For a publication that in its articles and columns makes a big deal about accountability and transparency, why doesn't the the BrowardPalmBeach NewTimes management team ACTUALLY run their work email addresses on their website, so that readers can contact them directly about either complaints, compliments or suggestions, instead of hiding behind one of those preposterous walls of anonymity as they currently do? It's the year 2011 for God's sake. http://www.browardpalmbeach.com/about/staff/http://www.browardpalmbeach.com/feedback/EmailAnEmployee?to=614131
Despite alltheir myriad longstanding problems, which I've chronicled on my blog at great length, the Miami Herald and the South Florida Sun-SentinelACTUALLY run their management's email addresses on their websites and in the newspaper, since as you all know from what I've written and posted here over the past few years, I heard more than a few times from former Herald Senior VP and Executive Editor Anders Gyllenhaal, so why won't the NewTimes?
You already know the maxim about the goose and the gander, there's no need for me to repeat it here. But it IS very noticeable that the NewTimesdoesn't practice what they preach.
And just out of curiosity, how much money do you think the NewTimes make a year from their escort/sex ads?
And why do the Herald andSun-Sentinelnever take anyone there to task when they make self-evident factual mistakes, or seem to conspicuously leave out pertinent facts from a so-called article, even though it so often reads like a personal or political screed, which had pretty much been the situation at The Juice blog since Thomas Francis left?http://blogs.browardpalmbeach.com/juice/ Though I have been listed on their blog roll for a few years, I haven't read it since Thomas left, since it seems to be nothing but shallow screeds preaching to the choir, of which their current offering is par for the course. http://blogs.browardpalmbeach.com/juice/2011/01/tucson_shooting_gabrielle_giffords_olbermann.php
And if you guessed that they used Allen West's name in the headline -again!- go to the head of the class.
In that sense, they're like the oddball guy who keeps showing up at the beach or park with a snake on his shoulder, so desperate to get attention that he'll do anything. It's sorta funny, but mostly, it's just sad, and a waste of space. Personally, I'd much rather pay a dollar or two every week and have more well-written stories and less schlocky articles and ads. But that's just me.
Back in October, TheSunshineStateNews did this interview with then-CFO candidate Jeff Atwater on the subject of the 'Taj Mahal' Courthouse in Tallahassee, who asked why Alex Sink, then the Florida CFO and Democratic nominee for governor, didn't raise red flags about its costs and instead just signed the checks. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x16WC96yqqg
See also:http://www.sunshinestatenews.com/ and http://www.youtube.com/user/TheSunshineStateNews
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Following-up on her excellent reporting of three weeks ago on the new First District Court of Appeals Courthouse in Tallahassee -Florida's state capital for those of you reading this post overseas- which I commented upon here in a December 19th post I titled, with mock humor, Lucy Morgan in St. Pete Times: Why can't anyone remember how a $50-million courthouse now called the 'Taj Mahal' stayed off the radar and got okayed? http://hallandalebeachblog.blogspot.com/2010/12/lucy-morgan-in-st-pete-times-why-cant.htmlon Saturday, Lucy Morgan of the St. Petersburg Times actually outdid her earlier piece.
She gave readers and observers of all things political in Florida, the shady and the legit, a real bracing wake-up call by giving us a knowing description of what's what in the new Home Sweet Home for the elite judicial set.About the only thing missing are duvets, a private wine cellar and Swedish au pairs to help their kids after school with homework, otherwise, it's all there.
Atwater: Taj Mahal courthouse 'far worse' than a pricey building
By Lucy Morgan, Times Senior Correspondent In Print: Saturday, January 8, 2011
TALLAHASSEE — State auditors are questioning more than $1 million in bills submitted for the new $50 million courthouse built by the 1st District Court of Appeal.
"This is one of the great embarrassments for Florida government,'' new Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater said of the building derided as Florida's Taj Mahal. "The audacity and arrogance that was displayed in doing this and their continuing effort to hide the ball has been a complete disservice to hardworking Floridians who deserve better from public officials.''
The day after Atwater was sworn into office this week, he was briefed by auditors who now work for him. He said he will personally inspect every outstanding bill and will allow no payment until he can determine what was purchased. His auditors are continuing an investigation that started under former CFO Alex Sink.
"I now believe it is far worse than just an expensive building,'' Atwater said.
Some of Atwater's questions surround apparent attempts by the court to buy big screen television sets and furnishings for the courthouse with the proceeds of a $33.5 million bond issue that taxpayers will repay over the next 30 years.
"I cannot imagine financing equipment for 30 years that will depreciate over the next three to five years,'' Atwater said.
A former Senate president, Atwater said he has completely lost confidence in the Department of Management Services, the state agency responsible for overseeing construction of the courthouse. Officials at DMS signed off on the questionable purchases the judges requested.
