Archive for March 2011

Watchdog Report Vol.11 No.43 March 20,2011 Est.05.05.00 – I go when you cannot

CONTENTS

Argus Report: Japan trying to get nuclear reactors under control, tri-fecta of disasters stuns residents, and thousands dead or missing

Florida: Will children’s issues get short shrift in state legislature facing $3.8 billion budget shortfall?

Miami-Dade County: Bloodbath at the polls as Mayor Alvarez & Commissioner Seijas get the boot, Commission Mar. 24 meets to schedule special election

Miami-Dade Public Schools: Education Commissioner Smith cries foul after Orlando Sentinel story that FCAT scores will be late, not the case he says

Public Health Trust: BCC may consider supermajority vote to override PHT board, clock ticking regarding cash crisis in July

City of Miami: Mayor Regalado & Vice Chair Carollo go to D.C. looking for legislative waiver of CDBG funds; no change will cut elderly services and meals of wheels

City of Miami Beach: Free tickets for shows dust-up given the mood of the electorate, could come back to haunt incumbent candidates in Nov.

City of Coral Gables: Mayor Slesnick, challenger Cason in their own words why they are running for mayor, Korge sent campaign link

City of Sweetwater: Gov. Scott taps Mayor Maroño for Florida Transportation Commission

>>> Other stories around Florida

Broward County: Hispanic and Black residents population surges, will change political dynamics on county commission in future

Palm Beach County: Boynton Beach physician sentenced on health care fraud charges

Orange County: Gov. Scott taps Alfred James Craner II of Orlando to the Orange County Court.

Community Events: Tribute to Women Awards at Biltmore Hotel – Downtown Bay Forum Luncheon — How to run a clean political campaign forum held by county ethics commission – Baptist Health CEO Keeley speaking at Greater Miami Chamber luncheon – Ethics forum

Editorials: Good leaders and good governance only occurs with a robust press, despite elected leaders cries of foul — PAST WDR: Oct. 2008: Public servants need to pick-up the pace for services, normal bureaucratic performance not cutting it — PAST WDR: NOV. 2007: One never knows what you will find in elected leaders financial disclosure forms, why I always check them

Letters: Reader on Beach Commissioner Exposito at Breakfast Club — Former county Commissioner Cancio on aftermath of recall of Mayor Alvarez

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.

>>> I was on www.CBSMiaimi.com Saturday at 10:00 a.m. on Eliott Rodriguez’s featured news show discussing the recall of Mayor Carlos Alvarez and where the community goes from there and to see the show go to Eliott’s Insight: Miami-Dade’s “Network” Moment « CBS Miami >> Joining me were Barry University Political Science Professor Dr. Sean Foreman and Dan Ricker, editor of the www.watchdogreport.net

>>> CORRECTION & CLARIFICATION: In last week’s Report, PHT Trustee Jorge Arrizurieta’s first name was wrong and in a story I left out state Rep. Luis Garcia Jr.’s, D-Miami Beach net worth, which is $7,500 through June 2010.

ARGUS REPORT – Heard, Seen on the Street

>>> Japan trying to get nuclear reactors under control, tri-fecta of disasters stuns residents, and thousands dead

With the death toll continuing to soar in Sendai Japan where Japanese nuclear engineers are still trying to get control of multiple malfunctioning reactor cores using any means possible to cool the exposed radioactive rods has been an agonizing nightmare for the nation and the region in general. Lack of food, water, gasoline and shelter in the cold weather is trying the stoic Japanese patience and many residents look shell shocked. Japan has been hit with a tri-fecta of challenges after a 9.0 magnitude quake over a week ago, followed by a devastating tsunami wave that knocked out electric power to the reactors to run the cooling pumps. How this disaster plays out will have global ramifications, for not only the nuclear plants around the planet, but also how nations structure their future energy policies. The Japanese, while tough people once things stabilize are expected to question where the government aid and planning was and why were so many people catapulted back to the dark ages just trying to survive.

This event has really touched me personally because not only did we have a satellite office in Sendai when I worked and lived in Asia, but I still have many friends in the Land of the Rising Sun and I continue to pray and send my condolences to all the people affected and are just trying to hang on. It also haunts me because I was also in Hiroshima when I got an international phone call in the summer of 1981 from a relative telling me my father; a physician had been stung by multiple bees and had died suddenly from anaphylactic shock at the age of 65. And I still clearly remember the very early morning Bullet Train ride through the countryside with the early morning mist rising over the rice patties on my way back to Tokyo and my flight back to Pennsylvania.

>>> President Obama’s remarks: Over the last several days, the American people have been both heartbroken and deeply concerned about the developments in Japan. We’ve seen an earthquake and tsunami render unimaginable — an unimaginable toll of death and destruction on one of our closest friends and allies in the world. And we’ve seen this powerful natural disaster cause even more catastrophe through its impact on nuclear reactors that bring peaceful energy to the people of Japan. Today, I wanted to update the American people on what we know about the situation in Japan, what we’re doing to support American citizens and the safety of our own nuclear energy, and how we are helping the Japanese people contain the damage, recover and rebuild.

First, we are bringing all available resources to bear to closely monitor the situation, and to protect American citizens who may be in harm’s way. Even as Japanese responders continue to do heroic work, we know that the damage to the nuclear reactors in Fukushima Daiichi plant poses a substantial risk to people who are nearby. That is why yesterday, we called for an evacuation of American citizens who are within 50 miles of the plant. This decision was based upon a careful scientific evaluation and the guidelines that we would use to keep our citizens safe here in the United States, or anywhere in the world. Beyond this 50-mile radius, the risks do not currently call for an evacuation. But we do have a responsibility to take prudent and precautionary measures to educate those Americans who may be endangered by exposure to radiation if the situation deteriorates. That’s why last night I authorized the voluntary departures of family members and dependents of U.S. officials working in northeastern Japan. All U.S. citizens in Japan should continue to carefully monitor the situation and follow the guidance of the U.S. and Japanese governments. And those who are seeking assistance should contact our embassy and consulates, which continue to be open and operational.

Second, I know that many Americans are also worried about the potential risks to the United States. So I want to be very clear: We do not expect harmful levels of radiation to reach the United States, whether it’s the West Coast, Hawaii, Alaska, or U.S. territories in the Pacific. Let me repeat that: We do not expect harmful levels of radiation to reach the West Coast, Hawaii, Alaska, or U.S. territories in the Pacific. That is the judgment of our Nuclear Regulatory Commission and many other experts.

