Why Not Buy Southard Street?

Commissioner Jose Menendez, in a flight of fancy, has suggested that Wisteria Island be turned into a gaming mecca. Mayor McPherson wants the City voters to consider buying Wisteria Island, saying the issue is preservation and never has been annexation. Preservation? Really? Preservation from what? The island is already preserved if not pickled. Until some good citizens came along and organized a cleanup the island was a twenty-one-acre dump that neither the owners, the county or the city seemed to care about.

The City doesn't need to buy Wisteria Island to turn it into a park. The would be developers could do that and charge money to go there. It seems that the City Commission has linked annexation with development. Indeed, they are separate issues. The City could annex Wisteria Island any time its wants. The problem is the messed up laws the City has on development. If the City annexes the island, under the existing laws, the developers could build homes on the island. That's not an annexation problem. That's a development problem. That's what the City needs to work on, but, of course, it won't because the City is controlled by developers.

The Mayor is a realtor, after all, which is why one ought to be suspicious of any proposal that the City buy Wisteria Island. One has to ask, "Why?" The Mayor doesn't really want the voters' nod to buy the island; otherwise the proposed referendum would be given a green light and made a binding referendum. So what's behind all this wrangling over Wisteria Island? We're all ears, Mr. Mayor!

Meanwhile, we have a suggestion. If the City thinks it can buy Wisteria Island, why doesn't it buy Southard Street? It would likely cost a lot less and solve a whole bunch of issues for the City, not to mention that it would put an end to what may ultimately be a costly lawsuit for the City.

The reality is that the City does not have the money to buy (or even pursue eminent domain over) Southard Street. And the City doesn't have the money to buy Wisteria Island either. If the Mayor is proposing to ask the voters something, he 'd probably get a more positive response if he asked the voters whether they'd finance an eminent domain suit to take over Southard Street.

Piss And Vinegar Is It?

"When Harry Bethel was in his 20s and 30s, he was full of piss and vinegar, but people grow and mature. . ."

That they do. That's why we don't care whether or not Harry Bethel was fired some 33 years ago, or whether back then, as he reportedly has put it so colorfully, he was "full of piss and vinegar." Bethel is right that what happened 30 some years ago shouldn't be a factor in whether he gets elected to the Utility Board.

What does matter is what kind of candidate Bethel is today and whether the current happenings in his political life as well as his political views make him the best person to represent the citizens on the Utility Board.

Now that Bethel is "mature," it's his record on the City Commission and current doings that need to be measured to see how he stacks up against the other candidates, Charles Lee and Ty Symroski, in the quest for the Group 1 seat on the Utility Board.

Bethel Has A Challenger

City Commissioner Harry Bethel who is not seeking re-election to the City Commission but, instead, is seeking the Group 1 seat on the Utility Board finally has a challenger. He is Ty Symroski, the former City Planner of Key West. He is 55 years old and has lived in Key West since 1984. He was City Planner from 1998 to 2006 when he left to take a job as the Growth Management Director with Monroe County. He left that job this year, indicating differences with the County Administrator. (Given the messed up County situation, voters should not hold that against him). As for his other credentials, Symrosky has a bachelor's degree in land-use planning and a master's in regional planning.

It should be an interesting, but tough race. Bethel will be a formidable candidate, despite his troubles. He is being investigated for an ethics violation in connection with a dinner on Sunset Key that he and City Commissioners Danny Kolhage and Clayton Lopez allegedly attended with a VP of one of the companies involved with the development of Wisteria Island. Bethel later returned a $1500 campaign contribution from the family of developers who had supported the annexation of Wisteria Island when it was before the City Commission.

Stay tuned.

And Guess What?

The City has published a notice that on August 7, 2007, at 6:00 p.m. in Old City Hall, the City commission will finally take up the tattoo parlor matter by having a "first reading" of a proposed ordinance "creating Division 13 Tattoo establishments."

Of course, there is a hearing on Tuesday, July 31, 2007 in Circuit Court on the lawsuit one tattoo parlor, Key West Ink, has brought against the City. Don't you suppose that 's what the City Attorney's Office is going to tell the Circuit Judge in an effort to buy more time for the City. Will it also buy settlement leverage for the City? It's anybody's guess on this one.

