Watchdog Report Vol. 11 No. 6 June 13, 2010 – Celebrating My 11th Anniversary
CONTENTS
Argus Report: Strong-polling shows Scott and Greene have a shot, but what will come out in the months ahead?
Florida: The Children’s Trust in Dade is the last stop for kids nurturing programs, as city and county money dries up
Miami-Dade County: Will county voters be asked to approve Charter change allowing commissioners to communicate with Dept. directors directly rather than the mayor?
Broward County: Rothstein gets 50-years by feds, Broward is rich in other schemes, and politicians beware of tainted money
Palm Beach County: State Atty. McAuliffe has 42 active public corruption cases, over twice that many investigations
Monroe County: Op Ed: BP Oil Spill: Monroe County Government Response by Gastesi, County Administrator
Miami-Dade Public Schools: Hialeah Gardens teacher tapped for national civics award, first time Floridian won award
Public Health Trust: Trustees need to be brief when it comes to potential litigation, public record must be accurate
City of Miami: Will Miami try to reclaim county water & sewer building on Le Jeune and U.S.1?
City of Miami Beach: Young Talent Big Dreams contest coming to Carlyle Theater, if city fees are waived
City of Coral Gables: Mayor Slesnick defends Gables shoreline; Mgr. Salerno initiates video of shoreline and canals
Community Events: M-DC Commissioner Sorenson honored and roasted at Rusty Pelican Restaurant June 16, leaving commission in November after 16-years in office — Downtown Bay Forum of Miami to offer debate between major congressional District 25 candidates on June 30th
Editorials: Lack of civility at public and community meetings stops activists & lesser government officials in their tracks with higher leaders — PAST WDR: JULY 2008: Well-compensated public officials should be satisfied with pay, outside compensation nothing but a scandal minefield
Letters: Readers on last week’s story on energy & former Mayor Penelas
Sponsors – Publisher’s mission statement & Subscription information is at the bottom of this issue
>>> Just because you do not take an interest in politics does not mean politics will not take an interest in you. –Pericles (430 B.C.)
>>> This Week on Issues – 6/11 & 6/13 >> Election Trends – Tuesday’s primary election results reveal some remarkable trends that may come to play in Florida, where the races for Governor, Attorney General, and U.S. Senate are already in full swing. > Guests: Freddy Balsera, Balsera Communications, Ana Navarro, Political Strategist/Consultant, Daniel Ricker www.Watchdogreport.net , Joseph Uscinski, Ph.D., University of Miami >>> Domestic Violence: The investigation into last Sunday’s killing spree at a Hialeah cafe uncovered a tumultuous relationship between the gunman and 24-year-old victim Liazan Molina. How did a domestic dispute escalate to mass murder? Guests: Angela Diaz-Vidaillet, Victim Response, Inc.
>>> The Watchdog Report publisher would like to thank the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation www.knightfoundation.org for funding the University of Miami’s Knight Center of International Media http://knight.miami.edu within the University’s School of Communication www.miami.edu assistance to rebuild my web site www.watchdogreport.net that is now on line again, since the previous one was shut down in July 2008. Past reports will continue to go on line in the future, potentially as far back as May 2000. This institutional support is a major break through for me, and I am deeply appreciative of the help these two substantial international institutions have given me at a time the site was an unbudgeted expense and to keep the Watchdog Report a community education resource, while also being a decade old news service.
>>> If you think it is important to have someone watching your public institutions consider becoming a supporter or sponsor. For there is no trust fund and I do have to live. A convenient form is at the bottom of this week’s Watchdog Report with all the instructions on how to support this decade old newsletter and news service soon to start its 11th anniversary on May 5.
ARGUS REPORT – Heard, Seen on the Street
>>> Strong polling shows Scott and Greene have a shot, but what will come out in the months ahead
The recent Florida poll done by Quinnipiac University from June 2-8 involving 785 Democrats and 814 Republican expected voters and reported in www.miamiherald.com raises the question, is it money alone, or are state voters just disappointed with the candidate choices they are being given when it comes to the U.S. senate and gubernatorial race in 2010? Rick Scott, a retired healthcare executive but who has spent over $12 million in television campaign ads, and a Republican is trouncing Bill McCollum with a 13–point lead state’s the poll and Jeff Greene, a billionaire is neck and neck with U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek, D-Miami for the Democratic U.S. senate primary. McCollum, the Florida attorney general is firing back at Scott in television ads, and through a committee close to the attorney, which has ads attacking Scott’s past business dealings and the company he headed Columbia/HCA, and the $1.7 billion fine the hospital chain paid after Scott left as CEO. However, this new entry is forcing McCollum to use precious campaign funds to fight the media onslaught Scott has brought to the race using his own money, with a net worth that is well over $100 million. Democrat Meek has yet to respond to Greene’s ads on the airwaves and since he is in Washington D.C. He is missing the opportunity the oil spill is giving state leaders to stay in the public eye, displaying why they should hold a higher office in the future.
If Scott prevails in the Republican primary that is expected to be low turnout affair of hardcore voters and it is a closed political party event, he will likely face Alex Sink, the Florida chief financial officer on the Democrat’s side and a new name Bud Chiles, III has entered the gubernatorial race as an Independent. Chiles is the son of the venerable Lawton Chiles, a deceased governor and U.S. senator, and he has a massive job getting his name out to voters statewide since his grand father passed away in 1998 while at the end of his last gubernatorial term in Tallahassee. Sink ran for the CFO office in 2006 and this is her second shot at elected office, but she is having difficulty gaining traction and name recognition over the past few months. She says that will change when the elections are closer, and it is during the General Election in November where she had better shine if her political career is not to end.
What about the other 2010-senate candidates like Crist and Rubio?
Gov. Charlie Crist, now an Independent and former House Speaker Marco Rubio, R-West Miami are also racing to join the nation’s most exclusive club and both men have a new variable to consider when it comes to the General Election Nov. 2. Prior to Greene’s entering the race Meek was considered the party’s presumed champion but Greene through aggressive campaign ads appears to have a chance of getting the statewide party nod and that would change the senate race dramatically, since the investor has tens of millions he is willing to spend to Crist’s $7 million and Rubio’s slightly less campaign war chest. Crist, on Friday also vetoed a bill that would have required women to get and pay for an ultrasound before getting an abortion and both sides of the issue are crying foul, calling the governor a flip- flopper on many issues, that also had him supporting offshore oil drilling, but since the spill. He has changed his mind.
The entry of these two insurgent candidates has thrown a wrench into what was seen as a fairly conventional race, but with Scott and Greene entering the fray with no real money limitations for their campaigns. Florida residents should hang on for this is going to be a bumpy flight, with charges against all the candidates flying as political operatives and the media pour over public records trying to help define who these various people are, and are they suited for high public office, or not. Readers should stay tuned.
