Watchdog Report Vol. 11 No. 1 May 9, 2010 – Celebrating my 11th Anniversary May 5th
CONTENTS
Argus Report: U.S. Atty. Ferrer takes the helm of the FL southern district; shake-up is expected in one of nation’s largest federal prosecution organizations
Florida: Gov. Crist goes it alone, Meek gets billionaire, and Bush comes out for Rubio in senate race
Miami-Dade County: Commissioner Heyman cites “exceptional” medical care at UM/Jackson after accident overseas
Broward County: Pembroke Pines Commissioner Castillo opens can of worms statewide with ethics question ruling
Palm Beach County: Stecker is tapped as new county IG, but does she get clean slate?
Alachua County: Gov. Crist Appoints Robert K. Groeb and David P. Kreider to Alachua County Court
Monroe County: Keys brace and pray gulf oil will not invade pristine ecology
Miami-Dade Public Schools: Issue of Friends of WLRN governance and reporting authority back in front of audit committee Tuesday
Public Health Trust: County Mayor Alvarez wants “hammer” when it comes to PHT management, many ideas on how to proceed, but are any of them the right course?
City of Miami: Commissioner Sarnoff not concerned with threats of lawsuits, continues to promote economic benefit of sailing industry
City of Miami Beach: Does Commissioner Libbin have two jobs and two masters, or just best interest in city?
City of South Miami: Mgr. Carlton out, Witt takes interim job, third manager in less than a year
Editorials: Cool and creative minds needed when crafting solution on PHT financial survival – Two past WDR editorials from Oct. 2003
Letters: Reader on the Watchdog Report’s 11th Anniversary May 5th and my health
Sponsors – Publisher’s mission statement & Subscription information is at the bottom of this issue
>>> Just because you do not take an interest in politics does not mean politics will not take an interest in you. –Pericles (430 B.C.)
>>> The Watchdog Report publisher would like to thank the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation www.knightfoundation.org for funding the University of Miami’s Knight Center of International Media http://knight.miami.edu within the University’s School of Communication www.miami.edu assistance to rebuild my web site www.watchdogreport.net that is now on line again, since the previous one was shut down in July 2008. Past reports will continue to go on line in the future, potentially as far back as May 2000. This institutional support is a major break through for me, and I am deeply appreciative of the help these two substantial international institutions have given me at a time the site was an unbudgeted expense and to keep the Watchdog Report a community education resource, while also being a decade old news service.
>>> I was on Topical Currents on WLRN/NPR 91.3 FM, May 5 along with Beth Reinhard of The Miami Herald, James Call with NPR in Tallahassee along with show host Joseph Cooper discussing the legislative session and politics in general and it also was the 11th anniversary of the Watchdog Report. To listen to the show go to: http://204.13.1.19:81/ .
>>> If you think it is important to have someone watching your public institutions consider becoming a supporter or sponsor. For there is no trust fund and I do have to live. A convenient form is at the bottom of this week’s Watchdog Report with all the instructions on how to support this decade old newsletter and news service soon to start its 11th anniversary on May 5.
ARGUS REPORT – Heard, Seen on the Street
>>> U.S. Atty. Ferrer takes the helm of the southern district; shake-up is expected in one of nation’s largest federal prosecution organizations
The U.S. Senate confirmed Wilfredo “Willy” Ferrer and he was sworn–in locally as the new U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida and the former federal prosecutor and assistant Miami-Dade County Attorney is expected to shake the office up. Ferrer, worked in the Justice Department under Janet Reno during the Bill Clinton administration, attended the University of Miami, and got his law degree from the University of Pennsylvania. Ferrer, 43 is married with two children and federal appellate Judge Marcus Stanley swore him into the office, also a former U.S. attorney who Ferrer had worked with as a law clerk previously says www.miamiherald.com . Ferre, who has a calm demeanor while on the county commission dais, giving legal advice to a county commission committee is widely respected and there are 290 federal prosecutors in one of the nation’s largest districts stretching from Key West to Fort Pierce that also includes dealing with federal issues in the Caribbean, and Central and South America. The local FBI office is said to have 460 special agents assigned to the southern district and rooting out public corruption has been a long standing tradition beefed-up during when Tom Scott and Guy Lewis were the then top federal prosecutors here in south Florida in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
>>> How did I know Ferrer would be the next U.S. attorney since early 2009?
Since the election of President Barack Obama and his swearing-in Jan. 20 2009 the Watchdog Report has been reporting that Ferrer would be the next U.S. attorney and many people asked how I knew this, but I just knew and is one of the advantages of doing this for 11-years as a newsletter and another roughly three-years watching and checking up on local government in action. Over the past 11-years, I have made predictions dozens of times and my loss record is under five times where I predicted something and then was wrong.
>>> White House Press release: The Ongoing Administration-Wide Response to the Deepwater BP Oil Spill
Report oiled shoreline or request volunteer information: (866)-448-5816 –Submit alternative response technology, services or products: (281) 366-5511 — Submit your vessel as a vessel of opportunity skimming system: (281) 366-5511 –Submit a claim for damages: (800) 440-0858 –Report oiled wildlife: (866) 557-1401 >>> Deepwater Horizon Incident Joint Information Center -Phone: (985) 902-5231 — (985) 902-5240 -Deploying and Activating the Coffer Dam –The Unified Area Command is carefully tracking the complicated procedure to assemble a subsea capture system that would entail pumping leaking oil up to a vessel on the surface.
Offshore Drilling Permit Applications Halted -Secretary Salazar announced that, as a result of the Deepwater Horizon explosion and spill, beginning April 20—the date of the explosion—no applications for drilling permits will go forward for any new offshore drilling activity until the Department of the Interior completes the safety review process that President Obama requested. In accordance with the President’s request, the Department will deliver its report to the President by May 28. The only exceptions to the new rule regarding permit approvals are the two relief wells that are being drilled in response to the Deepwater Horizon disaster.
