CITRUS CRUSADER

By John Labriola - Citrus County Commissioners last week denounced the Library Advisory Board's recent  decision to reject a temporary Charlie Kirk book display, saying its rationale for not allowing it made no sense.  "I don't even know what the problem is. This is a historical figure, whether people agreed or didn't agree with the things he said or did," said Commissioner Diana Finegan. "I think it would be more than appropriate to have displays of his books."  Finegan rejected comparisons to the LGBT Pride propaganda displays, which the library system canceled in 2022, as "apples and oranges." "We're talking about a sexual orientation versus someone that has been deemed as an American hero with a holiday," she said, referring to President Donald Trump's designation of Oct. 14 as the National Day of Remembrance for Charlie Kirk. "I hope to see that display. If I find out that's something the library cannot do, I...

By John Labriola - The Citrus County Library Advisory Board (LAB) meeting last week turned into a hate fest against Charlie Kirk, as leftists angered by a motion to commemorate him with a library display outnumbered residents supporting the idea. Rita Fox of Lecanto said Kirk, who was assassinated on Sept. 10 by an angry leftist, deserved it.  "When you preach hate, things like that are bound to happen," she said, attacking Kirk for rejecting Marxist ideas like critical race theory, for which she accused him of "white supremacy." "In the end, the violence he rationalized and the racial fear he amplified converged in his own fate," Fox threateningly stated.  Later in the meeting, she and another liberal woman stormed out shouting obscenities at LAB Chairman Justin Strickland.  Other leftists said Kirk was a "racist," "bully," "bigot," "homophobic," "incredibly divisive," and a "white Christian nationali...

By John Labriola - The Citrus County Library Advisory Board (LAB) on Tuesday will discuss a proposal to reallocate some or all of the $3,300 in savings from canceling the county library system's annual BookPage subscription to create a Charlie Kirk memorial display in the libraries, featuring books written by Charlie Kirk and recommended by him. LAB member Rhys Campell has placed the discussion item on the agenda for the board's meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 28, at 9 a.m. The meeting will take place in Room 166 of the Lecanto Government Building, 3600 W Sovereign Path, Lecanto, FL 34461 .  "What better way to [use] the funds?" Campbell said. "Charlie Kirk was an American icon and a Medal of Freedom winner, which is a big deal. He was killed for not just his political beliefs but also for his Christian beliefs." Campbell says Kirk, who was assassinated by a leftist in Utah on Sept. 10, is "just as important" as Martin Luther King Jr., who was assassinat...

By John Labriola - In a victory for decency and common sense, Citrus County will be canceling the library system's annual $3,300 subscription to BookPage when it runs out in February. The decision ending the county's 20-year subscription to the left-wing book review magazine was announced at last week's commission meeting by Commissioner Jeff Kinnard . His vote on the five-member commission is decisive because Commissioners Diana Finegan and Janet Barek had already come to the same conclusion at the county's initial budget hearing on Sept. 11, when a number of residents asked for the magazine to be eliminated because of its woke content. The library system was purchasing 500 copies a month of the magazine and distributing them to all five branch libraries, but critics complained it consistently recommends titles with LGBT, CRT, pro-abortion, anti-Trump, and witchcraft themes while demeaning conservative viewpoints. Kinnard said he'd been thinking about the issue si...

By John Labriola - As October approaches, the city of Inverness is getting ready for a month of festivities known as Cootertober, but this year's activities will be a lot more family-friendly and a lot less dark. The Twistid Arts Initiative, which organized the city's Cootertober events for the last two years and was criticized for its focus on the occult, won't be involved this year, City Manager Eric Williams said Last year, residents packed city council meetings to protest events they said were attracting occultists, including a Vampire Ball, which encouraged attendees to "dance, drink, and party the night away in true vampiric style" while "donned up in the style of your favorite vampire character," and a Vampire Pub Crawl, which asked participants to join in "grabbing our capes and Vamp'ing it out as we cruise around downtown and drink the night away!"  Those events will not be taking place this year, and the Old Courthouse also will ...

By John Labriola - Hundreds  of residents gathered at the Old Courthouse in downtown Inverness on Sunday to honor the life of Charlie Kirk, who was remembered as a martyr for his Christian faith, his patriotism and his commitment to free speech.  Kirk, 31, the CEO of Turning Point USA, was shot dead at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10 while conducting one of his signature Q&A events with students. The suspected assassin is a 22-year-old left-wing radical who was living with his transgender-identifying boyfriend. Many in the crowd on Sunday held signs saying, "I am Charlie Kirk," a phrase that has become a rallying cry in the wake of Kirk's assassination as millions of Americans vow to carry on his legacy by speaking up for the conservative Christian principles he stood for.  During the ceremony, attendees were invited to share their thoughts at the microphone. Patrick Sullivan, 32, of Beverly Hills, a local conservative activist with two young childr...

By John Labriola - Public calls for tax relief went nowhere last Thursday as the Citrus County Commission decided not to cut residents' property tax rate for the 2025-26 budget year. The vote was 3-2, with Commissioners Diana Finegan and Janet Barek on the losing side. The decision came just two days after the commission's 4-1 vote on Sept. 9 to raise the fire fee from $79 to $125, with Finegan opposed. Commissioners set a total property tax rate of 8.9249  mills, the same as the current year. But because property values mostly went up this year, it will mean a 5 percent increase in taxes for the average homeowner over the rollback rate. That means the owner of a home currently valued at $300,000 who takes the standard $50,000 homestead exemption will pay $2,231.23 in county property taxes under the new budget, which will take effect Oct. 1. Most residents who attended the two-hour preliminary budget hearing wanted commissioners to cancel the county library system's $3,30...