I posted this on parent South Beach Hoosier blog Saturday.
_____________________________________________
So, based on today's March on Politics blog posting, by William March of the Tampa Tribune, comes word that after-the-fact, State Senator Steve Geller is now arguing publicly that he was not really serious about what he voted on months ago when he voted for the January 29th primary date...
So does that mean that Steve Geller, a man who truly considers himself a master tactician and political operator, was hoodwinked months ago?
Well, it really can't be both can it?
That he wasn't serious but he also wasn't hoodwinked?
How do you prove a double-negative?
It reminds South Beach Hoosier of something a longtime favorite of his used to say, but with laughter.
Richard Lewis used to regularly say at some point in his absolutely hilarious appearances in the mid-'80's on Chicago's Steve & Garry Show (Steve Dahl and Garry Meier), on WLUP-FM, about his many bad dating experiences: "Two wrongs don't make a right."
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0507659/
(See http://www.dahl.com/ for latest info on broadcaster Steve Dahl.
Steve was responsible for some of the very best radio programming SBH has ever heard, and on some afternoons, especially in the summertime, they seemed to be playing in the background of every other store in downtown Evanston, when S&G were at their most popular and nobody wanted to miss their comments. They were just amazing!)
If Geller is telling the truth -now- and South Beach Hoosier doesn't think that he is, why did so many people who were actually in the Capitol and who have no reason to lie about it, contemporaneously characterize his demeanor the way they did, suggesting that he was wearing his trademark smirk in the moments before his vote?
As usual, with almost everything Geller touches, his answer rings both hollow and self-serving.
Does he really think that nobody is paying attention when he does these things?
Maybe he thinks he's like so many members of the Hallandale Beach City Commission, to name but one locally elected panel of whom I've personally observed this particular behavior in, who so often appear unsure of the material that's in front of them and ask meandering or self-serving questions, but then, afterwards, want the public who observed their nonsensical actions and unusual behavior to disregard it.
Like they were all just actors playing a role.
Like Geller is really just a Romulan spy in a cloaked ship, which allows him to act upon his whims and flights of fancy un-noticed by the rest of us -until he has to de-cloak before firing a weapon.
My own experience in local, state and national politics is that regardless of the locale, in a circular firing squad, the person who loaded the gun is just as responsible as the person who fired it.
Just dust it for fingerprints!
A good C.S.I. team will find Geller's are all over the gun. _______________________________________
Tampa Tribune
March on Politics
Geller Tries To Set Record Straight On Florida Primary, Says Dems May Suffer In November
Posted Feb 22, 2008 by William March
http://www.tboblogs.com/index.php/news/story/geller-tries-to-set-record-straight-on-florida-primary-says-dems-may-suffer/
In case you missed it last July, Herald reporter Gary Fineout had some info about Geller's new political group, a new committee of continuous existence (CCE) called "Floridians for a Stronger Tomorrow."
Now that's comedy!!!
http://miamiherald.typepad.com/nakedpolitics/2007/07/geller-raising-.html
Previous South Beach Hoosier posts on Steve Geller, most recent first:
http://southbeachhoosier.blogspot.com/2008/02/bte-noire-steve-geller-to-be-roasted.html
http://southbeachhoosier.blogspot.com/2008/02/steve-gellers-antics-cowardly-miami.html
Monday, February 25, 2008
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Steve Geller's antics; cowardly Miami Herald editorial board
Monday February 4, 2008
3:45 pm
Just wanted to call your attention to some interesting news I discovered via the Orlando Sentinel a few minutes ago, via email.
Don't think I ever mentioned it here before, but I subscribe to the Orlando Sentinel's excellent political blog, Central Florida Political Pulse, which seems, thus far, to have the great advantage of being able to call 'em like they see 'em with much more freedom than is generally common with other political blogs affiliated with newspapers.
Say, unlike the Miami Herald's political blog, Naked Politics, to name but one.
http://miamiherald.typepad.com/nakedpolitics/
That low-hanging target, which for the better part of its existence didn't have even a single link to other Herald blogs on their site, still doesn't link to any other newspaper political blog, even ones within the state. Now that's using technology!
(Sounds like a Kim Marcille directive to me.)
The Pulse had an item today that FSU's President, T. K. Wetherell, has suddenly realized the true nature of his job situation, after what only seems like Fourscore and seven ethical lapses and arrests among FSU athletes.
That is, that he was, in fact, within the FSU hierarchy, the wagging tail, not the lead dog.
Well, at least now he knows the score!
He's been chasing the tail all this time, getting damn frustrated.
Now, he's chagrined to discover that he's just like the dog on that hysterical Comedy Central show of a few years ago, TV Funhouse. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TV_Funhouse
I've always loved the term the NCAA uses in documents to describe situations less egregious than this one at FSU, albeit, usually at non-winning schools that can't sell merchandise and get big TV ratings all around the country like the Seminoles: lack of institutional control.
See SMU and death penalty, circa early 1980's.
Unfortunately for my tastes, the Miami Herald continues to walk a far-too-careful tip-toe around the very curious actions and puzzling behavior of Steve Geller, where there's never any telling from moment to moment which of his many 'hats for hire' he's wearing, a topic that both of my blogs will be addressing in the future.
One minute, Geller is the esteemed State Senator and top Senate Democrat of the fourth largest state in the country, a wheeler-dealer in a tiny govt. town who's in love with the sound of his own voice, and who proudly proclaimed his role at the time, complete with trademark smirk and sarcasm, in moving up the date of the presidential primary.
An hour later, Geller is the corporate lawyer/bully, trying to not only prevent Hallandale Beach residents living near the proposal -his constituents- at a City Commission meeting from opposing his client's bad plans to build an over sized bldg. near their homes, but even worse, actively trying to prevent them from even being able to speak during the public comments portion of the commission meeting.
(Months ago when it happened, I actually was so appalled by Geller's antics that I called a Herald reporter I respect on my cellphone, and then gave her a play-by-play of what happened,
as it happened.
That was really my only card to play because the Herald didn't think to assign someone to a public meeting that produced the largest building in Broward on U.S.-1 south of downtown Fort Lauderdale, the DOMUS project across from Gulfstream Park.)
Later, Geller wears the lobbyist hat he probably loves most, where he gets paid to alternately persuade/schmooze/ply city officials -also his constituents- to grant favors to or accept the plans of his myriad corporate clients who pay him handsomely.
Clients that doubtless make campaign contribution$, wouldn't you guess?
Yes, it's really quite a circle of love, isn't it?
Fortunately, the Sentinel and their blog runs accurate-but-negative things about the ethically-challenged State Senator Geller, who'll continue to mis-represent me and my neighbors up in Tallahassee for a few more months until he's term-limited out of his cozy confine$ in the lap of power.
(Geller has a big fundraiser in Tallahassee this week amongst his pals and clients for an election two years from now, when he'll try to take away Suzanne Gunzburger's seat on the Broward County Commission.
He's not even letting the fact that his Cooper City house isn't legally in the district prevent him from raising money.
He's Steve Geller -he does what he likes.)
The Sentinel blog carried the amusing item below about Wetherell, the former pol and FL House Speaker put in his cushy job by his pals to run a college whose reputation around the country, such as it is, rests almost entirely on its gridiron prowess, not its contributions to anything of real note or consequence, which may be a good thing in the end.
Well, okay, save for some NOAA hurricane/weather forecasters and some very cute FSU coeds, famous for smiling while wearing skimpy outfits at football games.
See http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2680844980098792027WIsYXc and http://www.cybersportsblog.com/2005_archives/dec_daily_news/956-FSU-hotties.html
And, quite naturally, trying desperately to hang onto that 15 Minutes, witness Jenn Sterger, whose fame first came at the FSU at U-M game a few years ago. http://www.jennsterger.com/ Jenn at Wrigley Field: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/jenn_sterger/07/26/mailbag/index.html
One last thing, and it's troubling to me in so many ways that I can't even begin to get into here, but here's the gist of it, with more posts about the subject in the near future, when I post some reviews about aspects of the Herald that I've been sitting on for months.
In reading the article in the Herald last Saturday about the passing of former Herald editorial page editor Jim Hampton, Former Miami Herald editorial page editor dies
http://www.miamiherald.com/548/story/403335.html , I came across a rather curious comment from a Herald insider, one which caused me to roll my eyes, since I know only too well how drastically the newspaper needs to be turned around to make it relevant and better in a changing environment.
After I read this comment, I wondered how many other people in South Florida who care about public policy the way I do had a similar reaction:
Hampton's imprint is still apparent on the Editorial Board he helped shape. ''Who we are and how we function is Jim's handiwork,'' [current Herald editorial page editor] Oglesby said.
Hmmm...
By that, does Oglesby mean the way the powers-that-be at the Herald played chicken recently with their readers, when their Editorial Board didn't make an endorsement in either party for the Florida presidential primary?
That abdication of basic civic responsibility caused even-tempered Channel 10/WPLG political editor Michael Putney so much indignation, that he felt compelled to mention it to his politically savvy audience last Sunday morning, on his popular TV show, This Week in South Florida.
You know, just in case his viewers hadn't noticed its absence in their Sunday Herald while they were munching on their breakfast.
Given the current state of the Herald, I don't know if Mr. Oglesby's comments were something I'd be bragging about if I were related to Mr. Hampton.
But maybe that's just me.
FYI: Last Thursday, I spent the hour in between the two episodes of SouthBeachHoosier TV favorite Chuck on NBC, reading the wit and wisdom of "DUMP STEVE GELLER," an opinionated person in D.C. -so they say- on various forums on a variety of topics, including tax reform, education and the South Florida Sun-Sentinel's bias.
I don't know anything about who this person might be, but it's interesting that someone who lives in D.C., if that's true, would have such contempt and antipathy towards him.
Mine comes much more natural -geographical proximity.
For more information on the antics of Steve Geller, please see this dead-on Sept. 7th story from five months ago.
http://news.tbo.com/news/metro/MGB25AM2A6F.html
Line In Sand Has Democrats Hopping by William March of the Tampa Tribune
Well, what do you know, National Dems are as unimpressed by the blustery comments of Geller as his constituents, and the media who collectively hope he'll get his comeuppance somehow.
