Watchdog Report Vol.15 No.48 March 1,2015 EST.05.05.00 – I go when you cannot- Celebrating 15 Years

Gov. Rick Scott met President Obama on Wednesday at MIA and the governor never a Obama fan gave him a  token gift of a Miami Marlins baseball hat and the gesture could be significant  given the many issues Florida has with the federal government including the expansion of Medicaid and the ensuing federal dollars, but the small gift is not something Scott, the point  of the spear of the Florida Tea Party movement historically would do, and it could be a sign of the thawing of the icy relationship he has had with the federal government.

Press release: Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (FL – 27), Chairman of the Middle East and North Africa Subcommittee, will welcome attendees to FIU’s Cybersecurity conference “Rogue Nations, Hackers, and Hollywood: The Sony Affair and its Implications for Business, National Security, and Public Policy” on Saturday, February 28, 2015 from 9:00am – 9:10am. Ros-Lehtinen is a two-time graduate of Florida International University, earning both Bachelors and Masters Degrees from FIU.

WHO: Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (FL – 27), Chairman of the Middle East and North Africa Subcommittee WHAT: Ros-Lehtinen delivers welcoming remarks at FIU’s Cybersecurity conference “Rogue Nations, Hackers, and Hollywood: The Sony Affair and its Implications for Business, National Security, and Public Policy”

The Watchdog Report notes the passing of a Great One, Georgia Ayers, 86, a fixture and passionate advocate for human rights for decades passed recently and The Watchdog Report sends my condolences for she was a Lioness and will be missed and below is a link to a letter Dr. Marvin Dunn in the Miami Herald and he knew her for decades.

Occupy Georgia Ayers, came to Miami-Dade County Hall Wednesday afternoon and what could have been a heated community controversy just before the holidays, ended in a peaceful manner after calmer minds nipped the escalating tension in the bud in the lobby of county Mayor Carlos Gimenez’s (net worth $923,000) office on the 29th floor on the Stephen P. Clark government center. Ayers has spoken publicly in the past of her frustration and she is claiming her alternative youth program that gets county funding was “five pay periods” in the rear, and her people were fighting for their fiscal life as the holidays approached. Ayers, 83, and known as Mother Ayers in the African-American community can be verbally combative and is not shy about saying her piece. “I am not moving until I get paid,” she said in a loud tone. And her tone escalated to “I don’t want to hear a da… thing, and all I want to hear is Mrs. Ayers the money is in the bank,” since it is an internal bank transfer.

However, while this was going on for about an hour, members of Occupy Miami camped outside on the lawn of the government center heard about it and started to filter in along with other supporters of Ayers, and more building security and Miami-Dade Police Officers were also starting to show up. And at one point, there were over 25 people in the small lobby, including two female Miami-Dade police officers. Ayers continued saying how many mayors and police chiefs she has known over the decades and she has “served four county managers and is not going to be pushed around.” One county employee after speaking with her said that the community activist “refuses to calm down,” that also included an earlier conversation with Miami-Dade Community Relations Board Chair Dr. Walter T. Richardson and Ayers has been a board member of the CRB for years in the past. But Ayers persisted saying, “You can call the police if you want, but everyone got paid except us!” Ayers, railed the mayor’s staff and other representatives saying, “You all work for me” and she was insistent she get the problem resolved today. A woman representative of the mayor’s office told her they would try to clear this up and send Ayers a resolution update, and the Watchdog Report gave the woman a card asking to be copied in the email, but by my deadline, nothing has come in from Gimenez’s office on the subject. So it is unknown if she got the funding by Christmas Day.

Apparently it’s good to be reelected since Gov. Rick Scott met President Barack Obama on the tarmac of MIA on Wednesday when the president came to Miami to discuss immigration issues at Florid International University and he was met at  the Tarmac by Scott who gave the president a Florida Marlins Baseball cap and such a cordial meeting years ago when then Gov. Charlie Crist gave Obama a man hug made him radioactive in his future campaigns, including losing running for the Senate and for Governor against Scott and this new relationship may be the Gov.’s way of getting on the good side of Obama after years of railing against the man and his policies.

Press release: Pollster John Zogby reports in our weekly White House report card that President Obama was knocked down by controversies and faces potential trouble over the Supreme Court’s handling of Obamacare.”It was a week filled with controversies for President Obama. Please click on the link below to view the full release:

http://zogbyanalytics.com/news/559-zogby-report-card-issues-whipsaw-obama-down

MR. EARNEST:  I’ve got a quick topper, and then we’ll get to your questions, okay?  The President is looking forward to this trip to south Florida, not just because of the weather forecast, but because of the opportunity it presents to engage members of the south Florida Latino community and Telemundo viewers across the country about immigration reform.

You will recall that just a week or two after the President took the oath of office in January 2013, the President once again laid out his core principles for common-sense immigration reform. These ideas were eventually incorporated into a compromise Senate proposal that earned the support of more than a dozen Republican senators, including one from the state of Florida.

They backed that bill not because it was perfect, but because it strengthens the U.S. economy, shrinks the deficit, ramped up security at our borders, and would ensure that we better lived up to our values as a nation of laws and a nation of immigrants.

House Republicans blocked this compromise proposal for a year and a half.  So the President, drawing on well-established precedent, acted on his own to address some of the problems, using his executive authority.  His actions would, among other things, allow individuals who have been in the United States for a number of years to get a work permit after submitting to a background check and paying taxes.

As you know, at least one district judge has sided with the administration about the legality of this action.  Another district judge has ruled against us, and the Department of Justice has filed an appeal. This town hall meeting today will give the President the opportunity to answer questions about the situation and signal his determination to continue to lead the fight for common-sense reforms that are good for our security and good for our economy.

So that’s what we have to look forward to today. White HOUSE pool reporter gaggle and sent to the press:

Q    Josh, what’s the President’s thinking of what the status is of the DHS funding bill in Congress?  Is he confident that DHS will be funded given the position that Senator McConnell has taken? MR. EARNEST:  Well, Jim, we’re confident that the right thing to do is for Congress to fulfill their responsibility to ensure that the Department of Homeland Security has a budget that allows them to be funded through the end of the year.  That’s seems like a pretty basic responsibility.  I think it does to most Americans and it certainly does to the President.

