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Carolyn J. Mason For Sarasota County Commission dist. 1
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Yes, it can be done ... but should it?
Published Friday, May 9, 2008 at 4:30 a.m.

Dawn Moore has an odd way of keeping up with the neighborhood news. She starts each day by scanning the newspaper classifieds for legal notices.

That's how she knows who's trying to put the next office building or convenience store in her back yard, which is not where she wants either.

Moore, who lives on Manasota Beach Road near South Venice and State Road 776, has had a lot of unhappy reading lately.

She and her neighbors are fighting one rezoning petition after another as developers have proposed separate plans for townhouses, a bank, offices and a 24-hour 7-Eleven gas station on land where nothing but trees and palmettos now grow.

This is pretty jarring to a semi-rural neighborhood of one-acre lots platted in 1951 and little-changed since then.

It's also a good example of what happens when people aren't paying attention.

Like most of us, residents of Florida Tropical Homesites and Little Farms do not go to government land-use workshops where urban planning wonks drone in mind-numbing jargon.

So when Sarasota County adopted its State Road 776 corridor plan, the document included scant input from the residential neighborhood that abuts the road.

That was an error of omission the neighbors regret.

Former county planners such as Alan Garrett and Brian Lichterman, who drew up the parameters, have now returned, working for developers. Together, they intend to jump on the option of rezoning land from open-use estates and erect commercial enterprises that jut into a neighborhood of private homes.

It's not the end of the world, but it shows how vulnerable any neighborhood can be when the rules change.

Just one example of skewed priorities: the corridor plan, perhaps anticipating the designation of State Road 776 as a "scenic highway," requires 50 feet of vegetative buffering between new businesses and the road.

Behind the businesses, where people actually live, the buffer can be 10 feet. Go figure.

In abstract, being on S.R. 776, this might be a great location for a commercial center, designed to serve customers within a one-half mile radius.

But if the neighbors within the half-mile don't want a commercial center, what purpose is served by pursuing public policies that encourage one?

Yes, someone makes a little money. But others stand to lose.

And the whole approach conflicts with the county's top principle supposedly governing future land use: Preserve and strengthen existing communities.

Contact Eric Ernst at eric.ernst@heraldtribune.com or (941) 486-3073.


Watch Jimmy Squirm - "Homes don't pay taxes, homeowners do "
Posted by: "Charles Senf" charlessenf@netzero.net
Mon Jan 7, 2008 7:15 pm (PST)
Teresa Mast sent me a link to YouTube featuring our County Administrator doing his best to suggest we vote "No" on Amendment One while appearing to provide an dispassionate and objective review of the proposal and a suggestion that we "vote our choice" on 29 January, 1980.

Scaring low-income seniors, renters and persons needing affordable housing may not tip the balance in favor of unlimited county spending, but we can't blame Jim for trying.

Hey, isn't the whole idea to "dramatically affect" the way local governments make spending decisions?

To say, "Whoa, Nellie" (and Jimmy and Pete . . .) stop spending like it was daddy's credit card and roll back our taxes - really roll 'em back.

To address the point on the two "identical homes" with different tax basis, we need not to look at the homes but to the homeowners.

Homes don't pay taxes, homeowners do. And the Homeowners here the longest, those who have lived here for thirty, forty or fifty years or more; those who have paid property tax increase after property tax increase and watched the sales tax creep penny by penny from three to seven percent; folks who literally built this County and want to be able to afford to die here are saying "enough is enough."

Municipalities fearing the loss of duplicate public sector jobs or the abolishment of departments like "Keep Sarasota Beautiful" or merging local Police with the Sheriff or ending the subsidies for Bobby Jones, the Van Wezel and Marina Jacks; leaders whose coinage might read "In Growth we Trust" feel a budget cut would be "Dramatic" and "Disastrous."

And to some of those folks the terms may be appropriate. But we know the sky won't fall. Government's not going anywhere. We couldn't abolish one if we tried. But maybe we can chip away at it just a bit and get it back down to the essential services and costs.

