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For Immediate Release
November 19, 2009 United States Attorney's Office
Northern District of California
Contact: (415) 436-7200
Former Ukrainian Prime Minister Sentenced to 97 Months in Prison,Fined $9 Million for Role in Laundering $30 Million of Extortion Proceeds
SAN FRANCISCO—Pavel Ivanovich Lazarenko was sentenced yesterday to 97 months in prison, ordered to pay a $9 million fine and forfeit $22,851,000 and various specified assets resulting from his money laundering convictions, First Assistant United States Attorney David Anderson announced. The court deferred decision on restitution.
“The U.S. Attorney’s Office has maintained throughout this case that Pavel Lazarenko misused his office to extort tens of millions of dollars from a Ukrainian citizen, lied to the people of Ukraine about his assets, and abused our banking system in an attempt to establish a safe haven in the United States,” First Assistant U.S. Attorney Anderson said. “Yesterday’s sentence should send a strong message to corrupt foreign public officials—they will be held accountable if they misuse their office and try to make safe harbor in the United States.”
After a 10-and one-half week trial, Lazarenko was convicted by a jury on June 3, 2004, on 29 counts of money laundering, wire fraud, and interstate transportation of stolen property. During the trial, evidence showed that starting in the early 1990s, when he was the governor of an industrialized region in Ukraine, Lazarenko abused his official authority to extort Ukrainian businessman Peter Kiritchenko of 50 percent of his profits. Over time, and as Lazarenko rose in office to become the Prime Minister, Kiritchenko paid Lazarenko $30 million, which was half of Kiritchenko’s $60 million in profits. At Lazarenko’s direction, Kiritchenko assisted him in laundering the proceeds of that extortion through accounts in Poland, Switzerland, Antigua, and, ultimately, the United States, where Lazarenko used a shell company to conceal his purchase of a multi-million dollar residence in Marin, Calif. Kiritchenko pleaded guilty to one count of receipt of stolen property and testified against Lazarenko.
After trial, the court dismissed 15 counts and sentenced Lazarenko on 14 counts. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals later affirmed all of Lazarenko’s money laundering convictions (eight counts) dismissed the other charges and vacated the original sentence. Yesterday’s sentencing was on the eight counts of money laundering. Because the judge who presided over the trial and initial sentencing, the Honorable Martin J. Jenkins, left the federal bench, the case was reassigned to the Honorable Charles R. Breyer, who handled the resentencing.
“We are pleased Mr. Lazarenko has been held accountable for his crimes,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Stephanie Douglas. “The wanton abuse of official power undermines people’s faith in their elected leaders and the effectiveness of any government. In this age of internationalization, we must diligently pursue corruption wherever it takes hold to help ensure public officials act for the benefit of their constituency, not for their own personal gain.”
“Uncovering the trail of money was key in identifying the corrupt actions of Mr. Lazarenko,” said Scott O’Briant, Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation. “If you put illegal money gain ahead of obeying the law, you can expect to be investigated, prosecuted and sent to prison."
This case is the first prosecution of a foreign leader for laundering the proceeds of extortion through financial institutions in the United States.
Peter B. Axelrod, Stephanie Hinds, Patricia Kenney and Hartley West are the Assistant U.S. Attorneys who are prosecuting the case with the assistance of Wilson Wong, Alicia Chin, and Carolyn Jusay. The Department of Justice Organized Crime and Racketeering Section supported this prosecution. The prosecution is the result of a six-year investigation by the FBI and IRS.
Further Information:
Case #: 00-284 CRB
Friday, November 20, 2009
Thursday, November 19, 2009
LA Times: AG Jerry Brown Says Cut in Legislators' Pay is Legal, Constitutional
Cut in lawmakers' pay is OK, in Jerry Brown's opinion
November 19, 2009 | 11:44 am
The state attorney general today said a citizens commission acted within its powers when it decided to slash pay for state lawmakers by 18% last summer, rejecting arguments of legislative leaders who had challenged the panel’s authority.
Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown said in a broad legal opinion that the state Constitution allows the California Citizens Compensation Commission, which is appointed by the governor, to reduce the salaries of legislators and other elected officials in the middle of their terms.
The commission had previously been told by an attorney for the state personnel department that salary cuts could only be applied to those elected in the future, so the panel voted to cut salaries for those elected starting next year.
Charles Murray, the Los Angeles businessman who chairs the commission said he would ask the state controller to implement the pay reduction Dec. 7
Brown pointed to the voters' 1990 approval of Proposition 112, which requires the commission to "adjust the annual salaries of state officers" each year. "Any other interpretation would require assuming against all evidence that the voters in 1990 intended mid-term annual adjustments to only go up and never down, even in the face of a faltering economy and huge budget deficits," Brown wrote to legislative leaders.
His opinion did not address a challenge to the commission’s 18% cut in legislators’ per diem and car allowances.
-- Patrick McGreevy in Sacramento
November 19, 2009 | 11:44 am
The state attorney general today said a citizens commission acted within its powers when it decided to slash pay for state lawmakers by 18% last summer, rejecting arguments of legislative leaders who had challenged the panel’s authority.
Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown said in a broad legal opinion that the state Constitution allows the California Citizens Compensation Commission, which is appointed by the governor, to reduce the salaries of legislators and other elected officials in the middle of their terms.
The commission had previously been told by an attorney for the state personnel department that salary cuts could only be applied to those elected in the future, so the panel voted to cut salaries for those elected starting next year.
Charles Murray, the Los Angeles businessman who chairs the commission said he would ask the state controller to implement the pay reduction Dec. 7
Brown pointed to the voters' 1990 approval of Proposition 112, which requires the commission to "adjust the annual salaries of state officers" each year. "Any other interpretation would require assuming against all evidence that the voters in 1990 intended mid-term annual adjustments to only go up and never down, even in the face of a faltering economy and huge budget deficits," Brown wrote to legislative leaders.
His opinion did not address a challenge to the commission’s 18% cut in legislators’ per diem and car allowances.
-- Patrick McGreevy in Sacramento
House of UnAmerican Activities
Here's the Reagan/Bush Administration -- the callous, reckless, feckless crony capitalists who brought you the financial meltdown, mortgage foreclosures, pension losses and worker deaths. Remember: "Friends don't let friends vote Republican."
Florida coalition targets pending federal pollution rules -- Rule requires federal monitoring of St. Johns, other state waterways, beaches
By From Wire Reports
After losing on the legal front, a powerful coalition of agriculture and business interests, wastewater utilities, water managers and tax watchdogs is mounting a lobbying assault on pending federal rules that could force Florida to clean up pollution fouling lakes, canals, streams and beaches statewide.
The target: A settlement a federal judge in Tallahassee approved last week in a lawsuit brought by five environmental groups against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
It requires that federal regulators, for the first time, step in and set a state's water quality standards for nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus that flow into waterways from fertilized lawns, sewage plants, farms fields, cattle pastures and a host of other sources.
Opponents -- Associated Industries of Florida, Florida Farm Bureau, Florida Chamber of Commerce, Florida Stormwater Association, Florida Tax Watch, Sugarcane Growers Cooperative of Florida and some 60 other organizations that collectively wield considerable political clout -- argue the economic impacts could be staggering and far outweigh the environmental benefits.
They've called on state congressional leaders to block the EPA action, enlisted two former state environmental secretaries, Virginia Wetherell and Colleen Castille, and created a website branding the EPA rules a federal "water tax.'' Their projections for the cost to local and state governments for the cleanup: As much as $50 billion -- and that's just for overhauling the state's sewage systems, a price tag that could double customer's bills.
"I wish Florida were in a financial position to be able to throw billions at this issue,'' said Wetherell, who ran the state Department of Environmental Protection from 1993 to 1998. "I am concerned about the economy of Florida. I am concerned about how local government is going to fund all this.''
David Guest, an attorney for Earthjustice, a public interest law firm that sued the EPA for the environmental groups, called the opponents' projected numbers for cleanup wildly inflated "smoke and mirrors.''
"They're just making them up,'' he said. "You don't even know what the standards are going to be yet.''
Environmentalists said the tougher numeric standards are years overdue for nutrients, which have become the state's most widespread water woe.
High concentrations have triggered repeated algae blooms in Lake Okeechobee, the St. Johns, St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee rivers, along the beaches of Southwest Florida and other waterways. The nastiest blue-green blooms have left fish dead, waters too unhealthy to swim in and residents and tourists wheezing. The EPA, citing the Clean Water Act, first urged states to set legal water quality limits for nutrients more than a decade ago and warned the agency would set them itself by 2004 if states did not comply. Instead, Florida's Department of Environmental Protection adopted "narrative'' standards that state regulators have insisted are needed to address varying natural conditions in the waterways and water bodies.
The environmental groups -- the Florida Wildlife Federation, Sierra Club, St. Johns Riverkeeper and Environmental Conservancy of Southwest Florida -- sued in July 2008, arguing the state's standards were too vague, a point the EPA agreed with.
Under the settlement, approved over motions filed by lawyers for Florida Agricultural Commissioner Charles Bronson as well as objections from local governments and industries, EPA is scheduled to propose nutrient limits for lakes, streams and creeks in January and finalize them by October 2010. Limits for coastal waters and estuaries are due in January 2011, with final rules expected to be set by October 2011.
POLLUTERS ON RADARThe agreement could have significant impacts on polluters big and small, potentially requiring sewage plants to add new layers of treatment before discharging to surface waters or limiting or banning fertilizer use by suburban gardeners. Former state environmental secretary Castille said agency scientists had worked for years to develop standards and a regional cleanup plan with the EPA that reflected, and protected, the diversity of the state's waterbodies.
Castille acknowledged the state still had a long way to go, but said its existing system was working and dramatically cutting nutrient loading. She pointed to one model, adopted with cooperation of utilities, that cut nutrient flow to the St. Johns River in half.
"When I left in 2006, I thought we were all ready to go,'' she said. "Apparently, EPA changed its mind.''
Wetherell and Castille -- who led the DEP when state lawmakers overhauled Everglades pollution regulations, essentially pushing deadlines back a decade -- defended state oversight, calling Florida a national leader in water quality. Both became lobbyists after leaving the state but said they weren't representing clients in joining the fight against numeric standards they and other critics call ``scientifically unsound.''
But the bulk of the concern is the potential price tag of meeting those standards, whatever they may be, when Florida's economy and tax revenues remain in a free fall. Paul Steinbrecher, vice president of the Florida Water Environment Association Utility Council, said the EPA is rushing to meet an arbitrary deadline without adequately analyzing the costs. The $25 to $50 billion estimates to retrofit the state's sewage plants with microfiltration and reverse osmosis systems, he said, "are just the tip of the iceberg.'' Cities might face far larger bills to clean fertilizers flushed from suburban lawns every time it rains.
"This is really about the return for the investment and the environmental benefits we will get,'' he said.
Environmentalists counter that foes are ignoring the long-term impact of stagnant lakes and estuaries and rotting fish on beaches to an economy that more than ever needs to draw visitors and home buyers.
VAGUE 'NARRATIVE'They contend opponents are primarily looking to preserve revenue streams and profit margins protected by the vague "narrative'' state standards that allow the continued release of high volumes of nutrients. The St. Johns, for instance, remains periodically under health advisories despite the state cleanup plan, they said.
"Asking for clean water is not a stretch,'' said St. Johns Riverkeeper Neil Armingeon. "There are algae blooms even today in the St. Johns River. Moving forward quickly is an imperative.''
After losing on the legal front, a powerful coalition of agriculture and business interests, wastewater utilities, water managers and tax watchdogs is mounting a lobbying assault on pending federal rules that could force Florida to clean up pollution fouling lakes, canals, streams and beaches statewide.
The target: A settlement a federal judge in Tallahassee approved last week in a lawsuit brought by five environmental groups against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
It requires that federal regulators, for the first time, step in and set a state's water quality standards for nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus that flow into waterways from fertilized lawns, sewage plants, farms fields, cattle pastures and a host of other sources.
Opponents -- Associated Industries of Florida, Florida Farm Bureau, Florida Chamber of Commerce, Florida Stormwater Association, Florida Tax Watch, Sugarcane Growers Cooperative of Florida and some 60 other organizations that collectively wield considerable political clout -- argue the economic impacts could be staggering and far outweigh the environmental benefits.
They've called on state congressional leaders to block the EPA action, enlisted two former state environmental secretaries, Virginia Wetherell and Colleen Castille, and created a website branding the EPA rules a federal "water tax.'' Their projections for the cost to local and state governments for the cleanup: As much as $50 billion -- and that's just for overhauling the state's sewage systems, a price tag that could double customer's bills.
"I wish Florida were in a financial position to be able to throw billions at this issue,'' said Wetherell, who ran the state Department of Environmental Protection from 1993 to 1998. "I am concerned about the economy of Florida. I am concerned about how local government is going to fund all this.''
David Guest, an attorney for Earthjustice, a public interest law firm that sued the EPA for the environmental groups, called the opponents' projected numbers for cleanup wildly inflated "smoke and mirrors.''
"They're just making them up,'' he said. "You don't even know what the standards are going to be yet.''
Environmentalists said the tougher numeric standards are years overdue for nutrients, which have become the state's most widespread water woe.
High concentrations have triggered repeated algae blooms in Lake Okeechobee, the St. Johns, St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee rivers, along the beaches of Southwest Florida and other waterways. The nastiest blue-green blooms have left fish dead, waters too unhealthy to swim in and residents and tourists wheezing. The EPA, citing the Clean Water Act, first urged states to set legal water quality limits for nutrients more than a decade ago and warned the agency would set them itself by 2004 if states did not comply. Instead, Florida's Department of Environmental Protection adopted "narrative'' standards that state regulators have insisted are needed to address varying natural conditions in the waterways and water bodies.
The environmental groups -- the Florida Wildlife Federation, Sierra Club, St. Johns Riverkeeper and Environmental Conservancy of Southwest Florida -- sued in July 2008, arguing the state's standards were too vague, a point the EPA agreed with.
Under the settlement, approved over motions filed by lawyers for Florida Agricultural Commissioner Charles Bronson as well as objections from local governments and industries, EPA is scheduled to propose nutrient limits for lakes, streams and creeks in January and finalize them by October 2010. Limits for coastal waters and estuaries are due in January 2011, with final rules expected to be set by October 2011.
POLLUTERS ON RADARThe agreement could have significant impacts on polluters big and small, potentially requiring sewage plants to add new layers of treatment before discharging to surface waters or limiting or banning fertilizer use by suburban gardeners. Former state environmental secretary Castille said agency scientists had worked for years to develop standards and a regional cleanup plan with the EPA that reflected, and protected, the diversity of the state's waterbodies.
Castille acknowledged the state still had a long way to go, but said its existing system was working and dramatically cutting nutrient loading. She pointed to one model, adopted with cooperation of utilities, that cut nutrient flow to the St. Johns River in half.
"When I left in 2006, I thought we were all ready to go,'' she said. "Apparently, EPA changed its mind.''
Wetherell and Castille -- who led the DEP when state lawmakers overhauled Everglades pollution regulations, essentially pushing deadlines back a decade -- defended state oversight, calling Florida a national leader in water quality. Both became lobbyists after leaving the state but said they weren't representing clients in joining the fight against numeric standards they and other critics call ``scientifically unsound.''
But the bulk of the concern is the potential price tag of meeting those standards, whatever they may be, when Florida's economy and tax revenues remain in a free fall. Paul Steinbrecher, vice president of the Florida Water Environment Association Utility Council, said the EPA is rushing to meet an arbitrary deadline without adequately analyzing the costs. The $25 to $50 billion estimates to retrofit the state's sewage plants with microfiltration and reverse osmosis systems, he said, "are just the tip of the iceberg.'' Cities might face far larger bills to clean fertilizers flushed from suburban lawns every time it rains.
"This is really about the return for the investment and the environmental benefits we will get,'' he said.
Environmentalists counter that foes are ignoring the long-term impact of stagnant lakes and estuaries and rotting fish on beaches to an economy that more than ever needs to draw visitors and home buyers.
VAGUE 'NARRATIVE'They contend opponents are primarily looking to preserve revenue streams and profit margins protected by the vague "narrative'' state standards that allow the continued release of high volumes of nutrients. The St. Johns, for instance, remains periodically under health advisories despite the state cleanup plan, they said.
"Asking for clean water is not a stretch,'' said St. Johns Riverkeeper Neil Armingeon. "There are algae blooms even today in the St. Johns River. Moving forward quickly is an imperative.''
