Background Check: Susan Latvala-District 4 County Commisioner

(Photo Credit St. Petersburg Times)

General Information: http://www.pinellascounty.org/Commission/SLatvala.htm

Campaign Treasurer Report Summary

Deeds Listed:LT 5 ETC BLK C INDIAN BLUFF ISL

Twitter-

Personal Site-

Ex-Husband Jack Latvala-

Notice of Commencement May 15, 2000 from Susan Latvala to Jack Latvala

Judgement Notice from Times Publishing Company to:Party From: TIMES PUBL CO
Party To: PINELLAS SCHL BD;
LATVALA SUSAN;
BENJAMIN LEE;
FREEMAN CORINNE;
LERNER LINDA S;
CASEY LUCILLE O;
CROCKETT BARBARA J;
THACKER ANDREA M
Document Type: JUDGMENT
Date: 05/30/1996
Instrument #: BP00000093580893

Related Articles

http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=CTIMAAAAIBAJ&sjid=yF4DAAAAIBAJ&dq=susan%20latvala%201996&pg=4524%2C3997116

Article Three: Election Coverage Analysis

Bill Foster was announced as St. Petersburg’s next mayor at 7:45 on Tuesday evening, with 52% of the vote. But coverage of the days events began hours before hand.
With a less than dismal media out pouring during the mayoral and citywide primaries, local media outlets amped the coverage for the final showdown.
But this time voters did not have to do nearly as much digging if they wanted some background on more than just the mayors.
The St. Petersburg Times’s made an entire website specifically for the occasion-elections.tampabay.com. Specialized graphics featuring Foster and Ford ran across the web-site’s main page.
The election website presented a user-friendly interface, complete with all candidates for city and mayoral races, even those who ran in the primaries but did not win. Also included on the Times web page were what they deemed as the main issues facing candidates.
The candidates stances on those issues were also presented.
Related stories, multimedia photo slide shows and a live twitter box made the page informative and easy to use while keeping up with the current multimedia curve.
The Tampa Tribune included the race as one of its top stories on their website, but their coverage was less extensive. That could be attributed to their massive coverage cutbacks in Pinellas County, but their web presence was available and objective overall.
Creative Loafing made itself a larger player in this election as well, that’s due in part to their ample concentration on new media on their website.
Their coverage style has typically been less objective and more editorialized, however that changed largely with the entrance of former WMNF Assistant News Director Mitch Perry. Perry has a harder news edge which tapers embellishment as opposed to CL’s former political editor Wayne Garcia.
The presence of Twitter in this election was utilized more than previous elections, with the Times, CL, and television stations venture into hash-tags. Hash-tagging uses the # symbol followed immediately by a word or phrase for the topic of the tweet.
For example, Tuesday, the Times used hash-tag #kyc09, standing for “Know Your Candidates 09”, which was the banner used on the election sites page. Tbo.com’s tweets on the election were few.
Early posts online at the Times site had a solid report from the polls by 8:04 a.m. Low turnout due to the weather were discussed on two blogs on the site as well.
Suprisingly equal time was given to the smaller races that were as contentious, if not more so, than the mayoral race. Steve Kornell swept Angela Rouson for the race for the City Council seat in District 5.
That headline read, “Kornell becomes first openly gay official in St. Petersburg. Incumbents sweep,” on the Times BayBuzz blog.
Tbo.com posted the election results almost five minutes after both the Times and Creative Loafing.
Creative Loafing was able to provide speedy posts on the election throughout the evening as well as audio and visual aides.
Television presence, unless viewers received Bay News 9, is limited after the 6 p.m. newscasts.
WMNF’s news provided some coverage during their evening newscast, interviews with polling workers and a live update from the election, however their web presence limited to only three stories from today, and had no twitter presence.
When polls returned the results that Foster was leading, coverage online quickly transitioned attention to Ford, who quickly conceded and presented a speech congratulating Foster’s victory.
Overall, I think this is the first tech savvy local election coverage we have seen yet. During the last election, when most of this technology was still in the works or not yet known, television coverage was more crucial as were endorsements and editorials from newspapers.
However it seems that the discussion shifted when the coverage became more ala carte. Voters had many avenues to seek out coverage on the candidates, and forums to voice their opinions, mainly due to blogs and Twitter.
With the addition of more audience participation, the interaction definitely increased attention towards the information being presented.
When the media outlets provided means for the audience to communicate their views, the election coverage’s direction changed.
The introduction of what the community believes are the issues, were presented by the community in an open forum where the news outlets could read them. From those demands, the coverage was altered because it was molded to fit the wants of the news outlet’s consumer. And the local outlets supported the new approach overall, or least made inroads towards utilizing social media networks .
Although Tuesday’s election may be a rocky first step, it is the first step in the new media model, where news is decided by the people and not the media.

