Watchdog Report Vol.11 No.31 December 19, 2010 Est.05.05.00 – I go when you cannot
CONTENTS
Argus Report: Now both U.S. Reps elect in the spotlight, Rivera in Herald investigative story & Wilson in Watchdog Report for financial disclosure questions
Florida: Miami-Dade legislative delegation hears the pleas for funding of 76 groups, Kristi House pushing a Florida Safe Harbor Act to protect children
Miami-Dade County: With 80 homeless deaths this year in the county alone, vigil and memorial services around the nation take a special somber meaning
Broward County: Atty. pleads guilty to stealing more than $2 million from trust funds
Palm Beach County: PAST WDR: Commissioner Santamaria in the spotlight, has stayed on dais while peers get busted, had $10.3 million net worth in Jan. 2010
Hillsborough County: Gov. Crist taps Herbert M. Berkowitz of Temple Terrace to the Hillsborough County Court.
Seminole County: Gov. Crist taps former state Sen. Constantine and three others to the Wekiva River Basin Commission
Okeechobee County: County man indicted for wire fraud, credit card fraud and major identity theft
St. Johns County: Gov. Crist taps Alexander “Alex” R. Christine to County Court.
Monroe County: Past WDR: Sheriff Peryam in the spotlight, watches over most southern county in nation, had net worth of $292,000 though July 2010
Miami-Dade Public Schools: Friends of WLRN capitulate and vote back bylaws from 1995 into effect & school board chair will also makes one appointment to station’s fundraising board
Public Health Trust: Incoming BCC Chair Martinez will be voting member on PHT-17 member board, also on executive search committee
City of Miami: Sarnoff almost deifies Mgr. Migoya who says sayonara, Crapp tapped by Mayor Regalado to run city, but budget holes remain
City of Hialeah: Three sub-contractors sentenced for employing illegal aliens in public schools construction project
City of Miami Beach: Stop whining; get involved, over 37 vacancies on city boards from culture to public housing
Coral Gables: Top city Atty. job draws dozens of applicants, more expected, Atty. Hernandez says sayonara Dec. 31
City of Doral: Father and son sentenced in black market money laundering scheme
Community Events: Mango Strut Dec. 26 — 26th Annual Everglades Coalition Conference, January 6-9, 2011 – Renewal of Life for the Everglades: Moving Forward Together — THE MARGULIES COLLECTION AT THE WAREHOUSE
Editorials: Miami-Dade has made strides in fighting public corruption, Sunshine violations still major problem, can’t be a little bit pregnant
Letters: Children’s advocate Lawrence update of Children’s Movement of Florida — Advocate on expansion of Tamiami Trail bridge across Everglades
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.)
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>> 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 to financially support and maintain my webpage.
>>> 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. I almost did not write this week because of my financial condition. And while I as so many others are facing tough times. I hope you or your organization will consider helping in a small or larger way and help keep another voice on line and in the media. A convenient form is at the bottom of this week’s Watchdog Report with all the instructions on how to support this newsletter and news service that will start its 12th Anniversary on May 5.
>>> CLARRIFICATIONS: Last week I wrote local DCF Regional Director Jacqui Colyer had resigned her position, which is true, but was a profunctary act given the new governor, Rick Scott taking office and she is still on the job. >>> In the Miami Beach story last week, while there were no lobbyists listed in the backup agenda at the meeting, on line there were some registered lobbyists.
>>> May you and your family have a great, safe and healthy Christmas Holiday and we should remember those that keep us safe at home around the world, who may give the full measure of oneself in our defense. >>> Next week, Best of the Watchdog Report over the past year.
ARGUS REPORT – Heard, Seen on the Street
>>> Now, both U.S. Reps elect in the spotlight, Rivera in Herald investigative story, Wilson in Watchdog Report for financial disclosures
Miami’s two newly minted U.S. congressional representatives are under fire, after U.S. Rep. elect David Rivera, R-Miami got a front page story in www.miamiherald.com Friday, and U.S. Rep. elect Fredericka Wilson, D-Miami finances has been profiled in the www.watchdogreport.net the last two weeks and in her case, with property values collapsing, there is no way her listed properties are the values she lists on the yearly state disclosure forms for 2008 and 2009, yet the mortgage remains the same and no rent income is listed. Both won their office with great fanfare, but Wilson, elected to Florida Congressional District 17 drew early attention after saying she would ask to be able to wear her trademark hats in the U.S. House Chambers, against the rules, but decided against it after a firestorm of criticism in the media and by political pundits.
 Wilson |
 Rivera |
What about Rivera’s committee assignments in the House?
Rivera in The Herald story is saying he did not get any money from Flagler Dog Track officials that had three payments totaling $510,000 going to Millennium Marketing, that has his mother and godmother as corporate officers, to get slots passed in Miami, and it looks bad to say the least. Further, Michael Putney, senior political reporter for WPLG Channel 10 www.justnews.com has called for Rivera to disclose his IRS 1040s and end the matter before he is sworn in Jan. 5 and this issue will dog Rivera in the comings days ahead if not addressed. Also, Rivera has gotten two plum committee assignments, he is on the Foreign Affairs Committee soon to be chaired by U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Miami and he also is on the Natural Resources Committee given his congressional District 25 spans across the Everglades and the billions of federal dollars needed to clean-up the River of Grass in the coming years.
What about Wilson’s four real estate holdings?
Wilson owned four properties during 2009 and her home was purchased for $492,000 in Sept. 2007 and is now valued at $400,000 on her disclosure forms, and a second home valued at $150,000 on the disclosure, currently has a value of around $97,000. A duplex property had one of the addresses being sold in May for $75,000, though the current owner is “motivated,” to sell it again and a forth property valued by the lawmaker at $75,000 was sold for $62,000 this past July.
What about any rental income?
Wilson, with these four properties, one of which is a duplex, lists no rent as having come in during this two-year reporting period and while the properties depreciation in value is understood, it is a puzzle that she did not receive any rental income from these properties. Since it is safe to say, she lives in her primary home, a six bed, four bath 3,419 square feet house on a 7,500-foot lot, where property taxes were around $8,804, and the new home was built by builder D.R. Horton. And she may have to explain how she has been able to carry these homes financially if they were in fact vacant, but either way, she has a cloud hanging over her head when it comes to these disclosure forms that needs to be resolved. Readers should stay tuned.
>>> THE WHITE HOUSE press release: Statement by the Press Secretary on the New START Treaty
This is a new low in putting political stunts ahead of our national security, and it is exactly the kind of Washington game-playing that the American people are sick of. While some express concern that the Senate doesn’t have time to debate the Treaty, Senator DeMint wants to waste 12 hours to read the text of a treaty that has been available to every member of the Senate and the public for more than eight months. This Treaty has been the subject of nearly 20 Senate hearings and 1,000 questions, and is supported by President George H.W. Bush, every living Republican Secretary of State, our NATO allies, and the military leadership of the United States of America. Every minute that the START Treaty is being read on the Senate floor increases the time that we lack verification of Russia’s nuclear arsenal. It is the height of hypocrisy to complain that there is not enough time to consider this Treaty, while wasting so much time reading aloud a document that was submitted to the Senate months ago.
