Watchdog Report Vol.12 No.14 August 7, 2011 Est.05.05.00 I go when you cannot!

CONTENTS

Argus Report: S&P gives thumbs down to U.S., as credit rating drops to AA+, first time since 1917, what will be the global ramifications be tonight and Monday?

Florida: Miami-Dade legislators hear the financial cries and pleas of public institutions, and not-for-profits, Round II on Wednesday at Miami City Hall

Florida Supreme Court: Justice Lewis in the spotlight, tapped by Chiles days before governor dies, judge has $3.45 million net worth through May 2011

Miami-Dade County: Mayor Gimenez says changing county employee culture like “eating an elephant, one bite at a time”

Miami-Dade Obituary: A Great One is gone; Woody Weiser at 80 passes, he was always upfront and open with the WDR over the decade

Miami-Dade Public Schools: Grove charter school board meeting video gives peek inside governance and debate of Florida Sunshine laws

Public Health Trust: Marlins Ayundan program comes to UM/Jackson Memorial Hospital to cheer-up patients at fabled institution’s campus

City of Miami: Mayor Regalado blasts Miami New Times for critical front-page story on why he should be recalled

Village of Coconut Grove: Dinner Key marina resident convicted of manufacturing and possessing silencers

City of Miami Beach: Commissioner Wolfson King of the Hill with $88,795 in his campaign war chest, Mayor Bower comes in at $39,000 through June

>>> Other stories around Florida

Broward County: Long serving state Atty. Satz in the spotlight, first elected in 1976, criticized soft on public corruption, had $1.34 million net worth through 2010

City of Hollywood: Local man charged with conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud and bribery

Palm Beach County: Commissioner Burdick trying to be fiscal watchdog, elected in 2010, had $482,000 net worth through June

Orange County: Gov. Scott taps Margaret H. Schreiber to the Ninth Judicial Circuit.

Polk County: Gov. Scott reappointed Littleton and taps Dorrell, Rada-Pilkington and Turner to the District Board of Trustees, Polk State College (PSC).

Manatee County: Gov. Scott taps Bailey, Fishman and Moran to the District Board of Trustees, State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota.

Monroe County: Mayor Carruthers in the spotlight, up in 2012, had $6.3 million net worth through Aug. 2010

Community Events: Kristi House luncheon cruise event — State legislature redistricting meetings — Downtown Bay Forum luncheon Aug. 24, Are Unions Doomed? — Margulies Collection openings

Editorials: “Truth in government,” in short supply at all levels of government, debt debate deal has taxpayers fuming from both the left & right

Letters: Women activists want women Congressional leaders on 12-member Super Committee

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 by the Knight Foundation with technical support from the Knight Center for International Media http://knight.miami.edu within the University of Miami’s School of Communication www.miami.edu to 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 and I hope you or your organization will consider helping in a small or larger way and help keep another voice on line 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 is celebrated its 12th Anniversary May 5, 2011.

>>> I will be on www.wlrn.org/topicalcurrents @ 91.3 FM  on Tuesday Aug. 9, from 1:30 to 2:00 p.m. hosted by Joseph Cooper and readers should listen in if you get a chance.

>>> CLARIFICATION: Miami-Dade County Public Works Director Esther Calas, P.E. thought last week’s story on the trees being cut in Coconut Grove and causing a community firestorm with local activists was one sided. She thought I did not highlight the fact it was the city of Miami’s responsibility to post the required signage that these 11 trees would be cut down before the event, and that it was not the responsibility of the county.

ARGUS REPORT – Heard, Seen on the Street

>>> S&P says thumbs down to U.S. as credit rating drops to AA+, first time since 1917, what will be the global ramifications Monday?

Since 1917, the United States has had a triple A investment bond grade rating but Standard & Poor’s thought otherwise Friday night after the protracted debt limit battle only resolved at the last hour Tuesday when President Barack Obama signed the legislation. The credit rating services had hinted that a downgrade might occur as America’s debt continues to climb past the $14.3 trillion mark but the question now is what will the global financial markets do tonight and on Monday when these open and will this negative credit worthiness adjustment cause a sell off of Americas securities around the globe.

What about the timing of the downgrade?

Critics are questioning if S&P was being responsible in this move where the credit firm cites the political process and almost paralysis when it comes to the nation’s debt among the nation’s lawmakers and their ability to resolve the issue. However, the credit agencies sudden righteousness after missing the housing and mortgage bubble, the highly leveraged banks exposure and of course, the crash of AIG appears too little to late.

The Watchdog Report since the early 2000s when the nation’s debt was around $5.7 trillion has sounded the alarm that this debt escalation could not be sustained and when it came to the hollowing out of the national economy. The housing and mortgage bubble epicenter in 2006 was South Florida, and the signs were everywhere including a 21.3 percent increase in property vales that saw the county with a tax roll that went from $212 billion to $245 billion in a single year. And clearly this growth could not be sustained. Now in the midst of this real estate collapse across the nation that slowly is bouncing back at a snails pace. We as a people are paying the price, and this rating change will affect every single American in the months and years ahead in higher interest costs until the country faces and resolves this vexing fiscal threat.

>>> White House: Statement from the Press Secretary: The President believes it is important that our elected leaders come together to strengthen our economy and put our nation on a stronger fiscal footing. The bipartisan compromise on deficit reduction was an important step in the right direction.  Yet, the path to getting there took too long and was at times too divisive. We must do better to make clear our nation’s will, capacity and commitment to work together to tackle our major fiscal and economic challenges.

Over the past weeks and months the President repeatedly called for substantial deficit reduction through both long-term entitlement changes and revenues through tax reform, with additional measures to spark jobs and strengthen our recovery.  That is why the President pushed for a grand bargain that would include all of these elements and require compromise and cooperation from all sides. Over the coming weeks the President will strongly encourage the bipartisan fiscal committee as well as all members of Congress to put our common commitment to a stronger recovery and a sounder long-term fiscal path above our political and ideological differences.

>>> Press release: Ros-Lehtinen Condemns Rejection By Cuban Dictatorship Of Alan Gross’ Appeal & Says That Obama Administration Needs To Stop Diplomatic Overtures To Tyrants

Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, issued the following statement today, Friday, after press reports indicated that the Cuban Supreme Court had rejected Alan Gross’ appeal of his prison sentence. Ros-Lehtinen’s statement: “The Cuban dictatorship is clearly using Mr. Gross to strengthen its grip on power and gain leverage with the United States. I was not surprised by this decision as we are dealing with a cruel and heinous regime that has no compassion whatsoever and whose only goal is to increase its stranglehold on the Cuban nation.

Upon Gross’ detainment, even before his kangaroo court trial and his unjust sentence and rejection of appeal, the Obama Administration should have ended the on-going six-month conversation with the Castro regime, suspended the opening of further airports with new charter flights to Cuba and implemented the range of sanctions that it has available. This Administration must come to the realization that coddling dictators does nothing to advance the interests of the United States.” Note:  In March, Gross was sentenced to 15 years in Castro’s jails after being convicted of illegally bringing communications equipment to Cuba’s small Jewish population.

>>> Downtown Miami flexes its property tax muscle, 35.9 percent of Miami roll value in two square mile area

The Miami Downtown Development Authority (DDA) is dropping its set millage for the first time since its creation in 1965 and while the organization represents only two square miles of the city. The area accounts for 35.9 percent of the city’s total assessed tax base of $30.26 billion and the $10.8 billion that comes from this tax base is critical to the city’s overall fiscal health. The DDA has seen its ups and downs over the decades but the city after the building boom is finally becoming a nighttime destination after years of it becoming a sleepy business district at night when the office workers went home. Currently the 2010 population in downtown Miami surges to 194,000 a day and DDA documents indicate residential population for 2011 is around 72,500 and the projected population in 2016 as the condominiums fill up should hit around 84,000 residents with many of the units being snapped up by foreign investors. The DDA is currently doing extensive outreach in the national and international markets, with Brazil, Canada, and New York City being where they are getting the “most vibrancy” selling our message, said Alyce Robertson the DDA executive director to Miami Commissioner Francis Suarez at a briefing recently. Her staff said there was a “pent up demand with Brazilians”, the country’s recent investment broke the $1 billion mark last year, and with the increased flights to the country by American Airlines, this growth is expected to increase and why when it comes to real-estate investments. Brazil and Sweden are picking up the most real estate in the DDA area.

