Sewage spills have an upside
Why spend the money on sewer pipe replacements when we the
spills can be used to fertilize the half a million dollars worth of trees
that we just bought? See, and all this time you thought that
the tree purchase made no sense -- now don't you feel silly?
-- Sarasota County Govt. web site, 12/30/04
Why the Y?
City spends $18,000 for "health memberships" at the Young
Men's Christian Association for all employees in an effort to
reduce health care costs -- nothing like
a good healthy Christian workout after a full day of working with
asbestos and raw sewage; insert your own Hanz and Franz, Village People or
Toxic Avenger joke here
-- Venice Gondolier Sun, 12/29/04
Is your Christmas computer a gift or a curse?
Hackers and virus writers rev up the net in an effort to wreck
your holidays: All your AOL are belong to us
-- Wired, 12/26/04
Maniac Mansion is
back!!!
Story on Wired |||
Downlaod game for free
Hard-core geeks and gamers remember this game well -- the
first interactive fiction computer game to use graphics
instead of text, it ran on the old Commodore systems; the
wildly hysterically funny and intelligent game is back for
free -- this is both a huge chunk of computing history and a
MUST-HAVE free download for kids of all ages!!! Download it!
Download it now!!! Do it, man, what the hell are you waiting
for?
-- Wired story dated 12/23/04
We're from the Architectural Review Board and we're here to
help
Gondo's take on the ARB story
-- Venice Gondolier Sun, 12/22/04
Architectural Review Board could use a little
funk
James Brown, George Clinton unavailable for comment
-- editorial, Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 12/22/04
Architectural Review Board runs amuck
Taking their cue from George Orwell and Aldous Huxley, the
city's ARB wants every single damned building that it can get
jurisdiction over to look identical; Jeff Boone and Donald
O'Connell try unsuccessfully to point out the stupidity of the
endeavor
-- Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 12/21/04
Serial killing?
Venice resident Doree Lamountain is one of three suspicious
and similar deaths being investigated in nearby Manatee
County; this news coming to you via Venezuela, as local
journalism is, well... you know... oh look, a squirrel!
-- Venezuela Electronic News, 12/16/04
Don't be stupid, be a smarty
Come and join the Nazi Party
Local idiot teens watch "The Producers" one too many times,
fail to realize that it was written by a Jewish comic; jailarity
ensues
-- Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 12/18/04
Punta Gorda building inspectors surprised to discover their
own Public Safety building not up to code
Plus comments on this
story
from Fark
-- Charlotte Sun-Herald, 12/16/04
Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes
Gondo Story |||
Herald-Trib story
Citizen boards to be eliminated, two new ones to be created;
Boones pushing for more development, Planning Commission,
citizens don't want it; more...
-- both stories 12/15/04
Rock the ...I mean Rig the Vote!!!
Vote-rigging software story
starting to go national; coming soon to a national news anchor
near you: meet Clinton Curtis, who claims to have written
software designed to rig the vote in Florida touch-screen
elections; see below for earlier links as this story was
developing
-- Wired, 12/13/04
Want to see how secure your computer isn't?
Take the pop-up hijacker test
--Secunia Security Corp.
We be growing
Wetlands area, more to be considered for development by
council;
Joe Walsh unavailable for comment
-- Venice Gondolier Sun, 12/11/04
Vote rigging
in Florida
Original
story |||
Follow-up
story
In a sworn affidavit given to the FBI, a computer programmer
tells how he developed a program that would rig the vote in
Florida; according to the affidavit, program was contracted
for by U.S. Rep. Tom Feeney (R-FL)
-- Raw Story, 12/06/04 & 12/07/04
Airport manager resigns
Last day is February 11
-- Venice Gondolier Sun, 12/11/04
Willson
relaunches site
Frosh Councilman Bill Willson revamps his election web site;
gone are the "Vote for me and I'll set you free" promises, now
he's settling in to be a kinder, gentler Bill; our take? --
needs more cowbell
(<-- Windows Media file)
-- BillWillson.com
Permit, permit, who's got the permit?
John Konecnik accuses the city of blocking his building
permits at Fisherman's Wharf, city claims Konecnik hasn't
filed any permits that the city could have blocked
-- Venice Gondolier Sun, 12/08/04
Vote rigging
in Florida
Original
story |||
Follow-up
story
In a sworn affidavit given to the FBI, a computer programmer
tells how he developed a program that would rig the vote in
Florida; according to the affidavit, program was contracted
for by U.S. Rep. Tom Feeney (R-FL)
-- Raw Story, 12/06/04 & 12/07/04
The vote rigging affidavit
Clinton Curtis, a Florida computer programmer, tells how he
developed a program for U.S. Rep. Tom Feeney (R-FL) that would
add invisible buttons to touch voting screens, allowing
knowledgeable users the ability to alter voter tabulations
-- The Brad Blog, 12/06/04
Spammers order out for ham
SCVB, still smarting from accusations of spamming, bring a
porker to Sarasota to help promote Venice; Hormel execs
unavailable for comment
-- Venice Gondolier Sun, 12/04/04
Best Gondo headline ever:
"CRA just another tool to Envision Venice" (and that's the
real headline)
Developers growing wood, preparing for stiff opposition;
business owners get the thrust, invest heavily in latex
-- Venice Gondolier Sun, 12/04/04
Web won't let governments hide
In the age of information, government at all levels has had a
tendency to become more and more secretive -- thank God for
Google
-- Wired, 11/29/04
City pays over half a million for 128 trees
Venice claims it's in a financial crunch, but these trees were
such a deal
-- Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 11/27/04
City to union: Take a Midol
Union accuses city of union busting, city accuses union of being hormonally
imbalanced
-- Venice Gondolier Sun, 11/27/04
Beach bandshell is baaaa-aaack
Former councilman David Farley wanted it so bad he could taste
it: a bandshell on the beach; last year: residents opposed it,
city hall backed down, residents then approved a $10 million
bond; this year: council, city staff starts pushing again,
Farley heard laughing in the wings; Maxine Barratt left with
stupid look on her face, VTL prez Levine to Barratt: "Told ya
so!"
-- Venice Gondolier Sun, 11/24/04
AFSCME's Ralph Hamann is not a happy camper
City's union prez accuses city of union-busting activities;
Gondo's headline indicates that the union is on strike -- it's
not
-- Venice Gondolier Sun, 11/24/04
Sarasota serves up spam, egg, sausage and spam -- it's not got
much spam in it
Venice Florida! dot com gets a nice mention
-- Wired, 11/22/04
Bell ringers banned at Target
Retailer tells Salvation Army to bugger off; speaking of
buggering, Target is offering a
10% discount on anal massage
-- Venice Gondolier Sun, Fark.com 11/20/04
Vatican investigating city manager
Several witnesses report that Black walked on water on city
time; local atheist Charles Cheves considers filing separation of
church and state lawsuit; Herb Levine, Osama bin Laden
surrender;
grilled cheese Virgin Mary is available for comment
-- Venice Gondolier Sun, 11/17/04
City manager unveils stone tablets
New commandments include: Thou shalt not calleth family in
Ohio on city phones, Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's
boobies on city computers and Thou shalt take thine vacation
when thou art supposed to and getteth thee the hell out of
Dodge
-- Venice Gondolier Sun, 11/17/04
City to utils whistleblowers: We're sorry but
it wasn't our fault
A letter of apology to the utils whistleblowers lays the blame
with former city manager George Hunt and former utils director
John Lane, as nobody on council, then or now,
really knew what was going
on; in other news, scientists discover that the Earth
really is flat
-- Venice Gondolier Sun, 11/13/04
Yes, we need a fountain
Fountains can be a wonderful thing -- take for instance the
Princess Diana Memorial Fountain in Hyde Park, which has
turned into such a wonderful addition to London's atmosphere
and economy
-- Associated Press, 10/12/04
Got sick time?
