Sunday, April 22, 2012
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Contributions for all St. Lucie County Candidates, 2012 First Quarter
Thank you to all my supporters, financial and in all other ways.
Mascara still leads all races in campaign contributions
By Laurie K. Blandford
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
ST. LUCIE COUNTY — Sheriff Ken Mascara still tops the list of candidates across the county in terms of who has raised the most money for this year's election.
Mascara has raised more than $66,000, according to campaign finance reports due April 10 for the time period of Jan. 1 to March 31. Fort Pierce mayoral candidate Linda Hudson has raised the second highest amount at $52,095.
Candidates still must file with the county Supervisor of Elections office during the qualifying period of the first week in June. The general election is scheduled for Nov. 6. If needed, the primary would be Aug. 28.
All county campaign contributions can be found on the Supervisor of Elections' website. City campaign contributions can be viewed at each City Clerk's office.
ST. LUCIE COUNTY COMMISSION DISTRICT 1
Robert J. Benton III
Total contributions: $2,175
Total expenditures: $973.52
Contributions this period: $2,175
Expenditures this period: $973.52
Selected noteworthy contributions this period: $500 from Norchem Inc., chemical engineering business; $500 from Seaway Enterprises, real estate holding corporation; $250 from Daniel Deiulio, Fort Pierce Utilities Authority board; $100 from Charles Hayek, Fort Pierce planning board
Christopher Dzadovsky
Total contributions: $6,603.85
Total expenditures: $1,094.07
Contributions this period: $6,603.85
Expenditures this period: $1,094.07
Selected noteworthy contributions this period: $500 from Big Apple Pizza; $500 from Teamsters Local Union No. 769; $500 from Waste Pro, solid waste and recycling collector; $100 from Joe Smith, St. Lucie County Clerk of the Circuit Court
Bill O'Dell
Total contributions: $1,865
Total expenditures: $519.32
Contributions this period: $1,865
Expenditures this period: $519.32
Noteworthy contributions: $200 from Joseph Miller, president of St. Lucie Battery and Tire; $100 from Keith Anderson, owner of Roy's Liquors & Fine Wines
ST. LUCIE COUNTY COMMISSION DISTRICT 3
Paula A. Lewis
Total contributions: $219.95
Total expenditures: $75.72
Contributions this period: $219.95
Expenditures this period: $75.72
Selected noteworthy contributions this period: $50 from Malcom Rowand, retired
Debra L. Swanson
Total contributions: $549.53
Total expenditures: $247.65
Contributions this period: $549.53
Expenditures this period: $247.65
Selected noteworthy contributions this period: None
ST. LUCIE COUNTY COMMISSION DISTRICT 5
Patrick Campion
Total contributions: $500
Total expenditures: $253.46
Contributions this period: $500
Expenditures this period: $253.46
Selected noteworthy contributions this period: $200 and $100 from Camille Meyer, customer service
John B. Culverhouse Jr.
No contributions or expenditures
Charles Grande
Total contributions: $750
Total expenditures: $49.99
Contributions this period: $750
Expenditures this period: $49.99
Selected noteworthy contributions this period: $250 from David Dale, retired
Bobby L. Hopkins
No contributions or expenditures reported
Cushman "Chip" Shelton Radebaugh III
Total contributions: $1,868.16
Total expenditures: $1,040.67
Contributions this period: $1,868.16
Expenditures this period: $1,040.67
Selected noteworthy contributions this period: $200 from Joseph Miller, president of St. Lucie Battery and Tire; $150 from Bill Knight, State Farm insurance agent; $150 from Peter Harrison, rancher; $100 from Ann Norvell, cattle rancher
Al Rivett
Total contributions: $3,325.76
Total expenditures: $840.48
Contributions this period: $3,325.76
Expenditures this period: $840.48
Selected noteworthy contributions this period: $100 from Treasure Coast Chiropractic, business
ST. LUCIE COUNTY CLERK OF THE CIRCUIT COURT
Joseph E. Smith
Total contributions: $540.12
Total expenditures: $93.43
Contributions this period: $100
Expenditures this period: $85
Selected noteworthy contributions this period: $100 from Kara Hilson, St. Lucie County Clerk of the Circuit Court deputy director of administration
ST. LUCIE COUNTY SHERIFF
Preston M. DiFrancesco
Total contributions: $251.33
Total expenditures: none
Contributions this period: $251.33
Expenditures this period: none
Selected noteworthy contributions this period: None
Ken J. Mascara
Total contributions: $66,196
Total expenditures: $1,689.75
Contributions this period: $9,650
Expenditures this period: $956.53
Selected noteworthy contributions this period: $500 from Laborers Local 1652 of Pompano Beach; $500 Corizon Health Inc., medical care provider of Brentwood, Tenn.; $300 from Touchpay Holdings LP, of Irving, Texas
ST. LUCIE COUNTY PROPERTY APPRAISER
Ken Pruitt
No contributions or expenditures
ST. LUCIE COUNTY TAX COLLECTOR
Christopher Craft
Total contributions: $6,165
Total expenditures: $388.24
Contributions this period: $6,165
Expenditures this period: $388.24
Selected noteworthy contributions this period: $500 from Wynne Building Corporations, construction company; $500 from Preston I. Perrone, Florida Inland Port project manager; $500 from Kennedy Groves Inc., citrus company; $500 from Waste Pro, solid waste and recycling collector; $500 from Brad Culverhouse, attorney; $500 from Robert M. Namoff, CEO of Allied Chemical; $300 from Southern Fruit Groves LLP, citrus company; $250 from Edward W. Becht, Fort Pierce commissioner
Johnathan A. Ferguson
Total contributions: $11,309.68
Total expenditures: $7,663.81
Contributions this period: $11,309.68
Expenditures this period: $7,663.81
Selected noteworthy contributions this period: $500 from Dorothy Conrad, former St. Lucie County tax collector; $500 from Elsie Kastner, retired; $150 from Peter Harrison, rancher; $100 from Michael Adams, rancher
Thomas Ruelane Kindred Jr.
