Bill Moyers NOW is one of the finest news programs on American television today. I realize that's not saying much these days, but it's still true. I feel that it is such an incredible program that consistently covers some of the most important public policy issues going on today, that I've decided to make it a priority to bring some of these stories to you.
First stop, Florida, where Jeb Bush has been misusing his influence as governor to assist the St. Joe company in using American tax dollars to fund the overzealous development and premature demise of the Florida panhandle.
St. Joe Company is the largest landowner in Florida. Over the last few years, St. Joe has been making the transition from a lumber company to a major land developer. According to the Bill Moyers segment, St. Joe is undertaking so many projects at one time, there aren't enough State and Federal agency staff in existence to properly oversee the projects. Florida's solution thus far has been to proceed with the development without the proper oversight. This approach, of course, has many obvious disadvantages.
It's a bad enough situation that this company is developing the Florida Panhandle's wilderness at such an alarming rate, and with no supervision, but one would hope, at the very least, that the company is paying for such development on its own. Guess again. Thanks to Jeb Bush, state and federal money is being earmarked to fund a new airport, roads and other private developments that will benefit no one but the St. Joe corporation.
Jeb not only wants to allow St. Joe to continue developing Florida with the same minimal oversight. He's taking things a step further by allocating Federal and State funds for St. Joe's private developments. He's used political pressure on his end to push through the restricting of public beaches, state highways and wilderness areas in order to help St. Joe prepare for the vast numbers of inhabitants it plans to import into the area.
One of most shocking changes was the redistricting of over 27 miles of what used to be public state beaches -- traded in for two -- count 'em two (2) -- access points to the beach in between the private beaches. The golf courses and resorts being built won't serve any of the residents already living in the area because they will probably be too inexpensive for the average resident to make use of.
Author Carl Hiaasen (Striptease, Tourist Season, Basket Case) has taken on the St. Joe company in a fight to protect the wilderness and the public's access to it. One of main changes that St. Joe has been making is changing the name of the area from "The Florida Panhandle" to "The Great Florida Northwest." Hiaasen has written an editorial addressing this issue.
Here is a complete version of the story in "Small" format, and partial clip of the last two thirds or so in Hi-res.
St. Joe and the Florida Panhandle - Part 1 of 3 (Small - 11 MB)
St. Joe and the Florida Panhandle - Part 2 of 3 (Small - 16 MB)
St. Joe and the Florida Panhandle - Part 3 of 3 (Small - 11 MB)
St. Joe and the Florida Panhandle - Partial (Hi-res - 242 MB)
Just decide that it's not priceless to begin with. Then say it costs too much.
That's how Jeb Bush handled it when it was time to put a price on our country's history -- as stored in the Florida State Library.
I am mad as hell about this issue and am ready to do whatever I can about it.
Librarians unite!
If Jeb is allowed to do this, the result could be a domino effect across the country. There is so little of our past preserved as it is. It would be such a shame to lose it all over greed. Greed and disrespect for our country's heritage and history. Not all of it (or not much of it) is anything to be proud of, admittedly, but it still deserves to be preserved.
How can we ever learn how to not make the same mistakes in the future if there is no record of those mistakes for us to observe and learn from?
It seems ridiculous, but it looks like we're going to have to fight more than ever for our "right to know".
Bush winces at price tag on state history
By Diane Roberts for the St. Petersburg Times
There's a map from 1589, illustrating Sir Francis Drake's attack on St. Augustine, its colors still bright as summer. There are papers telling how in the early 1970s Disney transformed the groves of Central Florida into the concrete Kingdom of the Mouse. There's a telegram from civil rights leader Rev. C.K. Steele to Gov. LeRoy Collins, asking him to stop the persecution of black citizens during the Tallahassee bus boycott in 1956. There's the diary of Gen. Thomas Jesup, who captured Chief Osceola in the Seminole Wars of the 1830s.It took 150 years to build the collection in the State Library. Jeb Bush, the self-styled "Education Governor," may destroy it in a few weeks.
Housing and maintaining the library costs around $5-million a year. According to Bush, Florida just can't afford it. If the governor gets his way, the library will close. The library's archivists and curators will be fired. The 1-million books and documents that tell the story of Florida from the arrival of Juan Ponce de Leon in 1513 to the disputed presidential election of 2000, will be packed up and sent away.
Here is the full text of the article in case the link goes bad:
http://www.sptimes.com/2003/02/08/Opinion/Bush_winces_at_price_.shtml
Bush winces at price tag on state history
By DIANE ROBERTS
St. Petersburg Times
published February 8, 2003
TALLAHASSEE -- There's a map from 1589, illustrating Sir Francis Drake's attack on St. Augustine, its colors still bright as summer. There are papers telling how in the early 1970s Disney transformed the groves of Central Florida into the concrete Kingdom of the Mouse. There's a telegram from civil rights leader Rev. C.K. Steele to Gov. LeRoy Collins, asking him to stop the persecution of black citizens during the Tallahassee bus boycott in 1956. There's the diary of Gen. Thomas Jesup, who captured Chief Osceola in the Seminole Wars of the 1830s.
It took 150 years to build the collection in the State Library. Jeb Bush, the self-styled "Education Governor," may destroy it in a few weeks.
Housing and maintaining the library costs around $5-million a year. According to Bush, Florida just can't afford it. If the governor gets his way, the library will close. The library's archivists and curators will be fired. The 1-million books and documents that tell the story of Florida from the arrival of Juan Ponce de Leon in 1513 to the disputed presidential election of 2000, will be packed up and sent away.
