Musings, opinions, observations, questions, and random thoughts on island life, Fernandina Beach and more

Musings, opinions, observations, questions, and random thoughts on island life, Fernandina Beach and more

Failed Fernandina Commissioner Failing As A Reporter Too; Democrat Math Doesn’t Add Up For American Businesses

(Due to the Thanksgiving holiday I’ll take a break next week and resume the blog again Friday, December 1.)

It must be galling to Mike Lednovich, a failed City Commission reelection candidate and wannabe journalist for the pathetic online sight-impaired Fernandina Observer, to realize that he is distrusted and mocked by a clear majority of Fernandina Beach residents, or what might be called the “Local Man in the Street.”

Lednovich publicly displaying his total lack of judgement in support of the Hamas loving BLM Marxist hate group.

Reading the comments and listening to beer garden and coffee shop chatter following one of Lednovich’s online tirades is proof enough that readers who are tenacious enough to wade through one of his psychotic sour grapes outbursts find his “journalistic” buffoonery increasingly intolerable. The only ones in agreement are a tiny handful of the usual self-righteous local lefty losers spouting their habitual infantile and punitive hatred toward area developers, businesses, builders, bankers, etc.

Lednovich believes that raising taxes and fining and threatening current businesses is better than attracting new businesses, tourists and private-sector investment and revenue. His entire Commission term was spent increasing taxes on local residents so the city could buy more shiny new stuff and hire more unnecessary staffers to operate it.

The Black Lives Matter activist, California transplant and runner-up to City Commissioner Chip Ross for the City Curmudgeon crown, penned a biased hit piece this past week attacking – without facts – local contractor and City Commissioner David Sturges headlined: “Sturges Faces Yet Another Ethics Complaint.” Sturges Faces Yet Another Ethics Complaint | Fernandina Observer

In his illogical and intentional attack Lednovich accuses Commissioner Sturges of a variety of “sins” writing:

  • “He voted to lower storm-water/wastewater capacity fees charged to builders despite a city consultant telling the city commission that the fees needed to be raised by a significant amount.
  • ”He also voted to lower various building permit fees, which his company is required to pay on projects, for the 2023-24 city budget year.”
  • “He also voted to lower various building permit fees, which his company is required to pay on projects, for the 2023-24 city budget year.”

In his disgraceful sloppy piece former City Commissioner, Lednovich continues to display a complete lack of understanding of who pays the city’s illegal “capacity/impact fees.” It’s the home owner not the builder because it’s a pass through to the consumer. Bad judgement and a lack of comprehension appear to be prerequisites for a job scribbling articles at the Observer.

Lednovich conveniently forgets that the city was successfully sued over improper enforcement of both impact and building fees. Yet the city attempts to raise impact/capacity fees by an amount that would be in violation current state law. He ignores the fact that it’s also illegal to use impact fees to pay off debt, yet they openly discuss doing just that in the city meeting. To paraphrase Louisiana Senator John Kennedy, when Lednovich’s IQ hits 70 he should sell.

“Does he just make this crap up?”

As one clear-headed Observer commentator wrote “Sturges is far from a developer…he’s a small time contractor that mostly does remodels, local born and raised, supported by many of the local environmentalists, and wants what is best for this island and fair for all private property owners.”

Did Lednovich contact the state for its opinion? The Association of Realtors? What about the Nassau Chamber of Commerce where he’s about as popular as a misplaced pronoun at a pride parade?

Today, according to the Wall Street Journal, more than two in five Americans say that they have little or no trust in the information they get from journalists. Lednovich is a prime example of why. Even labeling him a “journalist” erroneously gives him credit for skills he demonstrably lacks.

His continuing support of the illegal “impact/capacity” fees is another example of his contempt for local businesses and state law and total lack of understanding of the capitalist system.

With his constant flow of silliness Lednovich continues to proclaim that his reasoning is as rational as that of a belligerent four-year-old’s kitchen-floor tantrum when denied a pre-dinner cookie and bears greater similarity to a psychological disorder than persuasive arguments.

Thanks to the local electorate Lednovich is no longer in a position to exercise an ounce of influence and now generates only scorn and ridicule.

***

Speaking Of City Malfeasance: Local activists Glen Stettler and Pat Keogh have written a number of detailed opinion editorials critical of the city’s illegal impact/capacity fees and have encouraged Florida State Attorney General Ashley Moody to intervene.

Stettler wrote an open letter to Ms. Moody requesting she do just that and it appears on the front page of today’s (Friday, Nov. 17) Yulee News.

In response Ms. Moody recommended the duo contact the local attorney’s office for Nassau, Clay, and Baker Counties which they are now in the process of doing.

***

This Only Adds Up For Democrats: In Pittsburgh, and in other U.S. school districts, it is being mandated that math teachers should not require only one correct answer to math problems.

The edict is designed to make black kids not feel pressured to just have the one right answer to a math problem, but to have some answer, any answer.