Florida coalition targets pending federal pollution rules -- Rule requires federal monitoring of St. Johns, other state waterways, beaches
By From Wire Reports
After losing on the legal front, a powerful coalition of agriculture and business interests, wastewater utilities, water managers and tax watchdogs is mounting a lobbying assault on pending federal rules that could force Florida to clean up pollution fouling lakes, canals, streams and beaches statewide.
The target: A settlement a federal judge in Tallahassee approved last week in a lawsuit brought by five environmental groups against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
It requires that federal regulators, for the first time, step in and set a state's water quality standards for nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus that flow into waterways from fertilized lawns, sewage plants, farms fields, cattle pastures and a host of other sources.
Opponents -- Associated Industries of Florida, Florida Farm Bureau, Florida Chamber of Commerce, Florida Stormwater Association, Florida Tax Watch, Sugarcane Growers Cooperative of Florida and some 60 other organizations that collectively wield considerable political clout -- argue the economic impacts could be staggering and far outweigh the environmental benefits.
They've called on state congressional leaders to block the EPA action, enlisted two former state environmental secretaries, Virginia Wetherell and Colleen Castille, and created a website branding the EPA rules a federal "water tax.'' Their projections for the cost to local and state governments for the cleanup: As much as $50 billion -- and that's just for overhauling the state's sewage systems, a price tag that could double customer's bills.
"I wish Florida were in a financial position to be able to throw billions at this issue,'' said Wetherell, who ran the state Department of Environmental Protection from 1993 to 1998. "I am concerned about the economy of Florida. I am concerned about how local government is going to fund all this.''
David Guest, an attorney for Earthjustice, a public interest law firm that sued the EPA for the environmental groups, called the opponents' projected numbers for cleanup wildly inflated "smoke and mirrors.''
"They're just making them up,'' he said. "You don't even know what the standards are going to be yet.''
Environmentalists said the tougher numeric standards are years overdue for nutrients, which have become the state's most widespread water woe.
High concentrations have triggered repeated algae blooms in Lake Okeechobee, the St. Johns, St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee rivers, along the beaches of Southwest Florida and other waterways. The nastiest blue-green blooms have left fish dead, waters too unhealthy to swim in and residents and tourists wheezing. The EPA, citing the Clean Water Act, first urged states to set legal water quality limits for nutrients more than a decade ago and warned the agency would set them itself by 2004 if states did not comply. Instead, Florida's Department of Environmental Protection adopted "narrative'' standards that state regulators have insisted are needed to address varying natural conditions in the waterways and water bodies.
The environmental groups -- the Florida Wildlife Federation, Sierra Club, St. Johns Riverkeeper and Environmental Conservancy of Southwest Florida -- sued in July 2008, arguing the state's standards were too vague, a point the EPA agreed with.
Under the settlement, approved over motions filed by lawyers for Florida Agricultural Commissioner Charles Bronson as well as objections from local governments and industries, EPA is scheduled to propose nutrient limits for lakes, streams and creeks in January and finalize them by October 2010. Limits for coastal waters and estuaries are due in January 2011, with final rules expected to be set by October 2011.
POLLUTERS ON RADARThe agreement could have significant impacts on polluters big and small, potentially requiring sewage plants to add new layers of treatment before discharging to surface waters or limiting or banning fertilizer use by suburban gardeners. Former state environmental secretary Castille said agency scientists had worked for years to develop standards and a regional cleanup plan with the EPA that reflected, and protected, the diversity of the state's waterbodies.
Castille acknowledged the state still had a long way to go, but said its existing system was working and dramatically cutting nutrient loading. She pointed to one model, adopted with cooperation of utilities, that cut nutrient flow to the St. Johns River in half.
"When I left in 2006, I thought we were all ready to go,'' she said. "Apparently, EPA changed its mind.''
Wetherell and Castille -- who led the DEP when state lawmakers overhauled Everglades pollution regulations, essentially pushing deadlines back a decade -- defended state oversight, calling Florida a national leader in water quality. Both became lobbyists after leaving the state but said they weren't representing clients in joining the fight against numeric standards they and other critics call ``scientifically unsound.''
But the bulk of the concern is the potential price tag of meeting those standards, whatever they may be, when Florida's economy and tax revenues remain in a free fall. Paul Steinbrecher, vice president of the Florida Water Environment Association Utility Council, said the EPA is rushing to meet an arbitrary deadline without adequately analyzing the costs. The $25 to $50 billion estimates to retrofit the state's sewage plants with microfiltration and reverse osmosis systems, he said, "are just the tip of the iceberg.'' Cities might face far larger bills to clean fertilizers flushed from suburban lawns every time it rains.
"This is really about the return for the investment and the environmental benefits we will get,'' he said.
Environmentalists counter that foes are ignoring the long-term impact of stagnant lakes and estuaries and rotting fish on beaches to an economy that more than ever needs to draw visitors and home buyers.
VAGUE 'NARRATIVE'They contend opponents are primarily looking to preserve revenue streams and profit margins protected by the vague "narrative'' state standards that allow the continued release of high volumes of nutrients. The St. Johns, for instance, remains periodically under health advisories despite the state cleanup plan, they said.
"Asking for clean water is not a stretch,'' said St. Johns Riverkeeper Neil Armingeon. "There are algae blooms even today in the St. Johns River. Moving forward quickly is an imperative.''
After losing on the legal front, a powerful coalition of agriculture and business interests, wastewater utilities, water managers and tax watchdogs is mounting a lobbying assault on pending federal rules that could force Florida to clean up pollution fouling lakes, canals, streams and beaches statewide.
The target: A settlement a federal judge in Tallahassee approved last week in a lawsuit brought by five environmental groups against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
It requires that federal regulators, for the first time, step in and set a state's water quality standards for nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus that flow into waterways from fertilized lawns, sewage plants, farms fields, cattle pastures and a host of other sources.
Opponents -- Associated Industries of Florida, Florida Farm Bureau, Florida Chamber of Commerce, Florida Stormwater Association, Florida Tax Watch, Sugarcane Growers Cooperative of Florida and some 60 other organizations that collectively wield considerable political clout -- argue the economic impacts could be staggering and far outweigh the environmental benefits.
They've called on state congressional leaders to block the EPA action, enlisted two former state environmental secretaries, Virginia Wetherell and Colleen Castille, and created a website branding the EPA rules a federal "water tax.'' Their projections for the cost to local and state governments for the cleanup: As much as $50 billion -- and that's just for overhauling the state's sewage systems, a price tag that could double customer's bills.
"I wish Florida were in a financial position to be able to throw billions at this issue,'' said Wetherell, who ran the state Department of Environmental Protection from 1993 to 1998. "I am concerned about the economy of Florida. I am concerned about how local government is going to fund all this.''
David Guest, an attorney for Earthjustice, a public interest law firm that sued the EPA for the environmental groups, called the opponents' projected numbers for cleanup wildly inflated "smoke and mirrors.''
"They're just making them up,'' he said. "You don't even know what the standards are going to be yet.''
Environmentalists said the tougher numeric standards are years overdue for nutrients, which have become the state's most widespread water woe.
High concentrations have triggered repeated algae blooms in Lake Okeechobee, the St. Johns, St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee rivers, along the beaches of Southwest Florida and other waterways. The nastiest blue-green blooms have left fish dead, waters too unhealthy to swim in and residents and tourists wheezing. The EPA, citing the Clean Water Act, first urged states to set legal water quality limits for nutrients more than a decade ago and warned the agency would set them itself by 2004 if states did not comply. Instead, Florida's Department of Environmental Protection adopted "narrative'' standards that state regulators have insisted are needed to address varying natural conditions in the waterways and water bodies.
The environmental groups -- the Florida Wildlife Federation, Sierra Club, St. Johns Riverkeeper and Environmental Conservancy of Southwest Florida -- sued in July 2008, arguing the state's standards were too vague, a point the EPA agreed with.
Under the settlement, approved over motions filed by lawyers for Florida Agricultural Commissioner Charles Bronson as well as objections from local governments and industries, EPA is scheduled to propose nutrient limits for lakes, streams and creeks in January and finalize them by October 2010. Limits for coastal waters and estuaries are due in January 2011, with final rules expected to be set by October 2011.
POLLUTERS ON RADARThe agreement could have significant impacts on polluters big and small, potentially requiring sewage plants to add new layers of treatment before discharging to surface waters or limiting or banning fertilizer use by suburban gardeners. Former state environmental secretary Castille said agency scientists had worked for years to develop standards and a regional cleanup plan with the EPA that reflected, and protected, the diversity of the state's waterbodies.
Castille acknowledged the state still had a long way to go, but said its existing system was working and dramatically cutting nutrient loading. She pointed to one model, adopted with cooperation of utilities, that cut nutrient flow to the St. Johns River in half.
"When I left in 2006, I thought we were all ready to go,'' she said. "Apparently, EPA changed its mind.''
Wetherell and Castille -- who led the DEP when state lawmakers overhauled Everglades pollution regulations, essentially pushing deadlines back a decade -- defended state oversight, calling Florida a national leader in water quality. Both became lobbyists after leaving the state but said they weren't representing clients in joining the fight against numeric standards they and other critics call ``scientifically unsound.''
But the bulk of the concern is the potential price tag of meeting those standards, whatever they may be, when Florida's economy and tax revenues remain in a free fall. Paul Steinbrecher, vice president of the Florida Water Environment Association Utility Council, said the EPA is rushing to meet an arbitrary deadline without adequately analyzing the costs. The $25 to $50 billion estimates to retrofit the state's sewage plants with microfiltration and reverse osmosis systems, he said, "are just the tip of the iceberg.'' Cities might face far larger bills to clean fertilizers flushed from suburban lawns every time it rains.
"This is really about the return for the investment and the environmental benefits we will get,'' he said.
Environmentalists counter that foes are ignoring the long-term impact of stagnant lakes and estuaries and rotting fish on beaches to an economy that more than ever needs to draw visitors and home buyers.
VAGUE 'NARRATIVE'They contend opponents are primarily looking to preserve revenue streams and profit margins protected by the vague "narrative'' state standards that allow the continued release of high volumes of nutrients. The St. Johns, for instance, remains periodically under health advisories despite the state cleanup plan, they said.
"Asking for clean water is not a stretch,'' said St. Johns Riverkeeper Neil Armingeon. "There are algae blooms even today in the St. Johns River. Moving forward quickly is an imperative.''
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
USDOJ Press Release: President Obama Establishes Interagency Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force
Press Release
U.S. Department of Justice
For Immediate Release
November 17, 2009
PAO
(202) 514-2007
TDD (202) 514-1888
www.usdoj.gov
President Obama Establishes Interagency Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force
WASHINGTON—Attorney General Eric Holder, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan, and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairwoman Mary Schapiro today announced that President Barack Obama has established by Executive Order an interagency Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force to strengthen efforts to combat financial crime. The Department of Justice will lead the task force and the Department of Treasury, HUD, and the SEC will serve on the steering committee. The task force’s leadership, along with representatives from a broad range of federal agencies, regulatory authorities and inspectors general, will work with state and local partners to investigate and prosecute significant financial crimes, ensure just and effective punishment for those who perpetrate financial crimes, address discrimination in the lending and financial markets and recover proceeds for victims.
The task force, which replaces the Corporate Fraud Task Force established in 2002, will build upon efforts already underway to combat mortgage, securities and corporate fraud by increasing coordination and fully utilizing the resources and expertise of the government’s law enforcement and regulatory apparatus. The attorney general will convene the first meeting of the Task Force in the next 30 days.
“This task force’s mission is not just to hold accountable those who helped bring about the last financial meltdown, but to prevent another meltdown from happening,” Attorney General Eric Holder said. “We will be relentless in our investigation of corporate and financial wrongdoing, and will not hesitate to bring charges, where appropriate, for criminal misconduct on the part of businesses and business executives.”
“Through the Financial Fraud Task Force, we are making clear that the Obama Administration is going to act aggressively and proactively in a coordinated effort to combat financial fraud,” said Treasury Secretary Geithner. “It’s not enough to prosecute fraud only after it’s become widespread. We can’t wait for problems to peak before we respond. We’re seeking comprehensive financial reform to create a more stable, safer financial system and stepping up our enforcement strategy. Doing so will help to stop emerging trends in financial fraud before they’re able to cause extensive, system-wide damage to our economy.”
“To give American families the protection and peace-of-mind they need, it’s clear the federal response must be as interconnected and multi-dimensional as the challenges we face,” said HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan. “No one agency is going to be able to stop financial fraud. This Task force will build upon many of the inter-agency collaborations already underway to protect consumers and restore confidence.”
“Many financial frauds are complicated puzzles that require painstaking efforts to piece together. By formally coordinating our efforts, we will be better able to identify the pieces, assemble the puzzle and put an end to the fraud,” said SEC Chairman Mary Schapiro.
The task force is composed of senior-level officials from the following departments, agencies and offices:
*
the Department of Justice;
*
the Department of the Treasury;
*
the Department of Commerce;
*
the Department of Labor;
*
the Department of Housing and Urban Development;
*
the Department of Education;
*
the Department of Homeland Security;
*
the Securities and Exchange Commission;
*
the Commodity Futures Trading Commission;
*
the Federal Trade Commission;
*
the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation;
*
the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System;
*
the Federal Housing Finance Agency;
*
the Office of Thrift Supervision;
*
the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency;
*
the Small Business Administration;
*
the Federal Bureau of Investigation;
*
the Social Security Administration;
*
the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigations;
*
the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network;
*
the United States Postal Inspection Service;
*
the United States Secret Service;
*
the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement;
*
relevant Offices of Inspectors General and related Federal entities, including without limitation the Office of the Inspector General for the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board and the Office of the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program; and
*
such other executive branch departments, agencies, or offices as the President may, from time to time, designate or that the Attorney General may invite.
In addition, the attorney general will invite representatives of the National Association of Attorneys General, the National District Attorneys Association and other state, local, tribal, and territorial representatives to participate in the task force through its Enforcement Committee
U.S. Department of Justice
For Immediate Release
November 17, 2009
PAO
(202) 514-2007
TDD (202) 514-1888
www.usdoj.gov
President Obama Establishes Interagency Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force
WASHINGTON—Attorney General Eric Holder, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan, and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairwoman Mary Schapiro today announced that President Barack Obama has established by Executive Order an interagency Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force to strengthen efforts to combat financial crime. The Department of Justice will lead the task force and the Department of Treasury, HUD, and the SEC will serve on the steering committee. The task force’s leadership, along with representatives from a broad range of federal agencies, regulatory authorities and inspectors general, will work with state and local partners to investigate and prosecute significant financial crimes, ensure just and effective punishment for those who perpetrate financial crimes, address discrimination in the lending and financial markets and recover proceeds for victims.
The task force, which replaces the Corporate Fraud Task Force established in 2002, will build upon efforts already underway to combat mortgage, securities and corporate fraud by increasing coordination and fully utilizing the resources and expertise of the government’s law enforcement and regulatory apparatus. The attorney general will convene the first meeting of the Task Force in the next 30 days.
“This task force’s mission is not just to hold accountable those who helped bring about the last financial meltdown, but to prevent another meltdown from happening,” Attorney General Eric Holder said. “We will be relentless in our investigation of corporate and financial wrongdoing, and will not hesitate to bring charges, where appropriate, for criminal misconduct on the part of businesses and business executives.”
“Through the Financial Fraud Task Force, we are making clear that the Obama Administration is going to act aggressively and proactively in a coordinated effort to combat financial fraud,” said Treasury Secretary Geithner. “It’s not enough to prosecute fraud only after it’s become widespread. We can’t wait for problems to peak before we respond. We’re seeking comprehensive financial reform to create a more stable, safer financial system and stepping up our enforcement strategy. Doing so will help to stop emerging trends in financial fraud before they’re able to cause extensive, system-wide damage to our economy.”
“To give American families the protection and peace-of-mind they need, it’s clear the federal response must be as interconnected and multi-dimensional as the challenges we face,” said HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan. “No one agency is going to be able to stop financial fraud. This Task force will build upon many of the inter-agency collaborations already underway to protect consumers and restore confidence.”
“Many financial frauds are complicated puzzles that require painstaking efforts to piece together. By formally coordinating our efforts, we will be better able to identify the pieces, assemble the puzzle and put an end to the fraud,” said SEC Chairman Mary Schapiro.
