Archive for the Category Vol 11

Watchdog Report Vol. 11 No. 5 June 6, 2010- Celebrating My 11th Anniversary

CONTENTS

Argus Report: Florida braces as oil hits western beaches, cost to state budget was $1 billion a few weeks ago, stakes go up

Florida: Oil slicks not only worry for Gov. Crist as former party chair Greer hit with six criminal counts

Miami-Dade County: Former Mayor Penelas spreads his wings, becomes registered lobbyist May 26, after years out of the public spotlight

Broward County: Commissioner Gunzburger has “Never worked in real estate,” as she faces state Sen. Geller in District 6 race

Palm Beach County: PAST WDR: JULY 2009: Commissioner Aaronson (Now commission Chair) is in the spotlight, had $626,000 net worth through 2008

Monroe County: Southern most county in nation gets hit with 12% property tax reduction, taxable value drops to $19.6 billion

Miami-Dade Public Schools: Supt. Carvalho says no mass firings at district because of money; people terminated will be for “performance”

Public Health Trust: Jackson Foundation leaders state their case in own words, have brought more than $130 million in philanthropy

City of Miami: County Commission shoots down Grove Playhouse governance raid by Sarnoff, will come back with report in 30-days

City of Hialeah: Defendant convicted of burning Hialeah Company gets 115 months in federal prison

City of Miami Beach: Miami Beach’s Fire on the Fourth Celebration 2010 – The Greater Miami Youth Symphony & Soprano Elizabeth Caballero

City of Coral Gables: Will city establish local preference guidelines for contracts in the future?

City of Sweetwater: Annexation process moves forward after BCC 8-5 vote, Dolphin Mall the real $200 million property tax prize

Community Events: Tuesday Morning Breakfast Club – Meeting Date: June 8th, 2010 – Meeting Place: David’s Café II, South Beach — Have you bought your ticket yet for the Public Allies Showcase in the Garden? — Downtown Bay Forum of Miami to offer debate between major congressional District 25 candidates on June 30^th

Editorials: PAST WDR: MAY 2008: U.S. economic model at risk with $126 a barrel cost for oil, conservation must be instituted as some hostile nations help pay our debt — PAST WDR: Mayor Diaz seems to be down, acts like he is unappreciated by people and voters of Miami

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.)

>>> The Watchdog Report publisher would like to thank the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation www.knightfoundation.orgfor 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 11^thanniversary on May 5.

ARGUS REPORT – Heard, Seen on the Street

>>> Florida braces as oil hits western beaches, cost to state budget was $1 billion a few weeks ago, stakes go up

It has come, the Deepwater Horizon’s oil slicks and tar balls are starting to hit the pristine beaches’ at Pensacola Beach, and the spill, the largest ecological event ever experienced by America, has a life of its on and little hope of capping it completely anytime soon. Florida while buffeted the last two months with tourists wondering about the impact on the state. In fact, we have done well in the scheme of things in bringing in tourists from around the world to South Florida and while there is new evidence the slick is coming toward us in about 70-days depending on the currents. The cost to the state budget of this disaster was estimated at $1 billion a couple of weeks ago and the number will only be climbing.

British Petroleum is taking a beating with the public and press, despite the company’s own ads about the employees that ends with “and it will be made right,” and so far the current management team is staying in place as President Barack Obama tries to show that he feels the region’s pain across the board, but the nightmare continues and for states dependent on tourism. The industry is bracing for the possible future impact and is going to make the Florida’s current and future budget an even greater challenge, just as the state’s economy was starting to bounce back.

>>> Press release: Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, a senior member of the Florida Congressional Delegation and Ranking Member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, issued the following statement after reports that the cynical Castro regime had transferred sick political prisoners to jails closer to their homes.

Ros-Lehtinen’s statement: “The regime’s agents of repression imprison innocent people simply for crying out for freedom and democracy. While in jail, these prisoners of conscience are humiliated and tortured. Some, like Orlando Zapata Tamayo, die at the hands of their jailers. There is nothing to thank the regime for. These freedom seekers were unjustly imprisoned. But now the regime wants some sort of praise or humanitarian credit for moving these innocent prisoners closer to their homes or to hospitals? This is a farce and no one should be taken in by it. The Castro brothers want to be both the arsonists and the fire fighters; the torturers and the humanitarians. Only in Kafkaesque Cuba would these irrational acts make sense.”

>>> Press release: Miami Art Museum will offer free admission to all active duty military personnel and their families through Labor Day 2010, as part of Blue Star Museums, a partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts, Blue Star Families and more than 700 museums across America. The Blue Star Museums admission program is available to active duty military and their immediate family members (military ID holder and five immediate family members), which includes active duty Reserve and active duty National Guard. Miami Art Museum, located at 101 West Flagler Street, Miami, FL 33130, is open Tuesday through Friday, 10am to 5pm, and Saturday and Sunday, noon to 5pm. For more information, visit miamiartmuseum.org or call 305.375.3000. “Miami Art Museum is proud to join museums across the country in thanking our military personnel and their families for their service,” said John Wetenhall, MAM interim director. “Exploring a museum with family is a wonderful bonding experience, and I look forward to welcoming many military families to the museum this summer.”

More than 600 museums in all 50 states and the District of Columbia are taking part in the initiative. The American Association of Museums, the Association of Art Museum Directors, and the Association of Children’s Museums each sent a letter from NEA Chairman Landesman inviting museums to participate in this program. In addition to thirty children’s museums across the country, participating museums represent a broad range of art, history, science, and cultural topics. Some special or limited-time museum exhibits may not be included in this free admission program. For questions on particular exhibits or museums, please contact the museum directly. The complete list of participating Blue Star Museums is available at www.arts.gov. >>> About Miami Art Museum – Miami Art Museum serves one of the most diverse and fast-growing regions of the country, where a confluence of North and Latin American cultures adds vibrancy and texture to the civic landscape. MAM embraces its role as a cultural anchor and touchstone in a city that welcomes countless ethnic and age groups, lifestyles and ideas. MAM’s far-ranging vision is expressed in the breadth and depth of its exhibition program, and its ambitious education and public programs. The Museum continues to build its collection of holdings from the twentieth century through the present, as it embarks on a major new building and expansion project. The new MAM designed by Herzog & de Meuron will open in downtown Miami’s Museum Park in 2013. >>> About Blue Star Families — Blue Star Families is a national, non-partisan, non-profit network of military families from all ranks and services including guard and reserve, with a mission to support, connect and empower military families. In addition to morale and empowerment programs, Blue Star Families raises awareness of the challenges and strengths of military family life with civilian community and leaders. Membership includes spouses, kids, parents, service members, veterans and civilians. Operation Appreciation is an initiative of Blue Star Families that seeks to connect military families to the larger community. Blue Star Families 2009 annual survey shows that 94 percent of military families feel that the larger community doesn’t truly understand or appreciate the sacrifices we make for the country. Through initiatives such as Blue Star Museums, Blue Star Families provides avenues for the larger community to show that they do understand, in meaningful ways that enrich the lives of military service members, spouses, children and parents. For more information, please visit www.BlueStarFam.org. >>> About the National Endowment for the Arts — Blue Star Museum is the latest Arts Endowment program to bring quality arts programs to the military, veterans and their families. Other NEA programs for the military have included Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience, Great American Voices Military Base Tour, and Shakespeare in American Communities Military Base Tour. The NEA is a public agency dedicated to supporting excellence in the arts – both new and established – bringing the arts to all Americans, and providing leadership in arts education. Established by Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government, the Arts Endowment is the largest annual national funder of the arts, bringing great art to all 50 states, including rural areas, inner cities, and military bases. For more information, please visit www.arts.gov.

