Tuesday, September 21, 2021

Sarasota, FL: Conspiratorial cluster of Ninjas, Truthers, QAnon Theorists . . .

 How Sarasota Became the Conspiracy Capital of the United States

Mike Flynn
[Mike Flynn] the former general and QAnon icon lives just 25 minutes away, in Englewood, and is part of a growing cast of pro-Trump conspiracy theorists, insurrectionists, and election truthers who call Sarasota County home.

Overstock.com founder and uber–conspiracy theorist Patrick Byrne recently purchased six properties in the country, all at extremely inflated prices. Cyber Ninjas, the company with no election audit experience currently running the recount in Arizona’s Maricopa County, is headquartered in Sarasota County.

Charlie Kirk, head of the pro-Trump, far-right group Turning Point USA, which is targeting local school boards around the country, also lives in the county. As does Florida Sen. Joe Gruters, one of Trump’s closest political allies in the state and someone who promoted buses full of pro-Trump rioters heading to Washington on Jan. 6.

And let’s not forget Maria Zack, the conspiracy theorist who believes that the 2020 election was somehow stolen through the use of Italian military satellites. She also now lives in Sarasota County. Vice, 9.12.21

The Zieglers: 

Bridget Ziegler

 

Like all the other groups, parents’ rights group Moms for Liberty denied to VICE News that it organized the event, though messages shared by leaders of the Florida chapter of the group suggest they were closely involved in the running of the event.




 

Moms for Liberty burning masks in Brevard County, FL


Christian Ziegler
 The group was founded last year by Bridget Ziegler, a member of the Sarasota County School Board and the wife of Florida GOP vice chair [and current District 2 Sarasota County Commissioner] Christian Ziegler, who organized buses for people to travel to Washington on Jan. 6.

Christian Ziegler is also the owner of Micro Targeted Media, a digital marketing company that says “we do digital and go after people on their phones.” 

In the words of Chris Anderson, columnist for the Sarasota Herald Tribune, “Sarasota County has somehow become the Conspiracy Capital of the World."  Vice, 9.12.21 

 

Chris Anderson: Conspiracy theorists keep popping up in Sarasota County

Maria Zack is the latest mole of misinformation tied to our area. She still thinks the 2020 presidential election was rigged, and wait until you hear this doozy of a reason how: She is convinced that foreign powers used a military satellite in Italy to change votes from Donald Trump to Joe Biden on election night. 

Zack, who in 2016 formed a Super Pac backing Ted Cruz and discarded Trump as incompetent, has claimed she presented her “ItalyGate” satellite evidence to Trump in person as he ate dinner on Christmas Eve at Mar-a-Lago.

And, of course, she's tied to Sarasota County, which has somehow become America's Mecca of Misinformation. According to state records, Zack is president of a company called Nations in Action, which lists a P.O Box at a UPS store on Clark Road as its address. Herald Tribune, 9.14.21


 Chris Anderson: The secret moves of the Cyber Ninjas moneyman

[Patrick] Byrne, the multimillion-dollar moneyman funding the Sarasota-based Cyber Ninjas in the fantastical quest to find voter fraud in Arizona, thus handing the presidency back to Donald Trump, is a little on the questionable side himself. 

Byrne, meanwhile, is behind a pair of non-profits that have given the Cyber Ninjas nearly $5 million to audit 21 million ballots cast in Maricopa County, Az. during the presidential election. The long-overdue results have been delayed because some of the ninjas have coronavirus. 

Now, it's not that James and Jennifer Vett were looking to sell their six-bedroom, five-bathroom cul-de-sac home in the Oaks Club in Osprey. It's just that Byrne really, really wanted to buy it, and in June, his company offered $3.35 million for a house valued at around $1.5 million, according to the Sarasota County Property Appraiser's Office, whose records revealed even more notable purchases. 

Byrne's company – originally called Manatee Investments LLC – bought two more houses and a condo in the Oaks recently, and he paid over $1 million above the appraised market value for one of the homes. 

In June, his company also purchased a 10,000 square-foot building on Venice Avenue, which was the former home of Bayside Gynecology. Dr. Michael Wolpmann said he was not looking to sell, but who was he to turn down $2.5 million for a building appraised at $654,300?  Herald Tribune 9.9.21.

 

Mike Flynn


From rural Sarasota to Trump allies' inner circle: Who is the Cyber Ninja leading Arizona's audit?

