Sunday, December 31, 2017

Trump, Jerusalem and the United Nations

For each of us personally, I think it may mean something different based on your view of history and your beliefs.


St. Petersburg, Fl
Opinion by: E. Eugene Webb PhD


President Trump’s decision to declare Jerusalem the Capital of Israel and move the US Embassy to the City has set off a fire storm of comment and opinion.

Mainstream media has been awash in unsubstantiated political comment and condemnation of the move. Declarations of disaster and political retribution seemed to
be justified when the UN General assembly voted 128 to 35 to condemn President Trump’s decision.

However, as the dust clears it seems there may be some growing support for the US decision see the Dailywire article by Hank Berrin, EMBOLDENED BY TRUMP: 10 More Countries May Move Their Embassies To Jerusalem.

For some background  check out the Los Angeles Times article by Noah Bierman, Who really wants Trump to recognize Jerusalem? His evangelical supporters at home

The political divide in the Israeli - Palestinian dispute has waged on since the State of Israel was established. It has been a source political conflict, military action and war right up to this day.

Why are so many countries and religions afraid of Israel and this move? Here is a good historical timeline from ProCon: Historical Timeline: 1900-Present History of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict.

Nothing much in the dispute has changed in the last 25 years and those who profit from the conflict certainly don’t want to see it end.

About the move to Jerusalem Trump said, “I have determined that it is time to officially recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. While previous presidents have made this a major campaign promise, they failed to deliver.” “Today, I am delivering.” He continued, “My announcement today marks the beginning of a new approach to the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.”

The reaction at the UN was disheartening but not unexpected.

Trump made a not so vailed threat to withdraw funding for the UN. Following the vote Trump’s comments were backed up by Nicki Haley US Ambassador to the UN, a move which I feel should be taken immediately.

A lot of religious leaders, news pundits and politicians would like to make this all about evangelical Christians and what they believe. It’s really much more than that.

Israel the country and Israel the nation has occupied a unique place in history since the beginning of time.

It may be politically correct to jump on the anti-embassy move bandwagon with CNN, NPR and other anti-trump pundits, but the fact is Trump’s decision will, over time, change the discourse and the direction of changes in the region.

The negative reaction in this country is fueled by the incessant hammering of Trump in the media and internationally by self-serving interests.

For each of us personally, I think it may mean something different based on your view of history and your beliefs.

For a little more perspective grab a Bible, modern English translations are easiest to read, and check out the Book of Revelations. Easy to find, it’s the last one in the book.

E-mail Doc at mail to: dr.gwebb@yahoo.com or send me a Facebook (E. Eugene Webb) Friend request. Like or share on Facebook and follow me on TWITTER  @DOC ON THE BAY.
See Doc's Photo Gallery at
Bay Post Photos.

Please comment below.

Saturday, December 30, 2017

Will Kriseman drain his swamp? January 2017

It is hard to see how Kriseman can mount a serious campaign effort without his two political sidekicks.


St. Petersburg, Fl
Opinion by: E. Eugene Webb PhD
Author: In Search of Robin



December 18, 2017 through December 29, 2017 I am reposting the most viewed  articles from 2017. This one is from  January of 2017 .

Surprisingly, St. Pete Mayor Rick Kriseman announced he is running for reelection last week, including an e-mail blast to solicit funds.


Surprising on a couple of fronts, first as I posted last week In Bay Post Internet, The Kriseman Kerfuffels and the fact that now he is an announced candidate for Mayor the conduct of his political cronies and former campaign operatives Kevin King and Ben Kirby should come under a lot of scrutiny from the media, and the public.

There have also been several appointments by the current Mayor some of which would probably not survive a change in the Mayor’s office. They all deserve careful attention.

I would expect this to be one of the most politicized administrations ever as staff will be “encouraged” to support the Mayor and vote for him.

Most important in this group of political appointments are Kirby and King, who came directly from the Mayor’s campaign staff, although King was an outlier and had no official campaign position, probably due to his controversial past, he was a fixture at every Kriseman campaign event I attended.