>>> Press release: GREATER MIAMI CHAMBER OF COMMERCE ANNOUNCES THE 2010 SOUTH FLORIDA GOOD TO GREAT AWARDS® WINNERS >> Today the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce announced the winners of its 2010 South Florida Good To Great Awards® during a luncheon at the Chamber’s annual Goals Conference at the Hilton Miami Downtown. The regional award program honors companies based in South Florida that embody ideas from Jim Collins’ best selling business book, “Good to Great.”

The 2010 Good to Great Awards® winners (by category) are: 1-50 Employees: rbb Public Relations has a national reputation for delivering results. Named PRWeek’s “2008 Agency of the Year” and The Holmes Report’s “2009 Boutique Agency of the Year,” rbb delivers client results on par with the largest national firms, but with the individual attention of a boutique agency. Its bilingual staff excels in media relations, corporate communications, digital/social media, product introductions and crisis counseling. The firm’s capabilities encompass a variety of practice areas, including consumer products, B2B, travel & leisure, health and fitness, luxury goods, real estate and food and beverage. rbb is a member of the Converge network of PR firms. For more information visit www.rbb.com.

51-249 Employees: Steven Douglas Associates, one of the nation’s leading boutique search and project-based professional services firms, has been a recognized leader in identifying and providing access to top talent for corporate clients since 1984. Headquartered in Florida, the company services emerging and middle-market to Fortune 500 companies throughout the United States. Comprised of two synergistic divisions: Search and Project Resources, the company focuses on recruiting finance and accounting, wealth management, IT, and HR professionals. The Project Resources Division places qualified and experienced professionals on a project basis to help companies manage change and accomplish important internal initiatives in those same disciplines. The company has offices in South Florida, Jacksonville, Minnesota, New York, Connecticut, Tampa, and Orlando. For more information visit www.stevendouglas.com

250-999 Employees: Preferred Care Partners (PCP), one of the largest privately-owned Medicare Advantage health plans in Florida, is committed to providing greater access, choice and simplification of the healthcare process for its members. The company has a membership retention rate of more than 95 percent and enrolled more than 10,000 members in the last Medicare enrollment periods alone. Named by INC Magazine as one of the fastest growing companies in America, PCP’s provider network includes 27 hospitals and more than 2,600 physicians around Miami-Dade, Broward, Lake, Sumter and Marion Counties, Florida. In addition, PCP has six medical centers in South Florida and plans to expand into Medicaid later this year. For more information visit www.mypreferredcare.com.

1000+ Employees: AutoNation is America’s largest automotive retailer. Headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., AutoNation employs approximately 17,000 people at 205 dealership locations representing 250 franchises today and was named 2007 America’s Most Admired Automotive Retailer by FORTUNE Magazine for the fifth time in the last seven years. AutoNation is a member of the S&P 500 and has sold over seven million vehicles, the only auto retailer to achieve this milestone. The company outsells every other automotive retailer in the U.S. and is ranked # 212 in the 2010 Fortune 500. The company is considered a trailblazer for its utilization of the internet to sell its entire inventory of vehicles. For more information visit www.autonation.com.

>>> If you believe it is important to have someone watching your public institutions consider supporting the Watchdog Report for no money came in over the last week and 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 –

watchdogreport1@earthlink.net

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

>>> Oil slick not only worry for Gov. Crist as former party chair Greer hit with six criminal counts

Gov. Charlie Crist (Net worth $466,000) is in the public eye now that the oil spill is landing on Florida’s shores but a secondary political problem is the arrest of Jim Greer, his handpicked Florida Republican Party chair. Greer, hit with six charges last week had drawn criticism for over a year, before leaving the post in January but Crist has been his protector over the past years and how that relationship evolved may see the light of day if there is a criminal trial in the future. The governor says he was not aware of many of the things Greer is being charged with doing, including channeling money to a consulting form he was involved with, but not known to party leaders they claim.

Crist left the Republican Party recently, is now an independent U.S. Senate candidate and is facing former state House Speaker Marco Rubio, R-West Miami (Net worth $8,351) and U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek, D-Miami (Net worth around $62,000 in 2002) or possible billionaire Jeff Greene in the General Election. Crist is in the media earnestly trying to be the face of Florida and getting more tan in the process but he knows the risk and financial impact if oil in a significant way hits the state’s beaches. However, the Greer issue will not go away and Miami Herald political reporter Beth Reinhard www.miamiherald.com on Sunday did an extensive story on the relationship between the two men and Greer is turning on the Republican Party establishment, including the governor.

What about all the new legislative candidates?

At a recent luncheon, a long time political veteran told attendees they should ask there state legislative candidates’ one question. “How do you plan to make a living while you are in office, if elected?” he said. And that is a valid question given the number of current Florida legislators that act as lobbyists, political consultants or other semi-vague profession. The legislature is not a full time job and the pay is in the low $30,000s but with 8-year limits the turnover in the body is quite brisk and here in Miami-Dade only a very few current leaders will return to the legislature after the Nov. 2010 general election.

