Tomas Lopez story results in predictably anemic response by Hallandale Beach City Hall as growing public outrage re harsh treatment of lifeguard Lopez by his company, Jeff Ellis & Associates -an unpersuasive form letter- shows City Hall's longstanding myopia remains. Story has touched a nerve all over the world about moral imperatives and importance of doing the right thing despite strong possible negative consequences. We desperately need to change the culture and personnel at City Hall ASAP!

ABC News video: Correspondent Matt Gutman on Fla. Contractor That Fired Lifeguard For Saving Man Outside Zone Reconsidering. July 5, 2012.
http://abcnews.go.com/US/fired-fla-lifeguard-reinstated/story?id=16716225

Tomas Lopez story results in predictably anemic response by Hallandale Beach City Hall as growing public outrage re harsh treatment of lifeguard Lopez by his company, Jeff Ellis & Associates -an unpersuasive form letter- shows City Hall's longstanding myopia remains. Story has touched a nerve all over the world about moral imperatives and importance of doing the right thing despite strong possible negative consequences. We desperately need to change the culture and personnel at City Hall ASAP!

In short, in the official City of Hallandale Beach response thus far about the incident I discussed here yesterday, that was originally reported by Ihosvani Rodriguez of the South Florida sun-Sentinel, and which blew-up over the Fourth of July holiday to become international news, to the surprise of no one, the city says absolutely nothing about their own longstanding neglect, incompetency and culpability regarding the public beach areas, including the news that I shared with you that the two lifeguard stations on the beach are NOT grounded for lightning strikes, as they are supposed to be.

Lifeguard Tomas Lopez helps save the day at the city's public beach but get's fired for his trouble. Meanwhile, Hallandale Beach City Hall continues to act neglectful and NOT do what it's legally supposed to do around the beach areas, and nothing happens. Nobody is fired. Just more mindless bureaucratic apathy and incompetency from the same old crew!

http://www.hallandalebeachblog.blogspot.com/2012/07/lifeguard-tomas-lopez-helps-save-day-at.html

By the way, if you didn't already know, the lifeguards are supposed to call their own company first in order to dispatch Fire/Rescue to the scene of trouble, despite the fact that HB Fire/Rescue is right next to the iconic Hallandale Beach Water Tower on State Road A1A and Hallandale Beach Blvd., on the border separating HB and Hollywood.  

Hallandale Beach Fire Station 60 is located in the building north of the city's iconic Water Tower on State Road A1A, just south of the Hollywood cityline. May 30, 2012 photos by South Beach Hoosier. © 2012 Hallandale Beach Blog, All Rights Reserved

When that was done, a lot of the life guards told me at the time that based on their past experience, this policy would inevitably cause casualties.

And I didn't even mention in my email and blog post of yesterday that, as I've noted here previously, for a very long time, the lifeguards lacked a motorized device that would allow the guards to actually respond to people caught in dangerous high wave/strong undertow situations far from shore, which greatly frustrated them and created a lot of anxiety on those sorts of days.

And lest you forget, we had an unusually high number of such days early last year, which was even more troubling when you know the lifeguards lacked the tools they desperately needed.

You'd think the city would've had a back-up plan after the one device they had -to share among the two lifeguard stands- broke.

You'd think that, but you'd be wrong -there was no back-up plan!

Is having Jeff Ellis and Associates' dispatchers calling 911 instead of the lifeguards on the scene part of what should be publicly discussed and re-examined while everyone is looking at what took place at the beach on Monday?

Should help for victims really be delayed from being dispatched solely because of company policy?

In my opinion, this whole topic ought to be the subject of a public meeting held at the city's Cultural Center, say, on a Saturday morning at 10 a.m., AFTER Labor Day when everyone is back in town, so that everyone who is interested can attend and hear what's what from Jeff Ellis, the city and any other people who have some knowledge to share, as well as HB residents?

Earlier today, Hallandale Beach civic activist Etty Sims, always a strong voice for common sense, financial accountability and the entire community's best long-term interests, sent the following email to HB City Hall and its denizens.

