ADDENDUM TO PAYROLL AND OVERTIME AUDIT
I will always support the WPB Police Dept; and the men and women who protect the residents every day while knowing they are targeted by some. There are a few officers who make it difficult for others to do their jobs and cast a dark shadow over the City. This report covers 2019 with a change in Administration.
City of West Palm Beach Internal Auditor’s Office 7 pages, and can be read below.
“During the original City-wide audit of Payroll and Overtime, we identified inaccurate timecard reporting that contained overlapping hours within the City’s Police Department (Finding 5 of the Payroll and Overtime Audit Report). Our testing was limited to the top 20 Earners of City-paid and vendor-paid overtime during FY2019. The process to analyze the records was time consuming and labor intensive, thus we did not have the resources to expand the review to all officers within the scope period of the audit. Subsequently, we requested resources to conduct testing on all officers during the audit period which was
granted. As such, we have attached the Internal Auditor’s Office Addendum Report to the Payroll and Overtime Audit which details the results of the additional testing.
We thank our contracted auditors, Monica Sanchez and Elena Gonzalez, for their work in completing this audit. Further, we thank the management and staff of the Police Department for their time, assistance, and cooperation during this audit.
Opportunities for Improvement – Addendum
Inaccurate Police Officer Timecard Reporting
Condition
We conducted a review of all police officers (about 285) that had City-paid and vendor paid work hours in FY19 to determine if there were any instances where the hours overlapped, and officers were potentially overpaid. We found that 77 (27%) officers had numerous instances where hours overlapped, meaning that they logged work hours for multiple locations at the same time, for a combined total of 462.25 overlapping hours. Using the hourly pay rate of the officers that had overlapping hours, these officers were
potentially overpaid by the City and/or the vendor for a combined total of approximately $19,6531.
Criteria
All City employees are expected to accurately report time worked. Further, the City hasan ethics policy that all City employees are required to adhere to.
Cause
The conditions we identified occurred due to:
Vendors are permitted to pay officers directly for hours worked and no requirement exists for vendors to track officer hours paid versus hours worked;Systems that do not communicate with one another, thereby making it difficult to flag overlapping hours; Higher ranking staff that can enter their own hours and do not require approval; and Lack of ongoing reconciliation of total (vendor-paid and City-paid) hours worked.
Effect
Failure to properly manage and oversee the total employee hours worked, results in an organization that is highly susceptible to improper actions and is exposed to financial loss. When abuse goes unidentified or unquestioned the organization can develop a culture where abuse becomes normal, which ultimately hurts the City’s reputation. It should be noted that when conditions are such that: 1. controls are weak or virtually
nonexistent it creates an opportunity; 2. there is a need which creates pressure; and 3. there is a pay discrepancy which permits rationalization of actions; the organization now has the three elements of the fraud triangle, and it becomes highly likely that fraud may occur or could be occurring undetected.
Recommendation
NOTE – The following recommendation replaces Recommendation 5 from the original Payroll and OT Audit.
The Police Department should ensure adequate monitoring and accurate reporting of hours worked by:
A. Improving technology and access to data. Dedicating resources to finding one automated solution that can support all aspects of the extra-duty and outside employment program, satisfy all data needs, and integrate with the City’s timekeeping and financial systems.
Management Response
Management agrees improved technology would allow for better oversight of both regular duty and overtime.
B. Recovering the overpayments identified in this analysis and/or future overpayments wherever warranted, cost-effective and within the confinement of existing laws and regulations.
Management Response B1
Management does not agree it is prudent to pursue “recovery of overpayments.”However, future oversight and identification of similar “overpayments” would warrant an investigation, appropriate discipline and/or restitution.
Administration Response B1
City Administration agrees with the Police Department that it is not prudent to pursue “recovery of the questionable overpayments” for the various reasons stated in the report among some others.
Auditors Comment B1
The Auditor’s Office recognizes that it may not be cost effective to recover all overpayments, however, it may be helpful to conduct an analysis and determine if it would be cost effective to recover some of the overpayments.
Management Response B2
The audit team made a historical finding for FY2019 of 462.25 hours of potential overlapping hours. An average hourly salary (from an Assistant Chief to new Officer) has been determined to be $41.89. The estimated total potential monetary amount in question is approximately $19,363.65.
Auditor’s Comment B2
We spent a significant amount of time with PD management to validate the exceptions found related to the 77 officers. PD management was given ample time to review the exceptions and provide any additional information that could impact the results. As such, the results provided here represent discrepancies that PD management could not reconcile after exhaustive reviews.
Management Response
Management agrees there must be more effective review of hours worked by all employees; improved distribution of relevant information to supervisors should allow for appropriate reconciliation of work hours without designating more staff to track employee hours worked. The training and use of the new EDS reports during payroll approval can be implemented by November 30th.
C. Designating staff to periodically reconcile all vendor and City-paid hours. To accomplish this task, the designated staff should have access to all systems that track employee hours worked.
Management Response
Management agrees there must be more effective review of hours worked by all employees; improved distribution of relevant information to supervisors should allow for appropriate reconciliation of work hours without designating more staff to track employee hours worked. The training and use of the new EDS reports during payroll approval can be implemented by November 30th. Entire Internal Auditors Report can be read below.
Addendum to the Payroll and Overtime Audit Report AUD19-04(1)
Personal message
City Commission meeting 4/18/2022 and I spoke under Public Comment when my time ran out so what I wanted known will be added to the story as I want my experience on the record
I left a City Commission meeting in Oct. 2021 and made it to 45th. St. when one of my tires began to go flat. I made it home and parked. The next morning both front tires were flat. A friend arrived to help and said he would put “plugs” in the tires. He removed both screws and placed a plug in each tire, which helped, but both tires had a slow leak. New tires were not in my budget so I had to inflate both tires 2-3 times a week. Nov. 2021 tires were replaced.
2/22/2022 I was removed from a City Commission meeting for refusing to put on a mask until Mayor James did. I was escorted from City Hall when I was asked to sit in the courtyard for a little chat, which I did. I was kept there listening to information I had no interest in. When I finally asked him why he was telling me this, his response was he wanted me to know a few things about him. He received a text message, got up and said he had to go. 20-25 minutes of my life I will never get back. It surprised me to learn he knew I had a handicap placard.
I drive a Hybrid and while driving on 95 my car just died and I had the car towed to my home. The Hybrid battery was guaranteed for 10 years and the dealer wanted $4,000.00 to replace it. I knew it had to be replaced when I was told about a company called “Green Bean” who charged $1,500 to replace with a lifetime guarantee.
