Slats' Slants

It look as if Slats enjoyed his day off so much he decided to take another.

If you see him out and about in Seminole today, tell him to get back to work, which we expect him to do tomorrow (but then again, we expected him to be back today!).

If all goes as planned, Slats' blog will resume tomorrow. Wishes for a pleasant Sunday to all.

Following a hectic week, Slats is actually taking a well-deserved day off today, during which he will no doubt be contemplating the past week's events and those upcoming. Included among them: yesterday's start of the high school rezoning hearing, in which some Seminole County parents are alleging violations of the state's Sunshine laws for elected officials.

Slats' blog will return tomorrow.

Reports from attendees of this past Tuesday night's elections forum at the Supervisor of Elections office turned out to be much ado about nothing, despite the heightened sense of activity apparently felt by many of the participants.

Supervisor of Elections Mike Ertel invited 20 representatives from local political and community organizations to engage in a roundtable discussion of the elections process. Fortunately for the Supervisor, all participants were in agreement on most of the major issues.

Foremost among them was the issue of paper trails for paperless balloting, such as that conducted through touch-screen voting. Leaders of the local Republican and Democrat parties agreed that printers should be attached to the screens to provide a paper trail for verification of results.

That the two major local parties agreed was much more newsworthy than what they agreed upon. Their call for paper trails at the local level was in actuality a moot point, inasmuch as the printers cannot be used at the local level because the state of Florida does not allow it.

Secretary of State Glenda Hood and the legislature have not certified the use of the printers, even at local discretion. Thus, despite the agreement at Tuesday's forum that they are desirable, that opinion remains only an opinion and cannot be translated into action.

The agreement between the two major parties was also beneficial to Ertel, allowing him to escape any controversy that may have developed had serious partisan contention arisen over any of the discussed issues.

Ertel may use Tuesday night's exhibition of civility among participants and lack of disagreement as justification to continue holding his ill-advised forums, but the reality is the Supervisor of Elections was fortunate the event did not develop into an ugly debate of partisan disagreement.

Those who attended the forum and provided Slats with input generally expressed the opinion that the forum seemed to be little more than a public relations ploy by Ertel as he positions himself for a 2006 election run for the office, to which he was appointed by Governor Jeb Bush earlier this year following elected Supervisor Dennis Joyner's resignation due to health reasons.

If publicity was the Supervisor's goal, he was trumped by the performance of local Democrats.

The limited news coverage provided the event from the mainstream media included a continually run story on News13 that focused entirely on the efforts of Seminole Democrats to secure paper trails for touch-screen voting.

The Democrats have been vocal in their call for the paper trail in recent weeks, calling attention to the opposition to such by Governor Jeb Bush's administration and its Secretary of State Glenda Hood.

Statewide Republican opposition to the accountability the paper trails would provide is the major reason that local GOP leader Jim Stelling surprised some attendees of this past Tuesday's forum when he expressed full support for the idea.

News13's coverage of the forum barely mentioned Ertel or the Republicans, making it seem strictly a Democrat Party event. Other mainstream media ignored the event.

Despite the efforts of our Supervisor of Elections to accrue some positive publicity for himself through the creation of his "forum", the local Democrats largely stole his thunder as they continue to assert themselves and try to establish a presence in Seminole County.

It's the bottom of the 9th, the fourth quarter, the final remaining seconds of the third period, the last ten seconds of the 15th round. Use whatever sports metaphor you want, but it is down to almost the last play of the game for parents challenging the high school rezoning in Seminole County.

Tomorrow, Circuit Judge Debra Nelson will hear parents' allegations that the School Board violated Florida's Sunshine laws covering the activities that govern the activities of elected public officials.

If Nelson rules in the parents' favor, it becomes a whole new ballgame, and the rezoning process goes back to where it all began, basically starting the rezoning process anew. If Nelson rules against the parents, their only remaining hope is a pending appeal of an administrative judge's ruling in February that upheld the School Board's rezoning policy.

The action kicks off at 9:30 Friday morning, in Judge Debra Nelson's courtroom at the Seminole County courthouse.

One of the most commonly expressed frustrations Slats receives is dissatisfaction with coverage of Seminole County issues from the Orlando Sentinel.

As we have chronicled on past occasions, the Sentinel often fails in its coverage of local stories. Many newsworthy issues have not been covered at all, and those that have been covered have often received short shrift or been reported incorrectly.

There are some alternatives to fill the void, and if you have not yet given them a try, you should do so. The Sanford Herald publishes each Sunday and Wednesday, and provides coverage of many noteworthy stories that never rate a mention in the Sentinel.

If you are concerned with what is happening with your local government in Seminole County, including Sanford, Longwood and Lake Mary, the Herald is well worth the fifty cents cost per issue. If you have trouble finding it outside of the immediate Sanford area, mail subscriptions are available. For more information, call the Herald offices at 407-322-2611.

Those of you in Winter Springs and Oviedo who are looking for continuous coverage of your municipalities should be sure to check out the Seminole Chronicle. Editor Alex Babcock is the hardest-working member of the media in Seminole County, reminiscent of the days when a much-younger Slats was pounding the shoe leather against the pavements of the inner city.

The Chronicle publishes each Friday and is available free at many outlets in the Winter Springs and Oviedo areas. For more information, check out the Chronicle's website.

We told you earlier this week about the questionable wisdom of the interpartisan public forum being presented tonight by Seminole County interim appointed Supervisor of Elections Mike Ertel.

The forum is open to the public and starts at 7 PM at the Supervisor of Elections office at 1500 E Airport Boulevard in Sanford.

Ertel has dubbed the forum as Democracy 2012, leading to a rather obvious question: what about the seven years between the present and 2012? Are we not concerned with democracy in the present tense? What is so magical about the year 2012 that leads its specific designation for this forum?

We asked Mr. Ertel directly and received the following response:

Slats,

Great question.

If you read the tea leafs of elections, and look back at the pacing of things that have taken place since 2000, I feel that by 2012 we should have "settled-in" with most of the changes stemming from that cycle. 2012 is also a year in which redistricting will be in effect based on the 2010 census. That redistricting should be a political hot-button, and our office will have to implement whichever course of action is decided. I think after that issue is settled, and the changes that are still coming down due to HAVA (the Help America Vote Act), the state's move to centralize some of the aspects of elections, and the 2012 presidential election cycle is complete, we will be in less flux and, barring anything as significant as the 2000 election, finally be established in the new normal.

That's all well and good, but, to be honest, Slats has no idea what Ertel is trying to say, even after attempting to read the "tea leaves of elections." Perhaps it would be better to read between the lines, revealing the true meaning to possibly be that Mr. Ertel hopes to retain his present office at least as long as through 2012.

To do so would mean he would have to actually be elected in 2006 to the office he currently holds as an interim appointee of the Governor, a political favor he received earlier this year following the resignation of elected Supervisor Dennis Joyner due to health concerns.

Ertel would then have to also be elected to his first full term in 2008, which would carry him in the office through the year 2012. Ergo, Democracy 2012.

If you read the tea leaves of elections, tonight's forum may provide an indication as to whether Mr. Ertel will be successful in his quest.

Slats feels tonight's forum goes beyond the actual duties of the Supervisor of Elections position. Take a look at this past Sunday's column to learn why.

The Seminole County School Board will continue its pursuit of adopting revised rules and policies at its Tuesday afternoon meeting. The Board held its first public hearing on the revisions on June 7, at which time it revised certain proposed changes in response to public input.

Among revisions receiving further revision were the policies for the naming of schools. The Board had originally changed the policy from an extensive number of steps to a one-line statement that basically said the Board could do whatever it wanted on the matter.

However, at the June 7 public hearing, a member of the public became engaged in a give-and-take over the issue with Board Chairman Jeanne Morris, who apparently had a change of position as a result, leading to a rather convoluted series of actions at the end of the public hearing that confused board members as much as it did attending members of the public.

District 1 member Diane Bauer sought to remove the naming policy from the overall revisions, which were to be adopted en masse by the Board. Bauer wanted the naming issue to be voted on separately. Her desire to do so stemmed from Paul J. Hagerty High School being in her district, where a number of residents have engaged the Board in a longstanding battle over their having named the school for the former District school superintendent.

Bauer, however, did not want to propose any alternate policy for the naming of the schools. She simply wanted it to be voted on separately, so she could vote against it and tell her constituents she had done so. It was clear that Bauer fully expected the motion to carry despite her opposition, thus allowing her to claim she opposed it at the same time that it became policy.

Morris, however, threw a fly into the ointment when she would not vote for the proposed naming policy, at which point the entire hearing disintegrated into mass confusion. Board member Dede Schaffner was for the revised one-line policy and appeared to be nursing a grudge the entire evening against public input, undoubtedly as a result of the public pressure that has been applied to the School Board recently on several fronts.

Bauer at one point exclaimed, "Ned knows what I'm trying to do," referring to School Board attorney Ned Julian's apparent prior knowledge of Bauer's intended maneuver to get herself off the hook with her district's constituency while still getting the proposed policy passed.

No one anticipated Morris' change of heart over the issue, which led to the naming policy being tabled until a future meeting, at which time Morris expressed hope that the policy could be revised to everyone's satisfaction.

A special thanks goes to the Seminole resident, wishing to be known only as Felt Coat, who supplied Slats this weekend with a copy of the video tape of the Board's public hearing (and for those of you who may be wondering, no, we did not meet in the parking garage of Florida Hospital for the exchange of the tape).

Slats would be remiss to not state a bit of disappointment in the turnout from the public for the June 7 public hearing, at which only four members of the public provided their views on the proposed policy revisions.

The four included Ken Bowles, Robert Bethel, Fred Moore and George Curcio.

Moore, you may recall, is the Longwood engineer whose children were not affected by the recent high school rezoning but who has nonetheless since exemplified the meaning of community spirit and concern through his continued participation in School Board matters, all stemming from his initial dissatisfaction with the manner in which the high school rezoning was handled by the Board.

Given the history of the matter over the past year, and its focus on School Board application of its policy and procedure, it seems more members of the public would have attended the hearing to give input on the proposed revision of those policies and procedures.

The poor turnout casts some doubt on the parents' claims that they will hold the Board accountable in the 2006 elections for what transpired during the rezoning controversy.

His blog will resume tomorrow.

Happy Father's Day!

MAIL CALL

KL in Seminole County writes:

Slats,

I have come to rely upon you for coverage of the School Board not available anywhere else, so I am disappointed that you have not mentioned anything about the public hearing on School Board policies that was held several weeks ago. There was absolutely nothing in the paper about it, which I would expect, but it has surprised and disappointed me that there has also been absolutely nothing on your site, either. What gives?

Dear KL,

Mea culpa, but with a bit of an explanation. The night of the public hearing, June 7, found Slats sitting in traffic while trying to navigate back from an afternoon meeting in Tampa. As a result, my return to Seminole was delayed until later that evening, after the School Board hearing had concluded.

There are several persons upon whom Slats relies for information when not able to make it to events. Their credibility and accuracy is unquestioned. Unfortunately, none of them had attended the School Board hearing, either.

Several emails were sent from persons at the meeting mentioning what had transpired, but they contained conflicting and contradictory information on several points, diminishing the reliability of those reports and rendering them unusable.

Exacerbating the situation was the failure of Seminole Government Television to air a broadcast of the School Board hearing, even though it was taped and those in attendance were told that it would be aired. It is still an unanswered question as to why that decision was reversed and the hearing not shown.

My apologies for not having been able to report on the hearing as I would have liked, and for having disappointed KL and any others sharing KL's expressed disappointment. In response, please know that efforts will be made this weekend to ferret the information and relay it to you.

It has now been over one month since WFTV-Channel 9 ran a story detailing the abuse by Seminole County commissioners of personal privileges financed by public tax money.

Included in the story were details of calls and charges related to the cell phone of longtime commissioner Dick VanDerWeide, who asserted that the calls had not been placed by him and that certain roaming charges placing him in Tampa were not legitimate since he had not been in Tampa.

To date, despite repeated inquiries, Commissioner VanDerWeide has still not yet explained who placed the calls or incurred the roaming charges on his cell phone, which is paid for by taxpayer dollars.

We will continue to ask the Commissioner for an explanation until he provides one, and will continue to report to you his continued failure to do so.

As we have written previously:

Among the details noted were three phone calls placed from Commissioner Dick VanDerWeide's taxpayer-financed cell phone to a 1-800 number referring callers to a phone sex line at another number. Although there were no subsequent calls to the second number noted on VanDerWeide's bill, the commissioner was asked about the initial three calls to the 1-800 line.

VanDerWeide's response was that he did not make the calls, even though they appeared on his itemized bill. As proof, the 12-year member of the commission said he was also assessed roaming charges from Tampa on his bill, even though he said he had not been in Tampa.

Inasmuch as he is expected to be a watchdog of how public funds are spent, we thought for sure that VanDerWeide would look into the matter to determine why the public was being charged for expenses the commissioner said were not his.

Unfortunately, several inquiries to Commissioner VanDerWeide as to what he has learned have received no response. It seems the commissioner would be anxious to tell us and the public what he learned about this matter, since we may otherwise form the impression that he has failed to followup on the issue for one of two reasons.

The only conclusions to be drawn in the absence of any further explanation from Commissioner VanDerWeide are:

1) The calls and charges really were his and he hopes the issue will simply go away; or

2) Even though the calls and charges were not his, since they are being charged to the public rather than his personal expense, the commissioner really does not care why or how they were charged to his bill.

Either way, Slats is obviously very disappointed in the commissioner's silence on the issue, as should you and all his constituents.

To see the video of Commissioner VanDerWeide's denial that the calls and charges were his, click here.

The buzz around south Seminole all week has been this past Monday evening's Casselberry City Commission meeting. As has often been the case in the past, Mayor Bob Goff verbally tangled with Commissioner Susan Doerner on more than several occasions.

Indeed, the pair seem to be made for one another. Doerner exudes an attitude of unremitting cantankerousness during committee meetings. The diminutive commissioner wears a perpetual look of petulance and is obviously irked by the free-wheeling and opinionated Goff, and his "no holds barred" style of behavior.

At one point during Monday's meeting, Doerner's contempt clearly showed when she admonished Goff for his attempts to explain what he felt Doerner "meant" by one of her comments.

Goff, you might remember, said at the start of the year that he was taking a class on how to get along with difficult people because of Doerner's demeanor and comportment during commission meetings.

Apparently, the class has yielded some positive effect, at least judging by yesterday afternoon's meeting of the Joint City/County Advisory Committee. Goff and Doerner sit jointly on the Joint Committee as Casselberry's two representatives. While making a point during committee proceedings yesterday, Goff went out of his way to make sure everyone knew he was voicing strictly his own opinion, and that Susan could "speak for herself" on the matter.

Doerner appeared not to be impressed, her scowling countenance showing no change of expression at Goff's apparent extension of a fig leaf.

Colleague Darren Glaude in his column this week basically asserts that commuter rail will be a flop with residents of the central Florida counties it is supposed to serve, and he could very well be right. But Darren does not address one of the arguments that speaks most in favor of laying the track necessary to run the train from Volusia County through Orlando to Osceola.

Naysayers contend that mass transit only succeeds in areas where it is part of the "culture" of the area in which it exists. Since the Northeast has had mass transit for years, the argument goes, it is something with which residents are familiar for their entire lives, making them more apt to include it as part of their lifestyle.

Putting mass transit in areas without such tradition, the theory goes, is why it never achieves ridership levels high enough to allow it to become a profitable, or even near-profitable, venture.

This view is somewhat reinforced by the current approach taken by those seeking to build the commuter rail that will include Seminole on the trek from Volusia to Osceola. Government funds are being promised to subsidize the effort through its first few years, when, we are told, ridership will be low due to the train's newness and unfamiliarity to local residents, who will need some time to "take" to it.

But what if we are placing the wrong focus on what determines the success of commuter rail in central Florida? If we think people will abandon their personal autos in great numbers within the next few years so they can hop aboard, then Darren is most likely correct: the train will be a miserable failure.

It seems wholly unrealistic to expect the current adult population to leave their cars behind and replace them with the train for their daily commute. But what about the current youth? If their years of childhood and adolescence include commuter rail as a viable option for them to get around central Florida, might they not develop using it as a habit that will carry into their adult years?

It seems we are making the wrong argument in gauging short-term ridership levels as the measure of success for commuter rail. Perhaps a more realistic and productive view is one that projects a generation into the future, when roads and traffic congestion will surely be as vexing a problem as it is today, if not more so.

Even if we cannot get today's adult population to change their habits and forsake their autos for commuter rail, it seems it still holds merit for the future. To change tomorrow's habits, however, means changing circumstances today,

Who knows, maybe this could be the start of a return to American society of "deferred gratification." It would do us all well to recognize that benefits do not always have to accrue to those whose actions initiate their coming into being. Instead, we can worry about our kids and giving them a better future.

On that basis, Slats, as SCW's senior columnist, overrides Darren and says building the commuter rail definitely puts us on the right track!

Slats has a bit of egg on his face Monday afternoon after being told by a friend that emails had been returned due to a full mailbox.

Sure enough, Slats did a check and found out that somehow, the option to remove messages from my server had not been checked, causing messages to be retained on the server even after having been read and causing the rejection of subsequent messages, of which Slats was unaware.

If you sent an email and had it rejected, please send it again. The problem should now be resolved. And for future reference, should Slats lapse again in this matter, please make me aware that my mailbox is full by sending an email to our general address here.

Sorry for the confusion. That's what happens when you put an ink-and-paper guy into a high-tech world!!!

The Winter Springs City Commission tonight will deal with one of those issues that show why you must always keep on eye on what your government is doing, regardless of how trivial the subject may be.

The commission will hear the first reading of a proposed change to the city code, so as to allow property owners, by mutual written consent, to connect or otherwise attach their respective fences and walls in order to eliminate any gap or space between the fences or walls.

In other words, it will allow neighbors to join their fences at the property line, rather than leaving a six-inch gap as is now mandated by law. Current code requires that all fences, walls, and hedges must be at least three inches from property lines.

Rather than connect the two portions of fence or wall to eliminate gaps along a common property line, the owners must currently construct separate and distinct fences or walls adhering to the 3” setback requirement.

Construction of two separate and distinct fences or walls, both adhering to the 3” setback, creates an area between the two structures that is difficult to maintain.

The issue was first brought to the commission's attention on April 11, when resident Jeanne Walker expressed frustration with the current code and its preventing her from joining her fence to a neighbor's. She also complained of receiving conflicting and inconsistent information from city workers regarding the code.

At that meeting, City Manager Ron McLemore said the code's intent was to prevent fights between neighbors over who owned fences that were jointly attached, basically telling Ms. Walker that the code would stand as is. McLemore also said city employees would be better trained to be more well-versed in explaining the code to residents.

The issue was brought to the commission's attention at their May 23 commission meeting, by city resident Wendy Shiner. Commissioner Michael Blake's suggestion that the city revise the ordinance was supported by the other commissioners.

The result was a directive from the commissioners that the city attorney write a revision to the ordinance that allows property owners to connect their fences if they choose to do so. That revision is the subject of tonight's first reading and public hearing.

Incidentally, City Manager McLemore, who was so adamant in the past that the code remain as is, was not present at the May 23 meeting, at which commissioners took action to reverse his desire.

The Winter Springs City Commission is known for its reluctance to ever cross their city manager and not comply with his wishes, so it will be interesting to see how McLemore responds to having been reversed by the commission's going behind his back during his absence from their last meeting.

Oviedo voters will hopefully give a lot of thought and attention to some proposed changes in the city charter that were advanced last week by the Oviedo City Council.

The biggest change offered is one that was previously defeated when put to the voters in 2003. It calls for giving city council members four-year terms rather than two-year terms, and the reasoning behind it signifies a large portion of what is wrong with politics in modern-day America.

Simply put, city council members see the two-year terms as being too onerous in terms of campaigning for reelection. As explained by first-term member Jim Greer, elected officials spend too much time worrying about campaigning for reelection during their term in office, allowing less opportunity for them to tend to the public's interest.

Basically Greer is saying is the voters need to ensure officials have four years in office so they can actually focus on why they were voted there in the first place, rather than focusing on their personal desire to stay in office, malfeasance aside.

It's an interesting proposal: give council members four years in office so they can actually perform their duties during two of those years.

Obviously, Oviedo voters should be wary, given their council's history, of extending terms of office by any measure. It is the Oviedo council's contentious history that led to the measure being defeated two years ago and that will hopefully lead to its being voted down this time as well.

Greer has another interesting solution to voters' potential concern over losing control of their council if they grant the extended terms. Greer says along with the four-year terms, voters should have the option of also approving term limits of three successive terms for council members.

To Greer's way of thinking, a limit of 12 years of service for a council member is an adequate tradeoff for voters giving up their right to choose their officials every two years. Given Oviedo's history, any council member capable of winning three successive four-year terms, and 12 years in office, would clearly have no trouble winning six two-year terms. Thus, neither of the changes is necessary.

Oviedo residents will have a chance to address the changes mentioned above and others in a series of public hearings leading up to a September 6 vote at the polls.

Councilman Greer and others need to remember they are elected to office, for whatever term, to conduct the public's business and serve the public's interest, rather than their own. If a two-year term causes a council member to be unresponsive to those obligations of office simply because they are too preoccupied with reelection, that is all the more reason to get them out after two years. It is certainly not a proper reason to extend their terms to four years.

Hopefully, when this matter comes before the Oviedo voters on September 6, they will remind Greer and the other council members that the proper focus of council members is to perform their duties diligently and responsibly from the moment of their election till the end of their term in office, regardless of its length.

Anything less is a shortcoming not of the electoral process but of the person holding the office. The focus is supposed to be on public service, not private interest, and voters need to remind their officials of that whenever necessary.

Oviedo City Councilman Jim Greer has been the driving force behind his city's recent passage of the ordinance limiting where sexual offenders can live.

Greer made an appearance on this morning's Flashpoint on WKMG-Channel 6 to discuss the issue as part of a roundtable, and Slats must express sincere disappointment in what the councilman had to say, and even more so in what he failed to say.

Throughout the program, Greer had several opportunities to explain how the ordinance would actually make children safer by prohibiting sexual offenders from living within 2,500 feet of day-care centers, parks, churches, schools, playgrounds and libraries.

The concern among those who actually deal with these issues day to day centers primarily around the realities of mobility within our society as well as driving offenders underground in response to restrictive limits such as those enacted by Oviedo.

Offenders cannot be kept off the streets of Oviedo, regardless of where they live, nor can they be tracked and monitored if they fail to register their whereabouts with authorities, which is prone to happen in response to restrictions such as those now being applied in Oviedo.

It is interesting to note that in the most recent and horrific cases, which have prompted the sincere concern leading to actions such as those of the Oviedo City Council, the offenders were living "under the radar" by not having notified authorities of their whereabouts.

Thus it would not have mattered how many laws were in place prohibiting them from living within certain distances of specific institutions. Ironically, the actions of those offenders beget those of the Oviedo City Council while at the same time clearly demonstrating the shortcomings of Oviedo's alleged "solution."

Near program's end, Greer was asked to explain how Oviedo's law actually made children safer, rather than simply amounting to political grandstanding as a demonstration of how "tough" the city was on crime and sexual offenders. Unfortunately, Greer's response was entirely lacking. All the councilman could offer was that citizens expected government to do certain things to protect them and that is what Oviedo has done.

Again, the most important question of how this law actually protects citizens was left unanswered by Greer, who failed several times to satisfy that question, obviously because the law provides no true additional protection to the community.

Without casting opinion on the sincerity behind the actions of the Oviedo City Council, inasmuch as its members may truly believe they have done something constructive, that their actions will ultimately worsen this situation is a consideration they have completely and aggressively ignored. That is as scary as anything else connected to this issue.

BTW, the best comment on the issue was made by an anonymous poster in response to yesterday's blog entry. The poster stated:

We need to stop looking at treatment as something we are doing for the offenders and realize it is something we need to provide to protect our children.

That summarizes well a large part of the problem here. Many of those who support ordinances such as those passed by Oviedo also oppose any offer of treatment for past convicted sexual offenders, equating treatment with being "soft" on the issue while equating ordinances like Oviedo's with being "tough" on the offenders. U. S. Rep. Ric Keller of neighboring Orange County made comments to such effect earlier this week.

The reality, though, is exactly as stated by the reader who posted that comment: treatment does greatly reduce the rates and chances of repeated offense by sexual offenders.

If we really want to protect our kids, we need to focus on treatment of offenders as a way to help do so. Providing such treatment is not something that makes us soft on offenders. It is something that makes us responsible in protecting our children.