"I do not believe they (DMS) have been straight with the people of Florida, certainly not with our department,'' he said. "They have been disguising what they were trying to get us to sign off on — and I have only been here a day.''
In October the CFO's scathing audit of the project accused the judges of illegally taking control of planning and construction away from DMS and laid much of the blame on the lobbying of 1st DCA Judges Paul M. Hawkes and Brad Thomas.
Auditors are now questioning a number of bills submitted by DMS for Peter R. Brown Construction Co. and Black Box Network Services, the company providing telecommunications equipment to the court. Black Box billed the state $693,450 for services and electronics equipment but has yet to collect $571,105 due to questions raised by auditors.
A $113,450 bill approved by DMS Nov. 29 lists a series of change orders for Black Box installations with charges for "labor'' without details. One of the items listed as labor is for $58,699.01. That is exactly the amount listed on a Sept. 7 bill for 14 TV sets and a $17,364 "restocking fee'' for the return of 16 60-inch TVs.
The St. Petersburg Times obtained the September bill in a records request from DMS, but officials in Atwater's office say they have never seen the September bill and believe the more recent bill that listed the TVs as "labor'' was an attempt to hide what had been purchased.
When the Times asked for bills DMS paid for electronics or furnishings, DMS initially denied any such payments had been made. But when pressed to provide bills submitted by Black Box, the agency produced a copy of the September bill.
The judges originally planned to put a 60-inch flat screen in each of 16 judges' chambers but apparently returned the televisions after the Times reported in August on the courthouse's many luxuries. Auditors are also questioning the legality of the restocking fee Black Box requested.
Auditors say they can't immediately determine how many televisions the court is attempting to buy. They sent an inspector out to count after getting a bill for nine. The inspector found the nine sets, plus two more still in boxes. The court was paying $5,978 for each 60-inch television, $2,273 for 47-inch televisions and $3,325 for 52-inch televisions, far more than the price of similar-sized TVs at major electronic stores.
Internal memos indicate auditors could not determine what was being purchased in one December bill for $145,000. When they asked for additional documentation they discovered that $41,000 of the total was for the nine TVs.
Officials at DMS did not respond to detailed requests for comment on Friday.
First DCA marshal Stephen Nevels says the court has 27 televisions in the new building: nine 60-inch monitors; two 52-inch; seven 46-inch; three 42-inch; two 40-inch; and four 17-inch. Nevels said the court has not seen any of the bills that have been handled by DMS.
Atwater is trying to unravel other questionable expenditures. One involves the purchase of art for the new building, and vendors that DMS and the court authorized to provide services that exceed the $100,000 limit on art that state law says can be purchased for a new building.
One of those vendors is Signature Art Gallery, owned by Mary Maida, wife of Tallahassee lawyer Tom Maida. The gallery agreed to frame 400 historical photos in the new building at a cost of more than $357,000, money that was to be paid by construction manager Peter R. Brown. In addition the court has agreed to pay $72,000 for original paintings by seven Florida artists.
The framed photographs include scenes from the 32 counties in Florida's northern district: greased pig contests, tobacco farms, lighthouses, cotton pickers, Tarzan at Wakulla Springs and other historic scenes.
Auditors have refused to approve payment of the bill because it exceeds the $100,000 limit. Some at the court have argued that the photos are not art and should not be included in the amount state law allows for art when a new building is built.
The situation leaves Mrs. Maida, owner of a small gallery in northeast Tallahassee, with a huge unpaid bill. Her husband, a lawyer at Foley & Lardner, has written to lawyers in Atwater's office asking for copies of all records relating to the art.
He has not filed a lawsuit. "I hope we don't have to,'' Tom Maida said when asked about the debt. "We certainly believe she is entitled to be paid by the state.''
It will be up to Atwater to decide. He's trying to determine what the state should do where a vendor has entered into a contract in good faith expecting to be paid for work — but that work violates state law.
Meanwhile Hawkes, chief judge during much of the construction project, and other officials involved in the project have been asked to appear before a Senate budget committee Wednesday to answer questions about the new courthouse. Thomas, the other judge who helped lobby for the project, also was invited. On Friday he notified the committee he will not appear.
"He had no problem coming to lobby for a $50 million courthouse, but now he can't come back to answer questions,'' said committee Chairman Mike Fasano.
Thomas did not respond to an e-mail requesting comment.
Lawmakers approved the money for the project and passed a $33.5 million bond issue that was tucked into an unrelated transportation bill on the last day of the 2007 legislative session. They say they had no idea the judges planned to build such an elaborate building.
The 110,000-square-foot building houses the 1st District's 114 employees. Florida Supreme Court Chief Justice Charles Canady is working on plans to remodel part of the building to accommodate 50 to 60 state court administrative employees, who could move out of rented quarters and save the state about $300,000 a year.