A technician arrived with a new battery and while installing it noticed I had a small oil leak. He was kind enough to look under the car and the leak was coming from my oil filter. He called me over and told me to look down and he turned the oil filter back and forth, and then hand tightened it, looked at the dipstick and told me I had no oil in the car I assumed it was the battery that caused my car to die, it wasn’t. I bought 2 quarts of oil, which was enough to get me the station for a new oil change.
Two incidents with my car after leaving City Hall is 2 to many and as I have told readers in the past I don’t believe in coincidences. It makes me angry and I don’t go away, I dig in and if I believe residents need information on what goes on behind the scenes I tell them. For example:
The City Charter says the City Administrator MUST live within City Limits. and I made an issue of it a few times. Well I’m happy to say the City Administrator Faye Johnson purchased a condo in November and it’s located within City Limits. What I don’t understand is why her car still resides in unincorporated Palm Beach County.
The end
City Raising Fees Again
My plan was to give myself and readers a break from WPB Watch City stories over the Easter weekend. You know what they say about the best laid plans of mice and man. Things change and plans are altered. I received an email today and I feel I must share it with readers as timing is crucial.
Those who have read about the increase in parking, presented to residents at the last possible moment to avoid pushback from voters & taxpayers.
The city has done it again and why not it worked before with the parking increase. This is what happens when people don’t pay attention and the results are no one complaining at the City Commission meetings.
There are different problems in all areas of the city, and lately it appears the powers to be are concentrating on the downtown area once again.
Most readers will not be impacted by this notice but I ask for unity and your involvement in this issue. Help the downtown area with your voice, and hopefully when they come for you and changes the city want to make in your area the downtown will stand with us and use their voices.
Below is the email I refer too.
“Hello Downtown Stakeholders,
I know we have all been very busy and understandably may not had the time to keep up with the happenings within our government downtown. I just received in the mail the new proposed resolution No 87-22 (attached) which goes to a Commission vote this Monday, April 18th. I was not aware of this proposal until 3 days ago . The City and DDA said there were merchant meetings discussing it but the most recent was over one year ago and as I am getting on in years, I do not remember it.
The proposal changes the way we are charged for Sidewalk annual permits. Currently we pay a $150 annual permit fee. The new proposal will be a $200 fee plus an annual charge of $5 per sq foot of your sidewalk cafe area. For some it may be a minor amount and for larger establishments more impactful. For the average sidewalk patio it does represent a 1,500% increase in fees. I’m sure we would all support such a tax IF we knew where the additional revenue was going ie. mitigate homelessness, keep streets cleaner, more security downtown etc. I’m just afraid it will wind up in the City cloud slush fund.
After last weeks dramatic parking rate increase, which I also do not feel the downtown merchants had a chance to participate in, this is just another unnecessary tax on businesses downtown. Again this may not effect most of us but I do think it will effect some of the struggling businesses that are barely recovering from the covid pandemic.
We are only asking in this petition for a 30 day delay in the Commission vote to allow time for a merchant meeting, which is long overdue, and a chance for us to ask questions and give some input.
Please consider signing the petition, Fill in your business name. We will send the results to the commission at their meetings this Monday.”
https://www.ipetitions.com/petition/city-of-west-palm-beach-commision-sidewalk-cafe
Notice from the City can be read below.
The end.
WPB Internal Audit on David
My comments in Italic.
City Commission Meeting held 4/4/2022. Item 9.1 on the agenda reads:
“Submittal of the following reports from the Internal Auditor’s Office:
1. Parking Driver and Vehicle Information Database (DAVID) Audit Report
AUD22-01;
2. Police Internal Affairs Audit Report AUD20-05; and
3. Addendum to the Payroll and Overtime Audit Report AUD19-04.
Originating Department: Internal Audit
Staff Recommended Motion: Receive, Approve, and File.”
Background Information:
“The reports were presented to the Audit Committee on March 29, 2022,
where they were approved by the Audit Committee Members. Copies of
the reports have been provided to the Mayor and the City Commissioners.
Fiscal Note:
No fiscal impact.”
3/29/2022 Internal Audit meet with the IA Committee members and presented the findings. I attended via Zoom, and had concerns and questions particularly concerning police overtime.
Below is the first of 3 reports from the WPB Internal Auditor Department which the City Commissioners received, approved and filed on 4/4/2022 without one question being asked or one concern being shown. I have presented parts of the report and the entire report, containing 12 pages can be read below and I ask readers to note how many employee positions are vacant on the Parking Department Organization Chart. (page 4)
Background
“The City’s Parking Department and the Code Enforcement Division utilize personal information that is obtained from the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FLHSMV) to identify or confirm driver or vehicle owner information as related to parking and code violations. In order to utilize the data provided, the City and the FLHSMV entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that outlines the City’s obligations to meet internal control measures designed to ensure that confidential personal information is adequately protected from inappropriate access or use.
To access the data from the FLHSMV, the City and its employees utilize an online portal known as DAVID (Driver and Vehicle Information Database) that is managed by the FLHSMV. While FLHSMV owns and manages the DAVID system, the City is required to appoint an Agency Point of Contact (APOC) to administer and perform local services.
Examples of these services include deactivation of terminated users, user access reviews, quality control reviews, and obtaining acknowledgements of the confidentiality of information, including criminal sanctions for confidentiality violations. This audit is a requirement in the MOU agreement and it was conducted to evaluate the internal controls in place to ensure that data provided or received is protected from unauthorized access, distribution, use, modification, or disclosure. We note that in the
MOU, the Parking Department is the primary requesting agency and the Code Enforcement Division is the sub-requesting agency. As such, the Parking Department is responsible for ensuring that all users comply with the MOU requirements. However, the Code Enforcement Division is within the Police Department and the Parking Department does not have authority or oversight over Code Enforcement employees.”
Statement of Scope
“The scope of the audit was from December 1, 2018 to September 30, 2021 (audit period). The audit included tests and reviews of systems, policies, procedures, and processes. Other procedures and reviews outside the audit period were conducted as deemed necessary.”
Statement of Objectives
“The objectives of this audit were to: A. Determine whether the internal controls governing the Parking Department’s access and usage of DAVID data complied with the requirements in the MOU, and B. Determine whether there were any additional opportunities for improvement.”
Statement of Methodology
“The methodologies used to meet the audit objectives included the following:
• Conducting interviews and inquiries of personnel;
• Reviews of relevant agreements, State laws, internal policies and procedures;
• Evaluating and testing internal controls as related to applicable systems;
• Analyzing data, and
• Other audit procedures deemed necessary.