King and Kirby both have a much stronger penchant for politics than governance, and it is hard to see how Kriseman can mount a serious campaign effort without his two political sidekicks.

In their current positions, these two already have the ability to communicate with the public directly from the office of the Mayor and access to information that other candidates will find hard to get, and unless you really understand the public records law, it could be very expensive for candidates to get some of that information.

For the first time in St. Pete’s history with a strong mayor, it is possible that opposing candidates will be competing against the office of the Mayor not just Rick Kriseman.

It is also possible that St. Pete taxpayers will be funding the key part of Kriseman’s campaign staff.

These issues bring new meaning to the power of the incumbency.

All of this raises some serious questions and issues for City Council and the City Legal staff.

How much “campaigning” can Kriseman’s Chief of Staff and his Director of Communications do before they step over the line?

Check out  Kriseman for Mayor.

Kriseman could save himself and all the voters who are going to be watching this election a lot of time and stress if he simply removed King and Kirby from the City payroll.

I am sure the boys will get their high-paying jobs with the City back with hansom raises should Kriseman win.

E-mail Doc at mail to: dr.gwebb@yahoo.com or send me a Facebook (Gene Webb) Friend request. Please comment below, be sure to Like or share on Facebook and follow me on TWITTER  @DOC ON THE BAY

See Doc's Photo Gallery at Bay Post Photos.

Disclosures:

Friday, December 29, 2017

See where the noise is in St. Petersburg and how close you are to it - May 2017

Check out the Interactive Noise violation Map 



December 18, 2017 through December 29, 2017 I am reposting the most viewed  articles from 2017 This one is from May 2017 

St. Petersburg Fl
Public Opinion by author: Robert Neff

In 2016, Mayor Kriseman and City Council revised the St. Petersburg noise ordinance. While their efforts focused on downtown, they were unaware the issue was citywide. A Public Records Request produced the police call logs. Then noise related calls were plotted on a map, which easily proved downtown was not the issue. Rather, there is a citywide issue where 1747 addresses had repeat calls. The noise issue is not limited to bars and businesses, but preliminary analysis residences indicates may outnumber bars and businesses for noise related calls.

The map shows the noise issue is citywide and related to businesses, residences, intersections, individuals and parks. Use the map to see how close your neighbors and you are to an address with noise. 

How to use the map


Use the toggle button to toggle between the business and residences layers. You can check one or more boxes to see where noise calls display on the map. You can also check and uncheck multiple boxes to view layers. 




View the Map


Should you wish to report a noise issue, call the Police non-emergency phone number, 727  893-7780. You have the option to remain anonymous or leave your name. If you want the officer to consider writing a noise citation, the officer will need to witness the noise with you. So please leave your name and number so you may be seen. 

Public input is being sought on the Noise Ordinance. You may express your concerns and thoughts by emailing the Mayor at mayor@stpete.org, and your council member, council@stpete.org.


Data Analysis Approach 

1. Data requests for the Police Call Log were made via a Public Records Request through the City Clerk’s office or the online Public Records Center. Data was provided in an Excel spreadsheet.
2. The City’s Excel Spreadsheet did not produce the correct Geo Code. A Geo Code translator was used to translate the address with zip code into GeoX and GeoY coordinates.
3. The City’s Excel Spreadsheet did not produce time into the correct 24 Hr format. Incorrect formats were converted to the correct format.
4. The City’s Excel Spreadsheet translated some address numbers into dates. Those were identified and the city provided the correct street numbers.
5. There were 570 Intersections with noise related calls that were not included. While these may be attributable to nearby business or residences, the Police Call for Service Reports and or Dispatch audio files are required to determine were location was assigned. This requires reviewing the dispatch and Officer notes, and or listening to the audio to determine if this should be assigned to the nearby business or residence. The intersections next to Hollywood Nights South were added to Hollywood Nights South’s totals.
6. Six addresses on “TRELAINE DR S St.Petersburg, Florida 33712” were not included. The address and zip code were input into the Geo Code translator and failed.
7. On some calls for a business or residence, the police assign the call to the caller’s address and not the business or residence. Clusters around a business or residence are an indication that this has occurred and to check the Call For Service Report.
8. Dispatch is allowed to roll up calls made within a certain timeframe into one Call ID, verses assigning each call a separate ID. This under reports calls as they may be made by different people or calling again to complain about the noise.
9. Two missing calls were added on July 16 and 17th. A request was made for Call ID and audio of the call. None were produced, yet call records indicate there was a call. Here, Police Dispatch told the caller that the Officer was told the Flamingo had a concert permit. However, Public Records Request found no concert permit had been approved.

