Tuesday, March 08, 2011

BEST ATTRIBUTES OF ELECTED OFFICIALS

We are in the midst of an election in Gainesville for the City Commission. At least one friend is running and her candidacy caused me to reflect on the many elected officials I met while working on the Lake Apopka project. They included Members of Congress, Governors, Cabinet officials, legislators, city/county commissioners, and mayors from all parties, political persuasions, and walks of life.

The following is an list of attributes culled from my observations of those men and women that might might be ones to look for when choosing a candidate to support:


Intelligence

Honesty

Big picture vision

Commitment to public service

Loves country, state, region, and locale

Skill at math (or better yet accounting)

Writes well and clearly

Knows when to talk and when to listen

Has high tolerance for excessive verbage and detail without being consumed/romanced by it. Can reach into those details and distill their essence

Makes decisions after careful examination of the facts and options. Is not afraid to make decisions

Able to forge alliances with adversaries

Able to maintain relations with all stakeholders regardless of compatibility with ones own views

Has LOTS of time for meetings and constituent service

Able to speak softly and slowly. Takes breaths and pauses when speaking

Is both charming as a campaigner and smart as a bookworm

Avoids being wishy-washy

Looks people in the eye

Sunday, March 06, 2011

GATORS DOCKSIDE: HEY ITS A SPORTS BAR BUT I ALWAYS FIND THE FOOD GOOD AND REASONABLY PRICED. GREAT PLACE FOR BRINGING LARGE GROUPS


Gators Dockside is what it is and, for me, accomplishes its mission well.

Basically, GD is a large Gainesville sports bar with food. My high school alumni group(s) use it for gatherings because it can easily absorb us without our renting a separate room. It is set up so everyone can table hop and catch up with old friends etc. Acoustically it is a challenge, but hey, it's a sports bar. The staff and management do a great job at accomodating our groups so that the service is timely, courteous, and patient. If we have extra needs they have always done whatever it takes to meet them.

All that being said, how is the food? Remember that GD is a very large room that must produce large quantities of food quickly and have it be memorable and tasty. They accomplish those goals. All of the meals I have had there have been a notch above sports bar fare with unique and interesting twists that take it out of the burger and fries mass production mode you might expect.

A good example is The Seabreeze Salad that I ordered yesterday at the Gainesville Gathering. I am trying to follow Weightwatchers guidelines and look for ways to minimize the damage that a sports bar can render. This salad met my needs and made my taste buds sing. Darn it was good. The salad had grilled chicken over greens with Mandarin orange segments, dried cranberries, candied pecans, crumbled blue cheese and a low-fat Zinfandel vinegarette. Low-fat dressings often taste "chalky" to me and I generally dislike them. This salad dressing,however,was thoroughly delicious. Every part of the dish worked together perfectly.

Try Gator's. Don't expect a 5 star restaurant, but once you accept the premise of the restaurant you may agree that few do it better.

Saturday, March 05, 2011

GAINESVILLE'S CITIZEN'S CO-OP ISSUES STATUS REPORT; NEW MANAGER HIRED; OPENING TENTATIVELY SCHEDULED FOR SPRING, 2011

The status report issued by the Citizens Co-op is self-explanatory. I am very enthusiastic about this endeavor and support it whole heartily.

For your review go to: http://www.citizensco-op.com/hello-world to read their progress report.

Good luck and thanks for all of the hard work, ya'll.