It seems like a nice, neighborly gesture.  The United Arab Emirates donated $3 Million dollars to Jacksonville to help in the recovery efforts from damages caused by Hurricane Irma last year.

Why would anyone question such a generous gift?  Well, maybe …

• It’s how the Mayor responded when the Ambassador was asked some tough questions about Human Rights in the UAE.
• It’s how the Mayor took the Ambassador behind closed doors and would not allow any interviews.
• It’s where the money is going to be spent:
  • — a local playground that looks perfectly fine
  • — for A. Philip Randolph Career Academies for their Construction and Architecture Career Academy
  • — for Mobile Medical Clinics for The Sulzbacher Center

It appears to us that if the money was to be spent for fixing damages caused by Hurricane Irma, then that money should be spent for those issues.  How about fixing the docks along the riverbank so Jacksonville residents and guests can enjoy the downtown events.  Downtown seems to be so important to our Mayor you think he would have used the money for that.  There are also drainage issues all over town that still need to be addressed.

This gift smells funky.  Or maybe the gift was great but those dividing up the spoils got a little too carried away with their pet projects and forgot what the money was to be used for.

What a mess.

For more about this, check out the great reporting done by Channel 47 here:

Jacksonville accepts millions from United Arab Emirates for Hurricane Irma recovery

[author] [author_image timthumb=’on’]https://eyeonjacksonville.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Billie-Tucker-1.jpg[/author_image] [author_info]Billie Tucker has worked in the CEO world for more than 30 years and was the Chief Operating Officer of Vistage Florida, a think tank for CEOs. She started her own consulting practice, CEO Service Bureau, in 2001 and earned a reputation for her keen understanding of the motivations, challenges and goals of people and became a life-long student and teacher of leadership principles. She craved anything leadership related and enjoyed being around the world of entrepreneurial CEOs. She watched as they made decisions; pondered how they would make payroll when cash flow was tight; and appreciated how they created career opportunities for hundreds of thousands of people. Because of her experiences, she has emerged as a key resource for the media and others who want to understand important insights about executives, management teams and board dynamics. In 2008, Billie became discouraged as she watched some of her clients struggle with the political economic impacts on their businesses. The same CEOs who mortgaged their home and charged up their credit cards to make ends meet to build a business and keep others working, now watched as their government bailed out the big banks who had mismanaged their resources. She cringed as most of her clients laid off employees for the first time and she vowed she would help them… somehow…someway. That somehow…someway showed up in the Tea Party Movement in America. She formed one of the largest tea party group’s in America (more than 9,000 members strong) and helped bring attention to America’s debt problem, out of control spending, over taxation and regulation strangulation on companies. With her background in working with leaders and her influence in the political and leadership world, Billie has continued her dream to help CEOs navigate these troubling waters that permeate the world of capitalism in America. She has been an active participant in the media as a guest on CNN, Fox News, Fox Business, Bott Family Network Radio and co-hosts a political/financial radio show in the Northeast Florida market entitled, Smart Money. She was the first speaker at the House of Representatives Tea Party Caucus inaugural event and was invited by Heritage Foundation to speak at their prestigious annual Heritage Resource Bank, and on their National Security Panel live broadcasts. She spoke at the Congressional Republican House Retreat in Pennsylvania in 2012. She was also the co-host and co-producer of the CNN Tea Party Express Debate in the 2012 Presidential Election. She is a firm believer that America needs more entrepreneurs and more opportunities for people to use their God-given talents and passions to better themselves, their communities and America. Her favorite quote has become her mission to help CEOs succeed: “Vision without execution is hallucination.” – Thomas Edison[/author_info] [/author]