2009 Articles
PARTY POLITICS INVADES GULFPORT RACE!
Second in a series Armed with 25,000 addresses of Pinellas County Democrat voters and a training manual for grassroots organization developed in the Obama campaign, the state Democratic party through its member organization, Progressive Democrats of America and its affiliate, the Stonewall Democrats of Pinellas County apparently decided to target Gulfport in its 2009 Ward [...]
ARE GULFPORT ELECTIONS NON-PARTISAN?
The first of a series. Well, election time is here again. This is the time of year when us political “junkies” are truly happy. This is the time of year when we can revel in the advantages of our wonderful democracy and get into the nitty-gritty of well fought political campaigns here in town. It’s [...]
MAYOR WRONGLY ELECTS TO “WORKSHOP” BENCHES
Faced with a rather large audience, almost all of which appeared to be opposed to changing our sign ordinance to allow advertising on benches and bus shelters, our crafty Mayor Michael Yakes announced at the beginning of the Dec. 5 City Council Meeting that the second reading of the revised ordinance would not be heard [...]
THE WEEK IN REVIEW 12-5-2009
Commentary by Dogfish Our longtime struggle to obtain a city manager is finally over. After changing the rules (I mean the City Charter) so that the city could hire Jim O’Reilly fulltime, the city council found themselves negotiating from a point of weakness, what I mean by that is they all five voiced total agreement [...]
STELLA’S DELI AND GELATO FINALLY OPEN!
After over five months of wading through the ins and outs of Gulfport’s Zoning Regulations and building a brand new store, Stella’s Deli and Gelato is finally open for business. The sparkling clean, new deli offers all the traditional deli meats, (featuring Thumann’s famous products), homemade salads, New York Style Potato knish, Perogies and Italian [...]
SAY NO THANKS TO THE FREE BENCHES AND MINI-BILLBOARDS
Did you know there is a need for more benches in Gulfport?? I am sure there are areas in Gulfport that may need a bench but I wasn’t aware that the need was so very great. In fact, the City staff and Council must feel there is such an extraordinary need for benches, they are [...]
AT LAST, A CITY MANAGER
Well it took well over a year and at least three stops and starts, but the City Council finally voted, 4-1, to take the word “Interim” off Jim O’Reilly’s title and offer him a strong contract, (in his favor), for an indefinite term, (until he quits or gets fired). The vote took place at a [...]
CITY VOLUNTEERS GET SLAP IN FACE…AGAIN!
We’ve written in the past about how our City Council ignores its citizen input and advisory committees especially the Budget Review Committee and Charter Review Committee, (see GULFPORT, A HOUSE DIVIDED). At the November 17 City Council Meeting, just two days before the City put on a very nice thank you party for city volunteers, [...]
TOO BAD, YOU MISSED IT!
On Friday November thirteenth, it was a cool night in most of Gulfport, but out on The Point in back of the Rec Center, a really hot band was warming things up for a singing, dancing crowd that was too small for such a terrific event. The Party Time Band was belting out a 2 [...]
COME ON CITY COUNCIL….LEAD….WITH A PURPOSE!
Third editorial In A Series. Every year we elect one or more of our fellow citizens to our City Council as our representative in guiding our city today and into the future. Every three years we elect a Mayor who runs our City Council Meetings and represents the city at public functions. The City Council [...]
MIRACLES ON BEACH BOULEVARD!
Lots of folks coming out of Gulfport’s Multipurpose Senior Center are coming out with a new spring in their steps and smiles on their faces. Thanks to an $85,000 investment by the Gulfport Multipurpose Senior Center Foundation, Inc. in an array of Shapemaster chair exercise machines, hundreds of seniors are shaping up and toning up [...]
GULFPORT, A HOUSE DIVIDED
The second in a series of editorials Show me politicians who blame the ills of their community on divisiveness and I’ll show you a failure of leadership. True leaders are supposed to take the best ideas of their opposition and, where possible, incorporate them into a plan of progress for the community. This theory of [...]
HAVE YOU HUGGED YOUR DALLAS TODAY?
Gulfport’s kinda way off the beaten paths, some may say that it is still living in the past. Retaining its small town charm while aspiring to be a destination for the current population. Artists flock to Gulfport because there are other artists here. And no where is this more prevalent then at the Blueberry Patch, [...]
GULFPORT BEGINS A NEW ERA
In it’s 100th year it looks like our fair city is about to establish a Policy Manual outlining our City Council Rules of Procedure. At a City Council Workshop held at 9:00 AM in the 49th Street Center on Friday, October 9 our City Council, Interim City attorney, City Clerk and Acting City Manager held [...]
GULFPORT’S TREADING WATER!
The first in a series of editorials…… For nearly four years I’ve been trying to figure out why Gulfport, a physically blessed little city not only isn’t progressing, but seems to be slipping backwards. Yes, I am aware that we are in the midst of one of our biggest economic recessions and am not discounting [...]