We may be able to contain them, get them to reflect upon the impact they have on the least of us while at the cocktail parties with the "best" of us.

Gentrification is a far more dangerous threat to those wanting "affordable, now attainable" housing. The mooring field belies the spin. "Clean up the bay front," means get rid of the "bums on boats" (though we never speak of them as "bums" in public).

And Gentrification has become an unintended result of our "success and taxation."




“I like to see good people in office,” Joe Barbetta County Commish


October 02. 2007 8:07PM


Barbetta keeps aggressive political agenda

Sarasota County Commissioner Joe Barbetta is three years from re-election, but that doesn’t mean he’s keeping a low profile politically until then.

Instead, Barbetta is tossing himself in the middle of two of the most contentious election battles for 2008 and going toe-to-toe with the former chairman of the county Republican Party in public forums.

And that was just in the last six days.

On Wednesday, Barbetta was one of the notable Republicans to attend a Nancy Detert fundraiser in Sarasota. Detert, a Republican, is running against state Rep. Mike Grant, R-Port Charlotte, for the state Senate. Barbetta was the only current county commissioner at the event, which also included appearances by former state Sen. Bob Johnson and former county commissioner Ray Pilon.

The next night, Barbetta was at the county Republican Party Executive Committee meeting in Sarasota locking horns with Jay Brady, executive director of the Gulf Coast Builders Exchange, and Bob Waechter, the former chairman of the county Republican Party.

Brady blasted a proposed county charter amendment on the Nov. 4 ballot. The amendment would require four of the five county commissioners to approve major land use changes. Brady said it will allow two commissioners to block the will of the majority on the County Commission.

That’s when Barbetta, standing in the back of the meeting hall at the River Edge Church in Sarasota, demanded a chance to speak, even though he isn’t a member of the Republican Party Executive Committee.

Barbetta said Brady’s arguments were misleading and defended the idea of requiring four of five county commissioners to change the “bible of the county.”
Unmoved, Waechter called for a vote of the party to officially oppose the charter amendment.

“It was an ambush,” Barbetta said in an interview later.

But Barbetta prevailed. The REC voted to table Waechter’s proposal.
Barbetta said he’s convinced it would have passed had he not been there to speak up.

Then on Monday, Barbetta was out again. This time he was standing near Sheriff’s Office Capt. Jeff Bell as he announced he was running for sheriff.

Barbetta said he’s been friends with Bell for a long time. Bell is one of four Republicans to file to run for sheriff next year.

Barbetta said he likes to stay involved in politics, even though he isn’t on the ballot.

“I like to see good people in office,” Barbetta said.

Barbetta keeps aggressive political agenda

Sarasota County Commissioner Joe Barbetta is three years from re-election, but that doesn’t mean he’s keeping a low profile politically until then.

Instead, Barbetta is tossing himself in the middle of two of the most contentious election battles for 2008 and going toe-to-toe with the former chairman of the county Republican Party in public forums.

And that was just in the last six days.

On Wednesday, Barbetta was one of the notable Republicans to attend a Nancy Detert fundraiser in Sarasota. Detert, a Republican, is running against state Rep. Mike Grant, R-Port Charlotte, for the state Senate. Barbetta was the only current county commissioner at the event, which also included appearances by former state Sen. Bob Johnson and former county commissioner Ray Pilon.

The next night, Barbetta was at the county Republican Party Executive Committee meeting in Sarasota locking horns with Jay Brady, executive director of the Gulf Coast Builders Exchange, and Bob Waechter, the former chairman of the county Republican Party.

Brady blasted a proposed county charter amendment on the Nov. 4 ballot. The amendment would require four of the five county commissioners to approve major land use changes. Brady said it will allow two commissioners to block the will of the majority on the County Commission.

That’s when Barbetta, standing in the back of the meeting hall at the River Edge Church in Sarasota, demanded a chance to speak, even though he isn’t a member of the Republican Party Executive Committee.

