The Nilon Report

Amen! I have attended both the town hall and the c...

2010-08-24T05:57:04.769-07:00

Amen! I have attended both the town hall and the city commissioner meeting last night. I am there for my daughter who is 11 and will be living with the consequences of our decisions now for most of her life.

When I talk with her about life when I was her age, she can't believe how much has changed. We had no VCRs, no cable television, no cordless phones - not even an answering machines! Cell phones that can do what hers does now would have been the stuff of sci-fi novels.

If the City signs this agreement, she will be almost the age I am now when it expires - and just imagine how much different her future will be.

Thirty years is simply too long. Period. I hope our commissioners have the courage to do what needs to be done here.

Annonymous, I also want to point out that I don&#...

2010-08-13T08:49:58.412-07:00

Annonymous,

I also want to point out that I don't think this issue should just be limited to City residents. This agreement is for the next 30 years, and unless you are certain that you will never live or work within the city limits, you have every right to get involved.

The $750 rebate for homeowners Solar Hot Water Sys...

2010-08-11T15:15:43.550-07:00

The $750 rebate for homeowners Solar Hot Water Systems is the largest straight "Check Back" that's been offered. With additional 30% federal tax credit,its the best deal since the '80's

Great blog Susan - I didn't know you had one!....

2010-08-03T10:40:54.065-07:00

Great blog Susan - I didn't know you had one!. I signed up for email updates and will add you to the list on my blog roll.

Take care.

Di :)

very strange he has enough money to send me weekly...

2010-08-02T18:45:47.796-07:00

very strange he has enough money to send me weekly glossy ads, place ads all over the net and TV but doesn't send out this info to all Dems in area. Maybe he has forgotten he is a Dem? He did forget that he had been a Republican even tho he ran for Congress as one in CA. Maybe he just wants to send messages to us and not take serious questions?

HI MY NAME IS JOSE ANGEL, I GOT TOLD BY SOME PEOPL...

2010-07-16T18:03:13.023-07:00

HI MY NAME IS JOSE ANGEL, I GOT TOLD BY SOME PEOPLES THAT YOU GUYS WERE GOING TO BE HIREING, FOR A JOB OF 200 ACHERS OF SOLOR PLANEL WORK IN BLYTHE CA BEHIND THE AIRPORT, I WOULD LIKE MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THIS , AND WHERE CAN I GET A APPLICATION TO SIGNED UP FOR THIS WORK. THIS IS MY NUMBER 760-238-6061..

Excellent post Susan! Unfortunately I am a county ...

2010-07-08T08:50:13.339-07:00

Excellent post Susan! Unfortunately I am a county resident, not a city resident - otherwise I would take the pledge. You are exactly right about who runs this country. It is not big government that is the problem, it's massive corporate influence that buys our democracy. Thanks for speaking up.

Commissioner Turner has just one vote, right? Woul...

2010-07-08T03:15:26.923-07:00

Commissioner Turner has just one vote, right?
Wouldn't it take a majority of the Commission to
rule out another public hearing on the Franchise
Agreement or have we decided that the one who
shouts the loudest wins? Don't let the destructionist democratic process of Mike Bennet poison the
work of the Commission; insist on due process.
Bennett's ways destroyed the DCA and PSC; don't
let them destroy Sarasota. Send FPL packing. No city needs a Franchise Agreement; Parkland, Florida has not had one for years and they are doing just fine.

Thanks, Susan. Great acknowledgement for a mighty...

2010-06-27T11:54:56.478-07:00

Thanks, Susan. Great acknowledgement for a mighty effort. But for the LIFE of ME .. I do not understand why Doug Holder thought he should be there, would be welcome there or had any business there. I guess everyone is entitled to redemption, but he could have at least had the decency to comment about all his previous boneheaded votes & decisions about oil drilling along our coast in the not too distant past.

If participating in this event, please try to avoi...

2010-06-22T14:16:46.910-07:00

If participating in this event, please try to avoid the area north of Siesta public beach (accesses 10 to 5). There is a population of nesting shorebirds along that section of the beach. The chicks and nests are already imperiled, and an event of this size could be very problematic for them. Our coastal wildlife needs all the help it can get - oiled or not. Please spread the word.

The comments Rae made about renewables and the cit...

