DAYTONA BEACH -- On Sunday, I spent the better part of the day at the Ocean Center covering the New Smyrna Beach High School, from which I am processing close to two dozen videos. This is the fifth year our 24/7 internet newspaper has covered the achievements of the A-rated school, which saw its largest graduating class ever and richest in terms of college scholarships and grants.
The schools coverage has included every home Cudas football game since 2008, as well as the halftime shows with the marching band and cheerleaders, along with the pageantry of Homecoming.
The last five years since this internet newspaper was launched has demonstrated our commitment of reporting news that impacts and defines who we are as a county -- our values, goals and quality of life. And while generating revenue has been the biggest challenge, we continue building a viable source of around the clock news for greater Daytona Beach from our home-office in New Smyrna Beach.
With that said, it's enough of a struggle enough to try and stay on top of all of the breaking news, the feel-good stories like this graduation that matter to families and the all too important investigative stories that the public craves and reminds newsmakers that this one-person media outlet is for real.
And while the every-day grind of reporting, advertising and uploading of content, responsibilities that often result in in a lack of sleep, (as my family and friends remind me is not good, as does my own body), what I had to deal with the last several weeks and coming to a head Thursday was something I've never before experienced in my 27 years of covering the news.
Mary Swiderski, the executive director of the Volusia League of Cities, did everything in her power to prevent me from covering the news, not to mention what I believe to be libel and a clear attempt to violate my First Amendment rights of freedom of the press, by preventing me from covering news.
It's an absolute disgrace and an affront to government transparency and accountability to the taxpayers among Volusia County's 16 municipal operations as well as the county in subsidizing her salary, if they are not paying for it entirely. That's because Swiderski also enjoys the benefit of being executive director of the sister Volusia Council of Governments, the latter chaired by embattled New Smyrna Beach Mayor Adam Barringer and the subject of two state ethics charges, along with City Manager Pam Brangaccio.
Swiderski had been defensive about Barringer's selection for the coveted "Blaine O'Neal Award of Excellence," dubbed the most "prestigious of the league's two dozen awards, in honor of the South Daytona mayor who died three years ago of a heart attack at age 43.
Headline Surfer videos produced by Multimedia Editor Serafina Frederick / New Smyrna Beach citizen watchdog Bob Tolley questions the 'private' retirement party for former Commissioner Jim Hathaway, hosted by Mayor Adam Barringer at his wine-bar restaurant So Napa Grille. City Manager Pam Brangaccio authorized use of a city credit card to pay for the meals of 40-plus people. When Tolley didn't get answers from the mayor or city manager, he filed complaints against both of them with the Florida Commission on Ethics.
Barringer was the sole nominee for the award of excellence despite the ethics charges as follows:
1. The mayor hosted a private party at his wine-bar restaurant for former Commissioner Jim Hathaway and 40-plus guests with a city credit card picking up the tab after giving up his seat of 18 years in a failed run in the 2012 elections for the district 3 seat on the County Council won by fellow New Smyrnan Deb Denys. The mayor is accused of using his public office to generate revenue for his private interests and the city manager is accused of authorizing the use of a city credit card to pay the $1,200 tab.
2. On Dec. 2, NSB police officer Ralph Hunnefeld, who previously saw combat in Iraq, filed a written complaint against the mayor, alleging that after Barringer was waved off in trying to cut through a barricaded side street before the start of the New Smyrna Beach Christmas Parade, the cop was approached with a handshake and the alleged comment from the mayor in no uncertain terms: "Thanks for being a pr-ck," before getting back in his Barringer Construction pick-up truck and driving off in the same direction as everyone else.
The subsequent ethics complaints were filed with the state by New Smyrna Beach citizen-watchdog Bob Tolley, who has monitored the municipal government as well as the board of Bert Fish Hospital, which levies a local tax for indigent care.
I was literally kept at bay on the public sidewalk in front of the St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church under threat of arrest and transport to the branch jail, with as many as three Daytona cops taking turns babysitting me.
There was the cop, who was working the detail, a second cop in an unmarked car who hung around for a few minutes and a sergeant who pulled up and parked in front of my Audi TT, claiming he was doing paperwork when I approached his passenger side window.