The task force is composed of senior-level officials from the following departments, agencies and offices:
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the Department of Justice;
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the Department of the Treasury;
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the Department of Commerce;
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the Department of Labor;
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the Department of Housing and Urban Development;
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the Department of Education;
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the Department of Homeland Security;
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the Securities and Exchange Commission;
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the Commodity Futures Trading Commission;
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the Federal Trade Commission;
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the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation;
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the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System;
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the Federal Housing Finance Agency;
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the Office of Thrift Supervision;
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the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency;
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the Small Business Administration;
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the Federal Bureau of Investigation;
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the Social Security Administration;
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the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigations;
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the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network;
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the United States Postal Inspection Service;
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the United States Secret Service;
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the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement;
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relevant Offices of Inspectors General and related Federal entities, including without limitation the Office of the Inspector General for the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board and the Office of the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program; and
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such other executive branch departments, agencies, or offices as the President may, from time to time, designate or that the Attorney General may invite.
In addition, the attorney general will invite representatives of the National Association of Attorneys General, the National District Attorneys Association and other state, local, tribal, and territorial representatives to participate in the task force through its Enforcement Committee
LA Times: Judge orders compensation for gay couple denied benefits
Judge orders compensation for gay couple denied benefits
November 18, 2009 | 11:15 am
A federal judge today ordered compensation for a Los Angeles couple denied spousal benefits by the federal government because they are gay men.
U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Stephen Reinhardt deemed the denial of healthcare and other benefits to the spouse of federal public defender Brad Levenson to be a violation of the Constitution's guarantee of due process and discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, which is prohibited by California state law.
Levenson married his longtime partner, Tony Sears, on July 12, 2008, during the five-month period when same-sex marriage was legal in California. A ballot measure, Proposition 8, was passed a year ago defining marriage as between one man and one woman.
Reinhardt, who is the federal judge responsible for resolving employee disputes in the Federal Public Defenders office within the 9th Circuit, had earlier ordered the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts to process Levenson's application for spousal benefits for Sears. The federal government's Office of Personnel Management stepped in to derail the enrollment, however, citing the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act that prohibits the recognition of same-sex marriage for the purpose of federal benefits or programs.
Levenson appealed, seeking either an independently contracted benefits package for his spouse or payment of the equivalent value of the coverage denied. Reinhardt ordered the latter, based on a "back pay" provision in the law covering federal defense lawyers' employment.
"Considering that the federal government won't give Tony the equal benefits package of other spouses, we are very pleased with this decision," said Levenson. "Is it equal treatment? No. Is it a good remedy? Yes. And we are appreciative of the judge's order."
Levenson said he and Sears have been keeping track of the costs of insuring Sears independently and estimate the back pay and future compensation will amount to thousands of dollars each year.
The judge's order is expected to resolve the injustice Reinhardt has cited in previous orders in Levenson's case. But it also recognizes the status quo of federal government rejection of gay marriage under the Defense of Marriage Act. Several other challenges by those denied federal benefits, like filing joint tax returns, are making their way slowly through the federal courts.
The Obama administration has spoken out against what it sees as a discriminatory policy toward gay spouses of federal employees but Atty. Gen. Eric Holder has also said his office is obliged to defend the practice as long as the Defense of Marriage Act remains law.
-- Carol J. Williams
November 18, 2009 | 11:15 am
A federal judge today ordered compensation for a Los Angeles couple denied spousal benefits by the federal government because they are gay men.
U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Stephen Reinhardt deemed the denial of healthcare and other benefits to the spouse of federal public defender Brad Levenson to be a violation of the Constitution's guarantee of due process and discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, which is prohibited by California state law.
Levenson married his longtime partner, Tony Sears, on July 12, 2008, during the five-month period when same-sex marriage was legal in California. A ballot measure, Proposition 8, was passed a year ago defining marriage as between one man and one woman.
Reinhardt, who is the federal judge responsible for resolving employee disputes in the Federal Public Defenders office within the 9th Circuit, had earlier ordered the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts to process Levenson's application for spousal benefits for Sears. The federal government's Office of Personnel Management stepped in to derail the enrollment, however, citing the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act that prohibits the recognition of same-sex marriage for the purpose of federal benefits or programs.
Levenson appealed, seeking either an independently contracted benefits package for his spouse or payment of the equivalent value of the coverage denied. Reinhardt ordered the latter, based on a "back pay" provision in the law covering federal defense lawyers' employment.
"Considering that the federal government won't give Tony the equal benefits package of other spouses, we are very pleased with this decision," said Levenson. "Is it equal treatment? No. Is it a good remedy? Yes. And we are appreciative of the judge's order."
Levenson said he and Sears have been keeping track of the costs of insuring Sears independently and estimate the back pay and future compensation will amount to thousands of dollars each year.
The judge's order is expected to resolve the injustice Reinhardt has cited in previous orders in Levenson's case. But it also recognizes the status quo of federal government rejection of gay marriage under the Defense of Marriage Act. Several other challenges by those denied federal benefits, like filing joint tax returns, are making their way slowly through the federal courts.
The Obama administration has spoken out against what it sees as a discriminatory policy toward gay spouses of federal employees but Atty. Gen. Eric Holder has also said his office is obliged to defend the practice as long as the Defense of Marriage Act remains law.
-- Carol J. Williams
Mosquito Board clears vote for new headquarters
By PETER GUINTA
Anastasia Mosquito Control District officials looked more tired than joyful Tuesday morning after the St. Johns County Commission, in two votes, approved a zoning and land use change that clears the way to build the district's proposed $2 million, 8,000-square-foot headquarters on 9.2 acres off State Road 16.
But that positive result for the district didn't come without twists and turns.
It took the commission four votes to reach a conclusion. Commissioner Cyndi Stevenson first voted against the rezoning, then voted against denying it, then ultimately made the motion to approve and voted for it.
After the approval, attorney Douglas Wyckoff, representing AMCD, said, "We've got the land use change and rezoning. We're happy about that. We're looking to move ahead."
AMCD staff had been stressed by a months-long standoff with the county over a side issue -- the district's efficiency -- as well as trying to blunt a nasty, public campaign by board member John Sundeman, who wanted to tank the headquarters project.
Sundeman said Tuesday that AMCD didn't need a new headquarters and accused board and management of approving a long-term budget that is "a travesty and a brutal waste" of $17 million over the next five years.
Teresa Bishop, long-range planning division director, said the Planning and Zoning Agency recommended the change in a 6-0 vote on July 2.
The application seemed closer to approval when Sundeman said AMCD planned to eventually fly two helicopters from the property, which lies in a Residential B area.
He said AMCD would operate the aircraft at night, with pilots using night-vision goggles.
"We don't need helicopters," he said.
That led to a 2-2 vote on the rezoning, meaning the motion to pass had failed.
Stevenson -- probably envisioning pesticide-loaded helicopters flying low over a residential neighborhood nearby -- voted against, citing safety reasons.
Mays voted across the board to deny both the land change and rezoning. His motion to deny failed when Stevenson voted against it.
"It's clear to me that if (the rezoning) fails, we go right across the street to the courthouse," she said.
The district had threatened suit against the county if the land use change rezoning were rejected, because the county had signed a memorandum with the district that it would approve both when they came before the board.
Stevenson suggested modifying the rezoning ordinance to remove the helicopter, and when the appropriate language was inserted, she made a motion to approve it if the helicopter would be allowed only by a special use exemption.
That passed 3-1 with Mays against and Mark Miner, who is in Fort Dix, N.J., for military training, absent.
Mays said he voted against it due to the project's lack of compatibility with the surrounding area, which now is only woods.
At one point, discussion veered toward the county's past head-to-head relationship with AMCD.
Stevenson said, "This is a land use decision. It's not a policy decision on the role of government."
Anastasia Mosquito Control District officials looked more tired than joyful Tuesday morning after the St. Johns County Commission, in two votes, approved a zoning and land use change that clears the way to build the district's proposed $2 million, 8,000-square-foot headquarters on 9.2 acres off State Road 16.
But that positive result for the district didn't come without twists and turns.
It took the commission four votes to reach a conclusion. Commissioner Cyndi Stevenson first voted against the rezoning, then voted against denying it, then ultimately made the motion to approve and voted for it.
After the approval, attorney Douglas Wyckoff, representing AMCD, said, "We've got the land use change and rezoning. We're happy about that. We're looking to move ahead."
AMCD staff had been stressed by a months-long standoff with the county over a side issue -- the district's efficiency -- as well as trying to blunt a nasty, public campaign by board member John Sundeman, who wanted to tank the headquarters project.
Sundeman said Tuesday that AMCD didn't need a new headquarters and accused board and management of approving a long-term budget that is "a travesty and a brutal waste" of $17 million over the next five years.
Teresa Bishop, long-range planning division director, said the Planning and Zoning Agency recommended the change in a 6-0 vote on July 2.
The application seemed closer to approval when Sundeman said AMCD planned to eventually fly two helicopters from the property, which lies in a Residential B area.
He said AMCD would operate the aircraft at night, with pilots using night-vision goggles.
"We don't need helicopters," he said.
That led to a 2-2 vote on the rezoning, meaning the motion to pass had failed.
Stevenson -- probably envisioning pesticide-loaded helicopters flying low over a residential neighborhood nearby -- voted against, citing safety reasons.
Mays voted across the board to deny both the land change and rezoning. His motion to deny failed when Stevenson voted against it.
"It's clear to me that if (the rezoning) fails, we go right across the street to the courthouse," she said.
The district had threatened suit against the county if the land use change rezoning were rejected, because the county had signed a memorandum with the district that it would approve both when they came before the board.
Stevenson suggested modifying the rezoning ordinance to remove the helicopter, and when the appropriate language was inserted, she made a motion to approve it if the helicopter would be allowed only by a special use exemption.
That passed 3-1 with Mays against and Mark Miner, who is in Fort Dix, N.J., for military training, absent.
Mays said he voted against it due to the project's lack of compatibility with the surrounding area, which now is only woods.
At one point, discussion veered toward the county's past head-to-head relationship with AMCD.
Stevenson said, "This is a land use decision. It's not a policy decision on the role of government."
Dissension at Mosquito Control meeting
By JENNIFER EDWARDS
The Anastasia Mosquito Control District is a step closer to constructing a new headquarters, but the five-member commission remains divided about whether a new building is necessary.
The St. Johns County Commission agreed Tuesday during the day to rezone the land needed for the headquarters, but discussion at Tuesday's meeting later that day of the Mosquito Control Board did little to contradict that commission's image as fractious and argumentative.
Mosquito Control Commissioner John Sundeman said a plan to construct the headquarters on land off State Road 16 near Interstate 95 has "some serious problems" about its cost, estimated at $3.6 million.
"I don't want to do anything out there," he said, referring to the rezoned property. "I want to stay right here," meaning the Mosquito Control District's office on Anastasia Island.
Commissioner Vivian Browning said that the goal of the board's five-year plan was "to get the cost of the facility down."
Another commissioner, Ron Radford, also said that the board should look at ways to make a new facility more cost efficient.
"What we are doing now is understanding what the costs of a new facility would be," he said. "We are going to be looking at what the most cost-effective facility could be."
"You're a good salesman," Sundeman replied.
Sundeman and the others members of the board also disagreed over the background of the board's attorney, details of the attorney's bill and the need for a public relations firm. Sundeman was in the minority in every vote.
The sparring started early in the meeting when Commissioner Jeanne Moeller moved that the board remove from its agenda an item that Sundeman initiated on the background of the board's attorney, Douglas Wycoff.
Chairwoman Janice Bequette repeatedly called order as Sundeman sought to get on the record questions about Wycoff's background and personal finances.
"I don't care about the (personal) life of our attorney ...," Jeanne Moeller said. "We don't need to degradate one of our own."
The board agreed, and in a 4 to 1 vote removed the item from the agenda.
Sundeman also questioned non-itemized bills from Wycoff that included charges for telephone calls to undisclosed parties.
"If the board wants me to change my invoicing pattern, I will," Wycoff replied. "I am not at the whim and caprice of one commissioner."
Sundeman made a motion to have Wycoff detail his bill but it died for lack of a second.
He also found himself on the losing end of a discussion whether to explore hiring a public relations company.
Bequette was in favor of hiring a company.
"I think we have some definite damage control that needs to be tended," she said.
Sundeman disagreed.
"Why should we spend money to make the commissioners look good?" he said. "To me, that's an absolute waste of money."
The issue was tabled until the next regular meeting in December.
A St. Johns County Sheriff's Deputy attended the meeting. The deputy said he was there "to keep the peace" because of the presence of Sundeman and community activist Ed Slavin, a regular at the Mosquito Board. He said it was not the first time he has been asked to attend Mosquito Control Board meetings.
Also at the meeting:
The board approved changing employees' health insurance policies for budget reasons. The plans will now pay for 80 percent of costs after the deductible is met, rather than 100 percent.
The upside is that the amount employees pay for the plan will decrease, Assistant Director Priscilla Greene said.
To see the district's draft five-year plan, check out its Web site, http://www.amcdsjc.org.
The Anastasia Mosquito Control District is a step closer to constructing a new headquarters, but the five-member commission remains divided about whether a new building is necessary.
The St. Johns County Commission agreed Tuesday during the day to rezone the land needed for the headquarters, but discussion at Tuesday's meeting later that day of the Mosquito Control Board did little to contradict that commission's image as fractious and argumentative.
Mosquito Control Commissioner John Sundeman said a plan to construct the headquarters on land off State Road 16 near Interstate 95 has "some serious problems" about its cost, estimated at $3.6 million.
"I don't want to do anything out there," he said, referring to the rezoned property. "I want to stay right here," meaning the Mosquito Control District's office on Anastasia Island.
Commissioner Vivian Browning said that the goal of the board's five-year plan was "to get the cost of the facility down."
Another commissioner, Ron Radford, also said that the board should look at ways to make a new facility more cost efficient.
"What we are doing now is understanding what the costs of a new facility would be," he said. "We are going to be looking at what the most cost-effective facility could be."
"You're a good salesman," Sundeman replied.
Sundeman and the others members of the board also disagreed over the background of the board's attorney, details of the attorney's bill and the need for a public relations firm. Sundeman was in the minority in every vote.
The sparring started early in the meeting when Commissioner Jeanne Moeller moved that the board remove from its agenda an item that Sundeman initiated on the background of the board's attorney, Douglas Wycoff.
Chairwoman Janice Bequette repeatedly called order as Sundeman sought to get on the record questions about Wycoff's background and personal finances.
"I don't care about the (personal) life of our attorney ...," Jeanne Moeller said. "We don't need to degradate one of our own."
The board agreed, and in a 4 to 1 vote removed the item from the agenda.
Sundeman also questioned non-itemized bills from Wycoff that included charges for telephone calls to undisclosed parties.
"If the board wants me to change my invoicing pattern, I will," Wycoff replied. "I am not at the whim and caprice of one commissioner."
Sundeman made a motion to have Wycoff detail his bill but it died for lack of a second.
He also found himself on the losing end of a discussion whether to explore hiring a public relations company.
Bequette was in favor of hiring a company.
"I think we have some definite damage control that needs to be tended," she said.
Sundeman disagreed.
"Why should we spend money to make the commissioners look good?" he said. "To me, that's an absolute waste of money."
The issue was tabled until the next regular meeting in December.
A St. Johns County Sheriff's Deputy attended the meeting. The deputy said he was there "to keep the peace" because of the presence of Sundeman and community activist Ed Slavin, a regular at the Mosquito Board. He said it was not the first time he has been asked to attend Mosquito Control Board meetings.
Also at the meeting:
The board approved changing employees' health insurance policies for budget reasons. The plans will now pay for 80 percent of costs after the deductible is met, rather than 100 percent.
The upside is that the amount employees pay for the plan will decrease, Assistant Director Priscilla Greene said.
To see the district's draft five-year plan, check out its Web site, http://www.amcdsjc.org.
AP: Salt Lake OKs gay rights laws with Mormon backing
By JENNIFER DOBNER, Associated Press Writers Jennifer Dobner, Associated Press Writers Wed Nov 11, 11:36 am ET
SALT LAKE CITY – The Mormon church for the first time has announced its support of gay rights legislation, an endorsement that helped gain unanimous approval for Salt Lake city laws banning discrimination against gays in housing and employment.
The Utah-based church's support ahead of Tuesday night's vote came despite its steadfast opposition to gay marriage, reflected in the high-profile role it played last year in California's Proposition 8 ballot measure that barred such unions.