Total contributions: $3,096
Total expenditures: $1,365.19
Contributions this period: $3,096
Expenditures this period: $1,365.19
Selected noteworthy contributions this period: $500 from Evan D. Goldstein, doctor
ST. LUCIE COUNTY SUPERVISOR OF ELECTIONS
Stephanie Ellen Morgan
Total contributions: $4,559.48
Total expenditures: $1,089.79
Contributions this period: $1,588.28
Expenditures this period: $836.21
Selected noteworthy contributions this period: $400 from Riverbell Inc., transportation business; $250 from Paul Jacquin & Sons Inc., general contractor business; $250 from Paul Jacquin; $200 from Richard V. Neill, attorney
Gertrude Walker
Total contributions: $2,906
Total expenditures: $274.50
Contributions this period: $2,906
Expenditures this period: $274.50
Selected noteworthy contributions this period: $500 from Robert C. Knowles, former St. Lucie County sheriff; $250 from System Council U-4 IBEW, political committee; $250 from Evette Simmons, attorney; $100 from Larry Lee Jr., State Farm insurance agent
ST. LUCIE COUNTY SCHOOL BOARD DISTRICT 2
Carol A. Hilson
Total contributions: $1,775
Total expenditures: $100
Contributions this period: $725
Expenditures this period: $100
Selected noteworthy contribution this period: $150 from Ken Mascara, St. Lucie County Sheriff
ST. LUCIE COUNTY SCHOOL BOARD DISTRICT 4
Kathryn J. Hensley
Total contributions: $10,500
Total expenditures: $445.58
Contributions this period: $350
Expenditures this period: $445.58
Selected noteworthy contributions this period: $150 from Ken Mascara, St. Lucie County Sheriff; $100 from Kenneth Mills, husband of School Board member Donna Mills (District 3)
FORT PIERCE MAYOR
Curtis Boyd
Total contributions: $12,655
Total expenditures: $122.16
Contributions this period: $12,655
Expenditures this period: $122.16
Selected noteworthy contributions this period: $500 from Ditchdiggers, construction business; $500 from Intercoastal Financial Group, financial services business; $500 from JA Taylor Roofing, business; $500 from John H. Stamm, owner of manufacturing business; $500 from PHL Land Care, landscaping business; $500 from Jon Lee, financial adviser; $300 from Archie's Seabreeze, bar/restaurant; $300 from Seaway Market, retail business; $250 from Paul Jacquin & Sons, general contractor business
Christine Coke
Total contributions: $2,083
Total expenditures: $45
Contributions this period: $2,083
Expenditures this period: $45
Selected noteworthy contributions this period: $500 from Harriet O. Fordham, retired; $200 from Carmela Stockmann, retired
Vincent C. Gaskin
Total contributions: $1,242.95
Total expenditures: $329.09
Contributions this period: $1,242.95
Expenditures this period: $329.09
Selected noteworthy contributions this period: None
Linda Hudson
Total contributions: $52,095
Total expenditures: $16,401.94
Contributions this period: $4,645
Expenditures this period: $3,078.79
Selected noteworthy contributions this period: $500 from Glynda Cavalcanti, CPA; $500 from Winifred Pizzano, consultant; $500 from Stan Crippen, retired; $500 from Cecilia Crippen, homemaker; $500 from Carol Holden, homemaker; $400 from Anne Carlton, homemaker; $250 from Charlene Koblegard, homemaker
FORT PIERCE COMMISSION DISTRICT 1
Alfredia Wilder-Agnew
Total contributions: $400
Total expenditures: none
Contributions this period: $400
Expenditures this period: none
Selected noteworthy contributions this period: None
PORT ST. LUCIE COUNCIL DISTRICT 4
Robert William Bluestone
Total contributions: $600
Total expenditures: none
Contributions this period: $600
Expenditures this period: none
Selected noteworthy contributions this period: None
Jolien Marie Caraballo
Total contributions: $870.49
Total expenditures: $15.63
Contributions this period: $870.49
Expenditures this period: $15.63
Selected noteworthy contributions this period: None
ST. LUCIE WEST SERVICES DISTRICT SEAT 5
Charles B. Altwein
No contributions or expenditures
http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2012/apr/10/mascara-still-leads-all-races-in-campaign/
Sunday, April 8, 2012
Friday Fest, TC Palm, Ask the Candidates
Campaign supporters turned out for Friday Fest, Friday, April 6, 2012. It was a breezy, warm evening. Thanks for the great turnout!
