the sweetest and cleanest
ride in Gainesville!RS
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Voters eliminate Mark the Cab Driver
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Florida citizens, support effective, economical, life-saving, vehicle ignition interlock legislation
for convicted drunk drivers now at: http://madd.convio.net/site/MessageViewer?em_id=49804.0&dlv_id=61047 |
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Chocolate Cab service is temporarily suspended until Mark the Cab Driver connects with a cab. See the article entitled, "Fired!," in the "News From Chocolate Cab" section in the right column below.
Mark is working on getting on the road again soon and looks forward to resuming delivering great Chocolate Cab info-choco-tainment! Check this site occasionally for private transportation news and for announcements concerning resumption of service. ;) 
Chocolate Cab is the cab in which you can win chocolate for correct answers to questions while riding to your destination!
Chocolate Cab is operated by Mark the Cab Driver in and around Gainesville, Florida, the heart of the Silicon Sandbar, the fast-emerging technology center of the southeast United States. Mark formulates questions from useful and entertaining information that he finds in the media, on the Internet, in books, on DVDs and that he receives from friends of Chocolate Cab. Fares for Chocolate Cab passengers are generally the same as those charged to passengers of most of the cab companies in Gainesville. Mark asks that passengers tip him commensurate with the quality of his service to them and with the info-choco-tainment value of their participation in Chocolate Cab Quiz. Don't worry, if you answer all questions incorrectly, Mark does not eject you from Chocolate Cab. To the contrary, he gives to you a piece of chocolate anyway. :) Call 352-575-5823 to schedule a ride in Chocolate Cab, the sweetest and the cleanest ride in Gainesville! 
ARRIVE ALIVE!
Don't drink and drive!
 Jessie won chocolate in Chocolate Cab,
and you can win chocolate too! What people are saying about Chocolate Cab:
"Chocolate Cab is much better than Cash Cab!" Elisa undergraduate student University Of Florida "You are a fresh of breath air in the cab business." [ed. Yes, after having consumed a considerable amount of alcohol, he actually said that.] anonymous male undergraduate student University Of Florida "[It was] the greatest cab ride I've had since I got to the University Of Florida." John undergraduate student University Of Florida "Chocolate Cab was ******* amazing!" Shannon Undergraduate student University Of Florida "This is the best cab in the world!" Mackenzie undergraduate student University Of Florida "Thank you for rescuing us this morning from our unexpected fate." Lisa Manager Hangmen rock band "It was wonderful." Michelle undergraduate student English University Of Florida "This was the best cab ride ever!" anonymous female undergraduate student University Of Florida "I heard about Chocolate Cab, but tonight I lived it. This made my night." anonymous male undergraduate student University Of Florida "I have had few positive cab experiences, but this was definitely one of them." anonymous female undergraduate student University Of Florida "I think it was great!" Kelly Home Care Assistant "I just love what you're doing for Gainesville." anonymous male undergraduate student University Of Florida Mascot needed
Do
you have a great “look,” comfortable poise and graceful carriage?
Are you comfortable in photo and video shoots? Would you like to be featured in photo images and in videos on the Internet site of Chocolate Cab? Are you comfortable engaging the public at special promotional events to publicize a service in which you believe? Do you want to experience the glitz and glamor of being the mascot for Chocolate Cab, the most famous cab in Gainesville? Go to the mascot search announcement page for additional information! Chocolate Cab now has a Facebook page
As you would expect, the name of the page is Chocolate Cab. Leave your questions, comments and suggestions for Mark the Cab Driver and he will respond to them. Upload your photo images of your Chocolate Cab rides to share them with other passengers. Direct your friends to the Chocolate Cab page. Additionally, Mark will announce Chocolate Cab news on the page. Mark welcomes the guidance of experienced Facebook users in exploiting the potentials of Facebook. Of Course, if you like Chocolate Cab, this Internet site or the Facebook page of Chocolate Cab, please "like" the Facebook page. SAVE A LIFE!
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Chocolate Cab Internet site
visitors charting globe Locations of current site visitors are marked by tiny green dots with radiating rings. Locations of past visitors are marked by tiny green dots. Thank you for visiting, folks! Tell your friends and family members all over the world to visit this site, so we could spread Chocolate Cab love around the world and light the globe with green dots! As of March 1, 2013, folks from one hundred nine locales in the world have visited the world famous, Chocolate Cab Internet site! Welcome, recent visitors in Monomoy Island, Massachussetts, U. S. A.; Whitewater, Wisconsin, U. S. A.; Mirassol, Sao Paulo, Brazil; Curitiba, Parna, Brazil; Rio De Janeiro, Brazil--and welcome, all of you frequent visitors in Austin, Texas, U. S. A.! Visitors from five of the six continents, North America, South America, Eurasia, Africa and Australia have now visited this site. Encourage your friends on the Antarctic Continent and from the islands of the world to visit this site. Here are the locales from which people have visited this site:
(If you would like to see a "navigable," enlarged view of the earth, click on the four-directional arrow button in the lower-left corner of the image at the left. In that view, you can see the names of the locales and the numbers of visits originating in those locales by hovering your cursor over the green dots.) This site visitors globe was added 2012.10.26. |
NEWS FROM CHOCOLATE CAB
Voters eliminate Mark the Cab Driver in the Gainesville general election
Mark will be the guest on a radio talk show tomorrow
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
Mark the Cab Driver, citizen journalist
Gainesville, Florida, U. S. A.-- Gainesville, Florida voters eliminated Mark the Cab Driver in the 2013 Gainesville general election yesterday.
Since voters gave no candidate at least fifty percent of the votes cast, the top, two vote getters, incumbent mayor, Craig Lowe, and former city commissioner and conservative polito-tainment radio show co-host, Ed Braddy, will compete for the mayor's office in runoff election on April 16, 2013. Undecided and independent voters surged to those two, front running candidates, Lowe, a Democrat, and Braddy, a Republican, to try to prevent the other from being elected.
"In the process of voting for the lesser of evils, voters lost the chance for quality, balanced leadership from me or fellow candidate, Peter Johnson in the mayoral race and from Alfredo Espinosa in the district four commissioner race.
"I shall continue to be engaged in local, national and international governance matters and will likely run again for public office. I shall also continue working on starting the first, electric-powered taxi service in Gainesville," Mark told reporters after the election.
Tomorrow, Mark the Cab Driver will be the guest of radio talk show host Kyle Rothenberg on The Conversation radio show. The show will air from 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. EST (8:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. GMT). The two will recap the election and the issues that face the citizens and city leaders of Gainesville. The Conversation airs on WUFT FM the National Public Radio (NPR) affiliate of the University Of Florida at 89.1 FM and streamed live around the world on the Internet at:
http://www.WUFT.org/stream-player
Mark encourages Chocolate Cab fans around the world to share their thoughts with him by e-mail about his interview if they listen to it at:
ChocolateCab@yahoo.com
For additional news and information about the campaign, view the Mark For Mayor Campaign Internet site at:
MarkForMayor.us
Mark will be the guest on a radio talk show tomorrow
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
Mark the Cab Driver, citizen journalist
Gainesville, Florida, U. S. A.-- Gainesville, Florida voters eliminated Mark the Cab Driver in the 2013 Gainesville general election yesterday.
Since voters gave no candidate at least fifty percent of the votes cast, the top, two vote getters, incumbent mayor, Craig Lowe, and former city commissioner and conservative polito-tainment radio show co-host, Ed Braddy, will compete for the mayor's office in runoff election on April 16, 2013. Undecided and independent voters surged to those two, front running candidates, Lowe, a Democrat, and Braddy, a Republican, to try to prevent the other from being elected.
"In the process of voting for the lesser of evils, voters lost the chance for quality, balanced leadership from me or fellow candidate, Peter Johnson in the mayoral race and from Alfredo Espinosa in the district four commissioner race.
"I shall continue to be engaged in local, national and international governance matters and will likely run again for public office. I shall also continue working on starting the first, electric-powered taxi service in Gainesville," Mark told reporters after the election.
Tomorrow, Mark the Cab Driver will be the guest of radio talk show host Kyle Rothenberg on The Conversation radio show. The show will air from 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. EST (8:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. GMT). The two will recap the election and the issues that face the citizens and city leaders of Gainesville. The Conversation airs on WUFT FM the National Public Radio (NPR) affiliate of the University Of Florida at 89.1 FM and streamed live around the world on the Internet at:
http://www.WUFT.org/stream-player
Mark encourages Chocolate Cab fans around the world to share their thoughts with him by e-mail about his interview if they listen to it at:
ChocolateCab@yahoo.com
For additional news and information about the campaign, view the Mark For Mayor Campaign Internet site at:
MarkForMayor.us
Vintage Detroit Electric car company is being revived
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Mark the Cab Driver, citizen journalist
Detroit, Michigan, U. S. A.-- A contemporary group of auto industry pioneers is reviving the Detroit Electric car company name.
The executives say that they will introduce a sports car in August 2013 and will introduce general purpose vehicles in 2014.
Read about the new company and the sport car at:
Startup revives Detroit Electric brand, vows Tesla-like sports car this year
http://autos.yahoo.com/blogs/motoramic/start-revives-detroit-electric-brand-vows-tesla-sports-151922455.html
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Mark the Cab Driver, citizen journalist
Detroit, Michigan, U. S. A.-- A contemporary group of auto industry pioneers is reviving the Detroit Electric car company name.
The executives say that they will introduce a sports car in August 2013 and will introduce general purpose vehicles in 2014.
