FOLLOW me on my popular Twitter feed. Just click this photo! @hbbtruth - David - Common sense on #Politics #PublicPolicy #Sports #PopCulture in USA, Great Britain, Sweden and France, via my life in #Texas #Memphis #Miami #IU #Chicago #DC #FL 🛫🌍📺📽️🏈. Photo is of Elvis and Joan Blackman in 'Blue Hawaii'

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Showing posts with label Marjorie Stoneman Douglas H.S.. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Marjorie Stoneman Douglas H.S.. Show all posts

Monday, August 19, 2019

So THAT just happened... for the worst. Broward County's 325-foot 911 Services radio tower at West Lake Park in #HollywoodFL just got the green light from an independent consultant. So now what? Don't hold your breath, Hollywood!

Today's blog post is the latest update to the neverending story regarding Broward County's longstanding effort to put a 325-foot high 911 emergency services radio tower and antenna in a very popular county park in northern Hollywood off Sheridan Street, West Lake Park. 
Map here: https://goo.gl/maps/mM7qZd1Hz6aBHqx2A

 That plan has been almost universally opposed by the the city's residents and elected officials on largely environmental grounds and financial grounds, though there are clearly many Hollywood homeowners who are opposed to the radio tower being located there for strictly aesthetic reasons, too.
Which is their right, of course.


This blog post will cover what's largely taken place since my last blog post on this issue of May 6th, 2019, The West Lake Park Radio Tower issue is rubbing #HollywoodFL residents the wrong way, esp. people who don't see 325-foot tall radio antennas, even for 911 services, being compatible for a nature park. Especially when there's a better answer available. @SAVEWESTLAKE
https://hallandalebeachblog.blogspot.com/2019/05/the-west-lake-park-radio-tower-issue-is.html


The map above and the following infromation comes straight from Broward County's website:

Consultant Concludes West Lake Park is Best Site for 911 Tower Site

On June 19, Broward County and the City of Hollywood agreed to hire an independent subject matter expert to evaluate two proposed locations for a new radio tower in east Hollywood. The independent expert released his report earlier today and recommends the West Lake Park location (view site map) in lieu of the CIRC Hotel location. Per the terms of the agreement between the City and County, the independent expert’s decision is binding on both parties. Read Consultant Report.
Broward Comm. Beam Furr, a former City of Hollywood Commissioner -and a friend of yours truly- was very articulate and persuasive in pointing out these environmental and financial facts at a summer County Commission meeting, pointing out that having it placed atop The Circ Hotel at Young Circle on U.S.-1/Federal Highway is better for all Broward taxpayers because
a.) it would cost less, and, 
b.) there would be ZERO possibility of storm surge affecting the antenna tower during or after a hurricane, as would be more likely if it's located at West Lake Park.

 As is commonly known, the whole Broward 911 communications system has been a fiasco for many years, with the murders at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywod International Airport in January of 2017 - I knew someone who flew out of the airport shortly before it took place- and the massacre at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas H.S. having revealed the self-evident dangers of the County Commission being  behind-schedule on updating and improving the 911 system for what seems like forever.
That being the case, actually having the radio antenna located in a site that is both cheaper and safer made a lot of sense to me and most of the people I know, whether they were Hollywood residents like me or not.

 But the rest of the Broward County Commission had little-to-no interest in listening to what Comm. Furr and the residents of Hollywood said, and to me seemed to have largely made their minds made up long before the meeting started, as evidenced by many their overly-dramatic self-serving, self-pitying, sanctimonious and sarcastic comments, especially those coming from Comm. Barbara Sharief and Comm. Michael Udine, the latter of whom I zinged on Twitter in late June, as you can see below.
Their whole Chicken Little "sky-is-falling" mindset was embarrassing, though predictable given where we are.

 This all taking place despite the fact that it's clear to anyone paying the slightest bit of attention that the 911 radio tower antenna tower, no matter where it was located in the greater Hollywood area to cover SE Broward, would NOT be complete until... NEXT YEAR.

 I heard one of the county's own experts say that right in front of me at the June meeting in Hollywood.
But to not real effect apparently.
People who know better still claim it will be done this year.
It's simply a preposterous claim, especially if we get anything close to a minor hurricane before the end of November now that we have moved into the heart of hurricane season, where 85% of them emerge.





Photo from @SAVEWESTLAKE




































 

Dave 

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Friday, July 5, 2019

Mystery solved at Broward School Board! The Doctor did it! New York Times revealed that Broward County School Board member Rosalind Osgood used her African-American college sorority, Alpha Kappa Alpha, as a conduit to mobilize supporters of Supt. Robert W. Runcie at BCSB meetings earlier this year debating Runcie's future







  11. So, a big mystery has been solved! This past Monday's New York Times revealed that Broward County School Board's member Rosalind Osgood used her African-American college sorority, Alpha Kappa Alpha, as a conduit to mobilize supporters of Supt. Robert W. Runcie at BCSB meetings earlier this year debating Runcie's future after a series of official Marjorie Stoneman Douglas H.S. investigations found one embarrassing fact and inconsiststency after another that resulted in the death of 17 students and teachers on northwest Broward last Valentine's Day.