"The church supports these ordinances because they are fair and reasonable and do not do violence to the institution of marriage," Michael Otterson, the director of public affairs for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints said.
Passage made Salt Lake City the first Utah community to prohibit bias based on sexual orientation or gender identity. Under the two new ordinances, it is illegal to fire someone from their job or evict someone from their residence because they are lesbian, bisexual, gay or transgender.
Utah lawmakers tend to quickly fall in line when the influential church makes a rare foray into legislative politics. So Tuesday's action could have broad effects in this highly conservative state where more than 80 percent of lawmakers and the governor are church members.
"What happened here tonight I do believe is a historic event," said Brandie Balken, director of the gay rights advocacy group Equality Utah. "I think it establishes that we can stand together on common ground that we don't have to agree on everything, but there are lot of things that we can work on and be allies."
But the church has pointed out an inherent dispute it has with gay relationships. Mormonism considers traditional marriages central to God's plan. Gays are welcome in church, but must remain celibate to retain church callings and full membership.
Its strong support for Proposition 8 in California last year drew a sharp reaction from gay rights supporters nationwide, with many protesting outside temples that singled out Mormons as the key culprits in restricting the rights of gay couples.
Since then, however, Utah's gay community has sought to engage church leaders in quiet conversations to help foster better understanding, said Valerie Larabee, executive director of the Utah Pride Center.
"I thought this conversation would never come to be while I was here in Salt Lake City," said Larabee, adding that the discussions have "shifted her perspective of what's possible" and could foreshadow a different relationship between the two sides.
But addressing the council on Tuesday, Otterson said the endorsement is not a shift in the church's position on gay rights and stressed it "remains unequivocally committed to defending the bedrock foundation of marriage between a man and a woman."
Church support for the ordinances is due in part to the way the legislation was drafted to protect those rights. Exceptions in the legislation allow churches to maintain, without penalty, religious principles and religion-based codes of conduct or rules.
"In drafting these ordinances, the city has granted commonsense rights that should be available to everyone, while safeguarding the crucial rights of religious organizations," Otterson said Tuesday.
Previous Utah legislation that sought statewide protections for the gay community did not contain those exceptions.
And although this was the church's first public endorsement of specific legislation, it is not the first time the church has voiced support for some gay rights. In August 2008 the church issued a statement saying it supports gay rights related to hospitalization, medical care, employment, housing or probate as long as they "do not infringe on the integrity of the traditional family or the constitutional rights of churches."
Last year, church leaders were silent on a package of gay rights bills known as the Common Ground Initiative, dooming them from the start, despite the bill having the support of the most popular governor in state history, Jon Huntsman. Huntsman resigned this summer to become U.S. ambassador to China.
His successor, Gov. Gary Herbert, has repeatedly said it shouldn't be illegal to discriminate against someone for being gay.
SALT LAKE CITY – The Mormon church for the first time has announced its support of gay rights legislation, an endorsement that helped gain unanimous approval for Salt Lake city laws banning discrimination against gays in housing and employment.
The Utah-based church's support ahead of Tuesday night's vote came despite its steadfast opposition to gay marriage, reflected in the high-profile role it played last year in California's Proposition 8 ballot measure that barred such unions.
"The church supports these ordinances because they are fair and reasonable and do not do violence to the institution of marriage," Michael Otterson, the director of public affairs for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints said.
Passage made Salt Lake City the first Utah community to prohibit bias based on sexual orientation or gender identity. Under the two new ordinances, it is illegal to fire someone from their job or evict someone from their residence because they are lesbian, bisexual, gay or transgender.
Utah lawmakers tend to quickly fall in line when the influential church makes a rare foray into legislative politics. So Tuesday's action could have broad effects in this highly conservative state where more than 80 percent of lawmakers and the governor are church members.
"What happened here tonight I do believe is a historic event," said Brandie Balken, director of the gay rights advocacy group Equality Utah. "I think it establishes that we can stand together on common ground that we don't have to agree on everything, but there are lot of things that we can work on and be allies."
But the church has pointed out an inherent dispute it has with gay relationships. Mormonism considers traditional marriages central to God's plan. Gays are welcome in church, but must remain celibate to retain church callings and full membership.
Its strong support for Proposition 8 in California last year drew a sharp reaction from gay rights supporters nationwide, with many protesting outside temples that singled out Mormons as the key culprits in restricting the rights of gay couples.
Since then, however, Utah's gay community has sought to engage church leaders in quiet conversations to help foster better understanding, said Valerie Larabee, executive director of the Utah Pride Center.
"I thought this conversation would never come to be while I was here in Salt Lake City," said Larabee, adding that the discussions have "shifted her perspective of what's possible" and could foreshadow a different relationship between the two sides.
But addressing the council on Tuesday, Otterson said the endorsement is not a shift in the church's position on gay rights and stressed it "remains unequivocally committed to defending the bedrock foundation of marriage between a man and a woman."
Church support for the ordinances is due in part to the way the legislation was drafted to protect those rights. Exceptions in the legislation allow churches to maintain, without penalty, religious principles and religion-based codes of conduct or rules.
"In drafting these ordinances, the city has granted commonsense rights that should be available to everyone, while safeguarding the crucial rights of religious organizations," Otterson said Tuesday.
Previous Utah legislation that sought statewide protections for the gay community did not contain those exceptions.
And although this was the church's first public endorsement of specific legislation, it is not the first time the church has voiced support for some gay rights. In August 2008 the church issued a statement saying it supports gay rights related to hospitalization, medical care, employment, housing or probate as long as they "do not infringe on the integrity of the traditional family or the constitutional rights of churches."
Last year, church leaders were silent on a package of gay rights bills known as the Common Ground Initiative, dooming them from the start, despite the bill having the support of the most popular governor in state history, Jon Huntsman. Huntsman resigned this summer to become U.S. ambassador to China.
His successor, Gov. Gary Herbert, has repeatedly said it shouldn't be illegal to discriminate against someone for being gay.
Mosquito Control Staff Loses Battle of the Books
At Anastasia Mosquito Control Commission of St. Johns County (AMCD) meetings, there's a notebook on the podium with the agenda packet and handouts.
Except at the last two meetings, when the "staff" decided it would be cute and play fast and loose with the public's right to know. There were some handouts at the last meeting that were not shared with the public until after they were discussed, while the "staff" hoarded copies on their desk.
Stiff-necked, hostile, ex-military officer PRISCILLA GREENE, the Assistant Director of AMCD, decided to place the board book materials on the Internet, with AMCD attorney Doug Wyckoff archly saying there was no legal requirement to have an agenda book available to the public. Before the meeting last night, I had to borrow one of the Commissioner's books before the meeting to know what's going on.
Looking on during our pre-meeting discussion was a St. Johns County Sheriff's Deputy in full-on gray SWAT drag, one of many fashion designer uniforms our fashion-conscious SHeriff DAVID SHOAR purchases for "his" troops.
The deputy told the Record's reporter he was there to keep an eye on Commissioner John Sundeman and community activist Ed Slavin. (See story above).
So much for illegal surveillance and chilling First Amendment protected activity.
Also looking on were two St. Augustine Record reporters, a photographer, and the News Editor. They got to see first-hand the flimsy excuses offered by GREENE for her display of mendacity in eliminating the public's board book.
Chair Janice Bequette was aghast at the staff's perfidy. The public has a right to know what's going on in meetings, and to see the agenda book. It's our book. It's our board. It's our money.
Whereupon, upon convening, Commissioners voted to make two board books available for the public and the press in the future.
Not one Commissioner tried to defend GREENE's being a cognitive miser with our board books.
There's a lesson here: petty tyrants in government who think they can discourage reporters and citizens with tacky displays of animosity are wrong. It's never worked. Since the 1970s, not once has a government official's snootiness or nastiness deterred anyone I know (whether reporters or activists) from investigating government agencies and making their views none. Not once. The harrumphery and nastiness emitted by the Richard Nixon clones of the world actually encourages reporters and activists to dig deeper.
As subtle as a roach crawling across a white carpet, GREENE's display of adolescent pique at public participation and public questioning took the form of her requesting (at the behest of Commissioner RONALD RADFORD, a/k/a "COLONEL RONNIE RADFORD") to have a Sheriff's deputy at the meeting. Neither the staff nor the "COLONEL" consulted with the Chair before their feckless display of fashionable fascism, aimed at Commissioner Sundeman (and me).
"COLONEL" RADFORD follows in the despicable footsteps of disgraced former AMCD Chair BARBARA BOSANKO (spouse of controversial former County Attorney DAN BOSANKO). It was BARBARA BOSANKO who in 2007 called the Sheriff's deputies on Don Girvan, a former Army Captain who was speaking against the helicopter.
The helicopter contract was canceled in part due to BOSANKO's call (and subsequent videotaped Sunshine violation with another Commissioner and the Board's then-lawyer). You should have seen the young SHeriff's deputy come in and ask the Commissioners at the 2007y meeting, "what's going on here" and "who's in charge here," as he demanded that I go out in the hall with him. (I declined).
Matters being discussed at AMCD last night included a $6 million building, alleged misconduct by the District's counsel and director, and arsenic contamination of soil and groundwater at the Ponte Vedra mosquito control station.
During last night's the meeting, I publicly and proudly praised AMCD for its having become the first governmental agency in Northeast Florida to ban anti-Gay discrimination. As I said, it is the first, but it won't be the last. I actually nominated AMCD for a "bouquet" from Folio Weekly, which actually sends real bouqets for its weekly honors.
It was the first time in over ten years living here that I ever nominated anyone or any organization for either a "brickbat" or a "bouquet" from Folio. (The bouquet arrived at AMCD without a card, and the staff was without a clue for a week, not knowing who sent it or why, and apparently not reading Folio, which circulates 150,000 copies in Northeast Florida).
Clueless, reckless and feckless, PRISCILLA GREENE needs more than what could become up to a $150,000/year public relations contract (up for discussion next year).
PRISCILLA GREENE needs to learn manners.
PRISCILLA GREENE needs to learn some class.
PRISCILLA GREENE needs to stop wearing her emotions on her sleeve.
PRISCILLA GREENE needs to stop showing her a--.
Except at the last two meetings, when the "staff" decided it would be cute and play fast and loose with the public's right to know. There were some handouts at the last meeting that were not shared with the public until after they were discussed, while the "staff" hoarded copies on their desk.
Stiff-necked, hostile, ex-military officer PRISCILLA GREENE, the Assistant Director of AMCD, decided to place the board book materials on the Internet, with AMCD attorney Doug Wyckoff archly saying there was no legal requirement to have an agenda book available to the public. Before the meeting last night, I had to borrow one of the Commissioner's books before the meeting to know what's going on.
Looking on during our pre-meeting discussion was a St. Johns County Sheriff's Deputy in full-on gray SWAT drag, one of many fashion designer uniforms our fashion-conscious SHeriff DAVID SHOAR purchases for "his" troops.
The deputy told the Record's reporter he was there to keep an eye on Commissioner John Sundeman and community activist Ed Slavin. (See story above).
So much for illegal surveillance and chilling First Amendment protected activity.
Also looking on were two St. Augustine Record reporters, a photographer, and the News Editor. They got to see first-hand the flimsy excuses offered by GREENE for her display of mendacity in eliminating the public's board book.
Chair Janice Bequette was aghast at the staff's perfidy. The public has a right to know what's going on in meetings, and to see the agenda book. It's our book. It's our board. It's our money.
Whereupon, upon convening, Commissioners voted to make two board books available for the public and the press in the future.
Not one Commissioner tried to defend GREENE's being a cognitive miser with our board books.
There's a lesson here: petty tyrants in government who think they can discourage reporters and citizens with tacky displays of animosity are wrong. It's never worked. Since the 1970s, not once has a government official's snootiness or nastiness deterred anyone I know (whether reporters or activists) from investigating government agencies and making their views none. Not once. The harrumphery and nastiness emitted by the Richard Nixon clones of the world actually encourages reporters and activists to dig deeper.
As subtle as a roach crawling across a white carpet, GREENE's display of adolescent pique at public participation and public questioning took the form of her requesting (at the behest of Commissioner RONALD RADFORD, a/k/a "COLONEL RONNIE RADFORD") to have a Sheriff's deputy at the meeting. Neither the staff nor the "COLONEL" consulted with the Chair before their feckless display of fashionable fascism, aimed at Commissioner Sundeman (and me).
"COLONEL" RADFORD follows in the despicable footsteps of disgraced former AMCD Chair BARBARA BOSANKO (spouse of controversial former County Attorney DAN BOSANKO). It was BARBARA BOSANKO who in 2007 called the Sheriff's deputies on Don Girvan, a former Army Captain who was speaking against the helicopter.
The helicopter contract was canceled in part due to BOSANKO's call (and subsequent videotaped Sunshine violation with another Commissioner and the Board's then-lawyer). You should have seen the young SHeriff's deputy come in and ask the Commissioners at the 2007y meeting, "what's going on here" and "who's in charge here," as he demanded that I go out in the hall with him. (I declined).
Matters being discussed at AMCD last night included a $6 million building, alleged misconduct by the District's counsel and director, and arsenic contamination of soil and groundwater at the Ponte Vedra mosquito control station.
During last night's the meeting, I publicly and proudly praised AMCD for its having become the first governmental agency in Northeast Florida to ban anti-Gay discrimination. As I said, it is the first, but it won't be the last. I actually nominated AMCD for a "bouquet" from Folio Weekly, which actually sends real bouqets for its weekly honors.
It was the first time in over ten years living here that I ever nominated anyone or any organization for either a "brickbat" or a "bouquet" from Folio. (The bouquet arrived at AMCD without a card, and the staff was without a clue for a week, not knowing who sent it or why, and apparently not reading Folio, which circulates 150,000 copies in Northeast Florida).
Clueless, reckless and feckless, PRISCILLA GREENE needs more than what could become up to a $150,000/year public relations contract (up for discussion next year).
PRISCILLA GREENE needs to learn manners.
PRISCILLA GREENE needs to learn some class.
PRISCILLA GREENE needs to stop wearing her emotions on her sleeve.
PRISCILLA GREENE needs to stop showing her a--.
Galveston County, Texas Daily News: SECRECY NO BASIS FOR DEMOCRACY
Secrecy no basis for democracy
By Michael A. Smith
The Daily News
Published November 14, 2009
Disappearing people has become so fashionable among government agencies in this country we may soon be forced to pull down the Stars and Stripes and choose some other flag; one modeled after Argentina’s or Bulgaria’s perhaps.
Take two recent examples.
First, former federal Judge Samuel B. Kent, who was convicted in May of obstructing justice and sentenced to 33 months in prison, was moved last week from Devens Federal Medical Center in Ayers, Mass., to somewhere in Florida. Citing security, Florida Department of Corrections spokeswoman Joellyn Rackleff refused to provide details about where Kent is housed.
The people of United States convicted Kent. The people will pay his room and board for the 33 months. The people have a right to know whether he’s being kept at the bottom of a dry well with a bag over his head, at a country club mocked up to look vaguely like a prison or at some place between those extremes.
It has gotten far too easy for even fourth-tier bureaucrats to deny such fundamental rights by invoking some ephemeral security concern. None of our rights is safe when that’s allowed.
Even more troubling, a pair of FBI agents appeared in Galveston early this week and disappeared with Clayton Eric Claflin, 37, a homeless man who had been locked up for criminal trespassing and had sent some weird letters to a judge and an official at the housing authority.
In response to such reasonable questions as “Where did you take Claflin, why and under what authority?” Darrell Foxworth, a San Diego FBI spokesman, offered answers as creepy as anything George Orwell might have dreamed up.
“It is not appropriate for the FBI to confirm or deny the existence of investigations, absent certain circumstances,” Foxworth said in an e-mail.
“Our investigations are conducted in accordance with Department of Justice guidelines to ensure fairness, confidentiality and integrity of all aspects of investigations as much as possible.”
That translates to: Trust us, we’re from the government.
That’s good enough for some people. They assume themselves to be among the chosen, forever and ever, amen.
Students of history know that’s a risky assumption.
Other people demand better. Those like the country’s founders who preferred guaranteed rights over the crap-shoot variety, for example.
Government’s instinctive desire to operate secretly seldom has anything to do with legitimate security concerns. It more often is in service to the strongest bureaucratic instinct of all, self preservation.
Secrecy is handy. It allows governments to hide their mistakes and highlight their successes. It’s good for everything except the maintenance of democracy.
