Watchdog Report Vol. 16 No. 39 February 7, 2016 EST.05.05.00 – I go when you cannot – Celebrating 16 Years of Weekly publishing

>>> 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 www.knightfoundation.org   to maintain my webpage. The Watchdog Report webpage is free, has no pops-up and is just the news in a mainstream reporting manner.

>>>> The Watchdog Report publisher for 16 years now, has reported back weekly on how your billions of public dollars in local government are being spent. And how to help support me providing this service is at the end of the WDR. And I hope you will consider keeping an independent news service out in our community, where what is going on with all our government entities is of critical benefit for both the public institutions but voters as well. Thank You. And to my Supporters I pledge to keep ‘going when you cannot.’ And in the past I have broken the story on Cuban refugees coming in droves and also the Oriental fruit fly quarantine and its huge economic impact to name just a few of the more recent stories in past WDR’s.

>>> And you can now easily support the Watchdog Report by going to my new PayPal Button account at www.watchdogreport.net Thank you for the past support over the last 16 years. And to read a national story and profile of the WDR publisher in the early years back in 2003 go to: http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2003-01-20/news/0301190045_1_ricker-miami-watchdog

ARGUS REPORT – Heard, Seen on the street

>>>> “National Security mission, #1 priority of FBI,” says local SAC Piro, office is fourth largest in nation man has impressive linguistic skills, speaks Arabic and French, since born in Lebanon agent notes how savvy ISL is with social media platforms and terrorist group has some “50,000 twitter accounts,” he says to Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce members

The Number one priority of the FBI is the “National Security mission,” since it has been 14years since 9/11 and homegrown terrorism is the nation’s biggest threat. Since “ISL preys on [recruiting] homegrown violent extremists,” said Piro. Further ISL has “over 50,000 twitter accounts,” and the terroist group is very savvy on social media. And Piro, who did the interrogation of Iraq strongman Saddam Hussein, said the captured man was most afraid of Iran, a much larger country after the long protracted war with Iran. Piro said the dictator was more afraid of Iran then the US and why he perpetuated the WMD con. And Piro was also interviewed by 60 Minutes on what it was like to interrogate the brutal dictator. And the man offers some unique insights and he “is 1/1000 FBI special agents,” who speak Arabic while also understanding the culture and history of the region and he is a welcome SAC to challenging South Florida. Editor’s not below is past WDR on the local FBI SACs over the past years.

The Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce monthly luncheon Wednesday was a special event since the featured speaker was George L. Piro, the FBI’s Special Agent in Charge (SAC) in Miami and the office is the nation’s fourth largest field office, of 56 field offices around the nation. And Miami is the epicenter of every conceivable “type of fraud imaginable.” and the senior federal agent born in Lebanon speaks Arabic, and French nd ghr gnt was assigned because of his language skills with interrogating Saddam Hussein And for more on Piro go to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Piro And his quick rise in the storied agency began after 9/11 given his linguistic skills in a federal agency founded in 1908 (and was “a small force,” that dealt with “land fraud,” since there were few “federal laws” back then. But the Federal bureau of Investigation (FBI) since World War I has expanded and has bureaus throughout the globe. But the FBI had only one Arabic speaking federal agent out of 1,000 agents in the Bureau and the man discussed what it was like to interrogate Hussein. He noted after seven months of protracted interrogation some of his federal peers joked with him. That Piro spending seven months doing this was as close to “torture the agency” might implement and he said in the FBI’s case “We don’t torture.´ and the man follows in the footsteps of John Gillies who the Watchdog Report interviewed many times before his retirement in 2011 as the Bureau’s SAC and he brought FBI Director James Comey, to speak at a chamber luncheon and the visit followed the arrests of three municipal mayors. And Gilles during his time was very visible in the community many times with U.S. Atty Wilfredo Ferrer in tow. After Miami became a student killing zone and has erupted more recently this past year

PAST WDR on FBI SAC’s

>>>PAST FBI SAC Steinbach Miami Chamber speaker, Cyber Security the timely topic of the day, after massive hacking of Target account customers

The Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce luncheon this Wednesday will be featuring FBI Special Agent in Charge Michael B. Steinbach and he will be discussing cyber security and protecting businesses and customer’s personal financial information. A timely topic after Target was hacked and tens of millions of customer accounts being stolen last month. Further, other chain stores are also being targeted and it is one of the new concerns companies have to face in today’s cyber technological world and here in South Florida, identity theft is pervasive and rampant and a major area of concern for the local FBI field office.

>>> PAST WDR: FBI SAC Steinbach says sayonara to South Florida to head up terrorism division at Bureau, pressure cooker job here, with fraud and public corruption on the front burner

Michael B. Steinbach, 47, the local FBI Special Agent In Charge, and a counter terrorist specialist is heading back to Washington to become the FBI’s deputy assistant director for the terrorism division in the Bureau http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/palm-beach/fl-fbi-miami-chief-michael-steinbach-leaving-20140115,0,5552965.story The local FBI Field Office has some 800 employees, and has the largest public corruption unit in the nation, and the office covers nine counties in the U.S. Southern District of Florida. A geographic area that ranges from Key West to Fort Pierce and also includes South America and the Caribbean nations. Steinbach followed former FBI SAC John V. Gillies who retired a couple of years ago after a major stint in South Florida and Gillies was shocked at the level of fraud and corruption found here and he talked about it at a number of public forums, asking for the public help to stomp this out, during his time as SAC. In addition, these federal special agents have to deal with terrorism threats, identity theft and the massive Medicare and Medicaid Fraud, where the fraud beta sites are tested in South Florida, and then the fraud model is exported and established in different cities around the nation.

Further, when it comes to public corruption, the local FBI is committed to root out public corruption and has had over the years a large number of high profile political corruption cases from Palm Beach, to Key West and a host of elected leaders have been arrested over the past decade by federal authorities. And the Watchdog Report wishes Steinbach good luck in this new important position and know his replacement will have large shoes to fill.

