The Mayors Accomplishments...No this is not a joke, or is it?

[Diane Melendez]

I have to say I greatly admire the efforts of Mary Palka at the TU to put this story together. She was given a difficult task which was to write a lead story on Peyton's accomplishments.

The article titled "Peyton Progress Report, What he did, what's left to do was meant to show where Peyton has taken this city in his first four years. As expected the answer is not too far. But you gotta hand it to his spin department, they really tried hard to make a whole lotta nothing sound like something. LOL He had if you remember six guiding principles to his platform.

One was "Increased Public Safety". Now under this heading, the administration points out that he "COMMITTED" 5 million in overtime for the JSO. Pay attention people to the word "COMMITTED" it does not actually mean they got the money. It just means "HE SAID" they would get the money. Now the administration also failed to point out that the Mayor had already cut the Sheriffs budget by over three million prior to this, so he was already operating short. They also fail to mention that this money was not committed until so many murders that had gone basically ignored by this administration caught up with him in the form a an eight year old murdered girl named DreShawna Davis He was forced by community pressure to act. Any committed funds came as a result of that, not because he was keeping a promise.

Next comes "Increase Early Literacy" This one is really good. First he claims he started Rally Jacksonville (a big fat lie), it was already started before he came along. But wait, this is soooo good. He managed to give away over a million books (most with himself as the main character) and then, yes here comes the big one.....He launced "baby Rally Initiative" for newborns. You know, all those newborns who can read....well they can't so he gave out a bunch of "sippy cups" and "bibs". But it does sound impressive when you use the word "Iniative" in the title doesn't it?

His other four platform issues were "Boost Economic Opportunity, Rehab Housing and Downtown, Streamline Government, Enhance Quality of life. Now these programs he...he....cough, choke, chuckle, snort.......GUFFAW!!!! I can't I just cant. Read them for yourselves. I am sure it is online. I just can't take anymore......

[vinyasa]

It's pathetic. Baby Rally Initiative!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We have babies being born that do not even have a crib to come home to and he wants to give them a book? Gimme a break.

[Diane Melendez]

We have the highest infant mortality rate in the state along with untold amounts of babies born drug addicted or with aids. Others will be beat to death. But we give the infants of Jax bibs and sippy cups.

[jbm32206]

Peyton's administration is a joke, at the cost of all of us!

[spidey]

TU Opinion
Originally created 070807

Leadership to-do list

By The Times-Union

As Mayor John Peyton moves into his second term, he faces a continuation of the financial struggles that marked his first term.

There is no question that the city faces severe losses of revenue, and that the mayor must lead city government toward more efficiencies. His experience in private business has never been more important.

Nevertheless, even without large sources of new revenues, the strong mayor form of government gives the mayor of Jacksonville great powers to rally support in the community.

Here are some major issues that deserve the mayor's leadership:

Lifting up the underclass: Attention given to the county's high murder rate has caused the community to realize that many murders are fed by low-income areas that have been too often forgotten. It is difficult to exaggerate the differences.

For instance, four inner-city council districts, part of the old core city, had 49 murders in the first six months of the year, reported State Attorney Harry Shorstein. Four suburban council districts had 2.

More emphasis on prevention is the only way to make a significant dent in the unnecessary loss of life.

Suicide prevention: Too many unnecessary losses of life occur here. In a typical year, more lives are lost to suicide than murders. Yet, the community as a whole has not confronted the issue.

Clean up the river: The mayor has led an effort to raise money to clean up the river. But much more can be done. As the St. Johns Riverkeeper recently documented, the state Department of Regulation (that should read "the state Department of Environmental Protection" :spidey:) can do a better job of enforcing the laws on the books. The city should not be a bystander.

Consolidation: During the next two years, Jacksonville will be marking 40th anniversaries connected with the historic combination of city and county governments. The mayor should seek to remove examples of empire-building and redundancies that fly in the face of consolidation.

He also should play a role in supporting more oversight for local government. Specifically, more independence is needed for the Charter Revision Commission, the Ethics Commission and the City Council Auditor's Office.

Move on the courthouse: Somehow, someway, the new courthouse needs to be built. Yes, the courthouse is snakebit, but the costs keep escalating during the delays.

Downtown waterfront: With the new courthouse in limbo, so is the courthouse and City Hall annex on Bay street. City government buildings should make way for taxpaying private enterprise.

