Well, so now, will Democrats support our proposed St. Augustine National Historical Park and National Seashore Act, www.staugustgreen.com?
MIAMI — To kill Donald Trump's chances of capturing the White House, Hillary Clinton needs to win Florida. And to do that, she needs a big minority turnout.
But Democrats are beginning to worry that too many African-American voters are uninspired by Clinton’s candidacy, leading her campaign to hit the panic button this week and launch an all-out blitz to juice-up voter enthusiasm.
Bill Clinton, once nicknamed the “first black president,” embarks on a North Florida bus tour Friday in an attempt to draw African-American crowds. At the same time, Clinton herself will host events in Broward and St. Lucie counties, which have black populations higher than the statewide average.
That follows the events of this past weekend, when black mothers who have lost children to gun violence hosted a Clinton organizing event in Jacksonville and a voter-registration drive in Opa-Locka, a majority black city near Miami. The group, Mothers of the Movement, includes Sybrina Fulton, mother of Trayvon Martin, whose 2012 shooting death near Orlando became a flashpoint for racial division and gun violence.
Coming soon: President Barack Obama, who’s expected to campaign here at least twice before Election Day. First Lady Michelle Obama — more popular than her husband — will likely visit Florida as well, in addition to the ad she cut for Clinton that’s currently airing on Florida radio.
"Hillary Clinton's campaign is in panic mode. Full panic mode," said Leslie Wimes, a South Florida-based president of the Democratic African-American Women Caucus.
"They have a big problem because they thought Obama and Michelle saying, 'Hey, go vote for Hillary' would do it. But it's not enough," Wimes said, explaining that too much of the black vote in Florida is anti-Trump, rather than pro-Clinton. "In the end, we don't vote against somebody. We vote for somebody."
Part of the problem Clinton faces is that Obama, the actual black president, is the toughest of acts to follow. Obama enjoyed support from 95 percent of Florida’s black voters in both 2012 and 2008, according to exit polls.
Clinton isn’t polling quite that well in a state that has nearly 1.7 million black voters. An average of the last three Florida polls that provided racial breakdowns shows she’s polling less than 85 percent among African-American voters in Florida, while Trump polls around 5 percent.
It’s not just Clinton’s margins with black voters that concerns Democrats. It’s whether African-American voters turn out in force for her in a pivotal state whose 29 electoral votes are essential to the GOP nominee's path to an Electoral College victory. A loss in Florida all but guarantees a Trump defeat on Election Day.
Clinton faces a similar potential problem with Hispanic voters. Though Florida Hispanics back her by double-digit margins similar to the level of support Obama enjoyed, activists fear their turnout rate will be lower. Hispanics account for more than 15 percent of the Florida voter rolls and African-Americans are more than 13 percent. About 65 percent of registered voters are non-Hispanic white, and they heavily favor Trump.
In the heavily African-American city of Miami Gardens, where Trayvon Martin hailed from, Mayor Oliver Gilbert said he’s hopeful that Clinton’s strong debate performance will generate more excitement for the candidate. He also said Trump’s position on police stop-and-frisk policies, and his suggestion that all blacks live in ghettos, could motivate minority voters.
“There’s this presumption that we’re all under-educated and uneducated and living with all of this crime — it’s insulting,” Gilbert said. “And when Trump says ‘what do you have to lose if you vote for me,’ we see how he and his crowd cheered once when a black man got punched in the face at one of his rallies. That’s what we have to lose.”
Both Trump and Clinton are making moves to reach out to Florida’s black community, which is more diverse than in many other states because some of Florida’s black population originates from Caribbean countries like Haiti and Jamaica. Clinton’s ad strategy reflects that, launching an ad this month narrated in Creole and running on Haitian radio stations in South Florida. And Trump met with a group of Haitian-American leaders in Miami two weeks ago.
Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum, one of Clinton’s highest-profile black leaders in the state, acknowledged that he saw “varying levels of enthusiasm” for Clinton at a recent event. Though he said “it’s hard to recapture that level of enthusiasm” Obama enjoyed in 2008, he’s confident young black voters will show up to the polls for Clinton.
“While I’d love for them to be excited when they show up to the polls,” citing his own excitement about what Clinton’s policy agenda can offer the black community, “my first job is to make sure they get there,” Gillum said.
Clinton’s campaign says it also has been holding events in Orlando and South Florida, partnering with African-American owned small businesses and churches to recruit leaders for its volunteer efforts. Clinton volunteers, they say, have also been organizing on the campuses of Florida's historically black colleges and universities, like Florida A&M University, Edward Waters College and Bethune-Cookman.
Among those efforts were a rally late last month at FAMU headlined by Clinton’s running mate, Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine, in which he praised the value of HBCUs and hammered Trump for pushing the “bigoted notion that President Obama wasn’t even born in this country” and tying the Republican to “Ku Klux Klan values.”
Kaine’s rhetoric wasn’t enough to inspire Tyresha McClenney and Bryan Anderson, two first-time voters and FAMU students who attended the Democrat’s rally. McLenney noted that she doesn’t believe Clinton has spoken enough about racial inequality and police brutality.
“It’s not something that she continuously says, it’s only like when the media gets a video of a black person getting shot,” she said. “When the media dies down on that, and she’s still saying it … that would help have more trust in her and believe in what she says.”
Added Anderson: “A lot of her attempts to reach out come across as pandering.”
That lack of excitement worries Henry Crespo, president of the Miami-based Florida Democratic Black Caucus.
“No one is writing songs for Hillary. Obama had will.i.am. Hillary has nobody like that,” said Crespo. “Right now, the vote is against Trump. It’s not for Hillary. I still think she’s going to win. But you want your people to be for your candidate, not just against the other guy.”
Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2016/09/hillary-clinton-florida-black-voters-228822#ixzz4LbbIRF2D
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Wednesday, September 28, 2016
FCC complaint no 1224608: KRIS PHILLIPS and PHILLIPS BROADCASTING LLC
Based on evidence from WFOY invoices filed with Al Brennan's 2012 wage theft case, I have asked the Federal Communications Commission to investigate KRIS PHILLIPS charging local governments and non-profit organizations for public service announcements, which are supposed to be provided free of charge. The government agencies involved are: Anastasia Mosquito Control District of St. Johns County, St. Augustine Police Department, Congressman John Luigi Mica, Mayor Joe Boles, St. Johns County Sheriff David Shoar f/k/a "Hoar," St. Johns County Tax Collector Dennis Hollingsworth, St. Johns County Solid Waste Management, St. Johns County Utility Department, and St. Johns County Election Supervisor Penny Halyburton.
AL BRENNAN: WFOY OWNER KRISTINE PHILLIPS "TERRIBLE TO WORK FOR," SUED FOR WAGE THEFT
"She was terrible to work for," said beloved longtime local radio broadcaster Al Brennan of KRIS PHILLIPS, WFOY radio station owner, who is running for mayor of St. Augustine.
"She was just atrocious. She never got along with anybody," Brennan said.
Brennan says PHILLIPS is "uncaring" and "does not give a damn about anyone but herself -- she's a self-aggrandizing narcissist."
"KRIS PHILLIPS doesn't give a damn about the people," Brennan said.
As to her running for Mayor, Brennan opined, "KRIS PHILLIPS looking for some way to make extra money, probably."
A popular local newsman and radio personality, Al Brennan worked at WFOY for decades.
PHILLIPS bought local radio stations WFOY and WAOC from Shull Broadcasting in 2006.
PHILLIPS fired Mr. Brennan in 2009.
PHILLIPS stiffed Mr. Brennan for thousands of dollars of his 25% commissions on December 2009 and January 2010 advertising, as detailed in his County Court complaint filed in 2012.
After PHILLIPS refused to pay him what was owed him, former WFOY News Director and Sales Consultant Brennan filed a lawsuit on August 1, 2012 and eventually settled for $800, accepting PHILLIPS offer, with the case closed on January 14, 2013.
PHILLIPS BROADCASTING was represented by lawyer PATRICK CANAN.
Neither PHILLIPS nor CANAN has responded to e-mails requesting comment. Wonder why?
Go look at the Court file -- SP12-1539 Al Brennan (Alfred Theodore Vincent Brennan, III) v. KRISTINE PHILLIPS and PHILLIPS BROADCASTING, LLC. , heard by the Honorable County Court Judge Alexander R. Christine, Jr.
Mr. Brennan's initial complaint includes all of the invoices for all of the ads that he sold and which he alleged PHILLIPS refused to pay him for -- the ads include ten (10) government entities paying for public service announcements (PSAs).
How odd.
FCC requires radio stations to run PSAs, so why are taxpayers paying for them?
Here's the list of the entities that Brennan sold Christmas music and other November and December 2009 ads to, which his lawsuit alleged PHILLIPS refused to pay him his 25% commission:
Anastasia Mosquito Control District of St. Johns County, Canan Law, St. Augustine Police Department, Cold Cow, Congressman John Luigi Mica, First Coast Technical College, Flagler College, Flagler Hospital, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Bruce Maguire and Associates, Mayor Joe Boles, Nettles Fine Jewelry, Rowe Family Eye Care, St. Augustine/St. Johns County Board of Realtors, San Augustin Eye Foundation, St. Johns County Sheriff David Shoar f/k/a "Hoar," St. Johns County Tax Collector Dennis Hollingsworth, St. Johns County Solid Waste Management, St. Johns County Utility Department, St. Johns Housing Partnership, St Johns Family Dentistry, St. Johns County Election Supervisor Penny Halyburton, attorney Tom Cushman, United Way of St. Johns County and Zippy Auto Body Refinishers.
Putative News-Talk Radio Station WFOY Covers Up for Sheriff DAVID SHOAR f/k/a "HOAR"
Political bosses, bigots and bullies have a radio station -- WFOY "News Talk" in St. Augustine. Hardly anyone in the City listens to it.
Wonder why?
Cranky crabby hard-to-work-for hate radio station owner KRIS PHILLIPS fired her experienced newsman, Al Brennan, in 2009.
On September 2, 2010, Michelle O'Connell was shot to death in the home of her boyfriend, Sheriff's Deputy JEREMY BANKS. Despite international news media coverage, starting with The New York Times and PBS Frontline, mayoral candidate KRIS PHILLIPS News-Talk radio station has little to say about the case. Wonder why?
WFOY is irrelevant to local policy, that's why.
On June 13, 2016, Greater St. Augustine Democratic Club President MARTIN MILLER called PHILLIPS' WFOY, stating that the 49 Gay people killed in the Orlando Pulse club shooting "got what they deserved." MARTIN MILLER is a frequent caller to PHILLIPS' "hate radio" format, which features hours of RUSH LIMBAUGH and his ilk daily.