Ken Detzner, interim secretary of state until Orlando Mayor Glenda Hood takes over later this month, is tripping all over himself trying to defend this proposed act of cultural vandalism. He allows as how there's "value" in having the library, "but in tough economic times, is that part of the state's core mission?"
In recent letters to Florida newspapers (many of which have editorialized against shutting the library), Detzner defends the governor. Bush wants to spend $19-million on his Just Read, Florida! program. Bush even proclaimed February 2003 "Library Appreciation Month." Detzner blames the passage of Amendment 9 for the state's poverty (those pesky voters). Then he claims that moving or dividing the collection would actually be better for the citizens: they could get materials via interlibrary loan. He doesn't explain how this would work: If somebody wanted to look at the 1589 Baptista Boazio map, would it get shoved into an envelope with a stamp stuck on it?
The attack on the library would be absurd if it weren't so crass. At first, Bush apparatchiks said the library would be transferred to Florida State University. Not that there would be any extra money, or staff, or a building. It sounded like they just figured to grab a bunch of boxes at the liquor store, gather up the books and papers, throw them in the back of the SUV and leave them on the steps of Robert Manning Strozier Library for FSU to care for.
FSU's new president, T.K. Wetherell, may be a certified Friend of Jeb, but his institution is due to be cut by $18-million this year, and he's not about to take on this fragile collection without the space, the cash and the professional archivists to go with it. You don't just park this stuff on a shelf somewhere. It requires temperature-controlled rooms, special lighting and conservators expert in handling old paper and delicate bindings.
Now no one seems to know what will become of the state's collection. Ken Detzner has said there are other possibilities. Evidently Nova Southeastern University in Broward County might take the library. Nova hasn't got much of an academic reputation, but it is private -- and the governor loves privatization.
Yes, Florida is dirt poor this year, suffering partly from the tubercular national economy (presided over by the governor's brother), and partly because of tax breaks amounting to at least $1.6-billion, mostly benefiting corporations and the rich. Jeb Bush and the Legislature have bled the state white over the past four years and things aren't improving: Bush's budget for this year includes a further $200-million in tax breaks largely for the already-affluent. The state library is the repository of Florida's cultural wealth, open to everyone. Yet Florida can't scrape up $5-million to keep it open?
Five-million bucks is chump change in a budget of $54-billion. You could probably find $10,000 just rooting around in House Speaker Johnnie Byrd's sofa cushions. Somehow the state can afford to let him have $500,000 to pay an army of public relations operatives. Somehow the state can afford $1.6-million to gussy up a capitol lounge used by lawmakers' families, buy Senate President Jim King a new carpet and build a private legislative bathroom (apparently public servants can't use public facilities).
Somehow the state can afford to give Jeb Bush's former campaign spokesman Todd Harris a $50,000 sweetheart contract to help the Department of Education craft a communications strategy "consistent with the governor's vision." Somehow we can afford the tens of thousands in legal fees the state will have to pay when the governor and the Legislature go to court to defend the unconstitutional laws they are so fond of passing. Somehow we can still afford to exempt sky boxes and tanning beds from sales tax.
When Florida officially joined the union in 1845, one of the first acts of the new Legislature was to create an institution for the artifacts of our past. Maybe those old-school Democrats and Whigs (there were no Republicans in those days) understood that Florida would always be a state of immigrants, deracinated people who would need reminding that even though Florida emphasizes the new, the place has a long, long history. The library is the memory of Florida. The library is the treasure house of our heritage. If we lose it, we will never get it back -- not at any price.
Diane Roberts, a former Times editorial writer, is a professor of English at the University of Alabama.
SAVE THE FLORIDA STATE LIBRARY and
STOP THE DISMANTLING OF THE FLORIDA STATE ARCHIVES AND MUSEUM
There is also a petition with almost 10,000 signatures on it so far.
The Florida State Genealogical Society, an umbrella organization of more than 80 societies in the state, strongly opposes Gov. Jeb Bush’s budget proposal to dismantle the State Library of Florida and the State Archives and move the contents to other state departments. We feel that other departments, such as the Department of Environmental Protection, are not qualified to oversee and preserve the historical and archival materials.For the genealogical community, the planned closing of the 150-year-old State Library of Florida and moving of its historical resources elsewhere would be essentially taking away our heritage. We are family researchers, and the library is part of our family! We have depended upon the renowned collections to help us document and preserve the legacies of our early settlers and other Floridians.
Here is the full text of the page in case the link goes bad:
http://www.rootsweb.com/~flsgs/statelib.html
SAVE THE FLORIDA STATE LIBRARY and
STOP THE DISMANTLING OF THE FLORIDA STATE ARCHIVES AND MUSEUM
STATEMENTS - CLICK HERE
Petition for electronic signatures: http://www.floridahistory.info/petition/
NOTE: Web Sites, Email Addresses, contacts and other important information can be found below.
Statement of the Florida State Genealogical Society, Inc. - 9 February 2003
Representing over 80 Florida genealogical and historical societies
Genealogical Community View
State Library Holds Our Heritage;
Closing It, Takes Part of Our Family Away
The Florida State Genealogical Society, an umbrella organization of more than 80 societies in the state, strongly opposes Gov. Jeb Bush’s budget proposal to dismantle the State Library of Florida and the State Archives and move the contents to other state departments. We feel that other departments, such as the Department of Environmental Protection, are not qualified to oversee and preserve the historical and archival materials.
For the genealogical community, the planned closing of the 150-year-old State Library of Florida and moving of its historical resources elsewhere would be essentially taking away our heritage. We are family researchers, and the library is part of our family! We have depended upon the renowned collections to help us document and preserve the legacies of our early settlers and other Floridians.