Many assume [Cyber Ninjas' head Doug] Logan got involved with the Byrne, Flynn, and Powell team through one of his contacts in the cybersecurity world, perhaps through his federal contracting work.

[Overstock CEO Patrick] Byrne and [disgraced Trump General Mike] Flynn also have Sarasota County connections. Flynn bought property there in April, and Byrne followed suit in June. Joe Flynn, Mike Flynn’s brother who is involved in the nonprofits funding the Arizona audit, has owned property there since 2018. Herald Tribune 9.20.21

Tuesday, September 7, 2021

"Sprawl at its worst" - Lobeck on Hi Hat

 

Hi-Hat Villages: Sprawl at its Worst

Attend the Public Hearing 

Wednesday, Sept. 8  1:30 pm

Sarasota County Admin. Bldg., 1660 Ringling Blvd., Sarasota



Email the County Commissioners

The Hi-Hat Villages Master Development Plan and Comprehensive Plan amendment return for a final public hearing and vote of the Sarasota County Commission this Wednesday,  September 8 at 1:30 pm at the County Administration Building, 1660 Ringling Blvd. in downtown Sarasota.  This extreme urban sprawl, with no plan to handle the massive traffic pouring west from the development, deserves an outpouring of opposition from the community.

On June 9, the Sarasota County Commission voted unanimously -- with no discussion of the issues -- to give initial approval to the massive Hi-Hat Villages development far east of I-75, on the vast lands between Fruitville and Clark Roads.  That followed 20 speakers against it, expressing often detailed objections, and no speakers in favor other than the developer representatives, and County staff.

County Planner Todd Dary even opened his presentation to the Commission and the public with an outright lie -- it can't fairly be called anything else -- about who will pay for the millions of dollars in needed road improvements to handle the traffic from the development.  Referring to the proposed Master Development Plan, Dary stated, "It makes clear that roadway costs will be the responsibility of the Master Developer, not the County." 

To the contrary, the Plan makes the developer responsible for just a portion of the massive road improvement costs. The Plan even then goes on to excuse the developer from its share of the costs if it instead commits to “other traffic mitigating measures” such as "the promotion of telecommuting, ride sharing or transit” acceptable to Sarasota County and “that are intended to eliminate the impact from Hi Hat Ranch development on the deficiently operating facility(ies).”  (Paragraph 11.A.6.b -- See more below on that). 

Unlike the strong and specific objections stated by scores of speakers, Mr. Dary stated, "Staff has no outstanding issues of concerns."

After a cursory state review, the Comprehensive Plan Amendment and Master Development Plan now returns for a final adoption public hearing on Wednesday, September 8.

In addition to the traffic and other issues detailed below, a major objection is the change of 1,200 acres -- shown in lavender within the oval in the graphic below -- from a "Hamlet" designation of one unit per acre to "Village" at 5 to 6 units per acre, the same as the rest of the development, shown as blue in the graphic. [emphasis added]



 

Although the developer says that it is just expanding the area in which it will spread its densities, at no total increase, nothing would prevent a future application to increase it further once that capacity is added.  And in any event, the change would include moving the Countryside Line further east, increasing urban densities and traffic that are disruptive to the rural lifestyle now enjoyed by residents in that area.

Alarmingly, the developer bases its request for that density increase on a desire for "flexibility to respond to market demands."  If that's all it takes for a developer to justify urban sprawl, then there is effectively no limit to developers getting whatever they want, despite the impacts on the rest of us.

A longtime defender of rural living, Becky Ayech of the Miakka Community Club, has organized a campaign to urge residents throughout the County to email Commissioners objecting to this pernicious plan.  More information about that effort is at 
Becky's Campaign Against Sprawl.

After reading the additional information below, please attend the Wednesday hearing, speak if you can and in any event please consider adding your voice to this effort by emailing the Commissioners with your concerns at the email addresses in the link above or at:  Sarasota County Commissioners

