Change We Can Believe In and Change We're Having Trouble Adjusting To

The Democratic Party is embracing a platform of change and I get that. 

CHANGE WE CAN BELIEVE IN (particularly at the national level) works for me. 

But in many ways I think Sarasotans may have had quite enough change in recent years. Change in economic fortunes, in gas prices, property taxes, insurance. We've had to change our old assumptions about what to do when a hurricane approaches [Nobody is saying anymore: "I have a friend I can stay with in Arcadia."] We are changing our assumptions about whether our beaches are uncontaminated. Changing our understanding of what restaurants remain open. Changing perceptions about how fast our school age population is growing or if it is growing at all. Changing our belief that sea level isn't rising. Changing our minds to accept that North Port is bigger (geographically and population-wise) than the City of Sarasota.* Lots of changes.

And the recent Ringling Bridge name flap underscores what may be a local reality: that tinkering with what may seem to some like minor issues actually has big effects on Sarasotans. [I think 3,875 online petition signatures in less than a week is evidence enough that citizens do feel affected.] 

Some are tempted to dismiss the bridge name issue as a tempest in a teapot -- much ado about nearly nothing.

I don't see it that way. I think our local landscape has been so dynamic, so subject to change that ostensibly insignificant changes can end up being very distressing to people.

In this setting of seemingly constant change, landmarks and history and vacant lots that don't change end up being reassuring touchstones in our lives - anchors of permanence that help keep us oriented and connected to where we live. 

And I think part of the reason people fight so hard to thwart developments, or protect trees or save old buildings is not because they can't accept the idea of new neighbors or that the tree provides crucial habitat or the building is part of a unique architectural legacy (which may be true); but simply because the loss of such landmarks can be profoundly disturbing when one already feels overwhelmed by change, when every other landmark is gone and people are down to one familiar, reliable thing that persists and it is about to be flattened. 

I'm not a no change guy. I think people and neighborhoods and communities need to change or they will stagnate. But I believe it is healthy and helpful to hang on to what we feel is unique or special about the places we frequent. 

We can't save everything and I don't think we should try. But I think we should work hard to identify what makes our places special and work hard to retain what we can of those, even if it is only a representative sample. 

I'll skip the final crescendo that ties this line of argument into my campaign and what I've been doing the last 30 years and just leave it at my realization that seemingly little things do matter, perhaps disproportionately, to people. That doesn't make people unreasonable, it makes them observant and caring and connected to where they live. That's a good thing.

So one change I believe in is changing to acknowledge people's legitimate attachment to place and rather than dismissing it, finding ways to allow needed change while resisting unnecessary change. Like changing a bridge, but not its name.

*The City of Sarasota still has a 450 edge over North Port in registered voters. It will be interesting to see if North Port can narrow or close that gap by Nov. 4th.

Jono Miller's Comments on the Online Petition to restore Ringling Bridge Name

As I write the 250th person is about to "sign" an online petition asking that the recent name change of the bridge that connects downtown Sarasota to Bird Key and St. Armands be reconsidered by the Sarasota City Commission. I'm starting at 248, and this is before 7:30 in the morning on Tuesday July 29th.

And although I can easily tap into my own feelings about the old bridge, the new bridge, the old name and the evidently-not-so-popular new name, I'm blogging about the process, public, and petitions in general.

When I was trained about how to change government, petitions were on paper (and frequently also on a clipboard) and were viewed as the least effective, most disregarded way to ask elected officials for change. 

I think there were several reasons: First, the petition only accurately reflected the position of the originator -- there is not a lot of nuance in a signature. Secondly, it requires very little effort. "Yeah, I'll sign" and a three second scrawl-- the petition promoter and not the signer was doing most of the work.  And third, because it asks so little and most people want to be agreeable, it was assumed that many of the signatures reflected low-grade social coercion, more than rampant social conviction. It's much easier to sign someone's clipboard and have them move on than to challenge their mission and risk an argument. So elected officials could disregard them as low commitment examples of going along to get along herd behavior. 

Just hit 250.

Forget the clipboard -- now we have the online petition, facilitated by GoPetition, with "active petitions in over 75 countries". While it still doesn't take much effort to "sign" the rest of the formula has been reversed.  Many of the signatories (now at 264) do leave comments -- so there is a place for nuance and passion. Simply click on the VIEW wording to see (266) what some of them think about it. 