The Florida State Genealogical Society has honored more than 4,000 descendants who documented that their ancestors settled in the state before 3 March 1845 or settled in a Florida county (present boundaries) before the county was formed. The honorees depend on the State Library and Archives to do their research simply because no other facility has the scope of its materials.
Genealogical researchers in Florida and elsewhere increasingly fear that Gov. Bush's proposal would:
1. Dismantle a popular and priceless library collection and a staff that has faithfully, efficiently, and pleasantly served and enriched our lives. Genealogists rely particularly on the library’s Florida Collection, which dates to the territorial days. Its rare books, vintage photos, and maps dating to the 1590s can be found nowhere else in the world. Our State Library is one of the busiest in America. Its 1 million documents covering nearly 11 miles of shelves and storage space contains much of Florida’s history in books, pamphlets, manuscripts, newspapers, maps, clippings, pictures, videos, and films.
2. Breakup our one-stop genealogical research complex that contains the State Library, State Archives, and State Museum, all next to each other. Most family researchers need to use both the library and archives to trace their families. Other states also locate their state libraries, archives and museum in one area because it is cost efficient and convenient for users.
3. Increase the possibility that some of our priceless state treasures could be lost, discarded, mishandled, or shoved in a corner if they are moved by untrained or inexperienced staff.
4. Shut down the system we use to get valuable and out-of-print books for our research through Interlibrary Loan, the system that allows us to order and receive materials at our local libraries when we are unable to visit the State Library in Tallahassee.
5. Curtail the ability to receive e-mail answers to our questions through the State Library’s “Ask-a-Librarian” service. The staff diligently responds to more than 2,000 citizens a month.
6. Severely restrict the access we have enjoyed to the state materials if they are moved to another location or locations. Chances are they would be much harder for us to access them—if we can access them at all. The popular Saturday hours may be a thing of the past. In addition, the acquisition of new materials may be hampered. The fact is that other facilities are not funded, staffed, or equipped to provide the services we receive at the State Library.
7. Threaten the State Archives' Florida Memory Project that makes available online many of the state's historical and genealogical records, including more than 90,000 photographs, pension application files, Spanish land grants, and Call and Brevard Family Papers.
The present library staff has been innovative in making the materials widely available to everyone through indexing and digitization. It always keeps all materials completely open for the public to use. Many other libraries, such as those at universities, limit public access to important collections. What’s more, they often have limited parking.
Yet, the Florida genealogical community, like the state’s pioneers, is a hearty, determined group who has much hope in a bright future. We call upon the governor and the state legislature to abandon plans to close the state library. We cannot sit idly by and watch the state library’s devoted staff fired and our incredible resource of Florida history, culture, and heritage disappear from its home in the R.A. Gray Building.
As State Senator David Elmer Ward was quoted as saying in 1939 when he proposed a State Archive, “Civilizations are the highest, wealth the greatest, where the nations [or state] do not fear to expend a little money to promote those things that have intellect and cultural value.” Let us tell our state government that we need to keep the State Library of Florida open as is and remain as a cherished member of our family.
The Florida State Genealogical Society board unanimously approved joining a coalition on 25 January 2003 to oppose Governor Bush's proposed budget regarding the dismantling of the Florida State Library and Archives.
The coalition currently consists of the following organizations:
# Florida Historical Society
# Florida Archaeological Council
# Florida Anthropological Society
# Florida Trust for Historic Preservation
# Florida Association of Museums
# Society of Florida Archivists
We are asking for help of all genealogists, historians and researchers throughout the U.S. If this can happen in our state, it can happen in other states as well. Please write, email, or fax the Florida legislators and the Governor.
Act establishing State Library
STATEMENTS
Governor's Plan
Calendar
Contacts and web sites for Governor and Legislators
Division of Historical Resources
Senator Responses
House of Representatives Responses
Petition for Electronic Signatures
Candidates to replace Senator Futch
Letters of Support
Senators on the Senate Governmental Oversight and Productivity Committee
Barratt Wilkins Letter - Former State Librarian
Newspaper Articles
Abbreviations
I would rather be known as living and paying taxes in a state without a governor rather than one without a state library….Gary Foote, Olympia, WA in response to the closing of the Washington State Library, which is still in jeopardy.
The 1925 Laws of Florida Chap. 10278 (No. 256), page 511:
An ACT Establishing the State Library of the State of Florida: Creating the State Library Board, Defining Its Powers and Duties and Making An Appropriation Therefore, Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
Section 1. There is hereby created and established the State Library of the State of Florida which shall be located at the State Capitol. Said State Library shall be administered and conducted by a board of three members to be known as the State
Library Board to be constituted and appointed as hereinafter provided.
STATEMENTS
UPDATE FROM BARRATT WILKINS, FORMER STATE LIBRARIAN - 2/10
STATEMENT ON THE DIVISION OF HISTORICAL RESOURCES - 2/11
MESSAGE FROM CURRENT STATE LIBRARIAN, JUDITH RING - 2/12
LETTER FROM CECIL BEACH, FORMER HEAD OF THE STATE LIBRARY - 2/12
STATEMENT OF THE FLORIDA ARCHAEOLOGICAL COUNCIL - 2/13
PRESS RELEASE - PLEASE SEND TO YOUR LOCAL NEWSPAPERS ASAP - 2/13
FLORIDA HISTORICAL COMMISSION SPECIAL SESSION - 2/13
LETTER TO THE EDITOR FROM THE PRESIDENT OF THE FLORIDA HISTORICAL SOCIETY - 2/13
STATEMENT OF FGS/NGS RECORDS PRESERVATION & ACCESS COMMITTEE - 2/14
LETTER TO GOVERNOR BUSH BY THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF LAW LIBRARIES - 2/14
STATEMENT OF THE ASSOCIATION OF PROFESSIONAL GENEALOGISTS - 2/14
RESOLUTION OF THE SOCIETY OF FLORIDA ARCHIVES - 2/17
Governor's Plan as summarized by the Florida Library Association:
1. Division of Library and Information Services, currently part of the Florida Department of State, would be eliminated.
2. Parts of the Division would be retained and moved from the Department of State to other state agencies.
3. The Library Development arm, which administers the federal LSTA program and State Aid to Libraries, is slated to be incorporated into a newly-formed "Department of State and Community Partnerships."
