I Endorse Oscar Braynon, II and The Miami Herald is Asleep at the Wheel. By Geniusofdespair

Give me a break. This was a no brainer. Oscar Braynon, II (pictured left) could have showed up naked for the interview at the Miami Herald and I still would have endorsed him over Joe. The Miami Herald endorsement of Joe Celestin today is nutty at best, I suppose he got the nod because they were surprised to find that there was still a moderate Republican left in Florida. The Herald should have talked to people in North Miami, they can't do everything by an interview (they should read their own archives and checked State Attorney's records first). Joe got a loan from the Biscayne Landing Developer...that should have been enough, and he didn't pay it back last time I looked. And he has outstanding ethics fines.

I lived in North Miami when Celestin was mayor, the worst, a flim-flam man investigated and scolded by the State Attorney's office.

I gladly endorse Oscar Braynon, II for Senate District 33. A lot of good it will do him, I suppose as much good as a Miami Herald endorsement will do Republican Joe Celestin. I said, when he ran for Rolle's County Commission seat:

Joe Celestin just keeps on running. By Geniusofdespair

Bonefish Partners is seeking to foreclose on a $400,000 mortgage they gave to Joe Celestin (aka Josaphat Celestin, aka Josephat Celestin). Joe was the Mayor of North Miami at one time. Bonefish is a Corporation owned by Michael Swerdlow who also was doing the joint venture Biscayne Landing in North Miami -- during the time Joe Celestin was Mayor. The mortgage came after Joe left office but it sure smells fishy to me, especially since Joe had all sorts of financial trouble at the time and there didn't appear to be any real collateral for the $400,000 loan, just a piece of property in a crappy neighborhood.

Celestin also has about $30,000 in federal tax liens according to County records and he appears to be about 3 years behind on his property taxes. He always struck me as a flim-flam man, he was investigated by the State Attorney's Office. The investigation was closed with a warning letter to clean up his act.

Why am I talking about Joe Celestin? He is running for a Miami Dade County Commission seat in District 2. Yes, there actually might be someone just as bad as Dorrin Rolle. It is really hard to believe. And he is Republican to boot! There are other candidates for this seat, some very good ones. Stay away from Joe voters in District 2...and Dorrin too.

How the radical right destroyed Florida ... by gimleteye

I don't even know where to start, with this morning's "Air Force Sues Homestead farmer, city", in The Miami Herald except: good for the Air Force.

I spent six years of my life, hard time, coordinating the battle to protect against the conversion of the Homestead Air Force Base into a major commercial airport benefiting insiders who used political doilies like Natacha Seijas and Alex Penelas to rest their plans for billions in profit. So today's story has special meaning; especially the non-stop effort by land owners/speculators/farmers to convert their property into subdivisions.

The salient point in the news report, "Alger said he doesn’t plan to pave over his crop field anytime soon, but having the option makes his land more valuable as collateral for farm loans." If you could point in Florida to a single stain that spread into the worst housing crash and collapse in the economy since the Great Depression, it would be the unrestricted delight in which banks-- from top to bottom-- lent based on speculative value to farmers the way crack dealers front for addicts.

If Alger is right-- that farming can't be done unless he can borrow money at speculative prices for his land-- then he is in the wrong business and banks are in the wrong business, too: none should be allowed use the speculative value of land to borrow or to lend, because this practice instantly defaults to "useful" economic activity that destroyed Florida: the use of subdivisions as the foundational element of growth.

If you look at the economic history of Florida from the 1980's, when financial derivatives based on housing became a multi-billion dollar industry for Wall Street and created enormous pressure (because the activities were so incredibly profitable) to use "demographics" to justify unsustainable levels of risk-- the pressure of speculators in farmland turned the entire economy of Florida into a craps table. A craps table that was rigged and always delivered a winning bet, so long as the players toed the line and played their part while the marks-- those would be taxpayers-- stood by witlessly. The wealth accrued to a small class of land owners/speculators who nonetheless control local legislatures and the state capitol. The wealth conferred so much privilege-- up and down the Growth Machine, from small gears to the big cogs-- that a gambling mentality became ubiquitous and atmospheric, enveloping everyone and everything in its path like a cloud of poison gas. We are living with the consequences but reading from them, the wrong results. To read the Herald article, one might think of the Algers: dear, they have been wronged! Dear, give the poor multimillionaires their zoning! Dear, get government off their backs!

I have given up hope that reason can prevail in the United States, based on the mob that controls the GOP and Congress. In Florida, the close cut haircuts, wing-tipped and dapper Republicans are out to destroy every kind of regulation that is meant and intended to protect the public good. You heard it more than a decade ago, from Jeb! who talked-- at the instigation of the Karl Rove/Grover Norquist "shrink government so it can fit in the size of bathtub"-- "government must be limited from serving a bigger role than it can fill": these mealy sounding cliches gave birth to enormous deformities in the United States.

Just watch: state authority for land use planning in Florida is about to vanish. Local zoning, in the hands of local politicians, will be whatever big campaign contributors want it to be. The free-for-all will include full scale gambling in Florida and why not: the landscape has already been planned out as a gambling venue. And that's what the really big landowners-- compared to whom the Algers are pikers--, like the Sugar Baron Billionaire Fanjuls, want. They've laid down the pipes and the high voltage wires and rock mines across their 700,000 acres and now wait like foreigners at the edge of the Arabian desert for the mirage of water on the horizon to turn into the real thing: new cities to reap their billions on the back of taxpayers. (click, to read the Herald article)

Read more:



Posted on Fri, Feb. 25, 2011
Air Force sues Homestead farmer, city

By Christina Veiga
The Miami Herald


TIM CHAPMAN / MIAMI HERALD STAFF
John L. Alger, 52, (right) and his son John W. Alger, 25, (left) stand in a field of sweet corn with the Homestead Air Reserve Base tower in the background. The elder Alger says that the US Government is taking away the value of his land by changing the zoning from " 1 on 5" to a clear zone because it is near the base and that will take away his ability to borrow money on the land to run his farming business which has been in the family for four generations. Febuary 25, 2011.
The Alger family has farmed for 50 years in the shadow of the Homestead Air Reserve Base, where jet engines roar just hundreds of feet over the rows of sweet corn.
It’s the sound of American freedom, said John Alger, current president of Alger Farms.