10. The Flamingo Resort calls from nearby residences created a call cluster. The Call For Service Reports’ dispatch and officer notes were reviewed. When the call was found to be for the Flamingo, the residence calls and addresses were rolled up into the Flamingo Resort’s total calls. The Flamingo also had calls rolled up by dispatch. These were added to the Flamingo Resort’s total.
        11.   Reviewing 1747 addresses to determine if the address was a business, residence, park, intersection, or individual was outside the scope of the analysis. There is discussion to crowdsource this effort to identify the category and sub category. This would provide a breakout on the number of calls and repeat calls for each category.

Author Bio

Mr. Neff has run hi-end eCommerce operations for major national and international brands. He was Chief Web Operations Division at United States Mint and an executive in luxury retail eCommerce. He has several startups under his belt and has worked in Silicon Valley, Washington D.C., and Dallas. in the past, he was Director Online Sales for a consumer product company, directed eCommerce marketing operations and online analytical operations. Now retired, he is enjoying life as an award winning photographer, writer, and contemporary artist who has shown his work at one of Art Miami's International Art Shows, Spectrum Miami. He occasionally tests online products for companies in Silicon Valley. The value he brings is institutional knowledge from years of experience.

When the City of St. Petersburg noise issue became an issue for others and him, Mr. Neff dusted off his skills to conduct an investigation, data collection and data analysis.

Should you have a noise-related story to share or have a question, contact me directly via email.

The opinions here are the author's and do not necessarily reflect the views of Bay Post Internet or the Blog Publishers where it appears.

Thursday, December 28, 2017

Who do you want for St. Pete Mayor? A politician or a leader? July 2017

The people in south St. Pete and Midtown are not Kriseman’s people they are just his votes.

St. Petersburg, Fl
Opinion by: E. Eugene Webb PhD
Author: In Search of Robin, So You Want to Blog


December 18, 2017 through December 29, 2017 I am reposting the most viewed  articles from 2017 This one is from July 2017 

About 2 ½ decades ago, the citizens of St. Petersburg voted for a Charter change that transformed St. Petersburg from a City Manager/Council form of governance to a Strong Mayor.

Essentially this took the management of the City out of the hands of a professional manager and put control of day to day operations in the hands of the elected Mayor.

What drove this change was the growth of St. Pete and the desire of few powerful and wealthy people to generate more “control” over the governance of the City by having the elected mayor become the administrative leader.

I remember clearly setting in a meeting with Mayor David Fisher the day after the election, and the Charter Referendum had passed. Fisher was Mayor under the council/manager system for the previous four years. He stepped up to the podium and said, “If I had known the Strong Mayor Referendum was going to pass; I am not sure I would have run for Mayor.”

We all laughed.  Fisher was a great strong Mayor.

In fact, up to Rick Kriseman, the City was blessed with good strong mayors. Some more competent than others but none had ever politicized and taken advantage of the office while lying to and disrespecting the will of the citizens of St. Petersburg until Rick Kriseman was elected.

The ink was barely dry on the paperwork before Kriseman had populated the new “office of the Mayor” with nearly one-half million dollars’ worth of political cronies.

Kriseman is a consummate politician and has been since he was first appointed to St. Pete City Council in 2000. He was formally elected to City Council in 2001. All talk and no action on City Council it was all about Rick being front and center.

When Kriseman was elected to the legislature in 2006, it became clear he was ineffective as a legislative representative.