We haven’t seen the Republicans thus far act with that level of common sense.  So, no, I don’t think it is at all clear how this ends up.  But we are hopeful that common sense will prevail and that Republicans will put aside politics and vote to fund the Department of Homeland Security for the rest of the year On Prime Minister Netanyahu’s visit — the Prime Minister today said that world powers have “given up on stopping Iran from developing nuclear weapons.”  What is the White House reaction to that comment?

MR. EARNEST:  The whole point of the ongoing negotiations between Iran and the United States and our international partners is to resolve the international community’s concerns with the Iranian nuclear program and to secure an agreement that would ensure that Iran does not obtain a nuclear weapon.  That is the goal of those negotiations.  It is consistent with the President’s view about the best interests of American national security.  It’s also consistent with the President’s view about the best interests of our closest ally in the region, Israel. I believe that our international partners have reached a similar conclusion, that it’s in their interest that Iran does not obtain a nuclear weapon.  The Middle East is a rather volatile region of the world.  If Iran were to obtain a nuclear weapon, it would, in all likelihood, set off a nuclear arms race that would add even further instability to that region.

So the United States has worked closely with the international community to try to strike a diplomatic agreement to resolve these concerns so that Iran can prove to the international community that they are not developing a nuclear weapon.  And in return, Iran would allow to, step by step, rejoin the international community.  Right now, the Iranian economy has suffered pretty significantly from a sanctions regime that the United States has put in place, in careful coordination with our international partners.

So that is the goal of these ongoing talks.  And the Prime Minister has articulated his concern and, in some cases, even opposition to those negotiations.  But the President continues to believe that those negotiations are the best way for us to ensure that Iran does not obtain a nuclear weapon.  If we can get Iran to not just state affirmatively that they are not developing a nuclear weapon, but also to agree to steps that would allow the international community to verify that they’re living up to the agreement, that is the best outcome.  And that is the best way to ease the international community’s concerns about Iran’s nuclear program. And if the Prime Minister has an alternative about how those concerns can be more effectively resolved, then we’d certainly be interested in hearing his ideas for that.  But thus far, what we have pursued is what the President and our international partners believe is the best way to resolve these concerns.

Q    Is Netanyahu’s appearance before Congress destructive to Israeli-U.S. relations, as Susan Rice said? MR. EARNEST:  Well, I think, to be precise, I believe what Susan was referring to is how reducing the U.S.-Israeli relationship to just a relationship between two political parties is destructive to a relationship between our two countries that for generations had been strengthened through bipartisan cooperation, not just in this country but in Israel.  The President himself has raised this concern.  The President has said that the relationship between the U.S. and Israel can’t just be reduced to a relationship between the Republican Party and the Likud Party. The fact of the matter is, while we’ve had a Democratic President in the White House for the last six years, we have, by the admission of the Prime Minister from the Likud Party in Israel, had unprecedented security cooperation between our two countries.  That’s consistent with the generations-long precedent of bipartisan support for our closest ally in the Middle East. So what we hope is that we’ll continue to see leadership in this country and in Israel that will not allow the relationship between our two countries to be dragged down by party politics. Party politics is fundamental to the political system in both of our countries, but for generations, both countries have succeeded in not allowing this critically important international relationship to get buffeted by those kinds of political arguments.  And the President believes that U.S. national security has been enhanced by protecting this relationship, and he believes that the interests of Israel are best served if we can protect this relationship from being subject to partisan politics.

Q    The President agrees with the National Security Advisor that by accepting the invitation Prime Minister Netanyahu has done something that has been destructive to the fabric of the U.S.-Israeli relationship? MR. EARNEST:  Again, I think it is entirely consistent with what the President has already said, that the U.S.-Israel relationship has been strengthened because you have seen leaders in both parties in both countries signal their strong support for that relationship.  And allowing this relationship to be subjected to party politics does weaken the relationship.  It’s not good for that relationship.

And again, this is the reason that the President has said that he’s not going to meet with Prime Minister Netanyahu when he travels to Washington next week, is that it has the potential of leaving some voters in Israel even with the impression that the President might be interfering in that election.  And the President believes that we need to be rock-solid in our commitment to Israel’s security — as we have been — and that means not allowing it to be injected with party politics. Q    If he does believe that, why not ask Prime Minister Netanyahu to call off his speech?  I mean, if he believes that his presence, his very presence here to give a speech two weeks before his election is destructive to the relationship, why not ask him to postpone it?

MR. EARNEST:  Prime Minister Netanyahu needs to make these decisions for himself.  He’s the Prime Minister of Israel.  He’s the person who should be setting his own schedule.  And he’s the one that has to make the decisions about what will be in his country’s best interest — in the same way that the President of the United States has to make those kinds of decisions for his country. So ultimately, the Prime Minister will set his own schedule. The President is also going to set his schedule.  The President believes that setting his schedule and not including a meeting with the Prime Minister on this trip is consistent with the best interests of American national security.

Now, I’ll also point out that when setting the President’s schedule, he’s concluded that spending time with the Israeli Prime Minister to make sure that we are closely coordinating and cooperating our efforts is in our best interests.  That’s why the President has actually spent more time with Prime Minister Netanyahu than any other world leader.  Again, but ultimately, this is a decision that Prime Minister Netanyahu will have to make for himself.  But I think what the National Security Advisor said about that decision is consistent with what the President has said about that decision.

Q    Do you know whether the President spoke with Ambassador Susan Rice before she made those comments in a broadcast interview and whether they talked — whether she was authorized to say that? MR. EARNEST:  Well, again, what she said was entirely consistent with what the President said publicly before.  I don’t know whether or not the President had the opportunity to speak with her specifically about her Charlie Rose interview that she did yesterday.  I do know that she participated in at least some portion of the Amir of Qatar’s visit to the White House yesterday, so I know that she did see the President yesterday.  I don’t know whether or not they talked about her interview.

