Opinion 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. 

Do black lives matter or do all lives matter? The divisive rhetoric coming from our president and his administration is having a terrible effect on our country. This dishonesty has driven some to resort to terrorist activities and murder. The man that was supposed to reconcile our differences has fostered division. I long for those that want us to live in peace and love our neighbors as ourselves.

We have a new retail store in Navarre at Palm Harbour Plaza across from Publix – Wave Outfitters.    They are a family owned company that has been open about a month.   Their grand opening is this Saturday from 11 a.m. until 7 p.m. with food and prizes. Wave Outfitters carry a lot of brands that you would normally have to drive 30 or more miles down the road to find.   One brand I like is TASC because it is made from Cellulose bamboo fibers. I’m not sure how – but it is a great-feeling fabric. Outfitters also have Pelagic, Southern Marsh, Southern Tide, Kavu and more. They also have SUP boards.  See the story about the family’s move from Georgia and more on Page A3.

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.

This week we say goodbye to our newfound and reluctant reporter Jon Crider who is leaving us for medical school at the University of Mississippi. We tried to talk him out of it, but his response was perfect, of course. He said they haven’t discovered a cure for cancer yet and there was important research being pursued on other diseases.  So, he is going to have to leave us for the greater good of all mankind – or something like that.  I believe, if he really wanted to follow his heart, and money was no object, that he would stay. However – I know neither to be true, so he is physically leaving the area. However… (to be read dot, dot, dot) he is still writing one more story and it is going to be a-w-e-s-o-m-e when that story is ready for prime time. In fact, it might actually be good enough for prime time – in a TV movie special. Do they still do those?

Do black lives matter or do all lives matter? The divisive rhetoric coming from our president and his administration is having a terrible effect on our country. This dishonesty has driven some to resort to terrorist activities and murder. The man that was supposed to reconcile our differences has fostered division. I long for those that want us to live in peace and love our neighbors as ourselves.

What have these two concepts yielded for the average American? We have been practicing a world view for the last 30 years resulting in the degradation of the middle class. If a world-view candidate is elected president, our standard of living will continue to degrade. The current democratic candidate for president has a world view. Like the British, I think a change is in order.

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. 

Regarding the “Pokemon Go” craze – I guess you can tell that we incorporated the theme throughout. The first I noticed something was going on was when I saw people walking down Palafox in Pensacola Friday night with their heads in their phones barely looking up to cross the many crosswalks. Then I noticed some young men walking around the yard at our office with their heads in their phones. They were very excited when I asked them to come inside the office and talk to me about Pokemon. And then, I realized, that was too easy. What if I were a weirdo? OK – I know what some of you just thought…that I am a weirdo.  OK – I’m just abnormal – and proud of it.  Who would want to be normal anyway?  Back to Pokemon Go…I liked one Facebook post that said – how about…”Pokemon Go…do something useful, Pokemon Go pick up trash on the beach and more.  And then there was a text I received this morning from my daughter at 12:15 a.m. that said that she and her husband were in Navarre Park playing Pokemon Go.  You will read in the story how Navarre Park is the Pokemon Go place to be.  Some lucky businesses were able to be special places for the game such as Johnny Huston’s and Lewis Funeral home. We had a few jokes around here about how people would show up at funerals to catch characters in Pokemon – but then they didn’t sound so funny.  When you have to write stories about perps, creeps, and offenders on a regular basis – your humor does get a little warped. We did take a family walk last night to try to catch some Pokemon characters – so there is a positive side to the game. I haven’t downloaded it to my phone – and I don’t plan to. But, that’s just me.  I just will be busy keeping my eyes open for gamers who aren’t looking at where they are going.

Nicely written opinion on 7 July, “Trespassing on peace?” Your response was well-reasoned and reasonable. Christan Bowen’s primary problem was poking at a straw man – a weak but very flammable target.