Expanded Fishing Restriction -NOAA has modified and expanded the boundaries of the closed fishing area to better reflect the current location of the oil spill, and is extending the fishing restriction until May 17. The closed area now represents slightly less than 4.5 percent of Gulf of Mexico federal waters. The original closure boundaries, which took effect last Sunday, encompassed less than three percent. This leaves many areas that are still available for fishing. The vast majority of Gulf waters has not been affected by the oil spill and continues to support productive fisheries and tourism activities. NOAA Administrator Jane Lubchenco and her staff will continue to meet with fishermen in the oil-affected area to listen to their concerns and share with them what NOAA scientists have learned so far about how the oil might be affecting their potential seafood catch.
Fish & Wildlife Monitoring –More than 160 Fish & Wildlife Service personnel are involved in the oil spill response in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and the west coast of Florida. Shoreline Cleanup Assessment Teams (SCAT) continue to assess and determine how cleanup will be conducted, and oversee cleanup operations. FWS personnel continue to conduct overflights of the Chandeleur Islands today to monitor the status of the brown pelican colonies. FWS closed the Breton National Wildlife Refuge to public entry. The refuge closure is important to keep the public safe, to minimize disturbance to nesting colonial sea birds, and to allow personnel conducting cleanup operations and recovery efforts to work safely and efficiently. Emergency Food Support –USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) met with Louisiana food bank directors to discuss potential need for USDA food support and to assess inventory that might be available for distribution to affected areas. FNS was informed that BP has made a $100,000 contribution to assist with local emergency food needs. FNS discussed income eligibility of potential Louisiana women, infants and children affected by the oil spill with the State of Louisiana.
>>> Press release: Zogby Interactive: 19% Say Their Votes Would Be Impacted by Economic Improvement; 67% of Those More Likely to Vote Democrat
But Among All Voters, Even With A Better Economy, Party Support Split
A Zogby Interactive survey that examines likely voter attitudes about the economy and how it will affect the election in November finds nearly one-half are encouraged by recent economic indicators. About a fifth say an improved economy would impact their vote, with two-thirds saying a better economy would make them more likely to vote for Democrats. However, among all likely voters, the parties split evenly at 43%-43% as to which party they are more likely to support if the economy improves. Neither party has the confidence of a majority of voters to improve the economy should either the Democrats or Republicans win Congressional majorities. Our sample has somewhat more confidence in a potential Republican majority, but still 42% say it is more likely the economy would get worse under a GOP majority, while 40% say it would improve. Exactly one-half of voters have at least some confidence that their economic situation will improve by the end of the year. As for the national economy, 47% have some confidence it will improve over the same period, while 49% do not. Please click the link below to view the full news release on our website: http://www.zogby.com/news/ReadNews.cfm?ID=1859
>>> I wanted to thank the over dozen people and organizations that have sent me money over the past weeks and it was more than appreciated and you will each hear back from me by mail in the future. Thank you for the support. The report is also shorter and with less real content because I am still weak and do not have my past energy level that allowed me to write all day Saturday and Sunday as in the past almost 11-years that I have been doing this. I ask for my readers understanding during this time. >>> Further, I have been honored over the years by being named a WFOR-4 Hometown Hero in 2000, being profiled in a major way by The Miami New Times, The Miami Herald, and the Orlando Sentinel which ran as a nationwide story on me in the Tribune papers on Jan. 2003 and UNC Chapel Hill naming me one of the top columnists in Florida in a multi-state study of the media back in 2004. I also thank Joseph Cooper for the opportunity to be on Topical Currents on www.wlrn.org since 2000, including yearly election coverage since then and also the opportunity to be on Helen Ferre’s show Issues on issues@wpbt.org numerous times over the past decade.
>>> PAST WDR: I have been in the hospital after emergency surgery, one more procedure to go, need the community’s financial help to keep at this!
I have not communicated or sent out a Watchdog Report since the end of January because I had a catastrophic medical issue that required one emergency surgery and another in a few weeks after about two months of convalescing at the hospital and home. I would like to thank surgeon Jorge R. Rabaza, M.D., (Recently honored and awarded the Person of the Year at South Miami Hospital) and the rest of his vascular surgery team of Verdeja, Rabaza, Gonzalez, P.A., who practice at South Miami Hospital (http://www.miamihope.com/doctors/index.asp.). I went to the emergency room Feb. 8 and later in the evening, the operation was done, and it was touch and go. I also want to thank all the nursing and support staff located in the forth floor annex of the hospital who took care of me for over a week after the operation and your kind manner and medical attention was deeply appreciated. I have not had the strength and mental clarity to write until the last few days and to say I need a miracle is an understatement regarding my financial survival. I have been unable to send invoices to past supporters and just paying my rent currently is a big deal and hope you will consider doing what you can to keep me out in the field and reporting back after I get back on my feet and I am feeling better. The support form is at the bottom of this truncated issue for your convenience and if high definition transparency of what your public institutions are doing is important to you. Please help and support me financially during this particularly rough patch. >>> Editor’s note: If you see people that represent these two organizations, let them know you appreciate how they helped me keeping this free news resource out in our community for all to read if desired.
>>> See what was said about the Watchdog Report in the Miami New Times 2003 — Best of Miami — BEST CITIZEN — Daniel Ricker –
Three years ago, we said Ricker was our Best Gadfly. Given his dedication and perseverance, this new honor, Best Citizen, is well deserved. Ricker goes to 2500 mind-melting meetings annually, from the Public Health Trust’s purchasing subcommittee to the Efficiency and Competition Commission to the Alliance for Human Services’ nominating council to the school board’s audit committee. Sometimes he’s the only public observer. Object: to be the Public Citizen for all those out there who can’t attend, and to connect and serve as an information bridge among the special-interest-dominated Miami-Dade governmental institutions that seem so problematic and indifferent to the democratic process.
This month his e-mail newsletter, The Watchdog Report, celebrates its fourth anniversary. In a former life, Ricker made a handsome living as an international salesman of heart pacemakers. As the hard-working publisher of Watchdog Report, though, he’s struggling financially — this despite the fact that his weekly compendium of meeting summaries, analysis, interviews, and commentary has become essential reading for anyone involved in public affairs. What his written work may lack in polish, it more than makes up for in comprehensiveness. So raise a toast to the man whose official slogan says it all: “A community education resource — I go when you cannot!”