Article Two: Affordable Housing Trustfund

Sometimes third time is a charm. But for that charm failed for proponents of Pinellas County’s Affordable Housing Trust fund. They made one final push last night, after over 200 supporters gathered on the county steps last week.
Funding for the project started at a proposed five million dollars only a few months ago. Then it was three million. Last night, they filled the room to plead for 1.4 million dollars.

Rev. Robert Ward walked up to the microphone with a line of people behind him. He has been one of the main community organizers fighting for the funding since the whole budget process began.

“This money is needed more than ever before, because when we started the Housing Trust Fund there were 31,00 families in need, by next year there will be 45,00 families that cannot afford housing. No other fund addresses this need,” Ward said.
The Housing Trust Fund was created to ensure that affordable housing remain affordable for at least ten years. For proponents of the fund, budget meetings have been an uphill battle.
On July 28th, Commissioner Welch proposed slightly raising the mileage rate in order to create a substantial base from which the county could fund important community projects like the housing fund. That motion would have given the housing fund three million dollars as opposed to none at all. But the problem was the county’s goal to lower mileage rates so that homeowners could get a tax break.
“I think we made a mistake lowering the mileage rate that much, with my plan we still would have cut 20 million dollars in property taxes and have been able to fund community projects not only this year but the next,” Commissioner Welch said after the meeting.
When Welch brought his proposal to a motion, he didn’t even receive a second.
Monday, every county commissioner received over 1,400 postcards in support of continued funding of the housing fund.
“The housing fund creates jobs, which stimulates the economy. A single mother at my church was finally able to afford a home specifically because of this project, and I was delighted to say our leaders made that happen,” Ward Said.
Commissioner Morroni proposed the 1.4 million dollars come out of disaster relief reserves, keeping the fund at 15% of revenue, higher than most counties.
“When we made the commitment to the trust fund in 2000, times were good, but that has changed. However I want to thank all of you and all your members for being so active, this group has been the most active in the budget process from day one,” Morroni said.
According to Rev. Ward, the cost of a two bedroom apartment in 2005 was $805, next year it will be $959.
“You may be nervous about taking money out of reserves, because of a possible hurricane or disaster. However, the real storm is already here for people who cannot find an affordable place to live,” Ward said.
For many in the community, there are funds to help with housing down payments and rent subsidies, but they become nomads continually moving because the affordable housing is shrinking.
Morroni’s motion received a second from Commissioner Seel, but no others on the board voted in favor of the proposal. In the end the motion did not pass with a 2-5 vote.
“We could have had a stable way to fund our projects and have a surplus next year. Instead, we are already starting out the 2010-2011 cycle with a seven million dollar deficit because the board pushed so hard to lower the mileage rate,” Commissioner Welch said after the meeting.
Other programs that will be affected as a result of lowering mileage rate, include funding for C.A.S.A. a non-profit women’s shelter that aides in domestic violence prevention. Funding for county mental health programs are also receiving stiff cutbacks.
After the motion passed, the room emptied. The commission the next hour speaking about the Gulf Boulevard beautification project, which will continue to receive its funding.
But for those advocating the Affordable Housing Trust Fund, a fund that should be reaching its 30 million dollar goal by next year, last night was a letdown.