What are these people thinking? They claim that by demanding that there can only be one answer is a white supremist way of thinking. So black kids are now taught it is OK to have a wrong answer so long as you try to have some answer.

That means these kids will leave school unqualified for most jobs today other than maybe mowing the lawn. Even entry-level factory jobs these days require basic math to operate the digital machines. These kids will never be able to work in a retail establishment where they would have to make change.

The left is creating a generation of uneducated people who will never be able to compete, and who will be poor for their entire lives and dependent upon the government. It appears that’s their intent. They are being told that trying to be right about math or other subjects is a white supremacy thing, and so you don’t have to try, the government will give you money.

***

More Democrat Math: The White House labeled parents who came to school meetings and expressed anger at what was being taught to their own kids as domestic terrorists subject to arrest and investigation by the FBI, but now if you make blatant ant-Semitic threats you are not a domestic terrorist. You are just expressing your view. The level of anti-Semitism across the country has now been described as unprecedented by the FBI. All the blather from the left about safe spaces, equity, violent speech, etc. on campus is only applicable to blacks, not Jews.

***

Leftist Logic: Hamas and its supporters in the U.S. and other countries are openly and eagerly calling for the genocidal end of Israel by wiping it out from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea., chanting “From the river to the sea.”

The Hamas charter calls for the elimination of Israel and the killing of Jews.

Yet at the same time by retaliating for the slaughter of 1,400 people and the kidnapping of more than 200 they also claim it is Israel that is committing  genocide—the exact same self-described agenda that Hamas and its expatriate community of devotees is demanding.

Israel is damned when it tries to avoid noncombatants and Hamas is cheered on when it deliberately targets them.

***

Overheard At PJD’s Beer & Wine Garden: “Being popular on Facebook is like sitting at the ‘cool table’ in the cafeteria of a mental hospital.”

***

A Democrat Dilemma: Southern pundit Bill Shuey says Kamala Harris can’t be removed from the ticket and replaced with someone competent without alienating most blacks.

“Everyone with the insight and intelligence of a tree frog knows that Joe Biden is in cognitive decline,” he says. “He has to be led around like a small child and spoon-fed speeches. Even then he cannot focus on his prepared lines or find his way off a stage. No matter, as long as he can be propped up, he’s the Democrats’ man. Biden is the Democrats’ version of  “A Weekend at Bernie’s.”

Due to Joe Manchin’s announcement that he will not run again West Virginia’s Senate seat will likely go Republican with the probable winner current governor Jim Justice.

In order to retain the Senate Democrats must win every single race they are defending — seven of which are considered competitive.

The inept mediocrity Democrats currently have leading their ticket and the terrifying possibility that the cackling hen, Harris, could end up in the Oval Office is enough to terrify even Democrat voters according to recent polls.

Compared to Harris, Biden is a Rhodes Scholar. She is flat out dumb; there is no other word that more adequately describes her. And Biden? Just watch TV. Even the Obama staffers pulling the strings in the back room must realize this charade can’t continue much longer.

***

Words Worth Heeding: “Europe is belatedly discovering how unbelievably stupid it was to import millions of people from cultures that despise Western values, and which often promote hatred toward the people who let them in.” — Thomas Sowell.

***

“Go Woke Go Broke” Continues:  I read that a recent survey says that the percentage of new hires at the Fortune 500 who are white heterosexual males is only between 2% and 6%. As a result, these companies now have a lack of skills problem. They have a whole layer of diversity hires who don’t have the educational skills to perform what modern corporations need and only a trickle of what they need coming in the door.  Now that they’ve hired all these no talent DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) people, they can’t fire them, or they get a discrimination lawsuit and Labor Department problems. Companies are waking up to the fact that being woke is very very bad for business.

  • Comment (22)
  • It appears our former Mayor, aka former thief #3, real issue could be valid. Former thief #3s real issue is, he could have gotten more! Think about his logic, he could have stolen more! That’s worth an ethics complaint, how dare he!

    His apparent lack of understanding of how funds work is a thin vail, he gets it. Notice how it never makes a difference when the actors change, everything continues. In the end, the judge won’t ask, “who’s smarter, who’s cuter, who’s tried”? They swore an oath, they are all equally guilty. That’s why they get numbers, not names, changing the actors makes no difference. It’s all about taking money from the citizens illegally, the same citizens they swore an oath to serve. It’s not about serving the citizens; it’s about serving them up. Firing the city manager was a side show. It didn’t make any difference. However, there are constants. They all hide behind the pants suit of thief #6. All of them point to someone else to include thief #6. Thieves 1 through 5 hide behind #6. She hides behind a consultant that tells her they are all fine. What about accountability and responsibility, oh hell no, not here. They get it, they know, to include the current residence of seats 1 through 5. One thief will try and convince you it’s too expensive to fix. Quick question, how much has the current thief #6 cost the city in suits and consultants to hide behind? When will she be held accountable? Quick remedy, following the law cost zero dollars, zero cents. Think about that… And we make money by not paying off suits and renting lawyers.

