Independent NewsPosts Tagged ‘Gene Valentino’
Buzz: U.S. Senator Valentino?
I spoke with people in Gov. Charlie Crist's administration about who is on the short list to appointed U.S. senator now that Mel Martinez is stepping down. Surprisingly Crist will not appoint himself. No one would confirm who is on the list. The St. Pete Times lists former Gov. Bob Martinez, former [...]
Valentino refuses to apologize
In a statement released to the daily newspaper, Commissioner Gene Valentino refuses to take responsibility or apologize for his public records violations. Instead he blames the people who asked for the records and their attorney "who opposed economic development on Perdido Key." As you may [...]
Hall not guilty, Valentino guilty
State Attorney Bill Eddins has issued his reports on the Sunshine Law investigations of Pensacola City Councilman Sam Hall and Escambia County Commissioner Gene Valentino. Eddins ruled that Hall and Valentino did not violate Sunshine Laws when they met at City Hall on April 28, 2009. However [...]
Nodine won’t run for Mobile mayor
Mobile County Commissioner Steve Nodine has apparently decided not to run for mayor of Mobile against incumbent Sam Jones (Read). Nodine tried to use crime as the catalyst for his campaign trial balloon. He was shot down by local officials and the media for hurting the city's image internationally [...]
More GV emails
I think this is the last set of emails to/from Commissioner Valentino with BPM on economic development. There are some duplicates from earlier posts. I am posting as I received them without comment. (more...)
State attorney has Valentino computer
Commissioner Gene Valentino has turned over his personal computer to the state attorney's office which is investigating a complaint by atty. Greg Smith that the commissioner had not released all his emails regarding a bingo casino on Perdido Key. We discovered that Valentino no longer had his [...]
More PEDC notes
The meeting was heavily attended. All PEDC members were present: Gene Valentino, Sam Hall, Century Mayor Freddie McCall, Comm. Kevin White, Councilwoman Maren DeWeese, Mort O'Sullivan, Collier Merrill, and Rhette Anderson. Blaise Adams participated over a speaker phone. The meeting was held in [...]
PEDA structure modified
Commissioner Gene Valentino may offer a new structure for his proposed Pensacola Economic Development Authority when he appears before the PEDC this morning. We received a copy of the new structure which calls for PEDA board nominations to be made by various groups: Pensacola, County, Century, [...]
Economic Development free week
Until Commissioner Gene Valentino or the Chamber releases any new or modified plans for economic development, we're taking a break. The pro GV side wants to focus on attacking the Chamber or individuals. No one seems to want to give any concrete reasons for supporting the elements of the GV plan [...]
Valentino gets a pass
The Escambia County Commission decided tonight to not vote on Gene Valentino's Pensacola Economic Development Authority. They apparently don't want to embarrass Valentino and would rather let the issue be discussed by the PEDC on July 2 ...before the commissioners vote down the PEDA, 4-1. I see [...]
Valentino/Birdwell strategy
Their strategy is clear--delay voting on economic development as long as possible in hopes of building a ground swell against the Chamber. Yes, against the Chamber, not for Commissioner Valentino's vague proposal. It's clear in Valentino's comments that his issue is with the Chamber. A very [...]
Commissioner Valentino’s comments
The BOCC referred the economic development to the PEDC for further discussion. Here are Commissioner Valentino's comments on today's meeting (the emphasis is his): I’m excited and grateful that the dialogue and engaging conversation surrounding economic dev and the future of it will continue [...]