I Didn't Have An Interest in Sweetwater...Until Wayne Rosen's Name Popped Up! By Geniusofdespair

Wayne Rosen

Really, does anyone even know where Sweetwater is? I have no clue, near Doral I think. And if they have any water I suspect some of it might be polluted, especially because WAYNE ROSEN name turned up there.   Wayne has abused the yokels in and around Homestead  funding bad candidates since I started this blog (I have written about him almost 30 times).. After all, he did fund Lynda Bell's Commission campaign (or a PAC for Bell) after he funded Steve Bateman's Mayoral campaign to oust Lynda Bell as Mayor.  Those two left a bitter taste in Homesteader's mouths.  Lately he has been in the news about the upkeep of a golf course in Keys Gate. Or should I say lack of upkeep. It is a weeded, overgrown field.

Rosen has been branching out into Palmetto Bay affairs (but there is developable land there). Now here he is involved in the quagmired politics of Sweetwater. What is he up to in Sweetwater? He helped finance a campaign to recall the Mayor - Orlando Lopez - who ran on a platform to reform the City of Cronyism (the previous Mayor is/was in jail). Anyway, I don't care about the Sweetwater recall but the motivation behind the funding of it --- that I care about.

Here is Sweetwater. Golly, have I ever been there. I don't see water.

The Miami Herald reported today that Rosen funded  the recall campaign with a $20,000 donation.

Why is Wayne Rosen involved? He doesn't just dole out money. If he did he would fix up that golf course in Hudstead. Doesn't he usually have his eye on a return? This recall might not have happened/been successful if they didn't have his money.

Recalls are a bitch to launch. You have to get forms notarized and hire people to collect signatures (about $1.50 to $2 each). Then you have to pay elections to certify each signature.  $20,000 can be the difference in success or failure. What did Mayor Orlando Lopez do to Wayne? Probably nothing. I just think there is more to this recall than meets the eye. Any suspicions? I know X-Commissioner Lynda Bell's daughter had the fencing contract in Sweetwater. And what is with that helicopter there? Looney place.

Hudstead: Now Known as the Snake Pit. By Geniusofdespair

Not content with being associated with Hud and Peyton Place,  Homestead is now vying for a 'new' old movie title: The Snake Pit

Snakes are invading Homestead...no not just Wayne Rosen...the actual reptiles.

of course Ethics took no action, the three year period for filing an ethics complaint ran out.

Back to other snakes:

Police caught a 9 foot python at Homestead High School in September.

Also a warning went out in the Keys Gate Neighborhood:

This morning  a resident discovered a five foot boa constrictor cross my back lot by the lake and slither into the philodendron bushes on the north east corner of the property traveling towards North Gate Drive. It's width was the size of a man's forearm. It was too small to be a menace to most dogs, but cats could be at risk.  This has been reported to MM and the authorities.

Other Homestead snake sightings:

Homestead: Real snakes, and also the breeding ground for the political snake pit of Miami Dade County.

Meanwhile, Keys Gate houses are shaking off their foundations from all the rock mining blasting. I have had numerous reports of cracked tile and houses shaking. People are considering installing carpets. Who will help these people? Really, carpets? That is pretty extreme.

Florida City leaders approving the blasting said the economic benefit of the quarry outweighed concerns raised last fall by homeowners as well as environmental and park officials.

What to do, what to do? Have a fashion show of course. Wayne Rosen's wife is helping to sponsor a fashion show to benefit Dade Legal Aid, on February 24th: Fashion Night on Brickell. Wayne Rosen is rumored to have donated $38,000.

Wayne Rosen and Ed Easton Supporting Joe Martinez against Juan Zapata, Meanwhile Sen. Anitere Flores is Hosted by Felons. By Geniusofdespair

In Joe Martinez's Pac, Together for a Brighter Future, there are 2 large donations from two donors I really think are trouble. Edward Easton has long been trying to move the Urban Development Boundary and Wayne Rosen, well he is Wayne. We have been reporting about him for years. Two bad pennies in my opinion. Bad sign. Everyone must vote for County Commissioner Juan Zapata.

Speaking of BAD fundraising:

Felon (?) Peter Schnebly with Anitere Flores at Fundraiser

And then we have Anitere Flores trying desperately to GREEN-UP to hold on to her Florida Senate seat. Her district now includes many, many environmentalists. Her metamorphosis -- green washing herself -- doesn't fool anyone in her district.