>>> Press release: Ros-Lehtinen Statement on Passing of Ambassador Richard Holbrooke
U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), Ranking Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, made the following statement today after learning of the passing of U.S. Special Representative to Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Holbrooke: “Richard Holbrooke has been a dynamic force in American diplomacy for more than five decades. His stellar service is deeply appreciated and held in the highest esteem. “I would like to express my deepest condolences to Ambassador Holbrooke’s family during this difficult time, particularly his wife, Kati, and his two sons and two stepchildren.”
>>> U. S. ATTORNEYS’ OFFICES COLLECTED $6.68 BILLION IN CIVIL & CRIMINAL ACTIONS IN FISCAL YEAR 2010 – Recoveries Largest in History, Three Times Offices’ Appropriated Budget for Year
Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, announced that financial collections by the Department of Justice in criminal and civil actions in Fiscal Year (FY) 2010 reached an all-time high due to the efforts of the U.S. Attorneys’ offices nationwide. The ninety-four U.S. Attorneys’ offices nation-wide collected $6.68 billion during the government’s fiscal year. This amount is the most successful collection year by the U.S. Attorneys’ offices, amounting to more than three times their appropriated budget for FY 2010. According to statistics from the Department of Justice, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida collected $69,594,479.56 in FY 2010. Of this amount, $14,472,382.04 was collected in criminal actions and $55,122,097,52. Additionally, the office also collected $140,549,628 in criminal and civil forfeitures, from which amount $7,909,774 was distributed to other law enforcement agencies for their participation/contribution to the specific cases… The nationwide collection totals for FY 2010 represent nearly a 30% increase in criminal collections and 57% increase in civil collections over FY 2009. In FY 2009, the U.S. Attorneys’ offices collected more than $4.6 billion. Of the amount collected, $2.23 billion was collected criminally and $2.44 billion was collected civilly. The significant increase in collections was due to various large criminal restitution cases as well as large health care fraud cases. For further information, the United States Attorneys’ Annual Statistical Reports through FY 2009 can be found on the internet at http://www.justice.gov/usao/reading_room/foiamanuals.html.
>>> Press release: Zogby Interactive: Most Voters Approve of Obama & Republicans’ Deal on Tax Cuts and Extension of Jobless Benefits But Small Majorities Call Politicians Hypocrites for Doing So
The deal including tax cuts and extended unemployment benefits struck last week by President Barack Obama and Congressional Republicans is approved by 61% of likely voters. The same poll also found that just over half of respondents believe it is hypocritical for politicians to say they are concerned about the budget deficit, and still support either cutting taxes for the wealthy (55%) or extending jobless benefits (52%). As would be expected, significant differences arise on these issues between Democrats and Republicans which are demonstrated in the following: Do you approve or disapprove of the agreement reached between President Obama and Congressional Republicans that includes: retaining tax cuts for all income levels, including those above $250,000; a temporary payroll tax cut and the continuation of tax breaks for parents and students?
| Deal between Obama & GOP | All voters | Democrats | Republicans | Independents |
| Approve | 61% | 37% | 83% | 62% |
| Disapprove | 37% | 60% | 15% | 37% |
| Not sure | 2% | 3% | 1% | 1% |
Totals may not add up to 100% due to rounding – Please click the link below to view the full news release on our website:
http://www.zogby.com/news/ReadNews.cfm?ID=1932
>>> Readers should check out This Week on WPBT Channel 2 Issues http://channel2.typepad.com/issues/2010/12/this-week-on-issues-1217-1219.html – hosted by Helen Ferre and the panel discusses a variety of political issues, including the recall attempt of Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Alvarez and some local government projects such as the new Marlins Baseball Stadium: >>> 2010 Year in Review – From Broward ethics scandals and Miami-Dade recalls to the economic crisis and political outsiders winning elections, we discuss the top news items of 2010. Guests: Michael Lewis, Miami Today; Doug Lyons, SunSentinel; Myriam Marquez, The Miami Herald; Tim Padgett, TIME Magazine.
>>> If you believe it is important to have someone watching your public institutions consider supporting the Watchdog Report for I am a low cost news service yet I do have to live, thank you! 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 the WLRN/NPR showTopical 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.
>>> See what was said about the Watchdog Report in the Miami New Times 2003 — Best of Miami — BEST CITIZEN — Daniel Ricker – watchdogreport1@earthlink.net
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
>>> Miami-Dade legislative delegation hears the pleas for funding of 76 groups, Kristi House pushing for Florida Safe Harbor Act to protect children
The Miami-Dade Legislative Delegation held its last local public hearing and around 76 people and there organizations made their plea for state funding that has dried up and lawmakers are facing a roughly $3.5 billion budget hole next year. The organizations included Florida International University, local Judicial Circuit Chief Judge Joel Brown, Clerk Harvey Ruvin, Jackson Health System Chair John Copeland, III, and a host of municipal mayors and commissioners. However, delegation chair state Rep. Carlos Lopez-Cantera, R-Miami noted during the discussions that the House Speaker and Senate President notified all members that any community or organizational funding of these types of activates was not being contemplated.
However, one piece of new legislation being pushed by Kristi House executive director Trudy Novicki that would change state language when it came to children being exploited, called the Florida Safe Harbor Act got some traction and both newly elected state Rep. Jeanette Nunez, R-Miami and state Rep. Erik Fresen, R-Miami voiced their support and belief this legislation could be accomplished if the delegation put its weight behind the bill, that a previous version was tried last year but failed to pass. Nunez is an at large member of Kristi House board that helps abused kids in need. http://www.kristihouse.org/index.html
>>> Local M-DC Republicans tap state Rep. Fresen for party chair, follows in the footsteps of Rubio and Rivera in his official posts
The Republican Party of Miami-Dade elected state Rep. Eric Fresen R-Miami as the local party chair, and the land use consultant also works as a zoning lobbyist. Fresen, 34, Thursday night was elected unopposed and while U.S. Rep. Elect David Rivera R-Miami continued to chair the meeting while Fresen worked the room. Fresen in the www.miamiherald.com said he would be the hardest working chair ever, but part of that job is raising money for the local party and it remains to be seen how effective he is at that activity. Fresen, first elected in a tight race in 2008 against a former aide to Florida House Speaker Johnny Byrd, but Fresen walked the state House District 111 hard and the district was previously represented by then outgoing Florida House Speaker Marco Rubio, R-Miami, now on his way to the U.S. Senate. Fresen noted so far in his political career that he followed in Rubio’s footsteps and now Rivera, when it came to heading up the GOP in Miami-Dade.
Fresen
Whom else is Fresen working with?
The Watchdog Report on Thursday at the Miami Commission meeting spotted Fresen and attorney state Sen. Miguel Diaz de la Portilla, R-Miami representing a charter school application that ultimately was deferred by commissioners. But it is this dual role that had both men at the Miami-Dade County Commission Friday hearing the pleas of organizations and public institutions for state money and lasted from 10:00 a.m. to around 3:20 p.m.