1) Work for the city, then quit
2) ??????
3) Profit!
-- Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 11/12/04
We're spending $227K on a fountain/wading pool
And it'll only be a few blocks from the beach... ya know, that
big thing at the western end of Venice Avenue with all the water in it?
-- Venice Gondolier Sun, 11/10/04
Sarasota scientist releases
swarm of specially bred flies designed to eat the heads of
fire ants -- What could possibly go
wrong?
Herald-Trib story |||
Fark discussion thread
-- both 11/10/04
We want the business owners to naturally sell
City still pulling for the CRA, denies recruiting negotiators
with the middle name "the"
-- Venice Gondolier Sun, 11/06/04
EPA shade meeting canceled
Big revelation -- according to the
Gondo, Calamaras had been
called in for questioning by EPA investigators; not in story
-- just prior to cancellation of shade meeting, Venice
Florida! dot com had questioned the legality of the meetings
based on
info from the Florida Bar
-- Venice Gondolier Sun, 11/06/04
Levine's arrest -- two
totally opposite viewpoints
Herald-Trib column |||
Gondo editorial
Herald-Tribune condemns city hall for politically motivated
arrest, Gondolier condemns Levine for politically motivated
lawsuit; in other news, Generalissimo Francisco Franco is
still dead
-- Gondo from 11/03/04, Herald-Trib from 10/01/02
Calamaras, Willson win; council pay raise passes
Gondo story |||
Herald-Trib story
raw data
from SRQ Supervisor of Elections
-- all 11/03/04
To Dean or not to Dean, that is the question
The race for mayor of Venice has
become a referendum on Dean Calamaras
-- Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 10/31/04
Levine to Calamaras: You
Got Served
Gondo story |||
Herald-Trib story
VTL prez asked, waited 22 months for an apology from city hall
for a politically motivated false arrest in 2002, finally
files lawsuit against city, mayor and former officials
responsible; mayor responds by accusing Levine of being
politically motivated; in other news, Amazon.com reports
increased sales in
board games
-- both stories
10/30/04
Ooooooooh - bad timing, Marty
Marty Dover sounds off on Levine in a letter
to the Gondo, gets municipal Get Out Of Jail Free card in return
-- Venice Gondolier Sun, 10/30/04
"We're from city hall and we're here to help"
City, local businesses in uneasy stare-down over the CRA; in
other news, Babe's Hardware reports skyrocketing sales in
torches and pitchforks
-- Venice Gondolier Sun, 10/27/04
12-year-old Molly Kornblatz from Kenosha
writes, "Dear Perfessor Venice: Why do Shade Meetings happen?"
Here comes the science...
-- The Florida Bar Journal Online, April, 2004
EPA criminal investigation to send council into
the shade
City Attorney is calling for shade meeting to discuss ongoing
criminal investigation into city's wastewater operations
-- Venice Gondolier Sun, 10/23/04
Harris, Schneider face
off at Taxpayers League debate
Gondo story |||
Herald-Trib story
Medicare, the war in Iraq dominate discussion;
Gondo story includes brief accounts of mayoral and council
debates
-- various sources, 10/22, 10/23/04
Herald-Trib barely endorses Calamaras
"Toting tattered baggage, ...did not adequately oversee the
work of a former city manager, ...unnecessary, lengthy fight
with the [FAA], ...must shoulder a share of the blame" -- Now
that's a glowing endorsement; Anderson referred to as
combative and inexperienced
-- Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 10/15/04
Hunt
and carnage, Hunt and carnage -- this I tell you brother, you
can't have one without the other
Barefoot Bay Community Manager George Hunt lacks one thing: a
community
-- Associated Press, 10/10/04
Top ten
things you didn't know about Mohamed Atta
How well do you really know Venice's most famous resident? ...er, former resident?
-- Mad Cow Morning News
It was the other guy's fault
Anderson blames Calamaras, Calamaras supporters blame former
city manager Hunt, Hunt unavailable for comment; Venice
Florida! dot com's Patten violates
Leviticus 19:17, city charter calls for stoning
-- Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 10/08/04
The battle for web supremacy
Candidate web sites in Venice become a hot topic; Venice
Florida! dot com's Patten and Venice Resident's McKee are now
pundits
-- Venice Gondolier Sun, 10/02/04
Go ahead, forget Poland
Turns out that Poland would just as soon have been forgotten
-- back in March of this year, Polish President Aleksander
Kwasniewski stated that Bush had "...deceived us
about the weapons of mass destruction,
...we were taken for a ride!"
-- ABC Australia, 03/19/04
HAIDS
Florida's new epidemic: Hurricane Acquired Inhospitable Domain
Syndrome; population fleeing to California because earthquakes
are safer
-- Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 09/30/04
Fogie walks on battery charge
Former VHA Chairman Foglietta's attorney Robert Harrison
wasn't the only one available for comment, but he's the only
one the Gondo quoted (original
police report)
-- Venice Gondolier Sun, 09/29/04
Reclaim is on death row
Wastewater pooch bites vendor, now faces lethal injection;
wants Robert Harrison for an attorney, has yet to be allowed
to make a phone call
-- Venice Gondolier Sun, 09/29/04
More poop
Straight poop about spilled poop still equals spilled poop;
Captain Underpants will not be coming to the rescue
-- editorial, Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 09/28/04
Jimmy Carter on e-voting in Florida
"Some basic international
requirements for a fair election are missing in Florida;"
Michael Moore, Jeb Bush unavailable for comment
-- Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 09/27/04
The cover-up continues
One of City Manager Marty Black's evil henchmen comes forward
to deny that Black ever had any intent on world domination;
meanwhile, Venice Florida! dot com has discovered missile
silos at the airport and a secret command center buried under
city hall -- film at 11:00
-- letters, Venice Gondolier Sun, 09/25/04
Zis Marty Black, he is, how you say, a slippery
fellow, no?
