The Idiotocracy In Tallahassee

My hands are shakin’ and my knees are weak. I’m so upset my words are much too black and the mood too bleak. And I’m so pissed off there’s not enough Ditropan in Spring Hill to stem the flow of steamy grief.

Three headlines on the front page of Tuesday’s Tampa Tribune announced ‘GM NOW IN BIG 4’… ‘Vast Atlantic deters search for lost jet’… and the one that momentarily got my interest was ‘Water bill mistakes not drops in bucket’ with the story continued on Page 6. But I never got there because on Page 5, the Metro section, the antithesis of responsibility headlined right before my eyes ‘Crist OKs bill to manage growth”.

It was no consolation whatsoever that just below the big black letters read ‘Critics say measure backed by business will only encourage urban sprawl’. Say what they may, it won’t change the result of the idiotocracy in Tallahassee.

As I stomped along the tile flooring toward the Dell, there was one dude who was surely in a Blaze of Glory. Mr. Politico of the Hernando County GOP had his wildest of dreams come true.

As the Trib’s Metro article read, “Critics said the exemption [from transportation concurrency] will force county commissioners to approve development in areas where roads are clogged”. You can bet your dwindling dollars that a certain number of the Hernando County Board of Commissioners is just as ecstatic as is everyone in the construction industry.

The commissioners might want to begin dialogue on meeting the future roadwork needs of the community. Never mind you people on lime rock roads, give up your cause to eliminate the dusty mucus clogging their nasal passages and the grit that lines the inside of your lungs. Wish you may, wish all you might, nothing good will come from the blight to follow the passage of Senate Bill 360 – a 360-degree circle of ineptitude.

Tweedledee and tweedledum and any other dumb-dumb in support of uncontrolled residential growth are probably rejoicing along with every contractor, subcontractor, real estate broker and real estate agent within the 37 miles east to west and 18 miles north to south that make up the 506 square miles (323,700 acres of land) within the confines of Hernando County.

“More than 300,000 residential units sit empty across Florida, 64,588 properties were in foreclosure last month, second only to Nevada, and real estate prices are still plummeting. State figures show that since 2007, permits have been granted for more than 630,000 new residential units and 480 million square feet of nonresidential space. In most cases the projects are still not built.” That was part of ‘All the News That’s Fit to Print’ in The New York Times on May 20.

In Hernando County, Hickory Hill, Sunrise and Like Hideaway subdivisions were given approval of over 10,000 housing units in 2007.

So now it’ll be up to taxpayers to foot the bill for the building of new and upgraded roads. You can be assured that come January 2011, just after the 2010 General Election, the three-penny Local Option Fuel Tax that was just voted down by the HCBOCC will be approved post haste. The estimated revenue of $1.8M will be desperately needed. Hopefully, the era of a paid county commission will soon come to an end and the savings of over $60,000 (plus benefits) per county commissioner can be redirected toward fulfilling the funding needs of the infrastructure. Any volunteers?

Where does that leave Florida Hometown Democracy, or has it already left the building of responsible, voter-approved growth all dried up in the empty water reservoirs throughout the state? In January I visited the official website just to see what’s up with the cause and found the initiative has a deadpan issue. Their efforts were, and are, needed but what are the chances of voter approval with fat-pocketed lobbyists ready to rehash the mistruths the first time around.

I can foam and froth and exhaust my fumes all day and all night but it’ll be for naught. The death of Florida’s natural wetlands, and the endangered species therein, is a forgone conclusion. The Southwest Florida Water Management District may as well hang up its soggy towel – it’ll dry up as quick as the water table of the Florida Aquifer.

Governor Crist’s bid for the U.S. Senate? Good luck with his efforts, but his signing of SB 360 creates a just cause for Marco Rubio to gain support to thwart Charlie’s seemingly assured nomination for the Republican Party.

The article on Ralph and Diana Salgado’s $21,600 bill for the 3.5 million gallons of water? I have not, and foresee no need to, flip to Page 6 to read more on the situation. It’s not important and the vision of my future in Florida is much too hazy.