Barbetta said Brady’s arguments were misleading and defended the idea of requiring four of five county commissioners to change the “bible of the county.”
Unmoved, Waechter called for a vote of the party to officially oppose the charter amendment.

“It was an ambush,” Barbetta said in an interview later.

But Barbetta prevailed. The REC voted to table Waechter’s proposal.
Barbetta said he’s convinced it would have passed had he not been there to speak up.

Then on Monday, Barbetta was out again. This time he was standing near Sheriff’s Office Capt. Jeff Bell as he announced he was running for sheriff.

Barbetta said he’s been friends with Bell for a long time. Bell is one of four Republicans to file to run for sheriff next year.

Barbetta said he likes to stay involved in politics, even though he isn’t on the ballot.

“I like to see good people in office,” Barbetta said.



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County and wharf owner at war
Battle has continued for 11 years
By Kim Hackett
Published Friday, Feb. 15, 2008 at 4:30 a.m.

VENICE — With so many waterfront restaurants and public marinas converting to condominiums throughout Southwest Florida, John Konecnik's new 47-slip floating dock at Fisherman's Wharf would seem to be an amenity celebrated by Venice — a mooring area where visiting boaters could dock and spend money downtown.

But it has been sitting unused for a year beneath the Hatchett Creek Bridge because it is 18 feet longer than the dock Sarasota County approved several years ago.

Even though the county acknowledges that there is no adverse impact to the environment, public health or navigation in the Intracoastal Waterway, the County Commission on Wednesday rejected Konecnik's request to approve the dock.

The after-the-fact permit he sought would have allowed him to keep the dock as is.

For the dock to conform to county regulations, Konecnik, 70, would have to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to cut it down to size. Instead, he said he is going to fight the county in court, leaving the dock to sit unused.

"It serves no navigational purpose" for the county to reject the permit, Konecnik said while giving a tour of the docks, next to his popular Marker 4 Oyster Bar, renovated two years ago.

Konecnik said the dock's engineering plans were approved by the city of Venice and are about 200 feet shorter than what the state and the Army Corps of Engineers approved in 2001. He faults a few minor engineering "clerical errors" for a slightly longer dock than the county had in mind.

The county staff report reviewed by the commissioners before Wednesday's vote noted no objections or problems with the dock since its completion a year ago.

The county's permit rejection is just the latest round in an 11-year, multifront battle between Konecnik, the city of Venice, the county and the state over what he can do with the land -- both above and below water -- that he owns at the city's northeastern gateway on prime Intracoastal waterfront.

It is a battle that brought former Gov. Jeb Bush into the fray several years ago, as he declared that Konecnik did indeed own nine acres of underwater land. In exchange for giving the state five acres of the underwater land, the state gave Konecnik permits to build a 686-foot dock on the underwater land he still owned.

"I thought we were good to go," Konecnik said, adding that Venice gave him a building permit as well. "No one told me we had to get county approval."

Even though the property and the dock are clearly in the city limits and would provide boat access to residents and visitors, city officials are staying out of the fray. Unlike other municipalities, since 1998 Venice has "outsourced" its harbor and dock management to the county, saying it lacked the expertise.

Venice is in the process of taking back control, however, and it could have weighed in on the issue Wednesday. It chose not to.

"Legally and technically, that's the domain of the county," said Venice zoning director Tom Slaughter.

It is a battle over personalities and wills as much as zoning and permit infractions. Konecnik admits as much. He has had a steady turnover of lawyers and engineers "that have not served him well," Slaughter said.

Konecnik has owned the property since 1988, when the popular Fisherman's Wharf restaurant was still operating on the site.

Konecnik cleared the site and came up with a plan to put two 12-story condos and a marina there.

He went back and forth over density and building height with the city of Venice, which ultimately shot down his plans. Konecnik was persistent and several times presented similar plans when the city made it clear that the buildings were too tall.

When he did not get his way, Konecnik threatened to raze the Marker 4 restaurant or bring back a big gambling boat that he once had there.