>>> March 8th: First Day of the 2011 Legislative Session
MIAMI-DADE COUNTY
>>> With 80 homeless deaths this year in the county alone, vigil and memorial services around the nation take a special meaning
Friday Dec. 17 was “National Homeless Persons’ Memorial Day,” that was commemorated with a candlelight vigil and memorial service at the Stephen P. Clark Government Center and over the year, 80 homeless people perished on the county’s streets. The Miami-Dade Homeless Trust along with other organizations is in charge of dealing with this community issue, and people pass for a wide variety of reasons, but living this way is brutal on ones body and psyche. The people who died ranged from Adolfo P., 56 to Zeidi Chacon, who passed at 47 on our streets and it was a solemn ceremony on a third floor outside terrace at the government center. Ron Book, the chair of the trust that was founded in 1993, said since then that “$450 million has been raised from the public/private sector” and spent on giving the homeless a continuum of care and transition off the streets, and these programs have cut the number of people on the Miami-Dade streets from over 8,000 in the early 1900s to around 1,000 today.
>>> Press release: Founded in 1993, The Miami Dade County Homeless Trust is a county agency headed by a board of 27 volunteers appointed by the Miami-Dade County Commission charged with the responsibility of implementing the Miami-Dade County Community Homeless Plan. These volunteers represent the business community, the religious community, the educational community, the provider community, the political community, and formerly homeless individuals. Since its inception, the Homeless Trust has been instrumental in reducing the number of homeless in Miami-Dade County from over 8,000 in 1993 to approximately 800 people today. For more information regarding The Miami-Dade County Homeless Trust, please visit www.miamidade.gov/homeless/.
>>> Commissioner Heyman’s rapid-fire meeting leaves the public in the dark sometimes
Commissioner Sally Heyman’s rapid-fire opening of the Health & Public Safety and Intergovernmental Committee Thursday afternoon had the committee moving, seconding, and passing a few items before the assistant county attorney could read the complete text of the item being voted on by attending commissioners, and while she wanted to keep the meeting moving. It is very dangerous public policy for people watching on television have no idea what the body is voting on. www.miamidade.gov
>>> Second forensic artist costing $89,000 is moving along after extensive discussions
A forensic artist cut in the 2010 – 2011 county budget had Heyman bring up a discussion item that would reestablish the position and one of the reasons was the municipalities and other law enforcement agencies rely on these services as well. She noted the position cost $89,000 was the result of the draconian reduction of services that left only one artist to do composite drawings of suspects. Police officers from North Miami and Miami talked about the “excellent” job these artists do in capturing someone after a crime while the victim’s memory is “fresh,” said one officer. One person who benefited by the services spoke and after spending “four or five hours” with the artist. The drawing ended up getting the suspect arrested, the Miami resident said. Further, FDLE and multiple other cities police support the second artist because of the volume and backlog of cases and it is expected to become fact in the months ahead. However, general fund money has to be found for this, and it is unknown where this funding will come from at this time.
What about the red light cameras in the unincorporated area?
Commissioners Joe Martinez and Sally Heyman sponsored legislation allowing the placement of red light running cameras in certain busy intersections and Martinez said it is because the activity is one that “costs lives and needs to be enforced.” He told a story of a car accident after someone ran a red light when he was a police officer. He said the driver’s wife was talking to the man saying, they needed to get out of the car, “but she was in shock” since “he had no head,” said the incoming commission chair in Jan. Further, the cameras would only give citations to people running a red light, and not for “making a rolling right turn” (that Martinez said is 89 percent of the citations issued now) as is the case with many of the 17 municipalities in Miami-Dade using cameras now or in the future.
What about Sosa’s PHT governance task force legislation?
Commissioner Rebeca Sosa introduced and got passed a commission resolution she sponsored establishing a hospital governance task force for the Public Health Trust, but the item caused considerable discussion. Newly elected commissioner Jean Monestime said after Sosa’s opening that included saying they would “give us ideas and we are not the experts, and I want to hear from the experts” of hospital administration for if Jackson fails. “They [the other hospitals in south Florida] will have to handle the burden,” she said. Monestime thought otherwise and said while he always looks for an “opportunity to approve a system” this is not the right step and “not necessary right now, since it is not a problem of governance, it is management,” he thought.
Sosa thought it was premature to know if it was only health trust management (that is undertaking 94 budget and revenue enhancement initiatives since Oct.1) and pressed her case that had Commissioner Jose “Pepe” Diaz worried it might create a situation like what happened after a 2008 Charter Review report that suggested wide sweeping changes, that were mostly ignored by the commissioners later, but was debated hotly within Miami-Dade.
Sosa, later would clarify it was not a “mandate” but Diaz was skeptical, that it might morph into that but was willing to send the legislation to the full board to be heard at the Jan. 20 commission meeting. Heyman, the committee chair tried to keep order as commissioners “bantered” the issues back and forth and she thought the 18-member task force that included seven appointments by the commissioners and mayor made it to political. However, Sosa said she was flexible in this regard. There was also a discussion of when this task force’s work should be done, since Sosa proposed the task force to be in effect for 100 days and to generate a report within 90 days afterwards and she agreed to listen to alternative durations at the future BCC meeting.
What editorial by the “Holy Grail” set Diaz off?
During the PHT governance discussion Thursday afternoon, Commission vice Chair Jose “Pepe” Diaz went after The Miami Herald www.miamiherald.com for an editorial Thursday critical of the county commission “meddling [in PHT affairs],” he said. “I am fed up,” that every time “The Holy Grail comes out with an editorial it is always how bad the political meddling is.” He noted when it came to the PHT “International [Marketing] program,’ he has “a big problem with this [organization]” and “we are always the bad guys,” he lamented. He also questioned if “The Miami Herald wanted to control this” discussion noting the PHT has a “Board but no one knows their names, but the paper knows ours” and his only concern was “patients getting treated.” Diaz has been the subject of a number of the paper’s investigative stories, and more recently a firm he works for U.S. Construction, that has gotten over a dozen contracts to build restaurants and other facilities at MIA was done. The story painted Diaz in a bad light regarding having a potential conflict of interest or worse, since he chaired the commission’s Airport & Seaport Committee.
>>> Michael Spring, the county’s cultural affairs director told a commission committee last week that the long delayed South Dade Cultural Arts Center would have its “soft opening in March” and the facility is marvelous. The art’s center has been plagued by delays of almost two years, but the cost has stayed on track after the company, originally starting construction, was bought by a much larger company from Spain. That new firm Tower Int. has had to eat the overruns and redo of some past work like the sound stage. However, critics wonder if the $40 million plus facility will have money to program shows and Spring told the Watchdog Report recently that in fact there was money for productions, though for example, state culture and arts funding has dropped to under $1 million statewide.
>>> Press release: MIAMI-DADE COURTS AND JUSTICE PARTNERS AWARDED $350,000 FEDERAL GRANT TO EXPAND ASSISTANCE TO VICTIMS OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
The Eleventh Judicial Circuit’s Domestic Violence Division, in partnership with the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office and The Advocate Program, has been awarded a $350,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Justice Office on Violence Against Women to expand and improve collaboration with community partners in addressing the needs of victims of intimate partner violence, reduce barriers to victims’ access to services and increase victim safety. The grant will fund the Miami-Dade Domestic Violence Court Enhancement Project, which will provide continuous victim contact, assessments for safety and assistance in continual safety planning, and will connect domestic violence victims and their families to comprehensive, coordinated services to promote safety and stability and reduce the risk of further harm.