Herald-Trib shifts into full suck-up mode after debacle of
past week; higher taxes and user fees are now a good thing,
really higher taxes and really higher user fees will be a
really good thing -- no, really
-- editorial, Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 09/25/04
House Atreides eyes North Port
Paul Atreides and Fremen work crews
look to relocate spice farms, North Port will be ideal
location in just a few years
-- Venice Gondolier Sun, 09/22/04
Herald-Trib searches city hall, finds no WMDs
After accusing City Manager Marty Black of attempted world
domination, the Herald-Trib backs off, admits it may have made
a mistake; paper still convinced Dr. Evil is on city payroll,
is attempting to locate Austin Powers
-- Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 09/23/04
Show me the money
Who owns stock in the VGA? The public has a right to know!!!
(Venice Florida! dot com's Patten gets a nice mention)
-- editorial, Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 09/22/04
Venice is not going to get its own militia
Herald-Trib article (linked-to below) apparently caused by LSD
in the H-T's drinking water
-- Venice Gondolier Sun, 09/22/04
Annexation is a money loser
North Port is on its way to an economic implosion (Herb
Levine's favorite book,
Bigger Not Better, gets a plug)
-- editorial, Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 09/21/04
Venice to get its own militia, will conquer and annex
H-T gets the news scoop of the year:
City manager amassing weapons, army; armed invasion of Pelican
Pointe, Venice Acres and Venice Palms is imminent, long term
goals include war with North Port
-- Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 09/21/04
Remembering Geri
Geri Weinberg made Venice a better place
-- Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 09/20/04
Coming soon to an eBay auction near you: Grove
Terrace
Selling the HUD land will do a better job at whitening the
town than opening a Clorox factory
-- Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 09/19/04
Herald-Trib wakes up, notices the utilities
whistleblowers
Paper finally:
a.) acknowledges something that we had been reporting for
months -- that the FBI was (and probably still is)
investigating city hall;
b.) takes a stand in support of the whistleblowers (now that
it's politically safe to do so); and
c.) urges the EPA to continue on in the investigation (again,
now that it's politically safe)
Our take: whoop-de-frickin'-doo, where the hell have you guys
been?
-- uselessly late and self-serving editorial, Sarasota
Herald-Tribune, 09/18/04
Weirdest hurricane in memory --
Anyone remember Elena?
In 1985, Elena skimmed up the west coast of Florida and was
ready to slam into Tampa, and that's when things started
getting seriously weird: Elena skidded to a halt just before
making landfall in Tampa, stood still for three days
terrorizing the entire Florida west coast (where's she gonna
go?), then abruptly split and whacked the heck out of a
surprised Mississippi coastline with destructive winds of up
to 125 MPH
St. Pete
Times story
NASA
pic
Elena's track
-- various sources found in
a Google search
The Bob Show gets mixed reviews from council
City attorney Bob Anderson does well in 20- to 35-year-old
target demographic; unfortunately, nobody on council fits the
demographic
-- Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 09/17/04
Hurricane from Hell
Add this new word to your vocabulary: "hypercane," a hurricane
with winds up to 500 MPH; it's theoretically possible, but
it'd take a meteor slamming into the ocean to set it off
-- reprint from Discover Magazine, April 1995
Who's sorry now?
City mumbles out an apology to utilities whistleblowers
-- Tom Lyons column, Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 09/16/04
Ivan may just be a messenger
Hurricane Ivan is among the most powerful
Atlantic storms in recent history, and more such storms are
likely in the future due to global warming, say climate
experts
-- Wired, 09/15/04
Weinberg passes away
Taxpayers League vice-president Geri Weinberg passes away one
day after endorsing mayoral candidate Gary Anderson; Mayor
Calamaras gives shortest eulogy in memory at council meeting
-- Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 09/15/04
Evans and Petitt get green
Gondo story |||
Herald-Trib story
City agrees to pay $25,000 each to Evans and Petitt in whistleblower
settlement; Evans to spend his settlement on wax lips and
comic books, Petitt is spotted prowling in Home Depot electric
tools aisle (Gondo front page
photo of Evans)
-- both stories 09/15/04
Anderson in a china shop
Mayoral candidate Gary Anderson goes bovine in a letter to the
Herald-Trib, porcelain cleanup may take days
-- Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 09/14/04
Venice is a little less beachy today
15 feet of sand goes hasta luego thanks to Frances; beachfront
developers shudder in horror
-- Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 09/07/04
County asks residents to get their s**t
together
Hooked up to county sewer? Hold it in for a few days
-- Sarasota County Government, 09/06/04
Eat the city attorney
It's always a good time for a bad idea -- Herald-Trib
resurrects a dead cat
-- editorial, Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 09/04/04
Meyer is hot
Attorney for the three EPA
whistleblowers announces a tentative settlement with the city,
former city manager George Hunt unavailable for frothy comment
-- Venice Gondolier Sun, 09/01/04
Hanks is hot
Gondo's Tommy McIntyre came to praise the police chief, not to
bury him; FDLE to start investigation into the disappearance
of real Tommy McIntyre and into the remarkably lifelike
replacement that has been posing as the Gondo reporter
-- Venice Gondolier Sun, 09/01/04
Mayor to the Boone law firm: You lying sacks of
bloated protoplasm
Boones accuse the mayor of making secret agreements, trying to
postpone VGA discussions until after the election
-- Venice Gondolier Sun, 08/28/04
City's water testing lab out of compliance
since April, 2003
No point in firing those responsible -- been there, done that,
bought the lab smock
-- Venice Gondolier Sun, 08/25/04
Venice came out of
Charley OK?
Mixed signals, confusion and
conflicting information was no problem in Venice, but only
because Charley went elsewhere
Gondo story, 08/21/04
Herald-Trib editorial, 08/24/04
Where's the beef bid?
Herald-Trib ain't exactly thrilled
with City Manager Marty Black over the no-bid deal that landed OMI's contract with the city,
and that's putting it mildly
-- Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 08/19/04
Poop
Same story, different crew -- yet
another sewage spill into Hatchett Creek
-- Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 08/19/04
Mr. Otto at the Olympics
Bruno Bozzetto's hysterical cartoon
spoof, owing an obvious debt to the classic Warner Bros.
cartoons
-- Datacomm
Where the streets have
no name
Gondo Story |||
Herald-Trib story
Wastewater plant's roads renamed from John Ln and
Wilson Way to 'this street here' and 'that road there;' the
fact that John Lane's and Pat Wilson's jobs were terminated minutes before
the street renamings is purely an accidental coincidence
-- both stories dated 08/18/04
John Lane has an idea
oxymoron -- n. -- A statement
or phrase in which incongruous or contradictory terms are combined, as
in a deafening silence and a mournful optimist
-- Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 08/07/04
We've gotta put somethin' there, we just gotta
Economics, the Fates and now the
Herald-Trib
have
dictated that airport land must and will be developed --
manifest destiny and all that crap; on the upside, former
councilman David Farley is reportedly as giddy as a
12-year-old girl
-- editorial, Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 08/07/04
Is Fark selling out?
Paid links? This could be the end of
civilization as we know it; Wired prints an inconsequential
letter from Venice Florida! dot com
-- Wired, 08/07/04
The Huntification of Black?