Along with her comments were links to just some of the dozen and dozens of news sites around the world that have reported on this troubling incident via a Google Alert on HB, a tool which I also receive and have encouraged you all to get as well if you live here, or one for your own community if you're anywhere else in the world.

Among the hundreds of news organizations and websites that have delved into this story are the BBC and ABC News, the latter of which did a three-minute story on it last night with reporter Matt Gutman during ABC Evening News, which was re-run this morning, the video of which I've posted at the top.

Here's Etty Sims' email:

Good morning city commissioners, mayor and city manager,

So Hallandale Beach is in the news all over the country and not for a good reason.

I am sure that you all heard about the incident on the beach.

If you read the comments to the stories on the different news media sites you will see that not only the private company that you, the commission hired to protect our beach goers , BUT the entire city's reputation is beefing affected negatively.

Please let us know what are you going to do about this issue.

if we want to improve our beaches, it is very important that beach goers  not only feel safe on our beach but are actually being protected by someone that cares about people's life and not the bottom line.

Since the lifeguard company's contract is coming  up for renewal, it is a perfect time to look into the different options available.

It is time to bring back the Beach in Hallandale Beach. Please make it a priority and transform the beach to a place that people want to go to. There are too many other options very close by such as Hollywood Beach Broadwalk.

Have a great summer 

Etty Sims

-----

Meanwhile... I continue to receive email from everywhere, including some thoughtful nuanced email from Las Vegas that gets right to the heart of the matter of what happened on Monday

Sarah Elizabeth has left a new comment on your post "Lifeguard Tomas Lopez helps save the day at the ci...":

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: City Manager <CityManager@hallandalebeachfl.gov>
Date: Thu, Jul 5, 2012 at 10:46 AM
Subject: RE: Lifeguard Tomas Lopez helps save the day at the city's public beach but get's fired for his trouble. Meanwhile, Hallandale Beach City Hall continues to act neglectful and NOT do what it's legally supposed to do around the beach areas...

Thank you for contacting the City of Hallandale Beach regarding the beach incident that occurred on July 2, 2012.  I am in close contact with Jeff Ellis of Jeff Ellis Management who has started a full investigation into the termination of their lifeguard.  The lifeguard is not a City employee, but was employed by Jeff Ellis Management, a private company contracted to provide lifeguard services for two city-owned beaches and the Municipal pool.  Jeff Ellis Management has committed to the City that if the lifeguard was terminated in haste, the company would move expeditiously to reinstate his employment.

It has always been the City’s policy that if there is an actual emergency inside or outside of the protected area, the lifeguard must respond. We do however have to ensure that certain safety protocols are followed to ensure the safety of all visitors to the City of Hallandale Beach.  At this time, the City is awaiting the facts of the termination and the results of our internal inquiry and the Ellis Management investigation.  Once the City has the results of the investigation, we can make an informed determination on the future of the relationship with this management company.

The City Hallandale Beach truly values your concerns and comments on this issue. The safety of our Beach patrons and the manner in which this service is provided is paramount to the City.  We are moving swiftly to address the situation.

Renee C. Crichton

City Manager

City of Hallandale Beach

400 S. Federal Highway

Hallandale Beach, FL 33009

954-457-1300 Phone

954-457-1454 Fax

Lifeguard Tomas Lopez helps save the day at the city's public beach but get's fired for his trouble. Meanwhile, Hallandale Beach City Hall continues to act neglectful and NOT do what it's legally supposed to do around the beach areas, and nothing happens. Nobody is fired. Just more mindless bureaucratic apathy and incompetency from the same old crew!

South Beach, Hallandale Beach, Florida. This and all photos below are from May 30, 2012 and were taken by South Beach Hoosier. 

© 2013 Hallandale Beach Blog, All Rights Reserved

Lifeguard Tomas Lopez helps save the day at the city's public beach but get's fired for his trouble. Meanwhile, Hallandale Beach City Hall continues to act neglectful and NOT do what it's legally supposed to do around the beach areas, and nothing happens. Nobody is fired. Just more mindless bureaucratic apathy and incompetency from the same old tired crew!