4. The State Archives will be moved to the Department of Environmental Protection
5. The records management function will move to the Department of Management Services.
6. The library itself, which provides library services to state agencies, libraries throughout the state, and the general public and manages the State Documents Program, would be eliminated all together with its collections dispersed.
7. The Governor's budget and its attendant reorganizations must be approved by the Florida Legislature.
CALENDAR of important upcoming meetings
Return to this web site often for updated information.
If you are able to attend any of the meetings, we would appreciate a brief report that we can post to this web site.
Please email it to: pamcooper@bellsouth.net
13-14 Feb Legislature hearing testimony. Anyone who is interested in testifying can call the Appropriations Committee at 850-487-5140 to arrange a time.
17 Feb Florida Historical Commission Special Meeting: 9 to 5 in the R.A. Gray Building, Room 307. In the morning, several people including the governor's staff will speak on their proposal, legislative staff on the proposed bill, perhaps a key legislator or two, and selected representatives of the historic preservation groups (10-15 minute presentation and 5-10 minutes for Q&A)
19 Feb House Bill 49 Public Libraries may appear on the House Tourism agenda February 19, 8:00-10:00 am FLA Supports the bill.
19 Feb Statewide Summit - 2-5 PM Alma Clyde Field Library of Florida History, 435 Brevard Avenue, Cocoa, FL 32922.
Organizations or individuals who can come are urged to call Dr. Nick Wynne at (321) 690-1971 or e-mail him at wynne@flahistory.net as soon as possible. This will allow the Society and the Library to make the necessary space arrangements.
The Board of Directors of the Florida Historical Society is concerned about the planned elimination of the Florida State Library and the relocation/reorganization of the Florida State Museum, the Department of Archives, and the Bureau of Historic Preservation. Concerned citizens, historical and cultural organizations, scholars, authors, and others are invited to attend. Dr. Theodore VanItallie, president of the Florida Historical Society, will preside over the summit. The Former State Librarian Barratt Wilkins will be attending.
4 Mar Legislative Session Begins
5 May Legislative Session Ends
Governor's E-Budget - http://www.ebudget.state.fl.us/
Contact the Governor:
Governor Bush
PL 05 The Capitol
400 South Monroe Street
Tallahassee, FL 32399-0001
(850) 488-4441, FAX (850) 487-0801 EMAIL: Fl_governor@eog.state.fl.us or jeb.bush@myflorida.com
Official Internet Site of the Florida Legislature - http://www.leg.state.fl.us
Contact your Senator - http://www.flsenate.gov/Welcome/index.cfm
Contract your Representative - http://www.leg.state.fl.us/house/index.html
County Government Web Sites: http://www.fl-counties.com/msp/FLMap_beta.htm
Another easy and simple way to write your legislators - http://congress.org/congressorg/home/
If you have heard from a Senator or Representative who responded favorably, may we please post it here?
Email: pamcooper@bellsouth.net
Senator Responses - Please write a thank you to all who respond favorably.
Crist, Victor, Republican - District 12 crist.victor@leg.state.fl.us
Does not support closing the State Library.
Mike Fasano, Republican - District 11 fasano.mike.web@flsenate.gov
Thanks for your e-mail regarding the state's library. Please know I do not support the closing of this office.
God bless.
Alfred Lawson, Democrat - District 6 lawson.alfred.web@flsenate.gov
I share your concerns about the proposal and will fight hard to prevent its closing. I believe the State Library is a vital part of Florida’s History and should be an equally significant part of our state’s future.
Miller, Lesley, Democrat - District 18 MILLER.LESLEY.S18@flsenate.gov
Thank you for your e-mail. I am doing my best to maintain the State Library. Sen. Miller
Margolis, Gwen, Democrat - District 35 MARGOLIS.GWEN.WEB@flsenate.gov
I would like to thank you, on behalf of the Senator, for contacting our office with your concerns in regard to funding the State of Florida Library and Archives. I understand your distress over the potential cuts facing the Division of Historical Resources in relation to the Governor's proposed budget. Please be assured that Senator Margolis supports appropriate funding for the State of Florida Library and Archives, as they are very important to preserving our rich history and culture. She would not like to see the Library and Archives displaced. Sincerely, Marisa Bluestone for Senator Gwen Margolis
Posey, Bill, Republican - District 24 posey.bill.web@leg.state.fl.us
I have been the most outspoken proponent to keep the present set up.
Pruitt, Ken, Republican - District 28 PRUITT.KEN.S28@flsenate.gov
Pam: I totally agree and will everything in my power to maintain the state library. Thanks for your hard work and dedication. Your e-mail is important to me. Ken
Rod Smith, Democrat - District 14 smith.rod.web@flsenate.gov
Thanks for your email. I agree that it would be a grave mistake and will oppose closing the library.
