Groveland's water-battle bill nears $800,000

Chump change.

The well connected parasites are just starting their feeding frenzy on the taxpayers over there.

This did not have to happen, the crooks in charge in that rathole were trying to shake niagra down for too much, and Niagra said to kiss my a--.

They should have kept the "under the table" payoff reasonable like caldwell and hill did.

this place groveland.. is full of good ole boys who care not about the common folk..........they just tore down the old minute maid juice plant and word in the street is they is goning to bring in a giant wal-mart......... and guess who will get paid under the table...

St. Johns governing board ? Unaccountable?

Whats the difference? Pump water and sell it or plant 50 acres of blueberries and run the sprinklers 24 hours a day? Water is still being used and profits are being made by the companies. In one case everyone is upset and the other is loved by all.

Crist case shows ethics panel needs more clout

THE ISSUE: State ethics panel sides with Crist. Sun Sentinel Editorial Board June 28, 2009
The Florida Ethics Commission declined to look into allegations regarding the governor's use of private jets of wealthy businessmen. Gov. Charlie Crist said he had paid for those flights he considered personal, and in the minds of the commissioners, that was good enough.

With little fanfare, and a waste of state resources to convene the meeting, the ethics commission dismissed a complaint from a Marion County resident after the issue had been raised in the Sun Sentinel and other newspapers. The panel concluded it didn't have the authority to "audit a situation just to examine innuendo or speculation."

In March, a Sun Sentinel examination of the governor's schedule and flight itinerary raised questions of impropriety over the chief executive's choice of flights. Crist has two state planes — costing taxpayers roughly $3.5 million annually — available to him for public business. For political and private matters, the governor's left with either commercial or private flights. It apparently wasn't a tough choice.

Crist routinely uses private jets, whether it's a flight back to the capital from a Super Bowl in Tampa, a hop over to a Sheryl Crow concert in Gainesville or a golf tournament hosted by Donald Trump in Palm Beach. The governor insists he paid for the trips. He also declines to produce any receipts or other details of the payments.
"Legal insufficiency" is the legalese used to justify dismissing the complaint, but the panel's findings contain the following words that prove far more telling: "No factual investigation preceded the review, and therefore the Commission's conclusions do not reflect the accuracy of the allegations of the complaint."

Bad enough the state has a chief executive who won't offer any rational explanations after promising to preside over an open administration. Now Floridians must meet a proof-beyond-a-shadow-of-a-dou bt standard before the commission will conduct a valid inquiry.

If that's the type of evaluations Florida can expect from its ethics commission, maybe state lawmakers should either find a way to give the commission more authority to investigate complaints, or consider doing away with the panel altogether.

BOTTOM LINE: Decision should prompt the panel's "sunset review."

Stanaki Land deal in Volusia County should hurt Crist and McCollum . FDEP/ DSL was negotiating to buy land from a major Republican donor Mori Hosseini. In derrogation of a court ruling (Case 05-001852) Crist and Bush and granted development entitlements on the Land (FLAWC053106) while negotiations were in process. Hosseini was allowed to get new appraisals and raised the asking price from 8 to 16 million. Crist then had FDEP end negotiations and asked DCA to fund the purchase through a FCT Grant reimbursement program. This allowed new appraisals to be used by the State. Last Thursday (FCT Governing Board Meeting) DCA Secretary Pelham approved funding the purchase at the higher per acre price. FCT Director Reecy said the earlier FDEP appraisals and offers were "irrelevant" and removed them from the files prior to staff and Board review of the grant application (08-004-FF8). Both McCollum and Crist received donations before and since the Pioneer CDD was granted

UPDATE: CRIST APPOINTS HOSSEINI’S SISTER TO ST. JOHNS WATER
MANAGEMENT BOARD

Gov. Charlie Crist has picked two new people to serve on the regional water management district board for Central Florida – a Volusia County engineer with development ties and an Alachua County law professor with environmental ties.
Crist named Maryam H. Ghyabi, 50, of Ormond Beach, and Richard G. Hamann, 58, of Gainesville, to the St. Johns River Water Management District governing board, which controls water consumption permits, approves wetland permits and decides how much water the local utilities can siphon from the St. Johns River. The district includes parts of 18 counties, including most of metro Orlando.
Ghyabi is president of Ghyabi & Associates, a transportation engineering and planning firm that has been a consultant on many local transportation issues. She is a sister of Mori Hosseini, a big-time developer based in Daytona Beach. Hosseini is a Republican super-fundraiser, ranking as a “Ranger” who raised at least $200,000 for President Bush's 2004 re-election campaign. Hosseini and his array of companies frequently show up in many elected officials' campaign finance reports.
Hamann teaches water and ecosystem law at the University of Florida's Center for Governmental Responsibility. His professional affiliations include the Florida Defenders of the Environment and the Alachua Conservation Trust.
If approved by the state Senate, Ghyabi would replace David G. Graham of Jacksonville and Hamann would replace Ann T. Moore, the Flagler County representative.

