Friday, September 26, 2008
Upcoming Broward and Miami-Dade Tri-Rail transportation workshops
Miami Herald
Tri-Rail moves along, but still on a rocky road
By Larry Lebowitz
September 22, 2008
The good: Tri-Rail smashed another ridership record last week. The South Florida Transportation Authority reported that 17,241 passengers boarded a Tri-Rail train on Thursday.
It was the second largest day in Tri-Rail's 20-year history, and all the more remarkable because it was just another Thursday in paradise and the record -- 18,452 -- was a once-in-a-lifetime event: the Miami Heat NBA Championship victory parade in June 2006.
Tri-Rail is consistently surpassing the 16,000 boardings-per-day mark -- more than double the 7,500 boardings a day the agency was recording just three years ago at the nadir of the double-tracking construction project from hell.
Public transportation numbers are up across the United States since gasoline prices spiked at $4 a gallon earlier this year. And in Tri-Rail's case, the numbers are continuing to rise even though gas prices have receded, ever-so-slightly back into the $3.70-to-$3.80 neighborhood.
With the 28 percent growth in year-to-year ridership, Tri-Rail ranks third, on a percentage basis, for ridership growth among commuter rail providers nationwide.
Now, the bad: It's still only 17,000 boardings a day in a car-crazed region of more than six million people and a gazillion tourists and snowbirds, and the local governments -- especially Broward and Palm Beach counties -- are making more noise about cutting Tri-Rail revenues next year.
They're already making it harder or more expensive for Tri-Rail passengers to get from the train to the bus to the office or home. Several of the critical connector routes that run from station to workplace and back are in danger.
Broward County Transit and PalmTran are starting to charge transfers that used to be free. Those connector routes are in danger.
Passengers will be digging deeper into their pockets just to get to and from work everyday.
It's still a bargain compared to gas and insurance and maintenance of a personal vehicle. But it's less of a bargain than it was a year ago.
If any of the three counties reduces its share of funding to the train, then it will set off a cascading series of events that will dramatically reduce the subsidies from the other two counties and 50 percent match from the state.
And now, the ugly: The commuter train's long-term future is as hazy as ever.
Tri-Rail has to start prepping for another year of dancing in the corridors of Tallahassee, hat in hand, begging the Legislature and the governor to finally adopt a dedicated local funding source. Rental car fees, license plate renewal fees, fees on fees. Everything is on the table, as it has been since 2003.
A series of Tri-Rail specific transportation summits are being set for each of the three counties between now and mid-November followed by a regional summit that will be set before the Legislature returns next year.
It might be a tougher sell in Miami-Dade, where the locals will already be suffering from DTSF -- Dueling Transpo-Summit Fatigue.
Miami-Dade will be inviting the community to gather and hear, once and for all, why the half-cent sales tax for transportation hasn't delivered many of the major promises of the 2002 campaign, why the money was diverted to other pressing needs, and then start to prioritize what's left.
THE `BLOGOSPHERE'
South Beach photographer and agitator extraordinaire Bill Cooke took a potshot at Miami-Dade Transit in a recent not-so-private memo to Director Harpal Kapoor on his blog, "Random Pixels.''
Brandishing the 50-cent fare increase that goes into effect Oct. 1 like a barnacle-encrusted scabbard, Cooke riffed on an all-too-common complaint about Metrobus driver habits on his route, The South Beach Local:
"May I suggest that you use a fraction of that money to retrain your drivers. Specifically, you might want to refresh them with the rules that are posted on every bus and train in the county. You know, the ones that prohibit smoking, drinking or eating on buses.
"And you might want to start with the South Beach Local drivers since just this last week I saw no fewer than three drivers at different times eating while driving.
Transit's unionized drivers are supposed to have time in between runs for contractually mandated bathroom and food breaks. But when the routes run late, break time disappears.
''A side benefit of having drivers abide by the no-eating rule,'' Cooke notes, ``would be to cut down on the scores of cockroaches that now ride those buses for free!''
Streetwise thinks Cooke -- and Transit -- are missing an opportunity here. If the agency is so strapped for cash, why can't we charge the cockroaches fares?
Slightly less sarcastic side notes to the Transport Workers Union Local 291 and to Miami-Dade Transit: First, nobody should be riding any public transportation vehicle with vermin.
Second, this isn't an isolated rant from Metrobus passengers on Miami Beach. And it's not just about eating habits.
Do you have a commuting question or an idea for a future column? Contact Larry Lebowitz at streetwise@
MiamiHerald.com or call him at 305-376-3410 or 954-764-7026, ext. 3410.
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SFRTA SPONSORS TRANSPORTATION WORKSHOP SEPTEMBER 26 IN BOCA RATON
The South Florida Regional Transportation Authority will host the first in a series of three county-specific transportation workshops Friday, September 26 on the Florida Atlantic University campus in Boca Raton. The workshop, which is open to the public and free of charge, will be held at the Live Oak Pavilion from 1 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Registration will be held from 12:45 to 1 p.m. Reservations may be made in advance by calling 954-788-7958.
The workshop will focus on discussions about future regional transportation needs, priorities and funding in Palm Beach County. Elected officials, transportation industry professionals, local government administrators, community activists and members of the general public who are concerned about sustainability and mobility within Palm Beach County are encouraged to attend.