>>> Dr. Michael Gordon and “Harvey’ get Tip of the Hat for changing medical education decades ago
I ran into someone I had not seen since 1980 and an idea he had has blossomed into I suspect a whole industry of medical manikins where students and physicians alike can try an operation or procedure further honing their skills. Michael S. Gordon, M.D., Ph.D., is the man in question, and when I first met him back then in a small office, there were skeptics in the staid medical community about what he was trying to create with Harvey, the medical manikin, that has now mushroomed into The Gordon Center for Research in Medical Education at the University of Miami’s Miller Medical school where he is the center’s director, Professor of Medicine, and the associate Dean for Medical Education. The Watchdog Report gives Gordon a Tip of the Hat for persevering in something revolutionary that has helped doctors and patients alike. For more information go to www.gcrme.miami.edu
>>> Press release: Learning From The Oil Spill: How To Move America Forward By Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz
As we’ve seen over the last two months, oil is an important, dangerous, and troublesome part of this economy and our lives. The BP oil spill that began in April has shown us the danger of offshore drilling specifically, and the risk in oil as a source of energy in general. We should use the public’s increased awareness of the risks of oil as a catalyst to act to save our environment while still protecting our economy. We cannot afford to wait any longer to take decisive action to change our relationship with oil. During this spill we have seen, more clearly than ever, that offshore drilling has a serious impact on our environment. The effects on our waters are apparent in the endless footage of the black plumes of oil in the Gulf of Mexico. And the spill is having a real and negative impact on animals and plant life, too. As the oil makes landfall, it is radically altering and destroying the habitats of many shoreline plants and animals. At the same time, we must also keep in mind that offshore drilling poses a threat not just to our environment, but to our economy. As Floridians, this is especially true. Florida’s tourism economy is $65 billion a year because our environment is unique: Florida’s coastal region includes 85% of the continental United States’ coral reefs and the country’s largest wetland is the Everglades. Combine that with our incredible beaches and our great sport fishing and you can’t find these resources anywhere else.
As the Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion and the subsequent spill has shown us, drilling –even hundreds of miles away from Florida’s coast can easily bring oil along Florida’s western and eastern coasts via the Gulf loop current. In recent years, there have been multiple proposals to bring drilling closer to Florida’s coastline –some proposals were as close as five miles off of both of Florida’s coastlines. Just imagine if a spill like the BP disaster had been closer to Florida, the damage to the wildlife, wetlands and beautiful beaches of our state would have been unimaginable. Add to that the impact on our $65 billion a year tourism-based economy and the affect it would have on the numerous families who would lose their jobs and businesses and the impact would be devastating. Unfortunately, with oil continuing to leak into the Gulf, we still are not in the clear. Worst of all is the fact that the obvious danger of expanded drilling would not even contribute substantially to the United States’ oil demands: The amount of oil production projected from expanded drilling off of Florida’s coasts would do next to nothing to reduce our dependence on foreign oil. Adding a fraction of a percent to the global oil supply will not lower gas prices, for Floridians or anyone else. This discouraging statistic demonstrates that we need more than a Band-Aid fix: we need to systemically change our approach to energy.
We should seize upon this tragedy in the Gulf of Mexico and truly put America on the path to a sustainable energy future. Instead of expanding coastal drilling and still continuing to depend on foreign energy, we should begin to find new sources of energy. Our country needs to run on something other than oil. We need to find new energy solutions. With that will come new economic growth, new opportunities for employment, and new scientific discovery. Wind turbines, bio-fuels, and solar power are examples of cleaner, job-creating alternatives to oil. If we were to introduce these alternatives as practical, viable sources of American energy, we could create thousands and thousands of new jobs. We could employ Americans in the fields of engineering, as well as construction and upkeep—jobs that can’t be outsourced to other countries.
Not only would we create jobs, but building a smart grid throughout the United States would invite more scientific study into smarter, more efficient forms of energy. This could lead to the creation of small businesses, vying for the newest and cleanest energy technology. It is important for us to remember that we don’t need to choose between a clean environment and a thriving economy. We can have both. In fact, employing new forms of energy will help employ Floridians, as well. And, as the high-speed rail initiative has already demonstrated, we can create more public transportation options that reduce our environmental impact while creating new jobs as engineers, contractors, and researchers. Simple solutions such as these will be the small, immediate steps that aide the larger process of moving away from oil. These are everyday actions that you can help with. Ultimately, we need to find a cleaner, more responsible source of energy. I know that we can. The United States is full of citizens who care: Intelligent men and women like you who are not just capable enough, but dedicated enough, to find a better, more sustainable solution than offshore drilling. And doing so doesn’t just mean we won’t have to clean up oil from the ocean—it will mean a better, healthier, safer life for our children, grandchildren, and generations to come. If you need help, you can reach my office in Pembroke Pines at (954) 437-3936, in Aventura at (305) 936-5724, in Washington, DC at (202) 225-7931, or on the internet at: www.house.gov/wassermanschultz
>>> Press release: Ros-Lehtinen Says Democracy Focus Vital to Haiti Recovery
U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), Ranking Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said at a hearing today that programs promoting democracy, responsible governance, and the rule of law are vital to the sustainability of Haiti reconstruction efforts. Statement by Ros-Lehtinen: “In the wake of the tragic January earthquake, Haiti faces as many opportunities as it does challenges. A responsible strategy with defined roles, clear objectives and a commitment to transparency will be critical to a successful future for Haiti.
“I was pleased by the recognition by some of today’s witnesses that the success of Haiti’s recovery depends upon the ability of democratic institutions to sustain and advance reconstruction and, later, development efforts. “The cornerstone of any prosperous and secure nation is a strong and democratic government. Any U.S. efforts to support the people and future of Haiti must focus on this key element. “The United States remains committed to working with the people and government of Haiti to ‘build back better.’”
>>> Press release: Zogby Interactive: 66% of Americans Believe Gulf Spill is a ‘Disaster’ That Will Cause Long Term Damage
Two-in-three U.S. adults (66%) say the British Petroleum (BP) Gulf oil spill is “a disaster that will cause long term environmental and economic damage,” up from 58% less than 2 weeks ago. Less than one-in-four (22%) rate the Federal Government’s response as either “excellent” or “good,” according to the latest Zogby Interactive survey. Only 14% rate BP’s response as positive, down from 25% in early May. Which of the best describes your opinion of the oil spill in the Gulf?
| 6/7/10 | 5/27/10 | |
| “A disaster that will cause long term environmental and economic damage.” | 66% | 58% |
| “A problem that will cause some short-term environmental and economic damage on the Gulf Coast.” | 20% | 28% |
| “The potential damage caused by the spill is being exaggerated.” | 10% | 11% |
| None/Not Sure | 5% | 7% |
A partisan divide is evident on this question, with 85% of Democrats believing that the oil spill represents “a disaster that will cause long term environmental and economic damage”, compared to only 45% of Republicans. Democrats and Republicans also have very different views on whether off-shore drilling is a “safe, reliable, and cost-efficient method of producing oil”; 20% of Democrats, 88% of Republicans, and 52% of the overall public agreed with this statement. Please click the link below to view the full news release on our website: http://www.zogby.com/news/ReadNews.cfm?ID=1869
>>> Press release: Zogby Interactive: 24% of U.S. Adults, 42% of First GlobalsTM Will Watch World Cup – 38% Say Soccer Likely to One Day Match Popularity of U.S. Big 4 Sports >>> One in four Adults in the U.S. plan to watch at least some of the World Cup soccer matches beginning June 11 in South Africa. Also, 38% say it is likely soccer will one day match the popularity in the U.S. of football, baseball, basketball and hockey. Are you planning to watch any of the World Cup matches?
| Overall | First GlobalsTM | Men | Women | |
| Yes | 24% | 42% | 31% | 17% |
| No | 69% | 51% | 62% | 75% |
| Not Sure | 7% | 7% | 7% | 7% |
Please click the link below to view the full news release on our website: http://www.zogby.com/news/ReadNews.cfm?ID=1870
>>> If you believe it is important to have someone watching your public institutions consider supporting the Watchdog Report. I do have to live, thank you! The report is also shorter and with less real content because I am still weak and do not have my past energy level that allowed me to write all day Saturday and Sunday as in the past almost 11-years that I have been doing this. I ask for my readers understanding during this time. >>> Further, I have been honored over the years by being named a WFOR-4 Hometown Hero in 2000, being profiled in a major way by The Miami New Times, The Miami Herald, and the Orlando Sentinel which ran as a nationwide story on me in the Tribune papers on Jan. 2003 and UNC Chapel Hill naming me one of the top columnists in Florida in a multi-state study of the media back in 2004. I also thank Joseph Cooper for the opportunity to be on Topical Currents on www.wlrn.org since 2000, including yearly election coverage since then and also the opportunity to be on Helen Ferre’s show Issues on issues@wpbt.org numerous times over the past decade.