KRIS PHILLIPS is a bootlicker for the rich and corrupt, a wannabe who knows not that she knows not, except where her bread is buttered.
Hate radio proprietor KRIS PHILLIPS stiffs employees, vendors, the Florida Secretary of State and musicians (represented by Broadcast Music, Inc.). What a loser.
CANDIDATE KRIS PHILLIPS SUED FOR STIFFING MUSICIANS
Few radio stations fail to pay their monthly bills for blanket licenses to monopolistic Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI). Wonder why St. Augustine mayor candidate KRIS PHILLIPS did not pay BMI and ended up getting sued? Bad management skills or impecuniousness?
Radio stations WAOC and WFOY, owned by PHILLIPS BROADCASTING, LLC and mayoral candidate KRIS PHILLIPS, was sued for thousands of dollars for stiffing musicians in 2014.
BROADCAST MUSIC, INC. sold a blanket license to radio stations WAOC and WFOY, requiring both stations to pay $49 for broadcast music each months. Blanket license fees paid to BMI, based on contracts and a sliding scale, are divvied up among musicians and other copyright holders. Countless bars and restaurants are sued for failing to pay the two blanket license organizations -- monopolists BMI and ASCAP. It is relatively rare for a radio station to forget to pay its BMI bills. How gauche and louche,
KRIS PHILLIPS was defended by former State's Attorney J. Stephen Alexander, Esquire. The case was filed on November 17, 2014 and voluntarily dismissed on March 19, 2015, with both sides sharing the costs. No record as to whether PHILLIPS paid the thousands of dollars in bills due to BMI.
KRIS PHILLIPS's affidavit asserted no signed copy of her contract was attached to the complaint. PHILLIPS also claimed that she does not play "much music," and that the price should be less, asserting that her station's format is primarily "talk radio."
Bills submitted by longtime local radio broadcaster Al Brennan in his 2012 lawsuit against Phillips establish that the station's few sponsors, ten of them local government agencies, paid for radio commercials during Christmas music programs.
PHILLIPS literally played Scrooge by firing Mr. Brennan before the 2009 Christmas holiday.
Radio stations WAOC and WFOY, owned by PHILLIPS BROADCASTING, LLC and mayoral candidate KRIS PHILLIPS, was sued for thousands of dollars for stiffing musicians in 2014.
BROADCAST MUSIC, INC. sold a blanket license to radio stations WAOC and WFOY, requiring both stations to pay $49 for broadcast music each months. Blanket license fees paid to BMI, based on contracts and a sliding scale, are divvied up among musicians and other copyright holders. Countless bars and restaurants are sued for failing to pay the two blanket license organizations -- monopolists BMI and ASCAP. It is relatively rare for a radio station to forget to pay its BMI bills. How gauche and louche,
KRIS PHILLIPS was defended by former State's Attorney J. Stephen Alexander, Esquire. The case was filed on November 17, 2014 and voluntarily dismissed on March 19, 2015, with both sides sharing the costs. No record as to whether PHILLIPS paid the thousands of dollars in bills due to BMI.
KRIS PHILLIPS's affidavit asserted no signed copy of her contract was attached to the complaint. PHILLIPS also claimed that she does not play "much music," and that the price should be less, asserting that her station's format is primarily "talk radio."
Bills submitted by longtime local radio broadcaster Al Brennan in his 2012 lawsuit against Phillips establish that the station's few sponsors, ten of them local government agencies, paid for radio commercials during Christmas music programs.
PHILLIPS literally played Scrooge by firing Mr. Brennan before the 2009 Christmas holiday.
Mayoral candidate KRIS PHILLIPS exploits national cemetery for political gain, illegally
Controversial St. Augustine Mayoral candidate KRIS PHILLIPS is still exploiting St. Augustine National Cemetery for political gain, illegally, some 101 days after I wrote her and asked her to cease and desist. This lawbreaking proprietor of 250 watt radio station WFOY is unfit for public office, like ex-Rep. RONALD RENUART, who did the same thing.
From: Ed Slavin
To: kris
Sent: Wed, Sep 28, 2016 11:49 am
Subject: Re: Mayoral Candidate KRISTENE PHILLIPS Must Cease and Desist Using St. Augustine National Cemetery In Partisan Political Advertising
Dear Ms. Phillips:
1. Please respond to my June 19, 2016 e-mail about your lawbreaking exploitation of St. Augustine National Cemetery for political purposes.
2. The Facebook photos in quo are still posed on your Kris Phillips for Mayor campaign website as of 11:48 am, September 28, 2016, some 101 days after I wrote you.Thank you.
With kindest regards, I am,
 | ||||
-----Original Message-----
From: Ed Slavin
To: kris ; kris
Sent: Sun, Jun 19, 2016 12:50 pm
Subject: Mayoral Candidate KRISTENE PHILLIPS Must Cease and Desist Using St. Augustine National Cemetery In Partisan Political Advertising
Subject: Mayoral Candidate KRISTENE PHILLIPS Must Cease and Desist Using St. Augustine National Cemetery In Partisan Political Advertising
Dear Ms. Phillips:
4. Thus, your Facebook ad -- containing five (5) different photographic images of you wearing sunglasses, posing for photographs, holding your WFOY radio microphone at St. Augustine National Cemetery on Memorial Days 2016 taken from different angles -- dishonors our deceased American veterans' memories and burials. Almost all of your current Facebook page consists of the deeply offensive Memorial Day posed photos: it stinks of using our veterans cemetery for political purposes. Our veterans are not your props, and St. Augustine National cemetery is not your advertising venue. You have violated federal law in your political campaign for St. Augustine Mayor, Ms. Phillips.
5. Political ads filmed in national cemeteries are a stench in the nostrils of our Nation, and illegal.
6. How much did your political campaign spend on filming you and sharing the St. Augustine National Cemetery ad on Facebook? Why?
7. How many Facebook readers received it? Please provide documents and invoices.
8. Who wrote and produced the Facebook ad and why? Please provide documents on script approval and payment.
9. Did St. Augustine National Cemetery management ever give you or those acting in concert with you written permission for filming a political ad? Please provide any documentary evidence for any such assertion.
10. Please provide all documents on the St. Augustine National Cemetery ad and kindly call me to answer questions later today.
13. Former Florida State Rep. Ronald "Doc" Renuart used such an ad filmed at St. Augustine National Cemetery in 2014, ignoring my cease and desist letter.
14. Your posting a Facebook ad filmed in St. Augustine National Cemetery is hurtful, intrusive and deeply insensitive. It shows an utter unwillingness to adhere by reasonable standards of probity of an American candidate. It shows you have learned nothing from the prior partisan political misconduct of Senator McCain, Congressman Cramer and State Rep. Renuart in filming ads at national cemeteries. As the old song says, "When will they ever learn?"
15. Please remove your Facebook ad photos in quo and kindly reimburse your campaign for the cost of Facebook ad photos filmed in St. Augustine National Cemetery
1. Please cease and desist from using on Facebook (or other political advertisements) photos of you taken on Memorial Day at our St. Augustine National Cemetery for your election campaign for St. Augustine Mayor. "Political activities, including filming of campaign ads, are not permitted on cemetery grounds." http://www.cem.va.gov/cem/docs/factsheets/filming.pdf
2. The South Jersey Chapter of the 82nd Airborne Divn. Assn., Inc. is named the "CPL Edward A. Slavin Chapter" after my late father: my dad was a machine-gunner who taught map-reading, a paratrooper, a wounded, thrice-decorated veteran of three World War II combat jumps (North Africa, Sicily and Normandy). My father is buried in a national cemetery.
3. Our war veterans buried at our St. Augustine National Cemetery include veterans of every single American war since the 1830s, including the Seminole Wars and the Civil War. Some of the honored dead there are former slaves, whose graves are identified on gravestones as "U.S.C.T." (U.S. Colored Troops).
11. You must stop your illegal, immoral political abuse and misuse of our honored war dead -- and images of St. Augustine National Cemetery -- for political purposes. You must cease and desist. Now. "VA regulations prohibit unauthorized distribution of pamphlets or handbills, posting or display of placards, taking photographs for advertising purposes, and demonstrations, orations or partisan activities on VA premises. 38 C.F.R. §§ 1.218(a)(9), (10) and (14) cover VHA facilities and NCA cemeteries, 17.111 also covers VHA facilities)." http://www.wichita.va.gov/WICHITA/features/Politics_and_VA.asp#sthash.113pA8Of.dpuf
12. Both U.S. Senator John McCain and U.S. Congressman Kevin Cramer wisely cancelled their own mendacious, meretricious political ads, filmed in two national cemeteries at Arlington, Virginia and in North Dakota.
16. Please apologize publicly for your Facebook ad photos staged in our St. Augustine National Cemetery.
Thank you.
With kindest regards, I am,
What a beautiful Memorial Day gathering at the National Cemetery. There were tears, hugs, songs and celebration in honor of those who gave their lives for the freedoms we enjoy today. I'm truly proud to be an American, and also to live in a city with such a long military history. A sincere thank you to all who have paid the ultimate price so that the rest of us can continue to live free. And thank you to those who have, and still do serve our country today. Your bravery and sacrifices are unimaginable to most of us. Words cannot describe how truly thankful we are!
TWICE, in 2013 and 2014, WFOY OWNER KRIS PHILLIPS' CORPORATE CHARTER EXPIRED -- YES, TWICE!
KRIS PHILLIPS is running for mayor as an experienced business owner.
In 2013, WFOY radio station owner KRIS PHILLIPS, missed the deadline to renew her PHILLIPS BROADCASTING LLC corporate charter by a country mile. As a result, she had to file some six months later to renew her corporate charter, on November 7, 2013, paying a $400 penalty.
In 2014, PHILLIPS again failed to file for renewal of her corporate charter, which expired in April. PHILLIPS had to pay another $400 penalty. Plus, PHILLPS' corporation ceased to exist as a legal entity for more than a year.
In 2015, PHILLIPS again filed for reinstatement of her corporate charter.
In 2016, PHILLIPS timely renewed her corporate charter.
It costs $138.75 and filing of a simple one page electronic form to renew a corporate charter with the Florida Secretary of State.
Operating without a corporate charter has potential legal consequences in the event of litigation or sale or purchase of real estate.
Operating without a corporate charter -- bare -- for six months and then for twelve months raises questions.
Why did KRIS PHILLIPS allow her corporate charter to expire, twice?
Is she inattentive to details?
Ethically challenged?
Lacking in coping skills?
Lacking in management skills?
Impecunious?
She had to pay some $800 in penalties to the Florida Secretary of State in 2013 and 2014.
