The Political Whore

By Kelly Cornelius
PoHo contributor & R-LAND activist
Hillsborough County Commissioner Kevin Beckner proved once again Wednesday morning why he is the voter’s cure for ex-Commissioner Brian Blair. Beckner pulled item A-27 from the Consent Agenda (you know the place where they vote on fortunes to be doled out without even discussion). A-27 had buried in it an award to HDR. Yes, that same HDR, responsible for the controversial Lithia Pinecrest PD and E study, and the same HDR being sued for by Tampa Bay Water for its design on the cracking reservoir.

That item on the consent agenda even got past me but not Beckner. He pulled the item for discussion and said he would not support giving taxpayer money to them in light of the reservoir concerns until they had redeemed themselves. He got some arguments from Commissioner Jim Norman and even a county attorney, but Beckner stood strong. While he couldn’t get the support to completely blackball the company, he did get everyone’s support to send the item back to staff for further review.

Last week during budget talks, he presented fellow board members with an idea to save the Victim’s Assistance Program and the Consumer Protection Agency which were both on the budget chopping block. Beckner asked why should the cost for these programs be borne by law abiding citizens? He suggested that the officials charge criminals more for booking in order to support the Victim’s Assistance program and the Consumer Protection Agency. After all, it is the criminals supplying the need for these programs so shouldn’t they be funding them? Ultimately the sheriff has to approve these increases in booking fees that Beckner suggested. Beckner told the board “Crime doesn’t pay but I believe in Hillsborough County criminals will.”

I am just afraid that this guy is way too good to stay very long in Hillsborough’s little backyard game of politics. Might as well enjoy him while we can.

By Kelly Cornelius
PoHo contributor & R-LAND activist

Construction might be down but Commissioner Kevin White (D-Shovel-Ready) just keeps digging. He is currently in the middle of a trial for a sexual harassment lawsuit filed by a former aide. This article not only describes White’s history but indicates that taxpayers are on the hook for $100,000 of his in legal fees so far, and the article says that was approved by our current commissioners this past June……..WTF? His trial began Aug. 17 and the jury was picked Monday.

After this year’s budget brawl is over you will probably pay more for parks, dog tags, and other services and now you can add this costly lawsuit to the tab. That’s because the county has been named a defendant in the lawsuit, as well, so it is spending tax dollars for legal defense of its own interests, outside of White’s personal legal tab. Read the rest of this entry »

By Kelly Cornelius
PoHo contributor & R-LAND activist

Regional parks came up during budget talks last week at the Hillsborough County Commission. County Administrator Pat Bean’s budget proposal would close them down two days a week, much to the dismay of well, almost everybody showing up at the last budget public hearing. Looks like they will now remain open seven days a week after all. Several commissioners voiced their concerns and wanted parks to be kept open! Nimby translation: Get this angry mob of voters off our backs already and give them their damned parks!

There will be a new fee, which sounds like most likely to be $2 a car. It isn’t official yet, but commissioners voted unanimously to proceed with the idea that Mark Thornton, parks director, came up with for them. I wouldn’t ordinarily complain about $2 except I know what they are spending in other areas and things like the Sports Authority funding appears completely intact.

Read the rest of this entry »

Update: Late Wednesday afternoon (4:37pm to be exact) the applicant pulled CPA 09-13 and CPA 09-14 from consideration in front of the Board of County Commissioners. The letter states in part “Please be advised that we intend to re-file these applications although we will make every effort to address issues raised in the process to further resolve many misconceptions regarding the project.” Nimby translation: Crap, we just didn’t have the votes so we will try again later. Don’t go to the hearing Thursday as it will not be heard.

By Kelly Cornelius
PoHo contributor & R-LAND activist

Is it appropriate for State Rep. Darryl Rouson (D-St. Petersburg and shown above with President Barack Obama) to lobby Hillsborough County Planning Commissioners (and copy the County Commissioners on his letter) pushing sprawl?

He must have thought so, according to his letter. He openly advocated for a “multi-modal” center (nimby translation: big ass WAREHOUSE) out in the far corner of the county, where we purposely do not have urban services such as water and sewer and where the land use designation does not allow for this sort of thing. If Democrats are good for anything, isn’t it usually being anti-sprawl and pro-gay rights? Rouson appears to be neither, but then I found he used to be a Republican. Also interesting is the very tiny portion of Hillsborough that Rouson represents……………looks to me to be mainly underwater. How would this project help the fish in your district, Representative Rouson?

The California developers initially claimed that Port of Tampa needed this facility but then the Port said thanks but no thanks. Now, with a shitty economy proponents are claiming the project will bring jobs to the area. That is great but we can’t afford to breach the rural area with more sprawl so I respectfully suggest they find an appropriate site for this warehouse inside the Urban Service Area. The Ruskin Chamber of Commerce is pushing this project very heavily. Recall: your tax dollars help support the Chamber. Read the rest of this entry »

Photo credit: capitalist_b/flickr.com

By Kelly Cornelius
PoHo contributor & R-LAND activist

As we fight to keep public parks open, the Tampa Sports Authority uses your tax dollars to hire a new executive director at $170,000 a year plus a $2,000 a month housing allowance for up to five months. Looks like you are also footing a $12,500 bill for his moving expenses. Meanwhile, County Administrator Pat Bean is recommending to the Hillsborough County Commission to cut hundreds of jobs and basic services.

