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Several homeless reports:

First - My lady Kari found someone’s food stamp card on the ground and took it to the food stamp office in the professional building nearly Kennedy Drive, and they accepted the card and ran it through their shredder despite her plea that they look at their records, determine whose card it was, and call or write the card holder and let the card holder know they had the card. They said, if they did that, they would be accused of using the card, so they had to shred it, which put the card holder to having to reapply for a food stamp card and go hungry meanwhile.

Second - Mail from Kari’s mother in Missouri is taking over a week to be put into Kari’s P.O. Box in the U.S. Post Office station in the Winn-Dixie shopping center, because, she was told by one of the postal clerks the other day, they are shorthanded and it sometimes takes days to put up mail after it is received there.

Third - Regarding the attempt of two homeless people, Kari and me, to stop the cruise ship Norwegian Pearl’s LOUD “wood dock” rock concert at the Truman Waterfront outer mole pier this past Saturday, as reported in the In search of the pearl beyond price through optical illusions: attending church regularly; US wannabe presidents; Key West Peary Court referendum; Norwegian Pearl Ambrosia Electric Light rock concert at Truman Waterfront shut down by city code enforcement for breaking city sound ordinance, then Key West and US Navy police had to be called in as back up to drive away the gods of noise ship and restore the peace and quiet again post at goodmorningkeywest.com, a friend of mine who hangs out at Fort Zachary Taylor State Park during the day said his Saturday was ruined by the noise blasting from that cruise ship, and he watched a number of people leave the park because of the noise. Several park rangers told Kari and me that they did not like the noise. Kari, who is a horse whisperer, said the noise clearly was disturbing the horses at the police stable next to the park. Last night, after the Truman Waterfront Advisory Board meeting concluded in Old City Hall, I talked with former city commissioner Bill Verge, who tends to the retired U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Ingram at Truman Waterfront. Bill said he tried to get the noise stopped, and the city was unresponsive. He said cruise ships have an agreement with the city that they will not use speakers that project sound from the boat to the pier and the city, but the agreement is not enforced. He said the noise ruined the afternoon sunset gathering he has daily at the Ingram. He said he thought this photo, which he took a few years ago of a friend on the Ingram, pretty well expressed his own sentiments.

Fourth - Kari’s and my homeless friend, Rick Roberts, who has an incurable life-threatening medical problem caused by low blood flow and is on Social Security disability, is again in the hospital on Stock Island, battling a life-threatening MRSA infection he says he contracted at the city’s homeless shelter, which, on advice of his physicians, he no longer uses because it is too medically dangerous for him to be there. I have been telling Rick he needs to stay in the hospital under a constant antibiotic IV drip for at least a month, if he hopes to kill the MRSA infection. Neither he, nor the doctors, have seemed happy with doing it that way. Yesterday, another homeless friend of Kari and me told us that the only way he was able to be cured of MRSA, was to be under a super pack antibiotic drip for a month in the same hospital. Google image MRSA to see what a terrible things it is. It’s pandemic in Key West and the Florida Keys. It’s in the ocean. If you get a cut on your skin and enter the ocean, you could end up with MRSA. All local divers and local physicians know this. Local physicians treat MRSA ongoing in their mainstream patients. It’s not just a homeless disease.

Anyway, Rick, aka Raccoon, emailed me something yesterday, which seemed in sync with political currents large and small:

Raccoon here…

One more day in the cage. Then I’ll be a “free range” raccoon again….

A political song for the times…

You have to have a party
When you’re in a state like this
You can really move it all
You have to vote and change

You have to get right out of it
Like out of all this mess
You’ll say yeah to anything
If you believe all this but

Don’t cry, don’t do anything
No lies, back in the government
No tears, party time is here again
President gas is up for president

Line up, put your kisses down
Say yeah, say yes again
Stand up, there’s a head count
President gas on everything but roller skates

It’s sick the price of medicine
Stand up, we’ll put you on your feet again
Open up your eyes just to check that your asleep again
President gas is president gas again

He comes in from the left sometimes, he comes in from the right
It’s so heavily advertised that he wants you and I
It’s a real cowboy set, electric company
Every day is happy days it’s hell without the sin, but

Don’t cry, don’t do anything
No lies, back in the government
No tears, party time is here again
President gas is up for president

Line up, put your kisses down
Say yeah, say yes again
Stand up, there’s a head count
President gas on everything but roller skates

It’s sick the price of medicine
Stand up, we’ll put you on your feet again
Open up your eyes just to check that your asleep again
President gas is president gas again

President gas
Oh, president gas
President gas

Read more: Psychedelic Furs - President Gas Lyrics | MetroLyrics

Amiga Christine Russell replied to the Peary Court workfarce housing referendum part of yesterday’s Some leap days don’t know whether to shit or go blind: The Donald/Klu Klux Klan Grand Dragon David Duke tango; Key West Peary Court communist PAC; true love Cole Porter and Pink post at goodmorningkewyest.com:

Hey Sloan - when I read your comments today: “Maybe the solution is for people who cannot afford to live here to move away, the local businesses who depend on those workers go out of business, pressure on rental housing falls, rents fall, that’s the capitalistic (free market ) solution.”

