finder's blog

Let's put the upcoming ballot issues on the blogging table and give anyone that so desires an opportunity to express their views on the merits or shortcomings of any or all these issues.

Let’s forget the talk about confusion and talk issues. The choices we have to make in November about Charter Amendments are actually quite simple.

Number of Commissioners – This amendment is back in the signature gathering stage.  If it makes the ballot, then we can vote yes to go back to the 5 members it is now, eliminating 2 at-large positions that will be added in November.

Now here is a story that may warm the cockles of a few hearts:

http://www.news4jax.com/politics/16193514/detail.html

Seems as if Harry S is being sued because he did not provide public records that were requested. It is alleged that his handpicked protege/replacement asked for a campaign contribution while talking on a government phone on government time. Apparently this is a no-no.

Mike Heemer

When I left SD nearly 3 years ago they were building this expressway (California speak for 6 lane parking lot) and had been for a while.

Here are some excerpts from a news article I just spotted. I've also provided a link to the story. Anything in here sound familiar?

It's 10 miles long

some merchants in the area are disappointed in the toll way's generation of new customers

I've embedded a link to an article from CNN and a link to the video that the article addresses.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/04/28/barracks.bragg/index.html

The article starts:

The U.S. military is promising action to address conditions in a barracks at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, after a soldier's father posted images on YouTube showing a building that he said "should be condemned."

The troops assigned to this barracks lived in it before they left for a 15 month deployment to Afghanistan. When they returned they were assigned to the same barracks. It had been closed up and unused for the entire 15 months. Why? Because it was supposed to have been replaced with a new one. 

That this is not a very good idea:

Florida lawmakers debate offering a Christian license plate

http://wire.jacksonville.com/pstories/20080424/271816454.shtml

What a quagmire we could find ourselves in if this gets approved.

Mike Heemer

Speaking of a plethora of comments, it would seem that a couple of people spent some time rambling through their minds to come up with some fairly inane subjects for blogs.

Looked more like an effort to get the 5+2 discussions off the front page but then I'm just a suspicious and pessimistic type of guy. Just an observation.

But one did catch my eye for all of that. I found the School Impact Fee blog somewhat interesting (I know, slow day in the news) so I read some of the report in the attached link.

The comment that I found interesting is the one that said the impact fee may have to be raised to $9100 from $7400. One of the factors in this is population growth.

From the Obit section of today's TU. Law suit against road impact fee.

http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/040508/met_265225810.shtml

Builders, citizens challenge Clay fee

The county road impact fee is designed to pay for needed improvements

Hadn't heard about this one.

Mike Heemer

Really great (not) story out of Orlando.

http://www.local6.com/news/15773787/detail.html

Florida's mandate of abstinence being the only approved topic in sex education has produced another generation of 'everything I needed to know about safe sex I learned on the street'.

Drinking a capful of bleach will prevent HIV. Drinking some Mountain Dew or smoking some marijuana will prevent pregnancy. Well at least with the latter you may not care for a while.

This mandate is not only stupid to the nth degree it is killing our young people. This is so much worse than the evolution argument as to be criminal.

It's 1530 do you know where your Nukes are?

Earlier this week, Gates directed Navy Adm. Kirkland H. Donald to take charge of a full investigation of the delivery mistake in which four cone-shaped electrical fuses used in intercontinental ballistic missile warheads were shipped to the Taiwanese instead of the helicopter batteries they had ordered.

In August an Air Force B-52 bomber was mistakenly armed with six nuclear-tipped cruise missiles and flown from Minot Air Force Base, N.D., to Barksdale Air Force Base, La.

For the rest of the story check out the link below!

Ran across an interesting article out of Dallas. They may work too good.

http://www.nbc5i.com/traffic/15708057/detail.html?dl=mainclick

Mike Heemer