What about the Miami commission District 2 election?

The DDA board is chaired by Miami Commissioner Marc Sarnoff (Net worth $2.08 million) and the authority’s area of responsibility falls smack into Commission District 2, a seat on the city dais now held by Sarnoff and the local voters in this area are the new variable in the upcoming Nov. election. That has the attorney being challenged by four other candidates, and how this key block of new voters participate could be pivotal in the low turnout race, and why television ads will be the mode of the day to reach those voters in the condominiums. Since many of these buildings will not allow candidates to enter and campaign. A problem first encountered by the 2010 Census numerators and even experienced by long term U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Miami who was stopped from going into the buildings when she campaigned back in 2010 for her congressional seat.

>>> IBOPE Zogby Poll: Voters Pan Debt Limit Bill 88% Not Confident It Will Reduce Deficit 73% Say Nation On Wrong Track, Highest Since Obama Elected

The debt limit agreement reached between Congress and President Barack Obama gets very low marks from likely voters, as does how the issue was handled. Fallout includes a dip in the President’s approval rating (41%) and the number who say he deserves re-election (36%). The number of respondents who say the nation is on the wrong track (73%) is at its highest level since October, 2008. The IBOPE Zogby interactive poll conducted from August 2-4 also shows that voters disapprove of the debt limit agreement, 70% to 25%. They also strongly say they lack confidence it will actually reduce the deficit (88%) and are more likely to say it will lead to the creation of fewer rather than more jobs, 40% to 9%. Please click the link below to view the full news release on our website:
http://www.zogby.com/news/2011

>>> Repeat of national Tribune paper profile, a blast from the past of Watchdog’s life back in Jan. 2003, and not all that much has changed financially

The Watchdog Report is going down memory lane again and here is a national profile and story done by Maya Bell in the Orlando-Sentinel, but ran in all the Tribune papers around the nation on Martin Luther King’s Birthday back in Jan. 20, 2003.  After she spent about six weeks, off and on, experiencing the world I was living in back then, and she nicely captured the reality of my life, that in many ways continues to today, which I wish was otherwise after now 12-years. >>> `I Go When You Cannot’ – January 20, 2003|By Maya Bell – Orlando Sentinel – Miami Bureau Chief — Sometimes Dan Ricker lives in the dark so others may live in the light. It’s not by choice. Miami’s self-anointed citizen watchdog depends on the people he writes for and about to finance his quixotic quest to attend nearly every government meeting in Miami-Dade County. That’s a lot of mind-numbing meetings — as many as 2,500 a year — but not a lot of income. So Ricker teeters on bankruptcy. He dashes to his post office box daily, hoping subscribers to his weekly Watchdog Report have finally mailed their checks. Among them are managers with Florida Power & Light, the utility that regularly cuts power to Ricker’s Coconut Grove home, most recently while he was attending a legislative delegation meeting last month. But what Ricker, once a successful international sales executive, lacks in financial stability, he makes up for in credibility. When he walks into Miami-Dade’s government center, the county manager salutes him. When he runs into Miami’s first Cuban-American congresswoman, she greets him with a kiss. “He knows where the bodies are buried,” said U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Miami. “He knows the people behind the curtain. He knows the real wizard of Oz.” >>> To read the section’s large front page story, but without the photos and smart box graphics, go to: `I Go When You Cannot’ – Sun Sentinel 20 Jan 2003 … Sometimes Dan Ricker lives in the dark so others may live in the light. … to his weekly Watchdog Report have finally mailed their checks. … http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2003-01-20/news/0301190341_1_ricker-school-board-president-miami-s-first-cuban-american

>>> 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

>>> Miami-Dade legislators hear the financial cries and pleas of public institutions, and not for profits, Round II on Wednesday at Miami City Hall

Dozens and dozens of people representing municipalities, other public entities, the Miami-Dade Clerk’s office, the state attorney and public defenders offices along with a host of hospitals, universities and community-based organizations pleaded their causes to the Miami-Dade Legislative delegation on Monday at Miami City Hall. The public hearing chaired by state Rep. Carlos Lopez Cantera, R-Miami (Net worth $1.85 million) the delegation head and Majority leader in the House and the other state legislators is a yearly ritual, but since state funding dried up big time back in 2007. The lawmakers can only listen and do what they can while the state and national economies sputter along. The meeting had about 17 state senators and representatives in attendance and 80 or so people of the 61 organizations that had signed up were in the chambers audience. Further, there will be a second round of public hearings this Wednesday from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., in Miami’s City Hall for those organizations unable to speak last Monday when time ran out.

One woman speaking as a cancer survivor for the Susan G. Koman for the Cure organization told the legislators what she faced when it came to the cost of oral chemotherapy drugs she needs to take. She noted she had health and prescription drug insurance that was not cheap but even with that plan. She said the oral chemo drug came at a steep price, a monthly dose cost $4,000, and her plan only covered 50 percent of the cost and had her paying the $2,000 co payment monthly, which was no easy task, she said.

What about County Clerk Ruvin

Harvey Ruvin, the Miami-Dade Clerk of the Courts spoke in front of the legislators and his office has been under the financial gun over the past few years in the state legislature and funding for the courts have become a controversial issue with state lawmakers. Ruvin, a former municipal mayor in his first political office, was later a long serving county commissioner before running for the countywide clerk’s office in 1992. He has since been reelected every four years and in his last race in 2008, he won over 75 percent of the countywide vote. He is a strong environmentalist proponent and is a registered Democrat in this partisan race. He is facing challenger Rubin Young in 2012, also a Democrat and Ruvin has $5,250 in his campaign war chest to Young who lists no money through the June 2011 campaign-reporting period.

What do we know about Ruvin’s finances?

Ruvin through Dec. had a net worth of $1.45 million (Up from $1.38 million last year) and he lists $175,000 in household goods. He lists $$85,187 in securities investments, there is $250,000 in IRA deferred income, his residence is worth $1.5 million and an investment with Signature Gardens is worth $40,000. He lists liabilities of $315,000 on a mortgage, credit cards are owed $5,000 and Bank of America wants $104,000. His income for the year was his clerk’s salary of $171,000 and social security kicked in $28,000.

http://www.miami-dadeclerk.com/clerk_biography.asp

>>> Press release: Governor Rick Scott today announced the reappointments of Judge Timothy M. Basquill and Judge Doris E. Jenkins as Judges of Compensation Claims.

“Judge Basquill has efficiently and effectively managed hearings and cases during his tenure,” said Governor Scott. “I am confident he will serve the claimants and employers in his region in a fair and unbiased manner.” Judge Basquill, of Tequesta, has been a Judge of Compensation Claims for the West Palm Beach region since 2003.  Previously, he practiced with Beisler and Beisler from 1988 to 2003. In Houston, Texas, he practiced with Hoppess, Cowgill and Emmott from 1986 to 1988; with Dyche and Basquill from 1985 to 1986; with Phillips, King, Smith and Wright in 1985; and with Dyche and Wright from 1983 to 1985. After serving in the United States Army from 1972 to 1979, he was a paralegal with Fulbright and Jaworski in Houston. He received his bachelor’s degree from Loyola University and his law degree from South Texas College of Law.