  13. On Monday afternoon I tweeted the information at the top about Stephanie Saul's NY Times July 1st article with the previously unknown facts about Osgood's fervent effort to defend Supt. Runcie, which came at the tail end of a story about California Senator and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris, which was titled,
  14. "Riding the Post-Debate Buzz With Kamala Harris’s Sorority Sisters" by Stephanie Saul July 1, 2019


  18. t certainly explains a LOT of what the public saw in March and April at the Broward School Board.
  19. All the church buses full of people who didn;t seem to want to let facts get in the way of their arguments.

  21. Too bad we have to wait to find out months later about what was really going on behind-the-scenes them from the New York Times, and not a South Florida-based media organization.
  22. So, when family members or people you know outside of Broward ask why things are the way they are in Broward, or why some talented people that this area desperately needs MORE of down here, prefer NOT to move or transfer to a business in Broward if they have school-age kids, as realtors already know, now, you'll know a little bit more of what to tell them about why that might be so. 
  23. Results matter.
  24. Well, except here in Broward.

  26. This article reveals the mindset of one of the persons making important decisions here that many reasonable people find galling, questionable and more than a little bit condescending and patronizing, if not downright insulting. 

  28. The germane information comes at, literally, the very end of the article






  30. Though Dr. Glover, the group’s leader, emphasized that the organization is apolitical, the behind-the-scenes clout of A.K.A. was a factor last year in a Broward County, Fla., school fight, according to Rosalind Osgood, a member of both the Broward school board and A.K.A.

  32. Sitting in the large indoor Opryland atrium during a break in the convention, Dr. Osgood described how the group was used to mobilize opposition to the attempted ouster of Robert Runcie, the Broward school district superintendent, in March 2018, a month after the Parkland school shooting.

  34. Dr. Osgood viewed the effort to remove Mr. Runcie as politically motivated and possibly tied to race. She thought it sought to place blame for the horrific shootings on a black man.

  36. “There was a massive move to remove Bob,” she said, “who had nothing to do with the shooting. With our local chapters of Alpha Kappa Alpha, we were able to work with churches to organize 700 people who showed up to a community forum on school safety, and then organize 2,100 people to show up to a school board meeting where the vote was taken.” The effort to oust Mr. Runcie was defeated.

  38. Dr. Osgood, a minister, said she had decided to endorse Ms. Harris while at the convention.

  40. “I think what she represents is historic for women across generations,” Dr. Osgood said. “She breaks all the traditional boundaries and status quos.”




  41. The first time I ever heard of Roslaind Osgood was in Tom Lauder's Red Broward blog on October 29th, 2011:
  42. https://redbroward.com/2011/10/29/rosalind-osgood-louis-kushner-want-to-be-on-the-broward-school-board/






  44. Rosalind Osgood filed for the District 5 seat currently held by Benjamin Williams. Ms. Osgood appears to have ties to disgraced Broward Democrat legislator Mandy Dawson and Broward Democrat operative Terry Scott. More to come…




  45. She was endorsed by the Broward Teachers Union and opposed in the 2012 election by Torey Alston, who was then the top aide for Broward County Comm. Barbara Sharief, and someone whom I spoke to and communicated with every now and then since western Hallandale Beach was and is part of her Commission district.

  47. Tom's popular Twitter handle is at https://twitter.com/RedBroward/with_replies

  49. Months later, right before the election, I wrote the following email that was sent to a few hundred people throughout the area, including members of the press who had taken a hands-off approach to vetting Osgood and her odd policy prescriptions, which is never a good thing.
  50. My subject header?  
    Ethics questions re someone who teach ethics -and her Tallahassee lobbyist friend- who also happens to be a candidate for Broward School Board





  51. Might be time for the South Florida news media to ask Rosalind Osgood, cited in this article, what she SPECIFICALLY plan to do for Broward County kids, parents and taxpayers if elected from District 5 that doesn't involve churches.
    52. Torey Alston has been specific, consistent and articulate about what tangible goals he supports in changing the culture and expectations of kids, and how he would accomplish those goals if elected.
    The political romantic in me thinks that should really count for something, something positive, but if nobody in the news media notices...
    Just saying...
    I then had a link to a story that I thought was not getting enough attention:




  52. Broward School Board Candidate Tapping Funds from Controversial ...
    Broward School Board candidate Rosalind Osgood is tapping funds from controversial Tallahassee lobbyist David E. Ramba, official campaign records show.
    florida.mediatrackers.org/.../broward-school-board-candidate-t...
  53. That email eventually became my blog post of August 27, 2012
  54. Ethics questions re someone (Rosalind Osgood) who teaches ethics -and her Tallahassee lobbyist friend- who also happens to be a candidate for Broward School Board District 5
  55. http://hallandalebeachblog.blogspot.com/2012/08/ethics-questions-re-someone-rosalind.html

