Nobody asked me, but -
. . . Three officials in one local burg huddle in an adult beverage emporium after meetings. Whether city business is being discussed or not, it just doesn't look right in a world where perception is reality.
. . . Anyone contemplating using Aetna as a health insurance carrier, look closely. Lots of problems with the drugs that outfit does not cover. Lots of other problems, too. A prime enterprise to stay away from.
. . . Largo Commissioner Harriet Crozier, whose husband got a job with the city after she was elected, made a big deal of Curtis Holmes, a citizen, pushing for sorely needed internal auditor in the city. She cast it in terms of blame. What could be wrong with a citizen and taxpayer trying to help his city and restore power to the elected officials?
. . . Motormouth Matthews is a jerk, as he has so recently proved. The "tough guy" mode of questioning is a charade. It does not become a Holy Cross man, but then . . . he is from Philadelphia.
. . . I stand corrected - the ever alert Gay Gentry, presently a Largo commissioner, and a retired teacher points out that Pinellas County does not have the most municipalities in Florida, as I wrote recently. She listed Palm Beach County with 38, Miami-Dade 34 and Broward 31. Of course, I was thinking of real Florida counties, not Yankeedom south.
. . . One city official, now on his way to other parts, once tried to silence this voice in the reporting of news and events in his city. Needless to say, it didn't work.
. . . On that Largo business about an independent internal auditor, folks are still trying to figure out why the city's high priced part time lawyer gave misleading information to the commission. Oh, they know why - but was it kosher?
. . . Alert to all in the Clearwater area - don't try any funny stuff. Hoyt Hamilton, City Council member who is quitting and moving to Atlanta, says that is perhaps a five or six year move, but he said in a recent interview, "If I see things in Clearwater moving in the wrong direction, I'll be coming back here sooner." Don't try anything, folks, let's keep Hoyt in Atlanta as long as possible.
. . . Our waggish friend reports that S.A.T. scores are the lowest they have been in 31 years. When asked why the scores were the lowest in three decades, one student replied, "That depends. What is a decade?" Q.E.D.
. . . Plenty More Where That Came From Dep't. -- Largo spent a small fortune on some fix-ups to the old library building (exempli gratia, $350,000 to fix the roof, about $150,000 for various and sundry experts outside the city to advise what to do with the building). All this approved by the City Commission on the obvious predication that the building had a future. Now the structure is to be demolished . . . Throw the cat another goldfish while I light up with this $100 bill.
. . . Hard to beat Belleair Bluffs for efficiency in government - that's largely due to a city organization headed up by Mayor Chris Arbutine, a hard working straight shooter of which there ought to be a lot more.
. . . How about this one? A nursery school teacher was delivering a station wagon full of kids home one day when a fire truck zoomed past. Sitting in the front seat of the fire truck was a Dalmatian dog. The children started discussing the dog's duties. "They use him to keep crowds back," said one youngster. "No, said another, "he's just for good luck." A third child brought the argument to a close. "They use the dogs", she said firmly, "to find the fire hydrant."
. . . How does a total juvenile jerk like Tucker Carlson get a nationwide cable network show? Talent must be pretty sparse in that league. The guy is a brainless jackanape.