re Draft copy of Marcum Rachlin's audit of the City of Hallandale Beach; the entrenched anti-Sunshine, anti-taxpayer culture at HB City Hall

Above, looking northwest across U.S-1/Federal Highway from the Crate & Barrel store towards the Hallandale Beach City Hall and Police Dept. HQ. September 20, 2011 photo by South Beach Hoosier.

Below is an email that I sent this afternoon to Hallandale Beach City Commissioner Keith S. London, with cc's to Broward County Commissioners Sue Gunzburger and Barbara Sharief -both of whose districts include Hallandale Beach- County Inspector General John W. Scott and Thomas Donnelly of the Broward State's Attorney Office. I also sent a copy of it to about 50 people in the community with a strong interest in reforming what goes on at Hallandale Beach City Hall.

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Friday September 23rd, 2011

2 p.m.

Dear Comm. London:

Having attended your Tuesday night monthly Resident Forum meeting and heard you describe in broad strokes some of the more egregious problems caught and flagged by the city's contracted Auditor, I had some thoughts to share as well as a request.

These are the audit issues I could remember off the top of my head:

a.) insufficient number of third-party appraisals on city land purchases,

b.) chronic lack of documentation on many items to substantiate what actually happened to the monies,

c.) consistent failure by the city to follow their OWN rules and requirements regarding loan and grant programs, with the city NOT even doing basic credit checks on applicants who

want to walk away with tens of thousands of dollars from taxpayers.

That the City of Hallandale Beach has purchased SO much land is troubling enough, esp. since they have so often overpaid for it. But the fact that they have done so WITHOUT an actual City Commission-approved written strategy or plan that makes sense or shows some awareness of the logical consequences of what they are doing -a plan that taxpayers could read- is very, very troubling indeed, since it makes you wonder why some people's land is bought and others is not, even when the latter's might make more sense to some positive public policy.

To cite but one obvious example of this strange process, consider the land that was purchased by the city for more than it was apparently worth that was owned by present-day Hallandale Beach Commissioner Anthony A. Sanders and his wife.

That purchase literally seemed to fly thru the city's bureaucracy, because it was, apparently, so key to some grand plan of the city.

Well, what exactly was THAT plan? Why all the urgency? Why the need to over-pay for the property? And now, three years later, the reality for HB taxpayers is that the city rents the property they claimed at the time was so important, to someone for one dollar a month.

One dollar.

Why?

Where is the logic and common sense in any of this, and why WON'T/CAN'T the City Manager, the Mayor or the City Commission logically explain this episode three years after the fact?

What's the plan?

Me, I don't think there is an actual plan.

As you are well aware, I've personally spoken against all of these practices in the past during the public comments portion of HB City Commission meetings, or when an agenda item came up, as have many of the people who showed-up at your meeting Tuesday night.

I know that you must be very frustrated to usually be the only person on the dais who actually asks probing questions about these unsound and improper practices.

To be the only one on the dais who simply wants to see the city follow common sense AND it's own written rules and protocols, and to have them enforced uniformly, regardless of who in the community is seeking approval for an item or request, rather than constantly creating exceptions to the rules.

Year-after-year of this has had the cumulative effect of creating a very strong impression among Hallandale Beach residents and business owners of a system of crony capitalism run amok at HB City Hall -with their tax dollars- with no proper controls or oversight by the HB City Manager or the HB City Commission.

Like many of the other attendees Tuesday night who spoke and other HB citizens I know who have shared their own frustrating experiences with me in the past, I believe that the public's

perception that there's a stealthy, anti-taxpayer culture present at HB City Hall is based on facts, not merely isolated incidents.

It happens far too often to be merely be 'coincidence.'

To me, too many 'coincidences' make a fact-pattern.

That entrenched culture at HB City Hall gives lip service to notions of professionalism, transparency and accountability, yet it's forever making excuses for the consistently high-level of unresponsiveness among HB city employees to the public, including providing public documents to taxpayers like me when specifically requested.

That includes often asking for astronomical charges for public documents -that in other cities are already on their websites for the sake of both transparency and common

sense- with little reasonable explanation or justification for the costs, which makes it seem as if they are only interested in erecting barriers to the public's access to PUBLIC documents, not lowering them.

It's a city government, NOT an espionage agency, but sometimes, you have to wonder.

Given that long history of non-cooperation that I and so many other HB citizens have dealt with first-hand, it's hardly surprising to me to learn that the auditor chides the city for often NOT providing it with specific docs when requested, and doing so very slowly when it does.

No, it comes as no surprise to me.

I would appreciate getting a copy of this Draft Report so that I can read it in more detail, and share some of it with other interested parties I know in the community.

I look forward to hearing from you and hope that you can provide that report to me fairly soon.

I'm available to come by City Hall to pick that up whenever it's convenient for you, so just call and let me know.

Dear oblivious Jane Doe, Chip & Andy, defenders of Hollywood union deals that'd cripple city's financial future: You lost, common sense actually won

Above and below, looking east at the City of Hollywood Fire Rescue station #105 on U.S.-1/Federal Highway, one block north of Pembroke Road, one of the ten busiest fire stations in the entire U.S. and which responds to some calls in Hallandale Beach, too. August 30, 2011 photos by South Beach Hoosier

August 30, 2011 photo by South Beach Hoosier

August 30, 2011 photo by South Beach Hoosier

Dear oblivious Jane Doe, Chip & Andy, et al, defenders of Hollywood union deals that'd cripple city's financial future: You lost, common sense actually won.