"State Senate Democratic leader Steve Geller of Hallandale Beach, responding to the candidates' threat to boycott the Florida primary campaign over the Jan. 29 date, angrily urged Floridians to withdraw their endorsements for the candidates - and maybe their money.
"If the DNC chairman and the Democratic candidates choose to ignore our voters, then we can choose to ignore their campaigns," Geller said. "And where we go, so goes our wallets."
Of course, months earlier, Geller's penchant for bombast and delusions of importance cost the state of Florida, as this insightful May 17th post by Jason Garcia on the Pulse blog makes all too clear, http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/news_politics/2007/05/geller_to_dean_.html
The August 28th response to the post, which references Adam Smith of the St. Pete Times' comments, is one that the Herald and the rest of South Florida would've been smart to share with local residents, but never did.
Why do you suppose that is?
http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/news_politics/2008/02/wetherell-criti.html
Wetherell criticizes FSU athletic department posted by Aaron Deslatte on Feb 4, 2008
_________________________________________
The whole story of Wetherell's self-discovery
www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/college/seminoles/orl-newfsu0408feb04,0,3525431.story
SENTINEL EXCLUSIVE
FSU president knocks Seminoles athletic department
Didn't trust athletic department to conduct cheating probe
Andrew Carter, Sentinel Staff Writer
3:45 pm
Just wanted to call your attention to some interesting news I discovered via the Orlando Sentinel a few minutes ago, via email.
Don't think I ever mentioned it here before, but I subscribe to the Orlando Sentinel's excellent political blog, Central Florida Political Pulse, which seems, thus far, to have the great advantage of being able to call 'em like they see 'em with much more freedom than is generally common with other political blogs affiliated with newspapers.
Say, unlike the Miami Herald's political blog, Naked Politics, to name but one.
http://miamiherald.typepad.com/nakedpolitics/
That low-hanging target, which for the better part of its existence didn't have even a single link to other Herald blogs on their site, still doesn't link to any other newspaper political blog, even ones within the state. Now that's using technology!
(Sounds like a Kim Marcille directive to me.)
The Pulse had an item today that FSU's President, T. K. Wetherell, has suddenly realized the true nature of his job situation, after what only seems like Fourscore and seven ethical lapses and arrests among FSU athletes.
That is, that he was, in fact, within the FSU hierarchy, the wagging tail, not the lead dog.
Well, at least now he knows the score!
He's been chasing the tail all this time, getting damn frustrated.
Now, he's chagrined to discover that he's just like the dog on that hysterical Comedy Central show of a few years ago, TV Funhouse. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TV_Funhouse
I've always loved the term the NCAA uses in documents to describe situations less egregious than this one at FSU, albeit, usually at non-winning schools that can't sell merchandise and get big TV ratings all around the country like the Seminoles: lack of institutional control.
See SMU and death penalty, circa early 1980's.
Unfortunately for my tastes, the Miami Herald continues to walk a far-too-careful tip-toe around the very curious actions and puzzling behavior of Steve Geller, where there's never any telling from moment to moment which of his many 'hats for hire' he's wearing, a topic that both of my blogs will be addressing in the future.
One minute, Geller is the esteemed State Senator and top Senate Democrat of the fourth largest state in the country, a wheeler-dealer in a tiny govt. town who's in love with the sound of his own voice, and who proudly proclaimed his role at the time, complete with trademark smirk and sarcasm, in moving up the date of the presidential primary.
An hour later, Geller is the corporate lawyer/bully, trying to not only prevent Hallandale Beach residents living near the proposal -his constituents- at a City Commission meeting from opposing his client's bad plans to build an over sized bldg. near their homes, but even worse, actively trying to prevent them from even being able to speak during the public comments portion of the commission meeting.
(Months ago when it happened, I actually was so appalled by Geller's antics that I called a Herald reporter I respect on my cellphone, and then gave her a play-by-play of what happened,
as it happened.
That was really my only card to play because the Herald didn't think to assign someone to a public meeting that produced the largest building in Broward on U.S.-1 south of downtown Fort Lauderdale, the DOMUS project across from Gulfstream Park.)
Later, Geller wears the lobbyist hat he probably loves most, where he gets paid to alternately persuade/schmooze/ply city officials -also his constituents- to grant favors to or accept the plans of his myriad corporate clients who pay him handsomely.
Clients that doubtless make campaign contribution$, wouldn't you guess?
Yes, it's really quite a circle of love, isn't it?
Fortunately, the Sentinel and their blog runs accurate-but-negative things about the ethically-challenged State Senator Geller, who'll continue to mis-represent me and my neighbors up in Tallahassee for a few more months until he's term-limited out of his cozy confine$ in the lap of power.
(Geller has a big fundraiser in Tallahassee this week amongst his pals and clients for an election two years from now, when he'll try to take away Suzanne Gunzburger's seat on the Broward County Commission.
He's not even letting the fact that his Cooper City house isn't legally in the district prevent him from raising money.
He's Steve Geller -he does what he likes.)
The Sentinel blog carried the amusing item below about Wetherell, the former pol and FL House Speaker put in his cushy job by his pals to run a college whose reputation around the country, such as it is, rests almost entirely on its gridiron prowess, not its contributions to anything of real note or consequence, which may be a good thing in the end.
Well, okay, save for some NOAA hurricane/weather forecasters and some very cute FSU coeds, famous for smiling while wearing skimpy outfits at football games.
See http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2680844980098792027WIsYXc and http://www.cybersportsblog.com/2005_archives/dec_daily_news/956-FSU-hotties.html
And, quite naturally, trying desperately to hang onto that 15 Minutes, witness Jenn Sterger, whose fame first came at the FSU at U-M game a few years ago. http://www.jennsterger.com/ Jenn at Wrigley Field: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/jenn_sterger/07/26/mailbag/index.html
One last thing, and it's troubling to me in so many ways that I can't even begin to get into here, but here's the gist of it, with more posts about the subject in the near future, when I post some reviews about aspects of the Herald that I've been sitting on for months.
In reading the article in the Herald last Saturday about the passing of former Herald editorial page editor Jim Hampton, Former Miami Herald editorial page editor dies
http://www.miamiherald.com/548/story/403335.html , I came across a rather curious comment from a Herald insider, one which caused me to roll my eyes, since I know only too well how drastically the newspaper needs to be turned around to make it relevant and better in a changing environment.
After I read this comment, I wondered how many other people in South Florida who care about public policy the way I do had a similar reaction:
Hampton's imprint is still apparent on the Editorial Board he helped shape. ''Who we are and how we function is Jim's handiwork,'' [current Herald editorial page editor] Oglesby said.
Hmmm...
By that, does Oglesby mean the way the powers-that-be at the Herald played chicken recently with their readers, when their Editorial Board didn't make an endorsement in either party for the Florida presidential primary?
That abdication of basic civic responsibility caused even-tempered Channel 10/WPLG political editor Michael Putney so much indignation, that he felt compelled to mention it to his politically savvy audience last Sunday morning, on his popular TV show, This Week in South Florida.
You know, just in case his viewers hadn't noticed its absence in their Sunday Herald while they were munching on their breakfast.
Given the current state of the Herald, I don't know if Mr. Oglesby's comments were something I'd be bragging about if I were related to Mr. Hampton.
But maybe that's just me.
FYI: Last Thursday, I spent the hour in between the two episodes of SouthBeachHoosier TV favorite Chuck on NBC, reading the wit and wisdom of "DUMP STEVE GELLER," an opinionated person in D.C. -so they say- on various forums on a variety of topics, including tax reform, education and the South Florida Sun-Sentinel's bias.
I don't know anything about who this person might be, but it's interesting that someone who lives in D.C., if that's true, would have such contempt and antipathy towards him.
Mine comes much more natural -geographical proximity.
For more information on the antics of Steve Geller, please see this dead-on Sept. 7th story from five months ago.
http://news.tbo.com/news/metro/MGB25AM2A6F.html
Line In Sand Has Democrats Hopping by William March of the Tampa Tribune
Well, what do you know, National Dems are as unimpressed by the blustery comments of Geller as his constituents, and the media who collectively hope he'll get his comeuppance somehow.
"State Senate Democratic leader Steve Geller of Hallandale Beach, responding to the candidates' threat to boycott the Florida primary campaign over the Jan. 29 date, angrily urged Floridians to withdraw their endorsements for the candidates - and maybe their money.
"If the DNC chairman and the Democratic candidates choose to ignore our voters, then we can choose to ignore their campaigns," Geller said. "And where we go, so goes our wallets."
Of course, months earlier, Geller's penchant for bombast and delusions of importance cost the state of Florida, as this insightful May 17th post by Jason Garcia on the Pulse blog makes all too clear, http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/news_politics/2007/05/geller_to_dean_.html
The August 28th response to the post, which references Adam Smith of the St. Pete Times' comments, is one that the Herald and the rest of South Florida would've been smart to share with local residents, but never did.
Why do you suppose that is?
http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/news_politics/2008/02/wetherell-criti.html
Wetherell criticizes FSU athletic department posted by Aaron Deslatte on Feb 4, 2008
_________________________________________
The whole story of Wetherell's self-discovery
www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/college/seminoles/orl-newfsu0408feb04,0,3525431.story
SENTINEL EXCLUSIVE
FSU president knocks Seminoles athletic department
Didn't trust athletic department to conduct cheating probe
Andrew Carter, Sentinel Staff Writer
Sunday, February 3, 2008
South Florida suffers in the comparison -AGAIN!; DC's Shaw neighborhood is getting cleaned-up!
This is a January 31st post I made on parent blog, South Beach Hoosier, which has obvious lessons for Hallandale Beach.
________________________________
Wow!!!
Was spending some time on the computer yesterday double-checking some information about a local matter back up in DC, and happened to come across some really amazing news that took place in the long-beleaguered Shaw neighborhood of Washington, something that should've taken place years ago if the city was run more for the benefit of its citizens and residents instead of the commercial interests.
The amazing photos tell the tale better than I ever could.
