Published by former Mayor George Gardner February 15 2012
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George Gardner 57 Fullerwood Drive St. Augustine FL 32084 |
Proctor bill stripped in Senate
State Senator Stephen Wise, both Senate sponsor of eminent domain legislation for the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind (FSDB) and chair of the Senate Education Committee, opened a  hearing by that committee Tuesday with a "strike-all" amendment reducing legislation by State Representative Bill Proctor from 26-pages to one.
Approved after a hearing including St. Augustine City Manager John Regan, former Mayor George Gardner, and ten more residents, as well as FSDB President Danny Hutto and Proctor, was an amended bill simply authorizing eminent domain for the school.
Almost passed after urging by the St. Augustine contingent was an amendment to exclude the City of St. Augustine from eminent domain action.
Committee Vice Chair Larcenia Bullard, D-Miami-Dade, and Senator Lizbeth Benscquisto, R-Palm Beach, argued, "This is not only the oldest city in the State of Florida but in the nation." But the amendment was withdrawn as a majority of the committee recommended it should properly be considered by the Senate Community Affairs Committee - the second of three committees to review the legislation.
That committee is expected to meet next week, but is not yet scheduled.
Legislation moves through House
Meanwhile, the House version of Proctor's legislation, including "vesting" of FSDB properties to dismiss any city code violations, and removal of requirements for city/school cooperation and interlocal agreements, passed second reading in the House shortly before adjournment Tuesday.
This bill will go to third reading and then be passed on to the Senate - where a very different version awaits. | |
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Walk for autism awareness
Troy Blevins gave up his job as county parks and recreation director for a more important challenge: a 749 mile walk from St. Augustine to Washington to raise awareness of autism.
Troy and wife Gina are parents of two autistic boys, Blake, 11, and Ty, 9. The walk is about awareness, not raising money, Troy says. In 1970, one in 10,000 was diagnosed as autistic; today it's one in 94.
The journey begins February 26, arriving in Washington in early April, with stops along the way to present PowerPoint programs to service clubs. Find details at www.projectautismsj.org.
Blevins family: Troy, Blake, 11, Ty, 9, and Gina |
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City: exclude us from any eminent domain | |
The St. Augustine City Commission Monday welcomed the possibility of protecting the historic Nelmar Terrace and Fullerwood Park neighborhoods from eminent domain, a concession offered by the staff of the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind (FSDB), but called for protection for the entire city, and directed City Manager John Regan to carry that word to a Senate committee meeting Tuesday morning in Tallahassee.
In exchange for the eminent domain concession, FSDB staff wanted the contentious eight-foot fence at the Collins House on Nelmar Avenue to remain in place, and an increase from 32 to 48 students to be allowed in single-family houses planned for the Genoply block.
Commissioners also authorized up to $10,000 for a $250 an hour Tallahassee lobbyist to work on defeat of legislation by State Representative Bill Proctor that would not only grant the school power of eminent domain statewide but also "vest" FSDB properties - making them immune to any city code violations, and remove requirements for city/school cooperation and interlocal agreements. |
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The Senate Community Affairs Committee is expected to meet next week in the second round of review of the Proctor eminent domain legislation. Here are email addresses of senators on that committee.
A special "thank you" should be sent to Senator Stephen Wise, who stripped the Proctor bill of elements to insulate the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind from cooperation with the city and city codes.
Chair: Senator Michael S. "Mike" Bennett (R) bennett.mike.web@flsenate.gov
Vice Chair: Senator Jim Norman (R) norman.jim.web@flsenate.gov
Senator Audrey Gibson (D) gibson.audrey.web@flsenate.gov
Senator Garrett Richter (R) richter.garrett.web@flsenate.gov
Senator Jeremy Ring (D) ring.jeremy.web@flsenate.gov
Senator Ronda Storms (R) storms.ronda.web@flsenate.gov
Senator John Thrasher (R) thrasher.john.web@flsenate.gov
Senator Stephen R. Wise (R)
wise.stephen.web@flsenate.gov
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Four Hundred and Fifty years of military history come to life Thursday through drama, comedy and live music in To Arms! The last in the current First America! Series, at Flagler College Auditorium.
