Returning From A Break

It felt good to get away and take a rest from the world of blogging for a bit. It gave us a chance to research some new material and to begin work on some of the changes we had planned for this blog. Unfortunately, they are still not complete enough to flip the switch. but they are coming along and should certainly be ready to implement by the fall. In the mean time, we have tried to catch up on the news and enjoy the summer happening around us.

We notice that there is a new computer store along Truman Avenue in Key West that specifically caters to the Mac crowd. We haven't had time to visit the new store, but we hear good things. The lonely Mac group in KW has needed a store devoted to the Mac for some time now.

And the new iphone has made its debut. Anyone out there have one and can give us the real scoop on how they like it? Can we believe all the reviews?

Here in KW, the new City Manager has taken over, and is being paid what he indicated he would accept, not what he Commission's negotiator proposed.

The politicians are beginning to get their campaigns in gear. Can you believe it, former Mayor, Jimmy Weekley, who lost by 24 votes to the current mayor, is set to make another run? So the citizens will have a chance to re-think their last choice, or to say, "none of the above."

We saw one of the candidates for the Utility Board out collecting signatures for his nominating petition the other day.

Commissioner Rossi is also running again. He and Todd German are locked in an election battle and are trading contentions. Guess we expected that.

The feds have their undies in a bundle over the Hemingway cats.

The Michael Moore movie, Sicko, is at the Tropic Cinema. We haven't seen it yet, but plan to do so.

The controversy over the assisted living facility proposed for the Truman water front is raging. We noticed that Truman Annex resident and occasional commenter here, David Lybrand, was part of a debate over the issues involved in a recent edition of the Key West Citizen. Both sides make some good points, but we have not yet decided which side deserves our support. Our current feeling is that there is much that needs clarifying and not enough plain talk at the forefront of the debate. The stakes and suspicions appear to run high on both sides.

Today is Independence Day, the day to think about "a more perfect union" and to honor our freedom that we so often take for granted. When you think about that In the larger scheme of things, some of the feuds we have over civic issues in KW seem small indeed.

The Proposed Assisted Living Facility

The controversy over the the proposed Assisted Living Facility on the Truman Waterfront is heating up. Some in the Annex have received an email from the Florida Keys Assisted Care Coalition indicating that it will be presenting "Phase III findings" to the Mayor and City Commissioners on Tuesday, May 1 at 6:00 p.m. at the Old City Hall and asking for support. The group is requesting support for a 99 year lease to create an assisted and independent living community on the parcel of land set aside for that purpose on the Truman Waterfront.

We note that the fourth paragraph of a recent letter to the editor in The Citizen by Southard Street homeowner, blogger and Truman Annex resident, David Lybrand, refers to this controversy as the letter addresses an article appearing in the April 20 edition of the paper. While we don't agree with a lot of what Mr. Lybrand says about the motives for TAMPOA's lawsuit against the City (nor do we agree with a lot of what the City says about this lawsuit), Lybrand's letter is worth reading for its perspective on the use of the Truman Waterfront to build an assisted living facility.

What do you think about this situation? We have not yet formed a view, except to say it seems like there are a lot of arguments to be made for the various viewpoints, and likely many viewpoints not yet heard.

One question is why is this now coming alive when the notion of an assisted living facility was in the original plan for the Truman Waterfront? Another is will the citizens of Key West really hold the City Commission to the original plan for the Waterfront or allow various interest groups to modify the plan? Finally, if the plan is to be modified, what are the compelling arguments for doing so? And, what are the biases or hidden agendas of those making the arguments pro or con?

The TAMPOA Board Meets Tomorrow

The TAMPOA Board meets tomorrow, April 30, 2006 at 4:00 p.m. at the TAMPOA office. As part of the agenda, President Tukey is expected to report on how TAMPOA has been spending our money on litigation with the City, TAMPOA's legal fees, and his view of the proposed assisted living facility on the Truman Waterfront. His report should be quite interesting.

Somewhere along the way the minutes of the April 2, 2007 Board meeting will get discussed (or not) and approved. Maybe you'll eventually see them in your email, maybe you won't. But they'll be buried in the TAMPOA office if you really want to look at them. It would be nice if TAMPOA would send them out to the membership though, don't you think?

The Architectural Control Committee will also weigh in with a report. (We've got to maintain our "prestige community," after all).The Committee will tell us how we are doing in that regard. (We suspect we need more "prestige" as well as more "community," but the Committee will let us know). We're all ears.

Of some interest under "New Business" on the agenda is a review of the need for a "legal opinion on storm drainage." We had thought TAMPOA was done with that quite awhile ago.

For those transient rental fanatics, under "New Business" is also a "request to expand allowable annual rentals from 16 to 25."

Isn't it nice that there is always something interesting and entertaining going on every time the Board meets?

By the way, this is probably the last Board meeting for the TAMPOA and other snow birds. Y'all have a nice summer in Coolville.