Commissioner Jim Norman, who sits on that board, voted to approve the director but not the housing allowance. He is quoted in this article as saying “the people who are paying this today, which are the taxpayers will be outraged.” Um, Mr. Norman I bet if taxpayers knew how much of their money goes to the Sports Authority in general they would be outraged that it even exists.

Read the rest of this entry »

By Kelly Cornelius
PoHo contributor & R-LAND activist

I have been following the developments on the concrete-deficient, cracked CW Bill Young reservoir in eastern Hillsborough County for quite some time now, mainly because if that heap actually has any water in it when if it breaks, I won’t have to drive to the other coast to go surfing! (Or in my case drive to the other coast to go fall off my surfboard.) Tampa Bay Water voted recently to repair the cracks in the reservoir at a cost of $125 million (let’s not forget the whole thing cost $145 million to build in the first place). It was completed in 2005 and we first heard about the cracks in 2007 when the thing was just a mere two years old. Read the rest of this entry »

By Kelly Cornelius
PoHo contributor & R-LAND activist

In a Hillsborough County Commission meeting last week, Commissioner Rose Ferlita brought up those clandestine raises issued by County Administrator Pat Bean. When Ferlita holds up a mountain of paperwork indicating that she has done her research that usually isn’t good news for whoever might be on the other side of that paperwork. Ferlita didn’t think that Bean had fully informed the Commission prior to giving those raises, and because proper procedure had not been followed, the board’s decision to approve those appointments back in November could be null and void. During the discussion, Ferlita cited agenda documents and ordinances (article 6 section 1) and she even brought up a similar situation from way back in 2005, before she was even on the board.

Other commissioners echoed similar complaints about not having the full information, and this is not the first time they have hammered Bean about this raises. Commissioner Kevin Beckner brought it up several weeks ago. But Bean held firm during Wednesday’s meeting stating she felt “we” had done everything “we” were supposed to (is there a Co-County Administrator that “we” don’t know about or does “we” just mean herself and Commissioner Jim Norman?) Read the rest of this entry »

By Kelly Cornelius
PoHo contributor & R-LAND activist

Remember when the whole idea behind the Cone Ranch possible sale was because Commissioner Ken “Half-Truth” Hagan wanted to “preserve it” after being asked by big-time Republican donors to subdivide and sell off Cone Ranch [more than 12,000 acres of publicly owned land in Northeast Hillsborough County]?

The county now has an advisory board pondering this deal. You can read my take on their first meeting here. This second meeting started with County Administrator Pat Bean addressing the panel lobbing threats about the state of the county water utility which owns the land. Wasn’t this panel supposed to be objective? Yet here we have the County Administrator throwing in her 2 cents. She did admit that the land was already preserved though, glad we got that cleared up. Recall the earlier threats that the Florida Environmental and Conservation Group (FCEG) (the group pushing the sale) made implying that the alternative could be commercial or residential development. Read the rest of this entry »

By Kelly Cornelius
PoHo contributor & R-LAND activist

Hillsborough County pork thinks it should be fed before basic public safety services, before public parks, before important public agencies like the Environmental Protection Commission (EPC), The Planning Commission and before voter-approved programs such as ELAPP [the county's environmental land buying program]. Hillsborough pork even thinks it should be in line in front the homeless. Why? Because under Pat Bean’s administration, evidently, that is how it works. Hillsborough pork knows no boundaries and has no ethics. Who thinks it is time for a little visit to the butcher?

Read the rest of this entry »

By Kelly Cornelius
PoHo contributor & R-LAND activist

If you think County Administrator Pat Bean’s recent double digit raises to a few of her favorite minions amid epic budget cuts were unbelievable you might want to take some Beano before catching a glimpse at her proposed budget itself. The millions thrown at special interest is enough to make anyone’s stomach turn. County Commissioners have the final say on her budget. Many of these same Commissioners renamed their Moral Courage award after a pardoned ex-felon last year, and they also think it might be OK to sell off sensitive publicly owned land to investors in order to “preserve” it, so I suggest you offer to help them in this budget decision making process.

Parks are what got me looking into this budget in the first place. When I heard my beloved Flatwoods Park was on the chopping block to be closed two days a week, (and knowing how much this Commission gives away each meeting on the consent agenda alone) I was furious. They pass out hundreds of thousands of dollars if not millions regularly under the Consent Agenda without even discussion yet they now claim they have to cut public parks. Read the rest of this entry »

By Kelly Cornelius
PoHo contributor & R-LAND; activist

Stay out of the water! That was the warning just prior to the start of this year’s 4th of July holiday about the Courtney Campbell Beach. Was it because of a bull shark attack? Nope. Maybe an invasion of rogue lionfish? Nope. Maybe a jellyfish convention then?

