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 🛫🌍📺📽️🏈. This photo of Cary Grant and Grace Kelly in Alfred Hitchcock's 1955 classic "To Catch a Thief" is the large Twitter photo on my @hbbtruth account

Beautiful Strandvägen, the grand boulevard in Östermalm, central Stockholm, Sweden, along Nybroviken. In my previous life, I was definitely born and raised there!

Tuesday, July 4, 2017

Musings on American Independence Day #241

On this Fourth of July, Independence Day #241, so much to be grateful for, including among others things:

 High-flying friends who think of me and tweet me from the most-unlikely of places... like an SAS Airbus 330













I also think of lost-dead ancestors who, when it mattered most, stepped-up and did what what was needed in order to make that dream they had for a free and independent nation, a living reality.




 On IndependenceDay, I always think about a particular paternal ancestor of mine who was a spy for Gen. Washington during the American RevolutionaryWar, and think about all the problems and the daily peril he knowingly put himself in, to serve, knowing that he'd be killed if caught by the #British Redcoats.




When they were both younger, this same ancestor had marched with George Washington 21 years before under British Gen. Edward Braddock from Alexandria, Virgina to Fort Duquesne (Pittsburgh) to fight in The #FrenchandIndianWar, 1755.


Having survived that living hell, and many years of being a Revolutionary War spy, he lived to see the Thirteen Colonies full of vary different cultures and traditions become one free nation.

He was the first of many ancestors of mine who were to live in Ohio over the next 200-plus years, living there on bounty-land he was given by Congress as partial payment for his services during the war effort. 

 He was in Ohio even before it became a state in 1805, and was then part of the Northwest Territory, the Ohio Territory, settling in an area north of Steubenville, where the U.S. land grant office was established.

 And there he lived right near the Ohio river, an hour southwest from Pittsburgh and the general area where he had witnessed firsthand wholesale bloodshed of a sort that he never saw before and never wanted to see afterwards.



@HamiltonQuotes: There is a certain enthusiasm in liberty, that makes human nature rise above itself, in acts of bravery and heroism. #Hamilton

In case you are new to the blog or unaware of the good news, starting in October, SAS, @SAS, will start flying non-stop flights between Stockholm Arlanda Airport, @Arlanda and Miami International Airport, @iflymia, after SAS initiated flights last fall between Copehangen @CPHAirports and Oslo @Oslolufthavn and Miami..

Check out @bjornpilot on Twitter Instagram and YouTube
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Monday, July 3, 2017

#SharingEconomy - Hollywood City Commission's 2nd hearing on its latest version of its ill-considered Vacation Rental legislation come up Monday afternoon. Will reasonable compromise and specificity finally trump arrogance and greed? Would be nice for a change! #tourism

#SharingEconomy - Hollywood City Commission's 2nd hearing on its latest version of its ill-considered Vacation Rental legislation come up Monday afternoon. 
Will reasonable compromise and specificity finally trump arrogance and greed? Would be nice for a change! #tourism

 Updated on July 3rd at 2:55 PM -see bottom

I'm writing this blog post on Sunday night, the night before the Hollywood City Commission's second hearing on its latest version of its ill-considered Vacation Rental legislation, agenda item #34. Meeting starts promptly at 1 PM. 

There is clearly a case to be made on Monday afternoon for compromise and reasonable, achievable legislation that resolves most of the legitimate concerns of Hollywood City Hall, pacifies the angry, vituperative and influential neighbors from Hollywood Lakes, and, of course, helps raise the morale and hopes of very-concerned Airbnb hosts, who for months have wanted greater specificity and yet were made had to fly under-the-radar like they were Public Enemy Number One, because of the consistently unfair and one-sided manner that this issue has been publicly handled and presented in Hollywood (and Broward) for far too long.

 Having read every single article about Vacation Rentals that has appeared in the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, Miami Herald, Tampa Bay Times or Florida Trend magazine of the past three years, and checked the video archives of WFOR, NBC6, WSVN and Local10, all before the city of Hollywood's pubic presentation one month ago, I can vouch that I was right all along in my thinking even before I started doing my research.

This area of Florida is rich in public officials and bureaucrats eager to appear in public to be seen as playing the role of vigilant defenders of neighborhood Quality of Life, but behind 
closed doors, they play their preferred role of thinly-disguised holdup men, eager for a big score of cold hard cash at the expense of Airbnb, travel hosts and others for the public kitty.
More money to spend on stuff!