And rather than the path of least resistance (signing a petition to avoid getting involved), (269) people now have to actively chose to head to GoPetition, so that dynamic has flipped as well. 

Another change is the rapidity of the feedback. Old paper petitions had to circulate and then get collected and then get submitted. That took weeks and depended on more or less random juxtaposition of petition promoters with possible signers. (273) This one started on July 26th, so they will probably be averaging at least a hundred a day and (another new twist) any City Commissioner who is interested can log on and see what's unfolding. (279)

So the role of the petition in government is apparently changing. (286) City and County Commissioners will have to adjust to this new phenomenon. To what extent does it provide valued rapid feedback from the most engaged citizenry and to what extent is it a manifestation of (290) of tar-and-feather, my-way-or the-highway groupthink? 

I'm clearly intrigued, but it will take awhile to see how this re-vamped tool is used and with what effect. (293) But based on the last few minutes, I'm guessing ol' John Ringling may do okay. (297)

I guess that was a fifty signature blog. (298) I'm outta here.  

But I will note that Sarasota County has a fairly elaborate process for naming parks, preserves, etc. that does involve both public input and historic considerations. (301)

Oh, just came back to include a link an earlier Sarasota Herald Tribune editorial on the name change. Its now 8:14 and we're at 336 -- so averaging about 2 signers a minute. Fascinating. 

PS.. One of the most effective features of the online petition is that the most recent signatories are shown at the top -- instead of seeing the first signers names and having to flip forward to get to the end, we see the most recent folks with their increasingly impressive ordinal rank. [ At 10:00 am  the number stands at 581 -- so better than two a minute.] If this keeps up there should be more than 1,000 people on board by 2:00 p.m.

PPS   I checked in and signed the petition myself around 1:20 p.m. and somehow managed to become the one thousandth signer, 40 minutes ahead of my prediction. This viral citizenship doesn't seem to show any signs of slowing down and it may be speeding up. 

Personally, I think the City Commission erred and I am optimistic that they can find reverse gear. But the references to the signs already existing are sobering.

From my perspective this re-naming appears to be the intersection of bad public process with a bad idea, but that doesn't explain or excuse the virulence of some of the comments. 

Here's another link to a WWSB article from last night when the total stood at an even 100 signatures. 

PPPS I was away from the computer at 3:50 but that's roughly when the total passed 1250, so figure 500 minutes (8 hours, 20 minutes)  for 1000 signatures -- the two signatures a minute average has held all day. Incredible. 

The sad part of all this is that it has re-opened some old wounds about the bridge fight, wounds that had been healing and, worse yet,  it has created an anti Gil Waters backlash, the exact opposite of the intention to honor him. 

Another check in.... At 5:48 pm on Tuesday the total reached 1,491. Why is that number significant? That's how many votes Dick Clapp got on election day. While point and click is not the same as making your way to a polling place, it does suggest a level of political motivation that is comparable (at least numerically) to the process that puts people in elective office.

From what I'm hearing the City Commission didn't understand that "no, thanks, we'll pass on the signs" was an option -- that the name change proposal that came down from Tallahassee was somehow considered to be a done deal that they were more or less obligated to rubber stamp. 

Final thought for the day: At 8:37 p.m. the number of signers hit 1,748 -- that's One thousand, five hundred signatures in a little more than 13 hours. 

I don't pretend to know the whole story, but apparently the City was angling for a plaque that somehow got bumped up to a bridge naming in the Legislature. The City was well intentioned in suggesting a plaque and our local legislators probably can be forgiven if they were trying to attend to other matters and missed the 'upgrade'. Whoever proffered the upgrade may also have had the best of intentions. This is starting to sound like the road to hell, isn't it? 

Anyway, I don't see a malicious conspiracy to strip John Ringling's name. In fact it is entirely possible that whoever suggested the new name assumed the new bridge was also an unnamed bridge. Here's what the legislation Committee Substitute for Senate Bill 1604 said:

Section 29. Gil Waters Bridge designated; Department of Transportation to erect suitable markers.-- (1) The portion of SR 789/GulfStream Avenue in Sarasota between Sunset Drive and Bird Key Drive is designated as "Gil Waters Bridge."

The law took effect July 1st so if someone wants to hammer our City Commission perhaps they should be taking them to task for not monitoring the legislation as it made its way through Tallahassee, but by late July they were facing a done deal.

