Candidate Joe Garcia's Campaign raises questions about Rubio/Rivera Fundraiser. By Geniusofdespair

The Joe Garcia campaign called last Thursday's fundraiser "the Rubio-Rivera Foreclosure Fundraiser."

The Garcia Campaign says, this is "from the Department of You Can Make This Up: Miami Lobbyists Marco Rubio and David Rivera are holding a fundraiser together June 24th in Washington, DC." More:

Last week, it was reported that Rubio and his self proclaimed "disciple" David Rivera purchased a house together and then defaulted on the payments, allowing the property to fall into foreclosure.

The pair of ethically challenged Republican politicians have now unwittingly opened up a can of worms when their embarrassing financial tactics were made public.

Garcia's Campaign said these are Some Questions That Need To Be Answered:

* Did Rubio and Rivera willfully withhold mortgage payments that were owed based on their mortgage contract?
* Did this tactic of withholding payments allow them to renegotiate or offer the house as a short sale?
* In either case did they have to disclose their income and assets? If so, what are they?
* What did their stalling and negotiating tactics cost the government in lost property values or tax write-off for themselves or the banks?
* And is this whole mess just another example of Marco Rubio getting another sweetheart mortgage deal from his political allies?

For series on R. Allen Stanford, Miami Herald is recognized for not going far enough ... by gimleteye

The Miami Herald received an award from the National Press Club "for revealing government failures that allowed billionaire Allen Stanford to launch a $7 billion Ponzi from a bayfront Miami high rise." From Eyeonmiami, the Herald gets half an award. The series was a welcome breath of life for the Herald. When the report broke, a year ago, I wrote considerably about it. I criticized the Herald, however, for not taking the series far enough. What is the point of a powerful investigation that shines its light straight into the executive office of the governor but doesn't walk through the door to see what and who is in the office?The scandal took flight in 1998, through facilitators at the law firm Greenberg Traurig that represented Stanford and his need to stretch state banking law. But the investigation stopped, right at the doorstep of lax regulatory oversight during the Jeb Bush years. Why did the series stop, where it did, is an important question that journalism reviews should be asking. Does anyone care, or, are we just inured to carelessness? (for more on this, from our archive, type in "Stanford" in the search engine below the Eyeonmiami banner.)

Strategy Saturday: Who do I vote for in the primary? By Geniusofdespair

When Crist became an Independent I thought about changing back but, alas, I am still a Republican. A large question looms for me. Who do I vote for in the primary? I would suppose I want Alex Sink to win. So how do I best use my vote to increase her chances? This calls for strategy.

If I vote for the worst of the two, it would have to be Rick Scott but damn it is close. They are both pretty bad. I am thinking that Sink has a better chance facing McCollum, since he doesn't have a lot of money, so I am leaning towards voting for him. But, Scott is so weird he might self destruct before the election. The worst case scenario, Scott winning. Bill McCollum is a known evil, we can pretty much surmise what he will do from having watched him over the years. Scott, he scares me. Take a look at those eyes and that diabolical sneer... woof! He looks capable of some really bad decisions.

Any of you have any suggestions? I am open to voting for either of them but my objective is to send the biggest loser to the General Election. My head is hurting from doing all this thinking, I just know this decision is going to backfire on me.

Pensacola Beach Covered with Oil Video by Gregg Hall - June 23rd. By Geniusofdespair

Don't see video, use this link.

Freak Storms in North East Maybe Not so Freakish. By Geniusofdespair

Maybe those freak storms yesterday in the North East (Severe weather was forecast to continue pushing through the East Coast on Friday) are going to be more the norm than the exception. Hear what Dr. Jane Lubchenco, Head of NOAA said in Miami on Wednesday, in one of my short videos. She says that combined global and ocean temperatures tracked by NOAA, for the period January through May, are the highest recorded EVER. They have been tracking the temperature since 1880. As always, if you don't see the video hit this link.

Marco Rubio Senate campaign washes up on Gulf Coast beaches ... by gimleteye

A long, hot summer of discontent has voters morosely watching news segments of clean-up crews, culled in part from the unemployed-- those left behind by 'the recovery'--, working fifteen minutes out of the hour under the scorching sun in hazmat suits. That's not blobs of oil washing up on Pensacola beaches. Those are remnants of the Senate campaign of pro-off shore oil driller Marco Rubio.

Oh, and if there is a hurricane in the Gulf, here is what I would suggest: before the storm comes, tie a lobster trap float to where the clean-up ships are, so you know how to come back to the same spot. (Think that is stupid? It's the same logic that permitted drilling a mile down without a backup plan to stop a blowout.)

Linda Young, of Florida Clean Water Network, recently updated a message from Pensacola: "A short while ago, I went outside to take my dog for a walk and the air is heavy with the odor of oil. This has become a normal condition and I’m sure it is not healthy. The overall situation is not leveling off, rather it seems to be worsening. I don’t think that any coastal county along the Gulf coast of Florida is safe from eventual contamination. I also don’t know if it makes sense to hope that our state government will figure out what to do to help us. Therefore, our best hope for coping with this disaster is working together on a local level. Please be in touch with your local government and do what you can to help them."

If oil were coating Miami-Dade County beaches, would citizens rush to help the unreformable majority of the Miami-Dade County Commission? At least Javier Souto knows how to pick up litter. That is his credential as an environmentalist. Bruno Barreiro says he is an environmentalist, but he votes with lobbyists every time. And the same is true of nearly the whole panoply. There is Pepe Diaz, who thinks it is OK to put an off road vehicle park in the middle of the Everglades.