Furthermore, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and public health experts do not recommend that people in the United States take precautionary measures beyond staying informed. And going forward, we will continue to keep the American people fully updated — because I believe that you must know what I know as President. Here at home, nuclear power is also an important part of our own energy future, along with renewable sources like wind, solar, natural gas and clean coal. Our nuclear power plants have undergone exhaustive study, and have been declared safe for any number of extreme contingencies. But when we see a crisis like the one in Japan, we have a responsibility to learn from this event, and to draw from those lessons to ensure the safety and security of our people.

That’s why I’ve asked the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to do a comprehensive review of the safety of our domestic nuclear plants in light of the natural disaster that unfolded in Japan. Finally, we are working aggressively to support our Japanese ally at this time of extraordinary challenge. Search and rescue teams are on the ground in Japan to help the recovery effort. A disaster assistance and response team is working to confront the aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami. The U.S. military, which has helped to ensure the security of Japan for decades, is working around the clock. To date, we’ve flown hundreds of missions to support the recovery efforts, and distributed thousands of pounds of food and water to the Japanese people. We’ve also deployed some of our leading experts to help contain the damage at Japan’s nuclear reactors. We’re sharing with them expertise, equipment, and technology so that the courageous responders on the scene have the benefit of American teamwork and support. And the American people have also opened up their hearts. Many have given generously to support the ongoing relief efforts. The Red Cross is providing assistance to help meet the immediate needs of those who’ve been displaced. And I would encourage anybody who wants to lend a hand to go to usaid.gov to learn more — that’s usaid.gov — to find out how you can be helpful.

As I told Prime Minister Kan last night, and reaffirmed at the Japanese embassy here in Washington today, the Japanese people are not alone in this time of great trial and sorrow. Across the Pacific, they will find a hand of support extended from the United States as they get back on their feet. After all, we have an alliance that was forged more than a half century ago, and strengthened by shared interests and democratic values. Our people share ties of family, ties of culture, and ties of commerce. Our troops have served to protect Japan’s shores, and our citizens have found opportunity and friendship in Japan’s cities and towns. Above all, I am confident that Japan will recover and rebuild because of the strength and spirit of the Japanese people. Over the last few days, they’ve opened up their homes to one another. They’ve shared scarce resources of food and water. They’ve organized shelters, provided free medical care, and looked out for their most vulnerable citizens.

One man put it simply: “It’s a Japanese thing. When hard times hit, we have to help each other.” In these hard times, there remains, nevertheless, hope for the future. In one small town that had been flattened by the tsunami, emergency workers rescued a four-month-old baby who had been swept out of her parents’ arms and stranded for days among the debris. No one can say for certain just how she survived the water and the wreckage around her. There is a mystery in the course of human events. But in the midst of economic recovery and global upheaval, disasters like this remind us of the common humanity that we share. We see it in the responders who are risking their lives at Fukushima. We show it through the help that has poured into Japan from 70 countries. And we hear it in the cries of a child, miraculously pulled from the rubble. In the coming days, we will continue to do everything we can to ensure the safety of American citizens and the security of our sources of energy. And we will stand with the people of Japan as they contain this crisis, recover from this hardship, and rebuild their great nation.

>>> Prepaid College Plan under attack by state Sen. Lynn, 1.4 million FL kids in program, largest in the nation, odd move given need for educated workforce

The nation’s largest and most successful Prepaid College Program to send Floridians children to state universities and other institutions of higher learning around the nation is under siege and state Sen. Evelyn Lynn, R- Daytona Beach (Net worth $968,661) is leading the charge. The program with around 1.4 million children and teens enrolled in it, was created in 1988, and was a way to open a college education for middle class Floridians when it was first proposed. However, back then there was resistance to the program by people wanting to limit the access of higher education to a subset of more wealthy people and their families. Stanley G. Tate, who the program is named after has been the driving force of the program since then that has been under assault before, such as when the legislature wanted to raid it to patch a state budget shortfall. The legislature backed off back then and told Tate “to call off the dogs,” (the people calling their state legislators to complain) but this new move has caught many people by surprise. The College Program has about $10 billion in assets covering its $9.5 billion in college and universities education liabilities states www.miamiherald.com and Lynn wants to end enrollment into the program because of what she fears will be future debt for the state because of rising education costs and the instability of the stock market she is quoted as saying. However, Tate shot back that none of the investments are in the stock market and are in ‘government securities,’ he is quoted saying. He noted even with the rising cost of education that that there are built in assumptions that tuition would rise ‘15 percent yearly.’

With 20 percent of all Floridian students in state universities, being paid by the Prepaid College Plans. The program cuts a wide swath of state residents and given the competitive nature of the global economy, an educated workforce is a priority and any attempt to change this program must be debated thoughtfully and carefully by state lawmakers. For its ramifications will be felt for decades to come and whether the state will have the competitive educated workers needed for high technology jobs that lawmakers say they want.

Lynn

>>> Poll press release: President Barack Obama’s job approval rating has edged up to 47% in a new IBOPE Zogby Interactive poll of likely voters, giving him his highest rating since October 2010. These results are from a IBOPE Zogby Interactive poll of likely voters done from March 8-10, 2011. Overall, do you approve or disapprove of Barack Obama’s job as president?

Obama Job Performance	Mar. 8	Mar. 4	Feb. 24	Feb. 21	Feb. 8	Jan. 31	Jan. 4	Dec. 10	Dec. 1	Nov. 22	Nov. 15	Nov. 10	Nov. 1
Approve	47%	44%	46%	45%	46%	44%	43%	39%	42%	39%	42%	42%	45%
Disapprove	52%	55%	53%	55%	53%	56%	56%	61%	58%	60%	58%	57%	54%
Not sure	1%	1%	<1%	1%	<1%	<1%	1%	<1%	<1%	1%	<1%	1%	<1%

Totals may not add up to 100% due to rounding.

Approval of Congress as a whole also continues to slip, and is now at 25%, a seven-point drop since Feb. 24. Approval of Congressional Republicans dropped to 35% after being as high as 42% on Feb. 21. Approval for Congressional Democrats (37%) is now higher than that of their Republican colleagues. On January 31, Republicans tied Democrats in job approval, however, since then Republicans held an approval advantage in succeeding IBOPE Zogby Interactive, until this latest poll. Please click the link below to view the full news release on our website:
http://www.zogby.com/news/2011/03/14/zogby-interactive-obama-approval-47-losses-across-political-spectrum-bring-down-approval-congress-an/

>>> All photos in the Watchdog Report are taken from public government sites, and the Report goes on line at www.watchdogreport.net on Monday sometime during the day usually. >>> 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 numerous times over the past decade.

FLORIDA

>>> Will children’s issues get short shrift in state legislature facing $3.8 billion budget shortfall?