To the extent possible, testing was conducted on the entire population. However, where sampling was employed, we utilized a statistically valid sample that provided a 95% confidence level with a 5% margin of error. As such, these results may be extrapolated to the entire population.”
Opportunities for Improvement
1. “Distribution of DAVID Data . During our review, we found that the Parking Department inappropriately distributed Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicle (FLHSMV) DAVID data to the sub-contracting collection agency to assist with collecting on delinquent parking accounts.
Furthermore, we found that the terms of the agreement with the subcontractor did not adequately disclose the applicable laws, security, and confidentiality requirements surrounding DAVID data.”
Criteria
“Per the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), Section IV, “Statement of Work”, the Requesting Party agrees to:
• Refrain from assigning, sub-contracting, or otherwise transferring its rights, duties, or obligations under this MOU, without the prior written consent of the Providing Agency,
• Not share, provide, or release any DAVID information to any law enforcement, other governmental agency, person, or entity not a party otherwise subject to the terms and condition of this MOU, and
• Protect and maintain the confidentiality and security of the data received from the Providing Agency in accordance with this MOU and applicable state and federal law.”
Cause
“Parking was not aware of the MOU requirements that prohibit the sharing of DAVID data without prior written consent of the FLHSMV. Additionally, Parking did not inform the Office of the City Attorney of the sub-contracting/third party distribution of DAVID data, prior to establishing an agreement for the collection of delinquent Parking citations.”
Effect
“Transferring DAVID data obtained from the FLHSMV to a sub-contracting collection agency without consent violates the terms of the MOU. More importantly, it increases the risk of inappropriate access to confidential information that could be misused.
Furthermore, this may leave the City susceptible to litigation and reputational damage, due to inappropriate distribution of personal identifiable information.”
Business Justification for Searches
Condition
“During the audit period, there were 14 users with DAVID access, of which 10 users performed searches. The 10 users conducted a total of 3,131 searches. We reviewed a statistically valid sample1 of 343 searches and found that for 94 (27%) searches performed, the Parking Department was unable to provide a business justification or other supporting documentation to validate whether the DAVID searches were for a legitimate business purpose. We also found the following DAVID search activities:
• 85 of 94 (90%) searches were performed within Parking, and
• 9 of 94 (10%) searches were performed within the Code Enforcement Division.
It should be noted that while a process for documenting business justifications for DAVID searches exist, we found that this process was not being consistently followed. Further, the Parking Department does not have oversight or authority over Code Enforcement staff because Code Enforcement is within the Police Department. This presents challenges for the Parking Department to enforce the MOU requirements or monitor the access and use of the DAVID data.”
Criteria
“Per the MOU, Section V, “Safeguarding Information”, the parties mutually agree that information exchanged will not be used for any purposes not specifically authorized by this MOU. The MOU further states that unauthorized use includes, but is not limited to, queries not related to a legitimate business purpose, personal use, or the dissemination, sharing, copying, or passing of this information to unauthorized persons.”
Cause
“As related to the Parking Department, there was insufficient oversight of DAVID users to ensure that a business justification was documented or other support was maintained, for each search performed. As related to Code Enforcement, the Parking Department did not have the authority or oversight of the Code Enforcement Division to ensure that searches had a documented business justification.”
Effect
“Failure to document a business justification or maintain other supporting documentation to justify searches performed in DAVID could result in the Parking Department’s inability to demonstrate to the FLHSMV that the searches are in fact legitimate and for a business purpose. Further, this increases the risk of inappropriate searches being performed. Finally, there is a heightened risk to the City of being liable for unauthorized access or misuse of confidential personal information, as well as a loss of public confidence.”
Access Termination
Condition
“During the audit period, DAVID access was added and/or removed for 14 users within the Parking Department. We reviewed access termination and found that the Parking Department did not deactivate DAVID user access in a timely manner for 4 (28%) employees with a terminated or transferred status. Their access remained active for 8 to 886 days. The following table provides the details of what we found:” Please see page 11 for Table,Criteria, Cause and Effect.
The Internal Auditor’s findings demonstrate that the city administration lacks the ability to properly train and monitor employees assigned to the parking department. Fault and blame for lack of over-site is attributable to the Mayor as Chief Executive and the City Administrator, Faye Johnson.
Previously a story was posted on WPB Watch that 275 WPB employees resigned between 4/1/2019 until 9/30/2021. If you missed the story you can read it below. How many employees were from the Parking Department, gone and not replaced?
https://wpbwatch.com/2021/10/city-employees-resigning-why/
Read the entire Internal Auditors Report Below. This is a great example of why the IA Dept. is so critical to the city. It finds the problems so the City can repair the damage. Let’s hope they do.
Parking DAVID Audit Report AUD22-01
The End
WPB Parking Rates
Updated 3/24/2022@ 12:35 p.m
I received a number of phone calls and emails regarding March 21, 2020 City Commission meeting and the topic was item # 8.4 “Resolution No. 88-22 amending existing parking rates and hours of operation for the City Parking System.”
Many downtown residents and businesses are upset over the parking rate increases and they have good reason to be because they were deprived of their right to address their elected officials and express their concerns for the rate hike and the effect it would have on their pocketbooks and businesses.
I placed a PRR with the City Clerk. My comments in Italic, when you see the map where parking prices increase, double click to enlarge.
PRR Mon, Mar 21, 2022 5:52 pm “On the agenda for the City Commission meeting 3/21/2022 item # 8.4 concerns changes to the city parking fee. No explanation of what the changes are. Please send me the documentation explaining what the changes are.”
City Response: Tue, Mar 22, 2022 10:19 am “I will provide the resolution approving the fees once signed by the Mayor.” Cancel the request, I have the needed information.
PRR Tue, Mar 22, 2022 10:19 am “One more request for the agenda for the City Commission meeting 3/21/2022 item # 8.4 concerns changes to the city parking fee. I did not notice this item on the Draft agenda. Please tell me the date and time it was added to the 3/21/2022 City Commission meeting.”
City Response: “This item was approved to be added to the final agenda at agenda review on March 17th, and was published with the final agenda on Friday, March 18th.”
Here lies the problem. It was added to the agenda on 3/17/2022 (Thursday) and put on the final agenda 3/18/2022(Friday) Saturday and Sunday City Hall closed.
At one time (before James & Johnson) emails were sent to residents who registered with the city to receive notice of upcoming meetings. Now residents must check the City’s website.
WPB Watch published a story and predicted problems with the way the City conducted business. Thanks to city leaders for proving me right—–again.
