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2013 March

Sunday, March 24, 2013

The Coconut Telegraph

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an_screw_panheadOur elected officials and administrators down here are like bartenders.  They need to be fired after two years because by then, even if you have not caught them at it, you can bet they have found a way to screw you.

fanci1-1-13

No Name Key is part of the Coastal Barrier Resource system. That area is and has been special, protected from development.  The folks that want to bring power to NNK to develop that special, protected Island must deal with that. Keys Energy has run power lines in and across land that is protected. Many very smart folks don’t feel the PSC, aka, Key’s Energy have the right to do as they darn well please.  I am one of those. It would set a precedent that could and would be used in all protected Coastal Barrier Islands. When would all this stop? When you get yours?

No. This would be the beginning of more litigation, more lawsuits. Once again your whining, name calling, and insults about our County Commission and how you are being deprived a quality of life that we all have and enjoy is bullshit (to say the least). You knew what you were getting into when you bought your home on NNK. Home of the (no disrespect intended) tree huggers, Greenies, and the twigs and bark folks. Now you want everything to change to suit you. Not so fast my northern friends. No so fast. 

dream24
Superintendent Mark Porter has added a seventh gathering for his Strategic Planning Community Engagement Sessions at Sugarloaf School on Wednesday, April 10, 6:00-7:15 PM, with Kelli Fricke, the SAC Chair, as host.   This decision was announced sotto voce on the District’s website.  No fanfare.  No press release.  No mention of it to Bill Becker today on “Morning Magazine”.  However, I am sure you can get the word out.  ~Dr. Larry Murray 
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[“Racist and highly offensive posts so often sent in to the Coconut Telegraph”] Huh, I don’t remember any such posts. Perhaps you have confused the Coco tele with some other web site. 
puppy-love
Spend tax money to clear out canals? Why don’t the owners on the canals spend their own money, they pay extra for living on them. We had friends in key largo spend their own money putting in bubblers. 
[“Obamacare tax on commercial building”] This tax on capital gains has nothing to do with Obamacare.  It seems as whatever people do not agree with, it must be Obamacare 
[“Disgusting bigotry on the C.T.”] Really! what may be disgusting to you may be correctly defining the problem to someone else, is it really your desire to censor what someone else has said , remember your definition of bigotry is not considered the final word in bigotry, if you want to make such accusations that is certainly your prerogative, but without any specific examples they are just meaningless drivel, if you can’t comply by giving such examples why waste your time and others by posting such hollow complaints, stand up and express yourself make your point then people will pass their thoughts on your post isn’t that the way to get your ideas across just generalities are baloney pure and simple. 
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an_rich4

I was taken back when I saw a Mosquito Control truck pulling a Scout bone fish skiff. Why in the world would they buy such a costly skiff. It had live bait wells. Are they nuts? With all talk about government spending and they picked a Scout Skiff. Why not a Carolina Skiff or a McKee. Why, because we are paying for it. It just burns my butt to see our employees spending our money in such a wasteful way. I’m sending a copy of this to the Mosquito Control folks. I’ll post their answer. It should be enlightening. 

I think the flats guides need something like an Everglades air boat but with a silent electric motor and a smaller fan.  That might solve everyone’s  problems.

Go-Faster
Poor Ed, now folks telling ya how to run your post, I got the perfect solution for all the complainer whiney folks. Lets just throw everybody outta the keys unless you were born south of west palm bch. that would thin the herd enough to not need sewers and there would be a lot less nosey people who can’t mind their own business. I remember when the airplanes flew low over the back coutry with the accompanying splashing sounds followed by outboard roar of the square grouper fishermen harvesting the night’s catch. We did just fine no cruise ships jersey girls or tour-ons needed! 
Radio-Shack2.20.13

Be kind to the Earth. It’s the only planet that has chocolate.

platge24

[Old Seven Mile Bridge] If our elected officials pony up a pile of our money that we sent in to pay our property taxes to pay for rebuilding the old historic Seven Mile Bridge come Pigeon Key driveway it won’t be historic anymore.  It will lose the look that we all fondly remember from when we drove it.   It will be just another bridge, mostly to nowhere. I don’t think the people pushing this care about that.