I thought of a recent article I read on Republic Airlines who filed for bankruptcy because they could not find enough employees (pilots to fly their planes).

Many residents in KW think we have too many people here on the island. Too many tourists, too many businesses needing too many employees (just imagine when 2 big hotels open on Stock Is and a possible Walmart comes!) So when there is no place for the employees to live the businesses would suffer from lack of hired help - just like Republic Airlines - and fail would they not? Would that be a bad thing? It could scale back the island to a manageable size. Maybe bring a better quality of life back to residents? Maybe they would be able to drive on the roads and find parking.

It seems KW never met a tourist or business they did not fall in love with and think they were now dependent upon. Long term businesses should be most concerned about the seemingly unbridled stream of tourists and businesses. Tourism MUST be managed. Let’s talk about the unacceptable number of all these HUGE tour buses on our little Old Town streets. Let’s talk crusie ships - I think we had 3 in port today! Didn’t we talk about ‘managing’ tourism back in the channel widening days, instead of tourism dictating to us what it will be and ruining our little island.

I went up to Key Largo Saturday for Kay Thacker’s memorial/celebration of her life. I have never in my life seen such non-stop, bumper to bumper traffic south bound on US 1. Something HAS to be done! Will something be done?

Maybe lack of housing for employees will eventually regulate (the free market at work!) and stave off the further destruction of the Keys with business failings just like Republic Airlines.

Here is that article. There are those who will say they were over-regulated by government. But sometimes you have to try and regulate or legislate intelligence….when stupidity and greed are running wild!

Christine

Major Airlines’ Regional Partner, Republic Airways, Files For Bankruptcy Over Pilot Shortage

Two years ago, regional airlines warned that new regulations, higher costs of school, and lower salaries had led to a shortage of pilotsfor the companies that typically handle the smaller, regional routes for larger airlines. Now, one short-haul carrier says that lack of pilots is the reason it’s filed for bankruptcy.
Labor disputes and the loss of up to 40 pilots a month during contract negotiations led Republic Airways — which provides flights for American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and United Continental — to file for bankruptcy Thursday, Forbes reports.
The Indianapolis-based airline, which operates a fleet of 240 small planes, was able to negotiate a new labor contract with employees in October, but that simply wasn’t enough.
“Our filing today is a result of our loss of revenue during the past several quarters associated with grounding aircraft due to a lack of pilot resources, combined with the reality that our negotiating effort with key stakeholders shows no apparent prospect of a near term resolution,” Bryan Bamford, CEO for Republic, said in a statement.
Bloomberg reports that the airline flew just 41 of its 45-seat jets at the end of 2015, parking as many as 80 of its other planes.
In 2015, Republic accounted for 16% of the 3,400 daily regional flights for American Airlines, while its Shuttle America service few about 15% of all Delta Connections.
“We filed with a strong core business and the liquidity resources necessary to carry out our restructuring plan,” Bedford said. “We believe this action will allow us to restore our airline and take it to new heights,” Bamford said in the statement.
Republic says it will continue flight operations during its bankruptcy and restricting plan.
The airline hopes to become “a single fleet, a single operating certificate carrier and one airline with a bright future,” Bamford says

I replied to Christine:

Capitalists hate government bail outs of failed businesses, unless they are the capitalists whose businesses are being bailed out. The free market would solve a lot of the housing crises in Key West, amidst a great deal of pain and suffering. There ain’t no happy solution, and a great deal of responsibility for that falls on developer and realtors and hotel owners and their captured elected local officials, who let developers run wild.

Christine also emailed me:

You’ll love this agenda item on the Truman Waterfront Advisory Meeting tonight at 6:00:

10. Historic Tours of America’s Use of Truman Waterfront Park

I replied with a summary of my un-civic duties last night:

I wuz there for that one. HTA is staging its rolling stock on Truman Waterfront. TWAB commissioner Randy Becker, a declared mayor candidate, wanted to know why that is happening and if HTA is paying the city for being able to do that? City Planner Thaddeus Cohen said he’d have to get back to the TWAB on that one.

During citizen comments, I said Ed Swift’s HTA is being paid $600,000 a year by the city to use its conch trains to ferry passengers from cruise ships docked at the outer mole pier on Truman Waterfront to HTA gift shops and conch train and city trolley terminals, where the passengers shop and buy tickets for conch train and trolley tours. What a great deal for Swift, being paid to bring tourists to his businesses. Now I learn his rolling stock is staging on Truman Waterfront, which makes it even more disturbing. I said quite a few times I’d told the mayor and city commissioners at city commission meetings, they sure were being nice to Swift, and they looked at me like I was daft. Maybe you TWAB commissioners will have better results with the mayor and city commissioners, but I imagine you will run into a brick wall.

Maybe I should have reminded them, perhaps redundantly, that once upon a time, a city commission, on which Jimmy Weekly sat, gave Swift’s HTA a monopoly, which led to the city getting sued for anti-trust violations, which led, finally, after years of litigation and appeals, to the city paying $8.5 million to Duck Tours in damages and litigation expenses, which HTA competitor that city commission had instructed the then city attorney to grind into dust.

