 Oh, yeah. I had another idea.
Because spearheading the One for All conversation isn’t enough, and Bunny only occupies 23 hours of my day, I’m ready to introduce something first hatched two decades ago: Writing a sequel to “Back Home.” I know, I know. That’s quite an undertaking. After all, “Back Home” is…is…what are you talking about Mike?  Nothing makes my day like government geeky stuff.
And few places provide it more than the Citrus County Property Appraiser’s Office. It’s not that Cregg Dalton is geeky (though he is a little). It’s that the office is chock full of data and trends, and it’s attracted my attention for as long as I’ve been around these parts.  It’s Wednesday, so let’s dish.
— Tell me if this is odd: The state recently spent $1.3 million to resurface several sections of the Withlacoochee State Trail in and around Inverness. The one section it did NOT resurface is the portion that cuts past Wallace Brooks Park and the Depot District. That seemed sorta strange to me. It’s easily the most traversed trail section in Citrus County. How is it possible this section doesn’t require resurfacing, when the less traveled sections do?  “There is a principle which is a bar against all information, which cannot fail to keep a man in everlasting ignorance — that principle is contempt prior to investigation.” — Herbert Spencer.
One thing I’ve always said about Citrus County is we are an opinionated bunch. I recall very early in my Chronicle career when we first introduced Sound Off. No one was doing that, allowing nameless opinion in the newspaper.  Happy Monday! We welcome the return of warm weather with a little tale of yesteryear.
I was once banned from Beverly Hills. It was the early 1990s. Something was happening between residents and the developer. I don’t recall the details, but I wrote a story for the Chronicle that angered an organization so deeply that the president typed a letter to the editor saying I was no longer welcome at their meetings.  Heard something the other day that really frosted my buns.
A community leader, someone in a position of respect, a woman of great means, and she’s complaining about the homeless. Same old routine: They’re lazy, they want to live in the woods, they have no accountability, they refuse help unless it’s a handout. And that was the nice stuff.  Started. Stopped. Started again. Stopped again. Restarted. Stopped. Took Bunny for a walk. Stared at the screen. Wrote a sentence. Deleted it. Stared some more.
Welcome to my Wednesday, the most difficult day to write. My brain is pancake batter at this point. Plus, with the cold, Bunny is the whiny little kid who can’t go out and play.  It’s Wednesday, so let’s talk about the panda.
Lecanto’s very own “sedition panda,” Jesse Rumson, was among the 1,500 Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol rioters who now taste freedom thanks to our new recycled president. Jesse technically didn’t receive a pardon because he wasn't sentenced. While a federal judge declared him guilty of various charges, including assault, he’s not considered “convicted” until after sentencing. Whatever.  Happy Tuesday! Few things on my mind wondering why Biden/Trump didn’t issue a blanket pardon for us all…
— The County Commission has a strategic planning workshop in the morning … and I can see the glassy eyes already. I’m geeky about this stuff, so please humor me.  Happy Monday! I stared at the screen for 30 minutes Sunday afternoon wondering how to broach today’s subject.
Then I decided just to dive right in. Had a Cattle Dog chat the other day with a bright young man of color. He’s in his 40s, moved to Citrus County a year ago from a medium-sized city for job reasons, and is quite successful in his chosen field. |
AuthorMike Wright has written about Citrus County government and politics for 36 years. 
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