THE AVE MARIA-JACKSON LAB DEAL: Another Political and Moral Scandal in Florida’s History

January 17, 2011

by Marielena Montesino de Stuart

E-Mail: ContactTRCW@aol.com

Falling apart…

Commissioner Fred Coyle (Chairman)

The infamous Ave Maria-Jackson Lab deal in Collier County, Florida, by all appearances, is dead. At least for now.

But the ebb and flow of scams and corruption in Florida’s history would lead many to expect that this deal, or a similar one, will resurface.

There is no question that Collier County citizens will keep a close eye on the decisions being made from this point forward, by the three county commissioners who stood behind the maneuvering of the Jackson Lab deal– Commissioners Fred Coyle (Chairman), Donna Fiala and James Coletta– until they indulge us with their departure.

Commissioner Donna Fiala

Commissioner James Coletta

The JAX Deal

Jackson is a non-profit genetics lab based in Maine. The lab is also known as JAX.

By Friday morning, January 14, “the deal” for Jackson Lab — that is to say, the proposal for millions of taxpayer dollars from the state and county, the commercial rezoning and the free land in Ave Maria (offered by Barron Collier Companies) had all come to a screeching halt– after a lengthy and expensive legal and financial experiment in trying to lure the lab to Eastern Collier County.

But, Commissioner Fred Coyle, an ardent supporter of the scandalous Jackson Lab taxpayer proposal, had not even been notified directly by Barron Collier Companies that the free land for the Jackson Lab in Ave Maria had been yanked.

Meanwhile, Jackson Lab officials had announced that they were approaching Tampa and Sarasota as less hostile territories, compared to Collier County– while simultaneously repackaging their taxpayer deal in Tallahassee for Florida’s new governor, Rick Scott.

This is how it was described by Chuck Hewett, VP and Chief Operating Officer of the Jackson Lab:

“I think it is fair to say we see a much higher risk of failure in Collier County due to all sorts of political challenges and interventions that have accumulated over the last five or six months.” – Naples Daily News, January 12, 2011.

“…political challenges and interventions?”

Could Chuck Hewett possibly be referring to all the lawsuits and public protests in Collier County over the outrageous request for millions of taxpayer dollars– in exchange for the ’smoke and mirrors’ Jackson Lab deal, which never showed taxpayers any signs of authentic and transparent economic development?

These lawsuits, as well as an army of persistent and courageous opponents will be waiting, should the infamous Jackson Lab proposal be reintroduced in Collier County.

“A gift of God”?

Blake Gable - Barron Collier Companies

And what was happening as recently as a month ago?

Mike Hyde - The Jackson Lab

On December 14, Blake Gable of Barron Collier Companies, whose long job title is, President of Real Estate and Minerals Project Manager for the Development of the Town of Ave Maria, was enthusiastically promoting the Jackson Lab project, as a panelist during an Ave Maria Town Hall Meeting about the Jackson Lab. Mike Hyde, VP for the Jackson Lab’s Advancement and External Relations, was also a panelist at that meeting. Hyde’s job was to keep pushing the Ave Maria-Jackson Lab idea, as part of his “external relations” agenda.

The third panelist was Professor Michael Waldstein, who covered the subject of “ethics”. Dr. Waldstein is employed by Ave Maria University and he is a resident in the town. Waldstein shared his initial reaction to the Ave Maria-Jackson Lab project, as follows:

Professor Michael Waldstein

“Fantastic! This is a gift of God. This is an answer to prayer“.

“A gift of God”?

I don’t think so.

This was to be a gift of millions of taxpayer dollars for what appears to be a scam.

Nothing ethical about that.

**“Go Ahead with It“**

Thomas S. Monaghan

Barron Collier Companies is in partnership with Thomas S. Monaghan in the development of Ave Maria, a town in rural Eastern Collier County, where the Jackson Lab has been hoping to set up shop. The Monaghan-Barron Collier partnership operates under the name of Ave Maria Development, LLLP.

Monaghan, a Catholic, is the former pizza king-turned Chancellor of Ave Maria University. It was Monaghan who made the land available for the Jackson Lab, and gave the “Go ahead with it”– a highly controversial move, given that the Jackson Lab is also involved in the world of Human Embryonic Stem Cell (HESC) Research, by holding workshops and providing resources for HESC research. The Catholic Church considers HESC research a grave crime against innocent human life.

Monaghan has stayed in the shadows of the Jackson Lab debate, and did not show up at the Ave Maria Town Hall Meeting on December 14, in spite of being the town’s most talked-about figure– at times due to idiosyncracies and controversies surrounding his Ave Maria experiment. Apparently, he preferred having Blake Gable handle the peddling of the Jackson Lab project. I can see why.

It is amazing, however, that Monaghan– who so actively promoted Ave Maria as a “Catholic town” (the overwhelming majority of residents in Ave Maria are Catholics) will not personally participate in public discussions about significant changes affecting the property of those who came to live in his well-advertised “City of God”.

**“It does not spoil my day”– or does it?**

The office of the Collier County Board of County Commissioners is located in Naples– approximately 40 miles from Monaghan’s “City of God”.

Let’s take a look at Commissioner Fred Coyle’s tone and reaction on Friday, January 14, as he responds to a citizen’s comment via electronic correspondence, while the news was spreading that the Jackson Lab deal had fallen apart.

It all started with an e-mail sent by Mary Storto to all five County Commissioners. Mary Storto, a Naples resident, has been an outspoken and active opponent of the Jackson Lab taxpayer proposal. In her e-mail, Ms. Storto references a commentary that had appeared that morning in a weekly publication called Collier Citizen:

Public Record [Comments appear in brackets]:

From: MaryStorto [E-MAIL OMITTED FOR PRIVACY]
Sent: Friday, January 14, 2011 9:26 AM
To: CoyleFred; ColettaJim; FialaDonna; HillerGeorgia; HenningTom
Subject: Mark Strain’s theory on JAZ [JAX]

I think JAX would have a better chance if certain commissioners stopped acting as “lobbyists” for JAX and started acting honestly and intelligently in the best interests of their constituency.

I like Mike Strain’s theory which I’m attaching herewith.

Sincerely, Mary Storto

But Commissioner Fred Coyle’s formidable support of the Jackson Lab deal (which Ms. Storto refers to as “lobbying”) – so important to the Ave Maria-Barron Collier team, was apparently not enough to keep Coyle from being ignored by Barron Collier Companies, as the deal was falling apart.

The following excerpt from the Naples Daily News describes the situation [comment appears in brackets]:

“Coyle was surprised he was not notified directly by Barron Collier of its decision in light of how heavily involved he had been in the project from the beginning. “It does not spoil my day,” he [Fred Coyle] added. –Naples Daily News, January 14, 2011

The following e-mail response sent by Commissioner Fred Coyle to Mary Storto shows that January 14 may have been, in fact, definitely spoiled for Mr. Coyle by the collapse of the Jackson Lab deal. But most of all, it shows that Mr. Coyle does not understand the expectations of his position as a publicly elected official, whose fundamental duty is to serve Collier County citizens with the highest standards of decorum:

Public Record [Comments appear in brackets]:

From: CoyleFred <FredCoyle@colliergov.net>
To: Mary Storto [E-MAIL ADDRESS OMITTED FOR PRIVACY]
Sent: Fri, January 14, 2011 1:51:50 PM
Subject: Mark Strain’s theory on JAZ [JAX]

Oooohhh isn’t this priceless!!! The woman who has sat through our meetings (sometimes falling asleep) with signs insulting Jackson Labs now wants the project to have a “ better chance”. She wants us to act honestly while she accuses us of being corrupt without the slightest evidence. Her entire letter is a case study in the need to act “intelligently”.

Fred Coyle

To which Ms. Storto replied:

Public record [comments appear in brackets]

From: Mary Storto [E-MAIL OMITTED FOR PRIVACY]                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 To: CoyleFred <FredCoyle@colliergov.net>
Cc: jimcoletta, donnafiala, tomhenning, GeorgiaHiller
Sent: Fri, January 14, 2011 2:47:44 PM
Subject: Re: Mark Strain’s theory on JAX

Oooohhh and aren’t you priceless unable to speak to me directly even though you responded to my personal e-mail address.

I am the woman, Mary Storto, who sat at the commissioners’ meetings and held signs….not insulting Jackson Labs…..only arrogant commissioners who believe in wasting taxpayer monies by financing a totally risky project without even giving taxpayers an opportunity to vote on it.

You, against the advice of your own attorney, chose to put the zoning question of whether three or four commissioner votes were required for something that has traditionally already been set for a major majority to an arbitrator and then proceded to vote positively on it even though Mr. Bell’s [THE JUDGE] decision is not even binding.

I do believe you’re corrupt Mr. Coyle. There certainly must be something in this whole deal for you personally somewhere. I came to this decision because as I sat (sleeping) during other items on the agenda, I observed that many of your decisions were quite rational and fair.

Thus my conclusion that you certainly are not stupid, so you must be corrupt!

Sincerely,

Mary Storto

Good-bye, Chairman Coyle…

Mr. Coyle, as Chairman of the Collier County Board of County Commissioners, owes an apology to Ms. Storto– and to Collier County citizens, for his unfitting tone in a public written record, in the course of conducting business as a publicly elected official.

Commissioner Coyle also owes an apology to Collier County citizens for shamelessly voting against a referendum for the Jackson Lab proposal, thus denying citizens an honorable and democratic way of deciding how their taxpayer money should be spent.