No matter what individual travel hosts say at the hearing, compelling or not, regardless of whom they are affiliated with, or even what Tom Martinelli, the head of Public Policy in Florida for Airbnb might say or suggest at the meeting that sounds logical or inspired, the die is already cast.
The electeds and the bureaucrats will be the ones wearing the White Hats afterward, not anyone else, even if you are the one who saves a deal that threatens to come apart because of their greed or desire to be shown driving a hard bargain against big, bad Airbnb & Company.
Our South Florida pols and bureaucrats, they sure do love them some straw men!

In public, they expect hosts and the Vacation Rental industry to jump thru their hoops and be happy about it, and for others to provide enormous amounts of information to them, while they in turn are vague about what they can give interested individuals and groups in the way of information or assurances.
Or conveniently forget about past promises to treat everyone fairly.

 Having gone to so many Hollywood City Commission meetings over the years, and about 85% of the ones held since the November election brought two new faces to the dais, Mayor Josh Levy and District 1 Commissioner Debra Case, I must say that I was NOT at all prepared that at the first hearing on this matter that so many Hollywood Commissioners appeared so publicly tone-deaf and myopic. 
Even to the idea of multiple competing companies cooperating on an issue past a certain point not being seen as a possible cause for anti-trust or legal action by someone.
It was just par for the course as this issue has chugged along.
They just don't see the bigger issues involved, just their own POV.

 For those of you who are new to this issue or who might've forgotten what led to this point, one month ago I wrote an honest and well-circulated account of the city's quite disastrous dog-and-pony show led by Laurie Mertens-Black, the closest thing to a lynch mob I have ever seen in Hollywood -at least in a civic setting.

The many Hollywood Police who were there seemed not at all interested in preventing the constant verbal threats and taunts that filled the air as you would reasonably expect. 
That's how nuts it was.
I urge you to take a look at it before tomorrow's meeting starts.

Updated: A veritable trainwreck of a public meeting. Wednesday's embarrassing 

Vacation Rental Ordinance Amendment presentation at Hollywood City Hall was 

not a pretty sight by any stretch of the imagination


Now you can guess why I didn't speak that night?
Why I didn't ask any of the dozen of good questions that I had researched and written out in advance, just in case we had to hand in our questions instead of being able to ask them ourselves, an oft-used trick in South Florida political and govt. circles to prevent well-informed citizens from being able to ask hard questions.
Or even more importantly, follow-up questions!

Speaking truth to power is not now or ever been a problem for me, but doing so at the same time as I feel like I'm hitting my head against a wall -and accomplishing nothing- is a different thing altogether.
I chose to save my powder and live to fight another day.

When I'm finished here, I'll be sending out some 125-odd emails around -and some tweets via my Twitter handle, @hbbtruth- to some local TV & print reporters to persuade, induce or otherwise get them to show up and give an honest account of what transpires Monday afternoon, instead of following the now-familiar Miami TV narrative of finding the angriest "citizen" in the room, and then making that person and their particular case/cause/issue the new "norm."

Besides being guided by my own personal opinions about how this particular 
#sharingeconomy issue has been handled, poorly, as it has been in almost every city after another in South Florida -to say nothing of poorly covered by the South Florida news media- by trying to adopt a one-size-fits-all mindset, instead of trying to go after persistent bad actors who comprise a disproportionate share of all complaints, I'm also guided by my own personal experiences with Airbnb, as well as other guests who have used it in this area and throughout South Florida and Europe.

Take my word for it, I have talked with them for HOURS about their Airbnb experiences as well as what they like and dislike about the South Florida, Broward and Fort Lauderdale
and Hollywood hospitality and tourism scene.
I only wish the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau did as much talking to actual travelers as I do, since it's clear that follow up and understanding consumers is NOT high on their list of things to do.
Perhaps if the CVB did as much talking with paying consumers s I have, they would realize how much travelers to our area feel taken advantage of, especially at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.

As it happens, I am very, very close to someone who is a very successful Airbnb host in the area. I would likely have brought her with me to the last City Commission meeting on this issue except for the fact that she was traveling in Europe then.
Staying at Airbnb properties while there, of course.

if anyone wants to have some pre-game talk about all of this, I'll be in the lobby outside Hollywood City Hall Chambers about 30 minutes prior to the meeting, in what is Hollywood's de facto 'spin room.'





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Thursday, June 15, 2017

Monday's important meeting offers long-overdue opportunities for Hollywood and Hallandale Beach residents/elected officials to say critical things to local state officials who constantly work AGAINST their best-interests. Like voting against Sunshine Laws that ensure transparency and accountability.






Monday's important meeting offers long-overdue opportunities for Hollywood and Hallandale Beach residents/elected officials to say critical things to local state officials who constantly work AGAINST their best-interests. 
Like FL state Rep. Shevrin Jones voting against Florida's Sunshine Laws that ensure transparency and accountability.