Typical taxpayer ripoff under the cover of helping Joe public. Crooks and thieves, they all should go to jail.

Have you been to Groveland, they don't have two nickels to rub together and they dump 750k on Attorneys in fight the even if they would have won they would never get their money back.

Finally there is one matter in which a City government is actually on the correct path. In so, all its citizens, and everyone else should be behind it. This battle should also be supported and joined by all the surrounding City and County governments and their citizens, all of whom will benefit from Groveland’s fortitude.

The SJWMD has grown too powerful and acts without regard for the Citizens in the area. Recent legislation allowing one person “Kinghood” over the district is a terrible misappropriation of power and will end up being a devastating blow to the waterways of Lake County.

The Lakes of the Harris Chain (referred to as what the SJWMD terms UOWB in its reports) have already been what could be considered irrevocably damaged. The SJWMD’s MODFLOW plans 2010 and 2020, in combination with the Lake County Water Authority’s seemingly unbridled aquatic vegetation eradication program have created mud holes where beautiful sand based lakes used to be. Waterfront homeowners have been denied the full use of their property by the SJWMD’s total disregard for their rights.

How many of the Chain’s canals or shorefront boathouses have been bled dry. How many boats have you seen hanging over dry land rather than the water that should be there to receive them, all stranded by the MODFLOW reductions. I don’t know about you but I would guess you are like me and have not seen an equal reduction in waterfront property taxes.

The SJWMD in one report while recommending the drawn down water levels at the beginning of the report actually acknowledges such drawdowns will and have created irreparable ecologic damage.

The Orlando Sentinel on June 21st published an article that could easily be considered an SJWMD publicity piece by Martin Comas hawking the words FINAL STRAW in the title. In that article, Comas presents the SJWMD’s argument for supporting the Niagara Bottling Company and other heavy water consumptive users in comparison with homeowner irrigation and agricultural uses as inconsequential. http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/environme...

I attempted to post the below response to that article, The Sentinel, I assume, disallowed this post as repeated below.

“Any comparison between bottling and irrigation is moot for one reason and one only. All the water Florida irrigation users apply to maintain landscaping and/or agriculture is returned to the ecosystem. Let me say that again, ALL the water “consumed” by irrigation is returned to the ecosystem and ultimately the Florida aquifer. Does it really take scientists, hydrologists and millions of dollars in studies, consultants, legal fees and court costs to figure out water that hits the ground either filters down into ground water supplies or via evapotranspiration returns as precipitation. This is otherwise known as the water cycle.

The bottled water companies package water in what ever the amount and via shipping confiscates this water from the ecosystem. Given the figures in the article (assumed to be provided by SJWMD) extended outward for current and proposed bottling consumption, 6 trillion, 369 million, 250 thousand (6,369,250,000) gallons of water per year will be irreplaceably misappropriated from the Central Florida ecosystem. Expanded over twenty years, the quantities are mind blowing, not unlike the spiraling Federal spending deficits.

Please explain where the comparison is? I can’t see it. I see smoke and mirrors and typical political maneuvering for personal gain at the expense of the public.”

Continued

continued from Above

The 2020 MODFLOW plan will reduce surface waters in the UOLB even further beginning in 2011 culminating in an even lower level. The 2010 plan calls for high mean water level to be at 61 feet over sea level. We all have stood by and witnessed the SJWMD attain this level in the past few years, demonstrated by all those docks out of the water and makeshift stepladders leaning against those docks that still have a bit a water around them.

I have talked to many Lake County homeowners’ that have, like me and my neighbors, taken it upon themselves to attempt to cleanup the mess made by the SJWMD and the LCWA. We have spent thousands of dollars dredging our canals in what now appears to be a vain endeavor to regain the use of our waterfronts. The 2020 MODFLOW plan call for an additional 4 feet of water to be removed from the waterways to a level of 57 feet above sea level. The SJWMD continually has stated in response to citizen complaints about water levels in public meetings that the reduced levels are due to drought conditions. True? You decide. But I do know the water regulating structures at Haines Creek and others have been wide open draining away the lake levels.

Additionally they have built another structure on Lake Harris near the Leesburg airport to siphon water directly through Lake Griffin into the Ocklawaha River. Remember all the extra construction at the intersection of Highways 441 and 44, it wasn’t just a road widening. We are told this is just a relief structure but the relief level appears well below our historical lake level.

How much more needs to be said before the Citizens decide enough is enough. Perhaps the only way to regain common sense over greed and stupidity is for us all to band together and file a class action lawsuit against these entities that believe they can do what ever they want regardless of the cost to the citizen and our environment.