Early this morning in an email to the Sun-Sentinel's Ihosvani Rodriguez, I wrote the following:

I  just needed to clarify something.

In your article, Hallandale Beach lifeguard fired after participating in beach rescue
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/broward/hallandale/fl-hallandale-beach-lifeguards-20120703,0,5326638.story do you mean the lifeguard who saved someone from dying,
Tomas Lopez, left one of the HB lifeguard stands that, contrary to what the city's insurance docs likely claim, are NOT now properly grounded for lightning strikes?

© 2013 Hallandale Beach Blog, All Rights Reserved

Something the city already knows about, which is the city's legal responsibility and a HB taxpayer's lawsuit nightmare if someone is injured?
Yeah, sort of like the city still not having fixed or replaced 28 broken lights at Bluesten Park, three blocks from City Hall, for well over nine months and counting... 

Specifically, the lifeguard stand on South Beach that still has graffiti on it and had metal city signs underneath it for 4-5 months because the city's DPW is so poorly managed and bereft of anything resembling a strong work ethic or attention to detail, to remove them and place them in the correct place? 
And which was still under the South Beach lifeguard stand many weeks after I first called DPW on my cell phone in late May while standing next to it, to complain, when these photos were taken?

Those lifeguard stands?

© 2013 Hallandale Beach Blog, All Rights Reserved

© 2013 Hallandale Beach Blog, All Rights Reserved

You mean THOSE lifeguard stands with metal underneath them just asking to be zapped

by lightning?

© 2013 Hallandale Beach Blog, All Rights Reserved

The beach where not so far away from those old and unsafe lifeguard stands there are faded, 30-year old Broward County signs from when southern Broward County was still using the 305 area code, the Miami Dolphins were still playing in the Orange Bowl, and BEFORE Dan Marino was playing quarterback for the Dolphins?

That neglected public beach?

© 2013 Hallandale Beach Blog, All Rights Reserved

Do you mean the beach where the weekend before the city's Parks Master Plan meeting of Monday May 31st re possible changes and improvements to South Beach, the sign with the meeting info came down, and rather than simply re-hammering it into the wooden pole, someone from the city dragged it next to the dumpster and left it there?

Which, of course, meant that anyone who went to the beach that entire weekend or Monday morning who didn't already know about the meeting would have had no idea about it, or what the rendering on the left actually meant?

That neglected public beach?

I spy: the missing meeting sign hidden next to the dumpster! 
© 2013 Hallandale Beach Blog, All Rights Reserved

The beach with the nearby dumpster without the fence enclosure the city requires of all businesses owners in the city with dumpsters, to hide the dumpster from public view, just like the city has been violating its own ordinances for YEARS at North Beach?

After I saw this for myself the afternoon of the meeting, I actually left the beach and drove over to City Hall and spoke in-person with the new Parks Director at her office to both tell her what I'd seen, but to also offer it up as yet another self-evident example of how things were/are routinely done in this city since I have lived here -with a lack of professionalism and with an almost completely contemptuous disregard for the taxpayers and residents of this city.

Which is to say half-assed! And with no consequences for continued sub-par performance.

But the reality is that in this city, it's DPW who is in charge of the beach, not Parks & Rec.
That's where the blame lies, along with just-departed City Manager Antonio, and the current Mayor and City Commission.

© 2013 Hallandale Beach Blog, All Rights Reserved

Could there possibly be any garbage dumpsters in South Florida that are closer to the Atlantic Ocean than these two from the City of Hallandale Beach at North Beach? (The ones you can see because the city doesn't have the required fencing hiding them.) I don't think there are! 

Area to the left is The Apogee condos in Hollywood under construction. 

The public beach where for years, as they do elsewhere, the city just laughs at following its own rules and ordinances, to say nothing of city commissioners ignoring state laws about NOT illegally parking in disabled parking spaces?