Copyright © 2009 The Galveston County Daily News
By Michael A. Smith
The Daily News
Published November 14, 2009
Disappearing people has become so fashionable among government agencies in this country we may soon be forced to pull down the Stars and Stripes and choose some other flag; one modeled after Argentina’s or Bulgaria’s perhaps.
Take two recent examples.
First, former federal Judge Samuel B. Kent, who was convicted in May of obstructing justice and sentenced to 33 months in prison, was moved last week from Devens Federal Medical Center in Ayers, Mass., to somewhere in Florida. Citing security, Florida Department of Corrections spokeswoman Joellyn Rackleff refused to provide details about where Kent is housed.
The people of United States convicted Kent. The people will pay his room and board for the 33 months. The people have a right to know whether he’s being kept at the bottom of a dry well with a bag over his head, at a country club mocked up to look vaguely like a prison or at some place between those extremes.
It has gotten far too easy for even fourth-tier bureaucrats to deny such fundamental rights by invoking some ephemeral security concern. None of our rights is safe when that’s allowed.
Even more troubling, a pair of FBI agents appeared in Galveston early this week and disappeared with Clayton Eric Claflin, 37, a homeless man who had been locked up for criminal trespassing and had sent some weird letters to a judge and an official at the housing authority.
In response to such reasonable questions as “Where did you take Claflin, why and under what authority?” Darrell Foxworth, a San Diego FBI spokesman, offered answers as creepy as anything George Orwell might have dreamed up.
“It is not appropriate for the FBI to confirm or deny the existence of investigations, absent certain circumstances,” Foxworth said in an e-mail.
“Our investigations are conducted in accordance with Department of Justice guidelines to ensure fairness, confidentiality and integrity of all aspects of investigations as much as possible.”
That translates to: Trust us, we’re from the government.
That’s good enough for some people. They assume themselves to be among the chosen, forever and ever, amen.
Students of history know that’s a risky assumption.
Other people demand better. Those like the country’s founders who preferred guaranteed rights over the crap-shoot variety, for example.
Government’s instinctive desire to operate secretly seldom has anything to do with legitimate security concerns. It more often is in service to the strongest bureaucratic instinct of all, self preservation.
Secrecy is handy. It allows governments to hide their mistakes and highlight their successes. It’s good for everything except the maintenance of democracy.
Copyright © 2009 The Galveston County Daily News
Monday, November 16, 2009
Ululating Rep. MICA misses the point
We don't want a new $10 million visitor center across from the Castillo.
All his taste is in his mouth.
We don't want pork -- we need a park -- the St. Augustine National Historical Park, Seashore and Scenic Coastal Parkway.
JOHN LUIGI MICA didn't comment on Faye Armitage's column on November 8th. Why not?
All his taste is in his mouth.
We don't want pork -- we need a park -- the St. Augustine National Historical Park, Seashore and Scenic Coastal Parkway.
JOHN LUIGI MICA didn't comment on Faye Armitage's column on November 8th. Why not?
REP. JOHN LUIGI MICA "explains 'no' vote 'Interior' bill"
JOHN L. MICA
U.S. Representative, District 7
Publication Date: 11/15/09
I wanted to respond to some of the comments in the St. Augustine Record relating to the Visitors Center and my vote on final passage of the Interior Appropriations bill.
First, it is important to again note that the Visitors Center for the Castillo de San Marcos will focus on the history of this historic national monument and provide museum and education facilities for more than 8,000 archeological and historic items related to both the fortress and St. Augustine which have not been available to the public. The center will also provide educational and visitor accommodations that are impossible in the 350-year-old fortress.
Millions of visitors will access the new center along with students and local residents. With this appropriation, it will not only provide a long-term economic boost to the community but also be a centerpiece of St. Augustine's 450th anniversary celebration. Having worked for six years on this project, I was pleased that this initial funding was included in a much larger Department of Interior appropriations bill.
While I support reasonable funding levels for the Interior department and protection of the environment during a time of economic crisis, I could not support the Interior appropriations bill Congress passed recentlly because the final appropriations measure increased spending $4.7 billion, or 17 percent, over the Fiscal Year 2009 enacted level.
This spending is in addition to $10.95 billion included for the Interior department in the stimulus. Spending for Interior and Environment accounts over the last year totaled an enacted bill, $10.95 billion in the stimulus and $250 million in the FY2009 Emergency Supplemental. Just as I supported infrastructures projects and certain funding in the stimulus package, the final stimulus package did not have my vote on final passage because of the $787 billion price tag and a number of other objectionable and unworthy provisions. In the past Republicans were criticized for one and two percent increases in discretionary appropriations spending in our federal budgets.
My father used to say, "It is not how much you spend, it is how you spend it.'' In nearly all of this year's appropriations bills there are items that I support that are important to our district and that can withstand scrutiny. However, I have voted and intend to vote against what I consider excessive spending in any and all final spending bills. This is not hypocrisy; it is responsible stewardship over hard-earned taxpayer dollars.
The Castillo project was properly authorized under a separate law, was completely and appropriately vetted, went through numerous reviews and is one of best investments the department will make over the next decades. Very few other projects will have more of an impact on jobs or future economic activity in our community than this Department of Interior initiative.
*
U.S. Rep. John L. Mica represents the Seventh Congressional District of which all of St. Johns County is included.
Click here to return to story:
http://staugustine.com/stories/111509/opinions_2172072.shtml
© The St. Augustine Record
U.S. Representative, District 7
Publication Date: 11/15/09
I wanted to respond to some of the comments in the St. Augustine Record relating to the Visitors Center and my vote on final passage of the Interior Appropriations bill.
First, it is important to again note that the Visitors Center for the Castillo de San Marcos will focus on the history of this historic national monument and provide museum and education facilities for more than 8,000 archeological and historic items related to both the fortress and St. Augustine which have not been available to the public. The center will also provide educational and visitor accommodations that are impossible in the 350-year-old fortress.
Millions of visitors will access the new center along with students and local residents. With this appropriation, it will not only provide a long-term economic boost to the community but also be a centerpiece of St. Augustine's 450th anniversary celebration. Having worked for six years on this project, I was pleased that this initial funding was included in a much larger Department of Interior appropriations bill.
While I support reasonable funding levels for the Interior department and protection of the environment during a time of economic crisis, I could not support the Interior appropriations bill Congress passed recentlly because the final appropriations measure increased spending $4.7 billion, or 17 percent, over the Fiscal Year 2009 enacted level.
This spending is in addition to $10.95 billion included for the Interior department in the stimulus. Spending for Interior and Environment accounts over the last year totaled an enacted bill, $10.95 billion in the stimulus and $250 million in the FY2009 Emergency Supplemental. Just as I supported infrastructures projects and certain funding in the stimulus package, the final stimulus package did not have my vote on final passage because of the $787 billion price tag and a number of other objectionable and unworthy provisions. In the past Republicans were criticized for one and two percent increases in discretionary appropriations spending in our federal budgets.
My father used to say, "It is not how much you spend, it is how you spend it.'' In nearly all of this year's appropriations bills there are items that I support that are important to our district and that can withstand scrutiny. However, I have voted and intend to vote against what I consider excessive spending in any and all final spending bills. This is not hypocrisy; it is responsible stewardship over hard-earned taxpayer dollars.
The Castillo project was properly authorized under a separate law, was completely and appropriately vetted, went through numerous reviews and is one of best investments the department will make over the next decades. Very few other projects will have more of an impact on jobs or future economic activity in our community than this Department of Interior initiative.
*
U.S. Rep. John L. Mica represents the Seventh Congressional District of which all of St. Johns County is included.
Click here to return to story:
http://staugustine.com/stories/111509/opinions_2172072.shtml
© The St. Augustine Record
Friday, November 13, 2009
Welcome back, Senator McGovern
We're all proud that Senator George S. McGovern chose to live half of each year in St. Augustine (see below). Welcome home!
Remembering veterans -- George McGovern, others describe memories at Veterans Day ceremony
MARCIA LANE
marcia.lane@staugustine.com
Publication Date: 11/12/09
To hear former Sen. George McGovern tell it, a junior high school gym coach was responsible for him becoming a bomber pilot during World War II.
His story, told at the only Veterans Day ceremony in St. Johns County on Wednesday, drew knowing chuckles from veterans in the audience who seemed to enjoy a guy who knows how random life's choices can be.
McGovern explained that as a young teen, part of his hym class drill was to run as fast as possible across the gym floor and then dive over the leather gymnastics pommel horse at the other end and land on a mat.
McGovern could run but couldn't bring himself to go over the horse because he knew "I would break my neck."
His coach finally asked, "What the hell's the matter with you?" and didn't accept McGovern's excuse.
"You're a physical coward," the coach told McGovern, who told Wednesday's audience he "wanted to die" when the coach said that in front of his 60-member class.
"That's why I became a bomber pilot. To show (the coach) he didn't know what he was talking about," McGovern explained.
McGovern, the longtime Democratic senator from South Dakota, is now a self-described "snow bird" in St. Augustine. He flew back Tuesday to be here in time for the ceremonies at St. Augustine Beach.
McGovern got laughs at the ceremonies as he explained why he became an Army flyer rather than a Navy flyer. McGovern was one of 10 young pilots from Dakota Wesleyan University who headed together to Omaha, Neb., to enlist shortly after Pearl Harbor was bombed. There was no Air Force in those days, so the young men were debating which recruiter to go see.
One said he understood the Army recruiter gave out a meal ticket to those who signed with him. It was worth about a dollar. All 10 signed with the Army, especially after one talked of what it must be like to try and land on a flight deck in a driving rain.
"That's the cheapest I ever sold out," McGovern told the crowd.
During WW II, while stationed in Italy, McGovern flew 35 missions over Europe and earned the Distinguished Flying Cross in the Dakota Queen, a bomber named after his wife, Eleanor.
McGovern turned more serious as he saluted, first, veterans and, then, Americans in general.
"We all contribute to this country," McGovern reminded them.
He took the opportunity to address something that has "upset" him - the "rash of condemnations of the federal government."
McGovern listed some of the "great things" the federal government has done, including the Veterans Administration and the millions of veterans helped by them. He spoke of the help they had given a friend of his - retired Sen. Robert Dole, a Republican.
Dole, he noted, was wounded in fighting during World War II, and his injuries required surgery for several years. He often carries a pen in his right hand, to keep people from trying to shake that still-damaged hand, McGovern said.
When another speaker mentioned Dole and McGovern's work to set up an international school food program, the crowd applauded and shouted.
McGovern pointed out other contributions by the federal government, including the Defense Department, the Food and Drug Act, the national forests and the interstate highway system.
"I wanted to take an opportunity to say a word on behalf of Uncle Sam and the U.S. government," McGovern said, drawing heavy applause from the crowd of more than 250.
Click here to return to story:
http://www.staugustine.com/stories/111209/news_2171089.shtml
© The St. Augustine Record
marcia.lane@staugustine.com
Publication Date: 11/12/09
To hear former Sen. George McGovern tell it, a junior high school gym coach was responsible for him becoming a bomber pilot during World War II.
His story, told at the only Veterans Day ceremony in St. Johns County on Wednesday, drew knowing chuckles from veterans in the audience who seemed to enjoy a guy who knows how random life's choices can be.
McGovern explained that as a young teen, part of his hym class drill was to run as fast as possible across the gym floor and then dive over the leather gymnastics pommel horse at the other end and land on a mat.
McGovern could run but couldn't bring himself to go over the horse because he knew "I would break my neck."
His coach finally asked, "What the hell's the matter with you?" and didn't accept McGovern's excuse.
"You're a physical coward," the coach told McGovern, who told Wednesday's audience he "wanted to die" when the coach said that in front of his 60-member class.
"That's why I became a bomber pilot. To show (the coach) he didn't know what he was talking about," McGovern explained.
McGovern, the longtime Democratic senator from South Dakota, is now a self-described "snow bird" in St. Augustine. He flew back Tuesday to be here in time for the ceremonies at St. Augustine Beach.
McGovern got laughs at the ceremonies as he explained why he became an Army flyer rather than a Navy flyer. McGovern was one of 10 young pilots from Dakota Wesleyan University who headed together to Omaha, Neb., to enlist shortly after Pearl Harbor was bombed. There was no Air Force in those days, so the young men were debating which recruiter to go see.
One said he understood the Army recruiter gave out a meal ticket to those who signed with him. It was worth about a dollar. All 10 signed with the Army, especially after one talked of what it must be like to try and land on a flight deck in a driving rain.
"That's the cheapest I ever sold out," McGovern told the crowd.
During WW II, while stationed in Italy, McGovern flew 35 missions over Europe and earned the Distinguished Flying Cross in the Dakota Queen, a bomber named after his wife, Eleanor.
McGovern turned more serious as he saluted, first, veterans and, then, Americans in general.
"We all contribute to this country," McGovern reminded them.
He took the opportunity to address something that has "upset" him - the "rash of condemnations of the federal government."
McGovern listed some of the "great things" the federal government has done, including the Veterans Administration and the millions of veterans helped by them. He spoke of the help they had given a friend of his - retired Sen. Robert Dole, a Republican.
Dole, he noted, was wounded in fighting during World War II, and his injuries required surgery for several years. He often carries a pen in his right hand, to keep people from trying to shake that still-damaged hand, McGovern said.
When another speaker mentioned Dole and McGovern's work to set up an international school food program, the crowd applauded and shouted.
McGovern pointed out other contributions by the federal government, including the Defense Department, the Food and Drug Act, the national forests and the interstate highway system.
"I wanted to take an opportunity to say a word on behalf of Uncle Sam and the U.S. government," McGovern said, drawing heavy applause from the crowd of more than 250.
Click here to return to story:
http://www.staugustine.com/stories/111209/news_2171089.shtml
© The St. Augustine Record
County ampitheatre doing great job
Aretha Franklin is the latest internationally acclaimed performer recruited to perform at the St. Augustine Ampitheatre.
Our St. Augustine Ampitheatre is run by County Recreation Department employees.
These government employees doing an excellent job of putting St. Augustine on the map.
Aren't you glad we didn't contract out the work?
Our St. Augustine Ampitheatre is run by County Recreation Department employees.
These government employees doing an excellent job of putting St. Augustine on the map.
Aren't you glad we didn't contract out the work?
Aretha Franklin coming to town
From Staff
Publication Date: 11/12/09
The Queen of Soul herself, Aretha Franklin, will perform in St. Augustine on March 19 at the Amphitheatre.
With 18 Grammy awards at age 67, the singer, songwriter and pianist will entertain crowds with hits such as ÒRespect,Ó ÒI Knew You Were Waiting (For Me),Ó Ò(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural WomanÓ and ÒChain of Fools.Ó
In 1987, Franklin became the first female artist to be entered into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Tickets will go on sale Nov. 20.
Also heading to the Oldest City next spring will be the British Invasion band The Moody Blues. Known for hit songs ÒNights in White Satin,Ó ÒTuesday AfternoonÓ and ÒLong Distance Voyager,Ó the band has sold more than 70 million albums worldwide.
Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday for the March 6 show.
Tickets are $39, $49, $59 and $79 and are available at the St. Augustine Amphitheate Box Office, ticketmaster.com and all Ticketmaster locations, or by calling (800) 745-3000.
American folk singer Richie Havens will perform Feb. 11 in Flagler College Auditorium. The concert will benefit the Gamble Rogers Folk Festival Foundation.
Havens inspired and electrified an audience of more than half a million with his legendary three-hour opening performance at the world famous Woodstock Festival in 1969. Forty years later, he continues to perform his unique brand of rhythmic folk and captivate audiences around the world.
Havens has appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show and the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson and played at President Bill ClintonÕs inauguration.
Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Nov. 14.
Cost is $35; available at ticketmaster.com, all Ticketmaster locations, or by calling (800) 745-3000.
For details on Amphitheatre concerts and events, go to staugamphitheatre.com or call 471-1965.
Click here to return to story:
http://staugustine.com/stories/111209/news_2171208.shtml
© The St. Augustine Record
Publication Date: 11/12/09
The Queen of Soul herself, Aretha Franklin, will perform in St. Augustine on March 19 at the Amphitheatre.
With 18 Grammy awards at age 67, the singer, songwriter and pianist will entertain crowds with hits such as ÒRespect,Ó ÒI Knew You Were Waiting (For Me),Ó Ò(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural WomanÓ and ÒChain of Fools.Ó
In 1987, Franklin became the first female artist to be entered into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Tickets will go on sale Nov. 20.