TC Palm has a "Politics" page with questions and answers for area candidates. You can find the questions and my answers at http://elections.tcpalm.com/races/2012/general/fort-pierce-mayor.
Saturday, March 31, 2012
Empty Bowls at the Farmers' Market
Every year, I shop for Empty Bowls at the Downtown Farmers' Market of Fort Pierce, this year held on Saturday, March 31, 2012. Can you guess who's next to me? That's right, Debbie Hawley, St. Lucie County School Board member. Empty Bowls is one of my favorite special events at the Market. Art students create and decorate bowls, and sell them at the Market, with proceeds going to the Treasure Coast Food Bank to feed the hungry. Culinary arts students prepare soup for patrons who purchase bowls. The soups this year included breakfast soup, clam and corn chowder and carrot and ginger soup. Lots of fresh faces appear at the Market on Empty Bowls Day, including students, teachers and their parents. I love Empty Bowls Day! Thank you students and teachers for this great event.
Thursday, March 22, 2012
Zora Neale Hurston Library Opens
I attended the ribbon cutting ceremony of the opening of the remodeled and expanded Zora Neale Hurston Library, 3008 Avenue D. The library is now open for business Thursday and Saturday.
Monday, March 19, 2012
St. Patrick's Day
The South Hutchinson Island Western Peninsula charrette was well attended on Saturday, March 17, thanks to a number of people who called and emailed to business people and residents throughout St. Lucie County. The diverse group included 2012 candidates for a county and city offices. Six team leaders presented their reports and all teams called for some kind of development on the Western Peninsula, including residential, resort, recreation and ev
en a marine academy. Marcela Camblor of the Treasure Coast Regional Planning Agency is shown wrapping up the charrette, with the six conceptual drawings behind her on the wall. In the second picture, I'm leaving the Downtown Farmers' Market of Fort Pierce with my market bag loaded with healthy vegetables. Later in the day, I worked at the St. Patrick Day Festival for the Downtown Business Association (DBA).Friday, March 16, 2012
Public Meeting on Hutchinson Island Private and Public Property
The Western Peninsula of South Hutchinson Island has a privately owned parcel that's vacant and a public parcel now used as the FPUA's waste water treatment plant. The waste water plant should be moved in the future, but when and for how much is a big unknown. The vacant, privately-owned parcel was the location of the Causeway Trailer Park, until the 2004 hurricanes gave the city the opportunity to close it. The City of Fort Pierce has hired a consultant to host a public meeting to allow property owners, businesses and residents to provide input into what should happen there in the future.
Editorial: Participation critical for public design workshop on South Causeway in Fort Pierce
A workshop scheduled for Saturday will lead to potential goals for prime waterfront property in Fort Pierce
By Editorial Board
Friday, March 16, 2012
After four years of discussion and a year of negotiations, a public design workshop on the future of the western peninsula of Fort Pierce Beach will be held Saturday.
Major parts of the workshop — or "charrette" — are the potential uses on the south side of the peninsula for the privately owned parcel that was formerly the Causeway Mobile Home Park and for the waste treatment plant on the Indian River Lagoon owned by the Fort Pierce Utilities Authority. Other properties to the north on the peninsula will be included in the discussion.
Residents, property owners and city and St. Lucie County officials are urged to take part in the charrette from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the River Walk Center, formerly the Fort Pierce Community Center, at 600 N. Indian River Drive, Fort Pierce.
(Yes, it's appropriate to wear green in recognition of St. Patrick's Day.)
Some of the delay in scheduling the charrette was making sure property owners, businesses and residents, including seasonal residents, would be available. There was some delay, also, in determining funding for the event and follow-up.
This will not be an inexpensive exercise. City and county officials have agreed to split the $35,000 cost, which includes the charrette and a report on consensus recommendations, as well as maps and drawings of possible uses for the properties. Facilitating the workshop will be Marcela Camblor of Stuart, a former design specialist with the Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council. A report will be due in about three weeks.