Q    On the 529 college savings plan, the House is going to vote on those today.  We haven’t seen a statement of administration policy on that, but the plan basically would expand the 529 program when the President originally wanted to restrict the program earlier.  If it does get to the President’s desk, is he going to sign it?  Does he have a policy position on that yet? MR. EARNEST:  When it comes to education tax benefits, our highest priority should be to expand, improve and simplify tax benefits for the middle class.  The President’s nearly $50-billion investment in the middle class, which builds on bipartisan legislation and is fully offset, would cut taxes for 8.5 million students and families, and simplify taxes for every single student who relies on education tax credits to help pay for college.  The proposal before Congress would not achieve these goals, and instead focuses exclusively on education savings plans that are used by less than 3 percent of American families. So while we do not oppose the House bill going forward, we do look forward to working with Congress on more ambitious, fiscally responsible education policies that would actually do more to improve college access and affordability, and promote opportunity for middle-class families.

Q    So it’s not a veto threat, but you — you oppose parts of the bill, but not the actual bill moving forward? MR. EARNEST:  Frankly, what we believe is — we don’t oppose the House bill, but we believe that there is a whole lot more that we can do that would be a whole lot more effective and more fiscally responsible to ensure that we’re opening up a college education to even more middle-class families.

Q    A question on the trip to Miami.  There were reports today that John Boehner and Mitch McConnell haven’t spoken in two weeks.  The President is here in Miami — going to be here in Miami today and not in Washington.  Is there enough coordination and talking going on between the different parties and the party leaders to bring this to a resolution before the deadline? MR. EARNEST:  The fact is the dispute — the principle dispute right now appears to be between Republicans in Congress. There is a Republican majority in the House; there’s a Republican majority in the Senate.  There seems to be a majority in both houses for funding the Department of Homeland Security, so ultimately, it’s the responsibility of the House Speaker and the Senate Majority Leader to get together and figure it out.  So even if they haven’t spoken in the last couple of weeks, hopefully they’re going to speak today, because the deadline is on Friday. Q    Any chance the President will — when he gets back to Washington, will hold meetings with Republican leaders on this? MR. EARNEST:  If we determine that it’s necessary for the President to do so, I’m confident that the President can make himself available to lead a meeting like that.  But like we’ve said, there is ample opportunity to use common sense, show some leadership, and actually fund the Department of Homeland Security.  There’s rarely a good time to be messing around with the funding for that department, but now seems like a particularly bad time to allow a political disagreement to prevent the men and women who are protecting our borders from getting paid. Q    Josh, a couple of questions about Cuba.  Over the weekend, a couple hundred dissidents were arrested as part of public demonstrations.  How concerned is the administration about this, and what has your response been to it? MR. EARNEST:  We continue to be concerned about the Cuban government’s treatment of their own people.  For generations, we’ve seen the Cuban government not just neglect but, in some cases, even trample the basic human rights of their people, and that includes a tendency to round up political protestors, or at least people who have different political views than their government. So we have made clear our concerns about this on a number of previous occasions.  Ultimately, our strategy for engaging the Cuban people is to move to reestablish diplomatic ties between our two countries, to try to open up some more commerce between our two countries in a way that would essentially further empower the Cuban people.  And we also believe it will be effective in removing what has been an obstacle to our efforts to try to build greater international consensus around the need to pressure the Cuban government.  And too often, the U.S. policy of trying to isolate Cuba has interfered with our ability to get people to focus on Cuban policies that trample the basic human rights of their people. So we’re confident that we’ve taken the right steps to try to bring about the kind of change that we’d like to see in Cuba. And that change is something that should be driven by the Cuban people, and they should have a government that reflects their will and their ambitions.

Q    How much of a political problem is this for the President as he’s trying to sell his Cuba policy?  Back when he announced it, 50 political prisoners were released; now, 200 have been rounded up.  I mean, how much does that undercut the President’s argument that — his attempts to sell this policy to audiences like the Cuban Americans who will be listening to him in Miami today? MR. EARNEST:  I think what’s important here is some historical context — that for 50 years there had been a firm embargo and a refusal to establish diplomatic ties with Cuba.  That policy allowed the Cuban government to essentially, with impunity, continue to trample on the basic human rights of their people.  The President believed that it’s time for a new strategy. And that’s why, at the end of last year, he announced some policy changes that reflects that new strategy.  And the President was clear in his very first statement on this that we did not anticipate that this would solve every problem overnight, but what we do anticipate is that over time, by redoubling our efforts to engage the Cuban government and the Cuban people, that we can empower the Cuban people to speak with a greater voice and to ultimately have the kind of political leadership that reflects their will and their ambition.