Yes, KRIS PHILLIPS is running for mayor as an experienced business owner.
Experienced at what, precisely?
What's next?: Questions about her treatment of a longtime employee, Al Brennan.
Waiting for KRIS PHILLIPS to respond.
In 2014, PHILLIPS again failed to file for renewal of her corporate charter, which expired in April. PHILLIPS had to pay another $400 penalty. Plus, PHILLPS' corporation ceased to exist as a legal entity for more than a year.
In 2015, PHILLIPS again filed for reinstatement of her corporate charter.
In 2016, PHILLIPS timely renewed her corporate charter.
It costs $138.75 and filing of a simple one page electronic form to renew a corporate charter with the Florida Secretary of State.
Operating without a corporate charter has potential legal consequences in the event of litigation or sale or purchase of real estate.
Operating without a corporate charter -- bare -- for six months and then for twelve months raises questions.
Why did KRIS PHILLIPS allow her corporate charter to expire, twice?
Is she inattentive to details?
Ethically challenged?
Lacking in coping skills?
Lacking in management skills?
Impecunious?
She had to pay some $800 in penalties to the Florida Secretary of State in 2013 and 2014.
Yes, KRIS PHILLIPS is running for mayor as an experienced business owner.
Experienced at what, precisely?
What's next?: Questions about her treatment of a longtime employee, Al Brennan.
Waiting for KRIS PHILLIPS to respond.
Tuesday, September 27, 2016
Alcohol Now Banned At St. Augustine Beach City Hall -- Commissioner "CUPCAKE" SAMUELS' Alcohol Parties End
The St. Augustine Beach Civic Association will no longer hold alcohol parties in the St. Augustine Beach City Hall, starting with its Tuesday, October 11th, 2016 meeting at 7 PM. (Corrected).
SABCA is the only nongovernmental organization that has been allowed to use St. Augustine Beach City Commission chambers for its meetings.
http://livestream.com/cityofsab/2016-09-26/videos/137017729
Thirty-six (36) minute discussion starts at 1:37 and ends at 2:13
Public comment starts at 1:54, with watchdog Tom Reynolds talking about how Civic Association uses room to get votes and Civic Association President William Jones, who made faces behind Mr. Reynolds as Mr. Reynolds reported on two SJSO Internal Affairs reports against Mr. Jones for deceptive conduct involving SABPD. Mr. Reynolds pointed out that devil-worshippers with a 501c4 might be allowed to use the City Commission chambers for meetings because of the favoritism shown toward SABCA.
Mr. Robert Kahler said SABCA bullied Commissioners, behaving like "rowdies."
SABCA has held parties nine months in St. Augustine Beach City Commission meeting room, with alcohol served.
Ironically, Commissioner and then-Mayor ANDREA SAMUELS a/k/a "CUPCAKE" raised a ruckus in December 2015 when Dr. Michel S. Pawlowski, D.Sci., brought cupcakes to honor the birthday of his daughter, Commissioner and Vice Mayor Undine Pawlowski-George.
It happened on December 7, 2015, a date that will live in infamy.
http://cleanupcityofstaugustine.blogspot.com/2015/12/birthday-barbarism-at-st-augustine.html
So, Commissioners celebrated the departure of Mayor Brud Helhoski but "CUPCAKE" SAMUELS showed her animus over cupcakes for Commissioner Undine George's birthday. How gauche and louche.
So, "CUPCAKE" SAMUELS had no problem with serving alcohol in City Hall, allegedly including alcohol served to minors (allegedly including a twenty-year-old) but was against cupcakes.
Here's what I wrote about the December 7, 2015 display of meanness by St. Augustine Beach City Commissioner ANDREA SAMUELS:
Birthday Barbarism at St. Augustine Beach: Mayor ANDREA SAMUELS Acts Out Again (Updated again)
Pray for St. Augustine Beach Mayor ANDREA SAMUELS's troubled soul.
Pray for St. Augustine Beach Mayor ANDREA SAMUELS's troubled soul.
On December 7, 2015, Dr. Michel S. Pawlowski, retired FEMA executive, provided cakes and cupcakes for his daughter, Commissioner Undine Pawlowski George's 38th birthday, with the approval of longtime City Manager Max Royle.
Upon her arrival at the Commission dais, Mayor ANDREA SAMUELS shrieked to Mr. Royle: "Who did this? Ed? This is inapwopwiate." (New York accent in original).
Mayor SAMUELS took her birthday cupcake, uneaten, and marched it to the back of the room, acting out.
Mr. Royle followed in her wake, looking hurt and puzzled at the prima donna performance of the Mayor.
Commissioner Sherman Gary Snodgrass was present when SAMUELS issued her unkind uncouth ukase, but he did not respond or dignify her antics with an answer. (Commissioner Snodgrass ate his cupcake, as did the other Commissioners and City Attorney.)
Next, Mayor SAMUELS walked into the audience and proceeded to berate Dr. Pawlowski, demanding that he remove the baked goods table to the hallway.
When Dr. Michel S. Pawloski, D.Sci. did not click his heels and move the birthday table fast enough to please Herroner, Mayor SAMUELS proceeded to boss and bully two overpaid City employees to remove the table to the hallway.
Only Mayor ANDREA SAMUELS could take a moment of birthday good feeling and ruin it thattaway before the meeting even began.
SAMUELS holds and keeps grudges, foremost of which is her grudge against Undine Pawlowski George, for running against her when SAMUELS ws first a candidate for Commissioner, and for being a lawyer representing a client in litigation with ANDREA and ROBERT SAMUELS. The SAMUELS have spread Lashon hara about Commissioner Undine Pawlowski George (e.g., "she's a Lesbian" and then bruited about the fact that she was dating former Mayor Ed George, to whom she is now married. The SAMUELS are petty vindictive people, as evidenced by their actions on the Pier Park protected activity, and use of the St. Augustine Beach Police for retaliatory purposes. Every time I speak at the podium (and when others speak), ROBERT SAMUELS can be heard in the back of the room muttering, like a veritable Greek (or Geek) Chorus of mashugganam malicious mopery.
Enough.
ANDREA SAMUELS ceases being mayor at midnight on December 31, 2015, giving "Beach Blastoff" a whole new meaning.
No more insults, interruptions, dirty looks and favoritism.
No more ugliness and meanness from the indisputably disappointing first woman Mayor of St. Augustine Beach, ANDREA SAMUELS.
Mayor ANDREA SAMUELS showed her gracelessness and gaucherie early and often, personalizing everything and acting like the Republican Lord of All She Surveys, even refusing a cupcake from Commissioner Pawlowski's father.
How gauche and louche.
Celebrate the end of BOSS ANDREA SAMUELS' Reign of Error on this New Year's Eve.
Cheer lustily at midnight, for in 2016, ANDREA SAMUELS will no longer preside at Commission meetings. The new mayor will be Richard O'Brien and the new Vice Mayor will be Undine Pawlowski George. It is expected that wiser decisions and more reasoned discussions may now take place, without so much mediocrity and mendacity.
Bonus cheer: ANDREA SAMUELS' term as Commissioner expires if she is not reelected next year. Several well-qualified candidates are considering running, despite the cod lock the St. Augustine Beach Civic Association has had on elections, operating as a de facto illegal political action committee, even donating $500 to the cause of a sales tax increase proposal that saves developers $150,000,000 in fees and taxes by raising sales taxes by one half cent.
I hummed the witches' theme from "The Wizard of Oz" after SAMUELS stomped around the room a few times. After the meeting, she accosted me and complained that I criticize her and say things that are untrue. She did not name (1) fact, and skeedaddled from the room when I started to remind the Republican Mayor of St. Augustine Beach how in 2009, she and her husband ROBERT SAMELS went to our St. Johns Democratic Headquarters, swore a loyalty oath as Democrats, and proceeded to vote against my proposal to support the St. Augustine National Historical Park and National Seashore. Now she is a registered Republican, who had planned to run for County Commissioner until her running dog, PRISCILLA "RACHAEL" BENNETT decided to seek another term. Does ANDREA SAMUELS even remember when she first sold out?
P.S. By popular acclaim, if ANDREA SAMUELS had a Secret Service password it would be "CUPCAKE."
P.P.S. I thought our local Mayors were not supposed to give orders to City Managers. Evidently CUPCAKE thought she was Republican Lord of All She Surveys. What a mean lugubrious goober.
P.P.P.S. Pray for ANDREA SAMUELS to love her fellow critters and to stop being such a haughty hater.
P.P.P.P.S. Vote for Maggie Kostka and send "CUPCAKE" Samuels out the door.
Here's the St. Augustine Record's baby talking story, avoiding the history, passion and lawbreaking allegations:
Posted September 27, 2016 10:38 am
By By JARED KEEVER jared.keever@staugustine.com
St. Augustine Beach commissioners keep millage rate, approve budget
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The St. Augustine Beach commissioners opted Monday night for a budget based on a flat millage rate rather than flat revenue.
The commissioners voted unanimously to adopt the 2017 fiscal year budget based on the current year’s millage rate of 2.3992, which is expected to bring in about $2,518,468 — a roughly $155,000 increase over fiscal year 2016.
A “rollback rate” of 2.2543, had it been adopted, would have kept revenue flat.
The millage rate represents the amount of taxes paid on $1,000 of assessed property value after homestead exemption. The adopted rate means the total amount of property tax for a $200,000 property would be $479.84.
Commissioners first voted unanimously to keep the millage rate the same as last year then voted to approve the budget.
Prior to the budget vote, Vice Mayor Undine George said that, while she would typically vote to roll back rates, she strongly supported the budget as proposed because she expected “rocky times” in the coming years that would require some “belt tightening.”
“This is a very workable budget to get us ahead of the game,” she said.
Commissioner Gary Snodgrass also voiced approval, saying, “it’s balanced, it’s fair and it’s affordable.”
Snodgrass pointed out that the budget allowed the city to address a number of delayed issues and institute a competitive health plan for city employees.
According to an earlier memo from City Manager Max Royle, the additional revenue expected in the coming year will go to help fund City Hall security enhancements and a metal vehicle storage building for public works.
In other business
The commissioners voted to make changes to the city’s sign code in relation to signs removed from city property. The changes include the addition of language that such signs “shall not be disposed of and shall be delivered to the public works department” where they can be retrieved by the owner within a certain period of time.
Commissioners de-layed decisions on a number of parking issues until after a planning and zoning workshop in which members of the Planning and Zoning Board will meet with residents and representatives of the Police Department to discuss concerns. The date for the workshop has not been set.
Commissioners agreed that the city needs to revise its policies regarding the use of City Hall by governmental and other organizations. At issue were the use of the Commission chambers by the St. Augustine Beach Civic Association and the serving of alcohol on city property.