******


  • Sarasota County is barreling towards rampant, uncontrolled urban sprawl east of I-75.
  • Traffic congestion, tax hikes and other ills are inevitable unless there is a pause for better planning.
  • The latest threat is the proposed Hi Hat Ranch Villages development east of the Bee Ridge Extension all the way between Fruitville and Clark Roads.   This massive urbanization of urban lands is for 13,511 houses, 450,000 square feet of commercial and office development, school facilities and a regional sports complex.
  • There are several issues with the proposed Master Development Order and Comprehensive Plan Amendment, which include moving the "Countryside Line" further east to allow more density on 1,200 acres south of Fruitville Road, and impacts on area wells.
  • But perhaps most alarming is the County's total lack of planning for the road impacts of this and other huge developments being allowed, all at the same time, east of I-75, under the Sarasota 2050 Plan.
  • Proposed Transportation Condition 11.B.7 in the Hi Hat Master Development Order provides that each rezoning in the development shall evaluate the need for widening or building only four road segments.  They are two segments of Bee Ridge Road, a new North/South Roadway B on the east side of the development, and Fruitville Road between that roadway and Lorraine Road. 
  • That is despite the fact that the Traffic Study has identified sixteen road segments which will need improvements to handle the traffic from the Hi-Hat Ranch development, including the need to widen Clark Road.  
  • Further, Transportation Condition 11.A.6 of the proposed Hi Hat Master Development Order provides that no Development Orders throughout the development shall be approved if certain biennial monitoring of traffic impacts shows a roadway becoming congested below the adopted level of service unless one of two alternatives conditions are met. 
  • The first alternative is that “funding commitments” are made sufficient to resolve the deficiency (with the developer paying its proportional share for the new capacity and the taxpayers paying the rest).
  • The second alternative -- now get ready for this, because it is actually in there -- is that the Development Order gets approved if it includes “other traffic mitigating measures” including “the promotion of telecommuting, ride sharing or transit” acceptable to Sarasota County and “that are intended to eliminate the impact from Hi Hat Ranch development on the deficiently operating facility(ies).”
  • That loophole is astonishing.  If the developer commits to promote ridesharing and telecommuting (perhaps with flyers given to purchasers), and “intends” -- intends -- that to be enough to take care of the traffic, and if County staff signs off on that, the developer is good to go gridlocking County roads in reality.   (“Whoops, sorry about that, but we really, really intended our promotion of ridesharing to keep the roads drivable.”)
  • Policy VOS 2.9 of the Sarasota County Comprehensive Plan (in the Sarasota 2050 provisions) requires that each Village development “shall provide adequate infrastructure that meets or exceeds the level of service standard adopted by the County and be Fiscally Neutral or Fiscally Beneficial.”
  • Instead, the Conditions proposed for approval on Tuesday are woefully inadequate to comply with that requirement. 
  • And the County has not even done a study showing who is going to pay for all the road improvements that will be needed and are in part planned east of I-75 that the County Commission is in the course of approving.
  • Recently, the County Commission even approved an amendment to the Future Thoroughfare Plan requested by developer Pat Neal to increase east County road expenses by rerouting a planned southerly extension of Lorraine Road from hugging the Interstate south of Clark Road to instead swing out to the east, through two nature preserves, for what staff acknowledged was to "open up more land for development."
  • Ben Franklin and others said that a failure to plan is a plan to fail.
  • More planning is needed in and for the Hi Hat Master Development Order, for the protection of the people both east of I-75 and all motorists and taxpayers, before it deserves any chance to be approved.
  • Please attend the final public hearing on Wednesday September 8 and tell the Commissioners to put the interests of drivers and taxpayers ahead of just the interests of the big developers.
  • And whether or not you can attend, please email the Commissioners to ask them to vote "No" on this bad move, at:

Thank you,

Dan Lobeck
For Control Growth Now

Here Is the Control Growth Now Website

Monday, September 6, 2021

If you live in Sarasota County, come to the Public Hearing Wednesday afternoon


come to the Board meeting on Wednesday Sept. 8.




If you're facing mega-hotels and their impacts on Siesta Key, you should be at the Board Hearing on Wednesday, Sept. 8 



If you live in North Port / Wellen Park, you should be at the Board hearing on Wednesday, Sept. 8.




If you live east of I-75 near Clark Road you should be at the Board Hearing Sept. 8.




If you live near Lakewood Ranch, you should be at the Board Hearing Sept. 8.






If you live in The Founders Club or Old Miakka, you should be at the Board Hearing Sept. 8.







Sept. 8 Agenda: Item 40 - Hi Hat Ranch

If you live anywhere in Sarasota County, come to the County Commission afternoon hearing on September 8 at 1660 Ringling Blvd.