Domestic violence victims and families are often involved in many different legal and social service systems and the victims sometimes feel lost, confused and frustrated. Professional mental health staff members provided by this program will work to increase communication among all legal and social service systems and the families involved. In order to reduce barriers due to transportation or access issues, while also engaging families in services in the environment that is most natural to them, this program’s services will be offered in the home or any location that the victim feels is appropriate. “We are enormously proud to have been chosen as the recipients of this grant. The Miami-Dade Domestic Violence Court Enhancement Project will provide much-needed services to a very vulnerable segment of our community – families that desperately need the care and protection of the courts so that they can heal and become whole again,” said the Honorable Joel H. Brown, Chief Judge of the Eleventh Judicial Circuit. Visit us on the Web: www.jud11.flcourts.org
>>> Press release: Miami-Dade’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate increases to 13.3 percent in November 2010, up from 13.0 percent in October 2010. The Beacon Council urges public and private sectors to focus on job creation and retention.
Miami-Dade County’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for November 2010 was 13.3 percent. This was an increase of 0.3 percentage points compared to October 2010 (13.0%), which illustrates that the long-term trend still shows a lackluster job market, despite other national indicators beginning to show positive signs, including an improving stock market, an increase in retail spending and growth in some sectors such as wholesale trade. “While there are some positive signs, this report underscores that this will be a long, slow process to job recovery,” said Frank R. Nero, President and CEO of The Beacon Council. “This means that the public and private sectors need to focus sharply on job creation and retention, and provide an environment conducive to business growth.”
Compared to November 2009, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate increased 2.1 percentage points (11.2%). The seasonally not adjusted unemployment rate (not taking in consideration seasonal fluctuations in the labor force) was 13.0 percent in November 2010, down 0.1 percentage points (13.1%) compared to October 2010. In November 2009, the seasonally not adjusted rate was 10.5 percent. Miami-Dade County is the only county in Florida that has seasonally adjusted rates. Therefore, the following county data are not seasonally adjusted: The November 2010 unemployment rate for the State of Florida was 12.2 percent. This was an increase of 0.6 percentage points compared to October 2010. The United States unemployment rate was 9.3 percent in November 2010, an increase of 0.3 percentage points from October 2010.
For neighboring Broward County, the unemployment rate in November 2010 was 10.8 percent. This was an increase of 0.7 percentage points compared to October 2010 and an increase of 0.6 percentage points compared to November 2009. For Palm Beach County, it was 12.3 percent. This was an increase of 0.6 percentage points compared to October 2010 and an increase of 0.5 percentage points compared to November 2009. The overall unemployment rate for the tri-county area in November 2010 was 12.1 percent (11.8 percent in October 2010). The South Florida region (Miami-Ft. Lauderdale-Pompano Beach MSA) added 16,400 non-agricultural jobs between November 2009 and October 2010. Non-agricultural companies in Miami-Dade County added 4,900 jobs between November 2009 and November 2010, an increase of 0.5 percent. Between October 2010 and November 2010, 7,600 new jobs were added or 0.8 percent increase.
Major sectors that added jobs between November 2009 and November 2010 included Wholesale Trade (3,200 new jobs or 4.8%), Retail Trade (2,500 new jobs or 2.1%), Air Transportation (600 new jobs or 4.3%), Administrative and Waste Services (800 new jobs or 1.3%), Ambulatory Health Care Services (900 new jobs or 1.8%), Hospitals (200 new jobs or 0.5%) and Leisure and Hospitality (3,400 new jobs or 3.3%), State Government (400 new jobs or 2.3%). Other sectors still saw losses year over year, including the construction sector (2,400 jobs lost or -7.0%), Manufacturing (1,900 jobs lost or -5.3%), Information (900 jobs lost or -5.2%), Financial Activities (2,000 jobs lost or -3.2%), Professional and Business Services (700 jobs lost or -0.5%) and Total Government (800 jobs lost or -0.5%).At the same time, there are sectors, as detailed below, that have gained jobs between October 2010 and November, 2010. This indicates companies have begun hiring, albeit cautiously. For more information, visit www.beaconcouncil.com.
|
Sector |
October 2010 – November 2010 Job Change
(% Change) |
| Retail Trade | 2,700 (+2.3%) |
| Leisure & Hospitality | 1,800 (+1.6%) |
| Local Government | 1,800 (+1.1%) |
| Administrative and Waste Services | 800 (+1.3%) |
| Wholesale Trade | 600 (+0.9%) |
| Ambulatory Health Care Services | 500 (+1.0%) |
| Hospitals | 200 (+0.5%) |
| State Government | 100 (+0.6%) |
| Air Transportation | 100 (+0.7%) |
| Information | 100 (+0.6%) |
BROWARD COUNTY
>>> Press release: Atty. pleads guilty to stealing more than $2 million from trust funds
Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Henry Gutierrez, Postal Inspector in Charge, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Miami Field Office, John V. Gillies, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office, and J. Thomas Cardwell, Commissioner, State of Florida Office of Financial Regulation, announced that defendant Joseph Sindaco, 63, an attorney from Fort Lauderdale, pled guilty today to a criminal information charging him in one count of mail fraud involving the theft of clients monies from his trust account. Sentencing is scheduled for February 24, 2011 at 9:00 am before U.S. District Court Judge James Cohn in Fort Lauderdale. Sindaco faces a maximum statutory sentence of up to 20 years in prison and fine of up to $250,000. According to the criminal information and statements made in court during today’s plea hearing, Sindaco practiced law from 2006 through December 2009 in Fort Lauderdale. As an attorney, he handled real estate closings for clients, mortgage lenders and estate transactions. In this capacity, Sindaco misappropriated approximately $2,4443,857 of funds that were supposed to be used to pay off prior loans and also clients’ funds from his law firm’s trust account. Instead of using the money as directed, however, Sindaco stole the money and sent letters to clients falsely stating that he was holding their money or disbursing it according to their directions. As part of the plea agreement, Sindaco agreed to make mandatory restitution of the $2,443,857 to the client victims. Sindaco was permanently disbarred by the Florida Supreme Court on April 29, 2010. >>> Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, FBI, and the State of Florida Office of Financial Regulation. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey H. Kay. 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.
>>> Press release: Gov. Crist today made the following reappointments: South Florida Regional Planning Council, Region 11 (Senate confirmation required)
Patricia Asseff, 64, of Hollywood, realtor, Coldwell Banker, reappointed for a term beginning December 13, 2010, and ending October 1, 2013.
Scott Brook, 46, of Coral Springs, self-employed attorney, reappointed for a term beginning December 13, 2010, and ending October 1, 2012.
>>> 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
>>> PAST WDR: AUG 2010: Commissioner Santamaria in the spotlight, has stayed on dais while peers get busted, had $10.3 million net worth in Jan. 2010
Commissioner Jess R. Santamaria is in the spotlight this week but turmoil on the dais continues, after the sudden resignation of Commissioner Jeff Koons a few weeks ago after he left a off the wall message on an answering machine threatening some people holding out for a development he was supporting. Santamaria is up for reelection and has drawn Michael Jackson as his challenger for Commission District 6 state’s the county election’s office web page. The commissioner is in real estate and has extensive business experience.