  • The Hamas supporters are very much like the Democratic Party: blame the other side for doing exactly what you do avert attention and cause confusion.

  • “I read that a recent survey says that the percentage of new hires at the Fortune 500 who are white heterosexual males is only between 2% and 6%”. This was reported by Bloomberg and then quickly debunked. The % of new jobs going to whites is 46% as compared to the 54% that they represent in their current workforce.

    • The fact that Dave so easily swallowed an absurd statistic and doubled down on it by reporting it in his blog reflects his confirmation-bias affliction. The bias of course is a product of his racism. If you think that only 6% of people hired by Fortune 500 companies were white males you have to be so sucked up the culture wars that you can’t have basic common sense. But even more glaring is his premise that women and people of color couldn’t possibly have the intelligence and skills to fill Fortune 500 positions.

      • Same ol’ leftist rhetoric… racist, bigot, homophobe, etc… Tired ol’ playbook MM…

          • Hey Cinderella, you can’t make a shoe fit that doesn’t belong on the foot. It’s cool Coley, we all know you’re just a miserable human being with nothing better to do than stir the pot.

      • Poor Dave, being outed again for being a blatant racist…what’s an old, myopic, paranoid white guy to do? Write more merde de vache/bovine excrement!

        • Awww, it’s Coley. He’s back. What does it say about you if you’re reading Dave’s blog? LMAO

          • “Faux Fred” says the guy who goes by the same name even though he admits it’s not his real name?

          • Faux Fred – I agree with almost everything he posts here. What’s your excuse, besides being a gnat and less than worthy of a reply?

  • This is the part where I usually chime in and make a silly observation regarding the topics of your weekly blog. But not this week, Dave. The topics like Israel and Hanas, our local govt, and other national issues has me on edge. With all the name calling going on in the comment section, apparently, I’m not alone.
    Here’s my observation regarding this week’s blog. The commenters have to resort to calling you a racist, because some can’t face facts. It’s their “go-to”. It’s also WORN OUT. I won’t spend time with hate-filled people. Our country is swirling the drain at a remarkable rate and my time is precious. Those Biden liberals will suffer right along side of us, when their policies ruin what’s left of our fine country. I also won’t hang out with gay-bashers, people who hate political discourse because it doesn’t always run their way, people with small minds and even smaller ideas, and people who throw these ridiculous labels around like confetti. I will, however, continue to enjoy the occasional beer with you, Dave, at our favorite garden. Talking with people who have a wide range of interests and where nothing is “off the table” make for the best drinking/chatting companions. Keep up the good work, and don’t let the bastards get you down!

  • What facts? That Dave quoted a Bloomberg article without fact-checking because doing so would have contradicted his narrative? Or that Dave made the leap that diversity hiring dilutes a company’s skill base, leaving Fortune 500 companies with a dearth of needed talent? Even if one were to fall for the absurdity of the 6% number Bloomberg’s reporters came up with using faulty logic, a cursory review of the entire article would have revealed that Bloomberg noted that the vast majority of diversity hires were for low paying hourly jobs. Again, not in line with Dave’s [racist] narrative which has been rendered impotent with the FACTS.

  • If Pat Keough et. al. truly believe that the City’s impact fee process is illegal, then why don’t they find a proxy that was directly impacted by the fees and offer to pay the legal fees and sue the City? If they are that certain of a verdict in their favor, they can also collect their legal fees so they won’t be out of pocket. But I think they would rather gnash their teeth and continue the allegations.

    Not defending the City as I am sure you will allege Dave, but just saying put up or shut up.

    • We did that, twice! Won both times. The class recovered about $3M+ of which the law firm received about $1M because they took it on a contingency. With the time and experts I reckon it cost Tanner Bishop representing the class about $1M. After three years of litigation they likely netted zero. Shakedown City’s only “defense” is to financially exhaust their opponents to make sure no one does it again. Having lost the suits they then hired a new consultant for $24,500 to advise them to change the name to capacity fees. Why $24,500? Because state law requires competitive procurement for anything over $25K. I have written all this several times in the local paper. And as a former acting city manager you know it.

      By the way, all the city leadership has to know this too. How do we know that? Because Glen Stettler wrote a column in the News Leader detailing this and the city consigliere actually got up and said the only reason they lost the suits is because the original impact fee consultant did “his study on a napkin”. She paid private law firms to litigate for three years at a cost to the city of $1M in fees to defend “a napkin”. Comments or questions from the commission? None. The consigliere did her job which is to provide cover.

      Incidentally, there is currently an ongoing suit against Shakedown City with claims identical to those in the earlier suits.

      Try getting a law firm to take a contingency deal after Shakedown City’s record. This is why we call you the City Sycophant. Only you could defend this continuing abuse of power. If you would like to see the consigliere’s napkin defense contact us when next in Shakedown City.

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