Diana Ragbeer, the state legislative director for The Children’s Trust of Miami-Dade told board members Monday at their monthly meeting that she “has never encountered a [legislative] session like this one.” She said the state’s is facing a $3.8 billion budget hole and with a new governor. “It is a fast paced session,” and legislators are dealing with across the board legislation including Medicaid reform, TABOR, teacher tenure and congressional redistricting said the veteran government lobbyist. Ragbeer, a former senior aide to Miami-Dade Mayor Alex Penelas noted that when it came to children’s issues. The local trust lost “a lot of our strong advocates” in the state capital when state Sens. Rudy Garcia and Alex Villalobos, both Miami Republicans were termed out and left the body in 2010 and she noted there are ten new state legislators in the current local Miami-Dade delegation.

The Trust was given an extension to its original five years by county voters in Aug. 2008 by a wide majority and the $100 million or so in programs yearly it helps fund is about all the public money left anymore when it comes to this activity. Since municipal, county, state and federal funding has been drying-up at a rapid pace and is no linger available for many early childhood programs.

What about the trust board?

The Trust board has over 30 members with some appointees selected by the Florida governor and the Miami-Dade Commission. Barbara Jordan, a county commissioner is leaving the board after years of service and commission Vice Chair Audrey Edmonson is replacing her. Jordan said “you are getting someone that cares about children as much as I do” and she noted to the board and administration. “I am always there for you,” she said. Further, another longtime board member, Isabel Afanador is leaving, and she has been chair of the organization’s Program Services Committee and the Watchdog Report gives them both a Tip of the Hat for their important work to help the most vulnerable in our community, its children. www.thechildrenstrust.org

>>> Press release: Governor Scott LAUNCHES WEBSITE AND Opens State Salary Database to the Public – www.FloridaHasARightToKnow.com

Gov. Rick Scott today launched a new website that will serve the public by providing access to frequently requested public records and other information, including a state employee salary database. The new website is located at www.FloridaHasARightToKnow.com and contains the following information (and more): Public access to state employee salary information. Contract records, including approved, denied and “under review” contracts. Information on rulemaking status and procedures. Annualized retirement benefit calculations of $100,000 and more for state and local employees (personal information redacted). Links to other open government resources. “This useful tool enhances public access to government records so taxpayers can see how their tax dollars are being spent,” said Governor Scott.

MIAMI-DADE COUNTY

>>> Bloodbath at the polls as Mayor Alvarez & Commissioner Seijas get the boot, Commission Mar. 24 meets to schedule special election

The voters have spoken In Miami-Dade and county Mayor Carlos Alvarez and Commissioner Natacha Seijas are out of office after over 88 percent of the 17.2 percent of county voters said to recall the two politicians. The amount of the 208,448 voters going to the polls wanting to recall the two people caught many observers by surprise, but since the only issue was whether they should be recalled. It made the vote easier and more lopsided since there was no alternative candidate and why for many leaders over the years. A recall vote can be the most dangerous politically and the kiss of political death, and a recall took out California Gov. Grey White, a Democrat almost a decade ago. In Alvarez’s case, he is a Republican that voters in 2007 granted strong mayor powers to but he failed to grow into this new responsibility with the public. He kept Manager George Burgess in place all though his 7 years in office and was seen to some as a figurehead, and not the face of county hall, when it came to running the operation of the county’s $7.3 billion budget. There are 11 active candidates in the 2012 mayoral race so far and some of the high profile candidates are Doral Mayor Juan Carlos Bermudez, Luther Campbell a former rapper with a weekly column in www.miaminewtimes.com , County Commissioner Carlos Gimenez, former state Rep. Marcello Llorente, R- Miami and Hialeah Mayor Julio Robaina.

The county commission will likely call for an election www.miamiherald.com to be set next week at a Special Commission meeting on Thursday, and once that election date is fixed. The candidates have 45-days to campaign in this countywide race and that is no easy task in the short timeframe that may have only one or at most two candidate debates between the field of candidates. Further, a runoff is expected for the mayor’s race and the first election could include District 13, a vacant county commission seat now that Seijas is out of office, and while her opponents may be deliberating her demise, some say she may try to run again. And while Alvarez said he got the message, some people have suggested you should not discount a second try to “vindicate” himself and his place in community and South Florida history. Further, Commissioner Carlos Gimenez has to resign to run, that will open up commission District 7, and former Miami Mayor Xavier Suarez is the only active candidate at the moment, but former state Rep. Julio Robaina, R-South Miami and former Mayor Joe Carollo could be other likely candidates, since the commission might be hesitant to appoint a replacement for Seijas or Gimenez given the mood of the community’s voters.

Alvarez

Seijas

Burgess

What about former Manager Burgess?

County Manager George Burgess also said sayonara on Wednesday at a press conference though www.CBS4.COM and www.miamiherald.com details he got a great golden handshake worth around a half million dollars in total and the long serving man was making $422,000 in the number two capacity running government, almost $100,000 more than the mayor. Burgess, 52 started with the county over 28-years ago, and excluding a nine-month stint as the CFO at the public schools with his mentor Merrett Stierheim, he never really left. However, former Manager Steve Shiver replaced Stierheim and that had Burgess applying to be the Coral Gables new city manager, a post he lost to former Gables Manager David Brown at the time, though he gave a passionate argument why he was committed to public service and professional management of a municipality. Burgess is considered a budget wonk and keeps his words close to his vest when it comes to the media and believes the press should be more of a cheerleader for the county highlighting the good things that occur everyday, not just the negative stories. During the recall of Alvarez, he mobilized some county workers to get the message out urging people not to recall the man. However, that was picked up in the press and actually added to voter anger if the returns are any gauge (though about half the votes were absentee votes and mailed back before the flap hit the press). Further, a few years ago he added to his staff a special assistant to the manager, Mathew Pinzur, a former Miami Herald reporter that first covered the Miami-Dade Public Schools District, but moved to covering the county commission and administration. When he was hired, it raised eyebrows not only with The Herald but outsiders were surprised, especially given his $115,000 county salary back then.

What about new county Manager Hudak?

Alina Tejada Hudak, a long time assistant county manager has taken the helm and the veteran county manager is highly respected by her peers and those that know her work. She has held a variety of senior positions when it came to county departments and has been a long time administration liaison between the county and the Public Health Trust and where I got to know her over the past 14-years. She is fair, has always respected the rights of citizens to be at public meetings and the only thing she ever asked me not to do was call her “The mother ship,” when she arrived and attended PHT meetings where her staff were already in attendance. She has a BA and Masters in Public Policy from the University of Miami, joined the county in 1984 in a management trainee program and is making roughly $264,000 in her past position.