No-bid deals were the norm for city hall under Hunt;
Herald-Trib is worried that the practice hasn't stopped
-- editorial, Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 08/06/04
Katherine Harris be trippin' her brains out
U.S. Rep, running for re-election here in her home district
(groan), still insists that the assmonkeys living under her
bed really are trying to eat her brains, Michael Moore
unavailable for comment
-- Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 08/05/04
Speaking of assmonkeys...
Herald-Trib to George Hunt: FOAD!
-- editorial, Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 08/04/04
Whatever drugs Katherine Harris is on, we want some
One of the core figures of Michael Moore's Fahreneheit 9/11
film now says terrorists were arrested in Indiana and
assmonkeys are living under her bed; authorities in Indiana
deny terrorist story, Moore confirms assmonkeys
-- Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 08/04/04
Phase 1: Give some developers the keys to the
airport, let them put some bricks and windows together
Phase 2: ???
Phase 3: Profit!
-- Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 08/03/04
--
(underpants
gnomes unavailable for comment)
Public, county input a
moot point in utilities management
Gondo story |||
Herald-Trib story
NEW LINK 08/03/04:
Herald Trib editorial
On August 16, public input will be "welcomed" on utilities
management plans -- plans that will already be a done
deal; county wants a shot at running Venice utils, city says
no way, Jos
-- both stories 07/30/04, editorial 08/03/04
Kash n' Karry gets Farked
Farkers weigh in on 89-year-old Alzheimer's patient
arrested for shoplifting
-- Fark.com, 07/30/04
H-T pitches for Sarasota Memorial takevoer of
Venice's only hospital
-- editorial,
Sarasota-Herald-Tribune, 07/30/04
Venice formally admits to spills
Today is fess-up day: city
manager, mayor and city attorney are scheduled to sign a
consent order with the DEP
recognizing the city's dumping of raw sewage and of excessive
quantities of treated waste water
(second item on page)
-- Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 07/30/04
City manager balances
utilities budget the hard way
Gondo Story |||
Herald-Trib story
Municipal guillotine
unveiled
-- both stories 07/28/04
A bone to pick
City should clear up lease dispute with VGA
-- editorial, Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 07/27/04
Hunt, North Port break up just before the first date
"It's not you, George, it's me -- I'm just not ready to make a
commitment"
-- Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 07/27/04
Where was city's inspector?
Former Venice city engineering inspector has a couple of
questions regarding the current utils department problems
-- letters, Sarasota Herld-Tribune, 07/23/04
Mayor's race is on
It's official -- Calamaras is running for re-election, says
he's running on his record; opponent Anderson also running on
Calamaras' record; grab your popcorn and sit back, this one is
going to get real interesting, real fast
-- Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 07/23/04
North Port braces itself for the majestic
awesomeness that is known as Hunt
"He's a fine young man, ...but he's not the one for us"
-- North Port Sun-Herald, 07/21/04
They paved paradise and put up another huge-ass
clone 'n drone subdivision
The booning of Venice continues just outside the city limits
-- Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 07/22/04
Hunt to try for North Port manager's job
It'd be a boon for the Boones, anyway; here's hoping nobody in
North Port uses Google
-- Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 07/21/04
New utilities budget gives John Lane a pay cut
A really big one at that
-- Venice Gondolier Sun, 07/21/04
Up to our eyeballs in poop
Gondo story |||
Gondo editorial
Herald-Trib editorial
Tacy wants Lane's head on a platter, local
papers finally waking up to something that Venice Florida! dot
com has been saying for over a year -- the utilities
department needs a total revamp
-- all stories 07/17/04
Council on utilities department: "Mismanagement across the
board"
Cardinal Construction wants another $1.8 million in
overruns, DEP wants $68,000 in fines, the department's
budget has a $185,000 hole, sewers are exploding all over town
and there's no money to fix them, no plans to replace them;
other than that, things are just peachy
-- Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 07/16/04
The wind cries poop
75 sewage spills so far this year; city hall to public:
Plenty more where that came from
-- Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 07/15/04
Lost and Found Department--
Found: very large cat
Please claim soon, we cannot
afford to feed it and we are running out of neighborhood
children
-- Venice Gondolier Sun, 07/14/04
VGA gets a media double whammy
Gondo story |||
Herald-Trib editorial
Gondo reports that the paw park lease is dead thanks to
Larry Heath in city's Public Works; Herald-Trib's editorial
asks for VGA to (gulp) open their financial records
-- both stories 07/14/04
Of course we're doing everything on the up and up, that's
why we stopped doing it
An unnamed "resident" harassed the utils department into
packing up and leaving an asbestos concrete job site --
can't imagine who that unnamed "resident" would be
-- Venice Gondolier Sun, 07/14/04
George, could you speak a little closer to my lapel?
Gondo's coverage of the FBI bugging of city hall and former
city manager George Hunt
-- Venice Gondolier Sun, 07/10/04
Well, we could always have a bake sale
John Lane's utilities budget is $185,000 shy of operating
expenses; anyone know what the combined salaries of John
Lane and Patricia Wilson are?
-- Venice Gondolier Sun, 07/10/04
Lane admits long-denied sewage spill
After years of denial (and referring to this web site and
his own employees as liars and worse), the utils director
admits that his department did spill sewage during Tropical
Storm Gabrielle; it was just a little spill, though, nothing
to get worked up about, honest!
-- Venice Gondolier Sun, 06/30/04
Vox populi
Ustjay evernay aysay eferendumray
-- Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 06/27/04
WHOA NELLY -- CITY ADMITS TO DUMPING SEWAGE
and the walls came tumbling down
After years of denials, legal fees and employee smackdowns,
City Manager Marty Black suggests a new and novel tactic in
dealing with DEP and EPA investigations into deliberate
sewage spills and falsified records: telling the truth
-- Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 06/26/04
Public??? We don't need no stinkin' publ... oh wait, maybe
we do
City council decides to not decide yet on airport
development, wants to hear from you, Mr. and Mrs. America
-- Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 06/25/04
Stay cool in the shade with this summer's hottest reading
Herald-Trib's book review of the FAA shade meeting
transcripts; Venice Florida! dot com gets a nice mention
-- editorial, Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 06/24/04
WCI is out, Miller may be back in after all
Boones get a smackdown, their client, WCI, pays the price
-- Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 06/23/04
"Oh council, I think you've got some splainin' to do..."
Herald-Trib now wants the list of VGA owners (ohboyohboyohboyohboyohboy)
-- editorial, Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 06/22/04
Miller is out, WCI is in
Henry Ranch builders get the insider track, condos still in
the plans (here comes the civil war)
-- Venice Gondolier Sun, 06/19/04
Anthony Tundo is a nice guy
-- Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 06/16/04
Anthony Tundo is not a nice guy
-- Venice Gondolier Sun, 06/16/04
Alas Shane -- I knew him
Utils supervisor Shane Saputo beheads himself, hands head to
city; dismembered gourd still yapping
-- Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 06/12/04
Not your typical barber ad
This tiny ad, from the June 9 print edition of the
Gondolier Sun, carried a wallop and caught a number of folks
by surprise
-- Venice Gondolier Sun, 06/09/04
Venice's architectural review board is clinically insane
Plans to Baker Act the board are in the works
-- Venice Gondolier Sun, 06/12/04
Funniest Fark thread. Ever.