Atwater said he cannot allow the problems with the new building to go unaddressed. "There are people at DMS who tried to stop this, at least tried to bring a level of thoughtful scrutiny to it and it may have cost them their jobs,'' he said.
So, three weeks later. the lap of luxury in Tallahassee paid for by Florida taxpayers begins to get described in detail...
I can only imagine what a proposed new Broward County Courthouse -forced down the throats of protesting taxpayers- would be like with all the prima donna judges in this area.
That proposed County courthouse, adamantly opposed by the vast majority of Broward County's citizen taxpayers, but popular with the small clique of downtown Fort Lauderdale's business, legal and lobbying community, for reason that should be obvious, is an explosive subject I've written about many times, even while the Miami Herald has been positively obsequious and sycophantic in their news coverage, practically serving as a stenographer for the proponents of the plan.
Last year, Ritter created her own hand-picked "Broward County Courthouse Task Force" and installed her friend and fellow courthouse backer, Commissioner Ilene Lieberman, as the chairwoman.
Not surprisingly, the task force just came back with exactly what Ritter and Lieberman wanted: a recommendation to build a new courthouse without asking the permission of the public. The task force report also includes a convoluted half-baked plan to pay for it.
And Ritter and Lieberman are real cocky about it too, treating it all as a done deal. But you have to understand that Lieberman might have more than altruistic motives to rush this project forward. In 2005, she and lawyer husband Stuart Michelson, who serves as the Sunrise city attorney, bought an office suite close to the courthouse (at 800 SE Third Avenue) for $1.35 million.
Wow!
I've discussed here how the so-called 'Courthouse Task Force' was intentionally stacked with supporters of the plan, not well-respected, open-minded community reps with no personal or professional conflicts. No, that would have been too easy!
Instead, people selected for it had personal agendas from the beginning, and some even stood to profit from it in a manner that would not be ethically or legally acceptable with a similar proposal for any other building in this county.
In fact, the task force DIDN'T even follow the county's own rules and provide public information about their public meetings prior to them taking place, as the last meeting's agenda and related information were NOT posted to the county's website until many hours AFTER it was over.
Oversight or intentional?
In my letter to Broward County Administrator Bertha Henry complaining about these violations, I made the case for intentional by simply reciting the known facts, which were overwhelming. And in case you forgot, the chair of that Broward County Courthouse Task Force, appointed by the Broward County Commission itself, was none other than Broward County Commissioner Ilene Lieberman, a woman who owns property near the proposed site in downtown Fort Lauderdale. Really.
Here are HBB links to past posts of mine on her ethics as well as this subject:
Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, that's how things are DONE in Broward County, Florida, U.S.A. in the early years of the 21st century. In broad daylight.
The mind literally reels at the excess just waiting for Broward taxpayers if a new county courthouse is built in the location favored by the powerful few and well-connected, who are mostly Secret Santas for each other, even if they don't personally celebrate Christmas.
What are friends for?
IF there ever is a brand-new courthouse in Broward, it needs to be on/near or adjacent to U.S.-1 so that a futureFEC rail line commuter train station is close-by, and logic and reason actually enter the public planning conversation for a change. http://www.sfeccstudy.com/ If you aren't going to consciously locate venues that attract lots of foot traffic, like stadiums, arenas, shopping malls, govt. buildings like county courthouses or county HQ, near safe and well-designed mass transportation hubs to cut down on the number of vehicles on the roads,and create some positive business synergy and efficiency -and make everyone's life simpler while saving money on parking fees- what's the point in pretending there's any kind of logical, well thought- out County/regional transportation policy?
I don't know about you, but personally, I'm tired of pretending that myopic mediocrity in South Florida government planning is satisfactory.
The amazing diversity of a city called Malmö... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JtUopabsELM Earlier today, quite unexpectedly, I heard an on-air promo for the BBCWorld Service on an "Open Eyes" segment airing on Jan. 19th, dealing with racial tensions (and illegal immigration?) in M... No, not perpetual ethnic and crime hothouse Miami, but Malmö, only an ethnically diverse city with one of the most well-educated populaces in the world. Hmm-m-m... (And, as it happens, it's home to some friends of your faithful blogger, some of whom were alluded to in my post about Crown Princess Victoria's wedding, who drove to Stockholm and got-up early to find good places to watch the ceremonies.) Malmö is sort of like the more interesting and charming parts of Baltimore, Pittsburgh and Indianapolis I've been to, where you meet nice, friendly, well-educated and well-rounded people, and see why they really love it there and want to raise their families there. Their idea of happiness is NOT a high-rise condo near the water in an area that's beset with gridlocked traffic and out-of-control city and county governments that specialize in raising taxes and lip service. They have very different criteria for a nice Quality-of-Life, and proximity to Nordstrom's or The Cheesecake Factory is NOT one of them. It really makes you think!