In the three-plus years, Rick Kriseman has been the Chief executive of St. Petersburg; he has denied the people the Pier they wanted, pandered to every group within the community while actually delivering very little to them, failed to maintain contact with St. Pete schools, let midtown slide back at least a decade, closed a water-treatment plant that never should have been shuttered, lied about the sewage disaster and grew the budget for every major public project.

Surrounded by a growing pack of “spokespeople” some of whom actually speak for his personal spokesperson, and a group of high-paid political lackeys that cater to his whims and trumpet his view of the future; Kriseman is the least effective of the strong Mayors.

Kriseman has time to ban president Trump from St. Pete, fret over global climate change and get into  the social media storm over Trump’s latest tweet; however, he never found time to visit a St. Pete School or set down with the school board after the Failure Factories story broke.

Some fancy street scaping and development along 34th St. South are not going to solve the problems in Midtown. Losing the Wal Mart happened on Kriseman’s watch, and he is responsible. The people in south St. Pete and Midtown are not Kriseman’s people they are just his votes.

Kriseman oversaw the biggest denial of the rights of the citizens of St. Petersburg when through the CCNA process and Mike Connors, he used a carefully chosen selection committee and orchestrated the denial of the public’s choice for a new Pier. He later blamed Connors and forced him out, but nothing happens in a vacuum with Rick Kriseman.

Baker’s nine-year reign as St. Petersburg’s strong Mayor was not perfect, but he never had a crew of media spinning advisers concocting stories and lying to his constituents.

He proved beyond a doubt that pressure from a top elected City official can cause a change in the quality of education.

Baker went to midtown and south St. Pete; he attended neighborhood meetings; he helped advance neighborhood associations, encouraged his staff to do the same and never was even accused of outright lying to his constituents.

Rick Baker’s entire professional career in the private and public sectors has been about moving forward in a rational and measured manner, not about politics, a or promoting himself but about leading and serving his community.

Who do you want for St. Pete Mayor? A politician or a leader.

E-mail Doc at mail to: dr.gwebb@yahoo.com or send me a Facebook (E. Eugene Webb) Friend request. Be sure to follow me on Pintrest (Doc Webb),  Like or share on Facebook and follow me on TWITTER  @DOC ON THE BAY

See Doc's Photo Gallery at Bay Post Photos.

Disclosures: Contributor to Rick Baker for Mayor Campaign 

Please comment below.


Wednesday, December 27, 2017

Rick Kriseman lied to me, and he lied to you - Part 2 - June 2017

We continue to look at my Post from January 2013 A Serious Conversation with Rick Kriseman Part I

St. Petersburg Fl
Opinion by: E. Eugene Webb PhD
Author:
In Search of Robin 



December 18, 2017 through December 29, 2017 I am reposting the most viewed  articles from 2017 This one is from June 2017. 

Here are some comments by the current mayor from an interview I did with him January of 2013 before he had entered the Mayoral race: A Casual Conversation with Rick Kriseman. Bill Foster was the current Mayor.

My current comments are in BOLD.

Rick Kriseman began his political career when he was appointed to the St. Petersburg City Council in 2000. He won reelection in 2001 and 2003 before stepping down in 2006 to run for the State House of Representatives.

Rick and I sat down this past week (January 2013) at the Kahwa Coffee Shop south for some great coffee and a casual conversation.

Picking up from Part 1

"I would work every angle I could with my friends in the Obama Administration to bring federal dollars home."

Not much effort or success here.

"My frustration with Tallahassee was: that good policy doesn't advance because of partisan politics. Local government is the place where we can actually accomplish things and where every resident can be invested in and take pride in our accomplishments." Rick replied.

Kriseman's real problem with Tallahassee was he never took the time to figure out the system, learn how things get done and develop the relationships that are necessary to be a State Representative.

As far as accomplishing things as Mayor “every resident can be invested in” one only needs to look at the Pier to see how far Kriseman’s words are from his deeds.

“What would you do differently than the current administration," I asked.
 “I would have better communication with both staff and Council. It seems the staff has no firm direction; they don’t know where the City is headed," Rick replied.

When it comes to better communication with City Council and staff, Kriseman and his political cronies have been a complete failure.