Yes, the hearing is about Hi Hat -- a vast project of 12,000 housing units stretching from Fruitville Road down to Clark Road. But this and all the other supersized development projects in Sarasota County share one common denominator: The corruption of civic planning that gives the Board latitude to essentially approve anything a developer wants, despite severe impacts on nearby neighborhoods, on roads, traffic, water, and services, and despite the Comprehensive Plan -- the people's vision of sane, moderate, environmentally wise development -- which in fact is the law in Sarasota County.

40.

PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT SERVICES

(Public hearing) To adopt Ordinance No. 2021-007 approving Comprehensive Plan Amendment No. 2019-D, amending the Sarasota 2050 Resource Management Area map designation for approximately 1,258 acres of property located in the northeastern section of Hi Hat Ranch, from Hamlet Land Use to Village Land Use, and relocating the countryside line further east to include the village area.

If you can't make it Wednesday, here's what Becky Ayech recommends -- she has led the opposition to Hi Hat Ranch for months:

KEEP THE COUNTRY...COUNTRY HI HAT RANCH SEPTEMBER 8TH 1:30 AT 1660 RINGLING BLVD

This is the DAY.

First, thanks to EVERYONE who has supported this campaign!

If you can wear yellow, do so.  We will have yellow paper signs for you to hold up.. . . 

If you can't make it Wednesday, call and talk/leave a message for the Commissioners  The call center is 941-861-5000, ask for each Commissioner, Mike Moran, Nancy Detert, Al Maio, Christain Ziegler and Ron Cutsinger.  Mike Moran's cell number is 941-400-1140. The offices are closed on Monday, you can still call Commissioner Moran.  Start first thing Tuesday morning. Even if you can make it Wednesday, give them a call. I sent 124 email notices, so at the very least, there should be 124 phone calls. You might want to share where you live if it is somewhere in town.

A bundle of sticks cannot be broken.

Best,

Becky Ayech


Where to email the Board and other Sarasota planning agents

Cc: Board of County Commissioners

All Commissioners commissioners@scgov.net 

Alan Maio (Chair) amaio@scgov.net

Christian Zeigler (Vice Chair) cziegler@scgov.net

Nancy C. Detert ncdetert@scgov.net

Michael Moran mmoran@scgov.net

Ron Cutsinger rcutsinger@scgov.net



 

Question 36: Manipulation in Sarasota County survey

In 2018, Sarasota County citizens approved Single Member District Voting by a substantial margin. (Background here.)

Commissioner Alan Maio  
Now, elected officials are attempting to question that vote, ordering a telephone opinion survey to include a specific question about it.

In that survey now underway, a "policy question" is asked of voters. Here it is:




36. Sarasota County now operates with single-member districts. This means that the county is divided into separate geographic areas, creating districts, and each district is represented by only one commissioner. In the next election, Sarasota County residents will now only be able to vote for the one county commissioner that will represent the district they live in. Please tell me how much you approve or disapprove of your ability to vote for one county commissioner for your district.

⎯ Strongly disapprove
⎯ Disapprove
⎯ Approve
⎯ Strongly approve
⎯ Unsure/DK/NA/Refused

Our five County Commissioners specifically directed that citizens be asked this question (last year's survey resulted in 1,250 responses):



A citizens advocacy group for Single Member Districts has found misrepresentations of fact in the framing of Question 36.

Citizens for District Power offers another way to ask it:

36. Sarasota County has always recognized five districts, but only recently did the people vote to give each district specific voting power. In the 2018 election, 60% of Sarasota voters across all five districts voted to structure Board of County Commission elections by district. That is, instead of having five Commissioners elected by no particular district (and therefore accountable to no voting constituency), each district elects one Commissioner to represent its unique issues and needs. All five commissioners still vote on all issues that come before the Board.

Do you approve or disapprove giving each district the power to hold its representative accountable?

- I approve
- I disapprove 

Sixty percent of Sarasota's voters in 2018 voted to approve Single Member Districts. Surveying voters on SMDs before 40% of our residents have had the opportunity to vote even once in the SMD format is a derelict preemption of voters' experience and a calculated attempt to distort public exposure of this issue.

Citizens for District Power puts it this way:

The County has not provided an open public forum in which all points of view have equal time to present and to be openly discussed. 

At a recent meeting of the Charter Review Board, 38 citizens spoke in favor of Single Member Districts.  

Sarasota County's 2021 survey should not be cited as evidence of anything other than the county's own effort to bias and preemptively reverse a legitimate election decision by Sarasota voters.