HAS IT BEEN THIS LONG?

Oh hunnies! Has it really been this long since Miss Vero visited with y'all? A whole, entire month since we posted at VeroNews.com? What in tarnation has our gin soaked brain been up to? Well, y'all might say we've been in hibernation mode or y'all might say we've been in hyper-nation mode depending on how y'all look at these things.

Yes, Miss Vero has been out and about around town but we've also been busy on a top secret project out of town - a little sumthin we like to call "refillin' the coffers" if y'all know what we mean...

So let's back track a little bit and just as excitin' as watchin' your neighbors vacation video, let us tell y'all what we did during the Great Winter of Vero 2009 ('cause today it's back in the 70's and the Great winter of Vero is officially over).

Let's see... where did we leave off? Oh yes, Vegas. What happens in Vegas usually stays in Vegas but we did manage to bring back a photo of our Bonanno sandals in front of the Fabulous Las Vegas sign. Y'all know that Miss Vero is not as limber as we once were so getting our ole leg up that high was quite a accomplishment! While we did hobnob with celebrity friends and attend some rockin' parties, our biggest thrill was meeting the "Old Man" from the History channel show "Pawn Stars". We just walked right into the Famous Gold and Silver Pawn shop and there they were, all three generations, just like on TV! What can we say? It's the peculiar things in life that make us happy hunnies.

But back in Vero there were a quite few Christmas parties that needed attending and our favorite soiree was at the lovely home of Miss Michelle Genz, who, by the way, is a fabulous hostess with an exceptional local to entertain. We bumped into our pal Jose Lambiet, Gossip God at the Palm Beach Post and caught up with all the celebrity goin's on. Then, a few rowdy Miss Vero fans literally dragged us to an after party at Miss Fran Love's Clubhouse, where there just happened to be a Drag Show and other such debauchery. All we can say is that a certain Miss Claudia is an instigator who will get y'all in trouble every time. HA! Just kidding kids, y'all know the truth is that Miss Vero enjoys every minute of fun and is truly the spark that ignites that troublemakin' fire! A big ole MWAH! to Miss Claudia for being so much fun and to Miss Fran for givin' us so much Love!

On Christmas eve we were back in town (somewhat unusual for us) and went out looking for a party. It felt like Vero had become the Island of Misfit Toys, stragglers wandering around like olives without martinis, just looking for a leader and so we found our niche and prepared to fill it. Joey's had a quiet grand opening party that night and we enjoyed the hospitality of Mr. John Bono and his fabulous brick oven pizzas. We met up with Mr. Bob Moulder from the new Citrus Grillhouse as he was enjoying the quiet time before his grand opening next month. By now the word is out and last weekend when we got to Joey's again the place was PACKED!!! It is by far the hottest thing that has hit Vero since....well, since us! we don't have to wish them luck, only offer congratulations because they've hit it big hunnies. Mr. Bono promises that they will be open each and every night, kitchen open till 12:30 and bar open till 1am. Finally... a real night club in Vero.




And then it was out of town again, feeling like a pinball bouncin' around and the one thing we regret is missing Miss JJ's New Year's Day party. Howevah, we were so pleased to see Miss JJ honored on the front page of verobeach32963's January 7th edition with a wonderful story that y'all MUST read. Y'all might remember back last spring, (March 3rd, to be exact) we did a little post about a party we did attend at Miss JJ's home where she greeted everyone with a huge silver bowl full of mint juleps! Now y'all can understand why we are so sorry we missed the New Years Day party!

The saga of Good Ole Charlie Wilson and Mr. Ken Daige. Hmmm, what to say about that? Those were our choices for City Council back when the election was on. Funny how things work out. We wish Mr. Daige the very best and are genuinely happy for his appointment. We know how much this means to him and how hard he is willing to work for his community and as we have said before, we also know that his hiatus has given him a new perspective and we expect him to not be the same Ken Daige this time around. As for Charlie...somehow we think he'll be all right. He's weathered this storm and everything serves a purpose. Given his short time in office and the excellent coverage by Lisa Zahner on local politics, perhaps the citizens of Vero Beach will now demand better representation and more transparency of their elected officials. One thing we love, the look of utter frustration and impending heartburn on Tom White's face every time Vero Beach City Councilman Brian Heady (Ha!) begins a sentence. Every. Single. Time.

As always the fun continues downtown, emanating out from the Epicenter of Cool - Undertow and rippling over Cafe Mojo and Bodega Blue. Last Friday night was a trifecta of fun with all three hotspots offering live music to cool and curious crowds. One of Miss Vero's favorite blues boys, Ben Prestage, gave a standing room only performance at Bodega. We also ran into our favorite Mayor Kevin Sawnick (who has his own website!) and we just love to see out and about. This weekend should be no slacker and expect to see these three establishment hummin along once again. and the best thing is y'all can find a central place to park downtown and WALK to all three.

Times up! Y'all don't have the attention span for more of our bablin' do you? Didn't think so, but hunnies there is so much more...Please click on all the highlighted fabulous links and oh, we almost forgot - THE SHOW! Yes, some of the children who house sit for us thought it would be fun to turn on a camera and record their antics in Miss Vero's absence. Well we expected them to raid the alkeehaul of course, but who knew they could be entertaining to boot? Who know what may come of it? Yes, indeed.