mosquito24Is this a mosquito? No. It’s an insect spy drone for urban areas, already in production, funded by the US Government. It can be remotely controlled and is equipped with a camera and a microphone. It can land on you, and it may have the potential to take a DNA sample or leave RFID tracking nanotechnology on your skin. It can fly through an open window, or it can attach to your clothing until you take it in your home. Given their propensity to request macro-sized drones for surveillance, one is left with little doubt that police and military may look into these gadgets next. (and to think we were worried about West Nile virus!)
If you bought property on NNK thinking that there would be electricity there, then do I have a deal for you. I have a lot for sale in the Everglades that will become oceanfront property when global warming kicks in. 

[“Special Session” For Balfour Beatty] (As of this date , March 23, 2013 a “special session” has been called in the State Senate for March 27 th to vote on that bill, effectively subverting the court case in Judge David Audlin’s !6 th Judicial Circuit.)

By stealth, fraud, and collusionhas Balfour Beatty effectively established a two tiered taxation system in Monroe County?? In this arrangement, the private property outside the base is taxed fully, whereas the housing built and owned by Balfour Beatty on land leased to Balfour Beatty is not taxed. This inequity was brought to us by the secret DoD / PPV arrangements. Other MHPI projects have had public involvement and full compliance with NEPA and NHPA , ie Eglin AFB in Florida. Not here.

see http://www.eglin.af.mil/shared/media/document/AFD-110620-038.pdf

Now Balfour Beatty is attempting to retroactively cover up their shady butts with changes in law, while at the same time trying lay blame on our local community as the source of the taxation problem. In February 2013, Florida State Senator Thrasher (SB354: Ad Valorem Tax Exemptions) and Florida State Representative Patronis (HB531 Ad Valorem Tax Exemptions) sponsored ” coincidentally” identical bills to make privatized military partners tax exempt for ad valorem taxes retroactive to 2007, the year the transfer of buildings was achieved without notice to the public or recorded in the local public records as a sale of federal assets. Perhaps it was, but WE in the civilian population were misled. The 2007 sale only came to light when Balfour Beatty began to take the steps needed to sell Peary Court in 2011.

The bills to make these privatized assets exempt from ad valorem taxes were submitted on Tuesday, February 12, prior to the Presidents Day holiday weekend, and voted on in Committees the Tuesday following Presidents Day. A rush job .. As of this date , March 23, 2013 a “special session” has been called in the State Senate for March 27 th to vote on that bill, effectively subverting the court case in Judge David Audlin’s 16th Judicial Circuit. Bet he’ll like that!

an_palms-blk-wht

[Marathon] I am loving the foliage that the City of Marathon is planting in the various medians along US1.  It’s looking like someone custom designed the various little areas to suit the needs of our city.  I hope that the follow through of watering will keep the plants alive.  The installation looks like quality work as I drive by.  I like that the aim is to add visual value to our major asset (US1) while ensuring to increase our (the drivers) enjoyment. Good job. Another positive thing happening in Marathon.   

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[County Administrator] The recent decision to use 5 million dollars of the sewer funding in the hope of attaining 30 million in funds is bizarre to say the least. Didn’t we, the voters, put in a restriction on using these funds until the entire project was complete? The canals are important, however; it was poor engineering and time that have affected the waterflow and quality, not the BP spill. Here comes another ‘Hickory House’ for Monroe County taxpayers. 
flea-market-ad1.14.13

I would bet that many of the comments against electricity on NNK are from people who relish the chance to stick it to someone else or annoy somebody about anything.  Maybe a psychiatrist out there could chime in on this.

Great Night Club Act. Lin

an cave girlThe world’s largest Internet cafe can be found in Chams City Digital Mall in Lagos, Nigeria.

Patrons of the cafe can select any one of the 1,027 computers. Why? Because no one else in that country can afford electricity in their adobe huts. 

