He knew nothing?
Documents show that Behrens knew of non-permitted construction at
gay bar in September, 2007
Building Director Hans Behrens told his staff not to take
any action as it was all in the hands of the city attorney, city attorney claims
Behrens never mentioned it to him; Also: police seek criminal charges against
bar owner Mike Vellucci in murder of innocent video camera
-- Venice Florida! dot com, 04/24/08
Venetian Golf & River
Club: "I'm selling and leaving this bad dream behind"
Living next to a mining operation has become a living
nightmare for Venetian Golf & River Club resident Bruce Lenio
-- email to city council,
posted to the web on 04/18/08
BONUS LINK:
Simmonds
claims VG&RC is a total mess, it's not in the city, the city doesn't want it,
and the problem was caused by the county
The Vellucci Papers, part
7:
Black blasts Building
Director, Fire Marshall
(PDF, 4 pages)
In a memo dated February 26 that has just been released, City Manager Marty
Black confirms allegations raised by Venice Florida! dot com in the Tavern on
the Island fiasco; Question: so why, exactly, is Building Director Hans Behrens not
suspended pending further investigation?
-- internal city hall memo, posted to the web on 04/17/08
The Vellucci Papers, part 6:
Code enforcement goes after Vellucci... again
Weirdness factor in Tavern on the Island story continues to
climb as police investigate claims that Vellucci is threatening neighboring
store owners
-- Venice Florida! dot com, 04/16/07
A very public suicide
Gondo throws their web site into the
recycle bin
How to become irrelevant without even trying
-- Venice Florida! dot com, 04/13/08
VPD responds to complaints about drugs
in Grove Terrace (VIDEO)
VPD's Capt. Tom McNulty discusses the department's
ongoing drug
enforcement efforts
-- Venice Florida! dot com, 04/10/08
The Vellucci Papers, part 5:
Behrens'
building department story weirder by the day
City takes a dive in the Vellucci tavern case, homeowner gets fined out the
wazoo, and the city turns its back on building codes when air conditioners are
involved
-- Venice Florida! dot com, 04/08/08
About that phone recording system in city hall...
April Fools 2008
UPDATED: A lame premise, one that should never have
worked, gets some folks at city hall upset about their phone calls being
recorded; also -- Mayor Martin wastes no time in spoofing back
-- Venice Florida! dot com, 04/01 and 04/02/08
DOH!
Dan Boone gets a
smackdown from Hizzoner; Venice Florida! dot com takes Boone's side
Wait... what?
-- Venice Florida! dot com, 03/28/08
The Vellucci Papers, part 4:
Tavern on the Island finally cited for
code violations, bar owner to appear before city's Code Enforcement Board
Michael Vellucci's documented threat to "get even" with code board probably won't go down
well; he's
also due in criminal court, accused of pushing around and threatening to shoot
his former girlfriend
-- Venice Florida! dot com, 03/25/08
Witnesses describe plane crash off of Venice pier (AUDIO)
Ben Cadle: It went straight
into the water (MP3)
Angel Neketis:
911 didn't know
where Sharky's was (MP3)
-- posted 03/25/08
Milo vs. Venice, and
the judge with a low tolerance for lunacy
For a judge to make a ruling like the one Judge Robert
Bennett handed down to the City of Venice, there had to have been one hell of a
bad legal decision made by the city -- they had to convict the baby
in a case of baby rape for a judge to do that
-- Venice Florida! dot com, 03/21/08
Yet more legal nightmares for the city -- Judge Bennett agrees to
open up Bella Citta can of worms (see sidebar)
Bennett issues Show Cause in Bella Citta lawsuit filed
against the city by Sorrento Shores Homeowners Association, thus setting the
stage up for the sequel to the Milo lawsuit
-- Venice Florida! dot com, 03/20/08
The
Vellucci Papers, part 3:
Venice Florida! dot com to Marty
Black: Suspend Behrens now, fuller investigation needed
Public and city employees have a basic right to both public safety and honest
answers, city is providing neither
-- Venice Florida Dot com, 03/19/08
Stick a fork in it. It's done
Judge Bennett refuses to hear city's arguments in open court, gives slam-dunk win to Milo in short-term rentals case
(PDF
- 8 pages)
Nutshell summary: City of Venice argues that short-term
rentals are prohibited; court rules that the city has never come close to
expressing that intent in the city's ordinances, court further states that city
ordinances as written explicitly allow short-term rentals
Political fallout: Planning Commission vindicated; today is a very bad day to be an elected official, the
city attorney, or work in the city's Planning Department
-- posted to Venice Florida! dot com on 03/19/08
The
Vellucci Papers, part 2:
Gay bar owner Mike Vellucci
reportedly threatens city officials, city scrambles over itself not to give him a hard time
The Tavern on the Island saga gets weirder by the
day as city hall launches a very limited internal investigation into its own
code enforcement department; mayor decrees that code enforcement head Hans