No, silly, there was just too much shit in the water. Course they said the high bacteria count could be due to several things including animal feces, stormwater runoff, and lastly they mention sewage. Uh-huh. Don’t forget there is a 14-mile-long algae bloom going on right now that’s also attributed to contaminated run-off. Oh goodie, let’s make it easier to build more houses!

Photo Credit: James Laurence Stewart at Flickr.com Read the rest of this entry »

By Kelly Cornelius
PoHo contributor & R-LAND; activist

Remember that water bill we were concerned about that would silence public input and made water permits easier to get (behind closed doors)? Environmentalists and editorial boards alike urged The Bent Over one to veto it. Well, on the heels of signing SB 360 and eliminating what little growth management laws we do did have, Governor Crist signed that water bill (SB 2080) making water and wetland permits easier to get and again disappointed us while putting yet another black mark on his environmental record. In his defense, he did ask them pretty please to continue to make their water permitting decisions in the open (while signing a bill that alleviated them from doing just that).

According to my research everyone in the House and Senate that voted on this voted in favor of it regardless of party affiliation.

Photo credit: Johnnyalive Flickr.com

By Kelly Cornelius
PoHo contributor & R-LAND; activist

Oh boy, where to start on this Cone Ranch scheme proposal? Recall Ken Half-Truth Hagan’s half-baked proposal to sell Cone Ranch to private investors in order to “preserve it”? Apparently the Hillsborough County Commission chair all of a sudden became an environmentalist worrying about the future of this sensitive land and wants to do all he can to preserve it, emphasizing the wetlands on the property. You might also recall that ironically he was one of the very same Commissioners hell-bent on getting rid of the wetlands division of the EPC. Hey, people can change, right? Especially when those behind the idea are big-time Republican fundraisers, uh-huh. Come to think of it, that assault on the wetlands division by the majority of the County Commission was also widely thought to be the idea of a ………….big campaign contributor. Read the rest of this entry »

By Kelly Cornelius
PoHo contributor & R-LAND activist

Hillsborough County Administrator Pat Bean took more than a few stutter steps last week when the discussion at the budget workshop finally addressed the earlier article in the St. Petersburg Times about her issuing fat raises to a handful of her BFFs. Commissioners are in the middle of a budget nightmare, up to 900 jobs could be eliminated and Bean is passing out up to double-digit raises to some of her faves, including the bean counters.

So at the end of the day’s budget workshop last Thursday, Commissioner Kevin Beckner acknowledged the elephant/s in the room and brought up the subject to Bean newspaper in hand.

I had my own concerns with two of her minions getting these raises. Lucia Garsys is listed in the Times article as a “former planner,” yet she makes even more money than the head of The Planning Commission. How can Bean justify this, and more importantly how can Commissioners let her get away with this? (Especially with elections nearing?) Read the rest of this entry »

Photo credit: otisarchives3 Flickr.com

By Kelly Cornelius
PoHo contributor & R-LAND activist

I wasn’t the only one that thought something smelled funny about this Cone Ranch deal, a recent proposal by Commissioner Ken “Half Truth” Hagan (to subdivide and sell public land to private investors) and in the process serve up millions to Republican donors for brokering the deal. The St. Petersburg Times raised some major concerns and inconsistencies in this editorial and, according to this article in the TampaTribune, Mariella Smith says it stinks! Smith is a highly regarded environmentalist and she fights tirelessly and fearlessly on behalf of it. She always comes armed with enough information to make even the most seasoned and highly paid development interests look like buffoons, and I have nothing but respect for her on this or any other issue for that matter.  If she says it stinks, bring a clothespin or a gas mask.

Read the rest of this entry »

Photo Credit: eschipul/flickr.com

By Kelly Cornelius
PoHo contributor & R-LAND activist

The Hillsborough County Commission seemd at a loss during a discussion about SB 360 during Tuesday’s land-use meeting. Peter Aluotto of the County’s Planning and Growth Management Department (same guy that helped push the ill-fated South County Transportation Plan, for all you Green Swath of death fans) gave the presentation and asked for direction from the board on what to do now. Don’t worry, he wasn’t alone; he had members from the developer community ready and willing to help him present if needed but in a rare wise move from Chairman Ken “Half-Truth” Hagan he did not call up any of the development community to speak.

Basically, what I got from the presentation, combined with the questions raised by the board, is that the county has no freakin’ idea what to do, and the developers they are a-callin’! How are they going to foot the bill for this developer welfare? According to the material online, possibly a gas tax! Or maybe they do the right thing and raise impact fees? (hysterical laughing) No doubt the taxpayers will be taking this one for Charlie’s team; the only question left is how. You can see Aluotto’s documentation here and read the transcripts from the discussion here Warning: if you are a smart growth fan, NIMBY, concerned citizen or activist or if you just think developers have already ruined Florida then you might want to pour a glass of wine (or two) before reading. Read the rest of this entry »

By Kelly Cornelius
PoHo contributor & R-LAND activist

Hillsborough County’s top lobbyist Edith Stewart makes $136,094; that is including a 17 percent raise of $20,000. I had to read this in the Times even though I did ask Commissioners what our lobbyists made in an e-mail back on April 14 and have yet to hear back on that.