Linda Young forges on: " It is important to find the most knowledgeable people in your community who know about your inlets, tides, resources, etc. Also, technical people, engineers, scientists who live in your area can be of great help to your local government. These are just suggestions that you may want to consider. The important thing is to use this time wisely and get prepared before the oil reaches you." Oil, over-development, and fair elections: it is going to be an interesting November referendum at the ballot on the status quo.

Click, 'read more', for the full text of Young's letter:Dear friends of Florida waters: I know these updates get longer and longer, but I get a lot of thank-you’s from many of you, so I’m going to keep trying to share the most pertinent information in hopes that it will be helpful to parts of the state that have not been hit by the oil yet, but may get it at some future date. If you are not interested in this information, then please just delete it. Please feel free to share it far and wide if you think it will interest other people that you know.

The first large waves of oil arrived in Florida yesterday, Wednesday June 23rd. There had been smaller amounts coming ashore here and there, but approximately 9 miles of oil landed on Pensacola Beach in the early hours of yesterday morning. The puddles are about 10 to 12 feet wide and about 2 to 4 inches thick from where I saw them. I have seen nothing on TV or heard anything from friends that would lead me to believe that this is not the case for the whole length of the landing. It is incredibly sickening to see. I sent a message to the Governor’s office last night and asked his aides to congratulate him for finally having proof that our beaches are the best booms that we have in Florida. Yep, they just let that oil roll right in with no attempt to stop it at all. Are you amazed? I am and I see no reason for the state and federal governments to do that, but that’s their strategy . . . To just let it land. I’ll discuss this further in the section below that is labeled LEGAL ACTIONS.

The Governor was here at Pensacola Beach yesterday and said on television that he was asking for some skimmer boats. There are one or two skimmer boats off the shores of Pensacola Beach right now. I have sent an email to his office trying to find out “who” the Governor has asked. No response. I do know that at least 13 countries have offered assistance to us and it has been refused. Here is an excerpt from a news report on this matter:

“In early May, the State Department emailed reporters identifying the 13 entities that had offered the U.S. oil spill assistance. They were the governments of Canada, Croatia, France, Germany, Ireland, Mexico, the Netherlands, Norway, Romania, Republic of Korea, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United Nations.

"These offers include experts in various aspects of oil spill impacts, research and technical expertise, booms, chemical oil dispersants, oil pumps, skimmers, and wildlife treatment," the email from the White House read.

"While there is no need right now that the U.S. cannot meet, the U.S. Coast Guard is assessing these offers of assistance to see if there will be something which we will need in the near future."

I know I’m repeating myself a little, but how is the state and federal government just sitting back and watching oil pour into our passes and blanket our beaches when it could be prevented? The oil has moved at least two miles past the Pensacola pass. There is essentially no way to stop it once you let it get that far. Yesterday I went to Ft Pickens, which is at the west end of Santa Rosa Island and is the mouth of the Pensacola Pass. There are a few booms here and there (the little sausage booms that I spoke of before) and a few barges, but essentially there is no credible effort underway to stop the oil. The only conclusion I can reach is that the state’s attitude is: “BRING IT!!!! We’re just adding up the damages and we’ll send you a bill later.” If I’m wrong, then I hope someone will offer a more logical explanation.

BOOMING – A few days ago I received an email from Thomas J. Campbell, who is the President of Coastal Planning & Engineering, Inc. in Boca Raton. He offered a very succinct explanation about the problem of keeping oil out of inlets and passes. His company has been contracted to work with Okaloosa County and the City of Destin on their local response and has experienced some frustration in coordinating the BP response with the local program. I have been hearing about Okaloosa County and Destin’s frustration with DEP and BP for many weeks and they finally decided to stop waiting for help from these entities and have hired their own help. This is wise and once again, I urge other local governments to do the same. If you are waiting for the state to save you, you will be sorely disappointed.

Mr. Campbell told me that the best scenario is to stop the oil before it gets to the inlet. However, if it gets that far, then the best hope for reducing impacts in the bays is stopping and collecting the oil at the inlets. Unfortunately that is exactly where the expertise is wanting. Boom contractors can’t handle the currents in the inlets and need to be coupled with marine contractors and local experienced captains to pull the booms for installation; that is not happening. If you look at the plans that WRS Compass (the BP-connected consulting firm that DEP has signed a no-bid contract with to help local governments) has developed for local protection plans, they consist largely of a few booms scattered around, INSIDE THE ESTUARIES.

Mr. Campbell explains that generally the boom plans in the inlets should be but are not designed to work in the high currents. The first line of defense in the inlets should be booms that are constructed within the inlet. These booms need to be constructed at mild angles to the current or oil will move right under the boom when the perpendicular current velocities exceed 0.7 knots. Also booms that go straight across the inlet will structurally fail in high currents. For most inlets that means less than 20 degrees to the current . This requires very long booms and wood piles to anchor them (anchors tend to pull the boom under in high current) to keep their shape and divert the oil to inlet beach shorelines where they can be collected and the sand removed and cleaned.

The next line of defense should be booms placed as umbrella systems behind the inlets where the currents drop below below 0.7 knots . These will form collection points for drum skimmers. The Umbrella system should be repeated for maximum effectiveness.

The above information in not known by most governments who are relying on the Area Contingency plans to protect them . They say that they are relying on the experts (BP boom contractors and the Coast Guard) . If you look at these ACP plans they generally are found to lack design and piling in the inlets and often have no umbrella system behind the inlet . The Boom contractors try hard to carry out the plan but often have under powered boats to pull boom which are not capable of operating in the high currents .