MWAH!

missvero@live.com

CATCHIN' UP WITH THE CANDIDATES

Since tomorrow is our local election day, let's catch up with the candidates for Vero Beach City Council, shall we kids? Now y'all know that Miss Vero is just bein' generous with an opinion and in no way assumes to "Power Rank" those running for office. We like to think that with all the brouhaha about the utilities issues, that a certain blogger used the term "power" to be clever, but we've nevah seen any previous signs of cleverness to indicate that. Oh, and by the way, thank y'all very much, if that writer was not being clever, then who in the heck gave y'all the power to bestow on anyone, huh? So there, glad we've straightened that out.

Once again, Miss Vero will state the obvious, as our opinion hasn't changed since our post of September 25th, when we asked - Who will be "Vero's Hero's"?

Mr. Bill Fish and Miss Debra Fromang - Unfortunate incumbents that have had their opportunity to lead, follow, or get out of the way. Seems like they chose to follow and now, it's time to get out of the way. Sorry, but listening to both of them at many gatherings over the last few months, only reinforced our thinkin' that they were just coasting along on the Tom White/Jim Gabbard Circus Train.

Ya'll see that's the problem right? See Miss Vero has a hunch - a very unsubstantiated, we don't know nuthin from nuthin hunch, so let's be clear on that-that there's somebody drivin' the train and mostly the City Council goes along for the ride.

That is why Mr. Charlie Wilson has been challenged. He would be a very pesky thorn in Mr. White's and Mr. Gabbard's side. He has the dangerous combination of competency and tenacity to change the direction of the council and confront the powers that be.

As for Mr. Ken Daige, he brings a tremendous amount of sincerity to the job. He's focused on the historic value and small business concerns of the community. Say whatever y'all want about Mr. Daige, but we do know this - Mr. Daige and his family genuinely love Vero Beach and his commitment should never be in question. We admire the way he has taken the time to answer every comment and criticism. With his military background, Mr. Daige would be the perfect army of one to back up an forceful leader and lovable loudmouth like Wilson.


As for Mr. Shupe and Miss Viviano, we don't like to repeat ourselves, but we must. The issues facing the city are too severe and historic to allow for time to catch up. They both seem like real nice folks, bless their hearts, but we do not have the luxury of more time to study things or form committees for review. And to be real honest, we think Miss Viviano is too sweet and will be chewed up and spit out faster than y'all can say "Good Ole Boys".

And finally Mr. Brian Heady. What can we say?, we really like Mr. Heady. It's unfortunate that he isn't able to affect the change he desires. Perhaps City Council is not the place for Mr. Heady, perhaps Mr. Heady would be better off forming some sort of citizens concern group and challenge City Hall that way. Mr. Heady can form the "sandbag party" or sumthin, Lawd knows he has his own group of followers. Heck, it works for Mr. Toby Hill and those teabag folks, it can work for Mr. Heady.

Miss Vero endorses Mr. Wilson and Mr. Daige for Vero Beach City Council. Now y'all go make up your own mind and vote, cause that's the important thing really, we all have a choice.

MWAH!

missvero@live.com

SELLING -OUT- THE SUNSHINE STATE

This is a book.

A real honest to goodness book you can buy on Amazon, In fact y'all can just click over on the right side of the Beach House here and there's a little box to make it all easier. Now why would Miss Vero advertise a book? Well, if y'all know anything about us at all, y'all know we love our Florida collectible what-nots and dew-hickeys and touristy pre-disney memorabilia. We love to remember Florida in the days of old and this book cover just caught our eye. Just look at those happy folks frolickin' on the pristine beach!

Now, we know that Florida will never be the same as it was in that time and things sure do have to change and progress and keep up, but one thing that has NEVAH changed is that somebody's always willin' to do sumthin STOOPID just to make a little money. Only, maybe these days it's not a just a little money, maybe it's a whole pile o'money.

With that in mind, let's play a little game we like to call "Connect the internet dots"!

For those of y'all that don't want to play, just skip to the summary at the end, but seriously, unless y'all have a party goin' on, what's more important than gettin' a little education?


Now, why are we havin' to read about Florida things in the Chicago Tribune? They posted this story about potential oil drilling offa Florida's coasts:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/sns-ap-us-offshore-drilling-florida,0,364955.story

And why is our little munchkin, happy-birthday-post-card-sendin', State Senator Mike Harridopoulus (District 26, that's west of the barrier island, so some of y'all can go head and stop reading now) wanting to support this drillin' business?:
http://www.allbusiness.com/government/elections-politics-politics-political-parties/12816048-1.html

Even that-guy-who-used-to-be-funny-but-lost-his-fool-mind-when-he-started-playin-golf-at-Quail-Valley noticed:
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/columnists/carl-hiaasen/story/1297866.html

But wait! Let's not let those of us on the barrier island be forgotten. Please congratulate our new State Senator, Joe Negon, he got his first assignment!:

"Sen. Alex Diaz de la Portilla, R-Miami, will take King's place leading the communications, energy and public utilities committee. His wife Claudia Diaz de la Portilla lobbies for many clients including the telecommunications industry and Florida Energy Associates, the group pushing for oil drilling. Negron, who won the seat formerly held by Ken Pruitt, also will serve on the energy committee."
http://m.scoopfla.com/roundup/5555/full/%3Bjsessionid=05047727D7DE2F71E6C4784AC6E0DE46.scoopflwap2

Ah yes, Florida Energy Associates, who they y'all ask?:
http://www.tampabay.com/news/environment/water/article1037146.ece


And why didn't we hear more about the reason President Obama was in, of all places, Arcadia, Florida this week?:
http://www.tampabay.com/opinion/editorials/article1047396.ece


"Florida Power & Light, the state's largest electric utility, won a $200 million grant and will install 2.6 million smart meters in homes across the state. The units enable homeowners to monitor their electricity use online by the hour, day, week or month."