Also heading to the Oldest City next spring will be the British Invasion band The Moody Blues. Known for hit songs ÒNights in White Satin,Ó ÒTuesday AfternoonÓ and ÒLong Distance Voyager,Ó the band has sold more than 70 million albums worldwide.
Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday for the March 6 show.
Tickets are $39, $49, $59 and $79 and are available at the St. Augustine Amphitheate Box Office, ticketmaster.com and all Ticketmaster locations, or by calling (800) 745-3000.
American folk singer Richie Havens will perform Feb. 11 in Flagler College Auditorium. The concert will benefit the Gamble Rogers Folk Festival Foundation.
Havens inspired and electrified an audience of more than half a million with his legendary three-hour opening performance at the world famous Woodstock Festival in 1969. Forty years later, he continues to perform his unique brand of rhythmic folk and captivate audiences around the world.
Havens has appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show and the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson and played at President Bill ClintonÕs inauguration.
Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Nov. 14.
Cost is $35; available at ticketmaster.com, all Ticketmaster locations, or by calling (800) 745-3000.
For details on Amphitheatre concerts and events, go to staugamphitheatre.com or call 471-1965.
Click here to return to story:
http://staugustine.com/stories/111209/news_2171208.shtml
© The St. Augustine Record
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Manuel sentencing delayed -- Judge recused after continuance granted
MARCIA LANE
marcia.lane@staugustine.com
Publication Date: 11/11/09
The U.S. District judge scheduled to sentence former St. Johns County Commission chairman Tom Manuel recused herself from the sentencing, according to court documents filed late Tuesday.
Judge Marcia Morales Howard's decision came a day after she granted defense attorneys' request for a continuance on Manuel's sentencing, which was supposed to take place Monday.
A new sentencing date has not been set. The proceedings have been continued until January.
The judge did not give a reason why she removed herself from the case and attorneys for the defense and prosecution could not be reached for comment.
Manuel's attorney Matthew R. Kachergus filed the continuance motion Monday. The prosecution did not oppose the motion.
Manuel was scheduled to appear in U.S. District Court in Jacksonville for sentencing on Monday before Howard.
Kachergus's motion said Manuel, a heart transplant survivor, has a series of medical tests scheduled for Nov. 20.
Also, "certain issues ... have arisen which have impeded counsels' ability to prepare for the sentencing hearing." Those issues were to be raised at the status conference Tuesday and were not made public.
The attorney also said the defense team was hampered because a mitigation specialist, engaged by Manuel, has been injured. Certain symptoms, including double vision, have prevented him from assisting the defense.
In August, Manuel pleaded guilty to one count of official corruption. He has remained free pending the sentencing hearing.
At the time, Howard said in a brief that federal defendants may remain free until their prison reporting date unless they are drug offenders or violent criminals.
His plea agreement includes a provision that Manuel would be sentenced "at the low end" of possible federal prison terms. If he had gone to trial and been found guilty, he might have received 20 years.
He has already satisfied the restitution part of his plea agreement by turning over $10,000, the amount he admittedly accepted in April 2008.
Shortly after Manuel took office in 2007, FBI agents initiated what turned out to be an 18-month investigation into his business dealings, using both video and audio surveillance.
He was filmed accepting $10,000 on one instance. After he accepted $50,000 in June during dinner at a Ponte Vedra Beach restaurant, FBI agents detained him outside the restaurant and seized the money.
Click here to return to story:
http://staugustine.com/stories/111109/news_111109_24.shtml
© The St. Augustine Record
marcia.lane@staugustine.com
Publication Date: 11/11/09
The U.S. District judge scheduled to sentence former St. Johns County Commission chairman Tom Manuel recused herself from the sentencing, according to court documents filed late Tuesday.
Judge Marcia Morales Howard's decision came a day after she granted defense attorneys' request for a continuance on Manuel's sentencing, which was supposed to take place Monday.
A new sentencing date has not been set. The proceedings have been continued until January.
The judge did not give a reason why she removed herself from the case and attorneys for the defense and prosecution could not be reached for comment.
Manuel's attorney Matthew R. Kachergus filed the continuance motion Monday. The prosecution did not oppose the motion.
Manuel was scheduled to appear in U.S. District Court in Jacksonville for sentencing on Monday before Howard.
Kachergus's motion said Manuel, a heart transplant survivor, has a series of medical tests scheduled for Nov. 20.
Also, "certain issues ... have arisen which have impeded counsels' ability to prepare for the sentencing hearing." Those issues were to be raised at the status conference Tuesday and were not made public.
The attorney also said the defense team was hampered because a mitigation specialist, engaged by Manuel, has been injured. Certain symptoms, including double vision, have prevented him from assisting the defense.
In August, Manuel pleaded guilty to one count of official corruption. He has remained free pending the sentencing hearing.
At the time, Howard said in a brief that federal defendants may remain free until their prison reporting date unless they are drug offenders or violent criminals.
His plea agreement includes a provision that Manuel would be sentenced "at the low end" of possible federal prison terms. If he had gone to trial and been found guilty, he might have received 20 years.
He has already satisfied the restitution part of his plea agreement by turning over $10,000, the amount he admittedly accepted in April 2008.
Shortly after Manuel took office in 2007, FBI agents initiated what turned out to be an 18-month investigation into his business dealings, using both video and audio surveillance.
He was filmed accepting $10,000 on one instance. After he accepted $50,000 in June during dinner at a Ponte Vedra Beach restaurant, FBI agents detained him outside the restaurant and seized the money.
Click here to return to story:
http://staugustine.com/stories/111109/news_111109_24.shtml
© The St. Augustine Record
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
PR NEWSWIRE: Fitch Affirms St. Augustine, Florida's Water and Sewer Revs at 'A'
NEW YORK--(Business Wire)--
In the course of routine surveillance, Fitch affirms St. Augustine, Florida's
approximately $26.4 million in water and sewer revenue bonds at 'A'.
The 'A' rating reflects the system's sound debt service coverage, adequate legal
provisions, and above-average rates. The utility's service area includes the
city limits and a portion of unincorporated St. Johns County surrounding the
city. Water and sewer system accounts have increased a rapid 4.4% over the past
five years, with most of the growth occurring outside of the city. Rates are
comparatively high while income levels within the city are below average.
Customers outside city limits are charged a 25% surcharge on water and sewer
rates. Growth is expected to level off over the next few years with roughly a 3%
annual increase in customer base projected.
Water supply is derived from the city's wellfield, which extracts water from the
Floridan aquifer, and has an 8.55 millions of gallons per day (mgd) withdrawal
capacity, well above current demand. A recent expansion to the water treatment
plan increased treatment capacity to 6.0 mgd. Based on current flows, the system
has roughly 40% capacity remaining which should be sufficient to handle
projected growth in system demand over the long term. The city's wastewater
system provides collection and treatment with a maximum capacity of 4.95 mgd.
Average daily flows (average gallons daily [agd]) have historically been
significantly greater than water demand due to a large amount of infiltration
and inflow (I&I) resulting from clay piping. Recent capital efforts to reduce
I&I have contributed to agd decreasing over 20% in the last five years and
becoming comparable to system water flows.
System financial operations are sound, providing strong debt service coverage.
Coverage has increased rapidly over the past few years largely driven by
connection fees and capital contributions from the rapid development of
unincorporated areas of the county. Fiscal 2007 results show 5.8 times (x)
maximum annual debt service coverage from all pledged revenues. Excluding
connection fees and capital contributions, coverage declines to a still healthy
2.3x. Unaudited fiscal 2008 total coverage decreased to 3.6x reflecting the
slowing housing market. Recurring revenues generated 3.1x coverage. While the
system does not have formal projections, coverage is expected to remain
adequate. Liquidity is sufficient with 101 days cash on hand for fiscal 2007.
Long-term capital needs are manageable focusing on general maintenance and the
continuation of a 10-year plan to implement slip-line system piping. The system
is currently under a consent order mandating the replacement of a wastewater
treatment plant outflow pipeline. Construction on the project is expected to
begin this month with completion scheduled for the end of the fiscal year.
Related penalties are minimal.
Fitch's rating definitions and the terms of use of such ratings are available on
the agency's public site, www.fitchratings.com. Published ratings, criteria and
methodologies are available from this site, at all times. Fitch's code of
conduct, confidentiality, conflicts of interest, affiliate firewall, compliance
and other relevant policies and procedures are also available from the 'Code of
Conduct' section of this site.
Fitch Ratings
Rachel A. Barkley, +1-212-908-0514 (New York)
Kelly McGary, +1-813-224-0492 (Tampa)
Media Relations:
Cindy Stoller, +1-212-908-0526 (New York)
cindy.stoller@fitchratings.com
Copyright Business Wire 2009
In the course of routine surveillance, Fitch affirms St. Augustine, Florida's
approximately $26.4 million in water and sewer revenue bonds at 'A'.
The 'A' rating reflects the system's sound debt service coverage, adequate legal
provisions, and above-average rates. The utility's service area includes the
city limits and a portion of unincorporated St. Johns County surrounding the
city. Water and sewer system accounts have increased a rapid 4.4% over the past
five years, with most of the growth occurring outside of the city. Rates are
comparatively high while income levels within the city are below average.
Customers outside city limits are charged a 25% surcharge on water and sewer
rates. Growth is expected to level off over the next few years with roughly a 3%
annual increase in customer base projected.
Water supply is derived from the city's wellfield, which extracts water from the
Floridan aquifer, and has an 8.55 millions of gallons per day (mgd) withdrawal
capacity, well above current demand. A recent expansion to the water treatment
plan increased treatment capacity to 6.0 mgd. Based on current flows, the system
has roughly 40% capacity remaining which should be sufficient to handle
projected growth in system demand over the long term. The city's wastewater
system provides collection and treatment with a maximum capacity of 4.95 mgd.
Average daily flows (average gallons daily [agd]) have historically been
significantly greater than water demand due to a large amount of infiltration
and inflow (I&I) resulting from clay piping. Recent capital efforts to reduce
I&I have contributed to agd decreasing over 20% in the last five years and
becoming comparable to system water flows.
System financial operations are sound, providing strong debt service coverage.
Coverage has increased rapidly over the past few years largely driven by
connection fees and capital contributions from the rapid development of
unincorporated areas of the county. Fiscal 2007 results show 5.8 times (x)
maximum annual debt service coverage from all pledged revenues. Excluding
connection fees and capital contributions, coverage declines to a still healthy
2.3x. Unaudited fiscal 2008 total coverage decreased to 3.6x reflecting the
slowing housing market. Recurring revenues generated 3.1x coverage. While the
system does not have formal projections, coverage is expected to remain
adequate. Liquidity is sufficient with 101 days cash on hand for fiscal 2007.
Long-term capital needs are manageable focusing on general maintenance and the
continuation of a 10-year plan to implement slip-line system piping. The system
is currently under a consent order mandating the replacement of a wastewater
treatment plant outflow pipeline. Construction on the project is expected to
begin this month with completion scheduled for the end of the fiscal year.
Related penalties are minimal.
Fitch's rating definitions and the terms of use of such ratings are available on
the agency's public site, www.fitchratings.com. Published ratings, criteria and
methodologies are available from this site, at all times. Fitch's code of
conduct, confidentiality, conflicts of interest, affiliate firewall, compliance
and other relevant policies and procedures are also available from the 'Code of
Conduct' section of this site.
Fitch Ratings
Rachel A. Barkley, +1-212-908-0514 (New York)
Kelly McGary, +1-813-224-0492 (Tampa)
Media Relations:
Cindy Stoller, +1-212-908-0526 (New York)
cindy.stoller@fitchratings.com
Copyright Business Wire 2009
No discussion on FDEP fine for dumping 611,294 gallons of untreated raw sewage in San Sebastian River
Controversial St. Augustine City Manager WILLIAM B. HARRISS
Photo credit: J.D. Pleasant
As the St. Augustine Record wryly reports this morning, four City Commissioners voted last night without discussion to pay a $33,000 fine (or provide an in-kind project) as penalty for spilling 611,294 gallons of untreated raw sewage in San Sebastian River. As the Record reported, "the sewage spill wasn't discussed at all -- it was simply passed in the board's consent agenda."
Al Gore wrote in his book,Earth in the Balance, that Americans are like members of a dysfunctional family when it comes to discussing environmental problems. We don't do it well. City Commissioners took the easy route last night, with no one moving to a discussion item the $33,000 fine for dumping 611,294 gallons of untreated sewage.
Government pollution is disgusting and would have made our Founding Fathers sick at heart.
Government pollution must be prosecuted or the private sector won't take pollution laws seriously. Government pollution is wrong, whether 4.2 million pounds of mercury dumped into Oak Ridge, Tennessee creeks (and workers' lungs and brains) or 40,000 cubic yards dumped into our Old City Reservoir (a coquina pit lake that is "an open sore going straight down to the aquifer and groundwater," according to John Henry Hankinson, Jr., longtime EPA Regional Administrator) or the City's longtime dumping of semi-treated sewage effluent into our saltwater marsh, or the dumping of 611,294 gallons of untreated sewage into the San Sebastian River on May 30, 2009.
As I asked then-Rep. Gore in my July 11, 1983 testimony on the Oak Ridge mercury pollution: "Will this case be fixed? That depends on what happens next."
In the immortal words of Jack Lord in the TV series, "Hawai'i FIve-O," I say, "Book 'em, Dan-o."
Note to FBI and EPA: Please take the City Manager to jail, with no "get-out-of-jail free" card.
If this a democracy and not a dictatorship -- if the City Manager does not own them all -- then City Commissioners' task must now focus on prosecuting and firing City Manager WILLIAM B. HARRISS (a/k/a "WILL HARASS") for cause (starting with his numerous environmental and civil rights violations).
"What happens next" must include apology by the City of St. Augustine for past environmental racism and for the depredations of City Manager WILLIAM B. HARRISS (a/k/a "WILL HARASS"). We need a national search to hire the next City Manager. No more clones need apply.
For an an "in-kind project," I suggest creating an Office of Environment, Safety, Health and Archaeology, reporting directly to City Commission, without being bossed and bullied by any future City Manager.
I also suggest an "in-kind project" in which the City of St. Augustine stops pollution, stops energy waste and passes a resolution by Christmas that supports the St. Augustine National Historical Park, Seashore and Scenic Coastal Parkway. See below.
So, what do you reckon about "what happens next?"
City vows to clean up waterways -- Starting environmental project an option instead of paying $33K fines for pipe leak
City vows to clean up waterways -- Starting environmental project an option instead of paying $33K fines for pipe leak
CHAD SMITH
chad.smith@staugustine.com
Publication Date: 11/10/09
St. Augustine City Commissioners on Monday weighed regulating the city's waterways to make them cleaner and safer for boaters and then agreed to pay the state $33,000 in fines for a sewage spill in the San Sebastian River in May.
The City Commission set a second reading, public hearing and further discussion on the mooring fields ordinance for their Dec. 14 regular meeting. The mooring fields are planned for Matanzas Bay and Salt Run, a move that would let the city control who moors their boats where and for how much.
The proposal was discussed for several minutes, but the fine for the sewage spill wasn't discussed at all -- it was simply passed in the board's consent agenda.
On May 30, a water main installed across the San Sebastian River in the 1960s broke near Oyster Creek.
By the time the leak was stopped June 1, an estimated 611,294 gallons of untreated wastewater made it into the river, according to a Florida Department of Environmental Protection report.
The city's wastewater permit expired in September 2008, and the state found the city violated several rules when the pipe broke.
As penalty, the city must pay the state $3,000 in administrative fees and $30,000 worth of fines.
Instead of the fines, however, the city can elect to start an environmental project worth 1 1/2 times the penalty -- $45,000.
City Manager Bill Harriss said after the meeting that city officials would likely choose to take on a project instead of paying the money.
The city has 15 days to submit a proposal for a project.
Harris said the main in question was the city's only cross-river wastewater pipe from the 1960s that had not been replaced when it burst.
Giving a presentation about the proposed mooring fields, James Piggott, director of general services for the city, told commissioners there would be room for 178 moorings, though it wasn't clear how much the city would charge.
Piggott said the policy would also make it easier to find the owners of derelict boats.
The problem of derelict boats is mounting, not to mention expensive, he said.
Last year, five of them had to be fished from the bay at the cost of $10,133.19.
So far this year, the city has removed seven at the cost of $51,790.51.
Commissioner Don Crichlow said officials need to be cautious that, if it institutes the mooring proposal, not to overcharge and, thus, deter boaters.
