute to a perception that corrupt exists.
5. Our City's longtime failure to include HARB and HARB members' addresses on the list of officials requiring disclosure requires an explanation before the next Commission meeting. Please do not make such omissions in the future.
6. The urgency of protecting the historic architecture of our Nation's Oldest City, including pending matters -- e.g., the proposed illegal demolition of Echo House by St. Paul. A.M.E. Church -- urgently require that HARB members be above reproach and make full disclosures. Now.
Thank you.
With kindest regards, I am,
Sincerely yours,
Ed Slavin
www.cleanupcityofstaugustine.blogspot.com
904-377-4998
Andrew Young Tackles Coverup of Michelle O'Connell Case by Sheriff DAVID BERNARD SHOAR and State's Attorneys
American civil rights hero and former United Nations Ambassador Andrew Young has a new documentary featuring the coverup of the September 2, 2010 shooting of Michelle O'Connell, which he agrees is a civil rights issue.
We shall overcome!
See clip here:
We shall overcome!
See clip here:
Public Art, Public Hearing , Public Participation, Open Competition
"Compassionate St. Augustine" plans for artists to decorate 30 miniature obelisks with themes concerning compassion -- or the lack of it -- in St. Augustine.
How cool is that?
There must be meaningful public participation, hence this "Ed-mail":
-----Original Message-----
From: easlavin
To: ilopez
Cc: mayorboles
Sent: Tue, Oct 28, 2014 1:32 pm
Subject: Complete list of contemplated compassion obelisk locations and topics and and all documents on goals, funders and past and planned public participation opportunities; workshop on public art
Dear John, Isabel, et al.
1. Please send.
2. I request the City convene an open public Sunshine workshop to discuss proposed locations, themes and artists to comply with reasonable expectations of probity and with Article I, Section 24 of our Florida Constitution and the First Amendment, since this is to be a First Amendment public forum with art to be displayed in public places. We must assure that all artists interested know of the opportunity, and that our history be told accurately and fully.
3. Please call to discuss.
Thank you.
With kindest regards, I am,
Sincerely yours,
Ed Slavin
Clean Up City of St. Augustine, Florida
www.cleanupcityofstaugustine.blogspot.com
904-377-4998
Predatory Privatization: City Road Thievery Rejected -- Speculative Shipyard Planned Unit Development Approved, 4-1
Twice last night City Commissioners voted against "road vacations" -- allowing Palm Coast realtor ROBERT MILLION dodgy developer PIERRE and PAUL THOMPSON (grandson and great-grandson of the founder of the St. Augustine Record) and California speculators to steal two (2) public roads for a Planned Unit Development at the site of the former LUHRS boat plant off US 1 bordering the Sebastian River.
Viva!
Commissioners heard and heeded citizens, including condo dwellers, the owner of Baker Pest Control and owners of Five Star Pizza and Dunkin' Donuts franchises, all of whose businesses and safety would be adversely affected.
Viva!
Commissioner Leeana Freeman said she never wanted to hear another proposal to vacate a road that is currently being used.
Viva!
The sketchy Shipyard Planned Unit Development was approved, 4-1, Commissioner Nancy Sikes-Kline dissenting.
Thanks to Commissioner Sikes-Kline for the courage of her convictions and asking questions.
Viva!
7-Eleven Hearing Set for January 15, 2015 at 9 AM
A four hour hearing will be held by St. Augustine City Commissioners on the Nelmar Terrace neighbors' appeal of a building permit to inflict twelve gasoline pumps at the failing congested intersection of May & San Marco.
We shall overcome!
We shall overcome!
Big Win for Historic Preservation
Last night, City Commissioners twice unanimously voted that I have legal standing to contest demolition of historic Echo House. Appeal will be heard December 8th.
Thank you, City Commissioners.
Never again in Our Nation's Oldest City will an historic building be demolished by government order without citizens having the right to an appeal and vote by City Commission.
We shall overcome!
Monday, October 27, 2014
NUCLEAR LOBBYIST WARREN GOOCH RUNS FOR OAK RIDGE, TENNESSEE CITY COUNCIL
On September 27, 1995, WARREN GOOCH, lobbyist and corporate lawyer, spent $100,000 for a cup of coffee at President Bill Clinton's White House. So did former Town of Clinton Manager Charles H. "Bones" Seivers.
Facing a writ of mandamus action over delays, the Solicitor of Labor promised a decision in Varnadore v. Oak Ridge National Laboratory on October 1, 1995.
That didn't happen. When the Secretary of Labor's decision was finally issued, on January 26, 1996, it was a rout for the ethical employee who had won punitive damages in a recommended decision and order by District Chief Administrative Law Judge Theodor von Brand on June 7, 1993, after eighteen days of trial. Mr. C.D. Varnadore was embroiled in a toxic working environment by Martin Marietta (now Lockheed Martin).
Here's the New York Times obituary of Mr. Varnadore, and the 1992 Times article on his case. More here and here and here.
$100,000 coffee lobbyist WARREN GOOCH is now running for Oak Ridge, Tennessee City Council.
Looking forward to talking with WARREN GOOCH. Here's the e-mail I sent him a few minutes ago:
-----Original Message-----
From: easlavin
To: wlgooch
Cc: judgelitt10
Sent: Mon, Oct 27, 2014 12:37 pm
Subject: September 27, 1995 White House Coffee
Dear Warren:
1. What was discussed before, during and after the $100,000/person White House Coffee re: Varnadore v. ORNL, Reid v. Methodist Medical Center, and other Oak Ridge environmental and nuclear whistleblower cases by you and "Bones" Seivers with DOE and the White House?
2. Who paid for your two $100,000/person entry fee for the coffee?
3. I look forward to talking with you about that topic, and about Oak Ridge City Council issues.
Thank you.
With kindest regards, I am,
Sincerely yours,
Ed Slavin
www.cleanupcityofstaugustine.blogspot.com
904-377-4998
Sunday, October 26, 2014
WRECKING CREW: County machine still wants to take over mosquito control
From: Michael Wanchick
Sent: Wednesday, September 10, 2014 3:04 PM
To: Commissioner Rachael Bennett
Attachments: 2011 St. Johns County Legislative Action Plan_Final.pdf; Mosquito
Control Report_PFM_Phase II.PDF; Mosquito Control Report_PFM.PDF;
Anastasia Mosquito Control District Oversight Review
Report_DRAFT.DOCX; Letter to Proctor_BCC Action on
AMCD_110810.doc; Local Bill filed with Clerk 11.24.10.pdf
Rachael,
Attached is some of the Mosquito Control information that was discussed by the County Commission
when their incorporation into the County was considered in 2011 as part of our Legislative Action
Plan. Jerry, Darrell, and I have discussed it and do not feel it would be wise to take on this issue at this
time. This may get resolved, in part, through this year's election process.
In the meantime, I have asked Doug, in OMB, to assemble some talking points for the CommissionÃs
Budget Public Hearing this coming Wednesday. That way one or more of the Commission can go on
record stating the Commission does not have any control over the Anastasia Mosquito DistrictÃs
operations or budget.
Michael D. Wanchick
County Administrator
St. Johns County
500 San Sebastian View
St. Augustine, Florida 32084
(904)209-0530 office
(904)209-0531 fax
mwanchick@sjcfl.us