Something fishy at Pirates Cove

Full disclosure: I wouldn’t know a redfish if it swam into World Headquarters III and fixed me lunch.

But a mess of ‘em are getting released Saturday morning at Pirates Cove in Ozello as part of a fundraiser for the new park.

Commissioner Jeff Kinnard, who spearheaded the county’s purchase of Pirates Cove, came up with the "Adopt-a-redfish" idea. It’s fairly basic: Businesses paid $100 to sponsor a fish; each one is tagged with a phone number for anglers to call for a gift worth a minimum of $50 from that sponsoring business.

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They’re releasing 100 redfish at 9 a.m. Saturday. The public is invited.

I took a drive out there Wednesday and walked the property. The county intends to use as few tax dollars to develop this park as possible; hence, the fishy fundraiser.

Also in my wandering mind…

— Big crowd is expected this morning for the Deltona data center public hearing in Lecanto. I rarely predict zoning cases, but I don’t see any way this thing gets even a single yes vote from the Planning and Development Commission. 

Remember, the PDC is a preliminary step. Even if they vote it down, the final decision rests with the County Commission.

Data centers sound like they came from Frankenstein’s laboratory. Requires the power of a small city! Suck a community dry with its water consumption! Low-frequency humming will drive neighbors insane! Only a few humans on site! The whole thing has an eerie feel to it.

Other than the fact that the techno geeks say we need data centers to store all the, um, data, I have not heard a single reason why any community would welcome these things.

Politically, candidates will fall over themselves proclaiming anti-data center positions. While I appreciate that, it’s not exactly a contentious issue. Data centers are a gift to County Commission candidates, especially the non-incumbents, should they opt to take it.

(A trickier situation…candidates who say they would “ban” data centers in Citrus County. Ask them how that’s legal.)

Here’s another thing data centers bring to the election season: Voters. A broad-based issue like data centers, one that resonates not just locally but, well, everywhere, draws in people who normally wouldn’t partake in political activity. Many of those newcomers will find something else of interest in their local government and thus become more informed.

A person who went about his daily life six months ago now attends anti-data center rallies. This is exactly how a participatory electorate is born.

For that, we thank data centers.

(Deltona sent a letter to the county late Wednesday asking the County Commission to delay its public hearing until the second meeting in November. Deltona said it doesn’t know the “potential impact” of the property tax amendment. Important to note that Deltona isn’t requesting a delay from the PDC, only the County Commission, so today’s hearing goes on as scheduled.)

— My friends know I'm a little off the beam. Of course, it’s somewhat Deb-related. July is a huge month. July 3, July 4, July 6, July 13, July 26 — all significant dates for the two of us. July was pretty much our month. I’ll explain later, but it’s already dragging me down some.

I’m trying to live in the day and not two weeks from now. Geez, stuff just appears, you know? I’m thinking back 17 years ago to a new love on the verge of being discovered. The memory has me sad and out of sorts.

First-year milestones, my goodness. They’re absolutely heart-wrenching. If you know someone in this situation, keep an eye on him/her, OK? It can get dark in a hurry.

That said, it’s absolutely beautiful in our community these days, isn’t it? So much to see and experience right outside the front door.

Yay, Thursday! Make it the best one ever, friends.

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