CRYSTAL RIVER -- A threadbare welcome mat was set before Crystal River's new city manager, Philip Lilly, the eighth manager for the factious city in 11 years.

Crystal River's dubious track record scared away previous candidates. A brutal ritual often follows elections with a new council majority forcing out the city manager.

And Lilly, 52, a Federal Aviation Administration official who lives in Crystal River, already has critics who say he's a nice guy but unqualified.

Lilly moved to Crystal River about four years ago and spends most of the week in Palm Coast, where the FAA has an office. He is also a part-time minister of education at First Baptist Church of Crystal River.

"We've had years and years of all these proper profiles. Why not try someone who might be more of a people person than a technician?" council member Joe Chrietzberg said. "He can learn the technical; he can't always learn how to deal with the public."

Permits issued to replace dam along Withlacoochee

INVERNESS -- After years of bitter controversy, efforts to replace the Wysong Dam on the Withlacoochee River leaped forward last week as the state Department of Environmental Protection issued a permit for the project.

The Southwest Florida Water Management District has put the project out to bid and expects to have a contractor in place by mid November.

Plans call for pivoting metal plates supported by inflatable rubber tubes at the dam's former Carlson's Landing. Ever since the inflatable tube was removed in 1988, the issue has been a major one for activists concerned with water levels and drinking supplies.

The action has been blamed for lower water levels throughout the Tsala Apopka lake chain, a series of large pools and sprawling wetlands on the east side of the Withlacoochee. The rubber tube created a reservoir of sorts and helped recharge the Floridan Aquifer, said TOO FAR, or Taxpayers Outraged Organization for Accountable Representation.

Critics of the dam, who say it won't help water levels upstream and fear it will choke off life along the Withlacoochee River downstream, have lost ground in recent years as TOO FAR has kept the project on the agenda and has won over key Swiftmud officials.

Landmark YMCA will be turned into home

[Times photo (1997): Fred Victorin]
The YMCA in downtown St. Petersburg will go from community center to showpiece home. A Clearwater businessman will turn its gym into a ballroom and install a private health club.

ST. PETERSBURG -- As the St. Petersburg YMCA prepares to move into its modern new facility next month, its beautiful but aging building had few who were seriously considering buying.

In came Clearwater businessman Tony Amico, who bought the 1927 landmark St. Petersburg YMCA. He'll fix it up and live there.

Several suitors, among them developers with ideas for condominiums, have flirted with buying the building during the past two years.

But the thought of extensive renovations, including asbestos removal, proved discouraging. At one point, Y officials said they were considering demolition of the historic building.

Amico, who owns a credit card company, said he has big plans for the 46,000-square-foot building, which contains a swimming pool, a gymnasium and a labyrinth of small rooms, stairs and hallways.

Besides his living quarters, Amico said he would add office space, a private health club and a cabana on the roof. He plans to keep the pool, install a bocce court and turn the gymnasium into a two-story ballroom for private parties.

"We're going to have a good time with it," said Amico, 48, whose hobby is stock car racing. "It's fantastic."

Dredging on river causes stir - again

PORT RICHEY -- The dredging operation set up Monday on the Pithlachascotee River is stirring up more than the silt on the bottom.

Stardancer Casino Cruises has started its second dredge around the old Joshua's Landing on Bayview Street since it arrived in May, and like last time, its rivals are objecting.

"I can't strongly express my disagreement enough," said Paradise of Port Richey attorney Larry Crow, who also serves as a state representative for Palm Harbor.

When Stardancer came to Port Richey in May with dredging equipment, a Paradise employee was arrested for diving into the river and cutting a line tied to the dredging operation.

Terry Cartwright, a specialist with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, said the dredging -- which will give the Stardancer shuttle boats more room to maneuver by removing silt -- was proper, and Stardancer had specific instructions on what not to dredge.

High-profile legal help called in over hotel incident

TAMPA -- A Baptist association has hired attorney Johnnie Cochran to help recover damages from an incident last month at the Marriott Waterside Hotel in Tampa.

The Rev. C. Mackey Daniels, Progressive National Baptist Convention president, said Cochran joined the organization's legal team last week.

"We're just covering all our fronts," Daniels said.

On Aug. 8, a member of the convention complained that a white server tainted a bowl of fruit punch during a banquet at the Marriott Waterside for the predominantly black Progressive National Baptist Convention.

Within minutes, rumors spread across the banquet hall, including one that someone had spit into the punch and another that the salmon and filet mignon dinners had been tainted.

Daniels demanded to see the hotel's general manager, but she could not be reached. Unsure whether they could eat the food, and angry as an hour passed without any word from the general manager, the group of 800 left. "There could possibly be an early settlement," Daniels said. He declined to name the amount the convention was seeking, but he said the corporation was notified in a recent letter.

In short . . .

INVERNESS -- Inmates at the Citrus County jail soon will have to open their wallets if they want to visit a doctor. Inmates who can afford it must pony up a co-payment of up to $10 for a trip to the infirmary as of Thursday. The goal of the policy is to cut back on frivolous medical complaints.
TARPON SPRINGS -- Local songwriter Bertie Higgins' hit song Key Largo will be 20 years old next year. So imagine the local stir created that he finally has a new studio album, Island Bound, which he hopes will released by Sony soon. Sony's special products division, an arm that provides music for promotional uses such as giveaways by major companies, has agreed to distribute Trop Rock, Higgins' 1999 20-song greatest hits package, on a limited basis. That means it will not be sold at record stores. And if a recut version of Higgins' old tune Just Another Day in Paradise does well on the radio, Sony also will distribute Island Bound.

Coming up this week

Following Tropical Storm Gabrielle, scientists will see if the organism that causes Red Tide was scattered. The fish-killing algae bloom was found in low concentrations in the waters off Pinellas County, but winds out of the east helped keep Red Tide offshore. However, the developing storm was considered a wild card in the equation.
Rosh Hashana, the Jewish new year, begins at sundown Monday. The High Holy Days conclude with Yom Kippur, beginning at sundown Sept. 26.
On Wednesday, the Hillsborough History Center, which has many influential backers, goes before a skeptical County Commission, which will weigh its funding against other priorities.

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