>>> See what was said about the Watchdog Report in the Miami New Times 2003 — Best of Miami — BEST CITIZEN — Daniel Ricker –
Three years ago, we said Ricker was our Best Gadfly. Given his dedication and perseverance, this new honor, Best Citizen, is well deserved. Ricker goes to 2500 mind-melting meetings annually, from the Public Health Trust’s purchasing subcommittee to the Efficiency and Competition Commission to the Alliance for Human Services’ nominating council to the school board’s audit committee. Sometimes he’s the only public observer. Object: to be the Public Citizen for all those out there who can’t attend, and to connect and serve as an information bridge among the special-interest-dominated Miami-Dade governmental institutions that seem so problematic and indifferent to the democratic process.
This month his e-mail newsletter, The Watchdog Report, celebrates its fourth anniversary. In a former life, Ricker made a handsome living as an international salesman of heart pacemakers. As the hard-working publisher of Watchdog Report, though, he’s struggling financially — this despite the fact that his weekly compendium of meeting summaries, analysis, interviews, and commentary has become essential reading for anyone involved in public affairs. What his written work may lack in polish, it more than makes up for in comprehensiveness. So raise a toast to the man whose official slogan says it all: “A community education resource — I go when you cannot!”
FLORIDA
>>> The Children’s Trust in Dade is the last stop for kids nurturing programs, as city and county money dries up
The Miami-Dade Children’s Trust has a new member, state Rep. Julio Robaina, R-South Miami and a champion of children is replacing state Rep. Yolly Roberson, D-Miami on the over 30 member board. Another new addition on the trust a few months back is Carolyn Donaldson representing United Way of Miami-Dade’s slot on the board. The Trust is about all that is left when it comes to providing children services and programs now that the county and municipalities are facing there own financial meltdown. The state legislator over the years cut funding for many housing and social service programs but in many cases for the past decade. Local government was able to fill these funding gaps with local tax dollars but that is no longer the case and when it comes to the youngest members in the community, our children. They are about to find many past county and city summer and yearlong programs will either be cancelled or now require a fee to participate.
The Trust created by countywide voters in 2002 and reaffirmed by a huge margin in August 2008 has had to face its own budget issues after funding based on property values fell dramatically, cutting the organizations ability to fund certified programs given by organizations that have been carefully nurtured to provide the best programs possible. However, with the new economic reality its board and administration has to deal with these challenges and the two 2010-2011 public budget hearings will be in September and people interested should attend the public hearings.
What reports does county Commissioner Jordan want?
In the Trust’s handout for the June 7 board meeting, county Commissioner Barbara Jordan has asked for a report on the feasibility of airing a “TV program” through the county or school board cable stations and another report on “the feasibility” for the organization to have “its own building.” The trust currently is in a building owned by the United Way across from the street and it is Spartan in nature, but has a lot of light and with all the children’s artwork on the walls. The office space is quite appealing if one has to work there.
Further, check out the Trust’s Heart Gallery, in its third year, that has photos and a description of the kids in their own words that are looking to be adopted, and the program has resulted in about half of all these children finding a new family. For more information go to www.thechildrenstrust.org
>>> Press release: Gov. Crist appoints Tampa attorney C. Steven Yerrid as Special Counsel to advise the Governor pro bono on legal issues relating to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Yerrid, an expert in maritme law, successfully defended the harbor pilot in the Sunshine Skyway Bridge tragedy of 1980 and later worked on Florida’s legal team assembled by Governor Lawton Chiles to negotiate the tobacco settlement achieved in 1997. He is a graduate of Louisiana State University and Georgetown University Law Center.
MIAMI-DADE COUNTY
>>> Will county voters be asked to approve Charter change allowing commissioners to communicate with Dept. directors directly rather the mayor?
Commissioner Joe Martinez introduced legislation that would allow commissioners to directly interact with county department directors when it came to “constituent inquiries” if county voters approved the charter change Nov. 2. Currently commissioners can only deal with the county mayor to get something corrected or done in their respective districts and the change, if passed, would allow the elected leaders to communicate directly with department heads. Martinez believes it will help speed-up getting “constituent services” and enough commissioners at the Government and Operations committee chaired by Carlos Gimenez agreed.
Commissioner Natacha Seijas a supporter of the item said the language supplied by the county attorney’s office was not clear enough and since she has many elderly people in her district. They will become confused by the current language proposed and after she “beat up” the attorney after an extended discussion. The body worked to refine the ballot language. However, Gimenez a former Miami manager, said he was concerned with the change in the charter. He believed it could have department directors getting pulled in 13-ways, plus the mayor’s office versus having one central authority like the mayor’s office directing the over 60 departments, and he thought there was a need for a “unity of command” when it came to delivering county services. The ballot question passed the GOE committee and Gimenez was the only no vote.
>>> BCC committee wants to add two more federal lobbying firms; D.C. is where the money is at says Sosa and Souto
At another committee meeting dealing with inter-government lobbying by the county. A new strategy emerged shifting the lobbying focus away from Tallahassee and put more of county’s lobbying focus on Washington because that is where the money is. Florida is facing a minimum $7 billion shortfall in the state budget next year and Commissioner Rebeca Sosa and Commissioner Javier Souto said the money had to come from the nation’s capital because the state is tapped out. The committee members discussed ways of shifting more money into the $720,000 federal lobbying contract paying the top three firms $190,000 per year, and there was discussion of adding a fourth and fifth ranked firm as well and to pay for them from money in the department’s inter-government fund. In the end the committee agreed to have five firms, but see if the original three will do the contract for less, if the commission cannot identify new money for the extra lobbyist firms.
>>> Parks are subsidized to the tune of 60 percent by general fund
A possible parking fee at some of the county’s parks caused a stir with Commissioners Javier Souto and Rebeca Sosa who believed the new charges were a tax and would only hurt those who could least afford it. The county’s park system runs at a deficit when it comes to money coming in from users of the facilities, but does have marinas being self-sustaining financially. The county administration is looking for major cuts with a $360 to $420 million shortfall in next year’s budget, and in the case of the park’s department. The cost of running a park is covered by the public 35 to 40 percent said the department director at a commission committee meeting last week, and the rest is subsidized by the general fund, and all park programs needing this financial help are either now charging a fee or have been cut. The parks department has already laid off a couple of hundred of people and Commissioner Katy Sorenson cautioned the two commissioners that fees, or increases in current fees, if not adopted. The overall county deficit will only be bigger when the body in September holds its two public hearings and hashes out the final 2010- 2011 budget that will be brutal.