Slats has told you before how Oviedo is much like a more cosmopolitan version of Longwood in terms of their city commissions. Despite the surface differences in appearances of sophistication and finesse, commissioners in both cities have a long history of intramural feuding, fussing and fighting.

Slats has also never been hesitant to point out their deficiencies, especially in Longwood, which is much akin to Green Acres in the style and substance of their meetings. In fact, Arnold Ziffle always occupies a front-row seat as the Longwood City Commission conducts its business, and is often most appreciated when sitting there fat and happy and keeping his snout from going where it does not belong.

This week, Slats is happy to report that Longwood's commissioners one-upped their country cousins through the application of good ol' common sense and plain sensibility. In fact, three of Longwood's five commissioners actually went on record in doing so.

Thus, to show that Slats can give credit where it is due, it is time to give a tip of the hat to Mayor Butch Bundy and Commissioners Dan Anderson and Brian Sackett. At this week's meeting, they each separately addressed the recent passing of Oviedo's child offender ordinance, applying a much-needed dose of collective country wisdom to the issue.

Referring to Oviedo's ordinance as the knee-jerk, "sounds good but really does nothing" action that it is, the three commissioners spoke of the need for a countywide consensus on how to deal with the issue, but only after giving it serious study and seeking sensible solutions that actually address the problem.

Their comments echoed those of departing Casselberry City Manager Frank Clifton from several weeks ago, and provided a much welcome alternative to Oviedo's feel-good pretension of having done something while actually having accomplished nothing, other than possibly starting a domino effect of such legislation that could actually drive offenders underground and make them more difficult to track.

To the good ol' boys of Longwood goes a rare but well-deserved "well done."

Much to Slats' surprise and delight, a reader yesterday posted a blog comment in which reference was made to I. F. Stone. Slats is going to presume that many of you do not know the name, or its significance, and that is why it was so delightful for a reader to have not only posted a reference to, but also a quote from, I. F. Stone.

Stone was an independent journalist who published his own newsletter for over 20 years, starting in 1953, until ill health prevented him from continuing. Stone was a muckraker who questioned all that government did, giving careful scrutinization to the actions of those holding our nation's electoral power.

For the most part, he did it by scouring the daily papers and seeing significance when others overlooked it. A small paragraph of an item, buried on an inside page and given only several sentences, would set Stone digging into government documents and records until he emerged with a gem of a story worthy of front page attention.

Stone was one of the first journalists to alert the nation to the dangers of Joe McCarthy's outlandish witch hunts, and was also one of the first to seriously question the government's veracity regarding what was alleged to have happened in the Gulf of Tonkin.

Stone used the government's own words and actions to build his case against it. He did the same with the politicians and bureaucrats who held the various positions within government and thus actually comprised it.

Stone's enthralling work had lapsed from memory in recent years, despite its enthralling nature to a much younger Slats several decades ago. Until reading the quote as posted yesterday from a reader of this blog, it had not occurred to Slats just how much of an influence I.F. Stone has been, for his style is one that has subconsciously been emulated here.

In trying to raise awareness of what your government leaders in Seminole County are doing with the power you have given them, attempts have been made to include as many direct quotations from them and direct references to their actions as has been possible.

All of that, it is now realized, comes from the subtle lingering influence and effect of having read I. F. Stone's work so many years ago.

A special "thank you" and a tip of the hat to Tuscawillan, the reader who yesterday posted the comment that included the quote from Stone. And thank you, too, to I. F. Stone, 16 years after his death, for inspiring us still.

Somewhere around here, likely in a box obscured under others, is a copy of a little paperback book, several decades old, called the I. F. Stone Weekly Reader.

The rest of tonight will be spent seeking to locate it, in the hope it can be enjoyed it while drifting off into an early-morning slumber. That, of course, begets an even more fervent hope that doing so does not inspire any somnolent visions of Carlton Henley, Butch Bundy or Lee Constantine, but it is a risk well worth taking.

The Seminole Democrats continue to realign their leadership, announcing they have selected a new Vice-Chair to replace Carol Cox, who has moved to the helm of their party as Chair. The Dems announced they have elected George Curcio as their second-in-command and from the emails and communication the party and its members have sent Slats, they seem pretty excited about it.

For the rest of Seminole, however, outside of the Democratic Party, this is essentially a non-event. The question remains as to whether the Democrats are capable of their claim to finally mount a serious challenge to Republican dominance here. Those of us who have been around Seminole a while have heard these claims before, yet they have unfortunately failed to materialize.

As we have said before, if the Democrats can mount a legitimate challenge, the county's voters will benefit, theoretically at least, from the heightened competition at the polls. Keeping it in perspective, though, one only has to remember that others were writing similar comments a decade ago, such as Don Boyett in the Orlando Sentinel.

In a 1996 column, Boyett wrote:

It's not good that the electoral power is concentrated in the hands of one group.

Worse, it is not good for government. Hey, it's not even good for Republicans.

Why is there this imbalance of party power?

There was a time in this county when the same situation existed in reverse. But that was when the South was solid Democrat. When being a Democrat was more tradition than philosophy. When people registered Democrat just to have a vote.

Perhaps it is because so many Democrats around here are only lukewarm Democrats. Or is it that the national party has left them, philosophically speaking?

At least part of the reason is poor leadership in the local Democrat Party.

I had hoped Seminole Democrats . . . would rise above the mediocrity that has for so long characterized them.

Here we are, almost a decade later, and the same still applies, including the poor leadership that has continued in the local Democrat Party.

So the Democrats now again have new leadership. Will this be simply the continuation of their long-term trend, or an actual new beginning for the party? Will they solve this puzzle or continue to be mystified by it?

Those of us who would like truly competitive elections in Seminole are keeping our fingers crossed. But at the same time, we are certainly not holding our breath.

First: Gas Bag downs the gas tax

As expected, Seminole County commissioners yesterday voted 3-2 against the proposed one-cent increase in the county fuel tax. The increase would have provided a dedicated funding source for transportation for handicapped residents of Seminole County, rather than leaving them dependent upon the annual whims of commissioners as to whether to fund their transportation.

It also would have allowed the commission to take a proper leadership role in solving the annual vexing problem that develops over the transit funding each year.

Most importantly, it would have allowed the County Commission to keep its word to the cities within Seminole that a dedicated funding source would be secured for the transportation.

Seminole's seven municipalities have been contributing to the funding over the last several years, with the understanding that the County Commission would come up with a dedicated means of funding so the issue would not have to be revisited yearly, and so that handicapped residents could rest assured that the transportation on which they rely would always be available.

Thus, considering the integrity of the county commission was at stake, it is no surprise that Commissioners Dick "Gas Bag" VanDerWeide and Brenda Carey opposed the tax as a source of permanent funding, leaving the vote one short of the four "yeas" needed for commissioners to pass the tax.

Carey and VanDerWeide voted against the motion even though it would not have raised taxes overall within the county. As presented, the motion would have raised the gax tax by a penny while reducing taxes in the general fund by an amount equal to that generated by the gas tax. The tax would have been revenue neutral.

Thus, in essence, rather than voting against a tax increase, as Carey and VanDerWeide will present their vote, the two commissioners were actually voting only to deny a dedicated source of funding for handicapped residents of the county. In short, they refused to commit to provide a service that is much needed by many residents whose daily lives are dependent upon it to get to medical and other appointments.

In an ultimate irony, VanDerWeide and Carey once again preened and postured themselves as opposing the tax in an effort to protect the public trust.

Of course, VanDerWeide is the one who recently was shown on local television news as being indignantly resentful that his county cell phone bill was being questioned for its excessive charges at public expense. He is also the one who filed a reimbursement claim for 29 cents after having driven one mile on public business.

And, yes, VanDerWeide is also the one who fought with County Clerk Mary Ann Morse about being reimbursed for travel expenses to Europe several years ago, demanding he receive money for expenses despite his failure to provide adequate documentation in the form of receipts.

VanDerWeide went as far as to sue Morse for the $1,080 he said he was owed. He eventually dropped the case, but not until the County Clerk's legal defense bills had exceeded $20,000 that came from county funds at taxpayers' expense.

As for Carey, she, too, was featured prominently on the nightly news in the not-so-recent past, cavorting about Las Vegas as a guest of special interests seeking to affect policy while a member of the Lynx transit board that had travelled there at public expense. Board members were videotaped drinking and gambling during the time they were supposed to be attending transit conferences. The trip cost the public $22,000 for the travel expenses of the board members, who then shirked their public duty to have some personal good times instead.

It now seems clear what VanDerWeide and Carey meant when they opposed the dedicated funding because it took away "flexibility" and reduced commissioners' discretion in setting the county budget.

After all, if we dedicated funding to the needs of handicapped residents of the county, it would leave less discretionary spending for the perks and privileges enjoyed by our elected officials, such as commissioners VanDerWeide and Carey, who sacrifice themselves to the performance of "public service" at a salary of only $74,000 per year.

Now if we could only find out who used Commissioner VanDerWeide's phone to call a 1-800 line promoting phone sex, and to rack up roaming charges in Tampa when the commissioner says he has never even been to that city. We're still waiting for the commissioner to tell us what his investigation into those incidents has revealed.

(A personal tip of the hat to the reader who first used referred to Commissioner VanDerWeide as "gasbag" in a comment posted to the blog. It is especially apropos for obvious reasons, and also for the commissioner's opposition to this particular tax. Hope you don't mind that Slats picked up on your lead!!!)

Second: School Board sets policy to suit itself

The Seminole County School Board will go through the pretense of a public hearing this afternoon before voting to adopt proposed revisions to its policies and procedures.

The changes will give the School Board virtual autonomy and no public accountability regarding the manner in which it conducts its business. The changes come after a tumultuous year for the School Board, which has evidently tired of being taken to task for violating its own policies and procedures.

When policy is violated, one of two things can happen. The offending party, in this case the School Board, can modify its behavior and bring it in line with policy. Or the offending party, in this case the School Board, can modify its rules so that its transgressive behavior is suddenly made legitimate.

As would be expected from Jeanne Morris' gang of grandmotherly grifters, this School Board has chosen to modify its rules rather than its behavior.

To witness the hijacking of democracy, be at School Board chambers this afternoon beginning at 5:30 PM. Hopefully, parents and residents from Seminole will not let their rights be taken away without making their views be known during the public hearing portion of the meeting.

A rare opportunity exists for county politicos to score some points at Slats' expense, so, as is usually the case, Slats is going to get out in front of this one and share the details with you.

As we told you several days ago, there has been a great deal of question and confusion surrounding the newly-formed Joint Advisory committee in Seminole County that is supposed to explore consolidation of services between cities and the county. The committee is also known as the Henley committee, since it was formed under the auspices of County Commission Chairman Carlton Henley.

Henley has cobbled together a coalition of 23 members, drawn largely from the city commissions of Seminole County's seven municipalities, including two city commissioners from each, as well as two county commissioners. The remainder of the committee is rounded out largely by representatives of the business community.

As we have already detailed, the question comes down to whether Florida's Sunshine laws apply to the proceedings of the Henley committee. Sunshine laws are intended to protect the public's right to know about the activities of their elected officials and to keep elected officials from conducting their government business in private. In short, they must operate "in the sunshine."

Chairman Henley contends that because it is an advisory committee, it does not fall under the purview of the Sunshine laws. Slats says that is not so, and that Commissioner Henley is 100 percent incorrect. The Sunshine laws most definitely do apply to the Henley committee.

Word is that Longwood City Attorney Richard Taylor will be requesting an opinion from State Attorney General Charlie Crist on the matter. Remember that Slats told it to you first: Crist will come back with a statement saying the Sunshine laws most definitely do apply to Henley's committee.

At that time, the Chairman will be invited to eat my hat . . . publicly, of course, and in the sunshine.

It has been three weeks since WFTV-Channel 9 ran a story detailing the abuse by Seminole County commissioners of personal privileges financed by public tax money.

Among the details noted were three phone calls placed from Commissioner Dick VanDerWeide's taxpayer-financed cell phone to a 1-800 number referring callers to a phone sex line at another number. Although there were no subsequent calls to the second number noted on VanDerWeide's bill, the commissioner was asked about the initial three calls to the 1-800 line.

VanDerWeide's response was that he did not make the calls, even though they appeared on his itemized bill. As proof, the 12-year member of the commission said he was also assessed roaming charges from Tampa on his bill, even though he said he had not been in Tampa.

Inasmuch as he is expected to be a watchdog of how public funds are spent, we thought for sure that VanDerWeide would look into the matter to determine why the public was being charged for expenses the commissioner said were not his.

Unfortunately, several inquiries to Commissioner VanDerWeide as to what he has learned have received no response. It seems the commissioner would be anxious to tell us and the public what he learned about this matter, since we may otherwise form the impression that he has failed to followup on the issue for one of two reasons.

The only conclusions to be drawn in the absence of any further explanation from Commissioner VanDerWeide are:

1) The calls and charges really were his and he hopes the issue will simply go away; or

2) Even though the calls and charges were not his, since they are being charged to the public rather than his personal expense, the commissioner really does not care why or how they were charged to his bill.

Either way, Slats is obviously very disappointed in the commissioner's silence on the issue, as should you and all his constituents.

To see the video of Commissioner VanDerWeide's denial that the calls and charges were his, click here.

The Joint Advisory Committee between cities and counties that has been put together by County Commission Chairman Carlton Henley has raised some questions about possible violations of the Sunshine law as they conduct their business.

The committee consists of two representatives from each of the local governmental bodies, including the county and its seven cities, as well as members of the business community. Their focus is to determine areas where services between the cities and county duplicate one another, and whether consolidating those services is mutually agreeable to all concerned.

Before they get that far, however, all involved need to agree on exactly what they are and what they are doing. The county position is that the committee exists as a strictly informal body that is not an official group or board, while some municipalities see it a bit differently.

After the group held their first meeting several weeks ago, County attorney Robert McMillan recently told county commissioners they had best determine exactly what the Joint Advisory Committee, also known as the Henley Committee, actually is.

Casselberry City Attorney Catherine D. Reischmann has had several exchanges with McMillan over the matter, fearing exposure to Sunshine law violations for unwitting representatives from the Casselberry administration who are members of the Joint Committee.

The Sunshine law requires that meetings of boards or commissions must be open to the public, that reasonable notice of such meetings must be given, minutes of the meeting must be taken. The law, in essence, is applicable to any gathering, whether formal or casual, of two or more members of the same board or commission to discuss some matter on which foreseeable action will be taken by the public board or commission.

The confusion is over whether the Joint Advisory Committee is an informal board, as the county asserts, or a formal committee, which some of the municipalities believe.

McMillan told county commissioners his understanding is the Joint Committee "is not a formal county advisory board, it is not a formal city advisory board, it's basically a private ad-hoc committee of community leaders that in and of itself is not subject to the Sunshine.

"The fact that there are two commissioners from our board (of county commissioners) on it and two from each city means that it has to be posted because under the Sunshine law it is basically a meeting of each one of those governing bodies because more than one member of each of those commissions is going to be there, so it has to be posted.

"But the advisory group itself is not a Sunshine committee. So that the issue of mayors and managers (of each city), from my view, is not affected, because any two members of the committee that the Chairman has put together or that came out of the mayors and managers could talk to each other but for the fact that they sit on the same governing body."

McMillan noted that Reischmann, the Casselberry city attorney, says "that's not some of the understanding of some of the cities. In the city of Casselberry, for instance, she has indicated that at their meetings, it has been opined that they have delegated some authority to their members on this committee and it is some kind of an official city committee."

McMillan told the county commissioners that development as some have suggested of "an interlocal agreement between the cities and the county, defining what the scope of this (Joint Advisory) committee was so that they could discuss anything else among themselves . . . once you do that you make it a formal committee and nobody could talk to anybody about anything, in any forum."

The Joint Advisory Committee's next meeting is scheduled for June 15, before which McMillan hopes this whole issue is clarified, "so that there is no question that this committee is a private committee and that the only reason it is being posted is the same reason why we post homeowners' association meetings when more than one commissioner is going to be there. We put a notice out that says two or more members of the board may attend so the public needs to know that because it's construed as a meeting of the board under the Sunshine law. I hope to reach some kind of consensus rather than us opining it's not (a formal committee) and some of the cities believing it is, and then creating those problems."

As with true with much of what happens when the governments of Seminole County and its municipalities are involved, this whole situation simultaneously makes perfect sense and no sense, and truly is a riddle wrapped in an enigma over the simple question of who can talk to whom.

Until this is decided, it seems best to do as a variation of the old song would advise and wait till the sun shines, Henley.

Whenever Slats hears a candidate for office bellow that we must run government "like a business," the response is to cringe as if hearing the sound of fingernails on a blackboard. Government is not a business, and, if anything, should be run as a model for business, with an emphasis on proper moral behavior and ethical conduct.

Based on this week's release of the Seminole County School Board's proposed policy changes, their view of the proper way to run government is totally lacking of any such concern for ethical and moral behavior (a lesson for the three remaining Seminole residents who were still clinging to that hope in regards to Jeanne Morris' gang of grandmotherly grifters).

Looking through the proposed policy changes presented by the School Board for their upcoming June 7 public hearing brought back shades of General Motors in the mid-1960s.

Back then, the automaker was failing to meet its quality standards, a fault to which they applied the best of business acumen.

Rather than improving the product, they lowered the standard, and just like that, their problem was solved.

At least, it was solved until the marketplace soon caught up with them and threatened their very existence before real corrective changes eventually were developed.

The School Board obviously sees the root of all their recent problems as having stemmed from their stated policies and procedures. Rather than correcting their behavior, seen by so many as being unethical and immoral, the School Board has come up with a simple answer: gut the policies and procedures, removing all detail they may currently possess, and revise them to state that "The School Board can do what it wants."

That is basically how the revisions read. In fact, old Slats was a bit confused when first taking a look at the proposed revisions, thinking the Board had instead provided a bare-bones template rather than a finished product.

Take a look for yourself. You can view the proposed policy revisions online or download a copy for safe keeping.

Keeping in mind that these are the policies and procedures that will govern future School Board conduct, you should also make some notes and plan to be at the public hearing on Tuesday, June 7.

Just as GM was only buying time with their revamping of quality standards, the School Board seems to be nurturing a similar hope. Rather than correcting their own deficiencies and abiding by their own policies, the School Board has decided to further consolidate their power to eliminate even the perception of having to answer to the public they are presumed to serve.

As GM learned, however, the marketplace eventually makes the final determination of success. When election time comes in the fall of 2006, each of the incumbents will realize just what a hard a sell they have. The way they run the government, or at least their portion of it, is in the end everybody's business.

The proposed policy changes for the Seminole County Public Schools District are now available for viewing here at Seminole County Watch.

The School Board will hold a public hearing on the proposed changes this Tuesday, June 7, beginning at 5:30 PM in School Board chambers at the Educational Support Center, 400 E Lake Mary Blvd. in Sanford.

It will be interesting to see what happens between now and the time Seminole County commissioners actually vote on the penny increase in the fuel tax. The vote requires support from four of the five commissioners to pass, and, as it stands now, it is one vote short.

Commissioners Carlton Henley and Randy Morris are firmly behind the one-cent increase, which is sought to provide a dedicated funding source for handicapped transportation within the county. Commissioners Brenda Carey and Dick VanDerWeide are firmly against the increase.

In the middle is Bob Dallari, who tells us that although he still undecided, "I am leaning toward voting for the gas tax. This additional funding source would be earmarked for the elderly and paratransit, and not for the general LYNX ridership. The information provided to me so far indicates an approximate cost of $19 annually for the average gas consumer. There has also been some discussion of making this a flat tax by addressing the roll-back rate in the General Fund."

Dallari's reference in the last line refers to an offer made by Morris during the Board's last meeting, in an effort to allay the fears held by Carey and VanDerWeide of a tax increase. Morris offered to find a way to offset the gasoline tax increase by an equal amount in general tax revenues, essentially making the tax revenue neutral while at the same time establishing a dedicated funding source for the transportation of handicapped persons to whom such service is essential.

Morris essentially cut the legs out from under the opposition to the tax held by Carey and VanDerWeide, and it will be interesting to see where things go from here. During his 12 years on the commission, VanDerWeide has developed a reputation as a shrewd and ruthless political manipulator, leaving open the question of whether he has any tricks up his sleeve to counter Morris' offer.

Of course, the question then becomes why VanDerWeide would be opposed to a tax that would be revenue neutral. His initial protest was that the tax would have to be passed before the offset could be enacted, thereby raising fears of the general fund reduction not actually happening despite the promise of the quid-pro-quo.

The lesson there is that when you play the game as VanDerWeide does, you assume everyone else is capable of the same behavior as is one's own self.

The public hearing for the tax increase is this Monday, June 6, starting at 4:00 PM in County Commission chambers.

You can review the proposed ordinance online.

They did it again yesterday over at School Board Central, creating chaos where none need exist.

The Seminole County Public Schools published a notice of public hearing in this past Sunday's Orlando Sentinel. The notice advised county residents that the School Board would hold the public hearing prior to its June 7 meeting.

The focus of the hearing is a massive overhaul of School District policy and procedures, which have been at the crux of recent controversies over high school rezoning and the naming of Hagerty High School.

Given the history of those two controversies and the continuing tumult and uproar stemming from them, common sense would dictate the School Board would do all it could to accommodate public review of the proposed changes before the hearing and its allowance for public input.

But this is the Seminole County School District, and the rules are obviously different here. Included in the announcement of the public hearing was the following statement:

A copy of the proposed new and revised policies and the policies recommended for repeal that will be considered by the School Board at that time may be obtained from Marcia Duffey, Deputy Clerk to the School Board, telephone 407/320-0006.

Lo and behold, some interested county residents did just that, calling Ms. Duffey first thing Tuesday morning to inquire about acquiring a copy of the proposed changes.

Ms. Duffey informed them that if they came to School Board headquarters and paid a $30 fee on Tuesday morning, the document would be sent to the printers. Once the document was prepared and printed, it would be available to be picked up.

Here's the kicker: Although Ms. Duffey said she thought the printing would take a couple of days, she said there was no guarantee that it would be ready before the date of the hearing on June 7th, let alone prior to then to allow for review.

As recounted by one of those who made the request, Ms. Duffey "seemed sort of irritated" and referred the requester to speak with School Board attorney Ned Julian. "Mr. Julian said the document is 10 inches high, and the revisions were done by an outside consulting company that specializes in School Board Policy development. The policy revisions were presented to the School Board in a work session, where they decided to hold the public hearing on June 7."

Obvious questions arose, including

• How could the School Board advertise a public hearing for public input on policy revisions and then not ensure availability of the proposed revisions to the public prior to the hearing?
• In this day and age, why could the documents not be made available on the School Board website or in other electronic form?
• Even more importantly, why did the School Board not perceive that this would be an issue?
  

The requester summarized the situation very succinctly in a email fired off to local media:

Considering its recent track record of missteps, I would think that the School Board would stumble all over itself to be more open and honest with the residents of Seminole County. Certainly the proposed policy revisions are already in some electronic format and thus could quite easily be posted on the web for the public to read (even compressed word documents can be easily transmitted via email). Why is the School Board making it so difficult for interested county residents to see the revisions? It makes it seem that they are hiding something and attempting to minimize review opportunity and thus reduce the potential public comment on the revisions until it is too late.

While it is a fact that certain policies, as currently written, have gotten the School Board into hot water in the recent past, I can see why policy revisions are needed. And while technically it appears that all they have to do is allow the public "the opportunity to see the revisions" the Board continues to operate like they are hiding information and certainly not in the spirit of open and honest communication.

So here is the time line....The public notice of policy revisions was first published in the newspaper in the Sunday edition, May 29th. The school board will hear public comment on June 7th and could vote to adopt far reaching policy changes that same night. That is a scant seven working days (ten days total including the Memorial Day weekend) for the public to obtain, read, understand and then decide if they wish to provide in-person or written comment to the Board.

This crammed time line seems very familiar - just like the 11-day surprise announcement of backroom (high school rezoning) plans Z2 and Z3. The pattern is being repeated again. Despite many public pronouncements of more open communication emanating from Dr. Vogel and the School Board members, their actions will always speak much louder than their words.

At the same time the requester was preparing and sending the above email, Slats was in contact with District Superintendent Bill Vogel over the matter.

In yet another amazing coincidence, the requester soon received a phone call from Dr. Vogel telling him the manual was being burned to a CD that could be picked up in the morning.

Slats then received notice from Dr. Vogel that "the proposed policies will be available on a disc at no cost through Mr. Julian after 9 am tomorrow."

Once again, the School Board has squandered an opportunity to extend a good-faith effort towards the public and turned it into a needless battle over the right to acquire public information. Time and again the School Board's behavior has been such, sending the clear message to the public that "you are either with us or against us." Guess which side the public has taken?