House of Representatives:
Loranne Ausley, Democrat - District 9 Ausley.Loranne@myfloridahouse.com
Dr. Wynne: Thank you for your e-mail to Rep. Ausley…
Ausley wanted to let you know that she does not support the Governor's proposal. We are at this time collecting editorials from throughout the state, e-mails and any information we can to prepare to make an argument against his proposal and the resolution in your e-mail are most helpful…..Leisa S. Wiseman, Legislative Assistant to Rep. Loranne Ausley850/488-0965
Bean, Aaron, Republican - District 12 bean.aaron@leg.state.fl.us or BEAN.AARON@myfloridahouse.com
You and I are on the same team. I will do all I can to preserve the state library and archives. Thanks, Aaron
Baxley, Dennis, Republican - District 24 Baxley.Dennis@leg.state.fl.us
Thank you. It is on our radar. Sincerely, Dennis Baxley
Deter, Nancy, Republican - District 70 Detert.Nancy@leg.state.fl.us
I have taken a tour of the facilities, along with the tourism committee, and we all were impressed. We will do our part to protect Florida's history. Thank you, Rep. Nancy Detert
Don Brown, Republican, District 5 Brown.Donald@leg.state.fl.us
Thanks for your input on this very important issue. I must say that I am not as familiar with the scope of the Governor’s proposed cut for the library system as I hope to become.
Brutus, Phillip J., Democrat, District 108 BRUTUS.PHILLIP@myfloridahouse.com
Ms. Cooper, Thank you for your informative letter. I will keep a copy of it on file to refer to as this discussion heats up in Tallahassee. I will advocate in behalf of libraries! Sincerely, Phillip J. Brutus, State Representative 108th District
Carassas, John, Republican - District 54 Carassas.John@leg.state.fl.us
Does not support dismantling the State Library of Florida.
Farkas, Frank, Republican -District 5 Farkas.Frank@leg.state.fl.us
E-mailed back that he was not in favor of it.
Kilmer, Bev, Republican, District 7 Kilmer.bev@leg.state.fl.us
Ms. Cooper,I will do all I can to protect the State Library. Bev Kilmer
Seiler, Jack, Democrat, District 92 SEILER.JACK@myfloridahouse.com
I agree with you.
Robaina, Julio, Republican, District 117 ROBAINA.JULIO@myfloridahouse.com
I will fight hard to keep this from happening.
Sansom, Ray, Republican, District 4 sansom.ray@myfloridahouse.com
Thank you for your email. I support a strong Library system and will do my best to see this funded.
Doug Wiles, Democratic Leader - District 20 Wiles.Doug@leg.state.fl.us
I'm with you! - Thank you for letting me know of the web site, Dr. Wynne. As a life-long resident of St. Augustine, I clearly understand the implication of eliminating funding for historic resources, the state library and historical artifacts. You may rest assured of my opposition to any budget cut or outsourcing of these important services
Petition for electronic signatures: http://www.floridahistory.info/petition/
The Florida Historical Society has made available an online petition that will be sent to the governor and members of the State Legislature on February 28.
Possible candidates to replace Senator Futch who died on Jan 23, 2003
Mike Haridopolos of Melbourne Email: mike@mike2002.org
http://www.mike2002.org/
Ms. Mary Elizabeth Fitzgibbons
Litchford & Christopher
390 N. Orange Ave. Ste. 2200
Orlando, Florida 32801-1642
(407)422-6600
Donna Hart
Kissimmee, Florida
Letters of Support
ALA Resolution in Support of State Library of Florida
http://www.flalib.org/state_library/ala.html
Florida Library Association Response
http://www.flalib.org/state_library/response.html
FSGS, FGS and NGS “Florida’s Historical Treasure at Risk”
http://www.fgs.org/rpa/FLCurrent.htm
FHS Statewide Summit 29 Feb 2003
http://www.flalib.org/state_library/summit.html
The senators on the Senate Governmental Oversight and Productivity Committee are:
Sen. Wise, Chairman, Jacksonville, 850-487-5027;
Sen. Miller, Co-Chairman, Tampa, 850-487-5059;
Sen. Aronberg, Ft. Myers, 850-487-5356;
Sen. Atwater, Palm Beach Gardens, 850-487-5100;
Sen. Constantine, Altamonte Springs, 850-487-5050;
Sen. Cowin, Leesburg, 850-487-5014;
Sen. Fasano, New Port Richey, 850-487-5062;
Sen. Lawson, Tallahassee, 850-487-5004;
Sen.Posey, Rockledge, 850-487-5053.
This committee will hear the bill first in the Senate.
Here is a website dedicated to comments concerning the proposed elimination of the Florida State Library:
http://www.libraryplanet.com/edit/mt/mt-comments.cgi?entry_id=2041
Media Coverage - Please be aware that these links can be discontinued at any time. See more links at http://www.flalib.org/state_library/state_library.html
Miami Herald January 28, 2003 "Bush: Drop state library's funds from budget, a relocation to FSU proposed" by Joni James.
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/local/5045533.htm
St. Petersburg Times January 25, 2003 "Library is a character in Florida budget plot" by Steve Bousquet.
http://www.sptimes.com/2003/01/25/Columns/Library_is_a_characte.shtml
Gainesville Sun January 25, 2003 "Gov. Bush proposes closing state library to save money"
http://sunone.com/apps/pbcs.dll/artikkel?SearchID=73124236911031&Avis=GS&Dato=20030125&Kategori=NEWS01&Lopenr=201250318&Ref=AR
Gainesville Sun editorial January 29, 2003 "The interloper"
http://sunone.com/apps/pbcs.dll/artikkel?SearchID=73124236911031&Avis=GS&Dato=20030125&Kategori=NEWS01&Lopenr=201250318&Ref=AR
"Florida State Library Collection in Limbo," American Libraries, News Briefs for February 3, 2003. http://www.ala.org/alonline/news/2003/030203.html#florida
“Jeb Bush Proposes Eliminating the State Library of Florida,” American Libraries, News Briefs for January 27, 2003, http://www.ala.org/alonline/news/2003/030127.html#flabush.
