Some prescient mid-2013 thoughts re 2014 Florida House 100 race: Sunshine State News calls it a "Democratic Battleground" for next year's open seat, with carpetbagger Joe Gibbons term-limited, but the new FL-100 district is now more Moderate and MUCH MORE Hispanic than old one was; Liberals Joe Geller and Alexander Lewy DON'T want to amend 'Stand Your Ground' but to kill it, putting them in a sub-minority position within both the state and the area -the 13%. Residents are NOT interested in giving away useful tool that makes at least some criminals think twice before attacking them; This seat is tailor-made for a certain kind of smart, personable and articulate Moderate interested in public policy that works, not partisan politics, but will one emerge, and if so, will they be from Aventura or Sunny Isles Beach? And will that Moderate candidate be a Female?

Democratic battleground emerges for South Florida open House seat http://t.co/kUSneVdiCv #SSNalerts #sayfie
— Sunshine State News (@SSNAlerts) July 24, 2013

Sunshine State News

Democratic Battleground Emerges for South Florida Open House Seat

By Kevin Derby

Posted: July 24, 2013 3:55 AM

With Rep. Joe Gibbons, D-Pembroke Park, facing term limits in 2014, three Democratic candidates are already running hard to replace him in the Florida House. Gibbons, who is now running for the Broward County Commission, represents parts of Broward and Miami-Dade counties.

So far, former North Bay Village Mayor Joe Geller, Hallandale Beach Vice Mayor Alex Lewy and teacher John Paul Alvarez are seeking the Democratic nomination to replace Gibbons. 

Read the rest of the article at:
http://www.sunshinestatenews.com/story/democratic-battleground-emerges-south-florida-open-house-seat

That's curious!

Voluble former Florida Senate Minority Leader Steve Geller's name never gets mentioned once in this interesting Sunshine State News article I read this morning, and neither do any of his very helpful friends in the area and their well-financed groups & PACS they represent, most of whom will be involved with his brother Joe's FL-100 campaign at some point.

Also never mentioned -whether another more pragmatic candidate from either Aventura, Miami Beach or Sunny Isles may yet emerge and get into the race against three very Liberal candidates, all of whom are Men.

In my estimation, an articulate and personable Moderate candidate focused more on genuine problem-solving, more Transparency and common sense in government, and decidedly less-inclined towards the sort of knee-jerk liberal orthodoxy in the year 2013 that the three current Democratic candidates continually exhibit -candidates who despite lots of time to think of a good answer, STILL CAN'T explain how they'll differentiate themselves before next August's primary- would do quite well in a much-changed legislative district presently represented by term-limited carpetbagger Joe Gibbons.

http://www.myfloridahouse.gov/FileStores/Web/District/2013_Districts/large/H000H9049_district_100wmap.pdf

A district that's changed in important ways and that as of this past November, encompasses everything in the area east of U.S.-1/Biscayne Blvd. at Sheridan Street to State Road A1A, from just south of State Road 84/ Port Everglades in Ft. Lauderdale on the north, south from Dania to Hollywood and then HB, past Aventura, Eastern Shores, Sunny Isles Beach, North Miami and south of Bal Harbour and Surfside on the east, to the northern parts of Miami Beach.

Among other things, not that you've seen it mentioned anywhere by the South Florida news media, but the new FL-100 has six times as many constituents who classify themselves as Hispanic as African-American.

Hmm-m...

One of the good points of this profile of the candidates is that it specifically brings up Stand Your Ground, SYG.

http://www.sunshinestatenews.com/story/florida-voters-support-stand-your-ground-laws

Contrary to some Dems & Reps legislators who want to "Amend" SYG to make it "better" by being more specific about the exact circumstances under which it can be employed and used as a valid defense in court -regarding the initiation of contact or what is a reasonable, perceived threat, et al- as the link above says quite clearly, "Amend" is currently supported

by only 31% of FL's population.

So in that respect, both Lewy and Geller are real outliers on this issue by being within that 13% sub-minority that want to kill it entirely by repealing it, putting them in a minority opinion position not only within the state, but in my opinion, also within the immediate area.

Seriously, why would anyone in this area with its constant and well-founded fear of opportunistic crime want to help the criminals and actually make it harder for innocent people to defend themselves?

As a Moderate-to-Conservative person, I think that stand of theirs only further highlights their general incompatibility with this changed district, and their future ineffectiveness if somehow elected to the position.