Furthermore, Commissioner Coyle’s support of an unfair and flawed arbitration process and non-binding ruling, which deprives Eastern Collier County property owners of Equal Protection– is another decision which could cause serious long-term financial and legal damage to Collier County citizens. The arbitration process, including the hearing conducted by Judge Kenneth B. Bell on December 11 and 13, 2010 (also supported by Commissioners Fiala and Coletta) was a prejudicial act which involved a select group of favored powerful developers and large landowners in Eastern Collier County– such as Barron Collier Companies and fellow travelers.

Finally, Commissioner Coyle should resign– if his goal as chairman is to proceed in an intelligent and rational manner. This would set the right example for Ms. Fiala and Mr. Coletta. Otherwise, Mr. Coyle’s presence as a commissioner will be a constant reminder of another embarrassing political experience in Florida’s history.

UPDATE Jan. 20, 2011 - The Naples Daily News ran several polls during the Jackson Lab scandal. Now Collier County citizens are again letting their voices be heard through the following public poll:

Collier County Commissioner, Fred Coyle, should step down (LINK)

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You may contact Marielena Montesino de Stuart by E-Mail: ContactTRCW@aol.com

TOPICS FOR DISCUSSION: The Jackson Lab + Barron Collier Companies + Thomas S. Monaghan + Ave Maria University + Ave Maria, Florida + Collier County, Florida + Eastern Collier County, Florida + Collier Gets to Work Inc + Regional Business Alliance + Economic Development Council of Collier County + Commissioner Fred Coyle + Commissioner Donna Fiala + Commissioner James Coletta + Judge Kenneth B. Bell’s Arbitration Ruling + Chuck Hewett VP Jackson Lab.

You may read Marielena Montesino de Stuart’s observations and opinions through:

RenewAmerica, USAToday, U.S. Politics Today (EIN News Service for Political Professionals) Poynter Online, Spero News, The New Liturgical Movement-Poland, The Naples Daily News, Les Femmes-The Truth, Culture War Notes, ProLife Blogs, The Wanderer, etc.

NOTICE TO READERS

Filed under Ave Maria Florida, AVE MARIA UNIVERSITY, Collier County Board of County Commissioners, THE CHRONICLES OF AVE MARIA ©, THE JACKSON LAB Tagged with Barron Collier Companies, Collier County Commissioner Donna Fiala, Collier County Commissioner Fred Coyle, Collier County Commissioner James Coletta, The Jackson Lab, Thomas S. Monaghan

THE JACKSON LAB DEAL: Outsmarting the Chimp

January 6, 2011

by Marielena Montesino de Stuart

E-Mail: ContactTRCW@aol.com

A Divine Comedy Special on “The Jackson Lab Deal”

Steering Committee for Collier Gets to Work, LLLP

“The Jackson Lab deal” in Collier County, Florida, is nothing but monkey business.

Forty eight hours ago some thought it was all over. So quickly.

The Jackson Lab announced that it withdrew its $50 million application to the state of Florida for first-year funding– as part of their Ave Maria-Jackson Lab project, in rural Eastern Collier County. The Jackson Lab is apparently now actively reworking its image in front of the new governor– up in Tallahassee.

But the “Jackson Lab deal” is like the drunk that won’t pay and keeps sneaking in through the bar’s back door. Each time there’s a new promise, and he keeps running up the tab.

Well, we’ve already ran a pretty steep tab with the taxpayer dollars spent in Collier County, by putting up with the Jackson Lab nonsense.

But the drunk is sneaking in again, this time disguised as “economic diversity”– including of course, support for– guess what?

The JACKSON LAB!

While The Jackson Lab works on its makeover in Tallahassee, a new group has been unveiled bearing the name Collier Gets to Work, Inc. – (not to be confused with the very smart group featured above).

Some hard-core Jackson Lab deal supporters who are members of Collier Gets to Work, Inc., appear to be recycling themselves under a new public relations spin.

Are they trying to resell us the “Jackson Lab deal”?

That would be a ridiculous attempt, given that a public poll showed that more than 80% of responders are against this taxpayer deal, not to mention the public protests and lawsuits filed to stop the Jackson train wreck.

Records from the Secretary of State show that Collier Gets to Work, Inc., is headquartered at the offices of the Economic Development Council of Collier County– the folks that helped bring us the Jackson Lab nightmare!

This deserves our first ”Laughing Pup Award” of the year!

Now, let’s catch our breath. These folks at the new Collier Gets to Work, Inc., really want us to focus on “life sciences” as the best means to create new jobs– and no doubt reach into taxpayer pockets. Yes… that’s the new spin– “life sciences”.

How charming.

Monkey business

Let’s take a look at some fields included in “life sciences”. Can you pick out a familiar one? You know, the unproven and controversial one that Jackson Lab wants to experiment with in Collier County, using our taxpayer dollars?:

Agrotechnology, Bio-engineering, Bio-Medical Science, Biochemistry, Biocomputing, Biocontrol, Biodynamics, Bioinformatics, Biology, Biomaterials, Biomechanics, Biomedical sciences, Biomolecular engineering, Biomonitoring, Biophysics, Biopolymers, Biotechnology, Botany, Cell biology, Cognitive neuroscience, Computational neuroscience, Developmental biology, Ecology, Environmental science, Evolutionary biology, Evolutionary Genetics, Food Science, Genetics, Genomics, Health Sciences, Immunogenetics, Immunology, Immunotherapy, Medical devices, Medical imaging, Medicine, Microbiology, Molecular biology, Nanotechnology, Neuroinformatics, Neuroscience, Oncology, Optometry, Personalized medicine, Pharmacogenomics, Pharmacology, Physiology, Plant sciences, Proteomics, Structural biology, Systems biology, Tissue engineering, Zoology, etc., etc., etc.,

Which one is it– ladies and gentlemen of Collier Gets to Work, Inc.?

We’ve already been put through enough ‘smoke and mirror sessions’ with the Ave Maria-Jackson lab deal.

Will the taxpayer experiment involve Personalized Medicine?

Will it now involve Evolutionary Genetics? You know… monkey business?

Collier County taxpayers want to know.

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You may read Marielena Montesino de Stuart’s other observations and opinions through:

E-Mail: ContactTRCW@aol.com

NOTICE TO READERS

Filed under Ave Maria Florida, Collier County Board of County Commissioners, COLLIER GETS TO WORK INC, DIVINE COMEDY, THE CHRONICLES OF AVE MARIA ©, THE JACKSON LAB Tagged with Ave Maria Florida, Barron Collier Companies, Collier County Florida, Collier Gets to Work Inc, The Jackson Lab

THE JACKSON LAB TACTICS: Will taxpayers be left holding the “Dead Man’s Hand”?

January 5, 2011

The Roman Catholic World

by Marielena Montesino de Stuart

Gambling with Taxpayer Money

The Jackson Lab taxpayer proposal is a gamble. As in poker, the Jackson Lab’s new hand could be a bluff– to continue their relentless pursuit of taxpayer money.

As a prospective non-profit, non-taxpaying newcomer to Florida, it appears that The Jackson Lab is making a tactical move– by presenting a more positive image for the Sunshine State’s new governor, Rick Scott.

The Jackson Lab’s image is certainly in need of a makeover, since much of its track record in Collier County has had little to do with sunshine, and much to do with backroom deals and sealed records.

New Tactics

The Jackson Lab announced today that it withdrew its $50 million application to the state of Florida for first-year funding. This looks like an effort to regroup and appear more in tune with the new governor’s financial plans. No doubt, their actions will be closely scrutinized by citizens and organizations clamoring for authentic open economic development.

With the ongoing legal actions and public protests against The Jackson Lab proposal by Collier County citizens– it would be safe to say that the withdrawal of this application is a manifestation that The Jackson Lab lost its initial battle in Collier County.

It is expected, however, that The Jackson Lab will attempt to fast-track its new approach in Tallahassee.

Whether The Jackson Lab can convince Rick Scott that it is worthy of hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars is yet to be seen. In addition, Governor Scott has announced the restructuring of various agencies, and no one knows exactly who and what will get eliminated, or made part of even larger agencies.

One thing is certain– the pressure for access to taxpayer money will continue, and if possible, the Jackson Lab and its supporters will try to get even more, unless they can come up with committed private investors, which hasn’t happened up to now. It’s all a game of smoke and mirrors.

The cards that The Jackson Lab has been willing to show Collier County amount to a losing hand. All that The Jackson Lab and its minions can do is shuffle a different deck in Tallahassee.

At the end, let’s hope that the taxpayers will not be left holding the “dead man’s hand” [1].

[1]: Reference: Joseph C. Rosa in Wild Bill Hickok: The Man and his Myth, 1996, University Press of Kansas.

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You may read Marielena Montesino de Stuart’s observations and opinions through:

TOPICS FOR DISCUSSION: Ave Maria, Florida + The Chronicles of Ave Maria© + Corruption in Florida + Ave Maria University + The Jackson Laboratory + Charles “Chuck” E. Hewett + Collier County Board of County Commissioners + Commissioner Tom Henning + Commissioner Georgia Hiller + Workshops and Resources for Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research + Eugenics + Margaret Sanger + Tom Monaghan + Tom Golisano + Nick Healy + Nicholas J. Healy Jr., President of AMU + Barron Collier Companies + The Ave Maria Stewardship Community District + Bishop Frank J. Dewane.

NOTICE TO READERS

Filed under Ave Maria Florida, THE CHRONICLES OF AVE MARIA ©, THE JACKSON LAB Tagged with Ave Maria Florida, Barron Colllier Companies, Collier County Board of County Commissioners, Marielena Montesino de Stuart, The Jackson Lab, Thomas S. Monaghan

DANGEROUS TIMES: Folks in Rural Eastern Collier County Take Emergency Measures after Judge Kenneth B. Bell’s Arbitration Ruling

January 2, 2011

by Marielena Montesino de Stuart

A Divine Comedy (or Harsh Reality) New Year Special

Folks all over rural Eastern Collier County, Florida, began taking emergency measures, after Judge Kenneth B. Bell’s arbitration ruling– announced on December 27, 2010.