I found this most happy nugget on the post of January 29th on the forum and blog of DC Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 2CO2's Commissioner Kevin Chapple.
http://chappleanc.com/public/index.php/sitesnsounds
See also the cogent blog comments and photos at both the dcist and jimbo.info
http://dcist.com/2008/01/29/ddot_removes_sh.php and http://www.jimbo.info/weblog/2008/01/the-deshoeing-of-the-sycamore.html
I can only imagine what people coming home from work all around the greater Washington area must've thought when they first turned on their TV.
Rather than being confronted with the latest in a series of never ending bad news, whether drive-by shooting of innocent kids, or the latest account of ethics/criminal charges involving some local pol, actually heard some positive and uplifting news for a change: nothing.
They were too dumbfounded for words!
I'm sure that the whole electronic armada of Washington's local TV news satellite trucks were on hand to record the event for posterity, and get the somewhat dazed comments of happy neighbors, who, in all likelihood, probably thought the shoes might never come down before the whole tree did.
South Florida public policy types like myself can only look from afar and sigh wistfully when confronted with this.
Not only the actions taken but also the impressive way that Mr. Chapple has empowered his community with useful information to communicate to the general public and neighborhood activists -and the outside world- the likes of which I've never seen or heard about in this part of the world.
Knowing how things are really done down here, we can only bow our heads in shame when comparing Commissioner Chapple's efforts to the rather shocking bare-bones or even schlock government website portals that so many local elected officials down here hide behind.
Let me remind you of but one example I've already written about before in this space.
This past summer, during the height of the drought, when I tried to alert the City of Aventura to a rapidly spreading water leak on a sidewalk alongside U.S.-1, after nobody at Aventura City Hall would take my phone call shortly before 5:00 p.m., I sent an email with all the particulars to the mayor, city manager and assorted council members, hoping that someone would see it.
Moments later, my email to them was returned to me, marked as possible spam by Aventura's own website!
What a slap in the face!
After this confounding affair, I called the Aventura Police Dept., and reported the water situation, but only after asking the officer I spoke with why it was that the Police Dept. were the only folks in the so-called "City of Excellence" actually answering their telephone during normal city business hours.
And let's not forget life in the the postage stamp-sized duchy where I live, the City of Hallandale Beach.
Nearly a year after I first alerted City Hall officials to some rather obvious longstanding problems on A1A, U.S.-1 and Hallandale Beach Boulevard, as well as at the public beach, and later placed supporting evidence by way of photographs of just some of the offending problems on my blog, www.HallandaleBeachBlog.blogspot.com , the city STILL hasn't done a single thing to rectify these solved problems!
In fact, recent walking tours of the offending areas show it's actually worse!
There is a car fender/bumper and other small auto parts, as well as broken glass, from some sort of car accident that took place almost three months ago, on the south sidewalk of the 1100 block of East Hallandale Beach Blvd.
There's been yellow tape around it all this time, but it never gets cleaned up!!!!!!!
I'll have photos of that perfect example of the city's incompetency up on my Hallandale Beach Blog in a few days, including some from a point of view that show how ridiculously close it is to the Hallandale Beach Chamber of Commerce.
It's not hiding, it's in plain sight: on one of the three main roads of the city.
In November, I had what I thought at the time was an earnest one-hour talk at City Hall with two people from City Manager Mike Good's office about the myriad problems I'd publicly
identified in this blog, and discussed over and over with my family, friends and fellow citizens.
Armed with enough facts & figures and logic & reason to leave them somewhat dazed at the amount of specific information I could give them without notes, I started telling my story.
After about thirty minutes of recounting one embarrassing anecdote after another of the city's cluelessness -like placing giant water pipes in the Fire Lane of an apt. complex full of senior citizens, without anything around it!- I got my second wind.
After a while, the two city employees seemed to get a bit shell-shocked at the sheer amount of detailed information I could identify that was self-evident to anyone with eyesight.
Towards the end, they seemed somewhat pained at how far short the city seems to be in delivering for its citizens and residents, if not outright embarrassed.
But maybe I'm projecting.
I recounted many anecdotes, only a fraction of which I've ever mentioned in my HBB blog.
The ones I did mention all had one thing in in common: how poorly the City of Hallandale Beach continues to be managed, administered and coordinated, regarding even the most basic of services.
When I reminded them that the problems were so obvious that I'd placed photos of them on HBB, they just sighed.
Most galling of all, of course, is that I told them that there seem to be a complete absence of any sort of real punishment or rebuke for city employees NOT doing their jobs properly, or ignoring problems that could hardly be more obvious.
And here we are, more than two months-plus since that conversation, and an observant walk around the city reveals that nothing's changed!
Welcome to the City of Hallandale Beach in the year 2008.
________________________________
Wow!!!
Was spending some time on the computer yesterday double-checking some information about a local matter back up in DC, and happened to come across some really amazing news that took place in the long-beleaguered Shaw neighborhood of Washington, something that should've taken place years ago if the city was run more for the benefit of its citizens and residents instead of the commercial interests.
The amazing photos tell the tale better than I ever could.
Whether they represent gang territory, a drug market, the
site of other criminal activity or some combination of all those things, DDOT and MPD crews were out this morning removing all of the shoes from one of the trees on the south side of the 400 block of Q Street NW. This particular problem has been ignored for years and residents have stated that the sight of these shoes caught up tree branches, or on cobra-style street lights, contributed to a threatening environment — much like gang tags.
I found this most happy nugget on the post of January 29th on the forum and blog of DC Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 2CO2's Commissioner Kevin Chapple.
http://chappleanc.com/public/index.php/sitesnsounds
See also the cogent blog comments and photos at both the dcist and jimbo.info
http://dcist.com/2008/01/29/ddot_removes_sh.php and http://www.jimbo.info/weblog/2008/01/the-deshoeing-of-the-sycamore.html
I can only imagine what people coming home from work all around the greater Washington area must've thought when they first turned on their TV.
Rather than being confronted with the latest in a series of never ending bad news, whether drive-by shooting of innocent kids, or the latest account of ethics/criminal charges involving some local pol, actually heard some positive and uplifting news for a change: nothing.
They were too dumbfounded for words!
I'm sure that the whole electronic armada of Washington's local TV news satellite trucks were on hand to record the event for posterity, and get the somewhat dazed comments of happy neighbors, who, in all likelihood, probably thought the shoes might never come down before the whole tree did.
South Florida public policy types like myself can only look from afar and sigh wistfully when confronted with this.
Not only the actions taken but also the impressive way that Mr. Chapple has empowered his community with useful information to communicate to the general public and neighborhood activists -and the outside world- the likes of which I've never seen or heard about in this part of the world.
Knowing how things are really done down here, we can only bow our heads in shame when comparing Commissioner Chapple's efforts to the rather shocking bare-bones or even schlock government website portals that so many local elected officials down here hide behind.
Let me remind you of but one example I've already written about before in this space.
This past summer, during the height of the drought, when I tried to alert the City of Aventura to a rapidly spreading water leak on a sidewalk alongside U.S.-1, after nobody at Aventura City Hall would take my phone call shortly before 5:00 p.m., I sent an email with all the particulars to the mayor, city manager and assorted council members, hoping that someone would see it.
Moments later, my email to them was returned to me, marked as possible spam by Aventura's own website!
What a slap in the face!
After this confounding affair, I called the Aventura Police Dept., and reported the water situation, but only after asking the officer I spoke with why it was that the Police Dept. were the only folks in the so-called "City of Excellence" actually answering their telephone during normal city business hours.
And let's not forget life in the the postage stamp-sized duchy where I live, the City of Hallandale Beach.
Nearly a year after I first alerted City Hall officials to some rather obvious longstanding problems on A1A, U.S.-1 and Hallandale Beach Boulevard, as well as at the public beach, and later placed supporting evidence by way of photographs of just some of the offending problems on my blog, www.HallandaleBeachBlog.blogspot.com , the city STILL hasn't done a single thing to rectify these solved problems!
In fact, recent walking tours of the offending areas show it's actually worse!
There is a car fender/bumper and other small auto parts, as well as broken glass, from some sort of car accident that took place almost three months ago, on the south sidewalk of the 1100 block of East Hallandale Beach Blvd.
There's been yellow tape around it all this time, but it never gets cleaned up!!!!!!!
I'll have photos of that perfect example of the city's incompetency up on my Hallandale Beach Blog in a few days, including some from a point of view that show how ridiculously close it is to the Hallandale Beach Chamber of Commerce.
It's not hiding, it's in plain sight: on one of the three main roads of the city.
In November, I had what I thought at the time was an earnest one-hour talk at City Hall with two people from City Manager Mike Good's office about the myriad problems I'd publicly
identified in this blog, and discussed over and over with my family, friends and fellow citizens.
Armed with enough facts & figures and logic & reason to leave them somewhat dazed at the amount of specific information I could give them without notes, I started telling my story.
After about thirty minutes of recounting one embarrassing anecdote after another of the city's cluelessness -like placing giant water pipes in the Fire Lane of an apt. complex full of senior citizens, without anything around it!- I got my second wind.
After a while, the two city employees seemed to get a bit shell-shocked at the sheer amount of detailed information I could identify that was self-evident to anyone with eyesight.
Towards the end, they seemed somewhat pained at how far short the city seems to be in delivering for its citizens and residents, if not outright embarrassed.
But maybe I'm projecting.
I recounted many anecdotes, only a fraction of which I've ever mentioned in my HBB blog.
The ones I did mention all had one thing in in common: how poorly the City of Hallandale Beach continues to be managed, administered and coordinated, regarding even the most basic of services.
When I reminded them that the problems were so obvious that I'd placed photos of them on HBB, they just sighed.
Most galling of all, of course, is that I told them that there seem to be a complete absence of any sort of real punishment or rebuke for city employees NOT doing their jobs properly, or ignoring problems that could hardly be more obvious.
And here we are, more than two months-plus since that conversation, and an observant walk around the city reveals that nothing's changed!
Welcome to the City of Hallandale Beach in the year 2008.
Friday, January 25, 2008
Nordstrom's of Aventura Opening Friday, Feb. 15th
While double-checking some info about an emerging story in Aventura, I got word about when the Nordstrom's at Aventura Mall was finally going to be opening: February 15th at 10 a.m.
I later confirmed the info with company officials, who are psyched to see how this store performs in the local market.