Schnebly Winery hosted a fundraiser for her. Did she know that Dennise Serge and husband Peter Schnebly plead guilty to Felony charges?

Denisse Serge plead guilty to a felony for smuggling produce treated with banned pesticides into the U.S. from Guatemala. 

According to court documents, Fresh King and its associates conspired to submit samples from specific cases that contained untreated products, which were transported within shipments of products that had been treated with the banned pesticides. The indictment alleges that on numerous occasions Fresh King’s samples failed tests despite the company’s efforts to avoid detection. The company’s products also failed random FDA tests on numerous occasions, according to court documents.

So were they knowingly poisoning people with tainted produce? Well anyway, they threw a fundraiser for Anitere Flores.

Denisse and Peter.

Homestead and Wayne Rosen Update: Hudstead's Keys Gate Can't Catch a Break. By Geniusofdespair

Multiple neighbors are complaining on line about their houses shaking and cracks in their foundation. One woman replaced all the tile in her home....

Some of the copy that is with  Keys Gate petition:

Florida City Commission gives final approval to a rock quarry’s expansion despite earlier protests by homeowners, regulatory agencies and the superintendent of Biscayne National Park against Atlantic Civil. (Posted on Sun, Mar. 30, 2008).

Atlantic Civil will develop a rock-mining quarry on 589 acres of land that is so far projected to be located south of Southwest 360th Street and east of Southwest 167th Avenue. Some 72 acres are already being mined.

City leaders said the economic benefit of the quarry outweighed concerns raised last fall by homeowners as well as environmental and park officials.