That I was greeted upon my arrival by league president and Ponce Inlet town councilwoman Tami Lewis, along with the cop, I made clear I was going to do my best to report the news from the public sidewalk after being read the riot act.
And even though the cop was on the premises the entire time, an hour into it, he actually gave me a trespass warning, which I feel was not only unnecessary, but possibly illegal since it wasn't requested by the property owner (the church) or the cater who rented the hall behind the church. It came from the league's operatives, who had a hand-written sign on the hall entranceway behind the church
All of this for a glad-handing awards program, something organizations often beg media for coverage. Like anything in life, the obvious question is what are were trying to hide?
And of all reporters to mess with, having covered Volusia County since the mid-'90s, and amassing more journalism industry awards than any other reporter over the last 17 years (including four in 2012 alone), you'd think Swiderski and others working in concert with her would have been wiser.
In order to save Barringer the embarrassment of the video camera recording accolades and achievement that might not hold with the watchful eye of media, Swiderski put as many roadblocks as she could, having been defensive for weeks over her league's choice of Barringer as the recipient of the highest honor in memory of the young husband, father of two small children and an up-and-coming politician who had a seat on the Florida League of Cities.
In 27 years of reporting for daily metro newspapers as a frontline breaking news cops and courts reporter, as well as investigative reporting and as a city editor, my ability to report the news without restrictions or threats of being jailed had never been called into question. And just because I report the news through this internet news operation doesn't mean Swiderski could trample on my rights as a member of the local working press.
That the leadership of the Volusia League of Cities did everything in its power to keep me out of the dining hall where some 200 people -- mostly elected and administrative officials of local governments -- were on hand to recognize each other with two dozen or so awards only leads to one conclusion: There was something to hide.
But Swiderski, whose job is supplemented by the taxpayers, saw fit to go back on her word, in writing no less -- first granting me access to the awards ceremony only to "renege" (again, her writing) under the guise it wouldn't be fair to other media outlets. Never-mind that Headline Surfer was the lone media outlet to show any interest in covering the event, something she was forced to acknowledge.
When Swiderski didn't have that pathetic excuse to hang her hat on anymore, she showed her true colors in a vicious e-mail the day before the event that no professional administrator doing business with government and private companies, would ever consider. What she wrote is libelous, injurious to my reputation and completely false.
By publishing her comments, however, I pretty much lose any potentiality for a libel suit. As I've learned over the years from many a tough metro editor, just report the hell out of the actions of those who are trying to pull a fast one that needs to be uncovered by the "power of the press."
So here is what she wrote (the misspellings and grammar are her own and shown here in italics for emphasis): I believe in treating people fairly. It's not about you. Our policy is no media. I send all information within 24 hours. The event is not about Adam it's about those who have done excellent in making their community better. For you it's about accusing a man of wrong doing who has not yet been judged. If I were in your shoes I would be praying very hard the ethics board find Adam guilty because if he is not i would be concerned of getting sued when this whole thing with Adam proves innocence. The first amendment was put in place so the truth can be heard. Not for cowards to hide behind while making up information for personal financial gain. Really Henry, that is what this whole thing is about.
My parents instilled in me the age-old adage that sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me. It's far more effective and plays into my strength of exposing the bullying, spitefulness and unprofessional behavior by this so-called director of not one, but two private entities feasting off the taxpayer.
Swiderski may soon realize, she picked a fight she can't win -- a fight no politician will ever win, regardless of whether the media outlet is a newspaper delivered to the home, a radio show, television news report, or in my case, the internet, the journalism always comes out ahead in the long run.
In the 1964 book, "My Indiana," by Irving Leibowitz, former Congressman Charles Brownson, an Indianapolis Republican, was quoted as saying: “I never quarrel with a man who buys ink by the barrel.”
For most of our nation's history, the press literally meant news print, with radio and TV added before the beginning of the digital age on the tail-end of the 20th century.
For five years, I've continued my brand of award-winning journalism through the "power of the internet" with Google News Directories and related search engines and social media tools like YouTube, Twitter and Facebook emphasizing multimedia or new media as some have called it.