It is hard to correct these problems when oil is coming in the inlet . in many cases it is hard to convince the local EOC’s that the ACP needs design and adjustments and more robust implementation strategies before oil is at the door. If you think your local area is in danger, it will behoove you to warn your local government and try to make advance plans that will provide adequate protection for your coastline.

SKIMMER BOATS/SUPER TANKERS – Everyone agrees that skimmer boats are the most effective way to attack the oil. As mentioned above, right now there is one or two skimmer boats offshore from Pensacola beach. I heard last week from Senator Nelson that there were three working in Florida waters. He said that there are 20 more on the way the northern Europe. I was told today by my local government contact that there are 12 skimmer boats sitting idle in Bayou Chico, which is about 20 miles from here in Pensacola. All but two are under the control of the Unified Command (BP and the Coast Guard). The reason that they are not scattered around, skimming up the oil is apparently a coordination problem. Communication between the Unified Command Center in Mobile and the local governments is extremely poor. He told me that a new coordination plan is in the works and that in the next week or two things should improve. As Senator Nelson said very clearly 10 days ago, “there is no clear chain of command.” Also the communication between Unified Command and the contractors is very poor. He said they are trying to put the Coast Guard in command to make things better, but that is difficult to do. Why???? Why is that difficult????

As I said, everyone agrees that we should be trying to get every skimmer boat in the world here and any other technology asap. The oil is not diminishing, in fact it increases from time to time, such as yesterday when they stopped using the cap that was taking some small part of the oil to the surface where it is being burned.

I hope our state and federal governments have not given up on saving the Gulf. If we have any hope of its recovery at some point, then we must do everything in our power to stay on top of the oil and remove as much as possible. Our local governments in the Panhandle are begging for help from the state and they are incredibly frustrated with the little or no help that is forth-coming. The county I live in has 88 miles of shoreline and some of our modest requests from the state have even been denied. We finally got a few more booms approved but are still waiting for money for other protections that we need.

I’m told that two days ago there were 11 vessels working on a large patch of oil straight out from Navarre Beach. This may be why there is no oil here right now and the beaches to the east and west of us are smothered in oil. THERE SHOULD BE AN ARMY OF BOATS, SKIMMERS, BARGES, ETC. out there capturing the oil.

Tonight, 24 miles out from the Pensacola pass there is a large patch of oil. They know it’s there and they could have boats and equipment out there trying to prevent it from coming ashore, but it is doubtful that these preventive measures are in place. The plans that were developed by WRS Compass, with the BP money given to the state of Florida, are worthless. They have already been modified several times and the local governments are hiring their own contractors to get real plans and protections in place. Right now, the whole operation is very much a trial and error situation and local governments are sharing ideas, successes and failures and working together to do the best they can. The money for protection has largely been squandered by our state government and local governments are going out on a limb financially to try and protect their communities. I know this sounds harsh, but I have been talking to numerous local government representatives and they are extremely frustrated with the situation. We didn’t ask for this to happen to us. It would be wonderful if our state government was not so politically driven and dysfunctional.

LEGAL ACTION - As mentioned above, the state’s strategy seems to be to just use our beaches and shores as booms for the incoming oil. This made no sense to me until I got DEP’S response to my 30-day notice letter. In this response letter DEP says, “Since the state and federal response actions will not protect the state from some damage to its natural resources occurring, the Department has been actively preparing its natural resource damage claim that will be pursued against BP . . .” It goes on to say that the DEP is doing extensive sampling along Florida’s coastline to prove damages later. They brag in the letter that “Florida has conducted more baseline sampling than any of the other Gulf Coast states affected by the oil spill.” They seem very proud of the fact that they are working hard to build a damages case to file in court later, but clearly do not plan any legal action against BP until sometime in the future when they “will aggressively pursue BP to compensate the state for those damages.”

So, my guess is that the Governor and Legislature are seeing this whole oil disaster as a wind-fall for our financially strapped state. They are basically just letting the disaster unfold and are already counting the millions of dollars that they will collect down the road. The $75 million that they already got from BP is apparently almost gone or largely not available for local protection efforts.

PLEASE DON’T WAIT for the state to send money or assistance if you live in a coastal county. I am hearing from people further east who say that their neighborhoods are putting plans together with their own money. If this is an option, I would say it is a great idea. Just be sure to get help from an experienced contractor.

A short while ago, I went outside to take my dog for a walk and the air is heavy with the odor of oil. This has become a normal condition and I’m sure it is not healthy. The overall situation is not leveling off, rather it seems to be worsening. I don’t think that any coastal county along the Gulf coast of Florida is safe from eventual contamination. I also don’t know if it makes sense to hope that our state government will figure out what to do to help us. Therefore, our best hope for coping with this disaster is working together on a local level. Please be in touch with your local government and do what you can to help them. It is important to find the most knowledgeable people in your community who know about your inlets, tides, resources, etc. Also, technical people, engineers, scientists who live in your area can be of great help to your local government. These are just suggestions that you may want to consider. The important thing is to use this time wisely and get prepared before the oil reaches you.

For all of Florida’s waters,
Linda Young
Director

NOAA Chief on the Oil Catastrophe. By Genius of despair

Dr. Janet Lubchenco talked about the Oil Catastrophe in the gulf on Wednesday at the Public Meeting of the Interagency Climate Change Adaptation Task Force June 23 at the County Commission Chambers. If you don't see video hit this link.

Diaz de la Portilla Boys. By Geniusofdespair

This article about the wrench thrown into a State Senate campaign by Frank Alvarado shouldn't be missed. The photo itself is worth the trip to the New Times Blog.