"The [Obama] administration's announcement of 100 projects across the country that won federal money to help modernize the power grid comes at a pivotal time for Florida. The state's 11 percent unemployment rate is the highest since 1975, and it has lost nearly 170,000 jobs since February."


"This is what the stimulus money was intended to do: Create jobs and improve the nation's infrastructure."

"As the nation focuses on renewable energy, an army of lobbyists and consultants hired by a secretive oil-drilling group are joining with incoming legislative leaders to push for lifting the ban on drilling in state waters in the gulf."

Read the full article from "The Best Newspaper in Florida" and we tend to agree:

http://www.tampabay.com/opinion/editorials/article1047396.ece

And Gubna Charlie didn't have a clue?
http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/64987-crist-obama-who


Y'all know this is the Sunshine State right? So, why oh Lawd, why are we even talkin' about drillin' for oil off the Florida Coast? Who's puttin' money in who's pockets, hunnies?


And don't that just get y'all to start thinkin' about our local energy sit-che-ation? Honestly kids, why hasn't anyone asked the big question in our own back yard? If a big contract was made quickly with a utilities provider, that would not be in the best interest of the City of Vero Beach, who do y'all think benefited the most?

Would it be ?

A. The City Manager who presented the deal
B. The Ex-Mayor currently on City Council who OK'd the deal
C. Or...?

Cause y'all know this deal like any other energy/politician deal has one thing in common - somebody benefits, and it ain't us kids.

Miss Vero has been interested in this issue and we decide to take a look at the redacted (that means parts that they don't want y'all to read are blacked out) contract. We find it interesting that there's a part that says that a committee should be formed with the OUC at a later date and that perhaps someone like, oh, we don't know, a person involved in the contract negotiation could get a position on that committee, for a yet to be determined sum. A pile o'money sum that might be a whole heck of lot more than a City Council or City Managers salary.

Now, of course, Miss Vero don't know nuthin from nuthin and is pure speculating before our morning bloody mary, which can be dangerous. Perhaps we are some sort of alkehaul savant and can see things picture perfect before the first round, y'all decide, OK?

As we promised - THE SUMMARY:

Florida is the Sunshine State, we should harvest our obvious sunshine and not our perhaps oil underwater.

Gubna Charlie hugged Mr. Obama when he received his "Stimulus Package" but was no where to be found when Mr. Obama came around for a second date.

Politicians take y'all's money when ya ain't lookin (and anybody else that'll give 'em any).

The City of Vero Beach City Council, or maybe just a few specific individuals, are up to some serious shenanigans

Vote the incumbents out of office and start askin' questions.

Fix a martini and order a book to soothe our nerves, been thinkin' too much lately.

OK, that last suggestion was for us.

MWAH!

missvero@live.com

WE ALL HAVE OUR PLACE IN THE SUN

If there's one thing that Miss Vero loves more than carryin on and cavortin, it's reading. Perhaps we can even be called a news junkie, but here's the thing - we read EVERYBODY. Yessiree, from those crazy Fox News characters to the liberal leaning Huffington Post and from over in Londontown, The Daily Mail- of course online. We spend every Sunday morning at the temple of the New York Times and receive more national magazines than we should, in monthly subscriptions. Locally, we devour Vero Beach Magazine, Vero Life, Verobeach32963, the Hometown News, the Palm Beach Post and yes kids, the Press Journal. So let's just talk about that today all right?

Miss Vero believes that every one of these publications deserves to thrive and be heard. Every one. Yes, we even want the PJ to be there for us. There, we've finally said it.

Apparently this is the topic of the month - the fall of print media, think of it as the dessert to the main course of the wobbly economy. Our own Max Newport had a post last week about his continued frustration with the PJ, and Mr. Laurence Reisman, editor of the Press Journal saw fit to write an editorial on this very subject last Sunday.
http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2009/mar/22/laurence-reisman-newspapers-changing-not-dying/?feedback=1#comments
Three comments followed (only three?). One of which was from LDouglas, who also enjoys the TCPalm outlet for comments and we must say is one, if not the most, eloquent of participants.

Now here's the thing. We said it before and we'll say it again, the Press Journal could do a much better job of "reporting" the news. Most of the folks that have the biggest beef with the local press is that they too often pick and choose their news, their views and their perspective on Vero Beach. Please, we all beg, just do a better job. Lalalalalalalalalalalala, we can't hear you, replies the PJ!

Let's also take a look at the Verobeach32963. Now, we believe that they have really stepped up to the plate on some issues and absolutely love the way the VB32963 reporter, ex-mayor, Miss Marybeth McDonald goes after County Commissioner Tom White like a hound dawg on the tail of a treed raccoon.
And of course we'd love to show y'all the articles, but we can't because the VB32963 is not currently updated online, much to our continued dismay.

But, we will take the time to tell y'all about a recent letter, printed in the February 26th edition to the VB32963, from a Mr. Ron Farabee that complained about the reprinting of articles from The Economist, The Christian Science Monitor, The Washington Post and The Los Angeles Times. Mr. Farabee states:

"These publications, with the exception of the Wall Street Journal, generally lean far to the left, and attempt to indoctrinate their readers with their one-sided view of things.

Many conservatives have a 32963 address and would appreciate fair balance in your commentaries."

HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!!!!!!!! Oopps! Oh my goodness, we just fell out of our chair.