Read about the new company and the sport car at:
Startup revives Detroit Electric brand, vows Tesla-like sports car this year
http://autos.yahoo.com/blogs/motoramic/start-revives-detroit-electric-brand-vows-tesla-sports-151922455.html
Mark is "out of the box" in the last two weeks of the campaign!
Mark delivers in candidate fora
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
Mark the Cab driver, citizen journalist
Gainesville, Florida, U. S. A.-- With only two weeks left in the campaign, Mark the Cab Driver is "out of the box." He has hit the streets and is taking his campaign to the people.
"Engaging passing motorists on street corners with my campaign sign, visiting voters in their workplaces and talking to people on the streets has been invigorating," Mark said. "I have been gratified, encouraged and energized by the occasional enthusiastic voter--most of them total strangers to me--who I have been seeing around the city," he said.
Besides keeping a busy schedule of campaign events and activities, Mark will continue engaging voters throughout the city for the remainder of the campaign.
In the first four candidate fora, Mark has had strong performances that have garnered compliments and praise from audience members--including some civic leaders and influential citizens. "Thoughtful and confident are the words that I hear most from audience members," Mark said. "I feel like I have had good answers to questions and have had a strong presence," he continued.
Traffic on the Mark For Mayor Internet site has been steadily increasing.
Four strong supporters have tendered their endorsements of Mark's candidacy. They appear on the "endorsements" page of the campaign Internet site.
Mark cast his ballot by absentee voting yesterday.
For additional news and information about the campaign, navigate to the Mark For Mayor campaign Internet site at:
MarkForMayor.us
Mark delivers in candidate fora
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
Mark the Cab driver, citizen journalist
Gainesville, Florida, U. S. A.-- With only two weeks left in the campaign, Mark the Cab Driver is "out of the box." He has hit the streets and is taking his campaign to the people.
"Engaging passing motorists on street corners with my campaign sign, visiting voters in their workplaces and talking to people on the streets has been invigorating," Mark said. "I have been gratified, encouraged and energized by the occasional enthusiastic voter--most of them total strangers to me--who I have been seeing around the city," he said.
Besides keeping a busy schedule of campaign events and activities, Mark will continue engaging voters throughout the city for the remainder of the campaign.
In the first four candidate fora, Mark has had strong performances that have garnered compliments and praise from audience members--including some civic leaders and influential citizens. "Thoughtful and confident are the words that I hear most from audience members," Mark said. "I feel like I have had good answers to questions and have had a strong presence," he continued.
Traffic on the Mark For Mayor Internet site has been steadily increasing.
Four strong supporters have tendered their endorsements of Mark's candidacy. They appear on the "endorsements" page of the campaign Internet site.
Mark cast his ballot by absentee voting yesterday.
For additional news and information about the campaign, navigate to the Mark For Mayor campaign Internet site at:
MarkForMayor.us
The Mark For Mayor campaign proceeds well
January 25, 2013
Mark the Cab Driver, citizen journalist
Gainesville, Florida, U. S. A.-- With twenty-two days left in his campaign for mayor of Gainesville, Florida, Mark the Cab Driver, host of Chocolate Cab, reports that his campaign is proceeding well.
Mark has participated in all three of the six scheduled candidate fora, submitting articles about his candidacy to local publications, completing and submitting questionaires from local organizations and has been occasionally campaigning in public settings.
"I have been very pleased with my showings in the candidate fora," Mark said. "I feel like I have responded intelligently to moderators' questions and like I have shown good poise," he continued.
Mark said that numerous attendees of the fora have told him that they have appreciated his positions on issues and that the felt that he projected confidence.
The campaign got new business cards over this past weekend about which people have been very complimentary.
Read about the all of the recent campaign activity on the Mark For Mayor Internet site at:
MarkForMayor.us
January 25, 2013
Mark the Cab Driver, citizen journalist
Gainesville, Florida, U. S. A.-- With twenty-two days left in his campaign for mayor of Gainesville, Florida, Mark the Cab Driver, host of Chocolate Cab, reports that his campaign is proceeding well.
Mark has participated in all three of the six scheduled candidate fora, submitting articles about his candidacy to local publications, completing and submitting questionaires from local organizations and has been occasionally campaigning in public settings.
"I have been very pleased with my showings in the candidate fora," Mark said. "I feel like I have responded intelligently to moderators' questions and like I have shown good poise," he continued.
Mark said that numerous attendees of the fora have told him that they have appreciated his positions on issues and that the felt that he projected confidence.
The campaign got new business cards over this past weekend about which people have been very complimentary.
Read about the all of the recent campaign activity on the Mark For Mayor Internet site at:
MarkForMayor.us
This site gets the first visitor from the Australian continent!
February 20, 2013
Mark the Cab Driver, citizen journalist
Gainesville, Florida, U. S. A.-- Today a visitor from Wahroonga, New South Wales, Australia became the first visitor from that nation continent. Welcome!
February 20, 2013
Mark the Cab Driver, citizen journalist
Gainesville, Florida, U. S. A.-- Today a visitor from Wahroonga, New South Wales, Australia became the first visitor from that nation continent. Welcome!
Mobile applications are connecting non-cab drivers with passengers
February 4, 2013
Mark the Cab Driver, citizen journalist
Gainesville, Florida, U. S. A.-- New mobile applications are enabling drivers of private vehicles and people needing rides to connect with each other. The fast-growing, for-profit ride-arranging services are available in a number of large, North American cities.
Lyft, Sidecar and Uber online services have all started during the last year. Two of them screen service users, both drivers and passengers, to increase safety. One of them utilizes a rating system to allow service users to grade each other to maintain quality of service.
Public transportation regulatory agencies have been scrutinizing and in some cases fining the ride-arranging services for violations of existing regulations. While functioning as cab service operators, the drivers of the ride-arranging services do not pay cab license fees and costly, commercial, cab insurance premiums. However, most regulatory agencies are committed to embracing new technologies to provide benefits to consumers of transportation services and are working to adapt regulations to protect the public while allowing the new services to operate.
Mark said, "When returning to service, Chocolate Cab and most of the other cabs in the contemplated fleet of my future company will be electric powered, and they will have safe, courteous, informative, well groomed and professional drivers. The cabs will be safety-inspected, accurately metered, clean and comfortable. My company will offer around-the-clock service. While online ride-arranging services could and should take market share in the years ahead, all of the positive qualities of my future company will allow it to compete with the ride-arranging services. In fact, in addition to receiving calls directly from customers, my company will likely become a ride-arranging service user, or the drivers of my company will become service users." Mark continued, "For the benefit of the cab-riding public and for the operators and drivers of high-quality cab services, I am pleased to know that the days of the crude, rude drivers, of dirty and overcharging cabs and of arrogant and dishonest cab company operators are numbered. They will have to "clean up their acts," become high-quality services, or deservedly perish like the dinosaurs."
Read additional information about the new ride-arranging services at:
http://www.gainesville.com/article/20130203/WIRE/130209907/1082?p=1&tc=pg&tc=ar
February 4, 2013
Mark the Cab Driver, citizen journalist
Gainesville, Florida, U. S. A.-- New mobile applications are enabling drivers of private vehicles and people needing rides to connect with each other. The fast-growing, for-profit ride-arranging services are available in a number of large, North American cities.
Lyft, Sidecar and Uber online services have all started during the last year. Two of them screen service users, both drivers and passengers, to increase safety. One of them utilizes a rating system to allow service users to grade each other to maintain quality of service.
Public transportation regulatory agencies have been scrutinizing and in some cases fining the ride-arranging services for violations of existing regulations. While functioning as cab service operators, the drivers of the ride-arranging services do not pay cab license fees and costly, commercial, cab insurance premiums. However, most regulatory agencies are committed to embracing new technologies to provide benefits to consumers of transportation services and are working to adapt regulations to protect the public while allowing the new services to operate.
Mark said, "When returning to service, Chocolate Cab and most of the other cabs in the contemplated fleet of my future company will be electric powered, and they will have safe, courteous, informative, well groomed and professional drivers. The cabs will be safety-inspected, accurately metered, clean and comfortable. My company will offer around-the-clock service. While online ride-arranging services could and should take market share in the years ahead, all of the positive qualities of my future company will allow it to compete with the ride-arranging services. In fact, in addition to receiving calls directly from customers, my company will likely become a ride-arranging service user, or the drivers of my company will become service users." Mark continued, "For the benefit of the cab-riding public and for the operators and drivers of high-quality cab services, I am pleased to know that the days of the crude, rude drivers, of dirty and overcharging cabs and of arrogant and dishonest cab company operators are numbered. They will have to "clean up their acts," become high-quality services, or deservedly perish like the dinosaurs."
Read additional information about the new ride-arranging services at:
http://www.gainesville.com/article/20130203/WIRE/130209907/1082?p=1&tc=pg&tc=ar
Mark the Cab Driver officially qualifies as a candidate for mayor!
February 1, 2013
Mark the Cab Driver, citizen journalist
Gainesville, Florida, U. S. A.-- Today, the last day for candidates to qualify to run for public offices in the 2013 Gainesville general election, Mark the Cab Driver qualified to run for mayor.
Five other candidates also qualified before the deadline. Like the other candidates, Mark had previously filed to run for office. His and their qualifications simply marked their submissions of the last of the forms necessary in the two-step process to have their names appear on the ballot on election day, March 19, 2013.
Mark said, "With the launch last Friday night of the Internet site of our campaign and with my having officially qualified as a candidate, our campaign is fully underway. Our campaign has been attracting great, motivated supporters. I encourage chocolate cab fans to review our new site at MarkForMayor.us. If they like what they see--that includes my commitment to work to assure honest cab services in Gainesville--I ask for their support."
