TheLakeBlog.com

Listen to people about south Lake’s future

2010-03-13T16:51:21-05:00

Lauren Ritchie, Orlando Sentinel

COMMENTARY

March 12, 2010

Late last month, Lake County commissioners sent Clermont's elected officials home angry after an attempted land grab of epic proportions.

The city had tried a maneuver that would have resulted in the annexation of 5,700 acres stretching from the southern limits of its joint-planning area with the county nearly to the development surrounding U.S. Highway 192 and Four Corners.

That would have been funny — if only Clermont City Council members hadn't been so serious.

Council members have said they want the area for economic development, but they conceded that any job base would need 640 homes for every 1,800 acres. Just what Clermont needs with hundreds of houses already on a sputtering market: more houses.

Ugh.

No one had brought any kind of plan to the city for building businesses, and the city was wholly unprepared to serve the area with police or fire. County commissioners did the right thing when they sent Clermont on its way.

However, they left open a little window: It's a meeting set for 6 p.m. March 29 at Cooper Memorial Library. Elected officials from the city and the county are expected to hash out the future of the U.S. Highway 27 corridor in south Lake County.

Developers in a rush

Since commissioners turned down the request Feb. 23, there have been private attempts to persuade commissioners to do a turnaround and support the plan. That didn't work.

Apparently, council members finally are beginning to get the message that the county isn't likely to approve bureaucratic-rule changes that would result in opening thousands of acres to even more sprawl over the rolling hills — and especially not on a deadline set by developers, no less. Amen.

So now, Clermont managers and council members have been tossing around ideas behind the scenes in an attempt to find a middle ground that would suit both them and county commissioners.

Nothing has been discussed publicly yet, and some of the council members haven't even heard about some of the ideas.

But there's still a push to get it all done before November, when Florida voters will decide whether they want to take the power to control development from elected officials and hold it in their own hands. Each big land-use change would have to pass a public ballot if Amendment 4 is approved by voters in November. Developers fear this possibility and are in a rush to get land-use approvals.

Alternative ideas

Here are some ideas Clermont officials are batting around:

•One notion is to completely remove any housing from the plan. If Clermont were to annex properties south of the city, all of the land would have to be used for economic development — retail, commercial, an industrial park or an office park, Assistant City Manager Darren Gray said.

That idea is an attempt to soothe the feelings of people who do not want any more houses in a community where so many are languishing on the market.

•A second plan, which seems a more likely proposal, is that the city would stake a claim to 3,700 acres rather than 5,700 acres. The line for property that eventually would be annexed would take in the proposed controversial Karlton development and stop at its southern border.

The land, Gray said, would come into the city designated as rural, and the developers who had been in such a hurry to have that moniker lifted would have to ask the people of Clermont, rather than the whole county, to approve it in a vote.

Gray said the whole fuss began when Clermont moved to take in 2,252 acres in south Lake belonging to Orange County and Orlando together. That land is used to produce water for reuse, and Clermont has been wanting some of that water for eight years now.

That triggered a domino effect on properties to the south whose owners saw a chance for annexation and a more favorable land designation.

‘Real' planning

Now, however, the two big governments who own the Water Conserv II project backed away — warned by Lake Commissioner Elaine Renick that this was becoming a bitter issue. They're in no rush to get anywhere near the stink.

Renick said she'd be willing to talk about Clermont's two new ideas — but she still has reservations.

"If they're still trying to take in the whole Karlton property, they're taking in a huge environmentally sensitive area out there," she said. "There's a reason it is set aside for rural protection."

She said that her preference is for all the parties involved to hammer out what in bureaucrat-speak is called an Interlocal Service Boundary Agreement, in which all the governments and landowners decide together how to develop the area.

"It's real planning with all people affected," Renick said.

But here is the best part: During that meeting March 29, the two governments together will take comments from people with an interest in that area. Live in Clermont and have an opinion about what the area should look like when it grows up? Then this is your meeting.