But the third-generation farmer says he’s been left to defend his own freedom: the right to develop his land after the U.S. government recently sued him and the city of Homestead.

“The freedoms they stand for are the ones they’re offending right now,” Alger said.

On behalf of the Homestead Air Reserve Base, the U.S. Attorney’s Office filed an appeal on Feb. 18, asking the Miami-Dade Circuit Court to reverse a City Council decision that allows Alger to build homes at the end of the base’s runway.

It is the first time the Air Force has been “forced” to bring a law suit against a city, said Air Force Lt. Col. Tom Davis, a base spokesman.

Alger’s farm lies in the flight paths of F-16s, F-15s and other warplanes that pass 750 feet overhead while coming in for a landing. Air Force officials say putting homes on 250 acres closest to the landing strip, which council members last month voted to allow, would put lives at risk.

“We fought long and hard to not come to this place,” Davis said. “But the paramount issue of the base is we have to protect the lives and safety of the people.”

Military planes have taken off and landed in Homestead since 1942. The base has been leveled twice by hurricanes, and was demoted from an active military installation to an Air Force Reserve base after Hurricane Andrew in 1992. Today, base officials feel under threat again — not by Mother Nature, but by urban sprawl.

Over the years, many of Homestead’s fields of beans, tomatoes and other produce have been paved over to make way for residential communities and the strip malls, schools and office buildings that accompany them.

“Try to figure a point in time when you say, ‘We have to stop,’ ” said Jeff Porter, immediate past president of the city’s Military Affairs Committee. “Don’t continue to let people put other people in harm’s way.”

For years, the city has worked to strike a balance between property owners’ rights and state-required safety rules that limit development near the base. After two separate studies, and countless meetings with air base officials and community members, the city council in September 2010 passed new restrictions that regulate the type, height and density of development in areas near the base that are most at risk for accidents.

But landowners complained their rights were being taken away unfairly. So the council voted to grant three developments vested rights — basically exempting hundreds of acres from the restrictions.

To be exempt, the city asked property owners to prove the following:

• The city gave the petitioner prior development approval, such as OK’ing site plans or issuing building permits.

• The petitioner moved forward with this approval, for example spent money on construction, to such an extent that revoking it now would be “highly inequitable.”

Alger Farms met neither criterion, according to Homestead city staff reports.

But, wearing a checkered shirt, light blue jeans and muddy boots, Alger stood in the City Council Chambers and begged members to reconsider.

The city’s Future Land Use map designates Alger’s property as agricultural, and allows for building up to one residential unit per 5 acres of land. The new rules would take away that ability, Alger said.

Alger — with his Cornell degree, deep community ties and genteel manor — swayed the council. They ignored staff advice and voted to allow him to build up to 50 homes in an area at risk for what Davis called “catastrophic” aircraft mishaps.

Alger said he doesn’t plan to pave over his crop field anytime soon, but having the option makes his land more valuable as collateral for farm loans.

“Who wants to buy a house at the foot of the air base? Nobody,” Alger said. “Do we have intentions of building here? No.”

Added his son, John W. Alger, 25: “If we can’t finance the farm in order to operate, there may not be much to inherit. So it’s pretty bleak.”

The U.S. government is now asking the court to order Homestead to follow its own procedure for granting vested rights.

If the base’s appeal is successful, it would essentially revoke Alger’s newly recognized development right.

“If it suits the airbase best that it not be developed, then compensate me,” the elder Alger said. “This facility is something that benefits the United States of America. But why should one family have to pay for it?”

If the courts come down on the base’s side, Alger said he’ll have no choice but to go after the city, since it was the council that passed the new restrictions. He claims his land, with development rights, is worth more than $6 million.

Alger’s attorney, Amanda Quirke, points to the Bert J. Harris act. Passed in 1995, the act allows property owners to seek remedies — including payment — against new government regulations that result in an “inordinate burden” imposed for “the good of the public at large.”

“The city has faced some tough decisions. But the regulations proposed by the Air Reserve Base are extremely harsh,” Quirke said. “It really prohibits any future use of the property.”

But Alger may be left empty-handed, and with hundreds of acres of land that can only be used for agriculture.

The U.S. Constitution generally forbids government agencies from taking away private property rights without paying a fair price. But in this case, there may have been no rights to take away in the first place.

Not only did Alger not meet the vested rights criteria, but the city’s Future Land Use study doesn’t grant development rights, according to Homestead staff reports and the U.S. attorney’s lawsuit. Those rights are subject to zoning ordinances, such as the new restrictions council members accepted last September. Also, city staff and city attorneys said the Algers lost any development rights after their property was annexed into the city in 1996.

“If he never had the right to develop the property in that way ... then what the city gave him was worthless,” said Michael Allan Wolf, a local government law professor at the University of Florida.

And property owners can’t be compensated for a worthless right, Wolf said.

The PAC that Will Make Mayor Alvarez Shudder. By Geniusofdespair

On February 8th Norman Braman opened Yes to Recall, Inc. No campaign reports yet, but we do have unlimited fund potential here if we look at his other PAC People Who Want Honest Government, Inc. which raised $240,000 in one cycle by one donor - Norman Braman. In fact most of the $521,112 raised by this PAC was raised from Norman Braman ($50,000 from Marty Margulies).

Natacha's Recall PAC: The Report. By Geniusofdespair

Stephen Cody got about $37,000 this cycle -- $42.000 overall. Coffey's law firm got $20,000.

