Monday, June 29, 2020

What this man said about our neighbors is true of Florida

Thoughts shared by a man who has seen what is happening to the tourism industry in the Caribbean. Perhaps his thinking has some relevance for Florida:


The Caribbean: Thoughts on the Way Forward post COVID

By Hugh Magbie

"The discussion about whether to open or not should be easy. Don’t put anyone’s life at risk for [money]. That one is simple. Tourism has been the easy way out for the Caribbean. Slap-up some hotels, a dock, an airport and they will come. A little money trickles down to the “ natives, but most of tourism’s dollars go to the rich mainland owned corporations. Tourism has become the prime source of GDP for most islands.

The pandemic has changed all of that, even if tourism comes back to “normal”, many businesses have closed forever.

The massive layoffs mean increased homelessness, hunger, and crime. All at the same time we’re fighting a pandemic.

Most islands will not have contingency plans for such a catastrophe.

Think of St Thomas, six mega cruise ships a day, a day! The economy of St Thomas is dependent on those ships coming.

That’s not gonna happen for some time. No matter how hopeful and confident the cruise executives are, the fact remains the pandemic is raging in the US.

St Croix gets one or two ships a week but it has a lot of small businesses and an oil refinery, a more diverse economy. It also has an excellent internet infrastructure.

Now is the time for a comprehensive regional plan one encompassing as many islands that would wish to join.

Our mission?

To create a sustainable, growing economy that is diverse in its components, utilizing governmental grants assistance in transforming our islands into technologically advanced, locally invented and developed and sold to the world.

We could be world leaders in renewable energy, being blessed with the everlasting trade winds and abundant sunlight. Windmills and solar would decentralize our electrical systems, now reliant on Inefficient, expensive white elephants. They should also be user-owned electric co-ops.

I have a patent in wireless technology, it’s in every phone. It did not take millions to develop, it took brainpower, the collaboration of five minds, providing sweat equity.

Apple, developed in a garage, Microsoft, in a house, Facebook, in a dorm, and none of us have a degree.

There are thousands of engineers and scientists in the Caribbean and many more thousands working abroad.

There are industries that we need to develop; biotech, gasification plants to convert our garbage into natural gas, finding pharmaceuticals from our natural plants and seaweed, cannabis agriculture, food sustainability and eradicating hunger.

We must also serve the people, setting up some sort of Democratic socialism that provides the basic needs for all.

The engine that makes all of this run is education. Quality, high-quality education dedicated to the potential of each student is vital. Just a few thoughts."

==+==

For more thinking in this line, see this brief talk by Kate Raworth:




Monday, June 8, 2020

Kelly Kirschner: Anti-Racism

This year marks the 10th anniversary since the local immigrant-integration, nonprofit UnidosNow was formed. I am proud to be one of the founding members, against the backdrop of local, state and national issues negatively impacting immigrant communities.

On a local level, from 2009 to 2012, a period during which I served as a Sarasota city commissioner and mayor, the bright light of disparate treatment of minorities by law enforcement focused on the city’s Police Department.

Similar to recorded killings of George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery, the only reason that this came to the public’s attention and outrage was due to the Herald-Tribune’s publication of a video recording of a SPD officer allowing an inebriated immigrant, Juan Perez, to climb out of a squad car and fall six feet onto his head, his hands handcuffed behind his back.

The officer then proceeded to kick the man and stand on him. It ultimately led to the firing of the officer, the resignation of the chief of police, the creation of a city police complaint committee and an independent police advisory panel. In spite of a history of other complaints of excessive use of force against the offending officer, he remained and advanced within the force prior to the Perez incident, which ultimately cost the City hundreds of thousands of dollars in lawsuit settlements and legal fees.

Perhaps most disturbing, three years after the incident, a panel of Sarasota residents that included a former and current city commissioner board voted unanimously to reinstate the fired officer, giving him three years of back pay, in spite of the African American chief of police advocating that they ratify the officer’s termination, due to his dangerous disregard of protocol in caring for a handcuffed individual.

