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February 27, 2007 No. 21 Vol. 85
Today’s Program: Tom Zucco, St. Pete Times, on
the Property Insurance Crisis
Our speaker today was born and raised in Allentown,
PA (“The City That Never Sweeps”). He attended Texas Christian
University, dropped out and was drafted by the U.S. Army two months
before the draft ended in 1973.
During his military service, he became the court
reporter at Ft. Benning, GA during the William Calley trial. Later,
Zucco received a degree in political science from Kutztown (PA)
University. He went into journalism and found a job writing birth
notices and obituaries for the Allentown Morning Call. He also covered
the Philadelphia Phillies, which he says “was similar to writing obits.”
In 1980, he joined the St. Petersburg Times as a sports columnist, a
news reporter, features writer and is currently a business writer. In
his spare time, he also does minor landscaping, simple tax returns, some
small engine repair, and palm reading.
He and his wife Karen have a daughter Kate, who is a sophomore at FSU,
and a golden retriever named Dan. His favorite writer is John Kennedy
Toole who wrote A Confederacy of Dunces, which qualifies him to talk
about property insurers today! Welcome, Tom Zucco!
Last Week at Kiwanis
Chief Charles “Chuck” Harmon, St. Petersburg
Police
Kiwanian-of-the-Day Mark Shames introduced Chief
Harmon, a fellow alumnus of Leadership St. Pete. Chief Harmon said that
rather than presenting a prepared speech, he’d take questions and
comments of interest to us. He was asked to address the problem of
homelessness in our community, which became a large focus of his talk.
Several factors led to the burgeoning problem of homeless people on the
streets. First is that when he first came, the downtown vacancy rate was
30%, so there were more places for people down on their luck to rent
cheaply or to squat. With greater emphasis on development and the
gentrification of formerly low-income neighborhoods, no vacancies
remain. Another contributing factor is that the government closed mental
hospitals all over the country in the ‘80s and ‘90s, leaving huge
numbers of mentally ill people with no place to go and no ability to
support themselves. Chief Harmon also cited our temperate climate and
the number of churches and nonprofits providing food as attracting
indigent people. Business owners and others have complained about the
effect on business and tourism that tent cities in the parks and
sidewalks create and the city of St. Petersburg has laws that must be
enforced regarding taking up residence on city property. The recent
response by police of ripping open tents with boxcutters was not the
answer, in hindsight, said Harmon, and litigation is pending against the
city. Because of legal constraints, he was not at liberty to discuss
the details of the cases against the city, but did say police will no
longer put themselves in the position they found themselves in and will
do their best to enforce the law without violating human rights. The
needs of the homeless are better addressed by social workers and others,
and help has been offered to those who want to be reunited with family
members or who can move into transitional housing. Some number of people
don’t want and will not accept help and that creates an ongoing problem
exacerbated by alcohol and drug use.
Asked about community policing, Chief Harmon said
the intention was to bring stability to unstable neighborhoods, but he
didn’t think it had been done right. Law enforcement looked at best
practices in other cities and as a result have instituted additional
training and new procedures he feels will make those efforts more
successful. Police recruitment, hiring and retention have been
difficult for several years and much thought and planning has gone into
improving those numbers. The next five years are critical to maintaining
a well-trained and diverse police force. Asked about gang activity in
St. Petersburg, Harmon said we are fortunate here not to have the gang
problems many cities have. We have what he characterized as “gang
wannabees” mostly centered around the schools that only minimally meet
gang criteria. Grafitti clean-up weakens their impact and that is a
focus of law enforcement currently. Asked about drugs, Chief Harmon said
he is less concerned about crack in our communities than with
methamphetamine, a problem that is growing at an astonishing rate all
over the country. We won’t win the war on drugs, said Harmon, but
educating children is key.
When asked about the deaths of two mentally ill
people at the hands of police in two separate instances, Chief Harmon
cited the introduction of tasers as a real step forward in responding to
crises of this sort and said that despite their detractors, tasers do
and will save lives. Additional training in dealing with mentally ill in
crises has also made it more likely that future tragedies can be
averted.
Guests and Visitors
In addition to our speaker, two guests joined us
Tuesday. Jane Baldwin brought her new beau, Dave Millard, for
lunch and Seymour Gordon dined with Colby Masterson. It was
great to meet you both!