Giving to the Natacha Seijas PAC:

Miami Dade Limestone Products $2,500
Alcade & Fay Law Firm and connections to them $3,500
Local NO.349 Electro PAC Fund $5,000
Barbara Carey Schuler $1,000
PAC 487-IUOE 487 CCE $500
Elyse Targ in Pinecrest $50 (Miami Dade State Attorney??? Is this legal?)
Century Home Builders et al $5,000
Becker & Poliakoff $1,000
Susan Fried Lobbyist $1,000
Titian American Cement $1,000
Building & Construction Issues PAC $5,000

The funny thing is most giving to her are not local. Seems like no one wants to go down with a sinking ship. She only raised $52,175 in this cycle. A drop in the bucket for a sitting commissioner. she raised $144,925 over-all.

The Town Hall Meeting Nobody Knows About. By Geniusofdespair

Maybe you have to be in the know to find about Lynda Bell's Town Hall meeting on March 3rd.

It is not on the calender on her website. It is not a news release on her website even though this flier went out to the press -- us. Hmmm. Exactly what is going on here? What are these "important issues" that people want to discuss related to DERM? Maybe Steve Torcise has something he wants to say about DERM? Lynda owes him big with this election. Or is it farmers who supported her complaining about wetland designations? Payback might be afoot. Lee Hefty and Carlos Espinosa from DERM are going to be there, I checked.

According to her website, Lynda Bell's last News Release was 1/19/2011 and her calendar has no events for February or March. I suggest all you District 8 people go to this meeting and find out why you wanted to discuss issues about DERM.

The Florida Jackass: its head is the Chamber, its hind quarters, Union Bosses ... by gimeleteye

Ryan Houck, the baby-faced spokesman for polluters aiming to decapitate environmental protection in Florida, is spokesman for a slick campaign reminding like-minded jackasses that unions sided with business to defeat last November's ballot referendum, Florida Hometown Democracy. Never mind that a wee-wee percentage of Floridians believe that environmental and land use rules are too strict. Unions abandoned environmentalists once, Houck crows, and now it is time to abandon them again by throttling EPA's efforts to hold billionaire polluters accountable to nutrient standards in Florida waters. I say, give Houck and the Chamber jackasses feedbags filled with oats and methyl mercury.

As for Florida's union members, this would be a time of soul-searching about leadership and how poorly working class Floridians have been served. In Wisconsin, environmentalists are battling with unions to stave off the money influence of the billionaire polluters. But here in Florida, it is a long stretch to find union leaders who ever reached out to environmentalists. Houck and his billionaire buddies crow about the victory of business and labor in defeating environmentalists over Amendment 4; the state-wide ballot initiative that was hacked to death by the Chamber and its big money funders.

Never mind that last fall Houck campaigned against Florida Hometown Democracy, claiming not even environmental groups supported it. The point: anyone can re-write history when others are too timid, weak, or indifferent to speak out. The same way that union bosses played members for fools, by refusing to support Florida Hometown Democracy, they are doing again; Exhibit A, the recall election against Hialeah county commissioner Natacha Seijas.

Seijas has been a nightmare for Florida environmentalists for 18 years. During that entire time she cultivated the support of union bosses. Union members, on the other hand, never questioned who and what Seijas stands for: the painted darling of land speculators and the Growth Machine that drove the Florida economy into the ground. It's not just Miami-Dade environmentalists who suffered, through the continuing meddling of Seijas and her staff in regulatory issues and infrastructure in Miami Dade. Today, Seijas is already arguing for a lock and hold on years of planning -- mandated by the state-- to fix all the billions of stuff she allowed to be left behind during her overly long career. That's because under Governor Rick Scott and the interests who hire Houck, Florida is in a race to the bottom to eviscerate environmental protections. Seijas is confidant of unions' votes in the recall election slated for March 15. SEIU contributed at least $20,000 to defend her, already. (If I were a union member and voter in Hialeah, I'd steer as clear of Seijas as Libyan soldiers are, of Khaddafi.)

Union members should do the math: who is stuck in cars in endless traffic, wasting family time and spending nearly $4.00 a gallon to commute to jobs from distant suburbs? Union members live in those distant suburbs. Who is paying the price for land speculators who support Seijas, Houck et al in order to shift the costs of growth to ordinary taxpayers? Who voted for growth and rock mining to wreck the wellfield protection zone, imposing hundreds of millions of costs on ratepayers? Who was taken to the woodshed by a Republican governor-- Jeb!-- for refusing to protect Florida's drinking water aquifers? You think union members might care to know what Seijas and Houck represents? They might, if their leaders brought it to their attention.

Now the unions support Seijas and they are being thanked in advance for supporting the Chamber of Commerce and Associated Industries jackasses who think it is great they won the race to the bottom and now are twisting arms of the Florida Congressional delegation to oppose the EPA and prevent accountability for Florida's polluted waterways. It is fascinating to listen to Houck talk about union members joining with business to destroy the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Really, what it is, is nauseating.

Natacha is holding a press conference.

Resigning? Maybe. That is my hope. Can you believe I wasn't invited? Drat! She didn't resign.

No such luck. She was trying to present a kinder and gentler Natacha. She is now a Great Grandmother, blah blah. Anyway she did say something telling...she asked a reporter "Who said I am a bitch?" (paraphrasing here) and he said the voters in Miami Dade County. She said I don't represent them I represent Hialeah. Well, bitch then don't vote on our issues. Did you hear that Miami Lakes? She doesn't represent you.

And You Thought I Was Hard on Natacha...By Geniusofdespair

You will not believe this Spanish Language TV video. OMG, it makes my parody of Natacha Seijas seem like child's play, taking disrespect to a whole new level....Hit on the link above. Below is one frame from the video so don't bother hitting on it (I could only get the link, not the entire video).

Natacha Seijas Dropped Her Recall Suit. By Geniusofdespair

I guess the vile one will focus on getting union leader thugs she has in her pocket to strong-arm voters.