>>> Tropical Park equestrian center gets $10 million expansion boost, others just want a park in their area
A $10 million expansion of Tropical Park funded by the interest in a $2.9 billion county GOB in 2004 passed a committee last week but not without controversy and public comments. Leroy Jones along with others spoke passionately about the need for a park in the Little River area of the city of Miami and had been something county Commissioner Dorrin Rolle has been pushing for over the years. However, the new building at the park is to enlarge the equestrian center located there, and it will bring international horse shows of all type to the facilities and will bring much needed income to the local economy said expansion supporters.
>>> Mayor Carlos Alvarez sent a memo to commissioners concerning the budgets for the Commission on Ethics and Public Trust and the Citizens’ Independent Transportation Trust believing these organizations are not making the same concessions as other county workers under his supervision that included salary reductions and a five percent payment for employee health insurance wrote the mayor June 8. However, Robert Meyers, the executive director of the ethics commission said they made the budget adjustments by using furloughs instead.
>>> Mayor Alvarez will not veto annexation or money for Children’s Museum
The Watchdog Report e-mailed Mayor Carlos Alvarez’s media representative last week asking if he planned to veto the Sweetwater annexation legislation and the $750,000 for The Miami Children’s Museum. Vicky Mallette wrote back that Alvarez would not veto either item, and she noted by phone that the annexation bill was only a first step in the process. However, when it comes to the money for the museum, the “mid-year budget supplemental” must be adjusted by the commission with $750,000 worth of “alternative service reductions” in order for the general fund to balance for the current year, wrote the mayor’s number two George Burgess, June 7 in a memo to the board. He also hopes this is not a new “funding obligation” and tells commissioners that with a “roughly $360 million” funding gap in next years budget the administration “will likely be recommending significant cuts,” wrote Burgess.
>>> Commission letterhead must be used only for official county business
Use of a county letterhead seal for non-government related purposes caused an extensive discussion last week between Commission vice Chair Jose “Pepe” Diaz and Robert Meyers, the ethics executive director. Diaz when discussing some proposed legislation asked if it was okay to send a letter on commission stationary to a constituent after say graduating from college or school, but Meyers said that was not an official public duty, especially if the person was not known or had not worked for the commissioner. The ethics director said such a letter with the commission seal could be used for other purposes, and while he understood that it is done at state and federal levels. If the correspondence is not related to a commissioner’s county’s duties, official county commission stationary should be avoided. Meyers said it could say “from the desk of” but Diaz and others objected to these constraints, with the commissioner asking what it even means when a letter says from the desk of, since the desk is not writing the letter. This one issue is going to be further refined in the future and it will come back to the committee.
>>> What has happened to Community Councils? They rarely meet these days
I recently spoke to a member of one of Miami-Dade Community Councils and he said they had not had a meeting since last September since there were no zoning items that were to come before the body. The around 12 councils were first created in the 1990s to take pressure off the county commission for these over one million unincorporated residents to incorporate and become separate municipalities. Over the years the councils have had there difficulties, with a few of the members brushing with the law and state attorney’s office. However, the councils were also supposed to help county commissioners know what their constituents wanted in the way of services, but that input has fallen by the wayside in many cases.
Quote of the week
Commissioner Carlos Gimenez told his collogues at a committee meeting he chaired Monday that there was no reason for them to ask permission by “going through me” when it came to asking questions while the meeting was going on. This process was started when Commission Chair Dennis Moss took the leadership mantle and started demanding all discussion “go through the chair” and would only be granted if the discussion was “civil.” However, Gimenez said, “I don’t get it” and told the administrative staff wishing to speak to “go directly to her,” he said.
>>> Last week there was a different type of vehicle in the county commissioner parking lot and it was not a Ferrari, but a Harley-Davidson motorcycle and after a little digging. I found out it belonged to Jose “Pepe” Diaz and he rode it to the government center downtown from his home in Sweetwater.
>>> Next week, thanks to Miami Beach’s fee disclosure law for lobbyist, see what six or seven of them make for this activity, and it includes one small town attorney’s rate who also is a municipal mayor.
BROWARD COUNTY
>>> Rothstein gets 50-years by feds, Broward is rich in other schemes, and politicians beware of tainted money
It is over, Scott Rothstein got a 50-year sentence in federal court last week for his organized $1.2 billion Ponzi scheme that shocked South Florida and continued the trend of being ground zero when it comes to get rich quick buck artists. The number of politicians ranging from Gov. Charlie Crist to local elected leaders all embraced the man and his ostentatious life style that was created seemingly out of thin air. Now his law firm is defunct, partners are defending themselves having lawyered up, and Rothstein’s number two also felt the weight of the federal government last week as well.
However, not just Ponzi schemes define some of the corruption that exists in Broward as the press release below shows from the local U.S. Attorney’s office. Medicare and mortgage fraud are also rampant, human smuggling is very much in play and creating fraudulent immigration papers has created a cottage industry of people creating new identities for themselves throughout South Florida. Elected leaders in the future should reflect on who these people are who want to give them campaign cash. For we have seen it can come back to bite officials, and while political campaigns are expensive. The candidates should remember you cannot be a little bit pregnant when it comes to tainted money, and that is not a way to start or continue a political career. Since starting that activity may take you to a rendezvous with a new destiny. A destiny that involves state and federal prosecutors and that is not a good thing, when it comes to a political career.
>>> Press release: BROWARD TITLE LAWYER CHARGED IN CONNECTION WITH MORTGAGE SCHEME
Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Henry Gutierrez, Postal Inspector in Charge, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, John V. Gillies, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Miami Field Office, J. Thomas Cardwell, Commissioner, State of Florida’s Office of Financial Regulation, announce that attorney Peter N. Price, 49, of Hollywood, pled guilty today to a criminal information charging him making false statements to HUD, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1001. In addition, Price agreed to make restitution to Stewart Title Guaranty, the victim of his fraud, in the amount of $1,608,246.57. Sentencing is scheduled for August 27, 2010, at 1:30 p.m. before U.S. District Court Judge James I. Cohn in Ft. Lauderdale. Price faces a maximum statutory sentence of 5 years in prison.
According to the criminal information and statements made during today’s plea hearing, Price, a title attorney, operated Intracostal Title Services, Inc., a title company in Hollywood, Florida. According to statements made in court, Price embezzled more than $1,000,000 in loan proceeds that had been sent to Intracostal’s escrow bank account by clients to pay off prior mortgage loans. Instead of using the money as directed, Price prepared and sent a false HUD1 Real Estate Settlement Form, falsely reflecting the old loans had been paid. Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, FBI, the State of Florida’s Office of Financial Regulation. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey H. Kay. A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov
>>> Thank you for using the Broward County Commission Agenda E-mail Notification System. A new Broward County Commission Agenda is available. Point your browser to http://www.broward.org/commission/welcome.htm to view the new agenda.
PALM BEACH COUNTY
>>> State Atty. McAuliffe has 42 active public corruption cases, over twice that many investigations
Palm Beach State Attorney Michael McAuliffe attending a meeting on public corruption a few months ago, and he was quoted in the South Florida Business Journal April 2-8 2010, saying his office had “about 42 active public corruption cases” and added there were about “twice as many investigations under way,” states the article by Kevin Gale www.southfloridabusinessjournal.com – key word ‘critical conversations.’ Palm Beach became ground zero over the past few years for elected leaders when it came to being busted on public corruption after a majority of the commission went to federal prison, including a commissioner’s husband and since then elected leaders up there go out of their way to explain they were not part of that old elected group of leaders.