February 1, 2013
Mark the Cab Driver, citizen journalist
Gainesville, Florida, U. S. A.-- Today, the last day for candidates to qualify to run for public offices in the 2013 Gainesville general election, Mark the Cab Driver qualified to run for mayor.
Five other candidates also qualified before the deadline. Like the other candidates, Mark had previously filed to run for office. His and their qualifications simply marked their submissions of the last of the forms necessary in the two-step process to have their names appear on the ballot on election day, March 19, 2013.
Mark said, "With the launch last Friday night of the Internet site of our campaign and with my having officially qualified as a candidate, our campaign is fully underway. Our campaign has been attracting great, motivated supporters. I encourage chocolate cab fans to review our new site at MarkForMayor.us. If they like what they see--that includes my commitment to work to assure honest cab services in Gainesville--I ask for their support."
The Chocolate Cab site received a record 145 visits!
December 18, 2012
Mark the Cab Driver, citizen journalist
Gainesville, Florida, U. S. A.-- Yesterday, the Chocolate Cab Internet site received a record 145 visitors after Mark the Cab Driver sent a Chocolate Cab e-mail dispatch to his extensive list of Chocolate Cab fans in which he announced his candidacy for mayor of Gainesville. In his dispatch, he provided a link to the site encouraging fans to read the detailed article about his candidacy.
"I am hoping that the servers will be able to handle the surge in traffic," Mark said tongue in cheek.
Read the article that attracted the record number of visitors below.
December 18, 2012
Mark the Cab Driver, citizen journalist
Gainesville, Florida, U. S. A.-- Yesterday, the Chocolate Cab Internet site received a record 145 visitors after Mark the Cab Driver sent a Chocolate Cab e-mail dispatch to his extensive list of Chocolate Cab fans in which he announced his candidacy for mayor of Gainesville. In his dispatch, he provided a link to the site encouraging fans to read the detailed article about his candidacy.
"I am hoping that the servers will be able to handle the surge in traffic," Mark said tongue in cheek.
Read the article that attracted the record number of visitors below.
Mark the Cab Driver declares his candidacy for mayor of Gainesville!
Mark receiving election materials from Alachua County Supervisor Of Elections, Pam Carpenter
December 14, 2012
Mark the Cab Driver, citizen journalist
Gainesville, Florida, U. S. A.-- Mark the Cab Driver announced today his candidacy for mayor of Gainesville.
In a move widely anticipated among his associates, Mark took the step that he described as likely in his concession speech after voters eliminated him for the seat of Gainesville city commissioner at large seat one in the January 31, 2012 election. In that speech, he said,
"This entire campaign has been a predominantly positive experience for me. I feel like I was born for campaigning...I would not be surprised if I were to run for public office again."
(Many Chocolate Cab fans may be unaware that Mark ran for city commissioner in January. He was so busy attending to the many demands of the campaign, that he never had the time to write and post an article on this Internet site or to send an e-mailing to his loyal Chocolate Cab fans. Any fans who would like to catch up on Mark's last campaign can still visit his former campaign Internet site at:
Mark Venzke For Gainesville City Commissioner
VoteForVenzke.yolasite.com
Mark has kept that site current with content since that election. Starting at the top of the center column of the home page, Mark lists his many political involvements and political educational activities in which he has engaged since that election to prepare himself to run again for local public office.)
The election for mayor and for city commissioner for district four will occur on March 19, 2013. If needed, a runoff election would occur on April 16, 2013.
Current fellow candidates for mayor in the non-partisan race include incumbent, Craig Lowe; Peter Lars Johnson; Donald E. Shepherd, Senior and Edward Earl Young.
Since the January election in which he was a candidate, Mark has continued to keep informed of political matters and has remained politically engaged. He has participated in City Of Gainesville and County Of Alachua citizens' training sessions; attended lectures by eminent political academics, journalists, authors, commenters and opinion leaders at the University Of Florida; attended meetings of the City commission and of boards and committees of the City and contributed his thoughts and comments to the commission, boards and committees through oral and written communications.
Additionally, Mark has been working to organize his neighbors into a neighborhood association in his Near South Neighborhood that is located immediately southeast of downtown for the past seventeen months. In that time, Mark and his neighbors have drastically reduced crime and nuisances.
Mark's governance objectives include:
Many politically engaged citizens including Mark think the current and recent past city commissions--that includes and that have included the current mayor--have focused on positive matters and have avoided negative matters. Those citizens think that the commissions have also been unresponsive to informed and well framed comments and questions by citizens about critical interests of the City and citizens of the City. Those citizens think that that avoidance of challenging issues and lack of responsiveness to serious concerns has resulted in poor public policies in a number of areas. They think that uncritical and uncreative thought and actions have resulted in:
The campaign committee, Mark Venzke For Gainesville Mayor, will formally launch the campaign on New Year's Eve at a place and time that the committee will soon announce. The campaign committee will launch the Internet site for the campaign and distribute campaign materials at that event. Even before that launch, the campaign committee welcomes endorsements, offers to display and distribute campaign materials and offers of labor and financial support.
"I welcome the support of all Chocolate Cab fans to help me gain the mayor's office, so I could work to improve the quality of life and vitality of Gainesville," Mark said. "Be registered and be ready to vote in March," Mark continued.
University students, who comprise the bulk of Mark's Chocolate Cab fans, can register to vote in Alachua County and vote for him in March. They may do that in person, by mail or through the Internet by navigating to:
Register To Vote
http://www.votealachua.com/index.php?id=4&spanish=N
Journalists and voters can contact the campaign at:
Mark Venzke For Gainesville Mayor
35 Southeast 5th Avenue
Gainesvillle, Florida 32601-6709
MarkForMayor2013@gmail.com
Mark the Cab Driver, citizen journalist
Gainesville, Florida, U. S. A.-- Mark the Cab Driver announced today his candidacy for mayor of Gainesville.
In a move widely anticipated among his associates, Mark took the step that he described as likely in his concession speech after voters eliminated him for the seat of Gainesville city commissioner at large seat one in the January 31, 2012 election. In that speech, he said,
"This entire campaign has been a predominantly positive experience for me. I feel like I was born for campaigning...I would not be surprised if I were to run for public office again."
(Many Chocolate Cab fans may be unaware that Mark ran for city commissioner in January. He was so busy attending to the many demands of the campaign, that he never had the time to write and post an article on this Internet site or to send an e-mailing to his loyal Chocolate Cab fans. Any fans who would like to catch up on Mark's last campaign can still visit his former campaign Internet site at:
Mark Venzke For Gainesville City Commissioner
VoteForVenzke.yolasite.com
Mark has kept that site current with content since that election. Starting at the top of the center column of the home page, Mark lists his many political involvements and political educational activities in which he has engaged since that election to prepare himself to run again for local public office.)
The election for mayor and for city commissioner for district four will occur on March 19, 2013. If needed, a runoff election would occur on April 16, 2013.
Current fellow candidates for mayor in the non-partisan race include incumbent, Craig Lowe; Peter Lars Johnson; Donald E. Shepherd, Senior and Edward Earl Young.
Since the January election in which he was a candidate, Mark has continued to keep informed of political matters and has remained politically engaged. He has participated in City Of Gainesville and County Of Alachua citizens' training sessions; attended lectures by eminent political academics, journalists, authors, commenters and opinion leaders at the University Of Florida; attended meetings of the City commission and of boards and committees of the City and contributed his thoughts and comments to the commission, boards and committees through oral and written communications.
Additionally, Mark has been working to organize his neighbors into a neighborhood association in his Near South Neighborhood that is located immediately southeast of downtown for the past seventeen months. In that time, Mark and his neighbors have drastically reduced crime and nuisances.
Mark's governance objectives include:
- a forward-looking energy policy for the City Of Gainesville and for the publicly owned utility of the City Of Gainesville, Gainesville Regional Utilities (GRU)
- openness and responsiveness to citizens by commissioners, managers and staff members of the City Of Gainesville and the entities of the City
- critical and creative public policy formulation and implementation
Many politically engaged citizens including Mark think the current and recent past city commissions--that includes and that have included the current mayor--have focused on positive matters and have avoided negative matters. Those citizens think that the commissions have also been unresponsive to informed and well framed comments and questions by citizens about critical interests of the City and citizens of the City. Those citizens think that that avoidance of challenging issues and lack of responsiveness to serious concerns has resulted in poor public policies in a number of areas. They think that uncritical and uncreative thought and actions have resulted in:
- a very disadvantageous power purchase agreement for biomass-produced electricity
- an unnecessarily slow deployment of highly advantageous private and public renewable energy systems
- a very deficient remediation of the former Biezers-Cabbot Superfund site
- under-redeveloped, low-quality-of-life neighborhoods
- a degraded street system
- an unsafe and underdeveloped bicycle route system
- deficient, simple, safe and healthy mostly private-sector accommodations and services for homeless persons
The campaign committee, Mark Venzke For Gainesville Mayor, will formally launch the campaign on New Year's Eve at a place and time that the committee will soon announce. The campaign committee will launch the Internet site for the campaign and distribute campaign materials at that event. Even before that launch, the campaign committee welcomes endorsements, offers to display and distribute campaign materials and offers of labor and financial support.
"I welcome the support of all Chocolate Cab fans to help me gain the mayor's office, so I could work to improve the quality of life and vitality of Gainesville," Mark said. "Be registered and be ready to vote in March," Mark continued.