Amanda Garner (a Homestead Council member at that time) appeared at the Florida City Commission meeting to express her constituent’s concerns about blasting damaging their homes. ''I can't tell you how many times I've been contacted by residents who've had damage to their homes -- foundation cracks, brand new homes with cracked tiles,'' said Garner, who's no longer on the council. ``People can feel it in their homes when it happens.''

~~~~~~~~~~

Meanwhile here  is an update on, in my opinion, a Self-Centered Man always on the move to make more money at the expense of...well anyone but him. God forbid that he should help the middle class people who live in the community that he built, people who love their homes despite their dwindling property values because of his failed golf course:

 Wayne Rosen Update on Keys Gate - in the Miami Herald:

You have to understand that you can’t ask me to build a golf course without having those single-family homes to to help pay for it. It’s called cash flow. - Wayne Rosen

“Why is the developer dictating to the city what should be built? A city and its residents should be dictating that, not the developer. The developer should conform to what the citizens and the city thinks are the best uses for those lands.” - Councilman Jon Burgess

Will Homestead get its golf course? Developer: only if city passes my request

With some misgivings and a promise to review at least part of the issues before taking a final vote, the Homestead City Council tentatively approved a zoning application by Wayne Rosen that would allow give him more flexibility than other developers to build what he wants in an area designated for mixed use — a combination of retail, single-family homes and condos.

Rosen told the Miami Herald he plans to build 91 single-family homes and that in return, he would pay to renovate the rundown Keys Gate Golf and Country Club, although the golf course is nowhere mentioned in his application. Golf course renovations weren’t part of the conversation Wednesday.

But passage on May 18 is not assured. Some council members are not comfortable with proposed changes to the existing mixed-use zoning code on Rosen’s 20 acres, and say they want to revisit the issue before the final vote.

“I think we’re giving up too much with this ‘mixed-use’ dialogue,” said Mayor Jeff Porter, who voted in favor. “If we don’t have some sort of concession, some sort of clarification, it’s going to be the biggest sticking point. I’m giving it a chance to live, knowing that there’s still a chance for it to die in second reading.”

 When I think of Keys Gate I always have Watergate in the back of my mind.

What is new in Hudstead with Wayne Rosen and that Stupid Itty Bitty Golf Course. By Geniusofdespair

Homestead is a town of Good Old Boys...like in the Movie Hud.

Congress established the Immigrant Investor Program, or EB-5 program, in 1990 in order to stimulate the U.S. economy. Under this program, the foreign national must invest $500,000 or $1 million, depending on where the project is located, in a new commercial enterprise in the United States.''

Coincidentally, Wayne Rosen -- Eye on Miami's proclaimed boss man of hudstead -- is now President of EB-5 in Miami, Inc. a for profit Corporation. What is that about? Does Wayne want to use EB-5 funds now that other  more local public dollars are drying up?

In other Hudstead news Keys Gate Community Association formed in 1987, officially started a new Corporation on March 3, 2016.  Their name is Keys Gate Community Association Two (KGCA 2).  Why did they do this? Same officers. Did they transfer land to this Corporation? Does it have to do with the Speedway threats and to prevent discovery of the KGCA books?  Maybe they just think the"2" is a pretty cool number. Don't know the answers. Trying to figure out Hudstead in like trying to find a rotten tomato in a 4 cubic yard dumpster. You have to jump right in and do a lot of digging as the inbred Hudstead bunch, financed by the boss man, are just not talking.

And speaking of inbred, where did Bateman, who is broke, get money for a donation?

Something is scrambled in Homestead and it ain't eggs.

The Latest from Hudstead - Keys Gate. The Speedway now in the Mix. By Geniusofdespair

It is bad enough to live near a very noisy speedway, however look at Turkey Point in the distance. That would scare me much more. I talked to one resident of Keys Gate who said he could hear the speedway 4 miles away when the wind is blowing in the wrong direction.

Here is an email being circulated by a Keys Gate Delegate in the greatest Metropolis we have, Homestead:

Dear Keys Gate and overall City of Homestead neighbors,

In the face of growing community support from Homestead voters and Keys Gate homeowners, on March 9 a surprising development occurred. The City and Mr. Rosen were notified that the Homestead-Miami Speedway (the Racetrack) had hired litigating legal counsel from Coral Gables.

It appears the Racetrack will be challenging the minor variances (minor as defined by the State of Florida) requested of the 2012 zoning change passed unanimously by our City Council and agreed upon at that time by the Racetrack and its Special Interests. That change allowed for 189 townhomes and a restaurant to be built in the Park of Commerce. Mr. Rosen has asked to reduce the number of homes to 91 single family homes, thereby reducing density and traffic. This home development is linked to the golf course because it is part of the Master Plan and will help offset the $12 million investment to renovate the golf course and clubhouse.

