Wakulla Reports: Opinion – The Great Land Grab: Power, Profit, and a Call to Fight Back

Listen up, Wakulla. We’ve been slogging through property appraiser records, clerk files, and the boiling frustration of our neighbors. What’s clear? We’re being robbed blind. A tight-knit crew of public players (your local government) and private fat cats (corporations and those slippery Economic Development Councils) are rigging the game to get rich off your tax dollars. While you’re sweating over property taxes and grocery bills, they’re laughing their way to the bank.

This hustle’s been in motion for decades. Way back, a few sharp citizens—God bless ‘em—saw the trap. While we were caught up in life, they were out there fighting the same battles we’re stuck in now. They organized, pushed back, and scored some wins, but the corporate-government machine was too big, too connected, too greedy. Those warriors are aging or gone, and now we’re waking up to the scam they tried to stop. The fight’s uglier today—legal walls, stacked odds—but don’t quit. We’ve got ways to hit back.

This year’s legislative session? A straight-up betrayal. Lawmakers didn’t empower us or even local government—they handed developers the keys to Florida. Our voices are drowned out by the jingle of their profits.

My stepson visited from Winter Haven this weekend, and we hashed out the same mess. His town’s overrun with cookie-cutter subdivisions wrecking forests, ignoring taxpaying residents. This isn’t about hating growth—change comes. It’s about the spit in our face when our rights get trampled for cash.

They yell “property rights” for developers and citizens alike, but then shrug when you beg for fences, better planning, or a pause to fix our crumbling roads, schools, parks, sewer, and water. They claim freedom for a select few corporate giants and local government while telling you they can’t protect your right to live peacefully or deliver the infrastructure you’re taxed for. That’s the crooked deal at the heart of this. And let’s be real: the comp plan didn’t rewrite itself, and those zoning changes weren’t magic. That’s on our government and their corporate buddies, not We the People. Reckless development isn’t progress—it’s a slap to everyone who trusted you to lead Wakulla County.

Lived here forever? Just moved in? Doesn’t matter. Our county’s being carved into a “10-minute city” every 10 miles. Doubt it? Dig into the comp plan, scour the records, and come at me with your argument. I'll wait.

So, How Do We Fight?

The question looms large, and the answer depends on you—your skills, your resolve, and your chosen path. There’s no one-size-fits-all fix, but here’s a starting point:

• Legal Action: Lawyers, got a case to flip the script? Bring it!

• Community Organizing: Team up with neighbors to block developers from snapping up acres.

• Be a Pest: Like this page, be a relentless thorn in the machine’s side.

• Peaceful Protest: Hit the streets, make noise, get seen.

• Prepare Your Family: Take a page from folks like us—my family made a pact with neighbors not to sell our land, bought more to preserve our slice of Wakulla, and we’re holding firm. But with beaches, rivers, and roads we love now swamped by crowds, we’re planning ahead: scouting new land, eyeing mobile setups, anything to keep the freedom and peace we’re losing fast.

• Educate Others: Spread the word. Truth is our weapon.

• Run for Office: New blood in local races can break the cycle. but you MUST VOTE!

• Show Up: Flood the county board’s inbox before every meeting. Bury them in your demands.

Most of all, we need new leaders—folks with character and values, not just a flashy name. And we’ve gotta vote ‘em in.

The machine’s massive, but it’s not untouchable. Every protest, lawsuit, or neighborly pact chips away at their grip. So, pick your fight, Wakulla. Let’s take back our county, our rights, our home.