University students, who comprise the bulk of Mark's Chocolate Cab fans, can register to vote in Alachua County and vote for him in March. They may do that in person, by mail or through the Internet by navigating to:
Register To Vote
http://www.votealachua.com/index.php?id=4&spanish=N
Journalists and voters can contact the campaign at:
Mark Venzke For Gainesville Mayor
35 Southeast 5th Avenue
Gainesvillle, Florida 32601-6709
MarkForMayor2013@gmail.com
Robber shot a cab driver in Tampa
December 19, 2012
Mark the Cab Driver, citizen journalist
Tampa, Florida, U. S. A.--A robber shot Tampa cab driver, Annuel Delicieux, early Tuesday morning after he gave the robber all of his money.
Mr. Delicieux is in serious but stable condition with shotgun wounds in a Tampa hospital.
"I ask all Chocolate Cab fans and my brother and sister cab drivers to pray, intention or visualize according to their spiritualities for a quick recovery with minimal disability and disfigurement for Mr. Delicieux and for swift, sure and fitting punishment for his attacker," said Mark the Cab Driver.
You can read further about this senseless crime at:
Cab driver shot during robbery in Tampa, police say
http://www2.tbo.com/news/news/2012/dec/18/2/cab-driver-shot-during-robbery-in-tampa-police-say-ar-585143
December 19, 2012
Mark the Cab Driver, citizen journalist
Tampa, Florida, U. S. A.--A robber shot Tampa cab driver, Annuel Delicieux, early Tuesday morning after he gave the robber all of his money.
Mr. Delicieux is in serious but stable condition with shotgun wounds in a Tampa hospital.
"I ask all Chocolate Cab fans and my brother and sister cab drivers to pray, intention or visualize according to their spiritualities for a quick recovery with minimal disability and disfigurement for Mr. Delicieux and for swift, sure and fitting punishment for his attacker," said Mark the Cab Driver.
You can read further about this senseless crime at:
Cab driver shot during robbery in Tampa, police say
http://www2.tbo.com/news/news/2012/dec/18/2/cab-driver-shot-during-robbery-in-tampa-police-say-ar-585143
Chocolate Cab welcomes the first site visitors from southern Eurasia and the Russian Federation
December 4, 2012
Mark the Cab Driver, citizen journalist
Gainesville, Florida, U. S. A. -- On December 2, a visitor from Krasnodar, Krasnodar, Russian Federation visited the Chocolate Cab Internet site. The following day, a visitor from Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan visited the site. Those were the two eastern-most visitors to date. Welcome, western and southern Eurasian visitors!
Additionally, on December 2, the Chocolate Cab site received a record-tying forty-five visitors.
With those visits, visitors from two of the six continents, North America and Eurasia have visited the site.
"Wait a minute," you may be saying, "are there not seven continents?" Well, that depends on whom you ask. The traditional, Western reckoning of seven continents is based more on convention and cultural bias than on geography or geology. Other reckonings of the number of continents place the number at four, five and six. Based on the general shapes of the land masses and the extents of the underlying, tectonic plates of the earth, the "editorial board" of News From Chocolate Cab places the number at six. See the great article on continents on Wikipedia to decide for yourself the number of continents.
December 4, 2012
Mark the Cab Driver, citizen journalist
Gainesville, Florida, U. S. A. -- On December 2, a visitor from Krasnodar, Krasnodar, Russian Federation visited the Chocolate Cab Internet site. The following day, a visitor from Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan visited the site. Those were the two eastern-most visitors to date. Welcome, western and southern Eurasian visitors!
Additionally, on December 2, the Chocolate Cab site received a record-tying forty-five visitors.
With those visits, visitors from two of the six continents, North America and Eurasia have visited the site.
"Wait a minute," you may be saying, "are there not seven continents?" Well, that depends on whom you ask. The traditional, Western reckoning of seven continents is based more on convention and cultural bias than on geography or geology. Other reckonings of the number of continents place the number at four, five and six. Based on the general shapes of the land masses and the extents of the underlying, tectonic plates of the earth, the "editorial board" of News From Chocolate Cab places the number at six. See the great article on continents on Wikipedia to decide for yourself the number of continents.
errata
December 4, 2012
News From Chocolate Cab mistakenly reported on November 24 that seventy-five visitors visited the Internet site of Chocolate Cab on the United States holiday, Thanksgiving, on November 22, 2012. The actual number of visitors was forty-five--still a record number of site visitors to the recollection of Mark the Cab Driver. He apologizes for the error.
December 4, 2012
News From Chocolate Cab mistakenly reported on November 24 that seventy-five visitors visited the Internet site of Chocolate Cab on the United States holiday, Thanksgiving, on November 22, 2012. The actual number of visitors was forty-five--still a record number of site visitors to the recollection of Mark the Cab Driver. He apologizes for the error.
The Chocolate Cab Internet site got a record number of visits on Thanksgiving!
November 24, 2012
Mark the Cab Driver, citizen journalist
Gainesville, Florida, U. S. A.--The world famous, Chocolate Cab Internet site received a record seventy-five visits on Thanksgiving.
"I am not sure what the previous record was, but I do not think it was close to seventy-five," said Mark the Cab Driver in an exclusive interview for News From Chocolate Cab.
"This record shows the broad and increasing renown of the Chocolate Cab property and the affection with which Chocolate Cab fans hold it. As the Chocolate Cab Internet site
visitors charting globe graphically shows, people from eight countries have visited the site since October 26 of this year."
Mark has noticed a general increase in site traffic since he added the "chocolate news" page. However, he attributes the spike in Thanksgiving visits to his having posted his poem, "Give Thanks," his holiday gift to his Chocolate Cab fans, on the home page two days before Thanksgiving and by his having announced that posting on the Chocolate Cab Facebook page.
Encouraged by the overwhelming response to his poem, Mark is considering writing and posting a Christmas poem for Chocolate Cab fans.
Mark the Cab Driver, citizen journalist
Gainesville, Florida, U. S. A.--The world famous, Chocolate Cab Internet site received a record seventy-five visits on Thanksgiving.
"I am not sure what the previous record was, but I do not think it was close to seventy-five," said Mark the Cab Driver in an exclusive interview for News From Chocolate Cab.
"This record shows the broad and increasing renown of the Chocolate Cab property and the affection with which Chocolate Cab fans hold it. As the Chocolate Cab Internet site
visitors charting globe graphically shows, people from eight countries have visited the site since October 26 of this year."
Mark has noticed a general increase in site traffic since he added the "chocolate news" page. However, he attributes the spike in Thanksgiving visits to his having posted his poem, "Give Thanks," his holiday gift to his Chocolate Cab fans, on the home page two days before Thanksgiving and by his having announced that posting on the Chocolate Cab Facebook page.
Encouraged by the overwhelming response to his poem, Mark is considering writing and posting a Christmas poem for Chocolate Cab fans.
Hershey commits to 100% certified chocolate by 2020
November 23, 2012
Mark the Cab Driver, citizen journalist
Hershey, Pennsylvania, U. S. A.--Hershey, the largest producer of chocolate confections in the United States, announced on October 3, 2012 that it intends to purchase all of the cocoa that it uses from a supply chain that would be certified by independent auditing entities as socially and environmentally responsible. Human rights, environmental, labor and agricultural certifying entities would be involved.
"For one of the heavy hitters in Big Chocolate and the last to adopt responsible social and environmental policies, this is huge," said Mark the Cab Driver. "Smarting from a near public relations disaster during the Superbowl last year and smarting from a genuine public relations disaster in this past April, the company may have decided to kick corporate responsibility into high gear," Mark continued. Mark refers to an eleventh-hour agreement between Big Chocolate and a coalition of labor rights organizations to pull their advertisement that exposed the complicity of Big Chocolate in child labor practices in West Africa just before it was to air during the Superbowl. Mark further refers to the severe criticism that the company received for excluding an HIV-positive young man from the Hershey school in April.
The CSR In the News page (corporate social responsibility) of the corporate responsibility section of the Heshey Internet site lists an impressive array of already adopted and progressive initiatives and goals that the company states that it is aggressively pursuing for increasing corporate responsibility.
Mark the Cab Driver, citizen journalist
Hershey, Pennsylvania, U. S. A.--Hershey, the largest producer of chocolate confections in the United States, announced on October 3, 2012 that it intends to purchase all of the cocoa that it uses from a supply chain that would be certified by independent auditing entities as socially and environmentally responsible. Human rights, environmental, labor and agricultural certifying entities would be involved.
"For one of the heavy hitters in Big Chocolate and the last to adopt responsible social and environmental policies, this is huge," said Mark the Cab Driver. "Smarting from a near public relations disaster during the Superbowl last year and smarting from a genuine public relations disaster in this past April, the company may have decided to kick corporate responsibility into high gear," Mark continued. Mark refers to an eleventh-hour agreement between Big Chocolate and a coalition of labor rights organizations to pull their advertisement that exposed the complicity of Big Chocolate in child labor practices in West Africa just before it was to air during the Superbowl. Mark further refers to the severe criticism that the company received for excluding an HIV-positive young man from the Hershey school in April.
The CSR In the News page (corporate social responsibility) of the corporate responsibility section of the Heshey Internet site lists an impressive array of already adopted and progressive initiatives and goals that the company states that it is aggressively pursuing for increasing corporate responsibility.
Cadbury has developed a heat-tolerant chocolate
November 23, 2012
Mark the Cab Driver, citizen journalist
Uxbridge, London, United Kingdom--Cadbury, the second largest chocolate confection manufacturer in the world, announced that it has developed a heat-tolerant chocolate.