In 1997 Konecnik had brought a pink, 91-foot "Vegas-to-Venice" gambling boat to Venice against the objections of the city. The boat seated close to 300 passengers and would travel into international waters for a gambling "cruise to nowhere."

He was cited for "propeller dredging" in the marina, which got him into trouble with the state. It also prompted him to research his property lines. It turned out Konecnik owned nine acres below the water, extending beneath the Harbor Lights Mobile Home Park, a neighbor he frequently battled over restaurant noise and water rights.

Konecnik started billing Harbor Lights residents $168,000 each for their docks, adding fuel to the fire. He eventually relented and never pursued the fees.

Finally, after lengthy negotiations with Konecnik's lawyers and the state, Konecnik maintains he was guaranteed permits for the big dock as part of a June 2001 deal with the governor and Cabinet that acknowledged his ownership of 9.61 acres of underwater land.

As part of that deal, Konecnik agreed to give the state ownership of 5.25 acres of submerged land, including the land under the Harbor Lights docks and the West Coast Inland Navigation District boat dock. In exchange, the state guaranteed he would get all the permits he needed to build the dock.

When the county said no to the longer dock, in part because of protest by Harbor Lights residents, Konecnik went back to the drawing board but repeatedly came back with plans for a 686-foot dock. Both sides finally agreed to 415 feet. So it was no surprise that the commissioners were a little peeved when the dock turned out to be 433 feet.

He is pursuing a separate lawsuit against the county on that issue as well, claiming the county owes him $2.3 million for a legal "taking" of his property rights for reducing the size of the dock from the state-approved 686 feet.

"I'm getting too old for this," said Konecnik, who walks with a limp and a cane after recent hip surgery.

Fisherman's Wharf owner John Konecnik said the county's denial Tuesday of his dock construction plans will likely force him to close his popular waterfront restaurant.

The county commissioners voted 4-1 to deny a 676-foot dock that would create 75 boat slips, 17 of which would be open to the public.

Instead, the commissioners granted the wharf owner additional time to complete what they'd approved in the past, a 415-foot dock, with spaces for 67 boats.
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D o w n s i z e r - D i s p a t c h
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Quote of the Day:

"Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could only do a little."
- Edmund Burke

Subject: The Big Issue -- $53 trillion in unfunded liabilities

The federal government has made a lot of promises in your name. It has committed you to pay most of the health care costs of the elderly (Medicare), and to provide them with a small stipend (Social Security). It has also borrowed trillions of dollars, to pay current expenses, that your children and grandchildren will have to repay. Unfortunately, future revenues will be insufficient to fulfill these promises.

The Government Accountability Office estimates the future shortfall in funding at $53.3 trillion. Other experts say the number is almost certainly higher. This means that every full-time worker owes a staggering $440,000, courtesy of government excess.

Eventually, that debt must be paid, either in higher taxes, or in reduced benefits. These numbers represent a looming crisis of staggering proportions.

What can be done?

Can the politicians raise taxes to cover the shortfall? The answer is no. The Government Accountability Office estimates that federal taxes would have to double in order to do the job. Can you afford to double your taxes? Could you afford to pay $440,000 in government debts, even if you had two decades to do it?

Would massively higher taxes even work? The answer is no. Higher taxes don't necessarily result in higher revenues to the government. Increased taxes always lead to increased tax avoidance, a decreased incentive to work and invest, and fewer dollars available to capital markets. The result can be less revenue rather than more.

Can we grow our way out of the problem? The answer is again no. The Government Accountability Office estimates the economy would have to grow at a double digit rate for the next 75 years!, but . . .

In the real world our economic growth is only in the low single digits, and even this rate of growth may be hard to sustain as the weight of rising government expenditures takes more and more rescources from the productive economy.

Indeed, the current debt estimate of $53.3 trillion already takes economic growth into account. If the rate of growth should prove lower than expected then the real size of the unfunded liabilites will be even higher. Those who look to economic growth to magically cure this problem are whistling past the graveyard.