It's for reasons like that that I continue to believe that a reasonably well-financed Moderate candidate, one who's properly focused on actually fixing problems in the state and improving the area's overall Quality of Life -which HAS clearly been diminishing- and bringing middle-management jobs to Florida, could win the race in November, whether a Democrat or a Republican. 

Even while Geller and Lewy cannibalize each other over the next 12 months over who can be the biggest Liberal before the party primary.

And if that candidate to enter the race believes in what I've set forth as a very sound platform is an articulate and personable Moderate Woman, possibly a savvy and telegenic businesswoman from Aventura or Sunny Isles Beach, even more so.

Sunshine State News, @SSNAlerts  https://twitter.com/SSNAlerts 

More tangible proof of how reluctant the news media in South Florida is to directly challenge Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz and report negative news stories about her, even when there's lots of facts to back it up, including court documents. And, how desperate DWS was to have a new FL-23 that was loaded with as many Jewish voters as possible, regardless of what Broward voters actually wanted: Fair Districts

More tangible proof of how reluctant the news media in South Florida is to directly challenge Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz and report negative news stories about her, even when there's lots of facts to back it up, including court documents.

Romo v. Scott court documents prove that my friends and I live in one of “the most gerrymandered congressional districts” in the U.S., FL-23, in large part because Rep.  Debbie Wasserman-Schultz laughs privately at the high-minded rhetoric of and expressed angst of Fair Districts proponents, as well as the Florida League of Women Voters, Common Cause Florida and La Raza.

She's just smart enough not to laugh at them publicly where she can be caught on camera engaging in her hypocrisy.

Despite all the proof in the world that the South Florida news media is ignoring this court case up in Tallahassee, the actual facts of this case prove rather conclusively, as I have argued and previously written here over the past few years, that regardless of the sentiment of voters, DWS wanted an un-competitive and unfair Congressional District drawn up that was loaded with as many Jewish voters as possible.

For more on that, see my November 22, 2011 blog post titled, No Fair Districts here: Surprise! NAACP's proposed 2012 map keeps HB & Hollywood divided: Blacks given to Frederica Wilson, Jews to DWS; told ya!
http://hallandalebeachblog.blogspot.com/2011/11/no-fair-districts-here-surprise-naacps.html

She wanted that even if that meant intentionally dividing counties, towns or precincts rather than keeping them intact, as FairDistrictsFlorida.org and Good Govt. types publicly argued for in their public redistricting campaigns of 2011-2012 for Amendment 6, which passed overwhelmingly.

But DWS didn't care a whit about what the voters of Florida and Broward wanted, she wanted a congressional district that required little personal presence or high-maintenance.

A CD which would allow her to continue to remain a prominent National Democrat figure who could fly around the country giving speeches and raising money -and appearing on TV!- NOT be burdened by old-fashioned notions of public service or or even parochial concerns like re-election.

DWS wanted what she wanted and she wanted it badly, regardless of the fact that the overwhelming majority of voters in Florida, Broward County and her own district wanted Fair Districts with reasonable standards. 
Period.

Now we know how badly she wanted it.

To configure a fanciful map to her personal liking, one that ignored the interests of citizens wanting to NOT be divided by race or ethnicity or see their community's historical integrity
sub-divided, required her & consultants and allies "to scoop as many Jews out of Tamarac and Sunrise as they can” to quote emails of Democratic Party consultants that have been released

So that's exactly what DWS did, with the stealthy cooperation of other powerful Broward Democratic pols. 

So why is the South Florida news media ignoring this? 

And, the Florida League of Women Voters, its Broward chapter and Common Cause Florida? 

Why are they so quiet about having been played for suckers by DWS and her pals?

Washington Free Beacon
Gerrymanders Gone Wild
Dem congressmen oversaw Florida gerrymander, emails reveal 
By C.J. Ciaramella
April 5, 2013 3:29 pm

Florida Democrats coordinated with national party organizations and consultants in early 2012 to gerrymander congressional districts despite a state ban on such activities, emails obtained by the Washington Free Beacon show.

The top state and national party leaders, including Florida congressmen Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Ted Deutsch, and Alecee Hastings, signed off on the gerrymandered maps, according to the emails released during court discovery in Romo v. Scott, a legal challenge to redistricting maps that the GOP-controlled state legislature approved in 2012.