-- Fark.com
Big load o' crap --
Herald-Trib sells
out big time
Unabashed and unapologetic shilling for developers and big
business is the purpose of a new web site --
ManasotaHousing.com; the site itself doesn't give a clue as
to what organization is publishing it; according to
Network Solutions, the domain name is owned by the
Herald-Trib, which is owned by the NY Times
-- ManasotaHousing.com
Conservatives really do
have a sense of humor
Who knew?
-- The Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiler
Oh yeah? Annex this, pal!!!
Herald-Trib story |||
Gondo Story
City, county in an
administrative tug of war over 800+ acre tract; planning
commissioner Benny Weaver and VTL prez Herb Levine are
strangely singing the same tune
-- both stories 06/09/04
VHA going to hell in a handbasket
Brad Baker has a proven record in helping out HUD
communities, so the VHA desperately wants to hear him out...
nah, just kidding, they're doing the typical Venice thing by
telling Baker to do something anatomically impossible
-- Venice Gondolier Sun, 05/26/04
Florida to spend $3.2 million to get Fark to stop using its
Florida tag for weird news stories
The 2000 election caused the news site to invent a category
just for Florida stories; Florida is now trying to clean up
its electoral act (plus
comments from Fark)
-- Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 05/25/04
Sarasota's and Venice's hospitals should marry
Yeah, but would it be a Catholic wedding? Former councilman
Earl Midlam pokes his head out of his foxhole and takes a
shot at local health care
-- letters, Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 05/25/04
But he's such a good boy
and he looks so cute in uniform
City Councilman John Moore sent Dustin Turner to prison for
82 years for Turner's involvement in the murder of Jennifer
Evans -- this was in 1996 when Moore was a judge in
Virginia; now there's a movement to get a governor's pardon
for "Dusty"
-- FreeDusty.com
Dude, where's my squad car?
Deputies arrest crackhead, place him alone in squad car
without handcuffs, leave keys in ignition; Keystone-styled
hilarity ensues (2nd item on page)
-- Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 05/23/04
Putting the business back in the Venice Airport Business
Park
Arguably Larry Evans' finest editorial piece to date
-- Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 05/23/04
North Port real estate swindles are back
Wanna buy some swampland?
-- Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 05/23/04
Boxing returns to Grove Terrace
Police cancel opening card due to licensing problems,
residents instead watch rerun of
Patten-Foglietta bout from last year
-- Venice Gondolier Sun, 05/22/04
Former City of Bronson mayor
pleads guilty
to grand
theft,
organized scheme to defraud
FDLE nails a couple of politicos in the
small town; yo guys, any time you cops want to visit
Venice, it's cool with us
-- FDLE, 05/20/04
Jeff Boone knows what it's like to
be little brother stuck with hand-me-downs
Oh horse crap, what next? In other news,
pigs fly, cure for cancer found and hell freezes over
-- Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 05/21/04
Half of Venice is running for office
Amos still holding out
-- Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 05/16/04
Federal OPM ends diploma mill acceptance
Hmmmmm.... I wonder....... Naaaaahhhhhh.......
-- FCW.com, 05/14/04
City finds asbestos in four HUD apartments
Utils Director John Lane unavailable for comment (with
pic)
-- Venice Gondolier Sun, 05/15/04
Brad Baker returns to Venice with plans to remake Grove
Terrace
VHA exec Lopez considers Baker's plan as "one of many
options" worth ignoring, still leaning towards training the
rats as a cheaper solution for the low-income housing
project
-- Venice Gondolier Sun, 05/12/04
Sarasota is soooooo gay
PrideFest 2004 a huge success
-- Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 05/09/04
City fines HUD housing complex for rats
VHA exec Peter Lopez begs for more time, thought they were
small dogs
-- Venice Gondolier Sun, 05/08/04
Council perks
In a review of what has to be close to the lowest paying
salaried job in America, the H-T notes that council members
get health insurance and free t-shirts
-- Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 05/07/04
Why develop the airport at all?
Seriously, what's the freakin' hurry?
-- editorial, Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 05/06/04
Don't go near the water
Water around pier (and, coincidentally, the recently closed
Island Wastewater plant) has high bacteria count again;
runoff from construction is blamed, or maybe it's bird poop; yeah, that's the ticket,
it's runoff and bird poop
-- Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 05/05/04
Former
Huffman exec Rudi Dekkers named in Federal complaint
Saudis and mobsters and drugs, oh my! (story on the left
side of page)
-- Mad Cow Morning News, 05/03/04
On advice of attorney, we are not linking to this story
Exactly what kind of animal crawled up Tommy McIntyre's ass
and died, anyway?
-- Venice Gondolier Sun, 05/01/04
Venice's airport finances baffles Herald-Tribune
H-T gets another new cub reporter assigned to Venice,
destined to be transferred to Bradenton once the editor
learns his name; in the meantime, we get quotes like "The
city plans to lease the land so that taxpayers will no
longer have to support the airport"
(note to H-T -- the airport is self-sufficient, tax money
does not support the airport)
-- Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 05/04/04
First California, then Ireland rejects e-voting
A faraway land known for green
Considers a new voting scheme
Words that rhyme with Nantucket
And ducat and bucket
Are aimed at the e-vote machines
-- The Register, 05/03/04
There oughtta be a law
The answer to spyware and virus attacks on consumer
computers? More legislation... yeah, that'll work
-- editorial, Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 05/03/04
Bon Secours Hospital tries to quell rumors
PR strategy backfiring as community concerns grow
-- Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 05/02/04
California's Secretary of State bans ALL e-vote machines,
recommends criminal charges against Diebold
Four computer-science reports released in the last
year showed the technology to be
badly designed and vulnerable to hacking
-- Wired, 04/30/04
Gulf Coast Foundation raises $15,000 for sewage-flooded
church
Not in story: Waterford's Mike Miller donated $10,000
-- Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 05/01/04
Lane denies asbestos mishandling; Gondo phones it in
Nobody from the Gondo was actually at the council meeting
when Lane spoke; as a result some of the paper's account of
his presentation to council is, well,
interesting anyway
-- Venice Gondolier Sun, 04/28/04
Hospital in trouble
Bon Secours Hospital in Venice is in shaky health
-- Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 04/28/04
Taxpayers League members support raise in pay for city
council
Inclusion of VTL members into the political process
turns out to be a good idea for council members
-- Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 04/27/04
"Business" park?
It's condos versus office space at the airport in the next
big Venice battle
-- editorial, Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 04/27/04
How green was the county?
The
cities of Sarasota and Venice
have less tree cover than the urban parts of Atlanta and New
Orleans
-- Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 04/26/04
Utilities Director Lane to respond to venfl.com's asbestos
story
Pass the popcorn, this oughtta be good (are there any cheese
doodles left?)