[Old Seven Mile Bridge]  Monroe County has received a tentative agreement where Florida Department of Transportation will pay half the 18 million dollar to rehabilitate the old seven mile bridge, but with the condition the county take over and pay the annual maintenance.  Since this is a bridge that simply goes to a island managed by a non-profit group and no other destination or purpose other than for the non profit to collect more money from each visitor the county needs to back away from this deal as soon as possible.  The county has to many necessary projects on bridges, sewers, roads, and structures to be wasting our money and time on this structure that should be torn back to it’s original structure built by Flagler to keep it’s historical value and not rebuilt as a highway. 
Thank you to the person who answered my question regarding the tax on capital gains on commercial property. I
springers-ad12.30.12

buyer

Regarding the electric on NNK, there was a rant today about torture these people are going through with no electric. I have to ask, didn’t these “poor souls” know, when they bought their homes, that electricity wasn’t in the cards? I’m not in real estate but I have to ask didn’t these properties sell for a lot less due to this issue, if so, if these “poor souls” get electricity won’t they get big bucks if they re-sell

Can we add a section to the CT for the posts from people who complain about the CT? I’d really like to ignore them!! It’s free, it doesn’t cost anything, if you don’t like what the Ed does – then walk! As they say, don’t let the door hit your butt on the way out. 
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bunper24

Recycled Bumper Cars for the Duval Street crowd.

[Old Seven Mile Bridge] Here we go spending money on unnecessary projects:  The annual cost of maintaining the

Old Seven Mile Bridge would be about $70,000, and the county would have to spend $3.5 million every 10 years to paint it,  This would be after spending half of the $18,000,000 to repair the old seven mile bridge and $5,000,000 on just the beginning of canal clean up.

[Bad Editor] This site just shows you what goes on in the heads of the new locals here, your neighbors. You have no idea how much time and work it takes to keep this site going from day to day. Nobody makes you read it. Maybe you should start your own site. Have a good day! 

an_north-pole4

 

Count your blessings Big Piners! The weather up here in Ohio is miserable. They lied to us about it being Spring! Just more snow and wind and cold temperatures.

[Medical Marijuana] Efforts across Florida to move the legislature to Hear the Cathy Jordan Medical Cannabis Act have so far not worked. It is my understanding we have 1 more week to get the Bill Heard in the first Committees or it dies in Committee once again. We do not want that to happen. We have a few things we are still working on in the background and haven’t given up yet but we need you to act now.

Each member of the Florida Legislature has had the science shown and explained to them. There is no excuse. They can not say they need more information.

The Chairman of the first committee in the House to hear the Bill is refusing to schedule the Bill. How can Funeral Director Representative Ken Roberson, with businesses in retirement communities refuse to hear a Bill that could potentially help folks live longer? Why is the press not discussing this? It should scream conflict of interest.

religion-politics-zone

At the start of Obama’s first term, which he won with the approval of a majority of Americans who believed in what he was offering them,  one of the top Republicans in Congress stated unequivocally that all they were going to do was work hard to make sure he was a “one term President” so they could get back in power, and in the mean time the American people could go to Hell.   And the beat goes on.  

Obama’s trip to the middle east was the best ever by an American President.  I was proud to be an American as I listened to him say all the true and right things in various places. While he was there he orchestrated a reconciliation between Israel and Turkey who had been at odds.   He sounded more popey than the Pope as he spoke.  I sure am glad I voted for him.  What the hell is wrong with these Republicans who keep slamming him?

These recent articles about low jobless do not reflect the real numbers of people not earning paychecks. Like everything else from the Hope & Change administration, the jobless numbers are all Smoke & Mirrors

Please, no more unemployment rate questions until you learn sometning about them. Quoted from Wikipedia.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics also calculates six alternate measures of unemployment, U1 through U6, that measure different aspects of unemployment:[42]

U1:[43] Percentage of labor force unemployed 15 weeks or longer.

U2: Percentage of labor force who lost jobs or completed temporary work.

U3: Official unemployment rate per the ILO definition occurs when people are without jobs and they have actively looked for work within the past four weeks.[1]

U4: U3 + “discouraged workers”, or those who have stopped looking for work because current economic conditions make them believe that no work is available for them.

U5: U4 + other “marginally attached workers”, or “loosely attached workers”, or those who “would like” and are able to work, but have not looked for work recently.

U6: U5 + Part-time workers who want to work full-time, but cannot due to economic reasons (underemployment).