Royle said use of the Commission chambers has typically been restricted to government agencies, primarily out of consideration of the audio and video equipment in the room. Other groups are asked to use rooms across the hall. That the Civic Association has been allowed to use Commission chambers is the result of a long standing practice and not meant to show any favoritism, he said.
Commissioners agreed that the Civic Association should continue to be allowed to use the chambers and that alcohol should no longer be served on city property.
Language clarifying the policies will be introduced for a vote at a future meeting.
Monday, September 26, 2016
SOARING SELMA, ALABAMA SPEECH by President Obama on 50th Anniversary of March (March 7, 2015)
Worth watching and reading again and again to remind us the country we are becoming, thanks to activists and the courage of civil rights "foot soldiers."
The White House
Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release
March 07, 2015
Remarks by the President at the 50th Anniversary of the Selma to Montgomery Marches
Edmund Pettus Bridge
Selma, Alabama
2:17 P.M. CST
AUDIENCE MEMBER: We love you, President Obama!
THE PRESIDENT: Well, you know I love you back. (Applause.)
It is a rare honor in this life to follow one of your heroes. And John Lewis is one of my heroes.
Now, I have to imagine that when a younger John Lewis woke up that morning 50 years ago and made his way to Brown Chapel, heroics were not on his mind. A day like this was not on his mind. Young folks with bedrolls and backpacks were milling about. Veterans of the movement trained newcomers in the tactics of non-violence; the right way to protect yourself when attacked. A doctor described what tear gas does to the body, while marchers scribbled down instructions for contacting their loved ones. The air was thick with doubt, anticipation and fear. And they comforted themselves with the final verse of the final hymn they sung:
“No matter what may be the test, God will take care of you;
Lean, weary one, upon His breast, God will take care of you.”
And then, his knapsack stocked with an apple, a toothbrush, and a book on government -- all you need for a night behind bars -- John Lewis led them out of the church on a mission to change America.
President and Mrs. Bush, Governor Bentley, Mayor Evans, Sewell, Reverend Strong, members of Congress, elected officials, foot soldiers, friends, fellow Americans:
As John noted, there are places and moments in America where this nation’s destiny has been decided. Many are sites of war -- Concord and Lexington, Appomattox, Gettysburg. Others are sites that symbolize the daring of America’s character -- Independence Hall and Seneca Falls, Kitty Hawk and Cape Canaveral.
Selma is such a place. In one afternoon 50 years ago, so much of our turbulent history -- the stain of slavery and anguish of civil war; the yoke of segregation and tyranny of Jim Crow; the death of four little girls in Birmingham; and the dream of a Baptist preacher -- all that history met on this bridge.
It was not a clash of armies, but a clash of wills; a contest to determine the true meaning of America. And because of men and women like John Lewis, Joseph Lowery, Hosea Williams, Amelia Boynton, Diane Nash, Ralph Abernathy, C.T. Vivian, Andrew Young, Fred Shuttlesworth, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and so many others, the idea of a just America and a fair America, an inclusive America, and a generous America -- that idea ultimately triumphed.
As is true across the landscape of American history, we cannot examine this moment in isolation. The march on Selma was part of a broader campaign that spanned generations; the leaders that day part of a long line of heroes.
We gather here to celebrate them. We gather here to honor the courage of ordinary Americans willing to endure billy clubs and the chastening rod; tear gas and the trampling hoof; men and women who despite the gush of blood and splintered bone would stay true to their North Star and keep marching towards justice.
They did as Scripture instructed: “Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.” And in the days to come, they went back again and again. When the trumpet call sounded for more to join, the people came –- black and white, young and old, Christian and Jew, waving the American flag and singing the same anthems full of faith and hope. A white newsman, Bill Plante, who covered the marches then and who is with us here today, quipped that the growing number of white people lowered the quality of the singing. (Laughter.) To those who marched, though, those old gospel songs must have never sounded so sweet.
In time, their chorus would well up and reach President Johnson. And he would send them protection, and speak to the nation, echoing their call for America and the world to hear: “We shall overcome.” (Applause.) What enormous faith these men and women had. Faith in God, but also faith in America.
The Americans who crossed this bridge, they were not physically imposing. But they gave courage to millions. They held no elected office. But they led a nation. They marched as Americans who had endured hundreds of years of brutal violence, countless daily indignities –- but they didn’t seek special treatment, just the equal treatment promised to them almost a century before. (Applause.)
What they did here will reverberate through the ages. Not because the change they won was preordained; not because their victory was complete; but because they proved that nonviolent change is possible, that love and hope can conquer hate.
As we commemorate their achievement, we are well-served to remember that at the time of the marches, many in power condemned rather than praised them. Back then, they were called Communists, or half-breeds, or outside agitators, sexual and moral degenerates, and worse –- they were called everything but the name their parents gave them. Their faith was questioned. Their lives were threatened. Their patriotism challenged.
And yet, what could be more American than what happened in this place? (Applause.) What could more profoundly vindicate the idea of America than plain and humble people –- unsung, the downtrodden, the dreamers not of high station, not born to wealth or privilege, not of one religious tradition but many, coming together to shape their country’s course?
What greater expression of faith in the American experiment than this, what greater form of patriotism is there than the belief that America is not yet finished, that we are strong enough to be self-critical, that each successive generation can look upon our imperfections and decide that it is in our power to remake this nation to more closely align with our highest ideals? (Applause.)
That’s why Selma is not some outlier in the American experience. That’s why it’s not a museum or a static monument to behold from a distance. It is instead the manifestation of a creed written into our founding documents: “We the People…in order to form a more perfect union.” “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.” (Applause.)
These are not just words. They’re a living thing, a call to action, a roadmap for citizenship and an insistence in the capacity of free men and women to shape our own destiny. For founders like Franklin and Jefferson, for leaders like Lincoln and FDR, the success of our experiment in self-government rested on engaging all of our citizens in this work. And that’s what we celebrate here in Selma. That’s what this movement was all about, one leg in our long journey toward freedom. (Applause.)
The American instinct that led these young men and women to pick up the torch and cross this bridge, that’s the same instinct that moved patriots to choose revolution over tyranny. It’s the same instinct that drew immigrants from across oceans and the Rio Grande; the same instinct that led women to reach for the ballot, workers to organize against an unjust status quo; the same instinct that led us to plant a flag at Iwo Jima and on the surface of the Moon. (Applause.)
It’s the idea held by generations of citizens who believed that America is a constant work in progress; who believed that loving this country requires more than singing its praises or avoiding uncomfortable truths. It requires the occasional disruption, the willingness to speak out for what is right, to shake up the status quo. That’s America. (Applause.)
That’s what makes us unique. That’s what cements our reputation as a beacon of opportunity. Young people behind the Iron Curtain would see Selma and eventually tear down that wall. Young people in Soweto would hear Bobby Kennedy talk about ripples of hope and eventually banish the scourge of apartheid. Young people in Burma went to prison rather than submit to military rule. They saw what John Lewis had done. From the streets of Tunis to the Maidan in Ukraine, this generation of young people can draw strength from this place, where the powerless could change the world’s greatest power and push their leaders to expand the boundaries of freedom.
They saw that idea made real right here in Selma, Alabama. They saw that idea manifest itself here in America.
Because of campaigns like this, a Voting Rights Act was passed. Political and economic and social barriers came down. And the change these men and women wrought is visible here today in the presence of African Americans who run boardrooms, who sit on the bench, who serve in elected office from small towns to big cities; from the Congressional Black Caucus all the way to the Oval Office. (Applause.)
Because of what they did, the doors of opportunity swung open not just for black folks, but for every American. Women marched through those doors. Latinos marched through those doors. Asian Americans, gay Americans, Americans with disabilities -- they all came through those doors. (Applause.) Their endeavors gave the entire South the chance to rise again, not by reasserting the past, but by transcending the past.
What a glorious thing, Dr. King might say. And what a solemn debt we owe. Which leads us to ask, just how might we repay that debt?
First and foremost, we have to recognize that one day’s commemoration, no matter how special, is not enough. If Selma taught us anything, it’s that our work is never done. (Applause.) The American experiment in self-government gives work and purpose to each generation.
Selma teaches us, as well, that action requires that we shed our cynicism. For when it comes to the pursuit of justice, we can afford neither complacency nor despair.
Just this week, I was asked whether I thought the Department of Justice’s Ferguson report shows that, with respect to race, little has changed in this country. And I understood the question; the report’s narrative was sadly familiar. It evoked the kind of abuse and disregard for citizens that spawned the Civil Rights Movement. But I rejected the notion that nothing’s changed. What happened in Ferguson may not be unique, but it’s no longer endemic. It’s no longer sanctioned by law or by custom. And before the Civil Rights Movement, it most surely was. (Applause.)
We do a disservice to the cause of justice by intimating that bias and discrimination are immutable, that racial division is inherent to America. If you think nothing’s changed in the past 50 years, ask somebody who lived through the Selma or Chicago or Los Angeles of the 1950s. Ask the female CEO who once might have been assigned to the secretarial pool if nothing’s changed. Ask your gay friend if it’s easier to be out and proud in America now than it was thirty years ago. To deny this progress, this hard-won progress -– our progress –- would be to rob us of our own agency, our own capacity, our responsibility to do what we can to make America better.
Of course, a more common mistake is to suggest that Ferguson is an isolated incident; that racism is banished; that the work that drew men and women to Selma is now complete, and that whatever racial tensions remain are a consequence of those seeking to play the “race card” for their own purposes. We don’t need the Ferguson report to know that’s not true. We just need to open our eyes, and our ears, and our hearts to know that this nation’s racial history still casts its long shadow upon us.
We know the march is not yet over. We know the race is not yet won. We know that reaching that blessed destination where we are judged, all of us, by the content of our character requires admitting as much, facing up to the truth. “We are capable of bearing a great burden,” James Baldwin once wrote, “once we discover that the burden is reality and arrive where reality is.”
There’s nothing America can’t handle if we actually look squarely at the problem. And this is work for all Americans, not just some. Not just whites. Not just blacks. If we want to honor the courage of those who marched that day, then all of us are called to possess their moral imagination. All of us will need to feel as they did the fierce urgency of now. All of us need to recognize as they did that change depends on our actions, on our attitudes, the things we teach our children. And if we make such an effort, no matter how hard it may sometimes seem, laws can be passed, and consciences can be stirred, and consensus can be built. (Applause.)