“Judge Jenkins is very thorough in her analysis of case details and in applying the law to all cases that come before her,” Governor Scott said.  “In addition, she has been very helpful in reducing the workload of cases in other areas of the state.” Judge Jenkins, of Valrico, has been a Judge of Compensation Claims for the Tampa region since 1995.  Previously, she was a receivership attorney for the Florida Department of Insurance from 1993 to 1995 and from 1989 to 1990. From 1991 to 1993, she was staff counsel for the Special Disability Trust Fund for the Florida Department of Labor and Employment Security, and she was the research director for the Florida Supreme Court Study Commission on Racial and Ethnic Bias from 1990 to 1991. Prior to that, she served as general counsel for the Florida Parole Commission, staff counsel for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the Florida Senate Judiciary/Criminal Committee, an assistant attorney general for the Florida Department of Legal Affairs, and a legal assistant for the Florida Department of Legal Affairs.  She received her bachelor’s degree from Rollins College and her law degree from Vanderbilt University Law School.

>>> Press release:  It has been a good and full week. We completed the first half of our “listening tour” for The Children’s Movement with meaningful discussions with leaders in Panama City, Pensacola, St. Petersburg and Tallahassee. This coming week we will be in Orlando, Naples and Sarasota. By the end of the month, we will have had meetings in the same 17 cities of the Milk Party tour last September. And we will be able to come back to you next month with a strong consensus on next steps for The Movement. Some of the strongest observations these past few days have come on the topic of how to be a knowledgeable and nurturing parent — how to give them the information they need to be the best possible parent. I share with you, in that spirit, a wonderful piece that we just put on The Children’s Movement website. It’s by Dr. Judy Coughlin, a professor at Nova Southeastern.. She’s the loving and always-learning parent of two children — one with a significant set of special needs. The professor’s thoughts are poignant and powerful. Click here to read. We are in this together. Dave Lawrence, Chair The Children’s Movement of Florida.

FLORIDA SUPREME COURT

>>> Justice Lewis in the spotlight, tapped by Gov. Chiles days before governor dies, judge has $3.45 million net worth through

Supreme Court Justice R. Fred Lewis is in the spotlight this week and Gov. Lawton Chiles first appointed him to the top bench in 1998 just days before the governor died at the age of 68 of a heart attack on Dec. 12. Lewis on the top state court has served as the Chief Judge since then and is known for his even temperament and his work to make judicial access easier for people with disabilities.

What do we know about his finances?

Lewis through May 2011 had a net worth of $3.45 million and he lists $300,000 in household goods. He has real estate valued at $450,000, $950,000 and a home in Tallahassee is worth $950,000. The jurist has $2.9 million in a variety of banks, an IRA has $309,000, life insurance is worth $138,000 and there is $5,400 in stocks. His salary as a judge was $157,000 and other income brings his total income for the year to $ 162,505. Lewis lists one gift over $100. some books on Florida legal cases.

>>> Court’s web page: Justice R. Fred Lewis

A former Chief Justice and founder of Justice Teaching, Justice Lewis was appointed to the Supreme Court of Florida on December 7, 1998, by the late Governor Lawton Chiles. While serving as Chief Justice, he founded Justice Teaching, an organization that now has over 3,900 volunteer lawyers and Judges placed with and active in Florida public schools, which enhances civic and law-related education through the active programs in all levels of Florida schools. As Chief Justice, he also convened the first commission and statewide all branch mental health summit which developed and proposed a unified and comprehensive plan to address the increasing needs with the intersection of mental illness and the justice system. He also attempted to provide greater public access to justice for the disabled by mandating a survey and audit of all court facilities in Florida through a task force of professionals to identify and remove obstacles to facility access. While Chief Justice, Justice Lewis also instituted for the first time in Florida, a uniform high-level diversity training program for all Florida judges. Having a background in civil litigation and recognizing the need for better jury instructions in complex cases, he created and appointed the first Standard Jury Instruction Committee for Contract and Business Cases, a group that continues to move forward to finalize comprehensive jury instructions for these complex cases. Justice Lewis served as liaison to the Florida Board of Bar Examiners for 10 years where he led the effort to require higher academic and character standards for applicants to the Florida Bar…

In 2000, he was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Public Service degree from Florida Southern College. In 2002, Justice Lewis received an Honorary Doctor of Law degree from St. Thomas University. He also has been the recipient of a Certificate of Appreciation for Outstanding Contributions to We the People, the Citizens and the Constitution; a Florida State University College of Law Award for Contributions to the Summer Law Program; a Guardian of the Constitution Citizenship Award for Law-Related Education in Brevard County; a Dade County Bar Association, Young Lawyer’s Section Dedication to Children Award; and an Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Study of Law, Legal and Public Affairs, by Miami Senior High School. He also received the 2005-2006 Easter Seals Judge Wilke Ferguson Award for Protector of the Disabled.

In 2007 Justice Lewis received the Equal Opportunities in the Judiciary Award, the Constitutional Education Award, the Education for Justice Award, and the Justice Thurgood Marshall Award. Justice Lewis and his wife Judith attended Florida Southern College together and were married in 1969. They have two children, Elle and Lindsay. Office Information: Justice Lewis’ office may be reached in Tallahassee by phone at (850) 488-0007. The judicial assistant in Justice Lewis’ office is Gail Posey and the law clerks are Michelle Ballard, Yaniv Adar and Anthony Stella. The mailing address is 500 South Duval Street, Tallahassee FL 32399-1925. Attorneys or law students interested in clerkships in this office should check our Law Clerk Recruitment Page. There also is information on Internships.

MIAMI-DADE COUNTY

>>> Mayor Gimenez says changing county employee culture like “eating an elephant, one bite at a time”

Newly minted Mayor Carlos Gimenez (Net worth $923,000 up from $871,000 the year before) in a short but sweet speech to the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce monthly luncheon crowd Wednesday outlined his goals and vision for Miami-Dade in the months and years ahead, and changing the county employees’ culture. He said will be like “eating an elephant, one bite at a time,” during what he hopes will be a mayoral term that ultimately ends in 2020 if he is reelected twice in the coming years. Gimenez said he was committed to reducing the county’s budget and the property tax rate paid by residents by 1.2 percent, cutting the 27,000 county employees by 1,300 people, while also improving services that protect the elderly and children but also includes a strong nod to public safety issues and resident security. Gimenez a former Miami manager and county commissioner is cleaning house in his administration and a number of department heads have moved on or been cut loose since the June 28 election catapulted him into the top spot. Further, he plans to reduce the number of county departments “by half” and “believes in leadership by example” and has cut $1.5 million from his own office he told the luncheon crowd.

Gimenez said his new top staff has “Over 100 years in county and city government” and he is committed to “transform the culture” of county hall and residents needs and interests will be the new attitude and the “watchword will be to do the right thing,” he said. The former firefighter also noted that the “trust” residents have had with their government is broken and he is committed to “earn that trust” back and you “earn trust one slice at a time,” when it comes to the county’s taxpayers. He also said trust cannot be established without credible and “meaningful Charter Reform” with the goal to “Make Miami-Dade County a model for municipal government,” he said.

What about his relationship with the commission?

Gimenez while getting the proposed lower tax rate approved by commissioners recently that will reduce the bulk of taxpayers taxes in some way is still crossing swords with Commission Chair Joe Martinez and there was an interesting debate on Tuesday between the two men on when the mayor is allowed to comment or answer a commissioners question from the dais. Martinez says there are certain items that are strictly the purview of the commission and he is trying to establish a bright line of legislative authority and independence between the body and the strong mayor’s office.

What about Commissioner Suarez?

Commissioner Xavier Suarez (Net worth $328,000) oddly did not vote on the discussion between the chair and mayor item and he actually questioned why the Gimenez could not have the opportunity to speak, and when it came to vote. He was gone from the dais and this is not the first time he has avoided votes and people are wondering if he wants to avoid being controversial but since he represents Commission District 7. He should expect continued scrutiny about his attendance, how he votes and other activities during this trial run as a county commissioner since he is up again in Aug. 2012.

What about the Sunshine Laws?