What do we know about his finances?
Santamaria through Jan. 1, 2010 had a net worth of $ 10.3 million and he lists owning $100,000 in household goods. His total assets are $11.63 million that includes $86,544 in cash, a home is worth $594,000 and his interest in a Real Estate partnership is worth $9.06 million, and a closely held corporation is valued at $1.4 million. His liabilities in total were $1.38 million that includes four loans of which two are owed $314,000 and $649,000 and his total income for the year was $161,000.
>>> What are his current issues on his web page?
Current Priorities: • Reasonable managed growth; protection of the environment • Affordable workforce housing • Ending homelessness in Palm Beach County • Expediting economic growth in the Tri-City Glades area • Crime prevention and control throughout Palm Beach County • Demanding honesty in government and business and strict adherence to the Sunshine Law • Supporting the Ethics Commission & The Office of the Inspector General in fulfilling the objectives of their respective jobs.
Commissioner Jess R. Santamaria: 301 North Olive Ave. Suite 1201, West Palm Beach, FL 33401 (561) 355-6300 -877-930-2206 (Toll Free outside the West Palm Beach calling area) E-mail Commissioner Santamaria >> Board of County Commissioners >> http://www.pbcgov.com/countycommissioners/district6/biography.htm
HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY
>>> Press release: Governor Charlie Crist taps Herbert M. Berkowitz of Temple Terrace to the Hillsborough County Court.
“Herb has a wide range of legal experience that has provided him a comprehensive understanding of the law,” said Governor Crist. “His extensive legal career has prepared him well for the responsibilities of the bench.” Berkowitz, 63, has practiced privately since 1980 as either a sole practitioner or intermittently with partners and associates. Between 1973 and 1980, he was a trial attorney for the United States Department of Justice and an assistant United States attorney. He received his bachelor’s degree from Brooklyn College and his law degree from the University of Wisconsin School of Law. He also served in the Wisconsin Army National Guard and the United States Army Reserve. Berkowitz will fill the vacancy created by the appointment of Judge Cheryl K. Thomas to the Thirteenth Circuit Court.
SEMINOLE COUNTY
>>> Press release: Gov. Crist taps former state Sen. Constantine and three others to the Wekiva River Basin Commission
>> David “Lee” Constantine, 58, of Altamonte Springs, investment consultant and former state senator, reappointed for a term beginning December 17, 2010, and ending September 21, 2013. Senator Constantine shall serve as chair.
>> Commissioner Brenda K. Carey, 55, of Longwood, Seminole County Board of County Commissioners, reappointed for a term beginning December 17, 2010, and ending September 21, 2012.
>> Charles S. Lee, 60, of Longwood, director of advocacy, Florida Audubon of Florida, reappointed for a term beginning December 17, 2010, and ending September 21, 2013.
>> Commissioner Luigi G. Damiani Jr., 47, of Orlando, Orange County Board of County Commissioners and corporate marketing director for Nodarse and Associates Inc., succeeding Teresa Jacobs, appointed for a term beginning December 17, 2010, and ending September 21, 2012.
OKEECHOBEE COUNTY
>>> County man indicted for wire fraud, credit card fraud and major identitiy theft
Press release: Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and John V. Gillies, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office, announced today’s indictment of defendant Ihap Abdallah “Tommy” Yamin, 31, of Okeechobee, Florida, on federal conspiracy and wire fraud charges, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 1343 and 1349, credit card fraud charges, in violation of 18 U.S.C. 1029, and aggravated identity theft, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1028A(a)(1). Yamin is scheduled to be arraigned in federal court in Fort Pierce on Friday, December 17, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Frank J. Lynch, Jr.. If convicted of these charges, Yamin faces a possible maximum statutory sentence of thirty years in prison. According to in-court statements, Yamin worked at Azteca, a general convenience store in Okeechobee, Florida, where he often completed sales to customers using credit and debit cards. Yamin would allegedly swipe a customer’s card once to complete the transaction, and then swipe it a second time in another card reader to capture the account numbers and personal identification information of the customer. Yamin then used the stolen information to re-code gift cards and other credit cards with magnetic strips to create counterfeit credit/debit cards. Thereafter, Yamin sold both counterfeit cards and the personal account and identification information to a witness cooperating with the FBI. Yamin told the cooperating witness he would also sell these items to other buyers across the United States and overseas… >>> Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.
ST. JOHNS COUNTY
>>> Press release: Gov. Crist taps Alexander “Alex” R. Christine to County Court.
“With over 28 years of legal experience, I am confident that Alex possesses the wisdom, professionalism and leadership that will make him a fair and unbiased judge,” said Governor Crist. “Alex will serve the citizens of St. Johns County well.”
Christine, 55, has served as Senior Partner at Christine & Christine, P.A. since 2007. Previously, he practiced with Alexander R. Christine and Maureen Sullivan Christine, P.A. from 2006 to 2007 and at Alexander R. Christine, P.A. from 2003 to 2006. Alex was a partner at Conn & Christine, P.A. from 1995 to 2003, as well as a partner at Conn, Joyce & Christine, P.A. from 1989 to 1995. Alex also served as a Chief Deputy State Attorney in the Seventh Judicial Circuit from 1987 to 1988 and as Assistant State Attorney from 1983-1987. Prior to his work as a State Attorney, Alex was an associate attorney at Meredith & Dobson, P.A. from 1982 to 1983 and a Clerk & Associate at Borhorm, Lee & Surfus, and P. A. from 1981 to 1982. Alex Christine earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Kentucky in 1978 and a law degree from the University of Florida in 1981. Christine will fill the vacancy created by the appointment of Judge Patti Christensen to the Seventh Circuit Court.
MONROE COUNTY
>>> PAST WDR: SEPT. Sheriff Peryam in the spotlight, watches over most southern county in nation, had net worth of $292,000 though July 2010
Sheriff Bob Peryam is in the spotlight this week and he deals with the 65,000 or so residents and millions of tourists that come down to the nation’s most southern community that has the tag line of being America’s Conch Republic. The tourist mecca for presidents, artists and a wide swath of others does not get the scrutiny that larger counties do around the nation. But over the years, federal and state prosecutors have done a decent business when it comes to public corruption prosecutions given the small population.
What do we know about his finances?
Peryam through July 10, 2010 had a net worth of $292,900 and he lists $80,000 in household goods for the year. The sheriff’s home is worth $300,000, another property is worth $15,000; deferred income has $98,000 in it, and in the Florida DROP program is $210,000. His liabilities are a mortgage owed $370,000, a student loan is owed $55,000 and two car loans are owed $4,000 and $1,500. His only reported income for the year was $144,000 as the county sheriff.