I share this story because the frustration and the violence we are seeing in our country today is not just about the individuals who police us; it is really about us and a 400-year history — since African slaves were brought to these shores — of not demanding better, in spite of our insistent belief in American exceptionalism.

Nicole Hannah-Jones
We inherit, whether we like it or not, the legacy of our nation’s forefathers who wrote and signed a “Declaration of Independence” that declared “all men are created equal”, while many of the signers, including the principal author, Thomas Jefferson, owned thousands of African slaves, including their own children. This year’s Pulitzer Prize winning journalist, Nikole Hannah-Jones, wrote in her New York Times essay last fall, “Our democracy’s founding ideals were false when they were written. Black Americans have fought to make them true.”

UnidosNow was formed to stand in solidarity with our black community and join the fight to make these ideals true, as we seek to integrate our vibrant immigrant community into the social, economic and civic weave of the American Dream. The fight is not a struggle that our black and LatinX neighbors must wage on their own. Indeed, the truth and reconciliation process must take place within our nation’s white community, for any progress to get us beyond where we are now.

As Dr. Ibram Kendi in his best-selling book, How to be an Anti-Racist, points
Ibram X. Kendi
out: It is not acceptable to simply say, “I am not a racist.” The question for all of us is rather, “How are we being and behaving in an actively anti-racist manner?”

Anyone who has watched the videos from Georgia and Minneapolis is horrified. Many are moved to action, as we witnessed when hundreds of local residents peacefully convened and marched throughout downtown Sarasota, calling for greater police accountability. While this is a start, white residents have the obligation to educate themselves on how to be better allies and active, committed anti-racists.

To better empower conversations and civic activism in that process for white residents and parents, here is a link to resources that will help you become a more engaged anti-racist. As Americans guided by the noble aspirations of our Founding Fathers, it is our obligation to help create a more just and equitable society where all people have a fair chance to be healthy, free and alive.

Kelly Kirschner 



Resources for white parents to raise anti-racist children:

Articles to read:

Videos to watch:

Podcasts to subscribe to:

Books to read:

Films and TV series to watch:
  • 13th (Ava DuVernay) — Netflix
  • American Son (Kenny Leon) — Netflix
  • Black Power Mixtape: 1967-1975 — Available to rent
  • Blindspotting (Carlos LĂłpez Estrada) — Hulu with Cinemax or available to rent
  • Clemency (Chinonye Chukwu) — Available to rent
  • Dear White People (Justin Simien) — Netflix
  • Fruitvale Station (Ryan Coogler) — Available to rent
  • I Am Not Your Negro (James Baldwin doc) — Available to rent or on Kanopy
  • If Beale Street Could Talk (Barry Jenkins) — Hulu
  • Just Mercy (Destin Daniel Cretton) — Available to rent for free in June in the U.S.
  • King In The Wilderness  — HBO
  • See You Yesterday (Stefon Bristol) — Netflix
  • Selma (Ava DuVernay) — Available to rent
  • The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution — Available to rent
  • The Hate U Give (George Tillman Jr.) — Hulu with Cinemax
  • When They See Us (Ava DuVernay) — Netflix

Organizations to follow on social media:

More anti-racism resources to check out:





Tiger Bay: Sarasota City District 2 Forum available for viewing




City of Sarasota 2020 Election Districts


It is going to be difficult for candidates running in Sarasota's local races this year -- given the pandemic and the lack of venues for voters to get to know them. 

If you missed this June 4 Tiger Bay forum for the candidates running in the city district 2 election race. Morgan Bentley moderated:

The candidates are:
Terry Turner
Jerry Wells
Liz Albert (incumbent)
Martin Hyde

Watch it at this link  Password to view:  8N$59DO^


The mission of The Sarasota Tiger Bay Club is: To promote community understanding of current political and social issues, through public discourse and the free exchange of ideas.  The Sarasota Tiger Bay Club is a non-partisan political organization.