>>> PAST WDR: FBI SAC Steinbach Miami Chamber speaker, Cyber Security the timely topic of the day, after massive hacking of Target account customers

The Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce luncheon this Wednesday will be featuring FBI Special Agent in Charge Michael B. Steinbach and he will be discussing cyber security and protecting businesses and customer’s personal financial information. A timely topic after Target was hacked and tens of millions of customer accounts being stolen last month. Further, other chain stores are also being targeted and it is one of the new concerns companies have to face in today’s cyber technological world and here in South Florida, identity theft is pervasive and rampant and a major area of concern for the local FBI field office.

Feb 2, 2014 >>> PAST WDR: FBI SAC Steinbach says sayonara to South Florida to head up terrorism division at Bureau, pressure cooker job here, with fraud and public corruption on the front burner

Michael B. Steinbach, 47, the local FBI Special Agent In Charge, and a counter terrorist specialist is heading back to Washington to become the FBI’s deputy assistant director for the terrorism division in the Bureau http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/palm-beach/fl-fbi-miami-chief-michael-steinbach-leaving-20140115,0,5552965.story The local FBI Field Office has some 800 employees, and has the largest public corruption unit in the nation, and the office covers nine counties in the U.S. Southern District of Florida. A geographic area that ranges from Key West to Fort Pierce and also includes South America and the Caribbean nations. Steinbach followed former FBI SAC John V. Gillies who retired a couple of years ago after a major stint in South Florida and Gillies was shocked at the level of fraud and corruption found here and he talked about it at a number of public forums, asking for the public’s help to stomp this out, during his time as SAC. In addition, these federal special agents have to deal with terrorism threats, identity theft and the massive Medicare and Medicaid Fraud, where the fraud beta sites are tested in South Florida, and then the fraud model is exported and established in different cities around the nation. Further, when it comes to public corruption, the local FBI is committed to root out public corruption and has had over the years a large number of high profile political corruption cases from Palm Beach, to Key West and a host of elected leaders have been arrested over the past decade by federal authorities. And the Watchdog Report wishes Steinbach good luck in this new important position and know his replacement will have large shoes to fill.

>>>US ATTY press release: Former Miami Dade Police Officer Pleads Guilty to Accepting Bribes a former uniformed police officer with the Miami Dade County Police Department pled guilty today to accepting bribes in furtherance of an illegal pirate towing scheme. Wifredo A. Ferrer, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office, and Juan Perez, Acting Director, Miami-Dade Police Department (MDPD), made the announcement.

Yuri Millan, pleaded guilty to participating in a conspiracy against the laws of the United States that is, engaging in a wire fraud scheme resulting in the deprivation of his honest services and accepting bribes in connection with his official duties at MDPD, an agency that receives federal funding, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, and Section 371.  Millan’s codefendants, Oriel Ugardes, and Jose Guim, previously pled guilty to the same charge on January 13, 2016.

According to the court record, including documents filed in support of the defendants’ guilty pleas, between December 2013 and May 2014, Millan accepted bribes from Ugardes and Guim in exchange for Millan secretly using his position as a police officer to assist their towing businesses.  Millan would provide Ugardes and Guim information regarding and access to MDPD accident scenes, where Ugardes and Guim would illegally solicit stranded drivers for business.  In January 2014, after MDPD switched to an encrypted radio communication system, Millan agreed to rent his MDPD radio to Ugardes and Guam so that they could listen to encrypted police communications in an effort to locate accidents before their competitors.  Millan’s misconduct resulted in Ugardes and Guim illicitly acquiring more than $5,000 worth of business. The plot was uncovered through the use of recordings by confidential informants, wire intercepts on Ugardes’s telephone, and the seizure of Millan’s police radio from Ugardes after investigators watched Ugardes pick the radio up from Millan’s residence.  In their own separate plea agreements, Ugardes and Guim also admitted paying thousands of dollars of bribes to Millan and another former MDPD employee, Public Service Aide Elina Rodriguez.Millan, Ugardes, and Guim are scheduled to be sentenced on April 14, 2016, in front of U.S. District Court Judge Darrin P. Gayles.  Each defendant faces a maximum sentence of 5 years’ imprisonment and 3 years’ supervised release.  The court may also impose a maximum fine of $250,000.In December 2015, Rodriguez pled guilty to related federal conspiracy charges before U.S. District Court Judge Ursula Ungaro.  Rodriguez is scheduled to be sentenced in that case on February 22, 2016.

Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of the FBI Miami Area Corruption Task Force and the MDPD Internal Affairs Division.  This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Anthony Lacosta. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov

>>> Press release: John Zogby’s Obama Weekly Report Card is Featured in Paul Bedard’s “Washington Secrets” Published weekly in The Washington Examiner Our presidential report card grader John Zogby had a lot to chew over this week. Zogby focused on the positive report on jobs and wages go up President Obama a high grade. John Zogby “While the punderati (my word) were engaged in Iowa and onward to New Hampshire, we almost forgot that there is a president still occupying the White House. This was the week of two failed summits — one in Vienna concerning Syria, and the other at the White House involving President Obama, Senate Leader Mitch McConnell, and Speaker Paul Ryan. Neither went well. Please click on the link below to view the full release:
http://zogbyanalytics.com/news/711-obama-report-card-zogby-b-for-jobs-jump

>>> GOP debate takes some of the MO out of Trump campaign Rubio takes a hit from Gov. Christy

With the GOP debate, last night before the New Hampshire Primary Donald Trump has lost some of his Mo after he came in second just ahead of Sen. Marco Rubio, R –Fla. And Trump is claiming Sen. Ted Cruz- R TX rigged the Iowa election after the candidate in robo calls suggested Dr. Ben Carson might drop out since he traveled to his home in Palm Beach and some supposed announcement was to take place. And Trump believes Carson’s supporters were told to support Cruz since Carson was dropping out. And Florida Gov. J Bush is asking his 90 year old mother Barbara for campaign help and Bush calls himself a grinder when it comes to a campaign that is not a sprint but a marathon in nature and the local republican congressional representatives are sticking with Jeb in their support. But Bush came out of the campaign gate rusty and when Trump dubbed him low energy the tag, stuck with many voters. However last night Bush seemed to be more relaxed and in his grove. But New Jersey governor Chris Christy and Rubio had a couple of exchanges saying all the candidate does is spew the same talking points and during the exchange Rubio looked like he choked and gave the same response he gives in his stump speeches and Christy continued his line of attack and that Rubio is like “the boy in the bubble.”

