One Month Ago: From the City of Pahokee, a Letter to the Editor in The Palm Beach Post.

On Sunday, March 19th, many were very surprised the news from Pahokee (see below) wasn’t on the front page of the Post — the big news that day was an open-ended question and a big photo of Sheriff Ric Bradshaw — the big news from Pahokee ended up on the front page of the “B” section instead.

On Friday, March 24th, a resident of Belle Glade had a Letter to the Editor published (two excerpts below). This resident, shall we say, is not very happy and writes about the “bumper sticker campaign that seeks to upend our way of life.”

An editor or editors made a very poor decision. The story about Bradshaw should have been in the “B” section and the news from Pahokee should have been front page news in the “A” section. Here is the news that didn’t make the cut for the front page on March 19th:


From Post reporter Susan Salisbury: “The auditorium was filled to its capacity of 400, and several hundred people who quietly waited outside were turned away. Police estimated the total number of people who turned out at 1,000.”

Click on image to enlarge:

The news from Pahokee in Sunday’s front page of the “B” section. The opening paragraph from Salisbury’s article:

“PAHOKEE — In a face-off Friday night at Pahokee High School, hundreds of Glades area residents came out in force to tell Florida Senate President Joe Negron his proposal to build a 60,000-acre reservoir on farmland south of Lake Okeechobee would kill jobs and economically devastate their rural communities.”

Excerpts from Letter to the Editor written by Robert Rease from Belle Glade titled, “Negron still giving short shrift to Glades”: 

I, along with many of my brothers and sisters in the Glades communities, attended the March 17 town hall meeting that state Sens. Joe Negron and Oscar Braynon conducted in Pahokee.
     It was thrilling to see nearly 1,000 of our residents and supporters peacefully attend the community meeting. It was disappointing to hear Negron repeat his talking points than actually listen to us, as we in the Glades are also members of his district.

and. . .

     Negron can now proclaim he came, he saw, and he left. Negron has checked the Glades communities off his list. Our work to protect our communities, our jobs and our lands continue despite the 90 minutes given to us in the seven months it took for Negron to visit.
     We will continue to pray for truth and equality to prevail in his bumper sticker campaign that seeks to upend our way of life. [emphasis added]

Powerful. The “bumper sticker campaign” mentioned above is, “Send the Water South!”.