  57. Since it is short -for one of my blog posts- I'm going to re-post it here in its entirety:

  58. Ethics questions re someone (Rosalind Osgood) who teaches ethics -and her Tallahassee lobbyist friend- who also happens to be a candidate for Broward School Board District 5

    Might be time for the South Florida news media to have a nice heart-to-heart talk with Broward School Board candidate Rosalind Osgood, cited in this disturbing piece that I first discovered via one of my many Google Alerts:

    Media Trackers
    Broward School Board Candidate Tapping Funds from Controversial Lobbyist
    By Tom Lauder
    24TH AUG 2012 AT 17:05
    Broward School Board candidate Rosalind Osgood is tapping funds from controversial Tallahassee lobbyist David E. Ramba, official campaign records show. Heading into the November runoff for the School Board position, Ramba, his companies, and political committees under his control have already given $4,000 to Osgood.
    Read the rest of the post at:

    The most obvious question of several would be to ask her what she SPECIFICALLY plans to do for Broward County kids, parents and taxpayers if elected from District 5 that doesn't involve churches.
    But then there are all those other obvious questions, too.

    On the other hand, her opponent, Torey Alston, has been specific, consistent and articulate about what tangible goals he supports in changing the fractured culture at the very unpopular, disconnected and self-serving elected Broward School Board, where along with their top-heavy administrative staff, their policy-making for years has largely consisted of chasing their tails and getting upset about how they are portrayed (accurately) by the news media who holds a mirror up to them. (That's Ann Murray's specialty!)

    Alston has also been specific, consistent and articulate about how he would accomplish those goals if elected -including expanding vocational training opportunities- which is precisely the sort of specifics that civic-minded parents and taxpayers are always calling for in an election year, right?
    I mention that here because the political romantic in me thinks THAT should really count for something, something positive, but if nobody in the South Florida news media notices...
    And just so we're clear about what I mean by that, that's REAL reporting about the race in the Herald and Sun-Sentinel that consists of more than a dozen two-sentence paragraphs about their bios AFTER Early Voting has already started.
    To say nothing of what ought to be on TV newscasts.

    That is, if the news media really believes that public education is as important as they keep saying it is, even while the Herald STILL lacks an engaged and well-informed Education blog in the year 2012.

    Just saying...
  59. ----
  60. Unfortunately, Osgood won the election against Alston 50,500 to 22,065, i.e. 56.337% to 22,065, in a race that had an undercount of 17,257, or over 19%.

  62. My wrap up of that and other 2012 General Election races in Broward came on NOVEMBER 13, 2012 and was titled, Speaking of diversity and backsliding on ethics, Broward County School Board becoming an all-female enclave is NOT good news for concerned taxpayers & parents: expect even more micro-managing and time wasted on trivial matters made melodramatic because these particular people, literally, can't help but pander; Broward Schools Supt. Runcie in Hollywood on Thursday night at the Boulevard Heights Community Center
  63. http://hallandalebeachblog.blogspot.com/2012/11/speaking-of-diversity-and-backsliding.html

  65. My last blog post that mentioned Dr. Osgood was this one, though there are probably a few since then on the School Board where I didn;t have enough character space in my "tag" to include her.

  67. WEDNESDAY, JUNE 3, 2015 Broward County residents increasingly dismayed by brazenness of Broward County Schools Supt. Robert W. Runcie & Broward School Board's Ann Murray and Rosalind Osgood's actions re bond $$ transparency & oversight; @Florida_Bulldog @Buddynevins
  68. http://hallandalebeachblog.blogspot.com/2015/06/broward-county-residents-increasingly.html

  70. So, all of this is to say that Dr. Osgood and her personality and her beliefs and her actions, above and below the radar, to say nothing of her often vitriolic, race-baiting comments in public and at meetings, have been on MY radar for over eight years.
  71. If you think that most reporters who cover her and mention her know her less well, especially at local Miami TV stations, well, you might be right, non?






  73. Rosalind Osgood is running for re-election next year, and one of the announced candidates against her is veteran Broward educator Tim W. Sternberg, who is someone who has Followed me on Twitter for quite awhile, and someone whom I frequently tag on my Tweets about the Broward School Board, education policy and ethics in Broward County government.
  74. @TimWSternberg https://twitter.com/TimWSternberg

  76. If you are curious, you can see those particular tweets here, with the most recent at top. There are quite a lot!:
  77. https://twitter.com/search?f=tweets&vertical=default&q=%40TimWSternberg%2C%20%40hbbtruth&src=typd
  78.  


  80. Dave 
    David B. Smith 

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