Lobbying restrictions and parental controls to be discussed Tuesday

By John Labriola - The Citrus County Commission will meet on Tuesday, April 22, to discuss a pair of proposed ordinances by County Commissioner Diana Finegan to forbid county commissioners, Planning and Development Commission members, and county staff from lobbying the state on behalf of a developer, and to prohibit former county commissioners from lobbying the county for six years.

The suggested legislation reflects a 2018 voter-approved state constitutional amendment that prohibits public officials from lobbying for compensation during their term in office and for six years after they leave office.

Finegan’s proposal comes a few weeks after a controversy arose involving former County Commissioner Ruthie Schlabach, who served one term on the commission before losing reelection last year. As a lobbyist for The Southern Group, Schlabach convinced Commission Chairwoman Rebecca Bays to persuade County Administrator Steve Howard to secretly sign a $3 million appropriations request to the state legislature to widen County Road 491 on behalf of the lobbying firm's client, Metro Development Group, which has a pending application to build a 5,000-unit project along 491 called Tuscany Ranch. The funding request was withdrawn by the commission this month after it came to light.

If a majority of the commission agrees with Finegan, the county attorney will be directed to draft the ordinances for a commission vote next month.

The commission meeting is at 1 p.m. Tuesday at the Citrus County Courthouse, 110 N Apopka Ave., Inverness, FL 34450. 

Also on Tuesday, at 9 a.m., the Citrus County Library Advisory Board (LAB) will meet to discuss parental controls on children’s reading materials. That meeting will take place in Room 166 of the Lecanto Government Building, 3600 W Sovereign Path, Lecanto, FL 34442. 
 
LAB member Edith Ramlow, a College of Central Florida librarian, wants to allow parents to place restrictions on their minor children's library cards to prevent them from checking out inappropriate materials. Her proposal is in response to public anger following the board’s 5-2 vote in December to allow more than 20 challenged books to remain in the library system's Young Adult section.

The LAB will also discuss board member Lenora Nelson's proposal to establish specific guidelines to determine what materials are inappropriate for the Young Adult section. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Sheriff doubles down on support for Biden's FBI

Image
By John Labriola - Citrus County Sheriff Mike Prendergast is facing renewed criticism for bragging about his ongoing cooperation with the Biden Justice Department in rounding up January 6 protesters and declaring them criminals before a trial.  Last week, Prendergast announced his department partnered with the FBI in the May 2 arrest of a Homosassa man who is being charged with assaulting a law enforcement officer during the Jan. 6, 2021, demonstration at the U.S. Capitol. It was the second time in less than 10 weeks that the Citrus County Sheriff's Office (CCSO) has participated in the arrest of a January 6 protester. On Feb. 27, sheriff's deputies and FBI agents arrested Jesse Rumson , 37, of Lecanto, in a predawn shock and awe raid complete with a full SWAT team, two armored vehicles, concussion grenades and a helicopter. Rumson, who is awaiting trial on several felony counts, has publicly denied the charges and is seeking a dismissal based partly on what he calls his uncon...
Read more

Commissioner Davis demands $$$ for pro-LGBT, anti-white tourism plan

Image
By John Labriola - In a cringeworthy display of "woke" virtue-signaling, liberal Citrus County Commissioner Holly Davis last week trashed her recently deceased father as a racist while defending her support for a plan to spend $55,000 in hotel bed taxes on a "Diversity, Equity and Inclusion" (DEI) tourism advertising campaign to promote more LGBT and less white Christian family-oriented tourism to Citrus County.  "My dad was born and raised in Forrest City, Arkansas, which is named after Nathan Bedford Forrest, founder of the Ku Klux Klan. I don't know if it was until the day he died, but at least until 10 years before he passed, he would actually say that an interracial couple was just trying to make noise and be noticed," said Davis, who congratulated herself on overcoming  her father's views. " I now actually have black friends, and I didn't go out hunting them! I'm not trying to make sure I have my diversity in my group; I just na...
Read more

My recommendations for the Aug. 20 primary

Image
United States Senator: Rick Scott Representative in Congress: Gus Bilirakis Citrus County Sheriff: David Vincent Superintendent of Schools: Scott Hebert County Commission Seat 1: Curtiss “CJ” Bryant County Commission Seat 3: Janet Barek State Committeeman: Greg Hoying State Committeewoman: Janet Barek Circuit Judge Group 7: Derek Saltsman Circuit Judge Group 13: Zach McCormick Circuit Judge Group 20: Ben Boylston County Judge Group 3: Amber Thomas Citrus County School Board: Ken Frink Early Voting has begun! See the Early Vote schedule HERE . To find out where to vote on Election Day, click HERE .
Read more