Rather than see the two comments I received today run at the bottom of my Saturday post, where only people who never saw it in the first place would see them, I've chosen instead to put them right out front today where everyone can see them for the nonsense they are.

Let's look at the self-serving comments, shall we?

Which, as was true during the abbreviated referendum 'campaign,' as usual, didn't and don't answer the simple reasonable questions that the residents of Hollywood were entitled to know before they actually voted.

Not the failure of the City of Hollywood to anticipate and deliver straightforward answers to, but rather the side that the 'Jane Does', DWS and labor acolytes of the Hollywood area supported.

The side that lost and which is still bitterly complaining.

Those questions can be boiled down to one: IF X, with X being maintaining current labor deals, then Y, with Y being job cuts and program and service interruptions if not outright elimination,

what will Y be like if the status quo with the city employees was maintained and no changes were made?

The unions could NEVER answer that simple question to enough Hollywood residents' satisfaction.

The very beleaguered people who already knew that their taxes were going to be going up substantially even if the city's position won out this past Tuesday.

How did the unions and their employees ever think they could win if they couldn't answer that simple question?

Exactly.

As stated previously, I'd have been perfectly fine with firing a lot more City of Hollywood employees than even the numbers contemplated by the city if the referendum had lost.

A lot more!

My own personal experience over the past seven years being all over Hollywood is that there are, indeed, far too many city employees who DON'T pull their weight and don't deliver a dollar's worth of service or labor for a dollar's pay.

Just as is even MORE TRUE in the City of Hallandale Beach, starting with the City Manager's Office and DPW.

City of Hallandale Beach City Hall and Police Dept. HQ, September 9, 2011 photo by South Beach Hoosier.

(Did you know that despite being about 350% smaller in physical size and population than Hollywood, as recently as two years ago, the City of HB's City Manger's Office was actually spending MORE taxpayers money on its personnel costs than Hollywood was?

Well, if you read this blog or read my friend Michael Butler's Change Hallandale you would, but other than Comm. Keith London, none of the other other four HB commissioners seemed the least bit troubled by this absurd and troubling fact.

Cooper, Ross, Julian & Sanders were their usual Rubber Stamp selves and allowed it to go on and on, with predictable results, and yet they were the very ones who were unwilling to bite the bullet and actually take Mike Good to court last year when he wasn't even coming to City Hall to do his job.

How do you get any more insubordinate than that?

And Julian, typically, as if on cue, foolishly saying and doing the wrong thing at the wrong time, made a motion to end the city manger search even before it could get going in earnest and the public could participate and give their input.

Just another one of the 1,001 reasons that William "Bill" Julian deserves to be kept off the commission dais PERMANENTLY.)

Now, back to the matter at hand.

Even prior to receiving this anonymous comment, I've been shocked at the relative ease with which the Hollywood Police union (Jeff Marano) and the Fire union (Daniel Martinez) were able to skate with South Florida's local media without answering questions in depth about what the logical results would be if their side had won the referendum.

The only time that this was NOT true was when Mayor Peter Bober and Jeff Marano both appeared on Channel 10's This Week in South Florida (TWISF) with host Michael Putney.

You can see that program here: http://www.local10.com/video/26511111/index.html

Jane Doe has left a new comment on your post "Shining a light on a sanctimoni​ous -and anonymous...":

I do not feel your comment on the Hollywood Whistle Blower all that accurate. The person may have used someone else's picture but alot of what was written is accurate.

First off, it's not "someone else's picture" but mine.

Second, someone who purports to be a serious person with something to say doesn't do something as stupid and lazy as pilfer other people's photos on a blog as if they were a catalog to take what they like. Period.

There has been alot of mismanagement in the City of Hollywood and that needs to be brought to people's attention. It is not fair to blame the employees for the problems the city is in. The mayor and commissioners have agreed to union contracts and when the city was in trouble the unions agreed to pay cuts for employees.

No one disputes that there has, indeed, been financial under-performance and very poor choices.

But no matter how many times it is mentioned no matter how many times the numbers come up in a graph or pie chart, you and your cohorts seem to be oblivious to the fact that since Public Safety personnel/pension costs are by far the largest portion of the city's budget, they are the first on the chopping block.

Look at the current budget proposed by the City of Hollywood, below.

http://www.hollywoodfl.org/budget/pdf/FY2012TentativeBudget.pdf

$113,461,70 of the $ 166,274,13 General Fund in the budget is for Public Safety.

Jeff Marano and Daniel Martinez did a piss-poor job of telling Hollywood residents what programs and services would have to reduced, largely be eliminated or zeroed-out in order to continue the fiction that they and you want to believe.

Because they didn't.

The voters made their choice.

The city chose to go way over budget building Arts Park, to agree on a vendor who could not provide a fully functioning WiFi system, gave millions through the CRA to developers who did not build a thing and walked away with the money and now one is suing. They have a downtown CRA that has not accomplished anything yet they keep getting taxpayers dollars while the west end of the city is going down hill. They could have shut down the downtown CRA and saved money but they won't. There has been advice given to the city but the mayor and commissioners have their own agenda. They chose to play bully and tell taxpayers if you do not vote yes for pension reform we will raise your taxes even higher. Now they are cutting pensions while relying on developers to save the city and will continue to give them money the city does not have. Is that the direction you want to see the city go?

I knew about these myriad problems before you did, attended the often-ponderous Hollywood City Commission meetings and knew more about what had and hadn't been discussed than you did.

I am all-too aware of the shortcomings of the City of Hollywood and their employees and elected officials.