I have gotten to know Hudak since the 1990s through her time serving as administrative staff for the Public Health Trust after she took over the project when now county Commissioner Barbara Jordan ran for office in 2004 for her commission seat, but Jordan had been the assistant county manager for the PHT up to that point for many years, though Hudak also had Jackson back in the late 1990s. Her husband is a Coral Gables police officer and she has two daughters, and has a balanced and good temperament for a public servant. However, critics charge she is just more of the same bureaucracy that people are upset about, but she will do a good job in the interim until a new mayor is picked.

Gimenez

Hudak

MIAMI-DADE PUBLIC SCHOOLS

>>> Education Commissioner Smith cries foul after Orlando Sentinel story FCAT scores will be late, not the case he says

Dr. Eric J. Smith, the Florida Commissioner of Education sent out the following press release after a recent article in the Orlando Sentinel that the FCAT scores will be late again. He says that is not the case and asked the media to run this response last week. Here is Smith’s comments on the article unedited. “I’m disappointed in the Orlando Sentinel’s recent article, “Test results will be late again, state tells schools,” which presents a host of misinformation about this year’s FCAT administration. First and foremost, the article’s claim that assessment results are going to be late this year is premature. Students are currently in the testing process and we are months away from calculating the results. Based on this, a claim that nonexistent results are late is a gross misstatement of fact.

Putting aside the article’s sensationalized title, the chief concern raised in the piece deals with Florida’s administration of our first-ever end-of-course exam (EOC). The current delivery timeframe for the Algebra I EOC Assessment results is on or before June 7, 2011. The due date is specified in our contract, which was finalized in the summer of 2009, with our testing vendor, and is necessary due to the required processes when brand new assessments are introduced. Essentially, since we have no past Algebra I EOC results, we must perform something called post-equating to ensure the results that are reported are valid and accurate. Post-equating, by its nature, occurs after results come in, and is necessary to validate the results. Therefore, results for this exam are unable to be reported any sooner this year. The post-equating issue has been widely and openly discussed with school districts across the state for some time now, so that they may prepare for the timing of the results accordingly.

As part of the process, we have worked directly with our Leadership Policy Advisory Committee (LPAC) group. This group of core superintendents has met regularly with the Department and continues to advise and provide feedback on important education issues. This group unanimously agreed that if given raw scores, that they would bring more issues than they would help solve. Lastly, while it is true that the June 7 due date for EOC results does occur after the close of the school year for a few districts in Florida, it is critical to note that the Department made a commitment to districts that, as always, we will do everything possible to get the results out as quickly as we can.

The Department of Education will continue to work with our testing vendor to ensure that statewide assessment and reporting are performed smoothly, accurately and in a timely fashion. It is unfortunate that the Sentinel chose to publish this article as we have only just begun this year’s test administration, and the calculation of results has yet to occur. It is my hope that we can continue to work with the Sentinel to provide accurate information relating to all educational issues so reporters do not find themselves in this position in the future,” wrote Smith to the media.

PUBLIC HEALTH TRUST

>>> BCC may consider supermajority vote to override PHT board, clock ticking regarding cash crisis in July

A public sunshine meeting on PHT governance and possible new models Thursday morning between County Commission Chair Joe Martinez and PHT trustee Jorge Arrizurieta brought a large group of 20 out to hear the ensuing one hour and forty-five minute discussion and five other PHT trustees attended. Arrizurieta asked for the meeting with the new commission chair to discuss the issue of Jackson’s governance something he is almost “obsessed about,” but the cloud of the health trust’s finances hung over the meeting with a cash deadline looming in July for an organization that blows through $4.5 million in cash a day. Arrizurieta has been leading the charge seeking for a governance change for more than a year believing the current arrangement is not working but the commission in the past has clamped down on such discussion. Past Commission Chair Dennis Moss and others were not inclined to change the arrangement even after a critical state grand jury report slammed the way Jackson was run and the political nature of the public institution last summer.

However, the commission since then has assembled a task force of medical administrators, and others, to review the issue of Jackson Health System but they are just beginning their deliberations later in the month. Commissioner Rebeca Sosa pushed the item but it has taken time to get the people for the task force and with Jackson facing a cash crunch deadline www.miamiherald.com in July, many wonder if there still is time.

At the meeting also attended by PHT trustees Martin Zilber, Joaquin del Cueto and newer PHT members Steven Nuell, Robin Reiter-Faragalli and Mark Rogers, M.D. The group headed up by Arrizurieta discussed a wide variety of oversight models including a hospital taxiing district like Broward, or the Miami-Dade Expressway Authority (MDX) but besides the governance issue. There is the question of the county’s maintenance of effort payments and countywide half-cent sales tax that together brought in around $320 million. If it can be used in any other governance model without great legal difficulty, which would include asking voters to modify the countywide half-cent sales tax, that brings in around $170 million to help fund the main hospital’s operations and help pay for the indigent and uncompensated medical care it gives to the tune of around $700 million.

What about any BCC overrides of the PHT board?

One idea that Martinez picked up on was that currently the board of county commissioners could override any PHT action by a simple majority vote of the commission. It was revealed that he was receptive to a super majority vote requirement for the body to deny or override any PHT legislation or contracts and said he would bring the issue in front of the commission for the board’s consideration. The health trust board has carped over the years that they are under the thumb of the county commission and the board’s independence was cloudy on major issues, like when negotiating with the unions at the health trust, and one of the reasons people have been suggesting a new governance model, and alternative funding models.

What about the leadership of the PHT board?

The leadership of the PHT 17-member board is being considered and www.miamiherald.com is reporting by a 3-2 vote Friday a nominating committee dealing with the issue wanted to retain John Copeland, III as the top leader of the board that terms out at the end of the month. He is a financier and has been in the middle of the recent negotiations trying to see if a private organization has any interest in a deal, that would inject the much-needed money for capital projects and operating losses needed by the health trust but are unable to fund currently. The trust has over $1 billion in capital needs that have been deferred over the years, while the public hospital tried to just keep the doors open given the level of charity care provided yearly.

Copeland

Martinez

Sosa

The five candidates short-listed to be selected, as the new President and CEO of Jackson Health System are Carlos Migoya, Jodie Mansfield, Ram Raju M.D., Bill Vaneski and Myles Lash. The candidates will be brought in for interviews in the future after an extensive background check. For more go to www.miamiherald.com

Upcoming public meetings dealing with PHT

>>> A Sunshine meeting between Martinez and Copeland is scheduled Mar. 22 from 2 to 4:00 p.m. in the second floor conference room at the Stephen P. Clarke Center located at 111 NW 1^st and the contact number is 305.375.1293. >>> A Sunshine Meeting between the Honorable Joe A. Martinez, Chairman, Miami-Dade Board of County Commissioners; and PHT Chairman John Copeland III, Public Health Trust; has been scheduled to discuss future funding for Jackson Health System (JHS).