-- Venice Gondolier Sun, 04/24/04
For those who are about to get screwed, we salute you
Everything about south Sarasota County will be changing
drastically over the next few years thanks to developers,
the Boone law firm and a yawning Sarasota County Commission
-- Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 04/24/04
Pulling the irony from the fire: city workers rally for
cancer fight
Utilities department joins in, offers to raffle off asbestos
samples
-- Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 04/22/04
Bush administration
makes strong
commitment to clean
beaches
It's official: monkeys really did fly out
of your ass
-- EPA.gov, 04/20/04
mumble mumble asbestos mumble
Herald-Trib refers to our report on asbestos-concrete as a
"citizen's allegations," then runs off to chase a squirrel
(scroll down to 2nd item)
-- Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 04/21/04
Two is company, 60,000 is a....... 60,000?
Jeff Boone plans on drowning South Sarasota County with a
sea of humanity by 2025; Boone to get rich, the rest of us
will own bicycles
-- Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 04/20/04
Independent web journalists make a difference
Think venfl.com is an oddity? Think again -- it's part of a
national trend as more and more local activists take to the
web
-- Wired, 04/19/04
Boone vs. everyone else
"From my perspective, if you
oppose growth and you've come here after 1958, you should
look in the mirror because you're part of the problem"
-- local development attorney Jeff Boone
-- Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 04/18/04
Please sir: I want some more
Council pay raise is a political issue once again again
again
-- Venice Gondolier Sun, 04/17/04
Poop
Swimming in a sea of brown
-- letter to the editor, Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 04/17/04
Pelican Man Bird Sanctuary is padlocked
Psuedo-vet attempts to Darwinize himself
-- Venice Gondolier Sun, 04/17/04
EPA calls
for National
Award for Smart Growth
Achievement
entries
Venice has a snowball's chance on Mercury
-- EPA press release, April, 2004
Tacy gets shot down over condo rezone request
Tail rudder and both wings in flames as councilman plummets to
earth in a spectacular fireball; also, Patten accuses city
utilities of endangering workers with asbestos exposure
-- Venice Gondolier Sun, 04/14/04
Has Rick Tacy lost his mind?
Press and public applauded council for a 7-0 no vote on rezoning issue;
now the Vice Mayor wants to give the Boone law firm and their
condo-developer client a second shot at pissing off the populace
-- Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 04/13/04
Sarasota / Manatee lead the state in growth
With the massive amount of newcomers moving into area,
The Soylent Corporation looks to make a killing in
harvesting savings
-- Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 04/13/04
Rezoning redux -- "they're ba-aaack"
"Some Venetians professed to be shocked when
city council turned down a request to rezone
five acres to residential multiple
family;" council is now apparently
ready to apply defib paddles -- "CLEAR!!!"
-- Venice Gondolier Sun, 04/10/04
Some real estate marketing web site in Michigan says Venice is tops
Venice celebrates as though it has won a Nobel; why does
this read like
a story from The Onion?
-- Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 04/09/04
Condo developer is "enlightened"
Has whole town up in arms, but what the hell
-- Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 04/09/04
Millers step up to the offering plate
Much maligned condo developer surprises community by
spearheading African-American church rebuilding effort;
church has been closed for almost a year due to massive
sewage backups
-- Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 04/08/04
County to city: All your ambulance are belong to us
County kills city's EMS plans
-- Venice Gondolier Sun, 04/07/04
Smackdown in Boonetown
Gondo story |||
Herald-Trib story
Boone law firm to city's planning commission: "We own your
ass and we will build where we want to;" planning board to
the Boones: "Yes, daddy"
-- both stories 04/07/04
Boonedoggle
Facing public opposition and an
unfavorable review from the city planning staff,
development attorney Jeff Boone plans to ask the Venice Planning Commission today to delay
consideration of a five-story condominium a block from
Venice Beach
-- Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 04/06/04
Going up Curry Creek without a paddle
It's a good thing that the DEP is putting so much work into
approving more pollutants into local waterway
-- editorial, Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 04/06/04
Got bugs?
Computer worms NetSky, MyDoom, Bagle shatter infection rate
and economic damage records; all your hard drive are belong
to us
-- Globe and Mail, 04/02/04
Gondo's Pelican Man sanctuary story gets Farked
"It's not against the law, but it is absolutely
deplorable to have a bird of prey within a few feet of the
patient under anesthesia"
-- Fark.com, with link to Gondo article,
04/03/04
Let's legalize pollution
Utilities Director John Lane has a thought: if we legalize
pollution, we won't have so much illegal pollution; DEP
thinks it's a great idea whose time has come; hilarity does
not ensue
-- Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 04/02/04
A fine year for April Foolery
Pranks that appeared elsewhere on the web on April Fools
Day
-- Wired, 04/02/04
Police Chief Jim Hanks is not a Druid
Gondo reader clears the air on top cop's religious beliefs
-- Venice Gondolier Sun, 03/31/04
Wal-Mart and Medicaid
A study shows that Wal-Mart employees are the number one
users of Medicaid in Georgia; employees can't afford health
insurance for themselves or their kids -- those low, low
prices suddenly don't sound so low when you are paying for
them on the back end
-- ajc.com, 02/27/04
At least it didn't happen in Venice
20 years ago, Punta Gorda rented a vacant parcel of land
that it didn't own to the Catholic church; real owner of
land now has one question: WTF?
-- Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 03/31/04
Affordable housing
If you work in Venice, you can't afford to live in Venice
-- Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 03/31/04
You broke it, you pay for it (last item on page)
H-T reader sounds off on city hall for dragging its feet on
the Union Missionary Baptist Church debacle
-- letters, Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 03/30/04
Uhhhh... what just happened?
Council surprises itself, public and press with a no vote on
rezoning for condo development
-- editorial, Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 03/30/04
London, Ontario needs a city manager
A bizarre tale, even by Venice standards, involves a city
manager at war with his staff; city manager gets stressed
out by prank, enters therapy and then gets canned
-- London (Ontario) Free Press, 03/28/04
How e-voting threatens democracy
Electronic voting is supposed to
prevent another Florida election debacle, but a
growing body of evidence suggests the technology, at least
in its current form, cannot be trusted
-- Wired, 03/28/04
Sure it's dirt
Dumping "dirt" at Caspersen is the cure-all for deviant
sexual behavior, like nude sunbathing; Herald-Trib doesn't
take a close view of that so-called "dirt," though --
venfl.com has, and it sure looks like there is an awful lot
of lime in that so-called "dirt"
-- Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 03/27/04
Bah-BOOM!
Three airplanes and a copter go up in flames, according to
city's info person -- we're still waiting for independent
confirmation
-- Venice Gondolier Sun, 03/27/04
Do the right thing
Venice should fulfill its obligation to a damaged church
-- editorial, Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 03/26/04
Council says no to condo rezoning proposal
Wait..... what?..... Coffee... must never look at news
before coffee... cuz I coulda swore the story said council
took a pass on allowing more condos.... I must be getting
daft......
-- Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 03/25/04
One more time for the pay raise
Council appoints citizen committee to look at council pay
increase, committee made up mostly of.... Taxpayers
Leaguers?..... Alright, that's it, I'm not reading anymore,
somebody at the Herald-Trib is on drugs
-- Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 03/25/04
Taxpayers League gets a good review (wowowow!)
Blink, blink -- reality has shifted, cats are now living
with dogs, the end is near; Venice Florida! dot com's Patten
gets a nice mention, too
-- editorial, Venice Gondolier Sun, 03/24/04
Brown liquid, black
church, white town -- mix, shake, serve
Herald-Trib article ||
Gondo article
It's been almost a year and the Union Missionary Baptist
Church is still closed due to a sewer backup that filled the
church; not mentioned in either article: original spill
report stated only 500 gallons was backed up into church
(yeah, sure)
-- both articles, 03/24/04
We're only in it for the money
Tired of living on lumpy gravy and burnt weeny sandwiches,
and with four new members becoming an overnite sensation,
council asks voters for a little less cheepnis so they don't
wind up workin' in a gas station
-- Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 03/23/04
You ain't goin' nowhere
Start, stop, start, stop, start, stop, start, stop, start,
stop, start, stop, start, stop, start, stop, start, stop,
start, stop, start, stop, start, stop, start.....
-- Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 03/20/04
The
bitchy get bitchier
"Unnamed" cops (like you couldn't figure that one
out) complain about the FOP vote, state vote was
rigged; Taxpayers League could have used these guys after
the $10 million bond vote
Note: info received by venfl.com indicates that over 40
FOP members were in attendance at the mentioned vote, not
the 20 or 22 that the Gondo reports
-- Venice Gondolier Sun, 03/20/04
Hanks gets a slap
Police chief gets a letter of reprimand and some strong
advice
-- Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 03/20/04
Union Missionary Baptist Church still not de-slimed --
church had been filled with sewage last year
Back in August of last year, we reported on the standoff
between the church and the city; it's now seven months later and the story is pretty
much the same
-- Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 03/18/04
Don't touch me there
Dumb: playing hide the sausage in a public park; Dumber:
looking for the sausage in a deputy's shorts; jailarity
ensues
-- Venice Gondolier Sun, 03/17/04
Black praised
H-T's puff piece on City Manager Marty Black is actually a
pretty accurate assessment of Black's first month and a half
at the helm -- a good and able man in hellish times
-- Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 03/15/04
Hanks to stay
City Manager states Hanks' job is secure; oh,
and the FOP voted on something related to all of this, but
it's probably not that important
-- Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 03/13/04
New York, Wisconsin pull out of The Matrix, Florida still
hooked up
Neo can no longer watch That 70's Show or Sex And The City,
but he's getting a real good tan
-- Wired, 03/12/04
California legislators push to end e-voting
"The basic rule of working with poll workers is that
if they can screw things up, they
will"
-- Wired, 03/12/04
Chief Hanks faces complaint
Detective Treanor's charge against VPD chief to go to
pre-hearing stage; not in story, but related: FOP votes
"overwhelming" confidence in Hanks in response to recent
attacks on the chief
-- Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 03/12/04
Yo Dean
H-T politely asks Hizzonor to put a sock in it
-- editorial, Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 03/11/04
All we are saying is give peace Hanks a
chance
donut --> $1.19
coffee --> $1.25
newspaper from vending
machine --> $0.50
last sentence in editorial: "Memo
to Joe Slapp: The city let you hang on to get your full
retirement. It's time to ride off into the sunset,
quietly''
--> PRICELESS!!!
-- editorial, Venice Gondolier Sun, 03/10/04
-- RELATED:
letter to editor from cop's wife, 03/10/04
Keep your eye on the sparrow (don't do it, well, well,
well...)
"No-nonsense, street-wise detective" is in definite need of a Midol,
wishes Venice Florida! dot com's Patten into the
cornfield
-- Venice Gondolier Sun, 03/10/04
Council and the chief
Taylor stands up for Hanks; foot-in-mouth trifecta complete as mayor falls
in step with disgraced pols Slapp and Hunt in calling for
Chief Hanks' resignation
-- Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 03/10/04
Say what?
Detective Mike Treanor accuses Venice Florida! dot com's
Patten of accusing Treanor of... oh hell, see if you can
figure it out; no, we're still not giving our sources to you
Mike, but you can bet we won't be inviting you to our
Christmas party this year
-- Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 03/09/04
Mike Miller and the airport
Business community, dubbed "the public" by the H-T, rallies behind Miller and his airport
development plans; Mayor Calamaras, fearful of voter
backlash in an election year, pretends to be disinterested
-- Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 03/08/04
Hangars with movable walls?
Uhhhhh.... whatever
-- editorial, Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 03/08/04
Cat fight, cat fight
Current and former police chief in a war of words; low blows
from former chief Slapp are taking their toll; Hunt blamed
for setting up an antagonizing atmosphere; Earle Kimel's
swan song piece on Venice before he moves to Port Charlotte,
and one of his finest journalistic pieces ever
-- Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 03/07/04
Slapp says Hanks should resign
Former police chief denies being an obsessed and bitter
man
-- Venice Gondolier Sun, 03/06/04
In defense of Hanks
Rest of town says Slapp should STFU and move to Iowa
-- Venice Gondolier Sun, 03/06/04
Beaches closed due to sewage
An old asbestos concrete sewage pipe explodes, sending
thousands of gallons of raw sewage onto our beaches; public
complains that not enough notice was given
-- Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 03/06/04
Zero, null, nada, zip
Not a bad idea (airport development)
-- editorial, Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 05/03/04
Sewer leaks 5,000 gallons into Roberts Bay
Actually, this happens a lot, but now, thanks to Marty
Black's new directives, the public gets to know about it
-- Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 03/05/04
So your kid failed the FCAT? No problem
You can buy a Maine high school diploma and Florida colleges
will accept it
-- CBS4 Boston, 02/29/04
It's time for
"Conspiracy Tonight"
State attorney fired in Rudi Dekker's prosecution, plus much
more in this 15-minute news video by Daniel Hopsicker
-- Mad Cow Productions
Microsoft offers free Windows Update CD
Are you on dial-up access and it takes forever to download
the needed security updates from
windowsupdate.microsoft.com? Microsoft will send
you the updates on CD at no charge (shipping is free too -- suh-weeeeeet)
-- Microsoft, 02/27/04
"It wasn't me, I swear it!"
Amos, venfl.com's failed
canine council candidate and resident expert on all
things Purina, swears he never touched the gal
-- Venice Gondolier Sun, 02/28/04
If you build it, will they come?