Posted on City Website:
“If you wish to give public comment, please attend the meeting or fill out and submit the public comment form below before the deadline specified:”
“DEADLINE FOR PUBLIC COMMENT 2:00 p.m. on the day of the meeting.”
A resident found the addition of # 8.4 after 2:00 p.m. so to late for residents to offer an opinion. So when you are told “we want to hear from you'” understand they mean developers, and everyone who can contribute to keep them in office. They knew this would not be popular with residents and businesses and holding it to the last minute insured approval from City Commissioners, with no complaints from residents
Here is a short list of the changes made to the parking rates, and readers can read all the changes below which include ALL CITY PARKING GARAGES including City Center, Banyan Street Garage, Clematis Street Garage, Evernia Street Garage and Sapodilla Garage.
Want to park on Clematis St. Parking meters went from $1.25 to $2.50/ hr; and parking is limited to 2 hours.
Sunday parking in a City Garage was free, now it will cost you $5.00, along with Saturday & Holiday’s.
Once upon a time the city gave you the first hour of garage parking for free, just enough time to run in and pay your water bill, or check out a book from the library. No More!
“$1.00 First two Hours $2.00 Each Additional ½ hour after the 1st Two Hours” Wording it that way instead of sticker shock of $4.00/hr. with the maximum charge of $20.00 doubling the price from $10.00.
People who work in downtown depend on the parking garage and this increase hurts them the most.
GARAGE PARKING PERMITS
Monthly $100.00 plus tax
Residential $ 80.00 plus tax Tax really?
ZONE A,B & C
Daily Meter Rental Fee $25.00
Monthly Meter Rental Fee $400.00
Downtown Residential rate and Hospitality Worker (People who work in restaurants or hotels who depend on tips to help pay their parking charges will be hurt the most.)
Over stay your welcome look at the City fines!
City’s new parking rates:
The end!
Mayoral Town Hall: South End Neighborhoods.
3/9/2022. Mayor James met with the South End Neighborhoods
The crowd consisted of 25-30 people and 15 minutes into the meeting 3 couple left after coming to the conclusion I had. James started his re-election campaign. You can hear and see the meeting below. It appeared to me James was not comfortable, read from a script, and if he said “uh” once he said it a hundred times.
He told us what a wonderful job he’s done since taking over the “reins” of WPB.
He started with a question, asking the people in attendance how long they lived in the city with a show of hands. 10 years, 5 years and 2 years. Majority of hands showed people lived in WPB for 10 Years or more.
The mayor pointed out all the good WPB has to offer, never mentioning the downside of residing in the City. I will write about 3 issues he mentioned growth, crime and food deserts.
Growth:
“It’s all about growth. You have probably noticed that WPB has grown a bit. In the last 18-24 months Let me give you some statistics. My administration assisted with the re-location or expansion of 12 new companies to WPB which had more than 300 highly compensated jobs, Financial Services, Tech, Construction and Multi Media. WPB received thirty nine million in business tax last year.
We have six (6) Class A office projects in the pipeline. To give you some perspective between 2008 and 2019 there were no Class A office projects. We have 3 billion dollars in construction projects that are in various stages of completion.”
James told the story of meeting the President of El Cid neighborhood who told him there was a 40% turnover in home ownership. People are not happy when that many relocate.
“West Palm Beach Is Overflowing With Class A Office Space As New Towers Emerge:” For a look at the other side of the coin, please read the story below.
https://rrcra.com/west-palm-beach-is-overflowing-with-class-a-office-space-as-new-towers-emerge/
What’s the downside of over-building?
The cement industry produces somewhere between 5-10% of all carbon-dioxide emissions worldwide, making it the third-largest source of global-warming, behind only coal-fueled power plants and combustion-engine vehicles. Test for yourselves. If you’ve ever walked barefoot across a sun baked parking lot, you know firsthand how concrete soaks up and retains the sun’s heat. When temperatures rise, the countless miles of concrete streets, sidewalks, walls and roofs in cities magnify that effect, creating a phenomenon known as “urban heat islands”. I can walk across grass barefooted and not burn my feet. Government so concerned about global warming, they want us to give up driving cars and go all electric to save the planet.
Picture of WPB Skyline. Now picture it with James words “We have six Class A office projects in the pipeline. We have 3 billion dollars in construction projects that are in various stages of completion.” Double click to enlarge.
If that’s not enough to make you think, how about residents living in areas where they can’t exit their garages due to traffic gridlock.
West Palm Beach, Florida Average Apartment Rent in February 2022 is $2,141- $2,875 Compared to a year ago, West Palm Beach, Florida apartments have recorded a 34% rent increase.
Since James has taken office he has talked about building “low cost” apartment rentals. Where are they?
Do you enjoy tennis? Do you play at Currie Park? If the answer is yes, get your play time in because The powers to be have decided once again that developers needs are more important than residents.
“The Currie Park tennis courts are to be completely removed in favor of commercializing the park. Not enough room for tennis or other recreation. Instead, the City wants to locate a 2500 sq ft. restaurant and a two-story 4800 sq ft events complex – known as a “Resiliency Hub.”
Be honest— are you sorry if you voted for the $30 million bond issue for parks?
Crime:
Murder map: Deadliest U.S. Cities # 40. West Palm Beach, Florida
The murder rate in West Palm Beach is 15.07 per 100,000. The murder rate plummeted in the city from 2018 to 2019, dropping by more than 9 per 100,000 residents.
https://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/murder-map-deadliest-u-s-cities/27/
28 murders in 2018
17 murders in 2019 James elected Mayor of WPB.
15 murders in 2020
23 murders in 2021
2 murders in 2022 Jan.1 thru Mar. 19 I believe there have been more deaths. PB Post not updated at the time story was posted.
https://apps.palmbeachpost.com/homicides/
The link below you will find stats for West Palm Beach VIOLENT CRIMES and West Palm Beach PROPERTY CRIMES.
https://www.neighborhoodscout.com/fl/west-palm-beach/crime
Food Deserts:
What qualifies as a food desert? Geographic areas where access to affordable, healthy food options (aka fresh fruits and veggies) is limited or nonexistent because grocery stores are too far away.
James told the small audience he brought FAMU (Florida A&M University) to operate an urban farm in WPB.
Below are excerpts from Macuba, and the entire story can be read below.
“A few weeks ago on this page, we deplored West Palm Beach’s decision to scrap the urban farm that brought color, life and fresh produce to a dusty food desert north of downtown. There are no full-size grocery stores within a mile, so Henrietta Bridge Farm, the creation of Vietnam War veteran Stewart Bosley on an acre and a half of town land, was a godsend for residents within walking distance.