Suarez has a unique issue when it comes to the Florida Sunshine Law and it is because his son Francis is a Miami commissioner and they both serve on the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) board at Miami-Dade County so they cannot talk about transportation issues among themselves. Suarez told commissioners Lynda Bell and Joe Martinez (Net worth $238,000 down from $245,000) at a meeting last week to discuss transportation options and possible using existing rail lines for the activity that he had just got off the phone with his son, who is on vacation, but they could not discuss the meetings substance because of this conflict, he said.

>>> Press release: Ros-Lehtinen Disappointed By Air Force Decision Not Supporting Staging Aerospace Show AT HARB & Says The Fight Has Just Begun Because This Project Makes Economic Sense & It Should Be Brought To Fruition

Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) is “deeply disappointed” that the U.S. Air Force did not support the bipartisan request by the Florida Congressional Delegation and the Beacon Council to stage the Western Hemisphere’s first international commercial aerospace trade show in South Miami-Dade County, specifically at Homestead Air Reserve Base (HARB). Cong. Ros-Lehtinen led the bipartisan Florida Congressional Delegation letter that included all Members of Congress from Florida urging the establishment of the Miami International Aerospace Show.

Said Ros-Lehtinen, “With all due respect, the Air Force has made a mistake in not supporting this air show at HARB. This air show would have brought thousands of industry experts and tourists from around the world and this influx would have created jobs and stimulated our economy. The reason it enjoys such widespread support is because we all know that this would be good for the Air Force, it will be good for HARB and it will be especially beneficial for our depressed local economy. All the conditions exist for this project to become a reality. I will be requesting a meeting with the Air Force, Miami-Dade County and the Beacon Council to hear what we can do to meet the Air Force’s requirements. During these very tough economic times, our Federal government should be encouraging economic activity and job creation, not hindering it. The fight has just begun. We need plans like this one that would create jobs and help our local economy.”

>>> Press release: Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos A. Gimenez is hosting a series of Budget Town Hall Meetings, where residents will be able to ask Mayor Gimenez and staff about the proposed Fiscal Year 2011-2012 County budget, www.miamidade.gov/budget.  Date: Tuesday, August 9, 2011 Location: Palmetto Bay Village Hall, 9705 East Hibiscus Street, Miami, FL 33157 Time: 7:00pm – 8:00pm >>> Date: Thursday, August 11, 2011 Location: Miami Gardens City Hall, 1515 NW 167 Street, Miami, FL 33169 Time: 7:00pm – 8:00pm >>> Date: Tuesday, August 16, 2011 Location: Miami Art Museum, 101 West Flagler Street, Miami, FL 33130 Time: 7:00pm – 8:00pm >>> Date: Thursday, August 18, 2011 Location: Coral Gables Country Club, 997 North Greenway Drive, Coral Gables, FL 33134 Time: 7:00pm – 8:00pm

>>> New ethics director Centorino has a new start date: Press release: Due to pending projects at the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office, the date for Joseph Centorino to start as Executive Director of the Miami-Dade Commission on Ethics and Public Trust has been moved to September 1, 2011.  Robert Meyers will remain in that post through August 31.

MIAMI-DADE COUNTY OBITUARY

>>> A Great One passes, Woody Weiser at 80 passes and was always upfront and open with the WDR over the decade

The passing of Sherwood “Woody” M. Weiser, at 80, stunned the community last week and he was honored at the Adrianne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts on Friday, and the community turned out in force to say thanks for his wide variety of contributions to South Florida during his lifetime. Weiser was a vital force when it came to the Arts Center Foundation, he chaired it from 1992 to 2008 and it was in that capacity that the Watchdog Report came into contact with the man, and he always made me feel welcome at a meeting and had nothing to hide, though technically the foundation was not obligated to allow me there given some donors did not wish to be known, and the foundation did not fall under the Florida Sunshine law.  And a man who had real class and dignity in South Florida has left the community and he made his mark in a remarkable way and will be missed. His family asks any donations be given to the Arsht Center at http://www.arshtcenter.org and for the guest book go to www.miamiherald.com/obituaries

MIAMI-DADE PUBLIC SCOOLS

>>> Grove charter school board meeting video gives insider peek inside governance and debate of Florida Sunshine laws

A parent of a local charter school in Coconut Grove started in 2004 and run by the buildings owner Manny Alonso Poch filmed a governance board meeting and the discussion allows the public to get an idea of what and how some of the 80 plus such schools are governed in Miami-Dade in the public  sunshine. The Arts and Minds Academy Charter School has been a frequent topic of the Watchdog Report since the school first went through and its creation was approved by the nation’s fourth largest public district because of this “related transaction” as it is called when a facilities owner also runs the school. In this case, the rent for the building jumped back in 2006 from $29,000 to $69,000 and currently now when maintenance is included is well over $80,000 per month. The school while academically doing well has gone through four school directors and has been the object of stories in The Miami Herald and Miami New Times along with other blogs. Here is what was sent to me last week by the person that took the video. >>> “I have uploaded the videos of the last 2 A&M Governing Board Meetings. The first meeting on 7/14 was adjourned when they realized I was videotaping. I showed them the law, explained, etc and they did not feel comfortable going forward. On the meeting on the 28th you will find a lot of interesting footage. If you do not have much time, at least view the Q and A portion. You will get a kick out of it. It is funny as they do not even know who is on their Governing Board and it is only a six member Board. All of the videos are ready. You can click on the following link and then look at all of the videos that were uploaded. There are a total of 8 (2 for the 7/14 meeting and 6 for the 7/28 meeting): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJjpx858p7Q You can also go to youtube and search aandmgbvideos and they will all come up. Videos 5 of 6 and 6 of 6 for the 7/28 meeting is the question and answer portion.”

>>> PAST WDR: MAY, 2011: Grove Arts & Mind Academy parents, in six page blistering letter to school district, light up school’s governance and criticize building owner and school founder Alonso-Poch

Parents of students at the Arts & Minds Academy located on Commodore Plaza in Coconut Grove fired off a blistering highly critical letter of complaint to the Miami-Dade Public Schools administration concerning how the charter school is being run and governed that seems to only benefit financially the building’s owner and school founder Manny Alonso-Poch. The May 2 six-page letter signed by the A&M PTSA Executive Board President Carlos Deupi and other senior board members and parents to Tiffanie Pauline, the Administrative Director of charter schools in the nation’s fourth largest school district. The letter details a long list of issues, including the fact that he owns the building the school is housed, and uses it for other activities including having his law office at the site. The school created in 2004 was flagged by the Watchdog Report back then because of the building ownership issue that is known as a “related transaction.” The original monthly rent paid by the school district was $29,000 but when it expanded in 2006, that same rent jumped to around $69,000 a month, and caught the eye of the district’s inspector general and the school board’s audit committee. Poch, an attorney, at a past school board audit committee meeting explained to audit board members why the new rent was fair, but his explanation did not fly and had audit board Chair Frederick “Buck” Thornburgh, an attorney noting there “was a lot of fairy dust in the room,” after the explanation he thought.

Further, Poch thinks of himself as the Grove’s comedian for when he saw me and Miami Commissioner Frank Carollo talking in the lobby of Miami City Hall months ago.  When he walked through security, he told the commissioner “to not believe a thing he writes,” but Poch forgot that prior to the CPA being elected as a Miami commissioner. He was a member of the school district audit committee and was actually there at the audit committee meeting when this “fairy dust” discussion came up at the body. The school has done well academically (Is an A rated school but it also has had four principles since 2004) but it is the governance issue that is the question, said a school administration official on Thursday and this complaint’s charges will be investigated by the public school district. The District has over 90 charter schools, many are successful, but A&M is an exception because of the “related transaction” issue, and the district administration will now investigate the complaint, and that will include interviewing the members of the governance board chaired by Ruth “Chuny” Montaner, a first cousin to Poch the letter asserts.

