 Blame today’s extremely dull photo on the Rays playing an afternoon game on TV, which disrupted by writing rhythm, which led to rushing the blog to get it done in time for church, and then the post-church rewrite, and the next thing it’s 11 p.m. and we're staring at a bad photo of campaign signs.
We may now begin. Candidate financial reports are due Friday, and every Friday after that leading to the Aug. 20 primary. Most of the reports are in this week ahead of the deadline.  It wasn’t always this easy.
Voting, I mean. Voting wasn’t always so easy. During my young political reporting days, the ONLY way to cast a ballot on anything but Election Day required an affidavit of unavailability. That’s where the term “absentee” came from.  Heard recently from a Citrus County Republican operative.
“Have you seen the sample ballots?” she asked. I had not. Was there some race that jumped in without anyone knowing? Yes and no.  Good morning and happy Monday!
I’ve been wracking my brain — I’m sure you have as well — trying to figure out why this year’s County Commission races didn’t attract the competition I expected. Two years ago, both County Commission races were competitive featuring candidates with a depth of knowledge about Citrus and the challenges it faces.  This is an easy blog that I agonized for hours to get just right.
Today’s subject won’t be surprised by the attention. We talked about it some to know ahead of time what I can get away with. There’s much to unpack here, as you’ll see in a minute.  Warning off the bat: Going full government geek today.
The County Commission had its budget public hearing Wednesday morning to set the 2024-25 tax rate. I decided to attend, taking notes on my phone looking for any nuggets of interest. I found quite a few. — First, the official stuff. It’s a $132.7 million general fund budget that keeps the tax rate the same as this year: 8.9302 mills.  Ramblings from Tuesday’s County Commission meeting that I admittedly watched from the comfort of Just Wright Citrus World Headquarters on the shores of Big Lake Henderson:
— Gov. Ron DeSantis’ “Free State of Florida” has snagged another victim. A woman approached commissioners Tuesday with a terrible tale of woe since relocating a year ago from the “Communist State of New York” (her words) to the Sunshine State.  Happy Tuesday! Feeling around 40% healthy, so let’s just dive right in.
“Jack of Hearts (and Other Parts),” a book that Commissioner Diana Finegan labeled pornography, is banned from the Citrus County Library System. “Jack” was one of 26 books temporarily removed from the shelves while Library Director Adam Chang reviews them for appropriateness. A Floral City man wants all 26 bumped because their subject matter is of the LGTBQ variety.  When it rains, it pours.
Spent the weekend in bed with the stomach flu from hell. That means my idea for today’s blog is out the window, as is my second idea. Both of those ideas require a mindset I can’t generate at the moment. You know what that means: Scenic photo of the Withlacoochee River and random thoughts.  Good morning, Citrus County.
As week’s go this one was terrible. Buddy’s loss is devastating, worse than I could ever imagine. He was so much a part of my life and this blog for the last six months, it’s inconceivable that he’s gone so quickly. On Thursday afternoon, I packed up Buddy’s remaining food and took it to the Animal Shelter. Afterward, I sat in my car and sobbed. |
AuthorMike Wright has written about Citrus County government and politics for 36 years. 
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