Sadly, the town, for reasons as yet unexplained – other than vague discussions about building halfway houses – refused to renew Bosley’s lease this year and forced it to empty itself.
Now here is more encouraging news. The town hall has reached an agreement with a branch of Florida A&M University to establish three small urban farms and educational programs to serve low-income residents of West Palm Beach, starting at six months.
Although the sites are much smaller than the now bulldozed property of Henrietta Avenue, Vonda Richardson, executive director of FAMU cooperative extension program, said they would each provide enough produce for 30 to 50 people.
“Meeting this need of our workforce, residents and homeless people is a top priority for Mayor (Keith) James,” a city press release noted. Who writes this crap?
Bosley, for his part, gets credit for planting the idea of urban farming in West Palm Beach and running Henrietta Bridge Farm for years. It was Bosley who recommended the city to contact FAMU, which he first urged about 10 years ago and then again more recently. Although he regretted that the city had put his farm aside, just as a new growing season was starting, he offered to help with the new as best he could.
Every now and then he glances through the chained door to the now silent lot at 401 N. Rosemary Ave. Some of the plants he established still grow their way through the soil.”
There has been no movement at the former site of Henrietta Bridge Farm with the exception of little plants reaching for the sun.
https://macuba.org/plan-for-famu-west-palm-brings-hope-for-urban-farm-in-food-deserts/
Video of James meeting with the south end.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p08yExu6lE8
The end.
Who is Phyllis Brooks?
The Executive Administration Assistant, Ms. Phyllis Brooks was terminated from her job in Feb. 2022 after 38 years of service to the city.
Commissioners Fox, Lambert, Peduzzi, Shoaf and Warren was the vote for removal unanimous?
This termination not only has me upset but has left the remaining City employees with low morale, Job insecurity, stress, fear, and anxiety they will be next. Did any of you consider the effects your action have taken? How is the remaining Administrative Assistant coping doing the work of 2 people?
I am anxious for your reply.
“As such, administration has provided further support to the commission staff to bridge the gap for capacity during this time so that the office workload does not fall all to remaining staff.”
Sent: Friday, February 25, 2022 12:22 PM
To: Melissa McKinlay <[email protected]>
Subject: looking for info
Kelley A. Burke
Chief of Staff to
Commissioner Melissa McKinlay
Covid-19 Pfizer Releases Court Ordered Test Results.
I previously wrote two stories (1) Tuskegee Experiment (2) Aids Epidemic. I wrote the stories knowing it would lead to the third story concerning Covid and attempted to reveal a dark place in American history and what the government is capable of if not watched with a close eye. Thankfully we have people who are willing to do that for us.
Using fear as a means of manipulating the masses, people agreeing to give up the rights to manage their own bodies and health, forced to carry vaccine card’s and allowing themselves to be injected with a vaccine with unknown long term consequences.
One of my favorite quotes: “Truth is like a lion, you need not defend it. Let it loose and it will defend itself!” St. Augustine.
Full disclosure
I did not want, or accept the vaccine for Covid. Here’s my explanation for the decision I made.
I am in excellent health, with the exception of a knee that needed replacement, take no prescribed medication, but take vitamins and minerals daily. I still manage my home and continue to edge, weed-wack and mow my own lawn, although what used to take me 3-4 hours are spread out over 2 days.
On my 65th. birthday I became eligible for Medicare and was advised to find a doctor. I did. On my first visit he asked if I had received a flu shot. I had not, so he gave me one. It took all of 2 day’s before I became violently ill, and it lasted 7-10 days. I attributed it to the flu shot.
Second year the doctor said he was going to give me a fly shot, and I refused the vaccine. When he questioned me I told him how sick I was after receiving it previously. His response was “think how much sicker you would have been had you not received it” I relented and held my arm out for the second flu shot, with the same devastating results.
Third year he insisted I take the flu shot, I insisted I needed a doctor who would listen to me, left his office and never looked back. My new doctor listened and understands, doesn’t insist, and explained he has to ask if I want the flu and pneumonia shot. I just smile at him.
For over two years we have listened to MSM (main stream media) report on Carona and the wonderful vaccine developed that would save lives if we consented to receiving it. Many like myself were not willing and we were considered villainous, a danger to society, not welcome if we couldn’t produce a Vaccination Card.
President Biden and Fauci appeared on TV and quoted in MSM, that was the information we received.
Media appeared never to question it, just accepted what was told to them and reported the news as given.
I have two people in my life, one an old friend who advises me on stories I want to write on WPB Watch. He shows me the other side of the coin. Many times he is right, and when we don’t agree he is fine with it. You know who you are, and I thank you for your patience.
The other is a new friend who finds information and is willing to share it with me, as he has done for this story. I thank you for your trust, and you know who you are. Let the journey begin.
12/21/2020 ” President-elect Joe Biden received his first dose of the Pfizer and BioNTech coronavirus vaccine on live television and reassured Americans of the vaccine’s safety.”
1/11/2021 – “Joe Biden on Monday received the second dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine on camera, as part of an effort by the President-elect’s incoming administration to reassure the country of the safety of the vaccines.”
9/27/2021 “President Joe Biden received a Covid-19 booster shot Monday, in accordance with the latest guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.”
The President of the United States is one of the most protected people in the world, and Americans are expected to believe Biden received a vaccine developed by Pfizer, the first to receive emergency use authorization from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in under a year not knowing the long term effects. It worked, people began rolling up their sleeves. One friend told me she trust the science, I replied the science is what Fauci and the CDC tells you it is.
We received daily reports on people who died from Carona, millions admitted to hospitals and placed on ventilators. One man was shot in the head and his reported cause of death was Carona virus. The media picked up on the story and received an apology, a mistake was made.
Sen. Scott Jensen, R-Minn., a physician in Minnesota, was interviewed by “The Ingraham Angle” host Laura Ingraham on April 8 on Fox News and claimed hospitals get paid more if Medicare patients are listed as having COVID-19 and get three times as much money if they need a ventilator.
Jensen said, “Hospital administrators might well want to see COVID-19 attached to a discharge summary or a death certificate. Why? Because if it’s a straightforward, garden-variety pneumonia that a person is admitted to the hospital for – if they’re Medicare – typically, the diagnosis-related group lump sum payment would be $5,000. But if it’s COVID-19 pneumonia, then it’s $13,000, and if that COVID-19 pneumonia patient ends up on a ventilator, it goes up to $39,000.”