>>> Press release:  The School Board unanimously approved a resolution proposed by Board Chair Perla Tabares Hantman to endorse the “Hialeah Healthy Families” initiative to combat childhood obesity, sponsored by the City of Hialeah. “Childhood obesity has reached epidemic proportions in the nation with the number of obese children and adolescents more than tripling in the past 30 years,” said Ms. Hantman. “In the City of Hialeah, recent data shows that 46 percent of school-age children are overweight.” These escalating rates of obesity in children and adolescents are of enormous public health significance. The impact of childhood obesity on children’s physical health includes increased risk for pre-diabetes, heart disease, as well as bone and joint problems. Statistics also show that children who are overweight are at a higher risk of remaining overweight in adulthood. In response to this urgent public health concern, the City of Hialeah, with the support of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida Foundation, launched the community-wide campaign “Hialeah Healthy Families” to address the causes of childhood obesity and promote healthy eating and active living.  A Call to Action was developed by coalition of community partners, building on success stories, such as the Safe Routes to Schools Program and the annual Walk Our Children to School events sponsored by Ms. Hantman.

PUBLIC HEALTH TRUST

>>> Marlins Ayundan program to UM/Jackson Memorial Hospital to cheer-up patients at fabled institution campus

Marlins Players to Visit Pediatric Patients and Families WHAT: More than 100 employees of the Marlins organization will volunteer at the UM/Jackson Memorial campus, working alongside Jackson Health System employees to beautify the campus. The volunteers will assist in painting curbs and improving landscaping throughout the campus. Several Marlins players will also pay a surprise visit to pediatric patients and their families at Holtz Children’s Hospital. Marlins Ayudan is a community inspired program. The program is an innovative way for the public and the Marlins team to come together in assisting the South Florida community. Every month, Marlins players, executives and front office staff put on their Ayudante (helper) hat, and engage in hands-on community improvement events.  Media: Please confirm attendance with Jennifer Piedra (305) 585-7210 or Carolina Perrina de Diego (305) 984-7476. WHEN: Tuesday, August 9, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. WHO: Marlins President David Samson (9-10 a.m.); Jackson Health System President & CEO Carlos A. Migoya; Marlins players, including Clay Hensley, Brian Petersen, Logan Morrison, Burke Badenhop (noon to 1 p.m.); staff of the Marlins organization *Marlins players subject to change WHERE: Jackson Memorial Hospital, Ira C. Clark Diagnostic Treatment Center, (Corner of Northwest 19th Street and 12th Avenue) Miami, FL 33136 *Media can park outside of the Clark DTC. Contact Jennifer Piedra, Media Relations Specialist

Department of Public Relations, Jackson Health System – Office:  305-585-7210

>>> Press release: Commissioner Jose “Pepe” Diaz organizes public meetings on Jackson Hospital Governance Task Force recommendations

Miami-Dade residents are invited to voice their opinions on recommendations made by the Hospital Governance Task Force to manage the County’s major public hospital, Jackson Health System.  The Hospital Governance Task Force was created by the Board of County Commissioners to study and present recommendations on the governance structure of Jackson.  A series of public meetings will be held throughout Miami-Dade County in which residents can learn more about the recommendations and state their opinions on the future management of Jackson Memorial Hospital. The current recommendations made by the Task Force touch on a number of topics, including the structure of Jackson’s Board of Directors, ethics standards, legal structure and governance, and responsibilities to be held by both the Miami-Dade County Commission and the Jackson Health System Governing Board. The meetings were coordinated by Commissioner Jose “Pepe” Diaz, who chairs the County’s Public Safety & Healthcare Administration Committee. All county commissioners were invited to submit dates, times, and locations for meetings within their respective districts.

>>> Wednesday, August 17, 2011 – 6 p.m. – 8 p.m. Hispanic Branch Library 1398 SW 1 Street Miami, FL 33135 (Commissioner Barreiro’s District 5) >>> A copy of the recommendations can be viewed online at http://www.miamidade.gov/auditor/library/11-07-14_Outline_of_HGT_Recommendations.pdf. For more information, please contact Commissioner Diaz’s office at 305-599-1200.

CITY OF MIAMI

>>> Mayor Regalado blasts Miami New Times for critical front page story on why he should be recalled

Mayor Tomas Regalado (Net worth $7,500) on www.wpbt2.org/issues Friday blasted the Miami New Times for a recent cover story on why the mayor should be fired. Regalado told host Helen Ferre that the piece brought up stuff from his past decades ago, like that, he supported a “terrorist,” and when it came to hiring new city employees despite a hiring freeze. The reporter went back to 2009 when he was not the mayor and only a commissioner, and Mayor Manny Diaz (Net worth $1.8 million) was in office and challenged the quality and journalistic accuracy of the story he told Ferre in the interview. “Shame on New Times,” said Regalado and claimed the reporter Tim Elfrink “did not do his homework” and the way the story was put together was “shameful” said the former radio and television journalist (who has been shot twice in his past career) and also is being pounded in some local blogs that the mayor says are inaccurate.

He further said the police unions recent call for his recall  since the article came out was strictly about “money” and the union members knew what his stance on the city’s union contracts was before the election Nov. in 2009 that had them supporting him, but that has since changed obliviously, he said. Further, he believes any recall by Miami voters “will be a referendum about the unions [contracts] not the mayor,” he suggested. He went on saying these union contracts “date back many, many years” when the “unions had a tremendous amount of power” but he said they have to “understand change has got to come,” since “the city does not have the money” and the administration is trying not to lay off workers. >>> To see the show go to Watch This Week’s Issues ISSUE ONE: Regalado on Recall

>>> Press release: Coconut Grove marina resident convicted of manufacturing and possessing silencers

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, Hugo J. Barrera, Special Agent in Charge, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), announced the conviction of Andrew David Marshall on charges of manufacturing and possessing various silencers without a license.  The case was tried before. The jury returned its guilty verdict yesterday afternoon.  Sentencing is scheduled for October 24, 2011, at 3:00 p.m. before U.S. District Court Judge Joan Lenard.  At sentencing, Marshall faces a statutory maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. This investigation began in mid-2007, after an individual contacted the FBI to report their concern about Andrew David Marshall, whom the source felt had become isolated and paranoid.

According to the evidence presented at trial, Marshall lived alone on a small boat in the Dinner Key Marina off the shores of Coconut Grove and rented a storage unit in Miami.  During the investigation that followed, agents executed a search warrant for the boat and storage unit.  A search of the boat and storage unit resulted in the seizure of approximately 15 inert grenades, a grenade launcher, an inert rocket, the ingredients to make gun powder, fuse, two assault rifles, and one rifle with a bipod and laser scope.  The agents also recovered silencer component parts, which Marshall made on a machine in his storage unit.  A separate search of his computer revealed, among other things, numerous instructional books on how to be a sniper and how to construct silencers. The indictment and trial were the culmination of an investigation by the FBI and ATF.  Mr. Ferrer also thanked the members of the Joint Terrorism Task Force for their assistance.  The case was prosecuted at trial by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael E. Gilfarb and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Moore. >> 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 http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls.

>>> Press release: As a result of the recent tree cuttings on SW 27th Ave., the County and City will be presenting the Tree Plan for SW 27th Ave. Streetscape Project on Wednesday, Aug 10, 2011 at 7 pm at City Hall to inform everyone of the plans for Phases 1 and 2. You will have an opportunity to view the plans for both Phases, give input, and ask questions. Both Depts. of Public Works, Code Enforcement and the Neighborhood Enhancement Team (NET) will be present.  If you need further information, contact Ron Nelson in Commissioner Sarnoff’s office 305-250-5334.

