Racist? You betcha.
Naturally, I made a federal case out of it, filing administrative complaints with three agencies.
The Governor's Chief Inspector General's office wrote back, saying it had "no special agents" to investigate anything.
USDOJ conducted interviews.
Like Pontius Pilate, EPA did nothing.
For two years, City officials have tried to get money for West Augustine sewers.
Mirabile dictu, this time, "SICK RICK" SCOTT did NOT veto $400,000 in non-matching grant for West Augustine sewers.
Reckon that the Title VI complaints got SICK RICK's attention?
Under Title VI, all federal funds can be cut off to discriminatory governments.
In Angels in America, playwright Tony Kushner writes, "It is only through politics that miracles occur."
Thanks to everyone who made this latest miracle in West Augustine possible! Thanks to indefatigable West Augustine community leader Greg White, St. Augustine Mayor Nancy Shaver, City Manager John Patrick Regan, P.E., State Rep. Cyndi Stevenson and State Senator Travis Hutson.
No thanks to "SICK RICK." rebarbative reprobate Republican Flori-DUH Governor RICHARD LYNN SCOTT, the mendacious man who, without any supporting documentation, issued a line item veto of $200k for West Augustine sewers at 8PM on March 17, 2016 -- subject of my March 2016 Title VI civil rights complaint to USDOJ and EPA. Remember "SICK RICK" SCOTT"s invidiously discriminatory veto, delaying environmental justice progress for two (2) years in West Augustine.
Inspiration: Vote to re-elect Senator Bill Nelson on or before November 6, 2018.
Here's the Record article:
West Augustine sewer project part of state budget By Sheldon Gardner
Posted Mar 16, 2018 at 8:15 PM
Updated Mar 17, 2018 at 6:13 AM
Bundled in the more than $88-billion state budget that Gov. Rick Scott signed on Friday, there’s $400,000 that will be used to add gravity sewer on West 2nd Street in West Augustine.
The funding marks a success for the city of St. Augustine, which in recent years has seen their pitches for West Augustine sewer projects left out of the budget or vetoed by the governor. Scott vetoed about $64 million from the budget, according to the News Service of Florida.
Those vetoes include St. Johns County projects such as $1.5 million that would have gone toward widening County Road 244, and $250,000 toward a roof-repair plan for historic buildings in St. Augustine managed by the University of Florida, according to the veto list.
Typically, state funding for a project like the West Augustine sewer effort would require a 50 percent match from the city, but the funding covers the project fully, City Manager John Regan said.
“It means that we’re going to be able to build a new gravity sewer system on a street that has never had a gravity sewer system,” Regan said.
The project will add gravity sewer between South St. Johns and Duval streets on West 2nd Street, which will allow people in that area to stop using septic tanks.
Greg White, a community advocate in West Augustine, said residents have been supporting the effort. Septic tanks can fail and leak sewage if not maintained, which he said is a problem in the area.
“This is phenomenal, and this just goes to show when citizens get together for one common cause it makes it happen,” White said.
Regan said the project funding has to be used within the state’s fiscal year, which is from July 1 through June 30.
Without the funding, it might have taken years to get the project done, Regan said, adding later that he thanked the city’s legislative delegation for helping the project along.
City officials visited Tallahassee this session to talk with lawmakers and the governor’s office about the funding and other issues, Regan said. They also asked for a smaller amount of funding for West Augustine this session than they have in previous sessions. The city’s strategy was to ask for a lower amount than in previous years because the state budget was expected to be tight, he said.
This session wasn’t a total win for the city, which asked for funding for a flooding-mitigation project around the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind. That didn’t make it to the budget, Regan said.
A number of other projects in the city and St. Johns County received funding from the state, including $450,000 for Summer Haven River restoration and $1.5 million for the Stewart-Marchman Behavioral Healthcare Florida Assertive Community Treatment team. The team helps people with severe mental illness in St. Johns and Putnam counties.
The budget also includes $3.6 million to help local governments plan for sea level rise, coastal resilience projects and coral reef health through the Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s new Florida Resilient Coastline Initiative, according to the governor’s office.
St. Augustine Mayor Nancy Shaver said the city’s been advocating for years for more awareness on sea level rise and coastal resiliency. Among other things, Shaver is part of Resiliency Florida, an nonprofit advocacy group focused on getting people to plan for sea level rise and severe weather.
The city has already been the focus of studies on sea level rise, which have produced information that can help city officials plan for the future, and the state funding opens the door for more cities around the state to prepare, Shaver said.
“Those resiliency dollars are just incredibly important,” Shaver said.
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