Officials from both governments should be listening closely — and do what people want done, not obey the commands of developers whispering in their ear outside public meetings.

Lauren Ritchie can be reached at Lritchie@orlandosentinel.com You may leave her a message at 352-742-5918 Her blog is at OrlandoSentinel.com/ laurenonlake.

County votes down $1.2B Rybolt Park plan

2010-03-11T11:17:17-05:00

Tuesday the Orange County Board of County Commissioners voted down a developer's proposal to open more than 1400 acres up to new development. The developer touted the usual jobs, jobs, jobs and of course, "workforce housing".

This is the new sheepskin covering developers seeking approvals for vast amounts of new development before the Nov 2010 Amendment 4 vote. If A4 passes it will require that residents have a vote on density increases and other changes to the comprehensive plan.

Instead of Rybolt it could have been spelled N-E-W C-I-T-Y. There was no demonstration of need. Congratulations to the Orange County BCC.

Just as there was no demonstration of need for Rybolt, there is no demonstration of need for approximately 6000 acres that developers south of Clermont want to open for development.

Leading the way helping developers are Clermont council members Robert Thompson and Ray Goodgame. They have openly indicated want to help the developers avoid public input by and beat the Amendment 4 vote by increasing to a density that will effectivly allow about three projects the size of Karlton, which residents erupted over three years ago and the County voted down.

Sean Parks, running against Elaine Renick for the County Commission, is one of the outspoken supporters of developing the area. While on the County Planning Agency, parks proposed designating the area as "workplace district" allowing more than 6000 homes on just 1800 acres. The Planning Agency didn't support his proposal and now he's advocating for nearly 6000 acres and working it through a new channel. Thompson and Goodgame are proposing designating the area "work district". Sounds familiar.

Sounds nice. Still spells N-E-W C-I-T-Y. No demonstration of need. Destroys more rural area. Hey - What every happened to the MyRegion.org vision that these people touted - developing higher density within the city to prevent urban sprawl and help justify mass transit? What they really seem to want is higher density in the City and higher density in the rural areas.

And what about the areas like old downtown Clermont that die a little more everytime more sprawl is approved in other areas? Same old....

Thompson and Goodgame are clearly doing the bidding for the developers and are using the same "jobs, jobs, jobs" mantra. They say no housing developments but then say "support housing" will be needed. If they desire a "live,work,play" development, they will need to approve massive amounts of housing to have the "live" part of the equation. It's more sheepskin just to get the proposal through.

What they are not telling the public is that Clermont already has 14,000+ acres of land in their planning area that has little or no current activity for economic development. Yes, 14,000+.

Thompson got a city council seat without his name being on the ballot (there was not another candidate running). Goodgame supported the previous Karlton Development (he said as he was ok with it as long as it was "self sufficient") that would have brought more than 12,000 people in approx. 6000-7000 homes to the area south of Clermont.)

Thompson is up for election this year, Goodgame next year. Many expect Clermont residents to send them a strong message. Parks, who ran against Jimmy Conner for County Commission in 2008 and lost badly, is likely in for another disappointment running against the loved County Commissioner, Elaine Renick.

Wednesday, March 10, 2010, 2:55pm EST

County votes down $1.2B Rybolt Park plan

Orlando Business Journal - by Anjali Fluker Staff Writer

The Orange County Commission on March 9 voted down a controversial plan that would have developed a 1,440-acre, 100-year-old cattle ranch east of the Econlockhatchee River into a $1.2 billion mixed-use community similar to Baldwin Park.

Proposed plans for Rybolt Park included 5,000 homes with 20 percent work force housing, 150,000 square feet of retail, 922,000 square feet of office space, a 1.1 million-square-foot research park and 335 acres of parks, trails and open space, as previously reported by Orlando Business Journal. The project was proposed as an infill development that would serve as a live-work-play community for the University of Central Florida’s main campus and Central Florida Research Park.