Due to this delaying tactic by the Special Interests at the Racetrack, Mr. Rosen will not be asking the City Council for approval tomorrow (Wednesday), while he works to find out why the track now objects to a previously approved plan. There is confusion as to why they would want to stall this progress for potentially, years. The variances requested will reduce traffic, density, and are further away from the Racetrack than homes built by Lennar Homes. Why is the Racetrack using this delay tactic? As these two areas are part of the Master Plan, is the Racetrack now going to dictate how Keys Gate will be further developed and completed? Does the track have a Hidden Agenda? Why are they stepping into private development and preventing building in the Park of Commerce (POC) and subsequently, our golf course? In essence, a no vote on these minor variances represents a NO vote to the golf course & clubhouse.

The Keys Gate Residents Association (KGRA) has also objected to Mr. Rosen's request. Why? Why do the KGRA and their Delegate candidates want to delay or possibly stop a Fazio Golf Course? This upgraded golf course and clubhouse will raise our property values, make Homestead a destination, and provide jobs! The Council approved by unanimous vote in 2012 to allow 189 townhomes and a restaurant to be built on the land where the revised plan now requests to build only 91 single family homes. The racetrack did not object to the 2012 plan. Why object now to a plan with less density and less traffic? The racetrack had no objections to other townhomes that are being built closer to the racetrack than the land area mentioned above. Why is it ok for Lennar Homes to build closer to the racetrack, but not ok to build Keys Gate homes a little further away from the track?

Why does two of the current council who voted “yes” in 2012, now vote no against a reduced density plan and the golf course; as well as the current Mayor?

The POC and the golf course are both part of the previously approved Master Plan. Why is the racetrack attempting to dictate to the City, and to Keys Gate, how our community will be developed?
By attempting to stop the development plans already approved, the racetrack is stopping the golf course development. Why? Who at the racetrack wants to stop the golf course from reopening?

Is the Racetrack now running the City?

Let your voices be heard and don’t allow a powerful Special Interest Group, such as the Racetrack, to control the future of our community in a way that only serves their demands, at the expense of OUR quality of life.

This is OUR community! Do not allow a special interest group to take it from us, without a fight!!!

MEANWHILE AT THE MIAMI HERALD:

But for months the speedway has been vocal about its discontent with Rosen’s proposal to build single-family homes so close to the race track. On Friday, The race track’s vice president of operations, Albert Garcia, told the Miami Herald he believes developer’s plan will eventually lead the neighbors to complain about noise and traffic.

“Residential encroachment will definitely impact us negatively,” Garcia said. “Residential encroachment has had a devastating impact on similar race track across the country, leading to operating restrictions and closures.”

On March 9, a Coral Gables land-use attorney representing the speedway filed a records request with the city clerk, asking that the city provide numerous documents regarding area traffic and Rosen’s initial Development of Regional Impact (DRI) for his property. A DRI is a giant development that is given approval by the state.

“Our land-use experts are in the process of analyzing [the impact] to our year-round operation and championship races,” Garcia told the Miami Herald. “Only after completing this review will we know all the problems with this rezoning and our basis to challenge. Without a traffic study, we wont know the actual and total negative impact.”

Eye on Miami on Homestead a.k.a.Hudstead: Wayne Rosen Still Working That Golf Course Angle at Keys Gate. By Geniusofdespair

With all this presidential nonsense we have totally ignored our most favorite Municipality in Miami Dade County:  Hudstead.

I have to admit I have never knowingly been to Keys Gate (although I did a tour of foreclosed homes years ago and I think many were in Keys Gate), the Development of Regional Impact that Michael Latterner (now deceased) and Wayne Rosen got permission to build so long ago I just don't remember. However they both made a fortune on this DRI. A fortune!! They built so many homes. A DRI is a windfall for a developer.

They had a golf course as part of the Development and people liking that socked their savings into a house in Homestead. No accounting for taste. The glossy must have been nice.

The golf course after years of neglect became a weed field. The Clubhouse was closed. Amenities be damned. So, what does a developer do? Try to get the Government to pay for it. Rosen tried to get Department of Housing and Urban Development money, to rehab the course. He said it would create jobs. After a firestorm of bad press, he said he was going to abandon the course and let it turn brown. Pretty nasty stuff to hear for the buyers of their dream home in Homestead. I would suppose they would be very, very angry.

Rethinking his harsh proposal, Wayne held a closed meeting and a new scheme surfaced. Lets build more homes and in exchange fix up the course and make it smaller. A meeting was held at Keys Gate and a golf course expert described what every golfer wants, a smaller course with more homes.

The Closed Keys Gate Meeting

The only problem, Wayne Rosen needed zoning changes to build more homes and he needed people he had made very angry to help him.