For those of you interested in acquiring a copy of the proposed changes on CD, the School Board's number is 407-320-0000, or you can call Ms. Duffey directly for more information at 407-320-0006.

Please be sure to give them Slats' regards when you make the call.

Last week's County Commission discussion of proposed improvements to the Seminole County library system gave a disturbing preview of what to expect when longtime commissioner Randy Morris departs next year.

Aside from Morris, none of the other commissioners exhibits any clear view as to what they are seeking to achieve in their present positions. Their lack of vision and ideas leaves them more prone to avoid taking any constructive action due to the absence of any idea as to what needs to and should be done.

Morris was not present at the informational session due to having to attend his son's high school graduation, leaving his four remaining counterparts to listen to the briefing from Library Services Director Suzy Goldman. Goldman and her staff have spent a good portion of the past year exploring community needs not currently being met by the library system, and devising plans for the best manner in which to meet those needs.

In Morris' absence, the other commissioners handled the issue strictly according to the book that has been written by their well-established patterns of behavior.

Commissioners Dallari, Carey, Henley and VanDerWeide did their best to indicate even the slightest hint of a commitment to any of the four plans proffered by Goldman and her staff at last week's briefing.

Instead, they directed Goldman to explore "other" possibilities, including the commissioning of a Market Research Study, the purpose which will presumably be to confirm what Goldman and her staff already know.

More importantly, however, it buys the commissioners more time in their efforts to avoid having to make any decisions for which they will be held accountable. Although everyone and their mother agree that the library system in Seminole is subpar and needs major overhaul, the big question many residents ask is why nothing is being done to improve the system.

The answer lies with Commissioners Brenda Carey and Dick VanDerWeide, whose sole purpose on the commission is to avoid taking any action for which they may possibly be criticized at election time. Commission Chairman Carlton Henley often debates himself to a standstill over any issue, presenting many options but never advocating adoption of any. Newcomer Bob Dallari is continuing the practice he firmly established as a member of the Oviedo City Council, that of waiting to see which way the wind of the electorate blows before voicing an opinion on any issue.

Regardless of the many differences Slats has had with Morris over the years, a tip of the hat has to go to the longtime commissioner for having a clear vision of the direction in which he would like the county to go. Morris has never hesitated to voice firm opinions and the leadership needed to make them a reality.

Without him, the county commission becomes a caricature displaying the worst traits of committees, its members engaging in endless discussions aimed more at avoiding rather than taking action.

Morris' successor next year in District 2 will have an opportunity, depending upon their strength of personality and ability to hit the ground running, to fill a major vacuum or be sucked into one.

In honor of Memorial Day, there is no blog entry today. Slats will return tomorrow.

Please take time today to remember and honor those who have sacrificed their lives in service to our country.

Seminole County Commissioner Brenda Carey went on a somewhat angry tirade during last week's commission meeting.

Commissioners were discussing a one-cent increase in the local fuel tax to help defray transportation costs for handicapped residents of Seminole County.

Carey, who opposes the tax levy, started by blasting the "ADA community," referring to those concerned with the rights of handicapped persons under the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Carey justified her view that the commission should not act on the issue by saying "even their community (referring to handicapped persons) doesn't have a solution."

Carey then impugned the county's staff for providing revenue projections that she could not grasp. When Carey angrily declared that "I don't even understand how we come up with two different numbers," it seemed County Manager Kevin Grace had clearly had enough.

A somewhat exasperated Grace reminded Carey, "I explained that to you, it's that one doesn't apply to diesel fuel, if you recall."

Carey responded with a "well" and a prolonged "uh" to end her tirade, which was followed by a response from Commissioner Randy Morris, who supports the funding.

It seems Commissioner Carey would better serve the community if she engaged in intelligent discourse on the issues at hand rather than emotionally-charged outbursts with no constructive purpose.

To hear an audio clip of Commissioner Carey's rant, click here

Not that we are in the habit of saying "we told you so," but a chuckle could not be suppressed when hearing the recent concerns of city commissioners in Winter Springs.

Colleague Darren Glaude told us a little more than a month ago about the unintended consequences that would come from the city's redesigning of State Road 434 through their town:

"As part of the refurbishment, safety concerns have led to the placing of concrete medians along most of the roadway. Although it will make the stretch of road more pleasing to the eye, it also will make it even more inconvenient to navigate within that area ...

"The most obvious consequence is the elimination of left turns at any point along the road. Now, the medians will have to be circumvented at the next light or planned pass through."

Lo and behold, at a recent Winter Springs City Commission meeting, Mayor John Bush expressed some concerns stemming from the obstacle the medians have created in preventing people heading eastbound on State Road 434 and needing to access their homes on the other side of the road (and median).

As summarized in the City Clerk's minutes from the May 9 meeting:

Mayor Bush said, “I am concerned – I was coming down, heading east on [State Road] 434 at Hayes Road, and people are making u-turns and - there is not enough room to make a u-turn; people are having to stop and back up in the west bound lane of State Road 434 – no u-turn signs. Is there anything going to be done about this?”

With discussion, Commissioner Gilmore said, “I think we need to encourage the State to look at this and if necessary move the sidewalks or do something.” Mayor Bush asked, “Does the Commission agree with Commissioner Gilmore that maybe we would ask Kip [Lockcuff, Director, Public Works/Utility Department] to give us a little more information on this and some alternatives?” Manager McLemore stated, “Already noted.” Mayor Bush added, “Everybody in agreement?” Commissioner McGinnis said, “Yes.” Commissioner Krebs also stated, “Yes.”

Residents of Winter Springs, that's your city government at work, doing what local government does best: creating a problem where none exists, and then pursuing complicated solutions as a remedy for failing to foresee the obvious (or, at least, what was obvious to Darren Glaude).

By placing concrete medians where they do not belong, the city has created a problem they are now seeking to fix by moving the sidewalks or "something."

Surely it makes those of you living in Winter Springs feel even better about the six-percent pay increase the commission recently awarded to City Manager Ron McLemore (pictured above left) that pushed his yearly compensation above the $150,000 mark.

Interim Casselberry City Manager Tony Segreto (left) has reason to smile.

The Casselberry City Commission this week approved the contract for Segreto's tenure as interim City Manager.

Included was the provision, at Segreto's request, that he continue to be paid his City Manager's salary for 90 days following his return to his regular post as the city's Public Works Director, after the city appoints a new permanent manager.

Segreto's reasoning for the increased pay, even though he will not be doing the job, included his assertion that he was doing the city a "favor" by serving as city manager until a permanent successor is found to Frank Clifton, who left after this Monday's meeting to accept a county manager's position in North Carolina. It was the old, "I'm doing this for you, not for me" line that often translates into "There has to be something extra in it for me, so let's see how much I can make off this deal."

Segreto joined the Casselberry staff in 1990, assuming his current role as Public Works Director in 1991. He previously served as interim manager for the city in 2003, during the vacancy that subsequently led to Clifton's hiring. He also served as Mount Dora's city manager from 1984 to 1988.

Segreto told commissioners at this week's meeting that he would not again serve as interim manager if his contract did not include the higher pay for the 90 days following the end of his service. Commissioners agreed to Segreto's demand after expressing some hesitation and concern.

Segreto says he is also entitled to the higher pay after leaving the post because he will be helping to ensure a smooth transition when the new permanent city manager takes over the office.

As a long-time city employee who already makes close to six figures in his current position as Public Works Director, it seems Segreto would have had incentive enough simply on the basis of moral and ethical conduct in doing his job.

Yet one more example of why you should never believe public officials who assert theirs to be a thankless lot.

During the past week or so, a lot of personal thought has been given to the subject of the posts here on my daily blog. A recurring question arises each time a possible entry centers on the Seminole County School Board. Simply put, it is whether too much attention is possibly given to the School Board here, and whether I should intentionally shy away from posting School Board-related topics on days when other news is also worth noting.

This conundrum has made itself evident fairly often, presenting a dilemma as to whether run the School Board item or go with something else. As already mentioned, much thought has been given to this, especially during the last week or so. Thus, it was gratifying in a sense when a reader posted the following comment on Tuesday morning:

Anonymous said...
Slats,

You've hooked me as a faithful reader and I look for your posting late every evening.

While I usually enjoy each one, it appears that you're maybe running out of things to write about. Don't get me wrong, I am 100% screwed by this rezoning mess and enjoy having the forum where people can post their comments about this travesty, but I look towards you to offer some variety across issues in Seminole County.

One additional note....the concept of "independent, non-partisan" is a phrase that you should probably remove from the mission of Seminole County Watch. Again, don't get me wrong, its important to bring to the public all the issues that you surface (and I'm astonished by the lack a of Republican response), but let's be fair to the readers and give them some credit for the editorial direction.

Do keep up the hard work...we need more Slats. Also, I would like to read some more about the Republican organization of Seminole county and their leadership. It is my party and I'm only just now starting to realize that there maybe needs to be some new and fresh leadership there. To this point, they've enjoyed being under the radar. As we get a closer look its pretty scary.

The first thing to catch my attention was the impression that Slats has run out of things to write about. If only such were the case. Strewn about my desk are post-it notes, file folders, and numerous crumpled pieces of paper that have been pulled from every pocket, all detailing items that need to be shared with you and visitors to this site. If only running out of content were my problem!

Instead, the actual problem is deciding what to go with for each day's blog entry. This becomes especially vexing when one of the items is related to the School Board. It is very easy for constant attention to the School Board's actions to seem to some like overkill. Also, there is the fear of ignoring another item of considerable merit simply to run with another about the School Board (perhaps the real problem is that the School Board never stops providing a steady supply of material to be featured here . . . LOL).

Slats had thought a pretty good job was being done of balancing the content. In fact, looking over recent posts of the past few weeks, there were only one or two entries about School Board-related matters and quite a few about other topics.

In reviewing the items that had been posted each day, not only was the subject looked at, but also the level of response. It is clear that when the topic is sex offenders in Oviedo or county commissioners abusing their perks, interest level is less than that in School Board actions. This is reflected in several ways: number of comments posted by readers to each item, the number of emails sent to me about each item, and the number of page views related to each item.

In all categories, interest and involvement from visitors to Seminole County Watch increases when the subject is the School Board. Although such numbers do not fully determine what is posted here, inasmuch as popularity of material does not always translate into importance, obviously a good deal of effort must be made to give readers what they are seeking, and it is clear many are seeking information on the School Board.

There is an even more important consideration that invariably leads to the conclusion that the School Board items should be posted. It is obvious that there are many flaws and shortcomings in the performance of our current Board members, and it would be greatly beneficial for the children of Seminole County if change was effected.

Unfortunately, the next elections are still a year and a half away. That time can work to the School Board's advantage or disadvantage, depending upon how much attention is given to their behavior. Part of the problem in local government is the lack of true attention that is given to local elected officials. For the most part, they operate out of public view and without public knowledge of their actions. If attention is given, it is only sporadically and short-term, allowing the offending governmental entity to emerge largely unscathed.

As has been learned by parents involved in the rezoning issue, the Hagerty High naming controversy, the Evans Elementary busing debacle, and various other issues, the School Board's conduct is clearly shown to be lacking when given the proper scrutiny. Such scrutiny is rarely given to local government on an ongoing basis, and certainly has not been applied by local media in Seminole County.

The School Board presents an ongoing situation that should be monitored and reported. For instance, Dede Schaffner's comment at the May 16 meeting with parents at Sabal Point Elementary School. Ms. Schaffner's assertion that hundreds of emails had been received in support of Plan Z2, and the subsequent developments in that story, again buttress the charge of misleading statements continually emanating from the School Board in support of their position. It goes to the heart of their credibility, and over time, as more and more instances are reported, more and more people will begin to get the true message. A pattern emerges that shows these are not random, isolated or innocent instances, but a sustained pattern of behavior towards a specific goal.

County residents certainly will not get that message by reading the Orlando Sentinel or from the local broadcast media. The simple fact is that for many reporters, their job is simply that, a job. As with every other vocation, there are reporters who do their job well, and others who do it poorly. Unfortunately, many reporters are too willing to take the easy way out and rely on the very institutions on which they are reporting for their information and ensuing angle of a story. The result is a story that is completely spun from the point of view of the involved officials, rather than a true examination of their actions.

That is why Sabal Point residents have not garnered much sympathy from the rest of the county's residents. For the most part, Sentinel news accounts have reflected the institutional bias of the School Board and discounted any sense of legitimacy towards the actions of the parents in defending their community and a desire to maintain neighborhood schools.

Compounding the inherent apathy that constantly threatens our democracy is the matter of content in what is actually reported. Throw into the mix a reporter's or columnist's desire for the ego gratification that comes from being buddies with the area's power brokers and you get a very distorted view of what is actually happening in our community. Many would say that Jim Toner's most recent Sunday column in the Orlando Sentinel falls squarely into this category, and they may very well be correct. Mr. Toner's languid attempts at achieving good ol' boy folksiness often result in little more than the twice-weekly squandering of otherwise valuable column space.

There is clearly a void to be filled, and Seminole County Watch is working towards filling it. In all honesty, Slats believes thus far we have done a remarkable job. Yet we know we can do much better, and each day we strive towards that goal. Which brings us back to the original question: whether to run School Board matters in the daily blog to the exclusion of other material that warrants equal attention.

One idea that has come to mind is to establish a separate blog for School Board items. That is not very appealing, however, because people not disposed to read it will not be exposed to it, and the past few months have shown that people have become interested and involved in following the rezoning issue by first becoming aware of it through the coverage here. Had it been marked as specifically School Board news, it is possible that many would never have had the inclination to read it in the first place.

Another idea is to expand the daily posts to include several topics each day. That is a bit more appealing, but it also holds the potential to dilute the attention that will be given to the topics at hand. It also holds potential for making posts too long, such as this one has become, to the point where readers will feel there is not enough time to read it completely. Rushing through a post is not as desirable as reading and absorbing the point of one. Optimally, posts should be as brief as possible to make the desired point and allow the reader to move on, with time to post a comment if so moved.

So help me out. Let me know what you think about all this, and, most importantly, give your feedback as to what you want from my daily blog specifically and Seminole County Watch in general. The bottom line is we are here to serve you, and to help your awareness of how your government is affecting you. Having said enough, Slats is now going to step back from the keyboard and let you have your turn. Feel free to post a comment for all to read, or, if you prefer, send an email.

Considering the length of this post, it is regrettable that I have not yet addressed the matter of being independent and non-partisan. A thorough expository on that matter will have to wait for another time. Briefly, though, I will mention that opinions about this seem to depend upon your own personal views. Local Democrats have vilified me for comments I have made about the feckless leadership of their party and their irrelevance locally (and especially about a sarcastic snipe I once made about John Kerry's failed campaign). Local Republicans have vilified me for being too hard on them and, in Slats' personal view, for holding them too accountable.

The only side on which Slats stands is that of the average, everyday American. The guys and gals who get up every day and do their best, to whatever degree that is possible for each of us, for their families, their community and themselves. Neither political party is serving those interests at the moment.

The Republicans have had their chance and failed, to the degree they now point the finger of blame for ineffective government at each other across the local, state and federal levels of their respective jurisdictions, then endorse one another out of party fealty at election time. That is hypocritical and just plain wrong. It if means I am partisan because I criticize Republicans for their failure, I have no answer, other than to say what needs to be said, always. Unfortunately for the Republicans, at least in this regard, they are in power, so they are the ones who must deliver, and they are not doing so.

The Democrats have failed to offer any new ideas or reasons for voters to support them. In Seminole, they have usually failed to even offer a candidate, let alone a credible one. They have failed themselves, the system and the voters by not providing credible alternatives to the Republican candidates. If the Democrats have allowed the Republicans to establish one-party rule in Seminole County and elsewhere, it is their own fault for not having made themselves into a credible alternative. If it means I am partisan because I criticize Republicans for their failure, I have no answer, other than to say what needs to be said, always.

Whereas the Republicans seem to be collapsing under their own weight locally, the Democrats seem to be showing signs of insurgency, with new leadership and new ideas. If this bears fruition, hopefully it will rekindle some new life into the local Republican party and we will see some innovative and inspired thinking among local leaders towards solving our vexing problems. Clearly, we need it.

Lastly, the voters themselves, meaning you and me, have failed. We put emotional ideology ahead of practical solutions and cling to party labels while allowing real-life situations to deteriorate from neglect. Rather than applying consensual solutions, we are arguing irrelevant ideology that serves the needs of our egos but none other. In the meantime, our infrastructure in every sense of the word continues to deteriorate while lacking the proper attention it demands.

It is time we all started working together again for the good of our county, and it needs to start with voters who take seriously the charge of having a vote over who is elected to lead us. We have failed miserably in that regard in recent years, regardless of whatever party or ideology we embrace individually.

Having gone on long enough, it is time to turn it over to you for your comments. Let's hear your opinion, no matter what it may be. As always, I look forward to the collective wisdom proffered by your respective individual thoughts and insights. Without you, Slats would have no reason to do what he does, and that thought never eludes me for long.

With a tip of the hat,
Slats

A reader yesterday posted a wonderful comment that was tremendously coincidental, as life so often seems to be. The comment expressed a desire for more varied content in Slats' daily blog, apparently believing it too laden with material about the School Board. The coincidence comes from my having considered the same thoughts over the past few days. As a result, come tomorrow I will post a detailed response that will share many of my thoughts on the matter, and then ask for yours.

Today, however, I have a dilemma to settle. The Seminole School District has provided its cost estimate in response to my request for the hundreds of emails in support of High School Rezoning Plan Z2 that were alleged to exist by School Board member Dede Schaffner at a recent public meeting.

Here's Slats' dilemma: do I pay the costs, which, if we are to take Schaffner at her word, will only bear out what she alleged, i.e., that the Board received hundreds of emails in support of Plan Z2?

Or, do I go the cheaper route, in which I place much more upfront faith: believing that Ms. Schaffner made the whole thing up in a moment of panic after having been put on the spot by more than a hundred irate parents who were in attendance at the referenced meeting.

A tough choice: pay an exorbitant cost to prove Ms. Gaffner correct, or forsake the expense and believe she was being less than honest with the public, an action much in keeping with the record that has been established by the School Board.

Inasmuch as it would work to the Board's and Ms. Gaffner's advantage to produce without any outside prompting or request the emails she alleges exist, and considering they have not done so, Slats will take the latter route, much as the School District likely expects.

To their way of thinking, establishing such a high cost for access to email correspondence they allege exists is surely a roadblock to prevent the research from being done and their dishonesty revealed should their claims be proven false.

Slats believes no such emails exist, and it is not worth adding a substantial amount to School Board coffers simply to prove what can very credibly be taken for granted. The existence of such emails would give the School Board a slam-dunk defense in its adoption of Plan Z2. Inasmuch as they have not offered them as proof, it is likely they do not have them. Not this School Board, which spares no effort or expense to apply the best public spin to all they do.

For the record, here at no cost to you, the School Board, or anyone else, is the email correspondence from School Board attorney Ned Julian on this matter:

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Emails in support of Plan Z2
Date: Tue, 24 May 2005 07:47:10 -0400
From: Ned_Julian
To: slatsmurphy
CC: Ned_Julian, George_Kosmac

Mr. Murphy, please see Mr. Kosmac’s estimated cost to retrieve the requested emails. Pleas provide me with a deposit in the amount of $1540.00. The process will start upon receipt of the deposit. Any overcharge will be refunded any under charge will be billed. I will, however, need a post office box or street address for billing purposes if you choose to communicate by mail or email.

-----Original Message-----
From: George Kosmac
Sent: Monday, May 23, 2005 3:43 PM
To: Ned Julian
Cc: Bill Vogel
Subject: RE: Emails in support of Plan Z2

Mr. Julian,

We estimate the cost to collect all the rezone emails messages and then identify those favoring the various plans to be approximately $1540. That number is based on the need to analyze seven (7) months of email messages beginning with the month of November. Each month will require a technician for four (4) hours @ $25.00 per hour and then a clerical resource for ten (10) hours @ $12 per hour. The technician will restore the appropriate email computer archives and the clerical resource will analyze the school board members’ messages and select/print those messages that apply.

Thanks,
George Kosmac
Seminole County Public Schools

For those of you seeking a respite from School Board shenanigans, tomorrow will be "School Board-free" Blog Thursday, guaranteed!!!

Seems there is yet another controversy brewing between a member of the School Board and parents in the Sabal Point subdivision. Who would have ever imagined?

Last week, School Board member Dede Schaffner appeared at Sabal Point Elementary School with District Superintendent Bill Vogel to schmooze parents from the area with a discussion entitled, "Working Together to meet the Challenges of Providing Quality Education in a Growing Community."

Evidently, all did not go as planned for Schaffner and Vogel, who once again found themselves on the defensive against parents still simmering over the high school rezoning plan adopted by the School Board.

Shortly after the meeting, Slats started receiving emails from those who had been in attendance.

The messages contained expressions of disbelief over a comment attributed to Schaffner. Those in attendance heard her say that she had received hundreds of e-mails in support of Plan Z2, the rezoning plan favored and ultimately adopted by the School Board.

Ms. Gaffner's obvious intent was to diminish the merits of the ongoing massive public outcry that had erupted in opposition to Plan Z2, the School Board's plan of choice.

Hearing about Ms. Gaffner's comments piqued my interest, so I fired off an email to her:

Dear Ms. Schaffner,

It has come to my attention that during your meeting with area parents at Sabal Point Elementary School on the evening of Monday, May 16, you stated that you had received hundreds of emails in support of Plan Z2 during the high school rezoning process.

Would you please be so kind as to provide copies of the emails to which you referred? Obviously, doing so would certainly bolster your case with the public in terms of supporting your vote for Z2.

I look forward to your response, and also to reading the emails of support for the plan of the Board's choosing. I hope to hear from you soon.

Rather than responding to me directly, Schaffner forwarded my inquiry to School Board attorney Ned Julian, telling him:

Ned: I have been misquoted here. My comment was that the Board had received hundreds of e mails, phone calls, and letters in support of the various plans, including Z2. The point was that there was no one plan that would make everybody happy. Dede

This sequence of events is interesting in several ways. First, it seemed odd that Ms. Gaffner saw the need to forward my message to the School Board attorney, telling him that she had been misquoted, rather than responding directly to me with that contention.

It seems, for whatever reason, Ms. Gaffner saw the need to ensconce herself behind the wall of whatever "protection" she feels Mr. Julian affords her. The question that arises is why she felt such a need. If she had truly been misquoted, it is difficult to understand her apprehension to have told me so directly, choosing instead to consult her attorney.

Also interesting in this sequence is the rest of my exchange with Mr. Julian. The gist of it was that the School District would supply the emails in question, but at a cost. Mr. Julian said he would have a cost estimate prepared by Deputy Superintendent George Kosmac as to how much Slats would need to push across the table, in advance, for the time and effort needed to provide the requested information.

Under other circumstances, such a stipulation would not be surprising. Government agencies do need protection from reckless and frivolous information requests that can adversely impact their budgets for unnecessary reasons, and it is not uncommon for a cost to accompany requests for public information.

But as noted in my first message to Schaffner, producing such emails would obviously bolster the District's case in supporting and defending their rezoning decision. It seems they would be eager to make such support publicly known, and would have already produced such documentation in their own defense. Especially considering the public relations nightmare the rezoning issue has been for them.

Yet, rather than aggressively making known information that would allegedly bolster their position, the School Board is once again stonewalling.

In addition to raising obstacles to a free-flow of information, they are also raising yet more questions as to the nature of their behavior and the reasons for it.

If you live in Casselberry and drive a commercial vehicle, chances are you will want to be at tonight's Casselberry city commission meeting. Even if you do not live in Casselberry or drive a commercial vehicle, you may still want to attend for the entertainment and curiosity value.

Casselberry commissioners will hear the first reading of an ordinance aimed at restricting homeowners' rights to park commercial vehicles on their property.

And that is just for starters, according to some who contend that the verbiage of the ordinance is so loosely written that it will give the city virtually complete control over what is allowed in each resident's front yard. Critics say all changes the city deems necessary will be imposed with no alternative recourse for homeowners, and no opportunity to be grandfathered in for existing conditions.

Most objectionable of all, say critics, is that it is being foisted upon the citizenry with little notice as to what may follow. Their claims were bolstered by the absence of the ordinance from the city's web site, at least that Slats could find. The only information posted by the city for tonight's meeting was a two-page agenda that included no specifics for items listed.

The meeting gets underway at 7:00 PM at Casselberry City Hall.

Seeing a yard sign while driving through Longwood made Slats think that Mayor H. G. "Butch" Bundy was already facing some competition in his bid for reelection this November.

After a moment, though, the realization came that the sign for "Stump Grinding" was actually promoting a business rather than a political candidate.