The board March 9 voted 6-1 against transmitting the proposed plan for the development of regional impact to the state Department of Community Affairs, stating the need for a bridge over the Econ River would cause that area’s rural character to change by driving more development to the area, something nearby residents and environmental groups have also said. Only Commissioner Tiffany Moore Russell voted in favor of transmitting the plan, county officials said.

“There was a tremendous amount of forward-thinking elements, but it’s like doing it in Central Park,” said Commissioner Bill Segal. “You can have best development in the world, but it’s in the wrong place.”

Mary Rybolt Lamar, whose family built up the ranch, said she is in discussions with attorneys at Orlando law firm Latham, Shuker, Eden & Beaudine LLP regarding her legal options, including filing a lawsuit against the county. “We’re not a family that runs from a fight,” Lamar told Orlando Business Journal. “We’re fully committed to this project.”

The family’s attorney Peter Latham, a partner in the law firm, said the county relied on inaccurate and misleading information, and may have effectively caused a moratorium on future development by not supporting this development. It also is no longer a rural area, Latham said, since more than 150,000 people moved into the area since the last time the county set the urban service area line and approved several thousand suburban homes east of the Rybolt Ranch and north of State Road 50.

“The failure to transmit this project denies this area the ability to provide the type of community many potential businesses are looking for near UCF and the Research Park,” Latham said in a statement. “Non-transmittal denies thousands of jobs, millions in transportation improvements paid for by the development and a true loss for Central Florida.”

But Segal said those jobs and improvements wouldn’t have come for several years and the county supports development within urban areas, while Rybolt Park is more of an example of sprawl.

EDC ducks questions on confirming jobs

2010-03-10T09:45:57-05:00

Since there have been a few less articles about the EDC's problem job creation numbers in the past month or two it seems they forgot that taxpayers are still providing them funds and that unaccounted-for jobs numbers are not acceptable. Easy to report on the one success and bury everything else...

OrlandoSentinel.com

EDC ducks questions on confirming jobs

Beth Kassab

Business Columnist

9:10 PM EST, March 9, 2010

The executives who run the Metro Orlando Economic Development Commission appeared at the Orange County Commission on Tuesday to try to convince commissioners that the EDC's work is worthy of taxpayer money.

But after the more than hour-long presentation, they still didn't answer the $704,000 question: Will they begin to confirm the job creation numbers they boast so often about?

Instead of answering the question directly, a trio of CEOs ducked and dodged in a way that would make the Magic's point guards look stiff.

Afterward, it got even worse — when EDC Chairwoman Meg Crofton, president of Walt Disney World; EDC Vice Chairman David Pace, president of New Broad Street Cos.; and EDC Secretary-Treasurer Alex Martins, chief operating officer of the Orlando Magic, darted out of the county building without answering my questions on the topic.

If transparency and accountability are goals of the EDC, as Crofton stated during the meeting, why all the secrecy?

The agency, which receives 35 percent of its $5.8 million budget from taxpayers in four counties — including $704,000 from Orange County — still hasn't decided whether it will begin to confirm if the job projections it hypes as achievements ever turn into real jobs.

This column reported in November that the EDC does not confirm the numbers it touts to elected officials when asking for public dollars and that the job totals it presents as "year-end results" are actually projections for new jobs over three to five years.

Commissioner Linda Stewart on Tuesday asked Crofton whether the agency has started to verify its numbers.

Crofton put off an answer, saying that the EDC's board would be discussing the matter at its meeting next week.

"Just trust us," she urged Stewart, "to give you a full briefing on that."

Stewart seemed puzzled, telling Crofton, "I didn't think it was a lot to ask."

She even suggested Crofton could task an intern with the simple assignment of calling the companies to find out whether they followed through on their projections.

The EDC didn't seem to have any problem making such a phone call last week. The group's shining example of success during its presentation was Kaplan University. The online university was promised an incentive package worth $4.9 million in 2008 if it moved 750 jobs associated with its sales and admissions center to Orange County's Central Florida Research Park. The jobs' average salary is $43,218.