Behrens cannot be quoted at city council meetings; bar owner Mike Vellucci is
reported to the cops for issuing threats against city officials
-- Venice Florida! dot com, 03/17/08
City acknowledges Bird Bay foul-up
(PDF)
Finance Director Jeff Snyder does the unprecedented and
unthinkable -- admits that the city made a mistake and offers to do the right
thing without having to go through yet another lawsuit; in other news, Venice
will be looking for a new Finance Director soon, as this kind of behavior is
clearly unacceptable (see
original
article)
-- PDF, city document, posted on 03/16/08
The
Vellucci Papers, part 1:
Look Hans, no permits
Building and Code Enforcement Director Hans Behrens has
been running interference on behalf of a renegade gay bar's construction and
renovations; Behrens won't say why as he insists that there is no construction
going on
-- Venice Florida! dot com, 03/15/08
This week's
lawsuit against the city is brought to you by the fine folks who live in Bird
Bay
Condo association accuses city of bogus utility billing and
refund practices, threatens to sue if city doesn't pay up
-- Venice Florida! dot com, 03/01/08
Sharky's states its case
(VIDEO)
Mike Pachota, owner of Sharky's on the Pier, asks council
to reconsider a few points in the ongoing land lease dispute
between the city and the restaurant
-- Venice Florida! dot com, 02/29/08
Vote of confidence:
Simmonds gives his traditional black spot to Black (VIDEO)
Councilman John Simmonds has twice before rallied to the
side of beleaguered city managers -- both times it has been the seal of doom
-- Venice Florida! dot com, 02/28/08
This week's lawsuit against the city is brought to you by the fine folks who live in Sorrento Ranches
The approval of rezoning for the proposed Bella Citta development in the north part of Venice causes Dan Lobeck to file a novella in circuit court while Steve Milo and Marriott International watch from the wings
-- Venice Florida! dot com, 02/11/08
Venice Taxpayers League Newsletter for February, 2008
Available online for the first time:
Bella Citta ain't so Bella;
How about this new council?
Fire service fees: fair deal or flim-flam?
Same old song at the airport;
Political promises and a passive park;
and more...
-- Venice Taxpayers League, Feb. 2008 (PDF file, 6 pages)
Dan Boone to Hizzoner:
I own you and here's who you WILL put on the Airport Advisory Board!
The land development attorney isn't telling Hizzoner what to do, he's just telling Hizzoner what to do: "This letter is not written to recommend the appointment of any person" -- so long as it's the three people Boone names in his letter; what Hizzoner should have written in response: "Yo, Gollum: go find your lost ring"
-->What Hizzoner actually wrote in response<--
-- public records, City Hall, 02/01/08
Heading slowly for the showdown:
City ordered to defend its short term rental decision
Order to Show Cause signed by Judge Robert Bennett; Venice has until February 29 to respond
-- Venice Florida! dot com, 01/30/08
Conflict of interest on Airport Advisory Board
Ya think maybe there's a problem here?
Allegations of conflict of interest voting by members of the Airport Advisory Board come before council -- council promises to look into the matter while the city attorney tries to put up every road block imaginable
-- Venice Florida! dot com, UPDATED 01/29/08
Say goodbye to Vicki Taylor, say hello to Vicki Noren
City Councilwoman Taylor has separated from her controversial land speculator husband, Ed Taylor -- and now the truth can be told
-- Venice Florida! dot com, 01/20/07
Hackett on park story foul-up: "I talked with Pam Johnson"
Ahhhhh..... that explains it..... no reporter in their right mind would actually use the city's press officer as a viable source..... what were you thinking?
-- Venice Florida! dot com, 01/19/07
Broken promises, fictional history, and outside intervention -- the odd history of Tramonto Vista Park
It's just a park, but it has become Venice's Gaza Strip as two factions collide, both demanding that conflicting promises be kept
-- Venice Florida! dot com, 01/18/07
The state of the city
Hizzoner and city manager look at the present and the future of Venice
Condos on levitating platforms above the clouds with flying cars, glass elevators, portable beaches, and the end of property taxes -- nope, none of that, the future is far more banal
-- articles by Mayor Ed Martin and City Manager Marty Black, posted on 01/15/08
Milo sues: lawsuit filed against city as short-term rental fight continues
Steve Milo's attorney, Richard Rumrell, fires a major shot at the city, accusing them of selective and targeted enforcement and making up rules of procedure as they go along
-- Venice Florida! dot com, 01/12/07
Blood on the rooftops:
Fear and loathing in Sarasota County's real estate market
Tempo News' John Susce goes after the Herald-Trib, the Sarasota Observer, and Florida's top real estate psychic, Hank Fishkind
-- John Susce of Tempo News, special to Venice Florida! dot com, 01/07/08
