Nobody asked me, but -
. . . Things worth knowing - The "Hey Jude" chorus lasts for two minutes and 13 seconds, 41 percent of the whole song.
. . . A refreshing and wonderfully new idea - An informal meeting of the Largo City Commission (no suits, etc.) with no city manager, lawyer or staff present, plenty of folks from the public, with a free interchange between the elected and the populace as to what is wanted, what is needed and what the city should be like (and a tip of the hat to idea man Curtis Holmes).
. . . Question to an expert on constitutional rights - Do cities have a right to pass a law to prevent an elected official from participating (other than voting) in an election? Doesn't that violate a First Amendment free speech right?
. . . No election in Largo in March (the time has been changed to November) but don't be surprised if important changes happen there. Another local burg, that did have an election, could see a major personnel change as a result of the outcome.
. . . Folks in one local city were appalled to see a recent commission meeting loaded with items pushing the agenda for one individual and amazingly the agenda items did not come under the jurisdiction of that commission. Wow!
. . . And whatever became of Nancy Obarski?
. . . Did an editorialist for the Big Paper make a slip of the pen recently and reveal that one local elected poohbah may have violated the rules in discussing a pending matter with colleagues?
. . . You want some cheap entertainment sometime, tune into C-SPAN and watch the Senate when Robert C. Byrd is giving one of his stemwinders - haven't seen anything like it since Claghorn left these parts.
. . . One of the big laughs in the late, lamented (by some) election in Indian Rocks Beach was the e-mail campaign material turned out by one (losing) candidate. The words supposedly issuing from his bee-stung lips would have done a Harvard scholar proud. Of course, the chap is a "dese and dose" guy to those who know him. But those who don't know him were being fooled. That's wrong.
. . . Another example of the total lack of a sense of shame in our society these days (and also amusing in a quirky sort of way) - Dick Morris, the political pundit seen on TV with regularity, is the same guy who was caught a several years ago sucking the toes of a prostitute. Remember? (Ugh!!)
. . . One local elected politico was accosted in a drinking establishment recently by a citizen who had been in the news and a several hours wassailing session began in which the politico admitted to (at least did not deny) certain predilections.
. . . The word now is that there is going to be a vigorous housecleaning in Largo - so needed and proclaimed in these pages consistently.
. . . There is hope for the future of the Pinellas Suncoast Fire & Rescue District. John Todia of Indian Rocks Beach is the new chairman of the district commission. Todia's a good and thoughtful man and a total departure, in terms of ability, from his ham handed numbskull predecessor.
. . . Speaking of Indian Rocks Beach, there will be changes there. The emphasis is on fixing a broken city government that would have gotten worse had it not been for the excellent results in the March 13 voting. There's still a mess there, but it will be cleaned up.
. . . One big improvement in IRB would be to get rid of the bureaucratic mind set on the commission, squeeze down talking time limited to the subject at hand. The custom there had been to have folks who don't know what they are talking about expound on subjects and businesses about which they had no knowledge whatsoever.
. . . Everybody who is sick and tired of all the Anna Nicole Smith hoopla, please raise your hands. I thought so. Class dismissed.
