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Comment:
I received a pamphlet in the mail yesterday from Healthy Manatee that said the ½ sales tax would reduce my property taxes by 26 percent since I live in the City of Holmes Beach. What a lie.
I think Ed Hunzeker is behind the lies and I do not know about the commission. Hunzeker promised the 26% tax reduction if the commissioners adopt a menu of new fees and mixed it confusing enough with the sales tax so even the Bradenton Herald was confused or part of the conspiracy by the hospitals to get 23 million dollar grants.
What a gross misrepresentation that leads me to question the honesty of the Chamber, Hunzeker, MMH and the commissioners to mislead the public. I think the commissioner should demand a retraction of the falsehood that the ½ cent sales tax will reduce city taxes by 26 %. Or tell MMH you will not get any of the 23 million because of your lies. |
| Posted by Jack Starost on May 18, 2013 at 8:35 am |
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Comment:
Lenders should be encouraged to do loan modifications whenever possible. It is cheaper for them to do so rather than to expend resources and time on foreclosure which will result automatically into placing the subject property into the depressed price category. Multiple foreclosures in the neighborhood will have an adverse impact on all home values in that neighborhood which isn't beneficial for anyone.
On the other hand, in cases where owners can not even meet reasonable modified loan terms, the only answer to take the property back one way or another and get it back into productive use. Although this is painful for the individual involved, the fact is the individual couldn't afford the home in the first place so reality takes precedence over wishful thinking. |
| Posted by Dick Olson on May 16, 2013 at 9:02 am |
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Comment:
Right on, Dennis! There is hope for you after all. |
| Posted by Dick Olson on May 16, 2013 at 8:51 am |
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Comment:
We need a turnout of over 40,000 voters to defeat this referendum.
Manatee County employees 3400
Sheriff employees 2900
School District employees 6000
then you have fire districts, cities and then the medical community members estimate over 15,000
these people are going to vote yes, why? because it will financially benefit them. The Sheriff got an increase last year to give raises of over $3 Million, now he wants another $4 Million to increase starting pay, remember that $3 Million is going to re-occur every year. So now he wants to make it a total of $7 Million and he will get the ad valoreum tax which will be freed up by this tax referendum.
Then they will be charging storm water (hard surface) fees to ever person and business in the county. Then they will lower the garbage fee by $2.00 but what will prevent them from amending those decisions as Ed Hunzeker likes to point out they could if they wanted. So lower it and then raise it? The sales tax will impact those with less income at a much higher percentage. The commissioners are not even engaging with us the public as to what it is that we EXACTLY are funding. Please vote NO. |
| Posted by Linda Neely on May 15, 2013 at 5:38 pm |
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Comment:
you environmentalists are destroying our once great country ! We have to stand up to these morons that do more harm than good. |
| Posted by Dr. Michael Williams on May 14, 2013 at 10:10 pm |
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Comment:
What is the inscription? |
| Posted by Shelly Massey on May 14, 2013 at 4:01 pm |
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Comment:
Will the prepaid college program pay for the increased tuition? |
| Posted by Dick McNulty on May 12, 2013 at 8:32 am |
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Comment:
Mitigation of wetlands is like replacing a lost limb with a prosthesis. It never works as good as the original God given limb but the doctors think it is great. Mosaic is the doctor and they brag about their mitigation policy, which incidentally was legislated in the 1970 and fought tooth and nail by the phosphate industry. |
| Posted by Dutch Satterfield on May 12, 2013 at 8:30 am |
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Comment:
how do we find out info for this years event? |
| Posted by pamela spectorman on May 11, 2013 at 12:15 pm |
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Comment:
As an East Manatee native, the "Manatee Mineral Springs" (or it's less politically correct but more common name of "Indian Springs") has been a part of my life since childhood.
I can tell you that in the early 70's the output of this spring was nothing more than a trickle at best. Barely sufficient to sustain a mud puddle much less an area large enough to be commercially viable as a spa.
The reduction in pressure results from 160+ years of well drilling since the area was settled in the mid 1800's.
The spring used to be one the few outlets of the local ground water system. (I know of 2 other locations where artesian wells flowed freely within a 1 mile radius of the spring) Many shallow wells, dug by the pioneers for survival and by more recent residents to water their lawns have reduced the ground water pressure to the point that little or no water bubbles up at springs today.
When the City of Bradenton capped the spring in the early 80's, the water quality was not the same as when Dr. Branch and the early residents of Manatee depended on it for their existence. It was a mere trickle of a mud puddle that, despite signs advising against it, people were still trying to drink from!
As to Mr. Gaus' question about the current discharge, the slab of concrete has staunched the flow for the most part. The occasional heavy rainy season will cause a trickle to return. Sometimes even enough to seep over the curb and run down the gutter but nothing more than that. Most days the only hint of it's existence is a bright green patch of grass growing around the slab.