Care about LED billboards in Downtown Miami? Make your calls now ... by Guest Blogger

Care about LED billboards in downtown Miami? Like we don't have enough, already. This issue is being heard later this morning. Please try to either be at Miami City Hall by 10am or call the City Commissioners and weigh in on multiple LED Billboards being placed in Downtown Miami. Make some calls if you can:

Mayor Tomas P. Regalado
(305) 250-5300 VOICE
Commissioner Wifredo (Willy) Gort (Chairman)
(305) 250-5430 VOICE
Commissioner Marc Sarnoff
(305) 250-5333 VOICE
Commissioner Frank Carollo (Vice Chairman)
(305) 250-5380 VOICE
Commissioner Francis Suarez
(305) 250-5420 VOICE
Commissioner Richard P. Dunn
(305) 250-5390 VOICE

Dear Commissioners:

We understand you will consider billboard resolutions 8 9 and 10 between 10 am and 11 am Thursday, February 24, at Miami City Hall City Commission chambers.

We hope that you will vote against Resolutions 8, 9 and 10 for the following reasons:

A. RE 8

1) The LED BILLBOARDS provided for in this second amendment to the Clear Channel settlement agreement are illegal pursuant to Miami-Dade County ordinance and federal law.

2) It is fortunate that we should know in the next few months the results of a federal study on the impact of digital billboards vs. non-digital billboards on public safety and neighborhoods. This study will indicate the physical characteristics, physical location, and dwell time – how quickly messages change – that safety demands. The City should wait to learn the results of this study before assigning any locations of digital billboards. We know your greater commitment is to public safety and welfare. Moving these expensive installations could turn out to be a heavy tax payer burden. Do not approve digital billboards now without this study.

3) The Commission should not approve an amendment that does not give notice to residents of where these proposed LED billboards will be located. Digital billboards impact residential neighborhoods, reduce property values and affect quality of life. You can be sure the Commission chamber would be filled by your constituents who knew digital billboards were going up in proximity to their homes. When are they supposed to find out – when the posts are in cement? This amendment leaves it up to Clear Channel to pick the sites.

4) It is against public policy to change zoning laws by agreement between the city and private parties.

This matter should not be approved on February 24.

B. RE9

1) The County ordinance controls how close a billboard may be to a “public reserve.” As of yesterday, we did not know where in regard to Police Headquarters this billboard would be located. The Commission does not know if the billboard is legal and the public cannot comment if no location is specified. This matter should not be approved February 24.

C. RE 10

1) The city website indicates the settlement agreement to be approved on Feb 24 will be distributed prior to the Commission hearing. Without any notice of the provisions of the settlement agreement, the Commission does not have time to properly consider it nor does can the public comment. This matter should not be approved February 24.

Could Any Glenn Who Spells His Name With Two "N's" Ever Be Right? By Geniusofdespair

Glenn Garvin is always wrong, on just about everything he writes for the Miami Herald. He panned the Housewives of Miami. I thought to myself, how could he? There has to be something redeeming about 6 Miami plastic surgery aficionados especially when one is named Echevarria, wife of Hialeah power broker Herman Echevarria.

I caught 10 minutes of the show. Cristy Rice was insufferable and that is being kind. Nothing annoys me more than a Cuban saying "We Cubans made Miami" and that is exactly what Cristy said. Even if it were true, it is disrespectful to the rest of the community. I agree that Cubans made great contributions to Miami but come on Cristy, use your brain. Oops sorry I forgot, you don't have one. Then three of the housewives were in anguish over showing up too early for a fashion show. So in this instance Glenn (with 2 N's) I have to hand it to you, your review was on the money:

There’s a scene in The Real Housewives Of Miami in which the bell of authenticity chimes incessantly: A Housewife gazes into the camera to offer a triumphant self-definition. “People call me the Cuban Barbie!” she boasts, then adds wistfully: “Poor Barbie. I mean, she’s a doll. She couldn’t talk. So nobody knew how smart or how dumb she was.” Not a problem with this show.

Civil War in the US: Wisconsin governor tells all to Koch fake for 20 freaking minutes!! ... by gimleteye

"We gotta crush that union." Pretty great video, showing how deep in the butt the Tea Party officials are to the Koch Brothers polluters. So go ahead: bust those overpaid teachers. "Bring a baseball bat." They're the root of evil. Teachers unions are the reason our states are bankrupt. "This is ground zero." Part 2, "We sent Andrew Breitbart down there. He's our man." "We do the same thing with Rick Scott in Florida." "What else could we do for you down there?" "In the months and days and weeks ahead, particularly in swing areas, they are going to need a message why this is a good thing to do for the economy." "We'll back you any way you can." "We were thinking about planting some trouble makers in the crowd." "We thought about that. My gut reaction: the public is not fond of this. The guys we got left are largely from out of state. My only fear is that if there was a ruckus caused, maybe the governor would have to settle with them. ... sooner or later the media gets tired." "Not the bastards at MSNBC." "No one watches them." "Axelrod, that son of a bitch." "No kidding." "This is an exciting time." "I pulled up a picture of Ronald Reagan. 30 years Ronald Reagan had a defining moment when he fired the air traffic controllers. That was the first crack in the fall of the Berlin Wall. What we are doing in Wisconsin, this is our moment, this is our time to change the course of history." "Well I tell you what, once you crush these bastards I'll fly you out to Cali and show you a good time." "That would be outstanding. Thanks for your support. Thanks a million."

Local Miami Politician Pepe Diaz: supports wasteful, destructive spending ... by Guest Blogger

Miami-Dade County Comissioner Pepe Diaz wants $75 million federal dollars for Port of Miami dredging even after President Obama kept the dredging funds out of his budget. The dredging is highly controversial, but local pork'ers are attempting to use environmental agencies to support environmental destruction. Diaz recently asked the South Florida Ecosystem Task Force to support the dredging that inevitably rips out sea grasses and marine life. Diaz told Miami Today that he spoke to Assistant Secretary of the Army Rock Salt who assured him he would do what he could to support the Port dredging. He also told Miami the paper that Greg May, executive director of the Ecosystem Restoration Task Force and Corps District Commander Todd Semonite were supporting the port dredging.

