There is no joy in Mudville today

I have been planning on making changes to the Grapevine for quite some time, and yesterday's election has shown me that the time has come. I had been waiting for one of the last of major ads to run out, which is this week, before I made any changes. I was feeling guilty about making any changes since I feel I provide a service, but I think that the time has come.

I am quite disappointed in yesterday's election results. No, not the outcome, although I did want Michelle Niemeyer to win, but I am not feeling bitter about Sarnoff. I am feeling bitter about the low voter turn out. I find it hard to believe that only 5431 people voted in the whole District 2 Commission area, which is a huge area going from the South Grove up to the Upper East Side. There are 20,000 residents in Coconut Grove alone, but where were the voters?

We have early elections and absentee ballots and had a beautiful sunny day for voting on election day and yet only 5431 people felt the need to exercise their American right to vote. These politicians worked their asses off for months -- walking the streets, debating, arguing for what, a handful of votes?

It's a shame and it's pathetic. It's embarrassing. And it shows me that people really don't care.

I have put my neck out so many times for the sake of sticking up for the voters -- I've done it over trees, traffic circles, street closures, overdevelopment and more. I have been threatened, stalked and sued and all this for a handful of voters? I mean those who actually vote. I think I have come to the point of ending that. I don't have it in me to fight the establishment anymore for the sake of a few people who care. It's obvious that most people don't really care, so why am I putting myself in the middle of these arguments?

Right now I have many irons in the fire, I am trying to get my cartooning career going, I run a full time business (alas, no I am not a trustfund baby as so many always state with such conviction. I wish) and I would like to live up north for part of the year. When I leave town now, I always have to have a back up of stories, for instance later this month, I'll be up north for 10 days, that usually has me backlogging 50 stories or more, but I won't this time.

I would like to return the Grapevine to being an actual blog and less of the daily news. I plan on publishing what is interesting to me and not necessarily what is happening at Village Council or City Hall. I'll explain over time what I am going to do. But I just feel that people are not interested enough in the community to even vote, so why should I bust my ass to cover the community on a daily basis anymore? I feel people just don't care or they would get out and vote.