Read the rest of the article, complete with the damning emails at:

http://freebeacon.com/gerrymanders-gone-wild/

This bit of news closely followed three weeks later with something we'd first read at Sunshine State News on March 19th, below, which we found interesting enough to send its link it along to some friends around the state as a sign that there was much more here than first meets the eye.

Unfortunately and yet typically, the South Florida news media was doing their best to avoid reporting on, you know, like real facts from real emails that get to the heart of the matter.

But then you already know from what I've written here so many times previously, with specific examples, how the South Florida new media is cowed by DWS and will literally jump on a thrown hand-grenade for her, in order to stay on her good side, especially the reporters and management at the Sun-Sentinel.

Wasserman Schultz, Nan Rich, Rod Smith Tried to Gerrymander; Blamed GOP for Doing Same
By Eric Giunta
Posted: March 19, 2013 3:55 AM

Court documents obtained by Sunshine State News show that top Florida Democrats were involved in just the sort of activity they are accusing Republicans of: gerrymandering districts to increase their candidates' electoral prospects.

http://www.sunshinestatenews.com/story/debbie-wasserman-schultz-nan-rich-rod-smith-tried-gerrymander-blamed-gop-doing-same

Curiously, at least to me, Mary Ellen Klas of the Times/Herald, subject of this post
wrote on February 4th about the facts that had emerged thus far with the GOP's efforts to ensure more GOP districts within the Sunshine State,

Emails show legislative staff and RPOF talked about redistricting despite ban

Mary Ellen Klas, Times/Herald Tallahassee Bureau

Monday, February 4, 2013 7:12pm

Florida’s legislative leaders appear to have authorized their staff to use private email accounts, secret “dropboxes” and to engage in “brainstorming meetings” with Republican Party of Florida consultants in attempting to draw favorable political districts, despite a constitutional ban on such coordination. 

The allegations arise from a lawsuit challenging the Senate and congressional redistricting that include emails showing how top deputies of Senate President Don Gaetz, House Speaker Will Weatherford and several of Gaetz’s consultants were in frequent contact with consultants who drafted and analyzed maps. Redistricting is done every 10 years to redraw boundaries of legislative and congresssional districts to ensure equal representation.

Read the rest of the post at:

http://www.tampabay.com/blogs/the-buzz-florida-politics/content/emails-show-legislative-staff-and-rpof-talked-about-redistricting-despite-ban/2105386

But Klas has written nothing at all in the two intervening months about the more recent documents released that have proven so revealing about the facts and intentions of Democrats Nan Rich, Alcee Hastings, Ted Deutsch and DWS, even while the Miami Herald's Marc Caputo has.


Naked Politics blog
Miami Herald
Insider emails show FL Democrats wanted to gerrymander redistricting just like GOP
By Marc A. Caputo
March 5, 2013

Read more here: http://miamiherald.typepad.com/nakedpolitics/2013/03/insider-emails-show-fl-democrats-tried-to-gerrymander-redistricting-just-like-gop.html##storylink=cpy

Florida Democrats plotted with top leaders and consultants to redraw congressional districts to benefit their party, according to new court records that show they were just as interested in gerrymandering as Republicans.

Democratic-leaning groups are challenging the new congressional maps in court, saying Republicans broke a state constitutional amendment by drawing districts that favored or disfavored political parties and incumbents.

Read the rest of the post at: 
http://miamiherald.typepad.com/nakedpolitics/2013/03/insider-emails-show-fl-democrats-tried-to-gerrymander-redistricting-just-like-gop.html#more

Why the disparity in coverage by Klaas?

Just so you know, I've spend some time researching and now can tell you how many original news stories on the facts involved in the Romo v. Scott court case have actually appeared in the news media of her Congressional District, and specifically what DWS did.

And by original, I mean something created or produced by the actual staff of those media organizations, not the Associated Press dispatches they throw on their websites that few readers or viewers ever see:

CBS-4, NBC6, Channel 7(Fox) and Channel 10 (ABC) or the South Florida Sun-Sentinel: ZERO.
Not just ZERO each, ZERO collectively.

Welcome to the not-so-curious world of the South Florida news media of 2013! 

Not so much watchdogs as lapdogs, esp. when it comes to DWS.

Since they aren't inclined towards doing any old-fashioned reporting on this subject, here's a good place to start:
http://redistricting.lls.edu/cases-FL.php#FL

As for FairDistrictsFlorida.org, whom I became very publicly disillusioned with last year after they completely failed to prepare to hold or co-host any sort of public forum in Broward County prior to visits by the traveling Florida Senate Redistricting Committee, you can see their comments here: http://www.fairdistrictsnow.org/home/
I no longer trust what they say -just like I don't trust anything said by DWS.