© 2013 Hallandale Beach Blog, All Rights Reserved

One of the many photos I snapped over the years of Julian's ID on dashboard while he was parked illegally in disabled or disabled- access parking spaces next to the Beachside Cafe at North Beach.  

(The latter is a common sense state law that for YEARS was routinely abused by former HB Comm. Bill Julian -running again this year- when he drove to the Beachside Cafe, continually parking in what was then THE only disabled parking space nearby, being sure to let everyone know whose car it was, as ID shows.)

Like the public beach -as depicted in photo above- that has dumpsters that have only needed lids that actually fit and cover the garbage since... 

Those public beaches?

The beaches that rightly ought to be taken away from the control of the city's DPW Dept., who have clearly demonstrated over many years that they are clearly NOT interested in giving HB taxpayers the appealing and clean beach they desperately want, and NOT giving them a dollar's worth of service for a dollar's worth of taxes?

The ones whose care should be outsourced to a licensed and experienced contractor to beautify and properly maintain?

Those public beaches?

Oh, okay, now I got it.

I just wanted to make sure that we were talking about the same beaches in HB I know about, and have been closely observing for years as they have fallen into rapid decline due to the city's very own longstanding neglect, apathy and incompetency.

After all, I certainly wouldn't want to jump to any erroneous conclusions.

Kudos to Tomas for keeping his integrity intact and not hesitating from doing the right thing.
I only wish that most of the people at Hallandale Beach City Hall who've been making the big bucks for years were as deserving of the community's trust, respect and admiration as Tomas was by his display of integrity.
But they're not.

No, sadly, my experience is that when they actually do the right thing, it's usually by accident, NOT by design.
And the proof of that is all around us in this city.

Hallandale Beach's Parks & Recreation Master Plan's first two public meetings are Saturday -be there!

As many of you already know, for well more than a year, I've been busy taking photographs and shooting video documenting the longstanding problems I've personally observed with this city's Parks & Recreation Dept., speaking to Hallandale Beach residents who use them for myriad purposes, finding out what they like or don't like, as well as talking to people who DON'T or WON'T use them and find out why that is.
You'd be surprised at what some of those reasons are.

I've also frequently spoken to the contracted-lifeguards from Jeff Ellis & Associates at the public beach about:

a.) the many, many complaints they hear from HB residents and visitors alike about the dirty, unattractive and poorly-maintained conditions of the beach, both North and South -the responsibility of DPW Director John Chidsey- as well as the

b.) longstanding public safety problems that the Police Dept. has ignored for years, thru their infrequent presence, and

c.) The Beachside Cafe NOT fulfilling their obligations to the city's residents under their signed lease, which ought to be opened-up to new bidders.
I've got a copy of that contract, so I know exactly what I'm talking about and I can tell you, some of those terms have NOT been honored for years.

In most cases, though, the things I heard about were problems or situations I already knew about or been told about by other HB residents, but every so often, the lifeguards would have something new to add that I hadn't observed or heard elsewhere.
Which, of course, is why I always asked them, no?

For instance, the city NOT having a suitable back-up plan in place when a boat they use to get to swimmers in bad surf conditions, like rip tides, was damaged, and supposedly being repaired.

So, for weeks during the summer, the lifeguards DIDN'T have a resource they needed to keep swimmers safe.
So tell me, why did the city play with the safety of this city's residents and not have a plan?
Who wants to answer that question?

I'll be at the 1 p.m. meeting tomorrow on the beach, although without my foam board with photos and info re longstanding problems at the city's Parks and Public Beach, and the DPW and City Manager's Office ignoring both the problems themselves, and the city employees' very poor work ethic and failure to report the problems up the chain of command.

That foam board I've mentioned previously to some of you via emails, will be in evidence at the O.B. Johnson meeting in NW next Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m., and I encourage you to do the same thing.

The extant flimsy excuse for a primer on the Parks Master Plan is at:
http://fl-hallandalebeach.civicplus.com/DocumentView.aspx?DID=1722

It's an appallingly short five pages and almost entirely devoid of text and also does not identify possible funding sources.