What about benefit cuts for Medicare and Social Security? This might help the government balance its books, but at the cost of breaking government promises and pushing expenses back on the elderly.

What about borrowing? Can the politicians borrow their way out of this mess? Alas, no. Moody, the credit rating service, has already issued a warning that the federal government's credit rating will be lowered if doesn't reduce its debt burden. Practically speaking, a lower credit rating means higher interest rates on federal government debt. And that means more and more of your taxes will go to pay the interest on that debt -- making BOTH the inevitable tax increases and benefit cuts more painful.

Meanwhile, the politicians continue to run deficits year after year, in spite of the looming financial crisis. More debt means more interest charges. Interest payments will already consume nearly one dollar out of every four you pay in personal income taxes this year.

One sure way to improve things would be to . . .

Cut government spending now
Stop running deficits now
Start paying off the government debt now
And thereby reduce what we will owe in future interest payments
It's time to stop whistling past the graveyard. It's time to start facing facts, which means we must start cutting government spending, now! Downsize DC! Please send Congress a message. Make Congress aware that you're aware of the government's dire financial plight. Tell them you want reduced spending now, a balanced budget now, and debt retirement, starting now.

You can send your message here.

Thank you for being a part of the growing Downsize DC Army.

Jim Babka
President
DownsizeDC.org, Inc.
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Subject: Victory!

The immigration bill is dead. It fell short by 14 votes. Better yet, the whole issue has become so controversial, in so many different ways, that no further action on immigration is expected any time soon.

Fox News has reported that the Senate phone system crashed yesterday, from so many calls coming in.

We call this overwhelming, inescapable, resistance numbing pressure!

But the media, as usual, is getting the story wrong. The professional reporting class seems unable to contain more than one idea or fact in their heads at any given time, so they're all reporting that the bill's defeat was due to its supposed amnesty provisions.

It is to laugh.

The truth is that nearly everyone, on all sides of the issue, opposed this bill, for every reason imaginable.
   more »

CHARACTER AND CHARACTERS

Revel in your city's quirks

While surfing the Web the other day, I came upon a thoughtful column by Otis White titled "Last Call in Margaritaville."

"Every city has problems," White wrote.

Including St. Petersburg.

"Its problem: It's running out of beach bums. Not the touristy kinds, who spend a week baking on the sand, but the real 365-day beach bums who devote a minimum amount of their time working and a maximum perching on bar stools."

I know a few of them.

Florida panthers are trying to come back from the brink of extinction. The one ...   more »

Creation "Science" Is the Christian Right's Trojan Horse Against Reason
By Chris Hedges, Truthdig
Posted on March 28, 2007, Printed on March 28, 2007
http://www.alternet.org/story/49811/

Before they seize power and establish a world according to their doctrines, totalitarian movements conjure up a lying world of consistency which is more adequate to the needs of the human mind than reality itself; in which, through sheer imagination, uprooted masses can feel at home and are spared the never-ending shocks which real life and real experiences deal to human beings and their expectations. The force possessed by totalitarian propaganda -- before the movements ...   more »

We will be at SpacePort USA on the anniversary of Alan Shepard's historic flight in 1961 this date. May 5th.
The Picture is of us with Edger Mitchell (Apollo14) at friday night's dinner for the Astronaut Scholarship Fund   more »

It seems that the managment at our local Sonny's BBQ feels no need to provide the same Quality to it's "TO GO" customers as it does it's "DINE IN" customers. Why would that be?   more »

In a state with confusing boat laws, Venice 'water Nazi' just doing his job
By PAUL QUINLAN



paul.quinlan@heraldtribune.com

VENICE -- Supervisors call Tim Erickson a model officer and his 26-year record patrolling Venice's waterways exemplary.

But to countless boaters across the United States who congregate on the Internet to swap names of the best waterfront cities in which to drop anchor, the 56-year-old Florida Fish and Wildlife officer is referred to in unflattering terms, including "water Nazi," "Barney Fife" and "that power drunk moron in a uniform."