Marco Rubio's Odd Godlike Posture. By Geniusofdespair

I found a video of Marco Rubio when he was speaker of the Florida House, and most of the video, he was posed like this. Is this the required posture for the speaker?

This prolonged posture couldn't be good for the rotator cuff but it does appear God-like. These guys in Tallahassee are so full of themselves.

Lobbyist Fees in Miami Beach. By Geniusofdespair

I tried to find more recent fees but some might be a few years old:

Jeffrey Bass charged IlVilaggio $595 an hour.
Julien Bergier charged Nassau Investment Corp. a flat fee of $56,000.
Jonathan Cardello charged South Beach Heights I, LLC a flat fee of $805,080.
Jonathan Cardello charged Southgate Towers Apartments a flat fee of $220,000.
David Custin charged American Traffic Solutions a flat fee of $20,000.
Jorge Dorta-Duque charged Jacob Weiss $300 an hour.
Lucia Dougherty (the Diva Lobbyist) charged Greenberg Trust $645 an hour.
Lucia Dougherty charged Column Financial $675 an hour.
Alfredo Gonzalez charged Burger King $400 an hour.
Neisen Kasdin charged Rel Alton, Ltd. $580 an hour.
Neisen Kasdin charged Tremont Towing $500 an hour.
Frederick Kramer charged Southgate Towers Apartments a flat fee of $220,000.
Michael Larkin charged Lenox Investors, LLC $425 an hour.
Dean Lewis charged So. Beach Resort Development $3,500 hourly (?).
Sylvester Lukis charged Waste Pro, Inc. a flat fee of $4,000.
Carter McDowell charged The Decoplage Condo $535 per hour.
Dusty Melton charged General Hauling Service, Inc. $1,000 a month.
Michael Pizzi charged Choice Waste Services $500 an hour.
Kent Robbins charged The Roney Palace $5,000 retainer.
Clifford Schulman charged TM Real Estate $645 an hour.
Alexander Tachmes charged Betsy Hotel $450 an hour.

The Bush legacy and the decline of the United States ... by gimleteye

In The New York Times, Jeb Bush offers a rare glimpse of what we have been missing since the former governor of Florida-- and putative lynchpin of the Karl Rove/ Grover Norquist wing of the GOP-- left office. Jeb! derides President Obama blaming his brother's administration for the nation's ills. “It’s kind of like a kid coming to school saying, ‘The dog ate my homework... “It’s childish. This is what children do until they mature. They don’t accept responsibility.”

There's the famous Bush paternalism that must connect up with positive opinion polls. It summons memories of brain dead Terry Schiavo and the Jeb Bush take-no-prisoners approach to executive management in government that so many good folks apparently yearn for when times are tough. And indeed times are tough. The shitstorm of two terms of the Bush White House and of states meekly following the flood of special interest, insider dealing continues. The best Jeb Bush can do is call a struggling empire, children.

In the Bush universe, we should stand up and apologize to BP for objecting to its destruction of the Gulf of Mexico. That's what GOP leader Joe Barton did the other day. He apologized to BP for President Obama pushing the corporate polluter to establish an escrow account on behalf of wrecked economies from the Gulf oil catastrophe. In relation to its annual profits, the present value of the escrow account is like a ding on a car door that can be fixed in fifteen minutes by Dent Wizard.

In his first 18 months, President Obama could have made restoration of federal regulatory authority for polluters a key part of his agenda. But remember, he needed Republicans in Congress. He needed the Republicans who were so anxious to please private industry and shareholders that they turned the Bureau of Land Management into a chop shop for the oil and gas industries. Remember the Minerals Management Service, inside the Department of Interior run by Republican ideologues, whose relation to personal responsibliity was to cocaine-fueled sex parties as the Family (conservative Republicans in Congress, associated by religion and 'values') was to marital fidelity. Who knew? Plenty of people, knew, that when Karl Rove said, "''We're an empire now, and when we act, we create our own reality. And while you're studying that reality -- judiciously, as you will -- we'll act again, creating other new realities, which you can study too, and that's how things will sort out. We're history's actors . . . and you, all of you, will be left to just study what we do," those just weren't words. (“Without a Doubt”, New York Times, October 17, 2004)

To get a better sense of the disaster Jeb! represents, watch "Gasland" the documentary made by one of those children of the 1960's Woodstock generation now airing on HBO. Filmmaker Josh Fox didn't have the backdrop of the Gulf tar slicks coating Gulf economies to fuel his curiousity: just the impending pollution of his backyard stream through a process widely used by the natural gas industry in the United States called hydrofracturing. This uncontrolled technique uses a toxic soup of pressurized liquids to break apart deep underground layers of rock to release natural gas. The process also fractures aquifers and is destroying public health and the environment. Public health as in cancer and death. The environment, as in drinking water.

Jeb! knows all about underground aquifers. The Florida governor gave thumbs up to a process of disposing scarcely treated municipal wastewater in Florida, through underground injection "control" wells, that I investigated on behalf of Sierra Club and reported, in 2003, resulted in more than a billion gallons per day of sewage dumped into underground aquifers on the premise it was safe, there, and would never move. But move it did, in Miami-Dade County and elsewhere. And because this manipulation of aquifers was desired as a way to promote cheap growth of cities and suburbs, Florida pressed the EPA to re-write the Safe Drinking Water provisions that prohibited the movement of injected water underground. My efforts to dig deeper were blocked by Florida DEP attorneys standing in the way of agency bureaucrats responsible for administrating the underground injection "control" well program. That's Jeb! "accepting responsibility".