>>> A initial M-DC Hospital Governance Taskforce is being held Mar. 28 starting at 8:30 a.m. at The Beacon Council office located at 80 SW 8^th Street, Suite 2400 and the contact person is Donna Palmer at 305.375.4573 The Taskforce’s mission is to study and report on alternative governance models for the Public Health Trust.

CITY OF MIAMI

Mayor Regalado & Vice Chair Carollo went to D.C. looking for legislative waiver of CDBG funds, no change will cut elderly services and meals of wheels

Miami Mayor Tomas Regalado and Commission Vice Chair Frank Carollo took a road trip to Washington and got to meet with a host of federal lawmakers arguing the city should be given a waiver like in the 1990s on how federal Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) funding is spent, with more than the approved 15 percent of the funding going to senior centers for a wide variety of services including the meals on wheels program. The issue came up months ago at a city commission meeting but the Congress is the big deciding factor and the mayor and commissioner met with U.S. Reps Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Miami, Mario Diaz-Balart, R-West Miami, and Florida Senators Bill Nelson, D-FL and Marco Rubio, R-FL., said Regalado Friday to the Watchdog Report. The mayor recognizes the CDBG funding in Congress will be cut, but they need the flexibility to at least divert some of this money to this daily issue that has senior citizens dependent on the food, said Regalado. He said when Ros-Lehtinen heard about the issue she understood the significance given the large number of senior centers in Miami and Rubio and Nelson are also on board, the mayor said.

Regalado

Carollo

>>> District 2 candidates Milo and Armbrister on why they are running in their own words

I have gotten two other responses from challengers running against Miami Commissioner Marc Sarnoff for his District 2 seat. Donna Milo sent back her e-mail last week on why she is running for the commission seat. She wrote, “To your question; Why I would be the best qualified candidate for Commissioner in District 2 in the City of Miami, I would have to say it’s my real world life experience. As an entrepreneur, as a parent of two grown children and a small business owner I feel the effects of our troubled economy and over bearing city government on a daily basis. I know that none of the other candidates deal with the city bureaucracy as much as I do from the perspective of a citizen or a small businessperson.

I have also served on Boards including the City of Miami Planning Advisory Board and the Commission on the Status of Women so that aside from my experience in the private sector I also have a record of voluntarily serving our community in a public capacity. I feel that due to my experience I am the best-qualified candidate to approach the issues and find solutions to the fiscal and regulatory problems that face our city. Please feel free to contact me if you wish to expand on any issue in particular. I look forward to hearing from you throughout the campaign, wrote Milo, a former Republican congressional candidate that ran against U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, D-Weston in 2010 but lost to the incumbent.

District 2 candidate, Williams Armbrister also responded back this week and he wrote the following. “It does indeed appear as if I’m running against Commissioner Marc Sarnoff, but that can’t be further from the truth. I have no political ambitions; I can’t be bought, deceived, swayed, or tempted to the point of submission. You are able review my platform at my “campaign rally” located at www.yourservant.org web site, and if there any additional information that you desire that I have not furnished on the web site, it is my responsibility as a public servant to provide it. I want you to be sure that I do indeed appreciate your interest,” the Grove activist wrote back.

>>> 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,CIP, Code, etc. hearings) http://videos.miamigov.com/

CITY OF MIAMI BEACH

>>> Free show ticket dust-up given the mood of the electorate, could come back to haunt incumbent candidates

Ticket Gate continues to draw criticism from a skeptical public since a www.miamiherald.com story on free tickets to shows and performances given to elected leaders and members of the city administration for their use, and is part of the perks negotiated in agreements with the city. The Watchdog Report wrote about this practice years ago when I reviewed officials gift disclosure forms and there were dozens of this freebees listed for commissioners and the past mayor. I am also told another local benefit is if you are on a city board. You get a free city parking pass, which is very handy in such a congested municipality for a local resident to have. The timing of the story could not have been worse given the mood of voters that sent county Mayor Carlos Alvarez and Commissioner Natacha Seijas packing this past Tuesday after being slammed at the polls. In Mayor Mattie Herrera Bower’s case, this issue could come back and haunt her with city voters in a hostile mood when it comes to perks for elected officials. She is facing two younger candidates in Steve Berke and Dave Crystal and Berke was profiled last week in www.miaminewtimes.com and it was the cover story done by reporter Tim Elfrink.

>>> Press release: Hialeah Mayor Julio Robaina, a declared candidate for election as County Mayor, will be the guest speaker at the Tuesday Morning Breakfast Club, March 22, 2011, 8:30AM – 10:00AM, David’s Cafe II, 1654 Meridian Ave., Miami Beach.

http://www.hialeahfl.gov/dep/mayor/biography.aspx

CITY OF CORAL GABLES

>>> Mayor Slesnick, challenger Cason in their own words why they are running for mayor, Korge sent campaign link

The Watchdog Report contacted the three mayoral candidates last week asking for their thoughts on the race and the issues. The candidates are Mayor Donald Slesnick, II, Jim Cason and Tom Korge. Slesnick and Cason responded by deadline though this came in www.KorgeForMayor.com. Cason a former diplomat responded. “Pension reform is a key issue in this campaign. Far too much taxpayer money is going to fund the pensions of the 768 retired city workers and the 755 workers currently employed. Ten years ago we put $5 million aside annually out of revenue to pay pension liabilities; today we pay $21.5 million. On a per capita basis, Coral Gables residents each owe over $4,350 for these unfunded liabilities, the most of any city in Florida except for tiny Medley. This situation stems from a pattern of over generous salary and benefit increases over the past ten years and from granting workers a pension multiplier twice that given federal workers. The upshot is that 86% of our operating budget goes to payroll related expenses.

We have little left over for investments in our quality of life in the past decade on average we have dedicated just 6% of our budget to capital expenses, down from an average of 13% in the five years at the end of the previous decade. Likewise, we have put aside only 3.8% of our revenue to undesignated reserves for unexpected contingencies. This situation cannot continue. We need to cut payroll costs, fix our sidewalks and historic monuments, build up reserves and begin to pay down our $198 million pension deficit. We need to do this without cutting core services like fire, rescue, police and garbage, and without raising the millage rate. We can make headway by finding greater efficiencies in operations, cutting unnecessary programs and tackling pension reform head on. The Mayor’s law firm represents municipal workers and he voted against his City Manager’s reform of the general workers’ contract last August, and has been endorsed by the fire and police unions.