Plan for outer beltway: Northeast Florida has an historic opportunity to build a highway that would not only connect Clay and St. Johns counties, but provide relief for Duval drivers. It would be an economic engine for the suburbs that desperately need to develop jobs. A northern leg would connect Nassau and become a true bypass for Interstate 95. The mayor needs to help rally regional cooperation among the counties and help preserve the routes for the highway before development overwhelms it.

Better planning: This page has documented the backward ways that planning has taken place in Jacksonville. Projects have been approved before fire escape routes are set or environmental concerns are answered.

All the answers should be provided up front, in an open and transparent way, without taking more time. Some of Florida's fastest-growing counties require this.

Affordable housing: As Jacksonville becomes built-out, land for housing becomes more scarce. City government should provide incentives and cut red tape to lure developers to build in the city at rates affordable for working families.

Fate has presented John Peyton with a series of tight budgets.

But there are plenty of opportunities to exercise leadership. Now is the time to establish a legacy.

http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/070807/opi_182761037.shtml

[rpschutt]

They might want to start with a definition of leadership.

[spidey]

Ufrh4: They might want to start with a definition of leadership.


Just in case they couldn't find it, I posted one here. :)

American Heritage Dictionary (http://dictionary.reference.com/help/ahd4.html) - Cite This Source (http://dictionary.reference.com/cite.html?qh=leadership&ia=ahd4)

lead·er·ship (lē'dər-shĭp') n.

The position or office of a leader: ascended to the leadership of the party.
Capacity or ability to lead: showed strong leadership during her first term in office.
A group of leaders: met with the leadership of the nation's top unions.
Guidance; direction: The business prospered under the leadership of the new president.

[rpschutt]

Yeah, as I thought, we are out of luck. The whole capacity or ability to lead thing pretty much hasn't really manifested itself here.

[Ocklawaha]

THE SCIENCE BEHIND THE MASK!


http://images.ibsys.com/2004/1028/3870324.jpg
http://static.flickr.com/44/127676614_2ce347af24_m.jpg

I was just thinking of Peyton and his possible evolutionary ancestry. The Pleistocene period, or last 1 million years is said to have seen the ascendancy of modern man. Funny Stuff! When I figured that Neanderthal Man, was not considered human because he was 22 units mtDNA away from modern man. Obviously, the Mayor (and JTA staff) are thus, not really Neanderthals. Piltdown era, is fuzzy at best, though he or JTA might claim to have invented the Rubber Tire! Next, I considered Cro-Magnon Man, he seems to match the mtDNA almost letter for letter, so it was looking good for Peyton, until I realized many modern humanoids, differ from each other by as much as 24 units mtDNA. So if the early Neanderthal, is 22 units different, making them non-human, but Police Science says we CAN be 24 units different, what does this mean? Well by modern anthropology's definition of a human mtDNA match, might de-humanize as much as 1/5 of the Earth's population. This same scientific approach places the humble Chimpanzee at only 1 unit mtDNA from a modern human. The Orangutan is in similar proximity. This could mean that there is a 23/24Th's% chance that Mister Mayor, is not what he claims to be.

So considering all of the "facts," the mtDNA CAN prove, beyond a doubt that Peyton could not qualify as Neanderthal, Piltdown or Cro-Magnon. Sorry Republicans, he is closer to the Great Apes.

Hey, I didn't make this stuff up you know! Smile.

Ocklawaha

[spidey]

If at first you don't succeed, try, and then try, and then try, and then try....well, you get the idea. ;)



Another try at courthouse


By Charlie Patton,
The Times-Union

Mayor John Peyton is recommending that the contract to design and build the new Duval County Courthouse go to a group led by Turner Construction Co., mayoral spokeswoman Susie Wiles said Tuesday. Turner narrowly lost out on the job last August.
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The Turner proposal must still be approved by a committee that includes city officials and representatives of the court system, Wiles said. Representatives of Turner's group, which includes Technical Construction Services Group and KBJ Architects, will meet with the committee July 19.


http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/071107/met_183632108.shtml

[Diane Melendez]

What a dope!

[Ocklawaha]

Playing with my old B&W camera, I caught an image of one of them on a recent camping trip... Could this be?
http://www.beckjord.com/bigfoot/pfmov.gif

Ocklawaha