Gondo story |||
Herald-Trib story
Three developers present their visions on airport property
development, cuz we all know people really enjoy living
under a flight path; Levine offers a fourth option -- leave
the land the way it is (what
neither paper mentions: Levine got the only standing ovation
from a crowd of about 150)
-- all 02/28/04
Weinberg disagrees
VTL's Geri Weinberg takes issue with a couple of Patten's
statements on current VTL/CQG state of affairs
-- Venice Gondolier Sun, 02/28/04
Carving up the island
Developer's jostle for position in airport land grab;
Farley's proposed convention center next to Maxine Barritt's
park gets a mention at the end of story
-- Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 02/27/04
"Bring back budgeted beach bucks;" beach boosters bitch at
beltway bureaucrats, Bush bunch
Lobbyists hit Washington looking for sand money; opening
prayer includes Matthew 7:26-27
-- Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 02/27/04
Army Corps of Engineers using their massive groins to stop
beach erosion
Looks like Venice isn't the only town
that the feds have reneged on (click on the ABC News logo to
read the actual story)
-- Fark.com, ABC News 02/26/04
Is renourishment a fool's errand?
It's not just
Venice that is fighting beach erosion, all of Florida is
fighting rising sea levels
and other forces that have put roughly
half of the state's beaches in jeopardy; some think
the state will eventually reach a sort of equilibrium with
Mother Nature, others look at
renourishment as a fool's errand
-- Pensacola News Journal, 07/28/02
Sharky's
rerereredux
More revelations of Hunt's secret mixed up dealings; will it never
end? Won't someone think of the children?
Gondo story
Herald-Trib Story |||
Herald-Trib editorial
-- 02/25/04, 02/26/04
Cop shop under fire
Accreditation woes |||
Avery Report
Anyone remember
John Carpenter's second movie?
-- Venice Gondolier Sun, 02/25/04
Why was Avery Report buried?
Hunt ordered the study, done in April of 2003, then OK's
sensitivity training through September of 2003; plug pulled
on program in September, no follow-up ever done
-- editorial, Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 02/24/04
Dan 'The Man' Lobeck
He complains, he accuses,
he argues, he sues,
he subpoenas,
he looks damned good in black, he hugs trees, he leaps small
hedges with a single bound (sometimes a couple of bounds) --
he's Dan Lobeck, environmental activist attorney
-- Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 02/22/04
Mr. Black goes to Washington
Feds pull the plug on beach renourishment funds; Black and
Hammett to head north to try to get some spare cash
-- Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 02/22/04
The
Avery Report
Full text, Adobe PDF file
-- Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 02/21/04
Uh oh -- media discovers the Avery Report
Herald-Tribune gets a tip about the existence of the buried
Avery Report, asks for a copy; feces hits rotary oscillator
-- Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 02/21/04
Bad growth
Don O'Connell notices that if you take a map of Venice and
turn it sideways, it looks like that two-headed baby
-- editorial, Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 02/20/04
Spammers exploit high-speed connections
Two-thirds of unwanted
messages are relayed unwittingly by PC owners who set up
software incorrectly or fail to secure their machines;
one Comcast
user finds out for himself after Comcast shuts his access
down for unknowingly sending spam
-- USA Today, 02/16/04
Herb strikes back
VTL prez Levine gives a little payback to J.W. Smith for his
letter to the editor;
Smith accused the VTL of plunging a hatchet into former
city manager George Hunt's back; Levine claims the wound was
self-inflicted.
-- letters, Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 02/19/04
Gulf Coast Foundation donates half a million for community
center
Money allows Councilman Myers to move forward with plans for
karaoke bar inside the center
-- Venice Gondolier Sun, 02/18/04
Venice has its own patron saint
Saint Mark, who is also the patron saint for attorneys and
insect bites; it's a Catholic thing, you wouldn't understand
-- Catholic Forum
Holy s**t
Hunt's former city hall sidekicks flee: Siegmann, O'Connor
follow McPhail in putting in their resignations
-- Venice Gondolier Sun, 02/14/04
Tastes great, less filling
Cape Coral's experiment with using effluent as drinking
water is a rousing success; "It's great," says one
homeowner; Health Department unamused, fines city $72,000
anyway
-- Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 02/14/04
Election reform?
Herald-Trib asks for districting in council races in the
hope of better representation; still no cure for cancer
-- Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 02/12/04
Gondo hypes EMS
Paper kind of forgets to mention the union rep who spoke at
council about statewide shortage of EMS paramedics and
serious liability issues in running a city EMS
-- Venice Gondolier Sun, 02/11/04
Black gets the nod
It's official -- Marty Black is new city manager; also: Tacy
denies he wants to be mayor, Levine accused of performing a
miracle without Vatican approval
-- Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 02/11/04
Unlimit term limits
Jim Myers wants term limits ended, Herald-Trib thinks it's a
good idea; next up - eliminating the pesky "must be alive to
run" rule so that Virginia Warren and Harry Case can appear
on ballot
-- Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 02/10/04
iVotronic machines dropped votes in South Carolina and
Florida
Guess what? These are the same machines
used in Sarasota County; we're still thrilled about that
$10 million bond here in Venice, oh yeah
-- Wired, 02/09/04
Public records debacle
In a recent statewide test run, over 40% of requests for
public records resulted in illegal responses
-- editorial, Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 02/08/04
The truth is out there: Hunt freaks out over hospital
Former city manager warns
that aliens might take hospital and transport it to another
planet in the middle of the night, hospital responds by
offering to re-open its psych ward
-- Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 02/07/04
Water, sewer bills to go up
Remember all that talk of how Henry Ranch was going to save
us all a lot of money? Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha -- and you believed
it? Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha -- like sheep to the moon!
-- Venice Gondolier Sun, 02/07/04
Black......... Marty Black....... (shaken, not stirred)
Ba-da-da-da da da-daaaaaaaa
-- Venice Gondolier Sun, 02/07/04
Gondo asks for help and a clue
We're having a little trouble covering the news lately, any
free help would be appreciated
-- Venice Gondolier Sun, 02/07/04
You want what?
Herald-Trib reporter gets turned in to
the cops for asking for public records; apparently nobody
outside of Venice's city government has thought of the "we
turned it over to the insurance company" ruse
-- Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 02/07/04
Look: It's de plane, boss, it's de plane
Venice residents ask for the right to bear surface-to-air
missiles to combat noise from airport traffic
-- Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 02/06/04
Hunt **** ** ***** ** * ******* ***** **
*** ** **** **** ******* ******** ** * **** * ****** ***** Hunt;
** ******* **** ***** *** ** ***** ** ***** *******
********* *** **** ack ack **** ack ******* ack; oh look: a hairball
-- V--ic- Go-d-l-er-S-n, 01/31/04
Council workshop nixes elimination of term limits
Jim Myers last hope for another three years on council goes
up in flames, Myers reportedly looking for something small,
cute and cuddly so that he can hurt it
-- Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 01/31/04
Foglietta reappears
Former VHA chairman enters plea of not guilty in battery case;
who knew he really lived two houses down?
-- Venice Gondolier Sun, 01/30/04
Mydoom (aka Novarg) is now the worst e-mail worm incident in virus history
Currently between 20% - 30% of
all e-mail traffic worldwide is generated by this worm
-- F-Secure, 01/29/04
Marty Black deserves the job
No he doesn't; yes he does; no -- he doesn't; yes -- he
does; shut up; no, you shut up; no you shut up, I said it
first
- editorial, Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 01/29/04