In view of this experience, learning in "Gasland" that the 2005 Energy Bill pushed through a compliant Congress by Bush/Cheney contained provisions to exempt the natural gas industry from water quality protections of the Clean Water Act and Safe Drinking Water Act comes as no surprise. Nor do the consequences: an American landscape tailored to the needs of Halliburton and gas production. Indeed, the Gulf oil catastrophe traces straight back to the willingness of American voters to allow our government to be destroyed from within by neutering and eviscerating regulatory authority and environmental protections. In Florida, it happened with the 2003 Everglades Forever Act, struck down in 2008 by a federal court that ripped the decision by the State of Florida under Jeb! to allow Big Sugar to continue polluting the Everglades indefinitely into the future.

There is no doubt that President Obama misjudged and, in key respects, continues to misjudge the risks to the US economy and environment. But how could any president retrace the steps and fix regulatory failures in only eighteen months? These were not just triggered in a fury over eight years of Bush administrations in Washington, and in Florida too, but the culmination of the unfinished hit job on federal regulatory authority that began to roll out in the Reagan Revolution. Barack Obama's policies and spokespersons may be facing off with John Boehner and Mitch McConnell on Sunday morning news programs, but who he is really squaring off against are the corporate funders of the Wise Use Movement and the Sagebrush Rebellion: money from Big Oil and Gas seeking profits on public lands with freedom and impunity.

Certainly the press has played an enormous and depressing role by failing to train investigative journalism on the facts. That is the plaintive note in "Gasland", when on the steps of Congress a demonstration by citizens against hydrofracturing and natural gas exploitation of communities does not turn out a single reporter.

Aquifer destruction in the United States (soon, coming to Europe), releasing uncontrolled blowouts a mile beneath the sea, wrecking drinking water wells, plowing pollution back underground, one gets the sense that the United States, the can-do nation, is dissolving by solvents and aromatic compounds into something utterly new and different, something low interest rates can't change or improve, and paving the way to a future no father would wish on his children. No father, including Jeb Bush.

World Cup 2010 ... OMG !!!! ... by gimleteye

US 1 - Algeria 0. Landon Donovan in 90th minute. Agonizing.

Chamber of Commerce struggles with Gulf oil spill ... by gimleteye

"Come on in, the water's fine." Apparently that is the message at Fort Walton Beach, but at nearby Seaside-- Florida's model of new urbanism-- the message is getting muddy. Here's an interesting incident report copied from the blog, Skytruth:
Children came in from the water today in Seaside with oil on their skin. Coast Guard, Walton County sheriff, and BP clean-up crews responded with hush tones. No changes were made to the beach safety flags (currently green). Vacationers just one hundred yards away down the beach had not been told of the situation. I was threatened with arrest by Seaside security officers for being on the beach and taking these pictures. Still no water testing of dispersants anywhere in the state of Florida. Walton County reports "clean water" testing without disclosing that they refer only to bacteria tests.
Credibility: 8
ADDITIONAL REPORTS AND DISCUSSION (Add)
Benjamin (Jun 21 2010)
Yeah you can trust your Coast Guard and your idiot gutless spineless sheriff and BP. GO ahead and drink the tap water.
Credibility: 1
del (Jun 22 2010)
Hi from Perdido Key. We have been down this route already. The next thing is the Local Chambers will be telling the newspapers that the waters clear & come on down to the Beach. Something else. BP are paying Universities & private companies to report that the Water is Clean & the Air Quality is Good. All I know is that when the Oil Smell is that bad, stay indoors & do not go in the water. Economics 101 at play.
Credibility: 2
amy (Jun 22 2010)
I am not surprised that they were trying to keep this quiet. That is wrong and dangerous. I would contact the local news. They would report on this I am sure...
Credibility: 2
D.W. Bielski (Jun 22 2010)
Not only should they close the beach for everyone's health but many rentals do not return deposits unless the beach is closed! I just lost $250 to protect the health of my family!
Credibility: 2
Pat Allen (Jun 22 2010)
I am suppose to visit Seaside July 4th week. I have sent emails to my condo folks and they don't seem to want to respond. Should I cancel my trip?
Credibility: 0
amy (Jun 22 2010)
I don't know if I would cancel your trip. But I would continue to try and reach the condo owners. I'm sure they have lost cancellations and do not want to loose any more. It seems like I have to work hard to find information on this area regarding the oil. Anyone have any suggestions on where to find updated info? Honest info?
Credibility: 1
Concerned Traveler (Jun 23 2010)
The oil/tar balls have been confirmed at Seaside, FL. Property managers and owners are aware that there is oil in the water and on the beach. The problem is they are waiting for the government to close the beaches. Well we all know no one that has money to lose from lost reservations is going to do anything that could prove that the water and beaches are unsafe for children or adults. It's a shame that they are only considering lost revenue when our safety comes into play. I can't speak for anyone else but I can't entrust the safety of the water/beaches for my family to someone that has a vested interest in getting results that say the water is safe.

Everglades Restoration: a model for the Gulf Coast? by gimleteye

The New York Times reported on June 17: "Everglades Offers Model for Massive Gulf Restoration, Says Senior Obama Administration Official". Really?

"A task force may be the solution, similar to the one that oversees the Everglades restoration effort, a project whose costs are split 50-50 between the state and federal government and that is managed by the Army Corps of Engineers and the South Florida Water Management District, an existing state agency. "In order to take those moneys and spend them in a more holistic way, it may take some legislation and certainly the formation of an interagency, Everglades-restoration-like coordinated team," said Lynn Scarlett, a former deputy secretary of the Interior."