The new chocolate has the same taste and texture as conventional chocolate but melts at 40 degrees celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit)--6.2 degrees celsius (10 degrees Fahrenheit) warmer than conventional chocolate.
Cadbury filed for an international patent on the new chocolate on April 25, 2012. The company produces the new chocolate by double refining the chocolate conch. That process reduces the sizes of the sugar molecules which reduces their interstitial spaces which excludes some of the fat that coats the sugar molecules and creates a more continuous, more solid sugar matrix.
Mark the Cab Driver said, "This new chocolate will reduce the deformation and surface frosting of Chocolate Cab chocolate rewards from the summer, Florida heat. This is a good development except that I shall have fewer chocolates that I shall be forced to eat to keep them from being wasted."
You can read about the new chocolate at:
http://www.confectionerynews.com/Processing-Packaging/Cadbury-develops-temperature-tolerant-chocolate?
Mark the Cab Driver, citizen journalist
Uxbridge, London, United Kingdom--Cadbury, the second largest chocolate confection manufacturer in the world, announced that it has developed a heat-tolerant chocolate.
The new chocolate has the same taste and texture as conventional chocolate but melts at 40 degrees celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit)--6.2 degrees celsius (10 degrees Fahrenheit) warmer than conventional chocolate.
Cadbury filed for an international patent on the new chocolate on April 25, 2012. The company produces the new chocolate by double refining the chocolate conch. That process reduces the sizes of the sugar molecules which reduces their interstitial spaces which excludes some of the fat that coats the sugar molecules and creates a more continuous, more solid sugar matrix.
Mark the Cab Driver said, "This new chocolate will reduce the deformation and surface frosting of Chocolate Cab chocolate rewards from the summer, Florida heat. This is a good development except that I shall have fewer chocolates that I shall be forced to eat to keep them from being wasted."
You can read about the new chocolate at:
http://www.confectionerynews.com/Processing-Packaging/Cadbury-develops-temperature-tolerant-chocolate?
A chocolate train scupture became the largest chocolate structure in the world
November 20, 2012
Mark the Cab Driver, citizen journalist
Brussels, Belgium--A sculpture of a train composed entirely of chocolate now holds the Guinness world record as the longest chocolate structure.
Andrew Faruggia, a chocolate artist from Malta, sculpted the train that is now on display in a Brussels train station. Mr. Faruggia created the train and a playable piano for the Belgian Chocolate festival that is now occurring in Brussels.
Representatives of the Guinness Book Of World Records declared the sculpture a record. Mr. Faruggia used 2,832 pounds of chocolate for the 111-foot-long sculpture.
The highly detailed train that he modeled after antique to modern rolling stock took the artist 784 hours to sculpt.
You can view a video of the train sculpture at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCmdWuZAOz8
Mark the Cab Driver, citizen journalist
Brussels, Belgium--A sculpture of a train composed entirely of chocolate now holds the Guinness world record as the longest chocolate structure.
Andrew Faruggia, a chocolate artist from Malta, sculpted the train that is now on display in a Brussels train station. Mr. Faruggia created the train and a playable piano for the Belgian Chocolate festival that is now occurring in Brussels.
Representatives of the Guinness Book Of World Records declared the sculpture a record. Mr. Faruggia used 2,832 pounds of chocolate for the 111-foot-long sculpture.
The highly detailed train that he modeled after antique to modern rolling stock took the artist 784 hours to sculpt.
You can view a video of the train sculpture at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCmdWuZAOz8
Two new retail chocolate establishments will open in Gainesville
November 20, 2012
Mark the Cab Driver, citizen journalist
Gainesville, Florida, U. S. A.--A new chocolate shop and a new chocolate kiosk will be opening in Gainesville in the coming weeks.
Both establishments will be known as Drenched In Chocolate. The shop, which will be located in Millhopper Shoping Center, will open on about December 7; the kiosk, which will be located in Oaks Mall, will open between November 25 and December 1. The grand opening of the shop will be on December 16.
Kay Owens has been making chocolates for twenty-five years. Her chocolates will sell for between $.99 and $1.50 each.
November 20, 2012
Mark the Cab Driver, citizen journalist
Gainesville, Florida, U. S. A.--A new chocolate shop and a new chocolate kiosk will be opening in Gainesville in the coming weeks.
Both establishments will be known as Drenched In Chocolate. The shop, which will be located in Millhopper Shoping Center, will open on about December 7; the kiosk, which will be located in Oaks Mall, will open between November 25 and December 1. The grand opening of the shop will be on December 16.
Kay Owens has been making chocolates for twenty-five years. Her chocolates will sell for between $.99 and $1.50 each.
A Washington D. C.-area company seeks to become the first to offer all-electric cab service
October 26, 2012
Mark the Cab Driver, citizen journalist
Arlington, Virginia, U. S. A.--A new cab company in the Washington D. C. metropolitan area, The Electric Vehicle Taxicab Company, or EV Taxi, is seeking to become the first all-electric cab company in the United States.
The owner of the company, Malik Khattak, is seeking permission from the Arlington County Commissioners to add forty cabs to those already permitted to operate in the area, so he could start his business. He proposes to offer Internet access in his Nissan Leaf cabs and equip them with iPads in the back seat with which passengers would be able to search for attractions, surf the Internet, watch music videos, listen to music and pay by credit card for their rides.
Mark the Cab Driver stated, "Mister Khattak appears poised to beat me to the punch. I have been seeking to start the first electric cab company in the United States, but Mister Khattak's efforts appear to be more advanced than mine. Still, I intend to start and run an honest, high-quality, mostly-electric cab company here that will become the new home of Chocolate Cab."
Read an article about the proposed electric cab company at:
http://WashingtonExaminer.com/arlington-may-host-first-all-electric-cab-company/article/2511168#.UIrfXmOa-j7
Mark the Cab Driver, citizen journalist
Arlington, Virginia, U. S. A.--A new cab company in the Washington D. C. metropolitan area, The Electric Vehicle Taxicab Company, or EV Taxi, is seeking to become the first all-electric cab company in the United States.
The owner of the company, Malik Khattak, is seeking permission from the Arlington County Commissioners to add forty cabs to those already permitted to operate in the area, so he could start his business. He proposes to offer Internet access in his Nissan Leaf cabs and equip them with iPads in the back seat with which passengers would be able to search for attractions, surf the Internet, watch music videos, listen to music and pay by credit card for their rides.
Mark the Cab Driver stated, "Mister Khattak appears poised to beat me to the punch. I have been seeking to start the first electric cab company in the United States, but Mister Khattak's efforts appear to be more advanced than mine. Still, I intend to start and run an honest, high-quality, mostly-electric cab company here that will become the new home of Chocolate Cab."
Read an article about the proposed electric cab company at:
http://WashingtonExaminer.com/arlington-may-host-first-all-electric-cab-company/article/2511168#.UIrfXmOa-j7
Chemists engineer delicious, low-fat chocolates
October 26, 2012
Mark the Cab Driver, citizen journalist
Coventry, Great Britain--In August of this year, Warwick University chemists announced that they devised a method to replaced half of the fats in chocolate with emulsified fruit sugars. The resulting confections have the same texture as conventional chocolate and have longer shelf lives. The new chocolates assume some of the tastes of the constituent fruit juices, but a completely chocolate-flavored version could be made by substituting water and ascorbic acid for the fruit juice.
Doctor Stephan Bonn, who lead the development of the fat-reducing technique stated, “We’ve found a way to maintain all of those things that make chocolate ‘chocolatey’ but with fruit juice instead of fat."
After chocolate manufacturers adopt the new recipe, chocolate lovers will be able eat twice as much chocolate as they used to eat without increasing their fat intakes.
See an article from the Warwick University Press Office at:
http://www2.Warwick.ac.uk/newsandevents/pressreleases/fruity_science_halves
Mark the Cab Driver, citizen journalist
Coventry, Great Britain--In August of this year, Warwick University chemists announced that they devised a method to replaced half of the fats in chocolate with emulsified fruit sugars. The resulting confections have the same texture as conventional chocolate and have longer shelf lives. The new chocolates assume some of the tastes of the constituent fruit juices, but a completely chocolate-flavored version could be made by substituting water and ascorbic acid for the fruit juice.
Doctor Stephan Bonn, who lead the development of the fat-reducing technique stated, “We’ve found a way to maintain all of those things that make chocolate ‘chocolatey’ but with fruit juice instead of fat."
After chocolate manufacturers adopt the new recipe, chocolate lovers will be able eat twice as much chocolate as they used to eat without increasing their fat intakes.
See an article from the Warwick University Press Office at:
http://www2.Warwick.ac.uk/newsandevents/pressreleases/fruity_science_halves
The Chocolate Cab Internet site now offers continuous news and information about Chocolate
October 26, 2012
Mark the Cab Driver, citizen journalist
Gainesville, Florida, U. S. A.--The Chocolate Cab Internet site now carries a continuously updated feed of news and information about chocolate from around the world. The feed is on the "chocolate news" page of the site. A link to the page appears in the "news" drop down menu.
Mark the Cab Driver, citizen journalist
Gainesville, Florida, U. S. A.--The Chocolate Cab Internet site now carries a continuously updated feed of news and information about chocolate from around the world. The feed is on the "chocolate news" page of the site. A link to the page appears in the "news" drop down menu.
Chocolate boosts numbers of Nobel Prize winners
October 10, 2012
Mark the Cab Driver, citizen journalist
Waltham, Massachusetts, U. S. A.--The New England Journal Of Medicine reported today the results of a study that found a strong correlation between nations' consumption of chocolate and the numbers of Nobel Prizes that citizens of those countries have won.