I will be a full time Mayor, have no outside business interests, owe no one favors, and have a proven track record of success in managing large organizations, discovering inefficiencies and finding creative solutions to difficult problems.

We need a fresh breeze in city hall, and the new eyes and perspective I will bring to the job of Mayor of Coral Gables,” wrote Cason.

The mayor seeking his last term and the longest serving mayor of the City Beautiful to date in the city’s history wrote, “The main issue is fiscal accountability and economic sustainability. Despite the other candidates’ claims; our City is financially challenged but sound: (a) $6.5 million in reserves – and increase of $2 million in one year); (b)we are well-positioned for the coming years (better than almost any other South Florida city) – and will need no tax increase – we are still the lowest tax rate in Miami-Dade County for a full service municipality; (c) our pension costs have been reduced over the past five or six years and there is more money in the fund than ever before (investments gained $50 million in the last fourteen months) – there is no financial crisis and no looming fiscal disaster. The real estate market in Coral Gables is recovering faster than any other area of South Florida – prices have stabilized and are on the up-swing (in good measure due to the desirability in living in such an incredible City as Coral Gables).

One of my opponents “loves” Coral Gables, but has never lifted a finger to work on its behalf or aid its citizens. The other thinks that the main issue is the Building & Zoning Department which (a fact of which he is seemingly unaware) has recently been reorganized and streamlined to meet the challenges of a growing community.

This election is about having (a) someone at the “helm” who is truly knowledgeable of what he is doing; (b) someone who is experienced and understands our City; someone who works to bring people together – not to promote divisiveness and ethnic disunity; and (d) someone who has paid his “dues” through service to his fellow residents – not a person characterized by empty over-used political slogans,” wrote the retired veteran U.S. Army officer.

PAST WDR: What about the mayoral candidates war chests?

Slesnick who entered the race late has raised $80,645 during the reporting period that ended on Friday for a total of $131,770 state’s www.miamiherald.com Tom Korge has $108,635 in his campaign, and Cason, a former Ambassador has $28,040 available for the race. Slesnick in a past forum with the other candidates went on the offensive promoting all the things that had been achieved over the past decade. But Korge and Cason hammered him on past scandals; the city’s building department performance and other issues. However, with these political funds each candidate will do their best to get their message out, it is a winner take all race, and all that is needed is one more vote than the other two candidates to win under the city’s Charter.

>>> Press release: “Keeping you abreast of the pressing issues affecting Coral Gables.” If you missed our Candidate Forum for the City of Coral Gables Commission Seat 4, it is now available to view in its entirety on our website at http://www.poncebusiness.com/Candidate_Forum_Link.html Our next and last Candidate Forum will be on March 22nd at the Coral Gables Congregational Church – Fellowship Hall (3010 DeSoto Boulevard) from 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm. Ponce Business Association

>>> The Ponce Business Association will be sponsoring three Candidate Forums for the upcoming Coral Gables City Commission election on April 12, 2011.

Our third Candidate Forum, for City Commission Seat 5 has been rescheduled to Tuesday, March 22nd. The Forum will be held at the Coral Gables Congregational Church (Fellowship Hall – 3010 DeSoto Avenue). The doors will be open to the public at 7:00 pm. The forum will begin at 7:15 pm. The candidates are William Kerdyk Jr. and Richard Namon. The agenda for this Forum will not only consist of questions from the audience but also the candidates asking questions of each other. The Moderator will be CBS4 news anchor Eliott Rodriguez.

CITY OF SWEETWATER

>>> Gov. Scott taps Mayor Marono for Florida Transportation Commission

Press release: Governor Rick Scott today announced the appointments of Manuel “Manny” L. Maroño of Sweetwater and Jay N. Trumbull of Panama City to the Florida Transportation Commission. Moroño, 39, is the Mayor of the City of Sweetwater. He succeeds Marshall Criser for a term beginning March 14, 2011, and ending September 30, 2011. Trumbull, 49, is the president of Culligan Water. He succeeds Thomas Conrecode for a term beginning March 14, 2011, and ending September 30, 2011. The appointments are subject to confirmation by the Florida Senate.
>>> OTHER STORIES AROUND FLORIDA

BROWARD COUNTY

>>> Hispanic and Black residents population surges, will change political dynamics on county commission in future

The release of the 2010 Census data www.miamiherald.com last week shows growth in the state’s second largest county is slowing, over the past decade grew by 7.7 percent with has now 1.7 million residents with a strong influx of new Black and Hispanic residents, and with the demographic changes will come political ramifications. Broward is no longer the staid suburbs of decades past and like Miami-Dade, it is becoming a county of people made up from around the world, and that will make for a more dynamic political process in the years to come in this dominantly Democratic Party bastion. Further, many of Broward’s elected leaders in municipalities, the school board and county commission have been arrested over the past 18-months, sentenced or are awaiting trial and these removals will aide in getting new candidates in elected positions and one reason why this census data becomes so important.

Many Broward leaders for years have been in denial and they would tell me everything was “great” and “voters loved them,” but some of these comments are ringing hollow, and with the usual block voting machine losing influence. The upcoming county elections in 2012 could be the beginning of greater political say by the new emerging Hispanic and Black block of voters that gives the county for the first time minority-majority status. And how that plays out in the future will be seen in the years ahead but things are changing, and will I suspect be reflected on the county commission candidates in the future.

>>> 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

>>> Boynton Beach physician sentenced on health care fraud charges

Press release: Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, John V. Gillies, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office, and Christopher B. Dennis, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG), Miami Field Office, announce today’s sentencing of defendant Jerry A. Spiegel, 78, of Boynton Beach, Florida. U.S. District Court Judge Joan A. Lenard sentenced Spiegel to 41 months’ imprisonment, to be followed by 3 years of supervised release. As a condition of his supervised release, Spiegel was required to relinquish his medical license. In addition, the Court ordered Spiegel to pay $880,958 in restitution for his role in the health care fraud conspiracy. Last year, Spiegel was found guilty of conspiring to commit health care fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1349. According to court documents, Spiegel was the medical director of three Miami-Dade County HIV/AIDS-infusion clinics: R&M Services Center Corp., Buena Vista Family Medical Center, Inc., and Solution Diagnostic Center, Inc. While medical director of these three clinics, Spiegel signed patient prescriptions without first examining patients or reviewing patient files. The HIV/AIDS-infusion medications that Spiegel prescribed were not medically necessary and were not administered to patients.