I later confirmed the info with company officials, who are psyched to see how this store performs in the local market.
While getting some info, I noticed on their new website -with clever graphics- the following news which may be of interest to some of you: http://shop.nordstrom.com/C/6010927/0~2377475~6010926~6010927?cm_ven=google&cm_cat=keyword&cm_pla=store_openings_aventura&cm_ite=aventura some
NORDSTROM AT AVENTURA MALL, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 13 7–10PM,
RUNWAY FASHION SHOWS AT 8 & 9PM
Be among the first to help us celebrate the opening of our new Nordstrom at Aventura Mall during an elegant evening devoted to all things fashionable. Enjoy dinner and dessert buffets, live entertainment, runway fashion shows, and, of course, incredible shopping. Cocktail attire requested.
Tickets are $125 and are available online at www.thebuonicontifund.com/Nordstrom.xml.
All proceeds will benefit the signature projects of the Junior League of Miami, The Buoniconti Fund to Cure Paralysis/The Miami Project at the University of Miami and the University of Miami Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center.
To RSVP or for special accommodations information, call 305.243.8100. Tickets are limited.
We look forward to spending this special evening with you.
_____________________
Contact info available at:
Junior League of Miami, 713 Biltmore Way, Coral Gables, FL 33134, (305) 443-0160,
Fax: (305) 443-3849 http://www.jlmiami.org/
UM/Sylvester, University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine, 1475 N.W. 12th Avenue, Miami, FL 33136 (305) 243-1000, (800) 545-2292 http://www.sylvester.org/
The Buoniconti Fund to Cure Paralysis, 1-888-STANDUP http://www.themiamiproject.org/
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Illusion of safety in HB is not the same thing as real safety!; Red Light Cameras not only example of technology that City of Hallandale Beach is using poorly
My comments are below the story.
________________________________________
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Security cameras may be required at late-night businesses in Hallandale
By Thomas Monnay
January 10, 2008
HALLANDALE BEACH
Late-night establishments soon may be required to have surveillance cameras both inside and outside to help deter and solve crimes.
The proposal, discussed by city commissioners on Wednesday, would affect 24-hour businesses and those with permits to operate after 2 a.m. It is scheduled for a formal public hearing on Jan. 22.
Vice Mayor Bill Julian said cameras could have helped police determine who shot and killed Broward Sheriff's Office Sgt. Chris Reyka in August in the parking lot of a 24-hour Walgreens in Pompano Beach.
"If there were cameras outside the Walgreens, wouldn't they catch the picture of the person who killed the deputy?" Julian said.
"We have the technology. We should use it to give an edge to police."
Mayor Joy Cooper called security cameras "a strong tool" against crime. Commissioners Dorothy Ross and Fran Schiller also support the proposal.
But Commissioner Keith London was opposed, saying businesses could hire security guards and the city has police to protect residents. "I am almost never for cameras," he said.
"If I have to surrender my freedom for safety, then I don't believe in being safe."
Julian said most of the city's gas stations, convenience stores and the city's two racetracks already have cameras. City Manager Mike Good said police would work with business owners to determine whether they need cameras. He said those with financial hardship would be allowed to file an appeal, and the city might help them financially.
"I happen to support this very much," Good said.
The proposal coincides with the city's plan for a $374,371 digital camera system to monitor its municipal complex, fire station, water plant, beach parking garage and park and recreation facilities.
Thomas Monnay can be reached at tmonnay@sun-sentinel.com or 954-385-7924.
_________________________________________________
To view reader comments on this story, see
http://www.topix.net/forum/source/south-florida-sun-sentinel/T0OSHNHPHVBFENVA5
Generally speaking, I wouldn't comment here on my blog about what someone else has written on one of these Sun-Sentinel reader comment forums, or any media forum for that matter.
The reason is a simple one.
My experience in looking at reader's comments on newspaper sites is that, more often than not, they're either incredibly inspid, off-topic or mean-spirited snarky just for the sake of being mean-spirited and snarky.
(As opposed to informative yet humorously snarky!)
In short, seldom enlightening.
While perhaps amusing when recounting the exact context in a car with your friends, otherwise just like a case of hitting low-hanging fruit with an ICBM, otherwise, and therefore just a waste of time.
More the sort of thing some mean-spirited office drone does on his computer while on a lunch-break, killing time in between bites of a sandwich, so very pleased with himself and the pseudonym he's chosen.
But I did want to specifically bring to your attention comment #12, written by someone who seems to be a William Julian supporter, to help illustrate the small minds a person of his particular qualifications needs to get re-elected in a city the size of a postage stamp.
A city which many informed people think would be much better off having someone else in that seat, someone who doesn't suffer such comic bouts of grandeur, witness last year's illegal pay raise grab in the dark that he led, wherein he famously compared himself to a corporate executive.
Or, if you prefer, his continued bad judgment by forcing himself into murky ethical situations that reasonably bright high school-age kids with common sense could've resolved.
Not that Julian's the only one on the city commission who's like a dead battery, once useful but now merely ballast.
One of the truest of all cliches in sports is "addition by subtraction."
Used in this context, Hallandale Beach Blog believes the people of Hallandale Beach, and the city's future as a whole, would greatly benefit from William Julian's exit from the city
commission.
Let him get that executive job he feels is currently being denied him.
Golden Isles Resident AOL
Thank you Commissioner Bill Julian for taking the lead in protecting you city's residents.
What does Commissioner London fear? Maybe something the voters should know about?
The truth will come out. We are watching you K.L.
Frankly, it's exactly the kind of feeble and shrill spewing of venom that you'd expect from a
Julian supporter, given the ones I've spoken to over the years.
While sometimes semi-pleasant, they fundamentally mistake his length of time in town as effectiveness.
One clearly has nothing to do with the other.
As it happens, that low opinion is very much what TV and print reporters who've covered the city have told me they think of when they think of Julian, to the extent that they think of him at all -which is rarely.
The Sun-Sentinel reader comment then is a snapshot in time of the kind of person who's currently supportive of a William Julian, yet to my mind, the sort of people who clearly are part of the problem, not part of the solution.
___________________________________________
My thoughts on the story itself:
I don't know how I can make this any clearer -the illusion of safety is not the same thing as actual safety.
Once again, almost too predictably for words, the powers-that-be in the City of Hallandale Beach have reached for the safety blanket of illusion, rather than opening their eyes and taking a serious look at the manifest safety problems in the city.
And doing something serious about it.
THAT is something which has greatly troubled me since I returned to the area from the
Washington, D.C. area, and is one of the principal reasons that I started this particular blog in the first place.
It's a large part of what keeps me motivated to continue doing it.
The city's longstanding and almost cowardly refusal to confront what's directly in front of it, like a person afraid of their own image in a mirror, because it doesn't match the illusion they've created in their mind, is the worst possible kind of governance, given the changing dynamics and demographics of the city now.
A great example of this is the scarecrow police squad car left at the beach near the perfectly dreadful Beachside Cafe, a William Julian hangout.
No police are EVER actually over there, which the city-contracted lifeguards are the first to point out to you, if you merely ask them.
Or the frequent bach goers that I've come to recognize from my hundreds of trips over there on weekends, to read the papers, listen to ballgames and write down some thoughts.
It's worse than an ostrich with its head in the sand -it's an ostrich which has done that same move by rote so often that it can't physically get its head out of the sand.
That's the City of Hallandale Beach today.
Public safety is a matter which should rightly concern anyone living in the city -or near it, like Hollywood or Aventura- who has two eyes that work, and who can clearly see what the city looks like for themself.
Anyone who knows me or who has made any kind of serious effort to read more than a handful of my posts here, knows exactly what I consider to be the leading bête noires in any public safety discussion of the City of Hallandale Beach.
Ones which are both longstanding and entirely self-evident on any night, especially on U.S.-1, A1A or Hallandale Beach Blvd., yet which are paradoxically among the easiest to actually resolve.
These include but are not limited to:
1.) The very poorly maintained condition of streetlights and illuminated street signs.
This includes, among others, those right next to HB's own City Hall and Police Dept. HQ, which have been out for well over two years!
For over two years, Mayor Joy Cooper, the four members of the HB City Commission and City Manager Mike Good -and his staff- have driven right past those signs every time they leave City Hall chambers following an evening meeting.
But still they never see what's right in front of them, less than a bloc away from their own office.
2.) the universally piss-poor condition of public parking lots along Hallandale Beach Blvd. in the city NOT owned by R.K.
To cite but the most obvious examples from a long list:
a.) the front sidewalk entrance lights and parking lot lights of the Premier Building, which has a gym that lots of people attend at night.
(It's also a building where everyone loves to park in the No Parking Fire Lane in front and the 15 Minute Parking Zones set aside for deliveries, too.)
These are the same geniuses who after Hurricane Wilma knocked out and broke their plastic identification sign in front of their property, placed the remaining parts of it and all the many downed palm fronds, on the sidewalk in front of an adjoining bus shelter, rather than disposing of them properly.
Somehow, yet again, HB's Code Compliance office was blind to this though it could hardly have been more obvious, since they were there for months.
(This is not unlike the way the city's Code Compliance turned a blind eye last year to the William Julian campaign sign and wooden support stand that stayed up for so long on north-bound U.S.-1, alongside the east-side sidewalk near the bus shelter on S.E. 9th Street.
If I can find it, I have a photo of that sign and support a number of weeks after the election, which I'll post here in the future for illumination.
Perhaps I should see if it's still there!)
Later, someone from the building placed the large jagged plastic pieces behind sidewalk shrubs, thinking that, somehow, they'd magically take care of themself.
They didn't!
Just how bad is the street lighting situation along that street, the busiest in the city?
Well, consider that a few months ago, having made some mental notes about it after months of noticing it on my walks to and from the beach, I took some photos of the area near the Hallandale Beach Chamber of Commerce.
As I write this, the two street lights closest to it have been out for well over 6-8 months, if not longer.
If not for the bank across the street having parking lot lights, it'd be a black hole.
Even the small auxiliary building lights on the CoC bldg., next to their front door, as well as some of the adjoining offices, were out for months at a time.
