As the old adage, “Every cloud has a silver lining,” goes, the gloomy Gulfport Budget may have a silver lining too.  Tough times often allow the truly inspired and innovative administrator to do some outside the box thinking that results in more or less permanent changes that not only serve to solve the immediate crises [...]

In our previous submission, we talked about ways that the $1,650,000 budget shortfall could rather easily be reduced to around $295,000 without the necessity of touching the General Fund Surplus, raiding the General Employees Pension Stability Reserve or outsourcing the police dispatching function if the city Council had the wisdom and the political guts to [...]

For the past three or four years our city revenues have been dropping like a rock and the end is not in sight.  Every year our City Manager has been directed by our City Council to come up with a budget that doesn’t result in loss of services, doesn’t raid our surpluses and lowers overall [...]

Almost everybody remembers the famous words of President Ronald Reagan that led to the destruction of the Berlin Wall and for all intents and purposes led to the end of the Cold War.  Now it seems that based on a series of comments on the electronic social media, letters to the editor and in general [...]

For years our City government has responded to what they perceived to be the wishes of the people, i.e. that everything in Gulfport must stay the same, nothing important must change.  Even though the City had changed radically from the 1950’s to the present day, (thank goodness), somehow Gulfport had reached a place where growth [...]

Over the past few years, our Community Development Department spent a ton of time and money in developing a so-called “overlay zone” in both Downtown Gulfport and the 49th Street Area.  Among other things it allows the conversion of single family homes into locations for home based businesses in the overlay zones, (many restrictions apply). [...]

Last September when our City Council usually evaluates our City Manager they declined to do so since they said he had not served long enough to make a meaningful evaluation.  Vague rumblings about setting up an evaluation process were made.  Apparently the decision was made to hold off an evaluation until this coming September, a [...]

I’d swear some folks are in the wrong business. I leave some food-serving establishments in a numbing stupor of disbelief.  And I’m not talking about the sugar high from too many Shirley Temples.  In fact, they don’t even serve these to kids anymore.  According to the news, the chains are giving the kiddies the hard [...]

Our current City Council has made it a point to allow citizens to comment at Council Meetings including, for the first time, Workshop Meetings.  Those of us who attend meetings are happy that public access has improved, but we wonder if they really listen or are they just trying to appease the political activists. At [...]

Five years ago there were signs of improvement all over Gulfport especially in the housing stock south of Gulfport Boulevard.  People were buying homes all over town at ever increasing prices.  Home improvements were a flourishing industry and our little city was taking on the warm and happy look of prosperity. Building Code enforcement was [...]

Is there anyone reading this who doesn’t wish things could be better where they live and work?  Who doesn’t want their city or neighborhood to be better than it is?  Well, I’ve heard a lot of people in Gulfport say that they don’t want things to be better, they just want things to stay the [...]

In a March 24 review of City Council Rules, (something we fought for), our newly organized City Council decided on some changes to be ratified at a regular meeting, including the right of citizens to speak at City Council Workshops, (something else we fought for).  Who says citizen activism doesn’t accomplish anything? Workshops have long [...]

In March of 2009, the City of Gulfport seemed to be in for some bad times.  The real estate bubble had burst causing massive drops in city revenues and our city administration was in a mess with a bunch of “actives;” Acting City Manager, Acting City clerk and soon to be Acting Chief of  Police [...]

This is a fast frolic of food finds, so hold on to your forks. Park Plaza Gardens in Winter Park serves a French onion soup made with seven kinds of onions and tops the thick melted cheese with frazzled onions, bringing tears of delight to my eyes. Tampa Bay Brewing Company in Ybor City puts [...]

Barbara Banno’s better than 2-1 trouncing of her opponent in last Tuesday’s election thoroughly disproves the old myth that, “Nice guys finish last.”  In fact, it was her universally acknowledged “niceness” that was probably the biggest factor in the race regardless of what all the pundits will opine about the race and overwhelming victory.  Of [...]