With such an effort, we can make sure our criminal justice system serves all and not just some. Together, we can raise the level of mutual trust that policing is built on –- the idea that police officers are members of the community they risk their lives to protect, and citizens in Ferguson and New York and Cleveland, they just want the same thing young people here marched for 50 years ago -– the protection of the law. (Applause.) Together, we can address unfair sentencing and overcrowded prisons, and the stunted circumstances that rob too many boys of the chance to become men, and rob the nation of too many men who could be good dads, and good workers, and good neighbors. (Applause.)
With effort, we can roll back poverty and the roadblocks to opportunity. Americans don’t accept a free ride for anybody, nor do we believe in equality of outcomes. But we do expect equal opportunity. And if we really mean it, if we’re not just giving lip service to it, but if we really mean it and are willing to sacrifice for it, then, yes, we can make sure every child gets an education suitable to this new century, one that expands imaginations and lifts sights and gives those children the skills they need. We can make sure every person willing to work has the dignity of a job, and a fair wage, and a real voice, and sturdier rungs on that ladder into the middle class.
And with effort, we can protect the foundation stone of our democracy for which so many marched across this bridge –- and that is the right to vote. (Applause.) Right now, in 2015, 50 years after Selma, there are laws across this country designed to make it harder for people to vote. As we speak, more of such laws are being proposed. Meanwhile, the Voting Rights Act, the culmination of so much blood, so much sweat and tears, the product of so much sacrifice in the face of wanton violence, the Voting Rights Act stands weakened, its future subject to political rancor.
How can that be? The Voting Rights Act was one of the crowning achievements of our democracy, the result of Republican and Democratic efforts. (Applause.) President Reagan signed its renewal when he was in office. President George W. Bush signed its renewal when he was in office. (Applause.) One hundred members of Congress have come here today to honor people who were willing to die for the right to protect it. If we want to honor this day, let that hundred go back to Washington and gather four hundred more, and together, pledge to make it their mission to restore that law this year. That’s how we honor those on this bridge. (Applause.)
Of course, our democracy is not the task of Congress alone, or the courts alone, or even the President alone. If every new voter-suppression law was struck down today, we would still have, here in America, one of the lowest voting rates among free peoples. Fifty years ago, registering to vote here in Selma and much of the South meant guessing the number of jellybeans in a jar, the number of bubbles on a bar of soap. It meant risking your dignity, and sometimes, your life.
What’s our excuse today for not voting? How do we so casually discard the right for which so many fought? (Applause.) How do we so fully give away our power, our voice, in shaping America’s future? Why are we pointing to somebody else when we could take the time just to go to the polling places? (Applause.) We give away our power.
Fellow marchers, so much has changed in 50 years. We have endured war and we’ve fashioned peace. We’ve seen technological wonders that touch every aspect of our lives. We take for granted conveniences that our parents could have scarcely imagined. But what has not changed is the imperative of citizenship; that willingness of a 26-year-old deacon, or a Unitarian minister, or a young mother of five to decide they loved this country so much that they’d risk everything to realize its promise.
That’s what it means to love America. That’s what it means to believe in America. That’s what it means when we say America is exceptional.
For we were born of change. We broke the old aristocracies, declaring ourselves entitled not by bloodline, but endowed by our Creator with certain inalienable rights. We secure our rights and responsibilities through a system of self-government, of and by and for the people. That’s why we argue and fight with so much passion and conviction -- because we know our efforts matter. We know America is what we make of it.
Look at our history. We are Lewis and Clark and Sacajawea, pioneers who braved the unfamiliar, followed by a stampede of farmers and miners, and entrepreneurs and hucksters. That’s our spirit. That’s who we are.
We are Sojourner Truth and Fannie Lou Hamer, women who could do as much as any man and then some. And we’re Susan B. Anthony, who shook the system until the law reflected that truth. That is our character.
We’re the immigrants who stowed away on ships to reach these shores, the huddled masses yearning to breathe free –- Holocaust survivors, Soviet defectors, the Lost Boys of Sudan. We’re the hopeful strivers who cross the Rio Grande because we want our kids to know a better life. That’s how we came to be. (Applause.)
We’re the slaves who built the White House and the economy of the South. (Applause.) We’re the ranch hands and cowboys who opened up the West, and countless laborers who laid rail, and raised skyscrapers, and organized for workers’ rights.
We’re the fresh-faced GIs who fought to liberate a continent. And we’re the Tuskeegee Airmen, and the Navajo code-talkers, and the Japanese Americans who fought for this country even as their own liberty had been denied.
We’re the firefighters who rushed into those buildings on 9/11, the volunteers who signed up to fight in Afghanistan and Iraq. We’re the gay Americans whose blood ran in the streets of San Francisco and New York, just as blood ran down this bridge. (Applause.)
We are storytellers, writers, poets, artists who abhor unfairness, and despise hypocrisy, and give voice to the voiceless, and tell truths that need to be told.
We’re the inventors of gospel and jazz and blues, bluegrass and country, and hip-hop and rock and roll, and our very own sound with all the sweet sorrow and reckless joy of freedom.
We are Jackie Robinson, enduring scorn and spiked cleats and pitches coming straight to his head, and stealing home in the World Series anyway. (Applause.)
We are the people Langston Hughes wrote of who “build our temples for tomorrow, strong as we know how.” We are the people Emerson wrote of, “who for truth and honor’s sake stand fast and suffer long;” who are “never tired, so long as we can see far enough.”
That’s what America is. Not stock photos or airbrushed history, or feeble attempts to define some of us as more American than others. (Applause.) We respect the past, but we don’t pine for the past. We don’t fear the future; we grab for it. America is not some fragile thing. We are large, in the words of Whitman, containing multitudes. We are boisterous and diverse and full of energy, perpetually young in spirit. That’s why someone like John Lewis at the ripe old age of 25 could lead a mighty march.
And that’s what the young people here today and listening all across the country must take away from this day. You are America. Unconstrained by habit and convention. Unencumbered by what is, because you’re ready to seize what ought to be.
For everywhere in this country, there are first steps to be taken, there’s new ground to cover, there are more bridges to be crossed. And it is you, the young and fearless at heart, the most diverse and educated generation in our history, who the nation is waiting to follow.
Because Selma shows us that America is not the project of any one person. Because the single-most powerful word in our democracy is the word “We.” “We The People.” “We Shall Overcome.” “Yes We Can.” (Applause.) That word is owned by no one. It belongs to everyone. Oh, what a glorious task we are given, to continually try to improve this great nation of ours.
Fifty years from Bloody Sunday, our march is not yet finished, but we’re getting closer. Two hundred and thirty-nine years after this nation’s founding our union is not yet perfect, but we are getting closer. Our job’s easier because somebody already got us through that first mile. Somebody already got us over that bridge. When it feels the road is too hard, when the torch we’ve been passed feels too heavy, we will remember these early travelers, and draw strength from their example, and hold firmly the words of the prophet Isaiah: “Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on [the] wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not be faint.” (Applause.)
We honor those who walked so we could run. We must run so our children soar. And we will not grow weary. For we believe in the power of an awesome God, and we believe in this country’s sacred promise.
May He bless those warriors of justice no longer with us, and bless the United States of America. Thank you, everybody. (Applause.)
END 2:50 P.M. CST
The White House
Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release
March 07, 2015
Remarks by the President at the 50th Anniversary of the Selma to Montgomery Marches
Edmund Pettus Bridge
Selma, Alabama
2:17 P.M. CST
AUDIENCE MEMBER: We love you, President Obama!
THE PRESIDENT: Well, you know I love you back. (Applause.)
It is a rare honor in this life to follow one of your heroes. And John Lewis is one of my heroes.
Now, I have to imagine that when a younger John Lewis woke up that morning 50 years ago and made his way to Brown Chapel, heroics were not on his mind. A day like this was not on his mind. Young folks with bedrolls and backpacks were milling about. Veterans of the movement trained newcomers in the tactics of non-violence; the right way to protect yourself when attacked. A doctor described what tear gas does to the body, while marchers scribbled down instructions for contacting their loved ones. The air was thick with doubt, anticipation and fear. And they comforted themselves with the final verse of the final hymn they sung:
“No matter what may be the test, God will take care of you;
Lean, weary one, upon His breast, God will take care of you.”
And then, his knapsack stocked with an apple, a toothbrush, and a book on government -- all you need for a night behind bars -- John Lewis led them out of the church on a mission to change America.
President and Mrs. Bush, Governor Bentley, Mayor Evans, Sewell, Reverend Strong, members of Congress, elected officials, foot soldiers, friends, fellow Americans:
As John noted, there are places and moments in America where this nation’s destiny has been decided. Many are sites of war -- Concord and Lexington, Appomattox, Gettysburg. Others are sites that symbolize the daring of America’s character -- Independence Hall and Seneca Falls, Kitty Hawk and Cape Canaveral.
Selma is such a place. In one afternoon 50 years ago, so much of our turbulent history -- the stain of slavery and anguish of civil war; the yoke of segregation and tyranny of Jim Crow; the death of four little girls in Birmingham; and the dream of a Baptist preacher -- all that history met on this bridge.
It was not a clash of armies, but a clash of wills; a contest to determine the true meaning of America. And because of men and women like John Lewis, Joseph Lowery, Hosea Williams, Amelia Boynton, Diane Nash, Ralph Abernathy, C.T. Vivian, Andrew Young, Fred Shuttlesworth, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and so many others, the idea of a just America and a fair America, an inclusive America, and a generous America -- that idea ultimately triumphed.
As is true across the landscape of American history, we cannot examine this moment in isolation. The march on Selma was part of a broader campaign that spanned generations; the leaders that day part of a long line of heroes.
We gather here to celebrate them. We gather here to honor the courage of ordinary Americans willing to endure billy clubs and the chastening rod; tear gas and the trampling hoof; men and women who despite the gush of blood and splintered bone would stay true to their North Star and keep marching towards justice.
They did as Scripture instructed: “Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.” And in the days to come, they went back again and again. When the trumpet call sounded for more to join, the people came –- black and white, young and old, Christian and Jew, waving the American flag and singing the same anthems full of faith and hope. A white newsman, Bill Plante, who covered the marches then and who is with us here today, quipped that the growing number of white people lowered the quality of the singing. (Laughter.) To those who marched, though, those old gospel songs must have never sounded so sweet.
In time, their chorus would well up and reach President Johnson. And he would send them protection, and speak to the nation, echoing their call for America and the world to hear: “We shall overcome.” (Applause.) What enormous faith these men and women had. Faith in God, but also faith in America.
The Americans who crossed this bridge, they were not physically imposing. But they gave courage to millions. They held no elected office. But they led a nation. They marched as Americans who had endured hundreds of years of brutal violence, countless daily indignities –- but they didn’t seek special treatment, just the equal treatment promised to them almost a century before. (Applause.)