After that bloodletting, county and community leaders decided enough was enough and an ethics commission and an inspector general’s office have both been created. However, these new creations have less oversight firepower then the state model in Miami-Dade, where both the ethics commission and inspector general have a larger staff and more expansive powers.
MONROE COUNTY
>>> Draft Op Ed: BP Oil Spill: Monroe County Government Response — Roman Gastesi, Monroe County Administrator
Thank you for this opportunity to explain Monroe County’s response to the Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill resulting from the April 22ndsinking of the Transocean Deepwater Horizon drilling rig 130 miles southeast of New Orleans. Since day one, we have been engaged in an all-hands-on-deck response to this event. Every step of the way, we have closely coordinated our efforts with the federal, state, and municipal entities involved in this event. On Thursday, April 29, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano designated the event a Spill of National Significance, and appointed Admiral Thad Allen, the outgoing Commander of the Coast Guard, to serve as the National Incident Commander to coordinate resources and communication at the national level. His local representative is Captain Pat DeQuatro stationed in Key West. Our Director of Emergency Management, Irene Toner, sits with Captain DeQuatro, NOAA, and DEP as the local Unified Command Committee, which is responsible for the overall management of the incident.
While this spill is still continuing, I’m confident – while frustrated by the delay – that BP and the federal government will continue to do everything in their power to ensure that BP stops the leak, contains the spill, and mitigates the spill’s impact on the environment, the economy, and public health. Frankly, it’s scary to learn that BP and the federal government has limited capability and expertise in responding to wellhead incidents on the seafloor. I’m convinced that we as humankind are better equipped and have more experience to work on the moon than at 5000 feet under water. Ultimately, the permanent solution to stop this leaking is to drill a relief well, which will relieve pressure and permanently stop the flow of oil. BP is drilling two of these wells, and anticipates completion sometime in August; hence, we are in for a long summer. The Coast Guard, in conjunction with EPA and other federal agencies, has conducted six Spill of National Significance Exercises since 1994 that have provided valuable experience for this response. The exercises were guided by the highly detailed 700 page Florida Keys Area Contingency Plan, which includes the Tidal Inlet Protection Strategies for Oil Spill Response Plan. This plan provides detailed strategies to protect the vital estuaries and bays by ensuring that all appropriate agencies in the Florida Keys are aware of, and involved in, the local “oil spill response organization” which is divided into two (2) categories, Planning and Response.
Planning and preparation have been our primary focus the last few weeks. On May 11th, Mayor Murphy led a Board of County Commission meeting bringing together all federal, state, and local agencies to get a status update and calm the communities’ fears. I have spent many hours in meetings and conference calls. Including coordination conference calls with other County Administrators/Managers throughout the state, meeting with the municipal managers in Monroe County, meeting with State Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink, various meetings with representatives of BP – including visiting their “war room” in Key West. Our Public Works Department is training twenty five (25) employees on oil spills and dusted-off the incident waste management & disposal plan and contracts. Our County Attorney drafted a Liability of Oil Discharge Ordinance, and worked with our engineering staff to review and prepare existing disaster response and recovery contracts for applicability to oil spill clean-up. Engineering staff also reviewed historical oil incidents and reviewed the Tidal Inlet Protection Strategies for Oil Response Plan in order to determine assessment and remediation expertise requirements. Our Risk Management/Insurance staff communicated with our insurance consultant and carriers to determine our insurance coverage. Monroe County TV/IT staff created a specific webpage that includes detailed information, reports, and claims process/office information. Our Growth Management Division created an aerial map book of the Florida Keys for the Nature Conservancy to assist volunteers in any potential clean-up efforts, and biologist staff have been trained for oiled wildlife handling.
As of this writing, there are more than 24,000 personnel at the federal, state and local level and thousands of trained volunteers responding to protect the shoreline and wildlife. More than 4,400 vessels have been deployed across the Gulf region, including skimmers, tugs, barges, and recovery vessels, in addition to dozens of aircraft, remotely operated vehicles, and multiple mobile offshore drilling units. More than 1.2 million feet of containment boom have been deployed, and more than a 1.2 million gallons of dispersants (none in Florida waters) has been used, in addition to using controlled burns and skimming techniques to contain the oil slick, along with recovering more than 18 million gallons of an oil-water mix. Locally, the unknown is frustrating all of us. When, Where, What are common questions that annoy all of us. All we can do for now is monitor and prepare. I believe there is still a very good chance that we will dodge this bullet and see none or very little impacts. The current situation is that all of the Florida Keys are open, fishing & diving are great, and our beautiful summer weather pattern is upon us. We must simply relax and go about our daily lives while monitoring this situation. Every summer, we all have hurricane preparedness plans in place, this year we must simply add an oil spill response plan component to it. Please stay informed. Wrote Roman Gastesi, Monroe County Administrator >>> Log on to: http://www.miamiherald.com/wlrn/ Click on “Keys Officials on Oil Threat: Relax and get the Facts.”
MIAMI-DADE PUBLIC SCHOOLS
>>> Hialeah Gardens teacher tapped for national civics award, first time Floridian won award
Press release: Jackie Viana, a Social Studies educator and department chair at Hialeah Gardens Middle School in Miami-Dade County, has been named a winner of the 2010 American Civic Education Teacher Award (ACETA), an award sponsored by the Center for Civic Education, the Center on Congress at Indiana University and the National Education Association. The award recognizes three exemplary teachers annually from throughout the United States for their work in preparing young people to become informed and engaged citizens. This is the first time a Florida teacher has won the award. “My heartiest congratulations go to Jackie Viana for her exceptional commitment and passion for bringing civics education to life for her students,” said Education Commissioner Dr. Eric J. Smith. “The democratic process is a vital component of our nation’s strength and I am delighted that Florida is represented so well for an award of this caliber.”
A wide variety of teaching methods bring excitement about civics, law and government into Jackie Viana’s classroom. From simulated citizenship ceremonies to mock trials, her civics classes are more like laboratories for learning. Students enrolled in her classes have been successful over the years in finding viable solutions to a wide range of critical issues in their local communities and at the state level. Last year, her students were successful in improving the safety of a dangerous intersection by designing an improved traffic light system. >>> The ACETA winner will receive an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington, D.C., this summer to participate in an educational program that includes observing floor sessions and committee hearings in Congress, meeting members of Congress and other key officials, and visiting sites such as the National Archives and the U.S. Supreme Court. The American Civic Education Teacher Award is given annually to elementary and secondary teachers of civics, government and related subjects who have demonstrated exceptional expertise, dynamism and creativity in motivating students to learn about the Constitution, Congress and public policy. For more information, visit www.civiced.org/.
PUBLIC HEALTH TRUST
>>> Trustees need to be brief when it comes to potential litigation, public record must be accurate
At Tuesday’s all day long PHT committee meetings, a number of issues concerning the public record and possible litigation that might ensue with a vender came-up. County lobbyist Miguel de Grandy representing Omega Technology Solutions LLC since April 15 said it is a woman run small company that is fighting for its business life without the $4.5 million payment that is being disputed by the health trust when he spoke in front of the purchasing committee. De Grandy, a former state legislator who lost his last race by one vote made his pitch to trustees asking for the issues to be resolved. However, after de Grandy spoke a number of trustees noted since there was potentially litigation in the future, they believed board members should “limit our discussion,” or say nothing at all said PHT trustee Gladys Ayala an attorney. Thus avoiding expanding the public record that could possible be used against the health trust in court or mediation and the board’s attorney Gene Shy had “nothing to add” because of the “potential litigation,” he said.
