External Links
Search the Archive
By publication…
- Key West Citizen (3)
- KeyNoter (2)
- KONK Life (31)
- KWTN (7)
- Locals Guide (6)
- Solares Hill (5)
- The Blue Paper (21)
By month…
Articles with Tag…
A New Gang of 3?
KONK REACTOR column
[Published in the KONK Life newspaper on February 28, 2013.]
A New Gang of 3?
Back in the 00’s, our Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) had a trio who voted YES in lockstep on any issue friendly to Keys developers. Want ROGO relief to get a project approved? SURE. Need to widen US1 to support more traffic to new developments? WE’LL DO WHAT WE CAN. Want a variance to build a big hotel in a working seaport? NO PROBLEM. They soon were dubbed the “Gang of 3”.
Nobody was surprised when they even okayed without deliberation an ordinance written by the developer’s lawyer to allow a massive Safe Harbor project! Thankfully a strong Dept of Community Affairs (DCA) rode herd on them and blocked much of their destruction. Nowadays, since our Tea Party Governor dismantled the DCA, the Gang of 3 could rape and pillage our Keys environment and quality of life at will — but all three were booted by a cautionary electorate tired of such devilment. (more…)
Dept of Environmental Rejection
KONK REACTOR column
[Published in the KONK Life newspaper on January 17, 2013.]
Dept of Environmental Rejection
In the 1970s, riding the wave of environmental enlightenment as the nation woke up to the escalating damage from rampant development and profiteering, Florida established its Department of Environmental Regulation (FDER) — formed from various other agencies, including the Department of Air and Water Pollution Control (established by Florida’s FIRST Republican governor) and the Bureau of Sanitary Engineering. By the 1990s it included oversight of Florida’s water management districts, and was retitled Department of Environmental Protection. Our DEP was one of the largest such protection agencies in the nation, and took its responsibilities toward our quality of life and our very future quite seriously.
Even under Florida’s next Republican governor, Jeb Bush, the DEP diligently maintained its role as the protector of our state’s precious resources, (more…)
Farewell Democrats
KONK REACTOR column
[Published in the KONK Life newspaper on November 22, 2012.]
Farewell Democrats
I proudly supported Barrack Obama against the mega-rich-financed opposition this year and am happy that he kept Romney out of the White House. Like many of my fellow ecology-minded and sustainability-seeking “lefties”, I felt that in this election the highest priority was to stop the regressive policies that Romney and the platform of the Republican Party sought to impose on our great nation. Yes, I’ve been frustrated by the less than stellar progress under Obama on vitally important issues like global warming, destructive drilling and poverty — but the stakes were just too high for me to cast a protest vote this time. (And I do believe that overall Obama has done a fine job in spite of the obstructionists.)
I have voted against the major parties in the past. In 1976 I voted for Eugene McCarthy over Ford and Carter, and in 1980 I voted for John Anderson over Carter and Reagan. Ever since, I didn’t look much to the third parties — especially after the 2000 debacle where the Ralph Nader vote in Florida (with help from the US Supreme Court) gave W the Presidency. (Many in the Green Party react fiercely to this contention, but it’s hard to NOT draw that conclusion.) (more…)
2016: Romney’s America
KONK REACTOR column
[Published in the KONK Life newspaper on October 25, 2012.]
2016: Romney’s America
She closes the National Park Camping Reservations app on her cell after finding her favorite campground has been shut down to make way for exploratory oil drilling. She’d been looking forward to sharing with her kids the experience of the glorious parkland that she and her parents and her grandparents had held so dear. The kids have been heartbroken over their father’s recent tragic passing, and a visit to the pristine woodland would have done them good. Oh well…
She thinks about how their father passed away not long after his union job with health benefits had been off-shored and he’d had to accept one of Romney’s promised new jobs – barely above minimum wage with too few hours to qualify for any kind of benefits. (more…)
Unchartered Waters
KONK REACTOR column
[Published in the KONK Life newspaper on September 27, 2012.]
Unchartered Waters
There are plenty of people who’ve attended a charter school or have kids in one, and many claim they love it. There are some good charter schools that can be held up as evidence of their value. But I will probably piss off a few people when I say that I feel we need to rethink the whole concept.
Some people don’t like public schools for whatever reason. Often it’s because they want a fourth “R” – “religion” — to be added to the 3R’s — “readin’, ritin’ and ‘rithmatic”. In the old days, they would pull their kids out and put them into a private school. I have NO PROBLEM with that. If people want to spend their own money to get away from the schools that are good enough for the vast majority of us, that’s their prerogative.
But many of them feel they should get a school-tax break since they’re paying someone else to school their kids. The problem is that we don’t pay a “fee” for the kids who are in school, we pay a TAX that’s levied on our property. (more…)