Saturday, June 6, 2020

Be Prepared: Lucas on protecting your vote



Adrien Lucas:


1) Get registered to vote ASAP if you're eligible.

2) Confirm your voter registration once EVERY month to make sure:
a. that you haven't been purged from the voter roll.
b. that your voter information is accurate and updated.
c. that you know where your polling place is located.

3) If your state or county offers Early Voting, find the days/times/locations and make a personalized Election Day plan based on your life and schedule.

4) If your state or county offers Absentee/Vote By Mail ballots, sign up to receive them and make Election Day arrive conveniently in your mailbox.

5) If your state has political party affiliation restrictions on who can vote in presidential preference and primary elections, make sure you know those dates and notify your local elections office about your political party affiliation before the deadlines.

6) Florida operates with a 'closed primary' voting and elections system - that means the state only allows party affiliated voters to cast ballots for all of the partisan races in the presidential preference and primary nomination elections.

If you want to vote in the 2020 Florida presidential preference and primary
nomination elections, you MUST be eligible to vote AND register your political party affiliation with your county Supervisor Of Elections office no later than 29 days before that election. There is no cost or obligation associated with registering your political party affiliation with your SOE office.

You may change your political party affiliation with your SOE office at any time. Registering or changing your political party affiliation with your SOE office does NOT mean that you have 'joined a political party' - one joins a political party as a separate process, typically with a payment and a pledge to the local/county/state political party chapter.

You have no fiscal responsibility or individual obligation to fulfill to any political party by making a party preference affiliation with your SOE office, it is simply an administrative record telling a non-partisan government agency which party ballot you wish to participate in for the presidential preference and primary nomination elections.

Florida Primary Nomination Election is August 18, 2020 - you must register/note/switch your political party affiliation by July 20, 2020.
Florida General Election is November 3, 2020 - you must register by October 5, 2020.

And if you have ANY questions about any voting or election law or policy ASK ME ANYTHING/ANYTIME you want, day/night 24/7. I know a lot, and what I don't know I'll be able to find out quickly and easily.

—————

www.sarasotavotes.com
www.votemanatee.com
https://registertovoteflorida.gov/en/Registration/Index
https://www.usa.gov/register-to-vote

Friday, June 5, 2020

Ready to step up?


Sarasota County Charter Review Board
Are you ready to step up?  You can file to be a Precinct Captain in your neighborhood.You need to file this FORM with the Supervisor of Elections by NOON on June 12th to qualify.
Remember, there is still time to qualify to run for local office.  
Charter Review Board - Free Running Seats
The Charter Review Board (CRB) is an elected body of 10 members, two members from each of the five county commission districts, who serve staggered terms of four years.The Charter Review Board reviews and proposes changes to the Sarasota County Charter which are submitted to referendum in accordance with the provisions of Article VI of the Charter. They serve without compensation.

The CRB meets two or three times a year. Here's the agenda for that meeting. The main business is a proposed change to citizen amendments to the Charter, requiring citizens to come before the CRB before it goes to the County. This proposal has been under the management of CRB member James Gabbert. Below is their last meeting from Jan. 15, 2020.




There is no fee to file to run for this seat. You can learn more here

Hospital Board  $25 filing fee
There are 10 seats on the Hospital Board and they are all held by Republicans. There are 4 positions up for election on the Sarasota County Hospital Board. Hospital districts are different than County Commission Districts. See map of districts here. 
Learn more about the Hospital Board here. If you have a business background, experience managing large budgets, or health care experience, please consider running for the Hospital Board. There is a $25 filing fee for this seat.

You can request a candidate packet from the Supervisor of Elections office if you are interested in learning more - 941-861-8600.

Thursday, June 4, 2020

Accountability and Access: Are we missing something?