And Hillary and Sen. Bernie Sanders went after each other at the Democratic Debate Friday night and Clinton squeaked to a victory in Iowa but she is having a hard time with women millennium voters and the Watchdogreport has asked dozens of young working millennials and the deficit is in the “trust,” area many of the women said and most were college graduates who said this. And how Sanders does in the open New Hampshire primary where regardless of party you can vote in the election where the candidates have essentially been living and Trump who skipped a past debate may have been punished by Iowa voters with his poor showing at the caucus.

Feb 2, 2014 >>> PAST WDR: FBI SAC Steinbach says sayonara to South Florida to head up terrorism division at Bureau, pressure cooker job here, with fraud and public corruption on the front burner

Michael B. Steinbach, 47, the local FBI Special Agent In Charge, and a counter terrorist specialist is heading back to Washington to become the FBI’s deputy assistant director for the terrorism division in the Bureau http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/palm-beach/fl-fbi-miami-chief-michael-steinbach-leaving-20140115,0,5552965.story The local FBI Field Office has some 800 employees, and has the largest public corruption unit in the nation, and the office covers nine counties in the U.S. Southern District of Florida. A geographic area that ranges from Key West to Fort Pierce and also includes South America and the Caribbean nations. Steinbach followed former FBI SAC John V. Gillies who retired a couple of years ago after a major stint in South Florida and Gillies was shocked at the level of fraud and corruption found here and he talked about it at a number of public forums, asking for the public’s help to stomp this out, during his time as SAC. In addition, these federal special agents have to deal with terrorism threats, identity theft and the massive Medicare and Medicaid Fraud, where the fraud beta sites are tested in South Florida, and then the fraud model is exported and established in different cities around the nation.

Further, when it comes to public corruption, the local FBI is committed to root out public corruption and has had over the years a large number of high profile political corruption cases from Palm Beach, to Key West and a host of elected leaders have been arrested over the past decade by federal authorities. And the Watchdog Report wishes Steinbach good luck in this new important position and know his replacement will have large shoes to fill.

Former Miami Dade Police Officer Pleads Guilty to Accepting Bribes a former uniformed police officer with the Miami Dade County Police Department pled guilty today to accepting bribes in furtherance of an illegal pirate towing scheme. Wifredo A. Ferrer, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office, and Juan Perez, Acting Director, Miami-Dade Police Department (MDPD), made the announcement.

Yuri Millan, pleaded guilty to participating in a conspiracy against the laws of the United States that is, engaging in a wire fraud scheme resulting in the deprivation of his honest services and accepting bribes in connection with his official duties at MDPD, an agency that receives federal funding, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, and Section 371.  Millan’s codefendants, Oriel Ugardes, and Jose Guim, previously pled guilty to the same charge on January 13, 2016.

According to the court record, including documents filed in support of the defendants’ guilty pleas, between December 2013 and May 2014, Millan accepted bribes from Ugardes and Guim in exchange for Millan secretly using his position as a police officer to assist their towing businesses.  Millan would provide Ugardes and Guim information regarding and access to MDPD accident scenes, where Ugardes and Guim would illegally solicit stranded drivers for business.  In January 2014, after MDPD switched to an encrypted radio communication system, Millan agreed to rent his MDPD radio to Ugardes and Guam so that they could listen to encrypted police communications in an effort to locate accidents before their competitors.  Millan’s misconduct resulted in Ugardes and Guim illicitly acquiring more than $5,000 worth of business. The plot was uncovered through the use of recordings by confidential informants, wire intercepts on Ugardes’s telephone, and the seizure of Millan’s police radio from Ugardes after investigators watched Ugardes pick the radio up from Millan’s residence.  In their own separate plea agreements, Ugardes and Guim also admitted paying thousands of dollars of bribes to Millan and another former MDPD employee, Public Service Aide Elina Rodriguez.Millan, Ugardes, and Guim are scheduled to be sentenced on April 14, 2016, in front of U.S. District Court Judge Darrin P. Gayles.  Each defendant faces a maximum sentence of 5 years’ imprisonment and 3 years’ supervised release.  The court may also impose a maximum fine of $250,000.In December 2015, Rodriguez pled guilty to related federal conspiracy charges before U.S. District Court Judge Ursula Ungaro.  Rodriguez is scheduled to be sentenced in that case on February 22, 2016.

Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of the FBI Miami Area Corruption Task Force and the MDPD Internal Affairs Division.  This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Anthony Lacosta. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov

>>> Ros-Lehtinen Announces New Administration of Congressional Offices

>>>PAST WDR Press release: U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (FL – 27) announced that her longtime Chief of Staff, Arthur “Art” Estopiñan, will retire and has been named Senior Advisor to Ros-Lehtinen effective January 1, 2016 to ensure a smooth transition of administration.  South Florida natives Maytee Sanz, previously Deputy Chief of Staff, will be promoted to Chief of Staff and Joshua Salpeter, previously Legislative Director, will serve as DC Chief of Staff as of January 1, 2016.

Statement by Ros-Lehtinen: “Art has been a trusted counselor, leader, and an important member of my Congressional staff for over 25 years. Art’s hard work and dedication to South Florida are well known by our community leaders and his contributions to mentoring and guiding staff and interns have earned him much respect throughout his years on the Hill. Art’s grace in the face of adversity has inspired us all and his leadership in our office will be missed. I know he will be pursuing a new and exciting chapter in his life and I wish him, his wife, Olga, and their son, Arturito, all the very best.

I am also excited for what the future holds. I know that Maytee, Joshua, and my entire team capture the essence of public service. They are consummate professionals who know the demands of the jobs they are taking on and relish their duties. My office will continue to work hard for our South Florida community to ensure that our residents have access to the very best constituent service and that their voices are heard on Capitol Hill.”