Sadly, the glory days of Indian Springs is long gone. Uncapping the spring will not result in a vibrant oasis for tourists with fat stacks of cash. More likely than not it will result in a muddy spot on the edge of a underutilized playground and a whole lot of liability for Reflections of Manatee.
Great writing as always Miss Favorite! |
| Posted by Brian Henry on May 10, 2013 at 10:20 am |
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Comment:
So the corporate welfare wheel turns on and on never skipping a beat, why not adopt a policy of if you have LLC. or Inc behind your name as a scammer or for real, the county should quit wasting time efforts and money, hearing these issue , fire the county so called experts and corporate supporters lawyers and all, they only parade around handing rubber stamps out , and that's a waste, put rubber permits in grab box, and deregulate it all save the Drama and hurt the county brings to the hard headed activist , who only want there to be a tomorrow that doesn't include billion dollar desalination plants with less than good track records. |
| Posted by Frank Kirkland on May 9, 2013 at 11:00 pm |
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Comment:
the county commission majority is now the "developer darlings". They are now totally under the influence of these big developers & other special interests & will do their bidding. |
| Posted by William E.Moore on May 9, 2013 at 4:54 pm |
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Comment:
Informative article. Astonishing that Medallion's, errr Manatee's new commissioner Ms. Benac has warm feelings for new precendent-setting, pro-growth terminology. "Our-term", she says, I really laughed out loud when I read that one.
I appreciate the cautious stance that the commission appears to be taking on this issue, but I fear that it will be quite an uphill battle for them. Just seeing how much money developers have paid for raw land ($/acre) over the last 18 months tells me the odds are stacked in their favor.
I appreciate the coverage. |
| Posted by steve prescott on May 9, 2013 at 12:39 pm |
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Comment:
The Manatee County Board of Commissioners is now all-developer, all the time. We -- the regular residents and citizens -- no longer have viable representation at the county government level. Oh, well. |
| Posted by Robin Miller on May 9, 2013 at 10:59 am |
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Comment:
I read the article about the concrete capped spring with interest. Where does the spring discharge now? With the shortage of water at times each year, depending o the analysis, this may still be utilized. Please advise of the location so I can see and analyze.
Regards,
Jeff Gaus |
| Posted by Jeff Gaus on May 7, 2013 at 12:09 pm |
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Comment:
I worked for bob alloca in the environment control systems group as an analytical engineer. He is a great person. I help write the procedures for the thermal vacuum testing of lta8 ( lem test article number 8 ) and spent many months working many hours a day at msc in Houston preparing for the flight simulation test which thermally qualified the lem for flight. I also calculated all the predictions for the 160 or so test instrumentation. I made the sequence error for switching for flight to redundant cooling system at the end of the test which highlighted the need for the change in the procedure for flight. This caused backup cooling sublimator to fail. I reduced, plotted and reported all data for this test. Earlier in the program I wrote computer program which simulate the oxygen supply subsystem from god tanks to cabin and cabin depressurization. During Apollo 13 I predicted the oxygen, water and lithium hydroxide use age to determine if the crew would survive. Bob alloca was a great boss. |
| Posted by Peter J. Lukovits on May 7, 2013 at 11:10 am |
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Other than this article being unfair to pigs, continuing the myth that pigs are stupid animals, I object! but appreciate your reporting. If only those who need to "learn" from your reporting would pay attention, we would be in such a better place in our world. |
| Posted by Kathy Morrison on May 6, 2013 at 12:44 pm |
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Comment:
Once again my Government re-iterates to me the need to push hazardous chemicals down my throat literally, and then refuses me Medicaid Expansion to help with it's inflicted diseases. I am taxed to the max, body, mind, and soul, sucked dry till death. |
| Posted by DollySue Armstrong on May 5, 2013 at 6:30 pm |
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Comment:
Thank you for this article from Dr. Franklin Branch and Dr. Grigory
Pogrebinsky, MD |
| Posted by Dr. Grigory Pogrebinsky on May 5, 2013 at 4:45 pm |
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Comment:
I guess the party in power still hasn't learned that not all voters are foolish enough to believe all their lies.You would think that the fact that Obama carried Florida despite the roadblocks they & our governor put in place to discourage democratic voters from going to the polls would wake them up to reality. I guess the only reality they will understand is at the polls come next election. |
| Posted by William E.Moore on May 5, 2013 at 3:34 pm |
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Thanks for the rundown. You have a new fan. Tallahassee needs an enema. |
| Posted by Steven Prescott on May 5, 2013 at 1:56 pm |
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Comment:
It has been scientifically proven that gm food is dangerous to consume. Makes you wonder what political party is getting paid off from companies like Monsanto to allow them to tamper with our food. Also allowing this will make the health insurance industry and the pharmaceutical industry even wealthier than they are now. Monsanto made sulferic acid, rubber and the well known polyurethanes but the most controversial was Agent Orange that caused many many deaths of our own soldiers and irrepairable damage to many others yet today. Even the soldiers that didn't have this agent orange sprayed directly on them, they still were in contact with the deadly spray when they had to pass through already contaminated areas. Yes,lets trust this company to synthesize our foods and lets allow our country to not pass a more important law to make gm labeling mandatory! |
| Posted by J Kovac on May 5, 2013 at 1:08 pm |
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Comment:
Besides lower petro consumption, we're also seeing plenty of new production with hydrofracking. Yes, in its current incarnation it is bad for underground water, but if we get DINO Obama out and a real Democrat in, and dumps some of the Republican dinosours our of Congress, that may change. With natural gas and frack-produced oil dropping in price all the time, will Alberta tar sands stay competitive in price? Probably not. And they renders all the pipeline discussion moot. |
| Posted by Robin 'roblimo' Miller on May 5, 2013 at 10:19 am |
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Comment:
Discussing permanent life when writing an article on life insurance for the general public is one thing that has caused people to be so confused about it that policy ownership is now at an all time low!.