Happy 4th Anniversary, Mayor Cooper's un-necessary, taxpayer-subsidized office! Which, four years later, STILL isn't even listed on City Hall's own building directory; #HallandaleBeach, @MayorCooper

Above, Hallandale Beach City Hall, October 15, 2012 photo by South Beach Hoosier. © 2013 Hallandale Beach Blog, All Rights Reserved.

Happy 4th Anniversary, Mayor Cooper's un-necessary, taxpayer-subsidized office! 

Which, four years later, STILL isn't even listed on City Hall's own building directory

Under the City of Hallandale Beach's charter, the only additional power that the elected mayor

has that the four elected city commissioners don't possess is the right to call a meeting and

the right to preside over it. 

That's it.

That's the whole list.

Over four years ago, Mayor Cooper convinced then-City manager Mike Good that despite the

fact that these differences were very slight on the face of it, she believed that she needed to have a much-larger office than her colleagues on the commission, and so, thousands of tax dollars were spent to ensure that Mayor Cooper got what she wanted.

Yes, no expense or amount of feigned ignorance is spared to keep her happy.

And not just a larger office in the back with the other commissioners, but right on the main hallway, just a short distance from where visitors get off the elevator.

Which is how four years ago this week, just as the mayor returned from the first Obama

Inaugural, at taxpayer expense,

http://www.browardbeat.com/the-pix-broward-ds-at-inauguration/#comment-1217822

that office burst onto the scene, becoming perhaps the only mayor's office in Broward County

or all of South Florida that isn't actually listed on their own City Hall's directory, in this case, the one located to your left as you walk thru the front lobby door.

Yes, because every queen must not only have her own palace, but her privacy... even it's paid for with taxpayer dollars.

http://hallandalebeachblog.blogspot.com/2009/01/my-mayor-went-to-inaugural-but-all-i.html

http://hallandalebeachblog.blogspot.com/2009/02/mayor-coopers-economic-stimulus-plan.html

In other news, somehow, inexplicably given the known facts, Hallandale Beach doesn't land

on the list of the worst-run cities in America because of... well, a technicality.

Because it's not among the 100 largest cities:

http://www.sunshinestatenews.com/story/florida-lands-three-cities-among-americas-worst-run

I know what you're thinking.

What a cruel fate for Hallandale Beach Mayor Joy Cooper -to be denied her rightful 

pride-of-place on a list of the worst-run cities in America, merely because our town is too short for the ride. 

Yes, it's so very, very cruel...

Again? Sunshine State News details more suspect behavior from FairDistricts Florida & their Democratic allies re 2012 redistricting: the very epitome of a backroom deal -theirs! Is that why FairDistricts NEVER submitted a plan in November?

Again? Sunshine State News details even more suspect behavior from the folks at FairDistricts Florida and their Democratic allies re 2012 redistricting: the very epitome of a backroom deal -theirs! 
Is that why Fair Districts NEVER submitted a plan in November?


Coming fresh on the heels of my email and subsequent blog post of Tuesday the 17th, titled

Hypocrisy on FL Redistricting: Why FairDistricts Florida & Florida League of Women Voters are early contenders for this blog's Turkey of the Year Award -all talk, little action and no submitted maps before the legal deadline
http://hallandalebeachblog.blogspot.com/2012/04/hypocrisy-on-fl-redistricting-why.html
and the rather stunning news Thursday from Peter Schorschsain at Saint Petersblog that showed how very suspect the judgement of someone at the top like Ellen Freidin (and her husband) were to even the appearance of impropriety... 


Saint Petersblog
Law firm of Fair Districts’ Freidin’s husband donates $500 to 3 FL Supr. Ct. justices before redistricting hearing
Posted by Peter Schorsch, April 19th, 2012
http://saintpetersblog.com/2012/04/law-firm-of-fair-districts-friedins-husband-donates-500-to-3-fl-supr-ct-justices-before-redistricting-hearing/
it's clear that the folks who, first, wanted my signature, and then months later, my vote -twice- are guilty of pulling a fraud all this time, despite their lofty-sounding rhetoric.


And now the specific details of that betrayal are starting to publicly emerge.


