Thursday, December 8, 2016

Surprise! Peter Deutsch and his Ben Gamla Hebrew Charter School in Hollywood STILL think they can do whatever they want to do, regardless of what the city and its citizens think




Surprise! Peter Deutsch and his Ben Gamla Hebrew Charter School in Hollywood STILL think they can do whatever they want to do, regardless of what the city and its citizens think

 Per this unsettling but-hardly-surprising news being reported today by William Gjebre in the Florida Bulldog, above, in case any of you forgot or were unaware of my negative feelings about former Congressman Peter Deutsch and his constant litany of bullying insults and threats directed over several years at Hallandale Beach and Hollywood residents, officials and even neighborhoods, in his desire to build or expand his Ben Gamla Hebrew Charter School empire in both cities, I remind you that his words were almost always delivered in public with grating contempt for others in the community, and with what I and many others perceived to be a VERY LARGE (misplaced) sense of entitlement on his part.

 Yet despite Peter Deutsch's ease of access to powerful people and resources throughout Florida, he constantly tried to paint a narrative for himself and his development efforts as being one akin to a victim -the proverbial "little guy." 
But those roles were more accurately being played at the time by the neighborhoods and the concerned citizens of our area who believed that a powerful man like Deutsch used to getting his way all the time, should NOT be able to change their neighborhood and city in what they perceived to be negative ways just because he thinks it's a good idea that can make him and his partners more money.

 I also remind you that both before and after I returned to South Florida in 2003 after living
and working in the Washington, D.C. area for 15 years, I've been a very strong and reliable supporter of Charter Schools and the variety of choices they afford students and parents.
But that support of mine doesn't mean that I think charter schools are the answer for every student or parent, or even necessarily think that most charter schools in South Florida are well-managed. 
Clearly they aren't, since the record shows that many are started by people and groups with more good intentions than common sense, good management or enough capital in the bank to do things the right way the first time for kids.

 That said, Peter Deutsch's ability to successfully and continually "game" the system at so many different levels of govt. and official oversight, using a variety of legislatively-approved legal advantages that residents and neighborhood groups opposed to him didn't enjoy -or even knew existed- might NOT have stood for as long as it has if even a few more honest reporters and columnists among South Florida's press corps had ever done the right thing at the time and fully disclosed the exact nature of those curious advantages -and how they were obtained! 

 But as we know now, at the time, my own blog, Hallandale Beach Blog, and the Florida Bulldog, were unique in South Florida in consistently trying to ferret-out useful, important
information for the public to know about what had been taking place below-the-radar with Ben Gamla. 
Unique in being places where honest people could come to learn and understand how the public policy playing field got so one-sided in the first place that local governments often didn't know until public meetings had started that their usual procedures and tactics 
regarding planning and approving land use were precluded, and that Deutsch would get the benefit of any doubt.

 Just as happened in Hallandale Beach, when he and Ben Gamla got the last laugh on the city's bumbling, out-foxed staff. 
That's why this is the 23rd time I've written about Peter Deutsch and Ben Gamla on the blog.
My last blog post about Ben Gamla Hebrew Charter School was on October 3, 2013, titled, What will Peter Deutsch do Thursday night to try to win over angry Hollywood neighbors/residents who want no part of any Doral Ben Gamla Preparatory Academy in their neighborhood -or the arrogant Ben Gamla parents and their galling sense of entitlement and antipathy towards others? My educated guess is that Deutsch doubles down and is as arrogant as ever
http://hallandalebeachblog.blogspot.com/2013/10/what-will-peter-deutsch-do-thursday-to.html

 Florida Bulldog
Lawsuit: Rescind variance for ex-U.S. Rep.’s Hollywood charter schoolBy William Gjebre, FloridaBulldog.org
December 8, 2016
The city of Hollywood violated municipal law when it approved a request by the controversial Ben Gamla middle-high school to stop maintaining a rooftop vegetation area that was a key consideration for a zoning exception allowing the school in a residential neighborhood.
This and other allegations made in a lawsuit filed by the Citizens For Responsible Development Inc. ask the Broward Circuit Court to rescind a Hollywood Planning and Development Board-approved variance for the school to operate without the rooftop green space at the facility headed by former U.S. Rep. Peter Deutsch (D-FL).
The school, which has drawn neighborhood opposition since it was proposed and opened during the past three years, was able to build a larger complex on its property at 2648 Van Buren St. by pledging to provide green area on the school’s roof rather than creating an open space recreational area elsewhere on its property, according to the complaint.
Read the rest of the article at:
http://www.floridabulldog.org/2016/12/lawsuit-rescind-variance-for-ex-us-reps-hollywood-charter-school/

Hollywood City Hall, photo by me, South Beach Hoosier.© 2016 Hallandale Beach Blog, All Rights Reserved. 
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Saturday, December 3, 2016

Firing City of Hallandale Beach City Attorney Whitfield was a good start, but the fact remains that there are several city employees and Dept. heads who need to go ASAP in order to have the city move forward. There's no point in pretending that's not the case.