Why did I want to know? Because I didn’t think our lobbyists were doing anything about bad environmental and growth management bills and  I wondered how much you were paying them. Now we know. Maybe she got the bonus for letting SB 360 get through? I also asked Ms. Stewart herself in an e-mail several months ago to provide me with a detailed list of the activities of our lobbyists in Tallahassee and asked if any of them have ever spoken on the record in committee about SB 360 or any bills for that matter. I am still waiting. I even suggested the Board fire Ms. Stewart in this recent post regarding SB 360 so to read she recently got a raise while sitting back and letting the worst growth management laws quietly pass in Tallahassee is unbelievable. Especially amid such a budget crisis. In fact she got the highest percentage increase. Read the rest of this entry »

Photo credit: DRB62 Flickr.com

By Kelly Cornelius
PoHo contributor and R-LAND activist

Just when you thought that renaming the Moral Courage award after their shuga daddy (and pardoned ex-felon) Ralph Hughes was the low point, the Hillsborough County Commission, led by Chairman Ken Hagan, floats an idea that is starting to smell worse than the reclaimed sewage that some officials want to dump into our aquifer.

Sell the preservation land that is Cone Ranch to private developers … in order to save it! Read the rest of this entry »

Photo Credit: kwalk628 Flickr.com

By Kelly Cornelius
PoHo contributor & R-LAND activist

No ceremonial photo-op for this signing, probably because nobody wants to see the Governor bending over for special interests but in my opinion that is exactly what he did by signing SB 360. This bill guts Florida’s growth management laws (yes, we had some) and everyone but special interests and their politicians are against it.

The only good news? This should be exactly what we need to get Florida Hometown Democracy approved by the voters in 2010.

Photo credit: pmarkham flickr.com

By Kelly Cornelius
PoHo contributor and R-LAND activist

Ever hear the saying don’t look a gift horse in the mouth? That is probably because horse’s teeth can tell you how old they are.

Being a horse person I am a strong believer in vetting before buying a horse which is also called a pre-purchase exam. Along with checking for any glaring unsoundness or other health issues it is a good way to see if your potential steed will hold up for the job you will be asking him or her to do. As you might expect, if you want a horse for light trail riding the pre-purchase bar might not be as high as, say, an Olympic jumper or even something in between.

Most vets will admit that while almost no horse “passes the vet;” there are just shades of failing. It still makes good sense to have a thorough exam performed. The only time it doesn’t make sense to vett a horse is if all you want the horse for is a lawn ornament. If you want a performance horse, however, you should know what you are buying and whether there is a reasonable assumption that your new steed can perform its job. So, before you take the plunge and buy old Dobbin, have him vet’ed.

I feel the same way about Supreme Court Justice nominees by the way. I think we can safely say they are well beyond trail horses and into the category of Olympic jumpers so the bar needs to be set very high. Read the rest of this entry »

By Kelly Cornelius
PoHo contributor and R-LAND activist

Looks like Hillsborough County Commissioner Kevin White is not only digging himself in deeper but there are new names now helping to throw the dirt on. This scandal gives new meaning to the phrase shovel-ready and just keeps getting more interesting. I wonder what the tab is up to for taxpayers on this?

Photo credit: amerune at Flickr.com

OR

Photo credit: Daquella Manera at Flickr.com                   YOU DECIDE!

By Kelly Cornelius
PoHo contributor and R-LAND activist

As if the past dirty deeds and developer-driven agendas of many of our Hillsborough County commissioners wasn’t proof enough (yes, we mean you Team Sprawl) now the Florida Legislature has shown you exactly why we need Florida Hometown Democracy (FHD). FHD is a citizen-driven initiative that would allow voters to make growth decisions instead of leaving it in the greased and dirty hands of politicians. To help make the case for FHD, there is this year’s legislative session.

Where to begin?

Read the rest of this entry »

By Kelly Cornelius
PoHo contributor and R-LAND activist

A  piece in the Times from Senator Mike Bennett-R who spawned SB 360 (a bill that dismantles growth management), shares his idea of smart growth as it is titled For smart Fla growth. OK, Mr. Bennett, I guess that depends on what your definition of smart is. He says in part:

The bill promotes growth in dense urban areas by removing the state required costs of transportation concurrency and the duplicative development of regional impact (DRI) process within those areas.

(Nimby translation: Developers shouldn’t have to foot the bill for more growth by having to pay for infrastructure; that is what you taxpayers are for.)

