 Monday morning’s opening of the Suncoast Parkway brought a few dozen folks to the ribbon cutting ceremony, but frankly it wasn’t the large crowd I expected.
And you know something? That's good.  Let's bury certain words and phrases.
"IF the Suncoast Parkway comes to Citrus County…" "WHEN the parkway comes to Citrus County…"  Hey it’s dress-down Friday so let’s talk about employee morale.
It’s just fine here at Just Wright Citrus, thanks for asking. At the county, not so sure.  The first time I showed up at a government meeting and thought, “hey, this is somewhat interesting,” the topic was zoning.
I don’t recall the particulars. I was attending Central Michigan University, working for the student newspaper CM Life, writing about the city of Mount Pleasant, where CMU is located.  A bunch of people showed up Tuesday night to let Citrus County commissioners know they don’t like one thing about the turnpike extension idea.
And after two hours of public comment, commissioners said the public gave them something to think about.  We’ve been talking for 30 years in this county about growth and what that might look like.
Well, now we get to see it every day in slow motion on State Road 44, U.S. 19, and the main streets of Crystal River and Inverness.  Stay in this business long enough, you’re going to make a few enemies.
Since I write about politics, most folks who have found disfavor with me over the years were politicians.  Years ago I had a job interview at another newspaper. It went well, seemed like a good fit and all, until I asked about the dress code.
“It’s pretty casual here,” the editor said, “so long as you don’t look like you’re going to the beach.”  Enough of this turnpike/parkway talk already! Let’s have a nice, quiet Thursday and discuss something not quite so confrontational.
Politics. Ron Kitchen politics.  All this turnpike extension talk is making Citrus County residents more than a little stressed about a toll road plowing through their house.
Let's pump the brakes on that for a minute. |
AuthorMike Wright has written about Citrus County government and politics for 35 years. Archives
March 2023
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