And like those three American cities that I'm pretty familiar with, which have very good colleges there, Malmö has been busy successfully re-inventing itself as a home to education, technology and innovation.
And whether you tend to believe Wikipedia in general or not, according to the current Wikipediaentry onMalmö, which seems mostly accurate as I read it,
"Immigrant Muslims comprise a little over 25% of population and their share keeps on rising. It is predicted that Malmö would be more than 50% Muslim by 2020."
As of now, I don't know what time the segment will air on the BBC on the 19th, but I will keep checking every so often and let you know here once I find out.
When I put my ear to the ground to listen for the sound of approaching hoof-beats -my Indian name is "Discerning voice that carries" -I sense (fear) another well-intentioned but ultimately politically biased and self-fulfilling report akin to so many over-the-top NPR segments I heard broadcast under Bush 43, that seemed designed to marginalize the legitimate concerns of real people with real problems, in this case, the residents ofMalmö, in order to engage in agitprop under the guise of journalism.
The likely result?
Mockery of the town and a blown opportunity to understand a complicated issue that has finally
resulted in the Sweden Democrats, Sverigedemokrarna,i.e SD, finally getting into the Riksdag, the Swedish parliament. http://sverigedemokraterna.se/
To me, this is an entirely predictable result, and not unlike the rise of the Tea Party and their activists in the U.S., as a vocal response to Obama's public policies, it was the proof that for every action, there is an opposite and equal reaction.
Some of those NPR stories I heard then were always sort of hard to pigeonhole and figure out just who they were trying to "educate." "But next, a feminist leader in Ecuador talks about the Vagina Monologues finally coming to Quito." Yeah, too many curious stories like that with not so thinly-veiled political bias made me realize that listening to NPR so much was just a poor use of my time, which is why I rarely listen to it now.http://www.npr.org/ Frankly, now it just sounds too much like White House and DCCC propaganda, once-removed.
As to the upcoming BBC program, there are many things I wonder about, mostly, to what extent it will have a fair-minded prologue accurately describing the situation that average Swedish citizens find themselves in -a box they can't get out of.
For instance, though it will change after this year, until now, non-European students who come to Sweden get their university education for FREE, paid for by Swedish citizens.
In Sweden, local governments, not the national govt. in the form of the Riksdag, pay the majority of the real costs associated with immigration and assimilation policy, legal and illegal, which are REQUIRED, not optional.
In that sense, local governments there have an 'unfunded mandate,' but there's nobody like
the Dept. of Homeland Security, ICE or DOJ with pots of grant money or stimulus funds
to help a town reconcile their budget costs. YOU HAVE TO PAY.
As you might imagine, this has a profound effect on municipal budgets in ways that, well, certain large U.S. cities and newspaper editorial boards with pro-amnesty sensibilities, like the Miami Herald, can't possibly imagine or appreciate.
It's a simple fact that at some Swedish colleges, the Masters programs are more than 50% full of Asian students who DON'T pay, which means that Swedish taxpayers are not only paying for someone who is NOT from their own country, but who, possibly, are elbowing out their own son or daughter of their higher education. THAT brings the issue home in a very tangible way.
Nope, with no money trees to shake in Washington, with high-paid lobbyists, the favored South Florida approach, local Swedish governments and citizens pay close to the full freight for an immigration policy they can't change. Imagine you were them, how would THAT make you feel?
So when was the last time you read or heard about this in a mainstream media news story in the U.S.? When the time comes during the course of the year for local Swedish governments to set their budget priorities and make them public, do elected officials vote to close a popular library because of the costs associated with immigration assimilation education programs, or do you cut certain Parks & Recreation programs for kids, or close the park a few days a week, so that you can pay for some program for Somali or Turkish emigres? Hmm-m-m...
Around the time of the Swedish parliamentary elections in September, which saw the return to power of Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt, the first center-right prime minister to lead the country for two periods in a row, this time, with a four-party Red-Green coalition, I came across a fascinating budget story that really brought home to me the costs of their ridiculous immigration policy, though the truth is, I came across it while looking for something else. This story concerned a northern Swedish town called Gävle, which is roughly about half the size of next-door Hollywood (FL), but like Hollywood, located on the water, in Gävle's case, on the Baltic Sea. It's also one of the oldest towns in the entire country.
In a September 8th story that appeared in Gefle Dagblad, http://gd.se/ the local chairman there, Roger Hedlund, argues that the government grant of 40 million SEK only covers 22 percent of the costs of refugee protection. Guess who pays the rest?Do the math!