Of course, in Longwood, you can never be too sure.

In yet another example of the hypocrisy of our elected officials, Florida governor Jeb Bush will be spending time this weekend at fundraisers within the state that will help the political battles being waged by California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger with his state legislature.

The hypocrisy comes in due to the nature of the battles Schwarzenegger is waging. The California governor is seeking to address three issues on which he has not been able to achieve his goals because, in his view, the State legislature is controlled by the opposing party.

Schwarzenegger's answer to the obstacle posed by the legislature is to have the issues placed on the state ballot through the ballot initiative process, the very same process that Bush and the Republican-controlled Florida legislature is seeking to restrict.

So Jeb is spending his time this weekend in an effort to raise money so that California voters can avail themselves of the same opportunities that Bush would like to see curtailed for voters in Florida.

Adding to the hypocrisy is the focus of one of the initiatives. Schwarzenegger is seeking an overhaul of the process that controls redistricting in California, to take it out of the hands of the State legislature and into the hands of an independent commission.

Bush opposes the Florida effort that is seeking the same.

Once again, it comes down to one simple fact: our elected officials are more interested in their private partisan concerns than acting as the public servants they are presumed to be.

Interestingly, State Senator David Simmons chose to avoid comment on this issue.

The Altamonte Springs Republican, whose main legislative function is to serve as chief water boy for the GOP, has never been at a loss for words when it comes to advancing private interests over public concerns.

Simmons chose not to comment on the matter of Bush's, and by extension, his party's, hypocrisy, instead deflecting the question with an inane comment about California society.

Yet another fine example of Simmons' service to the citizens of Seminole County.

From the School Board to municipalities, it seems that tracking the official minutes of meetings of local governmental entities can be quite a time-consuming task.

Those of you who inquired about the missing minutes from Winter Springs City Council meetings will be glad to know that they have finally been posted to the city's website. On Wednesday, Slats sent a message to the Winter Springs City Clerk, reflecting the concerns of readers who noticed the minutes had not been updated since the City Commission meeting of March 14.

Lo and behold, by Thursday afternoon, the minutes appeared on the city's website for the March 28, April 11 and April 25 meeting. Although no explanation was offered, a "thank you" was expressed by the Winter Springs city clerk for our bringing the matter to her attention, so we will take solace in knowing we helped to get the minutes posted, even if we do not know why they were not done so in the first place.

Also of note is the ongoing saga with the minutes from the April 26 meeting of the Seminole County School Board. At that meeting, several hundred residents submitted written comments to the Board prior to the meeting in lieu of speaking during the public hearing portion of the meeting. The official minutes of the meeting did not include any reference to the written comments having been submitted.

This was in stark contrast to the Board's October 26 meeting, when the minutes listed the names of more than 20 people who had submitted written comments.

When Slats inquired as to why the School Board minutes of April 26 failed to include the names of persons submitting written comments, School Board clerk Karen Ponder provided the following:

An individual citizen did submit ~325 written public comments for people who were unable to attend the meeting. Several other written comments were provided by citizens in attendance. I did not intend to list all of the names, but absolutely should have included the following statement in the minutes of the meeting:

"Numerous written public comments were received and have been filed as part of the permanent record. Copies of each written public comment have been provided to each School Board Member and the superintendent for review. "

The omission was an oversight on my part. It was not intentional nor was it an attempt to sweep public comments under the rug. I thank you and the citizen who wrote to you for bringing this situation to the School Board's attention.

An action item requesting an amendment to the 4/26/05 School Board Meeting minutes will be submitted for Board action at its 5/23/05 School Board Meeting.

Ms. Ponder's response seemed to indicate that her simple statement would be added, but not the names of each individual submitting a comment, prompting my asking her the following:

Inasmuch as past practice has established the precedent for listing all names of persons who have submitted written comments during School Board public hearings, it is expected you will continue that practice for the minutes of the April 26 School Board meeting. Do you have a date by which you expect this to be completed and posted, in updated form with the listing of names, to the District website?

Ms. Ponder's response was again nebulous as to intent:

The 5/23 School Board Meeting addendum package will include a request to further revise the 4/26/05 School Board Meeting minutes. The revised minutes will be posted to the SCPS website as soon
thereafter as possible.

So Slats posed the question one more time:

For purposes of clarification: does the proposed further revision include listing the names of all persons who submitted written comments?

Finally, we received the answer we had been seeking from Ms. Ponder:

Yes, however, some are illegible (either the first or last name). Those that are illegible will be listed as such i.e.: Illegible Smith or Karen Illegible. Some of the spelling may also be incorrect due to the handwriting on the form, but all will be listed. 339 written public comments were submitted, but two were submitted by the same person, therefore, only 338 names will be listed.

So as it stands now, the April 26 minutes will be revised to include the names of every person who submitted a written comment, and the revised minutes will be submitted for approval by the School Board at their May 23 meeting. Presuming such approval, they should then be posted shortly thereafter on the School Board's website.

Getting that accomplished has been an arduous task, which is becoming the norm in dealing with the Seminole County school district. Rather than being done properly the first time, it required a constant give-and-take before finally being properly addressed (assuming that all goes as indicated from this point on).

Not to be lost in this entire shuffling of papers is that the written comments were submitted prior to the start of the April 26 School Board meeting, to be considered by Board members before their vote that evening on high school rezoning.

The Board members, however, never looked at the comments that evening before casting their votes for Plan Z2. The purpose of the public hearing portion of the meeting is to allow public input, which is supposed to be considered by the Board members prior to making their decision.

Throughout the April 26 meeting, the written comments sat in a pile beside Ms. Ponder, who did not provide them to the Board until after the meeting and their vote.

Although the city of Winter Springs was the first in Seminole County to publicly proclaim an aggressive interest in providing wireless wi-fi Internet access to its residents, the city of Lake Mary may be doing its southeasterly neighbor one better.

Lake Mary City Commissioner Michael McLean recently noted the possibility of the city becoming involved with the emergent "mesh technology" that is presumed to be the next step beyond wi-fi.

McLean notes that a local business is involved with the mesh technology and has prepared a presentation to pique the city's interest. McLean was drawn to the technology due to its lower cost and increased connectivity opportunities, noting that it would allow someone in a car moving at 70 miles per hour to be connected to the Internet.

A feared stumbling block to any plans of local municipalities to offer Internet services to residents was fortunately abated this year when the Florida legislature wisely backed off from proposals that would have forbidden such offerings. Such restrictions were sought by Sen. Lee Constantine of Altamonte Springs and others who did the bidding of the communications industry at the expense of their constituents.

Fortunately, the legislature rejected the inane proposals of Constantine and others, ultimately requiring only that municipalities hold public hearings on such services before they can decide to offer them.

We told you several weeks ago about Fred Moore, an engineer by trade who lives in Longwood. Fred and his family were unaffected by the high school rezoning but Fred nonetheless attended the April 26 School Board meeting to support his neighbors and community.

Fred continues to monitor School District activities and sent the following:

The Seminole School web site is proud of the Newsweek ratings (of the nation's high schools); however, take it from an engineer: they fail math.

http://www.scps.k12.fl.us/scpsnews/newspage.cfm

This lists Brantley in the "top .003 percent or 1/3 of 1 percent."
1/3 of 1 percent is .333 percent .
Not .003 percent.

Lyman is listed as in the "top .005 percent or 1/2 of 1 percent."
1/2 of 1 percent % is .5 percent.
Not .005 percent.

It is a good thing the students are better at math than the website people.

We understand the same erroneous information was included in a presentation given by Superintendent Bill Vogel at his meeting with Longwood parents this past Monday evening.

Fred was on hand at that meeting to point out the error to Dr. Vogel. As Dr. Vogel is reported to have done, we also thank Fred for noting the mistake, and give him another tip of the hat.

Slats is going to try something a bit different today. We'll call it Open Blog, sort of like the "open line" portion of the old radio call-in shows that allowed listeners to comment on whatever was on their minds.

Rather than having a set topic, this is your chance to voice off on whatever may be on your mind this morning, regardless of the topic.

Could be you attended the meeting last evening with School Superintendent Bill Vogel and want to voice an opinion on that.

Perhaps you attended the Oviedo City Council meeting at which they discussed how to deal with sexual predators.

Or perhaps there is something that has been holding your attention for a while that no one has addressed and you'd simply like to get it off your chest.

Now is your chance, so tell us what you think. Hit the "comments" button at the end of this entry and post your opinion about whatever is on your mind. Slats is looking forward to hearing from you!

The Oviedo City Council is generally a more upscale version of their Longwood brethren. The two Seminole cities rank at the top of the list for those with the most internal discord and dissension, Oviedo surpassing even Longwood in terms of factions and cutthroat infighting.

Tonight, however, should be an easy one for the Oviedo City Council members. On the agenda will finally be discussion of an issue about which they can all be in harmonious agreement. The city is working on passing an ordinance forbidding convicted sexual predators from living within 2,500 feet of places where children gather, such as schools and playgrounds.

The council members have fallen all over themselves and each other in trying to get to the front of the line on this issue, shamelessly pandering to public fears and forsaking intelligent discussion of the issue to do so.

There is a reason the proper handling of convicted sexual predators is one of society's most vexing problems. It is a complicated issue with no easy answers. The upshot of Oviedo's planned action is that it may actually make children more vulnerable to future victimization, in that it may lead to less effective monitoring of abusers and their whereabouts.

Oviedo City Council members seem to have no qualms about pushing forth on this issue while raising the flag and beating their drums. It gives them the appearance of responding to concern about our children, and that is a politician's dream.

Too bad they do not have the same level of enthusiasm for studying this problem at a level of some depth and seeking solutions that are also not just at the surface level.

As with many other issues, there is no easy answer to this one. By acting as if there is, the Oviedo City Council is doing a great disservice to its citizens and their children. Concern for children is a legitimate one, and it deserves legitimate study, rather than the rhetorical proclamations and empty ordinances that have been emanating from Oviedo's elected leaders.

One of the oldest rules in politics, dating back to the days of political wizard William Shakespeare, is to be a bit suspect of those who doth protest too much.

Slats is hearing that U. S. Rep. Tom Feeney, R-Oviedo, is a bit more concerned over the pending investigations into his worldwide travel than he is letting on. That would explain his particularly bellicose and brazen attitude of defiance lately.

Feeney's exaggerated chutzpah has been on display as he apologized to those who financed his questionable travel while proudly proclaiming his pride in being one of Rep. Tom DeLay's closest sycophants.

Those walking the hallways in DC report close scrutiny is now often given to DeLay's attire each day, with the goal of discerning in which pocket Feeney may be found at any respective moment.

Contrary to Feeney's bluster and desire, this will not be going away as easily as the Oviedo Republican would desire.

Similarly, word coming from those in the know locally is that dissension is brewing at an increasing rate within the Seminole contingent of the Republican Party.

The inside word is that the party is becoming increasingly fractious, and not all are happy with Chair Jim Stelling's obsession with salvaging his personal reputation through the recent lawsuit stemming from his failed bid to head the state party several years ago.

The publicity stemming from that trial did nothing to help the party or Stelling, despite his winning of a paper victory. To the contrary, news media locally and across the country had a field day with the details of the trial, and its preoccupation with whether Stelling was actually married five times or six.

In the end, the feeling is that Stelling put personal pride ahead of the party's welfare, and it is not playing well among some within the party.

The situation has been worsened by the continued good press and progress achieved by the Democratic Party in Seminole.

The bottom line for those of us sitting on the sidelines as impartial observers: there may actually be a coming return to the two-party system in Seminole, giving voters actual choices in coming elections. One party rule never serves the electorate, regardless of which party that one may be.

Kudos to WFTV-Channel 9 for telling us how our Seminole County Commissioners are spending tax dollars for personal perks.

The story tells of commissioners' spending of tax dollars on top of their $74,000 annual salaries.

The spending and the defiant attitudes of commissioners upon being questioned smack of the arrogance and self-absorption that afflicts public officials, and of which we have written previously in this space, showing all public officials to be afflicted rather than only School Board members.

Obviously, there is a gaping difference between the definition of public servant and the manner in which those elected actually perform their duties as public officials.

Take a look at the story, which also has video available, and let Slats know what you think.

The Seminole County Democratic Party continues to gain traction while their Republican counterparts argue over how many times they have each been married.

A story in yesterday's Orlando Sentinel devoted a good deal of attention to the improving numbers for the Democrats in Seminole County. New registrations show a closing of the disparity between the parties that is helping to narrow the overall gap, perhaps signaling a reversal of the Republican dominance that has existed since the early 1990's.

While Democrats are looking at voter registration numbers and potential areas of support, county Republicans are arguing over whether being married to the same person twice counts as one marriage or two.

Republican complacency is coupled with another more troubling problem for the GOP: when you hold governing power, you must either do the job correctly or eventually suffer the consequences. Voter dissatisfaction with the seemingly obvious failing of many pet GOP ideas is opening voters' minds to supporting candidates outside of the Republican Party. The obvious thinking is to try something else since what we have been doing is not working.

The obvious challenge for the Dems, as has been stated previously in this space, is to offer credible candidates as alternatives to the GOP contenders. The Dems have declared war on the opposition. The question now is whether they can actually wage it.

Interestingly, both the local and state Democratic parties have recently elected women as their chairs, a distinct break from past practice. The middle-aged white men have obviously failed the Dems, and it will now be interesting to see what the ladies can do.

Former County Commissioner Fred Streetman, a Republican, summed it up best when he reiterated sentiments expressed here several weeks ago.

Although Streetman still wants Republicans to win, he sees a need for both parties to be competitive, so that voters are offered a true choice, improving the overall electoral process.

"I certainly wouldn't mind a good horse race," said Streetman. At the least, that is what all of us should want during each election campaign.

The voter groundswell of dissatisfaction with the Seminole County School Board continues to develop momentum towards having a lasting impact.

Residents who are unhappy with the Board for a multitude of reasons have established a website entitled Fire the Board. Their aim is to provide a centralized resource for voters in the next School Board elections, to be on the ballot in 2006.

Unlike the School Board itself, those behind the site can never be accused of having a hidden agenda.

Darren Glaude is Seminole County Watch's version of Melvin Mora.

For those of you who don't know, which is likely the vast majority, Mora plays third base for the Baltimore Orioles and does a helluva job. But he gets much less attention than he should. He is not flashy, not controversial, just solid. He does his job and does it well. And is often unjustifiably overlooked and underappreciated.

Such is how it is with Darren. The kid writes solid columns of local interests, and he is not afraid to take a stand. Often, it is one that is not in line with the mainstream or majority, which explains why he chose to label his column as A Different View.

This week's piece is a good example. Darren takes a look at some local monuments that are planned as "tributes" and wonders if their hefty costs would not be better utilized to actually help those who are being memorialized. He makes some good points, for good reading.

If you have denied yourself the stimulation that comes from Darren's talented writing, take a look. And whether you agree or disagree, let him know.

Well, we know they're out there reading. Now if they were only able to discern the important stuff.

This Sunday's Seminole section of the Orlando Sentinel included the following item in its roundup of local gossip and trivia:

Seminole School Board members have to turn the other cheek and simply bear the nasty barbs that critics have been tossing their way recently, Chairman Jeanne Morris says. Those unhappy with the board's recent decision to change high-school attendance zones have been making some nasty remarks, including some broadly published on the Internet. Morris says she has consulted her hairdresser about the "cotton candy hair" one critic described her as having.

Of course, that "critic" was your humble correspondent, and the reference was to my April 30 column, in which I wrote, "Despite her cotton candy hair, reminiscent of Bozo the Clown on steroids, and attempts at a grandmotherly appearance, Jeanne Morris can subdue but not hide the rage that lives within her. "

First, let me say that it's flattering the Sentinel is using my material, especially lines as good as the one just referenced. But it would be nice if they did so with attribution.

But that is really neither here nor there. What is most disturbing about their reporting of Morris' comments is that she once again misses the point, and, even worse, once again thinks this is all about her. Although much more was mentioned than Morris' hair, that was all that gained her attention.

Morris' self-absorption leads her to believe that she is as important as she believes herself to be.

Simply, it is all about her.

Shades of Sunset Boulevard!

Now it all makes sense.

Slats always swore that prior to each School Board meeting, he could hear emanating from the obscured area behind the members' dais the repeated uttering of that famous phrase:

"I am big. It's the pictures that got small."

Ladies and gentleman, starring tonight as Norma Desmond, it is Jeanne Morris!

Jeanne, here's the scoop: it is not about you. It is not about your hair. Really.

It is about what you are doing to the children of Seminole County and their families.

• It is about your splitting apart of communities.
• It is about your willingness to build elementary schools on toxic-ridden land.
• It is about your desire to satisfy the pomposity and arrogance of one man by naming a school after him in a naked display of political and mutual ego stroking.

No, Jeanne, no matter how many times you say it, you're not big. You're just letting your hair confuse you.

It's time for the final curtain call, dear. Sadly, it is already too late to bow out gracefully.

For those of you who have been wondering, no, that is not your old buddy Slats playing detective in the latest Kodak commercial, which has been getting a lot of air time lately and is captured in the photos to your left.

But to those of you who have been asking if the character is based on your humble correspondent and the interesting career he has enjoyed, for once in Slats' life, the answer is "I honestly don't know."

In this business, over the years and across the miles, you meet a lot of interesting and creative people.

So with the line easily blurred between the media and our brethren who ply advertising and marketing as their trade, it is very possible that someone who once upon a time crossed paths with Slats decided to employ my persona in a television pitch.

With imitation being the sincerest form of flattery, Slats is truly honored and humbled.

Whether doing my job in this space, as it has been done in many other venues over the years, or being portrayed as a commercial detective on TV, there's one thing that has always been and will always remain the subject of Slats' pursuit.

Yup, you guessed it: Just the facts, ma'am.

A number of inquiries have been made as to why Slats did not include Barry Gainer and Dede Schaffner in last week's review of School Board members' behavior during the April 26 School Board meeting, at which high school rezoning Plan z2 was adopted.

Including Gainer and Schaffner would have been inconsequential, simply because they are both just that. Each simply occupies their seat to serve as an echo chamber for the lead set forth by their mentors, Sandy Robinson and Jeanne Morris.

Schaffner was recruited from the school system to successfully run for her seat, and brings little dimension or value with her to the position. She brings to mind the type of celebrity who is known simply for being a celebrity yet no one has known exactly why.

Her resume includes volunteer service and board positions of varying sorts, yet she could just as well be anyone else plugged into those positions. In short, she is nothing but a warm body filling a seat.

Gainer is even worse, in that he is a self-style sycophant who is basically nothing more than a "kept" man while pretending (very unconvincingly, needless to say) to be his own. Gainer was actively endorsed by Robinson and Morris in his 2002 election, an unprecedented move in which two sitting School Board members actively sought the election of a candidate to an open seat.

Gainer explained then, in so many words, that he was their choice because they knew he would bring harmony and consent to the board, and he has done exactly that.

Most disturbing about his behavior are his constant attempts to say something while in reality actually saying nothing.

Gainer usually comments in several short sentences about something, with the apparent intent of sounding intellectually insightful, but never coming off as anything but vapid.

All in all, despite having two votes on the Board, Gainer and Gaffner have nothing to add and bring nothing to the table, other than serving as proxies for Robinson and Morris.

Their efforts, though, have served themselves and their savants well.

A good bit of news that emerged from this year's Florida legislative session that ended last night was the failure of Rep. David Simmons' efforts to use public money to finance the Orlando Magic's arena concerns.

The Altamonte Springs Republican made that one of his main goals this year, at a time when concerns over the infrastructure should have demanded his focused attention. Instead, Simmons dedicated his efforts to satisfying the wants of cronies and restructuring the legislative process to increase the power of elected officials at the expense of everyday citizens.

The electorate should glean at least a bit of satisfaction from the failure of Simmons' efforts to kowtow to the interests of a privately-owned sports team at public expense.

Now that the School Board has adopted Plan Z2, it looks as if the rest will be history, barring any incredible surprises coming out of the appeal that is pending on the matter in circuit court.

So the question becomes one of what has been learned, and what will be done as a result. From my viewpoint, there are certain obvious answers, which will be revealed when my next column is posted this weekend.

Before Slats gives you the slant from this perspective, it would be interesting to hear yours. It is obvious from the correspondence reaching my inbox that most readers have been actively involved in fighting the rezoning battle, or actively involved in following its progress.

So let's make some good out of all the bad that has brought us to where we are. Let's glean some insights and offer some solutions to the circumstances and situations that allowed such a mess to come about.

Feel free to post your comments to the blog, in a dialogue of sharing with others, or send them to me personally via email.

Don't be shy about expressing yourself. I already know my thoughts and opinions on this, so I look forward to hearing yours.

Seminole Couny School Board members have made a valuable contribution to the arts, obviously encouraging constituents to creatively express themselves.

Email networks across Seminole County recently have busily exchanged the two images below in "appreciation" of the School Board's autocratic method of rule and behavior.

The Seminole Supervisor of Elections Office says a voter registration drive at Lake Brantley High School last week saw 136 new voters being registered among 17- and 18-year olds at the school.

The breakdown in affiliation came out rather evenly. Among the new registrants, 45 identified themselves as Democrats, 44 as Republicans, and 47 as no party affiliation or a minor party.

The numbers reflect recent trends of more and more voters, especially younger ones, identifying themselves as independent of the two major parties.

The breakdown Slats would have liked to have seen was not included in the numbers released.

That would have been the number of new registrants who would have been attending schools other than Lake Brantley had the recently-adopted high school rezoning plan already been in effect.

Looks like yet another instance where we are left to wonder how Plan Z2 really affects the numbers, not to mention what kind of spin the School Board would have applied to make them appear better than they are.

Heavens to murgatroid! Slats was sandbagged by Valerie Parnell in her most recent column!

Valerie addressed the controversy over the cigar bar that had originally been turned down in Oviedo due to zoning considerations. The City Council eventually came back and enacted some ordinances allowing approval of the cigar bar within Oviedo's city limits, and final approval was expected at last night's City Council meeting.

Valerie thinks the City Council did the residents of its city dirty, especially the children. Basically, she sees tobacco as unlike other products, and did not see any wisdom in the Council's changing of existing laws to accommodate the opening of the establishment.

Take a look at what she has to say, and let me know if you have any thoughts. Slats is going to recuse himself from expressing an opinion, due to obvious prejudices. In fact, it's time to light up a favorite, relax a bit, and give the whole issue some deep thought.

Just don't tell Valerie!

If you have not read the report in Sunday's Orlando Sentinel regarding Congressional travel, and who pays for it, you owe it to yourself to take the time to do so.

Representatives of Seminole County were among the biggest abusers of the practice, notably Tom Feeney, who with his staff has taken the most trips of any Central Florida House member. In the just over two years he has been in office, Feeney and his staff have taken 48 trips.

Slats gives a tip of the hat to the Sentinel for doing the kind of reporting that needs to be done. The hard part is getting the public to pay attention.

Members of Congress whose travel was questioned in the article went to great lengths to defend their self-indulgence in traveling to various locales around the world as guests of lobbyists seeking to influence legislation.

Members of Congress largely protested their innocence on the basis of the travel being legal, failing to mention that it is legal because Congress makes the laws saying it is so, as well as creating the loopholes.

For instance, although it is illegal for a lobbyist to directly pay expenses for Congressional travel, the lobbyists are allowed to funnel such payments through non-profit organizations to which they belong. And they do.

The article should be must reading for all Seminole County residents. For those of you without the time to do so, however, here's what you should know:

• "Members of Congress are already overpaid and over-perked," said Gary
  Ruskin, director of the Congressional Accountability Project, a nonpartisan anti-corruption group. "These trips add to the high-flying lifestyle which puts them into an economic mind-set sympathetic to corporate elites. They forget about the economic problems of ordinary Americans."
  
  
• "The payback is obvious," said Melanie Sloan, head of the nonpartisan watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington."You're more likely to listen to someone who's putting you up at the nicest hotel in town than the single mom on welfare who can't afford to buy you a cup of coffee."

The article's length may prompt some to say they cannot afford the time to read it. Truth is, none of us can afford not to read it. Make Slats proud and take a look at it, and then file the information for future reference.

Add School Board member Dede Schaffner to the growing list of Seminole County officials from the Republican Party who are unhappy and frustrated with their party's dominance of state government.

As Slats has told you before, county and city officials who proudly proclaim themselves as Republican at election time have continually decried the manner of governance their party employs at the state and federal levels. Included in the group of critics are County Commission chairman Carlton Henley, Winter Springs City Commissioner Bob Miller, and various members of the Republican-comprised School Board, just to name a few.