The total number of maps submitted by the public to the Florida Senate redistricting committee by the November 1st, 2011 5 p.m. deadline was 156.
Seriously, it's one thing to complain from the sidelines, but to remain on the sidelines and  submit ZERO actual plans to the state Senate to vote upon after you actually win a resounding victory from Florida voters with 63% of the vote?
What sort of geniuses do that?


Plus, in case you forgot the chronology, on January 27th, there was this bit of news regarding Senate Minority Leader Nan Rich from western Broward:
Rich decides not to file amendment for Dems redistricting map
http://miamiherald.typepad.com/nakedpolitics/2012/01/rich-decides-not-to-file-amendment-redistricting-map.html


Yes, this all sounds remarkably like someone who wins the war but then loses the peace.
It sounds suspiciously and clumsily Dan Gelber-like to me.


As I wrote here on Tuesday in that referenced blog post, the Republican-controlled Florida Legislature, thru the Senate Redistricting Comm. had a terrific information-filled website, a  Twitter feed and a YouTube Channel to share information, including clips from the actual redistricting meetings that were held around the state.


Conversely, today, April 22, 2012, when you go to YouTube and do a search for "Ellen Freidin," assuming that over a period of three years, there surely must be at least a few dozen or so videos of her that are at least 30-seconds or longer that have been posted there where she was at least one of the guests -if not the sole interview- of one of the dozens of TV stations in Florida, or even newspaper-affiliated blogs with a YouTube Channel -another area where the Miami Herald is MIA- guess what you find?

No video results for “"Ellen Freidin"”

Surprise!


On the plus side, because most of the videos that were shown as results for the Freidin search were from the Ellen DeGeneres Show, no matter how many times you do it, we were reminded once again of "Kristen Bell's Sloth Meltdown"
Yes, the lovely, talented and clearly quite-a-handful Miss Bell.







Sunshine State News

Democrats Tried to Hatch Back-Door 'Deal' on Redistricting, Don Gaetz Says

By Kenric Ward

Posted: April 21, 2012 3:55 AM

While publicly posturing for "fairness" in redistricting, a group of top Florida Democrats privately pushed for maps that would benefit party brass, according to documents obtained by Sunshine State News.

Read the rest of the amazing story at: 

http://www.sunshinestatenews.com/story/democrats-tried-hatch-backdoor-deal-redistricting-don-gaetz-says


Well, it's not like we weren't warned in advance, is it?


Nope, over two  years ago there were clear signs of what has come to pass.
Ellen Freidin was given the opportunity by the Florida Senate to try putting together maps according to the parameters of the two Amendments to the Florida Constitution that I voted fo, after urging their passage here on this blog many times.


As Bill Coterell's column below shows, she turned them down.
Earlier this year, they renewed that same offer
She turned them down again. 
So what are we left to think?


Redistricting proposals under fire

Legislators challenge FairDistricts Florida head to redraw district lines

By Bill Cotterell, Florida Capital Bureau

February 12, 2010

Florida's two most powerful legislators challenged the head of the FairDistricts Florida campaign Thursday to draw a legal congressional map under the terms the group's proposed constitutional amendment would require if passed.

Ellen Freidin, who chaired the petition campaign that put two constitutional amendments on the November ballot, declined the offer. Worn out by more than three hours of what she described as often rude questions, she accepted software and a batch of paperwork from the 2002 redistricting but said she won't bother trying to draw congressional lines that might suit the openly hostile House and Senate committees.

"Many of the members of this committee are very concerned about losing their opportunity to redraw the districts in 2012 in order to insure their own political perpetuation," she said. "I actually wasn't expecting to be treated quite as rudely as I think that I was treated, quite frankly, but I was expecting a lot of resistance."

FairDistrict's proposed amendments, on the ballot Nov. 2, would prohibit new congressional and legislative districts drawn to favor or handicap any political party or incumbent officeholders. Districts would have to be as nearly equal in population as practical, be compact and respect the boundaries of cities, counties and other communities as much as possible.

They would still be subject to minority-access rulings of the U.S. Supreme Court and the 1965 Voting Rights Act. But legislators would no longer be able to concentrate blacks, Hispanics and certain party members into a few districts.

Sen. Mike Haridopolos, R-Merritt Island, and Rep. Dean Cannon, R-Winter Park, offered to fly Freidin back to Tallahassee, give her access to House and Senate staff and provide any other data or help she needs to draw a sample congressional map.