FLORIDA
>>> Gov. Crist goes it alone, Meek gets billionaire, and Bush comes out for Rubio
When it comes to Florida politics, it does not get any better then this with every major statewide office being contested in 2010 and the state’s Republican Gov. Charlie Crist (net worth $466,000) telling the state party you don’t love me anymore as he said sayonara to the party that had his arch rival former House Speaker Marco Rubio, R-West Miami, (Net worth $8,351) drubbing him in the polls in a closed Republican primary in late August. Crist since his announcement of changing to an independent has been in the public eye over the past week with the oil blob crisis that has Florida’s coastal communities dusting off their disaster plans for an oil slick landfall on the state’s beaches and the environmental nightmare that comes with such an event not seen in over 40-years.
Crist, who first considered possible new oil off shore drilling recently backtracked and is joining U. S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fl as saying the off shore activity should be shelved and Nelson recently described the activity to be “dead in the water,” at the federal legislative level. But Crist also faces an uphill fight to get into the nation’s most exclusive club and besides Rubio who also is being supported by former Gov. Jeb Bush. The governor also has to beat U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek, D-Miami (Net worth around $62,000 in 2002) or possible Jeff Greene, a billionaire that has suddenly entered the senate race as a Democrat for the seat that is being vacated by Sen. George LeMieux, R-Fl appointed to the position by Crist last fall, after Senator Mel Martinez retired before his term was over in the summer.
>>> Crist suspends two more elected leaders, new total 38 since Jan. 07
Crist over the past few weeks while the Watchdog Report was gone has suspended two more elected officials from their office and his total number of public officials removed since he took office in Jan. 2007 is now 38. Crist had asked for the Florida legislature to pass legislation that toughened up the public corruption laws, but that failed to gain traction during the past session that ended April 30. Crist has called the clip of removals unacceptable, is part of a “culture of corruption” found throughout the state, and a statewide grand jury is looking into this culture.
MIAMI-DADE COUNTY
>>> Commissioner Heyman cites “exceptional” medical care at UM/Jackson after accident overseas
>>> Commissioner Sally Heyman (net worth $426,000) is injured and getting around in a wheel chair, with a leg up and was attending commission meetings even though she was infirmed. At the meeting last week, she told fellow commissioners she was out of the country when she had the medical issue with her leg and said she called UM Miller Medical School Dean Pascal Goldschmidt, M.D. “for help.” She noted that once she was back in the country and “rushed to the University of Miami” her physician said he would not be operating there “but at Jackson,” the commissioner said. Heyman said Jackson was “my preference too” and she believes it “reinforces the partnership” and it was “not a philosophical but practical statement.” And when it came to the level of medical care she received, it was “exceptional” and why “my choice of treatment was at Jackson [Memorial Hospital],” she told commissioners.
>>> “Alright behave now,” said Commission Chair Dennis Moss (Net worth $477,941) last Thursday during a zoning meeting hearing a request for a new charter school after commissioners began getting antsy and were talking to each other fairly loudly. Moss has been strict about keeping order on the dais invoking the “through the chair” rule and any discussion “must be civil,” he frequently intones. In this case, the commission meeting broke up after the quorum was lost and the charter school’s request will be heard again on July 22 said the staff at the end of the meeting. Further Moss wants better sign advertising for federal stimulus projects believing the public is not grasping the scope of where this federal money is going around the county and the proposed jobs it is supposed to create.
>>> Commissioner Joe Martinez (Net worth $270,000) is frustrated with the Jennings Law that prohibits speaking about a project and its zoning with developers out of the Florida Sunshine Law that says it must be done during a public hearing. The former commission chair was discussing Academir Charter School’s application and the school was near his home in the district. However, he got frustrated during the questioning with land use attorney Juan Mayol and about the time it was taking holding up the commission, meeting. He asked the county assistant attorney what any penalty might be if that law was violated. She said it was definitely a “misdemeanor” and when asked if he could have a side bar with the school’s officials and attorney, the answer was no, and depending on the discussions and given the severity and content of the discussion. The legal penalty might escalate if something like that were to occur.
>>> Press release: Governor Crist Appoints Judge Jose L. Fernandez to the Eleventh Judicial Circuit Court
“As a lifelong Floridian and Miami native, Judge Fernandez has served the people of Miami-Dade County well while sitting on county bench, and I am confident he will serve the circuit court with the same level of integrity,” said Governor Crist. “In addition, his wide variety of legal experience ensures that he will review each case with impartiality and fairness.” Fernandez, 45, has served on the Miami-Dade County Court since 2007. Previously, he was associate counsel for the Professional Law Enforcement Association from 2002 to 2006 while also being a sole practitioner. He practiced with Essen Essen Susaneck Canet Fernandez and Goodis from 1995 to 2002, as a sole practitioner from 1994 to 1995, and with Rumberger Kirk and Caldwell from 1993 to 1994. From 1989 to 1993, he served as and assistant state attorney in Miami. Fernandez earned both his bachelor’s and law degrees from the University of Miami. >>> Judge Fernandez will fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Norman S. Gerstein.
>>> Press release: Ethics Commission welcomes new member: A lawyer with a divinity degree is the newest member of the Miami-Dade Commission on Ethics and Public Trust. University of Miami Law Professor Charlton Copeland will be sworn into the post at the next Ethics Commission meeting, 10 a.m. Wednesday, May 19, 2010, at 19 W. Flagler St. Suite 820.