What they did here will reverberate through the ages. Not because the change they won was preordained; not because their victory was complete; but because they proved that nonviolent change is possible, that love and hope can conquer hate.
As we commemorate their achievement, we are well-served to remember that at the time of the marches, many in power condemned rather than praised them. Back then, they were called Communists, or half-breeds, or outside agitators, sexual and moral degenerates, and worse –- they were called everything but the name their parents gave them. Their faith was questioned. Their lives were threatened. Their patriotism challenged.
And yet, what could be more American than what happened in this place? (Applause.) What could more profoundly vindicate the idea of America than plain and humble people –- unsung, the downtrodden, the dreamers not of high station, not born to wealth or privilege, not of one religious tradition but many, coming together to shape their country’s course?
What greater expression of faith in the American experiment than this, what greater form of patriotism is there than the belief that America is not yet finished, that we are strong enough to be self-critical, that each successive generation can look upon our imperfections and decide that it is in our power to remake this nation to more closely align with our highest ideals? (Applause.)
That’s why Selma is not some outlier in the American experience. That’s why it’s not a museum or a static monument to behold from a distance. It is instead the manifestation of a creed written into our founding documents: “We the People…in order to form a more perfect union.” “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.” (Applause.)
These are not just words. They’re a living thing, a call to action, a roadmap for citizenship and an insistence in the capacity of free men and women to shape our own destiny. For founders like Franklin and Jefferson, for leaders like Lincoln and FDR, the success of our experiment in self-government rested on engaging all of our citizens in this work. And that’s what we celebrate here in Selma. That’s what this movement was all about, one leg in our long journey toward freedom. (Applause.)
The American instinct that led these young men and women to pick up the torch and cross this bridge, that’s the same instinct that moved patriots to choose revolution over tyranny. It’s the same instinct that drew immigrants from across oceans and the Rio Grande; the same instinct that led women to reach for the ballot, workers to organize against an unjust status quo; the same instinct that led us to plant a flag at Iwo Jima and on the surface of the Moon. (Applause.)
It’s the idea held by generations of citizens who believed that America is a constant work in progress; who believed that loving this country requires more than singing its praises or avoiding uncomfortable truths. It requires the occasional disruption, the willingness to speak out for what is right, to shake up the status quo. That’s America. (Applause.)
That’s what makes us unique. That’s what cements our reputation as a beacon of opportunity. Young people behind the Iron Curtain would see Selma and eventually tear down that wall. Young people in Soweto would hear Bobby Kennedy talk about ripples of hope and eventually banish the scourge of apartheid. Young people in Burma went to prison rather than submit to military rule. They saw what John Lewis had done. From the streets of Tunis to the Maidan in Ukraine, this generation of young people can draw strength from this place, where the powerless could change the world’s greatest power and push their leaders to expand the boundaries of freedom.
They saw that idea made real right here in Selma, Alabama. They saw that idea manifest itself here in America.
Because of campaigns like this, a Voting Rights Act was passed. Political and economic and social barriers came down. And the change these men and women wrought is visible here today in the presence of African Americans who run boardrooms, who sit on the bench, who serve in elected office from small towns to big cities; from the Congressional Black Caucus all the way to the Oval Office. (Applause.)
Because of what they did, the doors of opportunity swung open not just for black folks, but for every American. Women marched through those doors. Latinos marched through those doors. Asian Americans, gay Americans, Americans with disabilities -- they all came through those doors. (Applause.) Their endeavors gave the entire South the chance to rise again, not by reasserting the past, but by transcending the past.
What a glorious thing, Dr. King might say. And what a solemn debt we owe. Which leads us to ask, just how might we repay that debt?
First and foremost, we have to recognize that one day’s commemoration, no matter how special, is not enough. If Selma taught us anything, it’s that our work is never done. (Applause.) The American experiment in self-government gives work and purpose to each generation.
Selma teaches us, as well, that action requires that we shed our cynicism. For when it comes to the pursuit of justice, we can afford neither complacency nor despair.
Just this week, I was asked whether I thought the Department of Justice’s Ferguson report shows that, with respect to race, little has changed in this country. And I understood the question; the report’s narrative was sadly familiar. It evoked the kind of abuse and disregard for citizens that spawned the Civil Rights Movement. But I rejected the notion that nothing’s changed. What happened in Ferguson may not be unique, but it’s no longer endemic. It’s no longer sanctioned by law or by custom. And before the Civil Rights Movement, it most surely was. (Applause.)
We do a disservice to the cause of justice by intimating that bias and discrimination are immutable, that racial division is inherent to America. If you think nothing’s changed in the past 50 years, ask somebody who lived through the Selma or Chicago or Los Angeles of the 1950s. Ask the female CEO who once might have been assigned to the secretarial pool if nothing’s changed. Ask your gay friend if it’s easier to be out and proud in America now than it was thirty years ago. To deny this progress, this hard-won progress -– our progress –- would be to rob us of our own agency, our own capacity, our responsibility to do what we can to make America better.
Of course, a more common mistake is to suggest that Ferguson is an isolated incident; that racism is banished; that the work that drew men and women to Selma is now complete, and that whatever racial tensions remain are a consequence of those seeking to play the “race card” for their own purposes. We don’t need the Ferguson report to know that’s not true. We just need to open our eyes, and our ears, and our hearts to know that this nation’s racial history still casts its long shadow upon us.
We know the march is not yet over. We know the race is not yet won. We know that reaching that blessed destination where we are judged, all of us, by the content of our character requires admitting as much, facing up to the truth. “We are capable of bearing a great burden,” James Baldwin once wrote, “once we discover that the burden is reality and arrive where reality is.”
There’s nothing America can’t handle if we actually look squarely at the problem. And this is work for all Americans, not just some. Not just whites. Not just blacks. If we want to honor the courage of those who marched that day, then all of us are called to possess their moral imagination. All of us will need to feel as they did the fierce urgency of now. All of us need to recognize as they did that change depends on our actions, on our attitudes, the things we teach our children. And if we make such an effort, no matter how hard it may sometimes seem, laws can be passed, and consciences can be stirred, and consensus can be built. (Applause.)
With such an effort, we can make sure our criminal justice system serves all and not just some. Together, we can raise the level of mutual trust that policing is built on –- the idea that police officers are members of the community they risk their lives to protect, and citizens in Ferguson and New York and Cleveland, they just want the same thing young people here marched for 50 years ago -– the protection of the law. (Applause.) Together, we can address unfair sentencing and overcrowded prisons, and the stunted circumstances that rob too many boys of the chance to become men, and rob the nation of too many men who could be good dads, and good workers, and good neighbors. (Applause.)
With effort, we can roll back poverty and the roadblocks to opportunity. Americans don’t accept a free ride for anybody, nor do we believe in equality of outcomes. But we do expect equal opportunity. And if we really mean it, if we’re not just giving lip service to it, but if we really mean it and are willing to sacrifice for it, then, yes, we can make sure every child gets an education suitable to this new century, one that expands imaginations and lifts sights and gives those children the skills they need. We can make sure every person willing to work has the dignity of a job, and a fair wage, and a real voice, and sturdier rungs on that ladder into the middle class.
And with effort, we can protect the foundation stone of our democracy for which so many marched across this bridge –- and that is the right to vote. (Applause.) Right now, in 2015, 50 years after Selma, there are laws across this country designed to make it harder for people to vote. As we speak, more of such laws are being proposed. Meanwhile, the Voting Rights Act, the culmination of so much blood, so much sweat and tears, the product of so much sacrifice in the face of wanton violence, the Voting Rights Act stands weakened, its future subject to political rancor.
How can that be? The Voting Rights Act was one of the crowning achievements of our democracy, the result of Republican and Democratic efforts. (Applause.) President Reagan signed its renewal when he was in office. President George W. Bush signed its renewal when he was in office. (Applause.) One hundred members of Congress have come here today to honor people who were willing to die for the right to protect it. If we want to honor this day, let that hundred go back to Washington and gather four hundred more, and together, pledge to make it their mission to restore that law this year. That’s how we honor those on this bridge. (Applause.)
Of course, our democracy is not the task of Congress alone, or the courts alone, or even the President alone. If every new voter-suppression law was struck down today, we would still have, here in America, one of the lowest voting rates among free peoples. Fifty years ago, registering to vote here in Selma and much of the South meant guessing the number of jellybeans in a jar, the number of bubbles on a bar of soap. It meant risking your dignity, and sometimes, your life.
What’s our excuse today for not voting? How do we so casually discard the right for which so many fought? (Applause.) How do we so fully give away our power, our voice, in shaping America’s future? Why are we pointing to somebody else when we could take the time just to go to the polling places? (Applause.) We give away our power.
Fellow marchers, so much has changed in 50 years. We have endured war and we’ve fashioned peace. We’ve seen technological wonders that touch every aspect of our lives. We take for granted conveniences that our parents could have scarcely imagined. But what has not changed is the imperative of citizenship; that willingness of a 26-year-old deacon, or a Unitarian minister, or a young mother of five to decide they loved this country so much that they’d risk everything to realize its promise.
That’s what it means to love America. That’s what it means to believe in America. That’s what it means when we say America is exceptional.
For we were born of change. We broke the old aristocracies, declaring ourselves entitled not by bloodline, but endowed by our Creator with certain inalienable rights. We secure our rights and responsibilities through a system of self-government, of and by and for the people. That’s why we argue and fight with so much passion and conviction -- because we know our efforts matter. We know America is what we make of it.
Look at our history. We are Lewis and Clark and Sacajawea, pioneers who braved the unfamiliar, followed by a stampede of farmers and miners, and entrepreneurs and hucksters. That’s our spirit. That’s who we are.
We are Sojourner Truth and Fannie Lou Hamer, women who could do as much as any man and then some. And we’re Susan B. Anthony, who shook the system until the law reflected that truth. That is our character.
We’re the immigrants who stowed away on ships to reach these shores, the huddled masses yearning to breathe free –- Holocaust survivors, Soviet defectors, the Lost Boys of Sudan. We’re the hopeful strivers who cross the Rio Grande because we want our kids to know a better life. That’s how we came to be. (Applause.)
We’re the slaves who built the White House and the economy of the South. (Applause.) We’re the ranch hands and cowboys who opened up the West, and countless laborers who laid rail, and raised skyscrapers, and organized for workers’ rights.
We’re the fresh-faced GIs who fought to liberate a continent. And we’re the Tuskeegee Airmen, and the Navajo code-talkers, and the Japanese Americans who fought for this country even as their own liberty had been denied.
We’re the firefighters who rushed into those buildings on 9/11, the volunteers who signed up to fight in Afghanistan and Iraq. We’re the gay Americans whose blood ran in the streets of San Francisco and New York, just as blood ran down this bridge. (Applause.)