"They can bring a lot of money into this town," Crichlow said. "We need to keep it very attractive. We need to keep it a good deal."
Click here to return to story:
http://www.staugustine.com/stories/111009/news_2165359.shtml
© The St. Augustine Record
CHAD SMITH
chad.smith@staugustine.com
Publication Date: 11/10/09
St. Augustine City Commissioners on Monday weighed regulating the city's waterways to make them cleaner and safer for boaters and then agreed to pay the state $33,000 in fines for a sewage spill in the San Sebastian River in May.
The City Commission set a second reading, public hearing and further discussion on the mooring fields ordinance for their Dec. 14 regular meeting. The mooring fields are planned for Matanzas Bay and Salt Run, a move that would let the city control who moors their boats where and for how much.
The proposal was discussed for several minutes, but the fine for the sewage spill wasn't discussed at all -- it was simply passed in the board's consent agenda.
On May 30, a water main installed across the San Sebastian River in the 1960s broke near Oyster Creek.
By the time the leak was stopped June 1, an estimated 611,294 gallons of untreated wastewater made it into the river, according to a Florida Department of Environmental Protection report.
The city's wastewater permit expired in September 2008, and the state found the city violated several rules when the pipe broke.
As penalty, the city must pay the state $3,000 in administrative fees and $30,000 worth of fines.
Instead of the fines, however, the city can elect to start an environmental project worth 1 1/2 times the penalty -- $45,000.
City Manager Bill Harriss said after the meeting that city officials would likely choose to take on a project instead of paying the money.
The city has 15 days to submit a proposal for a project.
Harris said the main in question was the city's only cross-river wastewater pipe from the 1960s that had not been replaced when it burst.
Giving a presentation about the proposed mooring fields, James Piggott, director of general services for the city, told commissioners there would be room for 178 moorings, though it wasn't clear how much the city would charge.
Piggott said the policy would also make it easier to find the owners of derelict boats.
The problem of derelict boats is mounting, not to mention expensive, he said.
Last year, five of them had to be fished from the bay at the cost of $10,133.19.
So far this year, the city has removed seven at the cost of $51,790.51.
Commissioner Don Crichlow said officials need to be cautious that, if it institutes the mooring proposal, not to overcharge and, thus, deter boaters.
"They can bring a lot of money into this town," Crichlow said. "We need to keep it very attractive. We need to keep it a good deal."
Click here to return to story:
http://www.staugustine.com/stories/111009/news_2165359.shtml
© The St. Augustine Record
Monday, November 09, 2009
Environmental Racism 101 -- letter to Florida Department of Environmental Protection re: Wrist-slap for 611,000 Gallons of Raw Sewage in Sebastian R.
Good afternoon, everyone:
1. Thank you for sending me the documents. This penalty seems woefully inadequate – will you please refer it to EPA CID? This is the third major pollution violation by the City of St. Augustine in recent years (previous events involved 40,000 cubic yards of solid waste in our Old City Reservoir and years of semi-treated sewage polluting our saltwater marsh). Compare, United States of America v. City of Venice, Florida – five felony indictment counts for lesser pollution with treated sewage.
2. I look forward to our Democratic Florida CFO Alex Sink being elected Governor, so that pollution laws will again be enforced without fear or favor. I look forward to there being a St. Augustine National Historical Park, Seashore and Scenic Coastal Parkway, the pollution of which will become a federal crime, with no ability for FDEP to coverup for the City of St. Augustine’s environmental racism.
3. Is FDEP is guilty of desuetude, hampered by insouciant corporativist, polluter-coddling leadership, a 31-year old penalty matrix, a lack of imagination and failure of nerve, and a refusal to prosecute recidivist polluters? My late friend David Thundershield Queen said DEP meant, “Don’t Expect Protection.” Reckon he was right?
Sincerely,
Ed Slavin
Clean Up City of St. Augustine, Florida
www.cleanupcityoftaugustine.blogspot.com
Box 3084
St. Augustine, Florida 32084
904-829-3877 (o)
904-427-9918 (fax-h)
1. Thank you for sending me the documents. This penalty seems woefully inadequate – will you please refer it to EPA CID? This is the third major pollution violation by the City of St. Augustine in recent years (previous events involved 40,000 cubic yards of solid waste in our Old City Reservoir and years of semi-treated sewage polluting our saltwater marsh). Compare, United States of America v. City of Venice, Florida – five felony indictment counts for lesser pollution with treated sewage.
2. I look forward to our Democratic Florida CFO Alex Sink being elected Governor, so that pollution laws will again be enforced without fear or favor. I look forward to there being a St. Augustine National Historical Park, Seashore and Scenic Coastal Parkway, the pollution of which will become a federal crime, with no ability for FDEP to coverup for the City of St. Augustine’s environmental racism.
3. Is FDEP is guilty of desuetude, hampered by insouciant corporativist, polluter-coddling leadership, a 31-year old penalty matrix, a lack of imagination and failure of nerve, and a refusal to prosecute recidivist polluters? My late friend David Thundershield Queen said DEP meant, “Don’t Expect Protection.” Reckon he was right?
Sincerely,
Ed Slavin
Clean Up City of St. Augustine, Florida
www.cleanupcityoftaugustine.blogspot.com
Box 3084
St. Augustine, Florida 32084
904-829-3877 (o)
904-427-9918 (fax-h)
Massive sewage pollution by City of St. Augustine, no punishment:: 611,294 gallons of untreated domestic wastewater was discharged
St. Augustine City Commission voting on a consent decree during tonight's City Commission meeting -- State of Florida FDEP wants to fine them $30,000 but forgive them in the event there's a suitable in-kind project approved.
Massive sewage pollution by City of St. Augustine, no punishment: 611,294 gallons of untreated domestic wastewater was discharged May 30, 2009, but no one is going to jail (at least not based on inadequate prosecution by the tatterdemalion FDEP). Perhaps the U.S. Justice Department would like to prosecute, as they did the City of Venice, FLorida (five felony indictments for sewage pollution).
Massive sewage pollution by City of St. Augustine, no punishment: 611,294 gallons of untreated domestic wastewater was discharged May 30, 2009, but no one is going to jail (at least not based on inadequate prosecution by the tatterdemalion FDEP). Perhaps the U.S. Justice Department would like to prosecute, as they did the City of Venice, FLorida (five felony indictments for sewage pollution).
Another DOD Earmark Beneficiary In Trouble For Fraud
Rep. Todd Tiarht (R-Kan.) put down Kaman Dayron's parent company down for a cool million. Now Kaman Dayron's being sued by the Justice Department for False Claims Act violations -- selling defective bunker buster fuzes that could have exploded and killed pilots, airmen and sailors. Sounds like the plot of Arthur Miller's play, All My Sons. When will they ever learn?
USDOJ Press Release: United States Sues Kaman Dayron, Inc. Under False Claims Act -- Allegedly Used Dangerous Component in Bunker Busters
or Immediate Release
November 6, 2009 United States Attorney's Office
Middle District of Florida
Contact: (813) 274-6000
United States Sues Kaman Dayron, Inc. Under False Claims Act -- Allegedly Used Non-Conforming Component in Military’s Bunker Buster Bombs
WASHINGTON—The United States has filed a lawsuit against Kaman Dayron, Inc., alleging that the Orlando, Fla., defense contractor violated the False Claims Act by knowingly substituting non-conforming parts in fuzes (sophisticated ignition devices incorporating mechanical and/or electronic components) supplied to the military for use in “bunker buster” bombs, the Justice Department announced today. The suit was filed today in U.S. District Court in Orlando.
The allegations relate to FMU-143 fuzes for use in hard target penetration warheads, colloquially referred to as “bunker buster” bombs. The government alleges that Kaman Dayron knowingly substituted non-conforming bellows motors for the specified parts in three lots of fuzes supplied to the military, and that the non-conforming parts could cause the fuzes to fire prematurely, creating a hazard for military personnel and causing misfires of the warheads. The military discovered the parts substitution and has quarantined the defective fuzes.
“I take seriously the Department of Justice’s obligation to pursue allegations that a defense contractor is creating a safety risk to our military,” said Assistant Attorney General Tony West, in charge of the Department’s Civil Division. “We owe it to our military personnel to ensure that contractors know that this type of misconduct will not be tolerated.”
This case is being prosecuted as part of a National Procurement Fraud Initiative. In October 2006, the Deputy Attorney General announced the formation of a National Procurement Fraud Task Force designed to promote the early detection, identification, prevention, and prosecution of procurement fraud associated with the increase in government contracting activity for national security and other government programs.
The Procurement Fraud Task Force is chaired by the Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division and includes U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, the FBI, the U.S. Inspectors General community, and a number of other federal law enforcement agencies. This case, as well as others brought by members of the task force, demonstrate the Justice Department’s commitment to helping ensure the integrity of the government procurement process.
November 6, 2009 United States Attorney's Office
Middle District of Florida
Contact: (813) 274-6000
United States Sues Kaman Dayron, Inc. Under False Claims Act -- Allegedly Used Non-Conforming Component in Military’s Bunker Buster Bombs
WASHINGTON—The United States has filed a lawsuit against Kaman Dayron, Inc., alleging that the Orlando, Fla., defense contractor violated the False Claims Act by knowingly substituting non-conforming parts in fuzes (sophisticated ignition devices incorporating mechanical and/or electronic components) supplied to the military for use in “bunker buster” bombs, the Justice Department announced today. The suit was filed today in U.S. District Court in Orlando.
The allegations relate to FMU-143 fuzes for use in hard target penetration warheads, colloquially referred to as “bunker buster” bombs. The government alleges that Kaman Dayron knowingly substituted non-conforming bellows motors for the specified parts in three lots of fuzes supplied to the military, and that the non-conforming parts could cause the fuzes to fire prematurely, creating a hazard for military personnel and causing misfires of the warheads. The military discovered the parts substitution and has quarantined the defective fuzes.
“I take seriously the Department of Justice’s obligation to pursue allegations that a defense contractor is creating a safety risk to our military,” said Assistant Attorney General Tony West, in charge of the Department’s Civil Division. “We owe it to our military personnel to ensure that contractors know that this type of misconduct will not be tolerated.”
This case is being prosecuted as part of a National Procurement Fraud Initiative. In October 2006, the Deputy Attorney General announced the formation of a National Procurement Fraud Task Force designed to promote the early detection, identification, prevention, and prosecution of procurement fraud associated with the increase in government contracting activity for national security and other government programs.
The Procurement Fraud Task Force is chaired by the Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division and includes U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, the FBI, the U.S. Inspectors General community, and a number of other federal law enforcement agencies. This case, as well as others brought by members of the task force, demonstrate the Justice Department’s commitment to helping ensure the integrity of the government procurement process.
CONGRESMAN JOHN LUIGI MICA (R-7th)
He may get earmarks for special interests, but he's not there for preserving our City and our beaches or for helping our veterans. See below.
CONGRESMAN JOHN LUIGI MICA (R-7th) WAS A NO-SHOW AT YESTERDAY'S ST. AUGUSTINE VETERANS EVENT (BUT FAYE ARMITAGE WAS THERE)
Variety show at Flagler to honor Korean War veterans
PETER GUINTA
peter.guinta@staugustine.com
Publication Date: 11/03/09
During the bloody Korean War, American and United Nations forces battled below-freezing temperatures, impassable mountain terrain, icy swollen rivers and hundreds of thousands of Communist Chinese and North Korean troops launching fanatic human wave attacks.
A 1953 armistice ended the fighting, but America mourned its 36,516 dead, 92,134 wounded, 8,176 missing in action and 7,245 prisoners of war, and a weary nation soon dropped Korea from its national consciousness.
Now, however, St. Augustine producer Michael Rothfeld and the St. Johns County Veterans Council want Americans to "unforget" Korea and to honor those who fought there.
Rothfeld, a retired high school history teacher, said, "I was in college during the (Vietnam) war, married with a child. (But) I've always had an interest in what our veterans did for this country. I wanted to preserve their memory."
He and the council will present a patriotic variety show at 3 p.m. Sunday at Flagler College Auditorium.
It is titled "Korea: Forgotten War, Remembered Heroes" and will feature the personal stories of five local Korean War veterans, and entertain with patriotic music, skits by the Coquina Players, a service salute, comedy, dancing by the Coquina Dancers, and singing by Tim Rippey.
The show is free and open to the public.
U.S. Rep. John Mica, R, Winter Park, will remark on "The Importance of Veterans Day," and retired master sergeant and Veterans Council chair Ray Quinn (U.S. Army, Ret.), will serve as master of ceremonies.
At the end of the show, a short film directed by Dr. Nadia Ramoutar called "Korea: Forgotten War, Remembered Heroes," the same as the show, will be screened.
Ramoutar is media arts and documentary director for Art Institute of Jacksonville and she worked with Professor Steve Voguit of Flagler College, a documentary historian, on the film.
In the documentary, as well as at the show, five local veterans, soldiers Richard Bassett, Jack Wentz and George Gaspard, and U.S. Marines Bob Bey and James Vanairsdale, relate their experiences and remembrances of Korea.
Dr. Henry Moreland, a University of North Florida professor, commander of the Korean War Veterans Association, Jacksonville, will present Ms. Susie Birdsong, who was a child in Korea during the Korean War.
Rothfeld said that in 2007 he filled Flagler Auditorium with a similar show he produced.
"The purpose of this (show) is to remind people that the average person on the street could be someone who served our country in Korea and that we should remember that service," Rothfeld said. "That was what motivated me."
If You Go
Show and film: "Korea: Forgotten War, Remembered Heroes"
Cost: Free
Time: 3 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 8
Place: Flagler Auditorium
Parking: A free shuttle to and from the downtown parking garage will be provided by Old Town Trolley Tours.
Click here to return to story:
http://www.staugustine.com/stories/110309/news_2141717.shtml
PETER GUINTA
peter.guinta@staugustine.com
Publication Date: 11/03/09
During the bloody Korean War, American and United Nations forces battled below-freezing temperatures, impassable mountain terrain, icy swollen rivers and hundreds of thousands of Communist Chinese and North Korean troops launching fanatic human wave attacks.
A 1953 armistice ended the fighting, but America mourned its 36,516 dead, 92,134 wounded, 8,176 missing in action and 7,245 prisoners of war, and a weary nation soon dropped Korea from its national consciousness.
Now, however, St. Augustine producer Michael Rothfeld and the St. Johns County Veterans Council want Americans to "unforget" Korea and to honor those who fought there.
Rothfeld, a retired high school history teacher, said, "I was in college during the (Vietnam) war, married with a child. (But) I've always had an interest in what our veterans did for this country. I wanted to preserve their memory."
He and the council will present a patriotic variety show at 3 p.m. Sunday at Flagler College Auditorium.
It is titled "Korea: Forgotten War, Remembered Heroes" and will feature the personal stories of five local Korean War veterans, and entertain with patriotic music, skits by the Coquina Players, a service salute, comedy, dancing by the Coquina Dancers, and singing by Tim Rippey.
The show is free and open to the public.
U.S. Rep. John Mica, R, Winter Park, will remark on "The Importance of Veterans Day," and retired master sergeant and Veterans Council chair Ray Quinn (U.S. Army, Ret.), will serve as master of ceremonies.
At the end of the show, a short film directed by Dr. Nadia Ramoutar called "Korea: Forgotten War, Remembered Heroes," the same as the show, will be screened.
Ramoutar is media arts and documentary director for Art Institute of Jacksonville and she worked with Professor Steve Voguit of Flagler College, a documentary historian, on the film.
In the documentary, as well as at the show, five local veterans, soldiers Richard Bassett, Jack Wentz and George Gaspard, and U.S. Marines Bob Bey and James Vanairsdale, relate their experiences and remembrances of Korea.
Dr. Henry Moreland, a University of North Florida professor, commander of the Korean War Veterans Association, Jacksonville, will present Ms. Susie Birdsong, who was a child in Korea during the Korean War.
Rothfeld said that in 2007 he filled Flagler Auditorium with a similar show he produced.
"The purpose of this (show) is to remind people that the average person on the street could be someone who served our country in Korea and that we should remember that service," Rothfeld said. "That was what motivated me."
If You Go
Show and film: "Korea: Forgotten War, Remembered Heroes"
Cost: Free
Time: 3 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 8
Place: Flagler Auditorium
Parking: A free shuttle to and from the downtown parking garage will be provided by Old Town Trolley Tours.