Copeland, who joined the UM faculty as an associate professor in 2007, earned a Bachelor’s Degree from Amherst College, a Master of Arts in Religion from Yale Divinity School and a Juris Doctorate from Yale Law School. He has clerked for the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit as well as in the Constitutional Court of South Africa. Professor Copeland worked as an associate with an international law firm based in Washington, D.C., before serving as a visiting assistant professor at Northwestern University. “I am terribly excited to be invited to serve on the Commission so that I may become more involved in Miami-Dade County,” Copeland said. “I think it will be a valuable experience for me and I hope I can make a valuable contribution,” said the 35-year-old Brickell resident. Copeland fills the position on the five-member board that is rotated between the UM and St. Thomas University Schools of Law. He replaces Magda Abdo-Gomez, the appointee from St. Thomas who served on the Ethics Commission with distinction for more than three years. She will be honored at the May meeting. Another position on the Ethics Commission – previously filled by Erica Wright, who resigned to run for political office — is expected to be filled shortly by the Chief Judge of the Eleventh Circuit Court. >>> The Ethics Commission was created in 1996 as an independent agency with advisory and quasi-judicial powers. It is composed of five members, serving staggered terms of four years each. Through a program of education and outreach, the Commission seeks to empower the community and bolster public trust.
BROWARD COUNTY
>>> Pembroke Pines Commissioner Castillo opens can of worms statewide with ethics question ruling
Pembroke Pines City Commissioner Angelo Castillo has opened a can of worms now that he asked for a state ethics commission ruling whether he could be a county commission candidate and still run a not-for –profit that gets county money and his attorney says he was advised it was a ‘no,’ states www.miamiherald.com . This ethics ruling has had Castillo decide to not run for the county commission seat being vacated by Diana Wasserman-Rubin later in the year but the ethics decision could have a statewide impact. If elected leaders are not able to run organizations that get public dollars from a body they may be serving on there are people around the state that should take note of this conflict. In Miami-Dade County, commission chair Dennis Moss also works as the director of the Richmond Perrine Optimist Club and that organization gets county and public school funding and while Moss does recuse himself when county commissioners vote. This broader interpretation of a conflict should be checked out if elected leaders around the state are not to be possible flagged from an ethics oversight body.
>>> Thank you for using the Broward County Commission Agenda E-mail Notification System. A new Broward County Commission Agenda is available. Point your browser to http://www.broward.org/commission/welcome.htm to view the new agenda.
PALM BEACH COUNTY
>>> Stecker is tapped as new county IG, but does she get clean slate?
Leaders in Palm Beach County have chosen their county inspector general and they chose Sheryl Stecker state’s the Daily Pulp done by Bob Norman and he gives some insight on the women. Below is from his web-page. >>> From Bob Norman’s Daily Pulp page at http://blogs.browardpalmbeach.com/pulp/
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| Stecker |
While Broward’s inspector general gets caught up in Tallahassee, Palm Beach County just chose its new IG/ethics czar: Sheryl Stecker, former inspector general for the Department of Children and Families. Already some are criticizing the hiring of the longtime bureaucrat at what has been a mismanaged and oft-corrupt state agency that wasn’t cleaned up under Steckler’s watch. Said one ethics commissioner of the appointment for the $125,000-a-year job: “I think the public’s confidence is going to be damaged.”
>>> Press release: FORMER WEST PALM BEACH SPA OWNER PLEADS GUILTY TO HARBORING ILLEGAL ALIENS AND MONEY LAUNDERING
Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Anthony V. Mangione, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Office of Investigations, Daniel W. Auer, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division (IRS-CID), John V. Gillies, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office, and Ric L. Bradshaw, Sheriff, Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office (PBSO), today announced that defendant Mal Suk Kim, 60, of Palm Beach County, pled guilty today to a criminal information, charging her with one count of harboring illegal aliens and one count of money laundering, in violation of Title 8, United States Code, Sections 1324(a)(1)(A)(iii), 1324(a)(1)( B)(I), and Title 18, United States Code, Section 1956(a)(1)(A)(I), respectively. Defendant Kim also agreed to forfeit $150,000 involved in the money laundering offense to which she pled guilty.
According to court documents and statements made in court in connection with the plea hearing, on September 30, 2008, Special Agents from ICE, IRS-CID, FBI, and deputies from PBSO executed federal search warrants at Coral Spa, located at 4730 Okeechobee Boulevard, West Palm Beach, and the Wellington residence of another individual, of Hannah Eun Sung Chong, 50. Defendant Kim owned 50% of Coral Spa until February 26, 2008, when she sold her 50% share of the business to Chong. Documents filed with the court show that defendant Kim hired two undocumented aliens to work and live at Coral Spa, without having them complete any paperwork, job application, and without regard to their immigration status. Customers paid Chong for the work performed by the illegal aliens at the Coral Spa, and Chong, in turn, paid a portion of those proceeds to defendant Kim. Defendant Kim knew that the money she was receiving was generated by the work of these illegal aliens. Defendant Kim is scheduled for sentencing before the U.S. District Court Judge Donald M. Middlebrooks on July 20, 2010. At sentencing, she faces a statutory maximum term of imprisonment of up to ten years on the harboring count and up to twenty years on the money laundering count. Chong previously pled guilty on March 6, 2009 to a superseding information, also charging her with harboring illegal aliens and money laundering. Chong is scheduled to be sentenced on July 8, 2010, before U.S. District Court Judge Kenneth L. Ryskamp. >>> Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of ICE’s Office of Investigations in West Palm Beach, the IRS-CID, FBI, and the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney John C. McMillan. A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida at www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.
ALACHUA COUNTY
>>> Press release: Gov. Crist Appoints Robert K. Groeb and David P. Kreider to Alachua County Court
“With over two decades of experience, Bob has the heart of a public servant and the legal prowess of a veteran attorney,” said Governor Crist. “I am confident he will serve the people of Alachua County fairly and justly.” Groeb, 50, has been a sole practitioner since 1999 and from 1995 to 1998. From 1998 to 1999, he was an assistant general counsel with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. He was an assistant state attorney with the Eighth Judicial Circuit from 1991 to 1995, with the Sixth Judicial Circuit from 1990 to 1991, with the 19th Judicial Circuit from 1988 to 1989, and with the 12th Judicial Circuit from 1985 to 1988. He was also an associate with the Law Firm of Robert E. Merchant III from 1989 to 1990. Groeb earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan and law degree from Stetson University.
