"Worms Squirming on a Frying Pan" Says Carl Hiaasen when talking about opponents to Amendment 4

St. Augustine.com

Letter: Hiaasen deserving of Legend's award
By Dorothy Wardell

Editor: Congratulations to Carl Hiaasen, who visited St Augustine and the Florida Heritage Book Festival last weekend to accept Florida's Literary Legend Award. This Florida hero well deserves it.

Hiaasen has for years pointed out the runaway development that plagues our state -- the result, he shows us, of the extreme corruption of politicians in league with developers. As he explains, he simply gets his material from newspapers: "You can't make this stuff up."

Calling Amendment 4 "a wonderful thing," he adds, "There's a huge constituency for saving what's left of Florida."

The audience roundly applauded his support for Amendment 4. A questioner mentioned that the developers are spending millions from federal stimulus funds - taxpayer bailout money - on deceptive ads against Amendment 4. Hiaasen laughed to uproarious applause, "They're using stimulus money? That's perfect, isn't it!"

Hiaasen likens the developers' frenzied Amendment-4 phobia to "worms squirming on a frying pan." And regarding politicians' opposition to the Amendment: "The idea of public involvement, trust me, is the last thing they want."

Thanks, Carl, for your 20-some novels, and 25 years of columns about a State that, as you've said, is "hard not to love."

You serve your home state well!
Dorothy Wardell
Ponte Vedra Beach