Saturday, May 01, 2010

Deepwater Horizon and conservative values: polluters pay ... by gimleteye


The proof that politicians who claim to be conservatives -- mostly Republican-- aren't really who they say they are is that they support laws and policies that don't require full cost accounting for pollution. This is true of Big Sugar's pollution of the Everglades as it is of Big Oil's destruction in the Gulf of Mexico or Big Chem's pollution of the Mississippi River basin. When it comes to pollution, ours is a nation of avoidance.

The reason so many environmentalists "just say no" to offshore oil drilling is because there is no cost accounting that incorporates what happens when catastrophe hits. See, what we mean? But it is not just oil production where the evasion of cost accounting is standard procedure: the same is true of coal generating power facilities that pour carbon dioxide into the atmosphere or nuclear power facilities, like Turkey Point, that fail to protect groundwater despite legal agreements or safe storage of spent fuel rods. When disaster strikes, the true costs of these "takings" are never fully paid by the polluter. Instead they are judged to be acceptable costs and pushed onto consumers in our modern, industrialized society.

These costs are weighed according to rotten assessments of risk that permit them. What have we learned from these "conservatives" -- like Wall Street for example-- in recent years? The wealth of the nation has been stripped as cleanly as a car in a chop shop. While Democrats bear their share of blame, the biggest portion goes to conservatives who ran the economy into the ground. Take the SEC under former Congressman Chris Cox, or the USFWS, or the EPA. Whether synthetic derivatives or wetlands in Florida, these federal agencies weren't in business to enforce "polluter pays": they were meant to keep their mitts off regulation and enforcement. They sat surfing porn on the internet while the real pornography was layed out across the American landscape watching risk analyses of CDO's and biological opinions dressed up like painted whores. (I'm not making this stuff up!)

There was a good reason Floridians opposed offshore oil for decades. It is not just the cormorants and herons and other birds that need to be cleansed, we need to be bathed to wash off the ridiculous logic, the bloviators and the media circus tag teams and think tanks funded by so-called conservatives. No more "drill, baby, drill". Insist on energy reform that brings the big electric utilities into line. Remember, when it is time to vote next November, how during this legislative session Florida Republicans failed to approve qualified appointees to the Public Service Commission. It was pay back against Charlie Crist who led the way, rejecting the FPL base rate increase in January that would have paid for twenty billion in new nuclear reactors without adequate safeguards to the public interest in South Dade.

These "conservatives" are not conservative at all. And don't let President Obama off the hook, either, on his continued support for unacceptably dangerous offshore oil exploration. Of all people, he should know better.


Palmetto Bay – Palmer Trinity Zoning Tug of War Resumes. Guest Blog by Miamigal

The Palmer Trinity School zoning hearing affects the people who live in Palmetto Bay and in Cutler Bay, as well. The requested increase in students (from 600 to 1150 or 1400) plus staff, massive new buildings and the 17 sports different venues are bound to change the lives of many thousands of residents. There will be a hearing, May 4th - 7:00 PM at Christ Fellowship Church, 8900 SW 168th Street.

The effect of the 3rd District’s court ruling combined with the precedence set by this zoning hearing could have far reaching impacts state-wide and could very well dilute any success gained by the Hometown Democracy Amendment 4 should it win. In the end, we all could lose.

After a bizarre court ruling which sets a nasty precedent not only for the Village of Palmetto Bay but the whole state as well, the hearings revisited the issue Thursday, April 29th. The dismal outcome of the hearing dumped the agricultural zoning on the 33 acre mango grove which opens the door for Palmer to run rough-shod over the community with its sports complex that is more suited for the Summer Olympics than a school nested in a residential district.

This is not a NIMBY issue. This is an issue that begs the question of a landowner’s desire for a higher, more valuable use than the zoning that sits on the property verses the very measurable impact on not just a few homeowners, but the impact on two incorporated areas. The higher use IS NOT something guaranteed by law; property comes with the zoning that was on it when one purchases it. Government cannot easily downgrade a parcel’s value without a “taking”, but it does not have to up-grade the zoning either to the benefit of the landowner.

The history of the school has been one of steady growth:

Starting back in 1961 – County approved school use and facilities at 7900 SW 176 Street.

1979 – County approved the request to expand the school and permit outdoor table dining area for students, bringing the school closer to its property line.

1985 – County approved a classroom building and additional parking

1988 – County approved a two-story library/administration/classroom structure, the continued use of the undersized 19 foot wide driveway where 22 feet is required, and 200 additional students for a total of 600 students

1991 – Palmer and Trinity merged, two schools struggling to survive

1999 – Community Council #13 approved a science building, library expansion, chapel, media center, locker room expansion, café expansion, band room, pool house, field house, new kitchen addition for a total of 61,261 square feet.

Neighbors voiced their concerns about the noise from the athletic fields and the traffic. At this time Palmer had approximately 485 students. At this time, Palmer-Trinity promised they would never ask for more than the 600 maximum they were given in 1988 – this was mentioned over 60 times in the transcript from the hearing.

In the end, after all the construction, women cannot use their backyard pools without catcalls from the students. Western neighbors look up to see almost 35 foot high buildings hovering over their backyards and roof tops. The eastern neighbors get to tolerate traffic fumes, early morning school bells, and security lights, while the community to the north gets the traffic tie-ups and the teen drivers.

2003 – Palmer Trinity acquired the 33 acre mango grove for 4.7 million

2005 – 2008 The school presented the proposed plan to the neighborhood. The political games began. The school has more than the 600 students permitted. Neighbors see numerous examples of non-compliance with the 1999 zoning hearing.

2009 – The issue goes to public hearing. Palmetto Bay residents come out on the better side of the issue. The bullying against the activists and Village leaders begins in earnest. Intimidation tactics get out of control. Attorney Stan Price and deep pocketed school clients step in to slap lawsuits everywhere they can think of. The fall election results in the Village residents voting in new laws requiring certain protections for residents against unchecked growth. The Appeals Court bounced Village out of court with a nonsensical, but devastating response that tramples local government’s right to determine what zoning is in the best interest of its residents.

2010 – April 29th, the first of two hearings. The Village Council, with apologies and no defiance to the court, votes to give the school the pathway to the Olympic village. Mayor Flinn read aloud the damning opinion from the court. The lack of appeals and meek acceptance of the court ruling by the Village attorney makes residents uneasy and wary of the way the political wind is blowing.