Here's an excerpt from the story from September: Sverigedemokraterna vill skrota orkestern Orkestern och flyktingar kostar för mycket enligt SD
Statsbidraget för flyktingmottagandet täcker bara 22 procent av kostnaderna, hävdar Sverigedemokraterna och hänvisar till Sveriges kommuner och landsting.SKL säger att siffran är mellan 70 och 90 procent. Om Gävle kommun säger upp avtalet med Migrationsverket blir det 153 miljoner kronor över.Pengar som kan satsas på bland annat parboendegaranti och en skattesänkning med 55 öre.Siffrorna presenterades av Sverigedemokraterna i går, när de lade fram sitt lokala valmanifest och en skuggbudget för Gävle kommun.
Ordföranden i Gävle, Roger Hedlund, hävdar att statsbidraget på 40 miljoner kronor bara täcker 22 procent av kostnaderna för flyktingmottagandet.
Would people in South Florida, esp. the pro-amnesty crowd at theMiami Herald's editorial board and and local TV stations' management, and their decisions about what is and is not aired on local newscasts, look at immigration differently if 70-90% of the cost of services given to and provided by the U.S. to immigrants, illegal or otherwise, was borne NOT by the federal government, but by the individual state, county and city and the citizens who live HERE?
Not money coming out of some abstract wallet, not money being printed on some U.S. Treasury printing press, but directly out of their own individual wallet, purse and bank account, affecting their life and their family's?
At the local level, where they can see exactly what local and state govt. services are necessarily eliminated or cut back because of the costs involved in dealing with immigrants? Guess what, that's the reality of the average Swedish citizen.
They and their family have to make do without something because their money is being used for a purpose that they are opposed to, and yet when they complain about something being amiss in their representative democracy, and the costs of this, they are called, at a minimum, selfish and racist, and often quite worse by the condescending domestic and international news media, plus many of their fellow citizens. Hmm-m-m... sound familiar? Below, a very typical NPR view of what happened in the Swedish election, with zero context or understanding, but then they never understood Ross Perot's appeal, either, did they? http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2010/09/20/129995071/anti-immigrant-party-in-sweden-wins-seats It sounds exactly like what we all heard and read constantly by the American news media about The Tea Party this year. THAT kind of condescending and dismissive attitude, without any proper context, I suspect, is exactly what theBBC may well have in store for the city of Malmö and its citizens in less than a fortnight.
New York Times DealBook's Andrew Ross Sorkin and Evelyn M. Rusli discuss Facebook's valuation after the social networking site raised $500 million from Goldman Sachs and DST Global, a Russian investor. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_P3g5QDWszM The related article is at: http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2011/01/02/goldman-invests-in-facebook-at-50-billion-valuation/
Below, some background on Section 12(g) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, enacted by Congress in 1964, and its application (or non-application) in thecurrentFacebook deal.
Video: Goldman-Facebook Deal Raises Debate on Investor Pool http://bcove.me/2c4j7kl9
Related article at: http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2011/01/05/the-500-investor-threshold-debated-for-its-47-year-history/
While the Miami Herald and the South Florida Sun-Sentinel snooze, with their busy and unimaginative websites, the New York Times is making big investments in improving content for their readers in their business coverage and making their financial stories must-read -and watch!
Beet.TV: The New York Times is Capturing the "Character-Driven Drama" of Wall Street with Dealbook Videos
South Florida Sun-Sentinel' Dolphins look for Broward aid to renovate Sun Life Stadium stadium By Scott Wyman, Sun Sentinel 9:07 PM EST, January 5, 2011
The Miami Dolphins want Broward County to share its tourism tax revenue to help pay for a $225 million renovation to its stadium in Miami-Dade.
Dolphins CEO Mike Dee has been meeting with area hoteliers, business executives and tourism officials to pitch the idea of rewriting state law to allow Broward to spend its tax money outside the county. The Dolphins argue that Broward has benefited heavily from past Super Bowls at the Miami-Dade venue and that a new stadium would help ensure their return in the future.
Broward played host to the Super Bowl headquarters in 2010. That game, along with the subsequent Pro Bowl, generated $333 million for South Florida businesses. Dee said a renovated stadium could add about $2.5 billion to the South Florida economy through 2040.
"This is a community decision," said Dee, who publicly unveiled the idea in a speech Wednesday at a Miami chamber of commerce lunch. "This is about the ability to continue to bring big-time events to the community."
Although South Florida has been home to both the 2010 and the 2007 Super Bowls, the chance at more games has been in doubt because of the condition of the 23-year-old Sun Life Stadium. NFL officials have made clear that while they enjoyed the area's amenities, that is not enough to return. Newer and fancier venues have been chosen for future games.
The Dolphins last year unveiled plans for a renovated stadium that include a partial roof over the seating area and seats closer to the action. But after spending $300 million on stadium upgrades over the past six years, the team has maintained that it cannot make the investment by itself.
Broward County commissioners, who control the tax dollars that tourists pay to stay at hotels, reacted skeptically to the Dolphins proposal. Broward and Miami-Dade have flirted with cooperation on sports venues before to no avail.
