Tonight at 7:00 PM, the City Commission will meet in a regular meeting. The agenda for the meeting can be found here.
One of the interesting items is right up front:
C SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS
1. Discuss possible transfer of ownership of Lori Wilson Park from Brevard County to the City of Cocoa Beach. No action is requested at this time; the presentation is intended for public dialogue.
Representatives: Mayor Ben Malik, Brevard County District 2 Commissioner Bryan Lober, Tourist Development Council Director Peter Cranis
While the presentation is only being made for public information and no vote will be taken on anything, there is something to watch out for and that is political “trickeration.” (more…)
There is a great scene in the movie “Princess Bride” where Westley is brought to “Miracle” Max as it is thought Westley is dead. Fezik and Inigo Montoya are hoping Max can revive Westley.
Miracle Max (played brilliantly by Billy Crystal) has this conversation with Inigo and Fezik:
Miracle Max: He probably owes you money huh? I’ll ask him.
Inigo Montoya: He’s dead. He can’t talk.
Miracle Max: Whoo-hoo-hoo, look who knows so much. It just so happens that your friend here is only MOSTLY dead. There’s a big difference between mostly dead and all dead. Mostly dead is slightly alive. With all dead, well, with all dead there’s usually only one thing you can do.
Inigo Montoya: What’s that?
Miracle Max: Go through his clothes and look for loose change.
If you are wondering what all of this has to do with us and this blog, it is that there is an amusing case where a man serving life in prison went to the hospital due to poisoning from kidney stones. (more…)
PALM BAY, Fla. – Details from a state audit of Palm Bay keep coming to light, and with each development, the frustration grows among critics of the city’s fiscal practices. This time, cellphones and international calls are the things raising eyebrows.
The City of Palm Bay continues to deal with the results of the scorching audit from Florida’s Auditor General. Questions are swirling about how local taxpayer dollars are being spent. FOX 35 News told you about the “ramp to nowhere” last month. State Rep. Randy Fine, who has an office in Palm Bay, was one of the most outspoken critics. Now, Fine is sounding the alarm on his social media pages about more than 700 cellphones the city gives to its employees.
The audit reveals $300,000 went to cellphone bills over a 17-month period. The audit found one employee was frequently calling Jamaica and taking the phone to the island, but city officials didn’t seem to mind or didn’t notice it. The cellphone issue is only Item 9 of 31. There are allegedly tens of millions of dollars that have been misspent.
We want to concentrate on the cell phone issue for a moment.
First, it is not unusual for companies to issue cell phones to their employees. (more…)
Many of our readers in Satellite Beach have written and asked us to comment on the ongoing feud concerning the proposed development project in the old South Housing area of Patrick Air Force Base and some residents.
It is not that we don’t want to comment, but that this is not a simple issue and we want to make sure we have all of the facts in place. Trust us when we say that we are on it.
Also, some readers may remember that Satellite Beach passed an ordinance that says that only the City may use the seal. This was aimed directly at us and for awhile, we backed away.
No more.
While the City cannot copyright the seal under federal law, the state allows certain protections under its statutes. Those protections are designed so that people can’t make money off of the seal or give the impression that what we say has the approval of the City. In our use of the seal here, we use it as part of legitimate discussion on the actions within the City and actions made by the City government. We don’t make a cent off this blog, so there is no economic gain for us, so that kills that argument. We are not claiming that the City is supporting anything we say. (To show the ridiculousness of the City’s position, one City Council member actually said that we could not post an official city public document that had the seal without the permission of the City.) We backed off a bit and we have decided we were wrong in doing so. (more…)
This is a horrifying tale that illustrates the need for people to be able to defend themselves.
In 2012 32-year old single mother of two Deanna Cook called Dallas 911 due to the fact that her ex-husband Delvecchio Patrick was in her home and attacking her.
The relationship between Cook and Patrick can best be described as extremely violent.
Police and court records paint a grim picture of ever-increasing violence between Patrick and Cook.
In January 2009, Balch Springs police officers responded to a 911 call that he was holding Cook at knifepoint.
She told police that he kicked a bedroom door off its hinges, choked her and shoved her against a wall so hard that she started to black out. He picked up a knife and began yelling that he was going to “do it,” police records state.
Balch Springs officers arrested him. He was released on $25,000 bond the following month.
Accusations of violence surfaced again almost immediately. (more…)
If the trend of allowing “transwomen” to compete as women, it will be the end of women’s sports.
South Park takes on the absurdity of it all.
Transcript:
Perry: Now, this is the first year that a trans woman is in the competition. How do you feel about that?
Strong Woman: Amazing. I feel honored to be a part of history. I have a lot of incredible trans friends who are athletes, and so we’re all inspired this woman’s competing.
Perry: Uh-huh, and uh… Have you actually ever met Heather Swanson?
Strong Woman: Uh, no, I’ve never competed against her before. No. (more…)
We have to be honest, we had never heard of this one before.
Transcript:
John Stossel points out that in 35 states, laws block new businesses from operating unless they get their competitors’ permission. One such law prevents Phillip Truesdell from operating ambulances in Kentucky.
“You’re going to tell me that I’m not fit to work in your town?” he asks.
He and his daughter Hannah Howe run Legacy Medical Transport, an ambulance service, in Ohio.
When they tried to expand into Kentucky, which is just a few minutes away from them, they learned it would be illegal.
It’s illegal due to Certificate of Need laws, also called “CON” laws. In Kentucky and three other states, you have to get a Certificate of Need to run an ambulance service.
