(Mike note: We’re going a little longer than usual today. Special subject. I appreciate your indulgence.) The first time I set eyes on Sequel House was 25 years ago or so. My friend, the late Mary Craven, lived in this little shack on the lake outside Wallace Brooks Park in Inverness and invited me over one day. I instantly fell in love with the house, the property — the whole nine yards. Until Mary moved out, I’d drop by occasionally to sit in the yard to write. Everyone has challenges and today this is mine: Write 700 words about the Citrus County Leadership Summit without boring readers by the second paragraph. Yet, I shall endeavor. Here goes nothin’: Plenty to talk about from Tuesday’s county commission meeting while digesting the classic Citrus County Fair elephant ear/hot dog/ice cream combo: — The LifeStream Baker Act campus has taken yet another turn. Here’s your weird question of the day: What’s a county commissioner’s job? Talk with commissioners over the years and they’ll answer that question with a lot of busy work. And busy work it is. Welcome to the first day of another busy government week. Fresh off an invigorating two days of hobnobbing with political higher-ups on the state level, Citrus County commissioners meet Tuesday with a loaded agenda, including the fate of the LifeStream Baker Act contract. Can't let the week close without talking about my Monday with Meals on Wheels. This month is March for Meals, which commemorates the program’s 51 years of delivering meals to seniors. This year’s focus calls attention to hunger with the elderly and making sure folks are aware of the Meals on Wheels program. TALLAHASSEE — Haven’t done that in a while. A dateline, I mean. It was pretty common in my newspaper days when traveling to type in a dateline. It lets readers know immediately the geographic source of the story. Hey it’s Wednesday so let’s talk about former Commissioner Scott Carnahan. Where to begin. Oh, I guess with the news: Kristin Demers, the former county budget director who sued the county in 2021 over Carnahan’s alleged offensive behavior, is settling for $60,000. Some of my more gut-wrenching Chronicle stories took place during boom times. These were about people who paid builders tens of thousands of dollars for their new homes, only to learn they were on the hook because builders didn’t pay subcontractors or suppliers. |
AuthorMike Wright has written about Citrus County government and politics for 36 years. Archives
September 2024
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