Statement by Estopiñan: “I am extremely grateful to Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen for the incredible opportunity that she has afforded me these many years by allowing me to serve as her Chief of Staff. It has been an honor and pleasure to work for her and serve South Florida with her unique energy and commitment to help build a better community and country. Now, the time has come for me to move forward to the next 20 years of my life in the private sector. While this is a challenge, it is one I am looking forward to. It will allow me to enter a new phase of life where I can provide for my family, particularly raising a severely disabled child who has a rare genetic muscular disease. “BACKGROUND: Maytee Sanz, a Miami native, previously served as Deputy Chief of Staff. Prior to that, she was District Director for Ros-Lehtinen and has served the Congresswoman for over 25 years. Sanz will be responsible for all functions of Ros-Lehtinen’s Congressional offices. She is a graduate of South Florida’s Nova Southeastern University. Joshua Salpeter, a Palmetto Bay native, previously served as Legislative Director. Prior to that, he was a Senior Legislative Assistant for the Congresswoman. Salpeter will be responsible for the operations of Ros-Lehtinen’s Washington, DC office and will serve in an advisory capacity on legislative issues. He is a graduate of Miami Palmetto Senior High and the University of North Carolina at Asheville.

FLORIDA

>>> Miami-Dade County Grand Jury report slams CRAs, 178 CRA’s statewide, entities need to have more independent oversight, board members many times have a vested interests, and general fund money is being diverted away from fighting slum and blight

With The Miami-Dade State Attorney’s office releasing a grand jury report on the 14 CRAs in Miami-Dade County in a state that has “178,” of such entities. After this report Florida lawmakers should once again change the state statuettes to allow County leaders to provide oversight but was fought against by the state’s League of Cities. But after this grand jury report rather than just passing these CRA’s entire budget after the fact and currently allows almost no oversight of anyone that does not have a vested interest. And in the past lawmakers have failed to modify the laws that had one CRA in Miami-Dade spending $300,000, in salary and benefits for only three employees. And to read the report go to https://www.miamisao.com/publications/grand_jury/2000s/gj2015s.pdf

MIAMI-DADE COUNTY

>>> After blistering grand jury report on CRA’s, will state legislature change laws and make the counties the oversight entity?

A grand Jury report released last week on Community Redevelopment Authorities (CRAs of which Miami Dade has 14 of them) and they have flirted being slush funds for elected leaders and generally have no citizens on the CRAs and are made up of elected leaders and these entities are a vehicle for friends of the commissioner to be hired and most of the executive directors of CRAs make around $200,000 and lower level slots are also flush with benefits and these staffers get wined and dined at many of the restaurants including the clubs where they don’t have to wait in line. Since they are viewed as VIPs and Omni CRA CEO Pieter Bockweg, in a Miami Herald story got his original job with the City of Miami when his father asked then Miami Manager Joe Arriola to find a job for the heavy smoker and Rollins College M.B.A. graduate. And he became friends with former Miami Commissioner Marc Sarnoff who set up the CEO position (and Bockweg can only be fired by the CRA board). Since Sarnoff chaired the Omni CRA. And around Miami-Dade these organizations created to fight slum and blight have pledged millions of future property taxes that otherwise would go to the County’s general funds but have helped create the cultural renaissance of South Beach and the Arsht Performing Arts Center that also drew on this tiff money earlier in 2003 and 2004 and helped finish the Center that went over budget and was 20 months late and since has been a community jewel but down in Homestead CRAs have a mixed record and these projects were many times a pet project for a commissioner on the board and read the grand jury report story on line at https://www.miamisao.com/publications/grand_jury/2000s/gj2015s.pdf https://www.planning.org/news/daily/story/?story_id=id:LnJ6AyB8kI670SbOFuKAhCFiKrh0vKqZk_pGo87_AIdmHQylXmRiYvakoyUqymNj&source_type=O

>>>>County Clerk’s webpage list of The following Community Redevelopment Agencies (CRAs) exist within Miami-Dade County:

City of Miami/Omni

Naranja Lakes

North Miami

Miami Beach 

North Miami Beach

NW 7th Avenue Corridor

79th Street Corridor

Homestead

Florida City

Mid-town

Opa-locka

South Miami A

Southeast Overtown /Park

West Perrine

Minutes for the West Perrine, the Northwest 7th Avenue Corridor, the Omni, and the Southwest Overtown/Park West CRAs can be found in the minutes for Regular meetings of the Board. The exception is minutes for Naranja Lakes CRA, which are maintained separately in the Clerk of the Board. The Board serves as the Community Redevelopment Agency for NW 7th Avenue and West Perrine. Go to the Office of Management and Budget for more detailed information.

Summer job funding from Children’s Trust hoped to help quell youth violence, with shootings almost daily countywide

County Commissioners had an extensive discussion of the recommendations in a Joint Round Table on Youth Safety committee Action Plan, on all the gun violence in the county and students are being killed almost daily. And the creation of best practices policies on how to focus on this small ultra-violent youth. And the County will be getting some money for a summer jobs program from the Children’s Trust of Miami-Dade County and months ago County Commissioner Xavier Suarez made a presentation to the Trust board showing the data that summer jobs are a great vehicle to reduce local people’s security and families and has some homes in parts of the county having bullet holes created by AK 17 bullets said Moss and the “easy access to guns,” is contributing to the violence. And such summer jobs funding was seriously cut back during the Great Recession and the youth programs are missed. And Commissioner Dennis Moss also pointed out how this community violence is destroying the fabric of our societies in South Florida.

>>>> And in a discussion on extending the life of the County’s 14 CRAs. The long serving commissioner in South Dade said he would only do that if it was “true to the intent of the CRA,” said Moss.

>>> Commissioner Diaz, with suspended license, but has job waiver, holds 2^nd Annual Support our Police motorcycle ride event at Tropical Park Feb. 21

County Commissioner Jose “Pepe” Diaz told commissioners about the 2^nd Annual Support our Police Event and motorcycle ride being held at Tropical Park on Feb. 21 at 1:30 and includes “all law enforcement [agencies] at every level,” said Diaz and he noted “The event is the largest ever in the S.E. U.S.” And Diaz is still dealing with a past motorcycle speeding and DUI stop where his license was suspended, (but he got a waiver to drive for official duties as a first time offender) for a year and to see the video of his arrest go to http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/article37783179.html

GMCVB: press release: DEMAND FOR TRAVEL TO GREATER MIAMI & THE BEACHES DURING JANUARY – DECEMBER 2015 WITH #4 RANKING IN REVENUE PER AVAILABLE ROOM (REVPAR), #4 IN AVERAGE DAILY ROOM RATE (ADR) AND #6 IN HOTEL ROOM OCCUPANCY AMONG THE TOP 25 U.S. MARKETS AS DEFINED BY SMITH TRAVEL RESEARCH.