The proof is in Council member Jim Kennedy’s constant complaining about how things are brought to City Council and the filing for Whistle Blower protection from an employee trying to get the truth out about the sewage debacle.

If your employees don’t trust you enough to feel comfortable telling you the truth then you have a serious communications problem.

“What do you think the major tenants of good municipal administration are," I asked?

Infrastructure, quality of life and education," Rick replied. “I don’t think we have taken the fullest advantage of our opportunities the last few years." 

There it is in Kriseman’s own words, INFRASTRUTURE was his first concern when asked about the major tenants of a municipal administration. Turns out infrastructure is really in last place behind everything from a water park to a water ferry.

When it comes to education in St. Pete, the City ended up with five of the worst schools in Florida on Kriseman’s watch. His attention could have caught the problem earlier.

Rick also expressed deep concerns about the crime level in St. Pete and especially the South side of town.

The published numbers would indicate the Kriseman administration has made some progress in this area.

However, off the record, there is growing concern in the police department about the level of enforcement, number of arrests and number of firearms being taken off the street.

I asked Rick about how his wife and family felt about a Mayoral run, and he said, "We haven't really had the serious discussion yet," but they will be fully on board before I make a decision to run."

We covered a wide range of subjects from the Pier to the Rays and Rick’s concern about the City’s aging infrastructure. He has a good grasp of the issues and ideas about how to address them all, but he can reveal those for you, if and when he decides to run for Mayor.

As has been the case throughout his political career, Rick Kriseman usually knows the problems and right thing to do, but when given the chance to implement change he cannot get by the politics. 

Kriseman is caught by the power of politics, his ability to create a political power structure, his love of shiny things and political gamesmanship.

I did ask the big question, “Are you going to run?" His answer: “I’ll know in a few weeks.”

As you know, he did run and he won.

Now what St. Pete needs is someone to get cronyism and politics out of the Mayor’s office, Water resources and the rest of the City Administration.

Someone who will speak to you directly not through a “spokesperson” and will work with the Pinellas County Commission, The Pinellas County School Board and the Pinellas County Sheriff to improve, infrastructure, education and public safety for everyone in St. Petersburg.

If you are following the St. Pete Mayor's race, you might find the following Posts interesting: A Casual Conversation with Rick Baker, A Casual Conversation with Herb Polson, Is Rick Baker Really Out of The Mayor's Race 

E-mail Doc at mail to: dr.gwebb@yahoo.com or send me a Facebook (E. Eugene Webb) Friend request. Please comment below, be sure to Like or share on Facebook and follow me on TWITTER  @DOC ON THE BAY

See Doc's Photo Gallery at Bay Post Photos

Disclosures: Contributor to Rick Baker for Mayor Campaign

Tuesday, December 26, 2017

Rick Kriseman lied to me, and he lied to you - Part 1 June 2017

As you will see in my Post from January 2013 A Serious Conversation with Rick Kriseman Part I


St. Petersburg, Fl
Opinion by: E. Eugene Webb PhD
Author: In Search of Robin



December 18, 2017 through December 29, 2017 I am reposting the most viewed articles from 2017 This one is from June 2017.

Here are some comments by the current mayor from an interview I did with him January of 2013 before he had entered the Mayoral race: A Casual Conversation with Rick Kriseman. Bill Foster was the current Mayor.

My current comments are in BOLD.

Rick Kriseman began his political career when he was appointed to the St. Petersburg City Council in 2000. He won reelection in 2001 and 2003 before stepping down in 2006 to run for the State House of Representatives.

Rick and I sat down this past week(January 2013) at the Kahwa Coffee Shop south for some great coffee and a casual conversation.

Like most of the people seriously considering a run for the St. Mayors’ spot, Rick Kriseman is fully aware of the City’s problems and opportunities.

For someone who just finished a six-year stint in Tallahassee Rick looks great. Currently practicing law at Lucas, Green and Magazine in Clearwater, Rick gets into political mode quick.

His answer to my first question: "Where do you think the City is," was quick and decisive.
"I don’t know where we are going. It’s like a car stuck in neutral," Rick said.