Director James F. Murley, FAU’s Center for Urban & Environmental Solutions, will be the moderator. The agenda includes presentations by the Palm Beach Metropolitan Planning Organization, South Florida Regional Planning Council, Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council, Florida Department of Transportation, Palm Tran and the SFRTA. Additional topics to be discussed are the Florida East Coast Railroad Study, transit-oriented development and the proposed development for Tri-Rail’s Boca Raton Station.
South Florida Regional Transportation Authority
Palm Beach County Transportation Workshop
September 26, 2008
AGENDA
12:45 - 1:00 p.m. Registration
1:00 - 1:15 p.m. Welcome Remarks
- The Honorable Josephus Eggelletion, Jr., SFRTA Chair
Comments
- The Honorable Bill T. Smith, Jr., Esq., SFRTA Governor Appointee, Palm Beach County
Recognition of Elected Officials
- The Honorable Marie Horenburger, SFRTA Governing Board Member, Palm Beach County
Introduction of Moderator James F. Murley
1:15 - 2:10 p.m Regional Session
- Regional Overview - FAU CUES - presented by James F. Murley
- Southeast FL 2060 Vision Plan - presented by Carolyn Dekle
- TCRPC Strategic Regional Policy Plan - presented by Michael Busha
- SFRTA Strategic Regional Plan - presented by Joseph Quinty
- Q&A
2:10 - 3:20 p.m Palm Beach County - Session 1
- FDOT - represented by James Wolfe
- Palm Beach MPO - represented by Randy Whitfield
- Palm Tran - represented by Charles Cohen
- SFRTA - represented by Joseph Giulietti
- Q&A
3:20 - 4:15 p.m. Palm Beach County - Session 2
- Florida East Coast Railroad (FEC) Study/Tri-Rail Jupiter Extension
presented by Scott Seeburger
- Transit-Oriented Development (TOD)/Station Area Planning - presented by
Kim Delaney
- Tri-Rail Boca Raton Station Proposed TOD - presented by
Tom Gustafson
- Q&A
4:15 - 4:30 p.m. Concluding Remarks - James F. Murley
Don't say you didn't know it was coming!
Details are finally coming together for the Miami-Dade and Broward transit workshops sponsored by Tri-Rail, SFRTA, which, I'm reliably told, will include a lot more real public input than usual, not just the agency and engineering/planning consultant types throwing jargon around.
The transportation workshop in Miami-Dade County will be on Friday November 14th at the Miami-Dade Expressway office located at 3790 N.W. 21st Street (across the street from Tri-Rail's Miami Airport Tri-Rail Station) and in Broward County on Wednesday November 19th at the International Game Fishing Association, located at 300 Gulf Stream Way (adjacent to Tri-Rail's Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood Int'l. Airport Station at Dania Beach.)
You know, the non-airport "Airport" station!
Both workshops should begin at 8:30 a.m. and are slated to end around noon.
Special shout-out to Joseph J. Quinty, Transportation Planning Manager of the South Florida Regional Transportation Authority for the very helpful information and feedback on some upcoming events that should foster some honest and healthy debate, something not always seen herebouts.
Now mark it on your calendar, toute-de-suite.
See also: http://www.tri-rail.com/announcements.htm
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
HB Mayor Joy Cooper Freaks-out at City Comm. Mtg, -flees dais!
If you look closely enough at the mounted TVs above the dais, they show the mayor's empty chair.
Wednesday night's Hallandale Beach City Commission meeting captured mayor Joy Cooper at her absolute brazen worst: by turns condescending, accusative, arrogant, sneering, abrasive and totally full of her bullying self, once again over-playing her hand.
Naturally, as this observer has seen on far too many occasions over ther past few years, the mayor, as is her established custom, tried to turn the events into one where she could try to play the 'victim card' as well.
"I take offense at..."
She never really quites pulls off the victim card, though, because more often than not, Cooper is the aggressive bully, upset that people are remaining independent and not bending to her will.
It was all so unseemly and un-necessary, yet it's representative of why Hallandale Beach needs fresh faces of reform come November to prevent the continuing sense of democratic decay under the older, sclerotic members, who are not only not friends of government reform, accountability, transparency and increased citizen participation in city business, but are, by their own recorded votes, their sworn enemy.
They are the very portrait of status quo for the well-connected and the well-heeled in this community, who like things done one way -their way!
The photo I took above captures the moments just after Cooper stormed off the dais, while Comm. Keith London, speaking via telephone, explained for the second time, his personal rationale for voting No on the city's proposed budget.
By late Thursday afternoon at Hallandale Beach Blog, you'll be able to find much more context and analysis on this mind-blowing meeting, this mini-Rorschach test, along with some well-chosen comments on some typically short-sighted and self-serving remarks by ethically-challenged Comm. William Julian, who once again showed his lack of character and class by his words and behavior.
I just wanted to let you know since you weren't there.
Pity.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
A Sign of Hallandale Beach's Endemic Apathy is Staring Right at You -Get Even on Election Day!
September 17, 2008 photo by South Beach Hoosier
I've got dozens of photos that I've taken over the past year of the construction all along U.S.-1, many of which I will be posting in coming weeks.
September 17, 2008 photo by South Beach Hoosier
The sign above on U.S.-1 and S.E. 5th Street, across from the Gulfstream Park Race Track
& Casino, lets you know that you're just feet away from the Hallandale Beach City Hall and the Hallandale Beach Police Department Headquarters.
But what should really be erected there is a warning sign complete with skull and crossbones: Beware all ye who enter forth...