Although the Task Force's mission is to "Restore the Everglades," not to lobby for the destruction of marine life in Biscayne Bay, Diaz takes his anti-environmental views wherever anyone will listen. Diaz, who has served as the local representative on the Task Force-- appearing infrequently-- once commented at a Task Force meeting on a picture of housing developments abutting the Everglades in Broward County, improperly permitted in the 1980s, and said that this was a perfect balance between housing and the environment and something he'd like to see happen in Miami-Dade. Mr. Diaz also obstructed Miami-Dade County from lobbying for the Everglades Skyway, an elevated roadway over Tamiami Trail that is needed to restore fresh water to the Everglades and save Miami-Dade's water supply. He was the main instigator of a plan to put a new off road vehicle park at the former Jet Port in the Big Cypress Preserve in a time when the Miami-Dade Parks Department was slashing services and personnel in its existing parks. Meanwhile Miami Today has also reported today that Miami will benefit from increased port traffic without the port dredging. Pepe Diaz: another Miami Dade County Commissioner who relies on campaign contributors from outside his district to do politics that damage Miami Dade County. http://www.miamitodaynews.com/news/110224/story2.shtml
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Carlos Gimenez On The Campaign Trail. Guest Blog by Palmetto Bay Resident

Miami-Dade County mayoral candidate Carlos Gimenez made a campaign stop in Palmetto Bay last week. He and his wife were warmly greeted by the crowd and in return, he was undoubtedly the funniest that I have seen him. The man can smile when he doesn’t have a dais in front of him!

Upon questioning, the resounding theme of Carlos’ thought on government was getting rid of the “Scandal of the Day” which seems to rock the political infrastructure in Miami Dade on a frequent basis. He reiterated that he is conservative with public money and he really wants to hold the line on taxes. Carlos also pointed out that too often the people working in government offices and the politicians, as well, forget that they work for the people and not the other way around. Yah think?

What was the take-away from the event? That he is in it for the long haul. He says that he will run for mayor no matter when the election is. I think we could use some fiscal responsibility in our county and Carlos claims he can fit that bill.

Natacha Seijas's body guard acts like thug. By Geniusofdespair

Not content to say "no comment", Seijas brought with her Luis De Los Santos, a sergeant-at-arms. While protecting Seijas from the media at yesterday's court hearing he was aggressive. Remember, WE pay his salary (in 2008 he got about $73,000 from the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation). Miami New Times columnist, Francisco Alvarado asks if he is separated at birth from Luca Brasi (thug from the Godfather movies). Alvarado said:

"Outside the courthouse, things got a little ugly. De los Santos elbowed and pushed a couple of female TV reporters from GenTV, Univision and America Teve who peppered Seijas with requests for comment. He looked like a charging Rhinoceros clearing a path for an insufferable hippopatumus.

As the horde rounded the corner toward Flagler Street, the county commissioner finally gave the media hens a sound bite - but not before she slapped one microphone away from her face."

Sifting through the cinders of the housing crash ... by gimleteye

In the run up to the biggest collapse of construction, development and housing in South Florida history, I often railed that The Miami Herald was failing its responsibility to readers by deliberately avoiding the extent of the growing bubble. My point of view was informed by the lopsided battle to protect the Everglades from predators. It was also informed by awareness that Herald executives had killed important stories: like the massive conversion of farmland in Homestead and South Dade to tract housing. It seemed possible, at the time, that an informed electorate might make other choices and that the Herald could play an important role. But the more I learned about the Herald, the more clear it was that the Herald had a very, very limited interest in any exposure of the fraudulent underpinnings of the South Florida real estate conflagration.

It was obvious at the time that Miami real estate had run so far out of control that the aftermath would bestow a number of dismal "firsts" on our region, including the latest; that Miami leads the nation in homeowners with mortgages under water. What we know today is that an economic recovery will take a very long time, during which-- as economist Robert Shiller noted recently-- "bouncing along the bottom" is the best we can expect. But we might have known yesterday and exercised precaution, had we been better informed. If there had been comprehensive reporting by the Herald, Miami Dade taxpayers might not be saddled with such a sad sack cast of elected leaders at county hall.

Today, the extent to which banks and mortgage companies made outrageous loans to financially unqualified individuals is coming out in dribs and drabs: hairdressers, policemen, and even "the highest ranking female firefighter" in Miami, recently charged with four others by a federal grand jury with taking part in an $11 million mortgage fraud scheme. But the latest news that caught my attention was in Miami Today and it was about the Miami Herald parking lot fiasco; a story EOM can't let go. "McClatchy Co., owner of the publication The Miami Herald, reported that 10 acres west of the newspaper building it had been under negotiation to sell for five years for $190 million is now valued at $49.6 million."

There is a bigger story that EOM can't write because we aren't paid journalists and research is expensive, but if any journalists are reading, this story goes along the following line: that the Herald's intense interest in land speculation at the time, put the paper on the same side as the fraudsters and elements of the Growth Machine who drove the economy into the ground. That's why readers weren't getting fair and accurate news about the housing bubble in Miami. The paper's executives were protecting their own pensions and compensation packages.

As Knight Ridder was marketing itself to McClatchy in 2005, the question arises: what role did inflated real estate values play in the compensation formula of top executives at the Herald when the transaction closed. Wikipedia offers of McClatchy: "The company's biggest acquisition occurred on June 27, 2006 when McClatchy purchased Knight Ridder. Because McClatchy was so much smaller than Knight Ridder at the time, one observer equated the deal as "a dolphin swallowing a small whale."[3] The purchase price of $40 per share and 0.5118 shares of McClatchy Class A stock was valued at about $4 billion in cash and stock. The company also assumed $2 billion in debt."