Article One: Downtown Revitalization

St. Petersburg has its hands full with Baywalk’s bankruptcy, constant homeless presence and uncertain baseball stadium. According to a recent St. Petersburg Times article, vacant office space in downtown, is at a 10 year high.
Central Avenue, the heart of St. Petersburg’s downtown turns into a ghost town when it hits the 600 block.
The storefronts that originally opened in 1926 are now covered in graffiti.
The dust beneath the vintage Crisplip Arcade brick banner moves only when the homeless lay down their mats under its overhang to sleep.
Often the block smells like urine.
Only three years ago, the northeast corner of Central Avenue and sixth street was part of downtown’s hustle and bustle. The antique stores and boutiques drew foot traffic. Then, one by one they closed and a developer bought the property.
The plan was to turn the historic corner into a brand new $35 million dollar 15-story, mix-use condominium called 601 Central.
But that was before real estate along with the economy tanked.
Now the eyesore on St. Pete’s downtown may be turning a new leaf. Surrounding business’s like the State Theatre, Florida Craftsmen, and the neighboring bars banded together.
Studio @620’s Bob Devin Jones got involved in organizing an effort to use the space for art instead of letting it sit.
And when the city came to the property owner Thomas Gaffney, he said he had no plans for the site except possible demolition. But that’s when 620’s Jones sat down and started talking plans with Gaffney.
Soon City Councilwoman Leslie Curran got involved and began working with other council members to find a way to use the space for art. Curran, who ran on a platform of working to improve St. Pete’s arts and culture, wanted to incorporate the city’s elected official is pushing the process towards actuality.
Curran told the Times in May, “For now, I’m very happy that a business owner that owns that much property in downtown St. Pete that is completely bare and in shambles is willing to work with the city.”
Then in late July, the city revealed a plan. Artists would receive reduced rental rates on the vintage space, up to $5 dollars a square foot, in exchange for renovation by the tenants.
Devon Jones told the Times in July, “It’s like a Mitzmah.”
Councilwoman Curran has rolled up her sleeves to help with the project. These storefronts are filled with years of debri and decay. But artists see this as their chance.
Security deposits and fees would be waived, and rent wouldn’t be charged until the shops were able to open.
No leases have been signed yet, but over 50 volunteers have signed up for the project.
When longtime Tampa Bay investor Lawrence Smith* (he asked that his name remain anonymous) heard about the project in St. Pete’s downtown, he was immediately intrigued. Smith is starting a similar project based off of St. Pete’s plan involving revitalizing an old cigar factory in Palmetto Beach. Said Smith, “these kind of grassroots community building projects are important in these hard times and a lot of good can come out when people band together.”
Only a few storefronts down at 529 Central Avenue, a non-profit arts foundation for kids opened its doors with help from St. Petersburg’s arts community.
Pink Cricket opened with a goal to give kids the arts classes and skills they don’t receive at school. Sarah Turner, Pink Cricket’s executive director, sees the 600 block as a benefit to her business.
“It feels like we all have the same goals, to get arts into St. Petersburg,” said Turner,” And that dedication will spill over onto our kids and show them how important it is.”

Commentary Three: Public Affairs Reporting

So often government meetings are written off by reporters as mundane and unimportant. While many of these meetings can be tedious, they are where actual actions are taken that will ultimately affect the reporter’s readers, citizens.

The task of covering government takes hard work, patience and can often be lackluster. But its the lackluster moments, that provide in-depth understanding of the structure of power, that lead to the biggest and most important stories overall.

There are several key concepts and practices that apply to covering government at not only a local, but national level. Dr. Killenberg references the Tampa Tribune reporter Mark Davis. Davis says “tell the news of government through the people.”