However, the Purchasing Committee chair Jorge Arrizurieta spoke and while he tried to make his comments general in nature. He put enough on the record that it will now be included in the public record and he should have said nothing given the circumstances. Arrizurieta, a past President George W. Bush, and Gov. Jeb Bush administration appointee, over the past decade is active in many areas in the community, as well as FIU and he has been a passionate spokesperson for the public trust, most recently at a Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce luncheon a few months ago, and with these experiences. It surprised me he spoke after the assistant county attorney advised to keep comments brief, if at all.
During another committee meeting that followed, committee Chair Ernesto de la Fe continued with the meeting even though the hospital’s fire alarm went off, it became very difficult to hear everything that was being said, and a break in the meeting should have been called, until the alarm was turned off. These two incidents may appear small but limiting the legal damage on any public board has to get a top priority from those who serve on these boards, and in the case of the public record. You either have an accurate public record or you don’t, and any doubt about the records integrity gives an opposing attorney a free shot when it comes to future litigation and that is not a good thing.
>>> Eneida O. Roldan, M.D., M.P.H., M.B.A., president & CEO of Jackson Health System, is in Washington, D.C., to meet with a group of Congressional leaders to discuss geographic variation in healthcare spending. Dr. Roldan is joined by other hospital executives from urban areas, including Boston, New York City and Atlanta. The purpose of the meeting is to learn why per capita healthcare spending varies throughout the United States and to discuss the next steps for Congress and other stakeholders as healthcare reform is implemented. Throughout the healthcare reform debate, lawmakers known as the “Quality Care Coalition” and others referred to regional disparities in healthcare spending that they believed should be reduced in order to improve the overall efficiency of the delivery system. Dr. Roldan will take part in a discussion on Miami’s high healthcare costs as they relate to the city’s uninsured and insured populations. “This is an opportunity to showcase Jackson Health System, while discussing the unique healthcare challenges we are facing as Miami-Dade County’s only safety net hospital,” said Dr. Roldan. “I look forward to continuing to work with our Congressional allies.” >>> Jackson Health System >>> Jackson Health System, an integrated healthcare delivery system, consists of its centerpiece, Jackson Memorial Hospital; four primary care centers; four specialty care centers; 17 school-based clinics; two long-term care nursing facilities; a network of mental health facilities; Holtz Children’s Hospital, Jackson Rehabilitation Hospital, Jackson North Medical Center and Jackson South Community Hospital. Governed by the Public Health Trust, a dedicated team of citizen volunteers acting on behalf of the Miami-Dade Board of County Commissioners, Jackson Health System is committed to building the health of the community by providing a single, high standard of quality care for the residents of Miami-Dade County.
>>> This is why I have been doing the Watchdog Report for 11-years — Since May of 2000, I have been covering the PHT in all its aspects over the years and its financial challenges since then have never been far below the surface of any story over this time. In 2004, I ran the headline about the $84 million charge the organization was having to take for the year and the numbers in many ways never got that much better, week after week, month after month, to where we are today. Some of the county commissioners are carping about all the sudden press and media attention the hospital system with 12,000 employees is getting but that is what happens in Florida where the state sunshine and open records laws makes all these activities public events. However, the commissioners should also be asking why they and the Fourth Estate did not kick in earlier to alert South Florida of the pending financial train wreck. The chronic problem was apparent to anyone that read the Watchdog Report over the decade, but in many ways, my role seems to be of Cassandra for we, as a community did not necessarily have to be where we are today, if corrective action had occurred years ago.
CITY OF MIAMI
>>> Will Miami try to reclaim county water & sewer building on Le Jeune and U.S. 1?
Mayor Tomas Regalado has his eye on some county real-estate that the city owns but is leased on a long-term contract. The property is the Water and Sewer Building near U.S. 1 and Le Jeune Road he told a budget advisor’s meeting Thursday around noon. “The county leaves a skeleton crew there”’ after the agency moved into its new building next to a Metro Rail station but the “property is owned by Miami” and it is a “huge property located right next to Coral Gables” and could be disposed of for considerable money he thought. He also noted the real issue was “would the county allow us to get it back?” The mayor with the city under enormous financial pressure also carped that while he has tried to have a “good relationship with the county.” He believes Miami has not gotten enough in return especially since city officials “were doing anything and everything they [county leaders] want including the museums” the Marlins new Ball Park, and the Port tunnel.
>>> Commission needs to stop deferring CIP issues, let board’s nominating committee interview applicants
The Miami Commission deferred once again an ordinance proposed by suspended Commissioner Michelle Spence-Jones that had commissioners more involved in selecting who was on the Civilian Investigative Panel. The panel created overwhelmingly by voters in 2001 is the sounding board for complaints about the police department and the body has the power to subpoena people and documents. The commission has been deferring the item for months now and they need to finally come to a resolution of this issue that has been in limbo. Further, commission Chair Marc Sarnoff has cautioned fellow commissioners that keeping the panel independent of political interference is not only important, but commission involvement could create a new set of problems in the future. The CIP members have worked hard, and they deserve getting new members if there are openings on the body. Though there are time demands on a panelist if they wish to serve on the board that currently has its own nominating committee that reviews applicants after a public ad is run looking for qualified people to serve on the CIP. >>> Civilian Investigative Panel: New Location >> The City of Miami Civilian Investigative Panel (CIP) has relocated to the Manuel Artime Community Center, 970 SW 1 Street, Suite 305, Miami, Fla. 33130. The CIP has the authority to conduct independent investigations, inquiries and public hearings into allegations of misconduct by City of Miami police officers; review policies of the Miami Police Department; make factual determinations; facilitate resolutions and propose recommendations to the City Manager and Chief of Police. For more information regarding the CIP, please contact us at 786-246-4244.
>>> At a GOB oversight board meeting in May, one board member suggested that the Miami commission get the Parks & Recreation Board going and appoint new members to it, for this board was dealing with a lot of issues that concerned what was being put in parks, like recreation equipment, when maybe the local residents wanted a passive park instead. Legal staff said in some cases that GOB money was not involved and thus did not fall under the board’s purview but commissioners should activate the parks board.