Read the rest of this entry »

By Kelly Cornelius
PoHo contributor

photo by shioshvili flickr.com

You heard me. Hillsborough Commissioners under the threat of a teetering bond rating voted for automatic annual increases for water rates that total to 1.72 percent for FY 2010. Read the rest of this entry »

By Kelly Cornelius
PoHo contributor and R-LAND activist

Nice going-away present, Guv. According to this article, The Suntanned One sounds like he is going to sign SB 360 the ill-conceived bill that guts what little growth management we do did have. Maybe he didn’t get that opposition email from our County Commission yet, huh? Unless he switches teams last minute it sounds like we are screwed. Read the rest of this entry »

Bill sponsor J.D. Alexander

By Kelly Cornelius
PoHo contributor & R-LAND activist

Who in the Florida Legislature voted to make water use approval easier to get and take away wetlands permitting from local officials by giving it to a five member statewide board while also eliminating any power from the public by having closed meetings? Why, everyone, that is who.

Read the rest of this entry »

photo by .res flickr.com

By Kelly Cornelius
PoHo contributor & R-LAND activist

After months of hounding from activists and even early coverage in both papers including this editorial in the Trib dated Feb 21st, 2009 the Hillsborough County Commission finally weighs in on Senate Bill 360, a bad revamp of Florida’s growth-management safeguards. This is a bill that everyone (except developers and their politicians) thinks is a bad idea. The bill’s sponsor is Mike Bennett -R of Bradentucky Bradenton. So, after two months of Legislative Session where the bill sailed through committees and was voted on twice on the floor in the House and three times in the Senate and eventually passed on the last day of Session, our commission, at the urging of Commissioner Mark Sharpe decide to discuss it.  You would have thought they were being asked to consider…..gasp…… domestic partnership benefits or something considering the discussion. Some of them acted surprised or feigned ignorance about the content of the bill citing that things change minute by minute in bills in Tallahassee and while that is true the bigger truth is that the main things in the bill that everyone was screaming about, transportation concurrency and no reviews for DRIs (big ass subdivisions) have been in the bill since the beginning as noted in this Feb 20th article by Mariella Smith. Read the rest of this entry »

photo by Tom (hmm a rosa tint)

By Kelly Cornelius
PoHo contributor and R-LAND civic activist

For all of you mass transit supporters … buses everywhere were busy last week giving you a glimpse of what really goes on down at County Center. Read the rest of this entry »

A 360 of flip-flops … get it? (photo: Katy Warner/flickr.com)

By Kelly Cornelius
PoHo contributor & R-LAND activist

Well, my earlier post on who voted in support of SB 360 (a gutting of growth management laws) caused quite a stir, and as Wayne already reported and corrected on that post, State Sen. Victor Crist actually changed his last vote on the growth management bill from yes to no. I do apologize that I did not find that change online before submitting that post. I spoke with Crist himself Tuesday afternoon regarding the issue. He wanted to make sure I understood the process so I will share his explanation with you as well. Read the rest of this entry »

By Kelly Cornelius
PoHo contributor & R-LAND activist

Well, for one the now State Sen. Victor Crist, who has an eye on Ken Hagan’s county commission seat in a game of musical sprawlers and  just voted to throw Hillsborough under the bus by gutting what meager growth management laws we do have. Yep, he voted YES on the deplorable bill SB 360 denounced by environmentalists, smart growth advocates and anyone with two brain cells that touch (who aren’t in the pockets of developers).

[EDITOR'S UPDATE: Legislative records show that Crist changed to a "No" vote on the bill. In an interview with PoHo, Crist said he was off the floor in a budget conference meeting during the vote in question and another Senator "voted his button," a fairly common practice in the Legislature. Crist said he noticed the yes vote and changed it by the end of the day. More from Crist in the comments section. The Senate floor vote record is here.]

Remember that in 2010 when we have the “special election“ experts think is going to occur for Hagan’s seat. I didn’t know anything about Crist one way or the other before this, but voting yes on SB 360 tells me all I need to know. Looks like some of his constituents aren’t all that happy with him either regarding past issues. You can contact Crist here and tell him what you think.

Read the rest of this entry »

By Kelly Cornelius
PoHo contributor & R-LAND activist

Looks like maybe Dr. Richard Garrity might be a PoHo fan because my post questioning his activities as Executive Director of the EPC Wednesday morning wasn’t up very long at all before I heard from several sources regarding emails he sent listing documents regarding his recent activities. Coincidence? I don’t think so. Read the rest of this entry »

By Kelly Cornelius
PoHo contributor & R-LAND activist

Since bad bills like SB 360, legislation to weaken severely growth management laws, and other developer dreams are still alive and well in Tally at the last hour, I wondered what our eight paid lobbyists for Hillsborough County are doing with their time. As legislators attempt to rob a fund to clean up polluted water sources from petroleum leaks (one is in my neighborhood). I wondered where Hillsborough’s Environmental Protection Commission is. I am still wondering. Read the rest of this entry »

By Kelly Cornelius
PoHo contributor & R-LAND activist

Only in Hillsborough would the Captain of Team Sprawl propose to sell environmentally sensitive land already owned by the public …….get this………in order to preserve it!  WTF?