MIAMI-DADE COUNTY

>>> Former Mayor Penelas spreads his wings, becomes registered lobbyist May 26, after years out of the public spotlight

Alex Penelas, 49, the former mayor of Miami-Dade County is venturing onto the public scene and is now a registered lobbyist with Miami-Dade County. He signed up to represent ADA Engineering on May 26 state county lobbying documents. The mayor was termed out in 2004, after running a failed U.S. senatorial campaign running as a Democrat in the same year. Penelas married with two sons since then has kept under the radar and worked as an attorney in Miami Lakes. He was recently profiled inwww.floridatrend.com in May saying he enjoyed being out of the public eye and was watching his kids grow-up and play baseball. When the former mayor was first elected to the commission after being a Hialeah city commissioner. He was the tender age of 29, and the youngest elected leader ever on the dais in 1990, says the magazine story. He was assigned later by the commission to take up the issue of the county’s homeless people after Hurricane Andrew in 1992 and when he was given a problem considered a lemon politically. He made lemonade out of it along with the help of Alvah Chapman, Jr., the former publisher of Knight Ridder that published The Miami Herald back then. The two men with the help of many others created the Miami-Dade Homeless Trust that is now a national model and the number of homeless on the streets dropped from over 8,000 back then, to currently under 1,000 people living on the streets.

Since he first began his political career, Penelas has run for mayor in 1996 and was reelected in 2000 but only by a small margin, just over 50 percent, after he faced two opponents, County Commissioner Miguel Diaz de la Portilla and Jay Love. At the time, South Florida was coming off the highly charged and ethnically divisive Elian Gonzalez saga that ultimately had the young boy returned to his father and is now back in Cuba. However, the community was inflamed like almost never before and Penelas worked hard to bring together the different ethnic groups leaders trying to pick up the pieces initiating the “Mosaic community dialogue” after the child’s extraction and Miami erupted. But the mayor also during this time made some gaffs; including saying on national television at a press conference that if the federal government intervened and removed the child. He could not guarantee what would happen in the community and if the nation’s laws could be enforced.

Penelas also saw his political star fall after the close 2000 election of the U.S. president and had Miami-Dade as ground zero when it came to casting votes for either Republican George Bush or Democrat Al Gore, where Bush ultimately prevailed after federal court rulings. But Democrats on a national level were very upset with the lack of campaigning Penelas, a Democrat did for Gore during the last weeks of the race while the mayor vacationed in Spain, and had disbanded his successful mayoral campaign staff and was seen by many critics as “deserting his post,” when it came to the political party.

>>> Ethics commission, IG, and others get budget freedom from the administration

The county commission on Thursday has cut loose the inspector general, the ethics commission, the commission auditor and other entities that fall under the legislative board when it comes to there departmental funding. The legislation that originally only involved the three initial departments when crafted was sponsored by Commissioner Joe Martinez and is part of an ongoing process where certain powers currently residing in the strong mayor’s office are being diluted. The IG and ethics commission in the past submitted the yearly budget to the county administration and there would be some haggling, with these organizations representatives then appealing the funding with commissioners directly. Now, while county Manager George Burgess will still create a departmental budget for these entities since that is required by state law. However, now these organizations will now be submitting their financial needs directly to the commission and the move is hoped to give them greater budgetary freedom and independence.Editor’s note: I have attended over the past decade many of these internal budget meetings and while the independence is good, the county administration overall has understood their funding issues, while trying to their job as well.

What about the new property appraiser’s numbers?

Last week, the county’s elected Property Appraiser Pedro Garcia released the numbers and the drop is a jaw dropping 13.4 percent decrease countywide from the previous year. The county’s property value peaked in 2008 when it jumped to 245.6 billion, a 21.3 percent increase from the previous year but that has plummeted since then with the 2009 number being $222 billion, and now dropping to $192.4 billion for this year. The county administration has done a variety of financial models when it came to the projected revenues but 12 percent was considered the probable number but now the number is even higher. The county has cut $800 million out of the last three-year budgets and with the body unlikely to raise taxes. This is grim and all programs in areas will be cut, or services will be reduced significantly and there will be a high price in county personnel as well, and significant head count reductions are anticipated.

>>> Commission summer recess gets reduced to two-weeks

The county commission recess schedule over the summer has been reduced from a month to two and a half-weeks with a possible emergency BCC meeting on Aug. 3 said Chair Dennis Moss. However, Commissioner Barbara Jordan thought with all the pressure the commissioners were under, a longer break time would be better. However, Commission Chair Dennis Moss noted that with such a tight budget this year we will “need the extra time” to deal with the serious budget deficit next year, he said.

Quote of the week

>>> Jose “Pepe” Diaz during the ceremony honoring the public housing department’s success after a major scandal rocked the agency years ago and had the federal government stepping in to administer the organization. Diaz noted that despite the federal government, Miami-Dade has overcome the odds once again when it comes to some of these disputes and the housing department has bounced back and is placing low-income residents into housing. However, Diaz caught himself from getting too expansive in his criticism of federal authorities and joked he better shut-up because “I get in trouble all the time [with the authorities],” he said.

>>> Roosevelt Bradley, the former Miami-Dade Transit director is running for county mayor in 2012. The item was first suggested in The Miami Times recently and I caught-up with Bradley on Friday. He confirmed he was going to run and is currently the president of UBC, a company that specializes in brake and clutch service.

>>> Any Metro-Zoo future expansion should not diminish ecological mission of UM – CSTARS research facility

The proposed expansion of Miami-Dade Metro Zoo into a hotel and major recreation destination being pushed by Commissioner Dennis Moss could in the future affect a local ecological eye in the sky jewel that is located in Richmond Heights and owned by the University of Miami. The university’s Center for Southeastern Tropical Advanced Remote Sensing (CSTARS) is located there and with three large satellite dishes doing satellite analysis of the planet. The facility is a major asset and anything that the county proposes, especially in building height, should be kept to a minimum, for this is the NSA for the environment and a treasure the community needs to preserve. For more information go to www.cstars.rsmas.miami.edu or www.rsmas.miami.edu

BROWARD COUNTY

>>> Commissioner Gunzburger has “Never worked in real estate,” as she faces state Sen. Geller in District 6 race

After last week’s story in the Watchdog Report about the anticipated heated race between Broward County Commissioner Sue Gunzburger (Net worth $1.34 million) and state Sen. Steven Geller, D-Cooper City (Net worth $1.24 million) in August. I got an e-mail from the veteran commissioner of District 6. Gunzburger wrote in regard to the article. “I am happy to read that you are on the road to recovery. However, I have NEVER worked in real estate. I am a former public school teacher in Detroit, Connecticut, and Florida. I then returned to college at Barry University and received a Master’s degree in Social Work. I became a Marital and Family therapist which I practiced part time, while raising my family and taking care of my late husband until he died last year. I also ran for office in 1982 for the Hollywood City Commission, and served there for 10 years. In 1992, I became a Broward County Commissioner. Serving and helping people has been my life’s work,” wrote the commissioner. The county commission race got a look-see by The Miami Herald www.miamiherald.com last week as well, and with the election in late August, there is still plenty of time for political sparks to fly.

