Florida CFO Jeff Atwater: 'Taj Mahal' courthouse in Tallahassee 'far worse' than a pricey building. And the judges behind it WON'T talk!

Back in October, TheSunshineStateNews did this interview with then-CFO candidate Jeff Atwater on the subject of the 'Taj Mahal' Courthouse in Tallahassee, who asked why Alex Sink, then the Florida CFO and Democratic nominee for governor, didn't raise red flags about its costs and instead just signed the checks.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x16WC96yqqg

See also: http://www.sunshinestatenews.com/ and
http://www.youtube.com/user/TheSunshineStateNews

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Following-up on her excellent reporting of three weeks ago on the new First District Court of Appeals Courthouse in Tallahassee -Florida's state capital for those of you reading this post overseas- which I commented upon here in a December 19th post I titled, with mock humor, Lucy Morgan in St. Pete Times: Why can't anyone remember how a $50-million courthouse now called the 'Taj Mahal' stayed off the radar and got okayed?
http://hallandalebeachblog.blogspot.com/2010/12/lucy-morgan-in-st-pete-times-why-cant.html on Saturday, Lucy Morgan of the St. Petersburg Times actually outdid her earlier piece.

She gave readers and observers of all things political in Florida, the shady and the legit, a real bracing wake-up call by giving us a knowing description of what's what in the new Home Sweet Home for the elite judicial set. About the only thing missing are duvets, a private wine cellar and Swedish au pairs to help their kids after school with homework, otherwise, it's all there.

More comments after the article.
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St. Petersburg Times
http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/article1144297.ece

Atwater: Taj Mahal courthouse 'far worse' than a pricey building

By Lucy Morgan, Times Senior Correspondent
In Print: Saturday, January 8, 2011

TALLAHASSEE — State auditors are questioning more than $1 million in bills submitted for the new $50 million courthouse built by the 1st District Court of Appeal.

"This is one of the great embarrassments for Florida government,'' new Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater said of the building derided as Florida's Taj Mahal. "The audacity and arrogance that was displayed in doing this and their continuing effort to hide the ball has been a complete disservice to hardworking Floridians who deserve better from public officials.''

The day after Atwater was sworn into office this week, he was briefed by auditors who now work for him. He said he will personally inspect every outstanding bill and will allow no payment until he can determine what was purchased. His auditors are continuing an investigation that started under former CFO Alex Sink.

"I now believe it is far worse than just an expensive building,'' Atwater said.

Some of Atwater's questions surround apparent attempts by the court to buy big screen television sets and furnishings for the courthouse with the proceeds of a $33.5 million bond issue that taxpayers will repay over the next 30 years.

"I cannot imagine financing equipment for 30 years that will depreciate over the next three to five years,'' Atwater said.

A former Senate president, Atwater said he has completely lost confidence in the Department of Management Services, the state agency responsible for overseeing construction of the courthouse. Officials at DMS signed off on the questionable purchases the judges requested.

"I do not believe they (DMS) have been straight with the people of Florida, certainly not with our department,'' he said. "They have been disguising what they were trying to get us to sign off on — and I have only been here a day.''

In October the CFO's scathing audit of the project accused the judges of illegally taking control of planning and construction away from DMS and laid much of the blame on the lobbying of 1st DCA Judges Paul M. Hawkes and Brad Thomas.

Auditors are now questioning a number of bills submitted by DMS for Peter R. Brown Construction Co. and Black Box Network Services, the company providing telecommunications equipment to the court. Black Box billed the state $693,450 for services and electronics equipment but has yet to collect $571,105 due to questions raised by auditors.

A $113,450 bill approved by DMS Nov. 29 lists a series of change orders for Black Box installations with charges for "labor'' without details. One of the items listed as labor is for $58,699.01. That is exactly the amount listed on a Sept. 7 bill for 14 TV sets and a $17,364 "restocking fee'' for the return of 16 60-inch TVs.

The St. Petersburg Times obtained the September bill in a records request from DMS, but officials in Atwater's office say they have never seen the September bill and believe the more recent bill that listed the TVs as "labor'' was an attempt to hide what had been purchased.

When the Times asked for bills DMS paid for electronics or furnishings, DMS initially denied any such payments had been made. But when pressed to provide bills submitted by Black Box, the agency produced a copy of the September bill.

The judges originally planned to put a 60-inch flat screen in each of 16 judges' chambers but apparently returned the televisions after the Times reported in August on the courthouse's many luxuries. Auditors are also questioning the legality of the restocking fee Black Box requested.

Auditors say they can't immediately determine how many televisions the court is attempting to buy. They sent an inspector out to count after getting a bill for nine. The inspector found the nine sets, plus two more still in boxes. The court was paying $5,978 for each 60-inch television, $2,273 for 47-inch televisions and $3,325 for 52-inch televisions, far more than the price of similar-sized TVs at major electronic stores.

Internal memos indicate auditors could not determine what was being purchased in one December bill for $145,000. When they asked for additional documentation they discovered that $41,000 of the total was for the nine TVs.

Officials at DMS did not respond to detailed requests for comment on Friday.

First DCA marshal Stephen Nevels says the court has 27 televisions in the new building: nine 60-inch monitors; two 52-inch; seven 46-inch; three 42-inch; two 40-inch; and four 17-inch. Nevels said the court has not seen any of the bills that have been handled by DMS.

Atwater is trying to unravel other questionable expenditures. One involves the purchase of art for the new building, and vendors that DMS and the court authorized to provide services that exceed the $100,000 limit on art that state law says can be purchased for a new building.

One of those vendors is Signature Art Gallery, owned by Mary Maida, wife of Tallahassee lawyer Tom Maida. The gallery agreed to frame 400 historical photos in the new building at a cost of more than $357,000, money that was to be paid by construction manager Peter R. Brown. In addition the court has agreed to pay $72,000 for original paintings by seven Florida artists.

The framed photographs include scenes from the 32 counties in Florida's northern district: greased pig contests, tobacco farms, lighthouses, cotton pickers, Tarzan at Wakulla Springs and other historic scenes.

Auditors have refused to approve payment of the bill because it exceeds the $100,000 limit. Some at the court have argued that the photos are not art and should not be included in the amount state law allows for art when a new building is built.

The situation leaves Mrs. Maida, owner of a small gallery in northeast Tallahassee, with a huge unpaid bill. Her husband, a lawyer at Foley & Lardner, has written to lawyers in Atwater's office asking for copies of all records relating to the art.

He has not filed a lawsuit. "I hope we don't have to,'' Tom Maida said when asked about the debt. "We certainly believe she is entitled to be paid by the state.''

It will be up to Atwater to decide. He's trying to determine what the state should do where a vendor has entered into a contract in good faith expecting to be paid for work — but that work violates state law.

Meanwhile Hawkes, chief judge during much of the construction project, and other officials involved in the project have been asked to appear before a Senate budget committee Wednesday to answer questions about the new courthouse. Thomas, the other judge who helped lobby for the project, also was invited. On Friday he notified the committee he will not appear.

"He had no problem coming to lobby for a $50 million courthouse, but now he can't come back to answer questions,'' said committee Chairman Mike Fasano.

Thomas did not respond to an e-mail requesting comment.

Lawmakers approved the money for the project and passed a $33.5 million bond issue that was tucked into an unrelated transportation bill on the last day of the 2007 legislative session. They say they had no idea the judges planned to build such an elaborate building.

The 110,000-square-foot building houses the 1st District's 114 employees. Florida Supreme Court Chief Justice Charles Canady is working on plans to remodel part of the building to accommodate 50 to 60 state court administrative employees, who could move out of rented quarters and save the state about $300,000 a year.

Atwater said he cannot allow the problems with the new building to go unaddressed. "There are people at DMS who tried to stop this, at least tried to bring a level of thoughtful scrutiny to it and it may have cost them their jobs,'' he said.

"We should be championing those people.''

Lucy Morgan can be reached at lmorgan@sptimes.com.

No discount

Though the state was buying in quantity, newly released numbers show taxpayers did not get a break in buying electronics for the Taj Mahal courthouse.