One can't blame former newspaper executives at Knight Ridder from over-selling its properties or blame them for earning tens of millions in compensation for embracing the dictum of PT Barnum, but a good forensic exploration should be able to determine the extent to which the collaboration between the Herald and downtown land use lawyers like Greenberg Traurig overvalued the parking lot and contributed to the sales price of the Herald to McClatchy. Readers, then, could have an assessment of how well they were served by subscribing to The Miami Herald during the biggest looting of the economy since the Great Depression.

The recall hearing for Natacha Seijas-- blow by blow. By Geniusofdespair

I am at the hearing waiting for it to start. Seijas is here already. Lots of press. Judge is tardy it is 1:47. Oops she is here. Putney is in the back. Coffey is speaking. County Clerk Harvey Ruvin has filed a motion to dismiss. Judge says she needs the clerk as party to action, won't dismiss. Hit read more as I will be adding periodically... (Pictured: Ben Kuehne attorney for Miami Voice and County Clerk Harvey Ruvin.)

Coffey speaking in legalese... Preemption issue. New attorney on Natacha's side Ed Patrikoff. He appears capable. Addressing preemption. Looks like this is their defense. This guy is now going into geat detail. Don't know where they dug him up. He is saying you are dienfranching an elected official. It is solemn, must follow all rules in ordinance. Swearing of circulator's, printed by circulators, bla bla bla etc. Judge stopped him. Correcting numbering in statute, Judge tried to simplify the issue with numbering mistake issue. She doesn't see it as a problem or issue. Shot him down. 2:15.

Kuehne arguing that an ordinance she supported while a Commissioner and now because it doesnt suit her she is trying to get the court to rewrite the statute. Kuehne believes that the court does not lose jurisdiction even if an election happens. Losing the train of thought/logic here. Addressing preemption now Kuehne is saying 12 - 23 is not essential to ballot integrity. Registered voters must sign petitions. The opponents do not claim any fraud or that any signature was not valid or that there was a fraudulent petition. They are complaining about a retroactive rewriting of the law. 2:36 pm. Rosenthal county attorney might as well be a plaintiff attorney. Ruvin's attorney: Ruvin is a neutral party. Went over Tralwick decision. Judge said he is mandated to so this job.

2:55 Judge asked to hear from Harvey Ruvin. Sworn in. He is describing how he certified the petitions. He said his people were trained, took a course given by handwriting expert. Cody cross. Asking about parameters Ruvin used to certify the circulators information. Apparently Cody is focusing on that the circulator did not PRINT their name but used a rubber stamp. Ruvin said that Trawlick's opinion was that printing was not a criteria to reject the petitions and that was what he went by. Judge lecturing Cody. Ruvin directed to leave stand by judge. Judge wants to get to legal decisions before she goes forward.

I am getting ready to leave soon. She adjourned ... In time for me-- not looking good for Natacha. She got in my face again. Said the same thing -- do want to take my picture. Once and for all I have enough bad pictures of you Natacha.

Seijas 2nd recall hearing 1:30 today and she is dissected by Shoer-Roth in the Miami Herald. By Geniusofdespair

The recall hearing is 1:30 today with Judge Donner. Will try to go. Here is video from her 2nd deposition. There is a fabulous article in the Miami Herald today on Natacha Seijas that got a tremendous response when it was first printed in El Nuevo Herald. I usually only link to an article, but this was so good (I have anxiously been awaiting the translation) I am reprinting it in full. Columnist Daniel Shoer Roth caught Seijas well and he writes so beautifully (even in translation it is captured):

Under fire, Commissioner Seijas shows bad form in public arena

Video cameras have not been flattering lately to Commissioner Natacha Seijas. No, she wasn’t caught naked, but her personality has been disrobed.

A camera caught her silently walking out in the midst of a deposition, like a child upset for being scolded. She recently pushed a television reporter who tried to ask her a question. What would El Nuevo Herald’s etiquette columnist say?

Seijas’s arrogance and virulent temperament are out in the open, character flaws that have earned her the animosity of thousands of Miami-Dade residents despite years of community service.

Her puerile reactions, during public scrutiny, could become the pick and shovel that dig her political grave. (press read more)

Speaking from the dais last September, Seijas opined on the recall. She had previously survived a recall effort.

"Hey, been there. Done that. And I’m still here," she said. "So either way bring it on."

Seijas and her lawyers are now bringing you a myriad of legal loopholes to stop the recall referendum that lurks like a shark.

Her strategy has focused on questioning the validity of hundreds of petitions to oust her, reviewed and certified by the Office of the Clerk of the Courts, Harvey Ruvin.

On Feb. 8th she suffered a setback when Circuit Judge Amy Steele Donner dismissed her case without prejudice for not including Ruvin as a defendant. On the same day, Seijas’s lawyers filed paper work, before the judge’s decision, to include Ruvin as a defendant

If Seijas has the popular support she often brags about, why waste so much energy to block the citizens’ initiative? Why

not wait calmly for the March election and prove that she is "the people’s commissioner," as her supporters describe her.

Seijas has created a hostile cloud around the recall effort.

The voters, who signed the petitions as well as signature gatherers, are not only attacked legally but have to face private investigators -- including several former Miami-Dade police officers -- who knock on their doors, courtesy of the commissioner and Mayor Carlos Alvarez.

Seijas shoved Claudia DoCampo, political reporter for Noticias GENTV, during the opening ceremony of a clinic in Hialeah on Jan. 31. Seijas grabbed the microphone and repeatedly tried to dodge questions. DoCampo said that in 15 years as a journalist she has never pushed by an elected official.

"[Such conduct] says she is not very professional and does not set a good example to the community," DoCampo said.

‘‘She doesn’t seem to support press freedom."

I keep my fingers crossed that I don’t run into her at the supermarket.