Read the rest of this entry »

I attended a recent sprawl battle down at Collusionville Headquarters the Hillsborough County Center (see my post on that here), where I asked Commissioner Ken Hagan to recuse himself from a vote at hand.  I asked because the applicant, Stephen Dibbs, was listed as hosting a campaign fundraiser for him, according to this article.

Sure seemed to me that if one of your fundraisers is asking you to change the rules for his financial benefit that would be a conflict of interest. [Editor's note: A Commission on Ethics opinion has ruled that receiving campaign contributions does not constitute a legal conflict of interest for a public official.] Hagan not only flat-out denied that Dibbs ever held a fundraiser for him but he did it on the record. His exact words, according to the transcripts, were “Mr. Dibbs has never held a fundraiser for me and even if he had that would be a ridiculous standard to try and enforce.” I guess that is why they are called puppets, right? As a review, 5 of our 7 current Commissioners have financial contributions from Dibbs.

Read the rest of this entry »

Re-zoning and re-election signage shared space last year in Lutz.

By Kelly Cornelius, PoHo contributor and activist

Rural residents against sprawl (or as opponents negatively call us, diehards) successfully defended the rural area against another assault last Thursday.  Not without first having to battle arguably one of the most influential developers in the county, Stephen Dibbs, who was asking the BOCC for a change in zoning from ag-rural and residential to suburban mixed use on property he owns in Keystone. Read the rest of this entry »

Just one more way developers run roughshod over the public and control our public “servants.” This article in the Times shows the beautiful green lawn of a model home and tells us how some vacant model homes use four times more water than if a family were living in them. The fees they get for violating the water restrictions? The builders consider it the cost of doing business. Looks like they laugh at these restrictions the same way the laugh at growth management laws. Probably the same builders that helped cause our housing glut in the first place with the blessing of most of our elected officials.

Read the rest of this entry »

By Kelly Cornelius
PoHo contributor & R-LAND activist

Two Comprehensive Plan amendments that would have breached the Hillsborough County Urban Service Boundary, violated the Comprehensive and Community Plans as well as pushed us further down the slippery slope of sprawl were shot down 7-0 Thursday night by the County Commission. Don’t get too excited, because as often the case, even when we win we lose (mainly because the unsavory characters on the Commission are still in office the next day).

Read the rest of this entry »

Judging by the picture in this article in the Times, there is something green growing in the Hillsborough County drinking-water reservoir…….it looks like grass. Hey, my pastures are looking kinda rough with this drought and I do live almost next door…. I wonder if they would consider leasing it out as grazing land since even if we had water it isn’t so good at holding any?

The article is about Swiftmud voting not to tighten water restrictions……….drought? What drought? Drink up and more importantly BUILD UP! The conversation that nobody really wants to have is that while local and state politicians are scrambling to weaken rules for building and raping the environment all in the name of economic development (think developer welfare) what they are really avoiding addressing is the severe water shortage we are in.

Read the rest of this entry »

By Kelly Cornelius
PoHo contributor & R-LAND activist

(Insert Blaring Sirens Here) Consent agenda Alert, Consent Agenda Alert!

I guess the great job HDR did on designing the Cracking Reservoir and the 6-Lane Cluster Study of Lithia Pinecrest warrants another contract to the tune of over 1.5 million dollars to the firm for another PD and E study, this time for Van Dyke Road. Where might this sweet deal be going down? The consent agenda of the Hillsborough County Commission, of course! Does this firm (who Tampa Bay Water is currently suing and citizens have exposed due to their judgment, or lack thereof) and its tall tales told to citizens with regards to the Lithia Pinecrest Road Widening/Not Widening Project deserve yet another fat contract?

Read the rest of this entry »

By Kelly Cornelius
PoHo contributor & R-LAND activist

This new CSX deal is so ugly it would make a freight train take a dirt road. It would cost taxpayers $1.2 billion, but according to this recent Orlando Sentinel article, that number could go up. According to a recent news release from Senator Paula Dockery, an opponent of the deal, the number is actually at $2.66 BILLION! She had the Florida Department of Transportation do a detailed cost estimate and this is what it produced.

Wasn’t this rotten deal only a paltry $649 million last year? I guess train track prices don’t go down in a recession, and neither did the number of disturbing details about this deal. Still present are the liability issues sticking taxpayers with the bill for negligence, the location issue (that send freight trains through downtown Lakeland) and, of course, there is that little matter of the cost. Not to mention the backroom way in which this scheme was originally cooked up. Taxpayers are getting totally railroaded. Some research finds that CSX is not a stranger to screwing Florida taxpayers; check out this article.

Read the rest of this entry »

By Kelly Cornelius
PoHo contributor & R-LAND activist

As I wrote about earlier this week, I was just sick at what a nasty (and in my opinion) unfounded media campaign was doing to former (and now current again) executive director of the Planning Commission, Bob Hunter. Who knew our biggest fight yet against sprawl would not be a comp plan amendment, nor a huge DRI, nor a rezoning nor even a toll road? Who knew it would turn out to be against a smear campaign ruining the reputation of a man who did not deserve it, against forces that often we can’t see, and against a program that is not well received but perfectly legal. This fight was against the negative public perception of a man that the developer lobby served up to an uneducated but all too willing media. This was the battle was in front of us and it was overwhelmingly slanted in the opposite direction. Who said fighting sprawl was easy though right?