Abbreviations:
ALA American Library Association
FGS Federation of Genealogical Societies
FHS Florida Historical Society
FLA Florida Library Association
FSGS Florida State Genealogical Society
NGS National Genealogical Society
Last updated on Monday, 17-Feb-2003 18:30:57 MST.
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Pam Cooper, FSGS President
All in a normal month for Jeb Bush:
First throw a big lavish party atop of Florida State University's Intramural fields -- damaging them beyond repair. Be vague about the details of replacing them.
Next, declare February "Florida Library Appreciation Month" - then lay off the entire staff of the state's main library and move the collection to FSU -- without providing any funds or resources to assist with actually storing the materials.
Bush wants to close book on library flap
Bush, who has said promotion of reading is a top priority of his second term, wants to shut down the state's main library and move almost 1 million books and historical items, including 16th-century maps, early documents on Walt Disney World and some of the oldest photos of Florida.The budget-cutting move has drawn fire, and even FSU said it doesn't have space or money to house the items.
Parts of FSU's own collection are in warehouses, and the university wouldn't get any more money or staff to deal with the new collections...
About 4,000 people paid $100 each to crowd into a lavish tent on top of the sports fields to dine, dance and drink on the eve of Bush's second inaugural.
The next morning, the turf was tapioca...
Meanwhile, Courtney Gallant, 22, an Orlando native and president of FSU's women's lacrosse club, has been rescheduling the team's practices.
She said she has learned a life lesson from the event.
"I didn't vote in the last election," Gallant said. "I didn't think it was going to affect me much. But the next thing you know, something that looked like an aircraft hangar was sitting on top of my intramural field."
Here's the full text of the article in case the link goes bad:
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/state/orl-locpulse02020203feb02,0,497943.story?coll=orl-news-headlines
Bush wants to close book on library flap
By John Kennedy | Sentinel Staff Writer
Posted February 2, 2003
Not long before it was revealed that Gov. Jeb Bush planned to close the Florida State Library, lay off the entire staff and move the collection to Florida State University, the governor issued a proclamation declaring February as Florida Library Appreciation Month.
Bush, who has said promotion of reading is a top priority of his second term, wants to shut down the state's main library and move almost 1 million books and historical items, including 16th-century maps, early documents on Walt Disney World and some of the oldest photos of Florida.
The budget-cutting move has drawn fire, and even FSU said it doesn't have space or money to house the items.
Parts of FSU's own collection are in warehouses, and the university wouldn't get any more money or staff to deal with the new collections.
Told last week that the flap doesn't seem to be going away, Bush answered, "So, stop writing about it."
The governor's proclamation praised the importance of libraries and said the month is "to encourage recognition of all of our Florida libraries that provide outstanding service to our communities."
Good thing he didn't proclaim "Florida Library Year."
The party's over
Bush's inaugural committee says it will make good on its promise to repair about $50,000 in damage to the Florida State University intramural fields, used as the site of last month's "Black Tie and Blue Jeans" governor's ball.
About 4,000 people paid $100 each to crowd into a lavish tent on top of the sports fields to dine, dance and drink on the eve of Bush's second inaugural.
The next morning, the turf was tapioca.
New sod, regrading and maybe some irrigation work is needed to restore the field, said Paul Dirks, FSU's campus recreation director.
The inaugural committee, whose festivities are to be paid out of more than $1 million expected from private contributions, still has cash to cover the expense, said Todd Harris, a committee spokesman.
Meanwhile, Courtney Gallant, 22, an Orlando native and president of FSU's women's lacrosse club, has been rescheduling the team's practices.
She said she has learned a life lesson from the event.
"I didn't vote in the last election," Gallant said. "I didn't think it was going to affect me much. But the next thing you know, something that looked like an aircraft hangar was sitting on top of my intramural field."
Rolodex updates
Former Bush spokeswoman Katie Muniz, who left the administration on inauguration day, has resurfaced as public affairs manager for the St. Joe Co., the land giant planning development across the Florida Panhandle.
Another mouthpiece, Nicole Harburger, spokeswoman for Democrat Janet Reno's campaign for governor, is the new communications director for the Democratic Governors' Association.
Former Attorney General Richard Doran, who stepped in briefly when Bob Butterworth quit to run for state Senate, has joined the Ausley & McMullen law firm in Tallahassee.
John Kennedy can be reached at jkennedy@orlandosentinel.com. Bob Mahlburg can be reached at bmahlburg@orlandosentinel.com. Both also can be reached at 850-222-5564.
Salon gives you a teaser:
Florida: The Sequel
...Bush has been dogged by embarrassing family problems, by deep lingering resentment over the 2000 election fiasco -- and by Bill McBride, a cash-poor Democratic challenger who refuses to go away. A political novice, McBride will receive some high-profile help Saturday night when former President Bill Clinton arrives to campaign, just a day after President Bush barnstorms in Florida for his brother.Jeb Bush is having to work hard and spend lavishly in the last few days of the campaign. He holds a modest lead in many polls, but McBride, the folksy Vietnam War hero, has kept the race close and, backed by the national Democratic Party, has rolled out a batch of tough new ads pounding the governor at the close of the campaign.
Here's the full text of the partial article in case the link goes bad:
http://salon.com/news/feature/2002/11/01/florida/index_np.html
Florida: The Sequel
Democrat Bill McBride is keeping the race for governor close, but the Bush brothers are going all-out to keep the Sunshine State in the family.
