Miami Herald you gave up doing one -- we didn't...yet.
Another week gone. I was in New York for part of it visiting a sick relative. Jim Morin of the Miami Herald did a great cartoon yesterday:
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| Love his depiction of Trump |
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| Ralph Terrero, wrongly fired? He has been at the County since 2005. |
Ralph Terrero, Assistant Director of Water Operations was fired. Why? No one knows not even his superior Doug Yoder who was in Palm Beach during the time of the firing. Doug is now doing Ralph's job. Doug is Deputy Director of Water and Sewer. From all accounts Ralph was very efficient and a great Engineer.
I am told that AECOM, the engineering firm charged with managing the EPA Consent Decree, didn't like him. AECOM was hired to manage the program to comply with the consent decree. They were not hired to talk to the other Government agencies involved with the consent decree, nor to represent the county to them, but they do. With all these consultants why do we need a Department?
Lester Sola did the dirty deed of firing Ralph. Sola is not an Engineer. He also was the one who went to France with the Mayor. Why? No one knows why he did either.
Every month AECOM has a conference call on behalf of the county with the EPA. It was the county's idea for the call, trying to be proactive but they curiously don't participate. They have a discussion before the call with AECOM. The other engineering firm, CH2MHILL manages the ocean outfall. You would think with all these consultants you would want a qualified engineer on staff. Where did the order come from to fire him?? I don't think Lester Sola ever makes a decision on his own. Meanwhile, another Engineer is watching her job being advertised. The county is now implementing succession planning for senior staff. She isn't due to retire until 2017. Why hire someone 2 years early? Is she on the list as well? How does Doug Yoder keep out of the line of fire? Maybe because he is so short no one sees him.
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| Doug Yoder is the tall guy. |
HEALTH - Stomach warning:
I have been eating Chia seed yogurt, blood orange Chia seed yogurt to be exact.
It taste a bit like orange flavored tapioca. Not bad tasting but I am very worried about what is growing in my stomach.
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| Chia pets are showing up in stomach X-rays. |
More of you should have read my post on jobs yesterday. Go back you lazy bastards, read it. I don't write for my health. I eat Chia seeds for that.
21 comments:
Good morning. So sorry about your sick relative. Very scarey about Ralph Terrero. Please dig deeper. The chia photo in your stomach cracked me up. Warning: Don't eat this stuff if you have diverticula issues. Otherwise its very good for you!
Also very sad about the suicide. Depressed people don't usually have the energy to kill themselves but people backed into a corner do. Please dig deeper. Have a great weekend and thank you the Sat Editorial page.
Now how do you know I have Diverticulitis issues? Do you hang with my Doctor?
The stuff that comes out of your stomach/intestines looks like chewed up chia leaves. Just saying.
Chia seeds are very good for you. They provide bulk as each seed becomes a gel when wet. That gel acts like fiber bringing chemicals out of your intestines when it passes through. The end result is a bowlful and an empty you.
Lester Sola makes plenty of decisions on his own. That guy was fired because he disagreed with Sola on something. All of the WASD Assistant Director positions have been advertised except for Yoder's. Lester Sola does not have any education or experience with drinking water or wastewater but he seems to be on very friendly terms with the Mayor. WASD is the number one department that contributes to the general fund that helps support all of the other County departments. In recent history, WASD/the County has made the decision to eliminate entire sections of WASD engineers. Their work has been privatized and sent to private consultants. Apparently, if we are going to tax people or charge them fees for water or wastewater services, it looks better to use that money to pay private consultants than to pay County employees. I am sure the argument was made that it is cheaper to farm out since County has to pay benefits to all of those engineers. Sure helps lower the budget for the next few years if we can eliminate those salaries and benefits. Consultants usually bid low the first few years of these contracts, and then start to inflate their prices once their work is entrenched in the way the County does business, so it is then difficult to separate from these contacts. By nature of being private consultants these firms are not in the business of serving the public, no requirement for all of their documents and records to be transparent, able to charge for every little addition to the work instead of just getting it done, contracts that are legally difficult to terminate, etc., etc.
Much of privatization whether federal, state, or local usually winds up costing more, with less oversight and and public access to records.
Anyone know Terrero? Maybe he can write a comment. I beg to differ on Sola. He wouldn't do anything without checking with the Mayor. That is how these Peter principle people operate.