Who's Minding The Tattoo Suit?

Let us get this straight. The Key West Ink tattoo parlor lawsuit against the City is going to a hearing before the Circuit Judge on Tuesday, July 31, 2007. The lawyer for Key West Ink has offered to settle and resubmitted a proposed settlement agreement to the City Attorney on Tuesday, July 24. In the settlement, the City gets the lawsuit dismissed, pays no damages, and pays no attorney's fees. The tattoo parlor gets to open and is subject to all laws the City Commission might pass, however restrictive.

However, with a deadline looming that the City has known about for months, the City, apparently, has not responded to the offer. Reportedly, the City Attorney is out of the office until Monday, July 30,2007, leaving it to the City Manager to respond to the press with some lame excuse why the City can't seem to decide if it likes the proposed settlement.

What are we going to have here, another Duck Tours case where the City now has to pay mega bucks but could have avoided doing so if it had taken the matter more seriously and made the required critical decisions in a timely manner? City officials are hired to make tough decisions, but they don't seem to be doing much of that here.

Mind you, we don't care whether there is a tattoo shop on Duval Street or not. But we do care about how the City makes decisions and how principled it is in doing so.

A decision on the tattoo parlor settlement is not rocket science, but in typical Key West fashion, the City appears to be deciding not to decide. This is just plain irresponsible.

In case the City thinks the public isn't on to this tactic of not deciding, the City is wrong. Not deciding is a decision. At least with us, the City is not going to get away with its usual mantra of, " Well, we just ran out of time. Guess we'll have to see what the judge says." The public deserves straight forward principled decision-making in its city government, and so far, in the tattoo matter at least, doesn't seem to be getting it.

Wisteria Island Cleanup

Kudos to Theo Glorie and the Coffee Plantation crew of volunteers who helped with the cleanup on Wisteria Island this past Sunday. Kudos as well to Amoud Girad's Key West Water Taxi; and to Waste Management who donated the dumpster. This cleanup is a fine example of Key West's "Do-it-for-ourselves" philosophy. Or as Grandpa used to say, "If you want it done right, do it yourself."

Our only questions are where were the owners and developers of Wisteria Island all this time before the cleanup? And why did it take an army of volunteers to do their work? If the Wisteria Island development ever comes up again before the City Commission and / or the voters (and you know it will) these questions should be at the top of the list before any yes vote on potential development.

Giving Back The Money

Key West Commissioner Harry Bethel: "The Walshes give money during campaigns, so does Pritam Singh, so do all developers," he said. "But with all this going on, I simply chose to return the money."

Like, hey, yeah, guess so. Already under investigation for an alleged ethics violation, Commissioner Harry Bethel, who is not seeking re-election to the City Commission but is running for the Utility Board, decided to come down from his mountain vacation long enough to give back a campaign donation of $1500 from the family of developers who had recently asked that the city annex Wisteria Island so they could build about 150 plus homes there. Without annexation, under Monroe County's current rules, the developers could build two homes.

While the now withdrawn annexation request was was an issue before the Commission, Bethel along with Commissioners Danny Kolhage and Clayton Lopez just happened to have attended a dinner on Sunset Key with a vice president of the Walsh family companies.

By way of background, in many places there would be nothing wrong with several legislators meeting and talking with others and among themselves including discussing how they might vote on a piece of legislation. In Washington, DC it's done all the time. But that is not supposed to be the way it's done in Key West. Commissioners here are not supposed to have a meeting where pending matters are discussed unless the public is given notice of the meeting so members of the public can attend. That is, as we understand it, the gist of the Sunshine Law. There are also ethical issues with accepting (if it happens) something of value from a person interested in seeing a piece of legislation pass. So, in Key West, we are supposed to have open and ethical government.

But whether there are violations of the Sunshine Law or other ethical proscriptions depend upon what happened at a particular meeting and, of course, what was discussed. That is what no one seems to know, except those who were present on Sunset Key. And that is what the investigation is theoretically about.

What do you suppose these Commissioners were talking about? They certainly are friends (from time to time at least in the political realm). It is hard to serve on a political body for as long as these folks have and not like, or at least respect, each other even if your views are miles apart. So we think these Commissioners should tell the public in some detail just what went on at the dinner.