Published in the "Notes" section of the Journal, the study--though conducted with scientific rigor and reported in scholarly detail--does not carry the weight of peer reviewed studies that appear elsewhere in the publication.
The author of the study, Doctor Franz Messerli, of Saint Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital and of Columbia University in New York postulates that the consumption of chocolate by nations' citizens increases their cognitive functions. Writes Doctor Messerli:
"There was a close, significant linear correlation (r=0.791, P<0.0001) between chocolate consumption per capita and the number of Nobel laureates per 10 million persons in a total of 23 countries...The slope of the regression line allows us to estimate that it would take about 0.4 kg of chocolate per capita per year to increase the number of Nobel laureates in a given country by 1."
Correlation between Countries' Annual Per Capita Chocolate Consumption and the Number of Nobel Laureates per 10 Million Population --
click to enlarge
In response to this study, Mark the Cab Driver stated, "This study and the previous studies cited in it and elsewhere in the scientific literature have built a substantial body of evidence that affirms the cognition-enhancing property of chocolate in humans. Upon resumption of Chocolate Cab info-choco-tainment service, I shall apply my efforts to diligently advancing the frontiers of science by conducting a study comparable to Doctor Messerli's study that will examine the relationship between the intelligence of passengers of Chocolate Cab and the intelligence of passengers of other, non-chocolate-dispensing cabs. Such research is essential in the scientific method to determine whether the observed phenomena reported by Dr. Messerli and other researchers can be confirmed by yet another researcher. If the results of my study will parallel the results of other researchers, I will have confirmed what I have previously hypothesized based on anecdotal evidence: Chocolate Cab passengers are the smartest cab passengers in Gainesville, Florida. Upon completion of my research, I, too, shall submit my study to the New England Journal Of Medicine."
Doctor Messerli's article in the Journal appears here:
http://www.NEJM.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMon1211064
Doctor Messerli's article in the Journal appears here:
http://www.NEJM.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMon1211064
Mark is seen pitching a business concept for an Internet-based collaboration and advocacy tool on the first night of Gainesville Startup Weekend.
Mark and fellow team members earned third place in a local business-forming event
Monday, October 1, 2012
Mark the Cab Driver, citizen journalist
Gainesville, Florida, U. S. A.--Mark joined the Silicon Sandbar innovation community during a recent business-forming event in downtown Gainesville at which he and fellow team members tied for third place for their promising, new business. Over the weekend of September 28 to 30, the first Gainesville Startup Weekend occurred in various spaces in Sun Center East and in the Hippodrome Theater in downtown Gainesville.
The multi-discipline team on which Mark worked formed a new company called Nurses Report. The company will maintain an Internet site of the same name on which nurses--those who best know and can best describe physicians and their work--will provide anonymous and authenticated reviews of physicians. Mark co-developed the marketing plan for the business and performed administrative functions.
The Nurses Report team tied for third place so won a variety of prizes.
For additional information about the event, see the article about it in the "NEWS" section in the middle column of the home page of Mark's former political campaign Internet site here.
Monday, October 1, 2012
Mark the Cab Driver, citizen journalist
Gainesville, Florida, U. S. A.--Mark joined the Silicon Sandbar innovation community during a recent business-forming event in downtown Gainesville at which he and fellow team members tied for third place for their promising, new business. Over the weekend of September 28 to 30, the first Gainesville Startup Weekend occurred in various spaces in Sun Center East and in the Hippodrome Theater in downtown Gainesville.
The multi-discipline team on which Mark worked formed a new company called Nurses Report. The company will maintain an Internet site of the same name on which nurses--those who best know and can best describe physicians and their work--will provide anonymous and authenticated reviews of physicians. Mark co-developed the marketing plan for the business and performed administrative functions.
The Nurses Report team tied for third place so won a variety of prizes.
For additional information about the event, see the article about it in the "NEWS" section in the middle column of the home page of Mark's former political campaign Internet site here.
Nationwide, Labor Day- holiday, impaired-driving campaign seeks to reduce fatalities and injuries
Thursday, August 16, 2012
Mark the Cab Driver, citizen journalist
Washington D. C., U. S. A. -- The National Traffic Highway Safety Administration is leading a nation-wide campaign that starts tomorrow, August 17 and ends on September 3 to reduce fatalities, injuries and property damage that impaired drivers cause throughout the Labor Day holiday. All state law enforcement agencies and most local law enforcement agencies are participating in intensified efforts to identify and to remove from public roads impaired drivers.
Realize that over the Labor Day weekend of 2010, thirty-six percent of traffic deaths--147 deaths--involved impaired drivers.
Throughout this 2012 Labor Day holiday and always, do not take a chance. Do not be afraid to avoid intoxicants. If you use them, use only legal ones. If you think that you might become impaired, make advance arrangements.
Mark the Cab Driver, citizen journalist
Washington D. C., U. S. A. -- The National Traffic Highway Safety Administration is leading a nation-wide campaign that starts tomorrow, August 17 and ends on September 3 to reduce fatalities, injuries and property damage that impaired drivers cause throughout the Labor Day holiday. All state law enforcement agencies and most local law enforcement agencies are participating in intensified efforts to identify and to remove from public roads impaired drivers.
Realize that over the Labor Day weekend of 2010, thirty-six percent of traffic deaths--147 deaths--involved impaired drivers.
Throughout this 2012 Labor Day holiday and always, do not take a chance. Do not be afraid to avoid intoxicants. If you use them, use only legal ones. If you think that you might become impaired, make advance arrangements.
- Utilize a "DD," a designated driver.
- Stay the night at the event site.
- Sleep in your vehicle.
- Call a friend or family member.
- Ride public transit.
- Walk
- Call a cab.
Listen to the hot, new single, "Call Me a Cab!"
Thursday, August 2, 2012
Mark the Cab Driver, citizen journalist
Dig this, Chocolate Cab fan:
Sara G, former Miss World Canada and emerging recording artist, has a message for you and your partying friends. Listen to her thirty-second public service announcement for Mothers Against Drunk Driving by clicking here.
If you like the "vibe" of her public service announcement, download her entire song, "Call Me A Cab" from iTunes for $.99 and her label will donate $.29 to Mothers Against Drunk Driving!
"Call Me A Cab"
http://itunes.apple.com/album/call-me-a-cab-single/id490142705
Ask your favorite club or bar to play the full song shortly before closing time! Ask the hosts of parties to play the song shortly before the ends of those events!
Play the PSA on your station, channel, Internet site, social networking page or blog and include the link for the full song download! You can find additional PSA versions at: http://www.madd.org/blog/2012/july/recording-artist-sara-g.html.
Chocolate Cab has a new telephone number
Saturday, July 21, 2012
Mark Venzke, citizen journalist
As reflected throughout this site, the new telephone number for Chocolate Cab is 352-575-5258.
Mark regrets having to have gotten an new telephone number, but it was necessary to get a substantially lower monthly cell phone service charge.
Saturday, July 21, 2012
Mark Venzke, citizen journalist
As reflected throughout this site, the new telephone number for Chocolate Cab is 352-575-5258.
Mark regrets having to have gotten an new telephone number, but it was necessary to get a substantially lower monthly cell phone service charge.
ChargePoint Network offers access to electric vehicle charging stations
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Mark the Cab Driver, citizen journalist
ChargePoint Network is the largest network of independently owned and multi-manufacturer electric vehicle charging stations in the world.
Electric vehicle owners can download and install to their smart devices and computers the mobile application of ChargePoint. That application allows users to:
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Mark the Cab Driver, citizen journalist
ChargePoint Network is the largest network of independently owned and multi-manufacturer electric vehicle charging stations in the world.
Electric vehicle owners can download and install to their smart devices and computers the mobile application of ChargePoint. That application allows users to:
- locate charging stations by geographic and electricity price search terms
- map trips by routes that allow access to charging stations (How cool is that?!)
- reserve charging sessions at charging stations
- get directions to charging stations
- monitor charging progress
- receive notices of interruptions to charging sessions
- receive notices of completion of charging sessions
- pay for electricity by ChargePoint card or any debit or credit card
- track the consumption of electricity by vehicles and manage billing for charging sessions
This information technology has earned many prestigious awards including on June 20, 2012 inclusion in the Sustainia100 list of innovative, scaleable, ready and available sustainabilty solutions promelgated by the Rio+20 Earth Summit. Said former (Republican) California governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Honorary Chair of Sustainia, "...we have what it takes to create fun and attractive societies without destroying our planet."
To learn about the ChargePoint Network here:
www.ChargePoint.net
If you are an electric or hybrid vehicle owner or expect to be one, download and install the mobile application today.
You can download the ChargePoint mobile application here:
www.ChargePoint.net/mobile-apps.php
Remember: The installation of vehicle charging stations will drive the sales of electric and hybrid vehicles just as the sales of those vehicles will drive the installation of charging stations. Also, increasing sales of electric and hybrid vehicles will drive down prices of them.
Encourage your apartment owner, your employer, your area businesses, your area parking facility owners, your area shopping center owners, your civic leaders, your church leaders and others to install electric vehicle charging stations. Here, in the southeast United States, direct them to NovaCharge, our regional distributor for Coulomb Technologies electric vehicle charging stations at:
www.NovaCharge.net
Let us move quickly to clean, economical and responsible energy and transportation technologies!
To learn about the ChargePoint Network here:
www.ChargePoint.net
If you are an electric or hybrid vehicle owner or expect to be one, download and install the mobile application today.