But it may also take litigation. Why? Because successive administrations have gutted federal agencies charged with enforcing rules and regulations to protect the environment. Who is going to protect Gulf wetlands? The US EPA, that could have objected to wetland fill permits in counties surrounding the Everglades issued by the US Army Corps of Engineers in Florida, but over a course of many years did not reject a single one. The US Fish and Wildlife Service could have issued jeopardy opinions to protect critical species whose presence or absence in the Everglades is an indicator of health. The record shows that USFWS biologists who tried to protect the Florida panther were reprimanded or worse. The nation's science mapping agency, the USGS, is chronically underfunded and endemically subject to political pressure.

This result is exactly the preference of risk takers who have controlled Congress and the White House: limit federal authority in order to empower state and local levels of government. That is the story of Everglades restoration. But on those counts, both Florida and local regulatory authorities have been failures, run out of the back pockets of lobbyists and public officials who mastered the sound bite on the Everglades. The key metric of proof: the 2003 change to the phosphorous standard in the Jeb Bush Everglades "Whenever" Act, recently judged illegal in federal court. The bottom line: there is no political will to restore the Everglades in any timeframe that is meaningful to the living. Future generations, given the lapses of human character, could be expected to follow the same, well-beaten course.

Let the Obama administration do more than say the effort to restore the Gulf Coast will be a bigger, shinier version of Everglades restoration. Let the administration explain how it will not allow this mess to be decided twenty years from now by a future federal judge; a boy or girl who is likely now in grade school, learning the principles of democracy for the first time.

What is Rodney Barreto up to? By Geniusofdespair

This can't be good...

On July 14th at the Community Council 11 meeting, Rodney Barreto's Company, Krome Gold Ranches, that owns 466 acres outside the urban development boundary, is asking to "modify and delete conditions of a previous approved resolution to allow the applicant to sell the excavated lake materials and to delete the time frame for completion of the lake excavation, and to permit the lake materials to be used off-site and/or outside the current urban development boundary area, on this site."

Barreto owns this large parcel with Augustin Herran and Armando J. Guerra, that makes 3 of the 9 Board of Directors of the BauerFinancial-rated ONE STAR U.S. Century Bank. (One star is the lowest ranking by Bauer.) How did they get to one star? As Gimleteye reported yesterday, almost 10% of their loans were to insiders, a giant number when you consider comparable 'peer group' banks (There are 114 banks in peer group 1) were at less than 2 tenths of a percent. And, U.S. Century loans to insiders total net worth was at almost a whopping 74%. In comparison to banks in their class which were at less than 1%. Their commercial Real Estate/total loans are at 45.88% while the peer banks are at 14.31%. And, their Construction and Land Development/Total Loans are at 23%, whereas the peer group banks are at 3.59%. That all might account for some of their problems.

Yes we have a Krome Gold file. Rodney Barreto is also the Superbowl Host Committee chair and the Chairman of he Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. He was put on Fish and Wildlife by Jeb and he was kept there by Charlie. One of Crist's dumber moves... apparently Rodney is raking in the dough for Crist.

This application sets a precedent for rock mining in a place where rock mining has been discouraged. If our memories serve us correctly, all this mined rock was supposed to provide fill pads for the new suburban sprawl that the county commission was poised to approve, until the housing markets crashed. What a joke it has been: using excavations to bail out speculators under the guise of providing benefits like water enhancements. These incidental rock miners are trying to save their skins, using up the aquifer that serves us all as a private benefit to them! Also, zoning changes that started with amendments to comprehensive land use plans, now being altered to serve another interest, are the best reason to support Florida Hometown Democracy: trust the voters to know what interests and who is gaming our zoning. Rock mined lakes are popping up all over, now that development is years and years away. In Palm Beach, the county commission slammed the door on new applications for rock mines. Maybe if a few of our own county commissioners were prosecuted like they have been in Palm Beach-- related to rock mining, we would do the same here.
US Century

US Century Bank: the insider piggy bank...? by gimleteye

"No", is how County Commissioner Katy Sorenson answered our interview question: "Do you think the economic crisis has changed the county commission at all?" The reason that business as usual persists at all levels of government is because there is no penalty for taking outsized risks. You can destroy the Gulf of Mexico and not even go to jail. For elected officials, like the county commission, a routine aspect of risk has been allowing insider special interests to dominate zoning councils and decisions related to construction and development. Exhibit A: the board of directors of US Century Bank, including Ramon Rasco, Sergio Pino, Rodney Barreto, Jose Cancela, Armando Guerra, Augustin Herran and other speculators whose business model was based on suburban sprawl by forcing zoning changes in farmland and wetlands edging to the Everglades beyond the Urban Development Boundary.

Today, the bank rating agency, Bauer Financial, based in Coral Gables gives US Century Bank its lowest rating above zero. Among indicators in which US Century raises alarm in comparison to its peers: loans to insiders, noted above by Bauer. County commissioners like Natacha Seijas, Bruno Barreiro, Javier Souto, Joe Martinez and Pepe Diaz-- the group we call the unreformable majority-- have been and continue to be enthusiastic cheerleaders for whatever US Century Bank insiders need. The Bauer flashing red lights indicate this bank is one of the riskiest in its peer group.

This level of insider dealing represents the kind of transactional behavior for which there is no penalty-- not for the land speculators, not for the county commissioners who support them. US Century Bank will continue to take out full page ads in The Miami Herald, ensuring that the speculators are treated with deference. If this bank fails, whose principals argued for suburban sprawl right alongside the LBA, it will be absorbed by a more healthy vulture backed by US taxpayer guarantees. Commissioner Sorenson, for whom the insiders at US Century have little respect, is right: this economic crisis has changed nothing. When the speculators fail at suburban sprawl or growing sugar in the Everglades, they can always become rock miners.

