Citizen Group Now Hopes To Get

Annexation Vote On November Ballot

MAYOR ASKS REP. SAUNDERS TO
INTRODUCE LEGISLATION TO
ALLOW CITIZENS TO VOTE ON
ALL ANNEXATION ISSUES

by Dennis Reeves Cooper

Proponents of an amendment
to the City Charter that
would require the City Commission
to seek approval of the
voters to annex any property
have not given up. A group
of citizens calling themselves
the Wisteria Island Committee
had hoped to have enough
signatures on a petition in time
to get the question on the ballot
in October. But they ran out of
time.

Local businessman Bruce
Ritson, who chairs the group,
told Key West The Newspaper
this week that he is now
confident that they can get a
referendum on the November
6 ballot.

Man Beats Up Dog;

Dog’s Owner Beats Up Man

MAN ARRESTED FOR BATTERY
AFTER HE PUNCHES ANOTHER
MAN WHO THREW HIS JACK
RUSSELL INTO THE AIR

KWTN Team Report

David Thornton, 45, who lives at 1901 S. Roosevelt Boulevard,
was arrested and charged with battery after he punched
another man he said had attacked his Jack Russell Terrier at the
Key West Dog Park last May 30.

Thornton, who said he is a former Sheriff’s deputy in
Hillsborough county and now retired from the Air Force, said
he and his wife had taken their dog to the dog park and he was
playing with a group of about five other small dogs.
“They were doing what little dogs do,” he said, “rolling
around and jumping on each other. Suddenly, we saw this man
wade into the group of dogs and grab our dog by his harness
and fling him through the air. When he landed, he rolled over
a couple of times. And the other dogs immediately ran over to
him and the romping began all over again.

Page One Commentary

I’m a Cop and You’re Not— Chapter 3

OFFICER CARUSO CONTINUES PATTERN OF
ABUSIVE BEHAVIOR. POLICE OFFICIALS FINALLY
GIVE HIM A FEW DAYS OFF WITHOUT PAY

by Dennis Reeves Cooper

Late last year, we published
a couple of stories about
Key West Police Officer Larry
Caruso’s abusive behavior. In
one instance, he threatened to
arrest a tow truck diver who
towed his unmarked police
car from a no-parking zone
at his girl friend’s apartment
complex.

Two months later, Caruso,
who had just been transferred to
the detective unit, left the scene
of a robbery investigation to
chase down an alleged traffic violator.
When he caught him— a
65-year-old tourist— he yanked
him out of the car, handcuffed
him—
and although the man
was not resisting, twisted his
arm into a “hammer lock” to escort
him to the patrol car— and
hauled him off to jail.

OPINION

Lawsuit Will Expose
Government Corruption

by Dennis Reeves Cooper

The whistle-blower lawsuit filed against the City
this week has ramifications well beyond whatever
damages may result from the suit itself. The discovery
process associated with the suit has the potential to
shake City government to its very core.

Young, the former head of Code Enforcement,
was fired last October for actually doing his job. He
dared to cite the illegal activities of friends and relatives
of the Mayor, City Commissioners and other
high-level City officials. He had to be fired. He was
too honest and, therefore, too dangerous. He refused
to play the game. So he had to go.

Young is not the first City employee to be unfairly
fired for blowing the whistle on corruption. Remember
former Police Chief Ray Peterson? He was fired
because he reportedly called in the FBI to investigate
corruption here.

But what makes Jim Young different is that he
is not going to go away quietly. He knows where the
bodies are buried and this lawsuit will give him and
his attorneys access to a shovel to dig them up and
lay them out in the street so we can all see.
Let’s all watch together.

RHONDA

Dude, My Mom’s
Coming. Hide
Your AK-47

by Rhonda Linseman

Perhaps our libertarian
columnist Hal O’Boyle will
never speak to me again. Wait,
he has never spoken to me to
begin with, so here goes: I hate
guns. There I said it.

And while I’m admittedly
ill-prepared to debate gun control
policy and related matters
this week, I am prepared to
speak as a pissed off mother.

At that I’m an expert. I’m specifically
targeting proponents
of those asinine Air Soft guns
that shoot 6 mm BBs at high
velocity. They’ve mysteriously
weaseled their way, seemingly
unquestioned, into the category
of “toys appropriate
for children.” There has been
some discussion of proposing
legislation to ban the sale of
them within the city, but I’m not
going to argue legality and I’m
not suggesting that individuals
shouldn’t protect their right to
bear arms.

ON THE SONNY SIDE

A Treatise On Why Bridges
Sometimes Fail

by Charles “Sonny” McCoy

There’s a little ditty that we have all heard as
children: “London Bridges falling down, falling down,
falling down, London Bridges falling down my fair
lady.” The nation began August 2007 with the chilling
news that a bridge spanning the early waters of the
Mississippi River near the Twin Cities in Minnesota
had inexplicably collapsed into the river. And for some
inexplicable reason that simple ditty resonated with
me. Maybe it was the normal empathizing process
of feeling the pain of the victims, or maybe it was a
need of my profession to try to understand the cause
and effect of a structural failure.

The exact cause of failure will take time but
structures, and materials used to construct them are
fundamental in the curriculum of architectural and
structural engineering schools. But while the crunching
of numbers in an equation to arrive at what is the
right structural member necessary to resist or support
any given loading condition, there are other variables
that can ultimately be the cause of a failure.

Security Aesthetics

by Hal O’Boyle

When we moved to Costa Rica a year and a half ago, the prison-like façades that faced the streets of San Jose
appalled us. Steel security bars and razor tape are everywhere. We were
delighted that our first house was safe enough in the middle of a large
coffee plantation that it needed neither bars nor wire. The five big,
not-that-friendly dogs and attentive longtime employees provided
reliable security.

A move across the valley to a suburb closer to the city gave us a
new perspective on security. With a small and underpaid police force
and equally small consequences for getting caught thieving, the locals
believe in prevention.

Duncan Walters At Cowboy Bill’s

INTERNATIONAL RECORDING ARTIST DUNCAN WALTERS will be at Cowboy Bill’s tonight
and tomorrow night, Friday and Saturday, August 10-11.

RIDENOUR REPORT

by Valerie Ridenour

More about the marvelous
Terry Cassidy: This is a
civic minded man. He’s always
doing something for the
community. I go back to 1984
with Terry. He was in the most
popular band in the Keys, the
fabulous Key Lime Pie Band
with Joe and Meri-lynn Britz
and others. I was playing with
the Gary Chase Band. Our paths
often crossed. He was wonderful
then and has gotten better,
as the really talented do. He is
one of the nicest people you’ll
ever meet. I value his friendship
so much.

I need to say a word about
the Key Deer Bar and Grill. It’s
in Big Pine, where I live, and
has great music, giving our
hard pressed Key West players
a venue when they need it
most. They hire the best. They
have a marvelous laid back,
casual atmosphere and great
food. It’s up the road a piece,
but definitely worth the trip.
They are ecology minded too.
They use those strange looking
light bulbs!

BARNES LAW: Q&A

Adopting a Child Independently

by Michael Barnes

What Do I Need to Know
about Adopting a Child Independently
?

An independent adoption
is the adoption of a child
without the need for utilizing
the services of a licensed
child placement agency or the
Department of Children and
Families. A home can be found
for the child by the birth parent
or parents directly or through
the use of an intermediary.

An intermediary in the State
of Florida is an attorney or
physician who is licensed or
authorized to practice in the
State of Florida . However, no
child may be placed directly by
a birth parent to an adoptive
couple without the use of an
intermediary.