This Tuesday, the final hearing is scheduled. Ironically, the Village of Palmetto Bay has no venue large enough to hold this hearing, other than a church that fought for an expanded school and lost. While they are waiting in the wings for the opportunity to come back for their coveted high school, this church has quietly been buying the community property in the neighborhood. They are simply watching and waiting.

If you go:
May 4th - 7:00 PM
Christ Fellowship Church
8900 SW 168th Street
Palmetto Bay

Friday, April 30, 2010

Marco Rubio on Drilling off Florida's Coast: Dead Wrong! By Geniusofdespair


Very short video from short-sighted man.

Oil spill drifting toward valuable Florida real estate ... by gimleteye

There was good reason for Floridians to oppose drilling for offshore oil, off Florida's coasts. Remember? For decades, opposition to offshore drilling was a bedrock principle of Florida politics. As much as the oil companies tried, Floridians wouldn't budge. What changed?

"Drill, baby, drill" entered the lexicon with Sarah Palin in the 2008 election. Democrats, who had to cut a deal with the oil industry in order to get climate change legislation onto the GOP table, triangulated towards the position they had steadfastly opposed.

In 2008 "drill, baby, drill" also was tinged with bitterness because of the collapse of the housing economy and debt machine. "Drill, baby, drill": as though more oil could get the sheetrock, two by fours, and personal lines of credit flying off the supplier shelves again. "Drill, baby, drill": do something now to get the mojo back. It was woven, craftily by oil companies, into the values of voters.

So now we are where we are, understanding why Florida opposed offshore oil drilling for so long. Conservative values begin with protecting what we treasure. Who do you trust to protect our coastlines from what happens a mile under the Gulf of Mexico?


April 29th Video

The "corrosive" war within the Florida Republican Party ... by gimleteye

I watched Charlie Crist's announcement running as independent for the US Senate. Upbeat and sunny as always, the speech contained nothing of the corrosive war within the Florida GOP. This race has national implications. Republican leaders have to be a little careful not to wage a slash and burn campaign against Crist, even though they would prefer to wring his neck. The simple math swings in Charlie's favor and not just in Florida. If the balance of power in Congress remains with or nearly a Dem majority, the GOP will need to have a bridge to Senator Crist. As a swing vote of a swing state leaning increasingly Democratic, Senator Crist would be hugely influential almost instantly; a very rare feat for a first term US senator.

But none of these political factors address how the conservative faction of the GOP, promoting the resurgence of Jeb Bush, applied the buzz saw to Charlie Crist's future as a Republican. In Politico today, Bush comments, "I am not surprised. This decision is not about policy or principles. It is about what he believes is in his political self-interest." If not for Jeb's own political self-interest, Charlie Crist would still be the Republican candidate for US Senate. The rift between Bush and Crist started nearly the moment Crist began his term as governor. To reinvent himself as a populist, Crist is going to have to explain his independence to Florida voters. So far, the corrosive war-- with Marco Rubio as the Bush proxy-- has taken place in code words and messages spinning out of the right-wing media machine. Crist needs to speak plainly and forcefully about the special interest give-aways that have been driving the Florida legislature, run by a Republican majority for a very long time, and how the collapse of Florida's economy ties back to failed policies of his predecessor who is still aiming for the national stage. If Crist can connect the corrosive power of what passes for 'conservatism' with what is corroding Floridian's job security and quality of life, he will speed past his opponents. Let the race begin.

County Commissioner Natacha Seijas' Rift With a Union. By Geniusofdespair

Thanks to a member of Vile Natacha Seijas' staff I got this letter she sent to the Metro Dade Firefighters union membership. These are the same guys and gals that go out and hit the streets in support of her when she runs for office. The union is engaged in a campaign against the Director - Herminio Lorenzo. Natacha goes way back with Herminio.

Notice how, in the letter, Natacha says: "I drove the vote to override the Mayor's veto." That is what we have been telling you here at Eye On Miami: Vile Natacha runs the County Commission. Do you agree with me that this letter should not have gone out on County letterhead? I find it grossly improper.

Are Vile Natacha and the Director locked in a campaign to undermine the union? Is Natacha trying to intimidate the membership with this letter? It sure looks that way to me. The union sold it's soul to the devil and the devil is biting back...or should I say back biting.

Thursday, April 29, 2010

It is Official: Crist will run as an Independent. By Geniusofdespair

Crank up the volume because I forgot to while taping.

The Crist Announcement. By Geniuofdespair

I was thinking of driving up to St Pete to be there for the Crist announcement at 5pm but I got lazy. This will be terrific news as far as I am concerned. And, yes this tightwad will be sending him money if he becomes an Independent, further I will fund-raise for him.

This will be historic news. As a Republican, I am saddened by the extremist Republicans drumming our Moderates out of the party.

On the Urban Development Boundary: taking issue with The Miami Herald ... by gimleteye

There are several points to follow up, on yesterday's public hearing to consider changes to the Miami-Dade comprehensive development plan. When Florida Hometown Democracy, Amendment 4, passes next November, the public would vote on these changes to the master plan, not only county commissioners. For example, FPL would have to go to the public to prove its case that a new four lane road-- approved by 12-1 vote over the concern of the water management district-- in the middle of Biscayne wetlands does not conflict with the hundreds of millions spent to protect Biscayne Bay and salt water intrusion into our drinking water wells. But these are other stories for other days. Now, I want to focus on a single sentence in The Miami Herald editorial against moving the UDB; a position that I support. The Herald wrote, "... the commission majority keeps on approving applications to amend the county's comprehensive development master plan expand the UDB in Southwest Miami-Dade -- even though these approvals invariably end up in court at county taxpayers' expense."

Let's be clear. All county taxpayers end up shouldering the expense of County staff defending applications to move the UDB that are rejected by the state of Florida, but only a few -- mostly members and activists in conservation organizations or civic groups-- are required to pay lawyers and expert witnesses to prove the case: that the county commission approval violates the law. This is not a minor distinction: the Herald is blind to the role that citizens play and the difficulty of waging battles against local government.

This issue of inequity never appears in The Miami Herald. As to the critics of this blog who carp, "Why don't you recommend or do something positive?"; I believe that requiring government to follow its own laws is pretty positive, don't you? But why does the cost fall on a few people or groups that are chronically underfunded? Why does the Herald fail to acknowledge the uneven playing field, or, the volunteerism and civic commitment shown by volunteers and a few paid staff who are earning a fraction of what the high paid lawyers make for defending the indefensible? It is as though Tropical Audubon or Friends of the Everglades or Clean Water Action or Sierra Club or any of the volunteers for civic associations in Kendall only exist as footnotes. These "special interest groups" deserve support by the mainstream press, don't you think? And the absence of fair and balanced is why it is so hard to listen to commissioners like Pepe Diaz say how much respect he has; not for everyone, but for some, in the opposition. What respect?