CITY OF MIAMI BEACH

>>> Commissioner Wolfson King of the Hill with $88,795 in campaign war chest, Mayor Bower comes in at $39,000 through June

Its good to be an incumbent Miami Beach Mayor or Commissioner and the Watchdog Report looked at their campaign fundraising reports and Commissioner Jonah Wolfson is King of the Hill when it comes to raising cash for his war chest through June, the last reporting period. Wolfson, an attorney, has $88,795 in total in his campaign war chest and has spent $5,022. He is facing no opposition for the moment, as well as incumbents Commissioners Deede Weithorn and Edward Tobin all elected in 2009 that saw a whole crop of new faces on the dais including Mayor Mattie Herrera Bower who succeeded Mayor David Dermer in the post. Weithorn, a CPA has $28,626 for her campaign and has spent $11,585 on her campaign through the same period, and Edward Tobin, an attorney, has raised $15,995 and has spent $590.00.

Mayor Bower seeking her second term has $39,143 in total and has spent $2,099. Her challengers are Steve Berke and Dave Crystal. Berke has raised $4,300 and spent $3,807, and Crystal has $9,358 in his corner and has spent $6,726. Berke is a comedian and Crystal is a financial advisor who graduated from Yale University and has been making the political luncheon circuit  rounds trying to drum up support for his candidacy.

>>> Press release: Tuesday Morning Breakfast Club – Meeting Date: Tuesday, August 9th, 2011 Meeting Time: 8:30 AM Meeting Place:   David’s Café II, 1654 Meridian Ave., South Beach  Gus Pego, District Secretary, Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) for District 6, will be this week’s guest speaker at the August 9th meeting of the Tuesday Morning Breakfast Club.  Mr. Pego is responsible for the overall planning, design, construction, maintenance, and operations of the state highway system in Miami-Dade and Monroe Counties.

Topics of concern will include the twin tunnels now under construction from Watson Island to the Port of Miami, as well as their connection to I-95 and the 826/836 interchange, and the impact these major construction jobs will have on traffic to and from Miami Beach.  Added to this is FDOT’s scheduled rebuilding of Alton Road from 5th street to north of Dade Blvd., and the controversy locally over the inclusion of bike lanes. There is no charge for attending and everyone is welcome.  David Kelsey, Moderator for the Breakfast Club.  Visit our web site at www.MBTMBC.com (Miami Beach Tuesday Morning Breakfast Club). For more information contact David Kelsey.  To be placed on the Breakfast Club’s mailing list, contact Harry Cherry.  Both can be reached at TuesdayMorningBreakfastClub@Yahoo.com

>>> OTHER STORIES AROUND FLORIDA

BROWARD COUNTY

>>> Long serving state Atty. Satz in the spotlight, first elected in 1976, criticized soft on public corruption, had $1.34 million net worth through 2010

Broward state Attorney Michael Satz is in the spotlight this week and the long serving Democratic Party state attorney has been a fixture since he was first elected in 1976, but has been open to criticism that he has been soft on political corruption over the decades. Satz more recently when it comes to public official corruption has been more active but a statewide grand jury said the local public school district was rift with cronyism and public corruption and if it was legal, that the school board should be dissolved. Currently between the state attorney’s office and U.S. Attorney’s office these organizations have indicted, or convicted around a dozen elected leaders the last few years and while there has been a recent lull. The rate of arrests are expected to continue in the months ahead.

What do we know about his finances?

Satz through Dec. 2010 had a net worth of $1.34 million and he lists $99,570 in household goods. He has $336,000 in cash equivalents, there is $525,000 in real estate, stocks and bonds account for $173,000 and there is $220,000 in an IRA. His salary for the year as state attorney was $133,000 and his total income for the year was $170,265, state’s his financial disclosure form for the year.

>>> Web page BIO: Michael J. Satz, a native of Pennsylvania, is a graduate of Temple University and the University of Miami’s School of Law. After graduation from law school, Mr. Satz became an assistant prosecutor in the 17th Judicial Circuit, Broward County. He quickly developed a reputation as a tough courtroom litigator specializing in the prosecution of homicide cases and other violent crimes. Mr. Satz was elected State Attorney for the 17th Judicial Circuit in November of 1976 and has been re-elected every four years since. He continues to regularly handle the prosecution of capital offenses and other serious crimes while now overseeing a staff of 500 employees, including 200 assistant prosecutors. Throughout his tenure as State Attorney, Mr. Satz has responded to Broward County’s diverse crime problems by instituting specialized units within the State Attorney’s Office.  He established a Career Criminal Unit, Sexual Battery/Child Abuse Unit, Domestic Violence Unit, Elderly Abuse Unit, Organized Crime/Gang Unit, Public Corruption Unit, Economic Crime Unit, Drug Trafficking Unit, Identity Theft and others to enhance the focus and expertise of prosecutors experienced in these specialized areas of the law and increase the public safety of the citizens that he serves…

Satz Bio: http://sao17.state.fl.us/mikesatz.htm

CITY OF HOLLYWOOD

>>> Press release: Local man charged with conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud and bribery

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), Office of Investigation, announced the arrest and indictment of Gilbert Sanabria, Jr., of Hollywood, Florida, on charges of conspiracy to commit health care fraud, conspiracy to commit bribery, and bribery, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1349, 371, and 201(b), respectively. According to charges, defendant, Sanabria, Jr., operated and controlled South Florida Health Care Connection Inc., a Broward corporation that was in the business of, among other things, opening and purchasing corporations that purportedly provided medical services and equipment to Medicare beneficiaries; selling and/or brokering the sale of such corporations to others; and assisting corporations with Medicare enrollment paperwork.  The indictment alleges that the defendant, through South Florida Health Care Connection sold and/or brokered the sale of medical clinics to others, who would in turn submit false claims to Medicare.  In addition, the indictment alleges that the defendant provided money and items of value to  an employee of Medicare contractor First Coast Service Options in exchange for expedited approvals for Medicare enrollment applications and other paperwork for the fraudulent clinics.

More specifically, the indictment alleges that from August 2005 through August 2007, the defendant sold and brokered the sale of clinics to Ihosvany Marquez, Michel De Jesus Huarte, Vicente Gonzalez, Miguel Rodriguez, and others.  These clinics subsequently submitted approximately $27,991,634 in false claims to Medicare, of which Medicare paid approximately $9,536,298.  The false claims were for durable medical equipment that was neither needed nor provided to Medicare beneficiaries  and for medical services, including pain management services, varicose vein treatments, and physical therapy, which were also never provided to beneficiaries.  The purchasers previously pled guilty to charges including conspiracy to commit health care fraud, health care fraud, money laundering, and aggravated identity theft and are currently serving sentences of 235 months’ imprisonment (Marquez), 144 months’ imprisonment (Huarte), 115 months’ imprisonment (Gonzalez), and 37 months’ imprisonment (Rodriguez).  See United States v. Marquez, 09-21048-CR-Jordan; United States v. Huarte, et al., 09-20523-CR-Seitz; and United States v. Rodriguez, 10-20046-CR-Seitz.

The defendant also provided money and items of value, including a Dodge Magnum, to Stephanie Renee Gibbs, a First Coast Service Options enrollment analyst, in exchange for her approval of the clinics’ Medicare enrollment, change of ownership, and reassignment of Medicare benefit applications on an expedited basis.  Gibbs has been charged by information with conspiracy to receive bribes in Case Number 11-20457-CR-Graham.  According to the charges, Gibbs would forgo verifying the truthfulness of the information included in the applications and documentation, and, when possible, she would forgo the mandatory site inspection requirement.  Marquez, Huarte, Gonzalez, and others also directed Gibbs to improperly review and approve, on an expedited basis, Medicare paperwork for their fraudulent clinics, which included: Stirling Medical & Rehab Center Inc., San Diego Medical & Rehab Center Inc., Eulogia’s Diagnostic Medical Center, Inc., Stop Injury Medical Center, Inc., and Hallandale Medical Supply, Inc. Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of the FBI and HHS-OIG.  Mr. Ferrer also thanked First Coast Service Options for its cooperation in this matter, including referral to federal authorities. >>>  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam Schwartz. An indictment or information is only an accusation and the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.  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.