>>> Press release: BROWARD COUNTY SCHOOL BOARD MEMBER Gallagher SENTENCED ON BRIBERY CHARGE

Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and John V. Gillies, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office, announce that Beverly Gallagher, 51, of Pembroke Pines, was sentenced today on one count of bribery in programs receiving federal funds. At today’s hearing, U.S. District Court Judge James I. Cohn sentenced Gallagher to 37 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release. In addition, Judge Cohn ordered that the defendant participate in a drug and alcohol rehabilitation program while in prison. Today’s sentence follows Gallagher’s March 17 guilty plea to Count 2 of the indictment against her, which charged her with accepting $9,000 in exchange for her promise to assist undercover FBI agents in connection with the issuance of a contract and subcontract work for the reconstruction and renovation of Hollywood Hills High School.

According to court documents and statements made in court at the plea and sentencing hearings, Gallagher, who was first elected to the Broward County School Board in 2000 and re-elected in 2004 and 2008, met on numerous occasions with FBI agents acting in an undercover capacity. Two of the agents held themselves out to be asset managers who purportedly represented contractors seeking to obtain construction contracts with local government entities, including the Broward County School Board. More specifically, at the March 17 plea hearing, Gallagher admitted, among other things, that on December 23, 2008, she accepted $3,000 cash from the undercover agent for “hooking up” the undercover’s construction company client for subcontracting work. Gallagher further admitted that on June 3, 2009, she accepted $6,000 cash for her efforts to obtain subcontracting work on the Hollywood Hills project on behalf of that construction company client. U.S. Attorney Wifredo Ferrer stated, “Corrupt officials, at all levels of government – whether elected or appointed – are on notice that if they breach the public’s trust, by stealing or accepting bribes or engaging in any other form of corruption in the course of their official duties, they will be prosecuted and they will face substantial prison time.”

“Beverly Gallagher was elected to the school board, promising to help children get the best education possible,” said John V. Gillies, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Miami Division. “Instead, she used her position for her own personal gain. In this economy, with schools already cutting budgets and laying off teachers, it is disgraceful what Beverly Gallagher did. This is reminder to all who serve in elected positions that if you break the law, you will get caught and you will go to jail.” U.S. Attorney Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of the FBI and the Internal Revenue Service in connection with the investigation and prosecution of this matter. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jeffrey N. Kaplan and Neil Karadbil. >>> A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida at www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or 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

>>> PAST WDR: JULY 2009: Commissioner Aaronson (Now commission Chair) is in the spotlight, had $626,000 net worth through 2008

Burt Aaronson, the county commissioner for District 5 located in Delray Beach is in the spotlight this week and he is the body’s vice chair. The former businessman has been on the commission since 1992 and avoided the commission blood bath of the majority of the past commissioners who are now in federal prison on corruption charges.

What do we know about his finances?

He lists a net worth of $626,000 and has $150,000 in household goods. His cash on hand is $2,856, there is $154,000 in deferred compensation, there is $113,000 in a pension plan, FRS accounts for $36,000 and his condominium is valued at $170,000. His income for the year as a commissioner was $92,000, social security kicked in $26,887, retirement benefits contributed $20,592 and he got $2,000 as a board member at Delray Hospital.

Commissioner Burt Aaronson: 301 North Olive Ave. Suite 1201 -West Palm Beach, FL 33401 – (561) 355-2205 – 877-930-2205 (Toll Free outside the West Palm Beach calling area) E-mail Commissioner Aaronson >>> Board of County Commissioners

MONROE COUNTY

>>> Southern most county in nation gets hit with 12 % property tax reduction, taxable value drops to $19.6 billion

As with all the counties in Florida, Monroe when it comes to property tax values got a solid whack and the overall value dropped around “12 percent” wrote Roman Gastesi the County Administrator last week after the numbers were released. The county’s property values dropped from $22.3 billion in 2009 to an estimated taxable value of $19.6 billion (less new construction) his staff wrote in an e-mail exchange.

MIAMI-DADE PUBLIC SCHOOLS

>>> Supt. Carvalho says no mass firings at district because of money; people terminated will be for “performance”

Alberto Carvalho, the superintendent of the nation’s fourth largest public school district told attendees at the Greater Miami Goals Conference Education Committee break out session on Friday that while other districts around the state may be firing employees. That will not happen here in Miami-Dade “because of economic issues,” he said. The superintendent who took over in Sept. 2008 said there would be people terminated but it will be “for performance issues” and not because of lack of funding. He said the new proposed budget, the board will consider in the future has “no tax increase” and he pledged, “Not to fire a single teacher for economic reasons’” that has other Florida districts laying off hundreds of teachers and other employees. The superintendent told the Chamber attendees that over the last 18-months “there have been $350 million in budget cuts” but said reserves that had dropped to almost nothing 2-years ago will be at $100 million and the number is giving the school’s bond ratings a boost to “stable,” he said. The former science teacher noted that 81 percent of children in the school system are considered “poor” and despite these demographics. Recent district test scores that rose show children, when it comes to education even if poor, can perform academically with their peers around the nation.

Carvalho has an active schedule in the course of a week and he recently went to New York City to receive an award after a Tuesday nighttime event with future principals and assistant principals held in Coconut Grove. At the affair, Carvalho and Freddie Woodson were called “the dynamic duo” of education within the district and these budding administrators that attended the affair clearly had their lights on and all radiated a certain energy, touched with a little bit of hope, and I for one was impressed with the caliber of these people.

PUBLIC HEALTH TRUST

>>> Jackson Foundation leaders state their case in own words, have brought more than $130 million in philanthropy

The Watchdog Report is running the letter sent to a county Commissioner Barbara Jordan from the leadership of the Jackson Memorial Foundation that has been under fire over the past few months in the media and with county elected leaders. Commissioner Natacha Seijas has been especially critical when it came to the foundation suggesting the organization was willing to throw Jackson Memorial Hospital under the bus when it came to its problems. The foundation representatives disagree with that assessment and below is an unedited letter sent to Jordan on June 1 from Abel Holtz and Alan Dimond.