$5,978 Price per 60-inch TV

$3,325 Price per 52-inch TV

$2,273 Price per 47-inch TV

$17,364 "Restocking fee'' for state to return of 16 60-inch TVs, more than $1,000 apiece

$357,000 Cost to frame some 400 historical photos, about $890 each

Source: Office of Chief Financial Officer

Reader comments at:
http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/article1144297.ece#comments

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So, three weeks later. the lap of luxury in Tallahassee paid for by Florida taxpayers begins to get described in detail...

I can only imagine what a proposed new Broward County Courthouse -forced down the throats of protesting taxpayers- would be like with all the prima donna judges in this area.

That proposed County courthouse, adamantly opposed by the vast majority of Broward County's citizen taxpayers, but popular with the small clique of downtown Fort Lauderdale's business, legal and lobbying community, for reason that should be obvious, is an explosive subject I've written about many times, even while the Miami Herald has been positively obsequious and sycophantic in their news coverage, practically serving as a stenographer for the proponents of the plan.

See Commission Forgets People, Goes With Courthouse By Bob Norman, Tue., Feb. 2 2010 @ 6:20PM http://blogs.browardpalmbeach.com/pulp/2010/02/broward_county_courthouse.php

That great post, includes this gem:

Last year, Ritter created her own hand-picked "Broward County Courthouse Task Force" and installed her friend and fellow courthouse backer, Commissioner Ilene Lieberman, as the chairwoman.

Not surprisingly, the task force just came back with exactly what Ritter and Lieberman wanted: a recommendation to build a new courthouse without asking the permission of the public. The task force report also includes a convoluted half-baked plan to pay for it.

And Ritter and Lieberman are real cocky about it too, treating it all as a done deal. But you have to understand that Lieberman might have more than altruistic motives to rush this project forward. In 2005, she and lawyer husband Stuart Michelson, who serves as the Sunrise city attorney, bought an office suite close to the courthouse (at 800 SE Third Avenue) for $1.35 million.

Wow!

I've discussed here how the so-called 'Courthouse Task Force' was intentionally stacked with supporters of the plan, not well-respected, open-minded community reps with no personal or professional conflicts.
No, that would have been too easy!

Instead, people selected for it had personal agendas from the beginning, and some even stood to profit from it in a manner that would not be ethically or legally acceptable with a similar proposal for any other building in this county.

In fact, the task force DIDN'T even follow the county's own rules and provide public information about their public meetings prior to them taking place, as the last meeting's agenda and related information were NOT posted to the county's website until many hours AFTER it was over.

Oversight or intentional?

In my letter to Broward County Administrator Bertha Henry complaining about these violations, I made the case for intentional by simply reciting the known facts, which were overwhelming.

And in case you forgot, the chair of that Broward County Courthouse Task Force, appointed by the Broward County Commission itself, was none other than Broward County Commissioner Ilene Lieberman, a woman who owns property near the proposed site in downtown Fort Lauderdale.
Really.

Here are HBB links to past posts of mine on her ethics as well as this subject:

http://www.blogger.com/posts.g?blogID=7001629133953783160&searchType=ALL&txtKeywords=&label=Ilene+Lieberman

http://www.blogger.com/posts.g?blogID=7001629133953783160&searchType=ALL&txtKeywords=&label=Broward+Courthouse+Taskforce

http://www.blogger.com/posts.g?blogID=7001629133953783160&searchType=ALL&txtKeywords=&label=Broward+County+Courthouse+Taskforce

Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, that's how things are DONE in Broward County, Florida, U.S.A. in the early years of the 21st century.
In broad daylight.

The mind literally reels at the excess just waiting for Broward taxpayers if a new county courthouse is built in the location favored by the powerful few and well-connected, who are mostly Secret Santas for each other, even if they don't personally celebrate Christmas.

What are friends for?

IF there ever is a brand-new courthouse in Broward, it needs to be on/near or adjacent to U.S.-1 so that a future FEC rail line commuter train station is close-by, and logic and reason actually enter the public planning conversation for a change.
http://www.sfeccstudy.com/

If you aren't going to consciously locate venues that attract lots of foot traffic, like stadiums, arenas, shopping malls, govt. buildings like county courthouses or county HQ, near safe and well-designed mass transportation hubs to cut down on the number of vehicles on the roads, and create some positive business synergy and efficiency -and make everyone's life simpler while saving money on parking fees- what's the point in pretending there's any kind of logical, well thought- out County/regional transportation policy?

I don't know about you, but personally, I'm tired of pretending that myopic mediocrity in South Florida government planning is satisfactory.

Lucy Morgan in St. Pete Times: Why can't anyone remember how a $50-million courthouse now called the 'Taj Mahal' stayed off the radar and got okayed?

Judges of Florida's First District Court of Appeal wanted a courthouse in Tallahassee with “wow factor.’’ They built a $48.8 million copy of the Michigan Supreme Court building that opens Monday at 2000 Drayton Drive, Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0950.

See Michigan courthouse photo at: http://courts.michigan.gov/supremecourt/#

See old FL courthouse photo at: http://www.1dca.org/
According to the photo on the website, there are about 15 judges based there, the Chief Judge of whom is Robert T. Benton II.

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St. Petersburg Times
Taj Mahal timeline: How a $50 million courthouse got in the budget but stayed off the radar
By Lucy Morgan, Times Senior Correspondent
December 19, 2010

In an extraordinary case of collective amnesia, nobody can quite remember just how it happened. As the country headed toward the worst recession in years, the Florida Legislature handed $50 million to judges to build a courthouse now branded the Taj Mahal. The building that opens to the public Monday began as a request to spend up to $20,000 to determine if a floor could be added to the existing courthouse.

Over the next four years — often in secret — it turned into a building fit for royalty and a multimillion dollar debt taxpayers will pay down for 30 years. The story of the Taj Mahal is told in documents — e-mail, minutes of court conferences and building committee meetings, and a trove of other records. It's remarkable for the over-the-top details — like the soundproofing in the judge's individual bathrooms — but mostly it's the way things get done in Tallahassee.

Read the rest of this compelling article, complete with amazing photos, at http://www.tampabay.com/news/perspective/taj-mahal-timeline-how-a-50-million-courthouse-got-in-the-budget-but/1140773

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St. Petersburg Times
Appeals judges slip into controversial new $50 million courthouse
By Lucy Morgan, Times Senior Correspondent
Saturday, December 18, 2010

TALLAHASSEE —

For some, the moving vans outside the 1st District Court of Appeal were reminiscent of the night the Colts moved out of Baltimore in the middle of the night on their way to Indianapolis.

On Friday, Gov. Charlie Crist said the judges at the controversial court should have waited until legislators had a chance to review the process that led to the construction of a new courthouse filled with African mahogany, granite desk and countertops and other luxuries not traditionally found in state buildings.

Sen. Mike Fasano, head of the senate committee on court funding, wrote a letter to Crist and other state officials Thursday trying to halt the move. It was too late. Shortly after dark Thursday the first moving van was loaded and ready to leave the downtown courthouse where the 1st DCA has been since 1981.
It was too late.

Read the rest of the article at:
http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/stateroundup/appeals-judges-slip-into-controversial-new-50-million-courthouse/1140711

I first read the articles online on Saturday afternoon and then quickly emailed them around the state to various civic activists and pols I know because it's the best account I've seen yet of how this financial outrage came to be.

Lucy Morgan archives: http://www.tampabay.com/writers/article380272.ece

Only in Broward: Courthouse security apprehends man with gun at entrance, but judges overreact, want armed cop in EVERY courtroom. In a word: NO!

Only in Broward County: Courthouse security catches man with gun at entrance, but judges overreact oh-so predictably, demanding an armed cop in EVERY courtroom.

As if on cue, Broward Sheriff Al Lamberti said he wants $17.2 million for more deputies in courthouses.

In a word: NO!

How can I put this in a way that you will understand -the courthouse security we already have WORKED.

Whether that is because the security that day -Wednesday- was Sherlock Holmes-like or because the person apprehended was stupid enough to put a gun in a gym bag thru a magnetometer at a place that warns you in advance, you be the.. yes, judge.

Here's the line from the Sun-Sentinel article below that tells you everything you need to know:

Though armed deputies roam the courthouses, there are none working in any Broward courtroom unless a judge asks for one or there's a murder trial.

Exactly.

Because an armed deputy is NOT required for every single courtroom.