 The City Commission apparently did have the option of taking a pass on the road signs however. Check out this language from the Legislative Staff analysis:

Section 334.071, F.S., provides: (1) Legislative designations of transportation facilities are for
honorary or memorial purposes, or to distinguish a particular facility, and may not be construed
to require any action by local governments or private parties regarding the changing of any street signs, mailing addresses, or 911 emergency telephone number system listings, unless the legislation specifically provides for such changes; (2) When the Legislature establishes road or
bridge designations, the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) is required to place
markers only at the termini specified for each highway segment or bridge designated by the law
creating the designation, and to erect any other markers it deems appropriate for the
transportation facility; and (3) The FDOT may not erect the markers for honorary road or bridge
designations unless the affected city or county commission enacts a resolution supporting the designation. When the designated road or bridge segment is located in more than one city or
county, resolutions supporting the designations must be passed by each affected local
government prior to the erection of the markers.

Here's more of the Staff analysis. Note that there is no mention of the prior bridge's name-- no acknowledgment that passage of this act would be replacing a name in common and historic usage.

Section 17: That portion of SR 789/Gulf Stream Avenue between Sunset Drive and Bird Key Drive in Sarasota County is designated as the “Gil Waters Bridge.” Gil Waters has been a
resident of Sarasota continually since 1950, and was instrumental in ensuring the building of a
new bridge for Bird key replacing an outdated drawbridge. The Florida Department of
Transportation’s proposed fixed-span bridge aroused some local opposition. However, Waters
published an ad in the Sarasota paper, depicting the type of replacement bridge proposed to be
built, and invited Sarasota area residents to send in their votes to him, which were
overwhelmingly positive. Mr. Waters organized a meeting of the public that resulted in the
formation of the Good Bridge Group, to which 900 members subscribed and sent in
contributions to defend the high bridge proposal by FDOT. His group also intervened in legal
challenges which ultimately denied the challenges to the Bridge. The bridge was built, and
afterwards Mr. Waters worked with the landscape consultant for the bridge approaches and
personally contributed $200,00 for the project.

Hey, its been fun, but I have a campaign to run...

BOTTOM LINE: 

1) Citizens deserve to be heard,

2) Online petitions are a new phenomenon, 

3) Our local elected officials aren't evil, 

4) Its okay to acknowledge Gil Waters, and 

5) People are likely to call the Ringling Bridge the Ringling Bridge regardless of what it is thought to be in Tallahassee.

Jono Miller's Top 3 Priorities

The following  question and my response are from a Sarasota Herald Tribune candidate questionnaire.

 What would be your top three priorities as a commissioner in the upcoming term?

The top issues facing Sarasota County in the summer of 2008 are inextricably interrelated: 1) general financial strains citizens and businesses are facing (closely linked to our depressed economy), 2) unresolved issues related to growth and sprawl, and 3) and property tax issues. From the perspective of county government the challenge is to maintain services in an era of diminished revenue.

But the real crunch is revealed in our neighborhoods’ vacant homes – mute structures that reflect lost jobs, mortgage/foreclosure problems, soured speculation, and people that have simply left town. Too many neighbors have been watching the life drained from around them, wondering if vacant dwellings on their street are increasing the potential for crime while depressing their home’s value. Sarasota County got caught relying on new home construction and sales during a perfect storm of national mortgage crisis combined with soaring insurance and property tax bills.

As Commissioner then, I believe there is a tie for the top two priorities: 1) supporting the recovery of the tax base/economy and 2) supporting the recovery of our neighborhoods, while 3) charting a course that does not drop us back into overdependence on any brittle, narrow economic sectors. Filling homes and the tax base will involve creating new (and re-creating lost) jobs, a challenging task that will require a mix of proven job generators and new initiatives.

Our State Tree, the Cabbage Palm, now at risk.

OMINOUS DEATHS

A news story broke July 24th regarding anomalous die off of mature cabbage palm trees "in the Tampa Bay area". The irony, as I see it, is that I've noticed the phenomenon most in the community of Palmetto. [The scientific name is Sabal palmetto.] I have been watching these trees die for several years now, and if you want to see them for yourself simply drive north out of downtown Palmetto on Business 41. After you clear the last traffic light ( 17th St. West?) the road starts to curve to the east and you'll pass between a declining orange grove on your right and a cow pasture on your left. If you have a spotter in the passenger  seat they can probably eyeball twenty dying and recently dead cabbage palms before going through the curve that rejoins with 41. 