- - - - - - - - - - - -
By Eric Boehlert
printe-mail
Nov. 1, 2002 | His famous brother in the White House has been doing everything he can to help, showering Florida with all sorts of federal goodies over the last 18 months. And he has unrivaled riches in his war chest, enough to power a small national campaign. But the polls don't lie: For all his advantages, Jeb Bush finds himself in a Florida dogfight.
On paper, Jeb Bush should be the clear favorite to become the first Republican in the state ever reelected governor, adding another victory for the Bush family dynasty. But Bush has been dogged by embarrassing family problems, by deep lingering resentment over the 2000 election fiasco -- and by Bill McBride, a cash-poor Democratic challenger who refuses to go away. A political novice, McBride will receive some high-profile help Saturday night when former President Bill Clinton arrives to campaign, just a day after President Bush barnstorms in Florida for his brother.
Jeb Bush is having to work hard and spend lavishly in the last few days of the campaign. He holds a modest lead in many polls, but McBride, the folksy Vietnam War hero, has kept the race close and, backed by the national Democratic Party, has rolled out a batch of tough new ads pounding the governor at the close of the campaign.
Even many Republicans say it didn't have to be so close.
Hey Florida! There is an alternative to four more years of this kind of thing!
Here's a NY Times article by Dana Canedy published August 16, 2002:
New Child Welfare Head in Florida Is Drawing Fire.
The latest controversy at the agency, the Florida Department of Children and Families, involves a 1989 religious essay which carries the name of Mr. Bush's appointee, Jerry Regier, on its cover. The essay, entitled "The Christian World View of The Family," supports spanking of children that may cause "temporary and superficial bruises and welts" and denounces abortion, parenting by gays and women in the work force.Women, the essay says, should work outside the home only if the family is in a financial crisis and should consider such employment as "bondage."
...The agency's previous director, Kathleen A. Kearney, resigned on Tuesday, after months of embarrassments, starting with the agency's admission in April that it had lost a child in its care, 4-year-old Rilya Wilson, without noticing for more than a year...
Child welfare advocates and Mr. Bush's political foes said the fact that the governor was caught off guard by Mr. Regier's association with the coalition proved that Mr. Bush had acted too hastily in replacing Ms. Kearney. After her resignation, agency critics urged Mr. Bush to convene a panel to conduct a national search for her replacement.
Instead, Mr. Bush, who is seeking re-election in November, announced Mr. Regier's appointment two days later, on Thursday. His critics now say he did not sufficiently review Ms. Kearney's successor and made the appointment for political expediency.
Here's the full text of the article in case the link goes bad:
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/08/17/national/17CHIL.html
The New York Times The New York Times National August 17, 2002
New Child Welfare Head in Florida Is Drawing Fire
By DANA CANEDY
MIAMI, Aug. 16 — Gov. Jeb Bush's appointee to head Florida's troubled child welfare agency is not even on the job yet and already the appointee, a former Oklahoma social services administrator and founder of a conservative Christian group, has come under fire.
The latest controversy at the agency, the Florida Department of Children and Families, involves a 1989 religious essay which carries the name of Mr. Bush's appointee, Jerry Regier, on its cover. The essay, entitled "The Christian World View of The Family," supports spanking of children that may cause "temporary and superficial bruises and welts" and denounces abortion, parenting by gays and women in the work force.
Women, the essay says, should work outside the home only if the family is in a financial crisis and should consider such employment as "bondage."
The essay has led to calls from Democrats for Mr. Bush to withdraw his appointment of Mr. Regier and has put the governor's office in the position of having to do damage control on a move that itself was supposed to control damage.
The agency's previous director, Kathleen A. Kearney, resigned on Tuesday, after months of embarrassments, starting with the agency's admission in April that it had lost a child in its care, 4-year-old Rilya Wilson, without noticing for more than a year.
Mr. Bush's office issued a statement on Mr. Regier's behalf today, in which Mr. Regier tried to distance himself from the essay and the group that published it, the Coalition on Revival of Fresno, Calif. While his name appears on the essay, excerpts of which were published today in The Miami Herald, Mr. Regier said he was not an author of it.
Mr. Regier is the founder of another conservative religious organization, the Family Research Council in Washington, but he said he was merely a co-chairman of the Coalition on Revival when it published the paper and had severed his association with the group years ago because of some of its extremist views.
Mr. Regier's name, though, still appears on the Revival Coalition's Web site as a member of the group's national steering committee.
"While not compromising my core principles, certainly, as it relates to this paper, there is much content and Biblical interpretation held by members of the Coalition on Revival with which I do not agree," Mr. Regier said in his statement. "In my 20 years of service in the area of children and families, I have never been soft on child abuse or wavered in the protection of children, so it is not my position that corporal punishment should result in welts or bruises."
Mr. Regier's statement made no mention of his views on abortion or parenting by gays, which has been a high-profile issue in Florida because of a state law prohibiting gay individuals and couples from adopting.
Of his views on working women, Mr. Regier said: "My own wife of 34 years is a registered nurse, and I am extremely supportive of her career. I support women in the work force as well as women holding an equal role in marriage."
Child welfare advocates and Mr. Bush's political foes said the fact that the governor was caught off guard by Mr. Regier's association with the coalition proved that Mr. Bush had acted too hastily in replacing Ms. Kearney. After her resignation, agency critics urged Mr. Bush to convene a panel to conduct a national search for her replacement.
Instead, Mr. Bush, who is seeking re-election in November, announced Mr. Regier's appointment two days later, on Thursday. His critics now say he did not sufficiently review Ms. Kearney's successor and made the appointment for political expediency. Mr. Regier served in the first federal Bush administration as head of the National Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.