It would certainly be nice to know that, in fact, these Commissioners had only come for chicken and camaraderie and to listen to the sound of the ocean. After all, it is nice out there on Sunset Key. We've been there. Of course, never have we been in such august political company.

As for giving back the campaign contribution, that was certainly the right thing to do. Unfortunately the damage is done in political terms. The trouble is that the contribution now makes Utility Board candidate Bethel look bad politically. Now the savvy voters may well question whether Bethel should be their choice in the election; not because he returned the money, but because he got himself into the sticky wicket in the first place by attending the dinner on Wisteria Island.

It is ironic, sometimes, how the money every candidate needs to raise to run for office can, when obtained, be an unexpected political blunder that raises questions about the candidate's worthiness for office and provides grist for his opponents. But that's politics and what makes it exciting.

Quit Whining

The Commissioners and the Mayor should quit whining about the fact that they can't collect more property taxes and may have to spend less money. This Commission hardly has been frugal. They could have paid a ton more to the police in salaries and other benefits had the City not engaged in dumb behavior that has gotten the City embroiled in lawsuits that have needlessly sapped taxpayers' money.

Will the public and City staff understand when the City Commission and current Mayor plead poverty while spending on lawsuits (and losing). We don't think so.

Stalling On Tattoos

The City Commission can move swiftly when it comes to the Hemingway cats and make an exception to the city's ordinance prohibiting the keeping of more than four domestic animals. But when it comes to saving the City money and avoiding a costly lawsuit over the tattoo parlors on Duval street, the commissioners seem to be playing chicken.

The do-nothing commissioners, it seems, would rather wait for a judge to confirm that they can't bar the tattoo parlor from Duval Street and award injunctive relief, possibly damages, and certainly a slew of attorneys' fees against the City, which is already straining under the weight of the Duck Tours judgment and the cost of the mitigation, the attorneys' fees, and the payment to the environmental consultant as a result of the City's illegal cutting of the mangroves across from Bayview Park.

The City Commission's lack of action is just plain irresponsible. However, like the failure to sit down with the TAMPOA Board and resolve the Southard Street dispute, the Commission's failure to deal with the tattoo parlor issues seems to be typical of the way this Commission has treated tough issues and ignored the public interest in the process. It seems to us that no matter how one feels about tattoos, the Commission should have had the guts to deal squarely with the matter instead of effectively making it too late to avoid the consequences of inaction.

We doubt that the voters will forget how this Commission has behaved when November rolls around.

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.

City Manager's Contract Up For Vote

The City Commission is scheduled to vote on Tuesday, June 5, 2007 on the Contract with the new City Manager designee. But a complete contract has not been worked out. The most important item, salary, has not been agreed to. The City's chief negotiator, Commissioner Bethel, has offered the lowest part of the salary range, $165,000, and the proposed City Manager wants $180,000. The parties are $25,000 apart.

What kind of "negotiation" did Bethel do? Sounds like slim to none to us. According to Bethel's letter of May 31, 2007 to the City Commission, he had "several conversations [presumably by phone] and a [meaning one] meeting with Scholl."

In fairness to Bethel, he notes that "he only gathered information for presentation to the Commission" and that he has "not rejected any options available to Mr. Scholl."

But it sounds like $165,000 was Bethel's first and last offer (since the Commission authorized a minimum of $165,000). According to his letter to the Commission, Bethel says he told Scholl at their meeting that he could not "support or justify any starting salary except $165,000." If that's the way it went, while that may look like tough negotiation, it is really not the give and take of negotiation on the salary at all, since, at least with Bethel, there was no room for agreement on another number. What is worse is that the tactic is also positional bargaining, which is the worst kind of bargaining when you are trying to make a deal. What Bethel did, in essence, was to put the whole matter of coming to an agreement on the essential provision of the contract back in the lap of the City Commission.

In support of his position on the salary, Bethel makes the argument that "Mr. Scholl has absolutely no experience in local government." That may be a moot point, since the Commission knew that when they chose Scholl as their number one candidate. As far as we know, their number two candidate is also a similarly situated person in that regard. If local government experience was the sticking point, then a person with local government experience should have been the first choice of the Commissioners. He was not.