Above, Hallandale Beach City Hall, November 2016. "And the flag was still there..."
Photo by me, South Beach Hoosier. © 2016 Hallandale Beach Blog, All Rights Reserved.


Local10 News, WPLG-TV, Miami
Secret audio implicates Hallandale Beach city attorney in alleged improper conduct
Commissioner Bill Julian can't seem to hang up his phone
By Bob Norman - Investigative Reporter
Posted: 11:58 PM, November 01, 2016
Read story at:
http://www.local10.com/news/bob-norman/secret-audio-implicates-hallandale-beach-city-attorney-in-alleged-improper-conduct

Local10 News, WPLG-TV, Miami
Hallandale Beach fires city attorney; mayor walks out of divided meeting
City Attorney V. Lynn Whitfield gives emotional farewell
By Bob Norman - Investigative Reporter
Posted: 11:36 PM, November 29, 2016
Read story at
http://www.local10.com/news/bob-norman/hallandale-beach-mayor-walks-out-of-divided-citys-meeting-

Firing City of Hallandale Beach City Attorney Whitfield was a good start, but the fact remains that there are several city employees and Dept. heads who need to go ASAP in order to have the city move forward. 
There's no point in pretending that's not the case.

On Monday I told many off you via a fact-filled email that was sent to concerned citizens 
throughout Hallandale Beach, Broward County and South Florida -and members of the news media- and then later, posted here at Hallandale Beach Blog, that on Tuesday, the first big step towards creating a new, positive and more-inclusive future for Hallandale Beach and its long-suffering residents and Small Business owners at Hallandale Beach City Hall would begin. And so it has....

Well, one down, but there are several more heads at Hallandale Beach City Hall that need to roll, including temperamentally-challenged City Manager Daniel Rosemond.
To be sure, it was a nice way to start, getting rid of City Attorney V. Lynn Whitfield, a 
woman who for years has acted one way publicly, but acted quite another way behind-the-scenes, as I know from first-hand experience.

Besides the dozens and dozens of times I saw Whitfield in action at public meetings over the years, where she often looked the other way at ethical situations involving elected officials and city employees that cried out for her to say or do something publicly, I got a chance to know the reality of her personality.

But before I mention that, consider this 2013 video I recorded with my friend and fellow Hallandale Beach and Broward County civic activist Csaba "Chuck" Kulin, who is a recent member of the city's Planning and Zoning Advisory Board, who has been a watchdog on finances, ethics and the appearance of impropriety in this area of Broward for many years.
The video speaks for itself regarding what seems to have been Whitfield's inexplicable willingness to look the other way on ethics and conflicts of interest in Hallandale Beach when it's right in front of her.

Csaba Kulin re Hallandale Beach City Attorney Whitfield's comments re her role on ethics. Uploaded May 2, 2013 https://youtu.be/dtpFnVOFA-I

That came when I repeatedly tried to tell her about the City of Hallandale Beach having illegally stolen a Hallandale Beach citizen's property, and then used it later without this person's permision or consent, in what was a profit-making enterprise, for which the citizen whose property was used received NOTHING.

I know the facts better than anyone because I was that citizen whose property was stolen by the city and the city-funded Hallandale Beach Chamber of Commerce.
The facts and context involved being what they were, and which would clearly point to it being an embarrassing episode for the city if made public, I thought it would be best tp go thru the system and for the City Attorney to know all the facts, so she could urge the City Commission to do the right thing.

But City Attorney V. Lynn Whitfield could hardly have cared less about knowning the facts involved when the city she represented had broken the law.

In fact, her own staff was witness to her yelling at me while I was outside of her office in January of 2014, when I stopped by the City Attorney's office one day while doing some errands in an attempt to schedule a meeting with me, a Hallandale Beach citizen, so that she would know what had taken place, since it had happened before she was hired by the city.

