Published by the Department of Public Affairs, City of St. Augustine. Florida September 20 2011 |
Efforts to keep Galimore open
City, advisory group working on solutions
Lincolnville's Galimore Center may remain open after county support ends September 30, provided a short-term plan is approved by the City Commission next Monday.
Purcell Conway, one of a contingent of concerned citizens who met at the center last week to plead their case to City Manager John Regan and General Services Director Jim Piggott, will chair an advisory committee, while calls are out to the YMCA and the Northeast Florida Action Agency to see if they are interested in operating the Center.
An interlocal agreement providing county management of the center and pool as well as Eddie Vickers ballfields ends September 30. The county gave the city $400,000 in lieu of repairing the pool, closed two years ago when the new Solomon Calhoun Center and pool opened in West Augustine.
The idea of reopening the pool went off the table when Regan noted, "Repair of the pool is not the problem. Annual operations can run $250,000 to $300,000 a year."
But long-term solutions for the center encouraged the city manager. Conway said, "There are no small business opportunities here. Can we set slabs in the field to lease to vendors?"
Other ideas: greater tourism promotion, facility volunteers, and market days. A farmers market is set to begin October 2 and continue every Sunday 11 a.m. - 3 p.m. | |
|
|
'The rumors of my demise ...'
Harking back to Mark Twain, reports that the St. Augustine Report will cease publication "have been greatly exaggerated."
The St. Augustine Report will terminate its contract with the city's Department of Public Affairs at the end of September, but will continue publication independently.
The Report is an outgrowth of a newsletter begun when former Mayor George Gardner took office in 2002, to keep the community informed on its government's actions.
Final budget hearing
The last of two city budget hearings before final City Commission action will be held Thursday at 5:05 p.m. in the Alcazar Room at City hall. |
|
|
|
Habitat finds helping comes with challenges | |
Habitat's thought was simple: without interrupting its core mission to build homes for lower income families, provide volunteer teams to dress up home exteriors as part of the city's Lift Up Lincolnville program.
Last week Habitat Director Diane Quick's group got a dose of sobering reality from Bill Lazar, veteran director of the St. Johns Housing Partnership.
First you have to determine the home ownership and occupancy, then owner interest in having the exterior painted. Coordinate with the Housing Partnership to see if it's done any work on the property, and then do a whole house exam.
"Dressing up the exterior isn't a priority if the roof is caving in or floors rotting out," Lazar said. "And getting that permission to go through the house can be hard. People have pride, and don't want to show the conditions they might be living in."
Lead paint, a standard on many of Lincolnville's historic homes, has its own set of problems, due to "an incredibly stupid law for what we're trying to do," Lazar said, referring to detailed government measures for removing or painting over lead paint.
Undaunted, Habitat will begin researching nearly two dozen homes in need of help, a list provided to city Planning and Building Director Mark Knight by area ministers.
Contact Diane 826-3252for details or to volunteer. |
 | |
|
|
|
|
|
Former Foodway to be Mariotti's |
The long dormant Broudy's Foodway grocery on West King Street will be reopening as a Mariotti's dry cleaners. Renovation is now under way by Mariotti Construction.
The grocery, serving the West Augustine area for more than 50 years, closed five years ago, and there was speculation one of the large pharmacy chains might take over the US 1 corner until the economy's downturn. |
|
Cavalcade of cars at FSDB Saturday |
Under a canopy of oak trees on the host Florida School for the Deaf and Blind campus, The Ancient City Auto Club will present its 27th annual car show Saturday 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. More than 200 cars from historic classics to street rods, plus an arts and craft show, food and beverages. Contact Mark Young 794-9172 or Dewey Porter 797-7732. |
|
Finding fine arts in St. Augustine | |
Dorothy Barrett suggests some attention to "the state of the fine arts in St. A."
She knows whereof she speaks, as violinist and violist with both St. Augustine Community and Chamber Orchestra Trinity, as well as strings volunteer in the schools.