This is an important piece of advice, because if the reporter thinks their story is boring, the reader will probably think the same and take little of the information in. With government stories their must be a vehicle made of flesh in blood in order for the story to communicate how this will affect citizens.
Also important to understanding and writing a good governmental story, is understanding the language, or rather being able to see through what Dr. Killenberg calls governmentese. Politicians are good at talking in political double talk. They are highly trained professionals at this game. Their job is not to communicate what is going on to the reporter, but rather to convince you and the public that what they’re saying is not only correct but is best for the citizen.
Since most of what decides policy and legislation occurs largely away from public view, it is the reporters job to function in this reality and decipher it for their readers. This isn’t easy.
From day one of journalism school, students are taught to include the 5 w’s in their stories. For covering local government, there is a different set of 5 w’s, and knowing it through and through is crucial to that reporter’s success covering that beat. What is the city’s history? Who the people are that live there? What is happening with development? What are the conditions of the city’s infrastructure? What amenities or services are available? And who are the political, economical and social power brokers for that city?
These factors will give the reporter a more accurate sense of the climate in which they are working and what the issues are.
Dually important is getting to know everyone in that city, from union leaders, to city hall secretaries and powerful local religious leaders. Get out and get to know your city. Have coffee with the city manager’s administrative assistant. Make friends with the ladies and gentleman at the circuit courts. More importantly, contact these people when you don’t need a quote as much as when you do.
Then get to know the local power tier. If the city is a major-council structure, find out if the mayor is a weak or strong leader? If they are weak, they will likely be coerced by the council to make decisions.
If it is a city manager-council structure, often the power will lie entirely in the hands of the city manager. More often than not, city government officials have day jobs outside of their duties to the city. A city manager typically doesn’t and therefore will hold more cards as to what happens in that city.
Understand what role the private sector plays in that local government. Cities always have contracts with the private sector, but often the public just doesn’t know about it. Walmart is reference in our text, and is very appropriate for the Florida landscape. Numerous Walmart super-centers have been built in small towns, putting local business owners out and the town didn’t even know what was happening. Meanwhile, behind closed doors, the private sector moguls were talking redevelopment with city officials. It is our job as journalists to let the people know what is going on their city and how it will affect them.
But until a reporter has mapped out the power structure of a city, leaving the government halls and meetings is crucial to knowing what is going on. As Dr. Killenberg says in the text, “leave city hall and visit the neighborhoods,” this is so important! Talking to people in that community will give you a sense of what the important issues are. That way it is easier to read whether those concerns are being addressed by those citizens elected officials.

Commentary Two: Public Affairs Reporting

The idea of news, the way in which it is perceived, is constantly morphing. What determines news, is as the article states, influenced heavily by the economy. In 1982, Hartley defined news in terms of frequency, threshold, meaningfulness, unambitguity, consonance, and unexpectedness. These terms are often applicable but subject to differences based upon the type of media and the structure of that media organization.
The notion of objectiveness in a story is crucial to the public’s construction of truth. The “two sides to every story” theory is often debated because of the human element. The news is composed of people, who are in effect-incapable of objectivity. So every true news story, is just one person’s reality of truth.
Entman said in 1989 that economics shape the values that guide and create the news.
Walter Lippman degined news as in the spotlight. This leaves much of life in the dark. Celebrity seems to take presidence over all else. That celebrity being created with attention-from the media.
“News can, and perhaps should, be about what people do: the human condition or human affairs,” states the article.
If news is, as Entman observed, shaped from the economics-then our current media landscape has shifted with the recession.
While the article contends that most media outlets are conglomerates, I believe that is changing. News is becoming of the people again because conglomerates cannot afford to function as they once did.
As recently as five years ago, the Starbucks nation wanted their news as the article describes-Short, timely, predictable and easy to digest. But since the economy dropped from a thriving consumer driven market, news is telling more. People want to know where their precious few pennies are being spent.
Now it seems, many journalists are taking their orders from people-not from corporate media conglomerates. This is exemplified in news networks like Current TV, which is composed of viewer created content. These vignette-like stories, give that human voice that mainstream news has been lacking for so long.
Youtube has also opened up the doors to more human based stories. These “new media” outlets are influencing what content larger outlets include.
For many in media, this is a trying time both financially and emotionally. There is much uncertainty. However, I firmly believe that this change of landscape is bringing news home. News is coming from kitchen tables and backyards, instead of from figure heads.

