Simple, Low-Cost Coquina Beach Safety Measures

roblimo | Bradenton/local, Politics | Sunday, April 29th, 2007

Dear Manatee County Commissioners:

From what I’ve heard and read, it looks like Manatee County plans to spend more than $600,000 to chop up the Coquina Beach parking lots in order to make “cruising” there harder and, hopefully, make the area less of a magnet for gang members and others who destroy the area’s ambiance with loud music, gunfire, and other Bad Behavior. I have a simpler plan that would cost a lot less to implement.
(more…)

Killing Florida’s Property Tax Will Also Kill Florida’s Construction Industry

roblimo | Bradenton/local, Business, Politics | Saturday, April 28th, 2007

Florida House Speaker Marco Rubio, following his natural Republican inclinations, wants to eliminate property taxes in Florida and raise sales taxes to partially compensate for the loss of property tax revenue. For most local governments, property taxes are the main source of revenue, since Florida has no income tax. And since Rubio and other legislators whose primary purpose in life is to make sure our greediest residents flourish while everyone else wilts refuse to tax service sales along with sales of tangible items, this tax plan would move Florida farther toward Leona Helmsley “only the little people pay taxes” Republicanism than ever. But it would also kill Florida’s construction industry, thereby putting a big hurt on a large percentage of our state’s greediest citizens even as it helped others of their ilk. And this problem — not compassion for the working poor or sound fiscal thinking — is why Rubio’s tax-shift plan will not become law.

(more…)

Pelicans at Pine Island, Florida (30 seconds)

roblimo | Videos | Thursday, April 26th, 2007

I was on Pine Island, doing a twilight commercial shoot, when a pelican decided to pose for me — and was soon joined by a friend or relative. This video has no purpose other than to share a few seconds of wildlife/scenery with you — and to show you, in case you care, that I have a nice (and growing) collection of scenic B-Roll footage to use in our commercial work.

Charisma Cafe, Village of the Arts, Bradenton Florida

roblimo | Bradenton/local, Village of the Arts | Sunday, April 22nd, 2007

1004 10th Ave. West… where you go for great coffee, wraps, sandwiches, pastries — your “cup of charisma” in the Village of the Arts, you might say.

Beware of Wal~Mart’s Meat

roblimo | Bradenton/local, Business | Friday, April 20th, 2007

My wife, Debbie, bought food at Wal~Mart earlier this week. She’s not a Wal~Mart person, but she had a doctor’s appointment right across the street from Wal~Mart and saw that the parking lot wasn’t crowded. She wasn’t in a hurry to get home (I was working), so she decided to take a stroll through the store, where she was seduced by meat prices far below what she was used to paying at Publix. But when we tried to eat the Wal~Mart meat, it was obvious that Debbie had made a big mistake.

(more…)

Unrealistic ‘Affordable Housing’ Expectations in Bradenton

roblimo | Bradenton/local, Business | Wednesday, April 18th, 2007

My wife and I live in a Bradenton house that we bought in 2004 for a lot less than the $168,000 that is currently considered the maximum price for ‘affordable housing’ around here. I’ll admit that we’ve spent a fair amount of money fixing up the place, but even if we include our remodeling expenses, our home’s total cost is well below the official ‘workforce housing’ top price limit of $201,600. It’s a nice place, too.
(more…)

Liberal ArtZ ~ Village of the Arts ~ Bradenton, Florida

roblimo | Bradenton/local, Videos, Village of the Arts | Sunday, April 8th, 2007

An exercise in pseudo-steadicam (constant motion) camerawork + a “short cut” editing style I don’t usually use. Kevin and Diane do great work, and Kevin is an accomplished performing poet, so his narration is great. I just walked around with the camera and recorded their work, then cut on the beat, y’know? Came out very well!

(more…)

Why Christianity is More Popular than Judaism (rerun)

roblimo | Bradenton/local | Friday, April 6th, 2007

I had a revelation one evening at a Walgreens Drug Store in Bradenton, which I suppose is as good a place to have a revelation as any. It was about Jesus, Passover, and Easter. In a flash, I suddenly realized why Christianity is popular and Judaism is not. (Note:I wrote this piece last year, but decided it was worth running again for those who may have missed it the first time around.)

(more…)

Powered by WordPress | Theme by Roy Tanck