According to court documents, during Spiegel’s tenure as medical director, and based on the prescriptions he signed, the three clinics billed the Medicare program for more than $2.3 million in fraudulent claims. For example, from September 3, 2008 to December 31, 2008, R&M Services submitted $952,589 in fraudulent claims to Medicare, and received $425,385. From August 29, 2008 to January 23, 2009, Buena Vista submitted $769,094 in fraudulent claims to Medicare, and received $270,703. And from October 10, 2008 to February 23, 2009, Solution Diagnostic submitted $617,415 in fraudulent claims to Medicare, and received $184,870. Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General. This case was prosecuted by Department of Justice Trial Attorney Benton Curtis and Assistant United States Attorney Robert J. Luck. 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 .

ORANGE COUNTY

>>> Press release: Gov. Scott taps Alfred James Craner II of Orlando to the Orange County Court.

“With more than 22 years of legal experience, James has developed a disciplined and systematic approach to evaluating and resolving a high volume of cases,” Governor Scott said. “His determination, fairness and patience have been hallmarks of his career and will be instrumental qualities in his role as a county judge.” Craner, 47, has been a sole practitioner since 1996. Previously, he was an assistant state attorney with the State Attorney for the Ninth Judicial Circuit Court from 1993 to 1996 after interning and practicing as an associate with Alan Robinson P.A. from 1988 to 1993. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Kent State University and his law degree from the University of Akron School of Law. Craner will fill the vacancy created by the elevation of Judge Mike Murphy to the Ninth Judicial Circuit Court.

COMMUNITY EVENTS

>>> Press release: In celebration of Women’s History Month, the Miami-Dade Park and Recreation Department (MDPR) and the Miami-Dade County Commission for Women are hosting the 23rd Annual In the Company of Women Awards Celebration on Thursday, March 31, from 6-9 p.m., at the Biltmore Hotel, 1200 Anastasia Ave., Coral Gables. The event includes a cocktail-reception and an awards-presentation recognizing 12 local women for their long-standing contributions to the residents of Miami-Dade County.

WPLG Channel 10 reporter Neki Mohan will emcee the festivities. As part of the program, a representative from the Office of the Mayor will present the Mayor’s Pioneer Award, which honors a woman who has proven leadership, creativity, and vision in addressing community issues in Miami-Dade County within the past 10 years. The honorees include: Arts & Entertainment–Eveline Pierre, Founder of the Haitian Heritage Museum; Business & Economics–Patricia Thorp, Senior Counselor, RBB Public Relations; Communications & Literature–Michele Gillen, Chief Investigative Reporter, CBS Miami; Education & Research–Dr. Stacey Mancuso, Principle, DASH; Government & Law–Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz; Health & Human Services–Lucy Morillo-Agnetti, President & CEO, Miami Children’s Hospital Foundation; Science & Technology–Sherry Thompson Giordano, Executive Director, IT Women, and June Randall, Chief, Administration & Technology Division, Miami-Dade County Police; Sports & Athletics–Marta Montenegro, Founder, Publisher & Editor-In-Chief, SoBeFit Magazine; Mayor’s Pioneer Award–Elaine Bloom, former member of the Florida House of Representatives; Community Spirit Award–Donna Ginn, Founder & Managing Partner, Crossroad Consulting Group; and posthumous honors–Amanda Haworth, Detective, Miami-Dade Police Warrants Bureau.

Nominations were solicited from the general public from October through December 2010. Nominees must have a history of continued accomplishments in their field and have met these five criteria: professional development, community responsibility, leadership and vision, contribution to women’s progress and promotion of pluralism. Award recipients were selected by a panel, comprised of some of last year’s winners and the event’s organizing committee.

Tickets for In the Company of Women $40 and can be purchased by calling Ticketmaster at 305-358-5885, or visiting their web site: www.ticketmaster.com; or at Miami-Dade County Auditorium, 2901 West Flagler Street. For more information about the event, call Lisa Fernandez at the Women’s Park, 305-480-1717.

>>> Downtown Bay Forum monthly luncheon on Mar. 30-titled Economic and Social Dimension of Job Creation in Miami-Dade County. For more information go to www.downtownbayforum.com

>>> Press release: How to Run a Clean Campaign — Citizens considering running for elected office can learn how to do it right by attending the next Campaign Skills Seminar sponsored by the Miami-Dade Commission on Ethics and Public Trust. The seminar, at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 7, 2011, at the North Miami Police Department’s Community Service Room, will provide essential information on fundraising and record keeping to candidates, campaign treasurers, volunteers and anyone who wants to understand the legal and ethical obligations of seeking public office. Speakers include representatives of the Miami-Dade Ethics Commission, the State Attorney’s Office and the Elections Department. The event is free and open to the public. Attorneys can earn Continuing Legal Education credits from the Florida Bar. Campaign Skills Seminar, Thursday, April 7, 2011 6:30 p.m., Community Service Room at the North Miami Police Department, 700 NE 124 Street, North Miami, Florida 33161 >>For more information or to reserve a seat, call Robert Thompson at 305-350-0630 or e-mail robthom@miamidade.gov. >> 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.

>>> Healthcare 2011 and Beyond, is the title of the Apr. 6 Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce Luncheon featuring Brian Keeley, the President and CEO of Baptist Health South Florida. For further information go to http://www.miamichamber.com/cwt/External/WCPages/WCEvents/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=2701

>>> Conference Focuses on Ethics in Public Office – Some of Florida’s most respected legal and political leaders will share their insights on challenges to the values and principles of those holding and seeking public office at a daylong conference sponsored by the Miami-Dade Commission on Ethics and Public Trust, St. Thomas University and the Daily Business Review. “When Politics and Ethics Collide: A Symposium on the Interplay of Ethical Standards in the Public Arena” will take place from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Friday, April 15, 2011, at the St. Thomas School of Law, 16401 NW 37 Ave., in Miami Gardens.

The keynote speaker will be Bob Butterworth, who has distinguished himself as former Florida Attorney General and Director of the Department of Children & Families, St. Thomas Law School Dean, Broward County Sheriff and judge. Featured panelists include Retired Florida Supreme Court Chief Justice Gerald Kogan, Broward County Mayor Sue Gunzburger, Assistant Miami-Dade State Attorney Joe Centorino, Former Miami-Dade County Manager and School Superintendent Merrett Stierheim, Former Miami-Dade County Commissioner and President of the University of Miami Good Government Initiative Katy Sorenson, Florida Atlantic University Public Ethics Academy Director Norm Ostrau, Former Miami Mayor and Miami-Dade County Commissioner Maurice Ferre, among others. Topics for discussion will focus on the climate of corruption, campaigning and elections, the appearance of impropriety, lobbying and conflicts of interest. The registration fee includes morning refreshments, lunch and all materials. The cost is $40 if paid by April 13 and $50 at the door. CLE credits will be available. For more information and registration, log on to www.stu.edu/ethics or call Cathy Hayes at 305-623-2324. >>> 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.