Jensen clarified in the video that he doesn’t think physicians are “gaming the system” so much as other “players,” such as hospital administrators, who he said may pressure physicians to cite all diagnoses, including “probable” COVID-19, on discharge papers or death certificates to get the higher Medicare allocation allowed under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act. Past practice, Jensen said, did not include probabilities.” Read the entire story below:
December 18, 2021 Wait what? FDA wants 55 years to process FOIA request over vaccine data
Freedom of Information Act requests are rarely speedy, but when a group of scientists asked the federal government to share the data it relied upon in licensing Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine, the response went beyond typical bureaucratic foot-dragging.
As in 55 years beyond.
That’s how long the Food & Drug Administration in court papers this week proposes it should be given to review and release the trove of vaccine-related documents responsive to the request. If a federal judge in Texas agrees, plaintiffs Public Health and Medical Professionals for Transparency can expect to see the full record in 2076. Read the entire story below:
“January 7, 2022 Score one for transparency. Judge orders FDA to hasten release of Pfizer vaccine docs.”
“A federal judge in Texas on Thursday ordered the Food and Drug Administration to make public the data it relied on to license Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine, imposing a dramatically accelerated schedule that should result in the release of all information within about eight months.
That’s roughly 75 years and four months faster than the FDA said it could take to complete a Freedom of Information Act request by a group of doctors and scientists seeking an estimated 450,000 pages of material about the vaccine.” Read the entire story below:
“Under the PREP Act, companies like Pfizer and Moderna have total immunity from liability if something unintentionally goes wrong with their vaccines.
The quickest vaccine ever developed was for mumps. It took four years and was licensed in 1967. Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine was developed and cleared for emergency use in eight months — a fact that has fueled public mistrust of the coronavirus inoculation in the U.S.” Read the entire story below:
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/12/16/covid-vaccine-side-effects-compensation-lawsuit.html
Discovery of Ivermectin A National Historic Chemical Landmark Dedicated at Merck & Co., Inc., on December 2, 2016.
“The story is so improbable it defies belief: a soil sample from Japan stops suffering in Africa. It starts when a scientist discovers a lowly bacterium near a golf course outside Tokyo. A team of scientists in the United States finds that the bacterium produces compounds that impede the activity of nematode worms. It is developed into a drug that wards off parasites in countless pets and farm animals, averting billions of dollars in losses worldwide. Extraordinarily, the drug also prevents or treats human parasitic diseases that would otherwise cause blindness and other severe symptoms in hundreds of millions of people in many of the poorest countries on Earth”
https://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/education/whatischemistry/landmarks/ivermectin-mectizan.html
COVID Patient in Coma Gets Ivermectin After Court Order: (Nurije Fype)
“A 68-year-old woman with COVID-19, who has been in intensive care in an Illinois hospital for a month, started receiving the controversial drug ivermectin this week after her family sued the hospital to have someone administer it.
Fype’s daughter said her mother has been a patient at Elmhurst Hospital since April 7, was put on a ventilator on April 28, and is now in a coma.
The FDA has warned against ivermectin’s use for treating COVID-19, but a high-profile group of doctors has spoken passionately in favor of it. The National Institutes of Health said there is not enough data to recommend either for or against its use in treating COVID-19.
Three days later, according to the Daily Herald, the lawyer for the hospital, Joseph Monahan, argued the hospital could not find a hospital-affiliated doctor to administer the ivermectin.
In a follow-up hearing on Tuesday, Monahan told Orel that the hospital asked 20 doctors and 19 other health care workers, including nurses and pharmacists, to administer the medication and they all declined.
When Fype’s doctor was unable to administer it, the legal team found another doctor, Alan Bain, DO, to do it. Monahan said Bain was granted credentials to work at the hospital so he could administer it Monday evening.”
https://www.webmd.com/lung/news/20210506/covid-patient-in-coma-gets-ivermectin-after-court-order
For 20 days, Dr. Alan Bain of Chicago drove to Elmhurst Hospital, usually after a full work day, to administer ivermectin to a critically ill woman named Nurije Fype, whose daughter, Desareta, sought and won two court orders for the COVID treatment. Dr. Bain had been asked to give the drug after other hospital physicians declined, despite the court’s orders, to give the FDA-approved medication.
She said her mother is expected to return home late this week.”
The courts have been busy allowing families to sue hospitals and doctors for refusing to administer ivermectin which they believed would save their loved one’s.
March 1,2022 FDA started releasing the Court ordered Pfizer documents.
March 2,2022 I received FDA documents containing 38 pages, the last 9 pages contained a “LIST OF ADVERSE EVENTS OF SPECIAL INTEREST” I contacted a member of the media and asked if they were interested in viewing the documents. No response.
Why is the media not interested in these documents? That was the question that bothered me. I can only think of one reason. Turn on your TV and what you see/hear is advertising for a drug that will change your life, check with your doctor.
Can you imagine how many millions are made by the media for running the ad’s?
Next ad could be from Attorney’s who ask if you have taken the drug that will change your life and it has—for the worst, call me—I’m here to help.
I suppose the old adage applies “Follow the Money” may apply.
If I could suggest any reading material to subscribers it would be Robert F.Kennedy Jr’s book “The Real Anthony Fauci” A true eye opener and explains how we got to this point.
Court ordered Pfizer documents released can be read below: If your unable to open, please try a different browser.
38 pages released by FDA below.
I also received the documents below.
“BioNTech Signs Collaboration Agreement with Pfizer to Develop mRNA‐based Vaccines for Prevention of Influenza.
BioNTech will receive $120 million in upfront, equity and near‐term research payments from Pfizer and will be eligible to receive up to $305 million in potential development, regulatory and commercial milestone payments and up to double‐digit royalties.” 3 page Contract below:
20180816_Pfizer_BioNTech_Press-Release_EN
COVID-19 mRNA Vaccine (BNT162/PF-07302048)
Part 1 of the Original Submission – Rolling Biologics License Application (BLA)
Request for Priority Review Designation
Dear Dr. Gruber,
“Please find enclosed Part 1 of the Original Submission of the rolling Biologics License
Application (BLA) for the BNT162b2 vaccine candidate developed by BioNTech and Pfizer
under BB-IND 19736 for the prevention of COVID-19 caused by SARS-CoV-2 in
individuals ≥16 years of age. This vaccine was granted Fast Track Designation for
individuals >18 years of age on 07 July 2020. The Grant Fast Track Designation Letter is
provided in Module 1.7.4. Submission of this BLA as a rolling application was agreed during
the teleconference of 16 April 2021” 6 pages of documentation released by the FDA
Pfizer A wire transfer for $2,875,842.00 was made
For years I have heard fake news, fake news, fake news I never realized it was coming from my own government.