Moreover, Mr. Scholl's Navy administrative and management experience has included dealing with local government, including the likes of these Key West Commissioners. And Scholl's federal responsibilities were awesome compared to those of a Key West City Manager. So it seems to us that Bethel's argument doesn't hold much water and is not the result of a serious look at the interests of each side. He can do better.

We realize Bethel has to keep his rep as a fiscal conservative, but he seems to be playing a game of "salary chicken" here. Will the City blink or will Scholl blink? If the game continues, win or lose, there will be hard feelings and perhaps an unwise less durable agreement. Besides, the negotiation with the new City Manager is not, we hope, about winning. It is about problem solving.

There has got to be a place of compromise somewhere between the two positions. Perhaps the parties can find ways to expand the pie and find desired value in non-monetary options. Also, there is often value in difference. Creating it is what smart seasoned negotiators do all the time. Perhaps the parties may want to think about the possibility of deferred value. Are there things the Commission can agree to implement later that will have equivalent or greater value than what is presently desired by Mr. Scholl?

It seems to us that there is much negotiation left to be done and that Commissioner Bethel's efforts have barely scratched the surface. $25,000 is not a very big gap between the parties as gaps go. Closing that gap should not be hard. That Scholl did not insist on the top of the salary range is significant and indicates a willingness to compromise. But the City should not read that willingness as a sign of weakness. That would be a grave mistake. We fear that's how the Commission may see it, however.

It is in the interest of the City to compromise. Will they? How the Commissioners handle this negotiation will likely set the tone for their relationship with the new City Manager. The Commissioners in their ego-driven zeal forget that they are not in the driver's seat on this one. Mr. Scholl does not need this job. He lives up the Keys where it is cheaper than Key West and has his Navy retirement to fall back on. The City needs a City Manager. Will the City Commissioners be penny wise and pound stupid here? The voters should watch and stick it to them in November if the Commissioners botch this one. What is about to unfold will likely be pure politics and coupled with a good deal of grandstanding.

Absent from this episode will be the Commissioner whose district includes Truman Annex, Bill Verge. He will be on vacation. He has asked the Commission to delay its consideration of the annexation of Christmas Tree Island (Wisteria Island) because of his vacation. Does he have his priorities straight? Isn't choosing a City Manager more important than Christmas Tree Island? Did he ask the Commission to postpone the vote on the City Manager? Shouldn't all the Commissioners and the Mayor be present for that vote? We think so.

If the vote on the City Manager's salary issue were to be put off, it would give the City time to re-think its negotiating stance and allow the parties a chance to back away from their positional bargaining; maybe even reach a compromise. Wouldn't that be something to cheer about?

Getting Even

As we have observed, masterful politicians don't get mad, they just get even. And City Manager, Julio Avael, that master of politics, has done just that to his detractors and their efforts at control by granting raises to the Chief of Police and the Assistant City Manager. These raises were neither small nor (in the case of the Assistant City Manager) uncontroversial. Avael's payback not only rewarded these public servants for their loyalty and hard work in certain areas, but exercised a prerogative granted by the City Charter to the City Manager that the Commissioners and future City Manager are now stuck with. Avael's move also emphasized once again the message of all good bubbas: that if you stick with this bubba, you'll do all right. And do all right in the pay department they did.

The Mayor and some Commissioners had been out to get Avael. They made no secret they wanted him out, and some even wanted him fired or worse. They were playing for keeps, but they were playing with fire.

Now, the sputtering Mayor and seemingly politically inept Commissioners have been caught napping at the game of politics while the shrewd and knowledgeable Master has cunningly out maneuvered them. It was so easy; it must have felt like taking candy from a baby. And all the Mayor and Commissioners can do now is put their best face on it and whine a bit.

Undo the raises? Not a chance, which is why the whines were not screams or howls. The Mayor and Commissioners knew they'd been had by the Master, and all they could do is wonder how it happened and what just had occurred. It was all so smooth.

Even when gone and as he moves into retirement, Avael has, of course, unwittingly insured he will remain in the good graces of the Assistant City Manager and Chief of Police. Should Avael remain in Key West, his bridges to important influence in City government remain in tact.