One speaker, yesterday, elicited laughs from the county commissioners when he said that they were "enemies of the environment". But isn't that the case? Isn't that what ten years of litigation on rock mining in the Lake Belt proved: that Miami-Dade county commissioners have put the drinking water and environmental resources of the county at severe risk in order to facilitate private profits? They laughed, but isn't it true? Isn't it true when the county commission trashes the most thorough report on a watershed in the nation-- the South Miami Dade Watershed Study-- that it is an enemy of the environment? This is not a trivial grievance.

Has the Herald, once, ever written a report acknowledging the imbalance? Nope. Nope and Nope. Earlier this week, the Herald noted the absence of leadership for Miami's future, but has the newspaper ever once considered how its absence of coverage of civic engagement-- issues like the UDB, for example-- simply reinforce the public perception that "other people" will take care of the shape and form of our communities?

Deepwater Horizon: Countdown to June 10 ... by gimleteye


Drill, baby, drill! The Exxon Valdez leaked 257,000 barrels of oil off the coast of Alaska. It was the worst oil spill in US history. At the rate of 5,000 barrels of oil per day, the new estimate, the leak from the Deepwater Horizon disaster, that killed eleven, would take 51 days to equal that record. By June 10th the Gulf of Mexico oil disaster would surpass the Exxon Valdez. We do a few things well.

From an April 14th post, a week before the disaster where Eyeonmiami warned about the Gulf Loop, I wrote: ""Matt Schwartz, a leader of Sierra Club in Broward, spoke at the Friends of the Everglades meeting. He noted how sea turtles were showing up on the east coast of Florida slimed with oil tar balls. We used to believe it was just oil tankers cleaning their bilges offshore. Now we know that a lot of pollution is being carried up the east coast of Florida from the Gulf of Mexico. As it is, the Florida peninsula is swimming in a sea of goop."

In reply, a reader wrote the worst timed response in Eyeonmiami history: "Do you have a reference for this? I consider myself pretty well informed on this issue and I have never heard this claim before. Is this his opinion or science? It would be nice if there was a scientific claim rather than a claim of the president of a local chapter of Sierra Club whose credentials are unknown. The fact that the people in Louisiana and Mississippi (and the Florida panhandle) don't seem to be screaming about oil pollution from offshore rigs where they are much more greatly exposed is the counter argument that would indicate that offshore drilling technology has reduced the risk of pollution dramatically." ie. Drill, baby, drill!

From The Miami Herald this morning: "Nick Shay and Villy Kourafalou, professors at the University of Miami's Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science who have been tracking the spill, said a shift to the south could pull it into the loop current, which pushes into the Gulf in a clockwise swirl, spills back into the Straits of Florida through the Keys and then back north in the Gulf Stream, where prevailing winds push material onto tourist-filled beaches... "Whether it's nutrients, whether it's bacteria, whether it's toxic material, it's a transport mechanism,'' he said. Kourafalou echoed Shay, saying the loop current was largely overlooked in the decision by the White House this year to expand oil and gas exploration into areas of the Gulf where the effect is the strongest. "Things come through the Keys. Things that happen in the Gulf will find their way here one way or another,'' said Kourafalou, a research associate professor."

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Get Outdoors! here is a really good thing to do with your kids... by gimleteye

National Geographic Society and National Park Service NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MEDIA CONTACTS: Carol Seitz Linda Friar
(202) 775-6186 (305) 242 7714
cseitz@ngs.org
Linda_Friar@nps.gov

BISCAYNE BIOBLITZ: Taking stock of Miami’s closest national park
Public invited to help with 24-hour race to discover and record species

HOMESTEAD, FL (April 12, 2010) – Grab your gear and join the National Park
Service and the National Geographic Society at the Biscayne BioBlitz. On
April 30 and May 1, teams of scientists, naturalists, community leaders,
students, and the public will join forces to discover and inventory every
living plant and creature in and out of the water at Biscayne National
Park.


This free, two-day, round-the-clock event is part scientific endeavor, part
festival and part outdoor classroom. The BioBlitz’s goals are to record as
many living organisms in the park as possible in 24 hours, to increase
awareness of the diverse species found in Miami’s closest national park and
to better understand how to protect the natural environment in the future.

Sylvia Earle, renowned oceanographer and National Geographic
Explorer-in-Residence, and Kenny Broad, a National Geographic Emerging
Explorer and director of the University of Miami’s Leonard and Jayne Abess
Center for Ecosystem Science and Policy, are among the participating
scientists.

The “Celebrate Biodiversity Festival” will follow the species count on May
1, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Highlights of the festival include family
activities, live music, demonstrations, displays, presentations and
opportunities to talk with scientists and see them in action. The
“Endangered World” art exhibition, with Miami artist Xavier Cortada, will
also be featured at the festival.

“Explorers” of all ages are invited. Activities will be ongoing throughout
the two-day event at the main “base camp” located at Biscayne National
Park’s Dante Fascell Visitor Center and at a smaller “base camp” on Elliott
Key. Advance registration is required to reserve a spot on a snorkeling
boat or “ferry” to Elliott Key, where many of the inventories will take
place. No registration is needed to participate in the base camp activities
or for the festival, both of which will be held at Biscayne’s Visitor
Center complex. All parking for the event will be off-site, with shuttle
transportation provided. To learn more about the Biscayne BioBlitz or to
register, log on to www.nationalgeographic.com/bioblitz or call (800)
638-6400 ext. 6186.

At the CDMP Heraring. By Geniusofdespair

Application 4 has been withdrawn - that is the one we have been writing about - Ferro. Looks like Ferro's lobbyists can count. They didn't have the votes. They submitted a letter, the public didn't get to see it.

Candidates from District 8 that are here are, Pam Gray, Albert Harum Alvarez and Gene Flinn. Annette Taddeo is here as well and Lynda Bell. I didn't recognize them from their glamour shots - so there are 5 candidates out of 7. Carlos Gimenez just arrived it is 10:30.

One reader said I should post what the candidates said and I will. I saw 3 speak just now. There is a second application and maybe the others will speak. Pam Gray voted for these - against - on the Planning Advisory Board, so I don't think she can speak on it here.