In any case, what would all these armed cops do on Fridays after lunch?

Hasn't Broward legal blogger JAABLOG already proven time and again that on Fridays, many of the courtrooms in the Main Courthouse in downtown Ft. Lauderdale are empty?

Yes, he has proven it to a fair-thee-well.

Guess they could provide security and walk along the largely tourist-free FTL riverfront and count the number of graffiti 'tags' on the bridge and the poles and the signs...

Is it impossible for even one legitimate Miami-based TV/print reporter in the year 2011 to do a story on the Broward County Courthouse, and for just once, just for the hell of it, actually describe in detail what things are like there on Fridays?

I know that this is expecting a lot since they could NEVER manage to do even ONE story on the financial, historical and political context behind the "fix" that was the Broward County Courthouse Task Force under Chair -and downtown FTL property-owner?- Ilene Lieberman, and the predictable decisions that were made, despite the fact that that story was practically given to them on a silver platter.

And still they blanched...

"It's not a question of 'Do we need a courthouse?' We need it and we need to get it done," said Commissioner Ilene Lieberman who headed the task force.

(See more on that so-called Task Force below, which once included Scott Rothstein.)

It's really NOT that hard to do.

But you have to want to actually do it.

To NOT keep making excuses for avoiding the story and knowing that you will rattle some powerful and well-connected Broward cages in doing so.

To stop procrastinating.

Here in South Florida, the local news media doesn't want to.

Other than Bob Norman.

South Florida Sun-Sentinel

After second gunman this year enters a Broward courthouse, sheriff seeks security funding

By Linda Trischitta and Danielle A. Alvarez, Sun Sentinel

8:48 PM EDT, September 28, 2011

FORT LAUDERDALE

After a second incident this year when an armed man entered a Broward County courthouse, the chief judge and the sheriff called for county funding to increase security.

No one was hurt before Francois V. Brown, 39, of Miramar, was arrested Tuesday at the county's south regional courthouse on Hollywood Boulevard.

On Wednesday, Broward Sheriff Al Lamberti said he wants $17.2 million from the Broward County Commission to hire and arm deputies in four Broward courthouses and family court.

Read the rest of the article at:

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/crime/fl-broward-courthouse-weapons-20110928,0,7833370.story

See also: http://jaablog.jaablaw.com/2011/09/28/bso-press-conference.aspx

To quote myself from JAABLOG's February 2, 2010 post titled Fool me once, shame on you; Fool me twice, shame on me ...

Posted by JAABLOG at 2/2/2010 9:29 PM

2/3/2010 1:40 AM Hallandale Beach Blog wrote:

First, some facts about Tuesday's vote on financing a new Broward County Courthouse, a story that only the Daily Business Review, JAABLOG and I wrote about. Not asking for plaudits, just noting it for historical context.

For those courthouse denizens who animate this blog with their constant contempt of Broward taxpayers thru your comments here, who think that a new Broward County Courthouse is very important, guess what?

The South Florida news media could hardly care less about you. You barely register on their horizon. You are insignificant.

In the days and weeks before the vote, the two daily South Florida newspapers and the four network TV stations sat on their hands and reported nothing about this issue. Neither the Herald or the Sun-Sentinel have mentioned this subject in print or online since last September, when a Guest Op-Ed purported to have been written by Comm. Stacy Ritter was published in the Sun-Sentinel.

Once again, on something very important, South Florida's news media has shown they were sleeping on the job, and let the people down.

Did you EVER see anything last year on TV about the ties that the members of the Lieberman-led Task Force had to the Broward legal establishment, who desperately want a brand new pony?

Preferably, with a brand-new barn and a lifetime supply of feed. On the taxpayer's dime. Nope. There never was one

Watching the coverage Tuesday night at 11 p.m., actually thinking there'd be some interviews -with somebody!- this point was drive home all over again.

At 11:16 p.m. CBS-4's Antonio Mora did a 15-second read without any visuals and said the vote happened "last night," which as we know, is incorrect.

At 11:27 p.m., Local10's Laurie Jennings also did a 15-second read

with archived visuals of yellow tape and leaking ceilings.

There's the press coverage of your shiny new pony.

And why is it that so few usually well-informed people actually know how poorly Lieberman handled the rigged Task Force last year?

I wrote last year on my blog how she and the county administrators didn't follow basic aspects of the state's Sunshine Laws, and instead, tried to fool the public by arranging for the agenda and assorted relevant public docs for the last meeting, which should've been online before the meeting, to be placed online HOURS AFTER the last meeting was already over.

Not that they actually had the final public meeting listed online days before the meeting, since they didn't. Lieberman was the one in charge -the Chair. But the media didn't care -just like now.

Keep up the great work, JAABLOG!

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In case you forget how that vote for taxpayers paying for a new Broward Courthouse went, voting in favor: Ken Keechl, Stacy Ritter, Ilene Lieberman, Al Jones and Diana Wasserman-Rubin.

Voting against: Sue Gunzberger, Lois Wexler and John Rodstrom.

Some questions re Broward County Courthouse, Broward Ethics Committee, unsafe Broward Schools and Steve Geller's residency

Since I was already planning on heading down
to the Broward Govt HQ early Wednesday
morning for the next Ethics Commission meeting,
at 8 a.m., I was surprised over the weekend
in perusing the county's scheduled meetings page,
http://www.broward.org/Commission/Documents/sunmeet.pdf
to see that there's yet another County Commission
meeting scheduled for Tuesday morning.

Morning agenda, 10 a.m.:
http://205.166.161.204/agenda_publish.cfm?mt=ALL&get_month=2&get_year=2010&dsp=ag&seq=166#ReturnTo0
Public comments agenda, which includes
humanitarian relief to Haiti, at 2 p.m.
http://205.166.161.204/agenda_publish.cfm?mt=ALL&get_month=2&get_year=2010&dsp=ag&seq=167#ReturnTo0

Since I wasn't able to make it up there in time
last Tuesday for the actual vote on the Courthouse
issue, I'm inclined to swing-up there tomorrow
to see if there's any residual effects, or any public
speakers want to get a few things off their chest,
now that this decision has had some time to sink in.

Anthony Man's blog post from Friday, below,
includes a link to the newest version of the proposed
ethics legislation, an issue which the Herald has
largely ignored, like it does so many other issues
in Broward County.

(Did you know that the person in charge of the
Broward's Herald bureau for most of last year
was rarely present in the the Broward office in
Pembroke Pines?
It's all-too-true, and was told to me by a frustrated
Herald employee in a position to know who keeps
me in-the-loop on what's going down at
Herald HQ at One Herald Plaza.
They've been losing a ton of money on that building
in The Pines, too.
And did you see the column yesterday about
improved local news coverage here?
http://www.miamiherald.com/video/index.html?media_id=10150879
Zero about Broward, a subject I will be writing
about here on the blog later this week.)

I think it's very curious given how much the
Sun-Sentinel has proven over the years that
it loves to quote him -even on issues that
he's not qualified to speak to, per se- that
in Scott Wyman's Friday blog post, after writing
that the proposed Ethics legislation would
"ban commissioners from moonlighting as lobbyists,"
Wyman doesn't drop Steve Geller's name and
mention what he happens to thinks about this idea.

(Or what fellow lobbyist and frequent
Sun-Sentinel quote-machine and Broward
Dem Chair Mitch Caesar thinks about it?
Is it that the South Florida media can't find
Caesar, or that they don't want to incur his
wrath by pressing him to answer questions
he'd find uncomfortable and not have their
phone calls returned?)

Many if not most of the Geller supporters I've
run into -none of whom are friends of mine,
it goes without saying- not only personally
think that Geller's main rationale for running
for Commissioner is to lobby Broward cities and
govt. entities on behalf of his law firm's clients
and make a lot of money, but also think that it's
NOT an ethical problem.

They don't even think it'd be unethical for him
to lobby cities and entities located in his own
district, here in Hollywood and Hallandale Beach,
HB being a city with a mayor in Joy Cooper
who publicly said at a 2008 City Commission
meeting that I was at, that she only wished
that Geller could've stayed State Senator
forever.

Hardly surprising that such a thoroughly
anti-democratic, disingenuous -and
thin-skinned- pol like Dan Gelber-supporter
Joy Cooper doesn't care for citizen-initiated
term limits.