One Web site devoted to boaters in Southeastern states, cruisersnet.net, published an article ...   more »

Editor:

A short note to the members of the Beautification and Tree Council -- welcome to North Port city politics.

Several years ago, I was a member of the Beautification and Tree Council. When it came time for the joint meeting with the commissioners we had put together a number of suggestions we thought appropriate. One of the commissioners looked down at us and replied, and I quote, "you people are just trying to micro manage the city." So much for good intentions. Needless to say one and two other members of the advisory council resigned in shocked amazement.

The advisory councils are, as Jane Sharpe suggested in the newspaper article, window dressing. The commissioners are able to say "see we have members of the community on councils to advise us." However they seldom take the "advise" of the council members.

I don't know why the commissioners are not more attuned to the council members. Perhaps the liaisons between the commissioners and the council members are not doing their job. The newspaper article stated that "many city advisory boards" are confused about their duties. Whoever is at fault, the problem should be corrected.

The members of the advisory councils devote their time and effort to doing a good job. Someone should be paying attention.

Betty Martin

North Port




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Pass application process slows to a crawl

By Jack Gurney
All the Midnight Pass restoration hoopla that once surrounded efforts to re-establish the coastal inlet between Siesta Key and Casey Key has died away, but the tedious application process for obtaining federal and state permits to dredge has not.

More than 2 ½ years have elapsed since Sarasota County consultant Karyn Erickson began a dialogue with the government authorities and scientists who will decide whether permits are issued, and the question-and-response drills continue unabated.

Next week, the coastal engineer will journey to Tallahassee again for another meeting with Florida Department of Environmental Protection officials, this time about sediment issues. She'll be accompanied by Spencer Anderson, a county project manager.

Next month, Erickson will forward a fifth round of answers to what the state calls RAIs, the acronym for "Requests for Additional Information." The county initially hoped there would be only three rounds of RAIs, but now accepts it was overly optimistic.

"We went through eight rounds of RAIs before receiving state permits for the South Siesta Key beach restoration project," Anderson said. "When the sediment issues are addressed we will turn to mitigation impacts and an inlet management plan."

Timetables for an actual Midnight Pass restoration project are hazy, at best. If everything goes without a hitch, the state could announce its intention to issue permits early next year. Or it could declare the RAI phase complete and summarily reject them.

"What could slow the process is legal challenges from project opponents if the state announces its intention to issue permits," Anderson said. "If there are no challenges, then we still have the Army Corps of Engineers to deal with. It is under no time constraints."

In a perfect world, a contract could be awarded for work to begin sometime next year. But reality dictates the RAI process, project challenges and permit dialogue with the Army Corps will probably extend into 2009. And then, maybe, work could be scheduled in 2010.

"We hope there won't be a lot more back-and-forth with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, and it won't need any more information," Anderson said. "What we want is an announcement our permit application is complete, and a yes or no answer."

The estimated price tag for restoring Midnight Pass now stands at about $40 million - $10 million to remove the sand plus $1 million a year over 30 years to monitor and maintain a channel cut from Little Sarasota Bay into the Gulf of Mexico.

So far, there is no county funding plan for a restoration if permits are issued. A lengthy list of programs and infrastructure projects could proceed if voters approve a 15-year extension of the local option sales tax, but Midnight Pass isn't on it.

The popular coastal inlet became unstable in the 1970s and was closed in 1983 after it migrated northward and threatened to undermine two Siesta Key beachfront homes. It is now a narrow stretch of beach that connects Siesta Key with Casey Key.

In 1988, the county submitted a Midnight Pass restoration proposal that was denied by state authorities in 1991 after a permit process that went on for almost three years. A county appeal subsequently failed, but restoration advocates refused to quit.

In November 2004, Erickson mailed off permit applications to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Florida Department of Environmental Protection that describe how a dredging project could work to remove sand from the former inlet area and place it on nearby beaches.