Ralph is a true professional engineer, respected nationally by his colleagues at the American Water Works Association. The most recent incident where Ralph disagreed with the "consultants" involved the repair of the 163rd street pump station. Ralph insisted it be replaced, as repairing it only guarantees more repair work in the future. These consultants are using the Consent Decree as an excuse to milk the ratepayers for decades to come. Why replace the pump station that causes sewage overflows into the Oleta River when you can do expensive emergency repairs over and over? This department is nothing but the trough for the Gimenez lobbyists to feed. If you get in their way, they complain to Gimenez and you get fired. Ralph will be missed...and we will all be paying for it for decades to come.
Didn't Chief Parker retire at about 57 or 58 years old? Much too young for such a dynamic man.
So what you are saying is Gimenez is gutting good jobs in favor of consultants. Fuck careers?
suicide = long term solution to a short term problem.
We really don't know the problems and pain Chief Parker was carrying. This is the second suicide of someone I knew in the past 2 months. And everyone is reacting the same: sad, puzzled, surprised and hurting for the family and friends.
I liked him. I am sorry for his need to do this.
Why should the unexplained firing of any county employee surprise anyone these days? The moment we voted for a "strong mayor" format we opened the door for unscrupulous individuals such as Carlos Gimenez to rule by fear and with an iron fist. Jobs are no longer handed out through promotions based on merit, they are given to friends and opportunists. Our local citizens have no idea about the internal politics played by Gimenez and his gang of lobbyists and consultants. No longer is a degree in engineering or a professional career in any other county department a guarantee for employment tenure. These days only those who blindly follow Gimenez's orders without questioning unethical and possibly criminal practices get to keep their jobs.
This incident at Water and Sewer is one of hundreds. Have you heard about the Public Works and Waste Management (yes, that Frankestein of a department created by Gimenez) who after a 30 year professional career was moved about without rhyme or reason from one post to another and as result two months ago on the way to work he pulled over to the side of the road and died as a result of a heart attack brought on by the stress of Gimenez's antics? Gimenez is responsible for that death and the silent suffering of decent employees who see the graft and abuses in county government and are helpless to report such behavior because every agency, from the State Attorney's Office to the Commission on Ethics, the Office of the Inspector General and every law enforcement agency in the area is tainted at the top by individuals who resist investigating Gimenez and his gang.
Wake up Miami Dade County! Our tax dollars are being stolen on a daily basis by an unscrupulous mayor! Do your part in exposing Gimenez and his allies and defend those county professionals who make sure your trash gets picked up, your kids are looked after by fire rescue after an injury or the burglar that stole your property gets arrested and prosecuted. County employees are not your enemies they work for you- Gimenez, on the other hand, with his three retirement checks cares only about himself.
The chia cow in your stomach, LOL. As a chia seed fan, I had to show that one to my husband. Thanks for the laugh!
Parker retired with a 100% pension and was raking in more than $200k annually. His annual and sick leave payout was nearly half a million in a lump sum. His wife is also an FRS pensioner. Government work is very profitable for cronies who don't need to compete for their jobs.
I understand that Gimenez and Sola were high school classmates.
The Miami-Dade Water and Sewer Department has been dumping hundreds of thousands of gallons of minimally treated sewage off our beaches EVERY DAY during the entire time Ralph Terrero has been in the department. Good riddance. Let's hope they replace him with someone who cares about the environment.
Anonymous above...Ralph was trying to get a permanent fix to the problem of sewer overflows, and the consultants and Gimenez lackeys refused to do the right thing. Expect more sewage on your beaches. As for your hope of our Strong Mayor hiring an environmentalist - don't hold your breathe! His latest budget does not even mention Climate Change or Sea Level Rise in any of the three volumes. Ralph was your best hope, and he is gone.
Retirement can suck if you have worked all your life. Being at home with the spouse 24/7 can be absolute torture.
Pat Wade said: Thanks for the warning. I, too, am addicted to chia seeds. After your public service announcement, I will have to rethink this addiction. Damn!
Retirement can be great, if you manage your time wisely. Spend some of it giving back to the community as a volunteer. You get more out of it than the folks you help! Don't just sit home and do nothing, because you won't last very long. I worked for the county for 31½ years and have been retired since 11/30/10. Of course, I've done part time volunteer work since I was 10 years old. If I didn't do it now, I'd feel like a failure or something was missing in my life.
Carlos Gimenez promised to reduce the number of County employees but he failed. Hopefully Xavier Suarez will do a better job. Taxpayers are sick of Gimenez. Now Gimenez refused to lower the mileage rate so County taxpayers got hit with a $116 Million tax increase.
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