Next up on Fox News, our panel will discuss: “Why did we elect a Muslim like Obama if he can’t bring peace to the Middle East?”

[Gun Nuts] The American people made their voices heard, and the Senate made progress to make it harder for criminals and people with serious mental illnesses to get guns, to crack down on anyone trying to funnel guns to criminals, and to reinstate and strengthen a ban on the sale of military-style assault weapons. Each of these ideas deserves a vote. The President urges Congress to pass these commonsense measures while affirming our nation’s tradition of responsible gun ownership.

limoObamas limo under Paul Ryan budget

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The administration cries poverty and cancels WH tours, egg roll, and releases thousands of illegals. Biden and his entourage rang up the following bills in Paris and London, Biden’s Paris hotel bill for one night was $585,000. Biden’s London hotel bill was $459,388  

What hypocrites! 

The reason, FTR, that the GOP lost IS because of their “message”.

You CAN be ‘fiscally’ conservative(caring) AND ‘socially’ liberal(caring). Most humans are SOCIAL creatures, not corporate/fiscal creatures. When the GOP practices social policies of inclusion and care for ALL citizens, not just some,AND fiscal conservatism they might actually have a chance.

This old retired military bird was a lifelong GOP member. UNTIL the GOP decided to cozy up to the ‘religious right'(wrong).

The GOP message is 50% disgusting. That’s why I am the ‘other’ 50 percent now.

Please note that the terms ‘conservative’ and ‘liberal'(used in this post) are NOT used in the way the current political landscape has hijacked them to be used. 

I agree with FTR which does happen on occasion. I also think America is being dumbed down. When I saw that Sara Palin and The Donald were important speakers at the CPAC Convention and I saw Republicans endorsing the most liberal Presidential candidate they could what else could someone think?

Ronald Reagan, who I flew once to see president Ford in a private jet said government is the problem. Now Obama is doing the opposite and making government control everything including health care. I am sticking with Ronny on this one. Obomacare will bankrupt our country and I think most people know it. It ain’t free. The college kids and welfare people all are all for it because they think they will get free medical. It won’t be free.

FROM THE RIGHT

right only grey

On Friday we learned that Team Obama has made the decision to shut down air traffic control at 149 airports.  Sure sounds like the end of the world doesn’t it! But it’s not. It’s nothing more than Team Obama hyperbole and crisis theater.

But there is a lot to think about in that decision.

First: Each and every one of the towers to be closed is run by a private contractor.  If the private contractors are driven out of business, new, unionized controllers can be hired by Team Obama.

Second: Not a single tower that is operated by the feds is impacted.

Third: There are about 5000 airports in the USA; most of them do not have towers. At airports without towers, air traffic functions just fine. Pilots rely on standard radio practice and standard flight paths and procedures to avoid conflicts.  Collisions are as rare as a Democrat who worries about spending your tax bucks. The ATC system works and works well.

Fourth: The  impact on the feds 15k tower controllers will not start until April 21. It is reported that at that time the controllers will furloughed for one day every two weeks. Team Obama tells us that controllers being furloughed for one day off every two weeks will cause air travel delays. Don’t believe it. The median pay for ATC controllers in Key West is $120,000 per year. Plus remarkable benefits. Link

 Aside from very generous vacation and sick time bennies, air traffic controllers can retire at age 50 with far fewer years in service than other Federal employees, or they can extend their time to age 56 for an even better deal. I don’t feel sorry for the ATC tower types having to take a small hair cut. Do you?

The furloughs could only affect air traffic schedules if the controller themselves purposefully slow down air traffic services. But, it is likely, if not probable, that they will be instructed to work to the rule by their union.  That translates to “do the bare minimum”.  It’s happened before. If that happens, then things could slow down.

Fifth): the contract towers that are being shut down by team Obama cost an average of $1.3 million dollars less to operate as compared to the towers run by the feds. This is all nothing more than a mind fake designed to create a crisis. It is another phony crises that Team Obama will try to exploit.

Finally, please recall that only 2.5% has been cut from their budget. It’s a damn shame that they haven’t cut it from somewhere else. Perhaps they could have put off buying new cars or having lavish conventions, or simply cleaning up wasteful spending.