>>> The following e-mail was sent to (now former) Mayor Manny Diaz using his e-mail address on his extensive city web-page on Sept. 13, 2008 at 9:38 a.m. and to date there has been no answer from the mayor. It currently goes to his new e-mail address.>>> “Mayor Diaz, I wanted to ask you in the chamber today but not in front of Chair Joe Sanchez. My question is where did the extra $400,000 in the 2007 disclosure form come from? I will run what ever you respond unedited but I would appreciate closing this issue, as I am sure you do. Sorry but I have to ask. Best to all. Dan” >>>> The Watchdog Report through Dec.7 has yet to get a response or catch-up with Miami Mayor Manuel Diaz on where he got the extra $400,000 in cash listed in his 2007 financial disclosure forms. To see what CBS 4 reporter David Sutta’s take on this issue and the other city leaders financial disclosures go to cbs4.com Blogs . >>> Readers should stay tuned and catch the meeting on the city’s cable station channel 77. >>> Stream Channel 77, for all City of Miami meetings, (Commission, Village Council meetings, Waterfront, Zoning, PAB, Code, etc. hearings) http://videos.miamigov.com/
CITY OF MIAMI BEACH
>>> Young Talent Big Dreams contest coming to Carlyle Theater, if city fees are waived
Youngsters from age 8 to 17 with talent are wanted during the upcoming talent contest tryouts under the eye of representatives of the Actors Playhouse Miracle Theater in Coral Gables and The Children’s Trust is a lead sponsor of the multi-month event kicking off in the fall and ending in mid February. The contest called Young Talent Big Dreams will be held at six locations countywide and on the Beach, it is hoped the tryouts will be at The Byron Carlyle Theater, if the city commission waived the fees on Wednesday. The tryouts have eight talent disciplines and the prizes include a Grand Prize, and eight first, second and third prizes and what will be awarded is still being determined. The semi finals and finals will be held at the Miracle Theater next year. For more information in the coming months go to www.thechildrenstrust.org or http://www.actorsplayhouse.org/
>>> Press release: Miami Beach’s Fire on the Fourth Celebration 2010 – The Greater Miami Youth Symphony & Soprano Elizabeth Caballero
The City of Miami Beach and Classical South Florida 89.7FM proudly present Fire on the Fourth. This year’s Fourth of July patriotic celebration features a free concert with the Greater Miami Youth Symphony, soprano Elizabeth Caballero and fireworks. The event will be held on Sunday, July 4, at 8:00 p.m. on the beach at 8 Street and Ocean Drive, South Beach. Free bus shuttle transportation from 5:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. from Collins Avenue and 72 & 81 streets to Washington Avenue & 11 Street. Everyone is encouraged to arrive early, bring beach chairs, and towels. No coolers or bottles will be permitted on the beach. This year’s annual Fourth of July event is made possible by the following sponsors: Classical South Florida, Waste Management, AT&T, Whopper Bar, and Monster. Media sponsors include MAG (Miami Arts Guide), The Miami Herald, Miami New Times, Welcome Channel, Around Town Magazine and Atlantic Broadband. For more information, call 305.673.7400.
CITY OF CORAL GABLES
>>> Mayor Slesnick defends Gables shoreline; Mgr. Salerno initiates video of shoreline and canals
Mayor Donald Slesnick, II at the May 25 commission meeting, told commissioners he was on the phone with the White House Staff, along with many others to get the daily briefing on the Deepwater Horizon’s catastrophic oil spill now 55 days into the incident, that has Louisiana and Floridians up in arms as the slick inundates the coast line, and all the life forms and habitats are destroyed or ecologically badly damaged. The mayor said during one of the conversations that someone wanted to know why the mayor of Coral Gables was on the phone with the group. Slesnick noted the city has a lengthy beachfront, and then there are the canals and other waterways that could be impacted. Patrick Salerno, the city manager also noted that a “video of the [pristine] shoreline, including still photos would be going on over the “next ten days” and this documentation could prove useful if there is an impact in the tony city in the months ahead.
>>> Press release: Monitoring The Oil Spill In Gables Shoreline -At the request of City Manager Pat Salerno, city workers were sent last week to film and photograph our shoreline to document current conditions prior to any potential impact of the oil spill, currently affecting the Florida Panhandle. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has been designated the lead state agency for responding to potential impacts of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill along Florida’s shoreline. While Florida so far has been mostly spared from direct impacts of the oil spill in its coastal waters, Florida fishermen and coastal communities are already experiencing a significant loss of current and future income because of a mistaken public notion that all of Florida’s waters have been tainted by the oil spill. There are no projected oil impacts to the Coral Gables shoreline at this time, but it is important to be prepared and informed about what to look for and what impacts maybe associated. If you witness tar balls, tar patches or oil sheen in coastal waters, report it to the State Warning Point at 1-877-2-SAVE-FL (1-877-272-8335) or by dialing #DEP from most cell phones. To learn more about the oil spill response latest updates, click here.
COMMUNITY EVENTS
>>> M-DC Commissioner Sorenson honored and roasted at Rusty Pelican Restaurant June 16, leaving commission in November after 16-years in office —Press Release: Urban Environment League “Orchid and Onion” Dinner for Katy Sorenson. June 16, 2010, 6:00 PM, Rusty Pelican Restaurant, Key Biscayne –Host: Jim Defede –Local commentator and humorist Jim DeFede is Master of Ceremonies for the Urban Environment League’s Annual Dinner – Orchids and Onions – in honor of Commissioner Katy Sorenson – on June 16 at 6:00 PM at the Rusty Pelican Restaurant, 3201 Rickenbacker Causeway, Key Biscayne.
Commissioner Sorenson will step down from her the District 8 Commission seat this fall. The Urban Environment League (UEL) is taking this opportunity to let the community – from developers to environmentalists – bid her a fond – or not so fond adieu. DeFede will host a lively set of speakers (including developers, environmentalists, County Commissioners and County Manager George Burgess) as they praise or pan her County career and wish her well in her new position at the University of Miami. >>>> The Urban Environment League is a non-profit organization committed to enhancing the quality of life in Miami Dade County through advocacy for parks and open space, environmental conservation, historic preservation and transparent and participatory government decision making. For more information please call Fran Bohnsack, at 305-637-7977
>>> Downtown Bay Forum of Miami to offer debate between major congressional District 25 candidates on June 30th
The Downtown Bay Forum of Miami is planning a debate among candidates running for Congressional District 25 and it could be the first verbal debate from the candidates. People vying for their party’s nod are state Rep. David Rivera, R-Miami and Paul Crespo trying to represent the Republican Party and Joe Garcia, a member in the Obama administration is expected to be the Democratic Party’s challenger. Rivera, also Chair of the Republican Party of Miami-Dade is skilled at running campaigns and Crespo is a veteran Marine officer with a wide range of skills and is a good orator. Garcia tried for the district in 2008 against incumbent U.S. Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, R-Miami but was beaten back though the race was closer than two other congressional races taking place back then between his older brother Lincoln who bested former Hialeah Mayor Raul Martinez and Congresswomen Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Miami beat off Democratic candidate Annette Taddeo, who is now running for the county commission. The luncheon event is now scheduled for June 30. For more information go to www.downtownbayforum.com
EDITORIALS
>>> Lack of civility at public and community meetings stops activists & and lesser government officials in their tracks with higher leaders
Note to activists and other elected officials: If you want to get something done at all levels of government from a small municipality, to a county, state or federal level, screaming at leaders, using profanity, and making personal attacks is not the way to go. Recently, at a local meeting with residents, county officials, and the University of Miami on a project in Overtown, County Commissioner Audrey Edmonson said the affair was “very embarrassing” for her and the others attending because it became so unruly. She said this at a commission committee meeting last week and the Watchdog Report has written about this issue in the past. A much better approach for people to take in many cases is to be calm and voice your concerns in a cogent way that forces elected leaders to treat residents or elected leaders from municipalities with respect and they are then more willing to hear the concerns and respond to whatever the issue is. However, once it breaks down into a shouting match or unacceptable words are being used, commissioners shut down, and it gives them a great excuse to do what ever they want, regardless what some of the objections might be.
Another example of a recent slap down was when the point of the written and verbal spear Miami Commission Chair Marc Sarnoff; spoke at a recent Miami-Dade commission meeting regarding the Coconut Grove Playhouse, and the city’s attempt to get a change of the board and governance. The discussion followed a letter Sarnoff sent to county officials that was seen as over the top by county insiders. Since the correspondence attacked a departmental director held in high esteem by the body, that earlier letter clouded the discussion on the commission, and a report on what the options are, concerning the iconic theater will be available in 30-days for the county commission to consider.