Q    Josh, on the immigration executive action, I believe a court yesterday rejected the administration’s request to rule on the stay request by the end of this week.  So is the Justice Department going to do more?  Are they going to appeal to a higher court?  Or what’s the next step to try to get this stay so that you can actually move forward with the parts of the directive that are affected by the ruling? MR. EARNEST:  You’re right, we did see a ruling — or at least an order from Judge Hanen that asked the plaintiffs in the case — essentially the consortium of states that have come together in protest over these executive actions — to file their response to our stay by early next week.  The administration had previously said that we wanted the judge to rule on our application for a stay by today.  So I think this is an indication the judge doesn’t intend to meet that deadline, but does want to hear from the plaintiffs by early next week.  And we continue to be confident in the legal arguments that we’re making in this case. There is a clear, established precedent for the President taking these executive actions.  And again, the executive actions that the President has put in place are actions that would actually bring accountability to our broken immigration system.  It would bring millions of people who have been in the United States for a number of years out of the shadows.  It would submit them to a background check.  It would make them pay taxes.  And it would ensure that we can focus our limited law enforcement resources on those who’ve only recently crossed the border and on those who may pose a threat to national security or to the communities that they’re living in’s this is a pretty common-sense decision.  It’s one that’s rooted in well-established legal precedent.  And that’s why we’re going to continue to aggressively make our case in the courts. Q    Given that, is there any thought to moving forward with the part of the directive that’s not affected by the ruling with the new — with parents of U.S. citizens?  Given that that wasn’t supposed to start — that the applications weren’t supposed to start until May, couldn’t you start moving forward with that sooner? MR. EARNEST:  Well, there are two elements of this.  One aspect of the ruling is something I alluded to in my previous answer, which is the judge’s ruling that went against the administration does not affect the ability of homeland security officials to use prosecutorial discretion, which means that they can focus their law enforcement resources on felons and not on families; that they can make sure that they’re focusing on people who have only recently entered the country and on people who may pose a threat to public safety. Those efforts are ongoing.  Those efforts continue.  So those efforts are not affected by the judge’s ruling.  What is affected by the judge’s ruling are the administrative steps that would allow us to essentially issue work permits to those individuals that have agreed to come out of the shadows, that have agreed to submit to a background check, and that have agreed to pay taxes.  And that is, in the President’s view, establishing some accountability. Now, it’s also, in the view of some law enforcement officials across the country, including some law enforcement officials from Texas, consistent with the kinds of steps that would protect public safety.  Because if people are coming out of the shadows and submitting themselves to a background check, if they don’t pass the background check then they can be detained and deported. So there is an opportunity for us to step up our enforcement as well in the context of these basic executive actions.  So there are any number of reasons why we believe that we should be able to move forward with these administrative actions.  And that does mean that those actions that we can implement, we’re going to.  But the Department of Homeland Security has said that they will not implement the work permit process until some of these legal questions have been resolved    has any infrastructure been put in place to process all of these cases?  I mean, there are complaints that there aren’t enough judges to handle backlogged cases, people who have been applying for citizenship and green cards for a long time.  Is there enough, or is there a move to — I don’t know — bolster the system? MR. EARNEST:  For the specific process, I’d refer you to the Department of Homeland Security.  The process that people would go through, to be clear, would not be getting a green card.  It would be a separate process.  So a green card would confer them with some legality, and this is actually deferred enforcement.  So they’re separate processes. I know that the Department of Homeland Security, since the President announced these executive actions back in November, has been taking the necessary administrative steps to be prepared to begin accepting those applications.  They have not started accepting those applications because of this recent legal ruling. But we’re hopeful that we can resolve these legal questions and, again, move forward with implementing the President’s executive actions.

Q    Back to Julie’s question.  Does this mean because the district court judge, in essence, delayed and asked for plaintiffs to respond — will you be kicking it to the Fifth Circuit then for an emergency stay right away, or do you wait for this district court process to unfold? MR. EARNEST:  At this point, we’re going to continue to see it through at the district court level.  Now, I don’t want people to be confused.  That’s under the question of a stay.  There is a question about our appeal of the merits of the case, and that is something that we have appealed to the Fifth Circuit, and that is a process that’s moving forward. Q    There are going to be some young immigration advocates at this town hall that are going to want the President to do more executive actions.  Does the lawsuit and the DHS standoff, does that sort of stand in the way of the President doing more on immigration?  Is he deterred from wanting to do any other executive actions? MR. EARNEST:  Well, the President, when he made this announcement in November, did indicate that he was using every tool at his disposal, all of the authority that he has to try to address some of the problems of our broken immigration system.  So I think the President will make the case that he has acted using all of his authority to try to solve as many of these problems as he can.

He’s also going to reiterate his commitment to try to work with Congress to advance legislation.  The truth is there’s a lot more that could be done with legislation that would be good for the country.  And the President stands ready to work with Democrats and Republicans to try to make that legislation a reality. As I mentioned at the beginning, there were fruitful talks that were convened between Democrats and Republicans on the Hill with the support of the administration to reach a bipartisan, common-sense proposal, a proposal that passed the Senate with the bipartisan support of both senators from Florida.  Unfortunately it was blocked by House Republicans.  So because we’re now in a new Congress we have to start that process over.  The President stands ready to do that.  We just haven’t seen a lot of interest from Republicans, unfortunately.

Q    Josh, there was a report out of Miami that the White House invited Congressman Curbelo to attend the town hall meeting and that he asked for a ride on Air Force One to get up there and was denied.  Can you talk about that?

MR. EARNEST:  Well, as a standard practice when we travel to — when the President travels outside of Washington, it’s not uncommon at all for us to invite a member of Congress from the congressional district where the President is appearing.  And we do that, whether or not it’s a Democrat or a Republican who’s participating — or who represents that district in Congress. What’s also true is that over the course of the last several months, we have made more of an effort to try to invite members of Congress from both parties to ride on Air Force One.  And there have been some high-profile members of Congress, both Democrats and Republicans, who’ve joined the White House for trips.  In this case, we were unable to accommodate the Congressman’s request, but we typically try to do so when we can. Q    When you say “unable to accommodate,” was it a space issue? MR. EARNEST:  I’m not sure exactly of the issue. Anybody else?  Okay.  Thanks, everybody. END

At the Good Government Luncheon Tuesday, state Sen. Rene Garcia, R-Hialeah and Diana Ragbeer the Director of Public Policy at the Children’s Trust, and state Rep. David Richardson, D-Miami Beach were the panelists at the event discussing the issues facing the upcoming Florida Legislative session beginning Tuesday and the state’s $77 Billion budget has some $1 billion in extra revenue of which about $700 million is being asked for tax cuts by gov. Rick Scott. The event was called the Tallahassee Preview: What’s at Stake and a “community conversation,” the event was moderated by former County Commissioner Katy Sorenson, who runs the initiative and for more on the organization go to www.goodgov.net .

Garcia a healthcare maven and longtime GOP senator and past House member said, “when it comes to the expansion of Medicaid that Florida is risking losing some $2 billion in federal funds and Florida lawmakers are hesitant to participate given the nation’s $18 trillion debt and he said a “perfect storm was brewing,’ when it “comes to the Low Income Pool,”(LIP)  that helps finance indigent healthcare and public hospitals and “this $2 billion program is set to expire this year,” and will result in the state in losing some $3 to $400 million and over a decade without the Lower Income Pool (LIP) program it will cost the  state $50 billion in lost funding over ten years,” said Garcia who has been sounding the alarm about this loss of federal funding being refused given the nation’s fiscal issues. He said members in the House “don’t want to accept these federal dollars,” on the belief the ‘money should be sent back to Washington,” ( And if it did go back to DC this money would not pay down the debt would go to other states), which Garcia joked should then apply to all federal money,” since many lawmakers believe “Florida should live within its own means,” and he believes it is “incumbent for lawmakers to look at Medicaid expansion,” and to bring this money back to the state, some $50 billion and since any money refused does not go to pay down the nation’s debt. He disagrees it should be returned and suggests lawmakers should consider the costs of having “millions of Floridians uninsured and he said “think of all the jobs in healthcare this money would create. “And he noted in the legislature sometimes when it comes to Adversity good things come of it,” he optimistically considered. And Richardson noted that if Medicaid was expanded it “would not take care of the LIP issue and if we don’t get the expansion “the state and feds are playing a game of chicken,” the Democratic Party Minority Floor leader said.