"Since the very first day of its founding, military forces have been constantly present in St. Augustine under a variety of flags," producers say. "This fact has allowed St. Augustine to remain the oldest constantly occupied European settlement in North America.
"Pedro Menendez, Fort Mose, the British Occupation, the Seminole Wars and the Civil War provide the historical material to show the impact of events on the lives of the people living in St. Augustine."
Tommy Bledsoe will lead a band providing music for each time period portrayed. Brigadier General Joseph Balskus of the Florida National Guard will bring the story up to the present day telling how the militia was actually the very beginnings of today's citizen soldiers.
Doors open at 6 pm with the program at 7. |
Seawall Project begins, era ends |
Ceremonies drawing key partners Monday marked the end of more than a decade of planning and fund-seeking and the beginning of the $6.3 million restoration of the seawall south of the Bridge of Lions.
Among the dignitaries: Congressman John Mica, who secured congressional support; Bryan Koon, Director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management, providing 75% of the funding, and Adjutant General Emmett R. Titshaw, Florida National Guard, endorsing the need to protect Guard facilities.
It was a bittersweet ceremony for Mica who, after a decade of service to the St. Augustine area, will be seeking reelection in a new congressional district including his home area of Winter Park.
City Public Works Director Martha Graham told commissioners Monday evening the project will begin with a new entry to the Santa Maria Restaurant, and work will progress to the south, with anticipated completion in April 2013. |
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History's Highlight | |
Failed pirate raid of 1683
3 years, 6 months, 25 days to St. Augustine's 450th anniversary
Reenacted annually in the streets of St. Augustine are the pirate raids of Sir Francis Drake in 1586 and Robert Searle in 1668. Less celebrated is the failed attempt of March 24, 1683, twelve years after the start of construction on the Castillo de San Marcos. French and English buccaneers from New Providence, in the Bahamas, joined forces to attack San Agustín. Historic records recount this typical pirate action.
Juan Márquez Cabrera, royal governor of Florida, received warning from Havana of the buccaneers' plan. To the watchtower at Matanzas he added two more - Ayamón, 27 miles south of the presidio, and on the beach north of the town. The citizenry was gathered into the relative safety of the partially completed Castillo, and garrison and militia troops were stationed at likely landing places.
On March 24, 230 buccaneers land near Ponce de León Inlet, 70 miles south of San Agustín and, flying French colors, marched toward the presidio. They captured the Ayamón and Matanzas watchtowers, torturing the soldados they seized for information on the town's defenses.
Led by the French captain, Bréhal, and guided by the San Agustín renegade, Alonso de Avecilla, the buccaneers reached Escolte Island, today's Anastasia Island, eight miles south of the town. Here, on March 31, the freebooters were ambushed by 30 Spanish musketeers and routed.
Retreating to their ships, they sailed north and anchored off San Agustín itself on April 5. Seeing the town alerted and the Castillo at arms, the corsairs abandoned their San Agustín enterprise and instead raided the Spanish province of Guale, the coast along northeast Florida and southeast Georgia.
They sacked the mission villages of San Juan del Puerto (on Ft. George Island, FL) and Santa María (on Amelia Island, GA). After beaching their vessels on the Isla de San Pedro (present-day Cumberland Island, GA), the buccaneers buried their dead and departed.
Three years later, 1686, the French buccaneer Michel "Chevalier" de Grammont appeared off Little Matanzas Inlet with plans to sack the presidio. With him was the French Huguenot, Nicolas Brigaut. The Spaniards thwarted the plan, and Brigaut was garroted in the city's plaza, while Grammont was lost in a storm while fleeing up the coast.
Image: French pirate Michel "Chevalier" de Grammont |
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The St. Augustine Report is published weekly, with additional Reports previewing City Commission meetings as well as Special Reports. The Report is written and distributed by George Gardner, St. Augustine Mayor (2002-2006) and Commissioner (2006-2008) and a former newspaper reporter and editor. Contact the Report at gardner@aug.com |
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