As an example of refined taste, and as a way to show what the little folks in the rural eastern swamplands mean to him, Judge Bell delivered his ruling as a “No Equal Protection” surprise gift– after Christmas.

Yes, a surprise indeed, and one that should make Collier County citizens feel like puppets– since no official notification about this arbitration hearing was ever sent to property owners and citizens affected by the outcome of this hearing. Such disregard for property and a citizen’s rights should render the arbitration process illegal.

All men are created… not so equal?

Based on his simple-majority (3 votes) ruling for the Rural Land Stewardship Area, it appears that Judge Bell believes that all men are created more, or less equal– compared to the super-majority (4 votes) required for zoning changes in other parts of Collier County.

This arbitration ruling also conveniently opens the door for the zoning changes needed to build the infamous ”Ave Maria-Jackson Lab project”– in the location envisioned by the powerful Eastern Collier County landowner, Barron Collier Companies.

“The Jackson Lab proposal” seeks millions of dollars in public funding– also known as corporate welfare. Several lawsuits have been filed against this taxpayer proposal–by Collier County citizens, and one Collier County corporation. Calling this project “infamous” will be an understatement, when the county tallies up the taxpayer consequences of the Jackson Lab proposal.

Catholicism and genetics come together

A little background:

Former pizza mogul, Catholic philanthropist and Chancellor of Ave Maria University, Thomas S. Monaghan, made the land available for the Jackson Lab, which specializes in the field of genetics. The Jackson Lab is also involved in the controversial world of Human Embryonic Stem Cells (HESC)– by holding workshops and providing resources for HESC research.

The Catholic Church considers HESC research a grave crime against innocent human life, and the local bishop is not happy about the Ave Maria-Jackson Lab idea. But, hey– Monaghan did his own ”due diligence” and proceeded to make the land available for the lab.

Meanwhile, Barron Collier Companies and Monaghan are partners in the development of Ave Maria. Quite a hodgepodge of religious and monetary ambitions. God help us.

Predatory Taxpayer Scam?

Aside from the welter of ethical controversies surrounding the Jackson Lab– at the end of the day, the Ave Maria-Jackson Lab project looks more like a predatory taxpayer scam– a perfect match for the swamplands of Eastern Collier County.

Suffice it to say, the news of Judge Bell’s decision helps advance the real estate experiment that folks in the town of Ave Maria have been put through– which so far has included its promotion as a “Catholic town”, ”Every Lifestyles Town”, “Futuristic Genetics-Biomedical Cluster Town”– and now, who knows what’s coming to this rural Eastern Collier County town!

Even though the arbitration ruling is non-binding– and will most probably be challenged in court, it has upset and worried many a property owner and resident. According to Judge Bell, all that is needed are three swift little votes from the Board of County Commissioners to change zoning in the huge Rural Land Stewardship Area, covering 195,000 acres. Eastern Collier County falls within the Rural Land Stewardship Area.

Puppets in a Disaster Zone

There’s no sense in pondering the potential harrowing decline in property value that this ruling could bring upon the Rural Land Stewardship Area– adding insult to injury, given that property values have dropped enough already. There are, after all, more important things to worry about– considering that a toxic waste dump could be built behind your backyards– with just three little votes.

So, here are a few timeless emergency precautionary measures for Rural Civil Defense that property owners and residents of rural Eastern Collier County have started to follow.

And yes, maybe it is time to…

CONTACT YOUR ”COUNTY AGENTS”–

Commissioners Fred Coyle, Donna Fiala and James Coletta

(since they voted in favor of the arbitration process)

and Watch the VIDEO for

The Rural Eastern Collier County Emergency Program

Remember… there’s NO such thing as Equal Protection!

TOPICS FOR DISCUSSION: Who is Judge Kenneth B. Bell? + Collier County Arbitration Hearing held December 11 and 13, 2010 regarding votes needed for zoning changes in the Rural Land Stewardship Area + The Jackson Lab + Barron Collier Companies + Thomas S. Monaghan + Ave Maria University + What is Ave Maria Development? + Ave Maria, Florida.

Marielena Montesino de Stuart

You may read Marielena Montesino de Stuart’s observations and opinions through:

NOTICE TO READERS

Filed under Ave Maria Florida, DIVINE COMEDY, MARIELENA MONTESINO DE STUART, THE CHRONICLES OF AVE MARIA ©, THE JACKSON LAB Tagged with Collier County Board of County Commissioners, Judge Kenneth B. Bell, Marielena Montesino de Stuart, Rural Land Stewardship Area, The Jackson Lab

AVE MARIA and THE JACKSON LAB: Is it A Marriage Made in Heaven?

December 21, 2010

The Roman Catholic World

by Marielena Montesino de Stuart

“Fantastic! This is a gift of God. This is an answer to prayer.”

Yes… this is how Dr. Michael M. Waldstein described his initial reaction to the proposed opening of the Jackson Lab in Ave Maria, Florida. The Jackson Lab’s services include holding workshops and providing resources for Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research.

Dr. Waldstein is Max Seckler Professor of Theology at Ave Maria University.

Something is amiss in the town of Ave Maria, Florida. It is the last place one would expect to find a proposed location for a controversial genetics facility called The Jackson Lab—a project that could cost taxpayers over 260 million dollars. A project that has proven to be divisive in Collier County—because it is loved by some, and despised by so many.

A coffee house featuring religious posters and icons depicting Catholic history and thought, served as the watering hole for approximately one hundred people, who attended a town hall meeting on December 14– in the center of the small, but overwhelmingly Catholic community of Ave Maria, in rural Eastern Collier County. The audience was comprised of residents, students and visitors.

Three men sat near a microphone, ready to conduct a panel discussion and provide information about the Jackson Lab, and its proposed move to this town. One of the panelists was Dr. Michael Waldstein– introduced to the audience as Max Seckler Professor of Theology at Ave Maria University. He is also a resident of Ave Maria. The two other panelists were Mike Hyde– VP for The Jackson Lab’s Advancement and External Relations, and Blake Gable, President of Real Estate and Minerals Project Manager for the development of the Town of Ave Maria.

The moderator was Carlos A. Figueroa, a resident of Ave Maria, who is also a member of the Ave Maria University Board of Regents. On July 27, 2010, Mr. Figueroa spoke before the Collier County Board of County Commissioners and expressed his enthusiasm for the Jackson Lab proposal. His statements were televised, and are part of the county’s official public records of archived meetings. Yet, during the Ave Maria Town Hall Meeting, Mr. Figueroa made the following statements:

“I am not against or for… [incomplete sentence by speaker]. I am waiting to learn the facts about everything that’s going on before I make my own decision. I want to go on record with that.”

“I have supported the petition as it was presented to the County Commission as a citizen of Ave Maria, and I will continue to support it until the facts are laid out on the table, and I find something to oppose.”

Carlos A. Figueroa – Dec. 14, 2010 – Ave Maria Town Hall Meeting

Amazing!

Mr. Figueroa made it very clear to the audience that questions for the panelists would have to be written on cards, and at the end there would be a time for final comments. The audience began obediently to fill out the cards and turned them over to the organizers. Dr. John Jaroma, whom I discuss further below, vigorously opposed this– but was firmly instructed by Mr. Figueroa to follow the rules, because “We’re trying to do this for everybody’s benefit.” Really?

I noted only two or three Ave Maria University faculty members in the audience. Two of them are priests. One of these two priests, Fr. McTeigue, respectfully disagreed with some of Dr. Waldstein’s views on the Jackson Lab project. The only faculty member who stands out with indignation is Dr. Jaroma, who appears to have been recently hired as an assistant professor of mathematics, according to AMU’s website.

But, Ave Maria University has a history of considering “disruptive” such open expressions of opposition, even when these expressions take place off campus.

I wonder how much Dr. Jaroma needs his job.

If there were other faculty members somewhere in the premises of the coffee house or pub, they certainly did not identify themselves publicly in opposition to the Ave Maria-Jackson Lab project.

Mike Hyde did his usual sales pitch for the Jackson Lab, and tried as hard as he could to avoid answering my specific questions regarding the Jackson Lab’s involvement in providing workshops and resources for Human Embryonic Stem Cell research.

Here’s an audio clip of my questions to Mike Hyde. Listen carefully to how Hyde repeatedly tries to avoid giving me an answer:

This lack of transparency is why Collier County Commissioner, Tom Henning, has called the Jackson Lab proposal “an embarrassment”. The Ave Maria-Jackson Lab scandal has now entered the courtroom battleground, where Collier County citizens are trying to stop the use of millions of taxpayer dollars– for what many see as nothing but a bail out of Tom Monaghan and Barron Collier Companies’ Ave Maria real estate experiment. An experiment which began with the “Catholic Town” promotion, then the “Every Lifestyle” promotion– and now the suggestion of a town with a futuristic genetics/biomedical cluster. Indeed, an odd assortment of promotions.

When Hyde was asked if the Jackson Lab would agree to not engage in activities at the Ave Maria-Jackson Lab site, that Catholics consider ethically unacceptable, Mr. Hyde responded that the Jackson Lab would not enter into any such agreement. This is one question he answers without hesitation.

