OUR WATERWAYS article about the fact that it was legal to dump treated sewage, using a Type I or II onboard treatment system, into waters which were not no-discharge zones. It is expected there will be a hearing in court on Feb. 15, but it is not certain what will happen at that point. Some speculate that the city does not want this law to be tested, as the city would then be faced with the fact that it would most likely be turned down in a ruling and that it currently is able to have a law, even though it might be illegal, that is enforced by intimidation—because of the mere fact that it will keep people away from Marco Island if they know they could be possibly arrested. If charges were dropped, the law might stand as is. The article quoted Marco Island City Manager Bill Moss who stated, “It is unfortunate that one or more people intentionally violate laws because they disagree with the vast majority of Marco Island citizens.” No one commented on the city manager’s statement, although SOUTHWINDS is concerned about such an attitude that the majority can make whatever laws they want to tell the minority what to do. That is called the Tyranny of the Majority. Although the city of Marco Island has apparently passed a law that is illegal in the state of Florida, even the state and federal government cannot pass laws that clearly infringe on the rights of the minority by virtue of the fact that they are simply the majority.
At least, that is what the Bill of Rights was intended to protect—the rights of the minority, which is sometimes only one person.
City of Venice, FL, Does Survey to Improve Boater Activity and Friendliness The Venice city council recently established a Harbor Management Committee to help make Venice and its waters more accessible to boaters and to make the city more boaterfriendly. It has developed a survey to get boater input, and 15,000 copies will be mailed to area registered boaters and distributed to local marinas and marine supply stores. Below is the introduction to the survey. “Why are we doing this? The City of Venice is making plans to improve its marine infrastructure, and for that reason it is seeking input from the boating public as well as from experts. Venice has ready access from the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway through a deep and wellprotected pass. It has an abundance of excellent public facilities, including great beaches, many restaurants and tav-
FREE BOATS SOUTHWINDS is starting a new section in our classifieds for free boats. If you have a boat that you want to get rid of, whether on land or in the water, large or small, you can list it in this section. Maybe you are looking for a boat. You can find it in this section. Southwinds is starting this section to help rid the world of unwanted boats. For more information, see the classifieds section.
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March 2007
SOUTHWINDS
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