Wait, must......... catch........breath.







Still, laughing.





OK.




Now we're mad.

How dare you Mr. Farabee? How dare you claim the barrier island a conservative bunker. Just who, or - as y'all like to grit your teeth and speak like Thurston Howell the third - Just whoomm do you think you are? Did y'all mention a "one-sided view of things"? Just take a little ole peek in the mirror, hunney. Hey! There's your picture! We just saw it on Wikipedia explaining "one-sided view of things"!

To the VB32963's credit, a full page editorial was printed on March 12th, "The news business: Our so-called agenda" defending their publication. We can not take the time, nor do we have the energy to peck out the entire thing, but we do love this line, taken admittedly out of context:

"Spare us any more letters accusing us of a liberal bias."

To Mr. Milton R. Benjamin, we use one of his own favorite phrases and say "kudos" to you Sir! Congratulations on your first year! But please, let us be selfish and ask that y'all please get your online version as current and pretty as the big, white, beautiful, no ink comes off in your hand, publication. Pretty, please?

So here we are. Pokin around the PJ, Laughing at the "liberal bias" of the 32963, listening to Rhett Palmer doing his wacky Rhett Palmer thing, wondering if TV10 will ever emerge from it's zombie zone, reading the blogs of others in Vero like our conservative pal, Charlie Wilson, envious over Jose Lambiet's page2live gossip gig, suportin and reportin on the Drag Queen soirees in town, Viv's Amy Winehouse impression and posting contributions from folks we sometimes agree with and sometimes don't (we're talkin about you, Max).

Why? Because the Beach House is one big cocktail party! Take an hors d'oeuvre, wash it down with a little libation, but for heaven's sake if you're allergic to the shellfish or y'all gave up the hooch years ago, why would that be reason enough to stay home? Miss Vero believes the more, the merrier! Thank goodness there are so many people with so many different perspectives. We don't know about y'all, but a good lip sparrin is about as much fun as y'all can have with your clothes on.

Of course, we have to ask, as much as we like the VB32963, would it be willing to become VB32963-2-0-6-7 if the PJ failed? Yes, the PJ is weak and anemic, but wouldn't it be better to heal the PJ rather than kill it? Is there a press doctor in the house Mr. Reisman? And, although you'll never see Rhett Palmer at a Drag show (wait- we're not exactly sure of that, if y'all remember his video) or hear a Drag Queen on Rhett's show (what would be the point really, if y'all can't see them?), isn't it nice to know that both forms of entertainment exist in the same town? Miss Vero asks y'all, isn't that what our country is really about, our community, our town? That we all have our own place in the sun?

Whether we agree or not, Miss Vero will be the first one to pour y'all a cocktail and invite y'all in. And yes, even you, Mr. Lemmon, just don't be expectin coffee.


MWAH!

missvero@live.com

OPEN THE WINDOW, STICK YOUR HEAD OUT AND YELL...!

"I don't have to tell you things are bad. Everybody knows things are bad. It's a depression. Everybody's out of work or scared of losing their job. The dollar buys a nickel's work, banks are going bust, shopkeepers keep a gun under the counter. Punks are running wild in the street and there's nobody anywhere who seems to know what to do, and there's no end to it. We know the air is unfit to breathe and our food is unfit to eat, and we sit watching our TV's while some local newscaster tells us that today we had fifteen homicides and sixty-three violent crimes, as if that's the way it's supposed to be. We know things are bad - worse than bad. They're crazy. It's like everything everywhere is going crazy, so we don't go out anymore. We sit in the house, and slowly the world we are living in is getting smaller, and all we say is, 'Please, at least leave us alone in our living rooms. Let me have my toaster and my TV and my steel-belted radials and I won't say anything. Just leave us alone.' Well, I'm not gonna leave you alone. I want you to get mad! I don't want you to protest. I don't want you to riot - I don't want you to write to your congressman because I wouldn't know what to tell you to write. I don't know what to do about the depression and the inflation and the Russians and the crime in the street. All I know is that first you've got to get mad. You've got to say, 'I'm a HUMAN BEING, Goddamnit! My life has VALUE!' So I want you to get up now. I want all of you to get up out of your chairs. I want you to get up right now and go to the window. Open it, and stick your head out, and yell, 'I'M AS MAD AS HELL, AND I'M NOT GOING TO TAKE THIS ANYMORE!' I want you to get up right now, sit up, go to your windows, open them and stick your head out and yell - 'I'm as mad as hell and I'm not going to take this anymore!' Things have got to change. But first, you've gotta get mad!... You've got to say, 'I'm as mad as hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore!' Then we'll figure out what to do about the depression and the inflation and the oil crisis. But first get up out of your chairs, open the window, stick your head out, and yell, and say it:"

"I'M AS MAD AS HELL, AND I'M NOT GOING TO TAKE THIS ANYMORE!"

Ok, we feel better now.

While all that is true and "Network" is a brilliant movie: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Network_(film)

Miss Vero must confine our self to little ole Vero Beach. However, we must confess, it was initially the sentiment of the character Howard Beale that got us bloggin along in the first place. And so, that is exactly what we did, we got up and stuck our head out of the cyberspace window and started shoutin about all the things in Vero and Indian River County that made us mad, glad but never indifferent.

And along the way, we found others who were happy to stick their heads out and do a little shout out with us. Then there are the folks who read us silently every day, the people obsessed with finding out the identity of Miss Vero and the small, yet highly paranoid, percentage who think we have some kind of diabolical agenda.