But as most honest and observant people who've
followed things here know, Cooper has a huge ego
and sense of entitlement, which is why she had
no compunctions about telling City Manager
Mike Good to approve funds to build her a
brand new office at City Hall last January,
even though under the city's charter, the only
power she has is that of being presiding officer.
That's it -no vetoes, no nothing.

Joy Cooper is the same two-faced person
who has always said for public consumption,
especially when African-American
residents of NW HB were present,
that she was always FOR specific
geographical districts for HB commissioners.

Yet while I personally want to see it actually
become a reality, as is the case in Hollywood,
when the HB City Commission-appointed
Charter Review Commission actually brought
that proposal up to the City Commission a few
years ago, so that it could be voted upon and then,
if approved, placed on the ballot for citizens
to vote on one way or the other, Cooper & Co.
voted AGAINST it.
Shocker!

Yet despite that vote of her's, Cooper acts like
it never happened.
Typical.

Getting back to Geller supporters now, they think
he's entitled to lobby if elected and exploit the system,
having more than once actually used the phrase
'spoils system' in a way that you don't hear much
these days.
Well, at least they're honest about it, which is more
than can be said for Geller himself in all of this.

That leads me to ask, once again, when exactly is
Steve Geller of Cooper City going to comply with
the existing law and actually move into the
Broward Commission District seat he is running for,
and when is the sleep-walking South Florida
news media going to actually press him to state
a specific date when this is going to happen?
Don't hold your breath!

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South Florida Sun-Sentinel
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/broward/fl-schools-whistleblower-20100207,0,3403460.story

Fired school district official wins legal battle but doesn't get apology

Former inspections supervisor warned about building safety issues

By Megan O'Matz, Sun Sentinel

February 6, 2010

If the Broward School District had listened to Charlene Rebecca Blackwood instead of firing her, could some of its construction department problems have been solved a long time ago?

Some think so.

"She was a prophet. What do they do to a lot of prophets? Try and silence them," said community activist Charlotte Greenbarg, president of The Broward Coalition, a group of condo and homeowner associations.

The school district disagrees, calling Blackwood a bully to her co-workers and an ineffective leader — characterizations she vehemently denies.

"We didn't discipline her because she raised alarms about school construction. That's her job," said Eugene K. Pettis, an attorney representing the district in the case. "But… you don't treat your staff and behave in the ways she behaved."

In November, after a four-year legal battle, the School Board agreed to settle. It awarded Blackwood $217,500 in back pay and attorney fees, and its own legal fees totaled $145,000. The settlement comes during a severe budget crisis when the district has had to cut teachers, electives, supplies and renovations.

Blackwood, 68, wanted more from the board members than money.

"I feel like I have been owed an apology," she told them in an emotional appeal last month. She did not get one.

Her saga began more than a decade ago when, as a senior supervisor of building inspectors, she began complaining that new schools were opened despite "life safety" code violations. That contractors were allowed to walk away without fixing problems. And that leaky school roofs were being repaired improperly, leading to mold and mildew.

She warned that some schools that doubled as hurricane shelters had equipment on the roofs, such as air conditioners, that were not properly secured and posed a hazard in a storm. The district took steps to fix the problem, but Blackwood said it dismissed other issues, such as opening schools prematurely.

Today, years after they opened, scores of schools still are operating without documents showing they meet code.

"They didn't want an effective building department," Blackwood said in a recent interview. "They wanted to neutralize the inspectors so the contractors could not be interfered with in doing their construction. Whether it was bad or not, they didn't care."

Recent internal audits back up some of her concerns. They show inflated construction costs, overbillings, and millions of dollars wasted to fix mistakes in building designs. In September, School Board member Beverly Gallagher was indicted on charges of taking payoffs from undercover FBI agents to rig construction contracts.

Board member Stephanie Kraft said that while a lot of the issues Blackwood raised were legitimate, she was "overzealous" in her approach and alienated some co-workers, board members and key administrators.

"She didn't know how to pick her battles," Kraft said. "Everything to her was a mountain. Even the molehills were mountains. It's unfortunate because there was a lot of validity to some of the stuff she said. But because she made everything a big deal, you couldn't deal with her at all.''

Kraft acknowledged there is great urgency to open a new school on schedule. Otherwise the district has a "nightmare" of a problem housing students elsewhere.

At a hearing of a newly formed district ethics commission last month, speakers told the panel that school employees who are critical of district leaders or policies have been labeled disgruntled and retaliated against, creating fear among the ranks.

"The Blackwood case is indicative of that," Nick Sakhnovsky, chairman of a district facilities advisory council, said in an interview. "Anyone who has a contrary opinion should not immediately be shut down or vilified."

Miami Herald
http://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/editorials/story/1463793.html

Editorial
Build Broward courthouse right

February 5, 2010

Confronted by a public hostile to footing the bill for a new county courthouse, Broward Commissioners dithered but ultimately made the right call: To build anyway.

There's no arguing that the 50-year-old courthouse is in bad shape. Its many parts, three additions to the main structure, were built under lax codes and couldn't withstand a Category 2 hurricane. Mindful of the construction slump, commissioners knew they could get a good price on a new structure. However, the commission must ensure that the new building is strong, roomy enough to accommodate future growth and has a decidedly green -- as in eco-friendly -- tinge.

Voters reject tax

What made the decision so tough is that voters in 2006 rejected a tax increase to pay for a new courthouse. Broward voters, relatively friendly toward most capital-improvement bond issues, were fed up -- or else county officials did a poor job of convincing them of the need for a better facility.

Voters said, in essence: ``We elected you to lead, to be the deciders, so do it.'' Stuck between a genuine need for a new facility and taxpayers' reluctance to shell out more money for it, commissioners took responsibility.

The resulting deal won't raise property taxes, but that's based on a technicality. Taxpayers will soon pay off about $38 million in debt for libraries and parks, meaning county taxes would drop about 25 cents per $1,000 of taxable property. To pay off the debt for courthouse construction the county will assess taxpayers about five cents per $1,000 of taxable property at a time when property values are dropping. So taxes won't rise along with the new courthouse, but they won't drop as much as they could have, either.

Fill funding gap

Still, this was the most practical choice. The county has set aside $120 million for construction. It will use a legislatively mandated increase in court fees and federal stimulus money to help cover the $328 million price tag. That leaves a funding gap to be filled by the five-cent property-tax assessment.

The new courthouse's 20-story tower will be built on the west side of the current structure, adding parking, more courtrooms and offices for public defenders and prosecutors.

Now that the commission has stepped up, its next task is to ensure the county gets the best construction prices and that the new courthouse is built to outlast its predecessor.

Reader comments at:
http://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/editorials/story/1463793.html?commentSort=TimeStampAscending&pageNum=1


South Florida Sun-Sentinel
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/broward/fl-courthouse-vote-20100205,0,1369524.story

Backlash against courthouse tax could hurt Broward commissioners
By Scott Wyman, Sun Sentinel
February 5, 2010

FORT LAUDERDALE

When Broward county commissioners decided last week to tax residents for a new courthouse, they risked the wrath of voters.

Critics warn that the backlash could cost at least some of them their jobs.

"I recognized the decision would be unpopular, but in a representative form of government, we have to do what we think is right," Commissioner Stacy Ritter said.

Voters overwhelmingly rejected the project in 2006. But the existing building has only deteriorated since.

Plumbing is so bad in the old wing of the courthouse that burst pipes have caused repeated floods. The elevators constantly break and are so antiquated that parts must be specially made.

Court workers are suing over health problems caused by pervasive mold. The electrical system is so maxed out that an employee once blew out a computer in the next office by plugging in a space heater.

Consulting engineers say the building might not survive a Category 2 hurricane.

Since the defeat at the ballot box more than three years ago, county officials reviewed and rejected options, including the renovation of the old wing or the purchase of an existing office building. They also investigated whether construction could be delayed.

The commission went with plans that cut the cost from $510 million to $328 million.

A 20-story tower will be built on land the county already owns on the downtown Fort Lauderdale court campus. The central wing will be demolished and turned into a plaza that connects the high-rise to the jail and newer court wings.