Further the issue of children dying while under the state’s Department of Children and Families (DCF) custody was discussed and he believed the Senate would take up this “issue and reform,” the troubled department. That has been extensively detailed in the www.miamiherald.com and has caused an outcry round the state.

A activist asked what was effective to get their issue heard and discussed and Richardson said “blast faxes,” and other such mass methods were not that effective since “It annoys staff,” and he suggested to get  to ‘know your legislators,” before session and Ragbeer said to “never give up,” on your issue and be a “Eveready Bunny,” for it many times takes years to get a law passed, as was the case with required, “Car seats in cars for children which has saved countless kids’ lives in car crashes.

Gov. Rick Scott is now admitting the termination of FDLE Dir. Jerry Bailey could have been handled better after a firestorm erupted when he was fired or resigned (depending on who you believe Bailey or Scott) suddenly and the incident put the Florida Cabinet in the hot seat and the governor has been dealing with the controversy for weeks now with little abatement and a “independent investigation” of the matter is being considered by the Cabinet and Cabinet members are demanding minutes be kept in the future, but calls for an investigation continue. http://www.orlandosentinel.com/opinion/os-fdle-rick-scott-maxwell-20150120-column.html And as Scott begins the legislative session this issue is sure to dog him and could reflect on his own agenda and how that is received by Florida lawmakers who don’t want to be tainted by accident from this scandal, and the governor should end this controversy before it overwhelms his second term in office.

With The Shake-Up at FDLE, the new Gov. Rick Scott administration is getting off to a shaky start when it comes to transparency and good governance and conflicting charges are flying about what exactly went down with the termination of the long serving Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) Director Gerald Bailey and whether he was fired or resigned as the governor said. But the controversy continues in the media and is becoming a major distraction for Scott, “who is quoted saying Bailey did a great job [and is being petty,” and a further news story in the Herald shows the debate will not be going away. Since the law enforcement agency has a rich history of being apolitical and not getting involved in political matters.

And while Gov. Rick Scott is still being hammered over the firing, of Florida department of Law Enforcement Director Gerald Bailey. Some of the Cabinet members are calling for an independent investigator be used to investigate the matter. That caught Florida Cabinet members, Attorney General Pam Bondi, CFO Jeff Atwater taken unaware when asked by the press about the firing. Further, Adam Putnam a former congressman for a decade prior to taking state wide office in 2010 is considered to have a bright political future and potentially a gubernatorial candidate in the next cycle in 2020 and he is starting to take the lead in the matter and Putnam knows how serious the ramifications could be of the possible political intrusion with the FDLE that has a long storied history of being a nonpartisan state law enforcement arm but the controversy whether Bailey was fired by Scott and his contradictory statement by the governor that Bailey quite, which the special agent denies since Bailey was set to retire in just a few months which also puzzles critics. And for Putnam the political stakes are the highest and he needs to be the point of the spear in getting this matter cleared up for the longer it festers and lingers it will be corrosive not only to Scott but how the Florid Cabinet is viewed as a whole  and that dark cloud may well infect Putman’s future political career if not resolved for he is in a position to do something about getting to the root of the story and while below is a press release from the governor’s office on the controversy trying to end the debate and it remains to be seen if this explanation will tamp down the controversy, especially since Putnam is a longtime Floridian and he has the reputation of being a straight shooter.

Putnam

Putnam through Dec. 2013 had a $7.8 million net worth and to read his full disclosure form go to http://public.ethics.state.fl.us/Forms/2013/234671-Form6.pdf

What about the FDLE locally?

The local FDLE state office contuses to be in turmoil even though the Department has agreements to investigate a number of issues in some of the County’s municipalities. And for exam [le the Special Agent in Charge is on the e panel that selects names for the County’s Inspector General’s Office that is confirmed by County Commissioners and is looked upon as an independent body and investigative arm of the state.

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/article11256509.html

On the well-being of our children. Visit The Children’s Movement website to read their stories and share your own. >>> I find it unacceptable, as all of us should, that at least a half-million children in Florida – all citizens — have no health insurance. How could this be in our beloved country that seeks to be a beacon to the world? Health insurance for all children is one of the five major planks of The Children’s Movement. With the support of Florida Covering Kids and Families, The Children’s Movement is working with dozens of local partners to help build a meaningful signing-up initiative in more than a dozen Florida communities. Already we have: Completed 18 KidCare trainings around the state. Signed up, trained and deployed more than a hundred volunteers. Begun to build a growing collaboration between local school districts and KidCare outreach coalitions. It’s a good start, but only the start. If you’d like to become a volunteer, just click here. Another way to help is to make a contribution – of any size – to help support this work. It is easy. Just click here. A real movement isn’t possible without your helping in some meaningful way. Dave Lawrence, Jr., Chair the Children’s Movement. >>> Update: Two encouraging meetings… The first, a visit from the Governor to the Rainbow Intergenerational Child Care center in Little Havana where he discussed his early learning priorities. That includes his support for “Help Me Grow,” a statewide parent resource system where parents would be able — via phone and online — to get and she thought answers to questions about their child’s development and connected with the proper resources. The second, a meeting with future House Speaker, Rep. Jose Oliva from Hialeah. He’s a father of three, a real reader of history and student of policy, and committed to better understanding early learning. Dave Lawrence, Chair The Children’s Movement.

• Nothing is more important than a caring and knowledgeable parent. (Know that 71 percent of American mothers with children between birth and age 5 work outside the home, meaning high-quality, brain-stimulating child care is a major necessity.)

• 85 percent of brain growth occurs by age 3.