My point is not to pick anyone example for there are multiple times people lose the initiative in trying to persuade elected leaders after they have spoken, and why officials invoke the phrase of speakers be “silent” when things are going well for something. And elected leaders many times suggest advocates not speak for the commission was going their way, and why disturb the political current going on the body. Residents in the coming months will be going to commission chambers to plead and make their case for public funding covering a host if issues, but in these tough economic times, these proceedings must be done with civility and transparency. If a fragile public trust after this fiscal bloodbath is to exist about the role and size of government and other public institutions that have been put on a tax revenue diet, divvy up what funding is left. For, as I have written many times before, if you live in Miami-Dade and South Florida in general. You are on a ship and we are all in this together, whether we like it or not.
>>> PAST WDR: JULY 2008: Well-compensated public officials should be satisfied with pay, outside compensation nothing but a scandal minefield
In the coming months I am told the Miami-Dade Ethics and Public Trust Commission will release a report on all the little perks given to elected officials and employees outside what is considered there normal compensation and readers will find a wide array for benefits in money, using a personal credit card for government business where they get the points on there own personal accounts as just a few of the things found.
Elected leaders carp all the time about the lack of proper compensation forcing them to have outside employment but even if they are paid well like Miami Mayor Manny Diaz’s who gets $150,000. The compensation never seems enough though Gov. Charlie Crist does not have outside employment and neither does Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Alvarez who makes $232,254 said the mayor’s staff recently.
Somewhere along the way public service has blended with the private sector and you see that in the number of public/private business deals local governments have participated in. However, it becomes different when it involves elected leaders that engage in outside employment, be it as a lobbyist or in some other capacity, and if history has taught the public anything. Elected leaders if they have moonlighting jobs, if they are reasonable compensated, should realize there is a real perception problem at minimum if taxpayers are not to question if they are getting their money’s worth, from these well compensated public servants.
LETTERS
>>> Readers on last week’s story on energy & former Mayor Penelas
Your comments on the high cost of energy are appreciated. We must get alternative sources. Enough that we subsidize the terrorists every time we pull into a gas station. All new homes and condominiums built in the Sunbelt should be required to have solar hot water. We raised seven children since we moved in 1964 and all with solar hot water. We must also use more nuclear energy safely as well as wind energy and solar for electricity. What you are doing is necessary and impressive. Best regards for your health,
J. J.
>>> It would be interesting to know what former Mayor Alex Penelas has been doing all these years: I am guessing that he made money helping Spanish investors buy South Florida real estate. That has all come crashing to an end. It looks like only Leonard Abess made out well, with Spain. For Penelas, this must be a last resort, and indication of how bad the real estate crash really is.
A.F.
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The Watchdog Report covers a few of the meetings attended weekly. It remains my belief that an informed public will make better decisions. Therefore, I go to meetings, make the presence of an informed citizen known, and bring the information to you. The Watchdog Report is in the fourth year of publication and it has been an honor to be able to send this information to you. It is sent to readers in Miami-Dade, Florida, the U.S. and the world. The Watchdog Report is sent to thousands free and while readers have been prodded to subscribe the results have been mixed. Over 250 reports and Extra’s have been sent since May 5, 2000 and over one million words have been written on our community’s governments and events. The report is an original work based on information gathered at public meetings, interviews and from documents in the public domain.
LETTER POLICY
I welcome letters via e-mail, fax, or snail mail. Letters may be edited for length or clarity and must refer to material published in the Watchdog Report. Please see address and contact information. Please send any additions and corrections by e-mail, fax or snail mail. All corrections will be published in the next Watchdog Report. If you or your organization would like to publish the contents of this newsletter, please contact me. Please send your request to watchdogreport1@earthlink.net
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Watchdog Report
Est. 05.05.00
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>>> Watchdog Report is expanding as a new service and this content is now available to other news media, no longer exclusive to The Miami Herald
The Watchdog Report is no longer exclusively with The Miami Herald, and excluding the one story a week that is printed in the paper on Monday in the Metro & State section by me. The rest of the 20 or so news stories weekly sent out Sunday in the Watchdog Report are now available to television stations web pages, and all the newspapers and other media in South Florida if the publishers have an interest to run part or all of the stories. Further, in 2000, I used to have some paper’s running the report in the Spanish press, that option is available again, and publishers should contact me. The news content will not be free, but you can pick and chose the stories of interest, edit them if necessary but you must still keep the general story intact. If you are a news outlet and would like to learn more about, the Watchdog Report and this offer contact me at watchdogreport1@earthlink.net for further information.
>>> Here is what past newspapers have written about the Watchdog Report publisher including a survey and regional study done by the U. North Carolina at Chapel Hill on the media in the southeast United States.
>>> The Miami Herald and Orlando Sentinel & Sun-Sentinel articles on the Watchdog Report publisher over the years.
Published on September 9, 1999, Page 1EA, Miami Herald, The (FL) CITIZEN ADVOCATE’ KEEPS TABS ON POLITICIANS
Published on January 3, 2000, Page 1B, Miami Herald, The (FL) MIAMI-DADE WATCHDOG WILL BE MISSED
Published on January 20, 2003, Page 1E, Orlando Sentinel, PAPERWORK TIGER, Miami’s citizen watchdog piles up government files in his quest to keep the “little people” informed.
>>>Watchdog Report publisher named ‘Best Citizen’ 2003 by the Miami New Times —The publisher would like to thank the weekly alternative paper Miami New Times for bestowing their 2003 Best of Miami, ‘Best Citizen’ award to me and I am honored. Thank you. To read the full story go to http://www.miaminewtimes.com/issues/2003-05-15/citylife2.html/1/index.html
From the spring of 2003: U. North Carolina, Chapel Hill: Southeast U.S. Media Report lists Watchdog Report publisher as leading Florida commentator >>> Selected excerpts from the report on Florida’s media sources
Those who do read the newspaper in Florida have a bevy of options for state government and political coverage. The dominant newspapers in the state are Knight-Ridder’s The Miami Herald (Acquired by The McClatchy Company in 2006) and the Poynter Institute’s St. Petersburg Times. Both papers endorsed Gore in 2000 but split on the 2002 gubernatorial race, with the Herald endorsing Republican incumbent Jeb Bush and the Times backing Democratic challenger Bill McBride.
Daniel Ricker of The Miami Herald also writes an influential column as well as an email newsletter called the Watchdog Report that goes out to more than 100,000 subscribers. FEBRUARY 2004 – Florida: Columnists in Abundance —ERIC GAUTSCHI, graduate student, School of Journalism & Mass Communication, UNC-Chapel Hill – D) LEADING COMMENTATORS – Resource Commentator Organization Type Web site –Steve Bousquet St. Petersburg Times Column www.sptimes.com/columns/bousquet.shtml -“First Friday” WPBT TV (Miami) TV Show www.channel2.org/firstfriday/issues.html –Lucy Morgan St. Petersburg Times Column www.sptimes.com/columns/morgan.shtml –Daniel Ricker Miami Herald/Watchdog Report Newsletter –www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/columnists/dan_ricker/ >>> Readers who would like to read the complete University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill Southeast United States Media Report go to view the complete report or download all the data used in this study. >>> Watchdog Report Editor’s note to the NCU/CH study: The subscriber number referenced is incorrect and applies to readership.
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