"This is not rocket science," Freidin, a Miami lawyer, said at a joint meeting of the House and Senate committees. "This Legislature is totally capable of drawing maps with these standards."

Haridopolos and Cannon then pounced.

"We'll give you the software, a week, two weeks, if it's so easy to do," said Haridopolos. "You take the 2002 census data and draw us 25 congressional districts that meet your easy-to-reach criteria."

He added, "Theory is one thing, practice is another."

Freidin asked, "Are you suggesting that redistricting maps can be drawn simply by putting data into a computer?" She said it takes census data, voter registration numbers, performance data from past elections, public testimony by voters and "the collegial work of the legislative body" — none of which she could duplicate in an experiment.

"Will you do it or not?" asked Cannon.

"I don't have a Legislature to work with me on this," she replied. "I don't have public hearings."

Senate Minority Leader Al Lawson, D-Tallahassee, told Freidin he has been in the House or Senate through two remapping sessions, in 1992 and 2002, and that it would be impossible to protect minority districts without some "collusion" between the parties. He said the number of black members in the Legislature would decline if members were forbidden to consider party affiliation or incumbency when drawing district lines.

"I absolutely cannot say this more unequivocally," she replied. "There is not any reason to think this is going to impact negatively on minority representation."

She took the occasion to announce that the Florida State Conference of NAACP Branches has endorsed the two amendments.

"I know what took place at the table, at night, looking at maps," said Lawson. "We (Democrats) were in the majority then and when we drew them, we thought we were protecting Democrats, and they got defeated anyway."

More than two years later, it's clearly too late for Freiden, Gelber & Company to call a crisis management firm to save them.
They have met the enemy and it is themselves.
-----
http://miamiherald.typepad.com/nakedpolitics/florida-redistricting/


http://htpolitics.com/?s=redistricting


http://www.tampabay.com/blogs/the-buzz-florida-politics/category/buzz-tags/florida-redistricting


http://saintpetersblog.com/



www.floridaredistricting.org


http://mydistrictbuilder.wordpress.com/



http://www.capitaldatelineonline.com/


http://www.sunshinestatenews.com/


August 31, 2009 Buzz blog
http://www.tampabay.com/blogs/the-buzz-florida-politics/content/ellen-freidin-fair-districts-fla-no-democratic-scheme 

Sorry, discerning news consumers in FL aren't buying the self-pity being sold by Tallahassee-based media re Gov. Rick Scott, the anti (Charlie) Crist

I've been waiting a bit to drop this post of mine just to see if there was any more secondary coverage of this story about new Florida governor Rick Scott and the expectations, assumptions and presumptions of the Tallahassee-based media that covers the Florida legislature, the governor's office and what passes for Junior Varsity political intrigue and machinations.

I figured I'd give it about a week and a week has come and gone, so here we are.

Excerpt from my email of January 31st titled SunshineStateNews.com: Gov. Rick Scott, Hero; Press Corps, Zero

Below, a variation of the story that received prominent coverage last week in the Miami Herald and the St. Pete Times and several other places around the state, all to little practical effect

You remember, the story about the last-minute dinner at the Governor's Mansion, where the person chosen to be the 'pool reporter' had other plans and said nyet, throwing 'journalism' into a tailspin?

Meanwhile, no matter how many facts and photos I use to persuade South Florida print or TV reporters to express any curiosity at all about a public building in Hallandale Beach -just steps from the beach- that has only been open three times to the public in what will be 42 months on Thursday, and for which hundreds of thousands of Hallandale Beach taxpayer dollars has been spent, and no doubt, wasted, reporters just yawn.

With one exception, Stefan Kamph Hallandale Beach's North Beach Facility Might Finally Open, After Four Years
http://blogs.browardpalmbeach.com/juice/2011/01/hallandale_beach_north_beach_opening.php

That, after all this incompetency, the the city manger here has pledged to keep it closed to the taxpayers of this city is the ultimate insult, but to local reporters, they just roll their eyes at this news, one more fact they could care less about.

It's a story which if it happened in Coral Gables or Miami Beach would've been on the front page of the Herald's very loosely-edited State & Local section, perhaps with some critical comments later in the editorial page asking with mock dismay, who elected the unelected City Manger, Mark Antonio, to keep a public building closed to the public?

But because it's not located in those cities, it wasn't the predicate to a zinging editorial that lowered-the-boom on Antonio and HB City Hall.