• Early learning is a continuum between before birth and age 8. (“Families are the ultimate pre-pre-school,” wrote Clare Huntington in The New York Times last September, adding, “I don’t want to rain on the pre-K parade, but we can’t pretend that school preparation begins at age 4. Four is better than 5, but zero is better than 4.”)

All that brings to me to a Miami-Dade Public Schools initiative focused on the transition from child care to kindergarten. This week I spent time at the superb YMCA in Allapattah, a bit north of downtown Miami. I spoke with Drs. Maggie Abrahante and Marisel Elias-Miranda, two key people responsible for early childhood programs that the superintendent has made a priority in this nationally honored school system. They’ve put together an excellent handbook for parents of children headed for kindergarten, and also:

• Five retired school administrators with a special interest in early childhood already have met with 400 child care center directors to give them a sense of what school is all about and the expectations for children.

• Principals are meeting with center directors.

• Parents are offered superb neighborhood workshops, one of which I attended.

Wouldn’t that be smart to do in every school system?

Dave Lawrence

Chair

The Children’s Movement of Florida

Disclosures forms on file go to website (www.et hics.state.fl.us):

Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez gave his yearly State of The County Address Wednesday at Florida International University and County employees attended the event that for many was difficult to attend given the difficulty of parking at FIU and in the press the general consensus was it was “all Fluff,” and we have “turned the corner,” and was a rehash of past initiatives and while he talked about mass transit to Miami Beach, BayLink, he did not mention how it would be paid for.  Gimenez in his sixth year as mayor is running into a problem all politicians have. He is becoming to think of himself as a personality who is getting negative points with the public for smoozing with the likes of real estate magnate Donald Trump who is eyeing managing the Crandon Park golf course but that potential management agreement faces a host of hurdles including the Matheson Family  that donated the land, but the mayor has gotten a fair amount of negative blow back on the issue and his state of the County was more of a rah rah event that concluded with him thanking county employees for all that they do, even though Gimenez has had protracted battles with the unions and their contract demands that an appeals court has concluded the mayors vetoes of commission votes was not legal and it is being appealed http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/article1960721.html  And is another significant issue he has to deal with in the months running up to the election. And Gimenez made no friends in an interview with investigative reporter Jim DeFede on www.cbs.4 when asked if out of action fireboats because of budget cuts might have mitigated the loss of life in the Grove when boats collided. The mayor responded, “That people die every day in Miami-Dade,” and that clip will likely be used against him in any campaign.

And since Gimenez is up for reelection in 2016 he is being more conciliatory with the County’s ten unions that can prove critical in any election and his mantra of cutting taxes is being buffered by the rising property values countywide, though there are still pockets of distressed real estate and thus some of the Miami-Dade’s 34 municipalities are still reeling from the economic meltdown back in 20008 and is why the rosy picture Gimenez paints is not felt by all the County’s 2.4 million residents and while development in Miami has exploded. The city of Miami still has some “220,000 residents on Food Stamps,” says Miami Mayor Tomas Regalado and his daughter Raquel is a stalking horse with the mayor since she is considering running for mayor possible as well and she (A radio and TV journalist) works the media very well and is getting a following partially since she is a new political face and does not have the baggage that Gimenez is starting to accumulate (his battles with the unions, and the threats of massive layoffs of police and the high pay his vice mayors get, all of  that is turning voters off (as well as a son that works as a lobbyist), and is turning off voters who next year may decide they want a fresh face as their mayor and former Miami Mayor Xavier Suarez is also waiting in the wings and it is unknown if he also jumps into what would be a three person race though the mayor already has $5,000,000 in his campaign war chest for the race. And to read the speech go to http://www.miamidade.gov/stateofthecounty/  And he concluded his speech with the following words:

“For these and many other reasons, I know Miami-Dade County has indeed turned the corner. We have weathered the fiscal storm and have come out stronger because we worked together. My administration will continue to put service to our residents above all else. That is my promise to you. Together, your government, our residents and the private sector will continue to transform Miami-Dade County into a world-class community,” Gimenez said at the end of the speech.

PAST WDR: Staff of Miami-Dade County told County Commissioner Juan Carlos Zapata at a committee meeting that rates to use  Parcel B are $11,000 for the Miami Heat to rent out since it is behind the AAA arena and the grassy area was originally slated to be a Park for the downtown but that never materialized and the average cost to use the parcel is $4,000 a day said a county staffer  and they noted the Parcel B is a “unique relationship” and the use of such properties becomes narrow on the open market “and what they would pay,” and you ask other facilities how they come up “with their fee schedule and some staging is a necessary “give away” such as “carnivals [for example where it is done] in Broward,” the man said. Further, $6 million has been spent on the sea wall, and Zapata’s concern was this public money is getting a good return. The former state legislator also noted, the Parcel, “Never became the green space we promised,” to the public, said Zapata. The consultant said,   “It Comes down to the highest and best use for that property.” “And the Heat can’t go somewhere else.” And Zapata just wants the County “to get more bang for my buck,” said Zapata and he also wants the County Commission Auditor to have a “budget Director,” as well. And a longer story on the rent charged for Parcel B is here: And here is an updated story on the matter: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/article11159126.html

Further, The Carlos Gimenez administration is getting some blow back for his discussions of the County’s Crandon Park being leased to Donald Trump and it is not sitting well with voters who saw Gimenez falling over himself when it came to soccer star David Beckham and a new stadium and while Gimenez says it can’t be sold but could include a management agreement it still seems to stick in voters craw and people are still talking about it. And for more go to: http://www.local10.com/news/donald-trump-promises-worldclass-crandon-park-golf-course/31389120 And while the Mayor is reporting $500,0000 for the campaign he still is dealing with Raquel Regalado who may run for the top position too.http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/article9694805.html . And Gimenez needs to be careful that voters don’t get the impression he is beholden to many of these people. Many of who do business with the county and is why they are contributing so much to his reelection campaign and the upcoming race and other issues was discussed on Helen Ferre’s show Issues on http://video.wpbt2.org/video/2365412986/.

