All Faiths “Thank you for contributing” drawing winners
As reported a few days ago, MC Reality readers — on this blog and in the Creative Loafing and Pelican Press newspapers — dug deep and donated $1,611 to All Faiths Food Bank in my third annual “MC Reality/All Faiths” fundraising drive.
Late yesterday I received a list of names of those contributors who wanted to be entered into the drawings — which were held today! Four names were selected and I’ve sent emails and a snail letter to those folks to offer them their choice of “thank you for contributing” give-aways — including a guest blog on MC Reality Online, copies of my book Sideways in Sarasota, or having me emcee an event, conduct a writing workshop, a free ad on my blog, or give a talk to a group or organization, within the Sarasota area.
Whether you wanted your name entered into the drawing or not — HUGE, BIG, GINORMOUS thank you for everyone’s contributions to this year’s drive!
Healthy, not wealthy, and dumbfounded as a post
Just received my health insurance renewal forms for 2010. My health insurance plan is going up by over $30 a month. I already can’t afford it at $30 less.
I’m a fairly healthy woman — no health problems, no medications. My biggest downfalls are too many martinis and not enough exercise (however, my fingers are long and lean from hours at the keyboard).
So, here’s this week’s conundrum: cancel my health insurance and walk the wire of relative health with no safety net below me? Or continue forking over beaucoup dollars every month for a health plan I never, ever use except to have twice yearly dental visits?
Or put another way: Be broke but protected or be unprotected and have a bit of money left over each month to buy a bottle of eau de parfum or maybe the occasional pair of new shoes, both of which by the way, give me a better sense of physical and emotional well being than any health insurance premium or check up ever has?
MC Reality Readers Make a Real Difference this Thanksgiving!
“Wow!” That was the headline from the email I received from All Faiths Food Bank earlier today letting me know that as of about noon today, MC Reality readers — here at this blog, at the Pelican Press, and at Creative Loafing — dug deep into their already economy-affected wallets and pockets and still found room to send donations to the food bank to help those in need.
Amount raised? A fabulous $1,611.23!!!! Add that amount to the drives since 2007, and that means Reality Readers have donated an incredibly generous total of $10,484!
Want to know how many Thanksgiving dinners that amount could supply to families of four or five — including turkey and all the yummy trimmings? — 134!! One hundred and thirty-four!
Want to know how many individual meals that amount can buy for the hungry in our community now as a result of your generosity? — If I’m doing my math right — it’s a staggering 2,557 meals!
(All Faith’s website says 159 individual meals can be provided with just $100, so I extrapolated from that; someone correct me if my math is wrong — hey, I’m a writer, not a math genius!.)
They haven’t had time to get the names to me for the drawing, but believe me, as soon as they do — I’ll report the drawing results right here at MC Reality online!
I don’t know how to thank you all — each and every one of you — for pitching in for the third year in a row to this little drive of mine. A couple of people have said to me “Oh, wow, you did a great job with the drive this year!” But I know it wasn’t me — it was all of you … making a difference.
Thank you.
Sarasota County — A+ in responsiveness
You know me — always (or at least usually) complaining in some form about errant Police Chiefs and odd goings on in connection with acquisition of parcels for big league baseball … yada yada yada.
But I have to give credit where/when credit is due. And yesterday — it was due to Sarasota County.
Below is an email I sent yesterday to Sarasota County Commissioner Nora Patterson who represents the District I live in; unbelievably I heard back from Commission Patterson that same night and from another Commissioner the next day. Color me impressed by the responsiveness from the County — from the phone call to a nearly-anonymous call center operator to the headline-making folks that help run the county — it was a very gratifying experience, and I really appreciate the insight into some very good things about the County. (more…)
All Faiths donations up to $571 as of last night!
Whoo hoo! So far, we’ve raised nearly six hundred dollars for All Faiths Food Bank in the MC Reality drive 2009! On the All Faiths website it says that $500 will provide 794 meals — so that means we’re easily helping to give at least that many meals to the hungry men, women, and children of our community. Or, if you think of it in terms of Thanksgiving dinners (including turkey, stuffing and all the usual trimmings!) for entire families — well, our collective $571 will provide nearly 50 Thanksgiving dinners!
THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH! (more…)
Sarasota police situation normal … all F’d up
Color me surprisingly unsurprised.
This report was posted on the Sarasota Herald Tribune website earlier today:
Sarasota Police investigation finds no wrongdoing
By Todd Ruger
A law enforcement department’s six-week review of the Sarasota Police Department into a mishandled excessive force investigation found nothing wrong. (more…)
Sarasota (and beyond) feeding the hungry — All Faiths Update!
All Faiths Food Bank let me know today that three REALITY readers have already donated $160 in the MC Reality Readers annual All Faiths fundraising drive to feed the hungry. Donations have come from as far away as Phoenix, Arizona! Big thanks to both local and far-flung readers!
That $160 will provide 93 meals, according to All Faiths — can you believe that!?
At the request of one reader, I’ve decided to also offer another thank you gift to the mix — I’m adding a Guest Blog. So that’s another option for a thank you gift And I’m going to add one more drawing — so instead of the previous three names being drawn, there are now four chances to “win” a thank you of your choosing. As with the other thank yous, the guest blog will be subject to editing by me and I won’t run anything that’s off the charts (and yes, it’s solely up to my discretion). (more…)
No Noble Prize for America’s Top Pundits
A few weeks back, at the height of the Nobel Peace Prize brouhaha, I wrote a short column for a Washington Post (yes, that Washington Post) “America’s Next Great Pundit” contest. I wasn’t selected as one of top ten finalists … think it had anything to do with my slamming one of the Post’s own top columnists? Nah, me either. Just better writers out there! Anyway — here’s the column I submitted to them; know it’s no longer timely, but … take a gander anyway and comment if you like (or don’t like!).
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The Washington Post received nearly 5,000 submissions to America's Next Great Pundit contest.
Less than Noble-Prize Behavior from America’s Top Pundits
If the Norwegians gave an award for miserly-hearted writers – the Nobel Prize for Petty Punditry, perhaps? — they’d have an abundance of Americans from which to choose, awash as we are with self-righteous columnists outraged over the news that their president, Barack Obama, has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. (more…)
Economy from the edge …
Monday, November 2 — “On the Edge with Economist Dr. Ayse Somersan: An Economic Forum.” Event hosted by the Southwest Florida Coalition for Peace and Justice.
Featuring Waldo Profitt, political editor emeritus at Sarasota Herald Tribune; Chris Wille, editorial page editor at the Bradenton Herald; Dr. Frank Alcock, political science professor at New College; and of course, Dr. Somersan, professor emeritus and dean of University of Wisconsin.
The Forum will be co-moderated by Augie Schmitz and Rob Lorei (of WMNF and the same elegant man who moderates Florida This Week).
Golden Apple Dinner Theater — 586.6839 or swfcpj.org. Cost is $20 and that includes hors d’oeuvres. See you there!
MC on WSLR Radio … Fundraising for Community Radio
Hey, if anyone out there enjoys WSLR 96.5 LPFM radio — now’s your chance to help keep great community radio on the air! At the same time, your donation will net you a nice “premium” (aka thank you for donating gift).
On Sunday, I’m going to join WSLR Louisiana Gumbo Show host John Osgood on air to try to help raise funds for the station. I support WSLR because they give so much great information about everything from local to global politics and social issues and they also offer some pretty great music selections. (more…)