The tax increase to pay for it will cost the average homeowner $8 a year for the next 30 years. But the issue is not just the money. Some are incensed over the fact that commissioners decided to impose the tax without seeking voter approval.

"We may need a courthouse, but now is not the time," said Charlotte Greenbarg, president of the group of homeowner and condo associations known as the Broward Coalition. "We haven't hit bottom in this recession and people are hurting. Voters will be angry over the insensitivity that commissioners showed in their actions."

A task force of judges, lawyers and elected officials led the effort to explore alternatives.

Their review concluded renovating the old wing would be more costly. Not only would the interior have to be gutted and brought up to existing building codes, but the exterior walls are in such poor condition that they must be replaced.

Space would have to be leased for judicial offices and courtrooms during seven years of renovation work. The county would have to pay to renovate the leased space to accommodate court operations and meet security requirements.

The task force looked into other locations for the court building, such as the neighboring 110 Tower, but county officials decided the renovation work needed to ready an older building for court operations would be too extensive-–adding a heavy cost on top of the purchase price. They also said private buildings off the county's court campus would lack a direct link to the main jail that allows the easy movement of dangerous inmates.

Waiting also was considered unacceptable.

The county's point person on the court project, Pete Corwin, said a delay risks repeated prolong closures of the courthouse because of major maintenance problems. In recent years, the courthouse has shut down for days following some of the flooding caused by burst pipes. And there's no telling when a potentially devastating hurricane could hit the building.

Delaying a new courthouse also could increase costs, officials said. Federal assistance available through President Barack Obama's economic stimulus program is set to end this year, and interest rates and construction costs are low.

"The easier answer would be to push this off or to renovate, but those are not the right things to do," Mayor Ken Keechl said. "We have a constitutional obligation to provide space for the judiciary, and something needed to be done now."

But to Commissioner John Rodstrom, the concerns about a delay are exaggerated, contrived to ensure the result that influential judges and lawyers have long wanted. He cast one of the three votes against the courthouse.

"The fix was in," Rodstrom said. "I know there are problems and the courthouse is not in the best condition, but the time is problematic. It is time to hunker down and save money. There is an anti-tax sentiment out there, and we should listen to it."


Sun-Sentinel's Broward Politics blog
Commission could lose influence on contracting, be banned from moonlighting

Posted by Scott Wyman
February 5, 2010 09:26 AM

A new ethics code being drafted for Broward County commissioners amid a growing corruption scandal will rein in their influence and require greater disclosure of their business dealings.

A task force assigned with writing a code of conduct agreed Thursday to ban commissioners from moonlighting as lobbyists and limit their control over what companies win county contracts. They’d have to disclose any contact with lobbyists on county business and their fundraising on behalf of charities and political campaigns.

Read the rest of the story at:
http://weblogs.sun-sentinel.com/news/politics/broward/blog/2010/02/commission_could_lose_influenc.html


Sun-Sentinel's Broward Politics blog
Satz wants new anti-corruption law

Posted by Anthony Man

February 5, 2010 06:34 AM

Amid a series of public corruption scandals that have so far hauled up eight Broward and Palm Beach county officials on charges, the top prosecutors in the two counties are joining forces to seek passage of a new law tightening the screws on dishonest politicians.

“It will fill a lot of loopholes and hopefully restore peoples’ confidence in what went wrong,” Broward State Attorney Mike Satz said Thursday.

Read the rest of the story at:
http://weblogs.sun-sentinel.com/news/politics/broward/blog/2010/02/satz_wants_new_anticorruption_1.html

-----

http://www.broward.org/Commission/Documents/sunmeet.pdf

In compliance with Section 286.011, Florida Statutes, announcement is made of the following meetings for the week of February 7, 2010 through February 13, 2010.
This information will be posted in prominent locations at County facilities and on the County’s web page (www.broward.org/sunmeet.pdf).

If any person shall decide to appeal any decision made with respect to any matter considered at these proceedings, it shall be the responsibility of that person to ensure that a verbatim record is made including testimony and evidence upon which the appeal is to be based.
If you require any auxiliary aids to communication, please call Public Communications Office at 954-357-6990 so that arrangements can be made in advance.


February 9, 2010 - Tuesday

9:30 a.m. Meeting of the Broward County HIV Health Services Planning Council, Outreach QI Network, 915 Middle River Dr., Ft. Lauderdale, FL.

10:00 a.m. Regular meeting of the Board of County Commissioners, Governmental Center Room 422, 115 S. Andrews Ave., Ft. Lauderdale, FL.

10:30 a.m. Meeting of Waste and Recycling Services, Resource Recovery Board, Technical Advisory Committee, Programs Subcommittee, Government Center West, Waste and Recycling Services 4th Floor Waste Wing Conference Room, 1 N. University Dr., Plantation, FL.

1:30 p.m. Meeting of the Board of County Commissioners, Proclamation Announcements and Presentations, Governmental Center Room 422, 115 S. Andrews Ave., Ft. Lauderdale, FL.

2:00 p.m. Public Hearing of the Board of County Commissioners, Governmental Center Room 422, 115 S. Andrews Ave., Ft. Lauderdale, FL.

3:00 p.m. Meeting of the Broward Healthy Start Coalition, QI/QA Committee, Broward Healthy Start Coalition, #304, 6555 Powerline Rd., Ft. Lauderdale, FL.

5:30 p.m. Meeting of the Housing Finance and Community Development Division, Review current Broward County State Housing Initiatives Partnership (SHIP) 2008-2010 Local Housing Assistance Plan strategies and recommend new strategies or revisions to new 2011-2013 LHAP, Housing Finance and Community Development Division, Suite 201, 110 NE Third St., Ft. Lauderdale, FL.

February 10, 2010 - Wednesday

8:00 a.m. Meeting of the Ethics Commission, Governmental Center Room 430, 115 S. Andrews Ave., Ft. Lauderdale, FL. (The public is invited to attend but will only be allowed to ask questions/comment from 11:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.)

9:00 a.m. Meeting of the Children’s Services Administration Section, Needs Assessment Committee, Governmental Center Annex Room A-370, 115 S. Andrews Ave., Ft. Lauderdale, FL.

9:00 a.m. Meeting of the Transportation Department, Review community bus 2010 interlocal agreements, Mass Transit Division Administration Bldg. #1, 2nd Floor Conference Room, 3201 W. Copans Rd., Pompano Beach, FL.

10:00 a.m. Meeting of the Emergency Management Agency, Emergency Coordinating Council; Forum to foster coordination between county and municipal governments in Broward County, with other public and private organizations, which plan for and respond to disasters and other emergencies; Emergency Operations Center, 201 NW 84th Ave., Plantation, FL.

10:30 a.m. Meeting of the Cultural Division, Broward Cultural Council, Public Art and Design Committee, Main Library, Bienes Conference Room on 6th Floor, 100 S. Andrews Ave., Ft. Lauderdale, FL.

1:00 p.m. Meeting of the Aviation Department, RLI #R0729109R1, Professional Design Services for New South Runway at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport to include full design of the New South Runway and preparation of the Design Criteria Package for Runway/Taxiway Structures; Post, Buckley, Schuh, and Jernigan, Inc.; Negotiations, Aviation Department Airport Development Conference Room, 100 Aviation Blvd., Ft. Lauderdale, FL.

2:30 p.m. Meeting of the Enterprise Technology Services, Computronix Master Agreement, Negotiation, Governmental Center County Attorney Office 423, Conference Room No. 4, 115 S. Andrews Ave., Ft. Lauderdale, FL.

3:00 p.m. Meeting of Waste and Recycling Services; In lieu of scheduled Infrastructure Subcommittee meeting, a tour of the Reuter Recyling Facility will be held; 20701 Pembroke Road, Pembroke Pines, FL.

3:30 p.m. Meeting of the Office of Economic and Small Business Development, Broward County/Greater Fort Lauderdale Broward Economic Development Alliance, New Five Year Agreement for Economic Development Services, Negotiation, Governmental Center Room 430, 115 S. Andrews Ave., Ft. Lauderdale, FL.

5:30 p.m. Meeting of the Housing Finance and Community Development Division, Housing Finance Authority of Broward County, Suite 201, 110 NE 3rd St., Ft Lauderdale, FL.