Miami Herald Says: Don't Move The Line. By Geniusofdespair

The Herald said today that moving the Urban Development Boundary is a bad idea:

There is no compelling public interest in moving the UDB now. To do so would only prove, again, that the commission majority is caving to private developers' interests at the public good's expense.

Will the County Commission vote to move it? With Commissioner Sally Heyman absent (broken ankle) it all hinges on the swing votes of Commissioners Audrey Edmonson and Rebeca Sosa. I am feeling confident about Commissioners Sorenson, Gimenez and Moss. The application needs two thirds of the County Commission, with 12 present they need 8 votes to pass it. We have dubbed Edmonson a member of the 'unreformable majority'. Will she stay in that snake pit or move to the enlightened side today? Our only other chance is if a member of the unreformable doesn't show up, like Vile Natacha Seijas, but knowing the Commissioner of the 13th district, she would come on a stretcher just to orchestrate the votes to help her buds.

If you are going to the meeting today, send me photos of lobbyists.

Drill, baby, drill! GOP needs a new slogan in Florida ... by gimleteye


What if there were a God, and God chose to communicate with Floridians directly by blowing up an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico that is fully insured for $560 million while Florida's beaches, wetlands, marshes, and mangrove coastline are insured for nothing?

The matter of God is not going to be settled on this blog. On the other hand it was exactly a year ago, that GOP leaders found themselves under the influence of offshore oil drillers and Florida Energy Associates. Mary Ellen Klas of The Miami Herald wrote on her religion-neutral blog: "... the list of lobbyists is growing for the mysterious Florida Energy Associates, the entity behind the late-session push for drilling off Florida's near shores. The latest entry: Claudia Diaz de la Portilla, the wife of Alex Diaz de la Portilla, the Senate's Republican leader. Claudia DLP was added to the list of 23 lobbyists Friday, April 24. Former Secretary of State Jim Smith was added April 23." That was on April 28, 2009. Exactly a year ago, numerologists.


Dear, dear, dear. What important contributions these legislators and lobbyists have made to the offshore oil debate. While waiting for the arrival of the first oil slick on Florida beaches, let the echo of "drill, baby, drill" summon the memory of another GOP plan that sunk under the waves of a titanic disaster.

It was 1998. Jeb Bush was gung-ho to get going on that governor thing for Florida's future.A company called Azurix tied back to some of the GOP's biggest campaign contributors wined and dined the Florida legislature to argue their case for turning over Florida's water future to private enterprise. They called their opening event, "Liquid Gold", a name as hubristic as Deepwater Horizon. The public was shut out of the prospectors' tent: the Council of 100. The pipeline was tapped with spigots for campaign contributions when there was, suddenly in 2002, an enormous blowout.

It was called Enron: the parent of Azurix, sinking below the waves like that big rig. Even as the Enron rig went down, taking the fortunes of ordinary savers and investors (Later disclosures proved that Enron had battered California's utility customers under the premise of the "free market") Gov. Bush invested more than $350 million in state pension funds in Enron to support his friend, Ken Lay, who is also gone.

42,000 gallons per day, apparently, are oozing their way to Gulf and Florida shores. I'm not sure where the Florida Energy Association or their surrogates are these days, or, the past supporters of "Liquid Gold" for Florida. They might be coated in oil and hung to dry like cormorants in the Gulf breeze.


Gulf oil spill could threaten Florida
By Craig Pittman, Times Staff Writer
Published Monday, April 26, 2010

An oil spill from a rig that sank off the coast of Louisiana is threatening marshes and beaches across the Gulf Coast, and unless it's contained it could wind up tainting the Florida Keys and perhaps the state's Atlantic coast, oceanography experts said Monday.

As of Monday, the slick was about 48 miles by 39 miles, lying some 30 miles off the coast of Louisiana. So far high winds have kept the spill away from land. It's about 80 miles from the nearest Florida beaches in Pensacola.

But the owner of the rig has been unable to shut off the oil flowing from 5,000 feet below the surface, so the slick continues to grow.

The marshes of southern Louisiana and Mississippi appear to face the most immediate risk from the spill because they are closest to it, said George Crozier, director of the Dauphin Island Sea Laboratory in Mobile, Ala.

What happens after that depends on how quickly the owners of the rig can shut off the flow of oil. On Sunday they began using robot submarines to try to shut off a valve called a blowout preventer on a leaking pipe deep underwater. If that fails, then they will drill new wells on either side of the leak to relieve the pressure there — a process that could take months.

"If it goes on for four months, then yeah, we've got a problem," Crozier said. "But if they're able to shut it down after a day or two, then the risk is minimal."

"We can only hope that they can make that sucker stop very soon," said Wilton "Tony" Sturges, a retired Florida State University oceanographer. The winds that would push the spill toward Tampa Bay's beaches do not normally start until midsummer, he noted.

Officials with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration are predicting that by today the slick will be pushed more toward the east, away from the Panhandle but pointed more toward Florida's peninsula.

Robert Weisberg, a University of South Florida oceanographer who specializes in studying the gulf, said that while the Panhandle may be safe, he is concerned that if the winds push it far enough to the east, the oil slick could be caught in the gulf's powerful loop current. The loop current flows north from Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula but then makes a clockwise turn and flows south.

If that happens, Weisberg warned, then the oil could be carried "toward the Keys and points up the east coast."

Florida Department of Environmental Protection officials are monitoring the spill, said DEP spokeswoman Dee Ann Miller, but "at this time there is not believed to be an immediate threat to Florida's waters."

Federal officials say they are doing their best to keep the growing oil slick from damaging any of the state's beaches or marshes. "Our goal is to continue to fight this spill as far offshore as possible,'' U.S. Coast Guard Rear Adm. Mary Landry said at a news conference Monday.

One idea: Put a dome over the leaks to catch oil and route it to the surface, where it could be contained. That has worked before with shallow wells. No one knows if it would work 5,000 feet below the surface.

A pod of sperm whales was spotted near the slick on Sunday. At this point no one knows what effect the spill may have on them, although there is a risk of respiratory and eye irritation, or stomach and kidney problems if they ingest the oil, said Teri Rowles, coordinator of NOAA's marine mammal stranding program.

Planes that were dropping chemicals that break down the oil were told to steer clear of the whales. The chemicals, known as dispersants, can be as toxic to mammals as the oil itself, marine biologist Jackie Savitz told the New York Times. So far there are no reports of any dead or injured animals in or near the slick.

