Editorial Archive

Numerous articles in Navarre Press over the past year and few months have highlighted the pains endured and discord with the Board of County Commissioners that continues to plague the all-volunteer advisory Tourist Development Council.  The Legislature-mandated council is made up of tourism stake-holders as required by Florida Statute 125.0104.  While the statute allows for a minimum of quarterly meetings by the council, the Santa Rosa Tourist Development Council has met monthly in the past.  But recently the TDC and Board of County Commissioners have been at odds.  Even in June 2015, Commissioner Rob Williamson wanted to revisit the ordinance that established the TDC, making some members wonder if he were trying to redefine their roles. 

Where there is light, there is nowhere to hide.  Only the shadows and darkness can hold the secrets.  Where there is a window, you can see through to the other side to observe what is happening there.  The same is true in business and government.  When you shine a light on the issues, the corrupt have no place to hide so they run to darkness lest they be exposed.  They pull down the shades and close the blinds so that there is no looking in.  Why?  There must be a lot to hide.

The past two weeks have been truly tragic for police officers, the protectors of our communities.  In the most recent highly publicized cases, the force as a whole lost five officers in Dallas and three in Baton Rouge.  But the total loss for the month of July nationwide so far is 17.  We know about eight of those, but what follows are the names you probably haven’t heard. 

The United States of America has been in precarious positions before, but it seems lately things are not turning as they should.  Something is out of balance, or as we would say in the south, out of whack.  The list of what is out of whack is long and disturbing.  To name a few, a satanic group will deliver a satanic invocation at the next City of Pensacola meeting in an effort by the council to be fair across religious boundaries, a spotlight shines on law enforcement and their use of force and sometimes deadly force with black lives (not all lives), a sniper shot and killed five police officers in Dallas during a Black Lives Matter rally in what appears to be retaliation for black people who have lost their lives at the hands of deputies, former secretary of state and now presidential candidate sent classified and top-secret emails on an unsecured server at her house and is deemed reckless by the head of the FBI yet no charges are filed and no consequences are delivered, we are at war with Islamic extremists in our own country and abroad.  We are a nation under siege by both ourselves and others. 

Santa Rosa’s roughly 130,000 voters will have the opportunity to cast their ballots for a variety of state candidates, county officials and local-option sales taxes Aug. 30 in the county’s primary election.

Our flag has many names, the most popular being “The Stars and Stripes.” No one knows whence that name came. In 1814 Francis Scott Key called it “The Star Spangled Banner.” Ten years later William Driver, a sea captain from Salem, Mass., my birthplace (FYI Salem is the ancient name for Jerusalem which Obama and Kerry advocate dividing – sacrilege, but that’s another story!) named it “Old Glory.” I love it! My heart is stirred whenever I see her displayed, often bringing tears to my eyes! Would to God all Americans felt the same. Sad to say, some are still disrespectful, burning it even recently at political events. Shame, shame!

“IN CONGRESS, JULY 4, 1776. THE UNANIMOUS DECLARATION OF THE THIRTEEN UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

Little by little, piece by piece our liberty seems to be stripping away.  It happens so gradually that we don’t even notice it until it’s too late.  It’s likened to parents who see their little toddler every day and don’t see the gradual growth, but someone who hasn’t seen the child in a while is stunned by the growth.  The changes taking place in our nation seem subtle, until we take a hard look at them – and then we are stunned.

Arguing that no full-time worker should be paid so little as to live in poverty, Bernie Sanders supports increasing the minimum wage to $15 per hour by 2020. This is part of his plan for reducing income inequality in the United States. Unfortunately, raising the minimum wage, especially by such a large amount, will reduce the incomes of many low-wage workers by making fewer jobs available.

While we were sleeping, the wolf was at our door in the early morning hours Sunday.  It is being ranked as the deadliest mass shooting in United States history.  An act of terrorism, an act of hate, or maybe both.  The shooting in Orlando at a gay nightclub has left the state of Florida and certainly the U.S. mourning the loss of 49 people.  A single event made up of a hundred tragedies, each with a story, a face, a life, and a family.  All left to mourn, grieve, and for some to heal their physical wounds.  The FBI is investigating this as a terror attack, as the shooter, whose name will not be mentioned here, had both a leaning toward radical Islam and according to his father, a hatred for gays.  He was equipped, according to reports, with a suicide vest and guns.