We are storytellers, writers, poets, artists who abhor unfairness, and despise hypocrisy, and give voice to the voiceless, and tell truths that need to be told.
We’re the inventors of gospel and jazz and blues, bluegrass and country, and hip-hop and rock and roll, and our very own sound with all the sweet sorrow and reckless joy of freedom.
We are Jackie Robinson, enduring scorn and spiked cleats and pitches coming straight to his head, and stealing home in the World Series anyway. (Applause.)
We are the people Langston Hughes wrote of who “build our temples for tomorrow, strong as we know how.” We are the people Emerson wrote of, “who for truth and honor’s sake stand fast and suffer long;” who are “never tired, so long as we can see far enough.”
That’s what America is. Not stock photos or airbrushed history, or feeble attempts to define some of us as more American than others. (Applause.) We respect the past, but we don’t pine for the past. We don’t fear the future; we grab for it. America is not some fragile thing. We are large, in the words of Whitman, containing multitudes. We are boisterous and diverse and full of energy, perpetually young in spirit. That’s why someone like John Lewis at the ripe old age of 25 could lead a mighty march.
And that’s what the young people here today and listening all across the country must take away from this day. You are America. Unconstrained by habit and convention. Unencumbered by what is, because you’re ready to seize what ought to be.
For everywhere in this country, there are first steps to be taken, there’s new ground to cover, there are more bridges to be crossed. And it is you, the young and fearless at heart, the most diverse and educated generation in our history, who the nation is waiting to follow.
Because Selma shows us that America is not the project of any one person. Because the single-most powerful word in our democracy is the word “We.” “We The People.” “We Shall Overcome.” “Yes We Can.” (Applause.) That word is owned by no one. It belongs to everyone. Oh, what a glorious task we are given, to continually try to improve this great nation of ours.
Fifty years from Bloody Sunday, our march is not yet finished, but we’re getting closer. Two hundred and thirty-nine years after this nation’s founding our union is not yet perfect, but we are getting closer. Our job’s easier because somebody already got us through that first mile. Somebody already got us over that bridge. When it feels the road is too hard, when the torch we’ve been passed feels too heavy, we will remember these early travelers, and draw strength from their example, and hold firmly the words of the prophet Isaiah: “Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on [the] wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not be faint.” (Applause.)
We honor those who walked so we could run. We must run so our children soar. And we will not grow weary. For we believe in the power of an awesome God, and we believe in this country’s sacred promise.
May He bless those warriors of justice no longer with us, and bless the United States of America. Thank you, everybody. (Applause.)
END 2:50 P.M. CST
Commissioners to Address Demolition Derby
Thanks to Commissioner Nancy Sikes-Kline, City Commissioners will consider a solution to the orgy of demolitions in St. Augustine, perhaps by their December meeting. During the September 26, 2016 City Commission meeting, Commissioner Sikes-Kline brought up the demolition derby, including people destroying historic buildings without permits. Commissioner Leanna Freeman agreed, with Commissioners asking the staff to research options for discouraging lawbreaking by developers, contractors and developers.
No one mentioned the worst offenders by name -- ex-Mayor LEN WEEKS and ex-PZB Chair JOHN VALDES, but their overt lawbreaking acts hung over the Commissioners like a cloud.
Restoring Flags to Our Bayfront
In 2005, there were seven flagpoles along the Bayfront in St. Augustine --- Rainbow flags flew there June 7-13, 2005, along with 42 on the Bridge of Lions, on orders of United States District Court Judge Henry Leen Adams, Jr. in Jansen v. City of St. Augustine, a First Amendment case vindicating Gay rights.
Those flagpoles are no longer there.
The seven flagpoles along the Bayfront were removed on orders of then City Manager WILLIAM BARRY HARRISS, "as sebaceous a fatass as ever made a chair squeak," in the immortal words of Robert Penn Warren's All the King's Men.
The new Bridge of Lions has no flagpoles, and offers by local businesses to install them fell on indifferent or indifferent ears in City Hall and a prior City Commission.
It's time to replace our flags.
PZB Applicant JOHN VALDES Withdraws Application, Grant Misterly Appointed
Congratulations to Grant Misterly
PZB member Grant Misterly
St. Augustine City Commissioners voted 3-2 to appoint engineer Grant Misterly to the City Planning and Zoning Board; Misterly edged out an equally qualified candidate Karen Zander amid concerns an engineer or contractor was needed on the Board. Mayor Nancy Shaver, Vice Mayor Roxanne Horvath and Commissioner Leanna Freeman voted for Mr. Misterly while Commissioners Todd Neville and Nancy Sikes-Kline voted for Ms. Zander. Mr. Misterly was a former PZB member who resigned in 2014 to run against Commissioner Sikes-Kline, nearly defeating her.
During general public comment, Ms. Zander spoke -- a breath of fresh air -- helping open up the process to discussion and debate, earnest discussions by Commissioners. Not so long ago, Board appointment operated as a fraternity blackball system, in secret, without discussion. Commissioner Sikes-Kline pointed out that new people were needed, who had not served on Boards before.
The vote occurred after JOHN VALDES withdrew his application, the morning a St. Augustine Record column by Steven Cottrell, discussing VALDES' intentionally destroying an historic building without a permit. Applying after the deadline but still on the ballot and getting no votes whatsoever was controversial former Commissioner Donald Crichlow, an architect and perennial developer advocate for ugly projects (like the Bishop's Building, across from the Cathedral Basilica, on which Crichow was round rejected 4-0 by his colleagues on a former Commission).
Commissioner Nancy Sikes-Kline later commented on the orgy of demolitions.
Three cheers.
PZB member Grant Misterly
St. Augustine City Commissioners voted 3-2 to appoint engineer Grant Misterly to the City Planning and Zoning Board; Misterly edged out an equally qualified candidate Karen Zander amid concerns an engineer or contractor was needed on the Board. Mayor Nancy Shaver, Vice Mayor Roxanne Horvath and Commissioner Leanna Freeman voted for Mr. Misterly while Commissioners Todd Neville and Nancy Sikes-Kline voted for Ms. Zander. Mr. Misterly was a former PZB member who resigned in 2014 to run against Commissioner Sikes-Kline, nearly defeating her.
During general public comment, Ms. Zander spoke -- a breath of fresh air -- helping open up the process to discussion and debate, earnest discussions by Commissioners. Not so long ago, Board appointment operated as a fraternity blackball system, in secret, without discussion. Commissioner Sikes-Kline pointed out that new people were needed, who had not served on Boards before.
The vote occurred after JOHN VALDES withdrew his application, the morning a St. Augustine Record column by Steven Cottrell, discussing VALDES' intentionally destroying an historic building without a permit. Applying after the deadline but still on the ballot and getting no votes whatsoever was controversial former Commissioner Donald Crichlow, an architect and perennial developer advocate for ugly projects (like the Bishop's Building, across from the Cathedral Basilica, on which Crichow was round rejected 4-0 by his colleagues on a former Commission).
Commissioner Nancy Sikes-Kline later commented on the orgy of demolitions.
Three cheers.
Sunday, September 25, 2016
PZB APPLICANT JOHN VALDES DEMOLISHED HISTORIC BUILDING ILLEGALLY
St. Augustine City Commissioners would be well advised to vote against lawbreaking building contractor JOHN VALDES when they consider his application to be a member of the PZB September 26th.
St. Augustine City Commissioners are being asked Monday, September 26, 2016 to give PZB seat to builder John Valdez, a former City Commission candidate, defeated by Todd Neville in 2014. As Steven Cottrell writes in his Monday column, and as reported on this blog, FORMER PZB CHAIR AND FORMER HARB MEMBER JOHN VALDEZ tore down 125 Washington Street illegally, without a permit. The City's building official stated under oath that VALDEZ new the building was not in imminent danger of falling down but tore it down anyway: “(Valdes) stated to me that he could make it that way,” Schauland said, adding, “I told him he could not tear it down and he needed to come to HARB.” Instead, Valdes demolished the cottage then applied for an after-the-fact permit."
Steve Cottrell: Ask permission... or seek forgiveness
Posted: September 26, 2016 - 12:00am
By Steve Cottrell
ST. AUGUSTINE RECORD COLUMN
Sometimes it’s easier to seek forgiveness rather than ask for permission, but not always.
Consider, for example, the Sept,. 15 meeting of the St. Augustine Historic Architectural Review Board, when longtime local contractor John Valdes appeared — admittedly, hat in hand — to justify why he razed a Washington Street cottage without a demolition permit.
John offered an earnest apology, explained the rationale for his transgression, and asked HARB to approve an after-the-fact demolition permit. If granted the permit, there would be a fine to pay — but likely less than potential code enforcement costs arising from an HARB denial.
The building in question was being renovated by John’s company when he discovered extensive termite damage and other issues he felt put the 1922 cottage in serious structural jeopardy.
But it is (or was, rather) a contributing building to the Lincolnville Historic District, an area added to the National Register of Historical Places 25 years ago. Such historic buildings require extensive review before being demolished.
Valdes told HARB members that in 30 years of restoration work in St. Augustine, this was the first time he had ever torn down a building without a permit. He said because it was hurricane season. It would take a month to get on an HARB agenda to request a demolition permit.
He felt he had no choice but to tear down the structure before it was blown over by heavy winds.
Valdes is a respected contractor and his testimony at HARB was under oath, so there’s no reason for someone like me to question his opinion regarding the building’s lack of structural integrity. But as a former member of both HARB and the city’s Planning and Zoning Board — as well as a former candidate for city commissioner — he knew the protocol, and knew better than to unilaterally demolish a building without a demolition permit.
Early this summer, fearing the building might collapse and possibly endanger people using the sidewalk, as well as structures on either side of the weakened cottage, John called City Hall, explained his predicament and asked city staff to take a look, with the aim of obtaining an emergency demolition permit.
Jenny Wolfe, the city’s Historic Preservation Officer, and city building official Richard Schauland met at the site with Valdes.
“I think staff will agree that the damage was extensive,” John told HARB, “but they did not feel compelled to give me a (emergency) demolition permit.”
John said he soon found himself in a dilemma: either wait a month for the next HARB meeting, “or do something I’ve never done before, which is take down a building without permission.”
He chose the latter option.
“And I apologize for that,” he said.
John made a compelling case on behalf of his clients and I thought he would walk out of the meeting with his after-the-fact permit. But HARB chair Randal Roark had no intention of supporting an after-the-fact permit, nor did three other HARB members.
“I can’t see any reason why we should send a message that it’s OK to do this,” Chairman Roark told his colleagues.
