Hearing: O's state their case (updated)
The special hearing of the Sarasota County Commissioners is well underway and the Orioles already have had the floor. Club counsel Alan Rifkin was the first to speak and outlined the process that led to the 30-year agreement that brought the Orioles to Sarasota. Club facility coordinator Laura Williams also spoke and outlined the team's commitment to the local community. And Andy MacPhail stepped up and echoed the team's "unanimous" approval of the Sarasota area and the Ed Smith Stadium complex.
There also were a number of presentations by county officials to satisfy the legal rationale for the hearing, which was held to counter a legal claim that the Commission did not abide by all of Florida's "Sunshine" laws, which require government dealings to be transacted in the open.
County officials, as well as the Orioles, remain confident that the case has no merit and will not seriously impact the agreement or renovation project.
Now, the commissioners will hear several hours of testimony from members of the community and, almost certainly, re-ratify the agreement later today.
Meanwhile, outside the building, the group opposing the project -- Sarasota Citizens for Responsible Government -- pumped up an 18-foot-tall inflatable rat with "BCC Redo Rat" printed on it. BCC stands for Board of County Commissioners.
Hearing wrapup: No surprises. Rifkin said that 120 citizens spoke at the hearing and the sentiment was virtually unanimously in favor of the deal, which was re-ratified by the Sarasota Board of County Commissioners. The highlight for the opposition was the rat -- which was almost big enough for the Macy's parade. I just hope the Sarasota Citizens for Responsible Government don't find a way to bill the taxpayers for it.
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Comments
Back to Flanagan - is he still on the O's payroll? as what?
Posted by: jaybird | February 19, 2010 11:26 AM
Rifkin? Isn't that the name of a mass murderer? ;-)
Posted by: Birdwatcher | February 19, 2010 11:29 AM
In a time where the proposed project could have generated alot of local jobs for over a year and stimulated thier local economy, why in the world did some yahoo in Sarasota want to stir up anything? If the city keeps tight lipped, it is to keep other potential cities providing a better deal to the Orioles.
What is irony? The woman is a pharmaceutical rep, maybe the founders of "sweetheart" deals.
Posted by: Don | February 19, 2010 12:09 PM
Losing: O's State Their Case:
Can the losing be argued in court? Jury and all?
Mr Angelos can represent his case for the Orioles, while wayne represents the millions of fans who are tired of being embarrassed by their major league team.
MASN can give it their biased coverage, and the media can portray wayne as the devil.
In the end, even as good a lawyer Mr. Angelos is, i think he'd get his clock cleaned. For that - I'd pay to see!
Posted by: Anonymous in honor of wayne | February 19, 2010 12:22 PM
first i sure hope flanny isn't brought back to the tv booth. hard to listen to someone for an entire game with such a nasally voice. flanny has a voice for newpapers.
as far as the hearing in sarasota. the citizens there think the 30 million would be better used for education and needs of the greater public. and the money was allocated without a vote of the citizens. i'm not so sure that having a team in fl for spring training brings as much money to the community as one would think. let's face it . it's winter time and people come to fl to escape the cold. people come to fl. team or no team. do you think 5,000-10,000 orioles fans will specifically come to sarasota just to watch the orioles. i kinda doubt that. maybe 500 or so which isn't going to significantly affect the sarasota economy. may the schmuck be with you.
Posted by: fkterp | February 19, 2010 12:50 PM
I'm doubt we could expect the team to say, "Umm, we totally screwed up and we might be in trouble here," so I'm not sure what significance their "remaining confident" has.
Posted by: Steve D. | February 19, 2010 12:56 PM
"I'm doubt"... me talk good.
Posted by: Steve D. | February 19, 2010 12:58 PM
still hard to listen to thorne doing baltimore games. but glad to see martinez go
Posted by: michael57 | February 19, 2010 1:25 PM
Who is Wayne? And why are people in luv with him.
Posted by: Jayslick | February 19, 2010 1:30 PM
Here's the comforting info...
Location, location, location
Mark Simon of ESPN Stats & Information sent this along about the Orioles' Kevin Millwood, who will have his hands full in the AL East: "The big question for the Orioles' new ace: Can he survive, after a season in which he had his worst K/BB ratio, in a division in which he has to face these bats on a regular basis:"
Check out some of the career batting averages against Millwood in AL East:
Randy Winn: .611 (11-18)
Kevin Youkilis: .467 (7-15)
Alex Rodriguez: .421 (9-21)
Jason Varitek: .387 (12-31)
Victor Martinez: .375 (6-16)
David Ortiz: .360 (9-25)
Nick Swisher: .345 (10-29)
Robinson Cano: .333 (6-18)
J.D. Drew: .321 (10-31)
Derek Jeter: .320 (8-25)
Posted by: Rich | February 19, 2010 2:02 PM
Old Wayne, New Wayne, Hall of Fame Wayne, Anonymous Wayne, Ghost of Wayne, etc...
Who's who? I need to know who to hate. Right now I am confused. Hating Wayne has been a fixture on this blog for so long I feel cheated and disoriented.
Will the real original Wayne please stand up and say something rotten about Angelos, Macphail, and the Warehouse so we will know it is you.
The I can respond and call you names as usual and all will be right with the world.
Posted by: tony | February 19, 2010 2:14 PM
"I'm doubt"... me talk good. Posted by: Steve D
yes you do speak well english!
Posted by: fkterp | February 19, 2010 2:52 PM
226 days remaining
Posted by: Trembley Watch | February 19, 2010 3:58 PM
30 years?!?
I hope there are genuine renovations in the works and room for further renovations in the future. Otherwise, this will be Number Two in the Be Careful What You Wish For Department -- standing tall next to "I hope we get local ownership" in the dying days of the Eli Jacobs era.
Posted by: waspman | February 19, 2010 11:15 PM
tony,
Old wayne never attacked bloggers. He simply told the truth about the Orioles. Something you see very little of these days.
Posted by: anonymous in honor of wayne | February 20, 2010 12:21 AM
We really wanted the Red Sox !!!
Posted by: Sarasotan | February 20, 2010 6:23 PM