Monday, August 1 is the deadline to register to vote or to change parties, to vote in the August 30 primary election.
Democrats, Independents and minor party members may want to consider temporarily changing their party affiliation to Republican in order to vote in the very important primary election for Sarasota County Commission between Mike Moran, the hand-picked tool of the big developers, and principled neighborhood leader and mediator Frank DiCicco. If you want, you can change your registration back after the primary.
Citizens may register to vote or change parties at the Supervisor of Elections office in Sarasota, Venice or North Port, Thursday, Friday or Monday, 8:30 to 5 (North Port closed noon to 1): Find Your Elections Office Here.
If you want to print and fill out the registration form (with a black ballpoint pen) in advance, The Registration Form is Here. (Filling out the form is also used to change parties or otherwise change your information, such as the address). Alternatively, you can mail that completed form with a postmark dated no later than Monday, August 1, to Sarasota County Supervisor of Elections, P.O. Box 4194, Sarasota, FL 34230.
Please do your part to protect your interests and those of the rest of the citizenry from those special interests which would hijack democracy for their personal gain.
TALLAHASSEE Florida regulators voted to approve new water quality standards Tuesday that will increase the amount of cancer-causing toxins allowed in Florida’s rivers and streams under a plan the state says will protect more Floridians than current standards.
The Environmental Regulation Commission voted 3-2 to approve a proposal drafted by state regulators that would impose new standards on 39 chemicals not currently regulated by the state and revise the regulations on 43 other toxins, most of which are carcinogens.
There's a meeting today, July 26th, that might see that decision being made.
We can tell them what we think about this.
Today.
Sample email:
To:
"Adam R. Gelber" <aagelber@bellsouth.net>, Carl Roth <croth@deanmead.com>, "Craig D. Varn" <cvarn@mansonbolves.com>, Joe Joyce <jcj@ifas.ufl.edu>, "Sarah S. Walton" <waltonss@gmail.com>
Always, regard your decision with conscience - human lives, environmental health are in play.
Thank you.
_______________________
(signed)
Citizens for Sarasota County
==
Citizens for Sarasota County (CSC) is a new coalition to promote ethical, responsive government that preserves and enhances Sarasota's unique natural environment and cultural heritage while building a sound local economy based on effective stewardship and innovation.
If you are already a registered Republican, show up on August 30th and vote. If you are not a registered Republican, register with the Republican Party by August 1st. You can change your party affiliation back after August 30th if you choose. Just mail in another registration form. Local election information can be found at www.sarasotavotes.com.
Print it out and to fill it out with black ballpoint pen. You must be a US citizen and a Florida resident to register, and you must be 18 years old by August 30th to vote in the primary (you can preregister to vote at 16 or 17 years old, but you will not be able to vote until you are 18)
Mail the completed, signed form in to the Supervisor of Elections PO Box 4194 Sarasota FL 34230-4194, or
Drop it off at the one of the Sarasota Supervisor of Elections offices:
2001 Adams Lane, Sarasota, FL 34237
RL Anderson County Administration, 4000 South Tamiami Trail, Venice, Florida 34293
Biscayne Plaza, 13640 Tamiami Trail, North Port, FL 34287
She brought up the issue during the board members’ reports on July 12, calling it “one little burning issue.” Referring to a top official of the Suncoast Aquatic Nature Center Associates (SANCA), she told her colleagues, “There are some things that … I need to hear from that board president.”
SANCA manages the events at Nathan Benderson Park, the county-owned facility where the 2017 international event will be held Sept. 23-30.
. . .
The latest from Scerba
Meredith Scerba. File photo
The June update from Scerba reported that the SANCA board had formally approved the World Rowing Championships budget of $9.7 million and that “meetings with prospective sponsors & local foundations are underway.”
In May, Scerba told the commission the revised budget was $9.3 million, but she emphasized that no additional money was expected from Sarasota County or Manatee County, with each already having committed $2.78 million from Tourist Development Tax revenue.