You can download the ChargePoint mobile application here:
www.ChargePoint.net/mobile-apps.php
Remember: The installation of vehicle charging stations will drive the sales of electric and hybrid vehicles just as the sales of those vehicles will drive the installation of charging stations. Also, increasing sales of electric and hybrid vehicles will drive down prices of them.
Encourage your apartment owner, your employer, your area businesses, your area parking facility owners, your area shopping center owners, your civic leaders, your church leaders and others to install electric vehicle charging stations. Here, in the southeast United States, direct them to NovaCharge, our regional distributor for Coulomb Technologies electric vehicle charging stations at:
www.NovaCharge.net
Let us move quickly to clean, economical and responsible energy and transportation technologies!
Parents sell their drunk-driving daughter's BMW
Monday, May 28, 2012
Mark the Cab Driver, citizen journalist
"Springfield," U. S. A. -- The parents of a minor girl cited for DUI are selling her pristine BMW on Craig's List to pay for her legal bills.
The parents are quite disparaging of their daughter and vow to use some of the money raised from the sale of the car to "...buy her a shiny pink bicycle with a horn until she gets her act and her life in order...."
The advertisement appears in the "best-of-craigslist" section that shows an often-updated collection of humorous and bizarre advertisements. You can read the entire advertisement at:
http://www.craigslist.org/about/best/sgf/3034986061.html
Monday, May 28, 2012
Mark the Cab Driver, citizen journalist
"Springfield," U. S. A. -- The parents of a minor girl cited for DUI are selling her pristine BMW on Craig's List to pay for her legal bills.
The parents are quite disparaging of their daughter and vow to use some of the money raised from the sale of the car to "...buy her a shiny pink bicycle with a horn until she gets her act and her life in order...."
The advertisement appears in the "best-of-craigslist" section that shows an often-updated collection of humorous and bizarre advertisements. You can read the entire advertisement at:
http://www.craigslist.org/about/best/sgf/3034986061.html
Chocolate Cab gets a new telephone number
Monday, May 14, 2012
Mark the Cab Driver, citizen journalist
Gainesville, Florida, U. S. A. -- Chocolate Cab got a new telephone number today. The new telephone number is:
352-575-6184
Please change the telephone number in any directory or directories in which you have it listed or add the number to any directory or directories in which you would like to find it in the future.
Monday, May 14, 2012
Mark the Cab Driver, citizen journalist
Gainesville, Florida, U. S. A. -- Chocolate Cab got a new telephone number today. The new telephone number is:
352-575-6184
Please change the telephone number in any directory or directories in which you have it listed or add the number to any directory or directories in which you would like to find it in the future.
Chocolate scarcity is possible by 2020
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Mark the Cab Driver, citizen journalist
Gainesville, FL, U. S. A. -- Scientific American reported today that soaring world-wide demand for cocoa products and emerging problems in cocao tree cultivation are threatening a shortage in cocoa products.
Increasing prosperity in developing parts of the world is providing increasing numbers of people with the disposable income to purchase chocolate products. Additionally, the caprices of climate change have upset growing conditions in the narrow, equatorial band in which the temperamental cocao trees grow.
The online version of the February issue of Scientific American has only a summary of the article. However, an article in the Los Angeles Times provides a few details from the full, original article that do not appear in the online Scientific American summary.
The reader comments below the summary and the article are worth reading, especially the comments below the summary entitled "The Dark Side of Chocolate." Note that after years of the unfulfilled promises of Big Chocolate to eliminate oppressive child labor from the supply chains of the member companies, Hersheys disgorged $10 billion to combat the practice shortly after a CNN documentary about it and just before an advocacy organization was to run an advertisement about the practice during the 2012 Superbowl. Big of Hersheys to do that, would not you say?
Save the chocolate bars! Reduce your contributions to climate change!
Save the children! Buy fair-trade chocolate!
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Mark the Cab Driver, citizen journalist
Gainesville, FL, U. S. A. -- Scientific American reported today that soaring world-wide demand for cocoa products and emerging problems in cocao tree cultivation are threatening a shortage in cocoa products.
Increasing prosperity in developing parts of the world is providing increasing numbers of people with the disposable income to purchase chocolate products. Additionally, the caprices of climate change have upset growing conditions in the narrow, equatorial band in which the temperamental cocao trees grow.
The online version of the February issue of Scientific American has only a summary of the article. However, an article in the Los Angeles Times provides a few details from the full, original article that do not appear in the online Scientific American summary.
The reader comments below the summary and the article are worth reading, especially the comments below the summary entitled "The Dark Side of Chocolate." Note that after years of the unfulfilled promises of Big Chocolate to eliminate oppressive child labor from the supply chains of the member companies, Hersheys disgorged $10 billion to combat the practice shortly after a CNN documentary about it and just before an advocacy organization was to run an advertisement about the practice during the 2012 Superbowl. Big of Hersheys to do that, would not you say?
Save the chocolate bars! Reduce your contributions to climate change!
Save the children! Buy fair-trade chocolate!
App tests sobriety
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Mark the Cab Driver, citizen journalist
Gainesville, FL, U. S. A. -- A new application for I-phones, Breathaleyes, allows users to determine an approximation of their blood alcohol concentration (BAC). The application uses the integral cameras of I-phones to capture and analyze the amount of involuntary, horizontal eye movements, or horizontal gaze nystagmus (HGN), that increases with increased levels of blood alcohol.
The effective range of the application is 0.02% - 0.17% (+/- .02%) BAC. To reduce legal liability exposure for the company, the application is programed to always indicate a blood alcohol level of more than .00--even when the subject has ingested no alcohol. Reviews on the Breathaleyes page of the I-phone application Internet site of the application have been poor, indicating that immediately successive readings of the same subject have varied widely.
The application costs $US .99 and is available on the Breathaleyes page of the I-phone application Internet site.
The publisher, Breathaleyes, issued the second release of the application on January 25, 2012. An application for android smart phones is forthcoming.
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Mark the Cab Driver, citizen journalist
Gainesville, FL, U. S. A. -- A new application for I-phones, Breathaleyes, allows users to determine an approximation of their blood alcohol concentration (BAC). The application uses the integral cameras of I-phones to capture and analyze the amount of involuntary, horizontal eye movements, or horizontal gaze nystagmus (HGN), that increases with increased levels of blood alcohol.
The effective range of the application is 0.02% - 0.17% (+/- .02%) BAC. To reduce legal liability exposure for the company, the application is programed to always indicate a blood alcohol level of more than .00--even when the subject has ingested no alcohol. Reviews on the Breathaleyes page of the I-phone application Internet site of the application have been poor, indicating that immediately successive readings of the same subject have varied widely.
The application costs $US .99 and is available on the Breathaleyes page of the I-phone application Internet site.
The publisher, Breathaleyes, issued the second release of the application on January 25, 2012. An application for android smart phones is forthcoming.
Group promotes sober tailgating
Friday, September 30, 2011, 1240
Jenna Bittner, Alligator Contributing Writer
Gainesville, Florida, U. S. A. -- UF Ambassadors of Civility and Ethics is changing your typical Saturday gameday routine.
As an effort to provide gameday attendees with a new method for tailgating, the Ambassadors will be hosting its first "Alternative Tailgating" event, with free food and games, on the Plaza of the Americas on Saturday at 11 a.m.
According to Aldreka Everett, marketing chairwoman of the UF Ambassadors of Civility and Ethics, people who attend gameday festivities tend to get out of control while under the influence. The ambassadors hope to provide a sober environment for people to see a different side of tailgating.
"We believe that the practice of tailgating can be just as enjoyable and fun for everyone without alcohol consumption," Everett said.
The UF Ambassadors of Civility and Ethics is a student-based organization that provides the Student Body with information from the Dean of Students Office regarding the conduct code and their rights as students, Everett said.
Laura Matthews, assistant director of student conduct and conflict
resolution, says every once in a while a student is found in violation of school
conduct on gameday. This event will hopefully provide a positive tailgating
atmosphere and show students what proper gameday conduct should entail.
For the rest of the story, see
the article, "Group promotes sober tailgating," in the online edition of the Independent Florida Alligator.
Friday, September 30, 2011, 1240
Jenna Bittner, Alligator Contributing Writer
Gainesville, Florida, U. S. A. -- UF Ambassadors of Civility and Ethics is changing your typical Saturday gameday routine.
As an effort to provide gameday attendees with a new method for tailgating, the Ambassadors will be hosting its first "Alternative Tailgating" event, with free food and games, on the Plaza of the Americas on Saturday at 11 a.m.
According to Aldreka Everett, marketing chairwoman of the UF Ambassadors of Civility and Ethics, people who attend gameday festivities tend to get out of control while under the influence. The ambassadors hope to provide a sober environment for people to see a different side of tailgating.
"We believe that the practice of tailgating can be just as enjoyable and fun for everyone without alcohol consumption," Everett said.
The UF Ambassadors of Civility and Ethics is a student-based organization that provides the Student Body with information from the Dean of Students Office regarding the conduct code and their rights as students, Everett said.
Laura Matthews, assistant director of student conduct and conflict
resolution, says every once in a while a student is found in violation of school
conduct on gameday. This event will hopefully provide a positive tailgating
atmosphere and show students what proper gameday conduct should entail.
For the rest of the story, see
the article, "Group promotes sober tailgating," in the online edition of the Independent Florida Alligator.
Chocolate Cab debuts on YouTube
Tuesday September 13, 2011, 18:04
Mark the Cab Driver, citizen journalist
Gainesville, Florida, U. S. A. -- In an unplanned, very informal exhibition of Chocolate Cab Quiz, Mark the Cab Driver gave Rob Castellucci, the co-founder of the Internet abode-mate-finding Internet site, RoomSync, and his staff a taste of the quiz game in their office on this past Friday night.
