It's a cozy view from the press box

Haven’t done this in a while:

Watched a County Commission meeting from the press box.

That’s what I call the table alongside the wall next to the board dais. The Chronicle’s Mike Bates sits there; he has 120 witnesses every meeting that he’s working his tail off.

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The county set it up some years ago, and for the life of me, I can’t recall the circumstances. I’m pretty sure I didn’t ask for it, though I was happy to have a press table once again.

It’d been a bit. Back in the day, four daily newspapers served Citrus County. Then, as it is now, the County Commission was the big game in town. The Board meeting room on the second floor of the Courthouse had a desk right up front for all of us reporters, close enough to the commissioners that we could see them sweat. Now, let me tell you. THAT was a press box.

As commission chambers moved about, the press box got lost in the shuffle. I grew accustomed to writing from the audience, or a hallway, or anywhere with an outlet.

Even on my Tallahassee trips, I steered clear of the press box in the House and Senate. Though I did use the Miami Herald’s phone to transmit a story off my old Radio Shack Tandy Model 100, a classic dinosaur with couplers, like sending a dispatch from the jungle. (The Miami Herald was unaware of my using its phone, so don’t tell ‘em, OK?)

So, back to Citrus County. I do recall the first time sitting in the new press box. I didn’t like it. Just didn’t fit my style of how I cover board meetings. I mean…it’s very convenient, and a table is great for writing. 

But I sit in the back of the room for a reason. One is practical: There’s an outlet on the pillar that the county installed at my request many years ago. The other is strategic: I watch and hear everything. Commissioners, staffers, citizens — I get a pretty good idea what’s happening from that rear seat.

Tuesday was the first time I recall ever needing it. The room was filled for the data center moratorium, so I was grateful for the press box.  And, I must say, it’s easier to write on a table than balancing the laptop on my knees.

The press box is next to the dais where Commissioner Holly Davis sits. We exchanged a few smiles Tuesday, which was nice.

Oh, and now I suppose you want to know how it went. Some highlights:

— Chair Diana Finegan ran a great meeting. She told people she’d hold them to the allotted time to speak and no cheering, and that’s exactly what she did. Diana set the tone immediately and never wavered.

— The data center moratorium vote was unanimous. Boy, these five needed something to put them on the same side with the public, and they found it. Of course, citizens will expect nothing but the most restrictive data center ordinance possible, as they should, from a board many see as wildly pro-development. 

Everyone left happy. Devil is in the details, so we’ll see where this goes.

— The county’s economic development director, Steve Baham, is resigning for another job in Pensacola. At Commissioner Rebecca Bays’ suggestion, the board will keep the position open the rest of the year and allow County Administrator Steve Howard to temporarily fill that role.

There was also talk of a hiring freeze that’ll come back at the next meeting.

—Full disclosure: I finished the day in my regular seat so I could plug in the laptop. Details are important.

— Commissioner Jeff Kinnard wants the county to end, sooner rather than later, its lawsuit against Right Rudder Aviation regarding the Inverness Airport operation. He was rather, um, animated about it.

I kinda lost interest in Right Rudder from a blog perspective once the two sides ended up in court, so I haven’t really kept up with it. But, wow, something about that case lit a fire under Kinnard.

When Bays said she’d bring it back at the next meeting as an agenda item to drop the lawsuit, I heard Kinnard mutter, “Hallelujah!”

That’s it from World Headquarters III. Have a wonderful Wednesday, friends.

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