On Sept. 23, she continued, a ceremony at Nathan Benderson Park will feature the unveiling of public art “that will incorporate a Countdown Clock for the [2017] event.” That artwork will be a permanent installation “as a legacy of the games.” After the event, the memo says, “the clock will be replaced with a plaque.”
The memo added that Harmer “will see the final design options before submission for approval.”
A local artist had been commissioned to do the work, the memo noted.
Furthermore, the update says that the World Rowing Championships co-chairs have been named. They are Rod Hershberger, chair and CEO of PGT Industries, representing Sarasota County; and Ed Chiles, CEO of The Chiles Group, for Manatee County.
The memo ended with the note: “Monthly Updates to the [County Commission] will begin in September.”
A contract amendment
Carolyn Brown. News Leader photo
In a related matter, the County Commission on July 12 unanimously approved increasing its annual reimbursement to SANCA from $200,000 to $254,500 for routine park maintenance.
That action came as part of the board’s approval of its Consent Agenda of routine business items.
A July 12 memo from Brown, the Parks, Recreation and Natural Resources Department director, explained that in March 2014, SANCA and the county entered into a licensing and operating agreement to give SANCA full authority to host events at Nathan Benderson Park and to maintain the facilities.
Since then, Brown continued in the memo, “maintenance of [the park] has proven to be more costly than anticipated” — especially in terms of dealing with invasive vegetation — so SANCA requested the increase. On July 14, 2015, the board voted to give SANCA an extra $54,500, the memo notes. The amendment before the board on July 12 “provides additional funding in the approved amount beginning October 1, 2015 and continuing through the term of the Agreement,” the memo says. The original agreement says the term will end on Sept. 30, 2019; however, it can be extended another 10 years beyond that date.
...
Paul Blackketter. File photo
Finally, the amendment “includes language regarding employee and representative conduct” that is part of “various County agreements,” Brown notes in her July 12 memo.
The new section says, “SANCA agrees that all of its officers, employees and representatives shall conduct themselves in a professional manner and shall communicate with County employees and members of the public in a civil manner whenever in the Park or conducting Park business.”
Since 1973, every single Sarasota County Commissioner has been a Republican. Every. single. one.
Where are we today? Corruption. Over-Development. Traffic. An environment that is turning toxic. Corruption - Notorious Jim Ley memo gathering the cabal of developer/owners leading to the evisceration of the 2050 plan:
Thanks Jim!
Overdevelopment - Gated communities receive approval in defiance of the (vitiated) Comp Plan. Whole Foods wins permission from County Commission to pave a wetland:
When it comes to dark PAC money in Sarasota/Manatee, there are relatively few managers. Eric Robinson is by far the leader in managing local dark money. With 30-40 political committees under his management, Mr. Robinson manages millions in political committee donations. As he has explained in the local press, donors to political committees “don’t want to be identified”
By the way, remember that $50,000 donated by Robinson Hanks Accounting to Manatee Against Taxation on June 5, 2013?
On July 3, 2013, Manatee Against Taxation turned around and paid Robinson Hanks $50,000 for accounting services. It’s interesting that a political committee required accounting services valued at 43% of its total 115K in assets, and remarkable when a company can make a 50K political committee donation and then one month later charge the same political committee an exorbitant 50K accounting fee, recouping its original donation. Even more remarkable how the PACs treasurer, chair and registered agent are one and the same – Mr. Robinson. Now Sarasota has Mr. Robinson’s accounting prowess at the helm on the Sarasota School Board.
Join us as we tell Whole Foods and the Sarasota Board of County Commissioners that we will not stand for the destruction of precious ecological lands in our County for the sake of their profits!
The destruction of this wetland, which is located on University Parkway and Honore, goes directly against Sarasota County’s Comprehensive Plan, an official public document adopted by the Board of County Commissioners to guide decision-making related to the physical development of the County.
The plan states that destruction of wetlands will only be allowed if there is no “reasonable alternative”. The County’s own staff have recommended against destroying this valuable habitat, stating that wetlands are “very rare in Sarasota County” and have “a high degree of environmental importance”.