Sadly these are mature trees that appear to be unstressed by any change in land use practices -- in other words they otherwise appear to be as healthy as cabbage palms anywhere. And these are not palms succumbing to rising sea level -- the cause of the last big Sabal palm die off.

Many of you know I have been researching and writing about our state tree, the Cabbage Palm. This native palm has been a workhorse in the landscape industry, in part because it is so successful and relatively pest free. It doesn't occupy space in nursery rows -- landscapers simply buy palms from ranchers; in part because that works and in part because the trees grow too slowly to be profitable in a traditional nursery context.

A QUINTESSENTIAL FLORIDIAN

Although cabbage palms do pop up in landscapes where they were not planted, they are a quintessential component of Florida.  Simply put, Florida would not be Florida without cabbage palms. 

Nor I suppose would South Carolina (its their state tree as well). They are as central to both states’ past and present as oaks and pines. Cabbage palms are imbued with some remarkable powers (they seem to be nearly immune to fire, wind and flooding) and they behave contrary to most trees in many ways: they have greater girth when young than when old and they produce more shade when young than old. And they’re far easier to transplant when old than young. As a result developers and landscapers now rely on them to add a feeling of substance to developments where the concrete is not fully cured, but before them, Seminole and settler alike depended on them for both food and shelter.

They play key roles in a puzzlingly wide diversity of ecosystems from barrier island dunes, to everglades tree islands, to riverine hammocks, helping to support everything from black bears to hummingbirds. It can be argued they played a pivotal role in our war for independence and helped spark American environmentalism. And they may hold insights to longevity – featuring individual cells that may live for centuries.

POORLY UNDERSTOOD

For a plant of such import, relatively little is known. They are commonly characterized as being fast growing, but also appear to be one of our slowest growing native trees. They seem ubiquitous in most of peninsular Florida, but may have naturally occurred in only about two thirds of the state. They appear in two dramatically different forms, one smooth-trunked (like a broom handle according to John Muir), the other sheathed in a lattice of persistent leaf bases, creating a basketweave effect. Every Florida naturalist is forced to explain the existence of these two forms to neophytes who assume they must be different species, yet there is no sound, adopted theory that accounts for the difference. No one seems to know how long they live, precisely where the state champion resides or why their natural range seemed so limited when they now are growing in Arkansas, -- (and rumor has it, Seattle).

UNPREPARED TO ADDRESS THE PROBLEM?

While the article announcing the die off is alarming and saddening enough, the worst part is that the state may not have the resources needed to understand and possibly confront the problem. According to the article that ran in the Sarasota Herald Tribune:

The disease is hitting the state during a tight budget year and University of Florida research funding has taken a hit. Officials can still turn to federal and private grants, and a proposal to dip into a small emergency fund is being considered, said Jack Battenfield, a spokesman for UF's Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences.

"We don't have some of the freedoms we might have had before," Battenfield said. "The budget's tighter. We've got to look at things we can do most effectively, most efficiently, and have the biggest impact."

IS IT HERE? 

Is the disease here in Sarasota? I don't know, but I am noticing more cabbage palms dying for no apparent reason. That may simply be because of my increased awareness. I've been watching one die at the intersection of De Soto and University and take snapshots with my phone when I am at the light on De Soto.

It is sobering to drive past trees that could easily be more than a hundred years old and see them inexplicably killed in place, their limp fronds collapsing, dangling and finally falling. The specter of this problem spreading from groves and pastures to places like Myakka River State Park is truly depressing. 

If journalists or researchers wish to contact me about this matter they may call 941-320-3846.

Those Special Sarasota Firsts: Flashes of Green, Streaks of Blue

Long time residents can forget. Forget what it is like to experience some of Sarasota specialness for the first time. I no longer remember my first frog-choking, house-rattling thunderstorm, but that first "how-much-worse-can-it-get" event is a humbling experience that leaves people shaken and stirred. Then there is the first twelve foot alligator at Myakka, the first sandhill crane family by the side of the road, the first tropical storm with 'feeder bands" scudding over, or the the first manatee snout breaking the surface.