Martins told the commission that the EDC checked and Kaplan had exceeded its hiring goal of 750 and today employs 1,100 people.

That was easy, wasn't it?

Maybe not. The process of verifying jobs is so complicated and controversial that the EDC won't even say what its executive committee of Crofton, Pace, Martins and 21 others recommended on the matter to its full board.

Perhaps the transparency and accountability will kick in after next week's board meeting.

Time almost up on old airport guard

Time is running out on the old guard at Orlando International Airport. Longtime board Chairman Jeffry Fuqua is scheduled to leave his post next month after serving on the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority for 19 of the past 23 years.

Before he goes, Fuqua is ensuring that he leaves a lasting stamp on OIA by choosing its next executive director. Current airport head honcho Steve Gardner plans to retire in August. By the end of this month, though, the airport will likely already have its executive-director-in-waiting.

Four internal candidates will be interviewed for the job on Thursdayand the board could vote on a new director as early as next week. Insiders have long said Phil Brown, deputy executive director and a friend of Fuqua's, is a leading contender.

Beth Kassab can be reached at bkassab@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5448. Read her blog at OrlandoSentinel.com/thebottomline.

2010-03-08T11:15:04-05:00

by John Harris, Elected member, Board of Trustees, Lake County Water Authority - The following post is not an official LCWA document and this information is posted for the interested public to view. Any content is my own writing and/or opinions and not representative of the Lake County Water Authority Board of Trustees or LCWA business.

Lake County Water Levels Report (2/26/2010)

El Nino Weather pattern brings above average winter rains.

This winter has given many people who frequent or live on our lakes and waterways some hopeful expectations. The drought conditions over the last few years had left too many areas with very low water. Even with the recent rains over the last couple of months, many lakes are far from being up to the levels that are considered normal. The good news is that, with the exception of the Clermont chain of lakes, the Green Swamp and other areas of South Lake, most areas have started to recover and are now over the minimum desired water levels, and are now into the regulatory range. (The regulatory range is a preferred range or desired water level set by the Saint Johns Water Management District depending on the time of year as it relates to averages of rainfall). read the complete report here.

Protect Clermont from the "4"

2010-03-07T23:49:49-05:00

The below Myword published in the Orlando Sentinel today is by Nancy Fullerton and is regarding the 6-7000 acres south of Clermont that some members of the Clermont city council want to open up for development. It's excellent and represents the view of a huge majority of the voters in Clermont and the County. The "Clermont 4"s interest in doing what is best for Clermont residents, is questionable at best.

I knew something was up when in late 2008 council member Robert Thompson called me and asked me if I could get the Citizens Coalition of Lake County to support an application for a land fill about a mile from the Green Swamp Area of Critical State Concern and the Withlacoochee River. Thompson is a likable guy, I've had a couple of beers with him in the past so I told him I'd look into it.

After researching the issue, it became apparent that the applicant was a client of Thompson's public relations/advertising company and "sister" company in the north Tampa area. They apparently had undertaken an effort to try to sway public opinion to support the landfill. Thompson told me he just wanted the applicant to get a "fair shake".

Further research showed that the 150 foot high garbage mountain would have been located in a Karst area prone to sinkholes. Should a sinkhole form under such a landfill, large quantities of leachate could have polluted groundwater, the Green Swamp, and the river.

Audubon of Florida, Hernando Audubon, neighboring landowners, legislators and local government officials joined in a campaign to strongly urge DEP to deny the permit. On Thursday, February 12,2009 DEP issued a formal notice of intent to deny the permit

This is when I first became disinterested in Thompson and formed the opinion that Thompson was more interested in revenue for his company than what was best for the South Lake community. Knowing this, reasonable people may wonder if Thompson's company is getting anything to lead the way on developing South Clermont - to give them a fair shake, of course.