More Tax Dollars Flushed Down the Crapper. By Geniusofdespair

In my Top Ten County boondoggles published April 6th 2008, I mentioned: The County buying a people mover train from Sumitomo Corp. in Japan for MIA, that the county had no tracks for. Because of that the county had to pay the Japanese millions to keep the train "exercised" on tracks in Japan ($54,000 a month for 4 years).

Well here is an update from "Miami Today". Now the county doesn't know how to operate and maintain the people mover and the cars are out of warranty (after its 4 years joy ride in Japan) so the county just approved a $33.4 million contract to Crystal Mover Services (Sumitomo Corp.) to operate the damn train.

In April 2008 I reported that Sumitomo's original contract, when it was hired by American Airlines in 2002, was for $86,588,000. It was raised to $114 million in 2007 and was expected to cost an additional $25 million to $35 million. The Japanese must be laughing at us as they deposit wads of Miami Dade money in their bank.

Commissioner Joe Martinez actually was the voice of reason at the County asking: "We knew these trains were coming out of warranty...we could have trained people during that time, why wasn't there forethought and why didn't we train these people four years ago, three years ago, two years ago?" Good question, it would have saved $33.4 million of our tax dollars! Maybe if the County/American Airlines bought in the U.S. it would have cost more but we would have saved with operating costs.

Lawton "Bud" Chiles message resonates with me. by Geniusofdespair

The only candidate for Governor so far, to have a message that resonates with me is Lawton "Bud" Chiles. In the Miami Herald reporter Steve Bousquet wrote:

Chiles, said (the) system has been hijacked by overly partisan politicians beholden to special interests instead of the people. It was the same message his father delivered as he walked to victory as a U.S. senate candidate 40 years ago. The younger Chiles said tax dollars would best be spent by local communities, not by Tallahassee bureaucrats.

"Political parties that used to be about ideals are now about power and control, and people are sick and tired of the head-pounding,This partisan fighting that's going on in Tallahassee is not adding one job."'

Alex Sink, in contrast, said: ``I will be the first governor in 12 years whose own children graduated from Florida public schools,''

Don't care. She got closer to something I care about with this:

She said Florida should be No. 1 in solar and renewable energy, and she called it ``criminal' that 800,000 Florida kids remain uninsured despite the work by her and others to expand a state-run health insurance program.

The pets shall inherit the earth: Almost a defense of Gail Posner. Guest Blog by Janet Goodman

Janet Goodman, dog trainer with "Good Dog Bad Dog":
This saga is an extreme example of what is universal law amongst Miami’s wealthy: Thou shall pamper thy pooches.

A local story made the national news on June 17 with The Wall Street Journal article, “Little Dog, Large Estate” by Mark Maremont and Leslie Scism. The piece cast a spotlight on the late Miami heiress Gail Posner’s will, in which she left a $3 million trust fund to care for her three beloved dogs. In life, Posner had admittedly spoiled her Chihuahua Conchita with a $15,000 Cartier diamond necklace, and along with the dog’s sisters, she even gave them their own Cadillac Escalade. So what’s the big deal? Leaving her pets the $8.3 million Miami Beach mansion, caretakers and the trust fund for life seems reasonable enough to me. They’re used to the first-rate primping, so why not allow them to continue with their expected high standards of existence, even after Posner’s death this past March?

Oh, no, the family can’t allow that to happen. Posner’s will is being contested by her only living child (he was left a measly $1 million), who is accusing lawyers, body guards, housekeepers and assistants of conspiring to steal his mother’s fortune (her staff was left a hefty $26 million in the will).

This pooch has a private bedroom. I say: "Hey, why not?" Often it’s just two people living in a complex with 8 bedrooms or more; they’ve got the extra bedrooms. Most of the time, the extravagance has a purpose. For example, take these doggie strollers:

At first glance, they appear to be baby carriages, and those pushing them are treating their charges like infants. But on closer examination, you will find that most seaside condos require dogs to be taken in and out of buildings via the enclosed strollers. The condo board of directors doesn’t want dogs to be jumping up on residents in the elevators, or pooping in the corridors; sounds sensible to me.

This saga is an extreme example of what is universal law amongst Miami’s wealthy:
Thou shall pamper thy pooches. They are able to afford the best for their companions, so if it comes down to a bath with the backyard garden hose or a day at the spa, they’re obviously going to choose the spa every time. Is it Purina Dog Chow or California Natural?

A dog having its own car – that’s a more common practice than you might think. Why mess up the Bentley when you take the Golden Retriever to a Key Biscayne beach? Most families have more than one car anyway. Give the rich folks a break already.

The blogosphere and late night television are having a dump-fest about the Posner story, as they did when real estate mogul Leona Helmsley left millions to her dog when she passed away. True, these heiresses may treat their pets better than some people, but it’s no joke how the well-to-do go out of their way to help animals. Do we laugh when they donate millions to local animal shelters? These sometimes eccentric animal lovers are the generous philanthropists who give away fortunes to help furry friends in need. Let’s at least give them kudos for that.

If we’re being honest here, we’ve all had secret daydream shopping sprees, asking ourselves what we would buy if we had the money. If I had an extra million to throw around, I’d hire my own private UPS man to make “deliveries” at my house every 30 minutes in order to give my dog more exercise. There’s nothing Bo wants more than to finally get a hold of that man in brown. He’d be the happiest pup on the block. That would be worth the million, don’t you think? Oh, did I tell you that in this daydream, BP’s Tony Hayward is now working for UPS and he’s walking up with the package. I think this time I’ll let Bo answer the door.