>>> Dear Commissioner Jordan: Jackson Memorial Foundation came into existence in 1989. Miami-Dade was in a trauma crisis, with hospitals unwilling to meet the needs of the seriously injured or dying. In response to this crisis, a group of community leaders led by Jay Weiss created the Jackson Memorial Foundation — a leadership that raised more than $20 million to create the Ryder Trauma Center and developed the half penny sales tax, which now supports Jackson. Since that beginning, the Foundation, a 501(c)(3) entity, and its Board of Directors, have sought to provide help to our health system with traditional philanthropy along with entrepreneurial efforts.

Jackson Health System (“JHS”) has always needed many kinds of help. We, at the Foundation, have, when asked, responded to their need in visionary ways. Two programs now operated to the Foundation by the JHS are “grants” and “international patients.” Each requires expertise and entrepreneurial focus. The Foundation created and operates both efforts with astonishing success, at zero gain to itself. All revenue from these programs goes directly to the hospital, with no money passing through the Foundation’s accounts. In turn, these programs are operationally funded by Jackson. Hallmarks are high returns on investment, and very low operating costs to achieve these returns.

Since its start, Jackson Memorial Foundation has raised for JHS more than $130 million through philanthropy. Since the inception 6 years ago of its “Grants Department”, the Foundation has garnered for the JHS awards of over $63 million. We currently manage more than $30 million in grants for this fiscal year. Finally, the Foundation, through its wholly owned subsidiary Foundation Health Services, another non-profit 501(c)(3), has secured for JHS gross revenues of $288 million creating a substantial net profit since the formation of this marketing effort for international patients, a tremendous increase over previous anemic in-house efforts.

The Board of Directors of Jackson Memorial Foundation, are community volunteers whose only mission is to support JHS at no benefit to ourselves. We want to make sure you understand all of the facts, and the value and the commitment we bring to our citizens. No other organization exists only to help Jackson, asking nothing in return. No other organization brings committed volunteers who not only provide their expertise and guidance, but also their personal dollars to help Jackson thrive.

We have been concerned that throughout the development of Jackson’s financial crisis, a lack of information has caused substantial confusion about Jackson Memorial Foundation, including criticism by some about our dedication and role. We find this lamentable, and we are concerned about the source of this confusion, which continues in some quarters despite the clear and transparent information we have provided to all who asked. As community volunteers and supporters of the Jackson Memorial Hospital, we, the Board of Directors of Jackson Memorial Foundation write to express our commitment to work tirelessly to be unified with the Miami-Dade Board of County Commissioners. We will strive to immediately clarify specific areas of concern regarding our Foundation, and how it functions to support the hospital.

As a private not-for-profit independent charity, we are dedicated to finding and providing money for the JHS. We are one of our community’s most successful philanthropic organizations. Shortly, members of our Board will be seeking to visit with you to ensure you have all of the information you require so that you will understand clearly the value that Jackson Memorial Foundation brings to JHS and our community. Sincerely, Abel Holtz Esq., Chairman, Jackson Memorial Foundation & Alan T. Dimond, Esq. Chairman, Foundation Health Services

>>> George Burgess told county commissioners Thursday during a report on the PHT that the organization is hoping to have up to $150 million of cash on hand by the end of the budget year Sept. 30. The issue of cash on hand is important because the health trust goes through about $4.5 million in cash a day and it takes 18 days worth to make the organization’s monthly payroll. The PHT is under “management watch” by the county and Mayor Carlos Alvarez and Burgess met with senior hospital management and the board chair on a regular basis, the most recent this past Thursday morning.

>>> Press release: Holtz Children’s Hospital Ranks among the Best Children’s Hospitals in U.S. News & World Report

Holtz Children’s Hospital at the University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Medical Center is among the country’s elite when it comes to treating diabetes and endocrine disorders in children and providing intensive care to the tiniest babies according to U.S. News & World Report’s “America’s Best Children’s Hospitals.” Holtz was ranked 24th on the specialties list for diabetes and endocrine disorders and 25th for neonatal care. “This is an important honor for the physicians, nurses and entire medical team at Holtz Children’s Hospital and the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine,” said Eneida O. Roldan, M.D., M.P.H., M.B.A., president and chief executive officer of Jackson Health System. “We are very proud of the cutting-edge treatments, medical expertise and compassionate care we provide to children in South Florida and from around the world.”

“Helping sick children become healthy and lead productive lives is one of the highest priorities of the Miller School of Medicine, and we are honored that these rankings reflect our commitment,’’ said Pascal J. Goldschmidt, M.D., senior vice president for medical affairs and dean of the Miller School. “We and families in South Florida and beyond are very lucky that our pediatric specialists and the dedicated staff at Holtz Children’s Hospital are providing the best care possible for children who need it the most.’’ Hospitals were judged on reputation, outcome and care-related measures. The rankings can be found online at www.usnews.com/childrenshospitals and will be featured in the August issue of U.S. News & World Report.

“These rankings are designed to help families with uniquely challenging medical needs. Being recognized on this prestigious list is certainly a reaffirmation of our commitment to delivering the very best in advanced patient care to some of the most seriously ill and medically complex children,” said Steven E. Lipshultz, M.D., professor and chairman of pediatrics and associate executive dean for child health at the UM Miller School of Medicine and chief of staff of Holtz Children’s Hospital.” Holtz Children’s Hospital’s Project Newborn Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) is a regional referral facility and has 126 beds, 66 of which are Level III and provide support for the most critically ill. The Level III NICU is the largest in Florida. Holtz also has one of the busiest pediatric diabetes programs per provider in the nation and performed the first transplant of a thymus gland from a fetus to a child without one. Holtz is world renowned for its expertise in treating hormonal disorders related to abnormal growth, obesity and sexual development.

Holtz Children’s Hospital is one of the largest children’s hospitals in the Southeast United States. In 2010, Holtz has more pediatric specialists selected as Best Doctors in America® than any other children’s hospital in South Florida. Through its experienced medical and support staff, including some of the top pediatricians in the nation, the 254-bed facility provides research and treatment for a wide range of pediatric medical specialties including diabetes, hematology/oncology, bone marrow transplant, cardiology and cardiac surgery, infectious diseases/immunology, neonatology, kidney disorders, transplantation and gastroenterology.

>>> 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

>>> County Commission shoots down Grove Playhouse governance raid by Sarnoff, will come back with report in 30-days

Marc Sarnoff, the chair of the Miami commission made a case in front of the county commission on Thursday concerning the Coconut Grove Playhouse, challenging its governance board as not being effective. Sarnoff made the case in a letter to the mayor and commission asking for the property to revert back locally rather than be retained by the county and state. The theater has been shuttered for years after racking-up a multi-million dollar debt and is considered a fire hazard with its numerous code violations. The county voters in 2004 approved $15 and $5 million for the site and that money was part of a $2.9 billion GOB proceeds but that money has stayed in county coffers to date. County Commissioner Carlos Gimenez brought the item in front of the board, and the commission rebuffed Sarnoff’s suggestion and a report by the county administration on possible solutions to the Playhouse’s problems will be brought back in 30-days after the study.