As most of you know by now, I was an eyewitness two weeks ago to the very contentious meeting at Hollywood City Hall regarding the City of Hollywood's presentation to the public about their new proposed rules re vacation rentals.
A few hours later, I added some much-needed facts and context I had written in my notepad but had neglected to include in my original blog post that many of you received via an email.
If you didn't see the updated version, please see it now at 

Wed.'s veritable trainwreck of a mtg. in #HollywoodFL re a VacationRental Ordinance Amend. at City Hall.🤔

I mention this because on Monday, I was looking again at the email I received last week from Terry Cantrell, head of the HLCA -see below- and Tuesday from the City of Hollywood and noticed something that I hadn't seen before: 
the contact info for the public meeting in Hallandale Beach next Monday night with local state legislators, where the subject of vacation rentals is sure to come up and be argued over.

State Town Hall Meeting
Monday, June 19

Members of the State Legislative delegation will host a Town Hall Meeting for Hollywood and Hallandale Beach residents on Monday, June 19th at the Hallandale Beach Community Center at 410 SE 3rd Street from 6:30 - 8:30 p.m. The public is invited to join State Senator Gary Farmer and State Representatives Shevrin Jones & Joseph Geller to get an update on the most recent legislative session and discuss topics related to Hollywood and Hallandale Beach including the environment, neighborhood vacation rentals, education and property insurance. Refreshments will be provided. To RSVP, please email Gottlieb.Jennifer@FLSenate.gov or call 954.467.4227.

Do you have any idea if the Jennifer Gottlieb listed here as working for the FL Senate -and presumably state Sen. Gary Farmer- is THE Jennifer Gottlieb, or simply another woman with the same name?

Since I was traveling and away from the area for two years, it's possible nearly everyone but me knows the answer to this, but none of the people I've asked so far could say so one way or the other.

I'm asking because the Jennifer Gottlieb who was formerly on the Broward School Board was NOT one of my favorite people, and was a frequent target of mine on my blog of fact-filled news regarding her latest public policy antics, attempts at misdirection, and splitting of hairs on matters involving ethics and public accountability.

Like these posts from 2010 and 2011:

No, the buck never ever stopped with her.

My fact-filled blog posts that posed inconvenient questions/facts JG and Ann Murray and their colleagues wished to ignore, and more recent ones about the awful/mendacious words and actions that the Broward School Board has done under Supt. Robert Runcie on the behalf of kids, parents and Broward taxpayers -and their and our collective future- are one of the reasons that I'm BLOCKED on Twitter from accessing and commenting on
Broward Schools and Runcie tweets. 

They prefer their fact-challenged spin to context, nuance and doses of reality.








Any insight from anyone who actually knows the answer about this JG question would be greatly appreciated.

I'll have some pointed thoughts and questions to share with you about that Monday night meeting -and its hosts- as well as remind you of some of the #facts and #issues likely to come up at it, posted on my blog on Saturday, so please check here by Noontime Saturday.

 That will likely include "correcting" some things that state Rep. Joe Geller, the subject of many posts here on the blog the past few years re his curious and troubling choice of words, actions and ethics the past few years, has already been saying things publicly in Hallandale Beach that might surprise many of you who have actually been following the news in Tallahassee and pride yourself on knowing the #facts.

I probably am not shocking you when I tell you that having seen him in action myself recently, Geller's recounting of #reality and #facts in the past Florida legislative session, to say nothing of an individual legislator's original intent with a bill,  or a member's rationale for votes or trends and the larger scheme of things in Tallahassee, is far different than yours and mine. 
And most every other Florida legislator who was actually there, too.

 Yes, for Joe Geller, as well as Shevrin Jones, facts remain a troublesome thing.


----------------

From: Hollywood Lakes Civic Assn. 
Date: Wed, Jun 7, 2017 at 11:18 AM
Subject: Town Hall Meeting Upcoming



Lakes logo new
  
Lakes Residents,

There will be a Town Hall Meeting in Hallandale Beach on Monday, June 19th. See flyer below. This will be an important meeting as two critical issues that affect the Lakes neighborhood will be discussed: vacation rentals and mooring buoys. We encourage all concerned Lakes residents to attend.







HLCA



Hollywood Lakes Civic Assn., P.O. Box 223922, Hollywood, FL 33022

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#HollywoodFL, City of Hallandale Beach, City of Hollywood (FL), FL legislature, Gary Farmer, Hollywood Lakes, Joseph S. Geller, Shevrin Jones, Terry Cantrell, Vacation Rentals, Sunshine Laws, 
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