For the Planning Commission meeting earlier this week, we donned our battle gear (Citizens for Bob T-shirts) and headed into the meeting. Every citizen speaking on the record was in favor if Hunter’s return. Speaking of the record, I had to also set something straight. During the discussion, Commissioner Frank Chillura raised the issue about negative perception and the comments of other officials who could control the Planning Commission’s budget. Chairman Bruce Cury explained that those comments were made by Commissioner Rose Ferlita, and he thought that it was just a matter of the camera being shoved in her face after a meeting, and he says the planning board’s decision should not be influenced by that.

As Cury is making these comments reporter Mike Deeson turns toward us concerned citizens and mouths the words HE IS LYING (referring to Cury.)

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Just when we needed to hear some good news……..it shows up. United Citizens Action Network (U-CAN), a citizen-led government watchdog group, is calling for the investigation of Hillsborough County Commissioner Al Higginbotham and his aide, Jess Johnson, for their actions relating to the County Charter. Or should I say, as they don’t relate. U-CAN Chairwoman Terry Flott describes in her letter (printed in full after the jump) to the County Attorney how, on many occasions, Johnson and Higginbotham allegedly have violated the County Charter Section III. Separation of Power.

Johnson (not so affectionately known as the eighth commissioner in some circles) has been officially called out for attempting to influence staff with regards to:

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We have scandal after scandal here in Hillsborough County that go almost unreported, yet let the most respectable and professional person I have ever come into contact with at County Center do something like accept an offer to return to work after he is retired and watch the vultures pile on. The MSM has completely missed the boat here and they have fallen right into the trap of the of some of the most unsavory grease monkeys of the sprawl machine.

Bob Hunter is the former Executive Director of The Planning Commission and the current President of the American Planning Association. He is a giant in his field, and we were damn lucky to get him the first time around. As I wrote about in a post regarding his retirement, I have watched him stay cool in the face of constant verbal attacks of Commissioner Jim Norman as well as legislative attacks and dirty tricks from the likes of Kevin Ambler and Ronda Storms. I will begin by telling you that the Hillsborough Sprawl Machine hates Bob Hunter.

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By Kelly Cornelius
PoHo contributor & R-LAND activist

Here we go again. Is there no end to the dirty tricks the growth machine in Florida is willing to go to in order to stop Florida Hometown Democracy? Nope. Hometown Democracy is a citizen petition amendment that should have been on the ballot in 2008 but due to nasty gutter politics from Palm Beach to Tallahassee it was never added. If passed the amendment would allow voters instead of politicians to vote on any land use changes outside of what our Comprehensive Plan currently provides for.

Maybe they should have renamed Florida Hometown Democracy to “You Can Say No to Sprawl” because the Sprawlpushers Florida Chamber of Commerce has its own competing amendment to block Hometown Democracy, and of course they named it “The Smarter Growth” amendment. This is sort of like Ralph Hughes naming his group Let’s Make The World a Better Place Because We Have Been Here, like Ronda Storms trying to push religion into public schools but naming her bill the Evolution Bill! Like drug dealers with Say No to Drugs stickers on their bumpers. Like……Senator Craig or preacher Ted Haggard wearing an I Hate Gays t-shirt. The Economic Stimulus Package. You get the picture.

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By Kelly Cornelius
PoHo contributor

Budget Crisis? What Budget Crisis?

Remember Chapter One of the Lithia Pinecrest Chronicles – A Road Widening, Some More Lying and We Just Ain’t Buying? Turns out we might not buy it but it looks like we sure as hell are paying for it! The reason this whole controversy regarding this road PD and E study started is that the consultants doing the study to possibly widen Lithia Pinecrest told citizens (screaming about the rural section of the study) that they had to study 6 lanes to be eligible for Federal Dollars (that argument didn’t really hold up) so then they used the logical termini defense for federal dollars and that one is at best arguable. There is one thing they all seem to agree on and that is the fact that the study can’t be predetermined according to Federal guidelines.

Enter a 10+ acre parcel of land off Lithia Pinecrest and Valrico in 2006 for sale for possible right of way (ROW). Read the rest of this entry »

That RED R over your house does NOT stand for Republican!

Welcome to Chapter 4 of the Lithia Pinecrest Chronicles. If you want some history you can see Chapter 1 here, Chapter 2 here and Chapter 3 here. If you weren’t a NIMBY (Not in my back yard) before………….. seeing your house on an aerial map of a road widening study with a big-ass red R on top of it that stands for RELOCATION just might do it!

[To backtrack, Lithia Pinecrest Road is a two-lane highway through a rural stretch of eastern Hillsborough County. It has been targeted for widening to accommodate an increasing number of new subdivisions and their traffic. Activists have questioned the need to six-lane the road at its most rural point, receiving conflicting answers from county transportation planners.]