>>> Mayor Regalado gets ear full at film industry bull session Tuesday

A group of prominent representatives of the South Florida film industry gathered Tuesday with Mayor Tomas Regalado at noon in a city hall conference room to discuss how to make the industry vibrant again, with up to $240 million in new federal funding over the next five-years at risk, that translates into $1 billion in overall economic impact was the topic of the day. The mayor, a former member of the media said a story in The Miami Herald www.miamiherald.com Tuesday by Charles “Chuck” Rabin was “bad press.” He said if it was up to him, the city would hire a “movie producer” to run the Film, Movie and Cultural office but noted the city was in dire financial straits and that was out of the question. The normally low-key office has gotten into the media spotlight on a number of blogs as well, since the appointment of Harry Gottlieb, 61, as its new department director a few months ago. Gottlieb, is being paid $65,000 and says they are trying “to do more with less” given budget constraints but his tenure in the position is not wearing well with some members of the film and movie industry, who question his competence and qualifications for the post. One member at the meeting said “services provided by the city have been a little bit lacking” and with this big push in funding “starts June 9” and the city must be able to demonstrate “producers should not worry about coming here,” he said. He was also concerned if producers and others in the industry have a difficult time here now, that perception could last for years. He said they will go elsewhere like Orlando if they are not satisfied there is “basic client services” and there is “stability and confidence about working in the city of Miami” that is not there at the moment, he concluded. The mayor listened to these peoples’ comments for two-hours and another meeting is expected this Tuesday in the manager’s conference room around noon. >>> Other past stories on this matter can be read on line at www.miaminewtimes.com

>>>Arsht Center: Babalu: Lucie Arnaz Celebrates the Music of her Father, Desi Arnaz KNIGHT CONCERT HALL [View Seat Map] Thursday, July 8, 2010, 7:30pm – Starring Lucie Arnaz with guests Raul Esparza, and Valarie Pettiford, and dancers Jeanette Delgado and Richard Amaro and very special guest Desi Arnaz, Jr.

It’s show time at the Tropicana! Hear Desi Arnaz’s greatest hits, including the hip-swiveling “Cuban Pete,” his signature conga “Babalu,” and the beloved theme from “I Love Lucy,” plus some of the greatest Latin and Broadway hits in this one-of-a-kind tribute to the most glamorous music of the ‘40s and ‘50s. BABALU, featuring a 16-piece orchestra, is not only Lucie Arnaz’s loving tribute to her father, but also a chance to celebrate Desi Arnaz’s extraordinary musical legacy and the major role he played in planting the first seeds of the Latin music explosion in this country. Lucie Arnaz, EMMY Award-winning actress, Broadway star (They’re Playing Our Song, Witches of Eastwick, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels) and renowned nightclub performer (Las Vegas, Atlantic City, Feinstein’s, Rainbow and Stars, Birdland) and recording artist (Just In Time, Latin Roots) created, wrote and produced BABALU’s five SOLD OUT performances at New York’s legendary Lyrics & Lyricists Series (January 2010). Raul Esparza, the Tony Award-nominated Cuban-Miami native, has been acclaimed for his performances in the Broadway musical hits Company, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Taboo and Cabaret. And sexy, slinky, velvet-voiced Valarie Pettiford starred in Broadway’s Tony-winning Dancin’, Fosse, and Sophisticated Lady. Musical Direction by Ron Abel Staged and Choreographed by Ramon del Barrio, Directed by Lucie Arnaz.

>>> 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 seewhat 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/

>>> Press release: Lydecker Diaz Partners Named Super Lawyers’ Rising Stars -– Lydecker Diaz partners Onier Llopiz and Anthony J. Tinelli have beenrecognized as 2010 Rising Stars by the prestigious Super Lawyers magazine, placing them on the list of Florida’s top attorneys who have achieved success early in their careers. “I commend Onier and Anthony for attaining this high honor,” said Senior Partner Richard Lydecker. “Their success is a testament to the high level of customer service and professionalism they extend to the clients of Lydecker Diaz.” The Super Lawyers selection process is a comprehensive, good-faith and detailed attempt to produce a list of lawyers that have attained high peer recognition, meet ethical standards, and have demonstrated some degree of achievement in their field. In selecting attorneys for Super Lawyers, the organization employs a rigorous, multiphase process. The Rising Stars list is comprised of the top up-and-coming attorneys who are 40 years old or younger, or have been practicing for 10 years or less… please log onto http://www.superlawyers.com/florida/. For more information on the Lydecker Diaz firm, please log onto www.lydeckerdiaz.com.

CITY OF HIALEAH

>>> Press release: Defendant convicted of burning Hialeah company gets 115 months in federal prison

Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Hugo Barrera, Special Agent in Charge, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, announce Friday’s sentencing of defendant Juan Gonzalez, 34, of Hallandale, Florida, for burning down Floors by Design, Inc., a carpet company in Hialeah, and conspiring to burn it down with his nephew, Wilmer Quesada-Ramos, 30, of Sunrise, Florida. On May 28, 2010, U.S. District Judge Alan S. Gold sentenced defendant Gonzalez to 115 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release. Defendant Quesada-Ramos, whose sentencing hearing was a few weeks earlier, was sentenced to 70 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release. Judge Gold also ordered that the defendants pay $845,502.00 in restitution.

Previously, a jury found defendants Gonzalez and Quesada-Ramos guilty of arson and conspiring to commit arson, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 844(i) and (n). According to the indictment and the testimony at trial, Floors by Design was a warehouse located at 471 West 28th Street in Hialeah. On February 4, 2009, Gonzalez and Quesada-Ramos, who worked for the company as carpet installers, purchased gasoline in Broward County, drove it to the Floors by Design warehouse, doused the warehouse with the gasoline, and set it on fire. The warehouse, and everything Floors by Design had inside, was destroyed as a result of the fire. >>> Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the State Fire Marshall, and the Hialeah Police and Fire Departments. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Robert J. Luck and Jared E. Dwyer. >>> A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida at www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls. 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.

CITY OF MIAMI BEACH

>>> 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

>>> Will city establish local preference guidelines for contracts in the future?