6:30 p.m. Meeting of the Planning and Redevelopment Division, Broward County Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee, Discuss issues regarding bicycles and pedestrians and advise Board of County Commissioners, Governmental Center Room 329F, 115 S. Andrews Ave., Ft. Lauderdale, FL.

February 11, 2010 - Thursday

8:30 p.m. Meeting of the Aviation Department, Contract #T308103CAF, Cost impact to comply with runway safety and phasing for airfield modifications, Central Florida Equipment Rentals, Negotiation, Aviation Department, 100 Aviation Blvd., Ft. Lauderdale, FL.

9:00 a.m. Meeting of the Construction Management Division, RLI #200030904-0CM-01, New Courthouse – Optional Services to Consultant Services Contract, Spillis/Candela/Heery/Cartaya, Negotiations, Governmental Center Annex Room A-550, 115 S. Andrews Ave., Ft. Lauderdale, FL.

9:30 a.m. Meeting of the Metropolitan Planning Organization; Discuss prioritization of transportation projects, to ensure local transportation issues are addressed and funds are appropriately allocated; Governmental Center Room 422, 115 S. Andrews Ave., Ft. Lauderdale, FL.

9:30 a.m. Meeting of the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention and Visitors Bureau, Tourist Development Council, Convention and Visitors Bureau, Suite 200, 100 E. Broward Blvd., Ft. Lauderdale, FL.

9:30 a.m. Meeting of the Office of Public Communications, 2010 Census Complete Count Committee, Promotions Subcommittee, Ongoing planning, Governmental Center Room 302, 115 S. Andrews Ave., Ft. Lauderdale, FL.

10:00 a.m. Meeting of the Seaport Engineering and Construction Division, RLI #20050927-CPD-1, General Architectural Services at Port Everglades, Third Amendment to Agreement, Bermello Ajamil & Partners, Negotiations, Port Administration Bldg., Room 301, 1850 Eller Dr., Ft. Lauderdale, FL.

10:00 a.m. Meeting of Water and Wastewater Services, RLI #R0728501R1, Energy Performance at Water and Wastewater Services, Chevron Energy Solutions, Negotiations, WWS Administration Bldg. No. 1, Administration Board Room on 1st Floor, 2555 W. Copans Rd., Pompano Beach, FL.

11:00 a.m. Meeting of the Management and Efficiency Study Committee, Procurement Subcommittee, Governmental Center Annex Room A-460, 115 S. Andrews Ave., Ft. Lauderdale, FL.

11:00 a.m. Or immediately following the Fire Chief’s Provider meeting, Meeting of the Office of Medical Examiner and Trauma Services, First There First Care Conference Committee, Office of Medical Examiner and Trauma Services Conference Room, 5301 SW 31st Ave., Ft. Lauderdale, FL.

1:00 p.m. Meeting of the Broward Regional Health Planning Council, Inc.; System of Care Workgroup, System of Care Planning in Circuit 17, Broward Regional Health Planning Council, Conference Room 115, 915 Middle River Dr., Ft. Lauderdale, FL.

1:00 p.m. Meeting of the Purchasing Division, Reconvene Selection Committee, RLI #R0754608R1, Wind Mitigation, Governmental Center Room 430, 115 S. Andrews Ave., Ft. Lauderdale, FL.

2:00 p.m. Meeting of the Seaport Engineering and Construction Division, RLI #113098-RB, Berth No. 34 Consultant Services, Third Amendment to Agreement, CH2M Hill, Negotiations, Port Administration Bldg. Legal Conference Room on 5th Floor, 1850 Eller Dr., Ft. Lauderdale, FL.

3:00 p.m. Meeting of the Public Safety Coordinating Committee, Main Courthouse, Court Administration Conference Room, North Wing, 201 SE 6th St., Ft. Lauderdale, FL.

6:00 p.m. Meeting of the Cultural Division, Broward Cultural Council, Social Networking between Emerging Cultural Leaders and Broward Cultural Council, 9360 NW 18th Dr., Plantation, FL.

February 12, 2010 - Friday

8:00 a.m. Meeting of the Ethics Commission, Governmental Center Room 430, 115 S. Andrews Ave., Ft. Lauderdale, FL. (The public is invited to attend but will only be allowed to ask questions and/or comment from 11:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.)

2:30 p.m. Meeting of the Broward County HIV Health Services Planning Council, Mental Health/Substance Abuse QI Network, 915 Middle River Dr., Ft. Lauderdale, FL.

A public flogging of a mendacious judge that's well-deserved -St. Pete Times editorial: Arrogant 'Taj Mahal' judge deserves no leniency

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A public flogging of a mendacious judge that's well-deserved -St. Pete Times editorial: Arrogant 'Taj Mahal' judge deserves no leniency

Even in Florida, where so many aspects of basic public administration, logical checks-and-balances, separation of powers, transparency, public accountability and public records requests are actively fought by the elected officials and the judiciary -and their crony pals and lobbyists who made it all happen for them- eventually, the last shoe falls.

And this time, it's falling with a thud loud enough to be heard across the Sunshine State, in large part thanks to the tireless efforts of reporter Lucy Morgan of the St. Petersburg Times to connect-the-dots on a story that many others in Florida's news media avoided like a hot potato.

Yes, you mix powerful people with a sense of entitlement, old-fashioned notions of prestige, towering arrogance and abuse of the public's trust, and then throw taxpayers funding of it to solve the problem into the picture and you have a combustible end product that could explode before anything is built.

That's something to keep in mind now in Broward County, where judges, lawyers and the local legal and business establishment, plus their contractor friends and elected officials, all wanted a new County courthouse downtown despite the fact that the public does NOT.

So much so that the Broward County Commission refused to even allow the public to vote on the issue as a referendum.

Below is the editorial I had in an email I sent out yesterday to folks around the state, one that could hardly be more spot-on. Not that you would know about it at all based on how skant coverage this story has been on Miami-area TV newscasts.

It's the logical follow-up to my last post on this subject, from January 9th, titled, Florida CFO Jeff Atwater: 'Taj Mahal' courthouse in Tallahassee 'far worse' than a pricey building. And the judges behind it WON'T talk!

http://hallandalebeachblog.blogspot.com/2011/01/florida-cfo-jeff-atwater-taj-mahal.html, and my first one on the subject the month before on December 19th, titled, Lucy Morgan in St. Pete Times: Why can't anyone remember how a $50-million courthouse now called the 'Taj Mahal' stayed off the radar and got okayed?

http://hallandalebeachblog.blogspot.com/2010/12/lucy-morgan-in-st-pete-times-why-cant.html

-----

http://www.tampabay.com/opinion/editorials/arrogant-taj-mahal-judge-deserves-no-leniency/1194166

St. Petersburg Times

A Times Editorial

Arrogant 'Taj Mahal' judge deserves no leniency

In Print: Thursday, September 29, 2011

Paul Hawkes is the arrogant, duplicitous judge on Florida's 1st District Court of Appeal in Tallahassee who put construction of a lavish $50 million courthouse for himself and his fellow judges before judicial ethics or integrity. Now, as he answers for his actions before Florida's Judicial Qualifications Commission, Hawkes should forfeit his job. Any sanction short of Hawkes' removal from the bench would be too lenient in light of the stain he has left on the judiciary.

The formal charges brought in May against Hawkes by a JQC investigative panel describe a man whose ambition has run amok. Allegations include that he blatantly abused his authority to secure money and amenities for the new building, bullied state employees, ordered the destruction of an entire file cabinet of public documents, suggested a furniture vendor underwrite a trip, and even directed a court employee to help his son with legal work.

Concerns over Hawkes' conduct came to light through reporting by St. Petersburg Times senior correspondent Lucy Morgan, who first detailed the outsized role Hawkes played in getting the posh courthouse built even as the grip of a tightening recession meant courts around the state were losing personnel.

It would be a violation of public trust if Hawkes were able to keep his job through a negotiated settlement. Secret negotiations to avoid a trial are under way between lawyers for the JQC and Hawkes. One proposed settlement has already been rejected by the JQC panel, suggesting that Hawkes is looking to get off too easily. If there is no agreement, a trial is likely to begin early next year.