There are some homeowners in section B (an urban residential area) who have lived there more than 30 years only to see that R is now over their home. What could be worse than living in your home for more than three decades only to have the county decide it might need to take your land to accommodate its ill-begotten sprawl? Read the rest of this entry »

Kelly Cornelius is a civic activist with R-Land and a contributor to PoHo:

Two assaults …….oops I mean Comp Plan Amendment proposals …… on the rural area were heard last week at the Hillsborough Planning Commission. The attacks on the rural area were directed at Keystone in the northwest part of the county, but if passed, they would have set a dangerous precedent countywide. Both were in violation of our Comprehensive Plan (which is our county’s blueprint for growth) and Keystone’s Community Plan, so passing either one of them would have been undermining community plans everywhere which citizens work long and hard on.

An army from Keystone showed up to defend its plan, and several people outside of Keystone (myself included) spoke out against this would be breach of the rural service area. Joining together with our rural neighbors does two things: 1. It makes us stronger so that a small community has less chance of being marginalized. 2. It really pisses off developers that don’t like to follow the rules (so I sign up when I can.)

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Kelly Cornelius is a civic activist with the R-Land group in rural eastern Hillsborough County, fighting against sprawl.

Well, the holidays are over, and I am finally making time to go through my public records requests, which include more than 2,000 pages of e-mails from Hillsborough County’s Public Works Dept over the last two years regarding its Lithia Pinecrest Widening/Not Widening Project. When I first started going through them, it seemed kinda creepy to read other people’s e-mails, but fighting sprawl is dirty bidness so I got over it rather quickly. It is making for some very interesting reading, very interesting indeedy.

Lithia Pinecrest road today; planners are discussing six-laning it

Recall: Residents, NIMBYS, concerned citizens and activists had a hairy when we were told in November that Lithia Pinecrest Road in eastern Hillsborough could be six-laned all the way to CR 39. Strange because last year they told us our rural section would not be widened. At the most recent workshop the “federal dollars defense” was born. We were told at that November workshop that although our section MIGHT NOT really be widened, they had to study it for the six lanes in order to get federal dollars.

We screamed, the county commission had a meeting, and the six-lane excuse didn’t really wash, so the “logical termini defense” was played, and it was anything but logical. I am nowhere near done reading all of the e-mails about this bureaucratic mess, but this is what I have learned so far. (And oh, they fully expected our backlash, according to one e-mail.)

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Guest blogger Kelly Cornelius is a civic activist in eastern Hillsborough County:

And the winner for the best backpedaling of a public employee when his deaprtment is caught with its pants down goes to……….Bob Gordon, director of Hillsborough County’s Public Works Debt.

Recall the recent smackdown citizens gave the county and their paid consultants regarding their ill-conceived study to plow six lanes with a median through rural Lithia, which would devastate our little community and bring with it certain sprawl. We called them out on their lying to us and started our own investigation into the matter. The item was on the agenda for a County Commission meeting two weeks ago, but for discussion only, which means no public input on the issue.

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I attended the recent swearing in of Kevin Beckner (so that is what all of you Obama supporters felt like?) Still fresh from the euphoria of seeing a good guy win one (and watching incumbent Commissioner Brian Blair go down in flames), I later headed down to the public workshop that evening regarding the Lithia Pinecrest road widening project in eastern Hillsborough County. I had like six or seven hours in between these two events to just be happy that the people of Hillsborough made a good decision electing Beckner and since Commissioner Kevin “the people have spoken and I am switching teams” White (a longtime pro-development vote) seems to have gotten the message, just maybe NOW the residents would have a majority on the board (so that is what the late Ralph Hughes must have felt like!)

Hey, six hours of hope was good, wasn’t it? Turns out we have been duped by our county AGAIN! When Iand many others attended a meeting last year regarding the widening of Lithia Pinecrest we were told that the rural portion of it (now known as segment D) from Fishhawk to State Road 39 would NOT be widened. The staff assured us…………assured us.

That is why I thought it was fishy when I read this article promoting this year’s meeting that said it could to be 6 lanes all the way through. WTF? In fact, all I remember them talking about last year was possibly 4 lanes and that was only in the urban sections, so to read that they were now talking about 6 lanes all the way through raised many suspicions. So many of us decide to attend this year’s meeting, and it was Beltway deja vu. Lies, circles, and deflections.

There are sections of Lithia Pinecrest that are overloaded by traffic and need relief, but those are in the Urban Service Area, and make no mistake about it, those sections failed because new home construction was approved without appropriate infrastructure. You can thank past and a few current county commissioners for that. The section I am referring to is in the Rural Service Area and it serves us rural types just fine, thanks. Why are we opposed to widening on this particular stretch? Because plowing a bigger road through a rural area is nothing more than a recipe for sprawl. Six lanes with a median is 1-75!

We have been down this road before……..and we destroyed it!

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