“What do you see as major issues," I asked?
“Beyond the Pier and the Rays, I think the age of City staff is a critical issue." "I am concerned about the ongoing decline in institutional knowledge and the lack of a transition plan," Rick responded.

Kriseman has done little to address this problem in his first four years.

“Are you ready to be the CEO of a nearly 500 million dollar a year business" I asked?
"Absolutely,” Rick Replied!

So far Kriseman has managed to run up the cost of almost every major project his team is managing. Moral is slipping to a new low and the transparency and credibility of the office of the Mayor is seriously in the toilet.

I am not sure he is ready to run St. Petersburg after four years of on the job training paid for by the taxpayers in St. Petersburg.

"How would you govern differently than the current administration," I asked?

“The best leaders are those who recognize their shortcomings and surround themselves with people who compensate for those short comings," Rick replied.
Here, in my view, is one of Kriseman's biggest failures. Instead of surrounding himself with people who compensate for his shortcomings, Kriseman immediately surrounded himself with his political cronies. The high-priced Office of the Mayor has been a serious source of frustration for the City staff and a major impediment to progress as everything is seen through a political lens.  
"I would govern differently by offering a clear vision for the future, by being bold and proposing initiatives that move St. Pete forward, by solving problems instead of kicking the can down the road."  
Kriseman’s view of the future is anything but clear. Don’t think so? Ask the Rays, the Pinellas County Commissioners and the leadership of Midtown and South St. Pete.  
As for as clear vision goes, Kriseman now has two spin doctors one in his office and one at Water Resources to shape what you hear and see. Clarity it seems is far less important than political correctness.  
As we will see in the next few questions, Kriseman had a good overview of the City's problems but he completely ignored the infrastructure issue until the sewage dumps into Tampa Bay.

In Part Two of this Post Kriseman talks about his frustration with Tallahassee,  how he would do things differently than the Foster administration, and crime in South St. Pete.  
If you are following the St. Pete Mayor's race, you might find the following Posts interesting: A Casual Conversation with Rick Baker, A Casual Conversation with Herb Polson, Is Rick Baker Really Out of The Mayor's Race .  
E-mail Doc at mail to: dr.gwebb@yahoo.com or send me a Facebook (E. Eugene Webb) Friend request. Please comment below, be sure to Like or share on Facebook and follow me on TWITTER  @DOC ON THE BAY 
See Doc's Photo Gallery at Bay Post Photos 
Disclosures: Contributor to Rick Baker for Mayor Campaign

Saturday, December 23, 2017

Have a Merry Christmas


A Christmas Thought -

What is Christmas all about?
Is it simply when the children jump and shout?
Or is there more to this Christmas tale,
A story of God’s love for us beyond the Vail?
One sent from the Almighty to ransom our souls,
A gift from God that can make you whole.
It’s Jesus. It’s Jesus – it’s the Savior they sang.
All that is required is we believe on his name.

Merry Christmas

From

Gene and Theresa Webb

E-mail Doc at mail to: dr.gwebb@yahoo.com or send me a Facebook (E. Eugene Webb) Friend request. Like or share on Facebook and follow me on TWITTER  @DOC ON THE BAY.
See Doc's Photo Gallery at
Bay Post Photos.

Please comment below.


Kriseman VS Baker - Who is really living in the past? October 2017

We’re just not sure where Rick Kriseman’s head is.


December 18, 2017 through December 29, 2017 I am reposting the most viewed  articles from 2017 This one is from October 2017.

St. Petersburg, Fl
Opinion by: E. Eugene Webb PhD
Author: In Search of Robin, So You Want to Blog.

You may have seen the recent Rick Kriseman television spot portraying candidate Rick Baker as living in the past and taking St. Petersburg back to the dark ages.