The need to create a vision for the prime waterfront property became clear last year when Ashton DePeyster of Palm Beach, who owns the former mobile home park site, submitted plans to the state to build a marina on his property adjacent to the FPUA waste treatment plant. Residents and city officials have said they want an overall plan for the peninsula rather than piecemeal projects that could impact the overall future use. It's unlikely any of the properties can or will be developed to their full potential until the waste treatment plant is moved inland from its present site.
DePeyster and/or his representatives are expected to attend the workshop.
Leslie Olson, assistant planning director for the city who has been coordinating Saturday's charrette, said participants will be asked to develop, potentially, two sets of goals — one on their ultimate desires for the properties and one in which private investment might help financially in getting the waste treatment plant moved. The FPUA, she said, doesn't have the financial means at this time to fund the move inland.
It has been many years since Fort Pierce residents, business and property owners have had an opportunity to weigh in on the future of the western peninsula of the island. Officials have suggested such goals as a resort hotel and a convention center.
Considering the cost of this public design workshop and its role in developing a plan for the eventual use of the sites in connection with public and private partnerships, major participation from those with an interest in their future can be critical.
A few hours of discussion and drawing maps and buildings will likely have a significant impact.
editorial board
PUBLIC DESIGN WORKSHOP
Reason: To establish goals for waterfront properties on the western peninsula of Fort Pierce Beach
Date: Saturday, March 17
Time: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. (Participants may drop in and do not have to attend the entire session.)
Location: River Walk Center, 600 N. Indian River Drive, Fort Pierce
Friday, March 9, 2012
Will Fort Pierce Benefit from Recor's $6,000 course?
The City Manager says he'll stay in Fort Pierce to justify the commission's approval of his $6,000 two-week course to learn how to be a better city manager.
Recor says he learned from mistakes, wants to stay as Fort Pierce city manager
By Laurie K. Blandford
Friday, March 9, 2012
FORT PIERCE — City Manager David Recor, who nearly was fired last year and then put his name in the running for another job, said he's staying in Fort Pierce.
Recor withdrew his name this week from the list of six candidates chosen as finalists for a city manager position in Palm Beach County. He said it was to show commitment to his current job and give closure to worries he might leave shortly after city commissioners agreed to spend more than $6,000 of taxpayer money on training that would enhance his professional credentials.
"I do not intend to use the (institute) as a steppingstone to something else," Recor said on Tuesday. "I am happy in my current position."
He also said he's learned from his mistakes.
Mayor Bob Benton said he's glad Recor decided to withdraw from Boynton Beach's list of finalists and hopes the other commissioners have confidence in Recor.
"I'm glad things are working out because I have confidence in him," Benton said.
Commissioner Tom Perona said in an email he expects a 100 percent commitment from the city manager because it's the only way a local government can be effective.
Boynton Beach officials confirmed that Recor's name was withdrawn from consideration.
Recor said he always planned to withdraw his name from the running but was waiting to hear from Boynton Beach officials, who contacted him Monday afternoon about signing disclosure forms as a finalist for the position.
In September, Commissioner Eddie Becht asked for a vote of no confidence in Recor to be placed on the commission's agenda and then changed the agenda item to a vote on terminating Recor's contract, but commissioners voted 3-2 in October to keep Recor. Neither Becht nor Commissioner Rufus Alexander could be reached for comment this week.
Recor said when Boynton Beach reached out to him in October to apply for the city manager position, he agreed.
"We hit a bump in the road here in Fort Pierce, and my future was uncertain," Recor said. "Now, six months later, we're in a much different place."
Recor said he's staying because it's an exciting time in Fort Pierce, with progress on the city's strategic planning initiatives and construction on the city marina project.
He also received unanimous support from commissioners last month to attend the Senior Executive Institute at the University of Virginia's Colgate Darden School of Business in July and was accepted two weeks ago. In addition to the initial $6,000, Recor said he would use nearly $600 for his flight, mileage and meals from the remaining $2,000 designated for travel, education and conferences in the City Manager's Office budget.
Recor said the institute is a highly competitive learning opportunity with senior executives from across the nation. He said he's motivated by a challenge and driven by sense of accomplishment, and he plans to develop the city into a high-performance local government organization.
"Every day, my job as city manager here in Fort Pierce presents me with a new and exciting challenge, and that's what keeps me coming to work," Recor said. "Until my job gets boring (or) until there's not another challenge for me, I'm going to want to be the city manager in Fort Pierce."
Recor said he was flattered to be approached in February last year by Fort Lauderdale to apply for its city manager position and he considered it a compliment to have been selected as one of 12 finalists for that job. Recor said Boynton Beach recruited him because he had been recruited by Fort Lauderdale.
"That really not only put me on the radar for a lot of other executive recruiters, but it put Fort Pierce on the radar," Recor said.