Commissioners said that Broward has many needs of its own for the tax dollars, which already go to promote tourism and pay for the debt on the construction of the BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise. The tax money has been a key feature of plans to both expand the Broward County Convention Center and build a nearby hotel for convention-goers.
"There would have to be a lot of sweetener in the pot before I would even think about it," Broward Mayor Suzanne Gunzburger said.
Commissioner Lois Wexler said she opposes any additional use of tourism dollars to support professional sports teams. Meanwhile, Commissioner John Rodstrom, one of the primary architects behind the construction of the BankAtlantic Center, said he would want to see a significant sharing of revenue or taxation from the stadium in order consider a deal — even suggesting that the county line be moved to split the stadium.
"I'm willing to listen to any plan, but you have to put it into the context of the dollars that come out of it," Rodstrom said. "We're being asked to fund a stadium that is not in our county. We all recognize how important the Super Bowl is, and it would be good if we could get it every couple years. But we also have other needs in Broward."
The Dolphins have sought Miami-Dade hotel taxes for at least a year, but had not previously included Broward tax money in the plan. In another significant shift, Dee also is pledging Dolphins financial support for a stadium renovation.
Dee said the Dolphins want to pursue legislation that would allow counties to increase the hotel tax from the current maximum of 6 cents to 7 cents. The plan would then be for Miami-Dade to split its increased tax revenue between the stadium renovations and a rehab of its convention center. Broward currently charges a 5-cent hotel tax and also would be allowed to raise it and spend proceeds outside its jurisdiction.
The Dolphins plan is dividing the region's business community.
The head of the Greater Miami tourism bureau has not endorsed it, and city commissioners in Miami Beach have voted to oppose public funding for the football stadium. Sunrise Sports & Entertainment, the operators of the BankAtlantic Center, issued a strong statement Wednesday opposing the plan as well.
In his statement, Sunrise Sports president Michael Yormark said he believes the Dolphins intend to turn their stadium into a multipurpose entertainment facility that would then compete with his venue. "So their request is, in effect, to use Broward County tax dollars to help a privately owned Miami-Dade facility compete with a publicly owned facility in Broward County," he said.
Broward tourism czar Nicki Grossman, though, described the Dolphins proposal as tantalizing if it means Miami-Dade lands future Super Bowls. She said Broward hoteliers did the "lion's share" of business associated with the Super Bowl, and that the Dolphins training camp at Nova Southeastern University in Davie also pumps at least $15 million into the Broward economy.
Grossman, the president of the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau, said Broward hoteliers want Super Bowl 2015 in South Florida and that she understands that "in order to get a Super Bowl, the stadium has to be a major player.''
"What they need is a reason for Broward County to get into this game," Grossman said. "My reach into the hotel community says that our hoteliers really want to continue to be Super Bowl hosts, and Pro Bowl hosts."
Staff writer Brittany Wallman, Pro Sports Editor Joe Schwerdt and the Miami Herald contributed to this report.
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Ron Book is the lobbyist hired by Stephen Ross and the Dolphins on this Quixotic effort to fleece Broward County taxpayers.
Anyone who saw the embarrassing video 11 months ago of Greater FTLtourism czarina Nicki Grossman reacting to New York City being awarded the 2014 Super Bowl over South Florida and other candidate cities, knows what sort of silly sycophant she is for any corporate interest who'll tell her what she wants to hear. In my opinion, she's an old-fashioned shill for hire.
When someone actually stumbled into telling the truth for a change about what happened in January, i.e. that the fix was in for NYC to be awarded the game, and that person was the Chair of South Florida's effort, influential Rodney Barretto, http://www.southfloridasuperbowl.com/Host_Committee/Board_Of_Directors.html predictably, Nicki Grossman acted just like the corporate puppet she is, and actually criticized HIM, not the shell-game that was perpetrated on them by the NFL at taxpayer's expense. Surprise!
I know, I know, you don't have to tell me. You're hoping for a snowy Super Bowl three years hence, too!
CBS News Sixty Minutes: State Budgets: Day of Reckoning December 19, 2010 4:59 PM Steve Kroft reports on the precarious financial conditions many states are facing and what they're doing about it. Length 13:50
In the City of Hallandale Beach, it just never ends...
Agenda for Wednesday morning's Hallandale Beach City Commission meeting is at: http://www.hallandalebeachfl.gov/files/2011-01-05%20Regular/Agenda%20Outline%20for%202011-01-05%2010-00.htm
Below, my good friend and Hallandale Beach civic activist Csaba Kulin gets some things off his mind -and hopefully into yours- about the city's budget problems, which in the opinion of many well-informed people in this community are directly attributable to the benefits paid by city taxpayers to city employees, many of whom, in my opinion, fail to deliver a dollar's worth of service for a dollar's worth of salary. There's an entire forest of deadwood in this city that needs to be clear-cut.