RoomSync enables people find compatible abode mates by using information about them that they post on the social networking site, Facebook. RoomSync is one of several "dot coms" (that includes ChocolateCab.com!) that now populate what is fast becoming the Silicon Valley of the eastern United States, Gainesville, Florida. Well, alright, the Silicon Valley of Florida. The office of RoomSync is located in the Sun Center in downtown Gainesville (less than three blocks north of the intergalactic headquarters of Chocolate Cab).
Unknown to Mark, Nik Kundra, the brother of Anjali Kundra, Vice President of Client Relations for RoomSync, shot a video of the exhibition from Mark's right flank. Nik then uploaded the video to YouTube.
"It was an out-of-cab experience. Very transcendent, enlightening and transformative," said Mark after the exhibition. "Actually, it was just a fun extra-cab spin through Chocolate Cab Quiz," he continued.
You can use the following link to navigate to the video:
Chocolate Cab trivia at RoomSync http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7kwg8fKNlg
Tuesday September 13, 2011, 18:04
Mark the Cab Driver, citizen journalist
Gainesville, Florida, U. S. A. -- In an unplanned, very informal exhibition of Chocolate Cab Quiz, Mark the Cab Driver gave Rob Castellucci, the co-founder of the Internet abode-mate-finding Internet site, RoomSync, and his staff a taste of the quiz game in their office on this past Friday night.
RoomSync enables people find compatible abode mates by using information about them that they post on the social networking site, Facebook. RoomSync is one of several "dot coms" (that includes ChocolateCab.com!) that now populate what is fast becoming the Silicon Valley of the eastern United States, Gainesville, Florida. Well, alright, the Silicon Valley of Florida. The office of RoomSync is located in the Sun Center in downtown Gainesville (less than three blocks north of the intergalactic headquarters of Chocolate Cab).
Unknown to Mark, Nik Kundra, the brother of Anjali Kundra, Vice President of Client Relations for RoomSync, shot a video of the exhibition from Mark's right flank. Nik then uploaded the video to YouTube.
"It was an out-of-cab experience. Very transcendent, enlightening and transformative," said Mark after the exhibition. "Actually, it was just a fun extra-cab spin through Chocolate Cab Quiz," he continued.
You can use the following link to navigate to the video:
Chocolate Cab trivia at RoomSync http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7kwg8fKNlg
FIRED!
Saturday August 13, 2011, 22:18
Mark the Cab Driver, citizen journalist
Gainesville, Florida, U. S. A. – On Friday, July 1, 2011, Teodoro Neira, the owner of Gator Cab Company fired Mark the Cab Driver because he refused to drive a cab that was equipped with a meter that was over-charging passengers. The following day, Mr. Neira fired Mark's colleague, Roger, for the same reason. Three weeks before those firings, Kevin, one of Mark and Roger's colleagues quit working for Gator Taxicab Company because of many grievances including the grievance of having to drive the cab that was equipped with the overcharging meter.
In addition to mis-assessing cab fares, the defective meter, #142553, had no state-required seal or state-required inspection sticker from the Florida Bureau Of Weights and Measures.
Because of the firing, Chocolate Cab service has been suspended for the past six weeks. "I appreciate all of the calls from Chocolate Cab fans that I have received over the past six weeks. To be unable to provide rides for my customers has been very frustrating. I have been telling them to call me again soon as I have been hoping to find another cab company for which to drive or a venture capitalist to finance the starting of a new, high-quality cab service," Mark said. "I have also appreciated their expressions of support upon hearing the reason for the suspension of Chocolate Cab service," Mark offered.
In the course of the telephone conversation in which Mr. Neira fired Mark, Mr. Neira told Mark, "There is nothing wrong with the meter," "The government minister [the inspector for the Bureau Of Weights and Measures] told me that he would check it [the meter] [at the usual time] in October." After Mark stated that he and the other drivers noted that the meter had been assessing $1.50 per minute while standing instead of $.50 per minute as the lettering on the exterior of the cab and as the text on the rate card inside the cab stated, Mr. Neira angrily told Mark, "You don't know anything about anything!"
Mark said, "This is very unfortunate for me, for Gator Cab Company and for the cab riding public. I lost work, Gator Cab company, in the course of three weeks, lost three of the best drivers in Gainesville and the cab riding public was being over-charged. In fact, as late as four days ago, cab thirty-three, the one that I had driven and that had the defective meter, was still on the road with an un-stickered meter--probably the same one that was in it when I last drove it!" Additionally, according to Chris, one of Mark, Roger and Kevin's colleagues, who himself quit working for Gator Cab about two weeks ago for a long history of serious problems, told Mark yesterday days ago that when he quit, the meter in cab thirty-three still had no state-required seal.
"With all of the justified criticism that University Of Florida students have leveled against some cab drivers and some cab company owners, with all of the investigative reporting of cab industry abuses that have appeared in local newspapers and with all of the scrutiny to which the industry has been subject by the University Of Florida student government, the Gainesville City Commission and the University Of Florida police department, I still find hard to believe that a cab company owner would engage in blatant fraud and fire drivers who refused to participate in that fraud," Mark said.
To reduce the likelihood that a driver would overcharge a person, Mark recommends that he or she never board a cab that has a meter that lacks a seal or current certification sticker from the Florida Department Of Weights and Measures on it. The state meter inspector adheres the sticker to the front and top of the meter, so people can see the sticker by looking through the windshield of the cab before boarding it. The seal is a loop of thin, steel cable that a compressed ball of lead permanently closes. The loop of the seal passes through holes in tabs on the meter and the meter mounting base. The seal makes impossible replacement of the meter--with a possibly over-charging one--between inspections without cutting seal.
Until Chocolate Cab resumes service, Mark recommends that the cab riding public call the following drivers for cab rides:
DAYS
- Barry Gatorland Cab Company 352-359-7142
- Ellen Gainesville Cab Company 352-222-8294
- Lynette Gainesville Cab Company 352-514-5084
- anyone Safety Cab Company 352-372-1444
NIGHTS
- James Gainesville Cab Company 352-792-2526
- Vito Gainesville Cab Company 352-538-3982
- Pete Gainesville Cab Company 352-278-8294
- anyone Safety Cab Company 352-372-1444
Mark asks Chocolate Cab fans to be patient and watch for e-mail news dispatches and stories in the News From Chocolate Cab section of the Chocolate Cab Internet site for announcements about resumption of service. He also asks Chocolate Cab fans to inform him of any reliable minivan that he could rent to own and could convert into a cab.
Mark the Cab Driver offers rewards for information that would lead to the arrest and conviction of his attacker
Thursday, 2011, July 21, 3:31 p.m.
Mark the Cab Driver, citizen journalist
Gainesville, Florida, U. S. A.--- Mark the Cab Driver announced today that he will pay thirty dollars U. S. and two pounds of chocolate to anyone who provides to him information that leads to the arrest and conviction of a man who attacked Mark on Wednesday, June 29, 2011 at Saint Francis House social service center in Gainesville, Florida.
Details about that attack are available in the news dispatch immediately previous to this one that is archived in the "News From Chocolate Cab" section of the Chocolate Cab Internet site.
Mark's attacker is a medium-light-complected black man. He is about forty-two years old. He is of slightly thinner-than-average build. He is 5'-9” tall and weighs 165 pounds. He has 1 1/2” long hair that is typically discheveled. He has a full, untrimmed beard that is 1/2” long. He has no hair on his upper cheeks, so his beard covers his intermediate and lower cheeks and his neck.
At the time of the attack, he wore a white T-shirt, khaki-colored long pants and black athletic shoes.
One week almost to the hour after the attack, Mark's attacker briefly visited Saint Francis House. Mark sighted him two blocks east of Saint Francis House. At the time of that sighting, Mark's attacker was wearing a red, sleeveless basketball jersey that had black trim on the shoulders and on the sides from the sleeves to the waist. He wore black, knee-length basketball shorts and black athletic shoes with red shoe laces.
See the photo images of the attacker in the attachments to this e-mail dispatch. Mark took the first photo image on the morning of the attack. Mark took the second image from the stopped video from the surveillance system of Saint Francis House. The video was from one week after the attack.
Two people have stated that his first name is Gregory. One person said that he frequents the Porter neighborhood of Gainesville where he has been seen smoking crack cocaine. One person said that he sent a threatening letter to a Saint Francis House staff member in the wake of the attack. Because he appears rather fit and occasionally wears basketball attire, he may play basketball at local, public basketball courts. Because he punched Mark unusually hard for a man of his stature, he may have been a member of a boxing club.
Persons with information about Mark's attacker can find contact Mark at 352-575-5823 or at ChocolateCab@yahoo.com.
"If it bleeds, it leads."
Man attacked and injured Mark the Cab Driver while off duty
Police and Mark are seeking the attacker
Wednesday, July 20, 2011, 15:27
Mark the Cab Driver, citizen journalist
Gainesville, Florida, U. S. A.--On Wednesday, June 29 at 11:30 a.m., a man struck Mark the Cab Driver once with an elbow and repeatedly with his fists and fled the scene of the attack. Mark sustained numerous bruises and a cut under his left eye that required surgical adhesive to close. A physical examination and readings of diagnostic images by staff members in the emergency room of North Florida Regional Medical Center found no broken bones or internal bleeding.
For the rest of the story, see the "News From Chocolate Cab" section.