Before you buy this nicely contrived piece of political propaganda let’s look at some facts.
  • Kriseman has a city hall full of political cronies definitely an approach from the 1990’s
  • Kriseman invokes Barack Obama at every turn - definitely from the last decade.
  • Kriseman looks up to Charlie Crist - Really in the past.
  • Kriseman destroyed the past work done to make St. Pete’s schools improve. A huge step backward.
  • Kriseman looked the other way as mid-town lost its grocery store and other amenities.
  • Kriseman is using the old-school  approach of pretty streets and landscaping to save mid-town an approach from the 1980’s.
  • Kriseman has no announced plan to address: Public safety, Neighborhoods, Schools and Education, Jobs, City Services. He prefers the old school: “Fly by the seat of your pants”
  • Kriseman’s stock and trade- spinning the facts and lying to you at every critical moment. A long used political ploy.
  • Rick Kriseman’s only “Plan” for St. Petersburg is four more years of the same.
  • Kriseman’s past is full of broken promises, political favoritism, lies and half trues. The future will just be more of the same.
Kriseman is right about one thing if you want St. Petersburg to become another typical, corrupt, inefficient, politically biased City where you never get the truth about anything he’s your guy.

Rick Baker has always had a vision of the future.
  • Rick Baker will have a staff of subject matter experts not political cronies and campaign workers.
  • Rick Baker is his own person; he does not need to lean on other politicians for his inspiration.
  • Rick Baker will rekindle the neighborhoods with a new Deputy Mayor for Neighborhoods.
  • Rick Baker believes in access to top quality education to that end; he believes in these two mathematical formulas: (1) “A” schools = future opportunity; and (2) failing schools = limited hope.
  • Rick Baker knows how to face the future without lying about the past. You will always get the whole story.
  • Rick Baker has a plan for St. Petersburg’s Future The Baker BLUEPRINT For St. Pete. You can read it and you can believe it because history  shows Rick Baker delivers on his promises. 
Rick Baker does not have his head in the sand or in the clouds, he is laser focused on what St. Petersburg needs to continue its path toward becoming a great City. 

We’re just not sure where Rick Kriseman’s head is. 

E-mail Doc at
mail to: dr.gwebb@yahoo.com or send me a Facebook (E. Eugene Webb) Friend request. Be sure to follow me on Pintrest (Doc Webb),  Like or share on Facebook and follow me on TWITTER  @DOC ON THE BAY

See Doc's Photo Gallery at
Bay Post Photos
Disclosures: Contributor to Rick Baker for Mayor Campaign
Please comment below.

Friday, December 22, 2017

Scope Creep- Kind of like sewage, Kriseman cant't seem to control either - February 2017


Where things the politicians want get added and things the designers screwed up get fixed by throwing money at them.



St. Petersburg, Fl
Opinion by: E. Eugene Webb PhD
Author: In Search of Robin


December 18, 2017 through December 29, 2017 I am reposting my most viewed  articles from 2017 This one is from February 2017. 

You may have noticed that lately every major St. Pete project seems to be getting more costly.


Waveney Ann More Tampa Bay Times March 2016, St. Pete pier design costs exceed construction budget, forcing cuts



Project
Original Estimate
Current Guess
Pier
$50 Million
$80-$90 Million
Uplands
$20 Million
$34-$40 Million
Police Building
$50 Million
$70-$80 Million
Sewer Repair
$300 Million
Who Knows

In government, we call this scope creep.

That is where things the politicians want to get added to a project and things the designers over looked or screwed up get fixed by throwing money at them.

The Kriseman team and its fascination for all things bright and shiny is a project manager's dream come true.

Too busy banning the President, trying to establish a sanctuary city and blowing their own horn, the ground battle for cost control on these projects is lost among the details. It is called scope creep.

The Kriseman administration pays little attention to the detail. They put way to much trust in owner's reps and project managers. These are good people but just like everything else in a project, they need to be managed.

The issue of public art for the Pier is a classic example.

Instead of just saying no they are in search of more money for an insane addition to what is a quickly becoming an unseemly disaster.

When it comes to running the business of the St. Petersburg government, Kriseman has shown he is pretty good at writing a Tweet, chasing the silly and ignoring the will of the people.