Commentary One: Public Affairs Reporting

ournalists are at their truest forms, public servants. Killenberg says that our history shows, democracy relies on a free and responsible press. More importantly that having a press in existence, he further states that it must be free press. This allows the journalist’s stories to be beholden to no one. However, competition and the internet have changed the landscape that existed only a few years ago.

The technical aspect of a career in journalism requires a vast spectrum of skills and knowledge, most importantly empathy. Journalists must be able to communicate effectively in a myriad of emotional high and low points. But public perception tends to scew journalists as skeptics, devoid of empathy. Skepticism and empathy must coexist in order for effective journalism to occur. Meeting deadlines, while tending to the feelings of others.

This introductory section proposes questions that all journalist’s, beginning or mid career, should consider. Creative Loafing’s Wayne Garcia once said, “journalists knowledge tends to be an inch deep and a mile wide.” In Dr. Killenberg’s section The Competent Reporter, he examines the notion that journalists must have a library of knowledge on every subject, constantly updated and ready at a moments notice. Or professor Melvin Mencher puts it, “seven days a week, 18 hours a day.”

This is crucial in providing context for stories. Is the current recession that the United States has ever experienced? Perhaps not when calculating inflation and historical roots in economics. Historical, cultural, and technological knowledge are necessary both in the past and present tense in order for a story to accurately convey information.

In chapter two, The Ways and Means of Reporting, Dr. Killenberg discusses the actual day to day situations that a reporter experiences. I personally loved the quote from Mark Twain, “No other occupation brings a man into such familiar social relations with all grades and classes of people. The last thing at night- midnight- he goes browsing around after items among police and jail-birds, in the lock-up, questioning the prisoners and making pleasant and lasting friendships with some of the world people in the world. And the very next evening he gets himself uip regardless of expense, puts on all the good clothes his friends have got-goes and takes dinner with the Governor,…”

Journalist’s stories are stringent upon how they communicate. Details only come when asked, coaxed and directed by the journalist. An interview is like a car it seems, and the journalist is the passenger seat helping the driver get to the right spots. The journalist is not the driver, but rather a piece of what steers the wheel. Being able to do this effectively ensures a better interview, a better relationship with that source and in the end, a better story.

Distracted Driving Multimedia Times Piece

http://www.tampabay.com/news/education/k12/bedeviled-by-texting-eating-and-lil-wayne-rapping-new-teen-drivers-find/1040839

Artful Dodgings Last Night: FuLL meTal RacKeT tAKEover

Thrash Money Millionaires Jamie, John and Leo-my personal metal man pack-stopped by to melt some faces-and of course some hearts along the way.

Please don’t forget Marathon-We have 1000 dollars to raise in less than two weeks!

Links to listen again.

Artist Track Album
Primus “John the Fisherman” on Frizzle Fry
Black Sabbath “Paranoid” on Paranoid
Faith No More “A Small Victory” on Angel Dust
Helloween “Halloween” on Keeper of the Seven Keys Part II
Chaos “Vain of War” on Last Sabbath Demo
Earth “Engine Of Ruin” on The Bees Made Honey In The Lions Skull
Motley Crue “Livewire” on Too Fast for Love
Rmisery “Justice of sins” on Time of Death
Cradle of Filth “Coffin Fodder” on Nymphetamine
Rush “Marathon Power” on Windows
Flogging Molly “Rebels of the Sacred” on Heart Drunken Lullabies
Amanaguchi “Blackout City” on Dawn Metropolis
Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons “Beggin’ (Pilooski ) Re-edit” on Beggin’ 12”
Aaron English “Lullaby of Loneliness” on Waters single
Saltillo “A Necessary End” on Ganglion
The Smiths “A rush and a push and the land is ours” on Strangeways Here We Come

On Artful Dodgings: August 11, 2009