Despite this, Sarasota County has chosen to approve the re-zoning of this land for development. Local elections in Sarasota are largely controlled by Political Action Committees, which are funded by developers and special interests. The commissioners in office do not represent the residents of Sarasota County, they represent developers, builders, and big business.
The Comprehensive Plan is currently being updated, and the draft of the new plan severely weakens controls on developers as well as environmental regulations. This is largely due to the fact that each amendment to the plan is reviewed and submitted by the Planning Commission, which includes two developers and four top executives of construction companies.
In addition to a pending lawsuit being pursued by Manasota 88, ANSWER Suncoast and others will be taking to the streets to raise awareness about the need to protect this wetland, and to fight developer control over the local government.
About Answer Suncoast:A.N.S.W.E.R. (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism) is a national coalition of anti-war and civil rights organizations. We are the Florida Suncoast chapter. suncoast@answercoalition.org
Plan on being at Whole Foods from 10:00-11:30on Saturday the 9th, for the next demonstration organized by ANSWERS Sarasota, a radical millenial group, the next generation of activists. People must be told about this. Whole Foods and Monsanto, teaming up to lie about what is in our food. I knew they were bad actors, but never in my wildest nightmares did I imagine Whole Foods would team up with Monsanto, which has covered the world in toxic chemicals, and now wants to poison us more directly, through the food we eat. It's more than a 4 1/2 acre wetland, at this point. It is Citizens United, which allows corporations like Monsanto to control corrupt members of congress to develop legislation that makes it illegal to sue them for the effects of their poison chemicals. Thousands of small-scale farmers have committed suicide in India over losing their rights to farm because of spurious patent infringement lawsuits brought by Monsanto. These are the people Whole Foods is getting in bed with?
Join me on Saturday the 9th at Whole Foods, downtown Sarasota, corner of 1st and Lemon.
You'll never guess who's selling out your right to mandatory GMO labeling - it's ALL HANDS ON DECK, GMO Labeling is about to die.
This is the darkest moment in the history of the GMO labeling movement and we need you to know what's actually happening in DC behind our backs and who is responsible for it.
Right now we’re being betrayed in Washington D.C. by a group of donation-hungry Senators and a handful of corrupt Corporate Organic Companies that have just brokered an outrageous deal behind our backs in an effort to kill mandatory GMO labeling and make sure that Vermont’s first-in-the-nation GMO labeling bill never takes effect this Friday on July 1st.
Monsanto and Whole Foods’ new fake labeling bill would not only preempt Vermont’s bill from taking effect this week, but ALL provisions of the bill are OPTIONAL and the language is so poorly writtenthat it would actually not include 85%of the current GMO products and ingredientson the market - You know, the ones from the Roundup Ready seeds owned by Monsanto!
Additionally, the deal brokered by Senators Stabenow (D-MI) and Roberts (R-KS) would not provide any penalties for non-compliance, so cannot even be reinforced if violated, by any company if they refuse to label!
A vote on this outrageous bargain is expected any day now - this week - and we can’t allow the most corrupt corporations on the planet to get away with it! Contact your Senators now to tell them that Monsanto, DuPont, Stonyfield, Smucker's and Whole Foods don'tt represent you on GMO labeling.
In reality, this bill was written and approved by Monsanto and America’s most corrupt food companies in a last ditch effort to avoid common sense, mandatory labeling of GMOs, while keeping the doors wide open for a flood of campaign cash from companies such as Monsanto, DuPont, Pepsi, General Mills, Stonyfield, Smucker’s, Organic Valley and Whole Foods’ executives to their campaign coffers. That’s right, there were major corporate organic interests at the table and they just sold us out! (The full details on this deep betrayal of our movement will be forthcoming, but we need to be laser focused right now on killing this dangerously corrupt bargain right now!)
This is an outrage and we can’t allow them to rob our movement of the basic right to know what’s in our food and who’s actually behind the rising exposure to toxic chemicals linked to GMO foods in America.