In many ways Avael plays the game of politics like another master, Sam Rayburn, maybe the most masterful of all House Speakers at the game of politics. It's a gift few have. Rayburn taught it to Lyndon Johnson, who forgot it during Vietnam by listening to the wrong crowd. We dare say Avael didn't have such distinguished mentors; but regardless of what you think of him, he sure has the gift. Let's hope he is willing and able to pass some of this gift to his successor, who surely will need it.

The Commissioners also could learn much from the masterful political lesson Avael has just administered. But in their arrogance, we fear they won't. What they really should be worried about is what else is in store for them in the remaining days of Avael's term. There may be more to this than meets their dollar.

So now the fun begins. As granddaddy once said, "He who laughs last, laughs best." Or, as Jackie Gleason used to say, "How sweet it is!"

We Were Right! It's The Navy Man!

Our political prognostications about who the KW City Commission would pick for a new City Manager to succeed Julio Avael were correct. The number one choice of the City Commission is former Navy base commander, Jim "Dagwood" Scholl. Second place went to Coast Guard Rear Admiral Jeff Hathaway. Third place went to Gary Edwards, City Manager of Moberly, Missouri.

Only the Mayor and Commissioner Bill Verge, whose district includes Truman Annex, had other "favorite sons." Verge's choice came in second. The Mayor's choice was out of the running.

In an interesting twist, the Commission picked Commissioner Harry Bethel, who is retiring, to lead the contract negotiations with Scholl. This was probably a wise move, since after Bethel leaves, the City Manager will no longer be politically beholden to him. The new Manager's negotiated contract will still need Commission approval, but Bethel, as the most fiscally conservative of the Commissioners, should be able to convince the rest to go along with whatever monetary amount is negotiated.

The Commissioners have set a salary range for the new City Manager of between $160,000 and $200,000 per year, which is considerably more than the present City Manager, Julio Avael is making.

ADDED: Turns out some other Commissioners also had "favorite sons," including Commissioner Bethel, whose choice also came in second.

We'll Know Tonight

Tonight is when the City Commission is supposed to rank the City Manager Candidates. The Commission will then begin negotiations with the top one for a salary somewhere between $165,000 and $200,000. This is way up from the current City Manager's salary range.

We'll see if our predictions of who the Commission will choose are close. You can review profiles of the candidates in the front page article in The Citizen.

The Key West Chicken Is A What?

Sonny McCoy says that fossile hunting archologists have discovered that the Key West Chicken is related to the Tyrannosaurus Rex as are "the strutting Roosters on this Island."

We wonder whether the relationships to Dinosaurs to which he is refering aren't closer than he may suspect and may be alive and well in City Hall doing business and writing legislation.

So, as Sonny has said, "when you see these proud descendents of the Dinosaur ages doing their thing here in Key West reflect on their dominance of the past and their beautifully colored plumage."

Talk Spoiled The Federal Lawsuit

Back in November 2006, as we recall, Tom Tukey, President of theTAMPOA Board felt there was so much animosity against the City among TAMPOA members that it would be impossible to resolve the dispute short of litigation. Tukey at that time felt that TAMPOA had to file a lawsuit, though his preference would have been to continue to talk. He felt that talk alone would not satisfy the TAMPOA membership. So the lawsuit got filed in February, 2007. However, the TAMPOA attorneys, Tukey, City Attorney Shawn Smith and Commissioner Bill Verge continued to talk. The time whiled away while the good old boy network tried to work its magic. Unfortunately the federal judge was not part of the that network.

When it came to buckling down and doing the work necessary to produce the required Scheduling Report, well, we hear Shawn Smith let the TAMPOA counsel know he had not given the matter sufficient attention and was too busy to do so. And, the network being what it is, the TAMPOA attorneys just let him get away with that and the deadline for filing the Report went by. They were too nice; to their own detriment.

And, of course, the United States' Attorney didn't care. He, at least had filed something with the court asking for more time. Tell us the City didn't know that the judge would dismiss the case. Is the City now going to compensate TAMPOA Attorney Bill Andersen for his time in refiling the lawsuit? Bet not! No, the City will just know that it now owes him a favor within the network. The problem is that the City's pile of IOUs in the network is getting pretty large, and no one in TAMPOA seems to be collecting on them or benefiting from them.