Thompson was elected to the Clermont City Council in 2008 when nobody ran against him. Since there was not an opposing candidate, his name was not on the ballot . His term is up this year ( 11/2010). If he runs again, he'll sign up this summer. I suspect Clermont residents will let him know how they feel.

Nancy's Myword is below:

Protect Clermont Orlando Sentinel, March 7, 2010

I am disenchanted with the nebulous, irresponsible ideas for development in Clermont proposed by four City Council members — proclaimed the “Clermont Four” by council member Ray Goodgame – and their disrespect for citizen input and disregard of previous visioning for the city.

Mr. Goodgame’s letters in the Orlando Sentinel Jan. 24 and Feb. 28 remind me of a modern-day wild-west gang of land hustlers with bandanas covering their faces bouncing in a huge four-wheel-drive truck over the hills south of Clermont that the county commissioners designated a Rural Protection Area in its new comprehensive-planning document, “Planning Horizon 2030.”

These are the hills of the Lake Wales Ridge, which Ömyregion.org identifies as a Ö“must save” place of Central Florida. These hills are essential to groundwater recharge that help maintain water levels in the Clermont Chain of Lakes and adequate hydration of the Green Swamp Area of Critical State Concern. These are the hills that would be sacrificed to the red herring “jobs”touted by Mr. Goodgame just as Niagara stated as the justification for its bottled-water plant.

Mr. Goodgame and council member Robert Thompson are leading the raid to annex 5,700 acres of this land between Clermont and the Four Corners. They say they are “protecting Clermont’s future” saying the future rests with the economic growth of the city, not in Rural Protection Areas where nothing can happen.
Well…therein lies the High Noon shootout over two hugely different futures for Clermont:

--The Goodgame Gang’s future of “areas suitable for real economic development at the size and scope of a Lake Nona…”
--The county’s plan for rural protection and sensible, needed growth.

I’ll side with the county and “Clermont One” – Mayor Hal Turville, the only council member who sees the costly consequences of such unneeded development. He respects previous public hearings and council decisions that shot down the Karlton project.

Clermont residents over the years have made their wishes clear. In visioning sessions, including those for the new county comp plan, we have defended our treasured lakes, hills and wetlands and small-town atmosphere.

Citizen input on the Goodgame gang’s “plan” has been zilch — promised but not provided — except for a poorly advertised Feb. 15 workshop.

We must insist on public hearings. We must prevent the future of the Goodgame gang that could further compromise the natural functions of our hills and lakes by intense development, destroy land that cannot be replicated and produce a lifestyle contrary to the wishes of the residents.

Nancy Fullerton of Clermont is an elected member
of the Lake County Water Authority's Board of Trustees and is a resident of Clermont.

School Board Update

2010-02-09T16:41:57-05:00

This message is from Cindy Barrow, Chair of the Lake County School Board. This message is NOT an official communication from the Lake County School Board. This message contains my thoughts and opinions

Dear Citizens:

I am proud to announce that our schools have raised $20,655.74 for the "Kids Helping Kids for Haiti" project. Our goal was $10,000.00 which would purchase 45,000 meals that would be packaged at the LASER office in Eustis and sent directly to Port-au-Prince and the village of Jacmel. Wow - did we exceed our goal! I am so proud of our community efforts to help our neighbors in Haiti! Thank you to the parents of our students who participated in this project and to community members who helped to package these meals.

Yesterday afternoon our board met for a workshop meeting and then for our regularly scheduled board meeting at 6:00 pm. We had a final approval of the redistricting effort for our new high school in Minneola referred to at this time, as "BBB High School". The redistricting process for this school has been one of the smoothest efforts to date. I believe that the community is so happy to have relief for crowding at East Ridge High School and South Lake High School that they are welcoming their students attending any of these schools with a more balanced student population.

District 3, largely Clermont and Minneola continue to welcome new students into our schools. Both of our new Elementary Schools are officially "over crowded". Grassy Lake Elementary School in Minneola is built for 950 students and now has 1,030 students. This school can not add portables as there is a "skink habitat" on the property that can not be disturbed per state law.