Recor said staying in the city and taking himself off the job market wouldn't hurt him professionally because he faces constant challenges in the city.
Recor said he has demonstrated he can respond to constructive feedback from commissioners, referring to his plea to commissioners during the city's final budget hearing in September to raise the city's property tax rate to bring in the same amount of revenue as the city brought in the previous year — despite commissioners making it clear they wanted to keep the rate the same.
Recor said he learned from the experience and was reminded of his role — city managers provide information, options and alternatives while commissioners decide policy.
"It's never easy to admit when you make a mistake, but the first step in learning and growing and improving so you don't make the same mistake again is to acknowledge that you've made a mistake," Recor said. "I am not perfect, but the commission as a whole and I as city manager have moved forward over the last six months in a positive and productive manner."
Commissioner Reggie Sessions said he has confidence in Recor and hoped "this hardship might have strengthened him and matured him somehow." The average person would have "run for the hills," Sessions said.
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Fort Pierce Voters Could Make History
Will Fort Pierce voters elect city's first female or black mayor?
By Laurie K. Blandford
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
FORT PIERCE — Voters could make history in the city this year by electing its first black or first female mayor.
Although all other major cities across the Treasure Coast have had several female mayors, only one, Stuart, has elected black mayors.
Fort Pierce candidates Vince Gaskin, Christine Coke and Linda Hudson each said they would be honored to be the one to make history in the city come the November election, but all agreed race or gender shouldn't be the deciding factor for voters.
When looking back at more than 30 years of election history, the City Clerk's office found several black or female candidates for mayor. Joanne Correll ran in 1980. Charlie Frank Matthews ran in 1983. Havert Fenn, Sylvie Kramer and David Leigh Cook ran in 2003.
But none of them won.
As the only black candidate so far in this year's mayoral race, Gaskin said voters choosing a black mayor would show the city's progress regarding its racial divide.
"It's time to open the gates to show that we truly are equal," Gaskin said. "It would give a notion to younger people that if you try, then you can overcome obstacles."
Gaskin said blacks always believed they didn't have a chance. Now that the nation elected its first black president, Gaskin said blacks can believe the same opportunity exists on the local level of politics.
Candidate Hudson said the city electing its first black mayor or first female mayor would show it has come a long way. She said the election process is being opened up to people who never thought they had a shot.
"Now (the city) is ready for the next era," Hudson said. "Maybe, in a way, it might be long overdue."
Still, Hudson said it doesn't matter if the candidate elected is male or female, as long as the mayor elected has good business sense. She also said all genders and races don't vote alike.
Hudson admitted she didn't realize she could become the city's first female mayor until other people brought it to her attention.
"I don't think about gender as much as I think about doing a good job," Hudson said. "It's not like I'm going to have a feminist agenda."
As the other current female candidate for mayor, Coke said people told her they missed having a woman on the commission because it provides a different perspective, but she said people in general have different perspectives.
"It's a great thing," Coke said, "(but) I don't think really that gender has an awful lot to do with it."
Even though Coke was elected the first woman president of the Fort Pierce Kiwanis Club and the first woman lieutenant governor for the state club's District 16, she said she never has been active in women's liberation.
"I never set out to do any of those firsts for women," Coke said. "I think somebody should vote for the position of mayor, not by gender, but for somebody's commitment to their city and their community and the experience that they have."
Coke said it doesn't matter if the mayor elected is female or male or black or white. She said the election is about choosing someone would is well-rounded enough to represent the entire city.
"It would be wonderful to have a qualified woman as mayor or senator or governor or president," Coke said, "but I don't think that it should be decided based on gender."
Although the city's fourth candidate, J. Curtis Boyd, wouldn't qualify to be the first female or the first black mayor, he agreed the election is about the candidates and not their race or gender.
"I have an absolute open mind," Boyd said. "As long as the person that got elected did a good and fair and honest job, then their race or gender would be insignificant."
St. Lucie County League of Women Voters President Cathy Townsend-King said it's time Fort Pierce had its first female mayor.
"It would be a huge step," Townsend-King said. "We look at things differently than men. Personally, I feel that it would be a move in the right direction to finish bringing the city in to where we need to (be)."
Townsend-King said women can multitask and reason well, are affectionate and emotional beings, always want to seek good in people and are strong leaders. She noted Port St. Lucie's mayor is female.
"Putting a woman in office would speak volumes for the voters and the residents of the city," Townsend-King said. "That would be a huge milestone for (St. Lucie County)."
If the city were to have a black mayor, it could be a positive sign, said Eddie Whitfield, St. Lucie County chapter president for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
"It's wonderful that we have some qualified (black people) in the community to run for office," Whitfield said. "(But) it doesn't really matter if you're white or black, as long as you carry the agenda of the people that you represent."
