A few notes on the local blogosphere:
-- John DeGroot has begun his own blog that focuses on the public health system (if there is such a thing). It's titled "Broward Health -- Not" and can be seen here. The first indication that this could be a must-read for the medical crowd is the first post, which includes some startling information on fat cat salaries at taxpayer-assisted "Broward Health," which was formerly called the North Broward Hospital District. The agency, which is simply supposed to provide a safety net for the poor, is paying its CEO, Levine, $540,000 -- a 44 percent increase above his incompetent predecessor, Wil Trower. Others have gotten huge raises during the past couple of years, jacking up salaries as much as 64 percent.
-- As the obsessive followers of JAABlog all ready know, Bill Gelin is back in business. The Prince and others want me to tell them what happened. Well, it seems pretty simple: Gelin basically quit the blog after a post was altered without his permission, creating a power struggle. Gelin prevailed and Craig Esquinazzi, who wanted the blog to have a group-voice, resigned. Seems simple.
Oh, and while I'm here, I just want to remark on the absurdity of the federal government re: the Indian Gambling Compact. Today's Knucklehead of the Day (to borrow the Florida Masochist's schtick) is Carl Artman, the deputy secretary of the Interior Department's Divison of Indian Affairs, who is prodding Gov. Charlie Crist to sign a bad deal with the Seminoles. Wrote Artman:
"The Department has a responsibility to the Tribe. This leaves the Tribe on an unfair playing field if it is allowed only Class II games.''
An unfair playing field? Who the hell is Artman kidding? The Seminoles pay no taxes and aren't regulated while the parimutuels are paying an effective 62 percent tax rate on their slots. Now the feds are trying to push Crist into giving away the store -- in the form of a monopoly on card table games like blackjack -- to the Seminoles at the expense of businesses that are actually beholden to the state? I know Artman and the Department of Interior have a resonsibility to the Tribe, but what about to taxpayers?