What we don't get is why TAMPOA and its attorneys continue to get taken in by the good old boy games being played. You'd think that by now, they'd be players in the network too, and good at it. Apparently not. Political hard ball is not their style. And the players on the City side seem to have figured that out. When will TAMPOA draw a line in the sand and say never again? Many TAMPOA members thought that had happened last November, but they were wrong.

It's All About Leverage

And City Manager, Julio Avael, has used it to his advantage. Avael, it appears, will leave in August and get paid through November under a deal that the City has made to get him to remove his name from the list of applicants for the City Manager's Job.

As we recall, Avael was already likely to leave in November. Under the sweet new deal, he gets out in August but still gets paid through November. The new deal is also a concession that the City is not likely to find sufficient evidence to terminate Avael for cause before August.

What does the City get? On the face of the deal, not much, unless it is vital to the City to have Avael gone -- more vital than simply not having to reject him for the new Manager's job. But if the City Fathers have a hidden agenda regarding the new Manager's appointment, then maybe they got a lot more than they are willing to acknowledge. Since not much goes on in Key West politics that doesn't involve a hidden agenda, one has got to suspect such an agenda here.

The Intrigue Continues

The Mayor has called for an investigation of the City Manager's use of sick time and other benefits. Meanwhile the State Department of Business & Professional Regulation (DBPR) has been investigating the issuance of the Certificate of Occupancy for the Rum Barrel Restaurant back in February 2006 that was apparently signed by Assistant City Manager, John Jones when the City's head of the Building Department and chief building official, Joe April, declined to sign.

Now, it has been reported that the DBPR would charge Assistant City Manager, John Jones, with a violation of State law for not being authorized to sign the (then temporary) Certificate of Occupancy. And, as reported in The Citizen, April 21, 2007 (Page 1), Jones has surrendered (and been released on his own recognizance) to face two misdemeanor charges for allegedly impersonating a state licensed building inspector.

While this brewing scandle may come close to Avael, close only counts in horseshoes, not hardball Key West politics. So far, the Mayor, who has made no secret he'd like to terminate the City Manager for cause, doesn't seem to have the solid amunition he may need to avoid the City having to buy out the rest of Manager Avael's contract if the City wants him gone immediately.

Avael is a survivor. The reality may be that the City will wind up having to pay Mr. Avael regardless of what happens. Before the Moguls in City Hall burn their bridges to Avael, they better take stock of what he may have on them. Now Avael has applied to be hired as the City Manager, perhaps throwing a monkey wrench into the hiring process, forcing the City to consider who may be the best qualified individual to hire, and requiring the City to reject him again if it doesent want to consider him. Is he giving himself political leverage or setting the City up for a lawsuit? It is no secret that at the game of political intrigue, Avael is one of the masters.

Sunshine

"To Mayor McPherson: If you're going to break the law, don't go on live radio and admit it. When you got Bill Becker against you, your days are numbered."

Really?

Do you think anyone will be prosecuted? Should the nobility of the purpose for the violation be a consideration?

Southard Street Retirement

Opponents of the proposed independent-assisted living facility to be built on the Truman waterfront are objecting to the location. One opponent asks "What's wrong with a site on Stock Island close to the hospital?"

Well, that's not what is in the master plan. Isn't that the same kind of question TAMPOA is raising about the use of Southard Street and the residents of Bahama Village are raising about the use of various streets in Bahama Village?

The project has the land given by Keys Electric, but needs more space -- i.e., the property next to it. We understand that will take a referendum, so the voters ultimately will decide whether the facility gets built on the waterfront if at all.

When the project was first proposed, the original objections were that it could be built anywhere including Stock Island, and the project was taking valuable waterfront property away from development. Now the objection seems to be traffic congestion along Southard Street. Why don't the opponents of the project come clean and just say, "We just don't want it on the waterfront," instead of making a variety of arguments that are only incidental to their real position?

We wonder whether the location issues surrounding this project will fester like the transient rental issue and never seem to get settled? Without strong leadership by the Mayor and City Commission, that is likely to be the case.