The Sixty Minutes video above is referenced in his email to the powers-that-be at Hallandale Beach City Hall.
---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Csaba Kulin Date: Tue, Jan 4, 2011 at 3:24 PM Subject: Ten (10% wage increase for HB employees
Honorable Mayor, Vice Mayor, Members of the City Commission and City Manager Mark Antonio,
Every time the Hallandale Beach City Commission meets it is a "clear and present danger to the financial well being of the residents of Hallandale Beach".
It is no different tomorrow when you will vote on a total on 10 % wage increase to the Local 2009, Florida Public Employees Council #79 members. The 10% is made up of 3% Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) effective July 8, 2010, 3% COLA effective October 1, 2010 and 4% ratification bonus. This contract will expire September 30, 2011.
I do not blame the union for trying to get the best deal for their members and the City Manager (CM) was not in a very strong bargaining position. First, he has to work with the effected employees, second, the City Manager just got a 10% salary increase himself. Why would the union agree anything less than 10%. Remember when I argued for a "symbolic" pay freeze of the CM, you did not listen to me. The CM could have taken the "high road" during negotiations and argue that "I did not get a pay increase either". You have contract negotiations coming up for the fire and police unions. What makes you think they will take anything less than Local 2009 got?
A few weeks ago "60 Minutes" had a segment on it, the Wall Street Journal had two articles (December 23 and 24) about it and the Mayor's last article in the South Florida SunTimes talked about public employee compensation, benefits and pension benefits and the need to control it. Bloated salaries and "gold plated" benefit packages are bankrupting local governments. According to some experts, State, County and City financial difficulties will dwarf the housing crisis in magnitude. Everyone talks about it but nobody is willing to do anything about. We all know it is coming but no one has the backbone to say "STOP". Every journey starts with the first step. You missed the last opportunity to say "NO" when you hired the CM, will you miss this opportunity to say "NO again"?
The Federal Government froze wages for two years, Social Security recipients did not get a COLA for the second year in row and everyplace you look private employers introduce new "compensation plans" which is pseudonym for cut in pay. Is there any reason the City could not freeze wages for a couple of years?
The COLA's and the 2.5 salary reduction re-reinstatement in the Budget Amendments added a little over 1 million to the 2010/2011 Budget.
Now I like to get an answer to a couple questions I have.
How much this new contract will cost the City in the 2010/2011 Budget?
Is this 10% on top of the COLA already approved in the Budget Amendments?
With the original Budget Amendments and this latest one, how much is the deficit in the General Fund Budget?
Where is the extra money is coming from?
Sincerely,
Csaba Kulin
President, Fairways North, Inc.
VP, United Condominium Associations of Hallandale Beach
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New Jersey Governor Chris Christie: Day of Reckoning Governor Christie speaks on accountability at a Town Hall meeting in Perth Amboy, N.J., June 15, 2010 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Evtt-R7Rmdw
On Monday, UnsuckDCMetro blog had the latest in a series of amazing (and sometimes downright scary) stories about the poor government management, oversight and public outreach being done by WMATA, i.e the Washington Metro, the Washington, DC-based multi-jurisdictional agency that manages and operates the Metro train system that links Washington, D.C. to suburban Virgina and Maryland. http://www.wmata.com/
It's a story that was first picked up by WTOP Radio in Washington, the All-News station, and then picked-up in turn and linked to on The Drudge Report. http://www.wtop.com/ Listen live at:http://www.wtop.com/?sid=599366&nid=162 The one and only Drudge Report:http://www.drudgereport.com/
It lays out for all to see the sort of incredibly irresponsible behavior and CYA attitude of both both its employees and management and the sort of nonchalance that has plagued WMATA for years, part of the reason, undoubtedly, that UnsuckDCMetro came into existence. When you're a transportation agency that has recently seen people die, needlessly, it would seem to me that half-assed doesn't really cut it. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_Metro
My comments continue after the post:
Monday, January 3, 2011 How 'bout some iPotties Instead?
There was a lot of Metro news over the holidays.
Metro started random bag screening, they paid a communications firm $1.2 million to help market themselves through "guerrilla marketing," they managed to get the government to give them $150 million with no apparent additional oversight, and they doled out cash and iPads to executives on the finance team.
Read the rest of the amazing post at: http://unsuckdcmetro.blogspot.com/2011/01/how-bout-some-ipotties-instead.html
Having taken the Metro into downtown D.C. for work for almost 15 years from my home on Capitol Hill, then Tenleytown and finally Arlington County for 13 years, this story is NOTexactly Breaking News, per se, to most observant transit riders standing at underground train stations. In fact, I think I can pretty well guess where the worst offenses took place.