MIAMI-DADE PUBLIC SCHOOLS
>>> Friends of WLRN capitulate and vote bylaws from 1995 back into effect, school board chair also makes one appointment to station’s fundraising board
Alberto Carvalho, the public schools superintendent Wednesday during the monthly school board meeting said the Friends of WLRN board met by phone today and they voted again “unanimously” to restore all the “power of the superintendent and school board back to the 1995 status and rights,” he said. The brief phone meeting that began at 8:05 a.m. and ended 8:26 a.m. validated the superintendent’s power to approve the selection of “the President and CEO of Friends,” any past “alterations of the bylaws are nullified” and all bylaw changes in the “future have to be approved by the superintendent,” Carvalho told the school board. He also said he made additional “demands” including the naming of one person selected by the school board chair to be on the Friends board and that was accepted, he said. The superintendent tapped to run the nation’s fourth largest public schools district in Sept. 2008 by the board said we have gotten “what we set out to achieve.” And when he discussed the agreement he “has in fact put it to bed and was tucked in personally by me,” closed the administrator.
Board Chair Perla Tabares Hantman said she “will soon appoint someone to be part of this body [Friends of WLRN board]” and the organization is the fundraising arm of WLRN radio and television whose license is owned by the district school board. Board vice Chair Lawrence Feldman told the Watchdog Report that last week’s story, and past stories in the WDR on the negotiations between the two organizations helped get a resolution to these protracted negotiations. Editor’s note: Last week in the WDR there was a quote saying members of Friends had called the school board members “pimps.” In fact the wording was Friends was tired of being the school board’s “pimps.”
>>> Mentoring program garners 92 percent high school graduation rate, mentoring an hour a week makes the difference
Take Stock in Children, www.takestockinchildren.org got a shout out Wednesday at the Miami-Dade Public Schools awards program before the school board had its regular monthly meeting. The statewide organization has about 16,000 students in the program that guarantees a child will go to college if they want and the kid’s high school graduation rate in the program is 92 percent versus 58 percent of students not participating graduating statewide. Here in South Florida there are about 450 students enrolled said Richard Berkowitz, the managing director of Berkowitz, Dick, Pollack & Brant, and the organization’s statewide chair. The organization places volunteer mentors with kids an hour a week and he said they are looking for volunteers to be mentors, because the numbers show the program is working. He told the school board members and audience during the proclamation ceremony honoring the organization, with school board vice Chair Lawrence Feldman, a former principle doing the honors.
>>> Press release: As proposed by School Board Chair Perla Tabares Hantman, District 4, the Miami-Dade School Board voted unanimously to promote and encourage participation in the 2011 Miami National College Fair, scheduled for February 20, 2011, at the Doubletree Miami Mart Airport Hotel (formerly Sheraton Centre).
“The College Fair provides parents and students with excellent information about educational opportunities and choices,” said Ms. Hantman, who has co-chaired the fair’s local committee for 15 consecutive years. “It is a wonderful way for them to become informed and discover their options for post-secondary education.” Representatives from more than 150 colleges and universities will be at the fair to provide information about admissions, financial aid, entrance exams and other related topics. The fair will take place on Sunday, Feb. 20, 2011, from noon to 4 p.m., at the Doubletree Miami Mart Airport Hotel, 777 N.W. 72nd Ave., Miami. For more information, visit the fair’s website, www.nacacnet.org or call the College Fair Hotline at 305-995-1739.
PUBLIC HEALTH TRUST
>>> Incoming BCC Chair Martinez will be voting member on PHT-17 member board, also on executive search committee
Commissioner Joe Martinez, the incoming chair of the Miami-Dade County Commission in January told the Watchdog Report Tuesday that he would be the replacement for former Commissioner Dorrin Rolle as the second commissioner-voting member on the PHT 17-member board. He said he will also be on the national search committee that will be chaired by PHT Trustee Gladys Ayala along with county Mayor Carlos Alvarez and others on the executive search committee. Martinez, doing his second stint as commission chair also said he believed their was someone in Miami-Dade that could do the job, but did not give any specifics after he left Miami City Hall after meeting with Mayor Tomas Regalado and others. He also joined the festivities of boxing promoter Don King giving out 1,000 turkeys that are being distributed to needy Miami residents by their local Miami NET office.
>>> State Rep. Nunez tapped to represent delegation on PHT Nominating Council
Newly minted state Rep. Jeanette Nunez, R-Miami will be the delegation representative on the PHT Nominating Council that screens and recommended a slate of people that applied to be member on the health trust board and confirmed by the county commission. She was Jackson Memorial Hospital’s legislative advocate in Tallahassee, is a healthcare executive now and was elected to the state house on Nov.2. She has been an aide to Alex Diaz de la Portilla, R-Miami, has a BA and Masters from FIU, and represents House District 112. http://www.myfloridahouse.gov/Sections/Representatives/details.aspx?MemberId=4524&SessionId=66
Nunez
>>> President’s Search Committee – Gladys L. Ayala, Chairperson, Marcos J. Lapciuc, Angel Medina, Jr., Robin Reiter-Faragalli, Martin Zilber >> Please be advised that the first meeting of the President’s Search Committee has been scheduled for Wednesday, December 22, 2010 from 11:00 a.m. to 12 noon at Jackson North Medical Center, 160 N. W. 170 Street, Second Floor Auditorium, North Miami Beach, FL 33169.
CITY OF MIAMI
>>> Sarnoff almost deifies Mgr. Migoya who says sayonara, Crapp tapped by Mayor Regalado to run city, but budget holes remain
A change of the guard at city hall Thursday took place with Miami Manager Carlos Migoya leaving at the end of the year and Tony Crapp, Jr., taking the helm of running the city with around a $500 million budget, but the discussion was surreal through part of the proceedings and discussions by commissioners. Commission Chair Marc Sarnoff not only praised Migoya, he almost deified him saying he was one of only two people that he really admired in his life. Other commissioners heaped praise on the former senior banker but in a more restrained manner than the commission chair, but Migoya after a year working pro bono, put in the time necessary to resolve some significant issues, including union issues, but that pension and retirement benefits fiscal problem is being challenged in the courts by the unions, and could come back to haunt the city in a big way in the future.
Crapp also has to deal with a budget that has some revenue stream holes in it including $8 million plugged in coming from red light cameras and the citations these will generate, yet no cameras at intersections have yet to be installed, and the first budget quarter is coming to an end. The Watchdog Report next week will do a longer profile of Migoya’s year in public service, as he drives off into the sunset in one of his high performance cars he tools around the community in.
What about the new commission chair?
The Watchdog Report pressed Mayor Tomas Regalado on who he was going to select to be the next chair on Thursday, and he joked he “was doing one thing at a time” with the confirmation of Crapp but he has to make a decision soon that had Commissioner Frank Carollo saying it should be Commissioner Willy Gort, but that he would like to stay as vice chair, he said from the dais after he brought up the issue that has “rumors” flying around city hall. The Watchdog Report continues to believe Gort will be the choice and he also gets along with new county Commission Chair Joe Martinez, and both have known each other for a decade.