Hallandale Beach Parks & Rec. Master Plan -Southeast Quadrant
Saturday, March 12th, 10:00 a.m.,
Bluesten Park
501 S.E.1st Avenue

Hallandale Beach Parks & Rec. Master Plan -Northeast/Beach Quadrant
Saturday, March 12th, 1:00 p.m.,
North Beach Community Center
2813 E. Hallandale Beach Blvd.

Hallandale Beach's FAILURE of an illegal dumping program

First, you should know that I've been chomping at the bit to write about this particular problem for weeks.

In many ways, it's the story of the City of Hallandale Beach, writ large, a story of longstanding general incompetency and non-existent supervision, shortsighted management coupled with apathy.

In short, a general sense that you shouldn't mention the fact that the city's elected officials and workers have grown SO accustomed to not being held to account, that to actually expect results was not only too much to ask, but in a sense, only asking for MORE trouble.

That this sort of customer-unfriendly attitude would not be tolerated in most other communities around the country goes without saying.

It's the reason that I finally decided to, chose your metaphor, "bite the bullet" and create a blog that would cover the sorts of quality-of-life issues that I noticed daily in my travels throughout Hallandale Beach, Aventura and Hollywood.

There will be dozens of posts along these lines in the coming weeks and months, examining everything from the city's incompetent & non-existent coordination of FDOT contracted construction along US-1 and HBB, the preposterous non-existant street lighting conditions all around the city -but particularly on the three main streets in town, US-1, Hallandale Beach Blvd. and A1A.

I will especially delve deep into the longstanding myriad safety/aesthetic problems at the the beach, which are the responsibility of the city's Dept. of DPW.

This includes, among other things, the city's only having one working bathroom sink in the Men's restroom at North Beach -out of four- from Thanksgiving 'till last week, a total of four months, and the city's contracted out lifeguards from Jeff Ellis & Associates NOT having access to a jet ski to make rescues of beach goers, even while rip tide conditions have been worse than any in memory, et al.

This particular posting though concerns the epidemic and longstanding problem of illegal dumping in Hallandale Beach, and goaded into finally doing something about it, the City of Hallandale Beach announced that, YES, it had a solution.
So Jennifer Lebovich, the Herald's then-HB correspondent, wrote about the policy:

Miami Herald
December 31, 2006
HALLANDALE BEACH
City takes aim at illegal dumpers
The city is offering rewards to people who report illegal trash dumping as part of an effort to clean up the streets in Hallandale Beach.
BY JENNIFER LEBOVICH

Hallandale Beach is cracking down on people who illegally dump trash in vacant lots and on neighborhood roads in the city.
The Police Department has distributed door hangers and passed out brochures explaining how residents can report illegal dumping.
Broward Crime Stoppers also offers up to a $1,000 reward for tips that lead to the arrest of people dumping illegally, city officials said.
The efforts to keep trash piles and other hazardous materials off city streets ties in with the city's Weed and Seed program, a federally funded initiative aimed at revitalizing neighborhoods.
''The illegal dumping is definitely something we are constantly addressing,'' said Becky Wright, the city's Weed and Seed program coordinator.
Residents who spot illegal dumping should write down the location, what is being dumped, the color and make of the vehicle and a description of the people, if possible, and call the non-emergency police line at 954-765-4321.
The Department of Justice awarded $175,000 to the city in October for the Weed and Seed program. Hallandale Beach will receive the grant money for five years and may get additional funding next year, Wright said.
Weed and Seed money is aimed primarily at improving an area called the Palms of Hallandale Beach, ringed by Pembroke Road and Hallandale Beach Boulevard to the north and south, and Dixie Highway and Interstate 95 to the east and west.
The area was identified for the program because of its higher crime rate, Wright said, adding that half of the funds focus on crime prevention and the other half goes to the Police Department to help reduce crime.
Weed and Seed program members are trying to start another initiative called Guiding Good Choices, a five-week parenting program ''designed to help parents guide their kids away from using substances,'' Wright said.
The group also is starting a job training program for people in the community and plans to set up a program to work with people who have been in jail to help them find a job and a place to live.
____________________________________
Then there was the natural follow-up three weeks later in the Neighbors section of the Herald:

Miami Herald
Neighbors Section, Southeast, p. 12
Police implement anti-dumping plan
January 21, 2007
EILEEN SOLER Special to The Miami Herald

Call it a New Year's resolution. Hallandale Beach police are on a mission to put the brakes on illegal dumping -- the sooner the better. "But first we educate," said Capt. Ken Cowley, who is heading the effort.
Hundreds of no-dumping door hangers have been placed at residences throughout the city in recent weeks. Six no dumping signs have new homes and 25 more will be placed in coming weeks. Hundreds of pamphlets have been distributed, and No Trespassing signs -- to deter dumpers -- went up at the train tracks along Dixie Highway.
But Cowley said citizen support is the real key to spreading the word that police are keeping a sharper eye on dumping and dumpers will be prosecuted.
Crime Stoppers of Broward County is helping residents assist the drive by offering a $1,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of illegal dumpers.
"The residents are the ones who see the dumping. We need them to report it," Cowley said.
According to Florida law, dumping less than 15 pounds of noncommercial litter is not a criminal offense, but it carries a $500 fine. Dumping more than 15 pounds of trash but less than 500 pounds is a first-degree misdemeanor that could cost the guilty party up to $1,000, a year in prison, community service and three three points on his or her driver's license.
Dumping more than 500 pounds of commercial trash or hazardous waste is a third-degree felony punishable by up to a $5,000 fine, five years in jail, community service, reparation to the property and the victim, or forfeiture of the vehicle.
"How would you like it if you tried to make your neighborhood nice but people kept dumping trash in your front yard?
The residents are the victims," Cowley said.
Two people have been arrested since the campaign kicked off six weeks ago.
James McCray, a resident since 1999, supports the project. He is one of several workers from Gulfstream Apartments in the city's southwest section who regularly pick up discarded goods from city sidewalks.
"It's a great idea to clean up a big problem. Just last week, I had to clean up three truckloads right off the street," McCray said two weeks ago.
A recent Friday tour of the city's southwest section with local police revealed streets lined with tidy homes and nicely kept lawns but dotted here there and there with piles of furniture, bedding, appliances, broken toys, palm fronds and black plastic bags loaded with garbage.
Several unlabeled jugs of liquid spilled from one hill of trash into the street where children played.
Three unattended pickup trucks loaded with debris were spotted, and another truck, moving through streets loaded with furniture, was stopped by police to teach the driver about dumping laws.
"We have to get the word out. It's all about education," Cowley said.
Workshops will be scheduled shortly for landlords and tenants about rules for discarding trash and other common issues that affect the quality of life at apartment complexes and other multi-unit residences.
The city's Department of Public Health is ready to issue vouchers for residents to take bulk accumulation outside of the city's regular bulk pickup schedule to the Eco Waste dump station at Pembroke Park.
Residents also are asked to call the department when they spot a new dump.
McCray is all for doing his part. "It's late at night when most people come through dumping. They come from wherever they are and dump trash in our neighborhood. It's not right."
For information, call Hallandale Beach Police Community Officer Martin Jackson at 954-457-1400.

Copyright (c) 2007 The Miami Herald
_____________________________
A few days later, on January 27th, the Herald even deigned to dignify this new program by mentioning it in on their editorial page:

HALLANDALE BEACH
CRACKDOWN ON DUMPERS TIMELY
People who get caught and fined for illegal dumping in this city can't say that they haven't been warned. The city is on a mission to keep its streets clean. So Hallandale Beach police have distributed hundreds of no-dumping door hangers and pamphlets with notices of a crackdown. New no-dumping and no-trespassing signs grace more city streets than previously, and more are coming.
Crime Stoppers of Broward County has pitched in by offering a $1,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of illegal dumpers. The campaign is timely now that visitors are increasing to play at the two newly opened slot machine venues or catch a day at the races.
__________________________________________
The problem? It's an abject failure, from beginning to end.
Nothing ever gets done, even when you call.