Saw Grass Bay elementary school in Four Corners was built for 938 students and now has 1,038 students. The School Board and community have worked diligently to get a traffic light at the intersection of 27 and Saw Grass Bay. Several meetings occurred with a DOT representative and officials from Lake County; however we do not have an operational light or any light at this time. I have been informed that since the last meeting there have been TWO severe accidents involving parents of students in the school. Thankfully, no students or siblings were harmed but one of the accidents produced a truck that had turned over. It is only a matter of time before some one is seriously hurt or we experience a fatality at this intersection. I will be working with the Principal and County officials to put together another meeting with DOT. The community needs to come together to support the safety of parents, students, and community members!

Last evening we welcomed a new Student Representative, Robert Logan Wilson from Umatilla High School. This young man's report to the school board was very impressive. He talked about officials from the state Department of Education visiting his school to ensure that teachers are using teaching methodologies to engage the students and ensure quality teaching. He was keenly aware of the goals for the school and the reasons for the visits. All of our Student Representatives this school year have been outstanding students with interesting reports for the school board! I have to thank School Board Member, Larry Metz for initiating this effort. Our board learns valuable information from these students.

Our school board also recognized the efforts of a new Elementary Mentorship Program which began in 2008. I have discussed my experiences as a mentor in previous updates. I continue to enjoy mentoring at Minneola Elementary School and believe that our program is unique as we work with elementary school students. Ms. Sherry Watts, and Ms. Susan Salazar represented Minneola Elementary School and two of our parent mentors were present as well. I am heartened by the dedication of these mentors to their students! We do make a difference.

Lost Lake Elementary school (another over crowded elementary school in Clermont) sent a letter to the school board from their SAC (School Advisory Committee). They requested that the board remove the Opt-Out option when schools implement a uniform policy. They believe that too many parents are using the opt-out and soon after a uniform policy is implemented, few students are in uniform. The board discussed the possibility of having an "Opt-Out" for religious purposes only and allowing schools to make this request of the board. The board could then vote on the school's request. We agreed that this is how we will proceed given the due diligence of our school board attorney's inquiry into the legalities of an opt-out for religious reasons only.

There appears to be a ground swell of parent and community support for a district wide uniform policy. Community support is what is truly needed if the board were to decide to implement a district wide uniform policy. Last month, our Student Representative from Tavares High School stated that he would support a uniform policy. He discussed his concerns about revealing clothing and the ease of choosing clothes in the morning if uniforms were mandatory.

Thank you for reading this update. Please contact me at: barrowc@lake.k12.fl.us with any of your thoughts or concerns. Have a great rest of your week and best wishes to our students who are taking the FCAT writes this week!!!

Sincerely,
Cindy Barrow

Will legislators gamble away state's future?

2010-02-09T07:56:16-05:00

Source: OrlandoSentinel.com
Will legislators gamble away state's future?
Mike Thomas

COMMENTARY

11:58 PM EST, February 8, 2010

The newest plan to save Florida involves turning it into Nevada.

Roll those big, fuzzy dice.

Line the state with casinos, rake in the billions and live tax-free ever after. It's enough to make the conservatives in Tallahassee swallow their principles and sit down to deal.

It spares them from making responsible choices about taxes and budgets.

It would double down on everything that is wrong with Florida.

Let's see how the Nevada/Las Vegas gig is working out these days.

Here is an Associated Press story from Sunday:

"Nevada's budget is so far out of balance that by one account the state could lay off every worker paid from the general fund and still be $300 million in the red. The economic downturn has hit so hard that prisons may be closed, entire colleges shuttered and thousands left without jobs.''

Nevada relies on Vegas growth, Vegas tourism and Vegas sales taxes to pay the bills.

Now, just like here, people are bailing out, and Nevada is losing population. Foreclosures are so rampant that an economist predicted it will take 20 years for the real-estate market to recover.

