Have been very busy the last few days cobbling together some thoughts and observations -along with some helpful and explanatory photos and fact sheets- regarding the following recent public meetings I've attended, and some other stories I've been putting together over the last few weeks, ready to drop them here when the timing was right:
1. Monday's meeting in Hollywood of the South Florida Regional Planning Council regarding the Miami River, and residential development along the waterway at the possible risk of marine industries livelihood.
2. Monday night's presentation at the Hallandale Beach Cultural Center of the most recent edition of the evolving city Master Plan, as put together by the Miami Beach office of EDAW and ERA (Economic Research Associates) of Washington, D.C.
Coincidentally, ERA is located in the very building where I worked when I first moved to D.C. 20 years ago.
I was the last member of the public to speak at this forum and will discuss those questions and why I asked them soon in my post about the event.
3. Wednesday's Hallandale Beach City Commission meeting on installation of red light cameras at certain busy intersections (on private property), as well as the requirement of installation of external surveillance cameras for HB businesses operating after 11 p.m.
4. Thursday afternoon's Hollywood CRA/Zyscovich Plan Public Forum at Hollywood City Hall, on Young Circle/Downtown Hollywood zoning.
Owing to the necessary delay in getting the dozens and dozens of interested and opinionated residents into Hollywood City Hall under the new security protocol, the first time the city has had an event of great interest at city hall since it was implemented, I had the opportunity to speak for a few minutes with both Mayor Peter Bober and Commissioner Linda Sherwood (District 6) about some things going on in Hollywood and in Hallandale Beach.
I saw many familiar public policy faces there, including some who had also been at Monday's Master Plan meeting in HB.
I'll hope to post soon the exact info on when Thursday's public forum will be available for watching on the city's website, since anytime Bernard Zyscovich speaks, there's always a great deal that someone can learn about combining beautiful aesthetics, dynamic and intelligent planning, with some common sense, based on successfully learning the lessons of what has -and hasn't- worked in other cities in similar situations.
Though I wrote as fast as I could over the course of the two hours, just as was true when seeing Zyscovich at other forums in the area -and the Beach CRA forums on Johnson Street in particular- when someone that smart and insightful is ad libbing, it's hard to always concentrate on what you're writing while listening attentively to what he's imparting, because he really makes you think.
Which is to say, that I will be watching the video of the forum also, just to make sure my notes are correct.
5. The apparent move of the Baltimore Orioles' spring training games from Fort Lauderdale up to the Daytona Beach area, to take the place of the Dodgers.
Due to my deep dis-trust of the Orioles front office management, borne of my experience as a longtime Orioles fan since 1970, and former Mini-season ticket holder (20-30 games a year at Camden Yards), I've seen this particular move coming to fruition since last year.
I strongly suspect that I'll have a take on this issue, along with some facts, that you won't find anywhere else in South Florida, blog or otherwise.
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