“David’s extensive breadth of knowledge and respect of our judicial system make him well prepared to take the bench,” said Governor Crist. “I am confident he is guided by a high ethical standard, strong conscience and professional integrity that will serve Alachua County well.” Kreider, 42, has been an assistant state attorney with the Eighth Judicial Circuit since 1998 and prior from 1993 to 1998. Previously, he practiced privately at Dell Graham PA in 1998. Kreider earned both his bachelor’s and law degrees from the University of Florida. >>> Groeb and Kreider will fill the vacancies created by the elevations of Judge Mary Day Coker and Judge Victor Hulslander to the Eighth Judicial Circuit Court.
MONROE COUNTY
>>> Keys brace and prey gulf oil will not invade pristine ecology
Florida Keys officials prepare for potential spill impacts: Report oiled shoreline or request volunteer information: (866)-448-5816 — Submit alternative response technology, services or products: (281) 366-5511 — Submit your vessel as a vessel of opportunity skimming system: (281) 366-5511 –Submit a claim for damages: (800) 440-0858 — Report oiled wildlife: (866) 557-1401 >>> Deepwater Horizon Incident Joint Information Center, Phone: (985) 902-5231 -(985) 902-5240
>>> White House press release: The United States Coast Guard at Sector Key West, Fla., in conjunction with its port partners and key stakeholders, have been actively preparing for possible marine pollution effects from the spill associated with the sinking of the mobile offshore drilling unit, Deepwater Horizon, on April 22, 2010. As part of an ongoing preparation efforts, the Coast Guard hosted a joint meeting on Tuesday, May 4th, at Sector Key West with federal, state, and local partners to discuss potential impacts and response priorities should the spill affect the waters of the Florida Keys. In addition to the Coast Guard, Key West City officials, representatives from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Florida Department of Environmental Protection, the U.S. Navy, Monroe County Department of Public Health, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Monroe County Emergency Management, City of Key West, City of Marathon, National Park Service, Coast Guard Auxiliary, and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission met to review highly sensitive areas in the Keys, prepared response strategies, and to share information and discuss pollution mitigation. “Although it is still too soon to predict if or how the Florida Keys may be impacted by the Deepwater Horizon spill, we are focused on preparing for whatever those impacts may be,” said Capt. Pat DeQuattro, sector commander at Coast Guard Sector Key West. For further information on the spill response effort visit www.deepwaterhorizonresponse.com . >>>View this document online – Joint Information Center Gulf of Mexico-Transocean Drilling Incident
MIAMI-DADE PUBLIC SCHOOLS
>>> Issue of Friends of WLRN governance and reporting authority back in front of audit committee Tuesday
The school board audit committee is meeting Tuesday at 12:30 p.m. at the nation’s fourth largest public schools district office, one of the controversial topics will be Friends of WLRN, and how they fall under the school district’s governance and are required to let the superintendent know what and how the organization is being run. A reliable source indicated the WLRN issue is expected to be the hot topic and the Watchdog Report plans to be there to hear how the past negotiations have turned out. For a brief history of where this issue stands. The following story was in a past report.
>>> Jan. 31 PAST WDR: Friends of WLRN in the spotlight must have an operating agreement with District in 60-days
Alberto Carvalho, the district’s superintendent in a terse tone said when it came to seeing the financial records of Friends of WLRN. He was told it could only be done off site, he could not remove them or copy the documents while under the watchful eye of the not-for-profit’s attorneys and the documents did not fall under the state’s Sunshine Law. Carvalho said “these conditions were unacceptable” and he made these statements at the Audit Committee meeting on Tuesday and it stunned the committee members including school board vice chair Perla Tabares Hantman, the board’s voting member.
The superintendent said he has been reviewing all contracts and operating agreements and a memo from board attorney James Walter Harvey details the organizations institutional timeline, noting Friends is charged with nothing but raising money for WLRN’s radio and television stations. The representatives of Friends said they were not trying to stonewall the inquiry noting over the decades since 1974 the organization has worked well with WLRN and the school district. The station now has significantly more media outlets and the not-for-profit has been instrumental in helping fund that expansion. However, the issue of some employees salaries came-up as well as administrative costs that come in at about 40 percent and that is normal said the Friends representatives. Jose F. Montes de Oca, the district’s chief auditor asked about some of salaries that had people making over the years $269,000; $247,000 and $315,000 but Friends said that is based on money they raise and the commission is 10 percent. They also pointed out these employees are paid a small salary, brought in $3 million in underwriting and they do not get the commission “until the money is in hand.”
Further, Friends bylaws once had the superintendent signing off on any by law changes, and who ran Friends. But that changed, but went unnoticed in 1998 and board Attorney James Walter Harvey in a Jan. 26 memo writes that “these significant, sea change amendments” were never approved by the superintendent and the school district administrative head was not “involved in the appointment process of Rick Lewis,” the current Friends president and CEO. Further, the attorney noted that the bylaws “have since been amended several times without superintendent approval.” Carvalho was instructed to create an operating agreement with Friends that would be due in 60-days and Friends representatives said they could comply with that time constraint and it will include inserting back that the superintendent will have to sign off on any bylaw changes in the future.
PUBLIC HEALTH TRUST
>>> Mayor Alvarez wants “hammer” when it comes to PHT management, many ideas on how to proceed, but are any of them the right course?
While I have been ill and recovering from two surgeries the last three months, The PHT has received a lot of press www.miamiherald.com & www.CBS4.com and commentary since then after it was revealed months ago that the economic business model was failing to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars lost in the past and current years. Though that future financial hemorrhaging at the health trust had been predicted back in June 2008 when President & CEO Marvin O’Quinn gave a presentation at a joint meeting of the PHT and BCC boards, and frequently reported in past Watchdog Reports including a colored graph depicting the financial Waterloo that was coming. Now a group of “alpha men” including Merrett Stierheim (The “alpha men” reference was made by county Commissioner Katy Sorenson recently at a commission meeting), a former county manager along with 40 other prominent business and community leaders of both genders, after reviewing and studying PHT documents and financials. They suggest the current model of PHT governance is no longer viable especially given the political turbulence the PHT board is buffeted with when it comes to the county commission’s influence and interference. However, County Manager George Burgess does not concede that dysfunctional governance observation. But Burgess’ boss, Mayor Carlos Alvarez (net worth $1.66 million) also has reservations about the current set-up. He has said he wants the PHT-17 member board to be dissolved and taken over by the county. He notes the current “management watch” for the health trust is unlike any other county department it has been applied to since he lacks the “hammer” to remove the CEO and President now under the oversight board’s purview. PHT Chair John Copeland, III on Monday at a meeting with the mayor, manager, and other financial staff along with PHT President Eneida Roldan, M.D. and her top people, along with nurse union members including Martha Baker and there attorney Mark Richards. Copeland said if such a removal issue came-up, the board would handle the issue trying to blunt the mayor’s overall thrust of his lack of authority over the public entity.