The oil, which has been leaking at a rate estimated at 42,000 gallons a day, is coming from the site of the Deepwater Horizon rig, which exploded about 11 p.m. on April 20 and later sank. Eleven members of the 126-member crew remain missing and are presumed dead. The cause of the explosion at the rig, which was under contract to BP, remains under investigation.

Initially Coast Guard officials said there appeared to be no leak from the sunken rig. But on Sunday they discovered oil was in fact leaking from pipes deep beneath the surface.

The rig's owner, Transocean Inc., noted in a news release Monday that the rig — now on the sea floor about 1,500 feet northwest of the well center — was fully insured for $560 million. Transocean is the world's largest offshore drilling contractor.

Information from the New York Times and the New Orleans Times-Picayune was used in this report.


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'Drill, baby, drill' is now 'Spill, baby, spill'

By Tom Lyons

Published: Tuesday, April 27, 2010 at 1:00 a.m.
Last Modified: Tuesday, April 27, 2010 at 12:03 a.m.
Doug Holder, the real estate broker and state representative from Sarasota, still owes me a call back about oil drilling.


He's almost a year overdue.

The last time we discussed his vote in favor of exploratory oil drilling three to nine miles off Florida's Gulf coast, he said he didn't mean he was OK with drilling near Sarasota. No way.

Good, I said. But the bill didn't exclude Sarasota.

When I pressed further and asked if he thought drilling would be fine near Venice or Naples or the Everglades or the Florida Keys or off Sanibel Island or Cedar Key, Holder said no, no, no, no, no and no. He didn't want oil drilling near any touristy places or environmentally sensitive shores, you see.

I wasn't sure what that left in the way of Florida's Gulf coast. I asked him to name a few places he sees as acceptable for drilling.

"I haven't looked at a map to pinpoint" any exact spots, Holder replied. We agreed he'd have to get back to me on that.

That was in the spring of last year. No word yet, nor did he return my call on Monday, at least not before deadline.

But he did tell a reporter several months ago that he had been led to believe any drilling rigs used in Florida would be underwater and invisible from shore.

That would offer no protection from oil spills, of course. And it is also untrue. As a Herald-Tribune story revealed in November, that was baloney handed to lawmakers by pro-drilling lobbyists. The expensive underwater rigs exist, but are used only in much, much deeper water.

We'd get rigs that look like steel skeletons of mammoth buildings perpetually under construction.

And earlier this month, when a Herald-Tribune reporter talked to him in Tallahassee, Holder touted a report that lawmakers had just been given. It included some rosy statements.

"Construction and operations standards in oil and gas have improved dramatically" in recent decades, so there is less worry now about oil spills and other problems. That is so even during a hurricane, though that remains the most high-risk time, the report says.

True, 117 oil rigs were lost during hurricanes Katrina and Rita. But the report used a bar graph to stress that only 24 of those lost rigs were ones built after 1989.

Only 24? The alleged comfort in that number escapes me. And the fine print added that when there is a spill, "the closer to shore, the greater the emergency response capability required."

Imagine a massive oil spill a few miles from our beaches in the same week we are handling the damage and power outages ashore after after a hurricane strike. Some fun.

But, yes, drilling engineers have worked wonders. Look at the impressive Deepwater Horizon, a floating drill platform twice the size of a football field, and built just nine years ago. Could you find a finer example of oil industry engineering?

It now rests 50 miles off the Louisiana coast, on the Gulf bottom, probably with the remains of 11 crew members who did not escape the fiery explosion that wrecked it during perfectly fine weather.

The oil spill from that disaster seemed fairly modest at first, partly because much of the oil was going up in the huge cloud of black smoke as the fire raged for days. But now that the rig has sunk, there's a 45-mile long oil slick approaching the Gulf's north shore, and it's still growing rapidly.

I'm looking through the report our lawmakers got, but haven't found the part that explains why this would be no big deal if it happens five miles off Florida's coast.

If Holder finds it, I hope he'll call.

Tom Lyons can be contacted at tom.lyons@heraldtribune.com or (941) 361-4964.


What is Juan Zapata Really Up To? By Geniusofdespair

Juan Zapata has been an active candidate for County Commission District 11 since 1/1/2009. That is Joe Martinez's seat. The odd thing is, the election isn't until 2012. That makes this a 4 year campaign! Even odder, he has collected $14,665 so far but he has spent most of it...$12,328. Why is he spending money now? This makes absolutely no sense.

He spent $2,053.50 for printing school calendars in September and $1,800 for printing holiday cards in December. He spent another $1,025 in January for printing. At least his printer is doing well.

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Tomorrow, the UDB Hearings at County Hall: today, the 2006 Moss workshop on the Urban Development Boundary ... by gimleteye

County Comissioner-- now Chairman-- Dennis Moss held a much anticipated "workshop" on the UDB in February 2006. It was a moment in time when the housing boom was cresting. It was the moment when the Growth Machine summoned all its arguments for expanding the UDB and let them loose.

Come to the County Chamber tomorrow morning, at 9:30AM, as a matter of civic responsibility. See how the arguments are waged, now. But for the moment, take in this: "I don't see a lot of empty houses out there."

DORRIN ROLLE: The Leadership Vacuum in District 2! By Geniusofdespair


Dorrin Rolle, running for reelection, does not deserve an additional four years to prove himself worthy of his catch phrase, “Ya done good” when all he has actually "done good" is make broken promises.

He was appointed commissioner by Gov. Lawton Chiles who chose Rolle because of his life-long roots in Liberty City and his role as CEO of the 85 year old social service agency, JESCA. Chiles choice then looks like a mistake now. Dorrin Rolle has proven to be an utter disappointment to both the neighborhood in which he was raised and to the agency that thrived for almost a century. JESCA nearly collapsed under his mismanagement and was forced into bankruptcy.

In 2006, The Miami Herald's House of Lies series reported the Scott-Carver homes were demolished and families displaced on promises that never materialized. Unscrupulous affordable housing developers raped the system under Commissioner Rolle's watch. A good portion of the district that was once a poor but functional community became a ghost town, weeds grew where children once played. A mere three blocks west of the former Scott-Carver Home Projects is a large empty parcel of land that an out-of-town developer promised to develop into a multimillion dollar project employing thousands. Today, the lot in Rolle's district is still empty and Liberty City has piles of dirt and gravel with no sign of the buildings and jobs.