Nevada has a 13 percent unemployment rate, the second-highest in the nation behind Michigan.

The Las Vegas school district is looking at firing 2,000 teachers.

Residents in Vegas are 50 percent more likely to commit suicide than people in the rest of the country. That risk goes down when they leave the city. Go figure.

Vegas is a mess. It's going to be an even bigger mess over time as gambling proliferates across the country, sucking away all but the high rollers from the Vegas strip.

And now a growing number of Florida legislators want to emulate the Vegas model. Rep. Alan Hays even wants socialized gambling, with the state owning the casinos. If Charlie Crist loses his U.S. Senate race, I can't think of a better door-greeter.

Hays says we could fund schools — just as we did with the lottery money.

And then in the next recession, we could legalize medical marijuana and Rep. Hays could set up pot clinics next to the casinos. Or do what a leading Nevada lawmaker proposed: slap a $5 tax on all acts of prostitution.

With gambling, Hays says, we could cut taxes. Shrink the tax base even more. Make us even more dependent on tourism. Keep those low-paying jobs flowing in. Make the next budget crisis even worse than this one.

These people are dangerous. There is no light at the end of their tunnel vision.

The politicians in Nevada actually convinced themselves that Vegas was immune to recessions. Now they know better. Last year, the casino owners blocked an attempt to raise taxes on them. So the state raised the hotel tax instead. It is a small drop in a big bucket.

The state never invested in its universities during the boom times, setting them up for a huge fall now.

"We have had a first-class economy and a third-class culture, and eventually a third-class culture will bring down a first-class economy," said James Rogers, the former chancellor of the state's university system.

Does all this sound painfully familiar?

Do you know what would happen if casinos were legalized in South Florida?

The tourism industry on Florida's west coast would scream about losing market share to Miami. So it would get casinos.

That dynamic would spread to the Panhandle.

And then it would infect the rotting tourism corridors of U.S. Highway 192 in Osceola and northern International Drive in Orange.

In looking at this phenomenon from a national perspective, analyst Nate Silver called it the "race to the bottom" in an Esquire magazine article. States are rushing to put up casinos to keep up with neighboring states. And they are beginning to cannibalize each other.

There is, after all, a limited number of saps in this world.

Silver reports that in Atlantic City, revenues were no higher in 2008 than they were 1986. In Mississippi, revenues peaked in 2000.

Isn't it amazing how much gambling has turned around Mississippi? And the benefits have spread to its neighbors.

A report by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis says Mississippi is exporting bankruptcy. The dumb hayseeds in surrounding states are coming in, losing their money and then bringing their broke selves back home.

Yeah, boy. We need in on this action.

Mike Thomas can be reached at 407-420-5525 ormthomas@orlandosentinel.com.

Copyright © 2010, Orlando Sentinel

Lake County Comprehensive Plan Explained

2010-02-08T10:35:06-05:00

I didn't see this when it was published in the Daily Commercial paper and I like it. Particularly the bottom right caption that says: "If only special interests oppose it, it's probably good for the majority."

Mount Dora Arts Festival: 'Spring training' for artists

2010-02-06T10:54:56-05:00

MOUNT DORA – For many artists, the 35th Annual Mount Dora Arts Festival will be their first major outdoor show since early last fall.

Take John and Lynn Whipple of Winter Park, for example. The Whipples, who create one-of-a-kind art, have had five months to work on new pieces.

"We call it ' spring training,' " John Whipple said. "It's a good testing ground to see if a work has legs or not."

The festival, which will take over the quaint Lake County city's downtown on Saturday and Sunday, provides the perfect chance to show new work because of the number of people who will see it.

"We expect at least 250,000 people," said Christina Smith, executive co-chairwoman of the Mount Dora Center for the Arts, which puts on the event. "Other shows don't have the attendance we have. It may be difficult emotionally to put out new work and be critiqued by the public, but there is a beauty in being face-to-face with so many people."