*I'll leave 'till another time the larger discussion I've had for months in my head -and with lots of concerned Hallandale Beach citizens- on the perfectly preposterous reality that there are currently no directional signs of any kind on U.S.-1, A1A or even on their 0wn street, Hallandale Beach Blvd., directing visitors/residents to the Chamber of Commerce, as would be common sense and practice in even the smallest of hick towns, much less, in a smart and tourist-oriented town like Charlottesville, VA.
That's a wonderful city I've been to numerous times, because of all the great historical sites there, as well as UVA, and the annual Virginia Film Festival.
Regardless of how you get there, it's virtually impossible to miss the plethora of signs directing you to their Chamber of Commerce/Tourist Office, where people are super-friendly, engaging and accommodating, and have updated information to dispense.
Encore performance?
It's possible that for the first time since early 2004, when I took a microphone in hand at the HB City Hall chambers and spent about 5-10 minutes absolutely ripping FDOT, their contractors, the mayor, the city manager, the city commission and the city as a whole, for utterly failing to give HB's citizens anything like what they were entitled to -and had already paid for- regarding the U.S.-1 road construction project, that I'll be taking a microphone in hand at meeting tonight to point out the obvious about the cameras.
It wouldn't be necessary, though, if the HB city employees we're already paying were doing their job better, which includes the HB Police Department and their camera-loving police chief.
The evidence that they're doing a poor job is all around the city, especially alongside the main roads and at over the public beach.
At that 2004 meeting, I criticized everyone on the dais and in the front rows of the chamber for the self-congratulatory nature of the public meeting, rather than seriously addressing the numerous self-evident shortcomings and failures of the project, many of which could be seen just steps away from city hall, as I said at the time.
Even on the night of that public meeting, there were still lots of streets in the city with large volumes of gravel and rocks on streets that were supposedly finished, including right in front of city hall itself, on the street between it and the U.S. Post Office, S.E. 5th Street.
A street that was missing a STOP sign as it hits U.S.-1!!!
And let's not forget all the missing bicycle lane signs and the painted "Bike Lane" in the lanes themself, and the...
Next time you're at the Hallandale Beach City Hall complex at night, look up at the parking lot light closest to the security camera, pointing northeast towards U.S.-1.
The one that's been out for weeks!!!
The security camera that doesn't have a posted sign nearby, as required by law?
Yes, that one, just like the signage situation at the Publix on HBB, which I've spoken to their manager about many times.
(We'll soon see how Publix HQ in Lakeland feels about the apathy in following the law.)
Those camera were put in right before their liquor store opened for obvious reasons.
Less obvious is why RK and Publix can't or won''t comply with the law
Signs must be posted.
It's not optional.
How long have the cameras at HB City Hall been up without the required posted warning signs?
Why don't you ask the city manager, Mike Good, next time you see him, since he's in favor of expanding the concept.
Should someone who can't manage their own affairs really being telling others what to do?
I think not.
Saturday, January 19, 2008
Hallandale Beach Blog Time Machine: August 2006
What follows is a copy of an email that was sent to a handful of local print and TV reporters of my acquaintance, all of whom were more than familiar with some of my concerns about public safety in Hallandale Beach, as well as its governance, and who shared my concerns.
I sent this to them following my being an involuntary eyewitness to an egregious example of the kind of incompetent bungling that's an everyday occurrence here in Hallandale Beach.
______________________
Tuesday, August 15, 2006
Subject: Oh, not again... Another case study of Hallandale Beach ineptitude ? Oui!
Dear X:
What: three-car accident
Time: Today, about 4:10 p.m.
Place: South Federal Hwy. & S.E. 5th Street intersection, directly in front of the Hallandale Beach Municipal Complex
Context: I'm on my way over to the Bank of America branch on Hallandale Beach Boulevard (HBB), but see what's happened, and ask the three people leaning against their cars if any one's been hurt.
They say no but it's been 5 minutes and no cops yet.
I walk into the Hallandale Beach Police Dept. lobby and tell the officer behind the security glass what's happened, number of cars involved, etc.
Response: "We'll call dispatch."
Knowing from experience how chronically unreliable and incompetent the city employees are here, I blow-off going to BoA, and instead use this an an opportunity to head into the adjoining City Hall complex and try to solve a problem that' also on my "To Do" list.
There, I spend about ten minutes trying to get straight answers out of an information employee about some longstanding problems, specifically, the DPW NOT being able to reliably furnish
the appropriate supplies in the restrooms over at North Beach by Friday afternoons, esp. prior to three-day holiday weekends, when the beach will be tremendously crowded.
It's sort of a problem when by Saturday morning, there is NO toilet paper or paper towels for the hundreds of patrons who'll use the facilities, and, oh, by the way, most of the faucets don't work, either.
Question: Chicken or the egg: No towels because most of the water faucets don't work?
Hmmm...
In any case, I know if I don't say anything, nobody from the city is going to come by to resolve the problem.
The information employee is well-meaning, but can't answer even basic questions, much less, tell me which particular DPW employees can help resolve the problem over at the beach.
It's like pulling teeth!
I walk back out into the east-side of the muni parking lot and it's like time has stood still.
There are still no HB cops out there, even though it's now been about 10-15 minutes, and one of the cars is blocking southbound traffic in the extreme left lane, and traffic is, well, expanding by leaps and bounds. Just in time for rush hour!
Lots of honking and sounds of screeching brakes.
Another day on U.S.-1.
I'm tempted to borrow the large orange cone near the Post Office parking lot shrubs, and place it on U.S.-1 myself, behind the cars affected.
But I don't.
Instead, I walk back into the Police Dept. and ask what's going on, since, as I repeat to the officer, "it's right in front of your own building."
Response: "We'll call dispatch."
I leave shaking my head and wondering why I expect anything different, given the lackluster leadership of the city's elected officials, and the general sense of malaise mixed-in with a culture of See/Hear/Speak no-evil amongst the city employees. http://searchwarp.com/swa2800.htm
Around 6: 40 p.m. tonight, I swung by the Hallandale Beach branch of the Broward County library to return some books and noticed that while the cars involved in the original accident have been moved, there's still plenty of broken glass and plastic in the intersection, apparently waiting for the cover of darkness to make someone else an innocent victim, since that busy
intersection is pitch black at night due in large part to the geniuses over at City Hall.
[Hallandale Beach Blog note: this foreshadows the outrageous situation in 2007, where from mid-January thru late September, 85% of all the street lights on U.S.-1 between HBB and the Aventura-HB city line are out, making it a virtual black hole.
Yes, including right in front of the HB City Hall and HB Police Dept.
That included Election Day, a point that I mentioned to several of the poll workers, who were quite interested in knowing more about this blog.
And the number of street lights out within one block of the city's busiest intersection, U.S.-1 and HBB?
A frightening number that exceeds 90%.]
Not to belabor the obvious, but in thinking about all the ways that I might help advance the larger public safety interest for other HB residents and gain some degree of public accountability from the responsible(?) officials, there's always the age-old question a citizen must ask them self:
Do I use a scalpel, or do I go 'old school' and use the 36'' Louisville Slugger to get their attention?
Up 'till now, I've decided to go the magnanimous route and use the scalpel, telling them about the self-evident problems first, hoping they'll take the suggestion or constructive criticism and resolve the actual problem.
But after witnessing yet another egregious example today of their gross incompetency, laid out in such a matter-of-fact way for everyone to see -and draw their own conclusions- including people from Aventura and Hollywood, well, I can't help but wonder if I should abandon the 'nice guy routine' and simply start that blog I've spoken to you about, and make that my baseball bat.
No more free consults, capisce?
Please let me know what you think, and if you have any good suggestions or targets that I should consider putting under the microscope, send 'em toute-de-suite to yours truly.
C'est la guerre!
Dave
I sent this to them following my being an involuntary eyewitness to an egregious example of the kind of incompetent bungling that's an everyday occurrence here in Hallandale Beach.
______________________
Tuesday, August 15, 2006
Subject: Oh, not again... Another case study of Hallandale Beach ineptitude ? Oui!
Dear X:
What: three-car accident
Time: Today, about 4:10 p.m.
Place: South Federal Hwy. & S.E. 5th Street intersection, directly in front of the Hallandale Beach Municipal Complex
Context: I'm on my way over to the Bank of America branch on Hallandale Beach Boulevard (HBB), but see what's happened, and ask the three people leaning against their cars if any one's been hurt.
They say no but it's been 5 minutes and no cops yet.
I walk into the Hallandale Beach Police Dept. lobby and tell the officer behind the security glass what's happened, number of cars involved, etc.
Response: "We'll call dispatch."
Knowing from experience how chronically unreliable and incompetent the city employees are here, I blow-off going to BoA, and instead use this an an opportunity to head into the adjoining City Hall complex and try to solve a problem that' also on my "To Do" list.
There, I spend about ten minutes trying to get straight answers out of an information employee about some longstanding problems, specifically, the DPW NOT being able to reliably furnish
the appropriate supplies in the restrooms over at North Beach by Friday afternoons, esp. prior to three-day holiday weekends, when the beach will be tremendously crowded.
It's sort of a problem when by Saturday morning, there is NO toilet paper or paper towels for the hundreds of patrons who'll use the facilities, and, oh, by the way, most of the faucets don't work, either.
Question: Chicken or the egg: No towels because most of the water faucets don't work?
Hmmm...
In any case, I know if I don't say anything, nobody from the city is going to come by to resolve the problem.
The information employee is well-meaning, but can't answer even basic questions, much less, tell me which particular DPW employees can help resolve the problem over at the beach.
It's like pulling teeth!
I walk back out into the east-side of the muni parking lot and it's like time has stood still.
There are still no HB cops out there, even though it's now been about 10-15 minutes, and one of the cars is blocking southbound traffic in the extreme left lane, and traffic is, well, expanding by leaps and bounds. Just in time for rush hour!
Lots of honking and sounds of screeching brakes.
Another day on U.S.-1.
I'm tempted to borrow the large orange cone near the Post Office parking lot shrubs, and place it on U.S.-1 myself, behind the cars affected.
But I don't.
Instead, I walk back into the Police Dept. and ask what's going on, since, as I repeat to the officer, "it's right in front of your own building."
Response: "We'll call dispatch."