Miami-Dade County District two remains a poor community DESPITE NEARLY ONE BILLION DOLLARS of federal, state and local funds that have been squandered in the district since the inception of single member districts. (Hit read more)

Miami Dade County District Two has approximately 102,000 residents. Its principal cities are North Miami and North Miami Beach as well as the communities of Liberty City and Biscayne Gardens. District two is a residential district with a small industrial sector on its western edge and commercial outlets and properties scattered throughout. Most of the residents are good hard working people, many church-going, all trying to make ends meet. According to the 2000 US Census, of the 13 County Commission districts, district two has the second highest unemployment rates; the second lowest average household income; the second lowest high school graduate percentage and the second lowest rate of home ownership.

Although there are many socio-economic factors that are systemic and difficult to address in District 2, more than anything else, the people of the district should hold the current political leadership responsible for the sad state of affairs and the catastrophic losses the good people of the district have suffered.

Offshore Oil: so tell us again, "drill, baby, drill"? by gimleteye

The oil spill is identified as the silvery patch on this NASA photograph

We don't have to ask again, of deep water off-shore oil drilling, "what if something goes wrong". Oh, the nervous Nellies. The nay-sayers. To the environmentalists: what could you do with "drill, baby, drill" but wait? So here is the contrary view to off-shore drilling in the Gulf that Eyeonmiami published just a week before the off shore oil rig blowout that killed 11 in the Gulf of Mexico. One is tempted to say-- as politicians do-- that timing is everything. There is, however, no joy in being prescient about man-made catastrophes to our air, water, and natural habitats. Just grim determination.

In "Vast oil spill may alter debate on Gulf drilling" (Miami Herald, April 26, 2010), Dr. Harold Wanless, chair of the Department of Geology at the University of Miami, addresses a point we made on this blog in response to challenges of our post by right-sounding critics: that pollution dumped in the Gulf of Mexico eventually finds its way to both the Gulf AND Atlantic coasts. I have also written that the Florida peninsula is ringed by pollution. Federal courts agree. That is exactly why nutrient pollution standards being proposed (finally!) by the US EPA-- and violently opposed by the Florida Chamber of Commerce, Associated Industries, and Big Ag. Hell, it's only water. Not oil.

"But if 42,000 gallons a day continue to gush out of the Gulf floor for weeks, or months, currents will inevitably flush the mess toward southern Florida. Harold Wanless, chairman of the Department of Geological Science at the University of Miami's Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, noted that the looping Gulf currents can carry the outflow from the Mississippi River around the Gulf and through the Straits of Florida, past the Keys, past Miami. What oil doesn't wash ashore in the Gulf will come our way. Everything floating in the Gulf eventually comes our way." ... Wanless said Floridians may have done considerable damage to their sources of fresh water but they've always valued their beaches and coastal environment. Deposits of black gooey dross from Deepwater Horizon on their beloved beaches could turn offshore drilling into a very unpopular cause."

Monday, April 26, 2010

"If the count is right...": 2006 UDB workshop: Isn't history grand ... by gimleteye

Isn't history grand.


What's 'UP' with the George Merrick Statue? By Geniusofdespair


About 4 or 5 years ago this statue of George Merrick was placed in front of Coral Gables City Hall. I did not retouch the photo.

"Incorporated on April 29, 1925, the City of Coral Gables is celebrating its 85th Anniversary with an open house on Thursday, April 29, from 2-6 p.m. at the Merrick House, 907 Coral Way." (Developer George Merrick is considered the 'architect' of the city so those are plans he is holding.)

3 Days to D Day: Who wants to move the Urban Development Boundary and will you come to the County Commission on Wednesday to watch? by gimleteye


Who wants to move the Urban Development Boundary? Supermarket chains, Lowe's Home Improvement: more homeowners, more stores. It is a model perfectly suited for land speculation fueled by cheap debt and the power of derivatives. Its advocates included the former president of the Latin Builders Association, Willy Bermello, who wrote in The Miami Herald in 2005 dismissing critics of the housing boom, "This bubble is not made of latex. It is made of stainless steel." Bermello was also giving voice to his colleagues; land speculators who control County Hall through zoning lobbyists and campaign contributions.

Come down on Wednesday. Join the public to express what you feel about the costs of growth that have resulted in whopping billion dollar infrastructure deficits, not to mention current deficits. It should be an interesting meeting. It's much better than television, the same way that going to the ballpark gives you a view of the game that encompasses so much more than who is batting or fielding, throwing or catching. You have to see the side-glances, the way that staff look at each other or bury their faces in the crook of their arms when lies and demagogues take flight at the microphones. Watch Katy Sorenson in her final CDMP zoning hearing as a county commissioner. Will she say, "I told you so", about overdevelopment to her colleagues on the dais? Will they ignore her? Will Natacha Seijas and Joe Martinez turn away as she speaks, or Dorrin Rolle pick up his Get Smart phone? Will Pepe walk down from the dais to talk to his lobbyist friends in the audience? Will Dennis Moss, the chairman of the commission, take the opportunity to explain to his colleagues how he has watched history unfold in the last decade at the Urban Development Boundary, and that none of the arguments in favor of destroying farmland and bending to the will of speculators bear the stamp of legitimate need? Come down and watch the zoning attorneys say to their surrogates on the county commission: "you have to take control, today, because Florida Hometown Democracy is coming in November."

A representative sample of land speculators who strenuously oppose Florida Hometown Democracy could be drawn from this group: the directors of US Century Bank. Some are better known than others, but together they are dedicated to the growth model called suburban sprawl that has been gathering rust since the housing bust.

Ordinary homeowners who can't make their mortgage payments are forced into foreclosure, but it is not clear that the same is true-- or always true or only sometimes so-- for large landowners holding property purchased as speculative investments when they own the bank. Based on the carnage from so much overdevelopment fueled by cheap debt and greed, it is safe to say that unless the advocates for sprawl were also shorting the market at the same time (like Goldman Sachs) that here and elsewhere the Growth Machine chewed up the Florida landscape billionaires are now only centimillionaires, centimillionaires are worth only tens, and some who own banks are only worth as much as the federal government permits them to guess-timate.

What is clear is that land owned outside the Urban Development Boundary is a ticking time bomb if the bank that owns the bank comes calling; if collateral or capital infusions to stave off takeovers requires liquidation at fire sale prices; if new financial institutions are not so warm and cuddly to the locals.

Take a drive around the forsaken perimeter of the Urban Development Boundary today: all you see are "for sale" signs. The boundary in Miami-Dade is where suburban sprawl dropped dead, or, only exists because federal tax policy-- shaped by the homebuilders in Congress--is still spitting out incentives for first time buyers.

