Nurse's annexation vote draws green flak

ST. PETERSBURG -- Karl Nurse's appointment to the City Council in April was heralded by green activists across Pinellas County who saw him as an ally.

Nurse, after all, co-founded the Pinellas Living Green Expo and was a Suncoast Sierra Club board member.

But Nurse's vote Friday to approve the city's controversial annexation of Tierra Verde's waterfront commercial district has triggered debate about his environmental loyalities among Earth lovers.

"It's a sad day for the Sierra Club when a member of the Suncaost Sierra Club, who was also a force behind the Living Green Expo would move to this blasphemous annexation vote WHICH WILL ALLOW INCREASED DENSITY on a barrier island for developers who are KNOWN to care less about environmental issues," wrote activist Lorraine Margeson in an e-mail blast sent to local leaders and other activists after Friday's vote. "Mr. Nurse, as far as I am concerned you are no longer green except when it comes to money."

Nurse fired back with his own e-mail that listed eight environmental issues he has worked on as a council member, including a project to eliminate methane gas from being a by-product of sewage treatment and lobbying Progress Energy to make their rebates for energy efficiency easier for lower income families.

The list wasn't enough to appease some activists.

"All well and good, Karl," responded Jan Allyn. "But WHY IN THE WORLD did you vote for the TV annexation? Just about no one, other than the developers who want to put some more condos out there, thought it was a good idea. And costly litigation is certain to result."

Other green-minded residents defended Nurse.

"Karl is probably one of the greenest politicians in Tampa Bay, so I would cut him a break here," wrote Marc Washburn, conservation chairman of the Suncoast Sierra Club. "We need Karl in office and not on the sidelines."

- Cristina Silva, Times Staff Writer

Comments

[Michael Ryan]

Nothing like eating one's own young.

The environmental community is circling the wagons around Karl.

Lorraine is a self-serving hypocrite. All witch hunts come to an end. She speaks for no one but herself.

[cough, cough]

Isn't Lorraine a chain smoker? Maybe her green stands for menthol. That doesn't seem environmental to me. At least she should maybe not throw stones at others is she's not the perfect image of green herself.

"Karl is probably one of the greenest politicians in Tampa Bay..."

... nuff said!

[None of the Above]

If the Thinking and recent actions of the Sierra Club Board weren't comical enough during the election cycle just passed, a casual observer might actually think that there was some actual weight to anything that the Sierra Club might say or do regarding anything.

These are hollow and shallow people, not deep thinkers.

As the Tierra Verde tragedy begins to unfold, condominiums will beget a new and expensive bridge to Ft DeSoto, which will beget lower use of the park due to the rising cost to get there, which will beget much hand ringing as to the continued cost to maintain the park.

At that point one can only imagine what might be proposed as a remedy.

Tierra Verde is merely the first Domino that has to fall in order to begin the planned encroachment of Ft DeSoto, and anyone who voted against the will of the people should go the way of the Dodo.

This is only the Beginning.

Lorraine is losing her credibility. Even POWW backed off from her...they certainly took away the mike which is a good thing.

How many people does she have to attack for everyone to finally realize that she's a NUT??? Anytime anyone says something she doesn't like, they get blasted by her. Why am I even reading about this? This isn't news! Geez...

[Janice]

Lorraine, sweetie - You cannot throw out the baby with the bath water every time you don't like something that someone does. If you do, you will find yourself in a very lonely corner. You smoke, you feed wildlife, you drive a truck that sucks fuel....you should not be casting stones.

Lorraine lives in a neighborhood that was dredged and filled so that she could have her big house near all the shore birds.

Now it is time for her to attack everyone else who wants the same.

Florida is full of people who unapologetically make an exception for themselves: it's OK for them to move here, live near the water, and consume resources, but now let's slam the door shut for anyone new coming in and sneer at how they trash the state.

Where is Frank Jackalone in all of this? Probably hanging out in his office avoiding work?

Puritanical hippies - go figure.

Lorraine needs to loosen the head band and put down the cigarettes so some oxygen can get to her brain.

Frank's doing nothing... as usual.

He hasn't even shown up at a local Sierra Club meeting in I don't know how long.

[fiscal responsibility]

Karl is all about Karl-always has been and always will be. He is incapable of critical analysis. He is inconsistent. He is shallow. Just put that finger up and see which way the wind is blowing-Karl's modus operandi.

Nonsense. Karl is someone who leads with good ideas and action. He has been the driver for many issues in our community. We need more people who work as hard as he does and who makes real contributions.

Karl will do what he's told to do by his masters, anyone who thought otherwise is a malleable-minded pinhead.