I leave shaking my head and wondering why I expect anything different, given the lackluster leadership of the city's elected officials, and the general sense of malaise mixed-in with a culture of See/Hear/Speak no-evil amongst the city employees. http://searchwarp.com/swa2800.htm
Around 6: 40 p.m. tonight, I swung by the Hallandale Beach branch of the Broward County library to return some books and noticed that while the cars involved in the original accident have been moved, there's still plenty of broken glass and plastic in the intersection, apparently waiting for the cover of darkness to make someone else an innocent victim, since that busy
intersection is pitch black at night due in large part to the geniuses over at City Hall.
[Hallandale Beach Blog note: this foreshadows the outrageous situation in 2007, where from mid-January thru late September, 85% of all the street lights on U.S.-1 between HBB and the Aventura-HB city line are out, making it a virtual black hole.
Yes, including right in front of the HB City Hall and HB Police Dept.
That included Election Day, a point that I mentioned to several of the poll workers, who were quite interested in knowing more about this blog.
And the number of street lights out within one block of the city's busiest intersection, U.S.-1 and HBB?
A frightening number that exceeds 90%.]
Not to belabor the obvious, but in thinking about all the ways that I might help advance the larger public safety interest for other HB residents and gain some degree of public accountability from the responsible(?) officials, there's always the age-old question a citizen must ask them self:
Do I use a scalpel, or do I go 'old school' and use the 36'' Louisville Slugger to get their attention?
Up 'till now, I've decided to go the magnanimous route and use the scalpel, telling them about the self-evident problems first, hoping they'll take the suggestion or constructive criticism and resolve the actual problem.
But after witnessing yet another egregious example today of their gross incompetency, laid out in such a matter-of-fact way for everyone to see -and draw their own conclusions- including people from Aventura and Hollywood, well, I can't help but wonder if I should abandon the 'nice guy routine' and simply start that blog I've spoken to you about, and make that my baseball bat.
No more free consults, capisce?
Please let me know what you think, and if you have any good suggestions or targets that I should consider putting under the microscope, send 'em toute-de-suite to yours truly.
C'est la guerre!
Dave
Monday, January 14, 2008
Gov. Charlie Crist in Hollywood, supporting Amendment One
__________________________
www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/broward/sfl-flbproperty0108sbjan08,0,3839377.story
South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com
In Hollywood, Crist pushes tax cut; critics protest
School officials and firefighters, however, among proposal's critics
By Scott Wyman and John Holland
January 8, 2008
Supporters of the tax proposal on this month's ballot clashed with police officers, firefighters and educators Monday over whether the measure would bring meaningful property tax relief or deeply hurt public services.
Schools as well as police and fire protection would be hurt if voters order tax cuts, according to the government officials who addressed a crowd of about 100 gathered for a forum on the ballot initiative at Hallandale High School on Monday night.
Earlier in the day, Gov. Charlie Crist and dozens of real-estate agents descended on a west Hollywood neighborhood in a carefully scripted rally backing the amendment.
"This may not go as far as some would like, and it does more than others want, but if you want your property taxes cut, then vote yes on Amendment One," Crist told the gathering, made up almost exclusively of supporters bussed in for the event.
"It is that simple."
But Broward County schools Superintendent Jim Notter said the initiative could cost 1,200 jobs.
And Plantation Police Chief Larry Massey, who heads the Broward County police chiefs association, said fewer officers are now on the street because of an initial round of tax cuts that the Legislature required last fall.
He warned the proposal on the Jan. 29 ballot would reduce protection further.
"This is not the time to take police officers off the street," Massey said during the forum sponsored by the Broward League of Cities.
The proposed constitutional amendment doubles the homestead exemption on all but school taxes and allows people to take their tax breaks with them when they move.
The increase in the homestead exemption would save the average Broward homeowner an estimated $308.
State economists estimate that governments in Broward would lose $1.4 billion in revenue over the next five years if the tax proposal passes.
Schools would lose $144 million, with the county, cities and special service districts shouldering the rest of the burden.
Government officials say public safety will have to be cut because police and fire service often comprise half of city budgets.
And while the increase in homestead exemption would not affect the school system, projections are that it will lose revenue because of portability.
"Don't necessarily do the popular thing, do the responsible thing," said John McNamara, a Sunrise firefighter who spoke for the area's firefighters association.
Notter said the school district favors tax reform, but that the state should do it in a way that does not harm education.
He said the school district's costs have increased because of health insurance, property insurance and fuel prices.
"Amendment One does not meet the basic, fundamental test of reasonable, responsible tax reform," he said.
Advocates of the tax package said that while it is not perfect, it is a start.
Property Appraiser Lori Parrish and the head of the Realtors Association of Greater Fort Lauderdale said the proposal will provide a boost to an otherwise stagnant real estate market.
"We are hurting in the Broward economy and in the Florida economy, and we need tax relief," said Richard Barkett of the Realtors Association.
Crist's event was held at the home of Teresa and Anselmo Bonilla, who bought their home on the 6400 block of Coolidge Street in 2004 but would like to downsize to save money.
Anselmo Bonilla said the family can't afford to move because buying another home would raise their property taxes.
Most of the legislation is directed at homeowners even though there is a cut proposed in the tax on business equipment and a cap of 10 percent on how much the tax value of commercial and non-homesteaded residential property can increase each year.
Scott Wyman can be reached at swyman@sun-sentinel.com or 954-356-4511.
Copyright © 2008, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
_____________________________________
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/broward/sfl-flsb3bdig01060sbjan06,0,931494.story
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Broward County: Town Hall forums to focus on proposed tax changes
January 6, 2008
The Broward League of Cities will host two Town Hall forums this week on the proposed property tax amendment on the Jan. 29 ballot.
The first will be at 7 p.m. Monday at Hallandale High School, 720 NW Ninth Ave.
The second is scheduled for 7 p.m. Wednesday at Coral Springs Center for the Arts, 2855 Coral Springs Drive.
The meetings are intended to provide voters with information on the ballot measure, how property taxes are calculated, and how the measure will impact homeowners if it passes.
Among local officials who will be attending are Broward County Property Appraiser Lori Parrish; Interim County Administrator Bertha Henry and Schools Superintendent Jim Notter. For information, call 954-357-7370.
Copyright © 2008, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/broward/sfl-flbproperty0108sbjan08,0,3839377.story
South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com
In Hollywood, Crist pushes tax cut; critics protest
School officials and firefighters, however, among proposal's critics
By Scott Wyman and John Holland
January 8, 2008
Supporters of the tax proposal on this month's ballot clashed with police officers, firefighters and educators Monday over whether the measure would bring meaningful property tax relief or deeply hurt public services.
Schools as well as police and fire protection would be hurt if voters order tax cuts, according to the government officials who addressed a crowd of about 100 gathered for a forum on the ballot initiative at Hallandale High School on Monday night.
Earlier in the day, Gov. Charlie Crist and dozens of real-estate agents descended on a west Hollywood neighborhood in a carefully scripted rally backing the amendment.
"This may not go as far as some would like, and it does more than others want, but if you want your property taxes cut, then vote yes on Amendment One," Crist told the gathering, made up almost exclusively of supporters bussed in for the event.
"It is that simple."
But Broward County schools Superintendent Jim Notter said the initiative could cost 1,200 jobs.
And Plantation Police Chief Larry Massey, who heads the Broward County police chiefs association, said fewer officers are now on the street because of an initial round of tax cuts that the Legislature required last fall.
He warned the proposal on the Jan. 29 ballot would reduce protection further.
"This is not the time to take police officers off the street," Massey said during the forum sponsored by the Broward League of Cities.
The proposed constitutional amendment doubles the homestead exemption on all but school taxes and allows people to take their tax breaks with them when they move.
The increase in the homestead exemption would save the average Broward homeowner an estimated $308.
State economists estimate that governments in Broward would lose $1.4 billion in revenue over the next five years if the tax proposal passes.
Schools would lose $144 million, with the county, cities and special service districts shouldering the rest of the burden.
Government officials say public safety will have to be cut because police and fire service often comprise half of city budgets.
And while the increase in homestead exemption would not affect the school system, projections are that it will lose revenue because of portability.
"Don't necessarily do the popular thing, do the responsible thing," said John McNamara, a Sunrise firefighter who spoke for the area's firefighters association.
Notter said the school district favors tax reform, but that the state should do it in a way that does not harm education.
He said the school district's costs have increased because of health insurance, property insurance and fuel prices.
"Amendment One does not meet the basic, fundamental test of reasonable, responsible tax reform," he said.
Advocates of the tax package said that while it is not perfect, it is a start.
Property Appraiser Lori Parrish and the head of the Realtors Association of Greater Fort Lauderdale said the proposal will provide a boost to an otherwise stagnant real estate market.
"We are hurting in the Broward economy and in the Florida economy, and we need tax relief," said Richard Barkett of the Realtors Association.
Crist's event was held at the home of Teresa and Anselmo Bonilla, who bought their home on the 6400 block of Coolidge Street in 2004 but would like to downsize to save money.
Anselmo Bonilla said the family can't afford to move because buying another home would raise their property taxes.
Most of the legislation is directed at homeowners even though there is a cut proposed in the tax on business equipment and a cap of 10 percent on how much the tax value of commercial and non-homesteaded residential property can increase each year.
Scott Wyman can be reached at swyman@sun-sentinel.com or 954-356-4511.
Copyright © 2008, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
_____________________________________
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/broward/sfl-flsb3bdig01060sbjan06,0,931494.story
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Broward County: Town Hall forums to focus on proposed tax changes
January 6, 2008
The Broward League of Cities will host two Town Hall forums this week on the proposed property tax amendment on the Jan. 29 ballot.
The first will be at 7 p.m. Monday at Hallandale High School, 720 NW Ninth Ave.
The second is scheduled for 7 p.m. Wednesday at Coral Springs Center for the Arts, 2855 Coral Springs Drive.
The meetings are intended to provide voters with information on the ballot measure, how property taxes are calculated, and how the measure will impact homeowners if it passes.
Among local officials who will be attending are Broward County Property Appraiser Lori Parrish; Interim County Administrator Bertha Henry and Schools Superintendent Jim Notter. For information, call 954-357-7370.