"I am stunned that the governor, after such scandal involving the last agency head, would not take more deliberate steps toward finding a more suitable replacement," said state Representative Frederica Wilson, a child welfare advocate and Miami Democrat in whose district Rilya was living when she vanished. "Appointing Regier has created another major problem for our state."
Mr. Bush's office said the governor had no knowledge of the essay before he named Mr. Regier, but declined to comment further. Mr. Regier did not return calls.
Representatives for the Coalition on Revival could not be reached. The group's Web site says its mission is to "help the Church rebuild civilization on the principles of the Bible so God's will may be done on earth as it is in heaven."
Mr. Bush's political adversaries wasted little time contending that he had put the fate of Florida's most vulnerable children in the hands of a right-wing extremist.
The state Democratic Party called on the governor to withdraw the appointment and begin a new search for a replacement for Ms. Kearney. Janet Reno, the former United States attorney general who is seeking the Democratic nomination for governor, questioned whether the controversy would render Mr. Regier ineffective in his new job.
"With all of the challenges facing DCF, one would think that the governor would pick someone who would not be a lightning rod for controversy or divert attention from the work that needs to be done," she said.
The controversy is not likely to be decisive in the governor's race, one expert on Florida politics said, but is another embarrassment for Mr. Bush and dashes any hopes he had of putting a positive spin on Ms. Kearney's exit.
"Any expectation that this will be a smooth appointment just went out the window," said Susan MacManus, a political scientist at the University of South Florida. "It leaves Floridians as frustrated as ever with DCF."
Whack back on Nov. 5
By Stephen Goldstein for the Florida Sun-Sentinel
Here's the text of the article in case the link goes bad:
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/opinion/columnists/sfl-sgcol16oct16.story
Columnist Stephen Goldstein Stephen Goldstein
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Stephen Goldstein
Whack back on Nov. 5
Published October 16, 2002
Bushwhacked-Floridians are worse off than we were four years ago. Thanks to Jeb Bush's voodoo economics, smoke-and-mirrors education reforms, environmental poison pills and right-wing pandering, the state is in shambles. Florida needs regime change. Here are 24 reasons to vote the governor out of office on Nov. 5.
1. Jeb has turned the $3 billion surplus he inherited from Lawton Chiles into a deficit of between $1.4 billion and $4 billion.
2. The governor has engineered multibillion-dollar tax giveaways for corporations and the wealthiest Floridians.
3. Florida's pension fund lost $355 million on its Enron investments, buying shares in the company when everyone was selling.
4. The average wage in Florida has dropped to just 87 percent of the national norm.
5. Florida is one of only 12 states in which median household income declined in 2001.
6. The governor promised to eliminate the backlog of 11,000 seniors on the waiting list for services through the Department of Elder Affairs. Today, the list has swelled to over 14,000.
7. Health insurance costs are spiraling out-of-control.
8. Jeb's prescription drug plan covers only 68,000 seniors, barely 2.5 percent of the state's older population.
9. In spite of Bushian buzzwords about improving education (FCAT, A+ Plan, vouchers and charter schools), Florida's high-school graduation rate has slipped from 44th to the worst in America.
10. SAT scores have dropped from 40th to 47th; ACT scores, from 35th to 38th.
11. Pre-Jeb, Florida was 29th nationally in spending per pupil; in 2001, it fell to 40th.
12. The governor's alleged $3 billion increase in education funding is a figment of his imagination. Factor in inflation and student growth, and the money allocated per student has risen less than one-quarter of one percent.
13. Class size in Florida schools, among the worst in the nation, dropped from 42nd in 1998 to 44th in 2001.
14. Research cited by the U.S. Department of Education concludes that reducing class size to below 20 students leads to higher achievement, but the governor says he has "devious plans" to flout the constitutional amendment reducing class size if it passes Nov. 5 and he is re-elected.
15. Florida's teacher salaries have dropped from 28th to 31st in the nation.
16. A national study of higher education gave Florida a D- because of relatively high college costs and a D+ because comparatively few state residents go to college.
17. The governor has grabbed the power to appoint everyone on the state's 26 judicial nominating commissions, so he can stack the courts with right-wing judges opposed to abortion and likely to push a conservative agenda.
18. Candidate Bush promised to fix Florida's foster-care system in six months; Gov. Bush let the Department of Children & Families become a national scandal.
19. On the environment, Jeb talks the conservation talk, but doesn't walk the walk. In public, he says the right things; behind the scenes, he pushes developers' agendas.
20. The governor has appointed anti-environmentalists to water management districts, the Environmental Regulatory Commission and judgeships.
21. Ignoring the objections of more than 100 environmental and citizens' groups, Jeb signed a law which funds the state's portion of Everglades restoration, but includes a "poison pill" that restricts Floridians' ability to challenge developers who submit anti-environmental permit requests.
22. Violent crime in the state increased at six times the national average from 2001 to 2002.
23. For the first time since 1996, overall crime incidence in Florida increased.
24. The governor claims his 10-20-Life law has led to a decrease in gun crime, but the firearm crime rate was on the decline before 10-20-Life and actually increased in 2001 -- for the first time since 1997.
In 1998, candidate Jeb asked you to give him four years, so he could create a better Florida. Many of you kept your end of the bargain; he didn't. "Fool me once; shame on you. Fool me twice; shame on me." -- the truth of the adage should not be lost on voters.
Stop the bushwhacking: Whack Bush out of office on Nov. 5.
Stephen L. Goldstein's commentaries are broadcast on "South Florida Today" on WXEL-Ch. 42. E-mail him at trendsman@aol.com.