If you come down to the County Commission on Wednesday, this is the subtext of the urgency to move the Urban Development Boundary. For instance, take the application by Ferro. To understand why the Ferro application is important, you have to study who owns the land AROUND the Ferro application. Neighbor, CMH Investment, Inc. is Jose Machado, Jorge Correa, Emiliano Herran and Agustin Herran. Out of the 9 Board Members of U.S. Century Bank, 4 of them, Agustin Herran, Armando Guerra, Sergio Pino and Ramon Rasco, have property ownership surrounding this property. And, not very far from here also outside the UDB line, a fifth U.S. Century board member, Rodney Barreto, has property. You also have D.R. Horton waiting a couple of properties away, the mega production home builder that calls itself: "America's Builder".

Move it for Ferro today, move it for the others next time around. It is difficult to estimate how much money is tied up in the adjacent land, now farmland stretching to Krome Avenue. Immediately adjacent to Ferro, we could count up $150 million that moved into developer hands since 2003. Someone owns that land and someone wants it freed up by a zoning change for more suburban sprawl.

What is interesting, of course, is that there is no need for zoning changes at this time. Not for commercial space. Not for residential. Every argument that the Growth Machine and the engineering cartel used in the past, is now dead in the water. Housing costs, too high? Not anymore. Not even Habitat for Humanity is building new structures. County statistics no longer valid? Need to accommodate the "tidal wave" of new residents? That is so yesterday.

Miami Herald story: New generation of South Florida business leaders: ridiculous ... by gimleteye

Well, The Miami Herald only missed the story by a few decades: "Where's the calvary? Where's the general? South Florida's record unemployment, a stagnant real estate market, and the financial menace plaguing Miami-Dade County's public health system all seem to need immediate attention." I suppose, better late than never. Unfortunately when the Herald looks at all, the Herald looks in the wrong direction. The symptoms cited by the Herald, record unemployment and stagnant growth and unfunded deficits, are exactly the result of the recent past generations of leadership in Florida. The great idea underlying Florida's dismal present: that any way business expands the tax base is the only way to pay for increased services.

We are here, because this is where our past leaders pointed us. There is nothing cyclical or coincidental; no act of God put us in this box. Just take a car ride to the Urban Development Boundary; the line that fixes our current obligations as taxpayers with our future vision of growth. Better yet, commute to downtown Miami from the Urban Development Boundary at morning or afternoon rush hour. Imagine, in your car, what quality of leadership thought that this landscape represented a public good. What leaders "did a good job" making sure that there are no parks where people live, that there is literally no walkable space except for isolated pockets, no logic or order to public access to Biscayne Bay or integration with the Everglades?

Do you think that relying on the same old voices who share space in The Herald talking back and forth to each other about what a great job the business community has done, the Chamber of Commerce, the Latin Builders, allows for a breadth of conversation about substantive change that Florida needs? No. Sea levels will have us all walking on boardwalks to our cars to commute on elevated roadways to other boardwalks, first.

Sunday, April 25, 2010

"People are the enemy" for the Florida Legislature ... by gimleteye

Denise Layne and I were co-chairs of the Sierra Club Florida Chapter's land use/sprawl committee in 2002-2003. This editorial is spot on target.

Lawmaking at its 'worst'

By DENISE LAYNE
Special to The Tampa Tribune

After 12 years of being involved with growth management issues in Florida, I think this legislative session has got to be the worst. Elected officials are focused on winning their issue at any cost. They seem to think the people are the enemy.

From the very beginning it was obvious they would use all tricks of the trade to keep the special-interest money machine fed.

Over 65 "shell" bills were filed in the Senate relating to growth management and local governments. These place-holder bills simply state a legislative intent to change something. Many of these shell bills have come alive with language week by week.

You can't conduct thoughtful, democratic dialogue on an issue when you don't know what the bill says until it is being heard in a committee.

The House played a different game. House members only filed nine growth bills at the beginning of session. The real work was hidden behind committees.

Starting the second week of session, huge water bills came alive in House committees. I consider only one to be actually good regarding our drinking water.

There is a new tactic this year for hiding things in bills. It is to reorganize statutes into new sections, then state that none of the language has changed. House Bill 1109 on water supply is an example. The danger of this bill is what you don't see.

Only part of the legislative intent from the original statute was kept, which would have changed the entire focus of supplying water in this state. Water authorities that want to create new water supplies wouldn't have to worry about those pesky environmental or health and safety concerns of the public.

Then we have the big economic stimulus bill, Senate Bill 1752. It included language very harmful to the environment and water permitting (more than 80 pages) that was heard in one committee and then went straight to the floor for a vote. The environmentally harmful sections of the bill were stripped away, but no one yet has said where the $100 million up-front money will come from to spur the economy.

After this came Senate Bill 6, which would have changed how teachers are evaluated. Talk about ramming something through the system. It was so bad Gov. Charlie Crist had to veto it.

In addition, the usual standby tactic of replacing the language of a bill with a "strike-all" amendment that no one has seen prior to a committee meeting is alive and well.

House Bill 7177 started in committee as a six-page water conservation bill and ended as a 22-page rewrite of many water issues, including wetland-mitigation banks and consumptive-use permits. This committee is the only group that has seen the bill, which is now going to the House floor for a vote.

More recently came a direct display of contempt for the public. Senate Bill 2288 recently was heard by the reapportionment committee in the Senate. Remember, this is the bill that would counteract the two ballot initiatives by Fair Districts Florida. Group after group filed opposition cards to this bill but waived their time speaking.

Many of the committee members demanded opponents come to the podium, where lawmakers chastised them for their opinion. Here were some comments from committee members:

"We know more about this; we are the experts." "How dare you object without talking to us."

Only one group supported this "clarifying" bill - Associated Industries of Florida. Need I say more?

The legislators get away with this behavior because we let them. Please, pay attention to how they act and vote on this session's nasty bills and vote them out of office. We, the people, have to change this unreality show.







.

__,_._,___Type the rest of the post here

Coast Guard Video of the Oil Rig Fire. By Geniusofdespair

I was looking for a video of the oil slick and found this video of the fire on the oil rig. One strange thing, I never knew there were so many oil rig accidents. Youtube had a lot of videos on the subject. Shame on you President Obama for caving, do your homework. Florida does not need drilling, we love our coastline. Yesterday it was reported the oil was leaking at 42,000 gallons a day and there was a 20 x 20 mile oil slick.