We did have some fun in 2008. Hearing that PJ Editors and Russ Lemmon sat around in a serious conference trying to figure out little ole Miss Vero was high-larious. Surely a big time newspaper wouldn't be frettin over a silly ole blog. Would they?

But, as an example, our post about our time on the set of a Paul Newman movie (Oct. 1st, "While We Were Out") and our picture with Mr. Newman, sure was a whole lot better than the story the PJ ran: http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2008/sep/30/woman-recalls-newmans-inlet-03/

And we were especially amused by Diana Foote, the so called, food critic of the PJ, who had us squeal with laughter when she considered wearing a fur to lunch in Vero. It didn't take too much time for our giggles to turn to disgust when we realized that this person would actually own a fur, that we caught her "lifting liberally" from another writer (May 22nd "Paid to Plagiarize?"), that she considered "eating Eeyore" in her imagination and then saw fit to share that thought. In print: http://missverosbeachhouse.blogspot.com/search?q=my+misery And that her editors see nothing wrong with sending her to the Olive Garden and allowing her children to tag along on the dining dime, is equally unforgivable.

If the PJ wants to slap their ubiquitous "we're looking out for you" sticker on something, why not let the food critic budget go to groceries for a deserving family for a week? One of the nicest thing a loyal Beach House fan did for Miss Vero was to create a widget for verobeachrestaurants.com, so that we could get a glance of many opinions of all the great restaurants in town. Brilliant - and thank y'all so much, Mr.Mark Landry.

So yes, we had our issues with the Press Journal, especially Mr. Russ Lemmon as the designated driver of Indian River County opinion. Poor Russ, with no sense of humor, it's like asking the nerd hall monitor to be in charge of the Prom night after party. But thankfully, we have our own Mr. Max Newport, who y'all know had a varsity letter and was captain of the debate team, to antagonize Russ. See? It's true, sometimes high school never ends.

Along the way, we did find those who kept their sense of humor. Our big surprise includes Mr. Milton R. Benjamin of verobeach32963, an inspiration as well as a gentleman. And, Mr. Rhett Palmer, who we totally disagree with, on oh so many levels, yet the man makes us laugh (again, on oh so many levels). Besides, what Southern belle could ever resist a man named "Rhett"?

Of course, this was a political year and local politics gave us a heck of a lot of material. Let's not forget, that the PJ picked and chose which stories to tell us, about which candidates they were influenced by. Yup, the tradition of good ole bubba politics was well honored in our local races. Just ask Kay Clem. Oh and Tom White. Did I forget Bob Solari? Did Debbie Mayfield resign yet? Is Jeff Barton retired? How Claudia Jimenez and Kevin Sawnick squeaked in, we'll never know. We suppose Charlie Wilson is not the political powerhouse he professes to be and all that posturing in Paladin's Hummer, was just a good ole boy's joy ride after all. We also suspect, that the PJ's unjust treatment and reports of Mr. Ken Daige, lead to the continued installation of the scissor toting Mr. Tom White (said scissors recently relinquished to the new mayor, Mr. Sabe Abell).

Were we surprised to see the Dodgers pack up and go, not to be replaced? Nope. In fact we got word from an incredibly reliable source and told y'all in our Nov. 9th post "Would Y'all Like Another Scoop?".

Piper laying off workers? If you've lived in Vero Beach longer than Russ Lemmon or for that matter, longer than some politicians, you'd know that this was inevitable. In fact we mention this in our very first post April 30th, "A Blog is Born".

So yes, we could continue on and on about the past, but that is not to our liking. No hunnies, Miss Vero never looks back, as fun as it may be and as much as we luuuuuvvvvvvv to say "we told y'all so!", Miss Vero would like to focus on the future, so here it is...

Miss Vero's Beach House will continue to let folks speak about what is on their minds and will initiate conversations that our local newspaper seems to overlook. It is Miss Vero's sincere belief that we are not "bullying" the local media, (as, we can only assume, we are being referred to in comments on Mr. Lemmon's ironically titled column "Crystal Ball Sees Mundane 2009), rather we are proddin them to actually do their job. http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2009/jan/01/crystal-ball-sees-mundane-2009/?feedback=1#comments

We do want the Press Journal to do well, that's the point, we want to be proud of our local paper, as we once were. We want to talk "over the fence" with our neighbors, we want to reminisce about old Vero and give newcomers an appreciation and welcome to everything we love here, so that they may feel a connection and ownership, so that they understand the local politics, so that they are informed about their own futures, so that they value the fragile nature of our environment (AND HERE IS WHERE WE GIVE A HUGE THANK YOU TO LDOUGLAS). But without discussion, without presentation of factual information, without inclusion, it cannot be done.

Oh, and by the way, if y'all are newcomers, please leave that "when we lived back in blah, blah, it was better than Florida..." attitude at the door. Y'all wake up, cause Y'ALL LIVE HERE NOW, ADAPT.

Instead of trying to predict the future, Miss Vero would like to have hope for the future of our local newspaper. We'd like to work toward the future of citizen journalism and we'd like to have a goal for the future of more diverse contributors and guests at the Beach House. Because we realize (and we are constantly being told), that our little blog is a big thing around town and gettin bigger - folks now look for us everyday, cheer us on and support us in many ways. We feel that we now have a responsibility. It isn't about selling advertising or building a business, it's about sayin what what needs to be said, reporting things that wouldn't make it near the main stream (Like our personal favorite - Drag Queens!) and in a more serious vein, asking questions that should be answered by our local media and government.

