---If there's one bright spot in the aftermath of the hurricanes that came through Polk County over the past two months, it's that among all the debris that is being carted off to the landfills are billboards that will never see the light of day again!

Bad news for a few small time billboard owners, some of whom will be put out of business as a result because of the county's development regulations which sets where billboards can be placed. Those already in place when the ordinance was written were allowed to stay, but if/when those in locations where they would be persona non grata suffer damage equal to or more than 50% of their value, they must come down and not replaced.

Between Charley and Frances, a number of those billboards won't be back, but the Lakeland Ledger reports that the billboard owners were seeking help from the Polk County Commission.

In a bit of a surprise, the BOCC, which usually can't get their lips off the backsides of the builders and developers (Polk's impact fees are substantially lower than any of the surrounding counties), didn't offer much help. Only Jeb! appointee Paul Senft (who filled the seat after the late Charles Richardson died) seemed sympathetic to their plight.

---It was good to read about the packed house last evening in the Lakeland Yacht and Country Club to hear former John Kerry swift boat mate Del Sandusky give his first hand account of working with the Democratic presidential nominee during the Vietnam War. Sandusky was the gentleman whom Kerry and his mates rescused in the Mekong River during a ambush by the Viet Cong, and he has been campaigning for Kerry across the country for several months.