The Illogical Florida Legislature. By Geniusofdespair


Every year I shudder when the Florida Legislature meets because I never know what they will attack. Invariably, they always target things I like. For example this year, among other things, they are attacking the State Growth Management Department (this came to me from Environmental Groups):

As we reach the last week of the 2010 legislative session, the fate of the Florida Department of Community Affairs remains uncertain. The state’s lead planning agency overseeing growth management is currently undergoing “Sunset Review” and must be affirmatively reauthorized. If not, DCA and Florida’s growth management process will be especially vulnerable to elimination, dismantlement, funding cutbacks and/or excessive political pressure over the coming year. Please help us send a strong message to the Legislature that they reauthorize the Department of Community Affairs this session!

Florida’s leading planning and conservation groups are calling on all concerned citizens to send an emphatic message to the Florida Legislature that the Florida Department of Community Affairs be reauthorized this session. Monday, April 26 is SAVE DCA DAY. Here is how you can help:



1. Call House Speaker Larry Cretul (850.488.1450 or larry.cretul@myfloridahouse.gov), Incoming House Speaker Dean Cannon (850.488.2742 or dean.cannon@myfloridahouse.gov) and Your Representative (Find Your Legislators). (Calls are best, as emails usually go unread the last week of the session). Ask them to “Re-Enact Intact” the Florida Department of Community Affairs this Session. Ask them to pass a “clean” bill without damaging provisions. Let them know that DCA and effective growth management are essential to protect Florida’s quality of life, environment and economic health.

2. Call Your State Senator (Find Your Legislators) and thank them for passing SB 282 to “Re-Enact Intact” DCA. Ask them to make sure that no damaging provisions are added to the reauthorization legislation.

signed:
1000 Friends of Florida * Audubon of Florida * Defenders of Wildlife
Everglades Foundation * Everglades Law Center * Everglades Trust
Florida Wildlife Federation * National Parks Conservation Association
Sierra Club * The Nature Conservancy


More on The Florida Legislature from around the state:

http://www2.highlandstoday.com/content/2010/apr/25/la-legislators-having-a-field-day-paying-back-spec/

Legislators having a field day paying back special interests

The Tampa Tribune

Florida's Legislature is running amok and no one seems to care. Proposal after proposal flows from Tallahassee that would damage our state, and Gov. Charlie Crist is our only check and balance for most of this horrible legislation.

Most recently it's a bill that would allow trucks to haul 8,000 more pounds each on our state's highways. This might not seem like much until the price tag for millions of dollars in infrastructure wear and tear that these big trucks cause is considered by taxpayers.

Ask any road engineer and he or she will explain that it's not really our cars and pickup trucks that wear our roads out. It's the big trucks that do big damage and cause costly repairs. We understand that there's a need to provide roads for trucks to deliver our goods, and there's a balance between taxpayer dollars and industry profits that must be met. This new legislation is too much of a reach.

The trucking lobby wants to increase the weight limit to enhance profits. They sell it as a cost savings because goods can be moved cheaper. They don't factor in, of course, how much new roads and other infrastructure repairs also cost us.

Perhaps as we replace bridges and sections of roads, they can be strengthened to handle larger trucks, and at some point that can be the goal. Right now, however, Florida doesn't need heavier trucks breaking down our roads even faster, costing us many millions more to keep our roads and bridges safe for traffic.

What we do need is a Legislature that starts thinking about average Floridians living throughout the state and quit pumping legislation through the system that benefits special interests and big money lobbies that pour money into their campaigns.

Between Medicaid reform, education reform and now this, it's clear where our legislators' priorities are, and it's not with the people of Florida. They're masters of selling it to us, though. Of course, if Floridians want to sit on their hands and believe everything the Legislature spoon feeds us about this legislation, we deserve what we get.


http://www2.tbo.com/content/2010/apr/25/co-lawmaking-at-its-worst/

Lawmaking at its 'worst'

By DENISE LAYNE

Special to The Tampa Tribune

After 12 years of being involved with growth management issues in Florida, I think this legislative session has got to be the worst.

Elected officials are focused on winning their issue at any cost. They seem to think the people are the enemy.

From the very beginning it was obvious they would use all tricks of the trade to keep the special-interest money machine fed.

Over 65 "shell" bills were filed in the Senate relating to growth management and local governments. These place-holder bills simply state a legislative intent to change something. Many of these shell bills have come alive with language week by week.

You can't conduct thoughtful, democratic dialogue on an issue when you don't know what the bill says until it is being heard in a committee.

The House played a different game. House members only filed nine growth bills at the beginning of session. The real work was hidden behind committees.

Starting the second week of session, huge water bills came alive in House committees. I consider only one to be actually good regarding our drinking water.

There is a new tactic this year for hiding things in bills. It is to reorganize statutes into new sections, then state that none of the language has changed. House Bill 1109 on water supply is an example. The danger of this bill is what you don't see.

Only part of the legislative intent from the original statute was kept, which would have changed the entire focus of supplying water in this state. Water authorities that want to create new water supplies wouldn't have to worry about those pesky environmental or health and safety concerns of the public.

Then we have the big economic stimulus bill, Senate Bill 1752. It included language very harmful to the environment and water permitting (more than 80 pages) that was heard in one committee and then went straight to the floor for a vote. The environmentally harmful sections of the bill were stripped away, but no one yet has said where the $100 million up-front money will come from to spur the economy.

After this came Senate Bill 6, which would have changed how teachers are evaluated. Talk about ramming something through the system. It was so bad Gov. Charlie Crist had to veto it.

In addition, the usual standby tactic of replacing the language of a bill with a "strike-all" amendment that no one has seen prior to a committee meeting is alive and well.

House Bill 7177 started in committee as a six-page water conservation bill and ended as a 22-page rewrite of many water issues, including wetland-mitigation banks and consumptive-use permits. This committee is the only group that has seen the bill, which is now going to the House floor for a vote.

More recently came a direct display of contempt for the public. Senate Bill 2288 recently was heard by the reapportionment committee in the Senate. Remember, this is the bill that would counteract the two ballot initiatives by Fair Districts Florida. Group after group filed opposition cards to this bill but waived their time speaking.

Many of the committee members demanded opponents come to the podium, where lawmakers chastised them for their opinion. Here were some comments from committee members:

"We know more about this; we are the experts." "How dare you object without talking to us."

Only one group supported this "clarifying" bill - Associated Industries of Florida. Need I say more?

The legislators get away with this behavior because we let them. Please, pay attention to how they act and vote on this session's nasty bills and vote them out of office. We, the people, have to change this unreality show.