The day that particular editorial ran in the Herald, there was a pre-existing, three-day old problem that hadn't been properly dealt with by the City of Hallandale Beach and their news crackdown on illegal dumping.
It's the very reason that with the exception of Keith London last month, I've NEVER voted for an incumbent member of the Hallandale Beach City Council -and neither should you.
And never voted for mayor Joy Cooper!
It's also why I particularly loathe William Julian, the member whose insipid comments and questionable lack-of-action make one wonder if he's living in the same town he's supposed to be representing, since he actually takes credit for the way that things are here, something that an objective but critical observer with any sense of quality-of-life issues would find ludicrous.
Julian's comments on development and traffic congestion are all over the place, depending upon who he's speaking with or whether he's "on the record" with the media.
He has a very John Kerry-like quality.

(For the record, I loathe John Kerry, and have ever since I first saw him in action in 1988 at a U.S. Senate hearing dealing with US-Latin American drug interdiction.
I saw how poorly he had a grasp of the basic facts that the other members of the committee, much less the witnesses and the staffers, took for granted. It was apalling as Kerry he talked for the sake of talking -and the cameras.
He was THE most poorly informed person in a crowded room in the largest hearing room in the entire U.S. Senate office complex.
Months later, after seeing him drive past me by himself in his convertible to the RFK 20th Anniversary Memorial out at Arlington National Cemetery, which I'll have a future posting on- which is weird when you think of how many Massachusetts people were going to this event, including his staff, I even dated two different smart and attractive female LAs from his personal staff.
They, like me, veteran Democratic activists and national Democratic campaign workers, voted AGAINST him for President in 2004, almost entirely because we'd seen first hand what a poorly qualified candidate he was, for reasons that most people had never witnessed upclose and personal.)

To better understand the nature of this abject failure of a problem, let me tell you the story of one Hallandale Beach corner on US-1 in particular, which has a long history of being the dumping ground of local residents and area contractors who are too damn lazy to dispose of their garbage appropriately -or legally.

It's a corner that I have called the HB Code Compliance office about 6-8 times over the past few years, usually reaching Corrine Yoder, even requesting that, at a minimum, a "No Dumping" sign be placed there, with the requisite info about fine amounts and a contact number to report violations.

The sort of sign that you take for granted when you travel throughout this country.
A sign was never put up.

The NW corner of US-1/Federal Highway and S.E. 7th Street is directly opposite the Gulfstream Park Race Track & Casino, the city's largest tourist draw, is next to the U.S. Post Office and one long block south of the City of Hallandale Beach Municipal Complex.
It is also directly next to the North Miami Beach Water Interconnector unit that Hallandale Beach can draw water from in case of an emergency.

On February 1st, 2007, I was walking along the sidewalk and discovered the newest contribution to that neighborhood: cat & dog feces mixed-in with bathroom tiles.

Early February 2007 photo by South Beach Hoosier
Gulfstream Park Race Track & Casino in background

Early February 2007 photo by South Beach Hoosier
It's exactly what an illegal dump of cat and dog feces mixed-in with bathroom tiles would look like if you wanted to dump it!

Later that day, a Sunday, I read Soler's article and resolved that if the mess was still there after Monday, I'd call the number mentioned in the story rather than HB's Code Compliance office as I had many times in the past.
Tuesday afternoon, the mess was still there, so I called the Officer Jackson mentioned in the article, and, unable to speak to him, left a very specific description of the situation on the city voicemail, mentioning that the corner was a regular magnet for illegal dumping by residents and contractors, and reminding him that the city had never placed the appropriate sign there.
Weeks and weeks later absolutely nothing has happened.

There will be dozens of posts along these lines in the coming weeks and months.

I have notebooks full of notes and ancdotes which help paint the picture of a city that is run neither well or properly, but rather by the seat of its pants.