At a recent Coral Gables commission meeting the issue of local preference when it came to letting out city contracts was the topic of the day and the administration after a review by the city attorney in 90-days will submit legislative language for the body to debate. Commissioner Ralph Cabrera brought up the item along with other commissioners after they heard from local business owners that they stopped trying to get city contracts, because the city did not have any local incentive believing the goal was to get the best price, product and service from companies around the world. When Commissioner Maria Anderson asked what the “down side” of such an ordinance was? Cabrera said it was “political influence” but he believed past commissioners and mayors have been “straight-up” and that if the bill is crafted right, should not be a problem, he thought.

Manager Patrick Salerno said while it was possible to have a local preference ordinance, it could have a “chilling” effect with other companies not wanting to compete since it could be viewed as a more closed procurement process. The commission when the ordinance is brought before it is expected to have a lively debate on the matter in the coming months.

>>> Press release: Monday, June 14th at noon Coral Gables City Commissioner Chip Withers

Members and Guests, Please join us for lunch at JohnMartin’s on June 14th. Our guest speaker will be Coral Gables City Commissioner Wayne “Chip” Withers. Chip is one of the longest serving City Commissioners in Coral Gables, first elected in 1991. Commissioner Withers has also held numerous appointed positions in the Gables including Planning & Zoning, Code Enforcement, Youth Advisory, Parks and Recreation. He is also one of the strongest proponents in the development of the Coral Gables Museum. Commissioner Withers is a graduate of the University of Florida and is President of Withers Transfer & Storage, Withers Worldwide Forwarders and Withers Transportation Systems Inc. Please reply to this message with your RSVP to rwmartin20@yahoo.com Please forward this announcement to any friends or business associates who may be interested in attending. Richard Martin, President

CITY OF SWEETWATER

>>> Annexation process moves forward after 8-5 vote, Dolphin Mall the real property tax prize

The political leadership of Sweetwater came to Miami-Dade County Thursday and their request to start the process of annexing some of the county’s Unincorporated Municipal Service Area (UMSA) that involves a vote was ultimately approved by the county commission by a vote of 8 to 5. “Russian midgets” and circus performers after the train they were on got stuck on Tamiami Trail founded the municipality in 1941, said Commissioner Joe Martinez (Net worth $270,000) last week during the discussion. He said the city has always had a “rich and colorful history,” but then said he could not support this annexation and the shifting of property tax revenue from UMSA to the small city in West Dade. Commissioner Katy Sorenson (Net worth $1.34 million) commented that the issue was something I hated as a kid hearing, “we cannot afford it.”

However, other commissioners especially Vice Chair Jose “Pepe” Diaz (Net worth $226,000) thought otherwise and Diaz was a former mayor of Sweetwater before being elected to the county district seat in 2002 and he got seven of his colleagues to agree that includes a vote on the matter by the 1,400 electorates in the 1,000 acre area with a total of 6,500 residents said county staff. The reason the matter really caught some commissioners attention is the fact that the Dolphin Mall is located there with other industrial property and Commission Chair Dennis Moss (Net worth $477,000) hoped that this shopping mecca could someday be a local “Sawgrass Mall” given its proximity to MIA and he could not support the annexation but he did not have the votes. >>> For more information about Sweetwater go to http://www.cityofsweetwater.fl.gov/ >>> Fromhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweetwater,_Miami-Dade_County,_Florida – History -The history of Sweetwater actually began during the Florida land boom of the 1920’s when the Miami-Pittsburgh Land Company purchased land and laid out the original plat of “Sweetwater Groves.” However, the 1926 Miami Hurricane and subsequent South Florida real estate “bust” put an abrupt end to the development venture. In 1938, Clyde Andrews acquired most of the “Sweetwater Groves” tract and began to market lots. Among his buyers was a troupe of Russian dwarves seeking a place to retire after a career with the circus. They built several mini-scaled homes suited to their needs. For years, Sweetwater was known as the “midget” community.[5]

In 1941, Sweetwater held a successful election for incorporation. The new town’s first mayor was Joe Sanderlin, the midgets’ guardian and manager. By 1959, Sweetwater had attracted 500 residents and contained a town hall, church, grocery store, service station and 183 homes. It also had a two-man police force and a volunteer fire department. Sweetwater was the filming location for the 1969 movie, “Midnight Cowboy.”[6] In 1970, Sweetwater was still a relatively small community of about 3,000 residents. During the 1970s, however, several events were to happen which would dramatically change the hitherto “sleepy little country town” of Sweetwater forever. These events included the establishment of a major new state university, Florida International University, to the south of the city, the construction of the two major expressways to the north and west, and the discovery of Sweetwater by Miami-Dade County’s Hispanic community. The growth and development which was precipitated by these occurrences caused Sweetwater to more than double in population and lead all other Miami-Dade cities in growth during the 1970s.

COMMUNITY EVENTS

>>> Press release: Tuesday Morning Breakfast Club – Meeting Date: Tuesday, June 8th, 2010 – Meeting Time: 8:30 AM – Meeting Place: David’s Café II, 1654 Meridian Ave., South Beach

A new “Meet the Mayors of Miami Beach” series opens with former Mayor Harold Rosen, who served from 1974 to 1977, as our guest speaker at the June 8th Tuesday Morning Breakfast Club meeting. Over the summer we will be inviting over a half-dozen former Miami Beach mayors to be guest speakers. Former Mayor Rosen, a native of Miami Beach, was elected to the City Commission in 1971, and following the death of (then) Mayor Chuck Hall, he was appointed by the Commission to fill Mayor Hall’s unexpired term, which lasted until 1977. Mayor Rosen has remained active in Miami Beach civic affairs by volunteering his time as legal counsel for organizations such as the Visitor and Convention Authority (VCA). His law practice, Rosen & Switkes, focuses on commercial law and governmental issues, and he is a familiar face at most Planning Board hearings. Everyone is welcome to attend. David Kelsey, Moderator for the Breakfast Club – For more information contact David Kelsey. To be placed on the Breakfast Club’s mailing list, contact Harry Cherry. Both can be reached at TuesdayMorningBreakfastClub@Yahoo.com Visit our new web site at: www.MBTMBC.com (Miami Beach Tuesday Morning Breakfast Club).

>>> Press release: Have you bought your ticket yet for the Public Allies Showcase in the Garden?

Public Allies paint a fence on Hands on Miami Day

If you haven’t already, reserve your spot for the party that combines music, dance, storytelling,
nature and community building. The Showcase in the Garden will take place June 10 at 6 pm at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden. Enjoy food, drinks and live entertainment while learning more about Public Allies, the national program that helps young leaders serve their communities. Also, come prepared to bid on getaways, baked goods and celebrity memorabilia in our silent auction. Your donation of $15 will support the 2010-11 Public Allies class. Meet some of the current Public Allies in our short video.