Whitfield agreed black people haven't run for office because they didn't think they had a chance. Now he said black and young people are voting more because they are concerned about their city.
"Racism is still alive," Whitfield said, "but things have changed."
MAYORAL HISTORY
Only one Treasure Coast city has elected both black mayors and female mayors in its history:Stuart: Robert Hall in 1973, James Christie Jr. in 1985 and 2011, Joan Jefferson in 1981, Susan Hershey in 1995, Gene Rifkin in 2000, Carol Waxler in 2006, Mary Hutchinson in 2007
Port St. Lucie: Patricia Christensen in 2006, JoAnn Faiella in 2010
Vero Beach: Dorothy Cain in 1980 and 1983, Caroline Ginn in 1994, Sandra Bowden in 2000 and 2003, Mary Beth McDonald in 2005, Pilar Turner in 2011
Sebastian: Louise Cartwright in 1996, Ruth Sullivan in 1998, Martha Wininger in 1999, Andrea Coy in 2007
Source: Stuart, Port St. Lucie, Vero Beach and Sebastian city clerks' offices.
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Educating Recor
The commission approved city manager Recor's travel request for $6,000 to attend a two week seminar in Charlottesville, VA on the consent agenda February 6, 2012. The Commission should have aired his request, as well as Perona's, but did nothing but silently approve it.
No justifying Recor trip
■ Commissioners should not have OK’d city manager’s management course
An argument could be made to justify the expenditure of $2,500 in taxpayer money to send Fort Pierce Commissioner Tom Perona to the four-day American Public Power Association conference in Seattle in June.
Perona is the Fort Pierce Commission’s liaison with Florida Municipal Power Agency, the city’s electric utility provider. He previously attended association conferences as a board member of the Fort Pierce Utilities Authority.
Perona said sharing ideas with policy makers and utility professionals from across the nation at the conference will give the city “a perspective outside ourown littlefishbowl andkeepsus in linewith the latest utility trends, systems and solutions.”
Information obtained by the city commissioner could be of assistance to his fellow commissioners as they deal with utility system issues.
The $2,500 authorized for the trip by his fellow commissioners includes registration, airfare, hotel, mileage, parking and meals. Perona said he plans to pay 25 percent of the total cost.
Still, Seattle is a pretty long distance to travel to get whatever information is obtained.
Meanwhile, the approval by the Fort Pierce Commission to spend $6,000 to send City Manager David Recor to a two-week management course at the University of Virginia in July can in no way be justified.
And, that may not be the only cost to the taxpayers. The $6,000 to attend the Senior Executive Institute at the Darden School of Business includes registration, lodging, weekday meals and instruction material. It does not cover travel or weekend meals. Recor said he plans to pay for those items through his departmental travel and education budget, which does not require approval from commissioners. His total travel and education budget is $8,000.
Recor justified his attendance at the conference saying, “As the (city) continues to provide quality services with fewer and fewer resources, I hope to return with new tools and ideas to help craft a healthy, flexible, continuously improving, learning government organization and to be prepared to interact effectively and collaborate with our citizenry.”
It’s not just the cost of the course that’s galling, it’s the timing.
Recor has made no secret of his desire to leave the city manager’s position. Even now he’s being considered for a similar job inBoyntonBeach. And it was just a few months ago that Recor survived on a 3-2 vote a proposal to terminate his employment with the city of Fort Pierce.
Attending the management course in Virginia may look good on Recor’s resume, but would seem to do very little for the taxpayers footing the bill, especially if he leaves the city.
The public and city commissioners should demand that Recor reimburse the city for his trip to Virginia if he leaves city employment within two years. Otherwise, the money has been wasted.
And the fact that commissioners approved Recor’s application and expenses for the course indicates a lack of sensitivity to public opinion about the frugal use of taxpayer money, especially at a time the city (and its manager) is pleading poverty over declining property tax revenues.
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Honoring Black Pioneers
Thanks to Larry Lee, Jr. and others, black pioneers will be honored at the Fifth Annual history makers and awards banquet, Friday, February 24, 2012. at the Pelican Yacht Club in Fort Pierce.
St. Lucie's first black firefighter, once reviled by many, now honored
By Nicole Rodriguez
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
FORT PIERCE — Robert Lewis Sr., 69, remembers a tumultuous time in St. Lucie County in the 1960s when it was too dangerous for African Americans to walk downtown streets at night or fish alone on a pier.
Lewis also recalled how racial tension on the Treasure Coast was amplified in 1972 when he became the first black man hired by the county's fire department after a six-year battle for the job, a battle that garnered media attention.
"It was pretty rough in the beginning. Some of the men in the department who didn't want me there made it known by pulling pranks and telling little lies to get me fired," said Lewis, who spent 26 years with the department, including 13 years as a lieutenant. "We had a long, hard struggle getting something close to equality."