During this meeting, it was clear to the Watchdog Report that Alvarez was finding the meeting slow going as questions were raised about a multi-million dollar contract with a consultant, with a draft of the document in front of them. The mayor noted he was not prepared to sign off on the document with out much more review and while he noted the need for speed. That fact would not override the bigger principle of thoroughly vetting contracts as is being done at the county and the discussions forced Copeland later to cancel a PHT meeting on Wednesday to vote on the contract to a later date.
The PHT board was first created in 1973 and in 1991 county residents passed a half-cent countywide sales tax to fund Jackson and at its peak it brought in about $192 million in sales tax revenue back in 2006 but this funding never kept up with the onslaught of medically uninsured in the community that now has the public hospital system giving around $600 million in charity and uncompensated medical care.
>>> This is why I have been doing the Watchdog Report for 11-years – Since May of 2000, I have been covering the PHT in all its aspects over the years and its financial challenges since then have never been far below the surface of any story over this time. In 2004, I ran the headline about the $84 million charge the organization was having to take for the year and the numbers in many ways never got that much better, week after week, month after month, to where we are today. Some of the county commissioners are carping about all the sudden press and media attention the hospital system with 12,000 employees is getting but that is what happens in Florida where the state sunshine and open records laws makes all these activities public events. However, the commissioners should also be asking why they and the Fourth Estate did not kick in earlier to alert South Florida of the pending financial train wreck. The chronic problem was apparent to anyone that read the Watchdog Report over the decade, but in many ways, my role seems to be of Cassandra for we, as a community did not necessarily have to be where we are today, if corrective action had occurred years ago.
>>> PAST Dec: 2005 WDR: Overall cash balances climb to $400 million but trust gets hit with $8.5 million in hurricane loses
The PHT financials continue to get moderately better after the health trust closed the year at the end of September with an $800,000 surplus after five years in the red. The health trust with a $1.5 billion budget over the years has been dealing with an antiquated billing and information technology system, cuts in Medicaid funding, and unfunded county mandates that are now dropping to about $5 million a month as the county reassumes some of the costs for correctional health care service and county nursing homes.
However, with 10,300 employee’s cash is king within the institution after hitting a low of only 18 days of cash in October 2004 but that position has improved. Currently the health trust has more cash on hand since September of 2001 and in total. It is about $400 million but that includes restricted monies, and other cash that is limited to use.
Further, the recent hurricane season took its toll on the health trust and the numbers are coming in. PHT documents state hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Wilma cost the organization $7.47 million in salaries and related costs. Total non-labor costs came to another $1 million for a total hit to the PHT of $8.5 million for this year’s hurricane season.
CITY OF MIAMI
>>> Commissioner Sarnoff not concerned with threats of lawsuits, continues to promote economic benefit of sailing industry
Commission Chair Marc Sarnoff (Net worth $2.28 million) was blind-sided recently, regarding a new proposed parking structure, that featured a giant billboard tower top across from the Arsht Performing Arts Center and he said attorneys would use legal threats of a lawsuit if he did not support the project that Mayor Tomas Regalado (Net worth $5,000) has been sheparding through the city. However, he told the Watchdog Report last week that a legal challenge does not scare him away since the city has many of them already. Sarnoff, an attorney, and represents the distinct the project is in now has another hot potato on his hands with this new project that has the Arsht Center PACT board and administration taking a wait and see attitude regarding the proposed structure detailed in the www.miamiherald.com last week. A public hearing on the project was held at the arts center last week, it was packed with people in favor and against, and for the moment, it is on the commission’s front burner.
>>> Sarnoff also was spotted last weekend at the Coconut Grove Sailing Club with a large body of U.S. Navel Academy graduates and other alumni having a reunion and feasting on legendary Maryland blue crabs that he described as being very tasty. He was attending the affair along with his wife and it was part of his initiative to promote the clean sailing industry that is quite vibrant and economically important to the Grove and south Florida given the many races and other sailing events that take place here over the years.
What about the city’s future budget?
On Thursday, there were two dueling meetings of citizens and staff concerning the city’s current and future budget that is facing a financial hit next year, possible up to $80 to $100 million and the city administration is looking for new revenues and the sale of possible city assets. The Watchdog Report caught the tail end of this assorted group of advisors and city staff meeting and Commissioner Marc Sarnoff was the ranking participant. Robert Rodriguez was at the head of the table at the meeting and the group will come together again this Thursday, even though a commission meeting will be going on, and Sarnoff said he planned to attend this one anyway, since he found it so useful.
>>> Former Commissioner Sanchez, now a deputy federal marshal in Miami
What happens to a former Miami Commission chair after he loses his run for mayor in November 2009? In the case of former Commissioner Joe Sanchez, after he lost to Miami Mayor Tomas Regalado back then. Sanchez is now working as a deputy U.S. federal marshal in the local federal court buildings. He was spotted by a reliable source and former constituent on the job and part of his duties is to escort federal prisoners to and from the courtrooms. Sanchez, a former Florida state trooper before he was appointed to the commission in the 1990s had kept up his law enforcement credentials and once told the Watchdog Report that it was his “back-up” profession. For more information got to: U.S. Marshals Home Page US Marshals and their Deputies have served for over 200 years as the instruments … usmarshals.gov is an official site of the U.S. Federal Government, U.S. …http://www.usmarshals.gov/ – 19k – Cached
>>> Televised Grove Village Council meeting gets cynical in some remarks
An exchange at the Coconut Grove Village Council last month between chair Pat Sessions and Ron Nelson, a Commissioner Marc Sarnoff staff member shows there is some undercurrent between the chair and the commissioner’s office. Nelson said Sarnoff could not attend the televised meeting because he had a previous commitment. Sessions shot back “was he jogging?” Nelson responded that the comment was uncalled for and in fact, the commissioner was at an Arsht PACT event. Nelson, one of the original members on the council in 1991 was noting that the original charter of the council was not just to focus on the center Grove but residents concerns as well. Council members said that was not the intention and Sessions will be sending a letter to any homeowner organizations letting them know the council wants to hear from you and are invited to come to the public meetings.