Blake Gable, who appeared uncomfortable throughout the evening, was displeased by my question regarding the unanimous decision made by the Collier County Board of County Commissioners approximately two and a half hours earlier, requesting that Ave Maria’s Fiscal Impact Report be examined by the Clerk of Courts. Gable rejected my question, even though the Board of County Commissioners action was televised, and is an official public record, as noted in the following video clip:

In the following audio clip Blake Gable denies that anything is wrong with the Ave Maria Fiscal Impact Report, dismissing the action taken by the Collier County Board of County Commissioners– much like a wandering street merchant in Istanbul dismisses any questions about the authenticity of his rugs:

Blake Gable’s reaction before this captive audience in this remote town in the Everglades, is part of the history of how the developer communicates with those who trustingly came here following the promotion of this town.

Ave Maria… where anonymity thrives

The town hall meeting was sponsored and organized by “private residents” of Ave Maria—an oxymoron, considering that there is nothing private about a public town hall meeting. Once at the coffee house, two of these “private residents” organizers made sure to let the residents in the audience know that the meeting would be conducted their way—or the highway.

Case in point:

When Dr. John Jaroma complained that the panel was comprised only of supporters of the Ave Maria-Jackson Lab project, he asked if he could join the panel with his opposing views. Instead, he was threatened with removal from the premises by one of the organizers.

I was then approached by another organizer who returned the three cards where I had written my name and each speaker’s name. This organizer told me that I had to write my complete question on each card, which would then be read by an organizer. I had noticed that the questions were being read without identifying the audience member. I responded that I wanted to ask my questions openly and directly to the panel, instead of through an anonymous card. The annoying and rude organizer proceeded to tell me that I had to do it his way, or I could leave.

I was finally allowed to pose my questions personally and directly to the panel, through Dr. Waldstein’s repeated intercession– almost at the end of the meeting. My questions involved financial issues concerning the town, Jackson Lab business activities, and matters of “ethics” in Catholic higher education.

The atmosphere of control and intimidation at this town hall meeting may explain the propensity for anonymous activity in Ave Maria, including anonymous letter-writing, ad hominem attacks and character assassination– at times falling to the level of soot-streaked prisoners of the gutter.

Sadly, anonymous communication is a manifestation of fear.

So, on this unusually cold December evening in Southwest Florida, Dr. Waldstein found himself cast in the role of panelist, discussing issues of ethics, in relation to the Ave-Maria Jackson Lab project. To this end, he quoted from the theological depth of John Henry Cardinal Newman’s Apologia Pro Vita Sua, Dostoevsky, etc.

During Dr. Waldstein’s opening remarks he emphasized that he had received “particularly important” instruction to speak in his own name. Yet, during his presentation he brought up and defended Tom Monaghan and Nick Healy—Chancellor and President of Ave Maria University, respectively, by stating that he rejects “in the most decided terms the suspicion that has been raised about Mr. Monaghan and Nick Healy, that they are willing to set aside moral considerations for financial gain”.

What’s the reason behind this suspicion?

Monaghan provided the 50 acres for the proposed location of the Jackson Lab in Ave Maria– then gave the reported “Go ahead with it” for the project. Nick Healy has publicly embraced the Ave Maria-Jackson Lab project. (See Naples Daily News, April 10, 2010).

Yet, Dr. Waldstein stated during this meeting that Ave Maria University has not taken a public position on the Jackson Lab project. Many find this contradictory, at best.

Here is Dr. Waldstein’s answer to the question of the university’s position, posed by a member of the audience, shortly before the meeting ended:

“It [Ave Maria University] has not taken a public position on that question. The bishop is on the Board of Trustees. Such a statement would have to be made by the Board of Trustees, and the bishop would have to have the main voice in it.”

Well, there are a few “issues”– to put it mildly, that need to be considered:

1. Nick Healy is the president of Ave Maria University.

2. Nick Healy has made public statements embracing the Ave Maria-Jackson Lab project.

3. The bishop accepted an invitation to join the Board of Trustees, only as an ex officio member.

4. The bishop has never granted Catholic recognition to Ave Maria University. I question whether the bishop would make a statement on behalf of Ave Maria University, any more than he would on behalf of Florida Gulf Coast University.

5. The bishop has already expressed his serious concerns about the Ave Maria-Jackson Lab project– through a statement published by the diocese on July 23, 2010.

6. When Thomas S. Monaghan made the 50 acres available for the Jackson Lab project, he did so upon consultation with the National Catholic Bioethics Center in Pittsburgh, and made it public. He surely can continue to seek their guidance.

Dr. Waldstein added that his role as a panelist was not to “join one or the opposing side, but to bring to bear the authentic principles of Catholic ethics, as Father Tatman [the pastor] expressed, in a recent sermon, in accordance with the bishop’s instructions.”

Waldstein acknowledged the bishop’s statement, and added:

“As I understand it, the bishop has not said to the Jackson Lab, ‘Don’t come, we don’t want you.’”

As a prelate, the bishop’s statement regarding the Jackson Lab was clear and firm. He went as far as to question whether the project should even be considered authentic economic development. But, it is not the job of a bishop to give specific direction to the Jackson Lab.

For the benefit of the reader, here is a synopsis of a bishop’s role:

It is of Catholic faith that bishops are of Divine institution. In the hierarchy of order they possess powers superior to those of priests and deacons; in the hierarchy of jurisdiction, by Christ’s will, they are appointed for the government of one portion of the faithful of the Church, under the direction and authority of the sovereign pontiff.

Besides the power of order, bishops possess that of jurisdiction; they have the right to prescribe for the faithful the rules which the latter must follow in order to obtain eternal salvation. The power of jurisdiction is of Divine origin, in the sense that the pope is held to establish in the Church bishops whose mission it is to direct the faithful in the way of salvation.

Dr. Waldstein ended his talk by bringing up, again, Ave Maria University:

“We are committed to the dignity of life, and I think this is clear also to Jackson Lab. At any rate, faithfulness to the bishop is fundamental and I see it as being there at Ave Maria University, right now– and as remaining.”

This final statement again contradicts his opening remarks that he would not speak on behalf of the university. Interestingly, he also wore the Ave Maria University insignia pin on his Trachtenjacke. University lapel pins, as is well known, are a sign of pride, marketing and promotion of a university.

Here are some eye-opening quotes from Dr. Waldstein’s presentation as a panelist, during this town hall meeting. I find interesting the back-and-forth use of the past and present tense. These quotes are contained in the video presented at the beginning of this article. My comments appear in brackets:

“Fantastic! This is a gift of God! This is an answer to prayer. Why? Because we will have people, intelligent people to talk to, who stand in the mainstream of American culture…” [regarding his first reaction to the proposed opening of the Jackson Lab in Ave Maria].

[Is Ave Maria University so desperate for "intelligent" people to talk to?]

“… Let’s assume that the worst charges that have been made are correct, it seemed to me in looking at the Jackson Lab as a whole, that comparing it to other institutions in the United States—for example the presidency, that the Jackson Lab was clearly one of the more responsible institutions. That the individuals in it, that there was much institutional decency and care of, and that‘s a matter of perception, that’s how I saw it, looking at the material— certainly if you look at our president [Barack Obama] he’s in a different category.”

[I’m sorry, Dr. Waldstein—this is completely off point. What does Barack Obama have to do with the Ave Maria-Jackson Lab deal?]

“Nevertheless, it seemed to me that on the whole, for the university’s intellectual life the coming of the Jackson Lab was a great good.”

“In the contemporary world another form of thinking has taken hold, that many people call utilitarians, that is, the ethically right thing to do for many people is to look at benefits and advantages. To calculate those benefits and advantages, then do whatever it takes to bring about those advantages… The most extreme form of that way of acting, we find in the great totalitarian leaders of the 20^th century—Stalin, Hitler, Mussolini…”

Dr. Michael M. Waldstein – Ave Maria Town Hall Meeting – Dec. 14, 2010

“Great totalitarian leaders”?

Although Dr. Waldstein may have been attempting to establish the moral distinction between utilitarians and Catholics, there is a real dissonance in the words “great” and “leader”– when referring to murderous dictators like Stalin, Hitler and Mussolini.

So, where does Dr. Waldstein go from here?

I expressed my serious concerns about Dr. Waldstein’s participation in this panel, when he contacted me several days before the event.

I specifically questioned Dr. Waldstein, a renowned Austrian theologian, as to why he would stand next to two Jackson Lab peddlers at the local coffee house, to discuss “ethics”– nine months after the Jackson Lab scandal began.

At the end of the town hall meeting, Dr. Waldstein encouraged the audience to contact him. He said there is the possibility that he could be wrong.

His statements, partly read from an I-Pad, speak for themselves.

Watch the video, “Ave Maria and The Jackson Lab: Dr. Michael M. Waldstein… In his own words“

IMPORTANT RELATED READING: The Town of Ave Maria, Thomas S. Monaghan and the Jackson Lab Scandal

♦ ♦ ♦

Marielena Montesino de Stuart

© Marielena Montesino de Stuart

E-Mail: ContactTRCW@aol.com

You may also read Marielena Montesino de Stuart’s commentaries through: RenewAmerica, USAToday, The Dallas Morning News, U.S. Politics Today (an EIN Service for Political Professionals-*) Poynter Online, Spero News, Daily Estimate, The New Liturgical Movement-Poland, The Naples Daily News, Les Femmes-The Truth, Culture War Notes, ProLife Blogs, The Wanderer, etc.