I'm plant-oriented, so I try to imagine people's sense of wonder in their first Spring when the gold trees bloom, or their first rain lilies, or first night-blooming cereus, or first Royal Poinciana. After awhile one realizes that the way to reconnect with those "first feelings" is to be with people who are experiencing Sarasota for the first time. So you take people out to Myakka Park to see their first twelve footer. Or to Selby Gardens, or Mote. And then you can vicariously re-experience the first time wonder of where we live. 

Last night I turned the campaign down to simmer and ventured out with the Lemon Bay Kayakers to Midnight Beach. I left my campaign name badge home and introduced myself as Jono or Jono Miller, not my new name: Jono Miller, running-for-the-Sarasota-County-Commission-and-I'll-need-your-vote-on-November-fourth.

The paddle from Turtle Beach to Midnight Beach has to be one of the shortest around. And one of the most rewarding. Everyone was in kayaks except for Ed Freeman and myself. I have tight hamstrings so sitting with my legs out in front is not comfortable for me. Besides. I've been paddling the same olive-drab Grumman for 43 years and that brings its own comforts.

The Lemon Bay Kayakers try to make the trip each full moon. Full moon trips are popular with paddlers because as soon as the sun sets in the West, the full moon rises in the East. So if it is not cloudy there is some form of celestial light provided for the whole trip. They make the short paddle, explore around some and then head up on the beach to have very simple, somewhat unpredictable potluck picnic while they wait for the sun to set. 

This paddling group loves their sunsets. Many are relative newcomers and they relish and treasure being able to witness each evening's free light show. While some swam, the rest of us circled the food, chatting and keeping on eye on the sun as it approached the horizon. Some joked about the sun plunging into the sea and all the steamed produced. Another reviewed the various sites such as Mallory Square where the final dip garners applause, while others speculated about seeing the flash of green. 

"Riiiight," I thought to myself. "Like that's gonna happen tonight." I've seen it snow in Sarasota. I experienced the recent earthquake. I've seen the crepuscular rays at sunset meet in the East. But after 38 years in Sarasota never having seen the green flash, I had put it in a category with seeing my first panther -- a theoretical possibility but so unlikely that it could not even be wished for.  And it is certainly unlikely to appear for people who have only been here a few years. Isn't the green flash like playing the blues? Don't you have to pay your dues, put in your time to experience such things?

But there it was. When the last arc of the sun slipped below the horizon a green flame was illuminated so briefly that those of us who saw it doubted ourselves, and those who didn't see it REALLY doubted us. Ed was certainly skeptical.

It wasn't grass green, but flame green, the green you see sometime in fireplaces, a color associated with boron.  It wasn't a big flash, but a short green licking flame. It didn't last but a second, but it was not any normal sunset color I'd seen. It was the flash of green. And it looked like the picture I found on the internet (which was taken in Sarasota! -- That was affirming.)

The group stood around savoring the post-sunset sky while some swam and others tried the kahlua brownies. We waited for the moon, but it didn't show (clouds in the East), so we shoved off in the dark. Most of the kayakers had white stern lights. My old canoe sported the only red/green running light, smushed on the bow deck with a suction cup.

Ed and I shoved off quickly, wary of sand flies or mosquitos and soon noticed the bioluminescence in the water. We're both old hands with this liquid living light and Ed had actually been to Bioluminescent Bay in Puerto Rico. 

But hearing the shrieks of joy as the other paddlers set out and discovered not only that their paddles dripped cool blue light, but that fleeing fish generated darting contrails of blue flame allowed us to reconnect with the unexpected joy of this phenomenon. "Its like fireworks!" one woman exclaimed. She was right of course, but these were the cool silent fireworks, not echos of warfare, gunpowder and missiles, but explosions of life.

The bioluminescence in the bays and Gulf is nearly a well kept secret, probably because it is one of those "you had to be there" phenomena that don't photograph well and hence seldom make it into newspapers and magazines. It has been photographed successfully in that bay in Puerto Rico and Escher made an engraving of of the effect that was subsequently captured in photographs from Carlsbad (Laura Klabunde) California and one from Baja that I found on the web. But in general, it is hard to take a picture of this event, a fact that contributes to its unexpected specialness.

We paddled east across the Intracoastal on dark flat water devoid of powerboats. I think we saw one. The moon appeared. The imposing, over-lit edifices of The Oaks in summer seemed lifeless compared with the teaming water we had traversed.