UnsuckDC Metrohttp://unsuckdcmetro.blogspot.com/, the insightful and observant blog that this story originally appeared in before being picked-up nationally, ran an amazing story on Dec. 16th that is scary as hell, and will ring familiar to anyone living in South Florida who is observant in the ways that government works -or doesn't.
For those of you living in South Florida who have been following my thoughts in this space for four years, tell me that the actions described in the above post don't sound EXACTLY like the sort of obtuse thinking coming out of Hallandale Beach City Hall for years under the Joy Cooper and Mike Good/Mark Antonio regime, where their primary goal has always been to obfuscate, and to look at everything BUT the real problem here -genuine lack of accountability and ZERO punishment for continual, unsatisfactory performance:
Thursday, December 16, 2010 Mystery Worker Removed Barrier at Tenleytown
So much for taking some time off for the holidays.
On Nov. 16, several Metro riders were greeted with a scary sight at Tenleytown.
As they climbed what appeared to be a run of the mill broken escalator, they arrived near the top to see a gaping hole where some steps were missing because the escalator was under repair.
Read the rest of this jaw-dropping story at: http://unsuckdcmetro.blogspot.com/2010/12/mystery-worker-removed-barrier-at.html If you read that post, too, it's hard not to think about all the many, many longstanding issues and problems around HB that have NEVERbeen 'fixed' or resolved to anyone's satisfaction, least of all, ours, even while city tax money continues to flow out to sleep-walkingcontractors and city employees, but where are the tangible results? Where's the accountability? More proof of THAT lack of accountability to the hard-working citizens of this community comes via an email that soon will be going to two of Tallahassee's newest residents, Rick Scottand Pam Biondi, the new Florida governor and attorney general, both of whom I voted for. In the weeks and months ahead, they are going to know EXACTLY what has been going on for YEARS in Hallandale Beach, Florida.
Red Eye: New Yorkers rip Bloomberg over Snow Removal, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RlUR2u63atQ Red Eyeairs onFox News ChannelMonday-Friday at 3 a.m. and is hysterical.
A Slow NYC Snow Cleanup - New York Post http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEdZA7u545Q ------ New York Post Sanit bigs boozed amid snow chaos: witnesses By Reuven Blau and Brad Hamilton Last Updated: 9:19 AM, January 2, 2011 Posted: 2:10 AM, January 2, 2011
EXCLUSIVE Instead of plowing, they got plowed.A group of on-duty Sanitation supervisors is under investigation for allegedly buying booze and chilling in their cozy department car for hours Monday night after the blizzard stranded a bus and three snowplows blocks away.
The city Department of Investigation is probing the incident after witnesses said four snow blowers blew off their duties to get blitzed, buying two six-packs of beer from a Brooklyn bodega. The workers then walked five blocks to their car, which was in 20 inches of snow in the middle of 18th at McDonald avenues near the F train entrance, passing the stuck bus and idle plows on 18th Avenue between Third and Fourth streets.
Read the rest of the post at: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/brooklyn/slushed_sloshed_fX907nPJIEevDILBvlYAtK
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Did Unions Intentionally Delay Snow Cleanup in NYC? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9skEQJzGHUo -----
ASH On TV3 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btYUkMOk5VU
The odd little story that you may've missed while watching the minor football bowl games on ESPN and pondering whether theHurricanesand Dolphins would both play lethargic and uninspired football in their last ballgames of the year. Well, I did and theyDID.
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Anorak News(U.K.) Peta Model Breastfeeds Dog For Charity Calendar
CAN Melissa Hayward’s Puppy Love calendar teach us that a puppy is not just for Christmas – it is also for St Valentine’s Day and possibly a mini-break in Bruges or a night in the Darren Day Suite at the Alfreton Travelodge.
The calendar fast forwards to March model, where Agata Dembiecka – Peta member (so look out for her here) – spends the month appearing to breastfeed her puppy.
Read the rest of the post at: http://www.anorak.co.uk/269483/strange-but-true/peta-model-breastfeeds-dog-for-charity-calendar.html
----- NewsWhip (Ireland) Very important poll: Yea or Nay to the calendar with a model “breastfeeding” a puppy? December 30, 2010 by Paul Quigley
Did you hear? A new animal welfare charity calendar includes an image of a model simulating breastfeeding a puppy. We can’t agree whether this is awesome or awful, so we decided to ask our readers. The Puppy Love calendar is the brainchild of model Melissa Hayward and proceeds will be donated to the Ash Animal Rescue centre in Co. Wicklow.
Read the rest of the post at: http://newswhip.ie/national-2/very-important-poll-yea-or-nay-to-the-calendar-with-a-model-breastfeeding-a-puppy
2011 Puppy Love calendars are available athttp://www.puppylove.ie/
The Ash Animal Rescue facility in Wicklow is at: http://www.ashanimalrescue.com/ash/ Agata Dembiecka's website at: http://www.dembiecka.cdx.pl/