NOTICE TO READERS

Filed under Ave Maria Florida, AVE MARIA UNIVERSITY, THE CHRONICLES OF AVE MARIA ©, THE JACKSON LAB Tagged with Ave Maria Florida, AVE MARIA UNIVERSITY, Barron Collier Companies, Blake Gable, Dr Michael Waldstein, The Jackson Lab

The JAX-Files: Commissioner Georgia Hiller Speaks Out Against Arbitration

December 10, 2010

The Roman Catholic World

by Marielena Montesino de Stuart

“Florida’s Collier County taxpayers, who may end up subjugated for decades– can also thank pizza king, Tom Monaghan of Ave Maria Development, for having provided the 50 acres to his business partner, Barron Collier Companies, for the Jackson Lab’s proposed location in Ave Maria.”

Florida is one of the most corrupt states in the nation– and this includes politicians and developers who engage in deals that sometimes lead to jail time.

Will the Ave Maria-Jackson Lab deal be added to Florida’s corruption Hall of Shame?

The Ave Maria-Jackson Lab scandal continues to escalate, not just in public outrage, but in the thousands of taxpayer dollars being spent to push the Jackson Lab proposal down the throats of Collier County citizens.

Case in point: an arbitration is scheduled to begin tomorrow, on the matter of whether three or four affirmative votes are required for the Collier County Board of County Commissioners to create or amend a Stewardship Receiving Area (a zoning action)– located in a Development of Regional Impact in the Rural Land Stewardship Area of Collier County. With the newly elected Commissioner, Georgia Hiller, the super majority vote could threaten the proposed location for the Jackson Lab. Pushing for a simple majority vote is important for entities such as Barron Collier Companies, since it would facilitate the currently proposed location for the Jackson Lab in Ave Maria, a town located in rural Eastern Collier County.

Then, political activism in favor of the Jackson Lab proposal would continue in Tallahassee, while Barron Collier Companies and its travelling companions sit back and wait for taxpayer money– the people’s money, to fall like manna from heaven for the Ave Maria-Jackson Lab deal.

Florida’s Collier County taxpayers, who may end up subjugated for decades– can also thank pizza king, Tom Monaghan of Ave Maria Development, for having provided the 50 acres to his business partner, Barron Collier Companies, for the Jackson Lab’s proposed location in Ave Maria.

A super majority vote, as applies to the aforementioned situation, is a matter of law. Yet, the Collier County Board of County Commissioners sided with the powerful landowners from Eastern Collier County, in favor of hiring a retired judge, to act as arbitrator on whether a simple majority vote should apply.

This arbitration process is looked upon by many as an attempt to circumvent the law. The outcome will probably be useless, since it will surely be challenged in court– simply to end up as another waste of taxpayer dollars.

Commissioner Tom Henning has been the courageous lone dissenting voice in the Jackson Lab debacle, fighting on behalf of taxpayer’s rights, by demanding a referendum that would allow the voters to decide how their taxpayer money should be spent. He has referred to the Jackson Lab proposal as an “embarrassment” that has divided the community. Commissioner Henning also voted against the arbitration process, standing behind the super majority vote, as a matter of law.

The arbitration process appears to have been carefully orchestrated so that it could take place before December 14, when commissioners were originally scheduled to vote on the matter; however, two days ago, the attorney for Collier County announced that due to an “advertising error” the town of Ave Maria items have been removed from the Dec. 14, 2010 Board of Commissioners’ agenda. UPDATE: Dec. 13, 2010.

This mad rush for an arbitration appears to be in fear of the “new sheriff in town’– newly elected Commissioner, Georgia Hiller, who supports the super majority law. Ms. Hiller is an attorney, and former certified public accountant, with extensive experience in auditing, finance, and civil law. She is a fiscal conservative. She believes in less government, less taxes and impact fees, and increased visibility into county operations. She wants to see wasteful spending stopped. She is pro-business– but demands transparency in economic development.

Here is what Ms. Hiller had to say today, about the arbitration process scheduled to begin tomorrow:

—–Original Message—–
From: HillerGeorgia
To: Marielena Montesino de Stuart <contacttrcw@aol.com>
Cc: HenningTom
Sent: Fri, Dec 10, 2010 7:14 am
Subject: RE: Arbitration – December 11, 2010

Marielena,

I am concerned that this matter relates to all residents of Collier County and therefore this is a matter unsuited for arbitration.

Thank you.

Commissioner Georgia Hiller

District 2

____________________________________________________________________________________________

♦ ♦ ♦

You may read Marielena Montesino de Stuart’s observations and opinions through:

RenewAmerica, USAToday, U.S. Politics Today (a EIN News Service for Political Professionals) Poynter Online, Spero News, The New Liturgical Movement-Poland, The Naples Daily News, Les Femmes-The Truth, Culture War Notes, ProLife Blogs, The Wanderer, etc.

NOTICE TO READERS

Filed under Ave Maria Florida, AVE MARIA UNIVERSITY, THE CHRONICLES OF AVE MARIA ©, THE JACKSON LAB Tagged with Ave Maria Development, Ave Maria Florida, AVE MARIA UNIVERSITY, Barron Collier Companies, The Jackson Lab, Tom Monaghan

The Ave-Maria Jackson Lab Scandal: Donors and Sales Pitches

December 8, 2010

The Roman Catholic World

by Marielena Montesino de Stuart

“… it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to understand why the Jackson Lab project makes no moral or financial sense.”

Ave Maria, Florida

The Ave Maria-Jackson Lab scandal has been raging for many months in Collier County, Florida. The infamous “Jackson Lab deal” is a proposal involving the use of millions of taxpayer dollars to bring the controversial genetics Jackson Lab to Ave Maria, a town located in rural Eastern Collier County.

Who Gives Money to The Jackson Lab?

Donors are known for putting their money where their heart is– but, is it the other way around in the case of those who support the Jackson Lab proposal? As a matter of background information, here is a partial list of Jackson Lab financial supporters.

Do any names look familiar?

Elizabeth Fekete Club – (up to $999.00)

Anonymous (11)
Ms. Martha Abbott
Walter H. Abelmann
Dr. Michael G. Absatz ’77…
Deborah and Joseph Amato
LuAnn and Michael Ballesteros
Commissioner James Coletta
Ms. Jeannette B. Colford…
Commissioner Donna L. Fiala
Fiore LLC…
Mr. Nicholas J. Healy
Dr. Carol Hermsdorf and Dr. Frank Krasin
Paul C. Hersey…
Jeffrey A. Klatzkow
Mr. James Menucci
Mr. James Merritt…

For a complete list of donors please visit the Jackson Lab website (also available in PDF). UPDATE - Dec. 28, 2010: The names of Collier County Commissioners James Coletta and Donna L. Fiala have been removed from the list of donors on the Jackson Lab website. Why did they remove their names? Was there a conflict of interest in the Jackson Lab deal? SEE ORIGINAL PDF FILE ABOVE.

A scandalous project forced on taxpayers

The controversy surrounding the Jackson Lab is not based on who gives money to that institution– although some of the names that appear on the Jackson Lab donor lists may be raising a few eyebrows.

The Jackson Lab controversy has turned into a public scandal, exposing the aggressive manner in which Eastern Collier County powerful landowners have promoted the Jackson Lab taxpayer proposal, without a clear identifiable benefit to Collier County citizens. This situation has prompted Tom Henning, one of the Collier County Commissioners, to call an emergency special meeting to stop what he called “an embarrassment“.

The nebulous circumstances surrounding the Jackson Lab proposal is also causing many to view the Ave Maria-Jackson Lab deal with suspicion. Indeed, some see it as nothing but an aggressive bail out of the Tom Monaghan-Barron Collier Companies’ Ave Maria real estate experiment– which has included the promotion of Ave Maria as everything from– a “Catholic hub” and a “City of God”– to, a town for “Every Lifestyle”– and now, the center of a futuristic “genetics / biomedical cluster.”

If this weren’t about so many lives being affected on so many levels, it could easily be material for a sitcom.

Smoke and Mirrors

The Jackson Lab proposal gained the enthusiastic support of four commissioners, Donna L. Fiala, Fred Coyle, Frank Halas (recently retired) and James Coletta. Only one dissenting commissioner, Tom Henning, has remained steadfast in support of a referendum, that would allow the voters to decide how their tax money should be spent. Commissioner Henning is now joined by another voice of reason, Commissioner Georgia Hiller, who is a strong advocate for transparency in economic development.

Unfortunately, the Jackson Lab proposal has now entered the courtroom battleground– as four different lawsuits have been filed in an attempt to stop, what appears to be a corrupt deal using taxpayer money. When all is said and done, legal action will surely cost taxpayers millions of dollars.

These circumstances bring four important points to mind, related to the proposed location of the Jackson Lab, in Ave Maria:

The Jackson Lab is involved in the controversial world of Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research (HESC)– by holding workshops and providing resources for it. Charles “Chuck” E. Hewett, Vice President and Chief Operating Officer for the Jackson Lab, boldly kicked it up a few notches, by announcing on April 10, 2010 to the Naples Daily News, that the Jackson Lab will not rule out actually doing Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research.
Many months ago, the Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Venice in Florida, published a statement affirming the Roman Catholic Church’s stand against Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research, and publicly opposed the Jackson Lab project, declaring that it cannot be considered authentic economic development.
Why would pizza king, Tom Monaghan, provide the land and give the reported ”Go ahead with it“ for the Jackson Lab project in Ave Maria? After all, it was Monaghan– a Catholic, who has stated that he expected “Catholics, serious Catholics” to live in Ave Maria.
Could the Jackson Lab ”embarrassment” and devastating loss of Collier County taxpayer money been averted– if the overwhelming Catholic population, including the Catholic faculty members at Ave Maria University, had publicly and categorically opposed– en masse, the Jackson Lab’s move to Ave Maria, months ago? Why didn’t they publicly express their indignation to Mr. Monaghan, to Nicholas J. Healy, Jr., the president of Ave Maria University, and to Barron Collier Companies– over this controversial proposal, which is affecting the very core of their town? Or is it that– at the end of the day, except for a small number of pro-lifers who have very recently come forward, most really do want the Jackson Lab in Ave Maria?