I've actually written about them here, remember?

When nobody else was, I complained about what I saw that didn't seem logical or reasonable or make sense and still was done anyway because that's what the city or its condescending employees wanted, even if was wrong.

The City Commission passed the Margaritaville project on Johnson Street and the Broadwalk unanimously, and while I didn't like all aspects of it, I MUCH preferred the Hard Rock proposal because you'd get more buzz and reach a much more diverse demographic who'd spend money.

Margaritaville? I will never go there -it's not at all appealing to me.

And neither will anyone I know who'd come to visit.

I also don't think it will be appealing to out-of-town/foreign visitors who are African-American or Latino.

It's a one-trick pony.

A very tiresome one-trick pony in my opinion.

If the Super Bowl came back to Joe Robbie Stadium, do you think most fans with a choice would prefer staying at The Hard Rock located on the beach, or Margaritaville, where they can never escape that music?

Well, many of the fans of the latter are fishing on Sunday afternoons on their boats, right?

Asked and answered.

But when you finally found out about the decision-making problems in Hollywood, what did you do about them?

Exactly.

Nothing.

The unions were content to let bad decisions be made in Hollywood so long as it didn't affect their Golden Goose.

Conveniently, the so-called "Whistle Blower' blog didn't show-up until last month, and yet still does not disclose who is behind it, just like your comment to me, Jane, Chip & Andy.

That lack of transparency and honesty makes you and them not worth believing, especially when your arguments are so lacking in facts and context.

for whatever reasons, you and your pals continue to NOT understand the purpose and function of a CRA as they operate in Florida.

By now, I think it's because you'd rather not know and would just prefer to have the issue to complain about it.

That's your choice, but as I remarked previously, simply repeating something doesn't make it true, and is unconvincing among people who know the facts.

So very many unpersuasive arguments.

That's why I was not at all surprised the unions lost.

Chip and Andy has left a new comment on your post "Shining a light on a sanctimoni​ous -and anonymous...":

"...There's one over-riding fact: a majority of the Hollywood residents actually voting chose to support the City of Hollywood's P.O.V."

I disagree.

With only 14% voter turnout and the 'winning side' winning by a 55/45 split, majority is hardly the way to describe the results.

I know that by the very definition of the word the majority is the winning side of the vote, but with over 80% of the voters deciding to sit this one out, the 'majority' made their voice heard by not saying anything at all.

Honestly, criticizing the results of the vote based on the number of people who voted is the worst of sour grapes since it proves that the Police union and Jeff Marano and the Fire union and Daniel Martinez, were utterly unable to persuade even a small number of people to vote who hadn't planned on voting, even though everyone knew going in that a small percentage would actually turn out.

Personally, I hate apathetic people, which is part of what makes living in South Florida so frustrating to me, even when I was a kid.

Hearing a pathetic excuse like the one above that someone or some group of people "made their voice heard by not saying anything at all" is honey for elected officials, lobbyists and the status quo, all of whom already have too much influence in Broward County and south Florida than they do in most other parts of the country with a higher civic-participation level and different attitude.

That said, here's what I know for a fact: There was a public election held this past Tuesday in the City of Hollywood, and among those legal residents who actually voted, one side got more than the other.

Apparently, it was not your side.

While I usually prefer to have as many legitimate people vote as possible, there's absolutely no evidence that if 25%, 50% or even 100% of the city's residents had participated, the results would have been any different.

If anything, I personally suspect the percentage of voters supporting the city's position on the referendum would have been even larger, since conversations I've had the past few days among people who are registered voters but who blew-off the vote because they were so sure it would pass, 90% of them were for it.

They opted out because their intuition was that it would pass and their vote wouldn't change much; they were right.

The universe of people who think it's more important for City of Hollywood employees to retire with a pension when they are near age 50 or 55, than to have a fairly-normal city offering various programs and services (of varying quality) to city taxpayers is much less than you think.

The unions reached their universe of supporters.

It's just that they are a minority of actual legal voters in the City of Hollywood.

No sale.

That's the end of the issue.

====

http://www.changehallandale.com/

http://www.local10.com/index.html

Shining a light on a sanctimoni​ous -and anonymous- Hollywood blog that seems to exist for the sake of making excuses for taking MORE taxpayers' money

Above, Hollywood City Hall, looking west from the half-circle in front of the Hollywood branch of the Broward County library. June 2, 2008 photo by South Beach Hoosier.


Shining a light on a sanctimoni​ous -and anonymous- Hollywood blog that seems to exist for the sake of making excuses for taking MORE taxpayers' money and giving it to city employees.

First, they've rather amusingly decided to call the blog "City of Hollywood Whistle Blower."
That's ironic for many reasons, not the least of which is that they're nothing of the sort.
They're simply an anonymous vehicle that's busy carrying someone else's water.
No more.
But if you pay attention, they won't 'cop' to it.

Seriously, calling yourself a 'whistle blower' doesn't make you one any more than calling yourself a 'Texan' the day you arrive there does.
Being a real 'whistle blower' is something you have to earn, and sometimes, that means taking your lumps, dealing with adversity and unjust criticism and 'suffering the slings and arrows' of outrageous fortune from people with some power in a position to dish it out.

But the power that a real 'whistle blower' has is their facility with and knowledge of the facts, like I do here in Hallandale Beach, even as Mayor Cooper laughably persists in thinking that she can keep the facts at bay by openly decrying blogs and websites during HB City Commission meetings.

The so-called 'Whistle Blower' blog in Hollywood does NOT have the facts on its side, the losing side, so it engages in personal attacks.