On another item, I told them to scrap the park altogether and cover Truman Waterfront with affordable housing. They looked at me like I was daft.

I didn’t know you would speak to discussion items, so did not speak to the Admiral Cut item. So far, nothing has been done about the city getting an easement from the owners of the Westin over Admiral Cut to Truman Waterfront, When the city commission was approving the Truman Waterfront design, it was said an easement over Admiral Cut was essential to the new park being successful, because a lot of foot traffic would come over Admiral Cut into the park. Yet, knowing that, they approved the design and authorized implementing Stage 1 of the new park to proceed. Nuts, if an easement over Admiral Cut was not already in hand. Double nuts, to keep moving forward without an easement over Admiral Cut.

On changing the name from Truman Waterfront to something else item, I said leave the name alone, President Truman won WW II, he’s famous world-wide, a lot of people still remember him, use that in marketing the new park, if it is built. They looked at me like I was daft-squared. TWAB Chairman Robert Cintron said President Truman did not win World War II, American fighting men and women won that war. I was in my seat by then. I told him after the meeting, did he forget President Truman was Commander-in-Chief of all American armed forces during WWII?

Before reaching the TWAB meeting, I dropped into the PAC promoting the city buying Peary Court meeting. Hosted by City Commissioner Jimmy Weekley, presented by Housing Authority Director Manny Costillo. Maybe a dozen people in the audience. 4 were City Commissioner Margaret Romero, former City Commissioner Tony Yaniz, me and Kari. A good time was not had by all. A Peary Court resident told of the huge mold problem in her unit. Weekely said the owners of Peary Court would have to take care of that. I said I doubted they would, and if the city bought Peary Court, it would have to take care of it. Jimmy said, if the city bought Peary Court, if would mitigate any mold problems. I said, the city will buy Peary Court knowing it has mold problems? Yes, Weekley said.

Before that I had asked, if the referendum passes, will the city do inspections, including mold inspections? Yes, Weekley said. I said I asked, because so far the city hasn’t done any inspections. Donna Windell said there was a bad mold problem in her unit, which the owners went to considerable effort to fix. I said Michael Miller, Architect, who sits on the Historic Architectural Review Board told me the units have mold, and I told Weekley that and he talked with Miller, who told Weekley the units had mold. Weekley said back to me, the units have mold and Miller lives there? Yes, I said, and he told me the units have mold, and he told you that, too.

When I said I recalled Costillo saying at a public meeting that all the appliances in the units would have to be replaced, he said he had said the worst case he could imagine was all the appliances would have to be replaced.

The entire presentation proceeded as if the city had tied down its financing to buy Peary Court, if the referendum passes. So just naturally, I had to poke that a bit, including getting Costillo to admit they don’t even know if they can get financing;; nor what the interest rate will be; and if the interest rate is above what they want it to be, they can’t buy Peary Court and make the numbers work; and any financing they might obtain wold have an interest rate renegotiation in 5-10 years clause. I said interest rates are pretty low now; I remember when interest rates went to 22 percent a I and other real estate lawyers went out of business. I should have said Savings & Loans, too.

Tony Yaniz told me at the meeting that the Housing Authority just raised rents across the board, so what’s to say if the city buys Peary Court, rents won’t go up? Tony emailed me this below, which someone had sent to him:

——————————

HUD rents are based on either 30% of your income or Flat rent. Flat rents are for higher income tenants. The Flat rents were increased but they are so high!

Efficiency at SCP rent was $661 -802 now 960
1 br $692 -808- 966

Low Income
1 br$635 - 718- 876
2 br $868-989-1204
3br $953-1309-1589
4br 1149-1331-1618

We say increase the rent but so much, no immunities?

———————————

Well, to the tenants those new rents might feel, and be, high. But they are low compared to Peary Court rents.

Sloan

P.S. When, during the mold discussion, Donna Wendell said she is allergic to mold, she cannot even eat bread with mold, so she knows there is no mold in her unit any longer, I said there are a lot of other units, we have a woman in the audience telling of her mold problem. (Donna is a Realtor. She wants the city to buy Peary Court, so she won’t have to worry about what the developers might do with it.) I said I once was on the “Today” show telling homebuyers they could not trust Realtors.

Back to Miss Kari …

Yesterday, Kari called her daughter, with whom she had not spoken since last November, after her daughter called off coming to Key West to see Kari in the jail, after they had not seen each other in many years. They talked about an hour, and what of their conversation Kari shared with me, it warmed my heart and I was so very glad for both of them.

Also yesterday, and today, and for some time actually, Kari has been getting told in her sleep, and she is seeing plenty of worldly proof of it, that I indeed am owned by angels, and it is bothering her a lot, because she knows she will never have me all to herself, which I had told her all along would be the case if we were a couple. I think this is a good development, because I indeed am owned by Jesus, Archangel Michael and Magdalene Melchizedek, and Kari has to accept and come to peace with that, if we are going to be together. It will break my heart, if she doesn’t come to peace with it, but other spiritually-gifted women before Kari had the same problem with me, and it did not change my relationship with those angels.

sloanbashinsky@outlook.com