Perhaps, somewhere along the line the "news" turned into police reports and advertising editorials, but when people of any community allow this to happen, they are silencing themselves. Instead of standing up and going to the window as it was done back in 1976 (and, we have to admit, that speech is still timely), it's time to sit down at the computer, open "Windows" and shout out, "WE'RE MAD AS HELL AND WE'RE NOT GOING TO TAKE THIS ANYMORE!"

Miss Vero did, and it feels real good. So let's build a bigger Beach House in 2009! Everyone's welcome, even Mr. Lemmon.

Come on in, sit and stay awhile, pour yourself a cocktail, but don't take yourself too seriously...
MWAH!

missvero@live.com

P.S. Our #1 New Year's resolution is to answer our emails in a more timely manner. So if any of y'all wrote to Miss Vero in the past month or so (yes, we know how bad that sounds), expect some correspondence this weekend. Really.

WOULD Y'ALL LIKE ANOTHER SCOOP?

Here's a little Sunday treat...

Ok hunnies listen up, cause Miss Vero has a huge hunch, (never mind a reliable inside source and our own hound dawg research) that the Baltimore Orioles will not be comin to Vero Beach.

Why is Miss Vero interested in baseball, y'all are probably thinking. Well kids, as you do know, sports holds absolutely no fascination for Miss Vero what so ever, but the spending of tax dollars and the ineptitude of our politicians does!

Consider the chatter from other suitors as noted in the Baltimore Sun;

Fort Lauderdale, The Orioles current home - "We've met with the Orioles on several different occasions, and they haven't indicated to us that they want to be anywhere else, so that's good," said Chaz Adams, a spokesman for the city of Fort Lauderdale. "All the players are still on board. We're just hoping and trying as hard as we can to see if we could get the FAA to change its mind."

Sarasota, with a vacancy -"We're ready to talk to the Orioles about their [major league] spring training site if they are ready to talk to us," Sarasota County Deputy Administrator David Bullock said."

Fort Myers also chimes in - "However, this week, the Lee County commission approved an agreement with the Red Sox to build a new spring training facility in south Lee County. If the Red Sox approve the deal, that would leave their current facility at City of Palms Park needing a tenant. Fort Myers officials are reportedly interested in talking to the Orioles."

http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/baseball/bal-sp.orioles01nov01,0,6169857.story

And more from the interestingly named sports journalist Mr. Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun:

"News item: The Orioles still have not firmed up their plans for a permanent spring training site. They're expected to be in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., next spring but have made no commitment to train anywhere in 2010. The most likely location still appears to be the Dodgertown complex in Vero Beach, Fla. My take: In the most likely scenario, however, the Orioles will try to play Vero Beach off the soon-to-be-vacant complex in Sarasota, Fla., and end up without a permanent resolution to a situation that has been unsettled since - believe it or not - 1990. Bonus my take: Based on conversations with several people who have attempted it, negotiating with Peter and John Angelos is like trying to eat soup with a fork."

http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/baseball/bal-sp.schmuck02nov02,0,3815149.column

We can't imagine that our local big wigs will be able to negotiate this deal with the Angeloses, they're just not in the same league (pun intended)!

And of course, the fact that money talks. The Orioles are asking for up to $13 million of improvements to Holman Stadium and Dodgertown. While in comparison only $1.3 million is needed in Fort Lauderdale to satisfy the FAA fee. Now we ask y'all, which city has the deeper pockets? http://blogs.trb.com/sports/custom/business/blog/2008/11/orioles_future_in_fort_lauderd.html

In addition, there are the classic CYA statements made by Mayor White this week:

"We gave them our best and final offer I would think," said Vero Beach Mayor Tom White. I don't see how we can get involved in a bidding war because of finances. ...White said there are some people in Indian River County who want to see a team obtained for Dodgertown no matter what the cost... But I think the majority of working-class people don't want to see the city and county spend money on what they consider giveaways..." http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2008/nov/08/orioles-got-our-best-02/

Just remember kids, y'all heard it here first. Ain't gonna be no baseball no mo.

Now tomorrow, we'll be featuring our friend Max Newport in what looks likely to be our new weekly feature -

MAX ON MONDAY

And there's even more surprises this week, when we introduce another Beach House guest-

LDouglas, from a little corner we call GREEN ACRES!

Tell everybody y'all know, e mail all your friends, there's a party at the Beach House and y'all are invited!

MWAH!

missvero@live.com

HOLD THAT ELEPHANT

Yesterday, our friend Mr. Max Newport, who described himself as "...somewhat conservative and a Republican" graciously gave us his thoughts and predictions for today's election. Well buckle up today kids, cause Miss Vero will be takin y'all on a little trip to Liberal Land!

Miss Vero's Predictions and More! (mostly More!)

Let's start at the top, the race for President. This race might turn out to be closer than we think. Our first prediction is that there will be election discrepancies, although we sincerely hope none as monumental as in 2000.


Mr. Obama has been steady and cool throughout his campaign and will "hopefully" win. Most folks who have taken their blinders off are a little tired of the current regime of the Greedy Ole Party and wished they could have put the brakes on this train before it became the embarrassing wreck that it is.

It is sad to see the one time independent and respected Mr. McCain turn into a pandering, feisty ole gramps character. We believe his downfall began with his ill advised choice of running mate who definitely put the "ick" in his maverick.

This election really got everyone motivated. Finally. And there sure are a lot of passionate people out there, some in a good way, some not so good. Take, for example, our own little county. The TCPalm has a video showing a group of folks enthusiastically cloggin up the intersection of 58th and 60 this past weekend, which Miss Vero happened to pass through on our way to purchase alkeehol and other supplies.