>>> The following e-mail was sent to (now former) Mayor Manny Diaz using his e-mail address on his extensive city web-page on Sept. 13, 2008 at 9:38 a.m. and to date there has been no answer from the mayor.>>> “Mayor Diaz, I wanted to ask you in the chamber today but not in front of Chair Joe Sanchez. My question is where did the extra $400,000 in the 2007 disclosure form come from? I will run what ever you respond unedited but I would appreciate closing this issue, as I am sure you do. Sorry but I have to ask. Best to all. Dan” >>>> The Watchdog Report through Dec.7 has yet to get a response or catch-up with Miami Mayor Manuel Diaz on where he got the extra $400,000 in cash listed in his 2007 financial disclosure forms. To see what CBS 4 reporter David Sutta’s take on this issue and the other city leaders financial disclosures go to cbs4.com Blogs . >>> Readers should stay tuned and catch the meeting on the city’s cable station channel 77. >>> Stream Channel 77, for all City of Miami meetings, (Commission, Village Council meetings, Waterfront, Zoning, PAB, Code, etc. hearings) http://videos.miamigov.com/
CITY OF MIAMI BEACH
>>> Does Commissioner Libbin have two jobs and two masters, or just best interest in city?
Jerry Libbin, the Miami Beach commissioner and new CEO of the Miami Beach Chamber of Commerce got a nice write-up in Miami Today as this week’s The Newsmaker www.miamitodaynews.com and while the elected leader deals with the possible conflict of interest, the two jobs pose. He says he was given the go ahead by two ethics bodies. However, as has been written in a past Watchdog Report this dual relationship between being an elected official and a drumbeater for the business community is a potential conflict minefield. The commissioner notes in the interview that many of the issues are symbiotic between businesses and residents but that is a very fine line and it is yet to be determined which master Libbin listens to. For there are two masters, the local commercial interests and voters and his votes on the dais must always be seen in this unusual context.
CITY OF SOUTH MIAMI
>>> Mgr. Carlton out, Witt takes interim job, third manager in less than a year
Well the bloodletting is still going on now that city manager Roger Carlton has gotten the boot this week after serving in this capacity since the fall of last year. And now the commission by 4-0 has tapped retired Air Force Brigadier General Buford R. “Randy” Witt to take up the charge that has seen a number of long serving employees getting fired or embroiled in some other matter including a stabbing. Witt is the third manager in less than a year that started first with the termination of Ajibola Balogun and all got around $165,000 in salary. www.miamiherald.com Witt a former IT department director at Miami-Dade County was also an applicant for the manager’s job in Coral Gables last year.
He is said planning to be meeting with stakeholders in the city but the turmoil continues and elected leaders should remember the ultimate goal is to provide and maintain city services and safety and these continued dust-ups with senior leadership certainly does not serve the city residents and voters who are only looking for good government and governance. Something elected leaders need to remember as they continue to lurch from one political crisis to another.
EDITORIALS
>>> Cool and creative minds needed when crafting solution on PHT financial survival
The Public Health Trust’s future is on the community’s lips and a group of alpha men and women in our community have sent a message in www.miamiherald.com to the leaders of Miami-Dade County and the PHT board that there is great public support for the institution but something must change if the public hospital system is to survive and be a vibrant state of the art global medical center. The 41 people supporting the recommendations is a broad swath of community leaders and over 15 of them are readers of the Watchdog Report. I mention this because I first arrived at a PHT meeting in 1998 and have never stopped following what was going on at this important and special public institution and reporting back.
Over these years, the PHT board has evolved but much of the drive for different changes came from the county commission itself. In the 1990s, then Mayor Alex Penelas chose the PHT nominating council that was chaired at the time by former PHT chair Jose Cancela and they chose, over time, the 21-member board’s citizen trustees. Further, in 2000, during the September final budget hearing at the county, the shifting of $65 million in county costs to the health trust was the first financial raid, allowing the expansion of county general funding into other community activities like art and cultural programs. This also was the last time the health trust was able to easily balance its $1 billion plus budget back then as the cost of the rising medically uninsured in the community started to skyrocket beginning to outstrip the revenue coming into the public hospital that now also has $800 million in infrastructure needs that have been deferred over the years.
And in 2002 under the direction of county Commissioner Dennis Moss the PHT board was downscaled to 15 citizen trustees plus two voting commissioners (Currently Commissioners Dorrin Rolle and Javier Souto) and joint meetings between the two bodies were required twice a year. However, during all this time the role of the county commission in the background is profound and when it comes to the business model and how Jackson will survive getting the mayor and commissioners involved is no sure bet to success of the gigantic medical enterprise that employs 12,000 people and generates abut $3 billion in economic activity in the community. And I for one do not have the silver bullet to solve this vexing problem but I do know shooting from the hip, or taking actions out of frustration and being impatient when it comes to Jackson should be resisted, because when a hospital becomes like its patients, and is on a financial respirator, cooler minds must always prevail if we are not to lose the organization as a whole. And that is something Miami-Dade cannot live without.
>>> OCT 2003 PAST WDR: Florida Marlins win it all, but will they get a new stadium?
The community is euphoric and with the Florida Marlins victory, baseball fans are partying in the streets and that includes county and municipal elected officials and employees who attended some of the World Series against the New York Yankees. However, government employees should remember that there is a $25 gift disclosure limit and anyone that got free, complimentary tickets must list them on their disclosure form due July 1, 2004. The disclosure also applies to citizens on volunteer community boards if they did not directly purchase them.