January – December 2015
Revenue Per Available Room (RevPar) – Miami #4
Jan. – Dec. 2015	Jan. – Dec. 2014	% Change vs. 2014
$152.83	$144.21	+6.0%
Average Daily Room Rate (ADR) – Miami #4
Jan. – Dec. 2015	Jan. – Dec. 2014	% Change vs. 2014
$195.75	$184.79	+5.9%
Average Daily Occupancy – Miami #6
Jan. – Dec. 2015	Jan. – Dec. 2014	% Change vs. 2014
78.1%	78.0%	+0.1%
Monthly Room Supply
Jan. – Dec. 2015	Jan. – Dec. 2014	% Change vs. 2014
50,775	48,999	+3.6%
Monthly Rooms Sold
Jan. – Dec. 2015	Jan. – Dec. 2014	% Change vs. 2014
14,470,258	13,957,205	+3.7%

>>> County MPO with bike advocates are working to make tourism biking a new industry with Crandon Park Initiative, being a signature ride

The MPO Transit solution committee had a major discussion on biking opportunities such as Key Biscayne and “tourism biking,” is becoming a hot sport event for tourists and given the coming Underline a significant bikeway is slowly being created through-out Miami-Dade. And Maurice Ferre noted there is resistance to people giving up their cars since the focus was finding workable transit solutions, he noted in a discussion that included Miami Commissioner Francis Suarez, just back from Copenhagen and both men are on the Metropolitan Planning Organization and Suarez is the MPO vice chair. Ferre also believes companies like Hyundai might be interested in building a running a mag like transit system.

PUBLIC HEALTH TRUST

>>> The Miami-Dade County Commission passed legislation sponsored by Commissioner Juan Carlos Zapata giving JHS employees “getting paid parental leave,”

However critics carp in the health system when some one takes such an extended leave someone has to replace the employee and depending whether it is nurse or physician could be a management nightmare and the county might want to tweak some of this to give JHS some flexibility, an if the person is a key member of the medical food chain.

>>> Health trust will be looking for trustees in near future, only the best of the best need apply to be on seven member oversight board, $830 million GOB oversight board looking for trustees as well

The Public HealthTrust Nominating Council is meeting and is expected to be running an ad soon asking for residents to apply to be on the seven member oversight board that looks after the health trust system and is currently a much more nimble board then when it was 18 members years ago, but County Commissioners reduced the board’s size and under the leadership of Carlos Migoya alongside with the unions and major concessions from them the trust has operate the organization in the black the last three years after years of hemorrhaging red ink to the tune of a $84 million loss back in 20003.

And the $830 million GOB bond oversight board is looking for trustees as well and if you have skills in construction consider applying here http://www.jacksonhealth.org/jackson-bond-program-CAC.asp#2

CITY OF MIAMI

>>> Former Commissioner Sarnoff joins high profile law firm Shutts & Bowen, maritime attorney has rubbed many people the wrong way unlikely to become a lobbyist

Termed out Commissioner Marc Sarnoff an attorney has joined the high profile law firm Shutts an Bowen the Dailey Business Review is reporting and Sarnoff is a maritime attorney and it remains to be seen if he becomes a lobbyist which could be a problem given his reputation and was reflected in his wife’s Teresa 23 percent of the vote which was a terrible slap at her and her husband despite raising $1. 2 million and he has receded into the political wilderness though Gov. Rick Scott has appointed him to a state transportation board along with his wife to another one.

PALM BEACH COUNTY

>>>> Two Palm Beach County Residents Sentenced for Their Participation in Stolen Identity Tax Fraud Scheme Involving at Least 790 Identities

US ATTY press release: Two Palm Beach County residents were sentenced to prison for their participation in a stolen identity tax fraud scheme involving at least 790 stolen identities.

Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Kelly R. Jackson, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), Nadine Gurley, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of the Inspector General (HUD-OIG), and Karen Citizen-Wilcox, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of Inspector General (USDA OIG), made the announcement. Latonia Verdell, 40, of Palm Beach County (Case No. 14-CR-80158), and Starling Willis, 32, of West Palm Beach (Case No. 15-CR-80119), were each sentenced to a term of imprisonment by U.S. Senior District Judge Daniel T. K. Hurley, for their participation in a stolen identity tax fraud conspiracy.  Verdell and Willis were previously convicted of aggravated identity theft, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1028A(a)(1), and conspiracy to commit wire fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1343 and 1349.  Verdell was also convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 922(g)(1); possession of fifteen or more unauthorized access devices, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1029(a)(3); theft of government property, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 641; and making a false statement to a federal government agency, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1001(a)(2).

Verdell was sentenced to a total of 94 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, and was ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $947,296.81.  Verdell’s sentence includes a concurrent term of 70 months in prison for each count of conviction for theft of government money, felon in possession, and unauthorized access devices; and a concurrent sentence of 5 years in prison for the false statement conviction.  In addition, Verdell was sentenced to a mandatory term of 24 months in prison, to run consecutive to all other sentences, for the aggravated identity theft conviction.

Willis was sentenced to a total of 33 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered jointly and severally liable for restitution, with Verdell, in the amount of $32, 4551.  Willis was sentenced to 9 months in prison for the conspiracy, to be followed by a mandatory consecutive term of 24 months in prison for the aggravated identity theft conviction.