Lewis and 10 other local black pioneers also will be honored Friday night — including the county's first African American female firefighter, county administrator, black woman FM radio station owner and NASA administration executive — during the fifth annual Black History Makers Awards Ceremony at the Pelican Yacht Club.
Lewis said he is humbled to be in such great company.
"It's a great privilege. This doesn't come around all the time. It's one of the best things that's happened to me," said Lewis who added another special moment occurred in 1999 when St. Lucie County dedicated and named fire station 15 in his honor. "It's quite an honor to be recognized with this class of people. I'm overjoyed."
As African Americans began to gain civil rights, Lewis said he and his fellow firefighters became a tight-knit family. Lewis recalled some high points throughout his extensive career, including the day he and his team resuscitated a clinically dead man in a tomato field. The father of four and grandfather of 16, who's been married to his wife, Mary Elizabeth for 43 years, said he also witnessed miracles during emergency calls.
"During my reign as an EMT, I had the chance to deliver three babies in their homes," said the Virginia native and Air Force veteran who currently works for the City of Fort Pierce as a community transit bus driver, a position he's held for nine years. "One of the women even named their baby after me."
Honoring pioneers
Rev. Dr. Howard D. Coleman, Sr., community activist
Faye W. Outlaw, first African American county administrator
Mary Helen Butler, first African American department chair of cosmetology at Indian River State College
Alice Hoskins Lee, first African American woman FM radio station owner
Gloria J. Watkins Johnson, first African American finance director for Fort Pierce
Robert Earl Lewis Sr., first African American firefighter in county
Major Lillie R. Miller, first African American woman major and director of the St. Lucie County Jail
Remer Clifton Prince, first African American NASA executive
LaToya Young, First African American woman firefighter in county
Posthumous award recipients:
Frances Kay Sweet, community activist for education of black students
Leroy C. Floyd Sr., founder of Lincoln Junior College and first African American dean at Indian River State College
http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2012/feb/22/st-lucies-first-black-firefighter-once-reviled/?print=1
Thursday, February 16, 2012
St. Lucie County Schools
School Board member, Kathryn Hensley, and board media staff, Janice Karst, took me on a tour of Fort Pierce Central High School today. Located at 4101 S. 25th St, this is St. Lucie's newest school. I saw impressive evidence of just a few of the specialized career courses they have, including aeronautical/aviation, allied health sciences, culinary arts, and digital production. FP Central partners with Embry Riddle Aviation and Moore Solution Software Learning Centers to help students be prepared for careers. The picture, taken from the second floor open corridor, shows lunch time beginning, with the mural, "Pride Makes the Difference." FP Central Assistant Principal, Susie Seal, gave the tour, and gave me a button, "Celebrate the B," celebrating the school's state rating increase to grade B from grade D.
Some St. Lucie Public Schools Fast Facts You Should Know and Celebrate!
83% A or B Schools in St. Lucie County
Graduation rate increase 10 points over 10 years
70 cents of every dollar goes to the classroom, the second lowest Florida county school system in cost of administration
Kids At Hope county, the only one in the nation
Access St. Lucie County Public Schools here:
Monday, February 13, 2012
Highwaymen Artists Alfred Hair and son, Kelvin Hair
Highwaymen artist has work displayed at Florida Capitol for Black History Month | Photo Gallery
By Jan Lindsey
Monday, February 13, 2012
A couple of art shows are coming up, but second-generation Highwaymen artist Kelvin Hair doesn't have any work to show.
The 15 canvasses he might have contributed are instead going on display at the Florida Capitol through March 29. Gov. Rick Scott chose Hair's work to honor as part of Black History Month.
"I was floored," said Hair, who also is a lieutenant with the St. Lucie County Fire District.
Hair has been with the fire department for more than 25 years and oversees Station 2 on Seaway Drive on Hutchinson Island.
"To me it's a wonderful way to work helping people and being paid," Hair said. "When you have someone who has coded, which means you're clinically dead, and they (later) walk into the fire station with tears in their eyes and they say, 'You guys saved my life,' ... You walk away with a total respect for this job."
Hair's love of doing for others also is evident in the free art classes he provides for underprivileged children.
"I make more money selling my artwork than I would teaching a class," for pay, Hair said. But he gives his time in the hope it will help children build better lives or help them escape, at least for a moment, things that are unpleasant in their world.
Art also is an escape for him.
"Nothing else around you seems like it is there ... you get so involved in it," Hair said of painting.
The result of that focus are paintings, often of Florida flora, that Hair said he sells for about $5 a square inch. That price might stun his father, Alfred Hair, who — as one of the original Highwaymen — sold paintings for $25 or $30 dollars at the side of the road in the 1950s and '60s, a time when galleries and art shows were not open to black artists.
Even then, Alfred Hair made with one painting what a farmworker made in a week.