In the time that I've lived here, it's continually shown itself to be a completely dysfunctional government, one that gives every impression of holding itself both apart and above the citizens and residents it's supposed to serve and protect, almost daring you at times to complain about its queer habits and erratic behavior by means of comparison to what's generally thought of as "normal" everywhere else.
The crazy thing is, they really DON'T seem to think they have to follow the laws that govern everyone else in the state of Florida and the United States, whether of logic and reason, contracts, or, more to the point for this blog and the city's residents, simple things like the Florida Statutes on Sunshine Laws and Public Records to name but one.
You see, they love nothing so much as, alternately, playing a game of "Pass the buck," or,
attempting to tie you up in knots of red tape and double-talk.
At times you'd swear they've perfected the legendary Abbott & Costello "Who's on First?" comedic routine, and adapted it to sub-tropical municipal government in trying to confuse you about who's really responsible for anything.
(Video of their routine at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sShMA85pv8M)
And good luck in trying to get an accurate and up-to-date City Hall organizational flow chart!
City employees in Hallandale Beach routinely refuse to answer reasonable questions posed to them bycitizens, and often even berate you for having the nerve to ask!
This has happened to me and many other residents I know enough times to be more than a sheer coincidence, even though I have a low threshold for tolerating govt. employee apathy or incompetency.
At some point, when you see the same behavior exhibited over and over again in just about every dept., you come to understand that it's just S.O.P. at Hallandale Beach City Hall.
One of the first things that any visitor here notices that both self-evident and quite shocking in its own backward way, is the blatant disregard by the HB Police Dept. and HB Fire Dept. for basic safety rules.
Common sense rules of behavior that are in place in every other American town, no matter how large or obscure.
City employees -and friends of theirs- routinely park "their cars" directly in front of the building's east entrance, often for hours at a time. That's right, I said for HOURS at a time.
While in every other town you'd find a clearly posted sign saying simply: "No Parking, Fire Zone, Cars Will be Towed," in Hallandale Beach, there are NO signs at all.
(Not even signs warning you that you are being monitored by security cameras when you are in the parking lot, as is standard procedure everywhere else. Par for the course!)
I've personally observed parked HB city vehicles parked there at the east entrance that have prevented HB Fire & Rescue vehicles from getting as close as possible to the building.
I've also personally spoken to individual members of HB Fire & Rescue after such incidents, and they were positively indignant that they are forced to put up with this sort of behavior in the Year 2008.
Oh, and one last thing.
The lights that are supposed to illuminate this sign in front of Hallandale Beach's City Hall HAVEN'T worked properly in over FOUR YEARS, either.
Just like their cousin down the block on U.S.-1/South Federal Highway, at the city border with the City of Aventura.
Since I've lived here, I've mentioned this simple fact to dozens of Hallandale Beach city officials, including Mayor Joy Cooper, City Manager Mike Good, his staff, the mendacious Police Chief...
None of them have done a thing, which is why, as of September 8th, 2008, the sign was STILL completely dark at night!
Around September 15th, an evening visit revealed that 1 of the 2 lights had finally started working within the previous few days.
But NOT both!
Monday, September 22, 2008
Welcome to Dark and Scary Hallandale Beach!
Monday September 22nd, 2008
U.S.-1/South Federal Highway
7:45 p.m.
You know that 'Welcome to Hallandale Beach' sign that's been out for over FOUR YEARS that I'm always complaining about?
Which one, there's two of them. The one in front of Hallandale Beach City Hall, or the one on the Broward County/Miami-Dade boundary with the City of Aventura, near the entrance to The Village at Gulfstream?
The latter.
What about it?
It's still out!
Now you can see for yourself what bad governance looks like.
It looks like this -years and years of continually making a bad first impression on visitors at night.
That's the City of Hallandale Beach, Florida in a nutshell in the Year 2008.
Sunday, September 21, 2008
re The Miami Herald and "off-shore drilling"
POLITICS
Drilling favored, Crist dips in new poll
High gas prices have more Floridians giving a thumbs-up to oil drilling, while Gov. Charlie Crist finds his luster fading, a new poll shows.
Sept. 20, 2008
By Lesley Clark and Jose Pagliery
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/top-stories/story/694114.html
Accompanying graphics for poll: http://media.miamiherald.com/smedia/2008/09/19/17/101908_flapoll.source.prod_affiliate.56.swf
Reader comments at:
http://pod01.prospero.com/n/pfx/forum.aspx?msg=58212&nav=messages&webtag=kr-miamitm
_____________________________
September 20th, 2008
Dear Mr. Gyllenhall:
1.) Why is the Miami Herald continually unable to report on off-shore drilling intelligently?
2.) When are those much-discussed positive changes at the Herald going to start paying tangible dividends for readers?
I mentioned that I knew about the promise of some positive changes in my email to you of July 18th re the Herald's coverage of the Broward Charter Review Commission.
I ask because it doesn't seem like they're anywhere close to happening.
(Editor's note: please see my post of August 3rd, 2008 titled, A Letter to Anders Gyllenhaal of the Miami Herald on Local News Coverage. http://hallandalebeachblog.blogspot.com/2008/08/letter-to-anders-gyllenhaal-of-miami.html)
As for the article I reference today, are Floridians polled for the story told that for the purposes of the poll, "off-shore drilling" means a facility at least 125 miles west of the state in the Gulf of Mexico, before responding?
