George Mindling Column 2-20-2004 - Year of The Big Storm?

Could This Be the Year of The Big Storm?

Planning on more visitors from out of town this year? I don't mean the college visitors coming to town who will get this town rocking for a month at the Charlotte Sports Park on State Road 776, starting Feb. 28. No, I'm talking about ones who may not come at all: Alex, Bonnie and the rest of the 2004 Atlantic hurricanes. Alex and his friends could start their visits in just a little over three months. The 2004 hurricane season gets under way officially June 1, and runs through Nov. 30.

According to Professor William Gray at Colorado State University, 2004 will be an active Atlantic hurricane season with more activity than usual. In his December 2003 extended forecast, Dr. Gray predicts seven Atlantic hurricanes and 13 named storms. He forecasts the Net Tropical Cyclone activity in 2004 to be about 125 percent of the long-term average. The next update from the CSU Department of Atmospheric Sciences will be in April. For information, check the web page at http://hurricane.atmos.colostate.edu/forecasts/

If you are new to the area, you will hear a new term called the Saffir-Simpson scale. This is a rating system to indicate the severity of a hurricane, from category 1 being the first level of hurricane force winds of at least 74 mph, to category 5, the strongest storm, with winds over 156 mph. According to the Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory, a category 4 storm averages 250 times more devastating than a category 1 storm.

Newcomers need to understand the difference between a hurricane watch and a hurricane warning as well. A hurricane watch means to hours or less. Go about whatever preparation you need to insure your safety in case the watch gets upgraded to a warning. A hurricane warning is issued when the threat is 24 hours or less away. A warning means take urgent action to protect yourself and your family.

With area hotels reaping the benefits of the upcoming College Baseball Invitational series and guests are waiting an hour to get seated at restaurants, it is difficult to envision anything but beautiful weather and great baseball. Balmy skies now are a great time to order those storm shutters and update insurance policies. Generators and chain saws are plentiful now, but they won't be if we go under a hurricane watch. Now is the time to plan for what you need to do.

Alex and his friends will have to wait just a little while longer, though. I'll see you at the Sports Park for the Port Charlotte College Invitational Baseball series starting Feb. 28, when Urbana plays Grace at noon in the main stadium. Talk about visitors! The Sports Park will be rocking until March 27 with colleges from all over the country playing great baseball on all four fields plus the main stadium!

Tickets are adult daily at $3, $2 for a child's ticket. Weekly passes go for $10, and the whole month can be had for $25! Tickets went on sale Feb. 18 at Charlotte County Recreation Centers and Papa Johns pizza stores.

George Mindling © 2004

George Mindling Column 1-16-2004 - Look to the Future

Port Charlotte Must Look to the Future

A recent newspaper ad for a sign installer in Port Charlotte drew few responses in 10 days. This was for a full-time installer, with benefits at a good salary. The same company also placed an ad at the same time for part-time clerical work, only a 30-hour a week, with no benefits, at $6.50 an hour. That ad drew 52 responses.

Port Charlotte has the highest per capita number of single female parents in the state. Will there ever be enough employment to satisfy the number of often well-trained office and clerical people who must work one or two jobs just to make their rent or car payments? Not if the current attitude of standing with our backs to the future continues in Charlotte County. It is also difficult to compete with Lee, Collier or Sarasota counties for craftsmen labor as long as those areas pay a higher scale than Port Charlotte.

While the social and economic factors that cause Charlotte County to have a disproportionate number of single parents is an ongoing discussion, the inability of the local economy to employ these people is an indication of our limited economic diversity. For many of the unemployed, their parents - and now their grandparents - are becoming beacons of hope. People on retirement incomes, well beyond their peak earning periods in their lives, now find their offspring can't support their own families on wages paid here. They become not only the new home, but often the prime financial support as well.

Grandparents raising grandkids has become commonplace in Charlotte County. Grandparents have become more than daytime babysitters while their children are at work; they have now taken a mainstream role of guardianship as well.

The opponents to economic growth in Charlotte County would prefer to go back 10 or 15 years in time. "Let everything take care of itself" was a common attitude then, and it has resulted in the inability of Charlotte County to maintain economic parity with the rest of Southwest Florida.

