We quote the Miami Herald a lot, it is good to see they also read and quote from our blog.
BTW don't bother doing a search on line. I did one and couldn't find the article, under Eyeonmiami, Gimleteye or Alan Farago. Even the author's name, Edward Schumacher-Matos, had "0" results for this column in a "Search" of the Miami Herald.
Here is what Schumacher-Matos said about Eyeonmiami in an article titled: Still much to report in Miami corruption saga:
"For most of us Herald readers it has been a riveting 10 days. Yet, some readers say the coverage still has come up lacking. Alan Farago, aka Gimleteye wrote in the watchdog EyeonMiami blog that one major oversight has been "an analysis of business interests and their financial contribution to the campaigns of the fallen." And:
"And then there is the race question. Spence-Jones raised it herself. Others like Farago and Putney picked up on it, not only for Spence-Jones's political audacity, but also for its social importance."
In answer to Gimleteye, Executive Editor Anders Gyllenhaal said:
"On the question of campaign contributions to Spence Jones, it's a fair point and the contributions and business connections might be valuable information. The instances that led to the charges do not appear to be related to contributions or business connections, so our reporting took us in other directions. The paper still may very well come back to the matter."
9 comments:
Mentioned with Michael Putney, you must be thrilled over there.
Michael Putney is indeed awesome.
New York Times did a story on Miami. Manny "Money" Diaz got hammered.
Since the charges against Spence-Jones concern alleged illegal conduct prior to her election as a City of Miami Commissioner, why would business interests, particularly developers eager to continue building, waste money on someone who at the time was in no position to influence their cause. Spence-Jones is charged with forging Barbara Carey-Shuler's signature to obtain grant money for renovating a crack house.
People, Diaz is NO LONGER mayor, let's see you hold up boy wonder Regalado to the same standards, sheesh!
Putney is a tool.
Investigators should be looking at all Spence-Jones's campaign reports and contributions to see which contractors and vendors gave her money and what favors and votes they expect from her.
Which contractors were forced to contribute?
Does Spence-Jones really have a "pay to play" policy? Who fronts for Spence-Jones?
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/22/us/22miami.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=manny%20diaz&st=cse
NEW YORK TIMES
November 22, 2009
Miami Ponders Whether the Good Outweighs the Bad
By DAMIEN CAVE
More than 100 million square feet of residential and commercial space has been added since 2001 — mostly towers and not just downtown, but also across neighborhoods with one-story homes.
Miami has come to exemplify a deep, national ambivalence about the boom’s lasting impact.
This month’s mayoral election was in many ways a referendum on the idea that more construction means progress. Tomás Regalado, after campaigning against grand plans, beat a protégé of Mr. Diaz’s, Joe Sanchez, winning 72 percent of the vote.
In a time of easy credit, experts said, Mr. Diaz inherited a laissez-faire zoning code that let developers rule.
Those who saw his administration up close generally agree. Several former officials said Mr. Diaz, 55, a lawyer, modernized city government. His office did not even have a computer when he arrived; now Miami’s police officers have laptops with voice recognition software in their cruisers.
For some residents, the good outweighs the bad.
With record unemployment, foreclosures and budget cuts — in an area with one of the nation’s largest gaps between rich and poor residents — anger is the norm.
Ms. Parks, who was chairwoman during her last four years on the planning board, said the problem of loose enforcement preceded Mr. Diaz, though during the building boom, the mechanisms of government were overwhelmed. The planning board sometimes met until 2 a.m., Ms. Parks said, and lawyers for developers held more sway than critics. Developers, after all, were major campaign contributors, who could drag the city into expensive lawsuits.
Even in the case of the large, controversial projects that did come before Miami’s five-member commission and the mayor, “yes” votes carried the day. Mr. Diaz could have stepped in, for instance, to veto the commission’s approval in 2007 of three condominium towers near Vizcaya, the historic museum in Coconut Grove. But he did not. Instead, the development died in the courts last year after preservationists (including Ms. Parks) sued to stop it.
Other divisive projects, like the new stadium under construction for the Florida Marlins on the site of the Orange Bowl, also received the Diaz signature. In eight years, he said, he did not veto anything.
He said he preferred transformation. It took four years, but in October, the City Commission approved his ambitious urban blueprint, Miami 21, which will encourage more mixed use and bring stricter height restrictions to residential areas. It also gives the planning board the power to reject projects based on their design and other criteria.
But for many, Miami 21 has come too late, leaving open whether Mr. Diaz will be remembered as a visionary or by the nickname he picked up along the way, Money Diaz.
He was, by his own admission, “a deal man.” At times, he said, he wondered if he did too much deciding and not enough explaining.
Two commissioners who were often Diaz allies have left office since the election because of corruption scandals, and the city today faces a fiscal nightmare — partly because of pension obligations, partly because of declining revenue from property taxes. Both are now part of the Diaz legacy.
“In the time of the boom, you could do everything and anything, and no one would notice,” newly elected Mayor Tomas Regalado said. Now, he added, it is time to emphasize different values: accountability and caution.
Congrats!
I think the ombudsman has been disappointing so far. They seem to have selected an overly cautious, formalistic fellow who appears reticent to bite the hands that feed him. I'd like to see him tackle some larger issues and with a broader perspective.
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