"The Highwaymen have gotten — in Florida — to be a household name," Hair said. "I am a very good artist, but I am where I am because my dad paved the way for me."
http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2012/feb/13/highwaymen-artist-has-work-displayed-at-florida/
Monday, February 6, 2012
Fort Pierce, St. Lucie Income, Joblessness, Schools
Fort Pierce Median Household Income $45,337
On Thursday, February 3, 2012, the Wall Street Journal reported that Fort Pierce median household income had decreased by 12.7 percent, from 2007 to 2010, the second largest decrease in the nation. Fort Pierce was tied for second with Flint, Michigan. Detroit Michigan decreased 11.6 percent. Albany, GA fell 11.5. Elkhart-Goshen Indiana decreased more than Fort Pierce at 13.6 percent.
St. Lucie Jobless Rate
In January of 2012, St. Lucie County's jobless rate fell to 11.9, down from 14 percent a year ago. Florida's jobless rate was 9.9 in January, down from its peak of 12 percent in December of 2010.
Unemployment Rate
| Unemployment | Dec. 2011 | Nov. 2011 | Dec. 2010 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Indian River | 11.4 | 12.0 | 13.7 |
| Martin | 9.8 | 10.3 | 11.6 |
| St. Lucie | 11.9 | 12.3 | 14.0 |
| Treasure Coast* | 11.2 | 11.7 | 13.3 |
| Florida** | 9.9 | 10.0 | 12.0 |
*Combined rate for three-county area
** Seasonally adjusted rate
http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2012/jan/20/treasure-coast-state-see-lowest-jobless-rates/
St. Lucie School Performance
In a February 6 article in TC Palm about poverty as an indicator of academic performance, St. Lucie County had a poverty rate of 60.5, and ranked # 42 for FCAT achievement and poverty rate. Scripps Treasure Coast Newspapers analyzed FCAT scores and poverty rates and found unsurprisingly that poverty is a strong predictor of student achievement.
HOW ST. LUCIE RIVER COUNTY SCHOOLS RANK
Elementary schools (1,795 in the state)
Rank.. School Name..... School Grade Points... Grade 2011.....% Free/reduced lunch rate
207... Morningside..................627........................A............................. 56
229... Frances K. Sweet..........624........................A..............................59
409... Floresta........................598....................... A..............................68
427... Fairlawn.......................596........................A..............................52
433... Rivers Edge..................595....................... B..............................64
610.... Savanna Ridge.............573........................A..............................72
666.... Mariposa......................567........................A..............................78
715.... Parkway.......................563........................A..............................79
849... Bayshore.....................550........................ A..............................68
872... White City....................548........................ A..............................92
899.... Village Green...............545.........................A..............................64
995.... Lawnwood...................536.........................A..............................84
1089.. St. Lucie.....................526......................... A..............................94
1200.. Windmill Point.............515.........................B...............................63
1314.. Weatherbee................503........................B................................94
1517.. Chester A. Moore........471........................C................................97
1568.. Lakewood Park...........461........................C................................82
Combination Elementary/Middle Schools (194 in the state)
Rank.. School Name...........School Grade Points..... Grade 2011........% Free/reduced lunch rate
36..... Palm Pointe (FAU charter)...608.................A................................51
57...... St. Lucie West K-8............. 580.................A................................62
63..... West Gate K-8................... 576.................A................................53
81...... Manatee Academy K-8....... 561.................A................................63
97...... Oak Hammock K-8.............540.................A................................59
100.... Allapattah Flats K-8............537.................A................................68
108.... Renaissance Charter..........530.................A................................ 42
125.... Northport K-8....................521.................B.................................75
151.... Nau Charter......................490.................C.................................48
161.... Fort Pierce Magnet K-8....... 469................C.................................78
170.... Samuel Gaines Academy.....444................C.................................92
174.... Dan McCarty..................... 438................C .................................94
Middle Schools (583 in the state)
Rank...School Name..........School Grade Points...Grade 2011......% Free/reduced lunch rate
207.... Southern Oaks..................563.................A..................................65
324.... Southport.........................530.................A..................................69
410.... Forest Grove.....................505.................B..................................82
Combination Schools (65 in state which includes high school elements)
Rank.. School Name..........School Grade Points....Grade 2011......% Free/reduced lunch rate
8....... Lincoln Park Academy .....1298....................A...............................39
High Schools (404 in state)
Rank...School Name...........School Grade Points......Grade 2011........% Free/reduced lunch rate
246.... Fort Pierce Central...........1089.......................B.............................72
276.... Treasure Coast.................1061.......................B.............................55
301.... St. Lucie West Centennial..1033......................B..............................51
351.... Port St. Lucie.....................975......................D..............................59
353.... Fort Pierce Westwood. ........974......................D..............................70
Florida Department of Education
http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2012/feb/05/poverty-strong-predictor-of-student-achievement/
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