Be The First To Wear Our Shirt
Cindy Mulligan announced that Kiwanis Club
St. Petersburg shirts are available. Polos are $25 through size large
and $28 for extra large and above. A sign-up sheet will be available
again this week on which to place your order. If you’d like an
alternative to the polo, please check out the website.
What’s Happening?
Circle K International
The continued growth of USF-St. Pete and the new
influx of on-campus students has spurred the administration on to offer
new opportunities for professional growth and civic club involvement to
students. To fill this need, Dr. White and the board authorized a new
CKI chapter for the campus. Stay tuned for future opportunities to work
with Kiwanis youth!
Florida District Mid-Year Conference
Don’t forget! The Florida District Mid-Year
Conference is being held in Lake City on Friday, March 30th
and Saturday, March 31st. Join fellow Kiwanians Tom
Nelson, Markus Mittermayr and Charles Stuart for conference
fun! For more information, go to the Florida District website.
Volunteers Still Needed for Two Great Events
Jane Baldwin tells us we still need
volunteers for the Special Olympics games taking place on Saturday,
March 3rd as do Ron Scoggins and Kathy
Condon for the Great Chefs event on Sunday, March 18th.
Working on your lawn will make a short-term difference to your
neighbors; working on these two worthwhile events will make a difference
in many children’s and families’ lives. Lawn – humanity, lawn –
humanity, hmm. How will you spend your weekend?
Don’t Snooze, You’ll Miss The Cruise!
The Social Committee is on the right track with a
three hour cruise Thursday, April 26th from 5:30 pm – 8:30
pm, leaving from Maximo Moorings. Harvey’s will cater, there’ll be an
open bar and the sunset is free of charge. Weyman Willingham
advises that we sign up as soon as possible, as only 25 couples can be
accommodated. Cost is $40 per person and that’s not a yacht of money!
Look for the sign-up sheet that will circulate today at our meeting.
February Fast Fact
February 27th is Polar Bear Day
which celebrates the world's largest carnivore. A polar bear can grow up
to nine feet tall (when standing) and 1400 pounds. They are a favorite
at zoos around the country. Polar bears live at the North Pole region,
and are native to Alaska, Canada, Greenland, Norway, and Russia.
Celebrate by eating icy fish or a Klondike bar, neither of which
you gave up for Lent!
Today is also the anniversary of Fred Rogers’
death. He died February 27, 2004 from stomach cancer at the age of
74. Best known as TV's Mr. Rogers, he was born March 20, 1928. It
is a great day in the neighborhood, but maybe more so for
the polar bears.
Joke of the Day
A businessman came home from work to find his wife
in a sexy nightie with an attractive proposition. “Tie me up and do
anything you want,” she purred. So he tied her up and went golfing!
TODAY’S QUIZ:
1.
How long can the walking catfish of Florida can stay out of
water?
2.
Who provides the voice of the narrator for Spaceship Earth at
Walt Disney World's Epcot Center in Orlando?
3.
In what year did the U.S. first tax lands, houses and slaves?
4.
Who said, “I will not eat oysters. I want my food dead. Not sick,
not wounded, dead!”?
PRAYER OF THE DAY
Loving God, you made us co-creators in the process
of your creation, blessing us with wisdom, reason, creativity, and
skill. Bless all who seek meaningful employment that they may provide
for the well-being of their families. Let those who have more than they
need for life's necessities be moved to use their wealth to create new
opportunities for others. Let those who have skills be open to sharing
the riches of their knowledge with those who seek the opportunity to
learn. Let us all learn from one another, for you have blessed every
human being with a gift for the benefit of the common good. Through
those gifts, let us help and serve and guide as you do us. Amen.
LAST WEEK’S QUIZ
1. Horned Lizards shoot
blood from their eyes when alarmed.
2. On the television series, "Hill Street Blues,"
the last thing Sergeant Esterhaus said to the squad after roll call was
“Let’s be careful out there!”
3. Van Gogh
sold only one painting
during his lifetime (Red Vineyard at Arles; Pushkin Museum,
Moscow), and was little known to the art world at the time of his death,
but his fame grew rapidly thereafter. His influence on
Expressionism,
Fauvism
and early abstraction was enormous, and it can be seen in many other
aspects of 20th-century art.
4. The Corvette debuted in January of 1953
as a show car in the GM Motorama. It was a stylish two seat convertible,
designed to show the world that GM could create a sports car to compete
with European car manufacturers like Jaguar and MG.
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