We need your help today to make sure that Vermont’s historic GMO labeling bill is allowed to go into effect on Friday, July 1st at the end of this week.
For the past 5 years, this community has taken on the most powerful companies on the planet - Monsanto, DuPont, General Mills, Coke and Pepsi - the same companies that are responsible for releasing the planet-polluting chemicals, pesticides and junk foods that harm you and your family's health and future.
So far, because of YOU and your tireless dedication, we’ve stopped Monsanto and the corporate elite in this country 3 times in the Senate in the past 8 months! We keep winning, but every time Monsanto and their corporate allies give us a new sinister bill to rob us of our basic rights. We continue to believe that Victory is our only option. And we desperately need your help to stop this incredible betrayal of America’s food movement!
Help DEFEND Vermont’s historic GMO Labeling Law from this outrageous assault brokered by Senator Stabenow (D-MI), Senator Roberts (R-KS), Monsanto and Organic Traitors. Who are these Organic Traitors and why is this important now?
What we have now confirmed, we are sharing with you today because a handful of corporate-owned organic companies that the organic community has mistakenly trusted over the years have been working against us behind-the-scenes and now publicly support this sham of a backroom deal brokered in the halls of Congress. Whole Foods CEO Walter Robb Climbs in Bed with Monsanto
In the past 72 hours the American GMO labeling movement has been rocked by the most outrageous betrayal imaginable. While you and your friends have been fighting for mandatory GMO labeling, the giant corporate organic companies that are owned by parent companies have just climbed into bed with Monsanto and stuck a knife in the back of every American who’s ever fought for GMO labeling.
According to a Politico story that came out yesterday, Whole Foods CEO Walter Robb joined his friends at Stonyfield, Smucker’s and Organic Valley in selling out the American food movement.
Interviewed while on vacation, Walter Robb is now peddling this monstrous sell out that protects Monsanto’s and Whole Foods profits, to the national media:
An "incredible thing" that the senators came together and compromised during a dysfunctional time. He said he hopes that lawmakers can soon move on to other things. Incredulously,he went on to claim that “we need to…talk about much bigger issues.”
Stonyfield Yogurt and Just Label founder Gary Hirshberg Exposes Real Agenda
In an even more outrageous lie, Stonyfield Yogurt chairman Gary Hirshberg and founder of the bogus corporate organic front group, Just Label It, who's been working behind the scenes with USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack, former biotech Governor of the Year, is now telling the press:
"We are pleased this proposal will finally create a national, mandatory GMO disclosure system, protects organic labels, and will cover more food than Vermont’s groundbreaking GMO labeling law".
After years of using Just Label It as a corporate front group to undermine real grassroots campaigns and GMO labeling ballot initiatives and people like you, Gary Hirshberg and Just Label It are finally showing their true colors and working publicly to make it easier for corrupt Senators to vote for this toxic backroom deal that will undermine every American mother's basic right to know what's in the food they're feeding their children, like mothers in 64 other countries around the world already possess.
In reality, it's easy to recognize that this deal brokered last week in DC is a "non-labeling" bill and does nothing to secure your right to know, as we've fought so hard for over many years. Sadly, a handful of corporate organic lobbyists at the Organic Trade Association (OTA) helped broker this deal and are now peddling the lie that it represents what our national GMO labeling movement actually wants your Senators to vote for.
These corporate organic lobbyists know that this corrupt bargain, which protects their corporate parent companies toxic GMO junk foods, will actually leave the vast number of GMO products and ingredients on the market unlabeled and intentionally leaves out some of the newest forms of genetic engineering that companies like Monsanto are now using. This level of intentional corporate sabotage of our rights is the ultimate betrayal, and we can't let it stand or be silent any longer!
More details of this outrageous betrayal will be forthcoming as our movement needs to stay laser focused on defeating this toxic deal in the Senate before they leave for recess on Friday of this week.
For historical reference: This is not the first time Stonyfield, Whole Foods and Organic Valley have worked together to sell out the American public and organic farmers. Remember, there are no accidents in politics.