The bishop voiced his opposition to the Ave Maria-Jackson Lab project, in defense of innocent human life– and he did so publicly. The Jackson Lab proposal affects millions of Collier County citizens. This is why this battle is being fought by so many outside of Ave Maria, in public. It is not a private matter. As stated before, the Jackson Lab proposal is a very serious public scandal, which could have serious consequences on so many levels.

Nine months have passed since the Jackson Lab ordeal began, while the population inside Ave Maria showed no signs of public opposition. Finally, last week, a very small group of residents– who mostly identified themselves as Catholic pro-lifers, offered the first glimmer of hope, by expressing their objections to proposed changes to the Ave Maria master plan, which could eventually accommodate the location for the Jackson Lab. Their objections to the changes, which included business and financial reasons, were heard by a non-binding advisory planning board in Collier County– which, at the end ruled 7-2 in favor of the changes, with the very noticeable and enthusiastic support of several Ave Maria residents, who spoke during the meeting.

But what goes unreported is the fact that the rest of the overwhelmingly Catholic population in Ave Maria, including the Catholic faculty at the university, did not show up at this public meeting last week– and have not expressed public opposition to the Ave Maria-Jackson Lab project. While some residents had to work, and others had family obligations– the fact remains that many more should have attended this public meeting.

A ‘Town Hall Meeting’ or a ‘Pro-Jackson Lab Sales Pitch’?

An undisclosed group of “private residents” has organized a “town hall meeting” in Ave Maria. The only person identified from– what appears to be an anonymous group of organizers, is Carlos A. Figueroa– an outspoken public supporter of the Jackson Lab proposal, who is both a resident of Ave Maria, and a member of the Ave Maria University Board of Regents.

But– what gives these undisclosed “private residents” the right to organize this so-called “town hall meeting”– including the selection of an “expert panel”– without the input of ALL residents?

Are these “private residents” supporters of the Jackson Lab project?

Is this “town hall meeting” simply another sales pitch for the Jackson Lab proposal?

Did these undisclosed “private residents” even care to invite the bishop or the pastor to be in their panel of “experts”?

Why didn’t they include a financial expert that has analyzed the Jackson Lab proposal? This way, he or she can explain to the residents of Ave Maria that this project is a ‘smoke and mirrors’ scheme to subjugate Collier County taxpayers for decades.

Why are these “private residents” / organizers hiding their identities? This kind of anonymous activity appears to be part of the social makeup of the town of Ave Maria.

A town hall meeting is a public function. As such, Ave Maria residents are entitled to know who all the undisclosed “private residents” / organizers are. This way, the residents of Ave Maria who are still in a confused state about the Jackson Lab project, can at least thank these benevolent anonymous organizers for trying so hard– at this late date, to enlighten us all about the Jackson Lab proposal– and for possibly even redefining what it means to be pro-life!

It remains to be seen how many Ave Maria residents and AMU faculty members will attend this ”Ave Maria Town Hall Meeting” — which will take place in a coffee house at the center of town, on December 14, from 7:00pm to 8:30pm– interestingly, a few short hours after the Collier County Board of County Commissioners meets to discuss and vote on the rezoning issue affecting Ave Maria. An issue which could alter the location of the Jackson Lab– or better yet, bring the whole project to a screeching halt.

UPDATE: Dec. 08, 2010- Due to an “advertising error” the town of Ave Maria items have been removed from the Dec. 14, 2010 Board of Commissioners’ agenda.

It also remains to be seen how many Ave Maria residents and Ave Maria University faculty members will attend the Ave Maria Town Hall Meeting, to unequivocally and publicly oppose the Jackson Lab project– without long drawn out philosophical explanations. After all, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to understand why the Jackson Lab project makes no moral or financial sense.

If the size of the coffee house is any indication, not many are expected to attend– since such a venue with a limited capacity could find it difficult to accommodate a very large turnout of the town’s population– not to mention the possibility of a large showing of Ave Maria University students, and other members of the public. But, will this undisclosed group of “private residents” allow AMU students to attend and express their views? After all, Ave Maria is promoted as a “university-town”– and one of their professors will be speaking, as noted below.

This town hall meeting will feature an ”expert panel” comprised of none other than Mike Hyde, VP for The Jackson Lab’s Advancement and External Relations, and Blake Gable, a supporter of the Jackson Lab project. Mr. Gable is President of Real Estate and Minerals Project Manager for the development of the Town of Ave Maria. Dr. Michael Waldstein, a professor of Theology at Ave Maria University, is scheduled to weigh in on the subject of “ethics”–with his expertise on the Gospel of St. John, Gnosticism, St. Thomas Aquinas, John Paul II, Hars Urs von Balthasar, etc.

With all due respect to Dr. Waldstein and his expertise on theology– the Bishop of the Diocese of Venice is the only expert that we should be listening to, who can objectively speak about “ethics” involving the Jackson Lab project. And on that matter, the bishop has already spoken. Long ago.

One can only hope that the name of our patient and good local bishop will not be used– except to admit that his pastoral guidance and concerns regarding the Jackson Lab have mostly gone ignored, inside Ave Maria.

RELATED ARTICLES:

The Ave Maria-Jackson Lab Battle: The Erosion of What it Means to be Pro-Life

SCRIPPS Florida: Hyped Bio-Tech Boom went Bust

♦ ♦ ♦

Marielena Montesino de Stuart

You may read Marielena Montesino de Stuart’s observations and opinions through:

NOTICE TO READERS

The Ave Maria-Jackson Lab Battle– and The Erosion of What It Means to be Pro-life

November 29, 2010

The Roman Catholic World

by Marielena Montesino de Stuart

“I have no conviction, if that’s what you mean. I blow with the wind, and the prevailing wind happens to be from Vichy”– Captain Louis Renault, Casablanca, 1942

Opposition to the Ave Maria-Jackson Lab taxpayer scam, aka ”the Jackson Lab deal”, has been for many months a daily battle for many brave Collier County citizens. Meanwhile, no public opposition has been heard from Ave Maria residents, nor from the faculty at Ave Maria University.

The Ave Maria-Jackson Lab deal proposes the use of millions of taxpayer dollars to bring the controversial non-profit, non-taxpaying genetics Jackson Lab to Ave Maria– without any meaningful foreseeable benefits to Collier County citizens. A dark cloud of suspicion grows daily, making this deal look more and more as nothing but a taxpayer bail out of pizza tycoon Tom Monaghan and Barron Collier Companies’ Ave Maria real estate experiment– given the forceful pro-Jackson Lab agenda displayed by these large landowners, in Florida’s rural Eastern Collier County.

The Jackson lab deal has all the makings of corporate welfare– no different than what we see coming out of Washington DC. This is why so many Collier County citizens have worked tirelessly and spoken out fearlessly and publicly, to stop the Jackson Lab proposal. These efforts have included a formal request for a voter’s referendum, so that citizens may decide whether any taxpayer money should be thrown at this risky genetics lab venture. The Board of County Commissioners has refused a referendum; however, the results of polls, petitions and meetings have shown an overwhelming opposition to any taxpayer money going to this deal.

As stated earlier– the absence of public opposition to the Jackson Lab proposal, inside Ave Maria, has been astonishing– to put it mildly.

But now the Ave Maria-Jackson Lab scandal has reached a point of no return, as the battle has entered the courtrooms. When all is said and done, the legal costs and losses that will be borne by Collier County taxpayers, private citizens and companies– will surely go into the millions.

But what is also astonishing is how the media covers the Jackson Lab scandal, while avoiding ground zero. That is, the town of Ave Maria, its residents and property owners, who are the ones most immediately affected by this controversy.

It is very important to remember the fact that it was Tom Monaghan, a Catholic, who made the land available for the Jackson Lab’s proposed location in Ave Maria, and that the Catholic president of Ave Maria University has embraced the Jackson Lab project.

It is also important to emphasize the fact that the population of Ave Maria, which is overwhelmingly Catholic– as well as the Catholic faculty at the university, could have, en masse, publicly opposed Tom Monaghan and Barron Collier’s decision many months ago, to demand that the Jackson Lab be kept out of this town.

The question is– why didn’t they?

After all, it was Monaghan himself who expected “Catholics– serious Catholics” to live in this town. This absence of public indignation by Catholics is truly alarming, when considering that the Jackson Lab is involved in the world of Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research– which the Catholic Church has clearly declared to be a crime against innocent human life.

Not even the public statement from the Bishop of the Diocese of Venice in Florida, could move the overwhelmingly Catholic population inside Ave Maria to publicly oppose the Jackson Lab project:

[Excerpt]: Economic growth and development are not only components which impact the life of a community. An organization which truly respects the rights of all human beings could and should “rule out” human embryonic stem cell research. This is precisely because it involves the destruction of innocent human life and consequently, affects the community. Without such an understanding, the plan of Jackson Laboratory, as it has been reported, presents difficulty for the Diocese of Venice in Florida.– His Excellency, Frank J. Dewane, Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Venice in Florida, July 24, 2010.

Instead, months and months have passed while the Ave Maria-Jackson Lab agenda advances. Opponents of the Jackson Lab proposal work tirelessly, openly and publicly, some even tapping into their limited financial resources– to stop this genetics facility from reaching Ave Maria with the use of taxpayer dollars– while nothing but the sound of crickets is heard from Monaghan’s “City of God”.