And So far no one has officially announced they will be challenging Gimenez for the office but former Miami Mayor Xavier Suarez is considering a run along with School Board Member Raquel Regalado and the mayor’s dynamics with voters has changed since he first ran for the office back in 2011 and he is seen as being overly sensitive if anyone criticizes him and there is some media footage that does make him seem angry when he is criticized and not a warm and cuddly mayor and that imperious attitude is getting old for some voters. And the discontent started with voters when he paid numerous vice mayors significant salaries and benefits that he says is necessary to get top people into government, but critics argue maybe these people should not be in public service. Since it might be for the wrong reasons, since government positions traditionally pay less than the private sector but also comes with a number of perks not found in the private sector.

Two Thirds of the County Commission has to approve a plan sponsored by Commissioners Sally Heyman and Barbara Jordan to begin charging the “30,000” riders of Metro Mover in downtown Miami that have been riding for free and is not being supported by the Miami Downtown Authority (DDA) and the CITT Trust is also against it. Because it would not bring in the necessary revenue if a toll was charged and was one of the promises voters were told when they voted to tax themselves a half cent for county transit services and brings in some $220 million of which much of that money goes to servicing debt on the transit system that includes Metro Rail but the sales taxes benefits was oversold to the public and there was not enough money to full fill the commissioners promises made to the public back in 2002. Editor’s Note: Mayor Gimenez is against charging riders using the inner loop of the Metro Mover.

In 2014, Greater Miami and the Beaches ranked #4 in hotel room rate and revenue per available hotel room (RevPar), and #5 in occupancy among the Top 25 U.S. Hotel Markets. The destination achieved new records in 2014 for RevPar of $144.87, an increase of +7.0% over the previous year. Average daily room rate (ADR) reached a record $185.12, an increase of +5.8% over the previous year and hotel room occupancy climbed to a record 78.3%, a +1.2% increase over 2013. Additionally, Greater Miami and the Beaches’ Accommodations and Food Services Employment reached a record number of 115, 300 industry jobs, a +2.8 % increase over 2013 and 60 consecutive months of industry employment increases.

Domestic passenger arrivals for the month of January 2015 at Miami International Airport (MIA) increased by 4.6% while international passenger arrivals increased by 2.5%. Total passenger arrivals at Miami International Airport (MIA) increased by 3.5% in the month of January 2015.

MIA Passenger Arrivals

Domestic Arrivals

January 2015 January 2014 % Change vs. 2014

919,091 878,444 +4.6%

International Arrivals

January 2015 January 2014 % Change vs. 2014

983,203 959,251 +2.5%

Total Arrivals

January 2015 January 2014 % Change vs. 2014

1,902,294 1,837,695 +3.5%

Alberto Carvalho at a recent school board meeting said the nation’s fourth largest public schools District has given out some “50,000 devices in the hands of students with cards,”  and this is part of a much larger program to allow all of the Districts some 350,000 students are connected with eh internet and is being made possible after voters passed a $1.2 billion bond for IT and school upgrades and the devices are “rubberized,” and can withstand a “6 foot drop,” and the devices are either a “surface tablet or a HP device,” he told board members  and by one “one vendor [we] get uniformity of deployment and consistency in training,” said the award winning Superintendent. A man who has staked his reputation on maximizing this new money and the overall success of the bond program without any scandals.

IN the first move since voters an approved an $830 million bond for Jackson Health System. On Friday the  JHS administration under CEO Carlos Migoya announced the acquisition of land for a major facility out in Doral Florida and it will be one of many clinics the public health trust hopes to establish in the coming years including bringing the campus up to snuff and able to compete with other hospital systems in the county. And the GOB oversight board that approved the land buy was chaired by engineer Gus Gomez, P.E. (Who is a senior vice president with HAKS), and he used to be on another County board that dealt with the Cranes at the Port of Miami. And this is just one of many projects the health  trust hopes to embark on with this new bond money and the Watchdog Report will be watching closely who gets these new contracts and if these companies are politically connected in any way. http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/article11334389.html

Jackson Health System announced today plans to expand its world-class medical care to one of Miami-Dade County’s fastest-growing commercial and residential areas.

Jackson unveiled plans to purchase a 27-acre parcel of land, located just west of the Palmetto Expressway and north of Northwest 25th Street, to be called “Jackson West.” Immediate plans for the site, located in the City of Doral, will center on the development of a state-of-the-art outpatient campus that includes a free-standing emergency room/urgent care center for adults and children, as well as a children’s ambulatory center for specialized pediatric care. Long-term plans could include the creation of a medical mall that will offer services such as same-day surgery, outpatient cardiac catheterization, dialysis, chemotherapy, outpatient rehabilitation, a wellness center, and more.

The plans were approved today by both the Public Health Trust Board of Trustees, Jackson’s governing body, and the Jackson Bond Citizen’s Advisory Committee, which reviews projects funded by the Jackson Miracle-Building Bond program.

The sale price for the site, located at 7800 N.W. 29th Street, is $38.5 million, which is below the average independent appraised price. Jackson would fund $15 million from the operating surpluses that the system has earned in recent years, while the remaining $23.5 million will be funded through the Miracle-Building Bond program, overwhelmingly approved by Miami-Dade County voters in November 2013. The bond would also fund the construction and equipment at Jackson West, estimated at $31 million.

The proposed land acquisition is expected to go before the Miami-Dade Board of County Commissioners for final approval in March.

Nearly 600,000 people live within five miles of this proposed facility, but the nearest emergency rooms are between four and six miles away. Putting much-needed medical services within their reach is crucial to Jackson’s mission as a taxpayer-funded public health system.

“Jackson’s mission is to provide one standard of quality care to all residents of Miami-Dade County – and this addition to the Jackson family will allow us to reach more people in an underserved part of our community,” said Carlos A. Migoya, president and CEO of Jackson Health System. “We look forward to bringing Jackson’s unmatched medical expertise to the people of Doral and other parts of west Miami-Dade County.”

Jackson will continue to work closely with its academic partners from the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine at this new facility. Pediatricians from UM are Jackson’s exclusive provider of specialty care for children.