Here is a photo of the hate fest of rumor mongers, that somehow didn't make the little TCPalm video:

So here's the thing, the crazy Christians - and y'all know who you are - need to knock off the very un-Christian way of hating anyone that doesn't agree with you. We are pretty darn sure that Mr. Obama is not a Muslim, but even if he were, he would have just as much right to be president.

According to the United States Constitution;
Section 1 of Article 2 states that a President must:
Be a natural born citizen of the United States.
Be at least 35 years old.
Have lived in the U.S. for at least 14 years.

Nothing about gender, sexual orientation, race or religion, so that means that Jews, Atheists, Homosexuals, Scientologists, Women, Lesbian woman, Transvestites, Hindus and yes even a Muslim could be President! Hard to imagine since we all just hate those Muslims so much! Maybe even a little more than we used to hate those Japanese who bombed us, so we rounded them all up and put then in confinement camps, till it was safe to let them out. Now they sell us really great SONY products.

Not all Muslims are bad, not all Christians are good.

Another fine example of the hate fest is amendment #2, y'all know that bull about protectin marriage, which by the way, doesn't need any protection? This is just a hateful agenda to deny people basic human rights.

Why is it, that any heterosexual person can run off to Las Vegas, pick up a stranger in a bar and within a few hours be married and have every right associated with that contract, but two people of the same sex who live together for decades are denied a civil union? Marriage is a contract between two people. Period. If y'all want to add some magical, your God approved, happily ever after addendum to that contract, fine. But don't deny other people the right to be as happy or as miserable as y'all are.

Let's hope that Mr. Charlie Wilson who lined himself up with conservative values and unfairly labelled and attacked Miss Claudia Jimenez in the race for School Board, will not be celebrating his victory tomorrow. Let's also take a moment to remember the success of conservative abstinence programs:

Of course the Republicans in Indian River County will have a lot to celebrate. It's not even worth mentioning the County Commission race, which was pretty much settled in the primary election. But we gotta say, watchin ole Gary Wheeler try to get behind Brian Heady is like watchin somebody tryin to tame a squirrel.

As far as the City of Vero goes, we believe young Mr. Kevin Sawnick is well on his way to grabbin a seat and Mayor Tom White might not make it this time around. Especially since the top story on the VeroBeach32963 web site for the past month is an announcement of Mayor White's demise. And what's with VB32963's site anyway? We had hoped for a little more web presence by now and not the random infrequent offerings that have left us disappointed. Also, we would like to see the online edition updated. More VB32963, please.

Our one prediction to watch out for - After Mrs. Mayfeild receives her compensation package, um, we mean wins the State representative race, look for an early exit. Perhaps "personal" reasons will require that she step down and who better to come to the rescue than good ole Charlie Sembler.

And of course, no local election comments would be complete without the mentioning the Miss Kay Clem and Mr. Coleman Stewart race for Supervisor of Elections.

Here's the big question - Who gets the Pulitzer Prize for investigative journalism? That's right, who at the PJ was savy enough to dig up those records of Mr. Stewart for Miss Clem to air out on her clothes line? Since nobody at the PJ is claimin any credit, how much did it cost to hire the investigator (and where did the money come from) to put together that package? Now, Miss Vero is not sayin that Mr. Stewart's financial records are not somethin to be concerned about, but given that, should we also not be concerned with the many discrepancies of Miss Clem's record in office and the win at all costs way that her campaign was conducted? And somebody please kill that rumor right now that Miss Vero is dating someone from Mr. Stewart's campaign just because we supported this candidate.

The only thing that we really care about concerning the Supervisor of Elections is that they don't screw up the voting process. Again.

And finally...

The biggest question of all - Where's the party? Any election parties that Miss Vero should know about? And yes, we know we'll have to crash it, since we've just succeed in thoroughly annoying 90% of the population of Indian River County. Oh well...

MWAH!

missvero@live.com

P.S. Y'all will notice that we took down ole Rhett Palmer's video on election day and replaced it with the NYT crossword puzzle. Dr. John said if he could get a crossword puzzle online, he'd cancel his subscribtion to the PJ and as always, we're happy to help!

SPOOKY STUFF

BATS AND BALLS

Don't y'all get your hopes up for the Baltimore Orioles to come into town. If y'all read the paper from that city, Vero is competing with a few other Florida towns -

"On Tuesday, the Lee County (Fla.) commissioners approved an agreement with the Boston Red Sox to build a new facility for the team in Fort Myers. If the Red Sox approve the deal, that would leave Fort Lauderdale, Sarasota, Vero Beach and Fort Myers - the complex that the Red Sox currently train in would become vacant with Boston's move - as potential suitors for a team and the Orioles as the only club looking for a spring training home."
http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/basketball/bal-sp.orioles30oct30,0,3831310.story

Someone named Johnny_Ringo made the comment on Russ's column yesterday that -
"Holman stadium and Dodgertown are dumps. This complex has nothing to offer a large-market major league baseball team. There are not enough eateries, hotel rooms, or entertainment. Twenty something year old players need something to do besides go to Chili's or the bowling alley."
http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2008/oct/30/lemmon-orioles-deal-should-have-closed-sooner/?feedback=1#comments

Yes, we couldn't agree more, twenty something year old players do need something to do in this town. Miss Vero happens to know two separate cases of girls who have had "Dodger Babies" and were left behind after spring training. Perhaps the child support payments sent are what is meant by "contributing to the community".