A few weeks ago Seijas walked out of a deposition without answering questions because a Miami Herald reporter was there.

The following day a judge ruled that the media could sit in on the deposition.

During her testimony she repeatedly replied to questions with this childish statement: "I am not an attorney. I am not notary public. I am not an expert in documentation."

She is an expert, though, projecting an air of grandiosity and superiority, in her case, prompted by the insecurity of losing power. And power in the hands of a proud politician is harmful for citizens.

True leaders listen to their critics and dialogue with them, recognize their own flaws, try to amend them and have the ability to compromise with those who have other points of view. In contrast, politicians who treat their critics with disdain, believe they own the truth and push around reporters are seldom loved.

The Dark Ages: Eliminating environmental protection because the GOP doesn't believe in science, facts, rules, or enforcement ... by gimleteye

Last Friday night's debate of the Continuing Resolution in the House of Representatives lasted until the wee hours. The final vote was at 4:40 a.m. The roll call link. The Clerk of the House is still sorting through the results of all 70 amendments, so full details are not available yet. Here's how the Florida Congressional delegation voted last week on HR 1 and a summary of the amendments related to climate change. Read how the GOP is blasting us back to the Dark Ages, if you can stand to:

-The House voted to eliminate US funding to the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) for the rest of 2011. The GOP doesn't believe our climate is changing.
-The House voted to repeal Clean Air Act provisions aimed at reducing GHGs. The GOP doesn't believe dirty air affects people's health.
-The House voted to defund certain NASA's satellites. The GOP doesn't believe that gathering facts to support science is important, because party leaders like Karl Rove invent their own reality.
-The House voted to scale back environmental regulation of mountaintop removal protections. The GOP believes that no one cares what happens to mountains, rivers and streams.
-The House voted to stymie the overhaul of a major federal climate research program. The GOP will not lift a finger to protect national security from climate change.
-The House voted to sharply slash funding for green energy R&D. The GOP marches to the tune of the oil, gas and coal industries. Why fund anything else?

Here is how the Florida delegation voted. Guess what party the "FOR's". That's right: the GOP

The lawmakers who voted FOR the bill:
Jeff Miller
Steve Southerland
Ander Crenshaw
Richard Nugent
Cliff Stearns
John Mica
Dan Webster
Gus Bilirakis
C.W. Bill Young
Dennis Ross
Vernon Buchanan
Connie Mack (Just North of Everglades)
Bill Posey
Tom Rooney
Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (The Florida Keys)
Mario Diaz-Balart (Southwest Miami)
Allan West (Just north of Miami; includes Palm Beach, Ft. Lauderdale)
Sandy Adams
David Rivera (The Everglades & Miami-Dade County)

The lawmakers who voted AGAINST the bill:
Corrine Brown
Kathy Castor
Ted Deutch (North of Miami & Ft. Lauderdale)
Debbie Wasserman-Schultz (North Miami metro area)
Alcee L. Hastings (SE central near Miami and coastal at Fort Pierce)

Representative Fredrica Wilson did not vote. (North Miami Metro Area)

Lynda Bell's PAC money comes from enemy list. By Geniusofdespair

Try to make sense of this PAC, Floridians for Effective Leadership, Inc. They spent money on ultra-conservative Lynda Bell in a Miami Dade County Commission race and they also gave money to a Democratic challenger to John Thrasher up in Jacksonville. I don't think this PAC's donors are getting straight talk. Floridians for Effective Leadership, Inc., is registered to Andrew Jones and Steve Vancore, a Democratic strategist. Someone should tell him Lynda is not a Democrat. I thought, maybe I should do it. I just called Vancore and told him about Lynda and asked him why his PAC paid for the flyer and he seemed to not know why, he said he would look into it and get back to me. Right.

Citizens for Ethical and Effective Leadership in Miami gave $10,000 to the Floridians PAC. Daniel Cifuentes is the leader of this second PAC. Ron Book, Dade County Medical Association, Wayne Rosen, 6201 Of Miami, LLC (Jorge Munilla), GJB Consulting (Al Maloof et al), Redland Land Holdings, Inc. (Torcise Rock Miners), and Marin and Sons gave to this Cifuentes PAC. That is Wayne Rosen and Al Maloof, 2 of Lynda Bell's arch enemies, who gave tens of thousands each, through a Miami-Dade PAC, to help Eugene Flinn. They actually gave to Lynda Bell too through this Citizens for Ethical and Effective Leadership PAC (Daniel Cifuentes). What is the stupidity of that? I bet they didn't know what the PAC was going to do. Also Citizens for Honesty in Politics contributed $10,000 to the PAC that paid for Lynda's ad. They are financed by Prime Bank and The Optometric Association (both in Tallahassee). Curiously they paid $44,011 for a Miami Dade County Mailer to One on One Communications, Inc. (Rosa Mora/Jose Navas).

Unrelated, did you know Florida Lobbyists have their own professional association? Pretty funny, huh?

SEE THE ENTIRE MAILER:

Population Growth and The Environment ... by gimleteye

The spike in commodity prices is coupled to both the pressure of population and climate chaos that is making crop cycles less and less predictable. I could be wrong, but seeing is believing ...


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The Lobbyist Culture and Pecking Order at County Hall ... by gimleteye

Dan Ricker's Watchdog Report picked up an interesting tidbit about lobbyists that would have otherwise gone unreported. The Miami Dade County Commission, last week after "... a lengthy discussion eventually settled on four lobbying firms with three getting $190,000 each (Alcalde & Fay, Patton Boggs, and Greenberg Traurig) and the fourth Akerman, Senterfitt & Edison will be paid $150,000 a year." (Why does the county need more than one law firm to lobby in DC? Never mind.)