The people of Hudstead's Keys Gate were caught between a rock and hard place. Tolerate more homes and get the Council to let Rosen change the zoning or they would have brown over-grown grass behind their homes.

So, somewhere out of the blue a petition was developed and the Keys Gate community NIMBY members were signing it in droves:

With hopes of pressuring council members, residents of Keys Gate subdivisions are backing Rosen by way of an online petition.

On the table? Having the council overturn a decision made by Homestead’s planning and zoning board and allow him to go forward on rezonings to build single-family homes near a beer warehouse, speedway and airbase. In exchange, Rosen would pledge to renovate the rundown Keys Gate Golf and Country Club.

The petition has 489 names on it. Rosen want's 1,000.


And the question we are all left with is -- is Wayne Rosen a greedy developer? I don't know.

An altruistic developer might have bitten the bullet and fixed up the Course for the people who trusted him way back when, when they bought their dream home with their savings.

So the moral of this story is:

When you look at that glossy offering brochure when you buy a new home, watch out. Aside: What happened to the "A" school promised? Now a "C." (another blog but here is the KEYS GATE SCHOOL AUDIT)

Keys Gate Schoo Audit

Wayne Rosen and the Keys Gate Homeowners Meeting in Hudstead. Guest Blog By Out of Sight

Wayne Rosen on the Right

In spite of the previous cankerous Homestead City Council meetings about Rosen and his plans for the Keys Gate golf course property, there was a love-fest tonight at the Keygate Golf and Country Club site. Wayne Rosen and his entourage faced off with a standing room only crowd. The crowd, with an exception of a few irritated people, received the cadre of development people surprisingly well.

The developer of the golf course, James Fazio was the front person speaking most of the time for Rosen. Mr. Rosen was not introduced until the very end when a gentleman stood and asked who the guy was in the background. Really strange strategy, but one that kept Rosen off the firing range for most of the evening with limited opportunity for him to create a ruckus.

A concern for Keys Gate Homeowners was the cost to residents. As it stands at this moment, there is no cost to the homeowners for the rebuilding and refurbishing of the course or its facilities. The partners are picking up the tab. However, they continued with the fact that if a Keys Gate resident plays there, they will be paying a special membership rate, but the costs are not set in stone at this time for any membership or greens fees.

They are fast tracking the course. Mr. Fazio is expecting to start with the heavy equipment soon as next week with the aim of having the greens sodded and ready to play in October of this year. With the permits pulled, the interior of the main Clubhouse is already in the process of being dismantled and will be redesigned with the existing building left intact.

Course designers are offering an 18 hole, 6370 foot-long course with new elevations and drainage. They expect, as they go along with the build, they will end-up stretching the course and it will be longer when it is finished. The tees are going be flipped about, but the basic border will be follow the general outside of the current course.

The course will lose 11 acres around the edge of the existing course. This land will be used for buffer or possibly some housing. Looking at the maps, there are some squared off acreage that could be feasible for residential. Additionally, there was some discussion about mitigation for the loss of the 11 acres with another already identified parcel for a park.

It was stated that Mr. Rosen is considering turning over some multi-unit acreage from another parcel for a well-lit driving range. They are looking into the development of auxiliary money-making enterprises such as a driving range which could be used for golf purposes in the evenings, along with a standard venue use upstairs in the club house and a grill type restaurant downstairs which will be easily accessible for the golfers. Currently, the driving range will stay put until a plan is designed to accommodate all the property changes.

One of the concerning issues was the additional residential being built by developer Pat Liber. When questioned about the housing, it was stated that the developer had not presented the plans to the golf team and Rosen --- which is hard to believe. However, they went on to say that they believe Liber will be doing single family homes against the existing two golf communities and fill-in some of the interior with attached housing around the 1st finger of the course.

It was interesting that there was relief and excitement in the room. No angry challenges to the DRI or other Rosen-related issues. The demeanor of this crowd seemed almost thankful and forgiving, happy and applauding positive comments from the crowd. The Rosen’s team was swarmed with handshakes and thank-yous as the crowd departed. On the way out, one gentleman pondered aloud as he walked to his car, if this was really going to happen. He indicated he had been excited and disappointed with promises broken roughly four times about this course. As a long-time Keys Gate resident, he stated, he will not believe Rosen until the bulldozers are there pushing dirt creating a golf course. It is obvious for some folks, the jury is still out.

WAYNE ROSEN: Golf Course in Keys Gate AGAIN! By Geniusofdespair