City Attorney Whitfield couldn't possibly have known all the germane facts, so, foolishly, I thought a calm and relaxed conversation of maybe 10-15 minutes with her in the near future, with supporting documents that would make clear the city's self-evident liability, would be a positive thing.
Instead, Whitfield kept insisting that I tell her then and show her my proof on her computer. Right then and there!

Well, as stated before, I was running errands that day and had only stopped by HB City Hall because my phone calls were not being returned. 
I am one among many other Hallandale Beach citizens who over the years have had bad and troubling experiences with city employees and elected officials lying about what they would do to address problems.

Given that fact, I was not about to fall for the trap.and do something stupid and allow her to buffalo me into having a meeting before it was appropriate.
More importantly, before I had time to make sure that I had someone with me who could witness anything that was done, said or agreed to.
Experience is the best predictor of behavior, no?

Someone on Whitfield's staff even told me that she had a history of refusing to meet with anyone from Hallandale Beach who had hired a lawyer, which is interesting in that she so often met and spoke with lawyers for people with interests before the city who were not even Hallandale Beach residents -like I was then. 

So again, firing City Attorney Whitfield was a good start, but the fact remains that there are several City of Hallandale Beach employees and Dept. heads who have a long and well-established history of showing a pronounced antagonism towards sharing facts and public documents with elected officials and citizens when they are supposed to.
There are lots of HB city employees who are clearly opposed to engaging in transparency and treating citizens with respect or civility, to say nothing of ones guilty of goofing around that is legendary in this small oceanside city, where it often seems like every other city employee has a city car of their own to drive around in, with taxpayers paying the tab.

It's long been known that there are certain locations in HB where for several hours a day, you can be sure of seeing a completely different city vehicle drive past nearly ever few minutes.
Question: Where are they all going if the problems in this city never actually get fixed, as is abundantly clear?

No, for years under imperious Hallandale Beach Mayor Joy Cooper's Rubber Stamp Crew of Julian, Sanders and Lewy, Hallandale Beach citizens and Small Business owners all had to glumly accept as "normal" conduct and behavior that was not only completely unsatisfactory, but often proof of the insidious culture of corruption, cronyism and incompetency that has long held sway here.

After all, and this may surprise some of you newcomers to the blog, Hallandale Beach is a city that, under Joy Cooper, once signed a secret deal with somone in the community to act as a paid spy and lobbyist at city meetings and community forums, both to voice enthusiasm for the city's position in public and to monitor who spoke out publicly against the city's position. Really.

I know because I'm the person in South Florida who first broke the news about it happening in 2010, a story that combined creepy elements of cronyism, corruption and breaking ethics and lobbying rules in one fell swoop.
I'm the person who made sure that the sordid story about elected officials betraying the pubic trust got reported publicly in the first place.

APRIL 5, 2010 
Joe Kessel is the spy/mole for Hallandale Beach City Hall's Ruinous Mike Good & Joy Cooper Regime
http://hallandalebeachblog.blogspot.com/2010/04/joe-kessel-is-spymole-for-hallandale.html

April 9, 2010 
The Kessel Chronicles, The Story Thus Far -Now with YouTube!
http://hallandalebeachblog.blogspot.com/2010/04/kessel-chronicles-story-thus-far-now.html

That April 9, 2010 post of mine has this nugget that still shines today and gives anyone reading this blog now and in the future a real taste of how bad things have been done at Hallandale Beach City Hall in the past -and continue to be:
Never seem inclined to find out how an entrenched culture of corruption could develop here where HB city employees would think it's normal or appropriate to try to physically prevent citizens like me from attending a publicly-noticed meeting at City Hall for 15 minutes, until they canceled it right before yours truly finally got there -thanks to the assistance of Comm. London- as happened to me just last month?
Did Assistant City Manager Mark Antonio, he of the $150k-plus salary, and a member
of the Evaluation Committee that was meeting that day try to explain to me when he saw me there, why the meeting was suddenly canceled once they knew I was trying to get to the meeting? More to the point, did he even attempt to explain why I, the only citizen trying to attend the meeting, was physically prevented by city employees from getting to the meeting? No, he did not. 
Instead, Antonio just scurried back to his office like a petulant child, actually yelling at Comm. London, as he hurried to his bunker of an office, safe from the reasonable questions of a citizen taxpayer.
That my friends, is the low moral and professional caliber of people currently working at Hallandale Beach City Hall -and he's one of the persons in charge. Now multiply that unprofessional attitude dozens of times. It explains an awful lot here, doesn't it?

