We often stop to watch kids during this time of year and marvel at the wonderment in their eyes at the lights, singing, etc.
We have a neighbor with children and when they saw Christmas lights and decorations in the neighborhood going up, they squealed, laughed and were excited. Even their exhausted parents smiled.
Watching people and kids is a perfect reason to go to the Palm Bay Holiday Light Christmas Parade and the Cocoa Beach Parade tomorrow.
Maybe we all need a little more wonderment in our lives this season, and during all seasons.
On March 6, 2019 of this year, we wrote a post concerning an amendment to a bill authored by State Representative Randy Fine. The beginning of our post read:
This post came out of our research into the ridiculous bill Representative Randy Fine is proposing that would lower legal governmental notices and thereby lowering the transparency within governments and governmental entities.
In looking at the bills Fine has proposed this year, we caught a glimpse of this little dandy called HB 741 – a bill on “anti-semitism.”
Cocoa Beach approved the 70 foot height variance for the International Palms redevelopment.
In our opinion, the people who were opposed to the variance that spoke did so on factual basis of the project not meeting the required criteria for approval of the variance.
Citizens who spoke in favor of the variance, including the City Commissioners, voted in favor of the variance because the conceptual plans were “pretty” and the project would bring in money. Neither is a criteria for the variance, but facts were trampled by money.
In Palm Bay, the City agreed to send City Councilmen Santiago, Anderson, Bailey and Johnson, as well as the City Manager and City Attorney to the JLAC hearing next week in Tallahassee.
The noticeable absence from that list is City Mayor Capote, on whose watch many of the violations in the JLAC report occurred.
This is the same man who claimed that the staff were “like his family.”
To us, it is an incredible lack of leadership for a Mayor not be at a hearing on his city.
As we noted yesterday, tonight, Thursday, December 5, 2019, at 7:00 PM the Cocoa Beach City Commission will hold a regular meeting starting at 7:00 PM. The agenda for the meeting can be found here.
The big item on the agenda as far as we are concerned is a variance for the group that owns the International Palms to build a new resort with the height of 70 feet of habitable space which is 155% taller than the height regulation approved by the voters in 2018.
As we stated, there is no valid reason given by the owners for this variance. All of the things they want corrected have nothing to do with the height of the building. Their justifications are simply to have a taller building to have more rooms and more income at the expense of the character and soul of Cocoa Beach. (more…)
We’ve run this duo for a couple of years now and it is one of our reader’s (and our) favorites.
It is a bit of a two-fer today as we listen to the Trans-Siberian Orchestra perform the “Christmas Canon.”
The song is set to the tune of Johann Pachelbel’s Canon in D Major with new lyrics added.
There are two versions the Orchestra performs. The first is in a very classical style, and the second which we have included below the fold is “rock music” based. It is amazing how similar yet different and beautiful both versions are.
(EDITORS’ NOTE: We are breaking from our usual habit of posting about issues on local governments meetings the day of the meeting and posting this a day early. We are doing this because we believe it will give residents more time to disseminate and prepare for the meeting.)
On Thursday, December 5, 2019, the Cocoa Beach City Commission will hold a regular meeting starting at 7:00 PM. The agenda for the meeting can be found here.
The meeting doesn’t seem like it will that long with many items the Commission should just rip through.
The real meat of the meeting is the very last item:
In 2004, the City of Portland, Oregon decided to enter into a partnership with a developer to build “affordable” housing as the City was worried that people were being priced out of the city.
The City helped pay for the land, and paid the developer to build what came to be known as “Headwaters Apartments.” The apartments were to be “green,” energy efficient and “environmentally sustainable.” After spending $14.7 million dollars (in 2007 dollars) ($1.9 million directly from the City coffers and a 2004 30 year bond for $12 million) the City then took over the running, maintenance, and management of the apartments by contracting out to a management firm in 2007. (more…)