Your pie graph on page one today gives the impression that they are, but then, as always in a Herald story on this subject, you quote someone in a story saying something that indicates they don't understand this.
That they don't favor drilling if it mars the view.
The view?
From what, 125 miles away?
There's no internal logic!
People can have the opinion they do, of course, but a poll where respondents are free to disregard the poll's basic predicate are of zero use to anyone.
"Supporters include Pinecrest attorney Nick Bohn, a Pinecrest lawyer, who said he believes drilling off the coast could relieve U.S. dependence on foreign oil. He said he's not worried about seeing oil rigs off the shoreline."
(Question: Is Nick Bohn a "Pinecrest attorney" or a "Pinecrest lawyer?" Most likely somebody who's sorry he agreed to be quoted by the Herald.)
In any case, you quote Nick Bohn as saying, "If it's because it's an eyesore, then put it out someplace they can't be seen,'' the Republican said. "You probably couldn't see them 10 miles off.''
Yes, that's true, but under current federal rules, they have to be 125 miles out at a minimum, i.e. 12.5 times farther out then the suggested ten miles.
The story makes Mr. Bohn seem like an idiot.
Honestly, IF someone can see the rigs that far, pay 'em the same as 'Noles coach Bobby Bowden and Gators coach Urban Meyer -combined- and get them to the Pentagon, pronto!
Florida has a large percentage of voters who are self-identified Independents, perhaps as large as 40%, if not more, in urban areas.
Everyone who follows politics here accepts as common knowledge the idea that those Independents are the voters who (largely) decide statewide elections.
But they are completely invisible in this story because it never quotes/interviews anyone ID'd as an actual Independent, only Republicans and Democrats. Why?
What do the large number of Independents in Florida think?
After reading this story, I still don't know.
Instead, the article states, "That number, however, reflects a partisan divide..."
Does it, really?
To me it reflects a poorly explained and executed poll.
Later, the article states, "The strongest opposition was in the Tampa Bay area."
Hmmm....interesting.
So what exactly are those numbers for that part of the state, and why don't you wan tto share those numbers with your readers???
Is it 80-20%, 70-30%, 60-40%...?
It's very frustrating!
Reading this article was so painful that all I can do is repeat what I learned in the late '70's at North Miami Beach Senior High School, "Me duele la cabeza!"
Bewildered in Hallandale Beach
Friday, September 19, 2008
Tomorrow's News Today: Substitute "at The Biltmore Hotel" for "Beverly Hills"
Just substitute "at The Biltmore Hotel" for "Beverly Hills."
----------------------------------------------
Los Angeles Times
Barack Obama raises millions in Beverly Hills
Video: http://www.latimes.com/video/?autoStart=true&topVideoCatNo=default&clipId=2922248
TV crews are kept from two Beverly Hills fundraisers as John McCain mocks the Democrat's connection to celebrities.
By Dan Morain and Michael Finnegan,
Los Angeles Times Staff Writers
September 17, 2008
It was clear why Barack Obama's campaign barred television crews from a Beverly Hills mansion at twilight Tuesday as the Democratic presidential nominee mingled with movie stars on a giant terrace overlooking Los Angeles.
The cocktail reception was part of Obama's biggest night of Hollywood fundraising so far, an evening capped with a live performance by Barbra Streisand at the Regent Beverly Wilshire
The money paragraph is this one: Lest anyone be diverted by the Hollywood spectacle Tuesday evening, Obama's campaign denied TV crews access to the mansion and hotel events -- perhaps mindful of the political damage wrought by TV images of celebrities at Democratic nominee John F. Kerry's fundraisers in 2004.
See the rest of the column at: http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/campaign08/newsletter/la-na-obamafund17-2008sep17,0,211476,full.story
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Speaking of Obama, ethically-conflicted public officials and the power of lobbying money, in case you missed it 13 months ago, in the glamorous world of Broward County Commissioner Stacy Ritter and husband Russ Klenet of Russ Klenet & Associates.
On Aug. 25, Russ Klenet and his wife, Broward County Commissioner Stacy Ritter, will host a $500-per-person breakfast at Cafe Bella Sera in Parkland. Klenet is a registered lobbyist in Tallahassee with a stable of clients that has included everyone from South Florida municipalities to Election Systems & Software, whose much criticized touch screen voting machines have drawn the ire of Democratic activists nationwide...
Klenet and Ritter are named on the invitation as event chairmen, but Klenet insisted his wife is the real draw. "We decided we'd be happy to welcome him to Broward County and that's it," he said. "I'm not making phone calls. I'm not raising money."
Klenet, a former legislative aide to now-state Sen. Steve Geller of Hallandale Beach, is a longtime lobbyist with a client list that includes numerous cities in Broward and Miami-Dade counties, as well as the Florida Association of Mortgage Brokers, Match.com and Tampa Electric Co
above from The St. Petersburg Times Politics, Obama follows fine line to stay clear of lobbyists
Co-host of a Broward event has state clients, by Alex Leary, Times Staff Writer August 16, 2007
http://www.sptimes.com/2007/08/16/Worldandnation/Obama_follows_fine_li.shtml
With a big assist to their Politifact: http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/32/
And be sure to read the comments below the article about what Oakland-area Obama supporter Zenophon Abraham -or someone purporting to be him- thinks of Floridian's concern about the corrupting influence of the intersection of politics and lobbying in Florida.