Copyright © 2008, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
One Tree Hill's Hilarie Burton at Aventura Macy's Jan, 19th
Dear City of Aventura Police Dept:
Please begin making preparations for Saturday's traffic jam on U.S.-1 -now!
But seriously.... with Hilarie Burton AND a CW casting call for the entire state of Florida scheduled for the Aventura Macy's on Saturday afternoon, I can only imagine what kind of zoo scene that's going to be. Lots of star gazers and star wannabes.
But is it a scene worthy of some blogging on pop culture?
Why yes, he said knowing there were no IU basketball games or NFL playoff games scheduled that afternoon that would cause him to miss the likely hijinks and hysteria.
Meanwhile... if you don't know who I'm talking about, see http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1122026/ and
http://www.hilarie-burton.com/hilarie.php
excerpted from
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
By Tom Jicha
January 10, 2008
Macy's at Aventura will become Peyton's place on Jan. 19.
Hilarie Burton, who plays Peyton Sawyer on One Tree Hill, will be signing autographs from 2-4 p.m. at the deparment store.
Burton's appearance is part of the promotion for the CW series' Ultimate Fan Weekend.
Eight fans nationwide will win a trip to North Carolina, where the show films, get a chance to visit the set, meet the cast and walk through a scene.
Not that it's either here or there, but for what it's worth, at the carefully-guarded bunker that is the HQ of South Beach Hoosier/Hallandale Beach Blog, One Tree Hill star Sophia Bush, a former USC Kappa Kappa Gamma -also a Kappa? Ashley Judd at U.K.- is deemed one of the dozen most beautiful women in the whole country.
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0124208/
She doesn't make us weak in our knees, she knocks us over like a bowling pin.
If Sophia Bush is ever somewhere publicly within the area code, South Beach Hoosier will be there to take photos!
She reminds us of every every dark-haired IU coed whom we were ever attracted to or smitten by, who was, conveniently, a friend of a friend at Chi Omega or Tri-Delt or Delta Gamma or..., but who'd had the very same boyfriend since high school and all throughout her time at IU.
We hated that!
Please begin making preparations for Saturday's traffic jam on U.S.-1 -now!
But seriously.... with Hilarie Burton AND a CW casting call for the entire state of Florida scheduled for the Aventura Macy's on Saturday afternoon, I can only imagine what kind of zoo scene that's going to be. Lots of star gazers and star wannabes.
But is it a scene worthy of some blogging on pop culture?
Why yes, he said knowing there were no IU basketball games or NFL playoff games scheduled that afternoon that would cause him to miss the likely hijinks and hysteria.
Meanwhile... if you don't know who I'm talking about, see http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1122026/ and
http://www.hilarie-burton.com/hilarie.php
'Nuff said!
Ultimate Fan Weekend contest details at: http://www.cwtv.com/thecw/macys
Macy's Aventura Womens & Kids
19535 Biscayne Blvd. Aventura, FL 33180
Macy's press release about One Tree Hill casting call: http://www1.macys.com/store/event/index.ognc?action=locatorDetail&storeId=305&eventId=4884
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/entertainment/tv/sfl-jeopardy,0,4455614.storyexcerpted from
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
By Tom Jicha
January 10, 2008
Macy's at Aventura will become Peyton's place on Jan. 19.
Hilarie Burton, who plays Peyton Sawyer on One Tree Hill, will be signing autographs from 2-4 p.m. at the deparment store.
Burton's appearance is part of the promotion for the CW series' Ultimate Fan Weekend.
Eight fans nationwide will win a trip to North Carolina, where the show films, get a chance to visit the set, meet the cast and walk through a scene.
Not that it's either here or there, but for what it's worth, at the carefully-guarded bunker that is the HQ of South Beach Hoosier/Hallandale Beach Blog, One Tree Hill star Sophia Bush, a former USC Kappa Kappa Gamma -also a Kappa? Ashley Judd at U.K.- is deemed one of the dozen most beautiful women in the whole country.
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0124208/
She doesn't make us weak in our knees, she knocks us over like a bowling pin.
If Sophia Bush is ever somewhere publicly within the area code, South Beach Hoosier will be there to take photos!
She reminds us of every every dark-haired IU coed whom we were ever attracted to or smitten by, who was, conveniently, a friend of a friend at Chi Omega or Tri-Delt or Delta Gamma or..., but who'd had the very same boyfriend since high school and all throughout her time at IU.
We hated that!
Come for the Land Speculation, Stay for the Red Tape!
My comments follow the story.
__________________________________________
www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/broward/sfl-flbmasterplan0106sbjan06,0,4867253.story
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Hallandale Beach revisiting its master plan for development
Master plan update includes citizen remarks on traffic, affordable housing
By Jennifer Gollan
January 6, 2008
Hallandale Beach
Deluged by proposals for flashy high-rises and gambling hubs, the city last year called a time out to do some urban planning.
A moratorium on new development has been in place since August. The city has hired a consultant to overhaul its 30-year-old master plan, to outline what should be built over the coming decades, and how.
As part of the planning process, more than 60 residents registered their concerns Saturday about everything from the surfeit of traffic to the dearth of affordable housing during a two-hour meeting at the Hallandale Beach Cultural Community Center.
It was the second of four public meetings intended to gather residents' input before the City Commission votes on the plan in February.
The redrafting of the city's plan is driven by an explosion in planned or possible development, including at Gulfstream Park Racing & Casino and Mardi Gras Racetrack and Gaming Center.
There has been a related flurry of proposals for condo towers and mixed-use projects to replace the barren parking lots, tired storefronts and dilapidated homes that overtook much of the city beginning in the 1970s.
"Now development is coming at us like a 180-mph bullet train," said Hallandale Beach Commissioner Keith London.
Indeed, more than 1 million square feet of new development — proposed before the moratorium took effect — is pending or already under way, said Richard Cannone, the city's director of development services.
"The catalyst for the master plan was the development of the casinos, which led us to make sure we are developing in an organized way," Cannone said.
The plan outlined Saturday envisioned six mini-downtowns with shops, restaurants and housing.
The goal is to create a pedestrian-friendly city with lush parks and a unique identity, said Donald Shockey, project manager for EDAW Inc., a design firm with offices in Miami Beach that is overhauling the city's plan for a $250,000 fee.
"Because of the economy, we want to make sure we have economically feasible redevelopment well into the future," said Mayor Joy Cooper.
To that end, Joe DeFalco, 78, asked city leaders Saturday how Hallandale Beach could afford the ambitious vision given in the master plan.
"Where are you going to get the money to do all of this?" asked DeFalco, who is president of Tower Mobile Home Park.
"It's not going to be a boondoggle program," said Shockey, "it's going to be done in a phased, measured way."
Jennifer Gollan can be reached at jgollan@sun-sentinel.com or 954-385-7920.
Copyright © 2008, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
_____________________________________
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/broward/sfl-flbdig01027sbjan02,0,2312417.story
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Hallandale Beach: Master plan concepts to be presented at public forum
January 2, 2008
A public forum on the citywide master plan is set for 10 a.m. Saturday at the Cultural Community Center, 410 SE Third St.
Initial master plan concepts will be presented and comments from the public received. Residents, businesses and other interested parties are encouraged to attend.
Call 954-457-1381.
Copyright © 2008, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
_______________________________________
Come for the Land Speculation, Stay for the Red Tape!
On the chance that you didn't see the actual print edition of this last Sunday, it had a very different sort of headline: "Hallandale prepares for building blitz"
Wish the Sun-Sentinel reporter had been at the first public unveiling last month, the day after Christmas, when there were more citizens in attendance.
I'll be posting my comments soon on the Hallandale Beach Master Plan itself, which I picked up a printed copy of recently and have been reading in dribs and drabs to refresh my thoughts on the meeting I attended on December 26th.
HB Masterplan Workshop 5503 KB, Last Uploaded: 12/26/2007
http://www.hallandalebeach.org/DocumentView.asp?DID=456
I should say here, though, that while I might disagree with some aspects of it, given the reality of the demographics and personalities here, the presentation itself by Donald Shockey was very impressive in its overall scope, as was his ease with dispensing pertinent facts.
Equally importantly to me was EDAW's true understanding of the myriad underlying problems of the city, and their realization that there's no magic bullet.
Also, contrary to the impression that may've been created by the reporter here, and very much for the better, EDAW, Inc. is an international firm whose closest office is located on Miami Beach, NOT a local firm in Miami Beach with no sense of what's going on outside of South Florida.
I spent quite some time prior to the first public forum looking at their website, then did a Google search to see the sort of plans the firm has produced for past clients, and what the public reaction in those cities were, and suggest you do the same.
(They also did the downtown Master Plan for Boynton Beach
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/palmbeach/sfl-flpschool0107pnjan07,0,5528328.story )
Barbara Faga, EDAW's executive vice president, works out of the Atlanta and Miami Beach offices, and started a blog after writing a book on the intersection of design, development and public policy, http://barbarafaga.com/book/buy.aspx which is quite interesting called designing public consensus.
She even writes about the problems in her own neighborhood in Atlanta associated with unelected neighborhood association officials in a very illuminating fashion.
See http://www.edaw.com/whoWeAre/principals/principal.aspx?key=8931
and http://www.designingpublicconsensus.com/blog/
Referenced blog post re Atlanta is at:
http://www.designingpublicconsensus.com/blog/?p=42
For what it's worth, Design Intelligence named her "one of the top 15 women who are changing the world of architecture."
IF only we could put Ms. Faga in charge of building and implementing a new Marlins ballpark near Chez Huizenga and the Metro that'll be operating near there in 2012.
A beautiful and uniquely Miami stadium, funded largely by a new consortium of far-sighted Marlin owners with a love for architecture, design and South Florida, instead of the current Loria & Co. brain trust, which seems fixated on paying for as much of it as possible with the public's wallet. In what could only be called one of THE worst possible locations, far from its fans.
She could be a Janet Marie Smith for South Florida's baseball fans!
See Ballpark: Camden Yards and the Building of an American Dream by Peter Richmond
See http://www.amazon.com/Ballpark-Camden-Yards-Building-American/dp/0684800489
Here are some links to some local South Florida projects that EDAW is involved with.