2010-05-29T20:47:04.434-07:00

The comments Rae made about renewables and the city are very misleading. We are not concerned about minor concessions that FPL would make for the city properties. we want concessions that assist all property owners and citizens. i would love to see this 2 page list. Rex James, Solar Direct

It will take a lot of courage to stand strong agai...

2010-05-25T05:37:35.208-07:00

It will take a lot of courage to stand strong against the tide of FPL.

No municipality is under any obligation to enter i...

2010-05-25T00:14:48.691-07:00

No municipality is under any obligation to enter
into a franchise agreement with any utility or
provider of public service. The municipality can
simply add the pass through franchise fee to the
millage rate. The franchise agreement is simply
a way of hiding or disguising municipal taxes for
which the municipality needlessly gives up sovereignty and gains nothing. With an FPL franchise agreement, the municipality gives up the right to generate and sell power for no good reason. All franchise agreements should go the way of buggy whips.

Spreading the word about this!

2010-05-21T21:17:56.845-07:00

Spreading the word about this!

I live in Ft. Lauderdale and many citizens vocally...

2010-05-19T07:34:56.206-07:00

I live in Ft. Lauderdale and many citizens vocally opposed the 30 year agreement our cowardly or bought-off commission recently signed. You are very lucky to have officials who care more about the citizens than furthering their careers by ensuring campaign money and approval from FPL!!

It was alluded to last night. The only problem is...

2010-05-18T11:00:46.986-07:00

It was alluded to last night. The only problem is that even after the contract is allowed to expire, FPL is still required to pay the franchise fees to the city until a time that is deemed by a judge as reaching an impasse on negotiations. Other cities in Florida have already put this to the test and so far it's working.

Congratulations to the Commission for being forwar...

2010-05-18T10:56:53.391-07:00

Congratulations to the Commission for being forward-thinking. I bet the utility threat to withhold the city's franchise fee is coming soon...

I was very happy to witness it. I can only imagin...

2010-05-18T09:57:28.468-07:00

I was very happy to witness it. I can only imagine what FPL is doing now to combat this effort.

Happy to read this!!!

2010-05-18T09:44:45.172-07:00

Happy to read this!!!

Way to go Joyce!

2010-05-17T10:41:39.377-07:00

Way to go Joyce!

Unfortunate Mischaracterization of Senator Bennett...

2010-05-17T06:19:34.143-07:00

Unfortunate Mischaracterization of Senator Bennett's Renewable Energy Bill

This post has nothing to do with the Franchise Agreement. Its purpose is to correct serious mistakes in Ms. Nilon's analysis of Senate Bill 1186.

1. The bill did not remove PSC overshight of the Cost of Renewable Energy- PSC oversight was completely retained what the bill did do was give clear guidance to the PSC that Renewable Energy was in the state's interest and that no determination of need was necessary.

2. The Bill did not remove the Governor's RPS goals- The Governor's RPS goals are not in Statute they are in an Excutive Order. What the bill did do was remove from statute language directiing the PSC to craft a RPS rule- this was clean up- as the PSC already went thru the RPS rulemaking process.

3. The Bill did not allow for early cost recovery- it retained normal cost recovery processes. in other words costs would not have been recovered until the project was built.

It is seriously concerning that a blog that purports to provide expert information on renewable energy could be this wrong. These are not minor mistakes. Please do better research in the future so that folks who read this are not grossly mis-informed.

If that link does not work, go back to my home pag...

2010-05-16T10:38:57.801-07:00

If that link does not work, go back to my home page and read the most recent article. It is posted at the top.

John - here is the link to the proposed agreement....

2010-05-16T10:38:07.579-07:00

John - here is the link to the proposed agreement.

http://sarasota.granicus.com/MetaViewer.php?view_id=7&event_id=4&meta_id=237712

Q. What option does Sarasota have in negotiations ...

2010-05-16T09:53:39.903-07:00

Q. What option does Sarasota have in negotiations w/ FPL? It seems as though the big dog comes a knocking and we just have to roll over.
I really would like to know more about the proposals. I am very much in favor of encouraging roof top PV and net-metering.

I don't mind at all, as long as you correct th...

2010-05-16T09:49:23.802-07:00

I don't mind at all, as long as you correct the spelling of "facilities", and change the word "it's" to "its" 2 times in the 5th paragraph. I wrote and submitted that without checking it over.