The purpose of lobbying by the county in DC is to obtain as much funding as possible for Florida's most populous county while rewarding the maximum number of campaign contributors. The county commissioners, with a majority of Republicans, may not have gotten the message from Governor Scott: taking money from the federal government isn't a Tea Party kind of thing. But money precedes politics and the lobbying firms all bring something special to the table. Patton Boggs is a blue blood DC based firm, with deep ties to Congress and the Executive Branch, Alcalde & Fay (Sylvester Lukis) specializes in representing Florida, and Greenberg Traurig (Jack Abramoff, Marvin Rosen, Miguel De Grandy etc.) is the home-grown, land use and "environmental" practice black hat law firm, that sunk its roots in Miami Dade with its a la carte menu for converting zoning of farmland for suburbs to reward campaign contributors.

It is interesting that the fourth law firm, Akerman is being paid $40,000 per year less, inviting its own speculation.

Even more interesting is why GOP anchored, local law firm Cardenas Partners was "jettisoned after being ranked fifth though Commissioners Bruno Barreiro (Net worth $728,000) and Jose “Pepe” Diaz (Net worth $164,000) fought hard verbally to keep Al Cardenas in the mix." It is clear enough why Pepe Diaz fought hard for Cardenas: he received a ton of help from the law firm with Diaz' power play in the Florida Keys for Calusa Campground (see our archive, under Pepe Diaz). Barreiro? Maybe one of our readers can comment. According to Ricker, "... the attorney also ran afoul of Commissioner Natacha Seijas." Now there's a plump subject ripe for EOM's attention.

"Seijas told commissioners during the discussion she was offended when the former Florida Republican Party Chair under Gov. Jeb Bush, suggested to her the federal lobbying contract should just be “split five ways,” she told commissioners and she railed sternly that the comment crossed the line in her opinion." One thing you can be sure about Seijas: when she publicly says a comment crosses the line, you can be certain the line was drawn somewhere else, in the back hallway or in the office of Terry Murphy (her chief of staff).

The question: why is Seijas turning against Cardenas who represents the closest tie to Jeb! and by extension, to Marco Rubio and federal appropriations. It would be a worthwhile to find out what is the mind of the de facto chair of the county commission. Seijas is in a fight for her political life. She was deeply irritated a few weeks ago when fellow commissioners like Barreiro, Martinez and Diaz rejected her effort to block her upcoming recall from being tied to the same recall ballot as an unpopular mayor. Would rejecting Cardenas serve as a slap in the face of her fellow commissioners? Maybe.

But perhaps there is another reason. Cardenas, when patron Jeb! was governor, obtained the contract to privatize the services of the general counsel's office at the South Florida Water Management District. It was a critical juncture in the district's relationship with Miami-Dade County, and the county's consumptive use permit for new sources of fresh water to feed land speculators was under review. Seijas wields her supreme authority at the county through infrastructure including water and sewer. The District came down hard on the county for its incredibly wasteful water use policies. Seijas, in particular, was taken to the wood shed; an unprecedented event that caused amazement. The District told Seijas in no uncertain terms, she would have to change her ways if the county expected to receive any additional water allocations through its massive consumptive use permit.

Today, those arrangements-- that Cardenas represented-- are being unravelled by the Gov. Scott upheaval in Tallahassee. Scott and the right wing conservatives are poised to dismantle the influence of state agencies and undo past agreements on water supply. Perhaps it is wrong to attribute Seijas' scolding of Cardenas to confidence on her part that the keys to the county casino bank are turning back to her, but there is more to cutting out Cardenas from the lobbying work than politics. In the end, it is all about money.

Lynda Bell Attacks Free Speech in Miami-Dade County. Guest Blog By Youbetcha'

District 8 County Commissioner Lynda Bell has indicated that free speech is not allowed in public facilities. As a result the county venue is getting sued. More tax dollars will be used to fight it. In Saturday’s Herald, Lynda bolsters my suspicion that she has been drinking too much Kool-Aide while hanging out at County Hall with VNS and friends. To quote the paper:

Miami-Dade County Commissioner Lynda Bell told Miami’s Radio Caracol (1260 AM) on Feb. 7 that the appearance of Cuban artists in Homestead would be painful to South Florida’s exile community. "I would be 100% opposed and I would do everything in my power to stop that,” she said. “We understand free speech and defend free speech but not when public facilities and funds are being used.”

"Civil rights advocates say that public events are precisely where free speech must be defended."

How can a sitting commissioner who uses public facilities to pray with staff be opposed to free speech at Homestead Speedway?

US Supreme Court Justice Clarence ("No One Listens To Me Anyways") Thomas does not speak for me ... by gimleteye

Launching on Wednesday, Progressives United is an attempt to build a grassroots effort aimed at mitigating the effects of, and eventually overturning, the Supreme Court's infamous Citizens United decision that opened the floodgates to corporate spending in the U.S. electoral system. In addition to online mobilization, the political action committee will support progressive candidates at the local, state and national levels, as well as holding the media and elected officials accountable on the group's key priorities. Listen to the following Colbert report and decide whether to join Progressives United.

The Colbert Report
Tags: Colbert Report Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,Video Archive

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David Rivera back in the News Again. By Geniusofdespair

I have a lot to say about about crematoriums (see yesterday's post), but I will wait untill we get my mother-in-laws ashes back. Don't want them to be held hostage.

On a more depressing note, creepy U.S. Congressman David Rivera is in the news again. Thank you reporters, Scott Hiaasen, Patricia Mazzei and Marc Caputo.

The article goes into detail on Rivera's gal-pal Esther Nuhfer. Namely:

"Rep. Rivera’s fundraising consultant collected $817,000 in fees since 2006."

The article tries to unravel the lobbyist web, that I often try to do. It is hard to make a coherent linear article out of the lobbyist web but the Miami Herald reporters do a pretty good job. This is why you should buy the newspaper. You can't get articles like this from blogs. We don't have the resources to do this kind of research. After reading the article you have to think that this woman is only making the big bucks because of her ties to David Rivera.

Make sure you read this article!