Schaffner added her name to the list at last week's April 26 School Board meeting. During a review of spending, Schaffner noted the $13,000 the School Board had to spend to purchase new flags for every classroom in Seminole County, even though there were already flags in each room.

Problem was, the flags were too small in size to satisfy a legislative mandate passed last spring. That mandate specified that each flag must measure no smaller than 2 feet by 3 feet. Although the flags that had previously been in the Seminole classrooms barely missed by inches, the school system had to purchase new ones that satisfied the requirement.

"That money could have been much better spent elsewhere," Schaffner said in criticism of the Republican mandate. Fellow board member Barry Gainer frowned and added, "Another unfunded mandate."

Issues of partisan politics aside and from a strictly practical standpoint, Slats cannot help but wonder why these Republican officials proudly campaign in support of other Republican candidates whose policies they later publicly decry. Why would Schaffner, Gainer and the others fiercely support candidates who, when elected, then perform their legislative duties in a manner with which they disagree?

Several possible answers arise. Perhaps they do not understand what the Republican Party and its beliefs really entail. Perhaps they have declared themselves Republicans simply because they see it as necessary to getting elected in Seminole County. Perhaps they say whatever seems to work at any particular moment, and it is easier to shift blame elsewhere than accept personal responsibility for themselves.

Whatever the reason, the result is hypocrisy on the part of officials at the local level, and inexcusable disservice to the local voters who put them into office. As Schaffner noted, it was shameful to force the School Board to spend $13,000 for flags insignificantly larger than previously existing ones. And that was the impact only on Seminole County as one of 67 in the state. Yet it was with the support of Schaffner and the other local officials that the legislators who enacted such policies were elected.

The battle for control of Seminole County's eastern boundary, centered on control of the Black Hammock area, is heating up again.

Officials of both the county and the city of Oviedo have been concerned with the aggressiveness of Winter Springs in trying to gain control of the area. Winter Springs officials last year initiated bringing water and sewer services into the area, prompting a protective response from the county.

County officials placed a successful voter referendum on this past November's ballot that required county approval for any changes to land use in the area initiated by cities annexing the property into their domain.

Winter Springs prevailed in a lawsuit ruling against the referendum, which now awaits a ruling on an appeal by the county of the lawsuit decision.

Several months ago, Winter Springs continued with their plans for the area, initiating a committee to seek input from and build relations with residents in the area.

Though a bit late in their reaction, Oviedo officials are finally looking to be proactive in fending off the potential challenge from Winter Springs for control of the area.

The Oviedo City Council held a special meeting this past to discuss options and devise strategy for maintaining control of the area, which sits south and east of Lake Jesup and includes Geneva and Chuluota in addition to the Black Hammock area.

Winter Springs commissioner Michael Blake perhaps summed it up best several months ago when he said there was no doubt the area would eventually be developed, but that it was merely a matter of how and under whose control.

Sadly, the residents have no white knight to whom they can turn in safeguarding their future. The county has established an abysmal record on development, largely the result of acquiescience to developers' demands.

Winter Springs has a good record of services to residents at minimal cost, but has been trending towards relaxing standards to satisfy developers' needs in recent times, likely the result of the city's disturbingly-aggressive desire for growth.

Oviedo officials are decidely behind the curve, facing great difficulty in figuring out what is best for their community and how to achieve it.

Thus, you have the county, which has largely allowed developers to decide its manner of growth; Winter Springs, which has become covetously aggressive in its desire for growth; and Oviedo, which has largely abandonded its pattern of growth to chance and happenstance that directs the city rather than the other way around.

In the middle, as usual, is the average resident, concerned with preserving some sense of the current life that first drew them to live where they do, and feeling powerless in their atempts to do so.

MAIL CALL

Brian in Sanford writes:

I've read several of your articles on rezoning, and I thought they were well written and thought out. I have to tell you the truth though. The SC-Read.org folks have done an excellent job turning the tides and making this argument into a metaphorical indictment of the school board, when everyone knows the real crux of this thing has been and always will be that fact that the Lake Brantley parents don't want their kids going to Lyman because of the 36% minority population, a demographic drop in income, as well as the incorrectly perceived notion that Brantley is a better school.

As William Shakespeare once wrote about a rose...they can call it whatever they want to, they're not fooling me.

Brian, thanks for your comments, which actually were addressed in my blog entry of this past Tuesday, April 26. As I wrote then, and which evidently bears repeating:

The true winners, though, are the parents who stepped up and did the right thing, fighting the good fight. And that is not to say that includes all the parents who opposed the rezoning. As with any other effort, the rezoning fight included the usual mix of people.

There were those who did it for the right reasons, and those who did it for selfish ones. Right now, let's forget about the selfish ones and applaud those who saw a School Board acting in contempt of its own rules and constituency, and stood up to say that it was wrong.

Many of the parents involved in this effort are sincere, caring persons whose view was limited not only to themselves, but to the recognition that if the School Board did it to "us," they can do it to others, and we need to keep that from happening.

Slats knows, because their emails reached my box every day. Their concern was obvious, as was their sincerity.

From the many emails in Slats' daily inbox over the past few months, many sincere and well-intentioned parents have become identified as such, and, to be honest, they are people I have come to care about, mainly as a result of their obvious caring for others as a result of their struggle.

Again, not all parents fall into this category, but those who do should not be painted with the same brush as those with intentions of less nobler ability.

The School Board's unanimous vote, however, does paint them all with the same brush, entirely the work of their own doing. When it comes down to whose efforts were nobler, the parents easily trump the members of the School Board.

As William Shakespeare also said, "Sweet mercy is nobility's true badge." Think about it.

The local Democratic Party tonight elects a new chairman.

Tonight's election among the donkey worshippers will go a long way towards determining how serious the coming opposition will be to Jim Stelling and the boys in the Republican Executive Committee as the 2006 elections near. The Democrats' history of electing middle-aged white men has not yet worked, and the GOP's worst nightmare will be if the Dems keep interim chair Carol Cox in the post permanently.

In the short time she has served as acting chair, Cox has brought unforeseen life to her party, giving the Dems a sense of focus and direction. It would be interesting to see what she could do with the moribund party over the long haul, after her impressive performance in the short term.

But the decision is left to the voting members of the Democratic Executive Committee, who will have their say tonight. Although Stelling and the others at Republican headquarters may be feigning indifference, you can bet they will be watching with more than a slight interest to see what they will be up against over the next 18 months or so.

All voters in Seminole, regardless of party affiliation or lack thereof, should hope for Democratic leadership that can provide all voters with some real choices next time they go to the polls. Nothing is better for the voters than to have vibrant competition among candidates of all stripes, rather than slight variations of the same flavor. The best thing the Democrats can do for themselves in the next election is to run some truly credible candidates.

Voters in Seminole are tired of business as usual and want candidates who are truly concerned with placing the public interest ahead of their own. From what Slats is picking up in everyday conversation, party loyalty in Seminole is becoming less and less important: voters are simply desperate for leaders who show concern for the good of all and betterment of the whole community, without regard to adherence to one political party's philosophy over another.

Whether the Democrats continue with business as usual or break with their largely-unsuccessful tradition will be decided tonight in their choice for a new chair. Stay tuned for future developments.

NOTE: As a prelude to today's post, Tuesday night's Seminole County School Board meeting featured the best and worst in local representative government. The best came during the public input portion of the meeting, when members of the public launched a full frontal assault on School Board members and Superintendent Bill Vogel. The worst came afterwards, when the board nonetheless voted unanimously to adopt their favored Z2 high school rezoning plan.

If you failed to make the meeting in person, be sure to catch the replay on SGTV, local Channel 9 on BrightHouse Networks, this Thursday evening at 7 PM and Friday afternoon at 1:30 PM. More to come on the meeting in the next few days

Sunday's Orlando Sentinel featured some ruminations from the paper's ombudsman over the future of the Sentinel specifically and newspapers in general. Manning Pynn offered some thoughts as to what newspapers have to do to survive in the future, seemingly not willing to accept the obvious.

Technology is bringing changes that will include the way our news is delivered each morning and throughout the day, and the traditional newspaper will not be a part of that future.

Let it be said that it hurts to have to say that, and Slats is wincing at the thought, but it is the reality. Over the years, there has been nothing more intoxicating than the smell of presses running the latest edition of the local daily, and unlike most people, Slats always enjoyed the smudges of ink residue left on the fingers after having read the morning (and, in the old days, afternoon) edition.

But to cope with the world, one needs to accept the world on its terms rather than insisting upon one's own. The reality is that the times they are a changin', and that includes the New York Times as well as every other newspaper in existence.

The one plus newspapers always alleged to be in their favor is rapidly being vanquished, and that is the issue of portability. As computers and online news threatened the existence of the print media, those trying to hold onto their past lives constantly crowed, "But you can't take it with ya! You can't carry a computer onto the train, or into the bathroom, so there will always be a need for print!"

Wireless technology and miniaturization are taking care of those concerns, and online news content is now becoming as portable as print, and will be so in the future. As it always does, the ever-evolving technology is changing people's habits, such as the younger generations.

Surveys show that newspapers and print media are losing importance with each succeeding generation. Even television news is losing relevance. Kids today want their news on demand, and they seek out items of interest, choosing from the Internet as if selecting items from a buffet. And guess what they don't want? Piles of newspapers around the house. They want their news neat and clean, without creating extra mess, and they get it that way online.

They are no longer dependent upon what the news organizations feed them, but can choose their own ingredients to create personalized news feeds on a continuing basis. The reality for today's print media, such as the Orlando Sentinel, is facing the challenge of effectively transferring assets to the web while abandoning print as an organizational foundation.

The impact of all this for the consumer is a change in how news itself is presented. As the Internet has already shown, consumers will now gravitate towards web content that speaks to their interests, both in terms of content and presentation.

In all honesty, a site such as Seminole County Watch is an example of the future, but as of right now is likely ahead of its time. That is not said with arrogance but with recognition of what is coming in the future, which, to also be honest, is not necessarily to Slats' liking.

The fragmentation of news has already begun, leading to an irony in which people are likely to be less informed despite having more information available than ever before. In fact, there seems to be a direct inverse correlation between the number of news sources and amount of information available, and the actual level at which the average person is informed.

Decentralization of the media, and individual control over the source of one's information, destroys any notion of a common core of knowledge shared across society. Each of us will become better informed on those items of interest directly of interest to our respective selves, but to the neglect of news and information that may not interest us yet we still need to know.

The success of Seminole County Watch is an example of the coming future, and by no means are we lamenting the ever-growing number of daily hits and increasing emails to this site. What is to be lamented, though, is that a site such as ours should supplement information presented and gained in traditional mainstream forums, to provide an overall context.

Instead, sites such as Seminole County Watch are being relied on exclusively by many people for information about their local officials. While we do not mind your taking our views as gospel, we do think it better if you included our views as part of an overall thought process that allows you to draw well-balanced and well-informed conclusions.

We want you to agree with us, but we want you to know why you do. Sadly, the failure of the mainstream media to fulfill its function is the main reason this will no longer be possible. Rather than trying to figure out ways to succeed, the mainstream media could easily do so if they continued to do their job while facilitating a move from print to online focus.

Instead, they seem to be creating a self-fulfilling prophecy that guarantees their own demise. The more they try to forestall that and keep themselves alive in current form, the more irrelevant they will become, as they lose their sense of true purpose.

You are looking at the future: rather than all the news that's fit to print, it will be all the news that's fit to post. And by the way, we're glad to be here and to be a part of it.

Tonight's the night. It all comes down to 7:00 this evening, when it all comes to an end while also just beginning.

The Seminole County School Board will adopt their ill-advised high school rezoning plan, putting an end to the controversy and the objections of adversely-affected parents representing a good portion of the 5,000 students whose daily lives will be changed with their schools.

For the School Board, it is the end of a championship season during which they prevailed despite, or perhaps because of, their arrogance and haughtiness. And it is also the beginning of the imposition of their rezoning plan in earnest. Much like the sports team that buys a championship rather than building towards it the old-fashioned way, the School Board can claim victory and dominance in imposing their will upon others.

The true winners, though, are the parents who stepped up and did the right thing, fighting the good fight. And that is not to say that includes all the parents who opposed the rezoning. As with any other effort, the rezoning fight included the usual mix of people.

There were those who did it for the right reasons, and those who did it for selfish ones. Right now, let's forget about the selfish ones and applaud those who saw a School Board acting in contempt of its own rules and constituency, and stood up to say that it was wrong.

Many of the parents involved in this effort are sincere, caring persons whose view was limited not only to themselves, but to the recognition that if the School Board did it to "us," they can do it to others, and we need to keep that from happening.

Slats knows, because their emails reached my box every day. Their concern was obvious, as was their sincerity.

As I read Valerie Parnell's most recent column, about doing the right thing for its own sake, these parents and their efforts came to mind. They deserve salutations and commendation for their selfless efforts, and they deserve recognition in not being grouped together with others whose cause seemed the same but whose reasons were less noble.

The parents' effort, for all practical purposes (a legal appeal notwithstanding) will come to an end this evening when the School Board adopts its rezoning plan. The School Board meeting starts at 7:00 PM at the Seminole Public Schools building at 400 East Lake Mary Boulevard.

Please attend the meeting, if at all possible, in support and appreciation of the parents' efforts. They have received a raw deal from the School Board and also from the media, which in many cases unfairly characterized them by reducing their public image to that of the lowest common denominator.

The sincere and properly-motivated parents deserve our support, because in the end, they were fighting for us and our children as much as for themselves. Here's hoping to see you tonight at the School Board meeting.

It is fairly common while driving around Seminole to still see bumper stickers on cars from past political campaigns. To be honest, it is a bit confusing and Slats has some difficulty understanding why people continue to display them.

As far as the "W" stickers are concerned, presumably a case can be made that it is a display of support for the current president, although it leads to the question as to why such a "statement" is necessary. The Kerry-Edwards stickers that are still commonly displayed are a bit more mystifying, other than supposing it is some sort of "protest" statement that is being made. Again, though, it begs the question as to what point is being made and to what end.

If you still have a sticker from a past campaign on your car, I'd be interested in knowing why, and invite you to send me an email explaining. Or leave a comment here on the blog.

While you're at it, if you can also explain why Mrs. Murphy still plays Tom Jones' CDs to no end after all these years, that would be appreciated as well.

Parents in Seminole County who think rezoning issues will now fall by the way side are in for a bit of a shock. The School Board this Tuesday night will make final adoption of their controversial high school rezoning plan. Many may think that will put an end to the issue, which has been in the news for a good part of the last year.

The reality is that this week's decision and all that led up to it is only a precursor to what will happen in the coming year, when the School Board tackles the issue of middle school rezoning. The School Board took the first steps regarding the middle schools several months ago when they established a plan for the two middle schools in Oviedo, Jackson Heights and Lawton Chiles.

Next comes rezoning for the rest of the county's middle schools. Many of the parents who did not feel adversely affected to a great degree by the high school rezoning may feel a sense of security and indifference towards the middle school boundaries being redrawn. That may all change when the erasers and markers actually get applied to the Seminole County map.

There were high fives being given all around Tallahassee and downtown Orlando on Friday afternoon after Rep. David Simmons lowered his request for funding for an arena to satisfy the Orlando Magic.

Rather than the $99 million originally sought, Simmons will lower the request to $60 million, and suddenly, the idea is viewed as much more palatable to many of those who first opposed it. Included are Rep. Fred Brummer of Apopka. Brummer, R-Apopka, previously would not allow Simmons' request to proceed to the House floor from the Finance and Taxation Committee that Brummer chairs, but says the lower price will now allow it to move on.

The problem is that the request is still for $60 million more than should be approved for public spending on a privately-owned sports team. Proponents say there is one more slot open in a previously-approved bill allowing for such funding, and the Magic should be able to take advantage of it.

Were Simmons, Brummer and their colleagues sincere in their oft-repeated calls for fiscal responsibility, they would be seeking to curtail such type of legislative spending and removing provisions for such from state law, rather than seeking to exploit such.

The bottom line is the same as is always, and the essence of the problem with our current behavior: service to their constituency is viewed as service to fellow power brokers, such as Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer and Orange County Mayor Rich Crotty, whose desire to please the Magic is tied to further personal political fortunes down the road.

At a time when local elementary students face losing their busing due to a lack of several hundred thousand dollars in local funding, it is obscene to consider spending any amount of public funds on an arena to satisfy the whining of local sports teams and their millionaire owners.

And please do not throw up any excuses regarding different funding availabilities and limited budget options that preclude some funds being used for other purposes. The bottom line is that legislators are the ones who create the funding rules. The same legislators that place building arenas for local sports teams, often with out-of-town owners, above providing infrastructure for local residents who should be their true constituency.

As you make your weekend plans, leave A Taste of Oviedo out, despite what the Orlando Sentinel may tell you.

Yesterday's Seminole section of the Sentinel included local columnist Jim Toner's preview of the festival and reported it as scheduled for tomorrow, April 23. Only problem is the event actually took place last Saturday.

As with much of its coverage, the Sentinel is just now catching up on what is happening around Seminole.

If nothing else, Mr. Toner's faux pas qualifies him for a seat on the Longwood City Commission, where it usually takes commissioners a week or so to catch up to the facts.

In all seriousness, however, such mistakes can happen to any of us. Slats just does not want your weekend plans upset by dependence upon such errant information.

Parents involved in the long and arduous high school rezoning battle will be meeting in Longwood tonight to discuss where they are and where they might be heading. The School Board is expected to give final approval at their meeting next Tuesday night to their rezoning plan, known as "Z2", which is opposed by the parents.

The parents are continuing to explore and pursue legal options in the wake of losing the administrative hearing in which they challenged the rezoning plan. The notice on the parental group's website at SC-READ includes the following about tonight's meeting:

• Come hear the 'real' status of plan "Z2".
• Learn about the continuing legal avenues being pursued.
• Get involved with the planning and preparation for the April 26th School Board meeting where the formal vote to make plan "Z2" official will take place after public input.
• Learn more about the broader impact of the current and continuing school board behavior and who we can expand to provide support 'beyond' our back yard.

It may not topple mayors or throw any of Seminole County's seven cities into chaos and turmoil, as is the case in neighboring Orange County, but Seminole County is not without its share of election shenanigans.

The latest involves a longtime secretary in Sanford who was suspended for a day for creating and reproducing political fliers in support of her favored candidate through the use of city equipment.

The secretary received a week's suspension, later reduced to one day, for using her city computer to create the flier and then printing and reproducing them within the workplace.

Apparently, however, by all accounts, the secretary, a 31-year employee of the city, was using the city computer on the weekend, and it is not clear if she was on the clock at the time of her transgression.

That pales in comparision to Slats' favorite story of this type in recent years. In 2004, School Board candidate Nancy Acevedo was found to have used her computer at the Seminole County Sheriff's department, where she is employed, to repeatedly vote for herself in an online poll.

Acevedo used the computer at the Sheriff's office, while on the clock in public employ, to run up her vote totals in the website poll that was being conducted by the Seminole County Homeowners Assocation.

There was something ironic and absurd in the whole scenario that involved flagrant abuse and disregard for truth and honesty: an employee of the Sheriff's department violating the public trust (strike one!) by repeatedly voting while on the clock for herself as a candidate for public office in an online poll (strike two!).

Acevedo went down on three pitches when it was revealed she did not even live in the district in which she was running. The active member of the Seminole County Republican Executive Committee said at the time of her campaign that she was renting a room in the district, into which she would move permanently if she won the School Board seat. Strike three swinging!

Acevedo did not make it past the primary in the race. Geez, maybe she was a bit lacking of the public's trust.

As noted earlier, not the type of behavior to topple mayors and throw cities into chaos, but definitely the type of behavior that tells us certain people have no business running for public office.

And we did not even mention that Acevedo is known as Nancy Cancel in her private life, but uses Acevedo as her political identity to further her role as chairman of the Central Florida chapter of the Republican National Hispanic Assembly, theoretically increasing her appeal to Hispanics through the use of her more easily-identifiable surname.

Leads to the obvious conclusion that Cancel/Acevedo would have loved to use "The Real Deal" as her campaign theme, had not Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry already included it among the 93 slogans employed at one time or another during his campaign.

State House member David Simmons continues to become more representative of what is wrong with our political system. The Altamonte Springs Republican is leading the charge to limit the constitutional amendment process that allows voters to place issues on the ballot for approval by voters throughout the state.

The ballot initiatives have grown in popularity because they allow average citizens to get laws passed that their legislators will not enact, even though they are sent to Tallahassee to represent their constituents. Instead, when "our" legislators arrive in Tallahassee, they forget who voted them there, passing laws that benefit lobbyists and their industries rather than constituents.

Also while in Tallahassee, our legislators gerrymander districts and create laws favoring incumbents, making it virtually impossible for a sitting legislator to be defeated, or, in many cases, to even have an opponent, token or otherwise.

After years of being left out of the process, citizens started fighting back, putting initiatives on the ballot that allows citizens to enact the laws they cannot get their legislators to pass.

Simmons and others like him in the legislature are now seeking to limit the rights of citizens to enact such initiatives. What is Simmons' reasoning for doing so?

Simmons says the people have it all wrong. This is not a democracy, but a republic, and our legislators in Tallahassee are not there to represent our interests, but to decide what is best for us, despite what we may "think" we want.

As verification that the system works that way and should continue to do so, Simmons and others point to the high rates of incumbents who are continually elected to office. Ignoring that the process has been rigged by Simmons and those like him to ensure such results, Simmons now uses the success of the skewed system to say the system is not skewed.

Simmons also needs to consider the success of the ballot initiatives in implementing laws the people want. That verification is more valid than the bogus affirmation to which he points in crowing about incumbents' approval from the masses.

Simmons has helped create a system that ignores constituents and caters to incumbents, basically ensuring their reelection through gerrymandering and other laws. He points to success in rigging the system as proof that the system works, yet says exactly the opposite when it comes to the ballot initiatives that places power back in the hands of people at the grass roots levels. Power that Simmons now hopes to take away.

Perhaps it would all be unnecessary if Simmons and his fellow legislators went to Tallahassee to do the people's work, as is intended, rather than their own.

Slats is about to light up another cigar before saying the following: when an overwhelming majority of the public desired smoking be banned in restaurants, it was their right to have such a law passed, whether members of the legislature agreed or not. It was the people's will, and to the people, it was a quality of life issue.

Even though there is little better in the world than a good cigar, Slats can accept the people's will and let them have their way. I'll step outside and blow my smoke elsewhere, and David Simmons should consider doing the same. It's clear where he is blowing it presently, and once again we find ourselves saying, shame on you, Mr. Simmons.

If city commission meetings in Winter Springs most resemble a three-ring circus, those in Longwood can best be described as 'the Beverly Hillbillies visit Hooterville.'

Join Mayor Butch Bundy and the gang tonight for some free down-home entertainment. The meeting gets underway at 7:00 PM at Longwood City Hall, 175 West Warren Avenue in Longwood.

Some things to do for fun during the meeting: counting how many times Commissioner Mike Holt zones out, timing the lengths of his periodic catatonic trances; and putting a stopwatch to Commissioner Dan Anderson's longwinded and meandering comments, counting how often it takes him in excess of three minutes to simply say the equivalent of "yes" or "no" in response to a question.

Be sure to look for Arnold Ziffel in his customary front-row seat, and give him Slats' regards.

A busy summer is about to get underway for the Seminole County Commission as they start tackling issues with an eye towards several possible ballot referendums in the fall.

Among the major issues are expansions of the county correctional facility and public library services, management of parks and recreational areas as well as environmental projects, and the controversial consolidation of county and city services.

Commissioners are moving in earnest to deal with these measures while also mitigating the impact of unfunded mandates coming to the county from the state and federal levels. Budget concerns are forcing the commissioners to move towards enacting actual response rather than the traditional rhetoric, meaning their interests will start conflicting with the interests of other officials across the county.

In some cases, the ultimate decision may be left to the voters in the fall, meaning a summer and autumn full of contention and competition for public support. If nothing else, it should make for an interesting summer politically in Seminole County.

His blog will resume tomorrow

You may have already picked up on this, but Slats always likes to hear the other side of the story. Usually, the "other" side is the one that does not get fairly told, because it usually pits average, everyday folk against the corporate interests backed by big money and connections.

That is not to say the big money and connected folk are always in the wrong or seeking the improper thing. It is also not to say they are not always wrong or seeking the wrong thing. Mostly, they are usually affected in their focus and vision by wanting to stay "big money" and "connected," so even those who start with the best of intentions end up with the wrong focus. There's a reason cliches become cliches, and why one of the oldest talks about the corrupting influence of power.

The University of Central Florida has rapidly developed into a big money, corporate interest, even though, in the most ultimate of ironies, it is a public institution that theoretically is dedicated to facilitating "higher learning," whatever that might actually be.