On Tuesday afternoon, the ship that is the new leadership at HB City Hall finally 
started changing directions.
Obviously, it won't all be smooth sailing in the future, and there will clearly be difficult times when some hard and unpopular decisions will have to be made or even agonized over.
Good thing, then, that there's so much "deadwood" at Hallandale Beach City Hall to be tossed overboard in the coming weeks and months to help lighten the load and help the ship pick up some much-needed speed to be where it ought to be.



Dave

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Tuesday, November 29, 2016

Attention: SPECIAL Meeting of Hallandale Beach City Commission on Tuesday at 4:30 PM to discuss contracts of City Manager Daniel Rosemond and City Attorney V. Lynn Whitfield

Above, Hallandale Beach City Hall, November 2016. "And the flag was still there..."
Photo by me, South Beach Hoosier. © 2016 Hallandale Beach Blog, All Rights Reserved.

Attention: SPECIAL Meeting of Hallandale Beach City Commission on Tuesday at 4:30 PM to discuss contracts of City Manager and City Attorney.

On Tuesday the first big step towards a new, positive and more-inclusive future for Hallandale Beach and its long-suffering residents and Small Business owners at Hallandale Beach City Hall begins...

I earnestly hope that as many of you as possible will make plans to attend and not only meet your new resident-friendly elected leaders, but also let them know just what you think about what we have all had to glumly accept as "normal" conduct and behavior for so many years, and what you want instead in the city's top two bureaucrats.
The only two city employees the HB City Commission directly hires and is 
responsible for providing oversight over.

On Tuesday afternoon, the ship that is HB City Hall finally starts changing directions.




Dave

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Sunday, November 27, 2016

On Monday night, things change for GOOD in Hallandale Beach! Anabelle Taub and Michele Lazarow to be sworn in and welcome in an era of common sense, competency, transparency and lots of hard work and public accountability at City Hall for the city's long-suffering residents



Frustrated Hallandale Beach voters have finally taken their years of disappointment and anger out at the ballot box and in doing so, have consciously chosen to usher out the consistently failed policies and smirking, anti-democratic attitudes of Mayor Joy Cooper's Rubber Stamp Crew.

Now, with a 3-2 majority on the HB City Commission in favor of logic and reason actually making an appearance once in a while at 400 S. Federal Highway, people from all over the city are prepared -with open arms- to welcome in an era of common sense, competency, transparency and lots of hard work and public accountability for the city's residents.

To actually let public policy arguments and disagreements be over who has the best or most-sensible ideas and means for solving the city's many long-standing problems.
Which is exactly what its long-suffering residents and Small Business owners have desperately longed for the past 13 years -but never received in a tangible way that made a lasting, positive difference at City Hall.

But that was then and this is NOW...
On Monday night, please join your neighbors and concerned people from all over Broward County and visit Hallandale Beach City Hall at 6 PM to witness the swearing-in ceremony for Anabelle Taub and Michele Lazarow. 
And just watch what happens next...


All original photos on this page are by me, South Beach Hoosier. © 2016 Hallandale Beach Blog, All Rights Reserved.


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South Florida Sun Sentinel
As Hallandale Beach gears up for shift in power, more fireworks expected
Susannah Bryan, Reporter Sun Sentinel
November 11, 2016 7:26 PM

The nasty election season may have ended, but the drama in this oceanfront city is far from over.

The balance of power on the dais has now shifted from Mayor Joy Cooper to her political rivals, Commissioners Keith London and Michele Lazarow. The two, along with newly elected Anabelle Taub, vow that changes are coming.

Those changes could include a new city manager and city attorney, government meetings held at times more convenient to the public and a ban on Styrofoam pushed by London but blocked by Cooper.

The changing political landscape could even impact development in a city known for its gridlock.

Read the rest of the article at:






South Florida Sun Sentinel
Taub, Lazarow win big in Hallandale Beach after vowing to fight corruption
Susannah Bryan, Reporter Sun Sentinel
November 8, 2016 10:46 PM

Incumbent Hallandale Beach Commissioner Michele Lazarow and political rookie Anabelle Taub won their races in what some called Broward County's nastiest election.

Taub, a real estate agent, won in a landslide against incumbent Bill Julian, a retired horse trainer under state investigation for allegedly accepting favors from a developer.