Please take a moment to say a prayer for innocence citizens of Ukraine.
The end
Aids Epidemic & Anthony Fauci
How much of what happened during the Aids epidemic sounds familiar 30 years later with the Carona Virus?
People ask: Where did AIDS originally start?
“Where did HIV come from?”
HIV infection in humans came from a type of chimpanzee in Central Africa. The chimpanzee version of the virus (called simian immunodeficiency virus, or SIV) was probably passed to humans when humans hunted these chimpanzees for meat and came in contact with their infected blood.”
“Dr. Fauci was appointed director of NIAID ( National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease) in 1984. He oversees an extensive portfolio of basic and applied research to prevent, diagnose, and treat established infectious diseases such as HIV/AIDS, respiratory infections, diarrheal diseases,”
https://www.niaid.nih.gov/about/anthony-s-fauci-md-bio
May 25, 2003 Dr. Fauci on AIDS Oncology Times:
WASHINGTON, DC—”The news about the number of AIDS cases is bad and getting worse, said Anthony S. Fauci, MD, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), speaking to a science writers association here last month.”
In the United States, 980,000 people are living with AIDS. In the world, 42 million people have the disease—29.4 million in sub-Saharan Africa alone.
Between 1999 and 2001, AIDS increased by 14% in gay men and 10% in heterosexuals, he said. The incidence is now 50% black, 29% white, and 19% Hispanic. Much of this new pattern is fueled by drug abuse, said Dr. Fauci.”
Three decades before coronavirus, Anthony Fauci took heat from AIDS protesters
“AIDS protesters hold flares and signs during a raucous demonstration at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md., on May 21, 1990.
“Act Up, Fight Back, Fight AIDS!” The angry chanting grew louder as hundreds of protesters wove through the usually placid campus of the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda on May 21, 1990.
With signs that read “Red Tape Kills Us” and “NIH — Negligence, Incompetence and Horror,” members of the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power, or ACT UP, marched toward a row of police officers in riot gear guarding Building One. Suddenly, the pack parted and a small group of protesters ran through the middle of the crowd, right to the police line, bearing torches spewing rainbow-colored smoke. Chaos erupted between the screaming crowd and police, each pushing and shoving back and forth.
For months, ACT UP had been formally urging Fauci to include their members in the government’s development process for AIDS drugs.
Fauci, now under attack by some Trump supporters for his response to the coronavirus pandemic, was in favor of the group’s participation.
“I was trying to get them into all the planning meetings for the clinical trials,” Fauci said last week, taking time out from the coronavirus fight to look back at another deadly disease he managed 30 years ago. But he met increasing resistance from the scientific community, who were put off by ACT UP tactics.” People fighting for their lives put off the scientific community.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2020/05/20/fauci-aids-nih-coronavirus/
“Disparities and Discrimination”
“HIV was first identified in MSM, (Mainstream Media) which served to increase the discrimination this community was already facing. It quickly became clear, however, that the emerging HIV epidemic was impacting other communities as well.
The first cases of HIV in women were identified in 1983. And, in 1986, the CDC reported that AIDS was disproportionately impacting Blacks/African Americans and Hispanic/Latino Americans. Early in the epidemic, misinformation was abundant.”
“Advocacy and Activism”
“In the face of this kind of stigma, many of the communities most impacted by HIV became fierce advocates for their needs. Founded out of the LGBTQ+ movement, the HIV community has a history of activism that has shaped the course of the epidemic.
Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, groups like GMHC (formerly the Gay Men’s Health Crisis), ACT UP (the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power), NMAC (formerly National Minority AIDS Council), the Latino Commission on AIDS, and the Black AIDS Institute (BAI) formed to offer direct services, provide education, amplify the voices of marginalized communities, and advocate for laws and policies that could help those suffering most. They fought for increased investment in research, care, prevention, and other services that people living with HIV needed, like housing and employment programs”
“The Fauci’s ran a neighborhood pharmacy at 13th Avenue and 83rd Street and lived in an apartment above. The whole family helped out in the business — his dad working in the back of the pharmacy while his mother and sister operated the register. Tony delivered prescriptions from the time he was old enough to ride a bike. Strong family relationships were an important part of Tony’s upbringing.” Double click picture to enlarge.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1994641/
Fauci has been involved with pharmaceutical’s from the time he learned to ride a bike.
Now we have the Carona Virus developed in Communist China and I have two question which will never be answered.
Was Aids really caused by chimpanzee or was it developed in a petri dish?
Is it a coincidence Dr Anthony Fauci oversaw both epidemics, Aids & Carona Virus, where mis-information was wide spread?
The end!
Tuskegee Experiment: The Infamous Syphilis Study
This is the first of three stories. The second story will concern the Aids epidemic, and finally a story on Coronavirus. The story recently published “Removed for the 4th. time” contained what I believe the media will and will not report on. I blame myself for reading Sharyl Attkisson books.
How do you get your news?
I don’t give a damn what information the Federal Government releases to the media. I do care about what the media reports to us, and I don’t want what comes out of government mouths, and media accepting it as the “truth and nothing but the truth” concerning the virus and miraculous vaccine. I can share a dozen stories of friends and acquaintances who have passed on after receiving the vaccine and booster.
The day of the Investigator Reporter is dying, but not dead yet. Let’s pray for their recovery, and their editors allow them to do what they do best, Investigate and report the truth.
It’s your body and your decision what you put into it. Want to smoke–your decision, Don’t eat meat–your decision, couple of cocktails–your decision, don’t want the vaccine–your decision.
It’s reported people of color are pushing back against the vaccine. endangering the rest of the population. All out program to get them vaccinated. Hey, come on it’s free medicine to keep you and America safe. Still they don’t bite. Could the story below be the cause of their apprehension.
Here is what the Federal Government inflicted on African Americans in 1932.
Below is a story from “History.” Remember what they say about history? “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it” quote by George Santayana.
“The Tuskegee experiment began in 1932, at a time when there was no known treatment for syphilis, a contagious venereal disease. After being recruited by the promise of free medical care, 600 African American men in Macon County, Alabama were enrolled in the project, which aimed to study the full progression of the disease.
The men were monitored by health workers but only given placebos such as aspirin and mineral supplements, despite the fact that penicillin became the recommended treatment for syphilis in 1947, some 15 years into the study. PHS (Public Health Service) researchers convinced local physicians in Macon County not to treat the participants, and instead research was done at the Tuskegee Institute.