It's the news story that never happened, the one that so perfectly illustrates the dilemma for Hallandale Beach citizen taxpayers -caught between the longstanding incompetency and anti-democratic nature of HB City Hall officials, pols and their cronies, and a press corps that doesn't even pretend to be curious.

But now, I'm supposed to care about a meal at the governor's mansion, featuring some people I've never heard of?
No sale.

-------

Miami Herald
Scott's media limits upset journalists
By Michelle Morgante Associated Press
January 20, 2011

TALLAHASSEE- Journalists who cover Florida's capital complained to industry leaders Tuesday that the new administration of Gov. Rick Scott is skirting free-press traditions and attempting to control their work by limiting access to events and being slow to provide public records.

Speaking to the board of the Florida Society of News Editors, nine Tallahassee correspondents said Scott's team is imposing an unprecedented level of control over access to Scott and to events that previously would have been considered open. The governor's office also has tried to "cherry-pick'' reporters to provide pooled reports to the rest of the press corps, instead of allowing the journalists to choose.

Bob Rathgeber, senior staff writer for The News-Press of Fort Myers, said Scott, a former healthcare executive, apparently wants to continue operating as if he were still in the private sector, not public office.

"He doesn't care whether we have complaints or not,'' Rathgeber said. "He's from the private sector and he's a private guy.''

The journalists pointed to several examples, including a post-inauguration reception held on the scenic 22nd floor of the state Capitol, where Scott's staff restricted access to a select few.

The event was in a public building and the entire state Legislature had been invited, noted Mary Ellen Klas of The Miami Herald. "That, on its surface, struck me as a public meeting. . . . There's no reason they should be shutting the public out.''

But Klas and others, including an AP reporter, were booted out. The reporters said Scott's staff said a pooled report would be provided and argued that the journalists had accepted the arrangement. She and the other reporters speaking Tuesday said they'd never accepted such a deal. Pool reports typically are only agreed to when space is unavoidably limited, such as aboard an airplane, and the selection of the journalist is made by the participating media groups.

A voice message and an e-mail seeking reaction Tuesday from Scott's communications director, Brian Burgess, were not immediately answered.

The reporters also pointed to an incident last week, when Scott and several lawmakers gathered at the governor's mansion for a dinner. Scott's staff made no announcement about the dinner but, upon deciding the press should be alerted, quickly sought a reporter to provide a pooled report.

Dave Royse, executive editor of the News Service of Florida, said he was invited to be the pool reporter although the dinner was nearly over. He could not accept, but offered a reporter from his staff in his place. When that reporter was rejected, Royse said he declined to participate for ethical reasons.

The party being covered "can't pick and choose the reporter,'' he said. The correspondents said they would consider creating terms for pooled reports, such as an ordered list of reporters to be called on. But Paul Flemming, state editor for Gannett's Florida bureau, cautioned against encouraging greater use of pools: "I think it's dangerous to go down a pool path at all.''

Jim Baltzelle, FSNE president and Florida chief of bureau for The Associated Press, said the incidents raised concern about the freedom of the press. He said FSNE would consider how to formally respond.

Aaron Deslatte, Tallahassee bureau chief for the Orlando Sentinel, said he's been given very little access to the governor because during Scott's campaign, his staff considered the newspaper "hostile.'' He said his only recourse has been to make several requests for public records. But the administration, he said, has been slow to respond and, in one case, said it would charge him $400 for printing by an outsourced provider even though Deslatte said the information is available electronically.

There are currently 51 reader comments at:
http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/01/19/2022456/scotts-media-limits-upset-journalists.html

A more realistic view of what transpired -or didn't- with some well-chosen sarcasm, was expressed elsewhere.

SunshineStateNews.com
Gov. Rick Scott, Hero; Press Corps, Zero

By Nancy Smith
Posted: January 31, 2011 3:55 AM

Thank God we found out Thursday night that the governor and his guests "dined on mesquite grilled swordfish, corn macque choux, and Florida strawberry shortcake."

Or did they?

Can the people of Florida be absolutely sure? What if diners were really inside that mansion chowing down on roast beef, spinach casserole and English trifle?

How might that have torpedoed the ship of state?

Read the rest of this spot-on post at:
http://www.sunshinestatenews.com/story/governor-rick-scott-hero-press-corps-zero


See also:
http://www.flgov.com/
http://www.flgov.com/news-releases/
http://www.myflorida.com/