But Hawkes deserves no leniency in return for expediency. He refuses to acknowledge wrongdoing and deflects blame. First, Hawkes provided inaccurate accounts of his actions when testifying in January before a Senate committee. Then, in his formal response to the charges, he pointed a finger of complicity at his fellow appellate court judges, as if they were as much to blame for the ostentatious courthouse. These are not the actions of someone repentant or reformed.

Ultimately the sanctions Hawkes faces will be determined by the Florida Supreme Court, which will review any JQC recommendation but has the final word. Chief Justice Charles Canady, unhappy with Hawkes' conduct and its poor reflection on the judiciary, told Hawkes to resign as chief judge. That same impulse, to protect the integrity of the courts, should inform any settlement deal and require Hawkes' removal from the bench.

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Google Street View of the 1st District Court of Appeal Courthouse at 2000 Drayton Drive, Tallahassee, Florida 32399.

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=2000+Drayton+Drive,+Tallahassee,+Florida+32399-0950&ll=30.396171,-84.233851&spn=0.005812,0.010364&sll=30.396086,-84.234897&sspn=0.006295,0.006295&layer=c&cbp=13,7.94,,0,1.66&cbll=30.396276,-84.233856&gl=us&hnear=2000+Drayton+Dr,+Tallahassee,+Florida+32311&t=h&z=17&vpsrc=0&panoid=IAS9uBrE31ATtEeGMaQhvQ

Lucy Morgan archives: http://www.tampabay.com/writers/article380272.ece

Compare and contrast results of Broward Courthouse vote and New Trier HS building project being defeated by voters; Kudos for JAABLOG

Somewhat sheepish email I had to send out yesterday
afternoon, as I'd originally planned on being up in
Fort Lauderdale for the Commission vote:

February 2nd, 2010
12:45 p.m.

Just called up to Broward Govt. HQ before leaving
to attend and film the public comments portion
of the Broward County Commission meeting on
financing of a proposed Broward Courthouse.

Good thing I made that phone call because they
already voted this morning to approve it, 6-3,
with Commissioners Gunzburger, Rodstrom
and Wexler voting no.

P.S. Just checked JAABLOG before sending this.
http://jaablog.jaablaw.com/
Good thing, too, as he's got more details!

SURPRISE, SURPRISE!
Posted by JAABLOG at 2/2/2010 12:50 PM
The County Commission is building you a new courthouse!
http://jaablog.jaablaw.com/2010/02/02/surprise-surprise.aspx#Comment

-----

Wednesday afternoon I wrote this:

Per the news below from Chicago's North Shore,
since I lived in Evanston and Wilmette, and had
lots of close friends at IU from New Trier,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Trier_High_School
I'm thoroughly aware of the educational/aspirational
mindset there, where the well-educated dual income
parents are VERY into the school, and the kids getting
anything and everything that'll help them.

Sometimes, to an unhealthy degree, since this is the
same school where lots of politically powerful/affluent
parents got their kids into U of I using that special
admission system the Tribune exposed last year.
http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2009/08/2-holdout-u-of-i-trustees-could-get-booted.html

Not that you ever read or heard about that education
scandal down here, of course.
See also: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_notable_alumni_from_New_Trier_High_School

Listen to Trib reader Stu's simple logic and tell
me it doesn't sound exactly like something that could
be said of the latest Broward Courthouse fiasco,
when common economic sense fell by the way-side
yesterday:

"If the board were to have done long range capital improvement planning, they could could have gone to the voters with an incremental plan, doing one facility or section every few years. Instead the board appears to have this very large and over reaching apetite wanting everything now."

All too predictably, the Broward County Commission
chose to channel David Farragut at precisely the
wrong time as they collectively voted
"Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead..."

Since my email yesterday, I added something to
JAABLOG's excellent second commentary about
the Broward Courthouse vote, which I've pasted
at bottom.
There's lots of insight and good info from other
readers, too.

P.S. I'm lovin' it!
McDonald's brings frappes to Chicago area
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-biz-mcdonalds-frappe-0202-,0,5632826.story


Chicago Tribune http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2010/02/new-trier-building-plan-looks-headed-for-defeat.html

New Trier high school building project defeated

By Jeff Long

February 2, 2010

A $174 million building project at New Trier high school appears headed for defeat. The margin was about 63 percent against the project and 37 percent with 97 percent of the vote counted.

Officials called the building project at the Winnetka high school vital to bring the North Shore campus into the 21st century and correct lingering problems, such as having a third of the property inaccessible to disabled students.

But residents opposed to the project said in the weeks leading up to the vote that its scope was too vast, and the price tag too much of a burden in today's economy.

Under the plan, a cafeteria built in 1912 would have been demolished, as would a gym that dates to 1928, a tech arts building constructed in 1931, and a music hall built in 1950. New construction would have included a cafeteria, library, fieldhouse, gym, and 41 classrooms.

Reader comments at:
http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2010/02/new-trier-building-plan-looks-headed-for-defeat.html#comments

-----------

JAABLOG
Fool me once, shame on you; Fool me twice, shame on me ...
Posted by JAABLOG at 2/2/2010 9:29 PM

http://jaablog.jaablaw.com/2010/02/02/fool-me-once-shame-on-you-fool-me-twice-shame-on-me-.aspx#Comment

Here's what I wrote there, part of which I posted
here on Monday:

First, some facts about Tuesday's vote on financing
a new Broward County Courthouse, a story that only
the Daily Business Review, JAABLOG and I wrote about.
Not asking for plaudits, just noting it for historical context.

For those courthouse denizens who animate this blog
with their constant contempt of Broward taxpayers thru
your comments here, who think that a new Broward
County Courthouse is very important, guess what?

The South Florida news media could hardly care less
about you. You barely register on their horizon.
You are insignificant.

In the days and weeks before the vote, the two daily
South Florida newspapers and the four network TV
stations sat on their hands and reported nothing
about this issue.

Neither the Herald or the Sun-Sentinel have
mentioned this subject in print or online since
last September, when a Guest Op-Ed purported
to have been written by Comm. Stacy Ritter was
published in the Sun-Sentinel.

Once again, on something very important,
South Florida's news media has shown they were
sleeping on the job, and let the people down.

Did you EVER see anything last year on TV about
the ties that the members of the Lieberman-led
Task Force had to the Broward legal establishment,
who desperately want a brand new pony?
Preferably, with a brand-new barn and a lifetime
supply of feed. On the taxpayer's dime.
Nope.
There never was one,

Watching the coverage Tuesday night at 11 p.m.,
actually thinking there'd be some interviews
-with somebody!- this point was drive home
all over again.

At 11:16 p.m. CBS-4's Antonio Mora did a 15-second
read without any visuals and said the vote happened
"last night," which as we know, is incorrect.
At 11:27 p.m., Local10's Laurie Jennings also did a
15-second read with archived visuals of yellow tape
and leaking ceilings.
There's the press coverage of your shiny new pony.

And why is it that so few usually well-informed
people actually know how poorly Lieberman
handled the rigged Task Force last year?
I wrote last year on my blog how she and the
county administrators didn't follow basic aspects
of the state's Sunshine Laws, and instead,
tried to fool the public by arranging for the agenda
and assorted relevant public docs for the last meeting,
which should've been online before the meeting,
to be placed online HOURS AFTER the last meeting
was already over.

Not that they actually had the final public meeting
listed online days before the meeting, since they didn't.

Lieberman was the one in charge -the Chair.
But the media didn't care -just like now.

Keep up the great work, JAABLOG!

While most of South Florida's media suffers from
Super Bowl Swoon, JAABLOG keeps it real!
Kudos!

DCWATCH kindly reminds us how ineffectual Eric Holder was as U.S. Attorney for D.C.

Sunday, December 14, 2008 
5:25 PM

As a longtime reader of dcwatch.com -and more recently, an actual subscriber via email- I just wanted to send up another flare to you re Eric Holder, like some of my previous head's up,
where dcwatch was the first to really ring the bell on the Cult of Michelle Rhee and her failure to produce "any measurable improvement in student performance" in D.C., the lack of national media attention shown to Mayor Adrian Fenty's autocratic ways, etc., which you'd think even the cablenets would've noticed by now, once the election was over.