>>> 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. It currently goes to his new e-mail address.>>> “Mayor Diaz (Net worth $1.8 million), 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, PAB, Code, etc. hearings) http://videos.miamigov.com/
CITY OF HIALEAH
>>> Three sub-contractors sentenced for employing illegal aliens in public schools construction project
Press release: 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), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Miami Field Office, and Chris Mazzella, Inspector General, Miami-Dade County Public Schools, Office of Inspector General (MD-OIG), announced today’s sentencing of three defendants on charges of harboring undocumented aliens who were working on a Miami-Dade school construction project. Luis Daniel, 59, president of Hialeah-based Daniel Builders, Inc., his wife Marta Duque, 57, and his son, Ariel Daniel, 26, were sentenced earlier today by U.S. District Court Judge Ursula Ungaro. Luis Daniel was sentenced to 21 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release. Marta Duque was sentenced to two years of supervised release, including eight months of home confinement. Ariel Daniel was sentenced to five years’ probation. All three defendants were ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $76,317.
In addition, the defendants must pay a civil fine to ICE of $121,086 for violations of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) for their failure to verify the employment eligibility of its workers… >>> The case was conducted by ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations in Miami and the Miami-Dade County Public Schools Office of Inspector General. The was prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Lorraine Tashman and Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin Daniel. 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 United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.
CITY OF MIAMI BEACH
>>> Stop whining; get involved, over 37 vacancies on city boards from culture to public housing
Residents and voters on Miami Beach should ask themselves how they can make their community better and with over 37 vacancies on city boards and committees there is ample opportunity to get involved. I write about this because Beach residents can be very passionate concerning issues, but it is important to be involved not with just the hot button issues, but also some of the perhaps more mundane activities, and for those people that whine how things never change. Here is your chance to make a difference if you will only step up and contact the clerk’s office for the list of openings.
CITY OF CORAL GABLES
>>> Top city Atty. job draws dozens of applicants, more expected, Atty. Hernandez says sayonara Dec. 31
Anyone questioning if working for a municipality is not a attractive job needs to read the story in Neighbors www.miamiheralld.com today done by Tania Valdemoro on the 36 attorneys, plus three law firms that applied to be the Gables attorney, that has Elizabeth Hernandez saying sayonara Dec. 31 to go to Akerman Senterfitt after 16 years at the legal helm of the tony city. The applications came from a wide swath of applicants, the Watchdog Report knows some of the legal eagles, and the commission and Mayor Donald Slesnick, II have a good selection of applicants to review from and ultimately make a selection, though the commission extended the application deadline to Dec. 31 trying to seek even more candidates to consider.
>>> Press release: Gov. Crist taps Boue for Board of Pilot Commissioners (Senate comfirmation reguired)
Luis Boue, 54, of Coral Gables, certified public accountant, for Colbert, Boue, and Juncadella PA, succeeding Rivers Buford Jr., appointed for a term beginning December 17, 2010, and ending October 31, 2012.
CITY OF DORAL
>>> Father and son sentenced in black market money laundering scheme
Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Anthony V. Mangione, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Miami Field Office, announced today’s sentencing of defendants Herman Rafael Solorzano Caguaripano, 58, and his son, Herman Alejandro Solorzano Rincon, 32, both of Doral, FL, on charges of conspiracy to launder narcotics proceeds using the Venezuelan Black Market. U.S. District Judge Joan A. Lenard sentenced Herman Rafael Solorzano Caguaripano to 168 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release. Herman Alejandro Solorzano Rincon was sentenced to 63 months in prison, to be followed by 2 years of supervised release. Both face deportation.
Trial for the other 14 defendants is scheduled for January 3, 2011 before Judge Lenard. The defendants include Georges Toutounji, 50, Fortunato Farache, 55, Douglas Enrique Sanchez Soto, 60, Edgar Hadad Azraca, 48, and Alba Villalobos Vergel, 61, all of Doral, FL, Alfredo Ramon Soto Diaz, 42, Miguel Jose Perez Rivero, 32, Luis Enrique Homez Garcia, 36, and Henry Eduardo Bilbao Movilla, 61, all of Miami, FL, Rafael Polanco, 38, of Hollywood, FL, Antoine Jean Melhem, 51, of Coral Gables, FL, Johan Alberto Rincon Medina, 58, of Pembroke Pines, FL, Nercido Sosa Medina, 58 of New York, and Luis Rafael Diaz Plaza, 41, of Puerto Rico. In September 2008, ICE special agents assigned to ICE HSI Financial Investigations Group in Miami initiated an investigation into financial transactions involving the proceeds of narcotics trafficking. According to the indictment and previously filed complaints, the defendants would receive contracts to pick-up narcotics proceeds in Puerto Rico and New York and then smuggle the money to South Florida.>>> 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 United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.
COMMUNITY EVENTS
>>> 26th Mango Strut will be held Dec. 26 at 2:00 p.m. on Commodore Plaza in Coconut Grove. Join King Mango and his merry band of MangoHeads at the ultimate Tea party rally on Sunday, December 26th. Our theme this year is Restoring Humor. At 2 pm, be there to witness the ceremonial banana dropping and the official start of the satirical parade to disperse gallons of oily jokes, slick skits and plumes of environmentally-challenged laughter into the pristine streets of downtown Coconut Grove. There’s no containment dome, top hat, or blow-out preventers for this all-day gusher of GLEE that is guaranteed to last a long, long time. For this year’s Grand Marshal nothing but A Pair of Nuts would do to restore humor. The Nuts are the comedy sketch duo, Yamil Piedra and Johnny Trabanco. Their position on powder wigs and their wacky You-Tube videos wowed the selection committee with their commitment to Put the NUT back in CocoNUT Grove. For more information, check our website www.kingmangostrut.org or or call the Mango Hotline at 305-401-1171.
>>> Press release: Alison Zemanski, National Parks Conservation Association, P: 202.454.3332 or 202.384.8762, azemanski@npca.org >> Richard Gibbs, Everglades Foundation, P: 305.251.0001, ext. 235 or 305.606.6407, rgibbs@evergladesfoundation.org – 26th Annual Everglades Coalition Conference, January 6-9, 2011 – Renewal of Life for the Everglades: Moving Forward Together — This year’s Everglades Coalition Conference will bring together business leaders, elected officials, and community and environmental activists to discuss the many opportunities and challenges we face for restoring the Everglades’ unique ecosystem. Community leaders and lawmakers will discuss their positions and pledge their support for restoring the Everglades. Conference sessions will focus on topics such as Florida’s role in advancing restoration, clean water and wildlife concerns, wetlands regulation and the economic benefits of Everglades restoration. The Coalition will also announce its essential restoration priorities and goals for 2011 at the conference. Confirmed participants include: Department of the Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, U.S. Senator Bill Nelson, Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works Jo-Ellen Darcy, Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Task Force Executive Director John Hankinson, Region IV EPA Administrator Gwen Keyes Fleming, and former Senator Bob Graham. Thursday, January 6 – Sunday, January 9, 2011 >>> *PRESS CONFERENCE: The Everglades Coalition will announce essential restoration priorities and goals for 2011 on Friday, Jan. 7 from 12:30 p.m. to 1 p.m. Additional details to follow.* Hyatt Regency Bonaventure Resort and Spa 250 Racquet Club Road, Weston, FL 33326 – P: (954) 616-1234Website: http://bonaventure.hyatt.com/hyatt/hotels/index.jsp?null >> The Everglades Coalition Conference is the largest annual forum for Everglades conservation and restoration, bringing together the Coalition’s 53 allied organizations with local, state and federal partners. The 2011 conference theme is “Renewal of Life for the Everglades: Moving Forward Together,” and the event is hosted by Defenders of Wildlife, Florida Wildlife Federation and National Wildlife Federation. Building on recent successes, panelists and attendees will discuss strategies for advancing Everglades restoration through strengthened and new partnerships. For additional information, please visit our website at: www.evergladescoalition.org/conference.htm. For complimentary media registration, please contact Julie Hill-Gabriel, (305) 371-6399 x 136; C: (786) 246-2903, jhill-gabriel@audubon.org.