Board of Sarasota County Commissioners

Suppose you wanted to research how one or all of our publicly elected officials voted on a particular issue, perhaps one affecting your neighborhood. Obviously you would go to Sarasota County's public database where all votes are stored and can be found through searching by issue, date, name of a commissioner, etc. 

Umm, no.

No such database exists. The various county advisory board meetings such as the Planning Commission are videotaped -- the videos can be found via this Access Sarasota Page.

County Commission meetings are stored on video here, listed in chronological order. They are not contained in a database searchable by issues, agenda items, neighborhoods, dates, board votes, names of commissioners, etc.

You can request information on Board actions (see below), but if you wanted to do an analysis across time of how each Commissioner voted on, say, the environment, or on Pat Neal's latest gated community, your work is cut out for you. 

Our public officials are accountable for their votes, but it seems the method of accounting is a bit nebulous. Needles in haystacks come to mind. Yet our officials acting all the time on matters that involve tax dollars and impact our environment, roads, safety and services; they approve large scale plans and rezonings that alter the density and intensity of our neighborhoods. 

A searchable database of Board decisions would seem a sensible asset, creating a history of how we got to where we are.

What do you think?

Tom Matrullo
==

Below: Correspondence of June 4, 2020, in reverse chronological order:


=======

Good Morning Tom,

No, unfortunately we do not have a database that compiles that information.

If a citizen wants to know a specific vote taken by the Board for a resolution, contract, or ordinance they can send an e-mail request to: boardofrecords@sarasotaclerkandcomptroller.com  

We would then send a copy of the meeting Minutes to that citizen and they would be able to read the “board action/vote.”  

Besides this, there is no searchable database by issue or date for Board of County Commission actions.

You may also access “Meetings on Demand” online for information on agendas, packets, action agenda, official minutes, and videos here:



Thank you.

Blanca Montoya
Recording Secretary, Board Records Department
Karen E. Rushing
Clerk of the Circuit Court and County Comptroller
1660 Ringling Boulevard - Suite 210, Sarasota, FL 34236
www.SarasotaClerk.com

====

Good morning,

I have been referred to this address (sarasotaclerkandcomptroller.com) in the course of seeking a pubicly accessible database of County Commission votes searchable by issue, date, individual commissioner vote, and Board action. (See below for prior correspondence.)

Please advise whether such a database exists, and if so how to access it. If such information is not captured in a publicly searchable database, your help on how a citizen can research the voting record of the Board of County Commissioners and its members would be appreciated.

Thank you.

Tom Matrullo

=====
=====

To:  commissioners@scgov.net,
Alan Maio <amaio@scgov.net>,
"Charles D. Hines" <CHines@scgov.net>,
Michael Moran <mmoran@scgov.net>,
Christian ziegler <cziegler@scgov.net>,
"Nancy C. Detert" <ncdetert@scgov.net>,
Jonathan Lewis <countyadministrator@scgov.net>,
Jody Mann <jmann@scgov.net>

To the Board of County Commissioners and Administrator:

Please advise where to access Sarasota County's public record of all Commission votes in database form. That is, if a citizen wished to track down how the Board voted on an issue, the database that provides the date, link to meeting discussion, how each Board member voted, and Board action.

Thank you,

Tom Matrullo

==


Good Morning Mr. Matrullo,

To my knowledge there is no database of this nature.  You may check with Board Records at boardofrecords@sarasotaclerkandcomptroller.com or call them at 861-5279.

Thank you,


Jody Mann
Administrative Specialist to Commissioners
Michael A. Moran, CIC, Chair - District One
Alan Maio – District Four
Sarasota Board of County Commissioners
1660 Ringling Boulevard, Sarasota, FL 34236
Office: 941-861-5398

 =======

fI liberty and equality, as is thought by some, are chiefly to be found in democracy, they will be best attained when all persons alike share in government to the utmost. - Aristotle