Over the next five to seven years, Jackson will invest $1.4 billion into building new facilities and modernizing existing structures. This capital plan, which includes $830 million from the Jackson Miracle-Building Bond, and the reinvestment of cash earned by the health system, will catapult Jackson into a next-generation healthcare system that will continue to serve the people of Miami-Dade County for decades to come. Carlos A. Migoya, Jackson’s president and CEO, and Darryl K. Sharpton, chairman of the Public Health Trust, will hold a news conference.

As more and more candidates sign up to run in the Miami District 2 race since incumbent commissioner Marc Sarnoff is termed out in November. The city’s elections laws will play a big part in this election since only some 44,104 registered voters were in the commission district in the last election cycle  and all a winning candidate needs is 51.1 percent of the vote to win, and given the number of candidates a runoff two weeks after the general election is likely and the candidate with the best organization gets an edge in the race because the runoff is only two weeks away from the general election Nov.3 and with seven candidates running these people will split the vote and will probable allow Sarnoff’s wife Teresa to prevail given her expected large fundraising edge thanks to her husband Marc’s ability to rack in the dough for any campaign. The current list of candidates is Grace Solaris, Rosa Palomino, Teresa Sarnoff, Seth Skarley, Lorry Woods and Ken Russell. Solaris has the highest profile of the challengers next to Sarnoff’s wife. But she is also getting press and Sarnoff is using all the levers of power he can to blunt her candidacy. http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/article11150255.html

PAST WDR: Further on Saturday morning I had a campaign volunteer seeking signatures for candidate Grace Solaris who is also running for the Miami District 2 seat. And she is being well received and the longtime community activist will not be a push over for Team Sarnoff in the coming months up to the November election that could turn into a airwave campaign given the wife’s and husband’s ability to raise money for her campaign (and $2,000 came from Jay/Ellen Solowsky an attorney Sarnoff shares an office with) and her war chest through Jan., 2015 has $82,875. To Solaris who is reporting $57,680 during the same time period. And to review the campaign filings go to http://www.ci.miami.fl.us/City_Clerk/Pages/Elections/CampaignReports15.asp and for Solaris to qualify by petition she needs 1percent of the district’s voters or she can pay a $582.00 qualifying fee.

A MPO Sunshine meeting is scheduled for Tuesday to discuss BayLink  a transit corridor to Miami Beach and is much sought after by Mayor Phillip Levine given the terrible traffic on McArthur Causeway and there is a renewed push for a solution and this could be a critical meeting in that regard.

A meeting of the Metropolitan Planning Organization’s (MPO) Beach Corridor Transit Connection Study Policy Executive Committee (PEC) will convene on Tuesday, March 31, 2015, at 2:30 PM, for the primary purpose of considering an implementation plan that advances a premium transit project connection between Miami Beach and downtown Miami.  This meeting is scheduled to take place at the Stephen P. Clark Center, 111 NW First Street, 18th Floor Conference Rooms 18-3 and 18-4, Miami, Florida 33128.  The PEC is composed of the following members: Honorable Carlos A. Gimenez, Mayor, Miami-Dade County; Honorable Tomas Regalado, Mayor, City of Miami; Honorable Philip Levine, Mayor, City of Miami Beach; Honorable Bruno A. Barreiro, MPO Board Member, Miami-Dade County Commissioner District 5; and the Honorable Xavier L. Suarez, MPO Board Member, Miami-Dade County Commissioner District 7.  Other elected officials and/or MPO Board members may attend this meeting.

A trip to Denver to study their transportation system March 26, 27 by Miami-Dade County Commissioners will conflict with Miami Beach’s 100th Anniversary and Mayor Philip Levine suggested to the Miami-Dade Planning Organization (MPO) members that they consider another date since it conflicts with the City’s Centennial festivities planned and includes a host of entertainers the mayor said. http://www.local10.com/news/free-concert-to-feature-andrea-bocelli-kymani-marley-barry-gibb/31298890 And officials will be missing a major party the Beach is throwing and will feature the Bee Gees and a host of other performer’s, in a free signature concert.

In a surprise move Gables realtor Jeanette Slesnick has filed running for the slot on the dais is Tony Newell, Sandra Murad and P.J. Mitchell rounds out the field of candidates and to review the candidate list go to http://www.coralgables.com/index.aspx?page=292 and the low key election is April 14 and the elections are a winner take all race. Since his time as mayor Slesnick’s wife has continued to be active in Gables issues and her entry could make the race a little more exciting.

The Coral Gables Forum will hold its bi-annual Candidates Forum for the upcoming city elections.  Our first forum will be for Group IV and V on March 2nd.  Our second forum will be for the Mayor’s race (Group I) on March 9th.  Both events will be held at the Coral Gables Congregational Church (3010 DeSoto Boulevard) from 7:00pm to 8:30pm.The doors will be open at 6:45pm so audience members can submit questions to ask the candidates.  Our moderator will be Eliott Rodriguez of CBS WFOR-TV.  If you have any questions please contact us at coralgablesforum@gmail.com.For more information on the Candidates Forum and future events please visit our website at www.coralgablesforum.com

Thank you,

The Coral Gables Forum

For more information go to www.beaconcouncil.com

Alberto Ibargüen’s  editorial in The Miami Herald,  about the FCC and the issue of Net Neutrality  is a powerful argument for the internet plat form and for it not to have two different classes of users, the haves and the have notes and back in May of 2000. I would not have started the Watchdog Report if there had been certain restrictions for it was difficult enough to start back then and it would not have taken much for me to have just given up and while I am a just a small player in the internet world which has changed the whole fabric of civilization and information is a keystroke away. The platform is still evolving but given the velocity that technical developments are taking, who knows where that internet will take us as it dips its finger in the world of medicine and people can see their ECG on an Apple devices screen. To read his editorial go to

http://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/op-ed/article11389730.html

Good afternoon. Please note that the City of Miami’s Preservation Officer, Megan Schmitt, has advised us that the hearing before the Historic and Environmental Preservation Board on the 3529 St. Gaudens Road Historic Resource Nomination application will not take place on March 3, 2015. Instead, it will take place on April 7, 2015. We will keep you informed and hope that all of you can attend.

Regards,

Richard M. Zelman, Esq.

Sacher, Zelman, Hartman,

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