There have been times in our culture when "higher learning" meant making the most possible of ourselves in a spiritual and moralistic sense, seeking to refine the inner being of our humanity to its ultimate level, and placing such refinement over all other goals.

At other times in our culture, now being one of them, "higher learning" means learning how to make the most possible of ourselves in a financial sense: now we seek to learn how to network and market ourselves so that we can become "big money" folk who are "connected."

Such is what has become of the "institution" called the University of Central Florida. They have huge amounts of money and they have connections They are using both in varying amounts and at varying times to obtain influence with legislators such as Dean Cannon and Lee Constantine. As colleague Valerie Parnell has previously told us.

The latest exertion of UCF's muscle is the suddenly-unveiled push for a stadium to be built on campus. Regardless of the financial cost, and it is a large one, UCF knows its students and alumni will do what people do, which is to put common sense aside and allow emotion to run amuck, leading them to fanatically support the building of the stadium. They will do so despite the costs, in both financial and quality-of-life terms. Although the latter pales in comparison to the former, it is the only form of opposition that has been given attention, if only to then be easily dismissed.

The major media is behind the effort because, above all else, they are corporate interests who must protect the other corporate interests. That is what corporate interests do. They watch one another's backs. Since they all have corporate interests, and money, of which they can never have enough, they are connected. So they build an impenetrable web that spins their side of the story without truly telling the other.

Fortunately, the other side of the story is being told, if with greatly limited exposure. It can be heard, and should. You may not agree with the views of the other side, and may not change your mind, but to make the most of ourselves internally, we should at least be open to listening to those whose opinions differ from ours.

Take a look at the views and opinions expressed at UCF Community Watch (can't help but wonder where they got the idea for that name) and do so with an open mind. At the least, listen to their views.

Hearing and understanding the other side is one of the best ways each of us can grow as individuals, so in a roundabout way, if you support the stadium and at least seek to hear why others do not, this can be UCF's unintended and inadvertent contribution to our own personal quest for "higher learning."

Winter Springs City Commissioner Robert Miller loves to rail against irresponsible behavior and reckless spending, but apparently only when it is that of others. As with most politicos, Miller does not want his stringent rules of expectant behavior applied to himself.

The commission discussed at their meeting this past Monday night a pay raise for City Manager Ron McLemore, in conjunction with his yearly review, which McLemore finally submitted since it's having been due in November.

While the commission debated the issue, Miller placed the city's piggy bank on the dais and beat upon it with whatever he could find in an attempt to break it open and give the entirety of the contents to McLemore.

We're speaking only figuratively, but that was Miller's intent. The commissioner lauded McLemore to dizzying heights, comparing the city manager favorably to some of the nation's leading corporate executives and their salaries of millions of dollars.

At one point, Miller threw out figures of $20,000 to $25,000 as the amount McLemore should have tacked onto his current salary, estimated with benefits to total $154,000 yearly in compensation before any raise.

One meeting observer went so far as to say that at times when McLemore's mouth was not open as Miller spoke, the commissioner's voice sounded faint and muffled. Slats' limited knowledge of anatomy learned on the streets of the city allowed the meaning of that statement to be obviously clear.

Only Commissioner Michael Blake, the petulant and imperious one, made any kind of stand for fiscal sanity and responsibility on behalf of the city's residents. This time, Blake actually lived up to his charge to do the "people's work."

Unfortunately, he and the residents of the city were failed by the four other commissioners, who voted to give McLemore a six-percent increase for the coming year.

So there is no misunderstanding (we'll leave that for the School Board), let it be clearly stated that McLemore is very good at what he does. But he is also already very well-compensated for a career dedicated to "public service." In the current economic climate, a six-percent increase is pure foolishness and folly.

More importantly, it is a slap in the face to Winter Springs' many hard-working residents trying each day to make a decent living and a better life for their families. A six-percent annual raise is unheard of for many of the city's residents. A six-percent raise for their city manager is not reflective at all of the economic conditions with which they must deal. Above all, it was totally unnecessary and frivolous.

In calling the roll on the commissioners and their vote, Slats gives a resounding "yea" to Michael Blake, and very definitive "NAYs" to Joanne Krebs, Sally McGinnis, Don Gilmore, and Robert Miller. Motion to condemn the commissioners' irresponsibility and abuse of the public trust carries.

In another amazing coincidence, colleague Scott "Don't call me Slats!" Maxwell of the Orlando Sentinel has echoed Slats' recent conclusion that the Democratic Party is awakening in Seminole County.

In his column yesterday, Maxwell wrote of the Democratic Party's turnaround in Seminole. Basically, they have gone from anonymous to ubiquitous in the last few weeks, making their presence and effect widely known. As Maxwell put it:

Seminole County Democrats, noted by critics and this column for their lack of presence, are making valiant efforts to prove they're a factor. Most recently, they led a successful fight to reverse a proposal to do away with early voting in Longwood. Acting party chairwoman Carol Cox said Monday that she isn't laboring under any false pretense that her party will steamroll over the GOP at the polls anytime soon. But she hopes additional coups might bolster the chances of people in this GOP heartland who are brave enough to run for office with D's after their names.

Of course, among the noted critics has been yours truly. But credit must be given where it is due, and right now, Ms. Cox and her fellow Democrats deserve just that.

Conversely, the Republican Party continues flying under the radar in Seminole, even to the point of providing no response to Slats' offer to let them make their own case in this space. Looks as if the Republicans are repeating the mistakes of the Democrats when the latter was the dominant party in Seminole County and Florida little more than a decade ago.

Unchallenged power leads to arrogance and the belief that the power will always be yours, and it looks as if that is where the Republicans have arrived. The irony being, of course, that feeling unbeatable usually opens the door to getting knocked on your keister.

It happened to the Dems, and now they're trying to return the favor. It will be interesting to see if the Republicans allow the Democratic surge to continue unchallenged.

Slats has been told by many who have tried to call Seminole Schools Superintendent Bill Vogel that his cellphone is evidently set to go directly to voicemail. You'll recall Vogel told WDBO radio last week that he was always available to the public, giving his cell phone number of 321-299-2452 over the air.

After mentioning it in my most recent column, Slats urged you to take the good superintendent up on his word and give him a call. Evidently, enough of you have, prompting Vogel to send incoming calls directly to his voice mailbox.

If you've had success in getting hold of the superintendent, Slats would appreciate hearing what transpired during the call.

If you were forced to leave a voice mail, Slats would urge you to keep trying until you get through to the good doctor.

Colleague Darren Glaude has given us glimpses of the antics taking place at past Winter Springs City Commission meetings under the baton of ringleader Michael Blake.

You can witness it for yourself tonight, when the City Commission convenes at 6:30 PM at Winter Springs City Hall, at 1126 East State Road 434.

Stop by and check out the proceedings. And be sure to tell the commissioners Slats sent you.

Altamonte Springs Mayor Russel Hauck's aggressive attitude and "approach" made several observers sit up and take notice during last week's City Commission meeting.

Several attendees of the meeting inquired as to any past history that might exist between Hauck and interim appointed Seminole County Supervisor of Elections Mike Ertel.

The commission was discussing whether to retain early voting as an option for residents of the city, and had closed the public hearing portion of the meeting. Ertel was onhand in his official role to offer answers to any questions the commissioners may have had, and when Hauck was informed of such, he blasted Ertel for not speaking during the public hearing segment of the meeting.

Those in attendance said Hauck seemed obviously agitated and aggressive towards Ertel, without any seeming justification. Their observation was that Ertel was being respectful of the commissioners, and was there to offer information and not opinion.

Hauck's obvious agitation led to speculation that there must be some prior animosity between the two, but both sides say such is not the case.

When asked by Slats about the "confrontation" and what was behind it, Ertel said, " Tuesday night's meeting was the first time I've ever met Hauck."

Hauck, for his part, ignored the apparent personal animosity, citing frustration over the information that was being provided.

"I have no animosity towards Mr. Ertel. He is the Supervisor of Elections and attended our meeting to answer questions regarding early voting," said Hauck. "His explanation of the early voting law was inconsistent with the explanation of the law that was provided to the City Commission by our City Clerk and by the Secretary of State's office. In light of recent problems with voting in our state and in other municipalities, it is very important that we get it right."

Seems all neat and tidy, but still leaves a question in one's mind. Those who inquired, and there were several, saw in Hauck's behavior an obvious disdain for SOE Ertel, especially since Ertel had not yet offered any information to the commission but had only approached the public microphone in an attempt to do so.

Slats cannot help but wonder if, as is often the case, there is more to this than we are being told.

Looks like the Democrats are continuing to outwork and outhustle the Republicans in Seminole County.

Two nights ago, a Seminole County club called DemocratsUnite! held a meeting about the School Board, using the actions of the board's five Republican members as the hook to attract members' interest.

Not only did it attract members' attention, but also that of Republicans who were in the audience as well, based on reports from attendees of the meeting.

Their common interest was the School Board's failure to abide by their oaths as elected public officials to serve the public that elected them.

In coverage of the meeting by radio station WDBO, reporter Frank Samandari mentioned in one report that Superintendent Bill Vogel said there was no need for the Democrats to hold a "private gripe session."

Although that comment is not included in the audio clip posted to the WDBO website, Vogel does deny claims that the School Board rules in an imperialistic and autocratic fashion.

Vogel denies the legitimacy of the claims, which have been made by many independent groups of parents across the county during the last several years, all in response to School Board decisions affecting the parents and their children. In each case, the Board has been seen as not listening to, nor caring to even acknowledge, parental input and concerns.

Now that parents and others of all political persuasion are banding together to galvanize their forces, Vogel himself at least seems he is willing to listen. Of course, listening and hearing are two different things.

Vogel told WDBO radio that he is always available to hear from concerned citizens, going so far as to provide his private cell phone number on the air.

Take the Superintendent up on his offer and give him a call at 321-299-2452. If you speak to the Superintendent, let Slats know if you feel he really listened, and if your phone call was worthwhile.

Remember, these people work for you: don't let them forget it.

Be sure to check out past news and commentary regarding the Seminole County School Board in the pages of Seminole County Watch.

Longwood city commissioners this week expressed befuddlement and amazement that they had received phone calls from city residents concerned that their rights to fly the American flag would possibly be restricted.

Among those expressing amazement and wonderment was Commissioner Mike Holt. Like several of his colleagues, Holt said he had no possible idea where such a rumor had gotten started, and why so many residents were inquiring with concern.

The evidence now pretty much strongly confirms that Commissioner Holt talks in his sleep. It is an oft-repeated observation among attendees of commission meetings that Holt often seems to "zone in and out" during the meetings, gazing into the distance and looking stupified.

That would explain why Holt was not listening to himself at the commission's March 21 meeting, during which he broached the idea of placing limitations on the flying of flags.

You can listen to Holt's comments here in WindowsMedia format.

Take a listen, and then ask yourself where residents may have gotten the idea that commissioners wanted to restrict their flag-flying rights.

The biggest problems to crop up in local elections recently have centered around absentee ballots. For Seminole residents, this obviously relates to the 2000 controversy centered on the Supervisor of Elections office, when then-supervisor Sandy Goard's actions came under scrutiny and resulted in an unsuccessful lawsuit.

In neighboring Orange, of course, the current indictment of Mayor Buddy Dyer revolves around absentee ballots.

Yet what did commissioners in both Longwood and Altamonte assert as they considered opting out of early voting? In both cities, the argument was put forward that early voting threatened the integrity of the elections process, which, it was asserted, was already being well served by the availability of absentee ballots and voting at the polls on Election Day.

Even though commissioners in both cities ultimately did the proper thing and retained early voting, their arguments while debating the question show how they often miss the connection between reality and the position they are seeking to defend.

Fortunately, the public clamor in both cities was enough to overcome the politicos' misguided assertions, at least this time around.

This past week provided another example why you, as an "average" citizen, are so ill-informed about your local government and what it is doing to you.

On Monday evening, the Longwood City Commission considered two motions as part of its publicized agenda. One concerned the possible annexation of a piece of property on which sits a business that caters to "adults." The other dealt with eliminating early voting rights within Longwood city limits.

Which story was covered by the local media? The one concerning the adult entertainment store.
Which story was totally ignored by local media? The one concerning access to early voting.

Both the local print and television media covered the adult entertainment story, which, in truth, was a non-story from the start and turned out to be even less of a story.

There was no one from the public present at the commission meeting to voice an opinion, other than the store and property owner, and there was really no controversy about the store itself.

Instead, it was a simple issue about extending sewer and water services to the property on which the business sits.

But because it was an adult entertainment store, the media tried to create a spark and fan flames that they simply could not produce because no embers of a controversy existed.

Ask yourself what impact the adult entertainment store's annexation into the city of Longwood would actually have on your life or that of most people in the city.

Now ask yourself how many people would potentially have been affected by the elimination of early voting within the city.

It should be obvious to you which story deserved coverage, if the media whizzes had any respect for your intelligence and that of the average reader.

Instead, they feel the only way you will read or watch is to be titillated by the mention of "sex' and "adult entertainment." And they wonder why readership is racing against local news viewership in the plummet to the bottom, as circulation and viewership levels both steadily decline.

Slats must say, by the way, that he regrets he was not able to take his own advice of Monday morning, when, in this blog, you were urged to attend and observe the Longwood meeting, if for nothing other than the entertainment of watching an intense drama. Reports from those who were there prompted instant regret that a personal commitment of near-critical proportion precluded my attendance.

Those who were there report that the early voting story contained everything a good drama needs. Two sides pitted against each other, firmly entrenched in their positions at the start. The city commissioners entered the evening with full intent to do away with early voting. A group of local citizens, mainly from the Seminole County Democratic Party, stood to oppose them.

And standing alongside them, as they prepared to duel with the five Republican commissioners, was the man usually identified as the most rabid Republican in Seminole County: interim appointed Supervisor of Elections Mike Ertel.

The meeting, and the battle, began. The Democrats stepped to the microphones during the public hearing session that opened the debate, proclaiming the greatness of America's democracy and the need to protect the integrity of the electoral process. Then, wham, bam, a shot hit the commissioners between the eyes: their city administrator was holding back information from them.

City Administrator John Drago was shown to have misled the commission about the facts and circumstances surrounding the early voting, as if he were deliberately seeking to lead the commissioners down the path against it. Mr. Drago sat silently with the commissioners as he listened to his own words being used against him by the speaker at the podium.

The speaker then quoted Commissioner Mike Holt, who had said at a previous meeting that the Supervisor of Elections during a personal conversation had thanked him for there being no early voting in Longwood.

As the speaker finished his comments, based largely on the words previously spoken by Drago and Holt, Commissioner Holt issued a clarification and an apology to the Supervisor of Elections. Despite what he had earlier said, Commissioner Holt now realized it was not the Supervisor of Elections he had been talking with, but an associate.

The commissioners now had their credibility questioned and new facts brought to light, and during 40 or so minutes of debate, their conclusion was to accept the offer that had been there from the start, to hold early voting in the city under the auspices of the Supervisor of Elections office. Until their decision was reached, it had been a see-saw battle, at times looking one way, only to seemingly swing the other.

In the end, the Democrats had ridden into the Republican-controlled chamber, facing the five commissioners who all belong to the GOP. They battled it out in Old West fashion, until, when the Republican Supervisor of Elections was forced to take sides, he knew he had to do what was "right", which was to support the Democrats as they stood in defense of the "people."

An incredible drama, played out right there in the unassuming town hall of Longwood! Missed by the print and TV media because they were out looking at sewer pipes outside an adult entertainment store.

Those who were there at town hall and told the story of what happened this past Monday evening had Slats clenching his cigar ever more tightly between his teeth. This is the kind of story Slats lives for, and it had to be missed due to uncontrollable circumstances.

A bit of sweat has appeared on Slats' brow simply by retelling the accounts provided, and hopefully, you felt some of the excitement and energy also.

You see, this politics stuff isn't boring and mundane after all, at least not any more so than your average every day life, which is exactly of what politics is comprised.

It is all about your everyday life. How can anyone not want to pay attention?

Just want to share some inside stuff on what is happening here at Seminole County, especially since many of you have been asking.

Both Darren Glaude and Valerie Parnell will be posting new columns within the next few days, as will your old buddy Slats. Things have been hectic here, with some major changes around the office that unfortunately coincided with some personal interruptions in the lives of several staffers as well.

Keep checking in the next few days as we get back on the regular publication schedule, and please continue to help spread the word to others about our efforts here. You truly are our best form of advertising and you have been doing a tremendous job so far.

Just as a warning, Slats will be heading out this morning to the Alafaya Road area near Chapman to take a firsthand look at the Evans Elementary School walking versus busing issue, and Valerie Parnell will likely tag along.

Inasmuch as Slats often gets a bit distracted when behind the wheel, please be forewarned that he'll be in the area during morning rush hour today. Luckily the kids have not yet been forced to walk, and hopefully, that will not come to reality. The parents have a major and legitimate fight on their hands, so give them a hand of your own if you have one to offer and help them out.

Finally, let's end with a note from the mailbag:

What exactly did you mean in your comments today about Republican women being referred to as being "the boys"? Do you think your (sic) smart by making those kind of comments? I'd like to know. - MORRIS HOWARD

Mr. Howard,

I think what I wrote was explicitly clear. Have you ever attended an REC meeting in Seminole County?

With a tip of the hat,
Slats

Tonight is the night for the final vote on the city of Longwood's decision to opt out of the early voting process.

Anyone with an interest in the issue should be at Longwood City Hall, starting at 7:00 PM. There will be a public hearing on the ordinance as part of the meeting, after which the commissioners will vote.

The commissioners have misrepresented a number of facts about the issue, at least according to interim appointed Supervisor of Elections Mike Ertel. Slats hears that Ertel will be present at the meeting to allow Longwood residents to hear directly from him on the issue rather than having information from his office filtered creatively through the commissioners, as has happened in the past.

If nothing else, it should be an entertaining time, so come on out and attend the meeting, especially if you enjoy watching the contentious politics of the good ol' small town boys.

The twists and turns of the political labyrinth never cease to be fascinating and compelling, as things that were never once imaginable turn out to be true.

Prior to his appointment as interim Supervisor of Elections, Mike Ertel was the poster child for rabid Republican partisanship in Seminole County. If there was one thing one never doubted about Ertel, it was that he would always speak in a strictly Republican voice that, although sometimes unintelligible to others with a differing native tongue, always echoed the chorus of GOP belief and mantra.

Ertel was eventually rewarding for his leading the Republican choir when Governor Jeb Bush appointed him as interim Supervisor of Elections in Seminole County following Dennis Joyner's resignation for medical reasons in February.

And now, as shocking as some may find it, it looks as if Ertel is suddenly singing a different tune. He is now praising the opposition, members of the Democratic Party in Seminole County, for their stance on an issue. Even more incredible, he is supporting their view rather than that of his fellow Republican stalwarts in Seminole County.

The issue has been well covered here, and regards the early voting process in Longwood, where commissioners this Monday night plan to cancel the early voting option within city limits for its residents.

The commissioners, who happen to be Republicans, want to do away with early voting. The Democratic Party says the commissioners are wrong to want to do so.

And Mike Ertel - hold on to your seats now - says the Democrats are right, and the Republican commissioners are wrong. It's kind of hard to figure out what Ertel is thinking.

The Democrats have made it clear to Slats through correspondence that they do not trust Ertel, and are very wary of his appointment to the office, which they clearly see as a political reward from Jeb Bush for his longstanding partisanship, and for having served as the GOP's pit bull on all issues.

Republicans are questioning now his loyalty to their cause. Is he switching allegiances now that he has gotten what he wanted all along, which is to sit in the big chair at the Supervisor of Elections office in Sanford. Keep in mind that Ertel challenged Joyner in the Republican primary for the office last year, rather than deferring to Joyner's incumbency as a fellow member of the same political party.

His support of the Democrats has left the Republicans in a rather precarious position by opening the door for Democrats to score some major points about Republican credibility, and the Democrats did not miss the opportunity to do so, as one of their officials made the following statement:

"If Mr. Ertel, someone well-known for his partisanship, can see that his fellow Republicans are on the wrong side of this issue, perhaps the Longwood commissioners will also agree about the need to expand rather than limit voters' rights. We are hopeful that the commissioners will ultimately decide to place the public's interest ahead of their own."

The shifting sands upon which he may be standing have left Mike Ertel, on this issue, as a man without a party. As well as leaving many Republicans shaking their heads as to why he would suddenly abandon the party line, when previously that was all he had.

Slats is not sure what to make of the latest noise he's hearing from the local political parties. The Democrats are looking for a new leader while the Republicans are wondering why the heat is suddenly being turned up a bit on their previously ignored actions.

The question with the Dems is whether they will continue with business as usual, or try something new, like asserting themselves and challenging the Republicans to a game of political hardball.

Take a look at the Dems' past three local leaders, and you see what Slats would consider a disturbing trend were he a member of this local party: milquetoast through and through.

In Bob Poe, Vic Ogilvie and Stephen Bacallao, the Dems have put up three middle-aged white men who all seem very polite and moderate in their manner. Maybe that's the problem. Are there no Democrats in Seminole County with a little fire in their belly? No women or young, aggressive men, or members of minorities, all with some place they'd like the party to go? Time will tell where the Democrats go from here, at least the time between now and April 28, when they elect their new leader.

What disturbs Slats about the Democrats' continuing impotence in Seminole is the same thing that disturbs Slats about their impotence at all other levels: it prevents a true discourse on issues and policy decisions affecting our nation. With Republicans controlling in what is virtually one-party rule, we are not looking at issues and seeking solutions that are best for the vast majority in the middle.

Partisan politics is destroying the American consensus that has always allowed this county to prosper. It is as much the voters fault as it is the political parties, because we allow it to happen.

As threatened as the Democrats are locally by their acceptance of impotence, the Republicans apparently are feeling a bit threatened by a challenge to their rule here in Seminole. Jim Stelling and the boys ("the boys" being a term that affectionately includes the women as well when applied to the local REC) are not breathing as easily as they once have. The intramural squabbles are not any worse than usual, but can become so as the old guard (many of whom are named "Jim" in some sort of strange coincidence) tries to deal with the upstarts.

It's easy to deal with such matters when times are good, but a bit more difficult when pressures start to build.

Much of their concern, based on info Slats has received from some buddies in the know, stems from Seminole County Watch, and, with all due modesty, their senior columnist, whose articles and daily blog are suddenly putting the local politicos on the hot seat.

It has become a daily habit of many local GOPers to check Slats' latest entry each day and to breathe a sigh of relief when finding they have not been mentioned. After years of doing what they want with no one watching, the Republicans are now looking over their shoulders, wondering if Slats is looming in the background.

And that's the way it should be. If the Democrats were the local power, they'd be the ones under the microscope. Right now, it is the Republicans, because they are the ones holding office.

As things stand now, it looks as if both local parties are on the verge of some sort of possible transformation. The question for the Democrats is whether they will ever step up and start asserting some authority in their quest for power. For the Republicans, the question is how they will react now that their authority is under scrutiny. Add to that the ever-growing fissure within the GOP between the establishment and the young turks, and there is a recipe for volatile times.

Slats knows what's happening at the leadership levels of both local parties, but wants to hear from those of you at the grass roots. If you're involved in the local DEC or REC, let me know your view of how things are within your party. It is always interesting to hear from those not in official leadership positions in such groups, as the view is usually different from that seen from the front of the room.

Post a public comment to the blog, or send an email to slatsmurphy@seminolecountywatch.com

As always, Slats looks forward to hearing from you.

If you are interested in seeing firsthand how incumbent elected officials remain incumbents, swing by Longwood City Hall this coming Monday evening at 7:00 PM. Longwood commissioners, after going through the pretense of a public hearing, will then vote for the city to opt out of the early voting process.

Their vote will mean no early voting within the city for residents of Longwood in upcoming municipal or general elections. As amazing as it may seem, public officials elected to office are now seeking to make it more difficult for residents to cast their votes, rather than enabling the process. Can you spell incumbency protection program?

It's a display of brazen and blatant chutzpah. Even worse, they will probably get away with it. Most residents of Longwood are unaware of their commissioners' intended actions, and will find out only after it is too late, most likely when Election Day draws near and they find they have to drive to the Supervisor of Elections office in Sanford to take advantage of early voting opportunities.

As disturbing as the commissioners' decision is the manner in which they presented it at their March 21 meeting, when they had the first of their two necessary votes to opt out of early voting. The commissioners, along with City Administrator John Drago, cited cost as the predominant factor, alleging the city would have to push across $3,000 or so to cover the expense.

At the end of their open discussion, Commissioner Mike Holt said that interim appointed Supervisor of Elections Mike Ertel had thanked him for opting out of the early voting in Longwood, because Ertel, it was inferred, did not want to be bothered with the logistics of the process.