The Charlotte County Commission's duty is to all residents, including the future ones. They are our children and our grandchildren. They will live here long after we are gone. Courage often means doing what is right for the future while the opportunity exists. We do have courageous commissioners, now bombarded by vocal and often overbearing opposition who want to return to the past - the past of only basic retirement homes and no infrastructure to support them! Commissioners are trying to do the right thing for Charlotte County by ensuring that our children and our families have a chance for employment and education today and tomorrow alike. Our future cannot be shackled to our past.

Those who want a better place to live in the future Charlotte County should not stand silent while a vocal opposition minority tries to drive the political bus. The road in Charlotte County can go backward as well as forward.  It depends on who is in the driver's seat.

George Mindling © 2004

George Mindling Column 12-19-2003 - Old Scam

An Old Scam Pops Up

While looking at my telephone bill, trying to figure out why the taxes are as much as the telephone charges themselves, I noticed Sprint had included a warning about the return of an old scam: redirecting your PC modem to dial an international access number. The problem, called "hijacking," occurs if you click on certain Internet pop-up ads on your PC screen. You won't know you've been disconnected from your Internet service, or that the modem has called a new number, with charges, according to the Sprint flyer, of up to $9.00 a minute. They don't mention what happens if you are on a broadband service such as cable or DSL, but the scam probably tries to dial your PC's built-in modem anyway.

If you click on the ad, your PC is disconnected from the Internet dial-up connection you made when you logged on and a new, international number is quietly dialed without you realizing the new call has been made. The modem sounds are suppressed by the commands from the pop-up ad. Sprint states the action results "in you being billed for costly international long-distance calls you didn't realize you made."

I wrote back in February about the "809" area code being notorious for generating large, unwanted long-distance telephone bills. The problem isn't just dialing the 809 area code, which is the Dominican Republic. Any legitimate call to the Dominican Republic uses that area code. There are charge telephone numbers that happen to reside in that country, and in others that do not require the international access number of 011, and can bill according to those country's laws that are the problem.

Once you make the call, you are legitimately required to pay the bill. Remember, the bill is not from your long-distance 'provider, but from the number you dialed. The foreign telephone service forwards the bill to your long-distance provider. Your long-distance provider then submits the bill from the foreign number on your monthly bill. They are obligated to collect it by international telephone and commerce agreements. Disputing the bill can .be a challenge, as the disagreement will be with a foreign telephone company, not a U.S. long-distance provider. The long-distance carrier may help, but don't bank on it.

The 809 area code was splintered in 1997 into several different codes, with the Dominican Republic maintaining the original 809 area code. The 473 area code is now Grenada, while 284 is the British Virgin Islands, and 868 is Trinidad and Tobago. All can be dialed without the international "011" code.

Go to http://www.thedirectory.org/pref/ for a complete list of area codes. The Sprint flyer advises you to be cautious about any Internet pop-up screens you click on, and to read all messages carefully. While there should be consumer warnings, the flyer does not say those warnings will always be there. For more information' call Sprint Fraud Management a 1-866-255-5278.

Now all we need is a toll-free telephone number to prevent pop-up telephone taxes.

George Mindling © 2003

George Mindling Column 10-17-2003 - Murdock Village

Murdock Village

The Murdock Village project is an issue polarizing our community unlike any since last year's courthouse restoration budget.

While many voters are opposed to the ambitious, forward looking mixture of residential, civic and commercial development, it appears a majority of business owners and many of the civic leaders are solidly behind the project. The issue of economic impact on Charlotte County's future is the major component of the discussion.

There is opposition to economic growth in Charlotte County and the Murdock Village project looms as the ideological battleground With the initial groundbreaking at least three years away, the possibility of the project being corrupted by an incoming majority of new county commissioners certainly exists as three commission seats will be up for election. The project has already progressed well beyond the point of no return financially, and most certainly will be contracted and well into the initial design phase before the next county election.

The project could possibly be prevented from successful completion, or at least significantly altered. The opponents of the project must show the voters that terminating or canceling multimillion dollar contracts and facing the lawsuits that will follow, is in the best interests of Charlotte County. Everyone sympathizes with the property owners who will have to forfeit homes and businesses they have already established. It is unfortunate for the commissioners to not have won general approval of the property owners beforehand by not involving them in the success of the project. A method of making current residents and owners some type of "shareholders" in the village, through some form of credit could possibly have garnered the enthusiasm and support it needed for the overall general acceptance of the project.

