Opinion
By Dave Scott, 7-4-25
The Yulee News June 26, 2025, front page story headlined: “The Cost of Control: How Chip Ross Maneuvered Fernandina Beach into Another Losing Lawsuit” revealed a behind the scenes scenario that most hereabouts were unaware took place.
The biased, professionally written, well-researched, investigative article describes how Ross, a controversial former Fernandina Beach Commissioner, who now lives in Jacksonville, had his hands involved in an unnecessary and pricey lawsuit that many expect the city to lose convincingly.
Ross’s meddling will cost local taxpayers plenty says the article. Ross doesn’t care. He no longer lives here and didn’t deny the accusations.
The article, written by unidentified “news staff,” describes how Nassau County’s almost 90-year-old prized corporate citizen, RYAM, was forced into suing the city to protect its proposed $50 million investment to turn a toxic waste product from cellulose into a profitable commodity (ethanol) and transfer it safely off Amelia Island.
The article details how Ross worked behind the scenes to block RYAM’s project even before it was ever reviewed by the city. RYAM, an exemplary corporate citizen, will rightfully sue to protect its investment. Its tutorials, open houses, and explanations on safety precautions are shrugged off by the cranky ill-informed protestors who don’t want to hear it.
Whoever wrote the biased article – a PR firm, RYAM, a freelancer, an impartial journalist, or a combination – got it right. Despite it’s obvious pro-RYAM slant, I’ve talked to local residents, former commissioners and city employees that agree.
A small vocal hardcore group of compliant Fernandina local activists serve as the anti-RYAM fist-shaking cadre to protest the ethanol plan. It’s a tiny rent-a-crowd collection of loud local liberals. Just hand them signs and point them toward the target of the week.
Possessing the collective IQ of a hummingbird, this crowd of mostly grey-haired grannies wander from protest to protest, dutifully following orders to oppose whatever they’re told to condemn.
They don’t ask questions because they have no curiosity much less the intellect to do so. They dutifully assemble to pick up their signs, then march off chanting talking points they’ve been handed and can’t explain – “DOGE, No Kings, MAGA, Trump, No Ethanol.” It doesn’t take much to fire up the dander of these doddering dupes.
The Yulee News fills a void left by the editorial housecleaning currently being conducted by the bi-weekly News Leader’s new publisher, Todd Frantz, who’s currently ridding that paper of its internal saboteurs, activists, and left-wing hacks while restaffing.
The Yulee News article detailed how then-Commissioner Ross “privately lobbied the city’s planning staff to rewrite city rules in an attempt to preemptively block bioethanol production,” a tactic it says the city’s procedures proclaim is unethical and unfair.
Ross’s reputation for generating lawsuits and creating chaos preceded his move to Fernandina from Maryland, where he made headlines with similar antics against a local restaurant and bar.
With his move to Jacksonville Fernandina’s businesses and taxpayers were hopefully shed of any more of his destructive capers. However, they are still faced with a trio of Commission crazies (James Antun, Genece Minshew, Joyce Tuten) whose collective actions combine to create almost as much financial carnage as Ross. And Ross is allegedly still involved.
Rumors abound that Tuten is mute without consulting Ross, and she doesn’t vote or speak before consulting him. Her moves to push agenda items ahead a week or two before voting are said to be a result of her unwillingness to vote before asking Ross what to do.
Over the years I’ve chronicled the chaos, suits and damage Ross has caused here and in Maryland. Here is a summary of many of his previous mischief making messes here and in Maryland. https://www.davescottblog.com/first-do-no-harm-do-not-vote-for-chip-ross-heres-why/
To read the full Yulee News articled go to: https://yuleenews.com/the-cost-of-control-how-chip-ross-maneuvered-fernandina-beach-into-another-losing-lawsuit/
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DOGE This! A group of concerned Nassau County residents have banded together to create the area’s first DOGE organization that they say acts as a “Local watchdog sniffing out waste, fraud and mismanagement.”
Despite the acronym (Department of Government Efficiency) this DOGE isn’t a part of local government, instead it’s an organization that government would just as soon wish would go away.
This mini-Musk group would be Chip Ross’s worst nightmare and will not receive kudos from those city and county commissions and department heads wanting to grow the government faster than the pace of the community.