In fact, the person or parties behind that mis-named blog are so grossly unimaginative and LAZY that they have actually stolen a photo that I took of Hollywood City Hall over three years ago, one that I've used many times on my own blog -and the first photo of Hollywood City Hall that appears at Google Images; second one is mine also- without EVER contacting me to ask if they could use it.

And not just using it, but actually placing it at the top of their own blog with nary any embarrassment.
Yes, the very same photo at the top of this post.

Here's what my photo looks like atop their blog.

Now that's really galling -and telling of the sort of characters you're dealing with.

For all their pomposity, verbosity and bombast -really, Founding Fathers' quotes that we've all heard a million times before?- they can't even be bothered to get off their lazy asses and get over to Hollywood City Hall to take even one original photo themselves?

Yes, correct.

It's sort of like the in-plain-sight situation a few months ago that I never mentioned here on the blog where the Broward Bulldog 'borrowed' photos of mine without ever contacting me.

As if their grants from journalism groups and philanthropies was some sort of defense, or a barrier to my complaining about their stealing.

Or mentioning it to a lot of South Florida TV and print reporters.

(Nope, they found out all right.)

So, whom do I complain to about the "Curious Case of the Pilfering Whistle Blower" who offered this very strange and obnoxious take today on the election results.
http://cohblwr.blogspot.com/2011/09/republic-mr-bober.html#comments
I guess the Court of Public Opinion, eh?

But now YOU know.

Additionally, those of you who took the time to actually read the email/blog post that I sent Monday about Tuesday's referendum in Hollywood, contrasting that new blog -which started last month- with the much-respected Balance Sheet Blog,
http://hallandalebeachblog.blogspot.com/2011/09/on-eve-of-hollywoods-referendum-on-city.html
and who actually read the latter's post about the vote may have noticed the name Brian Joynt appearing several times as a reader commenting on the passing scene.
http://balancesheetblog.wordpress.com/2011/09/05/pension-referendum-sept-13/#comments

In case the name sounds familiar to some of you, it should, and not in a positive way:
http://www.browardpalmbeach.com/2007-03-22/news/bad-cop-bad-cop/
http://www.browardpalmbeach.com/2005-06-30/news/hollywood-s-finest/

Saying something over-and-over again doesn't make it true, as Mayor Cooper continues to demonstrate to a fair-thee-well in her own nonsensical pronouncements here in Hallandale Beach, and that's equally true with the results of the Tuesday vote and the comments at the so-called 'Whistle Blower' blog.

There's one over-riding fact: a majority of the Hollywood residents actually voting chose to support the City of Hollywood's P.O.V.

Now, for better or worse, we'll all see what the logical consequences of that decision will be, and whether the Hollywood City Commission -as presently constituted- is capable of exercising the sort of sound financial judgment in the future that it's so often lacked in the recent past.

So THAT'S where our city tax dollars go? City of Hallandale Beach Check Register for July 2011; Comm. Sanders: the cipher with a sense of entitlement

Above, Hallandale Beach City Hall Complex at night, photo of August 7, 2011 by South Beach Hoosier.

Yesterday, I was one of many people in this small S.E. Broward community that received the helpful bit of information below from Hallandale Beach Comm. Keith London concerning where some of our tax dollars are actually going.

It's public information that belongs to you, so take advantage and take a look.

Speaking of public accountability of your tax dollars, do you remember the last time you received an email from Comm. Anthony A. Sanders or Comm. Dorothy "Dotty" Ross with information that you personally found useful or interesting about some aspect of local government or public policy, something that was not just promoting a charity event?

Or the last time Sanders or Ross hosted a public city-wide meeting for HB citizens to ask questions of them, their performance and speak freely about the problems and future of this community?

Actually, that was a rhetorical question.

Nobody remembers such a thing because it's NEVER happened before, and we all know that it won't suddenly be happening before next year's election in November, assuming they both haven't already been recalled from office by then, with me perhaps having more than a little to do with that scenario.

(Ross isn't running for re-election next year but Sanders is, and the latter is clearly counting on President Obama's name further up on the ballot being enough to help him, as it did in 2008, since he has done nothing worthwhile since being appointed to the Commission exactly three years ago this week.

Sanders is a cipher, albeit a cipher with an oversized sense of entitlement and who is quick to take offense at even the slightest hint of criticism.

Simply put, Sanders believes he is above criticism.

He's not!)

This is hardly surprising given their own very disconnected sense of reality and threadbare connection to the community -especially Comm. Sanders perpetually acting like he only represents Northwest Hallandale Beach, when he's supposed to represent the ENTIRE city- since their own behavior and words on the dais make clear that they haven't and won't ever be asking critical questions about city spending on agenda items.

Well, except in Sanders' case, to want to spend MORE.

That's why the two remain members in good standing -along with Comm. Alexander Lewy- of mayor Joy Cooper's Rubber Stamp Crew.

"See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil"

Clearly, that's no way to run a city government in the 21st Century, but it's exactly what we have here in Hallandale Beach in the year 2011 under Joy Cooper, the head of the Florida League of Cities.

That has got to change ASAP.

As to that maxim "If you're not part of the solution, then you're part of the problem," let me be clear: It's time to choose sides.

-----

Everyone,

Attached please find the City of Hallandale Beach Check Register for the month of July 2011 for your review.

Due to the public’s request for additional information and increased transparency, I have made arrangements with the City Manager for this additional information to be made accessible for the public to review. Please note this information will only be available for review for 30 days or the one month period subsequent to the date of the check registry. After 30 days the information will be filed away and if you require additional information you will have to submit a public records request.