But no, and certainly not now that we all have Rod Blagojevich to keep the cablenets yakking.
Anger and Indignation http://www.dcwatch.com/themail/2008/08-02-03.htm
A City of Enemies http://www.dcwatch.com/themail/2008/08-08-20.htm
Practice Makes Imperfect http://www.dcwatch.com/themail/2008/08-12-03.htm

They have been all over the Michelle Rhee story in a way that nobody else in the country has been, even while columnists all over the country, who are unaware of the reality, jump on her media bandwagon and join the flack army with nary a thought.

I remember when I first read the Washington City Paper story below about Eric Holder eleven years ago. It immediately reminded me of another one of the corruption stories I heard about shortly after I moved to Capitol Hill, ironically, across the street from Sen. and Mrs. Moynihan, the man who first publicly defined deviancy down.
Right near the intersection of East Capitol Street and S.E. 7th Street where an early DC friend of mine who worked at the State Dept. was beaten robbed at gunpoint my first summer on 'the Hill.'

It was one of those news stories that made me stop and think, "Only in DC!," in the same incredulous way I'd always though about certain things being "Only in South Florida!" from having grown up done here and being deeply involved in Dade and state politics at an early age in the '70's -and having a father who worked as a Dade County policeman for over 25 years.
Usually, the "Only in South Florida!" story had the requisite foreign intrigue angle or something about crates marked bananas actually being weapons being smuggled out towards some distant war zone, or allegations about someone really being either a foreign spy or CIA or...

The DC Public Schools had decided to create a summer program for employees who were cafeteria workers at schools eight months out of the year.
The idea was to supplement their pay by during the summer to ensure they stayed afloat financially and ensure they'd be available once school started up in August.
Now as I recall it, once you signed up, you were assured of getting a paycheck, regardless of whether you actually were called in to do some work over the course of the summer.

Well, naturally, things being what they were in DC at the time, with little advance thought given to the overall process or what sort of audit control system they'd have, other than names being written down on a list -somewhere- things went about as bad as possible.
If there were X amount of legitimate workers entitled to be in the system, DCPS was actually paying something along the lines of 2.3X in checks, with hundreds of people who weren't legit actually receiving govt. checks for months on end.
Result: Most people getting DCPS' summer checks didn't actually work for the school system.

I don't recall now if there were any federal funds attached to the summer worker program, though my guess is yes, since the DC school system then wasn't exactly a great incubator of bright ideas or overflowing with cash.

It's also important to grasp a point the article hints at: DC juries then were a notoriously bad way to try to prosecute crime and corruption, because to many, the whole city was tainted, and not a place that respected the rule of law but rather the law of opportunity, with no judgment given or taken for how people got their hands on money.

Over 15 years of living in the area, I had my fair share of friends who served on DC juries who later told me that it was one of the worst experiences they ever went thru, largely because of the number of people on the jury with them who were not the least bit interested in upholding their responsibility.
Or, even in paying attention.
It literally scared them to death to think about all the people whose fates had been left up to such dis-interested DC residents, a subject they'd never hertofore considered, their personality and politics being what it was.
And if you don't think that experiences like this give people pause, and cause them to re-think their decision to eschew the suburbs for the city, for some abstract idea of living in a diverse urban village, you're very much mistaken.
Actually, in two specific cases I can think of, it proved to be the last straw, and led to them moving the family out towards me in Northern Virginia.

This laissez-faire attitude towards crime and corruption was brough home to me personally by a very brilliant and dedicated friend who was a prosecutor under Holder, but someone who, initially, took DC's culture of crime, cronyism and corruption a little too personally.
I felt like Jack McCoy trying to shake her out of her funk.

After I met her and we'd become trusted friends, I started attending her trials whenever I could manage, which -shocker!- often involved gangs, guns and lots of mayhem.
She later told me she thought it was odd that local DC media, who always seemed to be camped outside of the courthouse, and who came to recognize who all the other courthouse "regulars" were, never thought to wonder aloud on the air or in print, why so many young teens were always congregating inside the courthouse who didn't have a legitimate reason to be there.

She was right of course, as the sense of obliviousness by so-called security in the courthouse was palpable to anyone paying even the slightest amount of attention.

Yeah, witness intimidation was yet another thing that if not exactly winked at, got MUCH less
attention -and media attention- than it rightfully deserved then.
It finally got to the point that once she'd arrived at the Metro train station closest to our neighborhood, she'd walk thru a very large office building lobby, so she could be sure that nobody was following her home from the courthouse.

Having first heard and then seen what I had, what was I going to do, tell her that she was wrong to be concerned, when there was ample evidence she was right?

Personally, I think unless he's prepared to put the whole thing around President Clinton's neck, the more that Eric Holder tries to describe his own role in the Marc Rich pardon, the more difficult his nomination will be to swallow whole by the Senate.
Plus, there's the prospect of him having to discuss Elián González...
_______________________________________________
excerpt from the latest dcwatch.com posting

Partying in the mail, December 10, 2008
Dear Partiers:

For some reason, which is unrelated to local DC affairs and which we therefore won't mention (Blagojevich), we've been thinking about government corruption a lot today.
The problem with political corruption in the District of Columbia, as opposed to some other unnamed states (Illinois), is that political corruption is almost never prosecuted here, and there aren't any negative consequences for engaging in it. (The DC workers who stole from the Office of Tax and Revenue weren't engaged in government corruption; they were practicing just plain old-fashioned thievery.)
One of the best examples of official overlooking of official corruption occurred in the last term of Mayor Marion Barry. The US Attorney for the District of Columbia for three-and-a-half years of that term never prosecuted a single instance of official corruption, and his inattentiveness didn't seem to hurt his career (see Stephanie Mencimer, "Placeholder?", http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/display.php?id=12207). _________________________________________________
Washington City Paper
PlaceHolder?
With 12 years' experience prosecuting public corruption at the Justice Department, U.S. Attorney Eric Holder was a perfect choice to clean up a corrupt city. But after three and a half years, he may be moving on, and D.C. is still one of the most crooked cities in the nation.
By Stephanie Mencimer
Mar. 7 - 13, 1997 (Vol. 17, #10)

When President Bill Clinton tapped Eric Holder to be U.S. Attorney for D.C. in 1993, he immediately became the District's black sheriff in the white hat. The first African-American ever to hold the job, Holder's appointment broke a stretch of 12 years of white Republicans overseeing the predominantly black city. Not only was Holder representative of the city's majority population, but the former D.C. Superior Court judge had gone straight from Columbia Law School to the Justice Department's public integrity section, where he had spent 12 years successfully prosecuting corrupt public officials. Many people in the District were thrilled; Holder arrived with both exceptional qualifications and the moral authority to crack down on public corruption without the taint of racism that derailed his predecessors.

Up to that time, the city's relationship with the U.S. Attorney's office had been an awkward one. During the 1980s, the city watched as former U.S. Attorneys Jay Stephens and Joseph diGenova went after Mayor Marion Barry and his cronies only to be thwarted by juries that saw their prosecutions as politically and racially motivated crusades aimed at bringing down a popularly elected black mayor. Not only did Barry prevail in court, he came back and then some, reclaiming his old job in 1995. In spite of his history of personal malfeasance, a majority of city residents were willing to give Barry the benefit of the doubt. But many drew confidence from the fact that when Barry moved into 1 Judiciary Square, Holder would be a block away, looking over his shoulder. Holder seemed like a gold-plated insurance policy promising that Barry wouldn't get one over on the city. After all, Holder knew as much about prosecuting corruption as Barry seemed to know about perpetrating it.

After three and a half years on the job, Holder is still revered in the city's halls of power and widely respected by his peers in the legal field. He is the presumptive nominee to replace outgoing U.S. Deputy Attorney General Jamie Gorelick, a major plum position. He is infinitely qualified by all accounts, and his appointment would be a historic one, since the position has never been held by an African-American. But for all the love Holder has engendered in the community as U.S. Attorney, he has had precious little impact on the city's endemic municipal corruption. Barry has returned to his old tricks, nudging contracts and city jobs to old cronies and new girlfriends. Holder is apparently leaving, and he hasn't thrown a punch.
It isn't for lack of targets.

To read the rest of this great article, go to
http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/display.php?id=12207

Stephanie Mencimer is now at Mother Jones.
For her more recent work, go to
http://www.motherjones.com/people/Stephanie-Mencimer.html