According to court documents and the defendants’ testimony during the sentencing hearings, Verdell, Willis and co-defendant Kelli Witherspoon McIntosh, participated in a widespread stolen identity refund fraud scheme involving at least 790 stolen identities and personal identification information (PII).  The PII was used to file fraudulent on-line income tax returns, with those refunds being directed to various bank accounts created and maintained by Verdell, McIntosh and Willis, as well as to reloadable debit cards.  Identity theft victims whose personal information was used for this scheme spanned from Indian River, Highlands, St. Lucie, Martin and Palm Beach Counties, as well as persons outside the State of Florida.  This scheme resulted in the submission to the IRS of more than 590 fraudulent returns in the names of other persons, seeking approximately $1.5 million in fraudulent income tax refunds. Court documents also indicate that on September 1, 2010, while Verdell was receiving unauthorized income from the filing of fraudulent income tax returns with the IRS, she received a housing assistance payment funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), while knowing she was not entitled to receive such a payment.  On September 24, 2013, Verdell submitted an application for enrollment in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), also referred to as ‘food stamps.’  In her application, Verdell knowingly stated that her only monthly income was $715, without any other source of income, when she was in fact receiving significant income from fraudulent tax refund payments.

Court documents also indicate that evidence of the stolen PII, a list of bank accounts belonging to Willis, information regarding accounts which received fraudulent refunds, and a stolen .38 caliber pistol, were found in Verdell’s home during the execution of a federal search warrant.

Kelli Witherspoon McIntosh is scheduled to be sentenced on February 16, 2016 in West Palm Beach by U.S. Senior District Judge Hurley. Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of the IRS-CI, HUD-OIG, and USDA OIG.  Mr. Ferrer also thanked the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office for their assistance with this investigation.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Theodore Cooperstein.  Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.

Co-Conspirators Marie Claude, 27, of Lantana, and Marie Demesyeux, 31, of Lake Worth, previously pled guilty. On April 16, 2015, both defendants were sentenced to time served.

COMMUNITY EVENTS

>>> Press release: The Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County Presents – THE LEGEND OF ZELDA: SYMPHONY OF THE GODDESSES

MASTER QUEST Multimedia symphonic concert returns with new music and scenes from “Tri Force Heroes,” the latest The Legend of Zelda video game. The Legend of Zelda franchise celebrates its 30^th anniversary in 2016!

“An utterly flawless presentation!” – WIRED Part of the 2015-2016 Live at Knight Series

April 16, 2016 at 8 p.m. Tickets: $35-$125* VIP Package: $150*John S. and James L. Knight Concert Hall

MIAMI, FL January 15, 2016 – Now celebrating its 10^th Anniversary Season, the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County is proud to present the return of THE LEGEND OF ZELDA: SYMPHONY OF THE GODDESSES and its new highly-anticipated multimedia symphonic concert MASTER QUEST. This latest edition of The Legend of Zelda symphony will feature brand-new music and visuals from the new The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes video game released in October 2015. As part of the Center’s Live at Knight Series, MASTER QUEST will delight video game and orchestral music fans alike on April 16 in the John S. and James L. Knight Concert Hall.

Tickets to MASTER QUEST are on sale now and range from $35 to $125*. A VIP Package for $150* includes premium seating, meet and greet with executive producer Jason Michael Paul and principal conductor Amy Andersson, official tour VIP lanyard, limited edition poster and a VIP Fast Pass to the merchandise booth. Tickets may be purchased at the Adrienne Arsht Center box office by calling (305) 949-6722, or online at www.arshtcenter.org.

Making its South Florida premiere, MASTER QUEST is a never before seen or heard multimedia concert experience featuring a live 56-piece orchestra, 20-person choir and a larger-than-life video presentation of gameplay imagery. The concert also boasts live orchestral performances of theme music from Nintendo’s beloved The Legend of Zelda franchise – now celebrating its 30^th anniversary. Guests will enjoy their favorite game moments from the series, carefully and beautifully timed with a gorgeous orchestral score approved by Nintendo sound director and The Legend of Zelda composer Koji Kondo.

Those new to THE LEGEND OF ZELDA: SYMPHONY OF THE GODDESSES will also have the opportunity to experience the beautifully orchestrated four-movement symphonic work from last season which chronicles fan-favorite moments from the video game’s rich and storied history, carefully and expertly timed with videos. The concert is a festive experience for all fans, many of which attend in “cosplay” as their favorite characters.

For more information, please visit: www.zelda-symphony.com. Support for the Live at Knight Series is provided by Wells Fargo. *All programs, artists, ticket prices, availability, dates and times are subject to change without notice. Additional fees may apply. Visit www.arshtcenter.org for up-to-date information, details and performance.

Additional high-resolution photos are available at www.arshtcenter.org/press.

The Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County is made possible by the public support of the Miami-Dade County Mayor and the Board of County Commissioners, the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs and the Cultural Affairs Council, the Miami-Dade County Tourist Development Council and the City of Miami Omni Community Redevelopment Agency, as well as the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs and the Florida Council on Arts and Culture. The Adrienne Arsht Center also receives generous support from individuals, corporations and local, state and national foundations. In its 10^th anniversary season, the Arsht Center thanks its institutional donors for their historic commitment to the performing arts and Greater Miami: Adrienne Arsht; Miami-Dade County; John S. and James L. Knight Foundation; Dr. Sanford L. and Dolores Ziff & Family; The Arison Family/Carnival Corporation; Knight Ridder Inc. and The Miami Herald/El Nuevo Herald; Sears Roebuck and Co.; Arthur F. and Alice E. Adams Foundation; Bank of America; Joyce and M. Anthony Burns; Audre and Donald Carlin, Hedy Carlin and B. Pair Carlin; The Cejas Family Foundation; Gilbert S. Kahn and John J. Noffo Kahn; Haskell Company; Miami Salon Group Inc.; Odebrecht; Peacock Foundation Inc.; Ryder Charitable Foundation; Terra Group; Wells Fargo and Lynn Wolfson.

About the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County

Set in the heart of downtown Miami and designed by world-renowned architect Cesar Pelli, the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County is one of the world’s leading performing arts organizations and venues. Since opening in 2006, the Arsht Center, a 501C3 non-profit organization, has emerged as a leader in presenting innovative programming that mirrors South Florida’s diversity as well as a catalyst for billions of dollars in new development in the downtown area. Spotlighting legends and serving as a launch pad for local artists to make their mark on the international stage, the Center presents nearly 500 events each year across its eight flexible, state-of-the-art performance spaces. The Center programs 12 signature series, including the largest jazz series in South Florida, the biggest flamenco festival on the East Coast, and a robust program of new theatrical works as well as free programming for the community and an arts education program that serves nearly 30,000 children each year. As Miami’s new Town Square, the Arsht Center also houses Brava! A fine dining restaurant; the Café at Books & Books in the historic Carnival Tower and a weekly Farmers Market. Visit www.arshtcenter.org for more information.