One government employee said his ticket had no value and would not have been used but people need to ask themselves how that explanation would sound to the ethics commission and any World Series ticket before a game does have value and it is much more than $25. The Watchdog Report sits at the government window when these forms come in on July 1 and next year there should be many more than normal, if local and county employees are following the rules, and if there are not, a few of you out there will be in for a surprise because a number of people are already known to the Watchdog Report and you can be sure getting busted for this will not be a resume builder.
>>> PAST WDR OCT 2003: When the Watchdog Report says I have it on tape, it is!
Recently a long-term commissioner in one of our community’s governments said that I was wrong and that something was not said and it could not be on tape but in fact, it is. The elected official repeatedly said it was not possible but the truth is it was and the content said is not what is important but the denial by the elected official that it was said is.
The Watchdog Report gives many-elected leaders, staff and citizens wide latitude about what they say because part of this community discussion is how Democracy works. However, when the publisher says something is on tape it is, because though I work alone. I do use extensive VHS recordings of meetings and can record the county commission, school board and the city of Miami simultaneously and these tapes are archived for future reference.
On Monday I am going to play the VHS tape of the comment to the commissioner’s staff member there at the time of the exchange and I assure my readers that if I say I have something recorded, the offending party is busted and please just fess up rather than make denials and counter accusations. An elected official that admits to something they know is true, shows leadership. The official that denies it will not only lose my respect but the community’s as well.
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The Watchdog Report covers a few of the meetings attended weekly. It remains my belief that an informed public will make better decisions. Therefore, I go to meetings, make the presence of an informed citizen known, and bring the information to you. The Watchdog Report is in the fourth year of publication and it has been an honor to be able to send this information to you. It is sent to readers in Miami-Dade, Florida, the U.S. and the world. The Watchdog Report is sent to thousands free and while readers have been prodded to subscribe the results have been mixed. Over 250 reports and Extra’s have been sent since May 5, 2000 and over one million words have been written on our community’s governments and events. The report is an original work based on information gathered at public meetings, interviews and from documents in the public domain.
LETTER POLICY
I welcome letters via e-mail, fax, or snail mail. Letters may be edited for length or clarity and must refer to material published in the Watchdog Report. Please see address and contact information. Please send any additions and corrections by e-mail, fax or snail mail. All corrections will be published in the next Watchdog Report. If you or your organization would like to publish the contents of this newsletter, please contact me. Please send your request to watchdogreport1@earthlink.net
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>>> Watchdog Report is expanding as a new service and this content is now available to other news media, no longer exclusive to The Miami Herald
The Watchdog Report is no longer exclusively with The Miami Herald, and excluding the one story a week that is printed in the paper on Monday in the Metro & State section by me. The rest of the 20 or so news stories weekly sent out Sunday in the Watchdog Report are now available to television stations web pages, and all the newspapers and other media in South Florida if the publishers have an interest to run part or all of the stories. Further, in 2000, I used to have some paper’s running the report in the Spanish press, that option is available again, and publishers should contact me. The news content will not be free, but you can pick and chose the stories of interest, edit them if necessary but you must still keep the general story intact. If you are a news outlet and would like to learn more about, the Watchdog Report and this offer contact me at watchdogreport1@earthlink.net for further information.
>>> Here is what past newspapers have written about the Watchdog Report publisher including a survey and regional study done by the U. North Carolina at Chapel Hill on the media in the southeast United States.
>>> The Miami Herald and Orlando Sentinel & Sun-Sentinel articles on the Watchdog Report publisher over the years.
Published on September 9, 1999, Page 1EA, Miami Herald, The (FL) CITIZEN ADVOCATE’ KEEPS TABS ON POLITICIANS
Published on January 3, 2000, Page 1B, Miami Herald, The (FL) MIAMI-DADE WATCHDOG WILL BE MISSED
Published on January 20, 2003, Page 1E, Orlando Sentinel, PAPERWORK TIGER, Miami’s citizen watchdog piles up government files in his quest to keep the “little people” informed.
>>>Watchdog Report publisher named ‘Best Citizen’ 2003 by the Miami New Times —The publisher would like to thank the weekly alternative paper Miami New Times for bestowing their 2003 Best of Miami, ‘Best Citizen’ award to me and I am honored. Thank you. To read the full story go to http://www.miaminewtimes.com/issues/2003-05-15/citylife2.html/1/index.html
From the spring of 2003: U. North Carolina, Chapel Hill: Southeast U.S. Media Report lists Watchdog Report publisher as leading Florida commentator >>> Selected excerpts from the report on Florida’s media sources
Those who do read the newspaper in Florida have a bevy of options for state government and political coverage. The dominant newspapers in the state are Knight-Ridder’s The Miami Herald (Acquired by The McClatchy Company in 2006) and the Poynter Institute’s St. Petersburg Times. Both papers endorsed Gore in 2000 but split on the 2002 gubernatorial race, with the Herald endorsing Republican incumbent Jeb Bush and the Times backing Democratic challenger Bill McBride.
Daniel Ricker of The Miami Herald also writes an influential column as well as an email newsletter called the Watchdog Report that goes out to more than 100,000 subscribers. FEBRUARY 2004 – Florida: Columnists in Abundance —ERIC GAUTSCHI, graduate student, School of Journalism & Mass Communication, UNC-Chapel Hill – D) LEADING COMMENTATORS – Resource Commentator Organization Type Web site –Steve Bousquet St. Petersburg Times Column www.sptimes.com/columns/bousquet.shtml -“First Friday” WPBT TV (Miami) TV Show www.channel2.org/firstfriday/issues.html –Lucy Morgan St. Petersburg Times Column www.sptimes.com/columns/morgan.shtml –Daniel Ricker Miami Herald/Watchdog Report Newsletter –www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/columnists/dan_ricker/ >>> Readers who would like to read the complete University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill Southeast United States Media Report go to view the complete report or download all the data used in this study. >>> Watchdog Report Editor’s note to the NCU/CH study: The subscriber number referenced is incorrect and applies to readership.
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