Think about it Deer Friends, the sequestration cuts, did not reduce spending by one cent over last year’s funding. The sequestration cuts are about a 2% reduction in the RATE of spending. Do you understand that it is only a cut in the rate of increase of spending? The air traffic control kerfuffle is a sham, a skit being put on by Team Obama to create a faux crisis.

Part 2) The Democrat controlled Senate finally, for the first time in four years, has passed a budget. Not all Democrats voted for it, nonetheless it passed by a one vote margin. In passing the budget the Senate killed the budget put forward by the House. The Senate budget is exhibit one in the proof parade that the Democrats have a mad obsession with spending. Their first priority is spending, including yet another massive go around of spending akin to their failed “stimulus” programs of the last 4 years.  Their budget calls for massive (nearly a trillion) in tax increases. One of their tax increases will be a brand new tax on the internet. Whoopie! Their budget calls for nearly no reductions in government spending. But, the Democrats are dead set on massively increasing spending once again.

It’s painful to realize that the Democrat Senate budget will never balance; they do not even intend to try.  If it becomes the law of the land, it will add $5.2 trillion to our national debt. Our current national debt is just shy of $16.7 trillion. I urge our friends from left field to test their math skills by adding $5.2 trillion to $16.7 trillion. Then ask yourself if that is good for our nation.

The Republican controlled House of Reps budget that was killed by the Senate called for really serious cuts in frivolous and wasteful government spending. It would have required cutting some currently legal tax deductions. It did not require any increase in tax rates.  The Republican budget would have brought the budget to balance and would have massively reduce our National debt by the end of the decade.

That was the budget that the Senate killed. The negotiations between the House and Senate to hammer out a compromise will be riveting political theatre.             

Part 3) Sequestration redux: Debbie Wasserman Schultz is the Chair of the Democrat Party and a Congressperson from Broward County. She speaks with a forked tongue. On the floor of the house she claimed that members of her staff were so horribly impacted by sequestration that they were being “forced out of a good meal” at the House restaurants. True or False, you decide.  In the House restaurants a 8-ounce bowl of Ham and Bean soup at the Cannon Office Building’s carry-out café costs $2. A gourmet wrap or sliced bread sandwich sells for about $5. And in the Longworth Building’s sit-down cafeteria, a serving of stuffed chicken, asparagus and mashed potatoes sells for about $7.  Ms. Wasserman Schultz’s staffers earn between $60,000 and $160,000 per year.  Oh woe, woe is me, those poor sad liberal staffers.  Give us a freaking break.

No Name Key Electric

What we are saying is ,anyone who does not want the people of NNK to have electric should disconnect their power.If not you are a hypocrite.

Editorials and editorial privilege can become slippery slopes. Opinions should be clearly opinions, and investigative reporting should be thorough, clearly factual, and balanced. My disappointment is not with the CT as much as it is with the News Barometer. Its contributions anent the NNK electricity issue has espoused incorrect information as if it were fact. To my knowledge the newspaper has ever consulted, or inquired of the President of the No Name Key Property Owners’ Association, the organization’s attorney, legal adviser, or a board member. That is a sad indictment of a newspaper that purports to keep citizens updated and informed. If Deer Ed were to publish the names of contributors, we would be in a better position to “consider the source.” Not knowing what that would do to the flavor of the CT, I shall remain satisfied to respond when someone who is afraid to be somebody, pretends he/she is everybody, and espouses mindless offerings that are not true. A simple fact to consider: There is not, and never has been a lawful reason to prevent citizens on NNK (or Key Largo) electricity, sewers or any infrastructure. All else is mumbo jumbo.

[No Name] I really wonder how many people writing to the CT are “grid deniers”?  For some reason I think it is only one or two local people who don’t want power on No Name. I realize that some greenie CT readers who don’t live here will throw in their arguments, but they have no clue to what it is like to live on No Name without air conditioning in the summer. And the really dumb argument is that greedy people who live there want to make a killing on their property due to electrification.

It’s not fair. You have electricity but I can’t! Your property is worth a lot of money, mine isn’t. How do you think I can sell my place without electricity. You only think of yourselves in your air conditioned houses.