>>> Press release: THE MARGULIES COLLECTION AT THE WAREHOUSE IS OPEN DURING THE HOLIDAYS -The collection visiting hours are every Wednesday – Saturday from 11:00a.m. – 4:00p.m. Holiday Hours: Tuesday, December 21st to Thursday, December 23th and Tuesday, December 28th to Thursday December 30th 11 am-2 pm – AFRICA: Photography and Video – JENE HIGHSTEIN: Large Stone Carvings -MICHELANGELO PISTOLETTO: Broken Mirror Painting … >>> Visitors are welcomed at the door for the price of a donation to the Lotus House Shelter for Homeless Women and Children. Adults $10.00, Miami Dade students are free of charge –
For further information please call 305-576-1051 or visit our website at www.margulieswarehouse.com Contact: Curator, Katherine Hinds
591 NW 27th Street, Miami, FL 33127 p: 305.576.1051 / f: 305.576.4963 / mcollection@bellsouth.net
EDITORIALS
>>> Miami-Dade has made strides in fighting public corruption, Sunshine violations still major problem, can’t be a little bit pregnant
Last week, a reader from a federal agency walked up to me on the street and asked if the level of “corruption” was up or down over the last 13-years and I said it was down from back then when it was a nine or ten on a scale of ten and one of the reasons I decided to get involved in what our public institutions were doing years ago. Now in Miami-Dade, while we still have issues of corruption, there is a diminished amount from back then, and part of that is due to the many oversight agencies that have been created in the state’s largest county. But one area that still needs attention is violations of the Florida Sunshine Law, that prohibits local county commissioners and municipal leaders from discussing policy out of public view, and I see these violations all the time, and the blank look these people give me when I approach them is priceless when I ask what they were talking about?
Palm Beach and Broward Counties on the other hand have now gone from below the radar when it came to elected officials arrests, but that changed a few years ago, and the local leaders are now going through their own political corruption blood bath that has officials falling like flies, in comparison to past years. And that trend is expected to continue with some county commissioners, and perhaps some other school board members, that has already picked off a few of them, and it is about time these wayward officials were called on their past and current actions, and insider deals or lobbying activities, even though commissioners in both counties, make a decent salary of around $92,000 a year as commissioners.
Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Alvarez said before the strong mayor vote a few years ago when I asked if “public corruption would diminish under a strong mayor form of government” at the county responded “probable not,” and at the time I thought lets not raise the bar to high when it comes to corruption. However, public corruption is being fought in a variety of ways, and it must be vigorously fought, if the tide is ever to turn in an even bigger way. And elected leaders should remember one thing when it comes to the laws they operate under, and its restrictions like the Sunshine Law. For officials cannot be a little bit pregnant when it comes to corruption, and some officials just don’t seem to understand that fact.
LETTERS
>>> Children’s advocate Lawrence update of Children’s Movement of Florida —Today, let me introduce you to the fourth element of The Children’s Movement of Florida’s five-part legislative agenda for 2011: Parent skill-building. Clearly, parents play the most central and formative role in children’s lives. And they should and must. But as the father of five, and a grandparent, too, I know that being a parent is sometimes stressful, frustrating and confusing. Moreover, every parent needs at least some help and guidance. Click here to contribute $15, $25, $50 or more so we can continue the vital work necessary to ensure that all children have the help they so desperately need. Lots of people do not have readily available and reliable information, including the latest research, as well as extra wisdom. We could change this by making first-rate information available statewide. Our agenda item: We propose a statewide public awareness campaign — and a statewide telephone line and website in at least three languages (English, Spanish and Creole) — to provide information on issues related to child development and to the most effective parent skill-building tools. Here’s a place where any and every parent could turn for real-time assistance and reassurance. The cost is low. The benefits would be immediate and enormous.
This proposal– and all four of our other agenda items — would cost a total of about $300 million a year. That is less than 1 percent of the state’s annual revenues. The full first-year agenda is affordable, realistic and achievable. As I mentioned last week, you will find the details and the rationale in a just-finished five-minute video. Please click here to see it. Next week, I’ll share details of the remaining element of our agenda. But you can read a summary of all of our proposals by also clicking here. As always, thanks for caring…and helping.
Dave Lawrence.
President
The Children’s Movement of Florida
>>> Environmental advocate on expansion of Tamiami Trail bridge
I wanted to make sure that you saw the press statement that NPCA issued this morning, which applauds the National Park Service’s final draft plan for the Tamiami Trail Modifications/Next Steps. The plan would add an additional 5.5 miles of bridging to Tamiami Trail, restore historic water flows back to Everglades National Park, Florida Bay habitat and sea grass beds, and bring thousands of jobs to South Florida. Please feel free to contact NPCA’s Everglades restoration program manager Dawn Shirreffs directly at 305.546.6689 to discuss the plan for Tamiami Trail further.
Alison Zemanski
National Parks Conservation Association
Protecting Our National Parks for Future Generations
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MIAMI-DADE COUNTY www.miamidade.gov
UNITED WAY OF MIAMI-DADE COUNTY www.unitedwaymiamidade.org
***** Watchdog Report supporters – $1,000 a year
RON BOOK
LEWIS TEIN www.lewistein.com
LINDA MURPHY: Gave a new laptop in Oct. 2001 to keep me going.
WILLIAM PALMER
ROBERT L. PARKS www.rlplegal.com
SHUBIN & BASS www.shubinbass.com
***** Public & Educational institutions – subscribers at $1,000 or less
CITY OF MIAMI www.miamigov.com.
CITY OF CORAL GABLES www.coralgables.com
CITY OF MIAMI BEACH www.miamibeachfl.gov
GREATER MIAMI CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU www.miamiandbeaches.com
THE STATE OF FLORIDA www.myflorida.gov
MIAMI-DADE COUNTY www.miamidade.gov
MIAMI-DADE PUBLIC SCHOOLS BOARD www.dadeschoolsnews.net
PUBLIC HEALTH TRUST & JACKSON HEALTH SYSTEM www.jhsmiami.org
THE BEACON COUNCIL www.beaconcouncil.com
THE CHILDREN’S TRUST www.thechildrenstrust.org
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA http://www.firstgov.gov/
UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI www.miami.edu
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
Daniel A. Ricker
Publisher & Editor
Watchdog Report
Est. 05.05.00
Copyright © of original material, 2010, Daniel A. Ricker
>>> 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.
Watchdog Report Supporters Invoice-Form
NOTE: Invoice is for Yearly supporter/sponsorship Rates: Thank you.
Large Business Supporters $500
Small Business Supporters $250
Please make checks payable to: Daniel A. Ricker
Fax 305-668-4784 -To contact the Publisher please e-mail watchdogreport1@earthlink.net