We paddled through a narrow mangrove tunnel at Webb's Cove at Spanish Point, and then people wanted to head back the way we came. They wanted to see the light again, to see the mullet gather speed, blue blurs that surfaced, flew free silhouetted in the moonlight and then rejoined the water with an illuminating splash. 

When we got back to Turtle Beach, it was dark, with none of the security lights, which for some reason usually make me feel less secure. Lights are off for sea turtle nesting. We loaded quickly in the dark and I handed out four or five campaign brochures. I left the parking lot with just my parking lights on and headed to the 7-11 up the road to re-hydrate.

Was it an important campaign event? Probably not in terms of number of voters contacted or dollars raised. But it reconnected me with more of what makes Sarasota special -- a big part of why I am running. 

And, for the first time, I saw the green flash. 

It was worth it. And anyone can discover what is special about Sarasota, at any time.

Jono Miller on Underfunding of Roads, Bridges, etc.

The Sarasota Herald Tribune sent me a questionnaire. I reserved the right to post their questions and my answers on my blog (They intend to post all of everyone's answers on their website.) Here is their question about underfunded roads and my response:

QUESTION: Sarasota County and the Sarasota-Manatee Metropolitan Planning Organization have underfunded budgets for roads, bridges and other forms of transportation infrastructure: 1. Why? 2. What, if anything, should be done?

ANSWER: My own brief history of Florida goes something like this: For a little more than 400 years Florida suffered for a lack of economic activity and actively engaged in luring settlers through a variety of inducements. If we use a fire analogy, Florida’s leaders piled on tinder for decades with little heat and light produced. Sometime after the Second World War, Florida caught fire. Shortly afterwards we probably should have cut back on the tax breaks and other inducements, gradually raising the ‘price of admission’ to cover anticipated infrastructure needs. But, in general, we didn’t. The result has been a missed opportunity and an infrastructure shortfall. The time to make growth pay for itself and get ahead is during the boom times, not when times are tough.

In our panic to address overwhelming calculated and perceived shortages of roads, we may be desperately working to solve a twentieth century problem that may actually be evaporating – if oil and gas prices keep climbing we may soon have greatly reduced traffic problems, more free lanes (and a whole lot of new problems).

Hidden in this issue is the reality of aging infrastructure. When a community starts, all infrastructure dollars can be ploughed into new construction. The older the operation, the greater percentage of funds that must be spent on maintaining, repairing and upgrading what already exists. Sarasota has been new for quite some time now and the fraction of road funds, for instance, that will need to be spent on taking care of roads will be an ever-increasing piece of the pie. That limits new initiatives.

One bridge-related problem is the game of chicken states play with the federal government. As I understand it, the feds will pay for emergency bridge repairs if the bridge is really at risk. They won’t pay for routine maintenance – that’s a state or local responsibility. So states let things get worse in hopes of successfully shifting the bill to the feds once the bridge is really dangerous. Perhaps our congressional representatives can do something about this.

************

POSTSCRIPT: Oil is now selling for over $145 a barrel -- or roughly 50% more than when I entered the campaign in January. No matter what happens with offshore or Alaskan oil, none of the present county commissioners are likely to be in office when gasoline from that oil starts flowing through Sarasota gas pumps. The County Commission's challenge will be to do what it can to offset, minimize, and mitigate the effects that dramatically higher fuel costs will have on commuters and other drivers.

Jono Miller Campaign Snags Free Press

Got five bucks? If so you can support our local economy by springing for the current issues of the Gulf Coast Business Review  (July 11-17 Issue $1) and SRQ Magazine (July Issue $5). Each has a piece dealing with my campaign. I could quote them here, but then you wouldn't be supporting local business. I'm doing my part by being newsworthy, now its your turn to step up and support local journalism. 

Special thanks to SRQ's Lindsay Downey and GCBR's Mark Gordon for going beyond the high profile, top-of-the-ticket political stories to delve into the First District Sarasota County Commission race -- the one that is guaranteed to make history, whatever the outcome. 

And don't forget Steve Smith's June 29th four way comparison column in the Englewood Sun and Jeremy Wallace's (Sarasota Herald Tribune) entry also profiling the first district Republican Primary race. (It's too late to go back and buy those papers.)