Then, just before the vote, Schauland went to the microphone to answer a HARB member’s question. He was asked what happened the day he and Ms. Wolfe met on-site with Valdes.
Schauland explained that after being inside the cottage for 20-30 minutes, he advised Valdes that in his professional opinion the building was not in danger of falling down. “(Valdes) stated to me that he could make it that way,” Schauland said, adding, “I told him he could not tear it down and he needed to come to HARB.”
Instead, Valdes demolished the cottage then applied for an after-the-fact permit.
On Sept.that application was denied — and now it is a code enforcement issue with possible costly fines and other expenses down the road.
So who says it’s easier to seek forgiveness than ask for permission?
Not the St. Augustine Historic Architectural Review Board — and good for them.
Cottrell can be contacted at cottrell.sf@gmail.com
HERE IS WHAT I WROTE ON SEPTEMBER 15, 2016, THE DAY OF THE 4-1 VOTE:
A 4-1 VOTE by the City of St. Augustine Historic Architectural Review Board DENIED local historic home reconstruction builder JOHN VALDES a "retroactive permit" to destroy 125 Washington Street.
VALDES is former Chairman of the Planning and Zoning Board, former HARB member, and unsuccessful candidate for the City Commission seat now encumbered by Todd Neville.
VALDES did not apply for a demolition permit: instead, he destroyed an historic building, "unilaterally, without permission."
VALDES was in a hurry. Like other people in a hurry, he's unrepentant.
I opposed VALDES' retroactive permit as a bad precedent. HARB members agreed, 4-1. VALDES may now face Code Enforcement action for working illegally.
Also testifying was City Building Official Richard Schauland [corrected], who said the building was not in imminent danger of falling down, and that he and City Historic Planner Jennifer Wolfe were in the building under the eaves for 20-30 minutes, and that it was in "no imminent danger" of falling down. VALDES replied, "I could make it that way."
VALDES plans to appeal the denial of the retroactive permit to CIty Commission and talk about changing procedures.
St. Augustine City Commissioners are being asked Monday, September 26, 2016 to give PZB seat to builder John Valdez, a former City Commission candidate, defeated by Todd Neville in 2014. As Steven Cottrell writes in his Monday column, and as reported on this blog, FORMER PZB CHAIR AND FORMER HARB MEMBER JOHN VALDEZ tore down 125 Washington Street illegally, without a permit. The City's building official stated under oath that VALDEZ new the building was not in imminent danger of falling down but tore it down anyway: “(Valdes) stated to me that he could make it that way,” Schauland said, adding, “I told him he could not tear it down and he needed to come to HARB.” Instead, Valdes demolished the cottage then applied for an after-the-fact permit."
Ed's note: I testified against VALDES' after-the-fact demolition permit -- twice. I'd do it again.
Here is Cottrell's column:
Steve Cottrell: Ask permission... or seek forgiveness
Posted: September 26, 2016 - 12:00am
By Steve Cottrell
ST. AUGUSTINE RECORD COLUMN
Sometimes it’s easier to seek forgiveness rather than ask for permission, but not always.
Consider, for example, the Sept,. 15 meeting of the St. Augustine Historic Architectural Review Board, when longtime local contractor John Valdes appeared — admittedly, hat in hand — to justify why he razed a Washington Street cottage without a demolition permit.
John offered an earnest apology, explained the rationale for his transgression, and asked HARB to approve an after-the-fact demolition permit. If granted the permit, there would be a fine to pay — but likely less than potential code enforcement costs arising from an HARB denial.
The building in question was being renovated by John’s company when he discovered extensive termite damage and other issues he felt put the 1922 cottage in serious structural jeopardy.
But it is (or was, rather) a contributing building to the Lincolnville Historic District, an area added to the National Register of Historical Places 25 years ago. Such historic buildings require extensive review before being demolished.
Valdes told HARB members that in 30 years of restoration work in St. Augustine, this was the first time he had ever torn down a building without a permit. He said because it was hurricane season. It would take a month to get on an HARB agenda to request a demolition permit.
He felt he had no choice but to tear down the structure before it was blown over by heavy winds.
Valdes is a respected contractor and his testimony at HARB was under oath, so there’s no reason for someone like me to question his opinion regarding the building’s lack of structural integrity. But as a former member of both HARB and the city’s Planning and Zoning Board — as well as a former candidate for city commissioner — he knew the protocol, and knew better than to unilaterally demolish a building without a demolition permit.
Early this summer, fearing the building might collapse and possibly endanger people using the sidewalk, as well as structures on either side of the weakened cottage, John called City Hall, explained his predicament and asked city staff to take a look, with the aim of obtaining an emergency demolition permit.
Jenny Wolfe, the city’s Historic Preservation Officer, and city building official Richard Schauland met at the site with Valdes.
“I think staff will agree that the damage was extensive,” John told HARB, “but they did not feel compelled to give me a (emergency) demolition permit.”
John said he soon found himself in a dilemma: either wait a month for the next HARB meeting, “or do something I’ve never done before, which is take down a building without permission.”
He chose the latter option.
“And I apologize for that,” he said.
John made a compelling case on behalf of his clients and I thought he would walk out of the meeting with his after-the-fact permit. But HARB chair Randal Roark had no intention of supporting an after-the-fact permit, nor did three other HARB members.
“I can’t see any reason why we should send a message that it’s OK to do this,” Chairman Roark told his colleagues.
Then, just before the vote, Schauland went to the microphone to answer a HARB member’s question. He was asked what happened the day he and Ms. Wolfe met on-site with Valdes.
Schauland explained that after being inside the cottage for 20-30 minutes, he advised Valdes that in his professional opinion the building was not in danger of falling down. “(Valdes) stated to me that he could make it that way,” Schauland said, adding, “I told him he could not tear it down and he needed to come to HARB.”
Instead, Valdes demolished the cottage then applied for an after-the-fact permit.
On Sept.that application was denied — and now it is a code enforcement issue with possible costly fines and other expenses down the road.
So who says it’s easier to seek forgiveness than ask for permission?
Not the St. Augustine Historic Architectural Review Board — and good for them.
Cottrell can be contacted at cottrell.sf@gmail.com
HERE IS WHAT I WROTE ON SEPTEMBER 15, 2016, THE DAY OF THE 4-1 VOTE:
A 4-1 VOTE by the City of St. Augustine Historic Architectural Review Board DENIED local historic home reconstruction builder JOHN VALDES a "retroactive permit" to destroy 125 Washington Street.
VALDES is former Chairman of the Planning and Zoning Board, former HARB member, and unsuccessful candidate for the City Commission seat now encumbered by Todd Neville.
VALDES did not apply for a demolition permit: instead, he destroyed an historic building, "unilaterally, without permission."
VALDES was in a hurry. Like other people in a hurry, he's unrepentant.
I opposed VALDES' retroactive permit as a bad precedent. HARB members agreed, 4-1. VALDES may now face Code Enforcement action for working illegally.
Also testifying was City Building Official Richard Schauland [corrected], who said the building was not in imminent danger of falling down, and that he and City Historic Planner Jennifer Wolfe were in the building under the eaves for 20-30 minutes, and that it was in "no imminent danger" of falling down. VALDES replied, "I could make it that way."
VALDES plans to appeal the denial of the retroactive permit to CIty Commission and talk about changing procedures.
Thanks to Commissioners Smith, James, Morris and McClure, WATERMARKE Project Withdrawn
Letters to the editor
Four county commissioners got it right on North Beach development scheme
Posted: September 25, 2016 - 12:03am
ST. AUGUSTINE RECORD
Four county commissioners got it right on North Beach development scheme
Editor: The Watermarke Resort project was halted Tuesday when attorney Ellen Avery-Smith withdrew the proposal, thereby preventing a vote by commissioners.
It is significant Commissioner Rachel Bennett’s motion to approve the project failed because the rest of the commissioners declined to offer a second. Commissioner Jay Morris moved to deny the project, but was outmaneuvered by attorney Ellen Avery-Smith with the withdrawal. This parliamentary action could have a bearing on whether or not the project, represented by Steve Magiera, is resubmitted. The proposal was not approved. But, thanks to Avery-Smith, it was not denied. They’re free to regroup and take another shot.
Bennett stated, at some length, she had to adhere strictly to the law and evidence presented; thus her motion to approve. In doing so, she discounted 20 citizens and attorney Jane West’s experts who presented detailed community arguments against the proposal. But the most insidious shading to the procedure was the “text amendment” Magiera and his investors wanted: in effect, a guarantee that if things don’t work out for the resort and the market tanks, they’ll have the amendment and the Comprehensive Plan change in their pocket to ensure success.
They sought to eliminate financial risk. Sorry, but business is a risk/reward situation. No business intends to fail. But there is always risk.
As reported in The Record, Morris “nailed it.” He understood they were trying to provide economic cover for themselves, and that the government is not in the business of trying to protect economic investment. This has often been a factor in real estate and development proposals before both the county and city commissions. When recognized or pointed out, it should be cause for immediate proposal rejection.
John H. Danahy
Four county commissioners got it right on North Beach development scheme
Posted: September 25, 2016 - 12:03am
ST. AUGUSTINE RECORD
Four county commissioners got it right on North Beach development scheme
Editor: The Watermarke Resort project was halted Tuesday when attorney Ellen Avery-Smith withdrew the proposal, thereby preventing a vote by commissioners.
It is significant Commissioner Rachel Bennett’s motion to approve the project failed because the rest of the commissioners declined to offer a second. Commissioner Jay Morris moved to deny the project, but was outmaneuvered by attorney Ellen Avery-Smith with the withdrawal. This parliamentary action could have a bearing on whether or not the project, represented by Steve Magiera, is resubmitted. The proposal was not approved. But, thanks to Avery-Smith, it was not denied. They’re free to regroup and take another shot.
Bennett stated, at some length, she had to adhere strictly to the law and evidence presented; thus her motion to approve. In doing so, she discounted 20 citizens and attorney Jane West’s experts who presented detailed community arguments against the proposal. But the most insidious shading to the procedure was the “text amendment” Magiera and his investors wanted: in effect, a guarantee that if things don’t work out for the resort and the market tanks, they’ll have the amendment and the Comprehensive Plan change in their pocket to ensure success.
They sought to eliminate financial risk. Sorry, but business is a risk/reward situation. No business intends to fail. But there is always risk.
As reported in The Record, Morris “nailed it.” He understood they were trying to provide economic cover for themselves, and that the government is not in the business of trying to protect economic investment. This has often been a factor in real estate and development proposals before both the county and city commissions. When recognized or pointed out, it should be cause for immediate proposal rejection.
John H. Danahy
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