Speaking of a local official who gets too much attention, largely because of her money, connections, poor judgment and prenatural tendency to insert foot into mouth, see Bob Norman's recent Daily Pulp blog post at the about Ritter's recent appearance on CNN. titled Stacy Ritter Gets Her Mouth On. Norman also has the YouTube video of her appearance at: http://blogs.browardpalmbeach.com/pulp/2008/09/stacy_ritter_gets_her_mouth_on.php
See Norman's strong posts from last July and August on their antics and roles in our collective lives, 1.) Marital Law, Does Stacy Ritter's lobbyist husband swing her vote? at http://www.browardpalmbeach.com/2007-07-26/news/marital-law/ ,
2.) The Stacy 'n' Russ Show Ritter & Klenet sounds like a lobbying firm at http://www.browardpalmbeach.com/2007-08-02/news/the-stacy-n-russ-show/
3.) Reporter Accused of Stealing Notebook, at http://blogs.browardpalmbeach.com/pulp/2007/07/reporter_accused_of_stealing_n.php
Another post of his about Klenet was this one from 2004, called Lobbyist- Lovin' Lori, How cash-fueled politics and a grudge could cause another election fiasco http://www.browardpalmbeach.com/2004-07-01/news/lobbyist-lovin-lori/
And since we're still in hurricane season, might as well go back 13 months ago to the Herald's Glenn Garvin commenting on her big mouth: South Florida politics: Profiles in Hypocrisy, part 9,027 http://miamiherald.typepad.com/changing_channels/2007/08/south-florida-p.html
That came a month before yet another Herald story on Sept. 1st about their complicated intersecting personal and professional relationship and the voting machines the county would be purchasing. http://www.miamiherald.com/top_stories/story/222413.html
Miami Herald, Ritter's vote still raising eyebrows, By Dan Christensen
Just so there's no misunderstanding my point here, when Florida voters say they support, in theory, the concepts behind proposals like Lesley Blackner and Ross Burnaman's Hometown Democracy project -see http://southbeachhoosier.blogspot.com/2008/04/good-news-re-signature-petitions.html and http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&resnum=0&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tab=wn&q=%22Florida+Hometown+Democracy%22&scoring=n - Comm. Ritter's husband is one of the persons who gets paid very handsomely to frustrate those citizens on behalf of very rich and self-interested groups like big government, Broward style.
Simply put, they don't want voters having an effective veto power over local officials' bad decisions involving planning and zoning over multi-million dollar projects thru an actual vote.
See his list of clients at http://olcrpublic.leg.state.fl.us/by_report.cfm?rpt_id=4387&CFID=3252&CFTOKEN=61690
As it says clearly on that website, he and his firm are the lead lobbyists in Tallahassee for the Broward League of Cities, which represents the interests of elected municipal officials, NOT the interests of the citizens whom those officials are supposed to represent.
When those interests conflict, guess who wins?
The evidence is all around you -elected officials, not citizens.
For instance, see these minutes of the January 18, 2001 meeting of the Broward County Charter Review Committeee: http://www.broward.org/charter/pdf/pii01174.pdf.
Mr. Weiss [ CRC member Richard Jay Weiss, Esq.] suggested that a member of the LOC attend every future CRC meeting and plan to inform the CRC of the League’s concerns regarding any agenda items. It was determined that all agendas and minutes of the CRC will be forwarded to Ms. Eileen Cudney, Executive Director of the LOC.
That's the same warped thinking that gives the (elected) hacks at the Broward League of Cities two prospective votes on the Ethics Board in the future if the measure is approved by Broward voters in November, even though their president at the time, HB mayor Joy Cooper, publicly questioned the need for the Ethics Board at the Hallandale Beach City Commission meeting held one week before the final public meeting of the most recent CRC in April.
(Like the CRC could really care what HB's City Commission thought, given that they were against so many of the very important ballot issues that the CRC members had been poring over for months! I guess I don't need to remind you that HB didn't have a single rep on the CRC.)
I know that because I was present for the entire length of both meetings and still have my contemporaneous notes. To quote something from my own blog:
"Laws and Constitutions go for nothing where the general sentiment is corrupt."-New York Times, September 22, 1851
"Why do they need that in the Broward County charter?" -Hallandale Beach Mayor Joy Cooper at April 2, 2008 City Commission meeting, in discussing possible inclusion of Broward County Charter Review Commission's proposal for Ethics Commission to deal with Broward County Commission, on November 2008 ballot.
Six YEARS after the county's voters overwhelmingly passed an amendment to the County charter requiring its adoption, the Broward County Commission has yet to live up to its responsibility.
That's why!
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Greg Hurst was the KHOU-TV anchor I wrote about yesterday
http://www.khou.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=216589&sid=a40c84c686a82a09e6825c8413eccb07
Monday, September 15, 2008
KHOU-TV anchor rips Entergy media rep for Houston power outage
It doesn't really require much explanation to see where I'm coming from here.
________________________________
September 15th, 2008
Dear Aaron:
Just a head's-up for something you'll likely be hearing about and maybe even seeing video of in the next few days.
Last night, thanks to DirecTV airing KHOU-TV 11 telecasts of Hurricane Ike coverage on Channel 361, discontinued as of today, I was able to watch something you rarely see any more on live TV: angry personal invective by a reporter/anchor who felt unencumbered by either common sense or ethics.
Naturally, this blow-up was completely misplaced and a real classic example of 'shooting the messenger,' something that you'd think someone in the TV news business would appreciate better than most folks.