>>> Downtown Bay Forum of Miami to offer debate between major congressional District 25 candidates on June 30^th

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

>>> Note to candidates: You should run political ads in your district race not in multiple counties like I am seeing with Broward County Commission Candidate Barbara Sharief in her bid for the District 8 seat on the commission dais. Over the past decade candidates have run ads, especially in local races that have far to wide of a reach when it comes to television ads and unless these people enjoy burning campaign cash on non-voters. The candidates should try to target your ads to your targeted voters not the mythical ones in other counties.

>>> PAST WDR: MAY 2008: U.S. economic model at risk with $126 a barrel cost for oil, conservation must be instituted as some hostile nations help pay our debt

Crude oil prices rose to a staggering $126 a barrel last week and the affect these high-energy prices will be profound on the U.S. economy as it is quickly forcing a major restructuring on how the nation operates and does business on the global scene. The nation has always competed with other nations for this black gold but the continued rise of China and India along with the growth of the economies in South and Central America has added a new dimension and we are behind the energy curve and we must start to conserve more at the minimum.

The nation’s decades of denial that oil would become more expensive is hitting us hard in the face now and people with big gas guzzling SUVs trying to trade them in are finding they have not retained much of their original value and this is also compounding the problem and hollowing out Americans pocket books further. In a world of FedEx, the internet and in global unrest, we as a nation must get to work in a big way to address our energy dependency. For if, oil goes higher still the whole economic model that America has built across the board will slow down and it even is affecting food prices.

The children of the United States already have $9.3 trillion in debt facing those in the coming generations and with a weak dollar, countries not really friends with us are paying our bills and that should be of major concern. If the nation is to be the Great Experiment once dreamed of generations before that now is stumbling and each of us should ask how we can do our part to change the energy tide, before someone else makes that decision for all of us on the free market.

>>> PAST WDR: JULY 2008: Mayor Diaz seems to be down, acts like he is unappreciated by people and voters of Miami

Miami Mayor Manuel Diaz was recently on a Sunday talk show on CBS4 www.cbs4.com with Eliott Rodriguez and when listening to him. He almost sounds a little bitter and seems to think he is unappreciated by Miami residents to the vast changes he brought to the office since first being elected in Nov. 2001. He is termed out next November but in the mean time, he will head up the national mayors conference that is holding its meeting in Miami on June 20. Diaz, who replaced former Mayor Joe Carollo, was light years different from the mercurial Carollo who loved the television talk shows where he incited the nation with some of his controversial comments.

Diaz, after a tough runoff against former Miami Mayor Maurice Ferre in 2001 brought a sense of calm and sanity for a number of years but something began to change and he dropped the humble servant angle and now we are supposed to be thankful for all that he has done giving the impression that it was almost a pro bono act. His being in office. However, Diaz who has the most spectacular mayors office in the county overlooking Dinner Key Marina on the second floor also got a hefty raise after his election to a second term and then manager Joe Arriola and then Commissioner Johnny Winton proffered the motion even though at the time all three men were in a real estate investment in the south Grove, with another partner who later passed away.

Diaz would later get a fine from the county’s ethics commission and a four page Letter of Reprimand for the act but he still resists the belief that he did anything wrong, even though it involved members from all three branches of municipal government. The mayor believes his legacy will be the $3 billion global mega-plan that includes a new stadium for the Florida Marlins coming in at well over $535 million, a almost $1 billion port of Miami tunnel and a number of other projects have been thrown into the mix. Car magnate Norman Braman is challenging this county, city collaboration in a local court and last week both sides got some victories regarding the upcoming hearing before a circuit court judge in early July. Braman says he will take his appeal all the way to the Florida Supreme Court and both Diaz and county Mayor Carlos Alvarez are objecting to this legal delay that would end if the issue was just put to voters, Braman has said in the past.

Perhaps that is why Diaz is sounding a little down since so much of his legacy is riding on this mega plan that involves a very convoluted financial structuring scheme, but sometimes life is not always fair and in politics, things change, especially with the cooler national economy and condominiums in Miami standing empty or only partially occupied while others buildings continue to soar. Years ago when the building boom was at its peak. I said to the mayor that I hoped he was right, for if he was wrong it would take Miami years to recover and hurt his reputation. Something Ferre found out when Miami went bust in the late 1970’s producing a downturn that lasted over a decade, with only the $16 billion in FEMA and other aid after Hurricane Andrew in 1992 digging south Florida out of the housing and economic doldrums.

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The Watchdog Report covers a few of the meetings attended weekly. It remains my belief that an informed public will make better decisions. Therefore, I go to meetings, make the presence of an informed citizen known, and bring the information to you. The Watchdog Report is in the fourth year of publication and it has been an honor to be able to send this information to you. It is sent to readers in Miami-Dade, Florida, the U.S. and the world. The Watchdog Report is sent to thousands free and while readers have been prodded to subscribe the results have been mixed. Over 250 reports and Extra’s have been sent since May 5, 2000 and over one million words have been written on our community’s governments and events. The report is an original work based on information gathered at public meetings, interviews and from documents in the public domain.

LETTER POLICY

I welcome letters via e-mail, fax, or snail mail. Letters may be edited for length or clarity and must refer to material published in the Watchdog Report. Please see address and contact information. Please send any additions and corrections by e-mail, fax or snail mail. All corrections will be published in the next Watchdog Report. If you or your organization would like to publish the contents of this newsletter, please contact me. Please send your request to watchdogreport1@earthlink.net

Daniel A. Ricker

Publisher & Editor

Watchdog Report

Est. 05.05.00

>>> Watchdog Report is expanding as a new service and this content is now available to other news media, no longer exclusive to The Miami Herald

The Watchdog Report is no longer exclusively with The Miami Herald, and excluding the one story a week that is printed in the paper on Monday in the Metro & State section by me. The rest of the 20 or so news stories weekly sent out Sunday in the Watchdog Report are now available to television stations web pages, and all the newspapers and other media in South Florida if the publishers have an interest to run part or all of the stories. Further, in 2000, I used to have some paper’s running the report in the Spanish press, that option is available again, and publishers should contact me. The news content will not be free, but you can pick and chose the stories of interest, edit them if necessary but you must still keep the general story intact. If you are a news outlet and would like to learn more about, the Watchdog Report and this offer contact me atwatchdogreport1@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’sThe 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.