And so Swiderski and those with her who made this so personal, my 21st century quote would go something like this: "Don't mess with a 24/7 internet newspaper publisher who can get a headline in the Google news directories and search engines in a matter of minutes.
When pressed for criteria on what Barringer accomplished to receive the award as opposed to any number of other elected officials without the baggage, or the criteria used in the selection, Swiderski was speechless from the onset.
Even if the ethics charges were not in play (Barringer and Brangaccio are presumed innocent until or unless the state ethics commission determines otherwise), there are a host of other political decisions by this mayor with support of his fellow commissioners, including Judy Reiker, also on the executive board of the Volusia League of Cities.
Like Barringer and Brangaccio, Reiker, too has refused comment, on city issues or her role in the league. And speaking of Reiker, elected with Barringer in 2009, her husband, Guy Mariande, insisted I was not welcomed or invited when I showed up at Hathaway's party to take pictures, not knowing about the credit card. Mariande told me I was "making everyone feel uncomfortable." After a public records request showing the credit card being used, it became obvious what he meant by feeling uncomfortable.
Since that night, Reiker hasn't spoken to me or returned my calls, emails or text messages for comment. Barringer followed suit after I wrote to him and the city, making clear that the "Mayor's Message" blog he had occasionally written and is still displayed on his Facebook page, was no longer being offered, especially since he had previously written about the importance of leading by example.
In his five years as mayor, Barringer has taken care of business in ways deemed questionable by citizens with attendance at city commission meetings dwindling in the last couple years, with the Brangaccio-Barringer emphasis on CRA spending:
# The mayor and commissioners have authorized more than a million bucks in CRA expenditures for alcohol-fueled street parties on Flagler Avenue and for renovation or opening of new bars; including a $60,000 CRA grant last fall for the mayor's boyhood friend, Dave Fernandez, and his Trader's Pub on Flagler;
# The mayor and commissioners approved the appointment of another of his longtime friends, Steven Sather, to an open seat on the planning & zoning board despite his pleading no contest in circuit court 20 years ago to attempting to buy a large quantity of cocaine from an undercover cop posing as a drug dealer;
# The mayor and commissioners approved $50,000 in CRA rent subsidies for Canal Street building owner Jim Russell for former Mayor Sally Mackay and 30 artisans for "The Hub." Even though the CRA was then under a separate appointed board, the City Commission acted as a "de facto" CRA in approving the expenditure for Mackay, whom Barringer narrowly defeated in 2009. The $50,000 expenditure included the possibility of an additional $50,000 this fiscal year, subsequently approved;
# That former CRA board included Barringer's appointment of yet another friend, Chad Schilsky, who subsequently applied for a $20,000 CRA grant for his own restaurant, That's Amore. Barringer Construction, which the mayor claimed he distanced himself from even as he continued to drive a company vehicle (same one during the later cop confrontation). Frank Gummey, the $210,000-plus salaried city attorney, ruled as long as Schilsky and the mayor abstained in voting by the CRA board and the commission, the grant was proper. It was short-lived when CRA consulting attorney wrote to City Attorney Pam Brangaccio that the grant was in fact, in violation of state law.
Schilsky told me he was summoned to the city manager's office and told to sign a letter addressed from him to the city he claims he didn't even write, but signed any way. Schilsky said Barringer Construction was paid out of his own pocket and he subsequently quit the CRA
When I questioned the mayor after one such heated meeting in the aftermath, he mouthed under his breath to the city manager: "He's just a blogger."
# Barringer and the commission hired another of his longtime friends, Holly Smith, a former part time PR writer for the county, as a promoter of the so-called "NSB Waterfront Loop," a fancy name for the CRA district. She was paid $60,000 each of the past two years before being hired permanently earlier this year for the same salary. Among the receipts she turned in was helping develop the Flagler and Canal Street pages of the former weekly Observer newspaper, owned by Michele and Robert Lott, who later declared bankruptcy with half a million owed to creditors.
Barringer's pedigree doesn't measure up to the previous winners of the award he as helped diminish with the propping up provided by Swiderski and their insider friends.