If you would like to review additional backup information pertaining to a specific check, you may go to the City ofHallandale Beach Finance Department and request to review the information. Please contact Patricia Ladolcetta, Director of Finance, at 954-457-1371 to review the information.

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or require additional information.

Regards,

Keith

Keith S. London

City Commissioner

Hallandale Beach

954-457-1320 Office

www.KeithLondon.com

http://www.facebook.com/KeithSLondon

Monthly Check Report July 2011.xls 55K View Open as a Google spreadsheet Download

NOT Breaking News: Rep. Frederica Wilson still holds common sense, FL-17 constituents & taxpayers 'hostage': Spend, spend, spend and MORE TAXES!

WPLG-TV/Channel 10 video: This Week in South Florida, July 21, 2011, with host Michael Putney.

http://youtu.be/xY5R4Zo-FqY

Channel 10's version of this entire broadcast of TWISF, in High Quality, and 26 minutes and 36 seconds long, is at

http://www.local10.com/video/28721271/index.html

The interview with Rep. Frederica Wilson concludes at 13:04 mark.

Well, to use a phrase that nobody uses any longer, "Here's mud in your eye."

For those of you who have doubted what I've said in the past to you, whether in person somewhere in South Florida or the Washington, D.C. area, or what you've read here on the blog, about the weirdly, disconnected sense of reality lived by many though not all of South Florida's pols, almost all of whom live in gerrymandered districts that ensure their election come the general elections, Sunday morning brought forth the latest glaring example of disconnected unreality.

Did you see it, too?

Did your jaw hit the ground at the stale memorized talking points being recited like a not-so-bright Third Grader standing in front of the class?

Did you get a real sinking feeling when you heard so much prattle expressed with so little thought or insight behind it, and realized that the silly person mouthing such nonsense makes $174,000 a year?

http://usgovinfo.about.com/od/uscongress/a/congresspay.htm

Yes, welcome to the second decade of South Florida politics in the 21st Century.

All of this came in the form of an alternately abysmal performance by freshman Rep. Frederica Wilson (FL-17) on Channel 10's "This Week in South Florida" with Senior Political Editor Michael Putney.

http://www.local10.com/

michaelputney/index.html

As most of you blog readers know by now, I respect him more than any other media personality in South Florida -even when we disagree- in large part, because he actually remembers many of the very same people, places and events of the past that I do, good and bad, that so many people, groups and institutions consciously prefer to forget.

(So many South Florida media types I've met either know very little about this area's political history and geography, or flat-out don't care, but that's another post for another time.)

The ostensible purpose of Wilson's appearance -from Washington- in the lead-off (longest) block of the popular public affairs program, was to discuss the federal debt limit crisis, the state of the economy, and to elicit her opinion on what specific steps should be undertaken.

As she has been a cipher since getting elected, I didn't expect much, but even my low expectations were too high.

Prior to this July 31st appearance with Michael Putney, NOT a single legitimate reporter in Florida had so much as asked Wilson even a reasonably hard question about this debt limit issue and asked her to explain herself on the issue.

Trust me, I've looked at searches for her on Google News day-after-day, and even emailed that to friends, who were shocked at how asleep the South Florida news media has been all these months.

Not me.

(I was even going to post all the citations & news articles here so you could see what lapdogs the South Florida press corps has been towards Wilson since she got elected. Minus the stories on Haiti, Edison & Central High Schools getting special treatment to stay open, or her hats, there wasn't much left, which made it easy for me to read all the articles. Just saying...)

In fact, I was going to post this blog post Sunday morning until I saw that she was going to be on the show. Then I decided to wait until Channel 10 put the link up to the entire broadcast so you could see it for yourself.

To me, Wilson has held common sense and taxpayers "hostage" for months without saying anything of merit, to use a word that she twice went out of her way to use to refer to Tea Party supporters, implying, like so many disconnected liberals, that their desire to actually have a more fundamentally sound financial structure for the country was dangerous.

(Unlike Wilson, some Americans inherently know that not every single federal program deserves to live in perpetuity, or to be equated with apple pie and the Bill of Rights. But try getting Wilson to name one to cut...)

As if, somehow, liberal families and their children were somehow immune to the very negative logical consequences of a template where the U.S. government borrows 40 cents for every dollar it spends, as Sen. Marco Rubio has said any number of times lately.

It won't surprise you a whit that her prescription was the usual one of a person who reps a gerrymandered majority-minority CD in Congress: spend, spend, spend...

And tax the "rich" especially the evil oil companies, whom she says pay nothing in taxes in the same exact way that small children routinely say dumb things but nobody bothers to correct them because they are, after all, just small children.

They're entitled to their fantasy world for a while.

Small children, not congresswomen.

Despite her own past actions and words to burden small business owners with more regulation and higher fees, she demands that someone create jobs in her CD, which has the dubious distinction of having among the lowest investment rates and one of the highest murder rates in the entire congress.

After you hear Wilson, you'd almost have to ask yourself why if you were a business owner seeking to expand, why would someone invest in poorly-educated, blame-someone else FL-17?

Now there's a question.

Wilson seems unable to appreciate the changed environment that has taken over this country the past few years, nor to appreciate the difference between being in Tallahassee and Washington.

The reality is that her constituents without jobs are going to be expected to do a whole lot more for themselves in the future than they have in the past, and that includes the strong possibility that for many of them, that choice involves leaving the area, as happens in every other part of the country.

