Newspaper Page Text
Page 12, November 25, 2024, The Islander
Good things on
Brunswick's horizon
Even though my Democrat friends
are now complaining about President
elect Donald Trmnp’s cabinet nomina
tions - most of whom are Beltway out
siders - I’m going to take a break from
opining on national politics this week
and instead give some well earned
kudos to the Forward Brunswick non
profit organization.
Pam and I attended the ground
breaking for Forward Brunswick’s
Reynolds Cottages project late last
month, and I covered it again on the
front page this week.
In short, it’s a non-subsidized hous
ing project with both rental and for-sale
units that are aimed at first time home
buyers and renters hoping to work their
way up to home buying.
It’s located not far from downtown
Brunswick between Reynolds St. to the
west, Union St. to the east, 0 St. to the
north and N St. to the south.
It’s the site of the former Reynolds
St. Elementary School.
It’s an $8 million investment in the
future of Brunswick, which will be good
for Glynn Comity as well.
The architectural renderings show
a well thought out plan that focuses on
community. All the units will have front
porches because as Forward Brunswick
Executive Director Lance Sabbe said,
“We want people to sit on the front
porch and get to know their neighbors.”
I think a lot of revitalization starts
with residential.
A friend of mine who lived in Macon
for years told me that when developers
started converting second floor spaces
in that city’s downtown area into resi
dential units it sparked a big revital
ization of a once thriving area that had
gone dormant over the years.
Our office is on Newcastle St. down
town so we’ve been eye witnesses to the
return of downtown Brunswick - there’s
a lot of good going on down here and
Forward Brunswick’s Reynolds Cot
tages will be a welcome addition.
The cost of law enforcement
It’s no secret that the costs of law en
forcement and public safety in general
are on the rise in this country.
I don’t want to beat this dead horse,
but I do wonder why celebrities make
obscene amounts of money compared to
police, fire fighters, teachers and any
one working a related field.
Yes, I know celebs make that kind
of money because it’s what their ador
ing public will pay. What I don’t under
stand is why people are willing to pay
that much.
For example, I was picking up a to-
go order from a local restaurant last
week and the young woman who took
my order and cashed me out was wear
ing a Taylor Swift tour tee shirt.
Since I had to wait a minute for my
order I asked her if she had seen Ms.
Swift or did a friend buy her the shirt.
Publisher The Islander EDITORIAL
She said she had been to the show.
As we chatted she told me her two
tickets were $1,200... a piece!!!
And making it worse, they were in
the absolute back row of the arena.
Now, she didn’t say where the show
was, but I can guarantee you it was not
in a 1,900 seater like the Florida The
ater in Jacksonville.
No, Ms. Swift plays venues like the
70,000 seat Caesars Superdome in New
Orleans and the 55,000 seat Rogers
Center in Toronto, Canada.
Google® it yourself, starting prices
range from $1,200 to $2,000 - yes, those
are the cheapest they come.
Dang, I remember being upset about
paying $125 to see the Eagles years ago,
so for $1,200 someone’s going to have to
bring George and John back from the
dead... and I still might not bother.
Anyway, prices are what they are,
and the cost of housing and taking
care of prisoners is certainly increasing
along with everything else.
I have a detailed article on the front
page about our Sheriffs Department
being over their Fiscal Year 2024 bud
get by some $1.6 million due to over
time costs.
Overtime is high, especially for de
tention officers because it’s an intense,
dangerous, high stress, extremely un
pleasant job that likely doesn’t pay
enough for a jail guard to send his or
her kid to a Taylor Swift concert.
Sheriff Jump did an excellent job
making his case to the Comity Com
mission for a budget amendment, and
I feel sure they will make the necessary
financial adjustments - so kudos to the
Sheriff and the commission for that as
well.
The two cost issues that jmnped
out at me most during Sheriff Jmnp’s
presentation were those dealing with
transporting imnates - for example it
takes two deputies to escort a prisoner
to medical treatment, which is a huge
cost by itself - imnates must also be
transported to court and to other juris
dictions if they are wanted for crimes
committed elsewhere.
The other is the cost of dealing with
prisoners with mental health issues.
I have to agree with Commissioners
Cap Fendig and Allen Booker and Sher
iff Jmnp - not all prisoners with mental
health issues need to be in the local jail.
Maybe it’s time for the state to re
open some specialized mental health
facilities.
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