The previous two winners were well-respected in Port Orange Mayor Allen Green, followed by longtime Port Orange City Manager Ken Parker who retired earlier this year.
Though the snafu over non-billed water that led to millions in uncollected fees over a decade or more, there's nothing to show that Green or Parker were involved.
And certainly, the issue wasn't something hanging over their heads or the Volusia League of Cities in selecting them. Such is not the case with Barringer.
Parker, in fact, turned himself in to the Florida Commission on Ethics late in 2012, when a citizen questioned alleged work done on his home by a contractor doing business with the city. The complaint was dismissed as meritless by the ethics commission within a few weeks.
But in the case of charges against Barringer and Brangaccio, the ethics commission has ruled there's enough evidence to warrant a full-scale investigation. Though the charges are deemed civil, they could result in public censure and or fines.
Barringer and Brangaccio know all too well that if ever there was a reporter in this county determined to bring to light back-room deals that benefit themselves and their friends, it's me, as I have demonstrated many times in the past five years, whether it was the corruption in the former Oak Hill police force (stealing of gas from the city pump, tests being taken by a third party for certification, and literally officer pitted against officer) led by a chief with a drug past.
Today, Oak Hill's public safety issues are but a memory with policing provided by the Volusia County Sheriff's Office and a city government led by a new mayor in Douglas Gibson and a new clerk/administrator in Kohn Evans.
Perhaps Barringer should confer with Daytona Beach Police Chief Michael Chitwood, who cut me off from his press release last last fall after I won two journalism awards for an investigative story on a patrol supervisor, Jim Newcomb, he promoted to captain despite a lengthy internal affairs folder detailing allegations of mistreatment of two women cops who remain under the command.
And Chitwood knows I've got another investigative story in the works on another of his captains whose alleged wrongdoing he's tried to keep under wraps. And he knows, I'm working on a second investigative report: "How Safe Are We," in response to continued spikes in violent crime.
That perhaps Chitwood was involved with the babysitting Thursday night during the league awards dinner is something I've brought to the attention of Mayor Derrick Henry, who has given me his word will be looked into with City Manager Jim Chisholm.
After I brought the issue of Chitwood removing me from the media list for press alerts directly to the Daytona Beach City Commission, during which Chitwood was ordered by city manager to stay outside commission chambers, my email alert was restored. Then Chitwood subsequently eliminated the media alert list altogether.
But unlike Swiderski, Chitwood has not impeded my right to cover news nor has he resorted to the type of written communication that calls into question Swiderski's standing with elected leaders like County Chair Jason Davis, County Council member Joshua Wagner representing Daytona Beach or County Council member Pat Northey who said she couldn't believe it when I read her Swiderski's final e-mail.
And Deltona City Commissioner Webster Barnaby was beside himself when I interviewed him on the public sidewalk knowing that Swiderski and her friends had shown utter disrespect for the public and the press.
It gets pretty bad when Swiderski doesn't even produce the press release and photos she reneged on just as she did in granting permission to cover the awards.
As a taxpayer and small business owner, I can't see how elected officials in 16 municipalities and the seven members of the County Council will be able to justify the expenditure of thousands of dollars in taxpayer money for someone who essentially is nothing more than a self-serving lobbyist looking to the taxpayers to fatten her wallet.
I'll continue my reporting until I've reached out to every elected person in municipal and county government.
Then perhaps Swiderski will realize trying to kick sand in the face of a member of the working press will accomplish just the opposite of what she so desperately tried to protect.
Aside from calling into question Swiderski's effectiveness and the embarrassment that certainly will follow as more of the elected officials learn about the disgusting treatment, it will be interesting to see how many of the elected officials will publicly vouch for her.
Swiderski herself tried to put a guilt trip on me about adverse coverage of Barringer pretty possibly leading to the end of the awards. But by politicizing the award designed to truly represent excellence in public service, it is Swiderski who has to ask herself it it was really worth messing with the media.
The same goes for Barringer. The mayor coveted the award in hopes of furthering his political career. But the anti-dote to a phony resume with a propped up award is the Google search engine.