Uncle Sam is not going to be dropping pallets of money into NW Miami anytime soon.

That plane has been permanently grounded.

Time to adapt!

When Michael Putney brought this poll up, do I even have to tell you that Wilson is a fervent supporter of the minority opinion? The one that says that we just have to keep doing the same things that don't work? It's mind-boggling sometimes, almost as if she has been in a coma.

Watching her appearance on TWISF made me think of many things but none quite so strong as the sense that she's so very used to only being around people that completely agree with her, that she literally has no ability or intuition to appreciate that, for a change, she really needed to come across on the program as a serious and sober official.

Instead, because it's her shtick, and she can't help herself, she chose on the air wearing one of the dozens of ridiculous hats that she insists on wearing to distinguish herself, more fitting for a Delta Sigma Theta luncheon in the spring.

Yeah, like the weird guy with head-to-toe tats who insists on showing up at the public park every weekend with the snake around his neck, the old guy who insists on wearing a tiny Speedo swimsuit at the beach -and not being foreign!- or, the older woman who insists on showing up at the beach in a two-piece swimsuit that more closely resembles dental floss, Wilson can't figure out a way to stand out for what she knows about a given area of public policy, or being able to explain complicated issues in ways that people understsnd.

Nobody has ever said that about her.

It's sad for her, of course, but saddest of all for us, her constituents.

As I reflected on what took place in the program later on Sunday afternoon, in between watching the Marlins game and snapping some photos up in Hollywood for a future blog post here, Wilson's juvenile performance just really continued to irritate me, since it was about as anti-intellectual an exercise as I've seen outside of the occasional segment of MSNBC's Hardball I've come across while flipping thru the channels during a commercial of something else.

If you're not really that familiar with the show, esp. if you are reading this overseas, the Republican Elephants in the bottom LEFT are a tip-off to MSNBC's avowed liberal ideology. Fortunately, not that many people watch the show, as more people watch The Cartoon Channel than MSNBC when Hardball is on.

When she successfully repeated a few simple talking points she remembered -the ones about the number of times the debt was raised during Reagan and Bush 41's presidencies, 18 and 7 respectively- I could almost picture her staff applauding, out-of relief. Really.

So what exactly were the things that she or her predecessors, Carrie Meek and Kendrick Meek proposed that would cut the federal budget and put the country on a more sustainable basis?

She never said despite having thirteen minutes to mention it.

Thirteen minutes that revealed her for the disconnected public official she is, who thinks the old solutions of Big Government spending their way out of a problem still works.

They don't.

Not Breaking News!

On eve of Tuesday's budget meeting at 6 pm, Broward School Board is still hiding crucial facts from students, parents & taxpayers

According to Local10's Bob Norman, with school scheduled to start up again on August 22nd, with at least 10 Broward County schools having been hit within the past month by thieves seeking to remove copper wiring that protects those schools from lightning strikes, and even while the robberies make the schools vulnerable to lightning damage, the Broward County School Board is once again acting true to form.

In this case, trying to keep the name of schools that now lack this protection from students, parents and taxpayers alike.

On Monday, Norman and his cameraman were chased off school property by Broward School officials while speaking to a contractor sent to fix the problem at one school.

Copper Thieves Targeting School Lightning Protectors, Thieves Have Targeted 10 Broward County Schools

by Bob Norman

POSTED: Monday, August 1, 2011,

UPDATED: 7:51 pm EDT August 1, 2011,

Story and video at: http://www.local10.com/bobnorman/28731648/detail.html

-----

It's true: Though the beleaguered Broward School Board will be hosting an FY 2011-12 budget hearing on Tuesday night, only one South Florida media outlet has had a story about their budget problems in the past few days.

Just saying...

South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Broward Schools to consider budget calling for far fewer teachers, slightly lower tax rate

By Cara Fitzpatrick, Sun Sentinel, 6:18 p.m. EDT, August 1, 2011

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/broward/fl-broward-schools-budget-20110730,0,4749769.story

-----

See also:

Loophole Makes Nepotism Legal At Our School Boards

By Bob Norman

POSTED: Saturday, July 30, 2011,

UPDATED: 11:58 am EDT July 31, 2011

Story at: http://www.local10.com/bobnorman/28715846/detail.html

School Board Member's Relatives Get School Board Business

By Bob Norman

POSTED: Thursday, July 28, 2011

UPDATED: 9:22 am EDT July 31, 2011

Story and video at:

http://www.local10.com/bobnorman/28700660/detail.html

While you were sleeping: Comm. Alexander Lewy's budget chicanery & Liberal Guilt just cost you another $200,000-plus. For what and for whom, exactly?

Above, Hallandale Beach City Commission on dais at some of the mundane FY2011-12 budget hearing workshops I caught a few hours of at City Hall. Little did I know what would happen hours later... July 19, 2011 photo by South Beach Hoosier.

The subject header for this blog is the draft title I came up with eleven days ago, only a few hours after finding out about the dubious post-1 a.m. financial hijinks of Hallandale Beach Comm. Alexander Lewy that my friend and fellow HB civic activist Csaba Kulin caught on TV and first alerted me to in a short to-the-point post-2 a.m. email.

I'm going to fill you in on some of the details but I'd much prefer that you take advantage of Csaba's eye for detail and research below, and simply watch a bit of the city's recorded webcast for yourself -and take notes.

See for yourself what happens in this city when hardly any citizens are around after midnight to call them out publicly for their completely inappropriate and insulting behavior on the dais.