Issues Nassau DOGE is currently investigating are:
- City: Between 2021 and 2025, the City of Fernandina’s population actually declined slightly (from 13,527 to 13,475). Meanwhile, the City’s budget ballooned by 20.5%, reaching over $203 million. While the City added just 1,645 residents over 10 years, it added 125 new employees (1 employee for every 13 new residents) and nearly doubled its spending. That’s government growth at nearly seven times the rate of population growth. DOGE is on this.
- Schools: For more than three years, DOGE says concerned Nassau County citizens have been urging the school district to remove pornographic books fully and permanently from local school libraries. DOGE says that despite clear authority granted to the Superintendent under Florida law, and despite documentation that many of these books violate Florida Statute 847.012, the Nassau County School District continues to stall.
- County: DOGE gave County Manager Taco Pope praise for recognizing a critical trend in Nassau County’s permitting system — and taking steps to acknowledge it; such as freezing ongoing hiring and studying the manpower needs of the department, etc. It also acknowledged there is more to do and is looking into it.
Based on what I’ve been told and heard this is a no-holds-barred crowd that wouldn’t be uncomfortable protesting the protestors, as they’ll be armed with weapons the typical local protestors and big government defenders don’t possess…facts, reason, and eloquence.
To learn more about this group and sign up for periodic news items go to: https://nassaufldoge.com/
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Chamber Chaos Continued: The impotent Nassau County Chamber of Commerce, fresh off a boneheaded editorial criticism of the County Board of Commissioners, wrongly claiming that it was “anti-business,” has some much-needed competition.
The West Nassau Chamber was created it says: “….to empower, connect, and advocate for the businesses and communities of Hilliard, Callahan, and Bryceville.”
Businesses in the booming West side of the county seeking a voice to help them establish a foothold with customers now have one. It has to be more productive than the older Amelia Island-based Chamber that has only succeeded in pissing off officials and entrepreneurs county-wide with an ill-advised editorial mislabeling the County Commission “anti-business.”
Every County Commissioner I’ve spoken to is unhappy with Regina Dunkin, the chamber’s director. She should send them a letter of apology then resign. Those interested in the new chamber can contact them at https://www.westnassauchamber.com/home
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An Unholy Trio: Now that Iran has been denuked there are only three Muslim countries with nukes left: Pakistan, France, and the UK.
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Ames? One of the most affordable places to live in the U.S. is located smack in the middle of nowhere.
Ames, Iowa is the number one most affordable place in the U.S. says Bert Sperling, who for more than 30 years has been rating U.S. regions on his website BestPlaces.net.
Ames, he says, is a “vibrant and varied place” with low crime, a good economy, good schools, is home to Iowa State University, and the average home price is just $250,000. It also has lots of corn fields and is a very long walk to the beach.
Other affordable and good places to live he says are; Manhattan, Kansas and Great Falls, Montana. Nothing in Florida made the list. One of the most expensive small towns in the U.S. was Sante Fe, New Mexico with Naples, Florida coming in number 10.
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High Flying Socialist: According to news reports Vermont Independent socialist Senator Bernie Sanders spent $221,000 on chartered private jets in the first quarter of 2025.
During a TV interview with Bret Baier on FOX News recently, Sanders, an Ebenezeer Scrooge look-a-like, attempted to justify his lavish, carbon-spewing travel, barking, “You think I’m gonna be sitting on a waiting line at United …while 30,000 people are waiting?”
The first politician in history to use planes to fly from rally to rally was another socialist, Adolph Hitler, in the early 1930s.
Sanders pointed out that President Trump flies in private jets. He failed to mention that Trump has never referred to himself as a democratic socialist.
Sanders’ revealing moment is no surprise. He has moved his targets in the past to conform to his own personal circumstances. He used to rail against the “millionaires and billionaires,” but it’s mostly just billionaires these days now that he’s a millionaire himself.
Being a socialist politician, whose only job prior to being elected to anything was as a part-time carpenter, obviously pays off.
The “Fighting Oligarchy” rallies drew good-sized crowds. But besides the rank hypocrisy, there is something more deeply fraudulent about Sanders’ tour with AOC.
It’s all a sham.
Republished with the author’s permission. Read The Dave Scott Blog– subscribe Free
The views expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official position of Citizens Journal Florida.
