Florida Looks Like a No-Phish Zone
Barring a change of heart by Okeechobee County Sheriff Ed Miller,
Phish will be looking for another place to stage their planned
multi-day millennial concert at the end of the year.| Last Thursday
(June 10), County Commissioner George Long submitted a statement to
the Commission recommending that they deny the request for a permit
based on what he felt was a growing “atmosphere of fear within
[the] community” that had the potential “to present a far more
serious threat to the health, welfare and safety of [the] citizens
than the event itself.”
Long’s report noted that Miller had repeatedly expressed concerns
over security for the event, “including terrorist acts such as bomb
and anthrax threats” but failed to note the fundraising campaigns
that often accompany Phish events or the fans’ “relatively tame”
reputation. According to news reports, the sheriff was also
concerned about drug use in the zero-tolerance region and strain on
the department from Y2K problems. Just two weeks ago, the Board had
voted unanimously in favor of a permit for the five-day fest,
tentatively scheduled from Dec. 29-Jan. 2 at Kirton Ranch twenty
miles outside of Okeechobee. At press time, Miller had not returned
phone calls placed to his office.
All hope is not lost, however. Promoter David Werlin, president of
Great Northeast Productions in Boston, explained to Palm Beach
Post reporter Thomas Collins that “these developments have
heightened interest in finding another site.” One possibility is
the Brighton Indian Reservation at Glades County, twenty miles
southwest of Kirton.
This is not the first time Phish have been thwarted in their search
for the perfect New Year’s jam spot: Earlier plans had called for
the event to be staged in Hawaii, but that fell through due to
permit problems and concerns over the distance fans would have to
travel.