It strains credulity to believe that Lewy forgot the TV cameras were STILL on, or is it that he simply didn't care?

It's hardly a surprise that I suspect the latter.

Does he honestly think we can't figure out what he's doing and why he's doing it?

In my opinion, he could hardly be more obvious in his various attempts the past nine months to ingratiate himself, using our tax dollars to do it.

Even in a down economy, $200,000-plus is still real money!

Lewy did it at least in part because he knew Mayor Cooper would eagerly support any effort that showers taxpayer largess on northwest HB a year before she runs for re-election, with Comm. Keith London likely opposing her next November.

When was the last time the taxpayers of this city ever saw an objective, quantifiable measurement of the effectiveness of anything that was funded thru a taxpayer-funded grant or a loan?

Something you could read and touch, or, at least see on the city's website?

Without an accurate after-the-fact audit or analysis, how do we know whether what's being funded is actually effective, flawed, or simply a waste of taxpayer dollars?

But in seven-plus years of living here, I have yet to see even one, much less, the ones involving so-called 'job training' we've already been paying for involving Eagles Wings and Jessica Sanders, Comm. Sanders' wife, or strongly encouraged in the city's deals with Magna, Gulfstream Park and Forest City that may've also involved her.

What's the down-side of finding out, once-and-for-all, whether they actually had any positive effect at all, and IF they did, how many measurable jobs were placed that wouldn't have otherwise?

And if they don't do what they claim, adios!

Personally, I have never seen any such numbers either offered or demanded, yet an after-the-fact analysis should be a required part of every loan or grant, in order to see what common factors and characteristics help create a successful outcome.

Instead, we continue to fund bad ideas without objective data or bench marks, when there are legitimate small businesses in this town that could use a small push if they met certain criteria.

IF the city is going to spend $200,000, and I don't think they should, I'd much rather see $2,000 given in grants to 100 qualified HB shops/stores/restaurants that need the money to pay for overdue improvements or repairs to stay in business, rather than see it be given as a gift to Eagles Wings, an entity that does NOT exactly go out of its way to be transparent or publicly accountable with where its funding comes from or goes.

In fact, in the year 2011, despite all the money that the city's taxpayers have poured into it over the years -taxpayers like Y-O-U- plus all the free rent and use of your govt. facilities it has taken advantage of, would you believe that Eagles Wings still DOESN'T have a website of their own that explains what they actually do and who the people are behind it.

It's true.

Really.

One well-informed person I know has suggested to me that one of the principal reasons that residents of NW Hallandale Beach are SO thoroughly unhappy with Comm. Anthony Sanders' performance in office -and his wife Jessica- a theory I've heard expounded from dozens of people the past six months, is precisely because of these kinds of nonsensical deals where city funds are mysteriously allocated to the NW community, but, somehow, for reasons that they can never really quite explain, the funds don't filter down to the actual members of that community in a way that's productive or satisfactory for HB taxpayers.

Yes, just more of the chronic lack of accountability at HB City Hall that Csaba Kulin, Mike Butler, Judy & Bob Selz, Etty Sims, myself and many others here have been decrying for years, where public transparency is the VERY LAST THING the City of Hallandale Beach wants.

Later this week, thru a Public Records Request, I'm requesting the Draft Minutes from the city of that portion of the July 19th budget workshop involving Lewy's $200,000 early-morning surprise, even though I already know it will be on the vague side.

I will also ask for any docs relating to Eagles Wings, job training and Jessica Sanders since the election last November, a copy of Eagles Wings IRS Form 990, and a list of the professional qualifications of the employees of that entity, as well as any city report or professional audit measuring their effectiveness.

Whatever I receive will certainly make for very interesting reading, and once I have secured it and read it, I will post it to the blog.

Is it time for Broward's Inspector General to look at Hallandale Beach's funding of Eagles Wings, and where all the money is really going?

Hmm-m...

When I eventually left, with the workshops still going strong, I had no idea what was to come later.

July 19, 2011 photo by South Beach Hoosier.

-----

From: Csaba Kulin

Date: Wed, Jul 20, 2011 at 1:46 AM

Subject: Last Night's Budget Meeting

David,

I am sorry, but after playing golf in 85 degree heat, I got a bit tired and dozed off.

Around 1:06 AM I heard the loud voices of our Mayor. It was about Eagles Wings.

There were only 3 Commissioners on the dais, London and Sanders were in the back room.

During the following 9 minutes the Mayor and Lewy practically forced Ross to stay on the dais.

The Mayor ignored Ross's motion to adjourn, remember it was past 1 AM and needed "super majority" which she did not have.

Lewy made a motion to give Eagles Wings an additional, I think, $203,000.00 for job placement of people.

Then, instead of naming Eagles Wings, the motion was to give it to an "existing organization in HB already doing this kind of work". Ross was badgered until she gave in and voted for it.

As soon as the vote Ross walked off the dais, Keith London returned, the budget was passed, 2-1 I think and the meeting was adjourned.

You need to get the details tomorrow.

Maybe the HBCC meeting will start with that.

What a mess. I am sorry, but I am too tired to clean this e-mail up. It is almost 2 AM.

Csaba

-----

I responded to this news by sending the following email out later that morning to concerned residents, other area elected officials and certain members of the South Florida news media who actually pay attention to local government:

Date: Wed, Jul 20, 2011 at 3:16 AM

Subject: FYI: After 1 a.m. at the Hallandale Beach budget meeting, $203,000 of your tax dollars walk out the door...