>>> THE MARGULIES COLLECTION AT THE WAREHOUSE is proud to announce its new exhibitions Anselm Kiefer: Paintings, Sculpture and Installation – Susan Philips: Immersive Sound Installation -through April 30, 2016 – Anselm Kiefer: Paintings, Sculpture and Installation

Staged across 18,000 sq. ft. of space the new Kiefer exhibition at the Margulies Warehouse is the largest presentation of the artist work ever made in the United States. The show includes major sculptures, installation and paintings from 1986 to 2015. Four immense rooms within the Warehouse have been built specially to house the exhibition.

“Anselm Kiefer is one of the most important European artists of the past four decades,” says curator Katherine Hinds. “In our ongoing process of building the collection we recognized that Anselm Kiefer was critically important. This exhibition comes at a pivotal time. It is the most comprehensive project ever undertaken by the collection. We are honored to present this exhibition, which is the result of an ongoing collaboration between the collector Martin Z. Margulies and the artist. We see this exhibition as a fulfillment of our educational mission at the Warehouse to produce powerful exhibitions of seminal work by the greatest international artists of our times.”

The artist traveled to Miami to install his 17ft high work Die Erdzeitalter (Ages of the World), 2014 that was the centerpiece of his retrospective at the Royal Academy in London in 2014. The largest work in the show, Geheimnis der Farne (The Secret of the Ferns) is based on a work Kiefer created eight years ago for Monumenta 2007 Grand Palais exhibition. After meeting with the collector, Kiefer changed and rearranged elements of the work and made a site-specific installation for the Margulies collection. Included in the show is the 3-ton workSprache der Vögel, 1989, which was the first work by Anselm Kiefer acquired by the Margulies collection. It has been on exhibit at the Warehouse since 2013.

The Margulies Collection at the Warehouse is honored to join the exemplary collection exhibitions devoted to the art of Anselm Kiefer including the Hall Art Foundation at Mass MoCA, the Doris and Donald Fisher Collection, The Broad Art Foundation and HangarBicocca, Milan.

Anselm Kiefer was born in Donaueschingen, Germany in 1945 and has lived and worked in France since 1993. He has exhibited widely, including solo shows at MoMA, New York (1987); Neue Nationalgalerie, Berlin (1991); The Metropolitan Museum, New York (1998); Fort Worth Museum of Art (2005); the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (2006); Mass MoCA, Massachusetts; Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao; the Grand Palais, Paris; Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Denmark (2010); the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam (2011), Tel Aviv Museum of Art (2011) and The Royal Academy, London (2014). In 2007 Kiefer became the first artist to be commissioned to install a permanent work at the Louvre, Paris since Georges Braque some 50 years earlier. In 2009 he created an opera, Am Anfang, to mark the 20th anniversary of the Opéra National in Paris. The Centre Georges Pompidou and the Bibliothèque Nationale de France in Paris will stage major solo presentations of his work in 2015.

Susan Philipsz: Immersive Sound Installation

The Margulies Collection is also pleased to feature a large scale Immersive Sound Installation by the acclaimed European artist Susan Philipsz, winner of the prestigious Turner Prize in 2010, Tate Britain. Drawing from the histories of 1930’s emigrant artists who fled Germany for America only to experience McCarthy-era blacklist censorship, Susan Philipsz’ work evokes the emotions of alienation, loss and exile. The audience views the work by walking into a large room with abstract sound emanating from 12 speakers placed in a symmetrical pattern at eye level. On the walls of the room 12 large prints of musical compositional scores are layered over with redacted FBI documents. “The sound of the deconstructed music heard over 12 channels combined with the visual experience of the recognizable but evasive censored text in the prints is a stunning and evocative experience,” says Ms. Hinds. “This has been a very ambitious project for us, it is the very first sound art installation work here at the warehouse and we are excited about adding a new dimension to the Collection.”

Permanent exhibitions: Magdalena Abakanowicz, Ron Bladen, Pier Paolo Calzolari, Anthony Caro, John Chamberlain, Willem de Kooning, Olafur Eliasson, Dan Flavin, Michael Heizer, Jannis Kounellis, Sol LeWitt, Mario Merz, Joan Miró, Isamu Noguchi, Michelangelo Pistoletto, George Segal, Richard Serra, Tony Smith, and Franz West

New works: Meuser, Lawrence Carroll, Liat Yossifor, Mark Handforth and Martin Boyce. Click here for more information about this season’s exhibitions.

The Margulies Collection at the Warehouse

591 NW 27th Street, Miami, FL 33127

p: 305.576.1051 / f: 305.576.4963

mcollection@bellsouth.net

www.margulieswarehouse.com

The Martin Z. Margulies Foundation, inc. is a not for profit institution dedicated to the presentation of exhibitions and educational programs. The Margulies Collection at the WAREhOUSE houses an extensive collection of contemporary and vintage photography, video, sculpture and installation art.

Curator, Katherine Hinds

>>>> Press release: Thinking About Running for Office? The Good Government Initiative will offer a one-day workshop on Friday, April 1, 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM to help you: Define your purpose in wanting to run for office Tap into your leadership strengths and core values: Plan your fundraising strategy: Connect with constituents and your community, Get ready to launch

Register Now!