>>> 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

>>> Commissioner Burdick trying to be fiscal watchdog, elected in 2010, had $482,000 net worth through June

Commissioner Paulette Burdick is in the spotlight this week and she was a 16-year public school board member prior to her election to the Palm Beach Commission in 2010. She portrays herself as a fiscal watchdog and she was not part of the commission a few years ago when a past majority of the body ended up going to federal prison or more recently a commissioner resigning, Jeff Koons, after a plea deal was reached after he left a threatening phone message on a answering machine of some activists about a proposed project in front of the commission at the time.

What do we know about her finances?

Burdick through June 2011 had a $482,000 net worth and she lists $185,000 in household goods. Her home is worth $500,000, an office building is worth $43,000 and there is $248,000 in mutual funds. She lists one liability of $44,269 and her only income for the year was the $92,097 salary as a county commissioner.

Burdick Bio: http://www.pbcgov.com/countycommissioners/district2/biography.htm

ORANGE COUNTY

>>> Gov. Scott taps Margaret H. Schreiber to the Ninth Judicial Circuit.

Schreiber, 55, of Orlando, is a partner at the law firm of Williams & Williams.  Prior to joining Williams & Williams in 2009, Schreiber owned and served as general counsel to Mr. Foamy of Central Florida for over eight years.  From 1988 to 2001, she was a shareholder at Lowndes, Drosdick, Doster, Kantor, & Reed, P.A.  Schreiber was an associate at Fleming, O’Bryan, & Fleming from 1986 to 1988 and at Henderson, Franklin, Starnes, & Hold, P.A. from 1983 to 1986, having served as a law clerk to the Honorable Phillip A. Hubbart in the Florida Third District Court of Appeal from 1982 to 1983.  She received her law degree from Vanderbilt University and her undergraduate degree from Duke University.

“Throughout her legal career, Margaret has demonstrated an ability to analyze complex legal issues while managing business responsibilities and remaining active in her community,” Governor Scott said.  “I believe she will make a fine circuit judge, and will bring a strong business and legal background to the circuit bench.” Schreiber will fill the vacancy created by the resignation of Judge Maura T. Smith.

POLK COUNTY

>>> Press release: Governor Rick Scott today announced the reappointment of Gregory A. Littleton and the appointments of Daniel F. Dorrell, Elinda “Linda” Rada-Pilkington and Mark G. Turner to the District Board of Trustees, Polk State College (PSC).

Littleton, 44, of Winter Haven, is the president and chief executive officer of Citizens Bank and Trust.  He is reappointed for a term beginning August 5, 2011, and ending May 31, 2015. Littleton formerly served as president of Central Florida Development Council, chair of East Polk Committee of 100, and president of Lake Wales Chamber of Commerce.  He is currently on the board of directors of Winter Haven Chamber of Commerce, chair of Polk Vision, chair of the district board of trustees of Polk State College and a member of board of directors for Florida Bankers Association.  In 2010 he was appointed to the Florida Statewide Passenger Rail Commission.  Littleton holds degrees from Polk Community College, Freed-Hardeman University, and the Graduate School of Banking at Louisiana State University.

Dorrell, 64, of Lakeland, is a partner with Cross, Fernandez and Riley LLP. He succeeds Cynthia Ross and is appointed for a term beginning August 5, 2011, and ending May 31, 2014. Previously, Dorrell was a semi-retired partner at The NCT Group CPAs.  Since 1991, he has been a member of the SunTrust Bank Board of Directors.  He was appointed to the Sebring Utilities Commission in 1983 and the Sebring Fireman’s Pension Fund Board in 2000.  He volunteered as president of the Highlands County Family YMCA and served on the board of the Highlands County Leadership Program.  Dorrell received an associate degree from Polk State College, a Bachelor of Science degree from Florida State University, and attended University of South Florida.  He also served in the Florida National Guard from 1968 to 1974.  He has taught courses at South Florida Community College in Avon Park.

Rada-Pilkington, 64, of Lake Wales, is the president of Linda Pilkington Consulting Inc.  She succeeds Neriah Roberts and is appointed for a term beginning August 5, 2011, and ending May 31, 2015. Pilkington has served as a member of the Polk State College Department of Nursing Advisory Committee, the Polk State College workforce education council, vice-chair for the Polk State College Foundation, and currently serves as treasure for the Haines City High School advisory committee.  In 2009, she was appointed to the Central Florida Regional Planning Council.  She received a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of the Philippines and a Master of Arts from New York University.

Turner, 48, of Winter Haven, is a partner at Straughn and Turner P.A.  He succeeds Linda Ivell and is appointed for a term beginning August 5, 2011, and ending May 31, 2013.Turner served eight years on the board of the Polk State College Foundation, including as its immediate past chair.  He is also a member of the City of Winter Haven Planning Commission.  He received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Florida and a law degree from Stetson University. >> The appointments are subject to confirmation by the Florida Senate.

MANATEE COUNTY

>>> Press release: Gov. Scott taps Edward A. Bailey, Charles “C.J.” Fishman and Lori A. Moran to the District Board of Trustees, State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota.

Bailey, 35, of Palmetto, is a finance manager for Sarasota Ford.  He succeeds Beverly Beall and is appointed for a term beginning August 3, 2011, and ending May 31, 2013. Since serving in the United States Marine Corps from 1995 to 1999, Bailey was a real estate agent with Rose Bay Realty from 2005 to 2007 and with Nettie Bailey Realty from 1999 to 2007. In addition, he has been actively involved in his community, chairing the Head Start Policy Council, as well as serving as president of the Manatee County NAACP since 2001 and director of the Manatee Chamber of Commerce since 2000.  He is a member of the Suncoast Regional Workforce Board.  He attended Manatee Technical Institute and State College of Florida.

Fishman, 56, of Venice, is the president of Fishman and Associates Inc.  He succeeds Kelvin Lumpkin and is appointed for a term beginning August 3, 2011, and ending May 31, 2012. As a teenager and after college, Fishman worked in his family’s food service equipment company in Cleveland, Ohio.  In 1982, he moved to Venice and joined a commercial refrigeration company in Sarasota and helped expand it into a restaurant equipment company.  In 1986, he opened Fishman and Associates Inc., an independent commercial food service equipment, design, layout, consulting and sales organization. He is a member of the board of directors of the Sarasota Chamber of Commerce and serves on the advisory board of the Sarasota County Technical Institute and the University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee School of Hotel Management.  He is a member and past chairman of the Economic Development Corporation of Sarasota County, as well as the Venice Chamber of Commerce. He also chairs the Venice advisory board for the Boys and Girls Club of Sarasota County. Fishman received his bachelor’s degree from Ohio Northern University. Moran, 41, of Sarasota, is a owner of Anthony Sophia LLC.  She succeeds Stephen Harner and is appointed for a term beginning August 3, 2011, and ending May 31, 2015. Previously, Moran was an accounting clerk with Meadowbrook Insurance Group from 2005 to 2007 and with Bluewater Insurance Group from 2002 to 2005. She has volunteered for nine years with Sarasota County Public Schools, including leading the annual food drive for Oak Park School, which serves students with a broad range of special needs.  She received her bachelor’s degree from Oakland University. >> The appointments are subject to confirmation by the Florida Senate.

MONROE COUNTY

>>> Mayor Carruthers in the spotlight, up in 2012, had $6.3 million net worth through Aug. 2010

Mayor Heather Carruthers of Monroe County is in the spotlight this week and she represents Commission District 3 of the nation’s most southern county. She is up for reelection in 2012 and represents Monroe voting precincts 5-9 and the former singer and financial advisor won her race overwhelmingly a few years ago.

What do we know about her finances?