They might help you come to some conclusions on thoughts of your own about what, if anything, is missing from the current plans for Hallandale Beach that EDAW submitted to the city, and what needs to be considered or modified.
EDAW Miami Beach office: http://www.edaw.com/whoWeAre/offices/office.aspx?id=66456
Flamingo/Lummus Neighborhood Urban Design and Streetscape Improvements
(for The Related Group)
http://www.edaw.com/WhatWeDo/projects/projects.aspx?back=y&office=66456
One Miami Riverwalk (for The Related Group)
http://www.edaw.com/WhatWeDo/projects/projects.aspx?idx=1&projId=66658467726976686982765048485548534952485051575250&office=66456
Oceanfront Neighborhood Urban Design and Streetscapes (for City of Miami Beach)
http://www.edaw.com/WhatWeDo/projects/projects.aspx?idx=2&projId=6578686982837978745048485248564957485752505251&office=66456
Biscayne National Park Ethnographic Overview and Assessment (for NPS)
http://www.edaw.com/WhatWeDo/projects/projects.aspx?idx=3&projId=6578686982837978745048485348554949485048484957&office=66456
St. Joe West (for St. Joe Land Company)
http://www.edaw.com/WhatWeDo/projects/projects.aspx?idx=4&projId=6578686982837978745048485248555051485250555254&office=66456
__________________________________________
www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/broward/sfl-flbmasterplan0106sbjan06,0,4867253.story
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Hallandale Beach revisiting its master plan for development
Master plan update includes citizen remarks on traffic, affordable housing
By Jennifer Gollan
January 6, 2008
Hallandale Beach
Deluged by proposals for flashy high-rises and gambling hubs, the city last year called a time out to do some urban planning.
A moratorium on new development has been in place since August. The city has hired a consultant to overhaul its 30-year-old master plan, to outline what should be built over the coming decades, and how.
As part of the planning process, more than 60 residents registered their concerns Saturday about everything from the surfeit of traffic to the dearth of affordable housing during a two-hour meeting at the Hallandale Beach Cultural Community Center.
It was the second of four public meetings intended to gather residents' input before the City Commission votes on the plan in February.
The redrafting of the city's plan is driven by an explosion in planned or possible development, including at Gulfstream Park Racing & Casino and Mardi Gras Racetrack and Gaming Center.
There has been a related flurry of proposals for condo towers and mixed-use projects to replace the barren parking lots, tired storefronts and dilapidated homes that overtook much of the city beginning in the 1970s.
"Now development is coming at us like a 180-mph bullet train," said Hallandale Beach Commissioner Keith London.
Indeed, more than 1 million square feet of new development — proposed before the moratorium took effect — is pending or already under way, said Richard Cannone, the city's director of development services.
"The catalyst for the master plan was the development of the casinos, which led us to make sure we are developing in an organized way," Cannone said.
The plan outlined Saturday envisioned six mini-downtowns with shops, restaurants and housing.
The goal is to create a pedestrian-friendly city with lush parks and a unique identity, said Donald Shockey, project manager for EDAW Inc., a design firm with offices in Miami Beach that is overhauling the city's plan for a $250,000 fee.
"Because of the economy, we want to make sure we have economically feasible redevelopment well into the future," said Mayor Joy Cooper.
To that end, Joe DeFalco, 78, asked city leaders Saturday how Hallandale Beach could afford the ambitious vision given in the master plan.
"Where are you going to get the money to do all of this?" asked DeFalco, who is president of Tower Mobile Home Park.
"It's not going to be a boondoggle program," said Shockey, "it's going to be done in a phased, measured way."
Jennifer Gollan can be reached at jgollan@sun-sentinel.com or 954-385-7920.
Copyright © 2008, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
_____________________________________
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/broward/sfl-flbdig01027sbjan02,0,2312417.story
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Hallandale Beach: Master plan concepts to be presented at public forum
January 2, 2008
A public forum on the citywide master plan is set for 10 a.m. Saturday at the Cultural Community Center, 410 SE Third St.
Initial master plan concepts will be presented and comments from the public received. Residents, businesses and other interested parties are encouraged to attend.
Call 954-457-1381.
Copyright © 2008, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
_______________________________________
Come for the Land Speculation, Stay for the Red Tape!
On the chance that you didn't see the actual print edition of this last Sunday, it had a very different sort of headline: "Hallandale prepares for building blitz"
Wish the Sun-Sentinel reporter had been at the first public unveiling last month, the day after Christmas, when there were more citizens in attendance.
I'll be posting my comments soon on the Hallandale Beach Master Plan itself, which I picked up a printed copy of recently and have been reading in dribs and drabs to refresh my thoughts on the meeting I attended on December 26th.
HB Masterplan Workshop 5503 KB, Last Uploaded: 12/26/2007
http://www.hallandalebeach.org/DocumentView.asp?DID=456
I should say here, though, that while I might disagree with some aspects of it, given the reality of the demographics and personalities here, the presentation itself by Donald Shockey was very impressive in its overall scope, as was his ease with dispensing pertinent facts.
Equally importantly to me was EDAW's true understanding of the myriad underlying problems of the city, and their realization that there's no magic bullet.
Also, contrary to the impression that may've been created by the reporter here, and very much for the better, EDAW, Inc. is an international firm whose closest office is located on Miami Beach, NOT a local firm in Miami Beach with no sense of what's going on outside of South Florida.
I spent quite some time prior to the first public forum looking at their website, then did a Google search to see the sort of plans the firm has produced for past clients, and what the public reaction in those cities were, and suggest you do the same.
(They also did the downtown Master Plan for Boynton Beach
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/palmbeach/sfl-flpschool0107pnjan07,0,5528328.story )
Barbara Faga, EDAW's executive vice president, works out of the Atlanta and Miami Beach offices, and started a blog after writing a book on the intersection of design, development and public policy, http://barbarafaga.com/book/buy.aspx which is quite interesting called designing public consensus.
She even writes about the problems in her own neighborhood in Atlanta associated with unelected neighborhood association officials in a very illuminating fashion.
See http://www.edaw.com/whoWeAre/principals/principal.aspx?key=8931
and http://www.designingpublicconsensus.com/blog/
Referenced blog post re Atlanta is at:
http://www.designingpublicconsensus.com/blog/?p=42
For what it's worth, Design Intelligence named her "one of the top 15 women who are changing the world of architecture."
IF only we could put Ms. Faga in charge of building and implementing a new Marlins ballpark near Chez Huizenga and the Metro that'll be operating near there in 2012.
A beautiful and uniquely Miami stadium, funded largely by a new consortium of far-sighted Marlin owners with a love for architecture, design and South Florida, instead of the current Loria & Co. brain trust, which seems fixated on paying for as much of it as possible with the public's wallet. In what could only be called one of THE worst possible locations, far from its fans.
She could be a Janet Marie Smith for South Florida's baseball fans!
See Ballpark: Camden Yards and the Building of an American Dream by Peter Richmond
See http://www.amazon.com/Ballpark-Camden-Yards-Building-American/dp/0684800489
Here are some links to some local South Florida projects that EDAW is involved with.
They might help you come to some conclusions on thoughts of your own about what, if anything, is missing from the current plans for Hallandale Beach that EDAW submitted to the city, and what needs to be considered or modified.
EDAW Miami Beach office: http://www.edaw.com/whoWeAre/offices/office.aspx?id=66456
Flamingo/Lummus Neighborhood Urban Design and Streetscape Improvements
(for The Related Group)
http://www.edaw.com/WhatWeDo/projects/projects.aspx?back=y&office=66456
One Miami Riverwalk (for The Related Group)
http://www.edaw.com/WhatWeDo/projects/projects.aspx?idx=1&projId=66658467726976686982765048485548534952485051575250&office=66456
Oceanfront Neighborhood Urban Design and Streetscapes (for City of Miami Beach)
http://www.edaw.com/WhatWeDo/projects/projects.aspx?idx=2&projId=6578686982837978745048485248564957485752505251&office=66456
Biscayne National Park Ethnographic Overview and Assessment (for NPS)
http://www.edaw.com/WhatWeDo/projects/projects.aspx?idx=3&projId=6578686982837978745048485348554949485048484957&office=66456
St. Joe West (for St. Joe Land Company)
http://www.edaw.com/WhatWeDo/projects/projects.aspx?idx=4&projId=6578686982837978745048485248555051485250555254&office=66456
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
Jan. 14th Broward Legislative Delegation Public Meeting in Hollywood - be sure to ask about their "beauty contest" that will backfire on them
State Senator Steven Geller, the Broward County Legislative Delegation, along with State Representatives Joseph Gibbons, Evan Jenne and Elaine Schwartz will hold a joint Town Hall meeting with their constituents.
That's y-o-u.
Bring your wit and wisdom, loaded or rhetorical questions, and any post-holiday venomous feelings you've got left over.
Perhaps you can even get some face time on local Miami TV news that night by asking, early on in the proceedings, why they allowed their visceral hatred for touch-screen voting booths to be tied into a clunker of a bill moving the Democratic & GOP Presidential Primaries to January 29th.
That would be a nice start.
The primary where your Democratic vote is pure "beauty contest," with zero practical effect on delegate status.
I'll be posting some interesting talking points and prospective questions here as the meeting draws close, and they will be the that'll leave little wiggle room for evading.
My favorite kind!
Where: City Of Hollywood Commission Chamber, Room 219,
Date: Monday, January 14, 2008
Time: 7:00 PM To 9:00 P.M.
That's y-o-u.
Bring your wit and wisdom, loaded or rhetorical questions, and any post-holiday venomous feelings you've got left over.
Perhaps you can even get some face time on local Miami TV news that night by asking, early on in the proceedings, why they allowed their visceral hatred for touch-screen voting booths to be tied into a clunker of a bill moving the Democratic & GOP Presidential Primaries to January 29th.
That would be a nice start.
The primary where your Democratic vote is pure "beauty contest," with zero practical effect on delegate status.
I'll be posting some interesting talking points and prospective questions here as the meeting draws close, and they will be the that'll leave little wiggle room for evading.
My favorite kind!
Where: City Of Hollywood Commission Chamber, Room 219,
Date: Monday, January 14, 2008
Time: 7:00 PM To 9:00 P.M.
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