The courageous citizens who have voiced their opposition to the Ave Maria-Jackson Lab deal have done so from the very beginning– even when they were very much overwhelmed by the show of money and force that Barron Collier Companies has displayed– by mobilizing their employees, affiliates and associates– reminiscent of Chicago-style politics.

An example of this was the July 27, 2010 Collier County Board of County Commissioners meeting– when the commissioners’ chamber was filled to capacity early in the morning by activists wearing blue t-shirts with pro-Jackson Lab slogans, accompanied by top-level, mid-level and low-level fellow travellers from the Ave Maria-Monaghan-Barron Collier camp.

I remember going up to the microphone during that July 27 meeting, as the only property owner and resident of Ave Maria who spoke against the Jackson Lab proposal, while the pro-Jackson Lab activists expressed their displeasure. I stated my opposition both because of my moral convictions against Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research, and because I am opposed to the use of taxpayer dollars for the Ave Maria-Jackson Lab venture without a voter’s referendum.

No other resident or property owner from Ave Maria was there to show opposition to this scam. A Catholic resident from my neighborhood who was present at this meeting– simply as a spectator, proceeded to speak to someone standing next to me, and expressed “neutrality” on the Jackson Lab issue. But in a world of daily financial schemes, “neutrality” is usually a code word for being the beneficiary of a bail out.

Another property owner, who is also a member of the Board of Regents at Ave Maria University, spoke passionately in favor of the Jackson Lab proposal.

But, by the time I addressed the Board of Commissioners on July 27, I had already spent several months publishing articles denouncing the lab’s involvement in the world of Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research, as well as the taxpayer scam behind the proposal. It is important to note that this “neutrality” on July 27, and absence of indignation by Ave Maria residents took place after the Bishop of the Diocese of Venice in Florida had expressed his opposition to the Jackson Lab’s move to Ave Maria, and after much Catholic and secular media coverage of the Jackson Lab issue.

This situation was well described in the following excerpts from The Jackson Lab, Tom Monaghan and His City of God (July 24, 2010) by Randy Engel, a highly respected investigative journalist:

“Were it not for AveWatch.Com, dedicated to investigative journalism of all things Tom Monaghan, including the Jackson Lab debacle, and the courageous journalist and Ave Maria Town resident, Marielena Montesino de Stuart (The Roman Catholic World at http://romancatholicworld.wordpress.com/) these tough moral and ethical questions would have been deep-sixed by Monaghan and Co. with at least the tacit, if not voluptuous praise of the residents of Ave Maria Town, aka “The City of God,” and the faculty and students of AMU, which lies just down the road from the proposed Jackson Lab site, inside Ave Maria.”

“Case in point is the recent letter sent out by AMU’s [Ave Maria University] President and Monaghan’s long-time friend and lead legal counselor, Nicholas J. Healy, Jr. in response to a critic of the Jackson Lab project. Healy himself is on record as supporting the project claiming that it would bring “very considerable benefits to the entire area. …They will bring well-paying jobs and so on. It will help real estate in the town.”

“For openers, Healy, advises the writer that he is “badly misinformed” (but then, aren’t we all?) with regard to the circumstances and actions taken by Monaghan to approve the sale and subsequent donation of 50 acres of land by his real estate business partner Barron Collier for the location of the new Jackson Lab biomedical complex.”

“In response to the hundreds of e-mails on the Jackson Lab issue sent by the U.S. Coalition for Life, to faculty and staff of AMU and AMSL [Ave Maria School of Law] we have received two responses – one from Fr. Robert Garrity telling me I was “misinformed” about the issues and a second asking to be removed from our mailing list. I find this silence to be unnatural and a bit unnerving. It is the same kind of silence one associates with religious cults. “

But now Arthrex, Inc., has become the formidable legal opponent of the Ave Maria-Jackson lab deal. As such– Arthrex, Inc., is also the powerful opponent of the big landowners who have been flexing their muscles in support of the Ave Maria-Monaghan-Barron Collier camp.

Ave Maria is now in the crossfire of legal action, as well as rezoning and town center relocation issues– which may affect the properties, pocketbooks and bottomline of Ave Maria residents.

Those who have been sitting on the fence for months, or who have been quiet supporters of this taxpayer scam, may be coming out of their closets to position themselves on the safe side of this issue. A very practical choice, if they consider the ravaging results of corruption, not far away, in Broward County. This self-serving behavior, of course, is totally predictable.

Which brings us to the next and most important point:

The defense of innocent human life is sacred. Indeed, it is a question of life or death. As such, it does not allow hesitation or political waiting games, to see when the time is right.

After nearly nine months of silence, it would be offensive to the dignity of the pro-life cause, for Catholic residents and faculty members in Ave Maria to now use the defense of the unborn– as a statement of public opposition to the Jackson Lab. To do so, would erode the meaning of pro-life, to a secondary issue that can be nuanced and postponed.

The same goes for using their Catholic faith as an excuse to oppose the Jackson Lab, since the Catholic Church makes the defense of the unborn an urgent and sacred cause. Nine months of waiting to see which way the prevailing wind will blow, is not a Catholic position.

Lastly, if the Jackson Lab proposal is defeated, an enormous debt of gratitude is owed to those who have worked so hard, and have given so much to oppose it– while the crickets chirped in Ave Maria.

♦ ♦ ♦

RELATED ARTICLE: The Ave Maria-Jackson Lab Scandal: Donors and Sales Pitches

Marielena Montesino de Stuart

You may read Marielena Montesino de Stuart’s observations and opinions through:

NOTICE TO READERS

Filed under Ave Maria Florida, AVE MARIA UNIVERSITY, THE CHRONICLES OF AVE MARIA ©, THE JACKSON LAB Tagged with Arthrex Inc, Ave Maria Florida, AVE MARIA UNIVERSITY, Barron Collier Companies, Marielena Montesino de Stuart, The Jackson Lab, Tom Monaghan

A Look at Corruption in Broward County, Florida: Should Collier County Citizens be Worried Too?

November 23, 2010

The Roman Catholic World

by Marielena Montesino de Stuart

“Given the pestilential abundance of lowlifes in South Florida, it was surely possible that Perrone’s crime had been randomly observed by someone equally degenerate.” – Carl Hiaasen

Broward County, Florida has serious problems. So does Collier County. It is the Ave Maria-Jackson Lab deal. The biggest taxpayer scandal in this county’s history.

The Collier County Board of County Commissioners has refused a voter’s referendum on the use of millions of taxpayer dollars, to pay for the establishment of a genetics facility called the Jackson Lab, in Ave Maria, Florida.

The Ave Maria-Jackson Lab taxpayer proposal is now facing formidable legal challenges, organized citizen opposition– and a new commissioner named Georgia Hiller, who has a strong dislike for backroom deals.

Á propos of the circumstances surrounding this scandal, and the public’s concerns about corruption, it is good to take a moment and reflect on what is happening in Broward County, Florida:

CLICK anywhere on image below to read story:

BROWARD COUNTY CORRUPTION 10-31-2010 - MIAMI HERALD

TOPICS FOR DISCUSSION: The Ave Maria-Jackson Lab deal + Collier County Board of County Commissioners.

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You may read Marielena Montesino de Stuart’s observations and opinions through:

Filed under Ave Maria Florida, Collier County Board of County Commissioners, Collier County Florida, THE JACKSON LAB Tagged with Ave Maria Florida, Broward County, Collier County, Collier County Board of County Commissioners, Commissioner Georgia Hiller, The Jackson Lab

The JAX-Files: Legal Action Against the Ave Maria-Jackson Lab Deal

November 19, 2010

The Roman Catholic World

The JAX -Files

November 19, 2010

by MARIELENA MONTESINO de STUART

On October 11, 2010, John Lundin– a Naples resident, filed a lawsuit against the Collier County Board of County Commissioners, based on Sunshine Law violations.

Lundin is an experienced observer of the political process, and an opponent of the Jackson Lab deal. He smelled a rat when he examined a photograph that appeared in the Naples Daily News, taken at the Jackson Lab facility in Bar Harbor. It appears that Commissioner Fiala was inspecting mouse cages, while Commissioner Coletta was in the same room, along with Jeff Klatzkow, the attorney for Collier County.

They were all there to see the wonders of the modern mutant mouse.

Standing in the middle of it all, with a smirk on his face, was the president of Ave Maria University.

The following is an excerpt from the Naples Daily News, October 11, 2010:

“…John Lundin has filed a lawsuit against the Collier County Commission for allowing two commissioners to travel to Maine this past summer to tour the genetics research laboratory which may have been a violation of the state’s Sunshine Law.

If the court decides the state’s public meetings’ law was violated, the lawsuit seeks to have any board vote on the Jackson project declared void while the lawsuit is ongoing, according to the complaint filed by Fort Myers attorney Steve Carta.

While John Lundin’s case looms over the heads of the commissioners, two more cases have been filed with the Collier County Court, directly aimed at actions which may be unconstitutional and illegal– and which could put a stop to the Ave Maria-Jackson Lab deal.

The first case was filed on Wednesday, on behalf of three Collier County citizens, who will appear and intervene in the validation of $130,000,000 in bonds:

http://commissarsandmandarins.files.wordpress.com/2010/11/collier-county-case-no-10-006541-ca.pdf

The second case was filed today by Arthrex, Inc., (a manufacturer of medical devices) in order to stop an arbitration process that could change the supermajority law (4/1 vote) for rezoning of the proposed Jackson Lab site in Ave Maria. The landowners claim they only need a simple majority, further explained below.