In case you forgot where we live and how corrupt things really are here:

And when taxpayer dollars go to Eagles Wings, whose family is it really going to?

http://www.hallandalebeachfl.gov/index.aspx?NID=54

Exactly!

This is a classic example of how Joy Cooper tries to buy another term in office -with your tax dollars.

On top of what she did on Friday in demanding that the city commission give $50k

to someone that none of us have ever heard of and who the city staff thought only

deserved $10k, if that.

Someone the mayor actually INVITED to apply.

Lampkin’s Creative Arts 4 All

222 S. Dixie Highway, Hallandale Beach

I defy you to find any useful information on the Internet about the people

behind this group.

And on the Eagles Wing vote, give credit where credit is due and give the 'assist'

to career politician-in-training Alexander Lewy, proving that he is EXACTLY

who I said he was on my blog.

Csaba is 100% right.

Perhaps the case of this curious $203k appropriation will come up again Wednesday

night at 6 p.m.

Perhaps someone really will publicly take Alexander Lewy to task and ask him to

publicly explain to the city's taxpayers why he decided that giving EVEN MORE taxpayer dollars to this group that already gets plenty from us, after 1 a.m., without actually naming them, is consistent with any semblance of govt. transparency and accountability.

-----

Last Saturday, July 23rd, while working on some other things, I received the following helpful information from Csaba

Kulin:

Date: Sat, Jul 23, 2011 at 10:30 AM

Subject: Web cast

David,

I will make it easier for you to view the replay.

Click on the link, click on play and forward to the desired place on the tape.

At 8 hour 07 minutes starts the CRA, 8.34 Sanders starts his comments, 8.50 Cooper starts her spiel and ends at 9.14.

Csaba

http://view.liveindexer.com/ViewIndexSessionSLMQ.aspx?ecm=634470129642348879&indexSessionSKU=O5rB5ifdepPAM4U8+iWZgA%3D%3D&siteSKU=LYS9WltnFkPvRKQjohvxcQ%3D%3D

-----

Yet again, thru his actions & deception, Alexander Lewy is proving that he is EXACTLY who we always thought he was, "a career politician in training" to quote myself from last year and 2008.

Residents of Hallandale Beach, especially African-American residents of HB, don't need a White Liberal, Guilt-ridden Lewy to patronizingly look after NW, they simply need and want MORE competent people on the HB City Comm. demanding accountability, efficiency and results -like everyone else in the city!

Regardless of skin color!

Judging by how things have played-out and what he has actually said and done since being elected to the HB City Commission in November, ousting William "Bill" Julian by coming in second to Keith London in a three-way race for two seats, the ego-driven chimera in Comm. Alexander Lewy's head is him as the hero who rides to the rescue.

As if we could forget everything that happened before the election, or, even what happened that very day.

You know, like Dr. Deborah Brown's completely inexplicable, inexcusable and juvenile behavior on Election Day?

Oh, you didn't hear about that?

Brown, sister of Josh Brown and a past recipient herself of HB City Hall largess -$25,000 that I know about, money that was NEVER voted upon by the HB City Commission, plus there may be more money I don't know anything about- showed her lack of class and scruples by actually having the temerity to publicly chastise two African-American teenagers who were working the arriving crowds in a parking lot outside of a polling station like other campaign's workers were.

Their 'crime' in Deborah Brown's eyes?

Well, given how things have been at HB City Hall with crony capitalism since Joy Cooper has been mayor, where some people in this community think they have a birthright to your taxpayer dollars, no matter how petty, preposterous or self-indulgent the reason, take a guess?

The answer is that these two kids were guilty of being Black kids wearing yellow Keith London campaign t-shirts in NW Hallandale Beach.

She asked them what they thought they were doing supporting London, and told them to take the shirts off.

Sort of makes you wonder who the hell this woman thinks she is, no?

If I am being far too subtle for some of you out there in the blogosphere to follow, as it happens, Deborah Brown and Comm. Anthony Sanders plus the two teenagers Brown sharply rebuked are African-American, Comm. Keith London is what is officially referred to in South Florida journalism circles as Non-Hispanic White.

(Like me, the winner of the 1979 North Miami Beach High School Black History Month Contest, where I got all the answers right. Not to brag or anything...

Won a few tickets and a limo ride to see Earth, Wind & Fire, but the concert at the Hollywood Sportatorium was canceled due to a riot in Miami.)

Debra Brown and her crony capitalism ilk are part of the problem in Hallandale Beach, NOT part of the solution, no matter how much officials at HB City Hall -or the faux newspaper Sun-Times that gets lots of taxpayer funds, too- kiss her ass.

People who are, themselves, part of the larger problem here involving lack of appropriate accountability and transparency in government with your tax dollars.

The stone cold reality of the behavior described above ought to dispel any fairy tale spun now or in the future by Alexander Lewy.

Lewy is like the bank insider who occasionally robs from the bank containing HB taxpayer's money, but then has the gall to act like he's Robin Hood.

It's already insulting enough, but then Lewy wants to act like we are none-the- wiser.

He fools us not a whit!

-----

Earth Wind & Fire - That's the Way of the World (1981)

http://youtu.be/_R2RsP43rmg

Earth Wind & Fire - Reasons (Live Version)

http://youtu.be/ZIyFqSPz6mA

Not only great songs, great songs to sing to in a car with your friends at night on long cross-country drives, watching America roll past your window at 65 m.p.h.!

Like Bloomington, IN to Fort Lauderdale for Spring Break, back when Fort Lauderdale was actually worth visiting.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth,_Wind_%26_Fire