Someone sent me this invite in the continuing saga of HUDSTEAD dysfunction where there is no community association because Rosen claims build out has not been reached after years and years (never heard of a developer retaining control for this much time before)...

Mr. Wayne Rosen, the owner of the facility formerly(?) known as the Keys Gate Golf and Country Club, would like to invite you and your fellow neighborhood homeowners to a meeting on Wednesday, February 3, 2016, at 6:00 PM, at 2300 Palm Drive, in Homestead.  Mr. James Fazio, the well-known golf course designer, will also attend the meeting, and will outline the new design of the golf course.  Please convey this information to your fellow neighborhood residents in the most prompt, efficient, and effective method possible.

Thank you for your time and attention to this matter, and for your continuing efforts on behalf of all the residents of Keys Gate.
Sincerely,
  Tim Craig
Community Liaison (note: the Community has a LIAISON)
Keys Gate Community Association

Wayne Rosen: Blast from the Past. By Geniusofdespair

I was wondering whatever happened to Wayne Rosen's wife, Evelyn  Maribel Runciman Battle Rosen, once a mobster wife. Did she get deported? Nope. She is still around. If she didn't have money I would guess she would be back in Peru. I just saw she is registered to vote as a Republican as of  2013.

Planned Fundraiser Co-host Fights Deportation

Only in Miami!

The GOP was scheduled to hold a fundraiser at the home of a woman who is fighting possible deportation.
BY LESLEY CLARK c. 2006
lclark@MiamiHerald.com

WASHINGTON -- Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., who backs stricter controls on illegal immigration, was to raise money Monday in Miami at the home of a Peruvian woman who pleaded guilty a decade ago to passport fraud and is fighting for the right to stay in the country.

The fundraiser for the National Republican Senatorial Committee, which Ensign chairs, comes at a time when undocumented immigrants across the country live in fear of what they say are stepped-up orders to deport those here illegally.

The hostess of the Coral Gables reception aimed at bringing in hundreds of thousands of dollars for the GOP: Eve Rosen, who is awaiting an immigration judge's ruling as to whether the mother of two and wife of Wayne Rosen, a prominent Miami developer, can remain in the United States, where she has lived for more than a decade.

The Rosens declined to comment for this story. A spokeswoman for Ensign said Monday the committee was unaware of Eve Rosen's status and was ``looking at it now.''

The committee, which listed both Rosens as hosts of the event, noted that Wayne Rosen is a ''known donor to numerous federal candidates -- both Republican and Democrat.'' And a spokeswoman said that if ``there turns out to be any activity that is anything but above board, we will react accordingly.''

Spokeswoman Rebecca Fisher said the committee in the past has contributed to charitable groups when ``a situation was brought to our attention that gave the perception of impropriety.''

Mrs. Rosen's First Husband, Jose Miguel Battle, Sr. once the richest man in Miami Dade County. Eva married Jose's nephew when her marriage to Jose was invalidated. Where are Jose's multi-Millions? He was said to be worth over $175 Million. He is dead now.  BACK TO ARTICLE:

`A LONG HISTORY'

And she said Ensign, who last year criticized a proposal to give undocumented immigrants a chance at citizenship as ''amnesty,'' has ``a long history of being very clear of his position on immigration and that has not changed.''

Democrats, though, scoffed at the event.

''We appreciate Sen. Ensign's attempts to emphasize the hard work undocumented aliens do in America, like throwing fundraisers for the GOP,'' Miami-Dade Democratic Party chairman Joe Garcia said.

Court records suggest that Eve Rosen's troubles began as a teenager when the then-Evelyn Runciman met Jose M. Battle Sr., who in 2004 was indicted as the elderly boss of ''The Corporation,'' a Cuban-American crime syndicate that in the 1980s stretched from Florida to New York to Latin America.

Runciman, who court documents show is 32, was a teenager when she met the elderly Battle in Peru in the 1990s and married him. They later moved to Miami. In 2004, Runciman was one of 25 people federal prosecutors charged as participants in the so-called Cuban Mafia.

A TEEN BRIDE

Her criminal defense lawyer, however, portrayed her as a teenage bride who knew absolutely nothing about Battle. The racketeering conspiracy charge against her was dropped in May 2006, halfway through the trial, only after Battle agreed to plead guilty.

She had already pleaded guilty in 1997 to passport fraud, a charge that apparently triggered the push to deport her. According to federal court records, in February 1995 she presented to immigration officials a U.S. passport doctored with her picture. Her defense lawyer said Battle, also carrying a fake passport, ``insisted that she use one as well.''

Deportation proceedings were begun in 1996.

Runciman, who was married to Battle for what her lawyer said was less than five years, has since married Wayne Rosen, who has given more than $225,000 to the Republican Party and GOP candidates since 2004. In 2004, with Runciman still under indictment, the couple asked the federal court for permission to travel to New York City to attend the Republican National Convention. Rosen has also given more than $10,000 to Democrats, including Florida Sen. Bill Nelson and 2004 Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry.

That Wayne Rosen Really Gets Around. By Geniusofdespair

Page from Steve Shiver's Will.