Only two things are wrong with the commissioners' and Mr. Drago's version of events: they seem to be at best a distortion of the truth and, at worst, total fabrications.

Slats has come to find out that on March 10, eleven days prior to the city commission meeting referenced above, interim appointed Supervisor of Elections Mike Ertel offered to waive the costs of early voting for the city of Longwood, meaning the cost would be roughly only $600 or so.

Contrary to Mr. Drago's inference, clearly heard on the audio of the commission meeting, Mr. Ertel did not fail to contact Mr. Drago regarding reducing the costs to the city of early voting in Longwood. Ertel has since told Slats, "I made the offer, it is their choice whether or not to move in that direction."

Most disturbing of all are the comments now being attributed to Mr. Drago by several outraged members of the community who have spoken to him. It should be noted at this point that several attempts by Slats to allow Mr. Drago to voice his side of the story were unrequited and ignored by the city administrator.

The residents who spoke to Drago report that he is now saying cost was never a factor at all, and that the commissioners simply do not feel early voting is something they wish to allow for their residents. Instead, Longwood voters will have to vote by absentee or on election day between 7:00 AM and 7:00 PM.

Although interim appointed Supervisor of Elections Ertel has offered to work with the city to allow early voting at Longwood City Hall, the commissioners stand steadfast against it.

In a day and age when most efforts are aimed at increasing voter participation, the Longwood City Commission is looking to stifle such involvement, and Slats can see only one clear and consistent reason.

Early voting allows increased opportunity for voters to support any challengers to the sitting commission, thereby increasing their chances of being defeated and their vulnerability. Given the history of tumult among the City Commission, including incidents involving many of the current members, it is easy to see why they would seek to restrict the opportunity for challengers to garner support at the ballot box.

In what is clearly an incumbency protection program, the Longwood city commissioners are seeking to reduce and restrict the voting rights of their residents, the same constituency that voted them into office.

Even more shameful than their intended vote is that they will possibly cast it without much awareness or opposition from the general public.

If you are concerned about the integrity of the voting process, not to mention local representative democracy, plan to be at the Longwood City Commission meeting this Monday, April 4, starting at 7:00 PM at Longwood City Hall, 175 West Warren Avenue in Longwood..

You can listen here to the March 21 Longwood City Commission discussion and decision to opt out of early voting in WindowsMedia format.

Something is happening in Seminole County in a way that decades of experience has never seen or felt here before. The tremors are starting to vibrate a bit beneath the ground, and the question Slats keeps asking himself is whether this will continue to develop, and, if so, how far it will go and where it will lead.

The "something" is a restlessness among residents of Seminole County, a sense of dissatisfaction comingled with dread that, for the first time in many years, seems to have everyday people afraid to think about their futures.

As I noted in my most recent column, Here's to you, Mrs. Robinson, it's time for you to go, elected officials for years have ridden the wave of prosperity and desirable demographics that has crested from the population of Seminole County.

But now that the wave has peaked and can no longer be ridden, public officials here are not sure what to do, and the public is starting to catch on. It is emanating from all areas and at all levels of the county, as a sense of dread and apprehension seems to be more and more dominant in the thoughts of many Seminole residents.

Their foreboding sense is reflective of what is happening across our nation in general, as our society seems more threatened from internal decay than outside attack. The infrastructure is crumbling, schools are bereft of resources, government agencies are cutting back on services, and private corporations are eliminating benefits while increasing costs, not only to consumers but to their own employees as well. The politicians tell us we are better off because of their leadership, yet we can find no evidence to support their rhetoric. In fact, quite the contrary.

Here's where the politics of it all comes into play: simply because of their own success, the Republican Party is losing credibility among many of those who were once their most rabid supporters and advocates.

That's the rub of being the party in power: you actually have to govern and be judged on your results. Not only are citizens at the grass-roots level starting to have doubts and uncertainty, but elected officials from within the party itself are expressing those same concerns.

Consider the following:

• Local School Board members, all of whom are Republican in Seminole County, decry the FCAT and No Child Left Behind for their effects on education at the local level. They cite the Republican initiatives as damaging to local education.
• County Commission Chairman Carlton Henley, a Republican, decries the effects of unfunded mandates at the federal and state levels, casting blame upon Tallahassee and Washington, both of which are Republican-controlled.
• Republican city commissioners in Seminole County return from the National League of Cities meeting in Washington, DC, to decry federal cuts in funding of local programs that have been the backbone of Seminole's successful local development, as well as railing against the misplaced priorities of Florida Senator Mel Martinez (more on this last example in a coming column).

In each of these cases, local elected officials who are Republicans are pointing the finger at the governing policies of their own party for the devestating and harmful effect they are having at the local level.

The appeal of the Republican Party was that they offered strength and security to the average person. Or so they said. Now, however, people are not feeling strong or secure, and many each day drive to their jobs wondering if they will return home unemployed. It is hard to feel strong when threats to your financial survival and all that is tied to it are constantly gnawing at your insides, giving rise to great insecurity from within.

There is a rumbling below the surface, and Slats is interested to see where it leads and what occurs. The awakening of the electorate will likely lead to a revolt against many incumbents, with shades of the early 1990s campaign to "throw the hyprocritical rascals out" that led to the biggest turnovers ever in Congress. What a wild time that was in American politics!

And now it looks as if some semblance of it is starting to take root at the local level, here in Seminole.

Will it result in Republican incumbents being tossed aside for others from within their party, maintaining Republican dominance and changing only the names of the players?

Or will a Democratic opposition be able to take advantage of the opportunity to arise from the ashes of their vanquished 1980s dominance in Seminole?

Perhaps a combination of those two scenarios, or a completely different one that nobody envisions or foresees?

Keep an eye and ear out for signs of a coming change, and after it happens, remember who told you about it first.

Whatever it leads to, one thing is for sure: there's something happening here. What it is ain't exactly clear.

WESH-Channel 2 reported last night that the Seminole County School District may soon eliminate busing for some students at Evans Elementary School in Oviedo.

As the report noted, this was the subject of a major battle last year, when the parents won a one-year reprieve. Now that one year is about up, and the parents are again faced with the danger of having their children, all of whom are elementary school age, walking as much as two miles each day to school along State Road 434 and its 50-mph speed limits.

The School District is looking to save $127,000 by eliminating the busing and sacrificing the safety of the children, all of whom are elementary school age.

Slats has a better idea: let's keep the buses running and eliminate the School Board, which exists merely as a redundant rubberstamp to the whims and desires of Superintendent Bill Vogel and the School District administration.

At five School Board members making $33,000 per year, that's an annual savings of $165,000 for the School District. And the students and their parents gain a double win: they keep the buses running and send the School Board packing.

Although Slats originally offered this with tongue in cheek, there is a certain appeal to it that's hard to resist.

Expect yet another round of outraged parents trying to fight back against the absurdity of yet another errant School District decision.

Expect also the typical response from School Board members: to shake their heads in wonderment as to when these silly, silly parents will ever finally realize that School District decisions are not about them and their children. Those silly, silly parents. Where do they get such ideas?

Here's the story from WESH-Channel 2:

OVIEDO, Fla. -- Parents of some children at a Seminole County school face transportation challenges -- again.

The parents who live on the east side of Alafaya Trail are fighting to keep the school buses running, WESH NewsChannel 2 reported.

It is a battle they have won once before. Evans Elementary School parents fought Seminole County Public Schools last year when they learned their buses might be eliminated.

When construction ended on busy state Road 434, which is also called Alafaya Trail, by state law, the district could have stopped the buses, but after a parental uprising, the buses remained.

Now, the district is reconsidering its decision for kids who live along the east side of the road.

"My requirement is to look at the situation. If the hazardous duty does not exist, I am required to remove the transportation," said Ken Lewis, of Seminole County Public Schools.

The district maintains they told parents last year that the removal of busing would be considered at the end of this school year.

That time is near, but parents agree that if anything, it has only got worse.

"What about these predators? These predators today are going in to houses and taking kids out.

You're going to walk 2 miles, a 5-year-old, and not be at risk?" said parent Jim Martin.

Another concern of parents is that the speed limit on SR 434 is now 50 mph, an increase since the last time the route was looked at.

The safety committee will make a decision by the end of the school year.

The school district would save $127,000 a year by removing the buses.

The Seminole County Democratic Executive Committee, otherwise known as the SCDEC and still otherwise known as the Seminole Democrats, announced tonight the resignation of their chairman.

Stephen Bacallao, who was elected to the post in December, submitted his resignation, citing personal reasons.

An election will be held April 28 to elect a new chair. Until then, Vice Chair Carol Cox will serve as acting chair.

The Democratic Executive Committee of Seminole County is the official representative body of registered Democrats in Seminole County.

Well boys and girls, it looks like Slats should have known better than to take Longwood city officials at their word, meaning specifically City Administrator John Drago and the city commissioners.

Based on interim appointed Supervisor of Elections Mike Ertel's history, Slats was ready to believe the account offered at the March 21 Longwood City Commission meeting as to why the city was opting out of early voting at Longwood City Hall.

Slats has now received information that indicates the Longwood commissioners and city administrator were not completely upfront and honest about what transpired between them and Ertel. Or were they?

Their efforts to portray Ertel as not wanting to assist in providing early voting to Longwood citizens were apparently a distortion of what actually transpired. Or were they?

Slats is looking into the matter and will get back to you. As Slats has told you before, we're after the truth and only the truth here, and we'll get it one way or another. It's just not so easy when trying to sort out a "he said, she said"-type of mess. But considering those involved, it is not surprising.

Stay tuned!

Colleague Valerie Parnell discusses in her most recent column an incident that occurred recently at a Longwood City Commission meeting.

Now, as is obvious by the picture accompanying my columns and on this blog, your buddy Slats is no spring chicken, and that is OK by me. Youth once served me well, but my experience serves me even better. In no case is this more so than the perspective afforded by years of observation and attention.

And that leads me to this: Longwood City Attorney Richard Taylor should be as glad he is not my son as am I. If he were, he'd be getting an earful and more as to how to behave in public.

Several readers last week brought to Slats' attention an incident that occurred at the March 7 meeting of the Longwood City Commission. A quick recap: following a hearing for a rezoning request, the landowner expressed concern that the decision in his favor be made a part of the permanent record, so that future City Commission members not require him to repeat the process he had just naviagated to get his land rezoned.

As the landowner expressed these concerns and the commission responded, attorney Taylor interjected with a comment of his own. Mr. Taylor asked, "Is there a concern that we might get Democrats in office up here and things could change later on?" The commission instantly erupted into laughter, and attorney Taylor surely felt full of himself for being the class clown whose antics had met with approval from the other kids in the room.

On the surface, what he did does not amount to much, but at a deeper level, it means a lot. It reflects a feeling and attitude that is stifling open and honest political conversation and debate in our society, and, most importantly, is keeping us from finding the best ideas and solutions to our many challenges and problems.

Taylor's comments reflect the polariization of our political process that is now extending even to local, supposedly non-partisan governmental agencies such as the Longwood City Commission. There was no sense or logic to Taylor's comments, other than it was an easy and obvious way to disparage Democrats.

If a citizen who is a Democrat now has business before the City Commission, how are they to now feel confident that they will be treated as fairly as a Republican or non-Democrat. Such trust is obviously eroded by Mr. Taylor sitting alongside the other commissioners, all of whom seemed to have been in on his "joke."

There's another concern of equal importance here, and it reflects squarely on Mr. Taylor. The comment he expressed, presumedly in a joking manner, goes along with the entire demeanor he displays during City Commission meetings.

Mr. Taylor often slouches in his chair, frequently laying all the way back as if in a hotel room rather than a commission chamber, and shows no respect or consideration for the official business the city is conducting. He acts bored and indifferent, and if that is the way he sees his job, perhaps he should seek another.

Commissioners twice before have considered a motion to fire Mr. Taylor for his behavior, including his penchant for interrupting city business with non-legal opinions and personal comments, such as the one he expressed about Democrats. He has an established pattern of behavior, the most recent of which shows he has not learned his lesson.

The citizens of Longwood deserve better than a "class clown" for city attorney, and should make that known to their administrator and commissioners.

Slats' blog will resume tomorrow.

Slats has been watching with interest the development of the Seminole Chronicle, a local weekly newspaper serving the Winter Springs and Oviedo portions of Seminole County. To be honest, I've been rooting for them to succeed, for a number of reasons.

Seminole obviously needs some news sources committed to covering our county and its cities, and those who lead them. The Chronicle has the potential to grow and fill that void. And, on a personal note, Slats admires the hustle and drive of Chronicle editor Alex Babcock.

Babcock is a young kid who works hard. He brings to mind a young Slats, reminding me of my early days in this business when I went through a pair of shoes a day, working the various beats to which I was assigned as a young reporter for a major metropolitan newspaper.

Babcock hustles. He can be seen at city commission meetings in the various municipalities of the county, at County Commission gatherings and is there as the School Board conducts their business.

Slats has been keeping an eye on him, hoping his hard work pays off in making the Chronicle a success. But in the he last two weeks, the Chronicle and Babcock have hit a bump in the road.

It started with last week's edition of the paper, with an article whose byline attributed the story to Tucker Cordani. Cordani wrote what amounted to nothing more than a puff piece about interim appointed Supervisor of Elections Mike Ertel, and it was clear from the way the piece read that Cordani was seeking to make Ertel look like much more than the political hack he is.

It was alarming to see the piece in the Chronicle, and it prompted some concerns about the integrity of the Chronicle's editorial approach. Slats thought about firing off a note to Babcock, reminding him of the importance of telling both sides of the story and checking the spin when it is so blatantly present.

But then Slats decided to give the kid a pass. Babcock works hard, he needs material for his paper, and he obviously felt a need to use what Cordani had offered.

Slats immediately regretted feeling so softhearted when this week's edition of the Chronicle hit the stands yesterday. It contained another article written by Tucker Cordani that once again praised Ertel. The praise was so effusive and over the top that it makes Slats wonder if "Tucker Cordani" is allowing his name to front pieces actually written by Ertel himself.

Ertel comes from a public relations background, and such tricks would surely be in his capability. But the disturbing and very troubling issue here is the poor judgment used by the Chronicle, and its editor Alex Babcock, in allowing the article to appear as it did in the paper.

It's difficult to ascribe this to any desire on Babcock's part to slant the news or to give unwarranted editorial endorsement to a partisan flack masquerading as a public servant. In fact, Slats thinks it is more a case of a hard-working kid who is a bit overwhelmed and accepted some help from others in filling the spaces of his paper.

But here's Slats' warning to Alex Babcock and all the other young, hard-working editors and reporters looking for successful careers in this business:

All you have is your integrity and the reputation it brings you, kid. Don't squander it, and do not destroy it, especially while serving the purposes of those whose sole purpose is to use you and your editorial power to their personal advantage.

It is obvious Babcock has made a serious mistake in judgment in running the referenced articles over the past two weeks. There are probably reasons for it, but it still reflects a serious error in judgment that he has done so. It raises flags about his and his paper's journalistic credibility and integrity.

Here's hoping that Babcock realizes his mistake and does not repeat it in the future. Readers look to local newspapers for honesty in their reporting, and puff pieces that stretch the truth do not serve that purpose.

Alex Babcock has a choice to make: he can maintain his reputation by being a straight arrow, or he can allow others to bend him to fit their purposes, as appears to have been the case the past two weeks. Here's hoping that from here on out, he stays on the straight and narrow.

In the first entry on this blog, Slats told you that "you have to do me a favor: please do not ever take my word for it. Always check me out. If I tell you one of your elected reps is a stumblebum, pay attention and see if you don't agree. By doing that, over time, I think you'll come to find that Slats is here to tell it to you exactly as it is, and knowing that will help us all to make our community a better one in which to live."

It is my sincere hope that Alex Babcock can someday say the same, and that the last two weeks do not reflect the nature of his character, either professionally or personally. You made a big mistake, kid. Learn from it, and do not repeat it.

With a tip of the hat from Slats.

Slats has already told you how interim appointed Supervisor of Elections Mike Ertel is using a blank check to buy votes in his hometown of Oviedo. Well, it's too bad for residents of Longwood that Ertel does not share a hometown bond with them. That seems to be the only way they'd be able to enjoy the extended benefits of the democratic process.

Although Mikey is willing to pick up the $14,000 tab to hold early voting at Oviedo City Hall, he is not so generous with other domains around the county, including Longwood. Making matters worse, the Longwood City Commission is now looking to opt out of the early voting process altogether, denying their residents the benefits of an extended voting window.

The Commission unanimously passed a first reading at their meeting this past Monday night to cancel early voting in their fine town, but not before some confusion arose about what Ertel had said and to whom he had said it.

Mayor Butch Bundy introduced the topic by saying Ertel had promised to get back to City Administrator John Drago about using the Longwood municipal election as an early training site for elections office employees. When Bundy asked Drago if Ertel had followed through on his promise, Drago hesitated a moment, made a reference to having to be "politically correct here", and then said, no, Ertel had not kept his word and had not gotten back to him.

The Commission then quickly agreed to move forward to cancel the early voting in Longwood, citing its $3,000 cost and, according to Commissioner Dan Anderson, an alleged exposure to liability if the vote ended up being contested.

Now, whether there was early voting in Longwood or not, it would still be the responsibility of the Supervisor of Elections to conduct the voting process, not the city's. Given the history of Longwood elections, however, and his involvement in them, it is understandable that Anderson would be a bit gun-shy about possible contentions arising.

Beyond all else, however, the Commission's decision is an affront to their citizenry, denying the availability of a lengthier voting window in what becomes tantamount to an incumbency-protection program.

As the matter was concluded, Commissioner Mike Holt contradicted Mayor Bundy's earlier comments, saying that Ertel had told him that he did not want to have to go through the bother of providing early voting at a Longwood location.

Upon hearing Holt's statement as to what Ertel had told him, Bundy smilingly said, "Well, then he said two different things to two different people."

Draw your own conclusions as to why Ertel might have done that.

Slats hears from several readers that there were some interesting goings-on at this past Monday's Longwood City Commission meeting. Things there have been quite dull since the commissioners have stopped their intramural tag-team attacks on one another (of course, this is Longwood, so don't expect such proper behavior to last for long).

Slats is still checking around on a few things, but if what the readers write proves to be correct, you'll be hearing about it in the next day or two.

It has come to Slats' attention, through the deluge of emails and outrage flooding my inbox this week, that the average voter does not understand how the game of politics is played.

Let's use the naming of Hagerty High School in Oviedo as an example. As you likely know if you've read the stories on Seminole County Watch, the School Board decided to name the high school after retiring Superintendent Paul Hagerty, and told him so at his retirement bash. As might be expected, the esteemed Dr. Hagerty rejoiced at the news, which he said made him walk on air.

Residents in Oviedo then found out about the School Board's decision and, with all due respect to Dr. Hagerty, said they would have liked to have had a say in what the school was to be named. It was, after all, really their school, in their neighborhood, populated by their children, and it just did not seem right that they would lose out on having a school name with ties to their community.

"No dice," said the School Board. "Dr. Hagerty's name is going on the school, and that is final."

Since then, the parents have been wailing, the School Board has been ignoring, and Dr. Hagerty has been floating on a cloud.

This is where the political lesson comes in. "Why," you likely ask, "would the five School Board members alienate an entire community simply to honor one person? Why would they place stroking the ego of one person ahead of stoking the ire of an entire community?"

The answer: Because they know how the game is played. By naming the school for Dr. Hagerty, the School Board members are telling their fellow politicos that they will do for one another at the expense of the community, and that is what politicians do. They wheel and deal their power and positions, doing personal favors at the expense of the general electorate.

Dr. Hagerty was the least of the School Board's concerns in their decision to place his name on the new school. What they most wanted to do was to show their fellow elected officials that they will scratch their backs in exchange for theirs being scratched. Most importantly, they wanted to send the clear message that they know this is how the game is played, and that they are more than willing to play it.

And, that, boys and girls, is why policy, process, procedures and petitions are, in the end, worthless, even more so than the paper on which they are printed. The School Board cares not what you think, because they think you have a short memory.

But they care what their fellow powerbrokers think, because their memories are as long as their egos are puffed. And that latter fact is why the esteemed Dr. Hagerty would rather have his name etched on a building than have it truly respected throughout the community.

Seminole County Commissioners will be paying much attention to two infrastructure demands in the coming months, one pleasant and one not so. Both the county jail facilities and the county public library system are in need of expansion, and Slats would have to agree with Winter Springs City Commissioner Michael Blake, who opined at a recent meeting that "if you take care of the libraries, then you take care of the jails."

Blake's obvious reference was to the need to invest in our children and their education so that we do not need to later invest in their incarceration. County Commissioner Randy Morris recently visited the Winter Springs Commission to provide an overview of library needs and possible solutions, and has offered to do the same information for all the other municipalities in the county.

The County Commission will discuss the library proposal at an upcoming worksession, on Tuesday, March 29, in Board Chambers at the County Services Building, and will decide then what direction to take. The outcome of that meeting is one to watch for: expansion of library services and facilities is sorely needed in our county, and something we should all ultimately work to support.

Slats is glad to see Commissioner Morris taking the lead on this worthy endeavor, and gives a tip of the hat to the Commissioner.

Slats is being inundated with a number of emails from a very frustrated citizenry. Seems efforts to contact members of the Seminole County School Board are being largely ignored by the Board members, who are not getting back to inquiries from their constituency.

Keep in mind that School Board members and other elected officials are your public representatives, and should ultimately be responsible to you. The least they can give is response to your concerns and inquiries. Be persistent, and keep contacting them until you get the response you need. Enlist the help of others in asking the questions you'd like answered, and the concerns you'd like addressed.

Beyond all that, remember them at election time. If the number of emails Slats is receiving about the Board's contempt for those they are supposed to serve is any indication of the frustration and discontent that exists throughout the county, Board members could be in for a surprise next year . . . but ONLY if the electorate does not suffer long-term memory loss. In this case, long-term meaning the 16 years both Sandy Robinson and Jeanne Morris will have on the Board by 2006, as well as the eight years of damage Diane Bauer will have inflicted).

Yesterday marked the second anniversary of our military involvement in Iraq. Several emails from persons around the county have notified Slats of a reverent ceremony that was held at the Riverwalk in Sanford.

From the information that has been provided, the participants, said to have numbered 75 to 100, gathered to remember those from Florida who have been casualties of the war, while supporting those still there with prayer and thought. All accounts have described the ceremony as very respectful of our military members, very solemn, and very supportive.

Most noteworthy about this reverent assemblage is that it was organized and comprised of Democrats from Seminole and outlying counties. One email message noted that President Bush's name was not even mentioned during the ceremony. "This was not a protest against the war, and it had nothing to do with that aspect of it," one attendee said. "It was a solemn, prayerful and reflective memorialization of the sacrifices made by our troops."

Equally noteworthy is that Republicans, from Slats' knowledge, totally failed to acknowledge the date yesterday, whether locally or elsewhere. Seems it would have been appropro for them to at least have taken the day to pledge complete support for the troops, both while they're overseas and after they return home. The Republicans probably see that as unnecessary now, since they have basically achieved their goals and have little need to continue softsoaping members of both the American military and public.

That last comment was strictly Slats', and not that of the respectful congregants who assembled at the Riverwalk yesterday to support our troops.

The Democrats' respectful homage displayed yesterday to our troops who are in harm's way, without criticism of the policies that placed them there, is appreciated. It is also refreshing to have partisan politics forgotten for even a few moments, and the focus properly placed where it should be: on the people whom politics should serve, meaning the American citizenry in general, and, in this case, members of its military specifically.

It is no secret that Slats has been very critical of the local Democratic Party effort on many occasions, but in this regard, there is only one thing to say: "Well done."

The judge's decision two days ago in the Seminole County high school rezoning case mirrored exactly the prediction offered by the insightful editorial staff of Seminole County Watch immediately following the hearings in mid-February.

Sympathy and empathy for the parents is simultaneously easy and difficult to afford. The true test is where they go from here, not meaning circuit court, where the latest lawsuit, filed immediately in response to the judge's decision on Thursday, will take them.

The true test for the parents is where they go from here in terms of using this as a growth experience. Unless the affected parents and other citizens see the need to look beyond selfish immediate interests, situations like the one they are fighting will continue to recur.

As noted in my most recent column, we get the government we deserve. Unless we start rebuilding a true sense of community that is based on sincere desire for social justice, we will continue down the same path that has led to frustrations such as those held by the parents who feel violated by their elected School Board officials.

Regardless of where the parents go from here within the legal system, it is hoped that they will not ultimately retreat back into their neighborhood to turn their backs on others across the county who would benefit from the same support they have been seeking.