Fear of a tax increase to fund the project is one tactic the project opponents are already using to attack the project. Ironically, if the project is halted now, after the county has already acquired considerable property in the area and before the investors can buy or invest in the project after the completion of the acquisition phase, that possibility certainly exists. The county would then have a large amount of property that no longer generates tax revenue.

If a new County Commission stalls the project, the recently purchased property may not be what it was worth before the project was announced The area in question is not known in real estate circles as prime property. There are many desirable growth areas in the county, but the area currently being acquired is certainly not one of them. If the project is terminated now, property values in the area will fall back drastically, undercutting speculators who have been buying property in anticipation of leveraging the county into paying above assessed prices for property.

What transpires in the next 12 months will determine how the voters see the County Commission candidates and the project itself. The commissioners have work to do, as do the candidates.

Charlotte County voters have the hardest job: They must decide what is right for our future.

George Mindling © 2003

George Mindling Column 9-19-2003 - Isabel's wrath

Homeowners spared from Isabel's wrath

As Isabel pounds north Florida, it appears we have been spared yet again. The storm decreased from peak Category 5 status to Category 2 prior to landfall. Everyone in Florida should know there are five categories, and Isabel has been all five. Category 5 storms are the ones with winds at more than 155 miles an hour. A Category 4 is still enough to scare me into leaving. That is another problem with Isabel. If it were to hit mid-Florida, there isn't anywhere to go.

The eye of Isabel was almost 60 miles wide. Hurricane force winds can extend almost 300 miles across. New Florida homeowners should be thankful the new hurricane codes are in effect for all new home construction. Hopefully, the new homes are built substantially better than the ones that were demolished by Hurricane Andrew in 1992. Hurricane Fabian just clobbered Bermuda and although exterior damage was severe and four lives were lost, there were few problems with the homes on the island. Bermuda requires all residential dwellings be built to withstand 130-mph winds.

Many Southwest Florida residents still cling to their lucky rabbit's feet and go about their business as if we live in a protected bubble. How about you?  Did you check your hurricane kit this past weekend when it was the right time to prepare for Isabel? Do you even have a hurricane kit? Fill the car with gasoline and stock up with canned goods and a mechanical can opener? Have you been to one of the many free hurricane seminars?

You will never forget the sound of the tiles being ripped off your roof in the middle of the night after hours of incessant, roaring, almost evil-sounding wind. You will cringe and hold your breath every time something slams into a glass window or door, and you will do it for hours. The walls of our inside hallway, our "safe" walls, bowed back and forth during Andrew, causing me to think for the first time I had made a mistake by not taking my family to a shelter. My garage door, with a 120-mph hurricane kit mounted on it, blew in and wrapped itself around my van. Yet, we were lucky. Many others, including our daughter who lived in Cutler Ridge, lost everything.

We lived 20 miles inland. We did not live near any coast, where unfortunately, the media always seems to focus its coverage. The average Florida homeowner complacently watches sailboats being blown ashore, or breakers smashing over a seawall somewhere and doesn't relate to the intensity that can destroy his or her house as well as business. Too many reporters standing by the water's edge in damp slickers trying to make an impression with viewers simply don't convey the sense of urgency that emergency management people everywhere wish they could turn on with a switch.

Watching Isabel slowly move past us to the north, I think how lucky we are again.

George Mindling © 2003

George Mindling Column 8-15-2003 - Mutually Exclusive

Mutually Exclusive

A recent article in the Sun about the new home for the Parrot Jungle in Miami bears an uncanny resemblance to what may happen in Punta Gorda with the current Charlotte County Auditorium. The property may be lost to the public if the Charlotte County commissioners follow in the footsteps of the city of Miami.

The old tourist venues that were an integral part of Florida's allure as a tourist destination are fading by the wayside. Our nearby Cypress Gardens is currently struggling to see if it can arise from the ashes of financial losses, but may fall by the wayside as did Miami's Rare Bird Garden, the Musa Isle Indian Village and many, many more. Of Miami's remaining attractions, only the Parrot Jungle, with city and county assistance of course was able to negotiate a leap to the 21st century.