GHOSTS AND GOBBLERS

Brian Heady, bless his heart, is doing his best to run for office. That's not scary, but here's what is - sources confirm that (Bob) Solari is already meeting with the county human resources staff to find out what his health care and benefits will be, etc. Pretty darn cocky, and the staff spoke about it just 'cause they think so, too!

We happened to see Big Ole Bob strollin around the Chili Cook Off last weekend. Perhaps his interest in health benefits are concerning a possible weight loss procedure.

SPOILED WITCHES BREW

And speakin of the Chili Cook Off... Miss Diana Foote (who we have ignored for oh so long, just hoping that she'll go away) reported Wednesday that -
"Among schools, St. Edward's Upper School took home the blue ribbon."
which prompted the one and only comment -
"St. Ed's won? Surely you jest! Of all the entries, theirs was the worst. Everyone in my party spit it out. Ick.Thanks to Pointe West for hosting the event, they did a great job."
http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2008/oct/29/out-to-lunch-diana-foote-chili-voters-eschew-chang/?feedback=1#comments

Miss Vero concurs, when we finally got to the St. Eds Chili we stopped tasting because it was just nasty. That was it, we were done, it was just plain ole ketsup and kidney beans and if that's what is considered "traditional", we'll pass, thank y'all very much.

If we were a conspiracy theorist we would mention that we think Miss Foote's children attend St. Eds, but hey it was all fair and square right, because even Mayor Tom White was a judge!

GIANT SCISSOR SLASHER

That's right kids, Mayor Tom White will be pullin out his big ole scissors tomorrow to cut the ribbon at the new and improved Vero Beach airport, catering to all of y'all that have acess to private transportation.
http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2008/oct/29/vero-beach-airport-terminals-65m-face-lift/

We are just happy to see Mr. Eric Menger doing well these days, we always did like him.



AND FINALLY, A TREAT...

Pumpkin Martini anyone?
http://cocktails.about.com/od/vodkadrinkrecipes/r/pumpkin_martini.htm



MWAH!

missvero@live.com

RUNNIN WITH SCISSORS

Maybe Mayor Tom White can get the number of that marketing company from Miss Kay Clem and get himself some promotional scissors with his name on it. Seems like the only place we ever see him is at a ceremonial ribbon cutting.

Y'all remember his famous pose at the Costa d'Este this summer. Sure nuf we spotted him last week at the opening of Solantic out near the Sam's club (we're sure you'll see that photo in an upcomin issue of the saucy glossy Vero Beach magazine).
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/solantic-open-urgent-care-center/story.aspx?guid=%7B07EC0B31-2B93-45DC-BA9F-803FCE2D90A6%7D&dist=hppr

And next on the agenda - another ribbon will need cuttin at the airport on October 31st.
http://www.covb.org/index.asp?Type=B_EV&SEC={D77F8F81-F690-41AB-945B-719FAA8ACFA3}&Design=PrintView

So Miss Vero is wonderin today, what's worse? A public official who wastes our money, (which seems like a Republican affliction), or one who gets caught foolin around on the job and wastes our time (which is mostly a Democratic deviance). Or maybe it's an entire political system designed to divide and concur us while both of the aforementioned continues endlessly?

There might be hope - spotted while we were out and about in Indian River County, the lone sign of a third party candidate.

Hey y'all, we left yesterday's post up a little extra long so that maybe some of those numbers would sink in. Just one more reason to keep the al-kee-haul flowin.

MWAH!

missvero@live.com

OVERKILL

... and behold, the angel of pets came down to Vero Beach and proclaimed "There shall come to be in the western area known as the route 60 corridor within the square mile, a Petsupermarket, Petsmart and Petco and lo, the holy trinity of pet supplies is complete and henceforth Divine"...

Seriously, do we really need three cotton pickin pet supply stores in one place? Miss Vero also noticed a new mattress store being built just steps away from The Mattress Barn and Mattress Market. Nothing like mediocrity in triplicate.

Speakin of Mediocrity, we could talk about Russ Lemmon, but we won't. It seems that the commentors to his articles are doing a good enuf job pointing this out and Miss Vero's services may no longer be needed in this department: http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2008/jul/13/hard-timesman-selling-mansion-helicopter/?feedback=1#comments

The Press Journal once again fails to inform it's readers. Here's another example of Indian River County news that y'all won't find in the PJ, from the Palm Beach Post. A Vero Beach man gets a new trial when it's discovered that he was represented by an intern from the public defenders office: http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/content/tcoast/epaper/2008/07/11/0711slintern.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=77


Is there anything else to be in Vero besides mediocre or incompetent? Sure! there's always counterproductive:

The ongoing identity crisis continues in Vero Beach. Viewed as a "laid-back city by the sea" and according to Vero Beach mayor Tom White in his interview snippet with The Orlando Sentinel, "We're very protective of our little city."
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/services/newspaper/printedition/sunday/travel/orl-vero0708jul13,0,3854193.story
So basically "Yeah, it's great here, now go away."


While the Hometown News reports that the Chamber of Commerce has a new marketing tool for economic growth: http://www.myhometownnews.net/index.php?id=46647
"A location central to your success." And since this is an election year, maybe that should be the motto for the small town republican candidates who don't actually want to cultivate economic development but like having a marketing tool that gives the perception that they do.

Ok kids, we are way too serious and cranky for a Monday morning, so we're just gonna go and get a little attitude adjustment in the form of a bloody mary...

MWAH!

missvero@live.com