Unless citizens start building coalitions beyond their neighborhoods and across the county in pursuit of what is "right", nothing will ever change. The parents fighting the rezoning decision include in their group some very smart and capable individuals. Hopefully, they will dedicate themselves to future efforts towards making Seminole a better county in which we all can live. Ultimately, that is up to them.

A drastic change in thinking has apparently occurred for Seminole's appointed interim Supervisor of Elections Mike Ertel.

Ertel ignored the recent Sanford municipal elections until public outcry finally forced him to do his job of providing public information about them. Ertel said it was OK for his office to ignore the elections because it was a city election and the information should come from the city rather than his office.

Coincidentally, Mikey has now done a complete about-face in his feelings towards whose responsible for municipal elections. Previously, regarding the Sanford elections, he did not want to simply allocate space for information of the Supervisor of Election's website, which he could have done at no cost to his office.

Now, he is willing to pick up the $14,000 tab of holding early voting in Oviedo this September. During the Sanford elections, early voting was held only at the Supervisor of Elections office. Now, it will be held at Oviedo City Hall as well, and the cost to the city will be waived. In other words, Ertel's office will be covering the expense.

Ertel puts a very glossy shine on this by calling it a "training exercise" in early voting for his staff, in preparation for next year's county elections. That sounds OK, albeit a little "funny" coming from someone whose main focus upon being appointed to office was repeated ad nauseum as being to cut the budget, cut the budget, cut the budget.

There is a more practical and realistic conclusion, especially when considering that Ertel's main qualification for being appointed to the office by Gov. Jeb Bush is that he has been a loyal Republican Party partisan, and was obviously being rewarded for being so.

Ertel resides in the heavily-Republican Oviedo community, and looks to be allowing his personal predispositions to affect his judgment in public policy. Compare Oviedo to Sanford: Ertel lives in Oviedo, Oviedo is much less ethnically mixed and much MORE homogeneous, and much MORE Republican.

Ertel is using his appointed public position to once again further a personal partisan political agenda that advances the Republican Party agenda in Seminole County at the expense of an equitable elections process for all voters in all regions of the county.

That Ertel feels secure in doing so likely comes from knowing his efforts will pay off. Participation in the voting process increases with education and income. As the demographics show, this means the voters in Oviedo are much more likely to appreciate Ertel's extra attention than the voters in Sanford are likely to even realize they are being shortchanged.

Along the same lines, Ertel also fears no reprise from the one group that would seem most likely to bring attention and focus to his errant actions. The Democratic Party in Seminole County remains a mute and impotent force when it comes to actions taken by our public officials.

Ironically, the voters most shortchanged by such actions are generally those the Democrats point to as their "base": the less affluent, less educated and more ethnically-diverse. By allowing Ertel to go unchallenged, the Democrats are doing nothing to protect even their own blatant interests.

As colleague Scott Maxwell of the Orlando Sentinel has previously noted about Ertel, "Democrats might raise a stink about using public money to pay an obviously partisan guy -- if there actually were any Democrats in Seminole."

Almost every morning, Slats gets together with a group of contemporaries to hold court over breakfast, shifting the location amongst several of our favorite greasy-spoon type eateries across the county.

Usually, the conversation gets a bit contentious. You'd expect that. There are a few there who are a bit crusty with experience, very set in their ways and very firm in their opinions.

But at yesterday's breakfast conclave, there was unanimity of agreement on one specific topic. All in attendance agreed that, regardless of all else, one of the best things to result from the high school rezoning controversy was a new website dedicated to the topic of education in Seminole County.

SC-READ stands for Seminole County-Real Education for All Districts. It is a group that was first formed in opposition to the School Board's rezoning decision. It has since expanded its scope to include all education concerns in Seminole County, and it is a valuable resource on the topic.

Take a look at their site when you get a chance: www.sc-read.org

The site is well-done and deserves your support, as evidenced by the unanimous expression of that opinion at yesterday's breakfast roundtable.

While you're there, take a moment to vote in their current online poll, which asks how the School Board should proceed on the rezoning issue. Tell them Slats sent you.

(A special thanks to one of our readers for recently giving us a 'heads up' about the site. If there are others we should check out, let Slats know)

One other very important thing: Happy St. Patrick's Day, everybody!!!

Winter Springs Mayor John Bush admonished the unidentified city managers of two nearby towns at the close of Monday night's Winter Springs City Commission.

Their offense, in Bush's view, was to criticize County Commission Chairman Carlton Henley for comments included in his State of the County address on Feb. 18. In that address, Henley called for consolidation of services between the county and the seven cities within the county.

Bush said it was a no-no for the two city managers to be quoted in the next morning's paper as being critical of Henley's ideas on consolidation, specifically because they were non-elected officials who, as such, should not presume to speak for their cities.

Kind of funny coming from a mayor who does not even have a vote on his own city commission, and who serves as little more than window dressing and occasional cheerleader for city causes.

It is even more amusing considering that the Winter Springs City Commissioners often take their lead from their own City Manager Ron McLemore, often serving as nothing more than rubberstamps for his advised actions.

Mayor Bush wants us to think city managers do not have the right to "speak" for the cities they run, when in Winter Springs, at least, it is usually only the city manager's voice that is ultimately heard. McLemore must be an especially adept ventriloquist: he has even convinced his dummies they are speaking for themselves.

By the way, Bush would not publicly name the city managers nor their cities when he blasted them at Monday's meeting. For the record, they are Frank Clifton, Casselberry City Manager, and John Drago, Longwood City Administrator.

Colleague Darren Glaude reports that Winter Springs Commissioner Michael Blake, the petulant bad boy of the Winter Springs Commission, was not the most gracious of hosts at last evening's City Commission meeting.

County Commissioner Randy Morris appeared before the City Commissioners to speak on several topics, including an offer from the County Commission to turn over Soldier's Creek Park on State Road 419 to the city of Winter Springs. The county has a maintenance contract on the land that will soon expire and is looking to free itself of the cost, and is considering turning the land over to Winter Springs as one of its options.

Blake told Morris that his mother always told him to be careful of people bearing gifts. When Morris responded, "It's all about trust," Blake commented that trust has been such a key component of the city's relationship with the county. The two governing entities are involved in a lawsuit over control of the eastern boundary in the Black Hammock area.

As Morris exited the meeting following his presentation, Blake yelled out from the Commissioner's dais, "Viva La County! Come more often!" Morris continued walking and exited the Commission chambers, ignoring Blake's comment.

BTW, Darren also reported that the Commission has delayed the renaming of Winter Springs Town Center to Winter Springs Downtown, a sensible move in response to a request from the developer over sunk costs in promoting the original name.

If you're planning to attend tonight's Winter Springs City Commission meeting, colleague Darren Glaude has a suggestion to make it more interesting:

You may want to liven things up a bit with your own version of the college drinking games that revolve around certain TV shows. All you and others attending the meeting need to do is take a hit each time Commissioner Sally McGinness says the phrase, "Photo op." Be sure to bring several bottles if you plan on participating. Sally is obviously very fond, and conscious, of "photo ops" and pointing out opportunities for them.

The meeting begins at 6:30 PM at Winter Springs City Hall. Having a designated driver may not be a bad idea.

Governor Jeb Bush is a lot like the guy who leaves work early to make up for getting there late. Our governor always has an angle to his actions, and never does the right thing simply because it is the right thing.

Jeb wants to derail the class-size amendment, so he comes up with a plan to offer teachers more money, thereby pitting two legitimate issues against one another. He reinstates to the budget health care cuts for the poor, but simultaneously announces another round of budget cuts for Florida's millionaires.

For some reason, our governor's credo seems to be that those who are best off in society must always get their cut before anyone else. Those in need of help are never to get it unless there is a profit to be made by those extending the hand.

Sounds very much like a personalized version of his privatization and outsourcing plan for government services, to which he steadfastly clings despite the disastrous impact it has had upon the residents of our state.

I do not know in what America Jeb was raised, but the one in which I grew up and matured is not one in which good samaritans first take their cut off the top.

State Rep. David Simmons is leading the charge to take away grass-roots effect on legislative matters. The Seminole County rep serves as chair of the Florida House Judiciary Committee, which is rushing through a series of bills that will make it harder to pass citizens' initiatives that are on the ballot. The proposed changes will also make it more difficult to get those initiatives on the ballot in the first place.

Had the proposed changes been in effect in the past, a number of successful citizens' initiatives would not have been possible, including the workplace smoking ban, universal pre-K classes and high-speed rail.

Of course, the general response of Gov. Jeb Bush has been to ignore and reverse those initiatives with which he does not agree, ignoring the will of the voters in Florida. Simmons is now trying to prevent that will from even being expressed in the first place.

Simmons says that special interests are now behind most of the initiatives that occur at the grass roots. Although that is a profoundly erroneous description of the citizens' movement, Simmons' comments do not reflect his true fear: any special interest dollars spent on the grass roots mean less money flowing to the coffers of those in Tallahassee.

Simmons and other Republicans obviously feel that "special interests" should be spending money only to influence the votes of legislators through direct contributions, rather than seeking to influence the votes of average citizens through media spending that does nothing to enrich the lawmakers.

Once again we find ourselves saying, "Shame on you, Rep. Simmons."

County Commission Chairman Carlton Henley's "State of the County" address will air this weekend on Seminole Government TV (SGTV).

The address, originally delivered by Henley on February 18, will air tonight at 8:30 PM. You can view SGTV on the BrightHouse Networks on Channel 9. You can also view SGTV's feed live online.

Make a note to catch Henley's address, or record it for later reference. We'll have some things to say about it in the coming week.

Anticipation will be building through tomorrow among School Board and District officials and the parents who challenged the recent high school rezoning.

Administrative hearing officer Jeff Clark is expected to issue his decision tomorrow, the big question being whether he will come down on the side of the School Board or parents, or whether he will walk a fine line between the two.

The parents' biggest fear is that Clark will sympathize with their plight but allow the rezoning to go on due to the negative impact of waiting any longer.

Should the School Board prevail, the next question becomes what the parents will do next. School District attorney Ned Julian has scheduled a meeting with Superintendent Bill Vogel and School Board members for Friday, March 18, at 8:00 AM to determine their next step regardless of which way the decision goes.

Listening to Diane Bauer's neurotic ramblings during School Board meetings makes Slats think the School Board member from District 1 must have quite a dilemma each night: whether to sleep with the light on or off.

First thought is she must keep it on, since she is surely afraid of the dark. But then, she might see her shadow, and she is likely afraid of that as well.

Bauer spends most of her time during meetings nervously playing up to everyone, either making sure they know she and the Board are not responsible for certain things or fawning all over them with neurotic ramblings about how wonderful they are.

During last night's School Board meeting, the issue of the eastern boundary dispute between Seminole County and Winter Springs arose, with the mention that depending upon which way the decision went, it could prompt a need for further school rezoning in the not-so-distant future.

Bauer quickly announced that the School Board had no say in making the decision about the boundary dispute.

Elsewhere during the evening, Bauer related how, by attending previous meetings during the middle school rezoning process, she was "afraid" parents might ask her opinion.

Had they done so, she said, she was "afraid" she would have had to tell them she could not offer one.

Upon completion of last night's meeting, at which one of the middle school rezoning plans was adopted for recommendation to the delight of the parents in attendance, Bauer endlessly heaped praise upon the parents, obviously unable to say enough wonderful things about them, no matter how she tried or how long she went on.

It is rather apparent, by what she says and how she says it, that Bauer's biggest fear is of not being reelected when her term expires in 2006. Obviously, her reelection campaign has already begun.

Enough is enough. Do your job, do it right, and take the consequences. Bauer needs to worry about making the proper decisions for the proper reasons, rather than agonizing over losing votes.

But, as Slats always says, don't just take my word for it. Check it out for yourself. The School Board meeting will be aired on Seminole Government TV (SGTV) this Thursday, March 10, at 7:00 Pm, and again this Friday, March 11, at 1:30 PM. SGTV can be seen on Channel 9 on the BrightHouse Networks, or viewed live online.

Take a look, and pay close attention to the member from District 1.

Slats hears there are yet more major changes coming within the Florida Democratic Party.

Current chair Scott Maddox will soon announce he is leaving the post to run for elected office, most likely Governor despite the efforts of some to steer him towards the Attorney General's race instead.

Maddox wants to bring in Jimmy Morales, a former Dade commissioner, as his replacement, but not because he thinks he can build the party, which Maddox has failed to do. Instead, Maddox wants to use the position to elevate Morales' public standing within the state, giving him a platform that will raise his name recognition. Once that is accomplished, the plan is for Maddox to name Morales as his running mate in the lieutenant governor's position.

Maddox is all agog over Morales' background. Morales is the Harvard-educated son of a Cuban mother and Puerto Rican father, thereby bridging the Hispanic split that has constantly vexed the Dems.

There's only one caveat to the oh-so-rosy picture. Consider these comments from the Miami Herald's noted columnist Jim DeFede, made in July of 2003, when Morales was unsuccessfully ramping up his 2004 campaign to be mayor of Miami-Dade county (Morales lost the election):

"Despite campaigning almost non stop since last year, Morales does not inspire confidence. Morales is a nice guy, but weak. He is not the person you would want on your side going into battle."

For Democratic loyalists, the most distressing aspect of the Maddox-Morales plan is the way the party is being used to further the personal aspirations of the current chair, at the expense of the overall Democratic effort in Florida.

Fortunately for the Dems, there is a savior who is ready to take up the fight and enter the race to succeed Maddox as chair: former United States Rep. Karen Thurman. Thurman will run for the position when Maddox steps down, and should be a slam dunk choice as his successor.

The former congresswoman is smart, insightful, and, above all else, understands the need to build the party, and knows how to do it.

Democrats will soon once again find themselves at a crossroads, with the 2006 elections looming not too far on the horizon. The surprise is that this time, they actually have a choice who will actually make a difference in their efforts.

Democrats who look beyond personal interests and truly care about their party should be ringing Maddox' phone off the hook, encouraging him to make the leap into the gubernatorial race now so that Thurman can get started on doing the job Maddox constantly talked about but failed to do.

There used to be a standup comedy routine in which Jesse James went about the old West, threatening everyone with the line, said with a clear lisp, "Listen to me. You don't want to mess with us. We're the James boys, Frank and Jesse."

For some reason, that was the first thing to come to Slats' mind when he saw the new picture posted by appointed interim Supervisor of Elections Mike Ertel on his official web site.

Note the look of determination on his face, and the pointed index finger pressing into the desktop. Yessir, voters in Seminole, you do not want to mess with him. He is one tough hombre. Surely that is why Gov. Jeb Bush appointed him to the office, rather than, as some have suggested, his fervent party loyalty to the GOP.

Of course, the obvious thought that comes to mind is if, while posing for the photo, Ertel was remembering being forced as a youngster by his sister to wear a dress, high heels and lipstick. Surely, though, he is past that now, even if he did feel the need to publicly mention it during one of his losing campaigns for public office.

More on the 2006 Governor's race, with a focus on the finances, courtesy of this morning's St. Petersburg Times:

STARTING WITHOUT SCRATCH: It appeared Jim Davis might start his gubernatorial campaign with a slight advantage after Congress late last year revised campaign finance restrictions to allow members of Congress to transfer federal campaign money into campaigns for state or local office.

That would have meant the Tampa Democrat could start his gubernatorial bid with more than $100,000 in the bank.

Unfortunately for Davis, Florida law includes no provision for that. He's not expecting the GOP-controlled Legislature would be interested in amending the state rules to help him.

Davis appears to have lined up extensive support among South Florida fundraisers, but he's still assembling his campaign team.

Meanwhile, a Democratic rival, state Sen. Rod Smith, is lining up his own experienced finance team. It includes: Sen. Bill Nelson's former finance director Richard Reeves; Buddy MacKay's former finance director Michael Spellman; Ben Eley, who led Florida fundraising for Bill Bradley, Wes Clark and Joe Lieberman; Joe Perry, fundraiser for Democratic state senate campaigns; former state party executive director Screven Watson; and James Harris, a former adviser to Bob Graham, Bill Nelson and Janet Reno.

About a month ago, Florida House member David Simmons scoffed at a colleague's desire to have the Florida Legislature consider the Equal Rights Amendment.

Simmons, chair of the House Judiciary Committee, cited a "very full plate of things to do", adding, "I simply don't believe there's time for it. We are dealing with major issues facing this state that are urgent."

Several weeks later, Simmons introduced his misguided bill to divert more state revenue into the pockets of the Orlando Magic and away from citizens', and the state's, real needs.

Our representative from Altamonte Springs certainly knows what issues are urgent, doesn't he?

U. S. Congressman Jim Davis has established a website for his 2006 run for Florida governor, apparently the first of the candidates on either side to do so. Others already announced for the position include state Sen. Rod Smith, D-Alachua.

Likely Republican contenders in the race include Lt. Gov. Toni Jennings, Attorney General Charlie Crist and state Chief Financial Officer Tom Gallagher.

Expect within the next 60 days an announcement from State Democratic Party chair Scott Maddox that he is leaving that post, to which he was just reelected this past January, to make another run for elected office, most likely governor.

Many Democrats undoubtedly breathed deep sighs of relief with Betty Castor's announcement yesterday that she will not seek the governor's office in 2006, but that further opened the door for Maddox' entry into the race.

It will be interesting to see the reaction of those active within the Democratic Party to Maddox' announcement, which party insiders say is fully expected to occur. Maddox stepped up to offer himself as the party's savior following the disastrous years of Bob Poe's term at the helm, yet has done little to promote traction for the party, other than taking advantage of every opportunity to promote himself via his position as chairman.

The recurring lesson that Dems refuse to learn: politics is a rough-and-tumble game that needs to focus on building the organization rather than promoting the individual. Rather ironic considering the spin they usually place on policy issues, i.e., we all benefit from a better society that seeks the greater good rather than individual desire.

For those of you who don't know, old Slats first came to Seminole County three decades ago, back before the "boom", when Seminole was a sleepy little county that was able to maintain much of its easy rural lifestyle while enjoying the benefits that Orlando had to offer nearby.

Back then, in the 1970s, Sanford was central to much of what went on around Seminole. Like many smaller cities and towns, it had a downtown around which it was pleasant to stroll in the evenings. The zoo was downtown and offered a convenient and pleasant diversion, especially for the kids. And, of course, there was the water, and the relaxing strolls one could take along it.

Over the years, Slats has often wondered what went wrong in Sanford. The town has so much to offer in natural attributes and amenities, and it was once the focal point of life in Seminole. Until the county's growth came in, drawing shoppers and attention to Altamonte and other diverse points throughout the area. As it all unfolded, Sanford was apparently unable to respond.

In short, it was a lack of leadership. Unable to develop a vision of the future, Sanford's leaders clung tightly to the past, and to maintaining the authority of their positions in the present, eventually worrying more about what the other was doing rather than what was happening to their town.

Their self-absorption led to negligence that eroded the foundation of what life was all about in Sanford, and eventually, everything just caved in, leaving a massive hole where a community once stood.

The lack of leadership and vision plagues Sanford today. Thus far, the only answer has been to attempt to develop around the periphery of the city, dealing with all but the core problem. Malls to the west, airports to the right, serving transient visitors from other areas who are simply passing through.

At the center is a town waiting to be reborn, waiting for visionary leaders to resuscitate it with new life for the future. This Tuesday's election is a step towards bringing Sanford back to life. The candidates, unfortunately, are not of the caliber most desirous, but there are many of them, and there are differences between them. Clearly, there are choices to be made.

If you live in Sanford, please pay attention to this Tuesday's election. Think about what Sanford has the potential to be. If you're fortunate enough to remember, think about what it once was. Then do all you can, starting with voting responsibly on March 8, to bring Sanford back to life.

Colleague Scott Maxwell of the Orlando Sentinel reports this morning that there are no Democrats in Seminole County. Can only take this to mean that Bob Poe has moved out of town and no one bothered to inform Slats that Seminole's token Democratic voice was gone.

Since the former local party boss of the Dems went down in flames, there has been no Phoenix rising from the ashes, nor does it seem likely there will be.

Reminds Slats of what Hall of Fame pitcher Waite Hoyt once said, when he was asked the secret of his success. His response: pitching for the Yankees.

In Seminole, political success goes beyond that. Not only is the headline always "Republicans Win!", but in our county, Republicans win due to forfeit for lack of opposition.

Reminds Slats of another baseball quote, this one from Casey Stengel while managing the 1962 Mets, when he asked, "Can't anyone play this game?"

For Democrats in Seminole County, the answer is, "obviously not." Yet life goes on in our one-party county.

Slats cannot help but be amused at how quickly Bud Chiles pulled out of the governor's race, aborting his plans to follow both figuratively and literally in the footsteps of his dad, Walkin' Lawton Chiles. He may have the bloodlines, but it doesn't look as though Little Bud had his dad's heart and determination. The word Slats is getting from friends in the know is that Bud's first taste of local campaigning, some of it right here in Seminole County, was not much to his liking, and pulling out of the race did not take a major change of heart. Especially since his heart may never have actually been in it.

Chiles' departure is actually a blessing in disguise for the Dems, whose only chance to win the Governor's race in 2006, at this point, looks to be Jim Davis, the U S Congressman from Tampa. Davis has that folksy yet impatient air about him, as if he is charmed and irritated at the same time. Voters seem to like that sort of crankiness in their candidates. Most importantly, he looks and acts very uncomfortable in his own body. He often looks as if he is trying to escape from within his own skin. We'll call that the "Jeb" factor. Seems Florida voters are attracted to awkwardly-acting candidates who always seem physically uncomfortable and a bit irritable.

Slats' early prediction: the Democrats continue to fail to learn their lesson and embrace Betty Castor as their "Janet Reno" of 2006. They push the party further left. That is, away from where the voters are. Then when they get shallumped at the polls, they blame the voters for the latter's stupidity, rather than taking assessment of their own. A very unique plan for winning elections.

Of course, it is still very early, but if it plays out as Slats sees it, the Dems will come back with Hilary in 2008 and drive yet another nail into their own coffin. Even then, it will never occur to them why they cannot win an election, and their perplexity will be further compounded by having had Howard Dean as their national party chair.

How many times will the Dems insist on banging their head against the same wall? If they stopped for a moment, they might realize it feels good to do so, other than the ones who revel in how much their perennial losing hurts. All that anger needs some sort of justification.

For those Dems who really want to win in 2006: jump on the Davis bandwagon now, before all those yellow shirts start coming out of storage.

It is difficult to figure out Mike Ertel, who is now serving as interim Supervisor of Elections here in Seminole until a permanent polls chief is elected by voters in 2006.

Ertel came into office with some lofty goals. Much of them, truth be told, seemed quite beyond that which he is supposed to do in running local elections. Such as promotion of candidates, for instance. Ertel, we are told by published reports, says the office should be where people can go for information on candidates and to learn about the issues.

But that apparently does not include allowing candidates to erect campaign signs. Dean Ray, a candidate for mayor of Sanford, had placed a sign outside the Supervisor of Elections office, with a good reason: that is where voters will go to early vote between now and the March 8 election.

Ray says that early voting at the Supervisors' office makes the office a polling place, and he should be able to place a sign there. Makes sense to me.

Ertel says he removed the sign because it did not pass what he refers to as "the smell" test. That does not make much sense to us, and, to be honest, Ertel's explanation smells a bit fishy.

By the way, was it mentioned that Ertel is a Republican party loyalist and Ray is the only Democrat in the Mayor's race? Seems to make a bit more sense now. What was that Ertel was saying about a "smell test"?

Being a Democrat in Seminole County, and Florida, must be tougher than we thought. The Democrats hold only one statewide office, that of United States Senator Bill Nelson.

Yet a statewide poll this weekend showed more Republicans than Democrats approving of Nelson's performance in office, by a 52 percent to 49 margin.

Democrats cannot even get excited over the one office they hold. No wonder there's so much anger and angst amongst them.

Hello, Seminole County, and welcome to my world, where I'll be giving you a Slats-eye view of everything that's going on in Seminole County.

My opinions are my own, unlike a lot of the people serving in our government, and I'll always give it to you straight, exactly as I see it. But you have to do me a favor: please do not ever take my word for it. Always check me out. If I tell you one of your elected reps is a stumblebum, pay attention and see if you don't agree. By doing that, over time, I think you'll come to find that Slats is here to tell it to you exactly as it is, and knowing that will help us all to make our community a better one in which to live.

One other thing: always feel free to let me know what you think. If you have an opinion or reaction to something I say, let me know it. Post a comment directly to the blog, or, if you prefer a private response, just send an email to slatsmurphy@seminolecountywatch.com

I'll always get back to you if a personal response is requested.

Now that you know the rules, let's get on with it!