The festival's draw has always been the art, but live music and gourmet goodies round out the appeal.

Of 1,000 applicants, 285 artists were chosen to compete for $21,000 in prize money, with $5,000 going to the winner of best of show.

Previous best-of show winners who will show this year include 2009 best-of-show winner Tony Savoie of Orlando, Garry Seidel of Davie, Tony Eitharong of Orlando and winner of multiple best-of-show prizes Charles Gatewood of Phenix City, Ala.

While it is still winter, many artists see the festival as a fresh start.

See for yourself

35th Annual Mount Dora Arts Festival

Where: Downtown Mount Dora

When: Saturday and Sunday

Hours: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days

Admission: Free, but people will be asked to make a $1 donation

Entertainment: Live music is scheduled for both days on the main stage in Donnelly Park and scattered throughout the festival.

Food and drink: Vendors will be clustered on North Baker Street in front of City Hall and on South Donnelly Street near the city parking garage.

Three official park-and-rides sites: Mount Dora High School at Highland and Seventh avenues is convenient for people driving from Orlando or Sanford. Christian Home and Bible School, just off North Donnelly Street at 13th Avenue, will work well for those driving in from the north. The parking lot of the Golden Triangle Shopping Center on West Old U.S. Highway 441 near Eudora Road will be handy for people from west Orange County and south Lake County. Each site will be well marked with park-and-ride signs.

Handicapped parking: Ask the police officers for directions to lots at city hall and at the First National Bank.

ATMs: Six mobile automated teller machines will be located on Donnelly Street and one will be near City Hall.

Information: Ask your questions at the information booth at Fifth Avenue and Donnelly Street

Pets: Visitors are asked to leave their pet at home.

12 Lake County artists showing at Mount Dora Arts Festival

2010-02-06T10:44:46-05:00

MOUNT DORA – When 285 artists open their tents for business today at the Mount Dora Arts Festival, more than half will be Floridians.

A bit more than 20 percent will be from Central Florida and 12 of that 59 will be from Lake – the highest number in more than a decade.

Poster artist Dodi Truenow lives near Lake Jem. The plein-air painter – she paints outdoors and finishes in one sitting – is a fifth-generation Floridian who, in honor of Mount Dora's 100th anniversary, has taken a close look at local scenes.

Her poster image includes portraits of neighbors and members of her family, including herself and her husband, Keith, at Cecile's French Corner in Arbors and Eyebrows on Fourth Ave.

"I had them come to pose at different times, but in the same light," Truenow said. "I had to pose my father at the nursing home where he lives."

The painter will donate a percentage of her sales to the Conservation Trust for Florida. Find her at D064, on the east side of Donnelly Street between Fourth and Fifth avenues.

Another plein-air painter, Kate Carney, is from Mount Dora, as are five other artists in the show. Carney has painted in Florida "paint-outs," when many painters gather in one scenic area. She will also show several of her 5-foot square floral paintings. Find her at both 551, on the north side of Fifth Avenue, between Donnelly and Baker sreets.

Mount Dora painter Jane Slivka will continue in her traditional veins – landscapes, still lifes and Caribbean figures – she said. Find her at D060, two booths away from Truenow.

Nearby, at D056 will be Jackie Holland Berkley, also from Mount Dora. Her paintings address the fragility of light and, by extension, the transitory nature of things.

"Chandeliers, Ferris wheels and floating dresses lighted from within talk about light," she said. "Transitory things are campers and carnival tents, which are temporary shelters."

Also on the block are painter Emily Lewis, at D080, with new landscape paintings from Blue Springs and still life paintings.

On the other side of the street, find worldly-wise painter Lauren Graham Cunningham at D057 and elegant jewelry artist Deborah Barnes at D085.

Also on Donnelly Street will be stained-glass artist Rosemarie Brown at D127, on the west side of the street, between Third and Fourth avenues. She will show he new collection of mermaid-themed pieces.
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