In the mid-1960s, a PHS venereal disease investigator in San Francisco named Peter Buxton found out about the Tuskegee study and expressed his concerns to his superiors that it was unethical. In response, PHS officials formed a committee to review the study but ultimately opted to continue it—with the goal of tracking the participants until all had died, autopsies were performed and the project data could be analyzed.
Buxton then leaked the story to a reporter friend, who passed it on to a fellow reporter, Jean Heller of the Associated Press. Heller broke the story in July 1972, prompting public outrage and forcing the study to finally shut down.
As a result of the Tuskegee experiment, many African Americans developed a lingering, deep mistrust of public health officials and vaccines. In part to foster racial healing, President Bill Clinton issued a 1997 apology, stating, “The United States government did something that was wrong—deeply, profoundly, morally wrong… It is not only in remembering that shameful past that we can make amends and repair our nation, but it is in remembering that past that we can build a better present and a better future.”
Tuskegee wasn’t the first unethical syphilis study. In 2010, then-President Barack Obama and other federal officials apologized for another U.S.-sponsored experiment, conducted decades earlier in Guatemala. In that study, from 1946 to 1948, nearly 700 men and women—prisoners, soldiers, mental patients—were intentionally infected with syphilis (hundreds more people were exposed to other sexually transmitted diseases as part of the study) without their knowledge or consent.”
https://www.history.com/news/the-infamous-40-year-tuskegee-study
The Tuskegee experiment began in 1932 and ended in 1972 = 40 years. US Presidents were:
1932 Herbert Hoover Republican 2 years
1934—1944 Franklin Roosevelt Democrat 10 years
1945—1952 Harry S. Truman Democrat 8years
1953—1960 Dwight D. Eisenhower Republican 8 years
1961—1962 John F. Kennedy Democrat 2 years
1963—1968 Lyndon B. Johnson Democrat 6 years
1969—1972 Richard M. Nixon Republican 4 years
7 Presidents Republicans 14 years Democrats 26 years=40 years
Because of my parents religious and political view I was raised Catholic and Democrat.
I will die a Catholic.
The end
Removed Again 4th.Time
Received the message below from someone watching the City Commission Meeting held on Feb. 22, 2022 when Mayor James had me removed for the 4th. time from a City Commission meeting for not wearing a mask.
“Why do you put yourself through it? You know he’s only going to throw you out again. He’s surrounded by plexiglass you’re not.”
I explained everyone on the dais does not have plexiglass in front of them, only on the sides.
When you sit in chambers you see and hear things that people watching the meetings on TV or their computer miss. Here is my side of the story.
When I arrived the dais was empty a few minutes later everyone was seated.The mayor was mask less so I removed my mask. We went through Call to Order, Moment of Silence, Pledge of Allegiance and the rules for Civility and Decorum.
James asked the City Administrator if there are any Additions, Deletion or Reorganization of Agenda. Both the mayor and I remained mask less.
The first item on the agenda was a Proclamation, presented by James. He stood and put on his mask to leave the dais and make the presentation. When he put on his mask so did I. When he returned to the dais he removed his mask. So did I.
Were both sitting mask less when a police office sat behind me and asked me to put on my mask.
I explained as I previously had, when the Mayor uses his mask so will I. My only concern is I hope the police understand my position and I am not disrespecting them. In my opinion the Police & Fire Dept. are the best in PBC.
The Mayor then asked me to put on my mask, I stood, held up my mask and put it on asking him to do the same. He did not, I removed my mask and he asked the police to remove me.
On the way from chambers people were looking at me and I said to the audience “He has 2 sets of rules, one for us and one for himself.”
So why do I keep doing it? It’s the principle of the mask issue.
James made the rule that everyone in City Hall, all employees and visitor must wear a mask, and in his own words there will be “no exceptions” Be happy you are not an employee of the city and either wear a mask or be fired.
In my opinion James has a sense of entitlement and self-importance which makes him inconsiderate, arrogant, self-centered and egotistical.
The stories I write are not to bring attention to myself but to bring attention to the City of WPB and it’s leaders who make and break the rules.
Here is where I ask readers to be patient as I’m writing about books which I believe will tie into the story, and I promise there is a point to be made. I hope you agree.
I enjoy reading and have my favorite authors and wait patiently for their next story. A friend recommended I read “The Real Anthony Fauci” written by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and honestly I’m sorry I ever listened because I never truly understood the meaning of “Ignorance is Bliss” until I read the book.
The next suggestion was Sharyl Attkisson, Investigative reporter who has won multiple Emmy awards, Edward R. Murrow Award and made New York Times bestselling author for her book “Slanted.” Below are 4 books she had published.
Stonewalled : my fight for truth against the forces of obstruction, intimidation, and harassment in Obama’s Washington / Sharyl Attkisson. Publication Date 2014.
Master manipulator : the explosive true story of fraud, embezzlement, and government betrayal at the CDC Author James Ottar Grundvig ; foreword by Sharyl Attkisson ; introduction by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Publication Date 2016. (Before Coronavirus.)
The Smear : how shady political operatives and fake news control what you see, what you think, and how you vote / Sharyl Attkisson. Publication Date 2017
Slanted : how the news media taught us to love censorship and hate journalism / Sharyl Attkisson. Publication Date 2020
Over the years I have noticed how much the media has changed, and not to my liking. The two books Stonewalled and The Smear I read how Ms. Attkisson peeled back the layers of her own profession and allowed me a look inside the new media. Who else could explain it as well, after dedicating over 20 years of her life to reporting for CBS.
Here’s the point, and it’s a comparison between two Mayor’s Garcetti & James
Excerpt below from NBC news. This story was also reported by N.Y. Post, NBC, ABC, FOX, CNN, Politico and others.
“Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti claimed he held his breath while failing to mask up at a football game, drawing widespread criticism — and mockery — on Wednesday.
He was among top politicians and celebrities at Sunday’s San Francisco 49ers-Los Angeles Rams playoff game at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles and hobnobbed with basketball legend Magic Johnson, who posted images of his high-profile pals on Instagram.”
Garcetti, Gov. Gavin Newsom, San Francisco Mayor London Breed, actor Rob Lowe, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts and other Golden State VIPs were not wearing their masks when cameras clicked, Johnson’s Instagram showed.”
When I publish a story I include media reporters who obviously don’t see a story when a resident is removed from City Hall on 4 different occasions for refusing to wear a mask when the Mayor does the same.
Below is a video with the Mayor and City Commissioners. Video made in 2021 when Cory Neering was still a Commissioner. Message wear your mask.
As always James has the first and last word.
The end