When Friday April 1, 2016 from 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM EDT

Where
Bilzin Sumberg Law Offices
1450 Brickell Avenue, 23rd Floor
Miami, FL 33131

Driving Directions

Guest speakers include: Mayra Peña Lindsay, Mayor, Village of Key Biscayne Dan Gelber, Attorney and former State Senator Katy Sorenson, former County Commissioner Jean Monestime, Chair, Miami-Dade County Commission Francis Suarez, Commissioner, City of Miami Mark Samuelian, former candidate, City of Miami Beach Shellie Levin & Christian Ulvert, Campaign Consultants This workshop will take place at Bilzin Sumberg Law Firm and will be limited to the first 25 applicants. The fee is $95 and will include a continental breakfast, lunch, and parking. YOUR PAYMENT IS YOUR RESERVATION! Register using the “register now” link above. NO REFUNDS. For more information email Jennifer@goodgov.net

Editorials

>>> Public institutions need to remember baby boomers not as nimble with technology as young folk’s small font a nightmare for some

There is not just a digital divide, but a widening technological gap as baby boomers get older and are expected to be more capable of their computer skills, despite having some medical issue like a stroke and public institutions are moving faster with this new technology leaving many people behind, who may or not have a smart phone that was first introduced Jan. 9^th 2007 by Steve Jobs and the Apple iPhone and while young people have no problem with all this technology that is likely not the case if you are in your sixties where reading small font requires a magnifying glass and public institutions as they rush to embrace this technology that they need to remember that for some people they may need some help navigating it and catching up to speed of this technological revolution.

>>> One of Watchdog Report’s main missions is to keep watch on all the host of Trust’s in Miami-Dade and involve some serious public money in the billions

Residents in Miami-Dade County periodically ask why I cover all the trust’s found in the county, from the Children’s Trust to the Public Health Trust to the County’s Homeless Trust and it is because elected county leaders are always looking for new funds and while the raids of these public dollars periodically occurs like in the case of the Citizens Independent Transit Trust where the county is slowly paying back the sales tax dollars absorbed by the county’s transit system in what was called “unification,” by county leaders but the Public Health Trust was also raided back in 20002 when county commissioners shifted some $ 70 million in unfunded mandates on to organization and that cost has risen over $100 million a year and was one of the reasons the Public health trust needed a $830 million GOB passed overwhelmingly by voters a few Years back to upgrade its infrastructure and ageing main campus after this past money was diverted over a decade by the County commission that does provide some $250 million in public funds for a maintenance of effort contribution. But in Miami-Dade where everything is political I keep watch so that these organizations are kept whole and politics is kept to a minimum and this oversight helps keep the organizations on the straight and narrow when it comes to public dollars and it is no small amount of money and helps explain why there have been so few scandals in the past that plaque the county back in the 1990’s and a frequent topic in the media.

LETTERS

>>> A Reader on danger of yellow pole barriers on 195, and sign petition asking FDOT to modify polls https://www.change.org/p/florida-department-of-transportation-change-i95-plastic-poles-to-unable-movement-in-and-out-of-the-express-lanes

>>> Great story on the Pets’ Trust.  I’d love to speak with you and tell you more.  You are right…..it will be an issue in the Mayor’s race.

Please watch this…      Pets’ Trust…the Story    password is     movie

And read this……..  http://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/op-ed/joe-cardona/article2087823.html

Michael Rosenberg

President Pets’ Trust

Rita Schwartz Cofounder

>>> And another reader sent the following the shocking truth about Miami-Dade Animal Services, http://www.animalliberationfront.com/ALFront/Actions-USA/MiamiAnimalServices.htm

DR

Coconut Grove

>>> The Watchdog Report is Celebrating 16 years of weekly publishing since May 5^th 2000 and when I started back then I never thought I would be doing this so

http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2003-01-20/news/0301190045_1_ricker-miami-watchdog. And while I have taken a licking over the years including some medical issues I have kept at the job thanks to my supporters who I thank so very much over the many years. And the community’s public institutions are better when it comes to them knowing what the other is doing and why I have tried to be an information electrolyte for these giant institution’s leaders and things and here is a national story done on why I started to watch government back in 2000 http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2003-01-20/news/0301190045_1_ricker-miami-watchdog and to all the people along the way that have helped me I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

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***** LIFETIME FOUNDING MEMBERS & Initial sponsors since 2000

>>> LIFETIME FOUNDING MEMBERS & INITIAL SPONSORS IN 2000

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>>> Publisher’s Statement on the mission of the Watchdog Report and the special people and organizations that make it possible:  Government Subscribers/Corporate Subscribers/Sustaining Sponsors/Supporting Sponsors 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 Extras 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. I welcome letters via e-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, 2016, Daniel A. Ricker

>>> The Miami Herald and Orlando Sentinel & Sun-Sentinel articles on the Watchdog Report publisher over the years.

Published on September 9, 1999, Page 1EA, Miami Herald, the (FL)

CITIZEN ADVOCATE’ KEEPS TABS ON POLITICIANS

Published on January 3, 2000, Page 1B, Miami Herald, the (FL)

MIAMI-DADE WATCHDOG WILL BE MISSED

Published on January 20, 2003, Page 1E, Orlando Sentinel, PAPERWORK TIGER, Miami’s citizen watchdog piles up government files in his quest to keep the “little people” informed. http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2003-01-20/news/0301190045_1_ricker-miami-watchdog

>>>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/best-of/2003/people-and-places/best-citizen-6399517

From the spring of 2003:  U. North Carolina, Chapel Hill:  Southeast U.S. Media Report lists Watchdog Report publisher as leading Florida commentator >>> Selected excerpts from the report on Florida’s media sources-Those who do read the newspaper in Florida have a bevy of options for state government and political coverage. The dominant newspapers in the state are Knight-Ridder’s The Miami Herald (Acquired by the McClatchy Company in 2006) and the Poynter Institute’s St. Petersburg Times. Both papers endorsed Gore in 2000 but split on the 2002 gubernatorial race, with the Herald endorsing Republican incumbent Jeb Bush and the Times backing Democratic challenger Bill McBride. Daniel Ricker of The Miami Herald also writes an influential column as well as an email newsletter called the Watchdog Report that goes out to more than 100,000 subscribers. FEBRUARY 2004 – Florida: Columnists in Abundance —ERIC GAUTSCHI, graduate student, School of Journalism & Mass Communication, UNC-Chapel Hill – D) LEADING COMMENTATORS – Resource Commentator Organization Type Web site –Steve Bousquet St. Petersburg Times Column www.sptimes.com/columns/bousquet.shtml -“First Friday” WPBT TV (Miami) TV Show www.channel2.org/firstfriday/issues.html –Lucy Morgan St. Petersburg Times Column www.sptimes.com/columns/morgan.shtml  –Daniel Ricker Miami Herald/Watchdog Report Newsletter –www.miami.com/mld/MiamiHerald/news/columnists/dan_ricker/

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