I agree with Anders Gyllenhall. By Geniusofdespair

In response to a reader asking why reporters and photographers don't chip in and help with the oil disaster, Executive Editor of the Miami Herald, Anders Gyllenhall said:

"The best thing we can do is capture the news and allow the reaction of readers, agencies and leaders to take the course on an event like this."

I think this is an accurate statement for Eye on Miami as well. We don't "Fix" we report and we offer opinions for your consideration and hopefully, we provoke the action of others who are in a position to "Fix" (like Kathleen Fernandez Rundle for instance). So to all the readers who harp on us to do more like offer solutions and take action, I say: "We do enough."

World Cup 2010: the controversies ... by gimleteye

If instant replay were used by FIFA, the organizing entity of international football; France would not have qualified for the World Cup, the US would have won the other day against Slovenia, and the Brazilian superstar Kaka would not be sitting out the next game due to a red card mistakenly issued. This is an incomplete catalogue of errors made by referees and line judges, clearly available on replay to billions of viewers. It is quite a spectacle, to watch the world class national team of France implode half a world away. But I would rather watch a game in which officiating mistakes did not play such a pivotal role. Wouldn't you?

A quick look at donors on Miguel Diaz de la Portilla's campaign report. By Geniusofdespair

Miguel Diaz de la Portilla has raised almost a half of a million dollars for his State Senate District 36 campaign. Almost all the donors gave $500 or more to Miguel's campaign, Vile Natacha being the exception of having only given $250. BTW, Miguel, the Natacha Seijas contribution - you should give it back if you have an ounce of integrity left.

MILLAN NATACHA SEJIAS (they spelled it wrong)
FERRO INVESTMENT GROUP, LLC * (MIGUEL REPRESENTED FERRO ON UDB APPLICATION)
FERRO INVESTMENT GROUP II, LLC *
FERRO DEVELOPMENT CORP *
WESTSIDE CENTER, INC *
MARBELLA PLAZA, INC *
LITTLE PALM PLAZA, INC *
SEVILLA PRO. OF MIAMI, LLC *
SOUTHWEST PROPERTIES MANAGEMENT *
EASTERN EUROPE LLC *
ROSS CAPITAL MANAGEMENT C*
FLAMINGO PLAZA, LLC * (STAR SIGNIFIES ALL AT SAME ADDRESS - $5,500)
MILLER COORS (YEP THE BEER GUY)
FLORIDA PHOSPHATE COMMITTEE
FLORIDA PHOSPHATE COUNCIL, INC
DOSAL MARGARITA TOBACCO SALES (see the Dosal Story - why I am troubled)
DOSAL GRICEL J. TOBACCO SALES
DOSAL GEORGE TOBACCO SALES
NADER YOLANDA TOBACCO SALES
DOSAL MARIAM S. TOBACCO SALES
BRAMAN IRMA
BRAMAN CADILLAC
BRAMAN NORMAN
BRAMAN LEIBOWITZ (More)

LASARTE FELIX M.
BURTON RICHARD J. (TRULY BURTON'S HUSBAND)
FLORIDA HOME BUILDERS ASSOCIATION
GREENBERG TRAURIG
SEMINOLE ACQUISITION CORPORATION
BUILDING INDUSTRY PAC,
K.D. CONSTRUCTION OF FLORIDA
LATVALA JACK
SUGAR FARMS CO-OP
ADRIENNE SUGARCANE FARM
KENDALL SUGARCANE FARM, INC.
NEW HOPE SUGAR COMPANY
RASCO RAMON A.
RONALD BOOK, PA
RONALD L BOOK
BOOK PATRICIA
MUNILLA PEDRO
MUNILLA JUAN
FLORIDA CRYSTALS CORPORATION
BECKER & POLIAKOFF, P.A.
BECKER, ALAN
SECURE WRAP OF MIAMI, INC.
POLIAKOFF KEITH
POLIAKOFF GARY
POLIAKOFF SHERRI
NICOLAS J. GUTIERREZ & ASSOC
BERMELLO AJAMIL & PARTNERS
GOLDSTEIN JOSEPH
SHOMA DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION
MAYOL, JUAN
PRIEGUEZ MANUEL
MARRERO-PRIEGUES, INES
ALBERTO R. CARDENAS PA
GARCIA-SERRA MARIO
JORGE LUIS LOPEZ PA
STEPHEN P. BRUNETTI REVOCABLE
BRUNETTI JOHN
LOPEZ-CANTERAA AMADA
PAN AMERICAN CONSTRUCTION
POCH ALONSO
SHOMA HOMES AT BELLAGIO,
SHOMA HOME AT VILLAGE OF DORAL
GREENS AT DORAL, LLC

How much is this crab going to get from BP? By Geniusofdespair

We have the fund for the people getting hurt financially from the BP Oil disaster, but who is going to pay this guy when he gets gummed up? Don't see the video? Reload the page or hit on this link: How is this little fella going to continue to excavate?

I saw this crab on Cocoa Beach and was amazed that he knew enough to throw the sand pretty far from the hole he was digging so the sand didn't fall back in. I wondered if he could complete this flawless maneuver with oil lodged in his joints. I am more worried about the critters that you can't help by throwing money at them.

I can't go to the beach now without thinking: "Will this be my last time?" (Crab excavating taken by someone else with a night vision camera.)