Erickson was hired by Sarasota County after she successfully negotiated on behalf of New Hanover County, N.C., for federal and state permits to relocate and restore Mason Inlet without the use of seawalls, rocks or other hardened structures.


   more »

This past July 4th I joined ABATE at their booth at the dry pits for the boat races. Although I do not own or ride a motorcycle I have many friends that do. For more information check out the links

PiratePat


FALLEN FREEDOM FIGHTER

It is with deepest regret that we report the
death of Marty Schultz, ABATE of Maryland state director, who was
riding home on the morning of August 30th after picking up his bike at
a shop when he was struck and killed by the driver of a Jeep Liberty
who ran a stop sign, violating the ...   more »

Subject: Airplane Humor



It takes a college degree to fly a plane but only a high school diploma to fix one: a reassurance for those of us who fly routinely in their jobs.



After every flight, Qantas pilots fill out a form, called a "gripe sheet”, which tells mechanics about problems with the aircraft.



The mechanics correct the problems; document their repairs on the form, and then pilots review the gripe sheets before the next flight.


Never let it be said that ground crews lack a sense of humor.



Here are some actual maintenance complaint s submitted by Qantas' Pilots ...   more »

Coastal Clean Up 2006 is upon us. We need names & t-shirt sizes for those who what to help by early sept. work day is sept 16th 8am to noon Rain date is Sept. 23rd. Please let me know your t-shirt sizes!

more to follow


Another upcomming event:


   more »

Article published Apr 29, 2006 in the Sarasota Herald Tribune

By: Morgan Stinemetz

Education is the answer to reducing boating deaths


Eighty people died last year in boating-related accidents in Florida. The stated reasons for the accidents -- all of which were thoroughly investigated -- were as varied as clouds in the sky. On the other hand, the one underlying contributory factor, the common thread, the connecting link, was incipient boater stupidity.

I make this point because people don't intentionally go out boating to die. People go boating to enjoy a few hours of fun. The fact that 80 of them passed on to their final ...   more »

This is a letter to the editor that my friend Bruce wrote.
I agree with him. we need some sanity. Illegal is illegal.


My wife is Chinese. It has taken me 13 months to bring her to the United States legally. We are now in the process of "adjustment of status" and are applying for a green card. This has cost me approximately $1,000 and the filing of many forms, with more pages of supporting documents than anyone could imagine.

We are now two years down the road and my wife still does not have a driver's license, a Social Security number or any other benefits.

If illegals want to become American citizens, they need to follow the existing rules. If they cannot comply with the written law, the reaction should be, "See ya." Free lunches are long gone.

There are many people in my position. Should our nation decide to allow the illegals to enjoy all the rights and privileges of an American citizen, it would also be time for Uncle Sam to refund my and other people's spent dollars and immediately grant our foreign wives/husbands full status as U.S. citizens.

Bruce Mitizak

Nokomis
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YOU MIGHT BE EMPLOYED BY A SCHOOL IF...

1. You believe the playground should be equipped with a Ritalin salt lick
2. You want to slap the next person that says "Must be nice to work 8 to 3:20
and have summers off"

3. You can tell it's a full moon without ever looking outside.

4. You believe "shallow gene pool" should have its own box on the report card.

5. You believe that unspeakable evils will befall you if anyone says "Boy, the
kids sure are mellow today"

6. When out in public you feel the urge to snap ...   more »

County hopes to protect rookeries

The number of nests on three spoil islands has declined over the past five years

By WILL ROTHSCHILD



will.rothschild@heraldtribune.com

SARASOTA COUNTY -- Erosion is taking a toll on the Bird Colony Islands, and bird watchers fear one of the most successful rookeries in Southwest Florida is disappearing.

Though small in size, the islands have been home to 13 wading bird species over the years and once supported an estimated 1,000 nests. Brown pelicans, snowy egrets, great egrets, great blue herons and double-crested cormorants still nest on the islands.

But in the past five years the ...   more »