Last night/early this morning, one of KHOU-TV's male anchors hosting their Hurricane Ike coverage from the studio really lit into the media rep for Entergy for the Houston area still largely being in the dark, his seeming to think it was a matter of simple incompetency, not pure logistics and manpower.
The rep said the company had aid agreements with other power companies and that people were coming in from 19 other states to help Texans get their power restored, had planes flying people around the state to get them in a position to do their job first thing Monday morning, were doing aerial surveys and had everyone in the company out in the field.
But he also admitted that it would likely be Monday or even Tuesday morning before they could add up all the disparate info and get a realistic idea of when power would be restored.
Obviously, here in South Florida, it's drilled into people that you have to be responsible for yourself and your own family for at least the first 72-96 hours after a disaster.
(Not that people are!)
There's no cavalry coming into town to knock on your door after a day or so to ask you if you want some grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup with your drums of drinking water, like a waiter. (After Hurricane Wilma in 2005, I was out of power for over 11 days.)
So, less than 48 hours after Ike hits, this anchor at Channel 11 is giving the Entergy guy enormous grief for everything not moving fast enough to suit him.
Finally after a few minutes of this, the Entergy media rep said that he'd had enough, that he wasn't going to put up with any more negative media reporting not based on the facts on the ground, when everybody in the company was doing their best under trying circumstances to get power restored. (Their homes are out, too!)
And the anchor just kept going on and on about what a poor job Entergy was doing...
It was pretty wild drama to stumble upon by accident, but made worse by my not being able to tape it right away, and the station not showing the name graphic of the anchor while he was on his tangent, which is why I can't tell you his name or the name of the female anchor at the studio desk with him. (Ed. Note: Or if they did, I was too stunned to notice it.)
Sorry about that!
The power rep explained that his company's customers were not all clustered in just a few easy-to-resolve urban areas like CenterPoint Energy Inc., but were instead spread out over a much larger geographical area, including most of the rural communities affected by Ike.
The anchor couldn't care less.
He repeated his claim that Centerpoint was clearly doing a much better job, and then it got even more heated.
Despite the fact that from the very beginning, and to their great credit, KHOU was posting nearly everything they broadcast onto videos you could see on their website, not surprisingly, this particular encounter is not yet on the station's website.
At least not yet, as of 12:30 p.m. Eastern
http://www.khou.com/blcS.sc?search=Entergy&sorder=S&rep=&act=&cat=multi
Your search - Entergy - did not match any documents. No pages were found containing "Entergy".
Best video I've seen thus far is this one, which has a lot more than what is officially described here, including the dozens of oil barges in the Gulf waiting to get into port, who had to stay away from the area while the hurricane was on the way.
It starts repeating after about 18 minutes into the video, with VO descriptions of Blackhawk helicopters landing and President Bush coming Houston on Tuesday:
http://www.khou.com/video/topstories-index.html?nvid=282706&shu=1
Raw video: Bolivar Peninsula devastated
September 14th, 2008, The communities of Crystal Beach, Bolivar and High Island suffered the worst damage we have seen from Hurricane Ike.
Below is a perfect example of what has everyone down there upset, with most of the coverage being too urban/Houston-based, even while there are towns and completely underwater or destroyed. Just like Katrina and media fascination with New Orleans!http://www.khou.com/news/local/stories/khou080915_tnt_guardsmen_food.7a5e7c1f.html
See bayousinker's comments! I concur 100%.
Meanwhile, the best spot-on column of the weekend is this one in yesterday's Houston Chronicle by Lisa Falkenberg Maybe some live and never learn, along with the reader comments.
That could just as well describe people in South Florida and the Keys in particular, where alcoholics at Key West bars uttering their philosophical banalities during hurricane evacuations draw Miami TV cameras like flies -over and over and over!
It never ends!
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/falkenberg/6000302.html
By the way, my interest in this hurricane hitting Galveston and Houston is more than passing, since just before Christmas in 1855, my maternal ancestors arrived in America via Galveston by ship from Prussian-controlled Poland.
They put all their belongings in an ox-driven wagon and walked for days to get to the Texas Hill Country they'd heard about in Poland, becoming Texas Hill Country pioneers in the process.
My family has lived in the Cowboy Capital of Bandera ever since then.
Aaron, I hope that you can use your great industry connections to get and post the video of that KHOU reporter losing his cool to your great TV Barn site sometime soon.
As always, your website continues to rock!
Adios!
Dave
--------------------------
If I get any info on that TV encounter from this morning, I'll post it here so you can see it for yourself.
By the way, two of my favorite financial reporters will be on Charlie Rose tonight talking about all the ramifications of the Lehman Brothers and Merrill Lynch stories, Charles Gasparino of Newsweek and Andrew Ross Sorkin of the New York Times., who edits their great daily financial e-mail newsletter DealBook. His column archives are at: http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/s/andrew_ross_sorkin/index.html
Watch it on Channel 17 at midnight, since you never really know when WPBT-2 is going to air it, despite their schedule, just one of the reason's it's the country's worst PBS station.
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Johnny Depp shows up for ballgame, Dolphins don't!
The Cardinals are now 2-0 for the first time since 1991, while the Dolphins didn't score in their opening drive for the 20th straight game.
By Debbie Blaylock, Staff Writer
February 4, 1987
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Meanwhile, back in Orlando, transit also stammers and stu-t-t-ers...