The old location of the Parrot Jungle in South Miami on Red Road, was becoming an increasingly upscale residential neighborhood. The Parrot Jungle traded locations with the city of Miami for a prime location on Watson Island. The new location, directly across from where the cruise ships dock on Dodge Island. was called "a really barren island" by Ben Levine, a veterinarian and one of the owners of the Parrot Jungle.

I disagree. My daughter learned to sail there, as did many other kids since the inception of the Miami Yacht Club in 1927. We sat many times under the beautiful yellow Tabebuia trees on the weekends with many other families playing next to the old Japanese Gardens.

The public boat ramps between the working class MYC and the Miami Outboard Club were always filled with regular people who couldn't afford to live on Hibiscus or Star Islands, not far from the ramp, but who enjoyed the waters of Biscayne Bay. The "really barren island" is divided by the six-lane MacArthur Causeway, where countless sightseers still park next to Government Cut to watch the cruise ships.

We knew developers had their eyes on the marvelous piece of property when the city of Miami forced the Goodyear blimp off the island. The "dangerous" blimp base immediately became a helicopter landing area. When the state of Florida deeded the spoil island to the city of Miami. in the 1980s, the city, under mayor Maurice Ferre immediately went after the remaining occupants of the island.

Miami wanted a grandiose theme and amusement park to rival Disneyland. Deed restrictions on the grant for the Japanese Garden and opposition from MYC and MOC stopped that deal. but the loss was only temporarily delayed.

Today, the huge brown monstrosity that is the Parrot Jungle parking garage all but blocks the sun from little MYC. The island once famous for Chalk's Airlines and the Goodyear blimp has added a $47 million attraction that will soon prove whether or not the city of Miami acted in the good faith of its citizens. Whatever happens, the property will never return to the citizens who played in the beautiful park that once was.

George Mindling © 2003

George Mindling Column 7-18-2003 - The Battle for Your Dollar

The Battle for Your Dollar

Have you opened a charge account at a major retailer lately? Have you checked your first bill to see the hidden 'cost of the "free" card'!

My wife recently received her very first bill on a brand new, “Value Add" charge card that offered dollar points on all card purchases. The bill was for $11, a $1 opening charge and a $10 late fee for not paying the opening charge! She had never used the card in the several weeks she had it and had not been informed of the charge on the "free" account! The thought of having her credit blemished because of a policy that borders on questionable ethics is not worth having the card. Needless to say, the card has been canceled.

Most people pay the dollar on their first bill if they have used the card and never notice the unannounced charge on the supposedly free charge account. It is only one of several minor ways to quietly, or even surreptitiously take your money without you even noticing.

Saving your money is an attitude! One dollar isn't going to bankrupt anyone, even though the late charge may damage your credit! Saving that dollar is a dollar earned. In today's environment, throwing money away is easy. It can slip through your fingers with incredible ease.

It wasn't uncommon to see women with little plastic clickers many years ago in most of the grocery stores, keeping a running tally on what went into the shopping cart. It was a good budget reminder and a great way to verify the cashier's total. Today's hurried housewife might look at that as frivolous, at best, but it was one way to monitor the money flow. Ever check to see if the cashier's scale is set to zero before weighing your fruit or produce? They have a pedal or level to zero the scale, it only takes a second. If you can't see the weight indicator, beware. A few ounces on each customer makes a nice daily total.

Florida Power and Light has a neat little service that may help find the fleeing dollars from your house air conditioner. FPL will do a vent and leak check of your house for a small charge. A recommended check if you plan to have your Ale upgraded or replaced, or if you can't seem to find why your house won't cool the way it should. Call FPL's customer service line at (800) 226-3545 for more details. FPL also offers an energy check to help spot the other energy areas to conserve power and save you money.

Double-check your telephone bill for more little drains on your pocket book. The feature called line guard is around $5 a month and double if you have two numbers. If you need it. fine, but if you don't. remove it from your charges.

Winning the battle for your dollar starts with remembering how hard you worked to win it in the first place.

George Mindling © 2003