"The residents of Hallandale Beach struck corruption with a fatal blow tonight," said Taub. "Hallandale Beach government will be restored to doing what it is supposed to — serving the residents."

Lazarow, an animal activist first elected four years ago, won handily despite a challenge from Alex Lewy, a former commissioner who stepped down in 2014, and Ann Henigson, a retired secretary making her fifth run for office.

"Tonight, we turned the page to a new chapter for Hallandale Beach," Lazarow said. "After the ugliest election cycle in our city's history, I am grateful that the residents of Hallandale Beach continue to have faith in me to fight for their interests."

Both winners vowed to root out corruption at City Hall if elected.

Read the rest of the article at:



 South Florida Sun Sentinel
Editorial: To change decorum and direction, choose Anabelle Taub and Michele Lazarow in Hallandale Beach 
October 18, 2016 9:09 PM
Citizens deserve so much better than what they're getting from today's five-member Hallandale Beach City Commission, which has divided into camps like two high school cliques.
The city faces serious challenges with traffic, flooding, crime and the pressure to build more high-rises. But the city commission, charged with finding solutions, is dysfunctional.
Arbitrary time limits squelch discussion on big issues, shouting matches break out and police have been called to remove certain commissioners. Relationships have gotten so bad that a parliamentarian had to be hired to enforce Roberts Rules of Order.
Neither side looks good in this 3-2 commission split. Both have attitude, mud stains and investigations into backroom shenanigans, one worse than others. Something has got to give. The Nov. 8 election offers that opportunity.

We have probably knocked on several thousand doors by now. My feet may never be the same. 😅 Rain or shine we are knocking on doors and I get to meet so many sweet elderly men and women (some of their circumstances break my heart), most speak Spanish or Russian, and are so grateful to having someone at their door speaking their language (I only know a few words in Russian). While  I ran because I wanted #Hallandale to be safer for my mom, I am now doing this for them too. I can't wait to start some volunteer efforts to reach out to seniors in my city (especially those who don't speak English). Nursing a nasty cold and painful feet, but taking this time to ponder on all the possibilities to be able to #payitforward. Giving back feeds my soul. 🌹#thiscoldcantholdmedown #communityoutreachgoals #hallandalefl #hallandalebeach
A photo posted by Anabelle Taub (@anabelletaub) on


South Florida Sun Sentinel
Silencing me silences the people who elected me 
Opinion - By Michele Lazarow
September 3, 2016 2:37 PM
Video at http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/89577225-132.html

When political power becomes more important than public service, the public loses. Unfortunately, that is what has happened in Hallandale Beach.

We have seen an Office of Inspector General investigation that found "gross mismanagement" of our CRA swept under the rug. Now there's an active investigation into a majorly flawed "community benefit" program, and an admission by an elected city official that he made a side deal with a developer before approving their massive project. Mayor Joy Cooper made matters worse when she not only had the microphones cut off at the city commission meeting, but also had Commissioner Keith London and me removed from the dais for attempting to discuss Bill Julian's public admissions of wrongdoing.

Though the mayor will say she is trying to maintain order, her move also has the effect of protecting her political majority. When she shuts off the microphones and silences the voices of two of the city's elected officials, the people she is really silencing are the residents of Hallandale Beach who elected us to be their voice on the commission.

Following Commissioner Julian's public admissions, I thought it was important that we discuss how the city plans to handle the situation before he played a role in deciding how we allocate more than $100 million of our taxpayer's funds. Cooper thought it more appropriate to have dissenting opinions removed from the dais by police. Imagine in Congress, one party having the other removed from the floor so that they cannot debate or vote on the issues they were elected to decide. It would be the leading headline on every national news broadcast and in every major newspaper in the country.

I will continue to raise this issue until I believe it has been appropriately addressed and remedied. I owe that to the people who elected me.

I got into politics as an advocate for animals. Now I am an advocate with a title and an important vote. I take that vote and the platform it provides very seriously.

As we move into election season, I would encourage the voters of Hallandale Beach to educate themselves on the candidates. I am one of those candidates. So is Bill Julian. We are not running for the same seat.

Voters have a chance to take back their city from a political system that is failing them. To do that, they must elect people who care more about public service than they do political power.

Our next commission meeting is Wednesday at 1:30 p.m. I encourage residents of Hallandale Beach to attend and sign up to speak during public comment. Your voice matters, but it must be heard.

Michele Lazarow is a city commissioner in Hallandale Beach. She can be reached at MLazarow@cohb.org
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Dave 

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