EDITORIALS

>>> Good leaders and good governance only occurs with a robust press, despite elected leaders cries of foul

When I first started the Watchdog Report on May 5^th 2000 it was only after I had written a column in The Miami Herald in March outlining that there needed to be someone or people that went to some of the key public sunshine meetings that occur all through any given week and report back what is going on and create a information nervous system between $14 billion in public institutions here. On Thursday for example, there was a public meeting with Miami-Dade Commission Chair Joe Martinez and PHT Trustee Jorge Arrizurieta and about 20 people were in the room along with five other PHT trustees, but I was the only press. In that case, the discussion concerned how the health trust was governed. But depending on the public institution, it could have been a school board audit committee that is the public’s watchdog watching what and how the district’s $4.3 billion in tax money is being spent, and the board is very different from the 1990s. I originally thought I would be doing this for a couple of years since it appeared I had to demonstrate what I was talking about in this endeavor. Since that time, the Watchdog Report has taken a life of its own when it comes to readership but the fact I continue to struggle financially (And over the past 12-years I have returned about 35 checks from people for a variety of reasons, and few people in Miami ever return money) does not bode well given the small cost of fielding knowledgeable people in the public domain and the historical perspective they bring to issues is crucial in this activity.

I write about this because The Miami Herald has been asking who are the community leaders that the public respects and frankly the people shown www.miamiherald.com are mostly the usual suspects and I would submit there are many others in South Florida that qualify, but we seem to cling to the past in many respects. Yet I see people all the time that would qualify as well and it is these people that should be nurtured and groomed if voters really want top-notch political leadership in the future and that has to be combined with a robust press and that is no easy request in today’s world. For, the community can look for leaders but it must be in parallel with the media. For good governance rarely occurs when done in a back room out of the sunlight and people discussing ethics, transparency and good governance should also include the role of the press. For while a free press is part of the Constitution’s First Amendment it is under attack financially and by critics, and any further contraction will negate some of the reforms being suggested regarding how Miami-Dade is governed, now that the voters have thrown out of office Mayor Carlos Alvarez and Commissioner Natacha Seijas. But all these moves require more media to get the word out about what is going on to the public and taxpayer, for an uninformed public serves no value if this Republic is going to work and why I kept at it for so many years now, thanks to the power of the internet.

>>> PAST WDR: Oct. 2008: Public servants need to pick-up the pace for services, normal bureaucratic performance not cutting it

The Watchdog Report publisher attended the Friday Miami-Dade County commissioner chief of staff briefing where Mayor Alvarez’s staff headed up by Manager George Burgess explained what was in the agenda along with commissioner aides for the upcoming Tuesday board of county commission meeting. However, what struck me in these turbulent economic times was how casual and light hearted some of the dialogue was as the world waited to see if the United States House of Representatives would pass a $700 billion economic injection of cash into the struggling American economy and it highlights the problem of large public institutions like the county with over 30,000 employees. After 12 years of watching government at all levels and I have written about this in the past and what I have observed is that 30 percent of the county employees work incredible hard, another 50 percent are what I call standard issue bureaucrats and there is another 20 percent just “doing their time” as so many have said while riding the elevator with me in the government center.

In the old days, the last 30 or 40 years this kind of government performance was considered normal but people in government at national, state and local levels better wake up and smell the roses for without great efficiency and more effective execution given the harsh economic crisis. They will in the end feel the financial impact on themselves and a little concern on how these issues may affect civil servants should stay in the back of their minds. For in today’s world no job can truly said to be secure in many sectors and government workers need to face that fact, perhaps pick up the pace they do their job because that increased productivity has gone on for decades in the private sector and public servants are no longer inoculated regarding these new realities and when you see how many people act and what they say in the public sector, given the reality, it is like watching The Twilight Zone.

>>> PAST WDR: NOV. 2007: One never knows what you will find in elected leaders financial disclosure forms, why I always check them

I was recently asked why I run elected officials financial disclosure forms so often, and it is because this is the only time the public gets to peer into someone’s life and about 10 percent of the time something later turns up, as was the case with now jailed Ken Jenne, the former Broward County sheriff. I would run his financial disclosures in early July every year after the forms were due, first because he had the largest operation, around $700 million in the county under one elected official and he was top dog on the disclosure food chain list.

Jenne used to file his IRS 1040 with his wife and it was here that I first noticed that after years of no outside income, he listed $25,000 from one organization and another $10,000 from another source. At the time, I just noted that he now had outside income and the media and public corruption investigators took it from there. In other cases an elected official might have more cash than normal, say $500,000 as was one case and that person years ago would later have difficulty explaining where that came from.

Some people try to make their forms and the information difficult to read, or are incomplete in some way and it says a lot about a person. People that are straight up many times just file their IRS 1040 but as we see with Jenne, this is not fool proof either. Some elected people challenge the need for these financial disclosures to be made public, but it comes with the turf if you are an elected official and that is the way it is and get over it. For with the profile, responsibility and power that comes with elected office the public has a right to see someone’s financial holdings and it is one of the best aspects of the Florida Sunshine law.

>>> Past WDR: Nov. 07: Watchdog Report reader at county was glad I returned cruise tickets, because it would have “hurt me”

The Watchdog Report has gotten many comments about my returning cruise tickets for two that I won in a raffle recently, and would later return to be raffled off again. Some people thought since it was a raffle that I should have kept the tickets and it would have been okay. However, one county Watchdog Report reader in a elevator down at county hall last week said it all when she said she was glad I had returned them and it would have “hurt me” if I kept them. That was the same conclusion I had about 90 seconds after the drawing, and since I am a solo operation it was clear what I had to do and that is what I did.

LETTER

>>> Reader on Beach Commissioner Jorge Exposito after Breakfast Club gig

Jorge, Thanks for being our guest speaker this morning. You pulled a good crowd and did a good job with the questions. I think it is clear that there is a lot of concern by the public over the convention center expansion plan, both as to need and cost and that everyone attending would appreciate your continued questioning…

David Kelsey

For the Tuesday Morning Breakfast Club.

>>> Thanks for mentioning my name, to me it is an honor to be remembered by you, some will lobby for that position if this is the case, not me. If the County needs me and God wants. I will be ready with new ideas and volunteers names that come to my mind, that are able to help to bring cost reductions and improvements in this time of turmoil.

J. Pepe Cancio Sr.

Former Miami-Dade County District 12 Commissioner

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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

Daniel A. Ricker

Publisher & Editor

Watchdog Report

Est. 05.05.00

>>> 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.