Carruthers through Aug. 2010 had a net worth of $6.3 million and she lists $80,000 in household goods. She lists real estate valued at $720,000 and Pearls Property is worth $10 million, there is $249,000 in securities, a checking account has $4,000 and a life insurance policy is worth $50,000. Her liabilities are $4.1 million with the Bank of the Keys, Bayview Loan Savings wants $700,000 and $3,000 is owed on a VISA credit card. Her income for the year was $60,000 from the property management and $43,244 came in from being a county commissioner.

http://www.monroecounty-fl.gov/Directory.aspx?EID=21

COMMUNITY EVENTS

>>> Kristi House announcement and Oasis of the Sea boat trip luncheon

Matching Grant Opportunity! Kristi House has been awarded the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) grant in support of its program for girls who have been sexually exploited and trafficked in the sex trade. Kristi House’s Project GOLD was one of 10 projects chosen in the country in the highly competitive 2011 RWJF Local Funding Partnerships program. The Foundation awarded Kristi House a half million dollars for 1:1 matching by local private funders. These funds will go toward supporting services for girls ages 11 to 18 who are being bought and sold in the commercial sex industry. Most are living dangerous lives on the streets and are under the control of pimps and traffickers. Support will enable Kristi House to open a drop-in center and emergency shelter, planned for an early 2012 opening.

You can still be part of this unique South Florida opportunity. Reserve your spot with us on Saturday, August 27, 2011 aboard the Oasis of the Seas at Port Everglades from 11:30 am to 3:30 pm. You will have the opportunity to meet Board Members, Funders and public officials to learn more about our innovative program. Don’t miss it! Seating is limited. Reserve today. For more information please call:  Mary Faraldo at 786-218-9748 or email at mfaraldo@kristihouse.org

Or Bianca Fernandez at 305-547-6802 or email at bfernandez@kristihouse.org

>>> State Redistricting Town Hall Meetings with State Senators and Representatives on August 17th August 17.  Miami Dade Wolfson Campus 10AM-2PM. FIU College of Law 6-9PM. There will be two town hall meetings featuring state senators and representatives discussing the plans for redrawing Florida’s political boundary lines. Here you will be able to voice your concerns about how redistricting will affect you and express how you feel our districts should be drawn. Both town hall meetings will be on August 17th; the first will be held at the Miami-Dade Wolfson Campus from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM and the second will be held at the FIU College of Law from 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM. Click here for more information.

>>> The Downtown Bay Forum www.downtownbayforum.org is holding its monthly Luncheon Aug. 24 (Wednesday) and the topic is Are Unions Doomed? The panel moderated by Dr. Sean Foreman includes Martha Baker, RN president of the SEIU Local 1991, Andy Madtes, President of the AFL-CIO and Glenn Garvin, a featured columnist with The Miami Herald. Go to the web page to register for the event and reservations are requested.

>>> THE MARGULIES COLLECTION AT THE WAREHOUSE PRESENTS NEW EXHIBITIONS

Sculpture: Nancy Rubins, Bruce Nauman, Yuichi Higashionna, Kaz Oshiro, Izaak Zwartjes Photography: Mary Ellen Mark, John Baldessari, Jonathan Monk, Ed Ruscha, Isaac Julien Video: Hiraki Sawa, David Claerbout, Antonia Wright & Ruben Millares Painting: Gregor Hildebrandt, Lawrence Carroll, Lydia Gifford, Frank Stella, Justin Beal – Opens NOVEMBER 11, 2011 through APRIL 28, 2012- This November 11th, 2011 The Margulies Collection will open its 13th season of exhibitions. The exhibition will include new works of sculpture, photography, video and painting as well as the collection’s PERMANENT INSTALLATIONS of work by Ernesto Neto, Olafur Eliasson, Donald Judd, Magdalena Abakanowicz, Willem De Kooning, George Segal, Michael Heizer, Richard Serra, Sol LeWitt, Isamu Noguchi, Tony Smith, Michelangelo Pistoletto, Will Ryman, Joel Perlman, Franz West and John Chamberlain.

EDITORIALS

>>> “Truth in government,” in short supply at all levels of government, debt debate deal has taxpayers fuming from both the left & right

“Truth in government” is how new Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez called his attempt to get the county administration to speak clearly, succinctly and honestly about matters being discussed when he was the commissioner for District 7 since 2004 and now he has the tools and authority to make that a reality. The mayor has been attending commission meetings and sitting through all the proceedings and in many cases, fielding the questions himself from the 13 county commissioners and it is a noticeable and visible change from the past administration. That may not have given all the information to the body while the commission discussed and voted on issues on the agenda. Gimenez’s job now is the same one that every politician in the nation has to tackle today, and that is to reestablish voter and taxpayer trust. As we move into uncharted waters locally, statewide and nationally after Americans watched in horror the recent debt debate that has left both sides, Republicans and Democrats dissatisfied and the general public fuming at the tactics and lack of across the board agreement instead of this stop gap effort. Though a poison pill kicks in if an unnamed group of 12 congressional legislators concludes no resolution in the coming months and the political compromise landscape looks increasing barren.

Over the past 12-years the Watchdog Report locally has watched this trust in government bleed out of our political soul as different sales taxes or GOB bonds were passed by voters that were supposed to be independently managed with citizen oversight but instead got hijacked by the political process and not only were over sold, but have resulted in the usual scandals that chronically plagues South Florida. On Saturday night, a thirty something Cuban American couple asked me why there was so much fraud and corruption locally and was it because of the 60 percent population of Hispanics. I said no and that when Anglos ran Miami we had the same level of corruption because they were the majority population and you see waste, fraud and abuse all over the nation regardless of the location, and here we just do it more dramatically.

However, the results are the same, taxpayers are skeptical at their public institutions, their leaders at all levels and if there ever was a time for some straight shooting politicians, it is now. For when the Chinese start to criticize how we govern ourselves and handle our money we should realize how in trouble we are in the aggregate and while the world’s largest Communist country is unlikely to dump the $1.3 trillion in U.S. securities in the short term. We collectively as a nation have been given a global shot over the bow and not just by China but all the developed nations that hope America can get its fiscal house in order. For if we cannot the ramifications globally will be on a scale never seen before, and while the Great Experiment of Democracy will survive. Will we continue to have the great hope of a better future for our future families? A question that has yet to be answered.

LETTERS

>>> Women activists want women Congressional leaders on 12-member Super Committee

After reaching a last-minute agreement to raise the U.S. debt ceiling and avoid default, Congressional leaders now face an additional challenge: forming the debt “Super Committee”. When it comes to picking members of the “Super Committee” — a group that will decide the future of many social programs relied upon by millions of Americans — the Women’s Media Center is urging Congressional leaders from both sides, Republican Speaker John Boehner, Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, Republican Senate Leader Mitch McConnell, and Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, to appoint an equal number of men and women to this 12-person bipartisan committee. It is imperative that women are at the table and that women’s voices are heard in equal numbers to men’s voices. The “Super Committee” will be tasked with making critical judgments that will likely affect social programs that women disproportionately depend on – like Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. Additionally, the Women’s Media Center urges Boehner, Pelosi, McConnell, and Reid — who will inevitably be the subjects of increased media attention as they compose the “Super Committee” — to grant interviews to press who are equally male and female. The media is the lifeblood of our democracy, and greatly affects public discourse. The positions, priorities, and perspectives of women need to be heard.

Sign a letter to Boehner, Pelosi, McConnell, and Reid urging them to include women in the “Super Committee” and the crucial press interviews the House and Senate leadership engage in.

Julie Burton
President, Women’s Media Center — To support our continued work on this issue, donate to the Women’s Media Center here.

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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

Copyright © of original material, 2011, Daniel A. Ricker

>>> 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 >>> >>> To read the full section large two page front page story, but without the photos and smart box graphics, go to: `I Go When You Cannot’ – Sun Sentinel 20 Jan 2003 … Sometimes Dan Ricker lives in the dark so others may live in the light. … to his weekly Watchdog Report have finally mailed their checks. … http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2003-01-20/news/0301190341_1_ricker-school-board-president-miami-s-first-cuban-american >>>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 >>> 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.

General subscriber’s names will not be published in the Report. To subscribe to the Watchdog Report please use the form below as a subscription invoice.

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