Remember all that golf course stuff going on in Hudstead with Wayne Rosen? Well this guy gets around. Here he is in Former Steve Shiver's 2006 Last Will and Testament, appointed as his Personal Representative and Trustee.  Steve Shiver was Former Opa Locka City Manager, Former Miami Dade County Manager, Former Hudstead Mayor, and Former owner of a cowboy reenactment theme park that went belly-up. I didn't know Steve Shiver and Wayne Rosen were that close. Shiver's will was submitted to the Ethics Department on another matter having to do with Councilman Steve Shelley.

OFF TOPIC, BUT STILL IN SOUTH DADE...

Is the rumor true that Lynda Bell was being considered as Village of Palmetto Bay's Village Manager? Come on. I heard that Councilwoman Karyn Cunningham and Vice Mayor John Dubois were all for it. Could that be true? Not you Karyn, you appeared to be normal when I met you. You are not that stupid....are you?  Anyone know if she is that stupid. I hope this is a rumor because I would be totally turned off to this lady. Bad enough she had Jose Luis Castillo run her campaign. He ran Lynda Bell's campaign too.

Once Jose Luis Castillo runs a campaign for any of these gals (from Palmetto and Cutler Bay he has at least 3 gals in office) they are likes zombies -- under his Svengali-like spell. He ain't looking so good lately packing on the pounds. Maybe that will break the ties that bind. Don't let him exploit you Southern Dade gals in government (he then lobbies them after they are elected). We are watching you all and your votes when he lobbies you.

Note The Golf Course in the Video Wayne Rosen. By Geniusofdespair

Paige Latterner is the only named Director of Keys Gate Realty (she is the daughter of the deceased partner of Wayne Rosen). Keys Gate Realty's name is on the video. Here are 2 photos of the golf course from the video in case they take it down. It is from 2013. They call it "YOUR GOLF COURSE."

The talking head says: "even your own 18 hole golf course." You can't market it if you don't offer it.

Here is a link to the Rosen vs. Latterner lawsuit (former partners). Would sure like to know who the confidential investors are. One appears to be Ed Easton as he sued Rosen and settled for an undisclosed sum.

Wayne Rosen withdrew his Hud money request. By Geniusofdespair

No Hud Money for the golf course....for now.

Wayne Rosen's Proposal for Hud Money for His Golf Course PASSED 4 TO 2. By Geniusofdespair

I GOT BAD INFO LAST NIGHT: I WROTE The Homestead Council rejected passing along Wayne Rosen's request for $3.5 million from Hud for Hud's review. Maybe the Daily Beast article did it, seems like the icing on the cake. They titled it Florida Man Robs the Poor For His Country Club and they called Rosen "Scrooge".

HMMM...My friend went and told me LAST NIGHT it failed, too many questions. In fact, it passed. So on to HUD it goes. Shelley and Burgess were the no votes.

Miami Herald on Hudstead Emperor: Wayne Rosen and his quest for Hud funds. By geniusofdespair

...and the Emperor has no clothes.

Why Homestead needs a Mayor is beyond me. Rosen has been running the City for years.

Looks like the Miami Herald has finally tried to uncover some of Wayne Rosen's shenanigans in Hudstead with their front page story: Developer wants poverty-fighting funds to rehab Homestead country club. The Rosen stuff has been going on long enough. The Hurricane Andrew riddled city of Homestead was ready for Wayne Rosen and his longtime (recently deceased) partner Michael Latterner (Rosen is now suing Paige Latterner and family). I wrote about this golf course  and also this HUD proposal because in my opinion it is an improper use of HUD money.

Hud spokesman:

Brian Sullivan told the Miami Herald that all applications “would have to benefit low-to moderate-income residents, eliminate slum or blight, or respond to some type of urgent need, such as a hurricane.”

Sullivan added that the application would have “to articulate which three of these standards this golf course is going to meet” and that all applications go through thorough review.

With all the needs of the Community, this is not a good use of HUD funds. Really, the jobs angle is just not enough. Not enough jobs and really, do you want to use public funds to have poor people serving rich people? Seems wrong. If Rosen wants to build a  luxury golf course tell him to look to the Soffer's THEY PAID WITH THEIR OWN MONEY FOR THE REFURBISHING of the two Turnberry golf courses.  Wayne I like your idea. But you are rich, you do not need Hud money, don't be heartless. Open that pocket of yours and pay for it.

I don't see this golf course working: The greens fee and cost to join (so Rosen can make a profit) will be beyond the average Keys Gate resident's budget. Hudsteaders should look at the costs of joining other courses around Miami. Is this a feasible project that will have long lasting jobs?

AS FOR YOU HUDSTEAD: NO MORE HUD MONEY FOR YOU!

Why are rich Multi Millionaires always looking for public hand-outs? Maybe because that is how they got to be Multi Millionaires. By Geniusofdespair

HUDSTEAD (OF COURSE):

Now Wayne Rosen wants $3 Million of public money from Homestead. In 2014 Wayne Rosen tried to get a $5 million dollar grant for his Palmetto Bay Charter School Complex. 

Wayne Rosen, flush with money and one of our largest Miami Dade County campaign donors ($65,000 to Lynda Bell), is NOW asking for a $3 Million dollar public money handout. He is promising 85 jobs at his golf course. Don't think so, but if it the jobs do pan out, he will stop paying them pretty soon by laying them off, I imagine. This just doesn't seem like an economic boom since the golf course was already there for years and the workers were already working to maintain the golf course in a manner unfit for most golfers.