"Wasn't it outstanding that so many people turned out for the St. Augustine Music Festival at the Cathedral?" she writes. "And aren't you impressed with our town's response to the EMMA's concert series?
"What about Romanza's drive to bring people Where the Arts Embrace the Sea and the fact that we have two classically-oriented orchestras (St. Augustine Community Orchestra and Chamber Orchestra Trinity) and at least two choral groups (Community and North Florida Women's Chorale).
"With beautiful scenery, art galleries, fine dining, a college environment, many opportunities to view, listen and participate, and history that comes alive, this is the place to be!" |
|
Poster highlights Florida history 1565-1821 | |
The Florida Humanities Council (FHC) has produced a fold-out poster, The World of Florida's Spanish Colonial Past 1565-1821, covering the period from St. Augustine's founding to the state  becoming a US territory.
Designed for classroom use, it's available through the FHC website.
Upcoming History Highlights will feature information from the poster.
Funding was provided by the National Endowment for the Humanities through a "Landmarks of American History" grant to the Florida Humanities Council, with additional funding and support by the St. Augustine, Ponte Vedra & the Beaches Visitors and Convention Bureau, Florida Museum of Natural History at the University of Florida, and Publix Super Market Charities.
Dr.Susan Parker, Executive Director of the St. Augustine Historical Society, and Jim Cusick, Curator of the P.K. Yonge Library of Florida History University of Florida, contributed to the development of the poster. |
|
History's highlight
Faces of Florida | |
3 years, 11 months, 20 days to St. Augustine's 450th anniversary
From the Florida Humanities Council's Florida's Spanish Colonial Past 1565-1821
Miguel de Escudón: Soldier
Miguel de Escudón was a Basque carpenter and sawyer from Vizcaya. He joined the Royal Armada in Spain, but deserted. As punishment, he was sent to St. Augustine in 1573 to serve three years in the military.
Francisca de Vera: Widow, boardinghouse owner, laundress
Señora de Vera's husband, a soldier, died in St. Augustine sometime before 1580. She supported herself by opening her home as a boarding house and renting rooms, and by doing laundry for other St. Augustine residents.
 Doña Maria Meléndez: Timucua Chief
Doña Maria was the ruler of the town of Nombre de Dios, just outside St. Augustine, during the 1580s and 1590s. She saved the residents of St. Augustine from starvation in 1587 by supplying them with a large quantity of corn grown by her people.
Alonso de Escobedo: Franciscan friar and poet
Father de Escobedo was the priest assigned to the mission village of Nombre de Dios. During his time there he began a long epic poem called "La Florida' describing his experiences in America.
Maria Magdalena Chrisóstomo-Balthazar: Free woman of color
Maria Magdalena's mother, Maria Luisa Balthazar, was a Mocama Timuca Indian from the village of Palica, and her father, Juan Chrisóstomo, was a Caribali African slave living in St. Augustine. Maria Magdalena and her sister Josepha Candelaria were born in their mother's village, and were free.
 Francisco Ponce de León: Son of the Sergeant Major
Francisco was 12 years old in 1676 when his father, the Sergeant Major of St. Augustine, died. As was the custom, the position and pay of the father passed to his orphaned son, who would soon be old enough to serve as a soldier.
Francisco Menéndez: African, soldier, slave, privateer, and leader
Francisco Menéndez was a Mandingo born in West Africa in 1704. He was captured and sold into slavery in the English colony of Carolina, but escaped. In 1728 Menéndez arrived in Spanish Florida in the company of Yamassee Indians and became captain of the black militia.
|
|
|
|
The St. Augustine Report is published by the Department of Public Affairs of the City of St. Augustine each Tuesday and on Fridays previewing City Commission meetings. The Report is written and distributed by George Gardner, former St. Augustine Mayor (2002-2006) and Commissioner (2006-2008) and a longtime newspaper reporter and editor. Contact The Report at gardner@aug.com |
|
|