Click here to return to story:
http://www.staugustine.com/stories/110309/news_2141717.shtml
Preserve and protect all of our city's history
FAYE ARMITAGE
Fruit Cove
Publication Date: 11/08/09
On Nov. 2, I received my First America Passport at the City of St. Augustine's 450th Commemoration Town Hall Meeting at the Flagler College Auditorium. A beautiful rubber-stamp adorns page one of my new passport (co-sponsored by augustine.com). Seven other events are planned, paying tribute to Native Americans, colonists, pirates, the British, Florida "Crackers," Flagler's Age of Opulence, and the Civil Rights era in St. Augustine. Each can earn you another stamp on your way to becoming an ambassador for the first city in our nation: St. Augustine.
Attendance was terrific, about 150. The presentation by Dana Ste. Claire was excellent. See www.staugustinegovernment.com.
Mayor Joe Boles urged attendees to "be creative," explaining how Jamestown welcomed 3-4 million visitors during its 400th birthday, bringing more than $1 billion in economic activity, along with international visitors (including the Queen of England). Heritage and environmental tourism is a very sustainable tourism, growing jobs without pollution. Our planning must preserve and protect, in the words of Frederick Law Olmsted, an "emerald necklace of parks," with a museum covering 11,000 years of history, including Indian, Spanish, African-American, French, English, Minorcan, Civil War, Flagler era and Civil Rights history.
This would empower Florida's schoolchildren to learn from history and nature, while providing the unique St. Augustine "branding" opportunity to grow our economy. That's why I support creation of a St. Augustine National Historical Park, Seashore and Coastal Parkway. Let's combine five state parks into one national park to better protect these local treasures (adding other lands as appropriate, including current St. Johns River Water Management District land).
For more information, check staugustgreen.com. Anyone who watched Ken Burns' 12-hour PBS documentary, "The National Parks, America's Best Idea," knows that our national parks are a uniquely American idea that protects nature and history from destruction. From the Everglades to the Grand Canyon to volcanoes to historic Philadelphia, Boston and New Bedford, the National Park Service is uniquely qualified to interpret our human and natural history. Let's ask NPS to educate Americans about our Nation's Oldest City.
The park could include light rail to connect St. Augustine to the beaches and what are currently state parks, like Guana-Tolomato-Matanzas National Estuarine Reserve (GTM-NERR) and Anastasia State Park, relieving traffic congestion and enhancing the visitor experience.
The park would raise our property values, help fight coastal erosion and wetland destruction, increase sustainable tourism, providing better jobs. Tourism drives our local economy. A national park would increase the length and quality of tourist stays, while making visits here a learning experience for everyone.
Seventh District incumbent U.S. Rep. John Mica recently obtained $500,000 funding for design of a brand-new National Park Service visitors center, located directly across from Castillo de San Marcos.
St. Augustine doesn't need a new building there. That's why I support a visitors' center located elsewhere, perhaps in restored buildings on St. George Street or at Sebastian Inland Harbor, interpreting all of our history and nature, while showing off and encouraging our visitors to enjoy our port, marshes, rivers, seashore and forests. Let's not worsen congestion of downtown. We need a park, not more pork.
We are blessed to live in St. Augustine and St. Johns County and we must adopt legislation to ensure that the places we love are preserved forever, preserving our way of life with an "emerald necklace of parks."
Rose Kennedy's favorite Bible quote was: "To whom much has been given, much is expected." (Luke 12:48).
Let's honor our precious cultural heritage, protect our environment and help grow our economy by having portions of St Augustine and St. Johns County designated as America's next National Park. Yes we can.
*
Faye Armitage is an economist and mother of five who lives in Fruit Cove. She was the Democratic nominee in the Seventh Congressional District against Rep. John Mica in 2008, earning nearly 150,000 votes in a district, which stretches from Ponte Vedra to Daytona Beach and Orlando.
Click here to return to story:
http://www.staugustine.com/stories/110809/opinions_110809_052.shtml
© The St. Augustine Record
Fruit Cove
Publication Date: 11/08/09
On Nov. 2, I received my First America Passport at the City of St. Augustine's 450th Commemoration Town Hall Meeting at the Flagler College Auditorium. A beautiful rubber-stamp adorns page one of my new passport (co-sponsored by augustine.com). Seven other events are planned, paying tribute to Native Americans, colonists, pirates, the British, Florida "Crackers," Flagler's Age of Opulence, and the Civil Rights era in St. Augustine. Each can earn you another stamp on your way to becoming an ambassador for the first city in our nation: St. Augustine.
Attendance was terrific, about 150. The presentation by Dana Ste. Claire was excellent. See www.staugustinegovernment.com.
Mayor Joe Boles urged attendees to "be creative," explaining how Jamestown welcomed 3-4 million visitors during its 400th birthday, bringing more than $1 billion in economic activity, along with international visitors (including the Queen of England). Heritage and environmental tourism is a very sustainable tourism, growing jobs without pollution. Our planning must preserve and protect, in the words of Frederick Law Olmsted, an "emerald necklace of parks," with a museum covering 11,000 years of history, including Indian, Spanish, African-American, French, English, Minorcan, Civil War, Flagler era and Civil Rights history.
This would empower Florida's schoolchildren to learn from history and nature, while providing the unique St. Augustine "branding" opportunity to grow our economy. That's why I support creation of a St. Augustine National Historical Park, Seashore and Coastal Parkway. Let's combine five state parks into one national park to better protect these local treasures (adding other lands as appropriate, including current St. Johns River Water Management District land).
For more information, check staugustgreen.com. Anyone who watched Ken Burns' 12-hour PBS documentary, "The National Parks, America's Best Idea," knows that our national parks are a uniquely American idea that protects nature and history from destruction. From the Everglades to the Grand Canyon to volcanoes to historic Philadelphia, Boston and New Bedford, the National Park Service is uniquely qualified to interpret our human and natural history. Let's ask NPS to educate Americans about our Nation's Oldest City.
The park could include light rail to connect St. Augustine to the beaches and what are currently state parks, like Guana-Tolomato-Matanzas National Estuarine Reserve (GTM-NERR) and Anastasia State Park, relieving traffic congestion and enhancing the visitor experience.
The park would raise our property values, help fight coastal erosion and wetland destruction, increase sustainable tourism, providing better jobs. Tourism drives our local economy. A national park would increase the length and quality of tourist stays, while making visits here a learning experience for everyone.
Seventh District incumbent U.S. Rep. John Mica recently obtained $500,000 funding for design of a brand-new National Park Service visitors center, located directly across from Castillo de San Marcos.
St. Augustine doesn't need a new building there. That's why I support a visitors' center located elsewhere, perhaps in restored buildings on St. George Street or at Sebastian Inland Harbor, interpreting all of our history and nature, while showing off and encouraging our visitors to enjoy our port, marshes, rivers, seashore and forests. Let's not worsen congestion of downtown. We need a park, not more pork.
We are blessed to live in St. Augustine and St. Johns County and we must adopt legislation to ensure that the places we love are preserved forever, preserving our way of life with an "emerald necklace of parks."
Rose Kennedy's favorite Bible quote was: "To whom much has been given, much is expected." (Luke 12:48).
Let's honor our precious cultural heritage, protect our environment and help grow our economy by having portions of St Augustine and St. Johns County designated as America's next National Park. Yes we can.
*
Faye Armitage is an economist and mother of five who lives in Fruit Cove. She was the Democratic nominee in the Seventh Congressional District against Rep. John Mica in 2008, earning nearly 150,000 votes in a district, which stretches from Ponte Vedra to Daytona Beach and Orlando.
Click here to return to story:
http://www.staugustine.com/stories/110809/opinions_110809_052.shtml
© The St. Augustine Record
Friday, November 06, 2009
Fixing seawall requires federal funds -- National Park Service can provide the funds
See below. We need a St. Augustine National Historical Park, Seashore and Scenic Coastal Parkway, which will provide the funds we need to host presidents, kings and the Pope, among millions of visitors from 2012-2015. A National Park -- there is no substitute.
Squabble over seawall -- City, state spar over responsibility for repairing 50-year-old seawall
JENNIFER EDWARDS
Staff Writer
Publication Date: 11/06/09
A simple repair to a rusty fence post along the bayfront has revealed a bigger question: Whose responsibility is it to pay for repairs to the aging seawall?
City Attorney Ron Brown said it's the state Department of Transportation's responsibility. The state is not sure.
For now, the city has reinstalled the post atop the portion of the seawall that runs from the Castillo de San Marcos to the Bridge of Lions. But, Brown said, the state Department of Transportation needs to pay for the work.
The city fixed the post because, "We don't want people to fall in the bay," Brown said. But "The state had to reluctantly admit (the wall) was theirs."
Brown said deeds from 1991 show that DOT is responsible for the seawall, and he sent a letter to the state about two weeks ago telling them that.
But state officials are not convinced the seawall is their responsibility, and have ignored two other maintenance bills Brown sent for repairs the city made over the past year to the seawall, including one for $104.47 for repairs to some of the chain between the posts. Ê
Over time, maintaining the wall could become quite expensive, Brown said.
Gina Busscher, public information director for FDOT District 2, speaking for the state's legal department, said, "We are investigation the issue."
She provided documents that indicates that the state considers the city responsible for the wall, and thus its repairs. The state Department of Transportation general counsel, Alexis Yarbrough, could not be reached for comment.
The post-and-chain fence is sprouting rust in several places and some posts are now brown rather than the original black.
"They've been there for years and I can see that the condition of them has become critical," said Greg Moore, St. Augustine Historical Society board member.
Brown said the deteriorating railing creates unsafe conditions.
"The condition of the seawall and the stanchions (posts) and chain railing on the seawall have deteriorated over time and have not received recent maintenance or repair except for emergency repairs ...," he wrote in the letter to the state. "The chains and stanchions ... serve as the only barrier between crowds on the seawall and the easterly edge of the wall."
There's also the condition of the wall itself, which is showing deep cracks.
The area beneath the post the city reinstalled, for instance, has deteriorated, another city official said.
"The concrete broke loose where it was bolted," said Tim Shields, facilities manager. "I am sure that the age of it and the salt and the environment has taken its toll."
The city will have to wait for the state's response. In the meantime, it will keep making emergency repairs.
"We're going to keep doing that, and we're going to keep billing the state for it," he said.
About the wall:
* The portion of the seawall that runs from just south of the Castillo de San Marcos to the Bridge of Lions is about 50 years old.
* The original seawall was constructed from 1833-1844, said Greg Moore, St. Augustine Historical Society board member. Jason Sheffield, city administrative service manager, has said 675 feet of the original wall remain south of the bridge.
* The original portion north of the bridge, however, is located beneath the median that divides the north- and south-bound lanes of Avenida Menendez. It was replaced with a new sea wall when Avenida Menendez was widened as part of the remodeling of the bayfront that took place at the end of the 1950s, said Charles Tingley, senior research librarian for the Historical Society Research Library.
Click here to return to story:
http://staugustine.com/stories/110609/news_2152570.shtml
© The St. Augustine Record
Impressive turnout for the first of "First America" fora
800 people! See below. That's more people than I've ever seen in that auditorium, and we first moved to St. Augustine exactly ten years ago yesterday. Our residents are passionate about our history and environment and want to protect it. That's why we support a St. Augustine National Historical Park, Seashore and Scenic Coastal Parkway, with an "emerald necklace of parks," a national indigenous history museum and a national civil rights museum, right here where European-American history began in 1565.
Native peoples tell of their hardship, wars
Native peoples tell of their hardship, wars
PETER GUINTA
peter.guinta@staugustine.com
Publication Date: 11/06/09
St. Augustine's 450th Commemoration Commission's first historical presentation Thursday night was billed as a way for city residents to learn about the "Peoples Before Ponce de Leon," but the Timucuans were mentioned only briefly and in passing.
The presentation mostly focused on Native Americans in Florida who lived hundreds of years after the Spanish arrived.
Still, Flagler Auditorium's 800 seats were packed to overflowing, with people sitting on the floor. The program was laced with humor and was well-received by the audience.
In introducing this first event, St. Augustine Vice Mayor Errol Jones -- substituting for Mayor Joe Boles, who is out of town -- said, "We have a rich history and hope to tell it to the world over the next five years."
To begin, Dana Ste. Claire, executive director of the 450th Commission, introduced Seminole historian and cultural specialist Willie Johns and Herbert Jim of Tampa, who belongs to an independent tribe.
Johns lives on the Brighton reservation, one of seven Seminole reservations in Florida.
He told of his recent emotional visit to the site here where Osceola was betrayed and captured by U.S. soldiers while the Seminole chief was under the protection of a white flag of truce.
Osceola was kept captive at the Castillo de San Marcos. He died there three months later of malaria.
"The history (of the native peoples) is alive, and it's here," Johns said. "Not many people know about it."
Timucuan villages, here when Pedro Menendez arrived, disappeared, their people Christianized, he said, adding that some went to Cuba and some blended into tribes which later became the Seminoles.
He remembered his great-grandmother, who died in the 1930s at 95, coming to St. Augustine to buy slaves.
"My family has always owned slaves," he said. "Slaves were kept until the 1920s. Nobody told us about the Emancipation Proclamation."
Now the Seminoles have casino gambling, thousands of head of cattle and 97 restaurants around the globe.
"We've done all right for a tribe that was left for dead. We're going to take St. Augustine back," he joked.
He said the name Seminole comes from a mispronounced Spanish word meaning "untamed."
Herbert Jim, a storyteller, told of the poverty and hardships his ancestors had to endure and how the children of his tribe were told to only speak their own language and not to learn English.
"We survived," he said. "My great-grandmother died in 1993 at 103 years old."
A family story relates the burning of his great-great-great-grandmother's village by horse soldiers. She sent the children out the back of her dwelling into the woods while soldiers came in the front and killed her, he said.
"That story has been passed down," he said. "We came out of the woods. We had to fight back. We fought. We survived."
Click here to return to story:
http://staugustine.com/stories/110609/news_2153582.shtml
© The St. Augustine Record
PETER GUINTA
peter.guinta@staugustine.com
Publication Date: 11/06/09
St. Augustine's 450th Commemoration Commission's first historical presentation Thursday night was billed as a way for city residents to learn about the "Peoples Before Ponce de Leon," but the Timucuans were mentioned only briefly and in passing.
The presentation mostly focused on Native Americans in Florida who lived hundreds of years after the Spanish arrived.
Still, Flagler Auditorium's 800 seats were packed to overflowing, with people sitting on the floor. The program was laced with humor and was well-received by the audience.
In introducing this first event, St. Augustine Vice Mayor Errol Jones -- substituting for Mayor Joe Boles, who is out of town -- said, "We have a rich history and hope to tell it to the world over the next five years."
To begin, Dana Ste. Claire, executive director of the 450th Commission, introduced Seminole historian and cultural specialist Willie Johns and Herbert Jim of Tampa, who belongs to an independent tribe.
Johns lives on the Brighton reservation, one of seven Seminole reservations in Florida.
He told of his recent emotional visit to the site here where Osceola was betrayed and captured by U.S. soldiers while the Seminole chief was under the protection of a white flag of truce.
Osceola was kept captive at the Castillo de San Marcos. He died there three months later of malaria.
"The history (of the native peoples) is alive, and it's here," Johns said. "Not many people know about it."
Timucuan villages, here when Pedro Menendez arrived, disappeared, their people Christianized, he said, adding that some went to Cuba and some blended into tribes which later became the Seminoles.
He remembered his great-grandmother, who died in the 1930s at 95, coming to St. Augustine to buy slaves.
"My family has always owned slaves," he said. "Slaves were kept until the 1920s. Nobody told us about the Emancipation Proclamation."
Now the Seminoles have casino gambling, thousands of head of cattle and 97 restaurants around the globe.
"We've done all right for a tribe that was left for dead. We're going to take St. Augustine back," he joked.
He said the name Seminole comes from a mispronounced Spanish word meaning "untamed."
Herbert Jim, a storyteller, told of the poverty and hardships his ancestors had to endure and how the children of his tribe were told to only speak their own language and not to learn English.
"We survived," he said. "My great-grandmother died in 1993 at 103 years old."
A family story relates the burning of his great-great-great-grandmother's village by horse soldiers. She sent the children out the back of her dwelling into the woods while soldiers came in the front and killed her, he said.
"That story has been passed down," he said. "We came out of the woods. We had to fight back. We fought. We survived."
Click here to return to story:
http://staugustine.com/stories/110609/news_2153582.shtml
© The St. Augustine Record
City needs to save money
Another free trip to Spain for city burghers -- when will they ever learn? See below.
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