The fact is that for 99% of people TERM life insurance is the least expensive and best answer. Term life is used to: insure dependents to replace income, provide financial security for dependents, pay-off a mortgage, fund college, or for final expenses.
The typical profile of a term life insurance owner is someone who is a family breadwinner and has minimal savings. It is critical protection and easy to understand and buy.
Yes, prices are set to go up, but are still low, now. Even then, if you're looking to save money, the best thing you can do is comparison shop.
To find the best prices, there are websites you can visit to search for and compare insurance quotes online. QualityTermLife is one, good example. You enter the amount you are interested in on their form, and then you can see quotes from several dozen nsurance companies. It's free, with no obligation. |
| Posted by Kevin Cornwall on May 4, 2013 at 10:20 pm |
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Comment:
When I was born in Florida, many years ago, there were less than 1,500,000. I grew up hunting and fishing in the woods around my house. Obviously I have seen a tremendous growth that has spoiled the life I grew up enjoying. However, I have never voiced opposition to any development around me. I felt like if I wanted to keep it pristine then I should buy the land and not deprive the owner of the use of his or her land. That is just contrary to my storong beliefs in property rights. I sympathize with the residents who are objecting but you can't stop time and overtime things change. I long for the days when there was only one wooden bridge to the Island and Manatee Ave was two lanes with not a single traffic light west of town. I guess that was long before all those people, Waterline Road Residents came to Manatee County. |
| Posted by Dutch Satterfield on May 4, 2013 at 9:48 am |
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Comment:
I think this entire 'wetlands' controversy is way overblown -- it's environmental extremism. Ordinance 13-04 seems to be a common sense, middle ground, and compromise approach. No one is talking about obliterating all wetlands? they're only talking about exempting half acre, non-viable parcels. To listen to the environmental groups, it sounded like we were bulldozing the County. I equate to cutting down a sick tree - not the entire forest. |
| Posted by Steve Vernon on May 4, 2013 at 6:46 am |
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We taxpayers must force regulators to look at the big picture when making water allocation decisions. This because we taxpayers foot the bill. Likewise, when commissioners approve new housing development, they are making a water use decision to support new neighborhoods' water needs. Check www.PriceOfSprawl.com to see how much development is approved and not yet built in Manatee and Sarasota counties. |
| Posted by Janet Stanko on May 2, 2013 at 2:02 pm |
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This situation applies to Tampa Bay and Bradenton area, but occur elsewhere. Substitute Ag or Nuclear power plant, or water bottling plant withdrawals for the phosphate mine withdrawals. The water use vs supply numbers dont add up. Go to www.PriceOfSprawl.com to see the water supply situation in conjunction with over approval of housing development in other areas in the Tampa Bay/Manatee areas. |
| Posted by Janet Stanko on May 2, 2013 at 10:34 am |
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Mr. Jackson, you must feel like Paul Revere at times......announcing that the woes of the British coming down the road but the difference is it is falling on deaf ears. Hopefully, the diverse electorate is beginning to understand this is and will continue to cost our county so much in so many ways. Thanks for sounding the alarm....again and again |
| Posted by Michael Becks on May 1, 2013 at 10:22 am |
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You go, John...tell it like it is. Too bad that wetlands are sacrificed for the good of a few while the many will ultimately pay for them. Taxpayers will rue the day that wetlands are so diminished that water becomes critical and the cost of producing water to supply the needs of a family will be painful. |
| Posted by Norma Killebrew on April 30, 2013 at 7:22 am |
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One of the primary goals of The Bradenton Times is to be a voice for the community of Bradenton and Manatee County. 