Received some very interesting info earlier yesterday afternoon in my daily email from the Central Florida Political Pulse blog, the Politics blog of the Orlando Sentinel, one of my daily must-reads, in the form of a post by the Sentinel's David Damron titled Orange Mayor Crotty Reveals Lynx Funding Plan.
But after reading it and absorbing the central points, I surprised myself and got to thinking about something else, or rather, some one else -Alex Sink.
Though it's been little commented on so far, don't think that people around the state, esp. those of us with an interest in transportation policy, aren't paying attention to CFO Alex Sink's role in the continuing transit mess in Central Florida -esp. commuter rail- even as she tries to morph her official role into that of a numbers-crunching, truth-telling combination of Agent Dana Scully and Agent Clarice Starling, saving the day right before it's too late.
Since I returned to South Florida from D.C. a few years ago, to the extent that I thought of Alex Sink at all -which I didn't- due largely to some positive words from friends back in D.C. and in Florida who were longtime Lawton Chiles supporters, I gave Sink the benefit of the doubt, even as I wondered why in the world she got so much attention.
(For instance, Florida Trend's May 2008 story, Sink Sees a Silver Lining in Florida's Slowdown
by Amy Keller http://www.floridatrend.com/article.asp?aID=48843 )
But given that other than Gov. Charlie Crist, Sink has been the subject of more laudatory media coverage than anyone else in the state, where has she made a real difference in the lives of Florida citizens yet?
I've yet to hear Sink say anything either counter-intuitive or politically brave that would really cost her politically in the future, much less, take a principled stand that goes against the personal interests of her usual political/financial supporters. Where's the bold thinking?
Who knows, maybe something will happen in the not-too-distant future that'll give her the opportunity to show her true stripes and abilities, but thus far, given all the ink that's been used on her, color me unimpressed.
Can I really be the only person in South Florida who thinks this?
By the way, you may or may not be aware of the fact that in stark contrast to the popular approach that Gov. Sarah Palin took in Alaska with regard to getting rid of state aircraft, FL pols are much more averse to saying sayonara to their beloved "Wings of Man.'
Just over a year ago in a great Aug. 28th, 2007 post at the aforementioned CFPP, http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/news_politics/2007/08/just-plane-comm.html#more labeled, Just plane common sense, Aaron Deslatte wrote about the efforts to pare just one of the planes from the state's control.
Among the more interesting facts to emerge from that post was this one: Since June 1, state officials have racked up $258,962.50 in air fare on Florida's fleet, according to manifests for the three planes. Records show Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink flew the most in that period, with over $31,000 in air travel used through the summer.Crist came in second, with almost $24,000 in airfare around the state.
(Speaking of that, how funny would it be if somebody in a position to know, floated a rumor that the state airplanes had contained listening devices!? The sheer amount of lies and B.S. told on those planes would stupefy the electorate! And make great columns and newscasts!)
Based on what I've read and heard from across the state, and in myriad conversations/emails with folks much closer to the scene than me, including elected officials, for my money, Sink is THE most over-rated pol in the state, edging out Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, long a bête noire of mine, in case you've forgotten some past blog posts of mine where I've zeroed-in on her.
I really loathe DWS.
I've already written a pretty informative blog post about DWS that'll be coming out within the next week regarding her inclusion in the John Harwood and Jerry Seib book, Pennsylvania Avenue, which I think paints a very unflattering portrait of her personal scruples.
That's not my opinion alone, but rather one that's also shared by many folks around the country who've read the book, and commented to the authors.
In fact I even wrote someone recently and said that I wouldn't bring her up again in future emails because she's too much of a downer!
(The book was the NY Times Book Review's featured review three months ago: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/08/books/review/Widmer-t.html?partner=rssnyt )
By the way, per some of my earlier blog posts at HBB, and the August 1st post by Gabriel Lopez-Bernal at Transit Miami, http://www.transitmiami.com/2008/08/01/mary-peters-in-miami-today/
my formal request for info and docs about FDOT Sec. Kopelousos and her co-called "public" appearances in South Florida will be sent within the next few days, hopefully by next Monday.
I can hardly wait to read the predictable lame excuses, alibis and PR-spit-shined obfuscation that awaits me.
I will, of course, share it with you once it's in my hands.
______________________________
Orlando Sentinel
Central Florida Political Pulse
Orange Mayor Crotty Reveals Lynx Funding Plan
posted by David Damron on Sep 9, 2008
Orange County Mayor Rich Crotty released a Lynx funding plan Tuesday that would create a long-sought dedicated funding source for the bus system, but would likely do little to head off an immediate budget crunch that could gut some routes and trim service.
Crotty's plan calls for the leaders of Osceola, Orange and Seminole counties to each pledge a certain level of property taxes to fund the system, and lock it into place by establishing a regional transit system between the three governments.
The effort would require voter approval.
It would also put more of the future funding burden on Oseola and Seminole counties, who now contribute roughly $5 million.
Under Crotty's plan, that number would rise significantly to almost double that amount.
"If this is truly a regional asset, like a university or an airport," Crotty said, "then we need to think regionally and pay for it regionally."
To see the rest of the post:
http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/news_politics/2008/09/orange-mayor-cr.html
Saturday, September 6, 2008
Finally! Some college football worth watching: U-M-Gators
I expect the Gators to roll by a margin in the low twenties, with tons of recruits on the sidelines at Florida Field.