"The Section 108 loan guarantee program allows local governments to transform a small portion of their CDBG funds into federally guaranteed loans large enough to pursue physical and economic revitalization projects capable of renewing entire neighborhoods." 

 So he wants the City to get a loan guaranteed by HUD to pay for a golf course he promised a community when he sold his subdivision properties to all those unsuspecting rubes in Hudstead. And the loan will come from a fund  that was to be used for economic revitalization projects. A Golf Course? Really? What is that going to revitalize? The money is supposed to go to distressed areas: Keys Gate? Thinking not what HUD had in mind.

Perhaps the city of Homestead and Wayne Rosen should get this HUD toolkit and read it:

CDBG Economic Development Toolkit 
This Toolkit provides guidance on the effective use of CDBG funds for financing eligible economic development projects, including microenterprise and small business development, large-scale commercial and industrial development, and job creation, job retention, and job training activities. The Toolkit discusses the basics of financial underwriting and application of HUD’s public benefit standards as well as a variety of economic development financing methods.

 I can see he is going for "Job Creation" but that is such a stretch I am sure his body will ricochet all the way back to Miami Beach where he belongs. Leave Hudstead alone Wayne! And stop asking for public dollars from politicians you have givens tens of thousands of dollars to through PACS and ECOS.

UPDATE: AT THE MEETING: Rosen is now asking for $3.5 million.

Rosen's home is worth more than this loan, as if that wasn't enough, the people of Homestead pay him $490,000 annually as part of the '93 Settlement Agreement.

Looks like Wayne Rosen needs public dollars....NOT!

What does Developer Wayne Rosen want from County Commissioner Audrey Edmonson? By Geniusofdespair

Homestead over-lord Wayne Rosen has given $10,000 to Audrey Edmonson's 2016 Campaign. What is up with that? She is so snitty about doing things in other commissioners' districts, I just don't understand this campaign donation. Does he need a change on his Homestead Landfall DRI that needs to go before the Commission? He doesn't usually develop Northeast.

In Coral Gables a business cannot be run out of a home or addressed at a home. Code enforcement people said they agreed That is what Rosen was doing years ago but did nothing. Years later and he is still operating businesses registered to his home. He can P.O. box the address but not use a residence, which of course he is doing with 277 Galeon Court.

Too Much Money. Retire Wayne.

What Are Pinky Munz and Wayne Rosen Up To with this PAC? By Geniusofdespair

Munz is the $5,000 and Rosen is the $20,000 in Moving Forward PC.

Pinky Munz

Wayne Rosen

You always have to keep your eye on Homestead. If you turn your back on Hudstead you never know what will appear.

WELL NOW I KNOW WHAT THEY ARE UP TO and it ain't about the golf course unless it is the vote that this would bring them:

The first is protected under Federal Law. They aren't VOTED in as vice mayor, they just take turns. It is a meaningless difference from being a councilperson.  Why should they serve extra time? I think because Munz and Rosen want Judy Waldman, who is termed out, to stay in office. Lynda Bell would do something like this. I am shocked it is Waldman. Is she back to her old ways? For the record: I like Judy. She should have run for Mayor if she was term limited. She still can.

Also in Homestead:

Farm Share may be forced to end giving food to about 6,200 families and 250 agencies if Miami-Dade Commissioners vote to cut off funding to the nonprofit for the next budget year, which begins Oct. 1.

All they want is money for refrigeration and fuel for their trucks which deliver the perishable donated produce, about $280K. Do you think that Munz and Rosen will contribute? Them Helping??

Board of County Commission Zoning Meeting November 20th. By Geniusofdespair

To Daniella Levine Cava from a constituent:

"I watched you on our Gov Channel. We're very proud of you and the way you handled the zoning matter. It was very professional and fair to allparties---applicant and neighbors. We are deep rooted in Agriculture and know you feel the same for the future of Miami Dade County. The buffering of Ag land inside the UDB with a policy for all residents and farmers will benefit the future generations of our county."

Wayne Rosen didn't get this one by Daniella Levine Cava in her first zoning meeting. Some of the other commissioners bent themselves over to try to get her to take back her request for a denial. Sosa got her to defer instead. Wayne wanted the vote in December and Levine Cava insisted on February.  Watch the videos. The first one is her discussion. The second one is the discussion on the vote. You will get a good idea on how Levine Cava is going to conduct herself. Goofy Wayne Rosen must have not been too happy. He was in the audience with Juan Mayol and some other lawyer I do not know.  There was much constituent testimony on the zoning change.  It was an appeal of the CZAB denial.

Zoning Hearing Part 1:

(Watch on YouTube)

Zoning Hearing Part 2 - the vote:



(Watch on YouTube)

If you want to watch the WHOLE MEETING YOU CAN DO SO HERE.

Spotted today....By Geniusofdespair

 Wayne Rosen, Steve Shiver and Frank Castro were at the Keys Gate Golf Course and Clubhouse today. Maybe they are trying to figure out a way to make a profit from the course with those troublesome Golf Course Covenants.