All of these chickens are quickly coming home to roost and unless the Mayor, and his crack team of campaign consultants still on the City payroll can figure out a way to hold off the rain and delay the Pier until after the election, his honor may be in for some tough sledding.

I am starting my annual round of neighborhood association meetings and so far, when the Mayor is not around the comments are very negative.

By the way, if you would like to have me speak or be on a panel at your Neighborhood Association meeting give me a call at my office 727-545-9269. Otherwise, I may show up and sit quietly in the back of the room.

E-mail Doc at mail to: dr.gwebb@yahoo.com or send me a Facebook (Gene Webb) Friend request. Be sure to follow me on Pintrest (Doc Webb),  Like or share on Facebook and follow me on TWITTER  @DOC ON THE BAY

See Doc's Photo Gallery at Bay Post Photos.

Please comment below.

Disclosures:

Thursday, December 21, 2017

What’s the real problem with Kriseman’s Chief of Staff Kevin King? November 2017

It is easy to get roiled up over King’s past behavior but to me, there is a much more serious concern.


December 18, 2017 through December 29, 2017 I am reposting the most viewed  articles from 2017 This one is from November 2017

St. Petersburg, Fl
Opinion by: E. Eugene Webb PhD
Author: In Search of Robin, So You Want to Blog


As the Rick Baker Campaign and his Political Action Committee raised the spector of Kevin King’s past, the emphasis seemed to be more on what King did in contrast to how that impacts the present circumstances.

I have had only two dealings with Kriseman’s Chief of staff.

The first was a telephone interview that went terribly wrong following this Post:  Sunday  December 22, 2013 Kriseman and King - Will it work?  right after he was appointed  as Kriseman’s Chief of Staff and resulted in this Post A Not So Casual Conversation with Kevin King.

The second was a very unpleasant confrontation at the first Pride event after Kriseman’s election when I was taking some background pictures. King, who is notoriously camera shy, confronted me as to why I was taking pictures, asked me if my retirement was paid by the City (it is not) and wanted to know where my “money” came from. All of this in front of my wife who was accompanying me. I just laughed at him turned around and walk away and then turned back and shot a few more frames.

As the Kriseman administration wore on my former coworkers, and managers would simply roll their eyes when I asked about King, but the official response was “no comment, or simply you cannot trust him.

It is easy to get roiled up over King’s past behavior but to me, there is a much more serious concern.

Rick Kriseman is a seasoned political veteran, and he knows King is a liability.

When I questioned Kriseman before the 2013 election about Kevin King, he became openly angry and threatening when I brought up the King issue.

Why would you drag along an ill-tempered ticking time bomb if your goal was a successful political career?

So, what is the relationship between these two?

There have been a lot of calls for King/Kriseman to open the Records on King’s Juvenile sex solicitation charges, but I am not sure that would do any real good.

Some much more revealing questions would be:

Who was King’ s attorney of Record?

Kriseman and King spent a lot of time in Tallahassee together. What lobbyists did they work with? Where did they hang out?

In the interim between Kriseman’s stint in the Legislature and his election to the Mayor’s office what was Kevin King doing, and was he on Kriseman’s payroll?

I could go on.

The issue here is not about Kevin King it is all about Rick Kriseman’s character.

This whole mess shows the true face of Kriseman’s competency and honesty. Kevin King now oversees an area where would not be hired, he is only there because his buddy is the Mayor.

King should have never been added to the City Staff, he should never have become a parked political operative on the taxpayer’s dime and to put him in charge of educational policy goes further than ignoring the public’s Pier pick. It is like standing on the steps of City hall and giving every St. Pete citizen and parent the finger.

·         King’s actions are abdominal, but Kriseman made the decision to put him on the City Payroll.

·         King made the decision to solicit juveniles, but Kriseman made the decision to put him in charge of educational policy.

·         King typifies everything that is wrong with local government: privileged, over paid, protected, incompetent, and morally unfit for the job.

But, he is Kriseman’s guy and if Kriseman gets reelected you get four more years of Kevin King, four more years of lies, and don’t bother to express your opinion, because they just don’t care.

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Disclosures: Contributor to Rick Baker for Mayor Campaign

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