I first saw Florida Field from the field in early July of 1979, back when beautiful U-F girl-next-door student Louann Fernald's fame as the June Playmate had made its way south from Gainesville but weeks before. http://www.playboy.com/girls/playmates/directory/197906.html
The sheer number of beautiful women there was sorta jaw-dropping, and I'm sure that's not changed in the years since.
[Ironically, a little over three years later, in December of 1982, Playboy had a Playmate centerfold named Charlotte Helmkamp whom I knew not just from IU, but who had actually lived in my dorm, Briscoe Quad A, just two floors above me.
Charlotte was a very sweet and thoughtful girl from Toledo, Ohio, and at the time, often expressed an interest in science, though I don't know if that had something to do with her major or was just a general interest of hers.
She was also as friendly as she was good-looking -beyond all possible description here!
As someone who spent some time around her, since we knew many people in common there at Briscoe, trust me when I tell you that any photos you've ever seen of her simply don't do her justice, since she was easily one of THE most beautiful women I've EVER met in person -jaw-dropping! Still.
http://www.playboy.com/girls/playmates/directory/198212.html
I sometimes ate meals with Charlotte in the dorm cafeteria, especially when she was with my wonderful friend Diane Frommeyer, a Hoosier-by-choice like me, from suburban Chicago -Naperville- who lived on Charlotte's floor.
It's not surprising that Diane was Charlotte's trusted friend, too, since Diane was a great dispenser of both common sense and good advice, which I happily took on many occasions when I was filled with doubt or had a difficult decision to make.
Diane proved herself a great friend more times than I can count.
I'll never forget the look Diane had on her face the day I ran into her and she said something along the lines of, "You want to know something really big that's going to be BIG news soon..."
Naturally, I was intrigued!
She was still so dumbfounded and amazed by the news that Charlotte told her in advance of the issue's publication, that when she told me what was coming down the pike, she still looked like she could hardly believe it herself.
Like me, Diane was VERY involved in IU's Student Alumni Council, SAC, one of my favorite activities because of the wide variety of interesting and thoughtful people it allowed me to meet.]
I flew up to Gainesville on Air Florida from MIA to visit my very good friend Robert, who'd graduated from NMB nine weeks early, and who decided to get a head start and leave for Gainesville early and take summer classes.
It was great walking around the town and campus, and I can still recall how intoxicating it all seemed after being in NMB and South Florida.
One of the real highlights was walking around the empty stadium with Robert, who snapped one of the best photos ever taken of me, taken directly below the painted "This is Gator Country" area of the stadium, which is showcased numerous times during any football telecast.
I think I must've kept that photo in a frame on my desk for years in Hoosierville, along with photos of friends from NMB and scenes of South Florida places I spent lots of time at: the Orange Bowl, Haulover Beach, Miami Stadium, et al.
My Fourth of July week visit there was great, made all the better knowing that I'd soon be seeing the Midwestern version of that whole college scene in Bloomington for myself in less than two months.
I'm curious if Gator wideout Frankie Hammonds Jr out of Hallandale will get much playing time tonight. He was the subject of Joseph Goodman's dispatch for the Herald just about two weeks ago. (See below.)If he was at IU with Kellen Lewis throwing the ball...
Gator head coach Urban Meyer quips to the ESPN crew this morning about 11:30 a.m., after I got out my football props.
There was immediate trash-talking between them, as they argued whether or not it's really a rivalry if you don't always play each other, like IU and Purdue.
South Beach Hoosier bought both for super-cheap bargain prices at the Bell Outlet store in Hallandale Beach on Hallandale Beach Blvd. and NE 10th Street, near the Bank of America branch that for years refused to trim the tree branches under their lights on the bank drive thru, much to my dismay and continual complaints.
(It would be pitch black and you couldn't see what you were doing, esp. during the Fall, opening yourself up to an easy walk-up robbery.)
Getting these two items was easily the best deal I've made since coming down here from D.C.!
Last week's game at the new and improved IU Memorial Stadium, now with a new field after this past summer's flooding ruined the old field and made a mess of downtown Bloomington.
Kellen Lewis is a man in motion!
What I'll be watching and taping later on the Big Ten Network's encore presentation on Monday at 2 p.m., though I'm checking on it in between commercials of the U-M game.
First came across these articles on Frankie Hammonds, Jr. a few months back, and at the time, with the Hoosiers playing confidently and actually showing some offensive flair, couldn't help but wonder how much more firepower IU would have in the future if he was teamed up with Hoosier wide receiver James Hardy.
Wideout Frankie Hammond Jr. might not be a typical college football player, but he has amazed coaches nonetheless.
GAINESVILLE -- Preseason camp is over for the University of Florida football team. One of the biggest surprises out of two-a-days was the rapid development of freshman receiver Frankie Hammond Jr. of Hallandale.
But that has changed. Receivers coach Billy Gonzales has praised Hammond several times during the preseason and coach Urban Meyer also has recognized Hammond's surprising start to his college football career.
According to senior receiver Louis Murphy, Hammond adapted to the Gators' complex playbook faster than any other freshman and played consistently well during preseason practice and two-a-days. Gonzales now believes Hammond might see some playing time this season.
A track and field star -- Hammond won gold at the 2007 AAU Junior Olympics in the high jump (6 feet, 10 inches) -- he was an unknown high school football player when he received scholarship offers from Florida and Miami.
Some high school football players in South Florida transfer from school to school so they can play for a winner. Hammond was loyal to a loser. Hallandale didn't post a winning record until his senior season.
Miami Herald