Barron Collier Companies is concerned that the new commissioner, Georgia Hiller, will ’rock the boat’ along with Commissioner Henning, who, until Hiller’s arrival, was the lone dissenting voice against the Jackson Lab deal.

This is why, during the Collier County Board of County Commissioners meeting on November 9, pressure was exerted to complete an arbitration process before December 14– when Commissioner Hiller will cast her vote for the first time. This aggressive move is seen with suspicion by many, and as a way for the powerful landowners to circumvent the supermajority law. It also lends more credence to the opinion that the Jackson Lab deal is a taxpayer bailout of Tom Monaghan and Barron Collier’s Ave Maria real estate experiment.

In a public poll conducted by the Naples Daily News, 84% of responders said no to ANY taxpayer funding of the Jackson Lab project. The letters to the editor of the Naples Daily News stand as another example of the overwhelming opposition to the Jackson Lab deal. This is supported by thousands of petitions.

Meanwhile, the arbitration is to be conducted by Judge Kenneth Bell, on Saturday, December 11, at 9:00am, and could continue on Monday, December 13. But this may all change, now that legal action has commenced.

On November 16, the Naples Daily News published the following commentary by Janet Vasey, an experienced financial analyst and member of the Productivity Committee for Collier County:

Last week, the Eastern Collier County Property Owners (ECCPO), which controls 200,000 acres including Ave Maria, told the Board of County Commissioners (BCC) that because of decisions made eight years ago to protect large tracts of environmentally sensitive land, all their future zoning requests only need a simple majority (3–2) vote.

State law and county ordinance are very clear that zoning issues are so important to protect the public interest that they should be decided by a supermajority vote — which is even required to put something as minor as a daycare center in the basement of a church.

But control, power and greed do not go along with public interest:

“Obviously, because Tom [Monaghan] is our partner, when this opportunity [the Jackson Lab] was brought to our attention last year, we went to our partner and said, ‘This is what we want to do, is it something you’re comfortable with?’” Gable said. “He [Monaghan] went and did his due diligence, researched it, and said, ‘Go ahead with it.” — Blake Gable, President of Real Estate Development for Barron Collier Companies, Naples Daily News, April 10, 2010.

Michigan denied Monaghan his real estate dreams of expansion. So, he came down to Collier County and couldn’t resist Barron Collier’s offer of free land. Lots of it. Then, he jumped into an investment partnership, in what he thought would be a great money-making deal.

Even a special law was created just for Tom Monaghan and Barron Collier, called House Bill 1625 (the Ave Maria Special District Law) where Monaghan and the giant developer can rule as kings– and control the election of the governing board.

This medieval arrangement is called the Ave Maria Stewardship Community District government. A modern day “taxation without representation”– to say the least. That is why it is called “A Town Without a Vote, Now and Forever” http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2009/may/09/town-without-vote-now-and-forever/ .

Monaghan had the nerve to promote this controlled set up as a ”City of God”.

So, in another clever move, Monaghan approved the sale and subsequent donation of 50 acres of land by Barron Collier Companies for the location of the Jackson Lab project – which Ave Maria University officials welcome and embrace. Indeed, without Monaghan’s approval, Barron Collier Companies would probably not have moved forward with the Jackson Lab deal in Ave Maria.

Collier County citizens must never forget this.

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You may read Marielena Montesino de Stuart’s observations and opinions through:

NOTICE TO READERS

Filed under Ave Maria Florida, AVE MARIA UNIVERSITY, THE JACKSON LAB Tagged with Arthrex, Ave Maria Florida, AVE MARIA UNIVERSITY, Collier County Board of County Commissioners, Jackson Laboratory

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HOW QUICKLY THEY FORGET… Ave Maria (Florida) Project manager, Blake Gable, says all businesses in Ave Maria, Florida, fall under the same ordinances as every other vendor in Collier County, and to think that businesses would be treated differently– just because a catholic church stands in the middle of the town, is outrageous. Well, Ave Maria University claimed in 2010, through its lawyers, that abortion clinics are not allowed. But wait a minute! Planned Parenthood opened a clinic in Naples (Collier County). WHO DO YOU BELIEVE? IS THIS A JOKE? — Click on image below to read about BLAKE GABLE, Ave Maria Project Manager, interviewed on July 20, 2007 by WINK News, a CBS affiliate.

CLICK ON IMAGE TO READ

NOTICE TO READERS: www.TheRomanCatholicWorld.com does not disparage anyone's motives at Ave Maria, Ave Maria University, including the administrators, Ave Maria entities, Ave Maria Town, and Barron Collier Co. Nothing contained in The Chronicles of Ave Maria© or Divine Comedy©, or anywhere on this blog/website questions the commitment of all involved to what they genuinely see as the best interests of Ave Maria, Ave Maria University, Ave Maria entities, Ave Maria Town and Barron Collier Co. www.TheRomanCatholicWorld.com concedes this.

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Falling apart…

Commissioner Donna Fiala Commissioner James Coletta

The JAX Deal

“…political challenges and interventions?”

“A gift of God”?

“Go Ahead with It“

“It does not spoil my day”– or does it?

Good-bye, Chairman Coyle…

UPDATE Jan. 20, 2011 - The Naples Daily News ran several polls during the Jackson Lab scandal. Now Collier County citizens are again letting their voices be heard through the following public poll:

Collier County Commissioner, Fred Coyle, should step down (LINK)

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Monkey business

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Gambling with Taxpayer Money

New Tactics

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All men are created… not so equal?

Catholicism and genetics come together

Predatory Taxpayer Scam?

Puppets in a Disaster Zone

CONTACT YOUR ”COUNTY AGENTS”–

Commissioners Fred Coyle, Donna Fiala and James Coletta

and Watch the VIDEO for

The Rural Eastern Collier County Emergency Program

Remember… there’s NO such thing as Equal Protection!

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“Fantastic! This is a gift of God. This is an answer to prayer.”

Watch the video, “Ave Maria and The Jackson Lab: Dr. Michael M. Waldstein… In his own words“

IMPORTANT RELATED READING: The Town of Ave Maria, Thomas S. Monaghan and the Jackson Lab Scandal

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“Florida’s Collier County taxpayers, who may end up subjugated for decades– can also thank pizza king, Tom Monaghan of Ave Maria Development, for having provided the 50 acres to his business partner, Barron Collier Companies, for the Jackson Lab’s proposed location in Ave Maria.”

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“… it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to understand why the Jackson Lab project makes no moral or financial sense.”

Elizabeth Fekete Club – (up to $999.00)

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THE CHRONICLES OF AVE MARIA©

“Liberty, once lost, is lost forever.” — JOHN ADAMS

CLICK ON THE U.S. CAPITOL TO VIEW OUR DEBT IN ACTION:

THIS RIGHT SIDE BAR ALSO OFFERS EASY ACCESS TO MANY ARTICLES– AND MORE…

ARTICLES by TOPIC

A MEETING WITH U.S. SENATOR MARCO RUBIO IN WASHINGTON DC:

If It’s Not Cut, Cap & Balance then it Doesn’t Solve the Problem:

A WORLD VIEW OF THE U.S. DEBT: If America Falls Who will Come to Her Rescue?

BEFORE YOU GO, YOU MUST KNOW THIS…

A TRIBUTE TO THE AMERICAN SPACE PROGRAM

THE BEIJING AFFAIR… Revisited

THE BEIJING AFFAIR: “Sir, will that be champagne or missiles?”

THIS MAN has given Millions to Extreme Left Wing Politicians, including Barack Obama. THIS MAN is Honored at Ave Maria University:↓

PRIME MINISTER BENJAMIN NETANYAHU: “Six Words that Will Change History”

DEAUVILLE and the G-8

WHY NOT CUBA?

胡锦涛 and the United States: The “Rehabilitation” of America

Changes in Canada’s House of Commons:

Quiet Skies Over The Maghreb

The Shangri-La Dialogue

OBSESSION: Radical Islam Marches West:

Rebellion in China

“Florida: Heaven on Earth?” Includes The Ave Maria Town Controversy – PBS Encore presentation July 18, 2011

QUOTE (Neil J. Conway): “The tale of Tom Monaghan and Ave Maria University is a long and complicated one of amateurishness, mismanagement, broken promises, nepotism, in sum, a great disservice to the Catholic Church and to people truly dedicated to advancing that church’s mission.”

ONE YEAR LATER…

A Samba for Barack…

A Man and A Woman

TAKE 5!: The Farmer’s Wife Soufflé Omelette

TAKE 5! Nectarine Sabayon

AWARD WINNING STORY: “AVE MARIA– A Town Without A Vote, Now and Forever” (A Three-Part Series)

AVE MARIA UNIVERSITY: A Special Report

SEXUAL ABUSE of CHILDREN and the CATHOLIC CHURCH: Tom Monaghan’s “Invaluable” Cardinal Bevilacqua Accused by Grand Jury of Covering Up Sexual Abuse of Children

CARDINAL BEVILACQUA’S “REIGN OF TERROR” :

“AVE MARIA STOOPS TO NEW LOW” writes prominent Pro-Life Catholic

The Wanderer Catholic Newspaper and Tom Monaghan

Headline at National Catholic Register questions Ave Maria University:

The Town of Ave Maria, Tom Monaghan and The Wanderer Catholic Newspaper

The Erosion of What it Means to be Pro-Life:

Is TOM MONAGHAN’s Regime CRUMBLING at AVE MARIA UNIVERSITY?

MITT ROMNEY speaks to MARIELENA MONTESINO DE STUART (from the Archives):

Commissioner Donna Fiala

Commissioner James Coletta

**“Go Ahead with It“**

**“It does not spoil my day”– or does it?**